Life after death and Colin Butero's Heaven is Real

[enoob57]

With every decision initiates an eternal outcome that effects all others and our Lord has done so to show forth His Glory that we may worship Him in awe of His Person for in the bounded written Word lies the sealed cannon of Scripture Gen-Rev yet lies every answer to every decision all mankind has ever has or will make in orchestration to His Sovereign will of perfection. It is the answer Book of all living for it Came as God The Living Word... Love Steven

This I understand and can agree with. His words to us is all we need to understand life and death, taught to us through His Spirit. Though we can appreciate others testimonies, we live by Him and Him alone. When we encounter others testimonies, we need to place them beside scripture, as with all other teachings we encounter, for testimonies in and of itself is a teaching. When I received a vision where Christ spoke and told me "I AM ALIVE", His words to me can be backed up with all of Scripture, yet how do testimonies about the afterlife compare? Most, if not everything (depending on the testimony), can not be found in scripture with their proof being "God can do anything", so why not believe? If one questions, they are condemned to placing God in a box, yet this box (scripture) is what we are told to compare teaching to.

In the latter days, which I believe we are now in, we are warned to be vigilant and keep watch. One of our duties to be watchful of is false teachings, with just enough of a lie woven within truth to almost turn the very elect. If we continue to accept extra-biblical teachings as truth, we are, in fact, accepting another gospel. Being wise, we must be as the Berean's and compare what we hear against scripture. If it is not there, shelf it below truth, either as a possibility that cannot be proven one way or another, or as heresy and discarded completely.

Nobody, that I can remember, has labeled this child as lying, but have shown concern that he has been led. A child's imagination can be molded by those whom he trusts completely, his parents. I do admire the love he has for God and his trust he has for his parents, there are just too many extra-biblical statements I have read here to be able to accept this testimony as complete truth. No, I have not read the book, and I don't plan to either. From what people have posted, one could rightfully say that I have predetermined that, though the child believes he died and went to heaven, someone "missed something" and this book needs to be read, not as a writing of complete truth, but an "experience" a child had. Some say it is a vision ... others a dream. I'll stand back and allow them to judge as they will.

All in all, if there is one place in anyone's testimony that does not line up with, or backed up with scripture, it is looked upon as questionable to me. I refuse to accept anything that cannot be backed up with scripture as truth because someone tells me that "God can do anything". God is not being examined here, the testimony of what a four year old wrote is.

You and I have Witness of God's Workings within us in that His Word is the objective source For His Spirit to lead our spirit into the Kingdom He has went away to prepare for us. I am going to warn you right now I am a hugger I have always hugged my family ... so when we get home to that prepared place and meet-> expect a hug! Love Steven

[2Joyful]

I don't doubt this kid... So he may have missed so marks..but he's a kid. I doubt if I had one, I could come back and be able to tell it all. He had a supernatural experience and I am not going to touch that with a ten foot pole.

[Guest man]

For those who believe this boy may have seen a vision from God, how do you deal with the aspect that the vision became more elaborate over time? I do not see that aspect in any vision given from God in the Word.

"His vision became more vivid as time passed". Plus, he didn't talk about this right away. Some time had passed from the time he had his experience until the time he told people about it.

[Press Forward]

9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Sounds like the 4 year old's journey to me. So God can reveal to us thru the Holy Spirit, what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and even what no human mind has conceived...the things God has prepared for those who love him. Sounds like the four year old had a great love for Jesus. And Jesus came to him in a time of need.

I believe some of Jesus's chosen are taken directly to Heaven...John the Baptist...according to Jesus ...there was no man greater than John the Baptist on earth...doesn't surprise me he is already in Heaven.

Many of the invited will end up in spiritual places not necessily heaven (Hades, Sea, Death and whereever else Jesus decides to leave them). Until it is determined if there name is written in the Lambs Book of Life and hasn't been blotted out.

Somebody was concerned that if we are like Jesus and Jesus didn't have wings we wouldn't have wings.

Jesus can take many forms...remember the transfiguration...remember when the disiples didn't even recognize him...Mary didn't even recognize him ...Revelation he is described differently...

Some really put limitations on Jesus...and the Spiritual Realms...The Bible is a love story...if a Child's journey involves pleasant things of love....and so many are critical of it and the Holy Spirit...

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.

Calling the Holy Spirit a liar and of Satan...your better off saying nothing at all...

15.Psalm 115:3

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

16.Psalm 135:6

The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.

