Angelica Zambrano is a Christian woman from Ecuador who claims to have had multiple supernatural experiences where she visited heaven and hell. She shares her alleged experiences in books, videos and interviews which have been circulated widely online. This has caused much debate among Christians regarding whether her testimony aligns with Scripture.
Here is a summary of some key elements in Zambrano’s account:
- She claims Jesus took her to visit heaven and hell multiple times where she saw vivid scenes of bliss and torment.
- In heaven, she describes seeing angels, saints like Mary and biblical characters like King David worshipping God. She emphasizes the joy and peace present.
- In hell, she describes seeing demons torturing lost souls in gruesome ways. She highlights the pain and despair present.
- She states Jesus gave her a mission to share her experiences so people repent before ending up in hell.
- She affirms core Christian doctrines like salvation by faith in Christ alone, the reality of heaven and hell, and the authority of Scripture.
How should Christians biblically assess such claims? Here are some key considerations:
1. The closed canon of Scripture
The Bible contains this warning:
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18)
This indicates that Scripture is complete and no new revelation will be added to it. God’s full revelation is contained in the Bible which is sufficient for faith and doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, Christians should assess any claimed new revelations, like Zambrano’s experiences, against the closed canon of Scripture.
2. Subjective personal experiences vs objective Scriptural truth
Zambrano’s testimony is based on her reported personal experiences. While she affirms core doctrines, many details go beyond Scripture. By contrast, Scripture represents objective spiritual truth from God communicated through inspired writers (2 Peter 1:21). While experiences may have subjective value for individuals, they do not have the same authority as God’s Word.
Paul commended the Bereans for testing even his teaching against Scripture (Acts 17:11). Similarly, Christians should evaluate Zambrano’s claims against the truth of the Bible.
3. Warnings against false teaching and deception
Jesus repeatedly warned of false prophets who would teach deception (Matthew 24:4-5, 11). Paul also warned of deceitful spirits promoting falsehoods like doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). The Bible contains many warnings against false teaching (2 Peter 2:1).
Thus, Christians should carefully test any teaching for alignment with Scripture. Fantastic claims require deep discernment grounded in God’s Word.
4. Questions around heavenly visions
The Bible records a small number of people who received verified visions of heaven, such as Stephen (Acts 7:55-56) and John (Revelation 4-21). However, these occurred in unique circumstances and were not ongoing regular experiences.
Paul speaks cryptically of a man (presumably himself) who was caught up to heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). However, he gives few details and affirms that such experiences are beyond normal Christian experience. He even suggests some claimed visions may not be reliable.
Thus, Christians should evaluate claimed frequent heavenly visitations in light of the exceptional nature of biblical examples.
5. No new revelations or prophetic missions
Zambrano claims Jesus gave her a prophetic mission to reveal her experiences. However, Scripture contains no instructions about ongoing prophetic appointments or assignments beyond what is recorded in the Bible.
The office of apostle requires being an eyewitness of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 1:22) which is not possible today. The office of prophet involves authoritative speaking on God’s behalf (Exodus 7:1) which ended with Scripture. And the apostles and prophets played a foundational role completed in the early church (Ephesians 2:20).
There are different views on whether there may be modern visions from God. However, the Bible contains no teaching on assigning prophetic missions today based on such visions.
6. Careful view of reported supernatural encounters
The Bible recounts supernatural encounters like prophets seeing visions, angels appearing or Satan tempting Jesus. However, these occurred at specific times for God’s redemptive purposes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
By contrast, Zambrano claims repeated visits to heaven and hell over an extended time. Christians should carefully examine such extraordinary reports in light of the purpose-driven nature of biblical supernatural occurrences.
7. Testing against fruits of the Spirit and God’s character
While parts of Zambrano’s testimony seem to align with Scripture, other elements are concerning and require deeper discernment. Christians are called to test teaching by examining the fruits it produces and comparing them against the biblical record (Matthew 7:15-23, Galatians 5:22-23).
Likewise, God’s character revealed in Scripture – his holiness, justice, mercy and love – provides a standard for assessing the validity of claimed heavenly and hellish visions.
8. Affirming core doctrines is not enough
Zambrano affirms foundational Christian doctrines like salvation through Christ, heaven and hell. However, affirming some core doctrines does not prove the validity of additional extra-biblical experiences and teaching.
Christians acknowledge biblical doctrine but also carefully test additional claims against Scripture. Even the devil can quote truth when tempting believers towards deception and falsehood (Matthew 4:5-6).
Conclusion
Angelica Zambrano’s alleged heavenly and hellish experiences are concerning to many Christians as they go beyond the revelation of Scripture. While she affirms core doctrines, other elements do not align with the closed canon of God’s Word and seem dependent on extra-biblical personal revelations.
The Bible calls Christians to carefully discern truth from error by comparing any teaching to Scripture (Acts 17:11, 1 John 4:1). Fantastic claims require deep scriptural grounding. While some aspects of Zambrano’s account may comfort or convict people, Christians should approach unbiblical elements with caution given repeated biblical warnings against deception.
Examining claimed modern visions requires deep wisdom and gracious discernment. Christians affirm God’s supernatural power while testing all experiences against his fullest revealed truth in the Bible.