Return

 

I have read a number of books on this subject, returning from death, and there are some common threads that run through every one of them.

 

"Return From Tomorrow" is about a young army recruit, Dr. George Ritchie, who in 1943, died from a severe case of pneumonia. He was covered with a sheet and nine minutes later when the orderly returned to prepare him for the morgue, noticed that his hand had moved and called a doctor to the bed where they injected adrenaline into his heart and he came back to life. He was without pulse, breath, or blood pressure during that time.

 

In the book, he relates what happened to him during the time he was dead. The story is quite amazing and puts a different slant on some preconceived ideas about hell, heaven, space and time, and the whole spirit world.

When we read a book on this subject, we can take one of two stands. We can reject it outright and say it is fabricated, or we can believe it and take it at face value. For me, there is an indication that would make it more believable, and that is to determine if the experience had an impact on the life of the individual who had the experience. In the case of Mr. Ritchie, it certainly did. Apart from the intense yearning to return to the places he visited, and to be in the presence of Jesus, he developed a new sense of purpose for his life and a new understanding of our mandate, which is to love one another.

What are the common threads? Intense light, intense feeling of acceptance and love, time travel, seeing other beings, both angels and humans, a yearning to go again, unique colours and music, an utter lack of fear of death, and a desire to share the experience. Added to these threads, Mr. Ritchie tells of his glimpse into a unique kind of hell, travelling vast distances in what seemed seconds, glimpses of the future, and communication that was all encompassing but non-verbal.

 

 If every living person was guaranteed a trip to Paris sometime in his life, would it not be natural to want to know a bit about Paris before your trip was due? I am not saying that Paris is like heaven, or like hell, but we all have a built in curiosity as concerns our future.  Because I will die some day (yes, it is true) I am fascinated by this subject. Those who are not are probably in denial.

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