The need to write this article after the video of a similar title was released on social media, arose because of so many requests by friends and followers of our ministry. Many, who don`t have access to the internet could not download the video, but preferred to have the message in text form. I also think it is proper to upgrade my statement in this article by establishing some of the points scripturally. From the comments I have been receiving on my social media pages I understand that many Christians do not seem to see the Biblical perspective of my submissions. I therefore wish to encourage everyone to finish reading this article even if you have watched the video, since some of the fundamental principles that were not in the video will be reviewed in this article. Thank you for your understanding. Enjoy your read.
I am a covenant brother to Dr. Myles Munroe, therefore I am compelled to respond to the numerous insinuations that have been raised from many people regarding the circumstances of his home going. As covenant people, we know that the conditions and terms of a covenant require that one party stands for the other if the need arises. I therefore wish to give a comprehensive explanation to what I think God is trying to tell us through the death of Dr. Myles Munroe and his entourage. I am also sure that this article will go a long way to support and encourage people everywhere, who have lost or will lose their loved ones either by tragic or controversial circumstances. One of the questions that surfaces on a daily basis in the minds of Christians worldwide is; how is it possible that brothers and sisters that have served God all their lives can suffer and die in a controversial or even tragic manner.
I have been hearing comments after Dr. Munroe’s home going, and many people both sincere Christians, cynics and unbelievers are asking the same question:
How is it possible that Dr. Myles could die such a tragic death?
How could a man that has given his life to serve the Lord, die in such a way?
How can it be that Christians who serve God faithfully, who are not living an ungodly lifestyle, can lose their lives in such a tragic way like a plane crash?
Well, if this question only came from cynics and critics I would not have bothered to respond. However, even members of my own church and so many other sincere Christians were asking the same questions, so I decided to respond.
I feel in my heart that it is my responsibility to answer a few of the emerging questions. Why? Because I am a covenant brother to Dr. Myles Munroe. According to the conditions of this covenant, I am compelled to respond. The terms of our covenant compel me to answer where a brother can no longer speak for himself.
I believe the scripture below will shed some light on all these questions.
The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. (Isaiah 57:1)
The reality of death (especially for the believer) is to set the spirit man free from the captivity of the body. Therefore, it really doesn’t matter the nature of the incident that releases your spirit from that bondage. That body that you have left behind is merely a “shell” and it actually returns to the dust. It actually doesn’t matter so much to God and it doesn’t really matter to the person involved “how” it happened.
So as Christians it is rather irrelevant to be overly concerned about how a person came to their end in this life. God knows better! We however must understand that sometimes our religious upbringing and our religious dogma is where the problem is. God’s perspective on death is different from ours.
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)
From this scripture we see that the death of God`s saints (or children) is always PRECIOUS in God`s sight. Therefore, here we can see that what makes the death of a saint precious is not the way they died or how long they lived, but the fact that they are “saints”, and the fact that they are coming home. The death of the saints is always precious in the eye of the Lord even if the saint is young, middle aged or aged. In God`s eyes it is still something very precious.
Another perspective on the tragic death of Christians and God`s servants is revealed to us in Isaiah 57:1:
The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. (Isaiah 57:1)
In this scripture, we see that the Lord is speaking about the type of death that Dr. Munroe died - a tragic death.
“The righteous perisheth…” refers to a tragic death as with Dr. Munroe and his team members. The dictionary meaning for the word “perish” is “to suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden or untimely way” which is exactly what we have been talking about. So we see that God makes provision for such a death in the scriptures. The importance that God attaches to this scripture is to diffuse confusion about such death and to bring understanding to His people.
“…and no man layeth it to heart…” this statement denotes lack of understanding and confusion from people. God knows people may not understand why things like this should happen and they will question and query God on the matter - especially the religious mind who will not understand such a tragic death in comparison to Abraham who lived for so long and died peacefully. Why would God allow His servant to die in any other way than Abraham or Jacob? Could a good God be so inconsistent and unjust to “repay” faithful servants with tragic death?