25.Daniel 4:35

All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”

Edited May 9, 2011 by Press Forward

[~candice~]

For those who believe this boy may have seen a vision from God, how do you deal with the aspect that the vision became more elaborate over time? I do not see that aspect in any vision given from God in the Word.

"His vision became more vivid as time passed". Plus, he didn't talk about this right away. Some time had passed from the time he had his experience until the time he told people about it.

Exactly. Not something I expect from a vision from God.

[Guest man]

There is enough scripture to back everything the Child described.

[Openly Curious]

name='Openly Curious' timestamp='1303519154' post='1669558'

name='Press Forward' timestamp='1303483270' post='1669375

So openly curious

just for the record...r u calling the child a liar, deceiver and child of satan.....and specifically what bothers u about his experience......when I read the posts I see jealousy and enviousness of a nine year old child...and it is sad that people can't get some joy and hope.... from this child's experience..

.

Just for the record "No" I.m not calling the child a liar, deceiver or a child of Satan.

If I had done this you would not have had to ask me if I did call the child a child of Satan. But Satan in his hopes will try to deceive as many as possible in order to bring them back into his clutches once again.....for......

"we wrestle not against flesh and blood "but" against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places ( Ephesians 6:12 ).

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after thee flesh: ( For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; ( 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 )

What bothers me specifically about this child's experience ? That it's in opposition to the things taught to us in scripture. Dr. Winston also observed and explained in scripture the reasons why. The serpent in the garden mixed lies into the things God told Adam about the tree of life and the tree of the knowlede of good and evil. In order to deceive Eve so that all of the human race would be born with the fallen sinful nature of Adam.

You say that when you read the posts that you saw jealousy and inviousness of a nine year old. Exactly how so ?

It's sad, but why can't people get some joy and hope from the child's experience?

There is "joy" in havng children for they can be gentle, kind, loving and full of laughs along the way. But as far as my joy and hope is concerned it's solely comes from the words of God and he alone. I can't trust in things that are unfounded and are not found written in the scripture which IMO is another gospel. There are joys and hopes in this world we may experience. But they are not the joy and hopes that is in Christ Jesus. For there is eartly (worldly) and there is spiritual (heavenly).

It is Christ who is our blessed hope that we should put our hope in. I'm not being harsh though it may sound like it but children do not have the ability to redeem. In light of taking what the child said, as the true word of God and placing our joy, hopes and faith into the false prophesy IMO that the child spoke forth. Instead we must take caution and judge the things we hear by the scripture always. I never said, that the child had the ability to redeem but Exactly the opposite.

In the book of James 3:1 MY BRETHREN, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater damnation.

There are many voices in this world that we hear from the time we get up till the time we go to bed. Example, we hear many voices on the radio, TV, co-workers, on the outside of our home and from our neighbors, etc., But the apostle James says not to let any of those voices master us. For there is only one Master and that master is Jesus

John 10:3-5, 26-27 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. (4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. (5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers......(26) But ye believe me not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. (27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Jesus is the door of the sheep and if anyone wants to be saved they have to come by way of the cross and receive Christ as their Lord and Saviour confessing their sins cleansed by the blood, believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that Jesus was buried and resurrected on the third day. If people refuse to go through Jesus being the door then they are not in the fold of God as they must be born again. We are not to come up under the mastery of any of the voices we hear in this world except for the one voice of the Good Shepherd found written in the Word of God. For the voice of strangers we have to turn our ears away from following. There are many voices but there is only one voice of the Good Shepherd being our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. For no man can serve two Masters either he will hate the one and serve the other.

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; ( Titus 2:13-15 ) It is in this that we have our hope in as it was Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might reedem us.

In heaven we shall see and hear what eye hath not seen nor hear hath heard not in part but in the fullness of the knowledge of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9 & Isaiah 64:4

I believe in visions and dreams spoken forth by the prophet Jonah chapter 2 in the last days we are currently living. Jonah's prophecy came to pass in Acts as apostle Peter said, this is that which was spoken by the prophet Jonah so I do believe visions and dreams happen. But if any of those visions and dreams are not in line or in unity with the words of God in scripture then they are false whether it be children, handmaids, your old men and women and the young men and women. But not all of what is spoken forth through visions and dreams bears witness with the scripture. We are to judge what is being said as we are to judge the things we hear by scripture which is the only way to judge the words that come from the visions and dreams as being in the truth.

Visions and dreams whether true or false fulfills the scripture in Joel chapter two about people having them. But not everything is true and we are to beware of false teachers and false prophet as Jesus warned us would come.

