Dr Richard Kent.

Dr Richard Kent. Is a retired medical doctor and full-time evangelist, He travels the world preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and is involved with mission work on Death Row in the Philippines.
He is the author of The Final Frontier and Beyond The Final Frontier. He is also an expert on Near Death Experiences and has personally interviewed over 300 people who have died, gone to either haven or hell, and returned to tell others about their amazing experiences.
Freely you have received, freely give - MATTHEW 10:8

Thursday 29 January 2015

Dr Richard Kent's Interest In Christianity And Truths In The Bible.

Dr Richard Kent's Interest In Christianity And Truths In The Bible

Dr Richard Kent's involvement with Near Death Experiences is rather different from many of the researchers mentioned in the earlier chapter. He started with an interest in life after death, became a born again Christian, and later researched Near Death Experiences in detail.

Richard is the co-author of this book, and the author of this web site. He is a retired medical doctor aged 60. He was born in 1946, and trained at the Middlesex Hospital in London. He qualified in 1969, at the age of 22, and married his wife, Val, in 1971. In 1973 Richard joined a very large General Practice with eight partners and 18,000 patients.

Death of one of Richard's patients

Early in Richard's career in General Practice, one of Richard's patients was a 4 year old little boy who died with leukaemia. The little boy died whilst Richard was actually treating him at home with his parents. This greatly distressed the poor parents, and it greatly upset Richard as well.

Questions about life

Following this, Richard and Val were "seeking" for some meaning to life. In his job as a GP Richard was very familiar with death at all ages, and wanted to know the answer to the following three questions:

1. Where do we all come from? 

2. Why are we here? 

3. Where we all go next? 

Richard and Val found these questions very difficult question to answer. In the UK most people have no idea! Richard also found that many people were embarrassed by the questions! In today's secular UK society anything remotely associated with religion is greatly frowned on. Many years ago it was not polite to discuss money, but that has changed. Nowadays any discussion about God or life after death is taboo in polite society.

Nowadays, it is perfectly normal to discuss the value of your home with your friends at dinner parties, but it certainly not acceptable to discuss life after death. That would be considered extremely impolite. Religion is considered in the UK to be something that a few people at church on Sunday mornings are involved with, but is certainly not something that is discussed in polite society. Religion is often considered to be the cause of wars, and something that is so personal that it is rarely ever discussed! Just for the record, Richard and Val do not own a home now. They prefer to rent one.

At every funeral Richard and Val had ever been to, nobody mentioned the possibility of Hell!

A very brief glance at the New Testament will very quickly reveal that Jesus Christ spoke a great deal about Hell! 

Most people in the UK assume that, when a funeral is attended, the unfortunate dead relative or friend is now in Heaven. This assumption is invariably made by the minister, the family, and all the friends, although nobody actually discusses it! What an extraordinary state of affairs! 

Richard and Val were dumbfounded! Richard and Val could never remember a single sermon on Hell. At every funeral they had ever attended, the minister had clearly said that the person in the coffin was "now at peace"! 

Newspapers always indicated that a dead person was "now in Heaven". In fact it is broadly assumed that everyone goes to Heaven when they die. What about those in Hell? They would hardly be at peace! Who goes to this Hell, which Jesus spoke so much about?

Question about the nature of God

Richard and Val had always heard in churches about "gentle Jesus meek and mild, who loves everyone, and accepts everyone, whoever they are". 

In the UK today, and many Western nations, most people sincerely believe that God, if He exists at all, is some sort of all-forgiving Person, who warmly welcomes everyone into Heaven, especially English people, because England is historically a "Christian nation." 

The embarrassing subject of Creation

The subject of Creation is regarded as an embarrassment in today's educated society. Most Western nations now accept and teach Evolution. Individuals who actually believe in Creation are often regarded as bigoted freaks! However, please see our free teaching on this web site on CREATION: THE GENESIS ACCOUNT and EVOLUTION IS IMPOSSIBLE.

The true nature of British society today

England is certainly not now a Christian nation! At one time England sent missionaries all over the world, but now missionaries come to England to preach the Gospel! In contemporary England most people never go to church, never read the Bible, and just assume that because England is a "Christian nation", everyone goes to Heaven when they die, always assuming that there is such a place!

Television programmes, newspapers and magazines are now full of information that "proves" that Christianity is no longer relevant, and, very often, that the alleged events in the Bible never actually happened.

Recent films from Hollywood maintain a number of outright lies about the life and death of Jesus Christ, which only further confuses an already confused population.

