Freeze-Resistant People

“I could wish you were cold or hot.” [Revelation 3:15]

Normally a person’s core body temperature is around 97.8 degrees Fahrenheit. But when a person is exposed to cold for a prolonged period of time, hypothermia can set it. Once the body temperature hits 90 degrees, vital organs begin slowing down and death can come within minutes – but not for Wim Hof of the Netherlands. Wim, also known as the Iceman, possesses such a strong resistance to cold that scientists remain baffled how his body endures the freezing extremes that would kill most people.

For example, in January 1999 he traveled 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle to run a half marathon in his bare feet. Three years later, Wim earned a Guinness world record when he dove under the ice at the North Pole dressed only in a swimsuit. He held his breath for more than 6 minutes while swimming 265 feet under the ice, almost twice the length of an Olympic-size pool. Then Hof tried to scale Mount Everest in his shorts (but wasn’t able to finish because of a foot injury).

Hof says he discovered his ability to withstand cold temperatures more than 20 years ago. A lot of scientists are working to figure out how the 49-year-old Dutchman is able to withstand freezing temperatures that could be fatal to the average person. Wim simply describes his ability as being able to use his brain to adjust his own thermostat. In 2008, in New York City, Wim broke his previous world record by staying immersed in ice up to the neck for 1 hour, 13 minutes, and 48 seconds with nothing on but a swimsuit! No one else out there seems able to compete with him. He just keeps breaking his own records.

In the Bible we are told it is better to be hot or cold than have our spiritual thermostat lukewarm. Jesus warns the church of Laodicea, a church that represents our present age, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15,16). Why such strong language? These believers do not sense their need of the Holy Spirit. Living in a cold world, they will soon spiritually die and not even know it.