[Openly Curious]

name='Press Forward' timestamp='1303520510' post='1669566

name='~candice~' timestamp='1303515494' post='1669530'

name='Press Forward' timestamp='1303486719' post='1669385'

·

PressForward

Ezekiel 1:28

Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

This confirms there is a good chance Jesus has a rainbow horse. Maybe in the child innocense the horse appeared to be rainbow

because the horse was next to Jesus and his radiance...or maybe the horse was rainbow colored. Did this occur to any of the biblical scholars fault finding the child?

OC---reply

If something is confirmed or vaildated it leaves no doubt. If there is any chance he didn't have a rainbow colored horse, nothing has been confirmed.

[Guest Butero]

I believe some of Jesus's chosen are taken directly to Heaven...John the Baptist...according to Jesus ...there was no man greater than John the Baptist on earth...doesn't surprise me he is already in Heaven.

Many of the invited will end up in spiritual places not necessily heaven (Hades, Sea, Death and whereever else Jesus decides to leave them). Until it is determined if there name is written in the Lambs Book of Life and hasn't been blotted out.

I can see you believe a lot of things, but can you explain why you believe what you believe? I know Enoch and Elijah were taken straight to heaven because scripture tells me that is the case. I know John and Paul were given the opportunity to see things in heaven, because I see that in scripture. I believe this, but I can tell you why I believe it. Why do you believe what you believe? Why do you believe that "many of the invited will end up in spiritual places not necessily heaven (Hades, Sea, Death and wherever else Jesus decides to leave them? Until it is determined if there name is written in the Lambs Book of Life and hasn't been blotted out?" Doesn't God already know if their name will be in the Lamb's Book of Life? Why are you so convinced the child's vision is real and not imagined? I would never call the child a liar, but I have nothing in scripture to convince me that what they saw was anything more than a dream, created by the imagination of a religious child.

[Littlelambseativy]

This is from the 'Prpphecy Blog" another view -

Is 'Heaven Is for Real' for Real?: An Exercise in Discernment

By T. A. McMahon

The Berean Call

There have been quite a number of books written by or about people who claim to have personally visited Heaven. Some of these authors profess to be Christians while others do not. The descriptions of their experiences vary regarding such things as entering into a dazzling white light at the end of a dark tunnel and being greeted by deceased loved ones, or being in the presence of God and seeing the shed feathers of angels dotting the grand floor of His throne room. Many of their stories contain information that would seem to be beyond their ability to know at the time - or at all.

Although these individuals supply much information, the content raises many questions. Obviously, everything they say can't be true because some of the content in one book contradicts what's written in others. How do we know who is giving us an accurate and truthful account?

A biblical Christian might say that he would compare what they say with what is presented in the Scriptures about Heaven. If it rings true to the Word of God, then it must be true. Well, yes and no. Yes, it must be true to Scripture. What is presented certainly cannot be at odds with what the Bible teaches about Heaven; nevertheless, just because it conforms to Scripture doesn't prove that the person's declaration or experience of being in Heaven actually took place.

I know a good deal about Heaven from my study of the Bible. If I told you that I had recently visited there and only communicated what I knew was recorded in the Bible about it, you couldn't object to what I said on the basis of my being biblically inaccurate. Accuracy, however, is not the only criterion for biblical discernment. There are many other instructions and examples that we must take into consideration. For example, the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12 of a "man in Christ" (no doubt Paul himself) who was caught up to Heaven. He didn't know at the time whether it was an experience in which his spirit had left his body, or a vision while his spirit remained in his body. Nevertheless, he states that what he saw and heard in paradise was not lawful for a man to utter. Paul's experience was followed by a humbling infirmity, which he states that God allowed him to suffer "lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations..." (2 Corinthians 12:6-7). That isn't always the case in Scripture. The Apostle John obviously was given permission to declare what he witnessed in Heaven in the Book of Revelation. This would seemingly apply as well to the writer of the Book of Job.

But can we be sure that the visions and personal experiences of these writers are true? Absolutely - because their words are found in the Scriptures. Of the Word of God, the psalmist writes, "Thy word is true from the beginning...," and Jesus said, "Thy word is truth" (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17). That is the ultimate verification that the experiences of those men of God indeed took place as they described. Furthermore, since the canon of Scripture was closed in the first century A.D., no one since that time can have his vision of - or his alleged visit to - Heaven validated in the same way.

