"He saw himself asleep on the couch.... He felt weightless, moving higher....
Though he knew he was unconscious, he had never been so attuned to his
senses.... He raced through the vast universe itself, with its numberless galaxies and
solar systems. The only sound was his own breathing, and to his amazement, it
was rhythmic and deep.... the darkness turned to the
brightest light..." From The Indwelling by Tim LaHaye and Jerry
Jenkins
"For
we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God...."
2 Corinthians 2:17
Out-of-body experiences
fascinate Christians and non-Christians alike. Mystical meetings with angelic beings and
"a bright
light" seem to sell books whether the author speaks from a New
Age perspective as did Betty Eadie in Embraced by the Light or from a
"Christian" perspective as do Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in the Indwelling.
Few have popularized such mystical
encounters more effectively among Christians than Betty Eadie.
During her supposed "near-death" experience
[her
doctor refused to verify that she nearly died],
she
sensed herself float up toward heaven, saw her own body below, approached a bright
light and met a loving person who appeared "more brilliant than the
sun." Three "angels" answered her questions about eternal life and
explained an occult spiritual system that merged her Mormon and Native American heritage
with contemporary New Age teachings. Her experience contradicts the Bible on every
point, but that seems insignificant to those who love her message.
In the Indwelling, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins have used a Jewish Christian character, Tsion
Ben-Judah, to take their
readers on an imaginary journey toward another "bright light." Their story
echoes the details described in countless new age and neo-pagan testimonies. Ponder this
portion:
Tsion began feeling a tingle, much like when he had tried to
intercede for Rayford. ...The clock still read 12:57, but he felt as if he were
floating.... Kenny slept unmoving in the playpen, blanket still tucked around him.
Tsion saw this from above now, as if in the middle of the room. He
saw himself asleep on the couch. He had heard of out-of-body experiences but had never
had one, or dreamed one. This didn’t seem like a dream, didn’t feel like one. He
felt weightless, moving higher.... despite his incredible lightness of being, he
felt as conscious and aware as he had ever been. Though he knew he was unconscious, he
had never been so attuned to his senses....
Yes, he had drifted through the first floor, but he could still see
Kenny.... The fall air was crisp above the house.... He reached for the earth, because
it seemed to recede too quickly....
... he had never before felt so thoroughly alive. He was not dead. He
was somewhere in his mind.... He raced through the vast universe itself, with its
numberless galaxies and solar systems. The only sound was his own breathing, and to his
amazement, it was rhythmic and deep....
... the darkness turned to the brightest light, obliterating the
utter darkness of space.... He hung motionless in soundless, weightless animation, a
sense of expectancy coursing through him. This light, like a burst of burning magnesium
so powerful as to chase even a shadow, came from above and behind him.... If this
was the very image of God, could he see it and live? The light seemed to beckon him, to
will him to turn. And so he did.[1]
After a six-page interlude, the
heavenly scene continues with the appearance of a "face ringed with hair massive as
prairie grass." "Are you Jesus the Christ," asks Tsion.
"No, son of the earth, I am
merely one of his princes," answers Michael, the archangel.
The earthly man and the heavenly
angel begin a discussion of theological questions -- some of which God Himself had left
unexplained in His Word. But never mind the uncertainties, the authors have created both
the needed answers and the authority figures to communicate them. Caught up in the
thrills of the plot, it's easy to forget that -- unlike astro-traveler Tsion --
neither Tim LaHaye nor Jerry Jenkins have divine access to the extra-biblical visions
they plant in the minds of their captivated readers.
Instead they illustrate a key
danger of Biblical novels: re-imagining God's Word in the context of enticing man-made
visions. Yes, the book teaches some Biblical principles, godly truths and the message of
salvation. But planting truths in a deceptive context makes the deception all the more
dangerous. A semblance of truth in an unbiblical setting will always help validate the
lie and distort the truth.
God didn't give us freedom to adapt
His
Word to our personal perceptions. When we do so, we alter the holy and absolute nature of the Bible itself.
In a culture of biblically illiterate people eager for new revelations, even
"Christian" writers and marketing experts are tempted to add new thrills to
timeless truths. They may argue that the ends (global appeal of
the gospel) justify the means (imagining words from God's mouth that He never spoke),
but in the end, they have compromised truth and twisted our sovereign God into an
advocate for their own crusade.
Many people see
out-of-body experiences as opportunities to preview heaven. Few know the darker side. In
pagan cultures, shamans often "met" their personal animal spirit (spirit guide
or demon) during childhood near-death experiences which opened doors to demonic spirits
and visions. Apparently, Betty Eadie did. During a serious illness after her mother, a
"full-blooded Sioux Indian", had left her at a boarding school, the girl
slipped into a coma. While in this trance-like state, she saw a spiritual being whose
beard sparkled with light.[2]
"Most shamans receive an 'initiatory call' ... during a personal illness serious
enough to induce a coma (a form of trance),"[3]
wrote William Lyon in his biography of Indian shaman Black Elk.
When authors blend God's truth with occult images, they
corrupt the truth but strengthen and validate the deception. When marketed through
tempting suggestions and stirring images in a context of Biblical prophecy, the
deception tends to bypass mental scrutiny. Fantasy or not, it merges with the memories,
knowledge and impressions that define a person's understanding of reality. Failure to
resist a popular deception will always weaken our resistance to other distortions of
truth. One result is "itching ears" -- a growing preference for feel-good
fables rather than solid truth.
2 Timothy
4:3-4
A
culture desensitized to spiritual deceptions has little resistance to leaders who say what people want to hear.
The Church Growth Movement with its emphasis on meeting the "felt needs"
of "consumers" (potential church members) tempts many church leaders to give feel-good answers to questions
God hasn't answered. [See
The Global Church]
But the Bible warns us not to tamper with His Word.[4]
It tells us that
the "secret
things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and
to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy
29:29) No matter what kinds of contracts are held by Bible
publishers, God, not man, owns His Word and He alone can explain the "secret things" --
in His time.
"Oh, the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are
His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or
who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to
him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be
glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)
1.
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, The Indwelling (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 2000), pages 232-248.
2.
Betty Eadie, Embraced by the Light (Placerville, CA: Gold Leaf Press, 1992), pages
4-5.
3.
Wallace Black Elk and William S. Lyon, Black Elk: The Sacred Ways of a Lakota (New
York, NY: HarperCollins, 1991), page xviii.
4.
"If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be
accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still
pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." Galatians 1:9-10. See also
Jeremiah 23:25-26; 2 Corinthians 2:17 and 4:2; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:3-4.
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