Choo Thomas was a Korean-American and the author of the book "Heaven is so Real." In 1992, she professed to become a Protestant Christian, but without a biblical testimony of salvation. Then in 1996, she claimed that she was taken to Heaven, and it’s this book she wrote that contains the contents of that fable. Choo Thomas died in April 2013 at the age of 74. What she claimed to have seen in Heaven, are lies and falsehoods.
Choo Thomas was a ravening wolf in sheep’s clothing and false teacher for many reasons beyond her alleged sojourn to Heaven. This report focuses on her claims and that she physically encountered both God the Son and God the Spirit. I was asked to review this by a family member some years ago.
Choo's Claims that She Encountered Jesus Christ, Visited Heaven, and Experienced Physical Manifestations From the Spirit of God, Are Lies from Satan
I didn't have to look very long before I came across some things that were gravely concerning. I read on her website homepage that her book (“Heaven is so Real”) is a sort of memoir of “her encounters with Jesus Christ, where she visited heaven many times and saw hell twice.” According to this same page,
“she saw Jesus' visible presence at a Neighborhood Assembly of God in Tacoma, Washington and in 1995, she began having physical manifestations from the Holy Spirit.”
Allegedly, the Lord personally took her to heaven 17 times or more over a period of about one month. The purpose for these revelations was so that she could write a book that would convince people that heaven is real because apparently the Bible is not sufficient. Her website says,
“In 1996, the Lord Jesus escorted Choo into heaven and told her to record what she has seen and heard, bringing forth the book, "Heaven is so Real”.”
1. First of all, it was never Jesus Christ that she encountered. She either lied and is deceiving her readers or she encountered “Satan [who is] transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14) or all the above. I would say all the above. Here is why. Firstly, Jesus is “gone into heaven, and is at the right hand of God” (1 Pet. 3:22), and from there makes intercession for His saints according to the will of God, which is according to the Word of God (e.g. Ac. 7:25; 1 Jn. 5:14-15). “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” (Heb. 10:12). Jesus is indeed today “set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2) and therefore does not manifest Himself in any physical or visible means today (nor since the time of the apostles).
This account by Choo Thomas is contrary to the testimony of Scripture, which says that the apostles were the last to see the resurrected Christ. This was in fact one of the evidences of apostleship (Ac. 1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:7). We know that the apostle John saw Christ on the island of Patmos as described in Rev. 1. Paul said that he was the last of the apostles to see Christ, meaning that he saw Christ some time after the other apostles had seen him (1 Cor. 15:8). This occurred on more than one occasion in his life as described in the book of Acts. Paul gave this testimony in the context of giving the eyewitness evidence for Christ’s resurrection. All of the evidence we need for our faith is found in the testimony of Scripture and in these particular eyewitness accounts. Even Cornelius did not see Christ, but an angel, who told him to call for Peter, who then preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to him, whereby he and his family were saved (Ac. 10-11). Jesus does NOT present Himself in any form of “visible presence” today! Someone who thinks they have seen Jesus, has seen “another spirit” and is severely deluded.
2. Secondly, she never visited heaven. It is definitely NOT true that “the Lord Jesus escorted Choo into heaven and told her to record what she has seen and heard, bringing forth the book, "Heaven is so Real”! This is a lie from the father of lies, who is Satan and abides “not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (Jn. 8:44b). Her account is contrary to Paul’s statement that when he had visited heaven he heard things that he was not allowed to repeat (2 Cor. 12:4). Obviously, then, a person cannot visit heaven and describe whatever he sees and hears there. The truth is, no man (or woman) has ever gone to either place in our lifetime, or since the time of the completion of God’s Word nearly 2,000 years ago, and came back, since the apostle John, who then penned the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation, the last words of prophecy. There we can read everything we want (or need to know) about heaven (i.e. Rev. 21), and thus need no other extraBiblical revelations. The problem with Choo Thomas is that she doesn’t like or believe God or His Word. She wants to be God. In her we see the exact same characteristics of Lucifer, who wasn’t happy with God’s command to serve Him, but rather wanted to be God and have His throne. This is the very character and nature of all false teachers, and its plainly to see in this ravening wolf in sheeps clothing.
At the very end of Revelation and the end of the canonization of God’s Word, the Lord Jesus says,
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:18-19).
This is a frightful warning, one that Thomas should have heeded. This clearly proves that Choo Thomas was unsaved, feigning hypocrite, and ravening false teacher. Any person that adds to God’s Word like she has, claiming that the “Lord Jesus . . . told her to record what she has seen and heard, bringing forth [another] book” when the Bible explicitly says that the canonization of Scripture has been completed (Rev. 22:18-19; I Cor. 13:10; etc), is in danger of eternal judgment.
