Did Colton Burpo Really See Heaven?
Many of the people who have seen the Colton Burpo interview with Matt Lauer have responded with comments such as, "That's amazing," or "I was blessed," or some such positive response. Others have examined his testimony and are, at the least, skeptical. Then there are others like me who simply do not believe that what Colton experienced is from God. Of the unbelievers there are those who are atheists or those who give no merit to the "afterlife" and therefore reject his testimony. Others like me, compare what Colton has said with what the Bible says concerning the various issues of the things of heaven and God's communication with man and find them contradictory.
Is It Right To Question Colton's Experience
Some people believe that it is not anyone's responsibility to evaluate Colton's experience- that God moves in mysterious ways and therefore it is impossible to say one way or the other whether Colton's experience was truly of God or not. But just the opposite is true. Without question, God does move in mysterious ways at times. But that does not mean that He communicates in mysterious ways. The statement that God moves in mysterious ways might better be stated, "God accomplishes His will in mysterious ways." The manner in which God has revealed Himself, His heaven, His salvation, and His will for mankind though has never been "mysterious". And in what He has spoken, He has commanded us to be discerning as what is from Him and what is from other sources.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
Before proceeding further, it should be stated that I believe Colton experienced the things that he stated. What I do not believe is that they were from God. Possible explanations of the source of his experience will be suggested later but for now I want to respond to the claim that it had to be of God. Whenever God communicates with man, He is always consistent with Himself. By that I mean that God never says one thing in one place and something antithetical to it in another place. Some of God's communications to man may have been for a specific time and when the time had been accomplished He communicated something different. For example, Moses was given instructions concerning offering animal sacrifices for the sins of the people, but now that Jesus Christ has once and for all time dealt with our sins on His cross, the Mosaic Law is no longer binding upon you and I. But any revelation concerning heaven is not for a specific time- heaven does not change and therefore any revelation given by God of what heaven is like must be consistent with what has already been revealed in Scripture.
Does Colton's Description Of Heaven Agree With Scripture's
Before examining the specifics of Colton's description of heaven, the question must be asked why Colton was allowed to disclose the information he gained in his vision of it and a previous person who had been there was not. The Apostle Paul tells of a man he knew (probably it was Paul, himself) who was caught up into the third heaven (1st heaven = atmospheric heaven, 2nd heaven = celestial heaven, 3rd heaven = presence of God):
“And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:3-4)
This man received some revelation concerning heaven and was forbidden to communicate it to anyone. Certainly there is more to know about heaven that what we are given in Scripture but in that the man was forbidden to communicate it, whatever he heard and saw was not necessary for you and I to know at this point in time. Whatever this man heard and saw, no matter how fantastic it was would not be necessary or it would not serve the purpose of changing how we live here and now for the better. Colton's father, Todd, says in the interview that the purpose of writing their book detailing Colton's experience was that people would have some hope concerning what is their ultimate future. In stating that he knowingly or unknowingly is stating that the Bible apparently does not give enough hope.
I have not read the bookHeaven Is For Real which is the account of Colton's experiences and so I must qualify what I am about to say. But the interview on the Today program did not provide any declaration of how one can be in heaven after their passing from this life (I also realize that the Today program is not intended to be a gospel preaching platform). What good is any description of heaven if the person receiving it will never experience heaven but only the eternal judgment of God?
Colton testifies that he saw many people in heaven (apparently in bodily form) including his great-grandfather. In order for this to be true, they must be resurrected saints. But Scripture states that the resurrection is yet future. Paul writes,
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23)
The key phrase in these two verses is "at his coming". The resurrection of the saints will not take place until Jesus Christ returns in what is called the Rapture of the Church. At present, when a believer in Jesus Christ dies, their spirit/soul is immediately in the presence of the Lord in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8), but their bodies await the resurrection, interred here on earth. In the book of Revelation, John was given a vision of heaven during the time known as the tribulation following the rapture of the church. In it he saw those who had been recently martyred.
