I came across this story on YouTube Reddit awhile ago, and lamented not being able to find it again, until this morning. Below is the screenshot:
To briefly fill you in, the YouTube Reddit thread is titled: "Doctors, What Were the Most Haunting Last Words You've Heard?" To be fair, most of the stories don't come across as too out of the ordinary (after all, people pass away all the time). But this one stood out.
I'm going to be honest with you: this one did not give me chills in the way that it would give most people chills. My heart does go out to the hospice nurse who witnessed it -- having worked as an activity specialist in a nursing home for over a year, I've seen time and time again glimpses of what our nursing staff has had to put up with (especially in the memory care unit). And of course, my heart does go out to the surviving family members. They each had reason to be shaking and to be too frightened to speak, which, considering the direction I am taking this post, I am very sorry to have to say. Especially the mom who pleaded with her 20(!!!!)-year-old son to receive Jesus' free gift of salvation and forgiveness into his heart.
I'm posting this because I have read and heard people openly mock Christians when we talk about the existence of demons. The common reactions we get mostly fall into one of two camps: 1.) "that's just superstition" or 2.) "that's just a conspiracy theory" -- either way, both coming to the same (false) conclusion that demons somehow aren't real. There is a third category of responses, not directly tied to whether demons exist, but it's been commonly used to "explain" how such events like this could happen, which sadly seems to be rather common. The person who responded to the Reddit post, also shown in the photo clip above, accuses Jesus of being the one to take this guy's soul away and, more to the point, punish him.
I cannot begin to tell you how wrong that statement is. So, to anyone reading this who decidedly does not believe in Jesus, and who decidedly does not believe in the Bible, I'm probably not going to move your heart no matter what I say. But, to those who maybe don't believe in either but aren't opposed to being sold on simply the mere possibility that Jesus and the Bible could be who they say they are, I'd like to review a few fundamental truths that I stand on in these moments:
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10, NKJV
To begin, Jesus Himself said the above statement. He very clearly delineates between Himself and the thief, and very clearly delineates between what He does (comes so that we can have abundant life) vs what the thief does (steals, kills, and destroys). In the above YouTube Reddit post, I think it is self-explanatory that this young man was killed and destroyed, not only in his body by the aggressive cancer in his liver, but also the moment the nurse basically described as a soul-destroying. That young man, whose heart was clearly and obviously hardened toward Jesus, clearly saw something when he turned to the side and all of a sudden his face contorted in horror and he screamed bloody murder. But what he saw wasn't Jesus, because, as the above verse says, He came so that we can have abundant life. I don't know about you, but someone who comes so that we can have abundant life isn't going to scare most people.
More to the point, Jesus also said this about His mission and His purpose:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17, NKJV
As far as I am concerned, Jesus clearly did NOT come to take that angry 20-year-old to heaven and stick him in a corner. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus came into the world to save the world, not to condemn it. But the young man was, just moments before, angrily and defiantly rejecting Jesus, refusing to even consider it. As such, there are consequences for it, which Jesus Himself made clear immediately after He had spoken about His purpose:
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:18-19, NKJV
Because of the young man's attitude and statements, he was condemned. Let's review the facts from the story: 1.) he was a gang member, which means he likely participated in things like stealing and murder; 2.) he spat in his family's faces (likely numerous times); 3.) he cursed Jesus (also likely numerous times). Here are the following Bible verses to back up each point respectively:
You shall not steal. Exodus 20:15, NKJV (Being one of the Ten Commandments, this is pretty self-explanatory.)
You shall not murder. Exodus 20:13, NKJV (Also being one of the Ten Commandments, this is pretty self-explanatory.)
Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?” Matthew 26:67-68, NKJV (Generally, Christians know exactly from which point in Biblical history this passage comes; for non-Christians, this occurred after Jesus had been arrested, condemned, sentenced, and tortured, but right before He was officially crucified. These people that spat in His face were part of the group that not only participated in torturing Him and sending Him to His death, but also delighted in doing so. By Biblical standards, these were not only "not good people," but more horrendous than almost anyone ever in human history.)