3. Thirdly, she also never experienced “physical manifestations” from the Spirit of God, for He does not present Himself in “physical manifestations.” Nor has He ever. Christ did, but not the Spirit of God. Satan on the other hand does though, and that is what appears to have possessed her. In her book Thomas writes that each of her visitations with the “Lord” and to “heaven” was preceded by violent manifestations in which she lost control of her body. This loss of control continued whenever she would worship or perform her healing dance. Here are some quotes:
“On the night of January 19, the Lord’s presence was so intense in my bedroom that I shook, perspired and felt very weak for more than an hour” (p. 7).
“Because of the trembling of my body that always accompanied the Lord’s visits, Roger was now sleeping in the guest bedroom” (p. 14).
“During the night of February 12, my body shook more violently than it ever had. I was almost hurled from the bed because it was so forceful. I tried to grab the sheet to steady myself, but I couldn’t because I had no control over my body. The shaking was unremittingly forceful, and I grew afraid.” (p. 17).
Later the following happened:
“Sometimes the power of His anointing on my hands and arms is so strong that I feel as if my hands are actually breaking apart. One Sunday morning my hand touched my eyes thirty-six times, and before each of these touches, my hands made seven different strange movements.” (p. 205).
These are NOT of God but the manifestations of a demonic spirit. Most involved in the occult (satanism) have experienced this. Muhammad, the false prophet of Islam, would get these same type of violent fits, and always preceding “an angel” coming to him and dictating to him the words of “Allah” who in fact was Satan. The true and living God of the Bible does not present Himself like this. Jesus said “I am meek and lowly in heart.” (Matt. 11:29) and he removes ones burdens at salvation. This should be enough truth for anyone to know this was NOT the One True God. The god that Thomas is presenting in her book is a lie and in fact evil spirits.
The Holy Spirit indwells the born again believer (1 Cor. 6:19) and seals him until the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30) which is the day we are with Christ, and from His dwelling place in the inner man He comforts, guides, directs and teaches the child of God in the things of God as found in the Holy Scriptures (Jn. 14:26; 16:13; 1 Jn. 2:27), whereby we grow in understanding and wisdom and “in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Pet. 3:18). In any case, the Holy Spirit does not manifest Himself in a physical form.
True believers must test the spirits whether they are of God.
“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 Jn. 4:1).
A test we can do to see whether this is the Spirit of God or the spirit of the devil, is, who is the one being glorified. The Holy Spirit only glorifies Jesus Christ (Jn. 16:14), not man. The spirit that Thomas was subjected to, consistently exalted her, not Christ, which we see in her claims that God had told her that when she dances in church no one is allowed to touch her hands before she dances so that her hands will remain holy, and God had told her that she is never to stand at the back of the other worshippers but always in front and that the entire platform belongs to her. Contrasted to the truth of Scripture, which glorifies God, much of her book is a direct appeal to the fleshly needs and wants of man, and also endeavours to give Thomas the pre-eminence instead of the Lord Jesus Christ (e.g. she repeatedly states she is a specially chosen vessel, indeed, “the most fortunate individual who had ever existed”— p. 65). Over and over in this book she casts herself into the limelight, making exceedingly arrogant and self-exalting statements. Again this is a trademark of Satan, who indulges in pride and self-exaltation, wanting to be God. We see this is how Satan brought Eve to sin against God, by casting doubt upon God’s Word (“Yea, hath God said”—Gen. 3:1) and lying about God, making man equal with God (“Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”— Gen. 3:4b-5). He is very busy doing this today in these last days of great evil and apostasy.
Choo Thomas is a false teacher, a ravening wolf in sheep’s clothing. Her book is filled with contradictory statements, unbiblical doctrine, and Scripture-twisting to explain her demonic experiences.
1. Besides what is already mentioned, she repeatedly states she is a specially chosen vessel, indeed, “the most fortunate individual who had ever existed” (p. 65). "The Lord," — sounding more like a Hollywood agent than Sovereign Creator of the Universe—assures Thomas, "I will make you famous" (p. 70) and "everyone will know you" (p. 75). "My daughter, you are an End-Times prophetess, . . . and you are living proof of My Word and My prophecies . . .” (p. 168). During one visit to "heaven," she examined her "mansion" (p. 64). Hers apparently is larger and more sumptuous than many others and has her name on the door.