Richard was very upset about the details of the Jewish Holocaust

Auschwitz Richard's first job in Brighton and Hove was with a predominantly Jewish practice. Richard is not Jewish, but he developed a fondness for the Jews. Richard had an interest in World War 2 history. He had researched the details of the Nazi Holocaust (1940 -1945), when 6,000,000 Jews were murdered in the death camps.

Richard and Val regularly visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, and recently visited Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Richard does not make any judgement on those people responsible for the Holocaust. After all, the history of mankind is full of similar events in many countries, over many centuries. Similar events are still happening today in many countries.

An evil force on this planet

Richard did however come to the conclusion that there must be an evil force on this planet to cause some people to inflict such suffering on other people. The Bible refers to this spiritual entity as Satan, and Richard decided that Satan was very real. In the UK today Satan is not taken seriously, or even discussed. Satan is certainly not mentioned in most churches in the UK.

Considering that, according to the Bible, Satan is the greatest threat to everyone, and a mortal enemy both of God, and all Christians, this is a remarkable thing. It is similar to the Allies landing in Normandy on D-Day in 1944 without knowing who their enemy was! In military terms, this is plainly ridiculous, and yet this is exactly the situation today in the UK, and many Western countries.

Richard and Val's search for ultimate truth

In 1974, during their search for "ultimate truth" they met a very distant relative who, they were warned, was a "fanatic born-again Christian!" Richard and Val are now regarded as Christian fanatics themselves, in certain quarters! At any rate, Richard and Val were curious to find out what this dear lady had to say!

Truth from the Bible

The Christian lady told Richard and Val many important truths from the Bible. Richard and Val found these truths quite shocking, and wondered why they had never heard any of these truths before in their lives! 

They had often been to church, so why had they never heard any of this before, in any church? 

On this web site is a section called THE BIBLE IS SUPERNATURAL. 

We will be discussing the Bible statements in detail in this book, but here are some of the truths that the Bible states: 

TRUTH NUMBER 1: THE BIBLE IS SUPERNATURAL 

St Paul stated in the Bible, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" 2 Timothy 3:16. 

The first thing that occurred to Richard and Val is that if the Bible is the truth, why did nobody read it? In a court of law, the defendant places his hand on a Bible, and promises to tell the truth. Why then are people who actually read the Bible regarded as fanatics, and why was the Bible now frowned upon by many authorities in the UK?

For Richard's free material on this web site THE BIBLE IS SUPERNATURAL please click here.

TRUTH NUMBER 2: RICHARD AND VAL'S CONCEPTS ABOUT GOD WERE WRONG

Richard and Val did not know anything about the God of the Bible. They had simply adopted ideas from current culture, and current culture preferred not to discuss God! Richard and Val asked about this "all forgiving" God they had always heard about, and were informed that this popular image of God was not the God of the Bible. Our friend showed us these two verses:

John 3:36
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him".

Matthew 10:28
"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell".

Richard and Val were now becoming worried! In the above verses they read about God's wrath, and also of people being sent to Hell. This was a very long way from the God of their imagination!

TRUTH NUMBER 3: WE ARE ALL BORN INTO THE KINGDOM OF SATAN

According to the Bible, human beings are all born into the kingdom of Satan. Jesus was addressing very religious Jewish priest, when He said:

John 8:44 
"You are of your father the DEVIL, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it".

This was a complete shock to Richard and Val, who had always considered that they were good decent citizens! After all, they were not criminals! They might have done a few "naughty things" here and there, but surely nothing too serious!

Now, here was Jesus warning very religious people that they belonged to the kingdom of Satan! So, it seemed, there was not too much hope for Richard and Val who were not religious at all!

TRUTH NUMBER 4: WE ARE ALL SINFUL

In Romans 3:23 we read, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".

The good lady explained to Richard and Val that God is holy, and will not tolerate sin in His Presence. This means that if we have broken the Ten Commandments only once in our lives, we are "sinners", and unfit for Heaven when we die.

Any sin will keep us out of Heaven. For example, the following is a list of sins, and Richard and Val were guilty of all of them, and a great deal more besides! 

1. One stolen paper clip 

2. One stolen phone call. 

3. One swearword. 

4. One lie, however small. 

5. Coveting anything. 

TRUTH NUMBER 5: DEATH IS CAUSED BY SIN

Romans 6:23 
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".

It was explained to Richard and Val that death came into the world because of sin, as recorded in Genesis after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and God said: "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return", Genesis 3:19.

As a medical doctor and nurse, Richard and Val were very familiar with death, but this was a new concept to them! They had only been trained in heart attacks and strokes, not in sin!

