The best-selling book 'Heaven is for Real' is the account of 3-year-old boy's alleged experience of Heaven while undergoing emergency surgery. It talks about sitting on Jesus' lap, petting His horse, meeting a little sister he didn't know he had, and much else.
What are we to make of this? I (Pat) believe that Tom McMahon of The Berean Call has the right angle on it, absolutely spot on. Thank God for Berean Call! Here is the link to Tom's article:
http://www.thebereancall.org/node/9165
The thing is - many people have supernatural experiences. Not all are of God. Satan comes as an angel of light! Anything he sends your way is probably going to look great! We HAVE to test everything in the true light of Scripture. I wish that everyone who read the book would also read Tom's article.
My advice would be: put the book in the trash, and put The Berean Call on your favorites list. After all, we KNOW Heaven is real anyway. We do not need a 3-year-old or anyone else to convince us. We have the Scriptures, the very Word of God Himself.
Remember that the Lord Jesus warned us that the end times would be particularly marked by deception. He told us beforehand that there would be many false prophets, false teachers, lying signs and wonders, deceptions of all sorts. So...stick like glue to the Bible! You do not need tales from 3-year-olds, however well meaning and nice-sounding!
For me, the giveaway was the boy's endorsement of the pictures of a handsome Jesus painted by a little girl, saying that was really what Jesus looked like. No one knows what He looks like. The Bible says he was NOT handsome. He deliberately made a body for Himself which was NOT handsome. Isaiah 53:2 says '...he has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.'
Don't' forget, the book of Galatians warns us of 'another Jesus'. (2 Cor 11:4) and 'another gospel' (Gal 1:6).
