I’ve just finished reading a book that my cousin in Arizona recently recommended titled, “Heaven – An Unexpected Journey”, by James D. Woodford along with his ghost writer, Dr. Thom Gardner. I’ve been an avid reader all my life and even more so now that I’m retired. However, my passion for reading now is almost exclusively limited to reading the Bible and any and all books about God and the Christian faith. There has been a proliferation of books lately written by people who say they have been to heaven and back. I don’t believe everything I read but I absolutely do believe some of these stories to be true from people who say they have been to heaven. I believe Mr. Woodford.
By the same token, I also think some of these books are written by someone out to make a quick buck. You must be discerning. You must read all books of this genre with your BS detector up. If you’re a spiritually mature Christian you should be able to detect the fakes easier than most nonbelievers who may be searching for the truth of God. If you know your Bible you’ll know when people are not aligned with God’s Word.
Genesis 5:24 – And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Malachi 3:6 – For I am the Lord, I do not change.
Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you.
The first question you have to ask yourself is would God actually bring someone to heaven before their appointed time to die? Has God done this before? The answer is yes on both counts if we believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. We know God translated the prophets Enoch and Elijah directly to heaven without either of them having to die. We know the Apostle Paul made a visit to heaven; probably the time he was stoned to death in Lsytra, which is in modern-day Turkey. The Apostle John was brought to heaven to see his revelation of Christ, which became the last book of the New Testament.
In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, the Apostle Paul is referring to himself in the third person as the man who was caught up to heaven. If this account is in the Bible it happened because Paul’s words flowed from the Holy Spirit and God does not lie. All the accounts of the people I’ve just mentioned who have had documented visits to heaven are just the ones we know about. There may be other past occurrences of people having gone to heaven. We just don’t know. The fact God mentions Paul being caught up to heaven twice in the same verse of Scripture below means it’s important for us to know.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 – I know a man who fourteen years ago-whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows-such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man-whether in the body or out of the body I do not know-how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.
2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
You might say that was then and this is now; that God does not do that kind of stuff today. You would be wrong because the Bible makes it clear that God does not change at all at any time. God still performs miracles and wondrous works today just like he did in the Old Testament times. That means if God took people to heaven back then he is probably doing the same thing today. We’ll never again see God part the sea or appear as a burning column of fire or as an ominous glory cloud because we now have Jesus Christ and that’s all we need going forward.
God speaks to us now through his word and through his Son Jesus Christ. All believers since Christ, and because of Christ, now have 24/7 access to the throne room of God through prayer because they are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All believers since Pentecost of 33 AD are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God as their constant friend and helper. Jesus is on his throne as our Mediator with God. God has us covered like a blanket without all the theatrics of the past. Christians are so blessed to be living in these end times.
Psalm 34:15 – The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.
Psalm 102:17 – He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer.
Psalm 6:9 – The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.
My second question is why would God take the trouble to bring someone to heaven and show them the glory of God before their appointed time? The answer is God wants them to testify to the glory of heaven and the majesty of God. God never acts on a whim or does anything haphazardly. God always has a good reason foe everything he does. We just need to figure out what that reason is if we can. We know that God has revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ and through his word. God is multiple in everything he does and God never stops trying to reach mankind with the truth of God through various ingenious methods.
Christian writers are equipped by the Holy Spirit to give their testimony of God and reveal spiritual truths through books, articles, interviews and television programs, etc. God is reaching the whole world with the gospel message of Christ just as he said he would. Christian bloggers are the latest venue that God is using to reach out to believers and nonbelievers alike about the truth of God’s Word. For years I felt the Holy Spirit pushing me to write about God; never dreaming I would ultimately wind up as a Christian blogger. Yet here I am serving God the best way I know how. Christian blogging is nothing more than passive witnessing for Christ.
Hebrews 1:1-2 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the worlds.
2 Corinthians 13:1 – By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.
Romans 10:13 – For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Getting back to the book, “Heaven, an Unexpected Journey”, I can feel the passion in Mr. Woodford’s writing so I know he’s writing from his heart. I detect no deceit in Jim’s story. Everything Mr. Woodford describes seeing in heaven confirms what Scripture says. James was saved from hell by uttering six simple words. “God forgive me…God save me!” That is the grace of God at work. Nothing that happened to Mr. Woodford while he was in heaven contradicts God’s Word in any way. The Bible says the truth of any matter is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. In this instance we have the testimony of Lorraine, Mr. Woodford’s devout Christian wife, that what Jim says is the truth.
We also have the testimony of Jim’s co-writer, Dr. Thom Gardner, who is a pastor and an internationally known author and teacher of other pastors on how to walk with God. Mr. Gardner is a spiritually mature man of God and Mr. Woodford wouldn’t be able to fool him if he was lying about going to heaven. One of the reasons I believe Jim’s story is because Dr. Gardner does. I was so impressed with Dr. Gardner that I went on Ebay and purchased six of his books for my reference library. I can tell Dr. Thom Gardner walks humbly with God.
Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
1 Timothy 2:5 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ.
The most important reason I believe everything in James Woodford’s book is the changes made in his life. James was not a Christian; never read his Bible and never went to church unless he was forced to go on special occasions. James Woodford was all about himself; how much money he could make and what he could buy with that money. James came back to earth a changed man. Seeing Jesus face to face will do that to you. James became a devout Christian overnight who now shares his story with audiences throughout North and South America.
James also witnesses about the glories of heaven to people in hospices who are near the end of their lives. Only something very real and dramatic could effect such a change in a person. I think back to the conversion of Paul on the Damascus road when Jesus appeared to Paul and temporarily blinded him for three days. Paul went from the number one enemy of Christians to a devout preacher of God’s Word almost overnight. Only a face to face encounter with Jesus Christ could make such a drastic change in Paul in so short a time. James and Paul both met Jesus face to face with similar results so both stories are true.
Proverbs 23:12 – Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.
1 Timothy 4:13 – Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The fact that James Woodford was clinically dead and had no brain activity for eleven hours and then came back to life without any brain damage is a miracle. The fact that Jim also had a rare and always fatal disease yet he came back from heaven without this disease is a second miracle. What are the odds of two miracles happening to the same person at the same time? With God there are no odds because all things are possible. The most important thing James learned in heaven, and his advice to all of us, is to study God’s Word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. When Jim met Jesus he was also told by Jesus to, “Go back and tell your brothers and sisters of the wonders we have shown you.” Jesus was talking about the body of Christ. Jesus was also talking about witnessing for Christ to all the world.
Romans 4:4 – Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who believe in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
James Woodford had to die and go to heaven to discover Jesus Christ and to find out what his purpose in life was. For the vast majority of believers the journey of faith is just the opposite. Heaven comes to us through the Bible and Jesus Christ is revealed in its pages. As believers we spiritually die with Christ; we don’t have to physically die before we find God. In both instances, we receive salvation unto eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In both cases, we see the love, mercy and grace of God manifested in our lives. I discovered my purpose on this earth to be the same as Jim’s, which is just another proof his story is true. That’s why the twin themes of my blog site are, “studying God’s Word” and “witnessing for Christ.” God gives all believers the same marching orders. What are you waiting for?