How They Faced Death
The hope which the Apostle Paul had at the end of his life stands in contrast to the despair of King Saul. These two men who shared the same name and tribe were given to know that they would soon die, as well as certain revelations about life after death. Samuel told Saul when he went to enquire of a woman who was a witch, “Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me” (1 Sam. 28:19). “Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him” (vs. 20). Paul at the end of his life said, “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day” (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
There is much to learn in considering the outlook these two men had about life after death. What was it that made King Saul afraid? Why was Paul not only ready to die, but would rather choose to depart from this world and be with Christ (Phil. 1:2020According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (Philippians 1:20)-24)? Paul certainly had more light about the afterlife, but we do not believe this is the reason he was confident in the face of death. It was the obedience of faith; the Apostle walked in obedience to what God revealed to him. He believed God and walked accordingly. This gave him assurance of what God revealed. Notice some of his words: “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:11And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. (Acts 23:1)). “None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:2424But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)). Later he wrote, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death” (Phil. 1:2020According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (Philippians 1:20)). The consistency of Paul’s walk with what had been revealed to him is what gave him confidence and hope. Hebrews 6:1919Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; (Hebrews 6:19) says, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.”
On the contrary, Saul continued walking in disobedience after he was told where he had failed. Though he verbally owned that he had sinned, yet he refused to slay all the Amalekites. His desire was to be honored before the elders and all Israel. (See 1 Samuel 15). At the end of his life when Samuel was brought back from the dead to speak with him, Samuel reiterated this same thing to him. “Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day” (1 Sam. 28:18).
Samuel revealed to Saul that the next day he and his sons would be where Samuel was, that is, the place of departed spirits, or “hades,” as it is called in the New Testament. This caused King Saul to despair. Samuel said nothing of Saul going to a place of torment — only that he would be with him. What made Saul afraid was that he had no faith to walk with God and was unprepared to die. Saul lived to please himself in the position that God had given him, but Saul did not give God His rightful place. Then when God abandoned him, he fell down in despair. The things of God are only enjoyed if we have faith to walk in them. Obedience and happiness go together.
Near Death Stories
The question now before us is, How should we relate to stories of near death experiences? First of all, God is not limited in His ability to communicate such things to His people. Caution is needed in relying on what others report, as our faith is not substantiated by the experience of others. Our faith should be in God’s Word rather than in the experiences of men. We have a more sure word of prophecy.
We believe that the example of the Apostle Paul gives us the real secret as to what comes after death and how to face it. Learning to know the One who has the keys of death and hell [hades] is the best thing. This means much more than knowing facts. It is knowing the One who reveals the facts. The Apostle put it this way: “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Then he continued, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:10-11,1410That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:10‑11)
14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)). It was not that Paul was uncertain about being with Christ after he died, but he strove to learn to know the most he could of Christ by walking with Him on earth so that he would know Him better in glory. This made him a happy man at the close of his life. We believe it is the secret for us, too. May the Lord give us more of that zeal to learn to know Him now during the rest of our time on earth.
D. C. Buchanan