A physician who researches near-death experiences says an unusual connection may be emerging between traditional Christian ideas of hell and the modern claim that reality is a vast simulation.
Dr Orson Wedgwood, a New Zealand-based scientist, author and healthcare researcher, told the Daily Mail that frightening afterlife-related experiences often share recurring details, including foul smells, shadowy figures described as demons and scenes of violence.
Wedgwood argues that these repeated themes suggest hell-like near-death experiences may be more than random hallucinations. In his view, they could represent genuine encounters within a God-made “simulation,” intended as warnings to people who have turned away from God.
As both a scientist and a committed Christian, Wedgwood believes NDEs are linked to the controversial simulation hypothesis, saying the purpose of the simulated world is to separate souls according to the choices they make during life.
The doctor said: ‘We are in a created environment, or a “simulation” in which we are being tested. Our consciousness, how we behave, and the experiences we have are real, but the rest is not.’
‘The simulation is designed to sort us into those who will be with God after the simulation is over versus those who won’t, all in a safe environment where we can’t do any damage.’
Simulation theory proposes that the reality humans experience may actually be a computer-generated world — something like an elaborate video game — an idea famously explored in the blockbuster film franchise The Matrix.
Supporters of the concept have suggested that humanity may be unknowingly receiving a simulated form of consciousness, either for benevolent reasons or more sinister purposes. Elon Musk, described as the world’s first trillionaire, has also suggested that a creator of the universe could be operating the simulation.
Pictured: A common depiction of hell, inhabited by demons and fiery landscapes (Stock Image)
In December, Musk appeared on The Katie Miller Podcast and speculated that our world could be an ‘alien Netflix series,’ saying that the purpose of life would therefore be to keep humanity excited to increase our ‘ratings’ and prevent our creator from turning the computer off.
As for the link between this theory and the claims of many who said they saw a vision of hell instead of heaven, Wedgwood claimed that those who do not show interest in God either lose the eternal part of themselves and die or find themselves in a dark place.
‘Most of this is in line with the Bible, and it is also somewhat in line with simulation theory expounded by people like Elon Musk who have concluded that life is not a random act of nature,’ Wedgwood explained.
However, the NDE researcher noted that human souls in this alleged simulation can still be rescued if they find themselves in a hellish realm, but only if they call out to God.
‘One of the ones that I heard about years and years ago, and it resonated because I’m a Christian, was Ian McCormack; he was a New Zealander who was surfing.’
In 1982, McCormack had been stung by a jellyfish and claimed he descended into hell, saying: ‘I could feel the evil; it was all around me.’
McCormack said he had a vision of his mother, who told him to cry out to God and he would hear and forgive the surfer.
He was reported as saying: ‘I felt like a speck of dust being drawn up into a radiant light and delivered out of the kingdom of darkness.’
In the blockbuster movie The Matrix, protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovered the human race lives in a simulated reality hundreds of years from now (Pictured)
Dr Orson Wedgwood (Pictured) is a medical scientist who works in healthcare research and says that ‘dark’ near-death experiences often have many things in common
Wedgwood said the feeling of hopelessness is typical in NDEs involving visions of hell, which are also among the rarest sorts of near-death experiences reported.
Studies have suggested that only 14 percent of patients claiming they had an out-of-body experience said it was negative. Of those, around half featured demonic imagery in a realm they suspected was hell.
However, a study published in 2019 in the journal Memory, which compared positive and negative near-death experiences (NDEs), claimed there is little difference between these events and that they basically display the same type of brain activity, just with varying emotional tones.
Study authors said this helps explain why some people come back from the brink of death with terrifying stories that feel just as vivid and life-changing as the peaceful ones.
Wedgwood’s book, ‘Near Death Experience and AWARE studies: Proof Of The Soul and God?’ explored the controversial world of negative near-death experiences, including some truly horrifying testimonials.
In one account by a 42-year-old woman, cited in a 2019 study, she described entities surrounding her as she neared death.
‘I am beginning to distinguish forms in this incredibly thick fog. Human, bestial, monstrous. I am swimming in a stinking stench filled with horrible and furtive creatures and I am feeling overwhelmed with pain,’ the woman recalled.
Wedgwood said his research has revealed that people who have such experiences often become acutely aware that they are in hell, adding that scientific research often dismisses such experiences as not genuine NDEs.
‘Many colleagues I’ve worked with over the years, PhDs, doctors, and many of them will agree, perhaps more privately than publicly, that they cannot provide explanations of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and where consciousness comes from,’ the doctor said.
‘A lot of them now are adopting this simulation theory that we’re living in a simulation, and this is like serious PhDs.’