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18, NKJV (People who curse Jesus don't tend to believe in Him, let alone receive Him as their Lord and Savior.)
This next one also supplements the last of the three points, to further illustrate the link between the 20-year-old's behavior as told by this hospice nurse, and what happened to him. For full context, please refer to Matthew 25:31-46, but I will highlight a couple of verses for those who only want the points that are pertinent to this post)
Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: Matthew 25:41, NKJV (This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to whether or not there is a hell.)
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Matthew 25:31-33, NKJV (This entire section is titled: The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations. If you read the entire passage, linked a couple paragraphs ago, you will gain the full context of what life after death will really be like for everyone who has ever lived.)
What we can glean from this last passage is: 1.) Jesus will not only NOT come personally to torture you, but instead He will sort all of us essentially between those who are worthy of entry into heaven, and those who are not. I hope I've clearly established that the 20-year-old who made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Jesus, to the point of cursing His name and spitting in his family's faces, fits into the latter category. 2.) As such, what Jesus will instead do is command this young man away from His presence. He clearly wants no part of people like this young man: the statement "depart from Me" from Matthew 25:41 says as much. 3.) Therefore we can conclude that it was NOT Jesus who "showed up and took him to heaven" to sit "in a corner scowling." No; this young man suffered a much worse fate: complete separation from God and from Jesus, which as a result must mean that someone else came for him.
Remember that there's a thief. And remember also that this thief comes to steal and to kill and destroy. Here's another verse to describe our enemy:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8, NKJV
Which then begs a few questions: who is the thief? Who is the devil? And is he really that bad?
I'll answer the last question first. Considering the above passage from Peter's first letter (denoted as 1 Peter in the Bible), the answer is yes. Anyone who actively seeks whom he may devour is pure evil. One could claim, well we have a lot of predators in nature, and they're only looking to devour other animals for sustenance. After all, it's all about survival. First off, they are animals and we are humans. Unlike what science preaches about humans being part of the "animal kingdom," the Bible teaches us in Genesis 1:26-28 that God made a clear delineation between humans and animals, namely that, unlike animals, humans were created in God's own image. As such, the comparison cannot be made to compare certain animals hunting other animals as prey to devour to the devil hunting humans to devour. It's one thing for animals to hunt others for food; it is a whole other thing for the devil to hunt those created in God's own image, that God Himself has set apart. Therefore, it can be said that due to these things, whoever the devil is, whoever the thief is, must truly be evil.
To answer the other two questions: the thief and the devil are one and the same, and that's Satan.
First, a verse to state clearly who the enemy is and call him out by name:
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9, NKJV
Two passages from the Book of Job (chronologically written very early in Biblical history, although currently located toward the middle of the Bible):
7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Job 1:7-12, NKJV
2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”
Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
Job 2:2-7, NKJV
Now, to pause -- I'm aware that these two passages from Job might confuse some and lead them to think that God was "just as responsible" for Job's destruction as Satan was. But let's look at the text more closely. First, Job 2:7 states that it was Satan, and not God, who struck Job with boils. Secondly, while Satan tries in Job 1:11 and Job 2:5 to make it look like God could be the one to destroy Job, in Job 1:12 and Job 2:6 God tells Satan that Job is under his (Satan's) power. Again, Satan is responsible for the destruction in Job's life, not God. Thirdly, in both Job 1:8 and Job 2:3, God tells Satan what He really thinks of Job, which is that he is upright. And, if we recall what Jesus says in John 3:16-17 and John 10:10, God is good and seeks to save the world and that we may have life abundantly. Therefore, He can neither seek nor cause our destruction. Rather, it is Satan who does so.