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” (Revelation 6:9-11)
Notice a couple of things about John's testimony. First, he saw the souls of these martyrs, not their bodies. These souls were "under the altar" which probably is to be understood as meaning they were genuine believers in the sacrifice of Christ for their sins (the blood of an animal sacrifice was poured out under the altar in the OT- Exodus 39:12, Leviticus 4:7). Secondly, they are given white robes. Theologians debate whether a soul can exist apart from a body and on the basis of the saints here being given a robe, many have concluded that they must have some sort of temporary body in order to wear the robe. While this is possible, it is also not absolutely necessary. In that being under the altar is to be understood as referring to their spiritual condition (believers) and not where they were physically, these white robes may also be understood not as physical robes but that which represents their spiritual condition (see Rev. 19:8). In any case, it was not their resurrected bodies! But what is important to this examination is that in seeing these saints, John does not give us any detail as to their appearance. Thirdly, while these saints were capable of communication, their communication was only with the Lord, not each other.
Colton states that everyone in heaven had wings. Even he had wings which were smaller than most and his great-grandfather had huge wings. Nowhere in Scripture is there a record that any human being ever possesses wings. It is popular thought that angels have wings and that upon death, humans become angels. Both thoughts are contrary to Scripture. The book of Revelation shows both saints and angels existing in heaven together. If humans become angels upon death seeing both in heaven would be impossible. And, most angels do not necessarily have wings. Hebrews 13:2 speaks of entertaining angels being unaware that they were angels. If angels have wings, I think we would all be aware of their existence.
Colton also states that everyone in heaven had the appearance of being young (between 20 and 30). Look at the description of the Lord Jesus given by John:
“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;” (Revelation 1:14)
I don't know too many 20-30 year-olds that have pure white hair.
Colton states that while he was in heaven the angels were singing to him. Nowhere in all of Scripture are the angels seen singing to anyone but God Himself. One must ask what the angels would be singing. If the reason for their singing was to comfort Colton from being upset by being in a new place, then heaven itself is not very comforting. Colton also states that he was sitting in the lap of Jesus. Again, where is anything like this found in Scripture? In fact, just the opposite is found. When John saw the resurrected Lord Jesus as described in Revelation 1:14 above, we then read that he fell at his feet as a dead man (Rev. 1:17) which is the consistent response throughout the Bible. In practically every aspect, Colton's description of heaven is contrary to what the Bible declares.
So Where Did This Vison Come From?
Medical experts tell us that various interactions of drugs can provide a hallucinogenic effect and considering that Colton was very sick there may be some possibility of accounting for his vision in this way. The details of the vision such as the wings and sitting in the lap of Jesus can be accounted for by popular beliefs formulated by Sunday School lessons, bed time stories, parents instruction and the like. But this admittedly does not account for the information that Colton gained such as the miscarriage of his mother and the whereabouts of his father which no one else knew. Because there is no natural explanation of Colton's knowledge of these things it is concluded that Colton became aware of these things by supernatural revelation. I agree. But when most people think of supernatural, they mean it to be of God. In this case it was not. Sometimes, people who are otherwise given to biblical truth can be duped by unbiblical thought. Case in point, Peter. When the Lord had spoken to the apostles concerning His crucifixion in Matthew 16:21, Peter objected and rebuked the Lord. Jesus responded with the words, "Get thee behind me Satan." Such activity of Satan is not limited to Peter. The apostle Paul wrote:
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)
The whole Corinthian church was capable of being tricked and believing something that was contrary to Scripture. While Satan and his demonic host are not omnipresent nor omniscient, they nonetheless, simply by their vast numbers are capable of being throughout the world and knowing things that others might be incapable of knowing. But some might ask why would Satan want to communicate such things. The answer is simple. If Satan can get man to believe something outside of Scripture, then what the Bible says becomes at least secondary in authority, if not altogether without authority. Todd Burpo, at the end of the Lauer interview states that his purpose in writing the book was to give people hope and healing for the things in this life that there is a better tomorrow. Wait a minute! You mean when Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also." (John 14:2-3) that those words were insufficient to give us hope for the future? You mean that we should have greater hope from an 11 year-old boy than from the One who went to Calvary's cross to die for our sins? Do you mean that for all the years that man has existed there has been insufficient revelation of the hereafter necessary for him to bear the trials and tribulations of life? Yet, if you believe in Colton's testimony as being from God, these are the conclusions you must draw.
My purpose in writing this article was not to be condemning of the Burpos. I am not attempting to sit in judgment as to whether they are Christians or not. As I stated above, I believe that Colton actually did experience these things and therefore if he did, he is not purposefully seeking to do anything but what he believes is of the Lord. But our responsibility is to not blindly accept these things, but to compare them with what God has already given to us in the Bible and when we do, we find that these visions cannot be from God. Paul commended the Bereans in that they "were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11) It is necessary for us to do the same.