Heaven: A Thought on ‘90 Minutes in Heaven’

September 4, 2007 in Left Behind
Tags: 2 Corinthians, Don Piper, heaven, Luke 16, sufficiency of Scripture

Friends,

There is a book that has been making the rounds in the pop-culture section of ‘christian’ book stores for some time now. The book is titled 90 Minutes in Heaven and it was written by a man named Don Piper. I don’t know Don Piper, I haven’t read the book. Turns out, Mr. Piper has a new book out titled Heaven is Real. I haven’t read it either. The cover of the book (at least in the picture in the catalogue) says this: “Lessons on Earthly Joy–from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven.” The book retails for $21.95 at Family Christian Stores.

Now, here’s the thing and 90 Minutes in Heaven which is blurbed this way, ‘On the way home from a conference, Don Piper’s car was crushed by a semi. Medical personnel said he died instantly. While his body lay lifeless, Don experienced the glories of heaven and his moving story will touch your life.” (From the FCS catalogue.)

I remember the apostle Paul also knew a man who ‘was caught up into the third heaven.’ And Paul wrote of this man, ‘He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell’ (2 Corinthians 12:4). It makes me wonder what authority Don Piper has to disclose the things he saw and heard. I’m sure there are plenty of testimonials from medical personnel testifying that Mr Piper was indeed dead. I’m not disputing this at all. I’m disputing the underlying premise to the publication of such a book (which is not even about the money he has made from 1 million reputed sales of the book. Well, I just checked something. On the cover of 90 Minutes it says there’s 150,000 copies in print. On the cover of Heaven it says he is the author of the ‘1 million-copy bestseller.’ I don’t know which it is.)

Here’s my point. First of all, did this man really take in all there is in heaven in a mere 90 minutes? I’d think that the vision he received is a rather small vision if that is true. But I digress. Consider this parable from Jesus found in Luke 16 (NIV):

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 

22″The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25″But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 27″He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29″Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30″ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31″He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ “

The problem with books like this is that they are essentially meaningless and would tend to produce the sort of mysticism that Jesus is warning us about here in this parable (although there is some dispute about whether or not this is a parable). “They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” Such stories about heaven are not convincing.

This book falls into line with other books of a similar nature: So-called ‘prophecy’ books. These books tend to replace Scripture, and in some cases, become Scripture for people. I think this is the problem with Left Behind (besides the abysmal theology), Purpose Driven Life, and 90 Minutes. Who can disprove what Mr Piper has written? How can we doubt his experience? Those who call into question such ‘experiences’ are called liars or doubters or worse. How dare anyone call into question another’s experience! It doesn’t matter if it squares with Scripture or not: It’s the experience that matters. And when the experience is real, Scripture is trumped. (This is Luke Timothy Johnson’s argument for homosexuality. See my previous post concerning this.) In fact, this is the argument from most homosexuals regarding homosexuality and Scripture.

But I am calling it into question and after I read it, I’ll have more to say. Friends, my point is that if Paul wasn’t allowed to speak on what he saw in the third heaven, what makes anyone now thing they are allowed to do so? John the apostle gave us the portrait of heaven that is sufficient: The Revelation of Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can add to John’s portrait that will make it better, but such things might make John’s vision worse because, like Left Behind, we start paying more attention to what humans say about the book than about the book itself.

I’m calling Christians back to Scripture. Get your heads out of fantasy and into Scripture. The main problem we face in the church nowadays is that preachers in particular do not trust in the sufficiency of God’s Word. But let us open up the Bible and open up our minds and listen to what the Spirit said to the Church in Scripture.

Soli Deo Gloria!

jerry