Moreover, to those who might also think that God and Satan might somehow be on the same team when it comes to punishing or destroying people, think again:
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Matthew 4:1-11, NKJV
Jesus Himself had to contend with Satan, which is putting it lightly. It's safe to say that they're enemies. And if God loves us (again, John 3:16), and Satan hates Him, therefore Satan hates us. And it's not a case of, if a person rejects God then Satan somehow will receive us and look out for that person's best interests. He seeks to steal, kill, destroy, and devour. That's his modus operandus. He didn't go to Job and say, hey, if you worship me, I'll give you everything. He knew that Job was but human. He did try that with Jesus, but that's because he knew how big Jesus was. When Satan went after Job, however, it was to steal, kill, destroy, and devour.
Now that we've established that there is an enemy, and that he seeks to steal, kill, destroy, and devour, let's tackle the questions of whether demons exist. To do so, let's look at Revelation 12:9 again:
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
It states clearly that Satan did have helpers. More on that in a minute. First, let's look at another passage:
1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
Mark 5:1-13, NKJV
This passage clearly states that demons exist. This passage also clearly states that they recognize Jesus' authority. They begged His permission to 1.) not be sent out of the country, and 2.) to instead to be cast into the swine. They did so because they needed His permission to do anything in His presence, and as such they recognized His authority. Jesus has authority. Moreover:
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! James 2:19, NKJV
This passage also clearly states that demons exist. This passage also clearly state that not only do they believe in the God of the Bible, but that they shudder. Why would someone believe in the God of the Bible and shudder? 1.) Because they know how big God is, and 2.) because they realize they are in opposition to God and know that He could wipe them out immediately if He so desired. But this passage, combined with Mark 5 and Matthew 4, and literally all the other passages I have quoted from in this post, also point to the fact that God is good, and Satan and his demons (which totally exist) are evil.
So, to put this all together: from the hospice nurse's story, the 20-year-old committed theft and murder, rejected Jesus repeatedly to the point of cursing Him, and spat in his family's faces. Considering that Jesus, when He comes again, will judge everyone on earth into two camps, those who did His will vs those who didn't, it's safe to say that this young man did not do Jesus' will and did not repent of his sins (I don't know what else he did beyond what the nurse stated, but what was stated was enough in its own right), and as such did not make it into heaven.
Also from the hospice nurse's story, right before he died the young man's face contorted in horror and he screamed bloody murder. That alone tells that whatever he saw (which the others did not see) must have been evil enough to scare him like that, especially considering his attitude just moments before. As such, I believe it is safe to assume that whatever evil presence that scared him like that was not there to just "stick him in a corner somewhere" so he could scowl and pout, but rather to devour him. If one wants to argue that this world is all about survival, "eat or be eaten," because after all that's what we see out in nature, it would not be a stretch to consider the possibility that whatever this young man saw was there instead to devour him and to destroy him.
So, who would likely have been there awaiting his moment of death? Was it Jesus? No, Jesus does not come to kill, destroy or devour. Satan does that. Even if it wasn't Satan himself, it was someone (or a few individuals) working for Satan, coming to devour him. And considering that this man's actions would clearly paint him in the "goats" category, it's also safe to say that by not making it into heaven he did not have Jesus protecting him. Without that protection, this young man had a bounty on him (self-inflicted of course), and it was either Satan, and/or his demons, who were lurking.
The event, even though no one else but the just-deceased could see what was coming for him, shook everyone. According to this hospice nurse, every family member was shaking and too frightened to speak, and it affected the hospice nurse that she needed to immediately take two days off from work. Finally, I might hazard a guess that the hospice nurse posting this was not a believer (just the way she described his family pleading for him to receive Jesus, and her reactions to what she witnessed gives me that impression). But even this event affected her. Even people who don't believe in God or Jesus or the Bible have experienced supernatural events, some like this and some different from this, and deep down they know that something exists beyond the natural realm. But, likely due to an indoctrination of evolutionism and other instances of science "explaining away" Biblical truths, time and time again it has been ingrained in these people also to dismiss it, to "explain it away," and not go further with it. As a result, they remember it, and they remain creeped out by it, but still choose to deny its reality beyond what they experienced in that moment. As a result, they talk about being "creeped out," but choose to never go beyond that.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. John 3:20, NKJV
Neither Satan nor his demons want the reality behind this kind of thing known. They want people to stay in fear but not know the truth about what's going on in times like these. They want people to mock Christians when we explain the truth behind it. It is for these reasons I am posting this today. It is also for these reasons that I'm going into all this Biblical detail, and making this post long. Like I've said before, there are people who have already made up their minds, and likely stopped following this post long before this point. No matter what I do, I am unlikely to change the hearts of those who have already decided what they believe.