2. “Heaven" according to Thomas has different departments. There is a place for "disobedient Christians" located near the pit of Hell (p. 46) (not quite "purgatory"). Anyone who doesn't "tithe" to Christian ministries is one of the "disobedient children" (p. 21), a useful point for those promoting “seed faith” (i.e. the prosperity “gospel”). (Tithing by the way was a Levitical law established by God for the Levite priests under the Old Covenant: see Heb. 7:5. NT saints are to “give” not “tithe.” There is a big difference). When asked how long these disobedient children stay "in this barren, lifeless place,” “the Lord" replies, "Forever, My daughter" (p. 46). Another area in Heaven is an "endless valley" of "sinful Christians,” a congregation which is "mostly men with a few women" and "most of them will go to the Lake of Fire after the judgment" (p. 58).
3. On another visit, Thomas is shown a huge room filled with naked babies (p. 38). These aborted babies are kept in this vast room (with no apparent attendants) until their mothers are saved, at which point "they can have their babies back." Those whose mothers are unsaved will be given to others, "when all My children come into the kingdom" (pp. 38-39).
4. The Bible tells us that Heaven is a place of joy, where the Lord God will wipe away all tears from all eyes (Is. 25:8; Rev. 7:17; 21:4), not a place where we, like Thomas, are able to look into the pit of Hell and see our mother (or other relatives) "screaming for help from the gaping pit of Hades" (p. 50). The Bible says that it is impossible even to imagine the blessings of heaven. "But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9). We are given glimpses, but only through the Scriptures (Ps. 16:11; Rev. 7:16; 21:4). Choo Thomas writings on heaven is heresy and never to be found in the inspired, preserved, infallible and inerrant Word of God!
5. Thomas is also deluded about grace, often stating her unworthiness, while "the Lord" speaks of her good works—she indeed has earned everything, including her mansion in heaven and a mansion on the earth (pp. 134-35). She essentially believed in a works-salvation (a false “gospel” —Gal. 1:6-9), made clear by statements such as: “Remember, none of our salvations are secure until the end. We must do our best while we have a chance.” (website). She is an “enemy of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” (Phil. 3:18-19). Thomas sums up her writing with the statement, "The truth is, however, that most of the things God has shown me are recorded in the Bible." Although she quotes Scripture, she fails to demonstrate her claims, mostly misinterpreting and wresting the Scriptures. Furthermore, this concluding statement contradicts another of her statements, quoted above, and again: “In 1996, the Lord Jesus escorted Choo into heaven and told her to record what she has seen and heard, bringing forth the book, "Heaven is so Real.” If “most of the things God [had] shown [her] are recorded in the Bible” is true indeed then what would have been the purpose for Jesus telling “her to record what she has seen and heard” thereby adding further revelation to the revealed written Word of God and adding another “book” to the Bible (i.e. “Heaven is so Real”)? She is a blatant liar and concocts anything up that fulfils her demonic agenda. Everything that God wants us to know He has revealed to us already through His true prophets and apostles and God Himself in the form of His Son, and was completed in its entirety nearly 2,000 years ago. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (De. 29:29). Any person that takes away from or adds to God’s Word, will never see the kingdom of God but will suffer for all eternity in the lake of fire called hell (Rev. 21:18-19). This ravening wolf in sheep’s clothing proves that she has definitely never been saved, for no person that loves the Lord with all her heart, soul and body would ever take the pre-eminence from Christ, attempt to bring glory to herself, through removing from and adding to God’s Word, and propagating a hoard of lies and deceptions, etc.
6. Choo repeatedly undermines the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures:
“Heaven is so Real is our Lord Jesus’ end time book” and “He only used my body to write this book. He wants all believers and unbelievers to read it and prepare for His coming. He said, He is giving people a chance to know what it takes to enter His Kingdom through this book. Remember, none of our salvations are secure until the end. We must do our best while we have a chance.” (website).
How does God’s Word say we enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mk. 1:15). Salvation comes through believing “the gospel of Christ:” which “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [i.e. “Gentile”—us].” (Rom. 1:16). There is no other way to be saved and to enter the kingdom of Heaven. She puts her book on equal grounds with Scripture, even claiming here that Jesus wrote this book (“He only used my body to write this book”) and replaces God’s Word with her word, which all again is a the exact trademark of the devil (see Matt. 4:1-10). See Rev. 22:18-19 again for God’s warning on false teachings that add to the Word of God. This reason alone necessitates the burning of this poisonous book, and as quick as possible too! Note also that she says that Jesus “is giving people a chance to know what it takes to enter His Kingdom through this book.” Putting her book on parallel with Scripture is simply wicked and spawned in the pit of hell.
7. Also, contrary to the Satanic lie of Thomas (that “none of our salvations are secure until the end” — which is a false teaching, that of losing salvation, found entrenched in every single false religious group), every person that calls upon God in repentance of their sin (e.g. Ac. 3:19; 26:20; Lk. 13:3, 5) and trusts on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from their sins (e.g. Jn. 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:27-69; Eph. 2:8-9; etc), receives eternal life (among many other things), and is secure for all eternity: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 Jn. 5:11-13). With this statement she again proves to be a false teacher, even making God out to be a liar (1 Jn. 5:10).
