The man who was afraid to die

The dying man's last request was to be prayed for and anointed with oil as the Bible commands for healing.

Old Mr. Brown (not his real name) had grown up on small farms. As an adult, he worked in the logging industry, sold stainless steel cookware, sold lawn and front porch furniture from the back of a pickup truck and worked in a factory in a nearby town. Through it all he studied his Bible. He lived by the rules laid down in this ancient book and was known and respected by his relatives and neighbors as a decent and honest man who loved his family and his church.

One thing stood out, however, when you came to know him: Mr. Brown was deathly afraid to die!

Oh, he knew the Bible promised a resurrection from death; that death was like sleep; that there is no immortal soul which lives on either in heaven or in hell; that the returning Jesus Christ will awaken the sleeping dead to eternal life in His Kingdom – right here on the Earth. Yet still he was afraid of the process of dying.

Then he died – the first time.

My wife and I had been away for over a week keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, a fall church activity commanded in the Bible, and our flight home was delayed due to bad weather. Upon landing, we were told Mr. Brown had suffered two massive heart attacks while we were away and wanted me, as his minister, to come to the hospital and pray for his healing as soon as we arrived.

When we reached the hospital we found that Mr. Brown had indeed died and had been placed on life support. When there was no longer any hope that he could survive on his own, the machines were turned off. But Mr. Brown did not stop breathing as expected! After we asked God for his healing, he slowly recovered, to be placed in a nursing home by his relatives. His plea to God for healing had been answered!

But Mr. Brown was not happy. "Death was not so bad after all," he said. "It was just like sleep. In fact it was the best sleep I ever had! I wish they had left me dead, then I wouldn't be here in this nursing home!"

Another year went by and the fall Holy Day season had come around again, when I received an emergency call from his daughter. Mr. Brown had suffered another seizure and the doctor had pronounced him brain dead! Would I please come and do something?

After arriving at the hospital, I anointed him with oil and prayed for God to heal him. As the night wore on, he began to groan and make sounds. By morning he could answer questions with whole sentences. This man was not brain dead – at least not any longer!

Once again he lamented the fact that he had been awakened from the best sleep he had ever had, and would have preferred to have remained dead. By now he had no fear of death.

Yet another year went by and we were again away, keeping the fall Holy Days in another state, when the phone rang in our motel room. Once again Mr. Brown had died. He just quietly went to sleep while lying in bed talking to his daughter on the telephone.

It was a privilege to go back and do his funeral. The man who was afraid to die had experienced death three times, had decided it wasn't so bad, and before he finally did die, had instructed me to preach what the Bible said – instead of the fables of men – at his funeral!

I look forward to seeing him again in the resurrection when the dead shall rise and meet Christ in the air as He comes down to Earth to begin His rule in the Kingdom of God.

If you have not done so, download or order our free booklet, Your Ultimate Destiny. Find out what the Bible really says about death and the afterlife. You will be glad you did.