Dr. Mike Jones

Dr. Mike, do YOU believe in Out-of-Body Experiences?

No one in human flesh can exactly explain this so-called “phenomenon.” Recent statistical research indicates that as many as fifty percent of people that have has this type of experience have reported some type of phenomenon labelled as “out of body experiences.”

Many have claimed this type of experience: their spirit and soul floating upward; them seeing their physical body lying there on the bed in still-motion, and the doctor pronouncing them dead. The next thing out of their mouth is, “I saw myself speeding through a tunnel of light!” [Permit me to pause here and say, there are those that have reported just the opposite, “I saw myself hurdling through the pitch-dark tunnel, in a sprawling downward motion.” I’ll never forget being on assignment for the Federal agency that I worked for, and one of the secretaries asked me, why does God permit, such-and-such, and I was explaining His ‘sovereignty and providence,’ and she quickly responded, “… Then, I’ll just end up in Hell!” The next morning, she couldn’t wait to find me in the office to tell me, that she went to sleep that night, like any other night, with a casual free thought process; and at mid-night, God showed her a vision of her burning in Hell. He truly got her attention: she asked me Bible questions, throughout that entire day. When she left work that evening, I’d never seen such a radiant glow on a person.]

Medical studies/explanations range from a short circuit of brain wave activities due to a sudden shock of the nervous system. While in a comma state, the mind and subconscious can recall thoughts and ideas through a dream scenario that seems so real, that you can tell it in a way that makes it something you’ve lived through; and last but not least, effects from various doses of medications.

Even though these are some of the answers and reasons given to explain the ‘out-of-body’ phenomenon, by no means have I ruled out the experience being a real spiritual occurrence, because there’s a spirit world running parallel to our natural/physical world, and there are times that experiences happen to us that we nor medical expertise can explain. [Note: I was listening to the popular Christian Radio Broadcast of ‘Focus On The Family,’ and this particular broadcast caught my attention, because they were interviewing a well-known individual, with credibility, and he was sharing a medical phenomenon, that astounded the medical world. He shared with his doctors, that, while they were performing brain surgery on him, the lead surgeon touched a special place on his brain, with the surgical instrument, and as clear as ‘HD’ recording, while sedated with anesthesia, he saw himself at 5-years old, playing with his friends … and could recall point-by-point, what each of his little friends were doing.]

As Christians, we know that sacred Scripture informs us that there’s another higher dimension that awaits a child of God. The Apostle Paul proved it, when he said, in 2 Corinthians 12:1-6, “This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message.”

Then, he also shares with us that the third heaven is where things really happen, and after his out-of-body experience, he longs to get back there, as expressed in Philippians 1:21-23, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.”

Conclusion: We should keep an open mind because there are too many good people whose character and credibility, have withstood scrutiny over the years, and their near-death experiences carry some validity to this interesting phenomenon. Therefore, we shouldn’t simply dismiss these experiences as deceptions.