8. Thomas claims that pet animals will be in heaven, suggesting that they have an eternal life, an immortal soul and the hope of the resurrection. “It is reassuring to know that animals will live with us in paradise. So many people wonder if their pets will be in heaven, and I am happy to let them know that heaven is a place of beautiful flowers, peaceful animals and glorious radiance where people and animals alike will never experience pain, hardship, death or suffering ever again.” This is pure fabrication and blatant lies as animals don’t have an immortal or eternal soul.
9. Choo Thomas preached a perverted and corrupted works-salvation (“We must do our best while we have a chance”) false “gospel” (Gal. 1:6-9), having been deceived by the god of this world, who in these last days will deceive many by signs and wonders. Pentecostalism with its signs and wonders is one of the means whereby this is being fulfilled. The Bible warns, “the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim 4:1). She is frequently visited by evil spirits, who very likely have made a home in her.
10. And so many more errors, false teachings and plain evil things such as teaching the tithe and that all who don’t tithe will go to hell, claimed that Jesus would make her a millionaire and would give her a huge house and a red luxurious automobile and that she would eradicate all hunger from the world, that George Bush would save many souls from Hell, falsely prophesied that the rapture would occur in 2009. Her book is one big disaster of heresy and evil.
Where did she get this stuff from? Clearly from Satan, who, Paul warned, transforms himself into an angel of light and his ministers as ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:14-15). False teachers such as Choo Thomas, who are the servants of Satan (2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Pet. 2:1-21), lead the lost away from the truth of Scripture, and make “another way” to heaven, which is not another away, but the way to hell, down the wide and broad path “which leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:” (Matt. 7:13).
Choo Thomas, and other false teachers, are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and ministers of Satan, and unfortunately its the simple-minded (gullible) people who will fall for their lies.
Jesus said that His true disciples (which are true blood-bought grace-saved saints) need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Sadly it is the simple-minded that are being misled today by all these false teachings. “The simple believeth every word: . . . The simple inherit folly:” (Pr. 14:15a, 18a) “but the prudent man looketh well to his going . . . the prudent are crowned with knowledge.” (Pr. 14:15b, 18b). It is the simple-minded who false teachers will deceive. They draw away disciples for themselves (Ac. 20:28-30), just like Thomas did, and “deceive the hearts of the simple” through their “good words and fair speeches” (Rom. 16:18) which manifests itself in false doctrine, which is “contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned” which is the doctrine found in God’s Word (Rom. 16:17; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17), and are proven to not “serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies” (Rom. 16:18) and thus must be “marked . . . and avoided” (Rom. 16:17), which is exactly what I have done here.
Paul the apostle warned the Ephesian elders of people like her:
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Ac. 20:28-30).
The Lord Jesus Christ said:
“Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.” (Pr. 9:4-6)
I would encourage you to do the same. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ and study His Word, the written Word of God (King James Bible in English). Therein you will find all the knowledge, understanding and wisdom you will ever need. Do not listen to, read or follow any false teachers. Test absolutely everything by the Word of God (Ac. 17:11; 1 Th. 5:21). If you are truly saved, purify thyself, even as he is pure (1 Jn 3:3).
Choo Thomas, and so many others like her in our day (e.g. “Heaven is for Real”, “23 Minutes in Hell”), think that their alleged visitation to heaven or hell will somehow increase a persons faith in God and heaven, but the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and faith comes by hearing God’s Word, not by signs and wonders.
“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17)
“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” (Heb. 5:7)
In his account of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus taught that if someone does not hear the Scriptures and believe in Him though His Word, he will not “be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Lk. 16:31). People aren't persuaded even though God Himself arose from the dead! All of the signs and revelation we need are found in the completed canon of Scripture (Jn. 20:30-31). The inspired Word of God is able to make the man of God “perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God has told us everything He wants us to know about heaven at this time, and anyone that adds to this is deluded, deceived and maybe even demonic. What Choo Thomas and others like her are doing, is replacing God’s emphasis on the priority and sufficiency of faith and Scripture unto an individuals personal experience.
If you read or believe these ravening wolves in sheep’s clothing and their ungodly toxic poison, I must warn you exceedingly and urgently to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2 Cor. 6:17). Has God the Father ever received you? It’s not whether you know Him, but does He know you (Matt. 7:21-23)? Salvation doesn't come by knowing God, but “rather are known of God” (Gal. 4:9). There are many that claim that they know Jesus Christ and do many good things for Him, but to them Jesus will “profess . . . I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt. 7:23).
Read here on how YOU CAN BE SAVED.