DEATHBED EXPERIENCES

In the preface of his book, "Voices from the Edge of Eternity," John Meyers says, "Death is a subject no one can treat lightly. It is too final for that. Beauty, honour, wealth, earthly power, hopes, and dreams - all are swallowed up in that finality. Man was born with his hands clenched; he dies with them wide open. Entering life he desires to grasp everything - leaving the world, all that he possessed has slipped away. But it is not so much death itself, as the mystery of what lies beyond that closed door, that has haunted mankind since time immemorial... The testimony of this book is that thousands of men and women - unbelievers as well as believers - standing on the very edge of eternity, caught up in life's most dramatic experience, have quite clearly seen beyond the grave. What they saw and sensed not only bears evidence as to the fact of man's immortality, but also answers many very pertinent questions that perplex the minds of thinking people today. Such questions also relate to the accuracy of the Biblical account of life after death... The reading of this book will constitute the dawn of hope - that glorious sense of goal and destiny which alone can defy the death grip of materialism which threatens to plunge our generation into the madness of a spiritually empty and purposeless life." The following are a few abridged excerpts from this book which was first published by the author in 1968. BITTER REPROACHES OF VOLTAIRE The French writer and philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778) was a deist - his belief in the existence of a supreme being arising from reason rather than revelation. He opposed Christian beliefs fiercely and said that the Gospels were fiction and Jesus thus did not exist. Voltaire ridiculed God by saying that He is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. To him, religion was a social phenomenon and he was in favour of religious freedom in a multireligious society. He said that one religion would lead to despotism; when there were only two religions people would cut one another's throats; but when there were many religions they would be happy and live together peacefully. As far as he was concerned, Christianity was a vanishing phenomenon: "One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker." He died 235 years ago in 1778, and there are still hundreds of millions of copies of the Bible believed to be in existence today. When Voltaire suffered a stroke and realised that this illness would end his life, he was overpowered with remorse. He at once sent for a priest and wanted to be reconciled to the church. His agnostic flatterers hastened to his room to prevent this from happening, but it was only to witness his humiliation and their own. He cursed them to their faces as his distress was increased by their presence. He loudly exclaimed, "Begone! It is you who have brought me to my present condition. What a wretched glory is this which you have produced for me!" Voltaire was tortured with such an agony that he gnashed his teeth in impotent rage against God and man. At times he pleaded, "O Christ, O Lord Jesus!" Then again, "I must die, abandoned of God and man!" As his end drew near, his condition became so frightful that his agnostic associates were afraid to approach his bedside. They still guarded the door that others might not know how awfully an enemy of God was compelled to die. Even his nurse couldn't tolerate the scene of horror. Such was the end of a man who had a high intellect, excellent education, great wealth, and much earthly honour - but without God! "OH, I HAVE MISSED IT AT LAST!" Some time ago, a doctor called upon a young man who was ill. After examining him he told him that he had but a very short time to live. The young man was astonished. He had forgotten that death often comes "in such an hour as ye think not." At length he looked up into the face of the doctor and, with a most despairing countenance, said, "I have missed it at last!" "What have you missed?" asked the tender-hearted physician. "Doctor, I have missed the salvation of my soul," replied the young man. "Oh, say not so - it is not so! Do you remember the thief on the cross?" said the doctor. "Yes, I remember the thief on the cross. And I remember that he never said to the Holy Spirit, 'Go Your way!' But I did. And now He is saying to me, 'Go your way!'" Then, looking up with vacant, fearful eyes, the young man said, "I was awakened and was anxious about my soul a little time ago. But I did not want to be saved then. Something seemed to say to me, 'Don't put it off. Make sure of salvation.' I said to myself, 'I will postpone it.' I knew I should not have done it. I knew I was a great sinner and needed a Saviour. I resolved, however, to dismiss the subject for the present and to take it up again at a more favourable time. I bargained away, resisted and insulted the Holy Spirit. I never thought of coming to this. I meant to have made my salvation sure, but now I have missed it!" "You remember," said the doctor, "that there were some who came at the eleventh hour." This gave the man no comfort, "My eleventh hour was when I had that call of the Holy Spirit. I have had none since - neither will I have one again. I am given over to be lost. Oh, I have missed it! I have sold my soul for nothing - a feather, a straw. Now I am undone forever!" Then he buried his face in the pillow, and again exclaimed in agony and horror, "Oh, I have missed it at last!" and died. "THEY DRAG ME DOWN!" A young lady, under deep conviction of sin, left a revival meeting to attend a dance party arranged by a group of ungodly men for the purpose of breaking up the revival meeting. She caught a severe cold at the dance and before long was on her