What do you think about those books about people who say they died, went to heaven, and came back to tell people about their experiences? There was a whole mess of these books about 10-20 years ago, such as The Boy Who Went to Heaven, Heaven is for Real, and 90 Minutes in Heaven, to name a few. They even made some movies about the books. At the end of the day, though, I’m very skeptical and not a fan. These stories aren’t biblical.
What does the Bible say about going to heaven and coming back? John went to heaven and saw visions of Revelation, judgment and wrath, blessing and glory. He was in awe and fell at Christ’s feet as though dead (Rev 1:17). Isaiah had a vision of heaven and God on the throne and he cried, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).” Daniel was told to seal up parts of his visions (Dan 8:26, 9:24, 12:4). Paul went to the 3rd heaven, “caught up in paradise,” and, “heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter (2 Cor 12:4). Yes, none of these men died and came back, but we can learn from their experiences. And, there are instances of those who died and came back (Lazarus, the widow’s son, Eutychus, those that Jesus healed) and Jesus Himself died and rose, but no one reported anything they did or saw when they were there. There was the time Saul went to the witch of Endor and talked with Samuel, who was dead, but no one’s recommending we do that today. I don’t see where any of these “visit heaven” books line up with what the Bible says.
We need to know the Bible and all its truths. Every book we read needs to go through the filter of the Bible. A book (and especially a Christian book) is only as true or worthy as it lines up with the Bible. All 66 books of the Bible are God’s Word to us, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. “The Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God and it is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.” These books about visiting heaven just don’t “gel” with what the Bible says. We have enough in our Bibles today to know all we need to know about heaven.