I got an e-mail from a pastor friend who was picking my brain about the whole “I went to Heaven” book industry since one of the largest and most successful fleece-job books is now becoming a movie. I couldn’t be more pleased, since that always turns out to be a smashing victory for biblical fidelity and the proclamation of truth, right?
(Remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Angels?)
Here’s what I said to him (with minor edits to remove names…and make it a tad more entertaining):
Hey there! I’m sorry that I’m responding so late to your e-mail but I’ve been swamped the last little while!
I haven’t written on Gary Wood’s book, nor have I read it, but many people claim to have taken a field trip to Heaven:
(What started as a field trip to the Grand Canyon…)
If you’re going to talk about the issue of heavenly field trips, I’d point out five things:
1. The Apostle Paul went to heaven and was forbidden to talk about what he saw (2 Cor. 12:1-4)…therefore revealing the various secrets of Heaven might not be as high on God’s list of priorities as some people may want you to believe.
2. John the apostle went to Heaven and both explicitly and implicitly states the purpose for the visit:
– An explicit purpose is stated in Rev. 22:10-14 where, at the end of the revelation, Jesus calls people to “wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates” (i.e. turn from their sins and walk in obedience to Christ).
– An implicit purpose is stated in Rev. 2-3 where Jesus calls the churches to clean up their acts because he’s coming soon.
The purpose of all prophecy (regarding the future) is repentance and obedience to the Lord. The outcome of revelation should always be repentance, not encouragement! (You can see this in other places, like 2 Peter 3:11-14).
(I think you misunderstand the metaphor behind my wardrobe…)
3. The general message of people who go to heaven is one of encouragement along the lines of “heaven is real” (or the Bible really is true, etc.), which utterly goes against point #2. The truth of the scripture doesn’t rest on someone’s personal testimony or experience, and people that suggest otherwise are usually selling something.
4. The people who go to Heaven come back with testimonies that blatantly contradict the scripture (therefore the Bible suggests that their interpretation of their experience, whatever it was, is a lie).
5. The people who go to Heaven come back with testimonies that blatantly contradict each other (and they can’t all be true, right?).
In other words, the entire “I went to Heaven” line is illegitimate when considered from every angle. Those testimonies contradict God’s purposes in revelation, the Bible itself, and each other.
I feel fairly confident in calling such stories total pigswill.
Until Next Time,
Lyndon “I have never been to Heaven, but I have been to a Holiday Inn Express!” Unger
Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely... 
Lyndon,
I have an inquiry. Have you ever seen the video that the Voice of Martyrs use promotionally? It is a black and white video that documents Richard Wurmbrand returning to the very cell he was held captive in as he recounts his memories. Shockingly, Wurmbrand recalls his visit to Heaven and that the angels and the LORD Himself told RW that hey were very interested in what he had to preach to them. I was shocked by this. I received this video in an e-mail from VOM. Do you know anything about this? Thanks.
Your friend and Christian brother.
Brad Kennedy
Never heard of it Brad…but I’ll reserve comment until I see it. Link?
Lyndon, I deleted the e-mail months ago. Wish I would have kept it. Going to search you tube and if I find it, I will post the link and the time mark. Have already tried to pull it by google with no success. Thanks.
This is a portion of the video I was referring to. After viewing it a second time, it appears that what RW is reflecting on may have been attributed to the food he was given. If the link does not work, its at youtube. Type in ‘Richard and Subina Wurmbrand’, The clip is 2:05 minutes total. The video I was sent was much longer but I do believe this is a clip of the same. Sadly, my recollection was that RW actually stated that he visited Heaven and delivered his sermon.
Oh man. It doesn’t sound like he is talking like Jesse DuPlantis at ALL. That poor brother was tortured, malnourished, isolated for years, and given narcotics. I dare say even the best of us would have our minds reduced to swiss cheese after all that. I’ll give him an easy pass on any crazy claims.
That rap video for Holiday Inn was pretty tight,
My own rap got no bite,
Gotta kiss my rap dream good bye,
Gone is “SlimJim the Yellow Rapper,” I’ve seen the light…
Thank you Lyndon.
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