death-bed. When a local minister visited her, she stiffly repulsed his efforts to counsel, saying, "Mr. Rice, my mind was never clearer. I tell you all today that I do not wish to be a Christian. I would rather go to hell than to heaven; they need not keep the gates closed." "But you don't want to go to hell, do you, Jennie?" the minister implored. She broke down and replied, "No, Mr. Rice. Oh that I had never been born! I am suffering now the agonies of the lost. If I could but get away from God - but no, I must always see Him. How I hate Him - I cannot help it! I drove His Spirit from my heart when He would have filled it with His love; and now I am left to my own evil nature - given over to the devil for my eternal destruction. My agony is inexpressible! How can I endure the endless ages of eternity? Oh, the dreadful thought of eternity!" When asked by Mr. Rice how she got into this despairing mood, she replied, "It was that Friday evening last winter when I deliberately left the revival meeting to attend the dance. With all my might I drove the influence of the Spirit away from me. It was then that I had the feeling that He had left me forever. I knew that I had done something terrible, but it was done. From that time I had no desire to be a Christian, but have been sinking down into deeper darkness and more bitter despair. And now all around, and above and beneath me, are impenetrable clouds of darkness. Oh, what horror!" Then turning to Mr. Rice, she said, "Go home now - I don't want you to pray for me. I don't want to be tormented with the sound of prayer." That evening she sent for Mr. Rice again, and said to him, "I want you to preach at my funeral. Warn all of my young friends... remember everything I have said and use it." He again expressed the wish that she could be saved before she dies. "Now, Mr. Rice, I don't want to hear anything about that. I do not want to be tormented with the thought. I am utterly hopeless, my time is growing short - my fate is eternally fixed. I am dying without hope because I insulted the Holy Spirit so bitterly. He has just left me alone to go down to eternal night. He could not have borne with me any longer and retained His divine honour and dignity." Soon after that she began to struggle in the agonies of death. She gasped, "Oh, save me! They drag me down! Lost! lost! lost!" Then she whispered these words, "Bind me, ye chains of darkness! Oh, that I might cease to be!" THE SPLENDOUR OF HEAVEN A young missionary, David Appleby, experienced on his deathbed how he was called to heaven. He said, "They are calling, calling, calling there in heaven!" He beheld the splendour of heaven and exclaimed in awe, "I didn't know it could be so beautiful. All is well with my soul!" SWEET SIGHT OF THE GOLDEN GATES When ten-year old Lillian Lee lay dying, she spoke to her father thus: "O Papa, what a sweet sight! The golden gates are open and crowds of children come pouring out. Oh, such crowds!" Later she cried, "They ran up to me and began to kiss me and call me by a new name. I can't remember what it was." She lay gazing upwards in rapture. Her voice died into a whisper as she said, "Yes, yes, I come, I come!" CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST A German saint, Margaretta, was on her deathbed when friends told her that God would help her. She replied, "Yes, into heaven!" The last words she whispered were, "The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin! Oh, sweet words of eternal life!" THE EXPERIENCE OF A BELIEVING YOUNG MAN Augustus M. Toplady died in London at the age of 38. He was the author of these immortal words: Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the Blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure Save from wrath and make me pure. He had everything before him to make life desirable, yet when death drew near, his soul exulted in gladness: "Sickness is no affliction, pain no curse, death itself no dissolution; and yet how this soul of mine longs to be gone - like a bird imprisoned in its cage, it longs to take its flight. Had I wings like a dove, then would I fly away to the Bosom of God and be at rest forever." About an hour before he died he seemed to awaken from a gentle slumber. "Oh, what delights! Who can fathom the joys of heaven? What a bright sunshine has been spread around me! I have no words to express it. I know it cannot be long now till my Saviour will come for me... surely after the glories that God has manifested to my soul! All is light, light, light - the brightness of His own glory! O come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" Then he closed his eyes, his spirit going to be with Christ; his body falling asleep, to be awakened with others of like precious faith on that great day when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven "to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe" (2 Thessalonians 1:10). "COME UP HERE!" When Clement Brown was about to die, he pointed with his finger and said, "I see one, two, three, four, five angels awaiting their commission. I see them as plainly as I see you, Hester. How I wish you could see them! They are splendidly robed in white. They beckon me, and Jesus bids me come." "IT IS FINISHED!" The meaning of the last words uttered by Jesus Christ on the cross before He died, enables all who truly believe in Him as their Saviour to die in the peace and victory of Golgotha. More than 2 000 years ago Jesus cried out on the cross: "It is finished!" All the demands for the salvation of sinners were met on the cross, and people everywhere are to be faced with the choice of either accepting or rejecting this. To be for or against Christ, and soon to be judged for all eternity in terms of your relationship with Him, calls for a clear understanding of what the atoning death of Jesus on the cross means to you. What is the full significance of His dying words when He shouted with a loud voice: "It is finished"? Jesus was nailed to the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of lost humanity (Isaiah 53:5-6). As "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6: 23), He was not only to suffer physically, but also to be executed on our behalf. It was therefore only when He died that He fulfilled all the requirements for God's plan of salvation. During those very last moments when Jesus gave up His life, He said, "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit!" and then exclaimed loudly: "Tetelestai! - It is finished!" (Luke 23:46; John 19:30). Let us briefly investigate its original meaning. 