This is what makes our God a God of unsearchable wisdom, a God of mystery and a God of incomprehensible depth. God cannot be put in a box, God cannot be predicted, and He cannot be fully understood.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)
Dear friends, please, note that the word “perish” in Isaiah 57:1 was not referring to worldly people, it was referring to the righteous. The God of love, the God of compassion, the God of depth and the God of wisdom gives room for the righteous to perish for reasons only best known to Him. More so, God also would allow good and “…merciful men…” (these are men that are much better than average men) to be taken at a time or in a way that most people would not expect.
Are you confused?
Well, these are the things that make God God, and friends, you better not question Him!
“…none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.” There are things God is seeing that no man is seeing. At any given point in any tragic story and in all unfathomable misfortunes, there is something that God is seeing which you are not seeing. When we only consider our own point of view, we are not always aware of the blind spots in our understanding. This lack of understanding often leads to confusion, disillusionment and disappointment. The passage above tells us that we should consider that maybe these men are actually taken away from some form of evil that is to come. This evil could be global or personal. If you could only see behind the scenes as God sees, you might end up rejoicing about what you had earlier called tragic.
One person made reference to Jacob, (Genesis 49:1) and said,
“Jacob, when he was about to die, died by gathering the members of his family and prophesying over them, and praying for them before passing. How can such a great Man of God like Myles Munroe, die in such a tragic and sudden way-so different than someone like Jacob”.
I would like to point out that the way you die really doesn’t matter in the context of “eternity.” When someone leaves this physical world it is really us who are left that are more concerned about how the death occurred.
As far as having a chance to bless your family before passing, Dr. Myles had been doing that for the past 30 years! He had been prophesying and praying for his spiritual children, and for his physical children, and did not need any of the ceremonial family blessing before he departed.
This was just the lifestyle that Dr. Myles lived regularly. He probably did that the last Sunday before the tragic incident. He lived this way on a regular basis.
However, the question remains; why should his death be so tragic?
It is important to note that as soon as your spirit leaves your body you are just as whole as when you were in the flesh, except that you are much younger, more attractive, and perfect. You are now in a “glorified body.” No matter how good looking you were here on earth, no matter how whole you think you were in your physical body, it will hardly compare to your glorified body. In your own eyes, your earthly body will be as ugly to you as someone’s body who suffered some kind of tragic death. As a Pastor for over 20 years, I have listened to stories of individuals who have had extraordinary experiences surrounding death and the life after.
I remember one particular story of a woman who died in her hospital bed. She was a young woman who was quite fashionable and beautiful in her earthly body. However, when she suddenly left her body she found herself standing on the rooftop looking down at the doctors and family members around her body. Now standing on the roof she said to herself,
“What has happened?” She desperately began reaching down trying to touch her family members. As she looked down at the body on the bed she said,
“Who is that...?’’
She then realized that the body she was seeing was her own, but couldn’t believe that she looked so unattractive!
The reality is that while we are in the flesh we think that we are something beautiful. However, if you were to compare your earthly body to the beauty of all things heavenly, it could hardly compare! In reality no matter how good-looking you are in your earthly body, or how complete you are in the flesh, when your spirit leaves your body it is like letting a bird fly after being caged for years. This is the same in the case of Dr. Myles Munroe. Once you are released from your earthly body, you will take your full breathe, and feel the freedom and the fullness of true life.
In actuality, God never promised anyone that they are going to die surrounded by family peacefully, in ideal conditions. I definitely don’t agree with the assumption that the death of Dr. Myles is a result of him having done something wrong or that he was in sin or false doctrine. Having known him personally, I am certain that he lived a full life and accomplished a great work, and has gone to receive his eternal reward.
Some people have been saying, “If you claim that Dr. Myles has lived a full life, what do you say about his youth Pastor who also died in the airplane crash? What do you say about the youth Pastor’s son who was only 5 years old? What about the other people on board that plane? Did they live a full life too?”