However, for others, if you've managed to make it this far, but you haven't yet decided whether to believe in God, to believe in Jesus, to believe the Bible, and most importantly, to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you still have a chance. Now is that chance. I wrote this post because this needs to be exposed. This needs to be brought into the light, not merely to scare you, but merely to tell you about a big, strong, good God who loves you so much that he sent Jesus to die on a cross for you, who conquered death itself so that you can have eternal life. The good news is that there IS a heaven, and it is a place where you most certainly will not have to worry about being stuck in a corner, alone. In fact, heaven is full of a "cloud of witnesses." Read on:
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2, NKJV
While there will be many people who won't make it in to heaven, there will be many who will. The "cloud of witnesses" refers to a large number of people, more than any of us can count. Those are the folks who made (and will make) it in. A word of caution: these people are not in heaven because they were "good persons." Jesus made this point clear:
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 19:16-17, NKJV
Here, Jesus clearly says that no one is good but God. As far as I'm concerned, it nullifies the argument of: "I should get into heaven because I'm a good person!" Secondly, He clearly established that keeping the commandments, primarily the Ten Commandments, is imperative. It's imperative especially if Jesus says so. In this passage, He also clearly outlined that the term "good" is relative, and that "goodness," relatively speaking, is not enough. What is enough is keeping the commandments. But He goes further:
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Matthew 19:20-21, NKJV
I find two things interesting: 1.) after being told the commandments to keep, the young man realizes that he still seems to lack something; and 2.) Jesus states: "if you want to be perfect..."
I'm going to come back to that second point. I want to spend a little more time going deeper regarding keeping the law. The truth about the law is that it is there to show us our sin.
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20, NKJV
As such, on our own, we all fall short of God's standard for righteousness that is worthy of entrance into heaven:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23, NKJV
But:
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:24-26, NKJV
Because of Jesus' blood sacrifice on the cross, He paid the price for our sins and therefore paved the way for us to enter into heaven. A brief side note: to propitiate means to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate. In other words, for us who otherwise would have no hope of pleasing God and entering heaven, Jesus' sacrifice appeased God the Father, conciliated Him, and made Him more favorably inclined to accept us into eternal life. As such, through this particular sacrifice:
But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11, NKJV
Jesus' death paid that price. In Him we can be washed, sanctified (i.e. made holy and acceptable in God's sight), and justified.
It is unfortunately too late for the 20-year-old young man in the story at the beginning of this post. But it is not too late for you. All you have to do is say "yes" to receiving Jesus Christ into your heart and into your life as your Lord and Savior, and to thank Him for His sacrifice, and to receive that as your free gift and free ticket into heaven. Let Him enter your life and have His way with your life, so that you will indeed be keeping the commandments, and that your life will be pleasing to God. In this day and age it I'm finding it critically important to expose lies (especially commonly-believed lies) that keep you from not only realizing the truth about people who reject God, but also that keep you from realizing the opportunity that is available to you.
Yes, hell, Satan, and demons are very much real. But so is God, so is Jesus, and so is heaven. And God loves you so much that He sent His Son into the world so that you might be saved, if you receive Him (Jesus) as your Lord and Savior. I implore you to receive the truth and more important to receive Jesus. It will be the best thing you ever do.