TRUTH NUMBER 6: ADAM WAS THE SON OF GOD!

Richard and Val asked, "Surely Adam and Eve were just fairy stories, buried somewhere in the Old Testament?" A few years ago they actually heard a vicar preaching about how the book of Genesis was a fable!

Dr Luke, a medical doctor, and one of Jesus' followers, recorded the names of the ancestors of Jesus in Luke 3: 23-38. In Luke 3:38, he wrote, " the son of Adam, the son of God"..

According to Dr Luke, Adam was the son of God, not the son of a monkey, as Richard and Val had always been taught! This required a bit of a re-think! Richard and Val had always been taught that man evolved from monkeys and apes. Dr Luke seemed to say that the evolutionists were wrong, and this was from the New Testament, not the Old Testament!

Richard now teaches on CREATION: THE GENESIS ACCOUNT and EVOLUTION IS IMPOSSIBLE. in many countries. Richard also receives aggressive e-mails from evolutionists all over the world, but carries on regardless!

TRUTH NUMBER 7: HEAVEN IS A REAL PLACE!

Jesus said to the dying thief on the cross, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise," Luke 23:43. So, according to Jesus Christ, the dying thief was in Paradise that very day.

The next question Richard and Val wanted to know was what was Heaven like? They had absolutely no idea! They had never, to their knowledge, ever heard anyone teach on Heaven. This seemed extraordinary, considering that most people believe we will spend forever there, and only a few years here! 

The repentant thief had said a short prayer to Jesus, and going to Heaven was his reward. But what about the other thief? The Bible does not say he went to Paradise, so where did he go to? According to the Bible, there are only two places that the spirits of human beings go to when they die, Heaven or Hell. 

TRUTH NUMBER 8: GOD DOES NOT WANT ANYONE TO GO TO HELL 

The Bible clearly states in John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved". 

In 2 Peter 3:9, we read, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance".

TRUTH NUMBER 9: THERE IS A JUDGEMENT COMING!

Our friend pointed out that, in Hebrews 9:27 it says, "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement". Well, this did not sound too good! Richard and Val were not too excited about this coming judgement! Richard and Val were quite happy about going to Paradise, but weren't too sure about being judged!


TRUTH NUMBER 10: GOD DOES SEND PEOPLE TO HELL

The apostle John had a Revelation of the future, in which, at the Great White Throne Judgement, people are sent to Hell. This is written in Revelation 20:11-15:

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire".

TRUTH NUMBER 11: JESUS SAID WE MUST BE ALL BE "BORN AGAIN" 

In John 3:3-7, Jesus said that we must all be "born again".

"Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

Richard and Val were amazed! They had never heard of being "born again", despite confirmation in the Anglican church. If Jesus said, "You must be born again," how had this part of His teaching been completely missed out? They had heard a little about various subjects, but this had never been mentioned! Why on Earth not! If Jesus said we must all be "born again", why is this not taught in most churches today?

TRUTH NUMBER 12: THERE ARE VERY FEW GENUINE CHRISTIANS IN THE UK, OR ANYWHERE ELSE!

Jesus said, in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

When Richard first became a Christian, he was amazed at how few other Christians there seemed to be. Virtually all Richard's former friends, and acquaintances were atheists. Richard was looking for some way of reaching them, and eventually came across Near Death Experiences as a means of generating interest in the after life. Unless things changed, all of his friends were going to end up in Hell!

Richard and Val became "born-again" Christians

In 1974 Richard and Val carefully read the Bible, especially the passages above, and became believers within a few days. Their three children, Emma, Sarah, and Lucy, and their entire extended family, soon became believers too.

They prayed the "sinners prayer", in which they specifically asked forgiveness for their sins, promised to stop doing them, and forgave everybody who had hurt them or their families in any way.

Please visit "THE SINNERS PRAYER", which you can pray immediately!

Richard took early retirement from General Practice

In 1997 Richard had to take early retirement from General Practice, because he found the very long hours as a GP very stressful. At that time General Practitioners in the UK worked very long hours, because each medical practice was required to provide emergency medical cover at all times. Richard was originally extremely unhappy about his early retirement, but now believes that the Lord had other plans for his life! After all, Joseph was in prison for 3 years in Egypt, and Richard's problems hardly compared with Joseph's!

During his early retirement, Richard co-authored two books about Near Death Experiences, in order to alert as many people as possible about the importance of avoiding Hell by being born again.

This was not a commercial venture, and Richard has never received a penny from either book.

BOTH BOOKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON OUR WEB SITE.

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