Is Heaven a Real Place?
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Written by Jimmie Burroughs 
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According to a neurosurgeon who claims he visited the afterlife, heaven is a real place, and a place so wonderful there are no terms that can fully describe it.
Dr Eben Alexander says that he visited the afterlife after a week of being in a coma in the fall of 1908 during a time which his neocortex stopped functioning. Dr. Alexander is a creditable surgeon who has taught at Harvard Medical School and has earned an indisputable reputation as a leading neurosurgeon.
Dr. Alexander said, “According to current medical understanding of the brain and mind, there is absolutely no way that I could have experienced even a dim and limited consciousness during my time in the coma, much less the hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey I underwent.” Someone questioned if an out of the body experience was possible if the brain was not functioning. The answer to that question is yes since the spirit of man is able to function without the body or the brain. Alexander’s full story can be found in the cover story of the October 08, 2012 issue of Newsweek.
Although he has called himself a Christian for some time, Alexander never considered himself to be deeply
religious or have a pronounced faith in the afterlife, but his experience has changed all that. He claims that it was a life changing visit to the afterlife, specifically heaven.
Alexander describes what heaven looked like to him: He said that he was floating above the clouds witnessing “transparent, shimmering beings arced across the sky, leaving long, streamer like lines behind them.”
An unknown female companion, so he claims, escorted him and he communicated with these beings through communication that transcended language. Alexander loosely translated the messages he received:
“You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever.”
“You have nothing to fear.”
“There is nothing you can do wrong.”
Alexander claims that, from there, he traveled to “an immense void, completely dark, infinite in size, yet also infinitely comforting.” He said that he believes this gap to be the home of God.
Dr. Alexander fully recovered from his meningitis-induced coma, but was reluctant to share his experience with his colleagues. Instead, he took refuge and found a new comfort inside his church. After a while, he decided it was time to write about his experience in a new book “Proof of Heaven: A neurosurgeon’s journey into the afterlife,” to be published in late October, 2012.
Dr. Alexander explains, “I’m a doctor still, and a man of science every bit as much as I was before I had my experience. But on a deep level I’m very different from the person I was before because I’ve caught a glimpse of this emerging picture of reality. And you can believe me when I tell you that [heaven] will be worth every bit of the work it will take us, and those who come after us, to get it right.”
What an extraordinary experience! It is my belief that God gave this experience to this creditable and respected doctor as a wake-up call to the millions who will read his story, especially those who make light of the afterlife and heaven.
This is by no means the first time a person has experienced the afterlife and has returned to describe what they saw. Recently a little boy experienced the afterlife, and a book was written about what he saw: “Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back and experienced.” This book is available at Amazon. Over the years, many have claimed to have gone into the afterlife and have told their story. And it is not just recent years that people have had this sort of experience. As far back as the New Testament the Apostle Paul writes about being caught up into the third heaven where God abides and then returning. Also in the New Testament there is the account of the rich man who died and went to hell and spoke to Father Abraham who was in heaven and asked him to return to earth or send someone to warn his brothers of the awful place called hell.
Up until the time of Jesus apparently there was no one who experienced the third heaven while still alive: Jesus said in John 3:13, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven even the Son of man which is in heaven.” Jesus would have certainly known because he came to earth from heaven. Up until this time at least only Jesus had seen God (John 1:18). If you are wondering about Elijah who was caught up to heaven in a whirlwind in the Old Testament, there is an explanation for it that we do not have space to cover here. There is still a question today as to whether anyone has actually seen God in an afterlife experience. Nevertheless, it is apparent that people have gotten a taste of what heaven is like.
From the other perspective, throughout Scripture there had been accounts when angels came to earth from heaven to perform various tasks. The Bible tells us that we might encounter angels and not be aware that they as angels. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).
Even Scientist who have insisted that everything must be examined under a microscope before it could be considered real are beginning to believe that there is a spiritual side of man separate from his physical existence. There is so little known about the paranormal that many reject anything that seems to be of that nature.
For sure heaven is no fairy tale; the Bible describes heaven as a real literal place where God will wipe away every tear; there will be no more death; no more pain; no sorrow; no mourning; and no more weeping.
All darkness will be gone forever; there will be no night. God’s presence will illuminate heaven in a crystal-clear, pure form of light. God’s heaven is called the New Jerusalem; much of the city will be made of pure gold, so pure that it will appear like transparent glass, I assume with the glow of gold. The wall that surrounds the 1,500 miles wide and 1,500 miles long city are adorned with all the different kinds of precious stones that we adore, including diamonds and rubies. (By the way, a new planet has recently been discovered that is believed to be largely made of diamond.) The twelve gates of the city are made of real pearl. The streets are paved with gold. There is a pure river of the water of life proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Jesus). There is a tree of life which bears twelve fruits, each tree yielding fruit once a month. Read the full description of heaven for yourself in the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapters 21, 22.
You don’t want to miss heaven, and you don’t want to be wrong about the existence of heaven because eternity is too long to be wrong. According to the Bible, only a few will find their way there: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there are that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
Like many other extremely critical issues of life, there will be only a few who recognize what Dr. Alexander discovered and even fewer that will act upon it. My prayer is that you will believe; to paraphrase what Dr. Alexander said, it is worth everything to go there.
If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? The Bible says it will either be heaven or hell. It is appointed to man once to die, according to Scripture, and after that the judgment. Today you have the opportunity to secure your destiny and be assured that you will go to heaven when you die. There is only one way to reserve your place in His heaven: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me,” (John 6:14). The Bible says,” That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:13).
You can receive Jesus today as your Lord and savior by just following these four simple steps:
1. Admit you are a sinner. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
2. Be willing to turn from your sin (Repent). “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” Acts 17:30.
3. Believe that Jesus died for you, was buried and rose from the dead. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” Romans 10:9-10.
4. Confirm your belief through prayer and invite Jesus into your heart as Lord and savior. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:13. We are forgiven and saved from our sins when we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead. We express that faith through prayer.
Pray like this:
Dear Lord I realize that I’m a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe with all my heart that you, Jesus, died, was buried and arose from the grave to pay for my sin. I am willing to turn from my sin and follow you. Please forgive me; I invite you to come into my heart and be my Lord and savior. Amen
I just asked Jesus into my life (some helpful information follows)…
I may want to ask Jesus into my life, please explain this more fully…
Conclusion
The God given opportunity to prepare for your eternal destiny is the greatest gift of all. This is an opportunity, according to the Bible, that only a few will take advantage of; the Bible tells us: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14). Relatively, there will be only a few who discover what you have discovered today and even fewer that will take action. I encourage you if you haven’t already, not to put it off, but to take action right now while it is on your mind and in your heart. There may never be another time or opportunity like right now.
Jimmie Burroughs: Founder of Christian personal development.
About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and author who has been involved in teaching Christian Personal Development for more than 30 years. There are hundreds of articles to help you on this website, Website Contents , in your person growth. If I can help you personally, please send your concerns via: Contact me.
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