Living Beyond: Making Sense of Near Death Experiences

Guides and Helpers

On Earth, people sometimes seek after guides from the spiritual realm for a variety of motives. However, this may lead to a plethora of problems because of the involvement of satanic forces, smarter than we are and whose goal is to harm people. Personally, I have seen problems developing in the lives of a number of people who have dabbled in spiritism, some close to me. For our own sakes, the practice is warned against and is condemned in scripture.

When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? (Isaiah 8:19).

I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people (Leviticus 20:6).

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1Timothy 4:1).

The guides arranged by God to help NDErs in the afterlife are totally different from demons and spirit guides. Turmoil and fear at times invade NDErs at their first entry into the spirit world. Guides and helpers from God may appear to allay this fear and assist with their passage. Angels or relatives most commonly fulfil this role, less often an unidentified person or even a ‘Presence’ does so. Many children report being put at ease on being greeted by a beloved pet that had died previously.

Fear is seldom felt on meeting angels for the first time, rather a feeling of ‘I know you’. Dr Mary Neal 2 suggests they have been invisible companions during our lives on Earth, which could explain the familiarity NDErs often feel when meeting them face-to-face in the spirit world.

Although we are rarely aware of angels or their intervention in our world, I believe there are angels all around us every day of our lives. Angels are spirit beings who are mentioned more than 250 times in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible… They care for, protect, and guide God’s people.

Angels can present in different physical forms, from strong masterful men capable of dealing with scary situations, to beautiful gentle women who put the spirits of dying or dead children at ease. Often they are robed. The colour of the belts they wear or the threads woven into their garments have been perceived by NDErs as significant, perhaps for identification purposes or to denote rank. Dale Black  11 provides a typical description:

At this time, I became aware that I was not travelling alone. Accompanying me were two angelic escorts dressed in seamless white garments woven with silver threads. They had no discernible gender but appeared masculine and larger than I was. Their skin tone was light golden brown and their hair fairly short. I could see their emotions, clearly delighted to be ushering me through this wonderland. They moved just behind me, one to the left of me, one to the right.

Angelic guides such as these two are especially helpful during the NDE in indicating what to expect ahead. They subsequently arrange the travelling. Some NDErs record angels even carrying them to Paradise. Jesus in the description of the rich man and Lazarus in Hades, said in his parable ‘The time came when the Beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side’. Abraham’s side or bosom is a term used by Jewish rabbis interchangeably with Paradise, to denote the resting place for spirits after death and before Judgement Day. Hippolytus of Rome and other early Christian writers employed the term similarly.

Several examples follow of helpers sent to guide and support some NDErs in their journey towards Hades.

*Dr Mary Neal 2 was met by a group of spirits. ‘They greeted me with the most overwhelming joy I have ever experienced and could ever imagine… I knew they were sent to guide me across the divide of time and dimension that separates our world from God’s. I also had the unspoken understanding that they were sent not only to greet and guide me, but also to protect me during my journey.’

*Linda 10 was met by her son Scotty, who had died two years previously, but who came in his spirit body to be her escort. ‘I was hovering over the top of the [MRI] tunnel. I was bathed in light, and Scott was bathed in light; it was a sensation of peace… he had his arms around me.’

*Lucas 10 was met by a helper who guided him along the tunnel. He was helped further, as others have been too, by a kind of instinctive knowledge. ‘I knew that at the end of this tunnel there were people waiting for me… I knew why I was there, I knew what the light was, and I knew what was happening. I had no doubt that I was dead.’

*Julie and Robyn 10 died in an accident and entered the afterlife together. ‘This spiritual presence was sharing that we were going to have the experience of rising. That we were going to go someplace that was incredibly beautiful, blissful; nothing that our life experience could possibly begin to prepare us for – but that one of us was going to have to come down again and that trip was going to be extremely painful, and only I would have the strength to do it.’ Julie later revived, while Robyn remained in Paradise. It is significant that until they parted in Paradise, the two women had shared very similar experiences. This suggests that those who do not return have similar afterlife experiences to those who do, at least initially.