The Milk of the Word

Getting back to Uncle Ned, at the point of Uncle Ned’s death, his soul function rapidly decreases, leaving his spirit as the predominant cognitive source of his being.  This results in a dramatically increased consciousness of spirit beings such as angels and demons, and events occurring within the spirit world.  Uncle Ned has been living in a physical world, dealing with physical issues and responding to physical stimuli.  With some possible exceptions, this has resulted in Uncle Ned’s lack of awareness or the pushing aside of the processes of his spirit such as thoughts, emotions, and responses to spiritual stimuli.  Now that the soul processes are no longer extant, the spirit processes are dominant and Uncle Ned is prepared to function in the spirit world, an environment that is coexistent with the physical world with which we are so familiar and is every bit as real and active as that physical world.

Many who have gone through a “near death experience” have reported looking down upon their physical bodies on the hospital bed or operating table on which they had been lying at the time of their death.  They reportedly observed events and heard conversations that took place outside the room in which they died.  This would certainly seem plausible, but let’s remember, these are stories told by humans, for the most part humans that have not committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and may be the subject of satanic influence with the aim of misleading many.  We are much better off to minimize speculation, suspect the credibility of unknown witnesses, and hold fast to the truth of Scripture.

Getting back to Scripture, we know from Luke 16:22, that those who have received Christ will have their spirits escorted by angels as they travel to their next point of temporary residency.

22 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham''s side.  The rich man also died and was buried (Luke 16:22, NIV).

In the story being told by Christ in Luke 16, Lazarus’ spirit was escorted to a place in Hades described as a place of comfort and referred to by Christ, while he hung on the cross and spoke to the thief hanging beside Him, as Paradise.  Once again, there are voluminous stories of those reporting seeing angels just as they die.  In these cases there is Scriptural support for their claims, lending a substantially greater degree of credibility.

If you will permit me one more digression, I would like to tell you about the death of another one of my brothers-in-law (my wife had a rather large family, three brothers and four sisters), Waymon Lawson, also lately of Savannah, Georgia.  Waymon had been struggling with heart problems and had already had two by-pass surgeries.  Somehow in the concern over his heart condition and its treatment, the diagnosis of his cancer was overlooked.  By the time it was found, it had spread to the point that it was terminal and in just a little over three months he was gone.  On the evening of his death, Waymon was laying in his hospital bed at St. Joseph Hospital.  His wife Ann and his daughter Pam were in the room with him.  They had been talking during the afternoon (Waymon was still fully cognizant) and Waymon had just closed his eyes to get some rest.  Ann had gone to the door of the room to greet a visitor who had come to extend their concerns.  Pam was seated by her father’s bed.  Pam told us later, that at the time her father died, he sat bolt upright in bed with a surprised expression on his face, nodded his head a couple of times, as if in agreement, and then lay back down and was gone.  Once again, I can not tell you with certainty what transpired, but I can tell you what I believe happened.

I know Waymon was a born again believer in Jesus Christ and by virtue of that fact I know from Luke 16:22, that his spirit would have an angelic escort to its next place of residence when it departed his body.  As Waymon’s soul began to shut down, I believe he became aware of one or more angels in his presence.  Angels, as amply testified to by Scripture, can present an awesome appearance to those who have never seen one before, resulting in his sitting bolt upright in bed with the surprised expression on his face.  At that point, some communication took place between Waymon and one of the angels, probably something similar to, “Waymon, it’s time.  Are you ready to meet your Lord?”  Waymon’s response was a double nod of his head implying that he was ready, after which he lay back down on the pillow and his spirit departed his body.  Just as Lynn and Wesley liked the ide