Jesus gave us another insight to help our discernment when He told of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man, who had died, was in a place where he was tormented and suffering remorse. Yet he begged Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers so that they would not end up with him in "this place of torment." Abraham's response was: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." And again, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:19-31).

Armed with the above scriptural teachings for the purposes of discernment, let's apply these and other biblical admonitions and critical questions to a book that is having an impact on Christendom and the American public. Heaven Is for Real was published in 2010 and made the New York Times Best-Sellers list. It has also been the cause of controversy in some fellowships, as believers have been divided in their support of and disputation over the book's veracity.

Heaven Is for Real is a nonfiction account that documents the experience of a three-year-old boy who believes that he visited Heaven. The story is told by the boy's father, an evangelical pastor. He and his wife initially seem to be rather startled by their son's revelations, which he shares over a period of about three years. There is nothing not to like about this Christian family, and much that is quite admirable. The little boy is a typical three- or four-year-old - hardly precocious, but simply matter of fact in relating what he seems to have experienced.

That experience took place when three-year-old Colton was undergoing emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. Not too long afterward, he told his parents that he saw them praying for him outside the operating room. When they asked how he knew what they had been doing he said, "Cause I could see you....I went up out of my body and I was looking down and I could see the doctor working on my body. [scripture tells us that death takes place when the spirit vacates the body. Yet there was no medical report of a clinical death during Colton's surgery.] And I saw you and Mommy. You were in a little room by yourself, praying; and Mommy was in a different room, and she was praying and talking on the phone" (pp. xx-xxi). The accuracy of Colton's disclosure rocked his parents to the core. But that was just the beginning of revelations that far and away defy natural explanations.

Colton's other revelations included: angels singing "Jesus Loves Me" to him; his sitting on Jesus' lap; meeting John the Baptist and the angel Gabriel; petting Jesus' rainbow-colored horse; his descriptions of Jesus' wounds and attire, including a crown with a pink diamond that Jesus wore; the prevalence of kids in Heaven; his description of everyone there having wings like the angels - all except Jesus, that is; his being recognized by his great grandfather, who died decades before Colton was born; and the description of God as "really, really big."

Although most of Colton's observations in Heaven are not outside the realm of possibility of what could take place there, they are nevertheless extra-biblical insights and information, some being more problematic than others. For example, Colton explains that "Everyone kind of looks like angels in heaven," sporting wings (the size of which are dependent on the individual's size) and a halo. Since the resurrection of believers' transformed physical bodies has yet to take place, their form now in Heaven must lack physical attributes. Hence the need for wings of whatever size makes no sense. Moreover, other than the descriptive visions of the heavenly creatures known as cherubim and seraphim and the decorative designs in the Temple and upon the Mercy Seat, angels that appear to humanity are never described as having wings.

Many supporters of the book claim that any and all objections pale in the face of the supernatural knowledge that Colton reveals - things that were humanly impossible for him to know. For example, he said that he had met his other sister in Heaven. When told by his mother that Cassie was his only sister, his shocking response was, "No....I have two sisters. You had a baby die in your tummy, didn't you?" (p. 94). Colton had never been told of the "painful episode" of the miscarriage, and his parents never knew the gender of the fetus. Colton added, "In heaven, this little girl ran up to me, and she wouldn't stop hugging me....She said she just can't wait for you and Daddy to get to heaven" (p. 96). That revelation seemed to be the most convincing for Colton's parents that their son had indeed visited Heaven: "We had wanted to believe that our unborn child had gone to heaven. Even though the Bible is largely silent on this point, we had accepted it on faith. But now, we had an eyewitness: a daughter we had never met was waiting eagerly for us in eternity" (p. 97).

Was Colton truly an eyewitness in Heaven to everything he described? Much of it is quite mindboggling, notwithstanding the fact that all of it is extra-biblical. Yet it provides alleged insights about Heaven; e.g., a girl dies as a fetus, grows into a little girl in heaven, and then is eagerly awaiting her parents' arrival. What if one or both parents reject the gospel? Would there then be disappointment in a place of perfect bliss?

Consider how Colton's father mentioned that "the Bible is largely silent" on a certain issue. It is also completely silent on the specific things that Colton has revealed. This raises the question as to why God would leave out something of value for us in His inerrant Word, which was given through His prophets "as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21) - only to reveal it later through a little boy (as well as many others who make similar claims). On the back cover of the book we read, "Heaven Is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child."