1. Fully paid. According to the Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, the word tetelestai was used as the first word on a receipt. It therefore conveys the meaning of fully paid. Have you ever considered the fact that Jesus actually bought you when He shed His blood and gave His life for you? Paul reminds us: "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20). Peter said, "...you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct... but with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Dear reader, do you have the assurance that the price for your sins has been fully paid? Do you comply with the condition of repentance and confession of your sins to have them forgiven? The Word of God says: "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Prov. 28: 13; see also 1 John 1:8-9). After conversion, we ought to walk with the Lord and keep our record clean by confessing all sins of which the Holy Spirit convicts us (1 John 2:1-2). Don't enter the new life with a heritage of carnal attitudes and unconfessed sins. It will eventually cripple you spiritually. Jesus has paid the full price to do a complete work in your life. He wants to save and sanctify you. Don't leave the Throne of Grace with hidden sins that have not been confessed and forsaken. 2. Sentence served. During the first century it was common practice to nail the charge-sheet of a prisoner to his cell-door. The offences for which he was convicted were written on the charge-sheet, as well as the penalty imposed upon him. After he served his sentence, the charge-sheet was removed from the door and cancelled by writing across it in big letters: Tetelestai ('fully served'). It was then given to him and nobody could ever charge him again for these offences. He had paid the price for his trespasses in full by serving the entire sentence. In a spiritual sense, all human beings are captives of Satan, "for all have sinned" (Romans 3:23). They find themselves in his death cells awaiting their trial before the great white throne where they will be condemned to eternal death. The prison master is the devil, and no person can free himself of his own accord from this severe bondage, or from his death sentence. To save lost sinners, Jesus Christ willingly served the death sentence that has already in principle been imposed upon all sinners (Romans 6:23). After His resurrection from the grave, He is in a position to cancel the charge-sheet of every lost sinner by writing in red letters with His Blood across it: Tetelestai! "You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then He gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for He forgave all your sins, and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross" (Colossians 2:13-14; Living Bible). Jesus’ mission to free those who are spiritual captives of Satan, is reiterated in Isaiah 61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." All the sins of which the devil accuses you have been blotted out by the Blood of the Lamb! The sentence for them has been fully served! 3.Victory gained. A third usage of the term tetelestai was related to successful military campaigns against the enemy. When a general returned from the battlefield and paraded his captives of war in the streets of Rome, he proclaimed his victory by shouting: Tetelestai... tetelestai... By this victory shout a clear statement was made that the enemy was conquered and its power broken: mission accomplished! Although it was His dying-word on the cross, Jesus also proclaimed His victory over the enemy with the shout: Tetelestai! To die was a major victory for Jesus, "that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15). Jesus conquered the enemy, but has not yet obliterated him. The devil is still very active on earth; therefore we are called upon to share in the victory of Calvary and become "more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37). There is a battle to be fought and a victory to be gained. Let us make the most of the remaining time by serving the Lord and extending His Kingdom on earth. The shadows are falling and the sands of time are rapidly running out. Like the Lord Jesus, we should also say: "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work" (John 9:4). The night of God's judgements in the Great Tribulation is fast approaching, and there is still much work to be done for Him before the last trumpet sounds. The lost must be saved and Christians must be spiritually prepared to meet their heavenly Bridegroom. Allow the Lord to complete His wonderful work in your life: "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it... that He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). The Lord Jesus is not only our Saviour from sin, corruptive influence, and spiritual captivity of Satan; He is also our sanctification to lead us into a life of holiness, victory and abundant service in His everlasting Kingdom! http://www.justbychrist.co.za/