I am going to address it more fully in my next article “…STILL WHY DIE SO YOUNG?”, however let me slightly touch on this now. Why would God allow the lives of some people to be taken so early? I of course cannot say that I have the full understanding into the mind of God on the subject, but I hope that some of my explanations will be able to bring peace and solace to people who are sincerely seeking to understand why God would allow these kinds of things to happen to Christians.
One perspective is that death is going to come to us all anyways.
Every individual eventually needs to get home, and to be set free from their earthly body, one way or the other. Think of it like being in a prison all of your life and finally being set free from that prison of a body! It really doesn’t matter whether God uses this way or that way to open that heavenly door for you. For the person who is dead, they just want to get out of that prison! Heaven is our home, heaven is our liberty, heaven is our freedom, and heaven is our victory. It doesn’t matter how we leave this earth. We are going home, that is what matters.
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Cor.15:54,55)
The scriptures promise us that death and the grave would not have the victory. They do not have the last word. God has the last word. I have seen many comments from people saying that God must have killed Dr. Munroe or that Satan must have killed him. The reality is death did not take Dr. Myles Munroe – God did. From the above scripture, the Bible affirms to us that death will not have the victory. The final victory does not belong to the grave. Therefore, death does not have the last word - it is clear that God has the last word. I don’t believe that Dr. Myles and the team`s home going was a victory to death or to the grave. The Bible already told us that Satan and death do not have the victory.
So death for us, believers, is victory.
It is a liberation.
It is a triumph.
It is a home going.
It is the way we go to our reward.
It is the way for us to receive our trophy.
According to Hebrews 2:14 Christ in His death swallowed up death. Therefore, I do not submit to the notion that this is in any way a victory for the enemy. No, but JUST LIKE CHRIST IN HIS DEATH, WE TOO IN OUR DEATH AND BY OUR DEATH DEFEAT DEATH. I think our death at any age is a victory for the Kingdom of God and a new beginning for the work of God on the earth. Let God decide when it is time for each of us to go home to his or her reward.
If you feel in any way that this perspective is contrary to what we believe scripturally, then what will you say about the early Christians? What will you say about Paul? Paul died a violent death, Peter died a violent death, James died a violent death. All the disciples of Jesus, (with the exception of one - John) died this way. All the others died a tragic and violent death. Some of the early Christians were fed to the lions, or thrown into drums of oil and roasted alive. These were considered some of the most righteous people in their generation, and were even considered to be “saints” by some. In the end, history has taught us that it does not matter how you leave this world, except that we be ready to leave this world at any time, that is what matters.
A good name is better than precious ointment; and THE DAY OF DEATH THAN THE DAY OF ONE'S BIRTH. (Ecclesiastes 7:1)
I believe the above scripture is quite clear. From the other side, and from heaven`s perspective, they actually see the day of death as being more precious than the day of one’s birth, just like a good name is better than precious ointment.
However from this side of heaven we tend not to rejoice about one`s day of death, but rather we rejoice about one`s day of birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1 says it is the opposite and that it is supposed be the other way around. What really calls for rejoicing is when you depart this sinful world not minding what age you are being delivered from evil. This is because you are going to your reward, and you are claiming victory over death and being received by your eternal home. Tell me, friends, what is so bad about all this? We must learn to see from God`s perspective, and to see how God sees. We must be less sensual and strive to become more spiritual! At the end of the day God decides when we come into this world and He decides when we leave it!
Dr. Myles, I am proud of you! On behalf of Christians everywhere, WE are proud of you. What you have accomplished for the Kingdom of God in this life is what matters. It does not matter how you left this world, but rather, what extraordinary footprint you left in it.
That is the question we should be laboring over - what footprint will we leave in this life? Dr. Myles left a wonderful, larger than life footprint and it is going to live forever through his books, messages and concepts. Like Dr. Munroe often said, “The richest place in the world is the grave yard, or cemetery” and “the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose.” These kinds of things spoken by Dr. Munroe now testify, and speak louder than anything else...
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