The Bible is God's precise, absolute, and eternal communication to mankind (Luke 21:33; Hebrews 4:12). It did not come by nor was it left up to the will or imagination of man (2 Peter 1:20). Paul writes, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Our faith can be childlike, but it is faith placed in God's Word, not in anyone's alleged "eyewitness" account, be they a child or an adult. Peter was an eyewitness to an incredible event. He saw Jesus supernaturally transfigured before his very eyes and heard the voice of God. We can be sure that the personal experience he had was true because it's reported in Scripture. Nevertheless, he tells us that his personal experience (or anyone else's) is not as trustworthy as the Word of God:

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed" (

2 Peter 1:19

).

At the time and in the years following Colton's experience, his dad was very interested in having him describe Jesus. He wrote that "as a pastor, I wound up spending a lot of time at hospitals, in Christian bookstores, and at other churches - all places where there are lots of drawings and paintings of Christ....When we came across a picture of Jesus we'd ask Colton, 'What about this one? Is that what Jesus looks like?'" (p. 93). Time after time, Colton would reject the dozens of misrepresentations. Then, nearly three years after Colton's surgery, he was shown a portrait of Jesus painted by a young girl named Akiane, who also claims to have have visited Heaven beginning at the age of four. Colton's reaction was, "Dad, that one's right." His confirmation convinced his father: "Knowing how many pictures Colton had rejected, Sonja [his mother] and I finally felt that in Akiane's portrait, we'd seen the face of Jesus. Or at least a startling likeness" (p. 145).

In Exodus, we find a definitive statement against anyone attempting to make an image of God (Exodus 20:4-5). That applies to images of Jesus, whether of statues or great religious paintings or on the silver screen. One of the many problems is that they inevitably lead to idolatry, which in turn breeds superstition and occultism. Another related problem is that they must all be false representations because they have no basis in Scripture - other than being condemned. Jesus therefore could not encourage a young girl to paint His portrait.

Those who believe that He did encourage Akiane (because she could then point people to Him through her amazing art skills and her testimony concerning Him) need to compare with Scripture what she, at age 16, says about Jesus:

"Jesus shared with us: 'I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to my Father, but through me.' I feel that he invited us to participate in the divinity. Each of us is one of kind [sic] original path to the way of truth and light, and without our individual love and effort we cannot understand and reach God" (

http://akiane.com/blog/?tag=akiane

).

Her interpretation rejects Jesus as being the only way for mankind to be reconciled to God. It opposes what Jesus taught in favor of Satan's promise of divinity to Eve (

Genesis 3:5). Akiane's paintings and words clearly reflect "another Jesus."

What puzzles many people is how Colton, as a three-year-old at the time of his experience, could attain information, most of which was completely foreign to him at his young age. His parents don't know for sure but believe their son received the visit to Heaven as a gift from God. Their "faith," however sincere and biased toward their little boy, does not have the support of Scripture. How, then, was he able to describe what he did without the input gained from actually being in Heaven? No one can say for sure - not even little Colton. He was in an operating room, surrounded by attending medical personnel, and under the influence of an anesthesia-produced altered state of consciousness.

What we do know about that and other types of drug-induced conditions of mind (even dream states, meditation, and an overworked imagination) is that multitudes of people have reported experiences that seem to validate everything from clinical or near-death events to past-lives journeys to abductions on UFOs. They also reveal information for which they had no basis of knowledge prior to their experiences. It may be that an altered state of consciousness creates a condition in which the mind is like a blank screen, open to outside input. Spirit entities, whose goal it is to undermine the Word of God and deceive the world, might have that ability to program the blank screen and could therefore take advantage of anyone in such a highly susceptible condition (see Dave Hunt, Occult Invasion, pp. 187-90). But again, no one knows for sure how such things take place.

The critical issue for discernment is not "how it works" but "what is being communicated." All that a Bible-believing Christian can do in ascertaining the truth of a matter is to be vigilant by "searching the Scriptures" to see if what is being presented is true to the full counsel of God's Word (Acts 17:11). If we don't do that, whether we are young believers or mature in the faith, we are just as vulnerable to false teachings as those whose circumstances have directly opened them to deceptive experiences.

A believer's life in Christ is shaped by a great many experiences that the Lord allows for our growth in Him. It begins with one's believing the gospel, to which sound doctrine is added. As we abide in Christ's teachings, our discernment will increase, thus protecting us from "being carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14). Let us therefore take to heart Paul's warning:

"I have laid the foundation [of the gospel], and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon" (

1 Corinthians 3:10

).