<\/p>\n
Millions of people across the globe have had a near-death experience (NDE), according to the 2019 European Academy of Neurology\u2019s study spanning thirty-five countries. People who clinically die and are resuscitated often come back reporting an experience of Heaven or Hell, and even God. Do these wildly popular tales of the afterlife confirm or conflict with what the Bible teaches?<\/p>\n
I first encountered near-death experiences as an agnostic over forty years ago. My dad was dying of cancer when I noticed a book on his bedside table. It was the first study to popularize this phenomenon. I read the book in a single night, and it set me on a journey to faith in Christ. I\u2019ve since gone from a career in engineering to a church-planting pastor, and over the past forty years, I\u2019ve interviewed or studied close to 1,500 cases of near-death experience. For many years, I was confused by some NDE reports that appeared to conflict with the Bible. However, the more cases I studied alongside the biblical teachings on Heaven, the more I understood these conflicts, and I gained insight on the reasons to believe these testimonies are actually God\u2019s global apologetic today. Let me give you my top reasons Christians should not ignore NDEs:<\/p>\n
Near-death experiencers report their soul leaving their physical body, yet they are still themselves with a spiritual body (like in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Consistently, they report being \u201cup above\u201d their bodies, observing what people did and said during their resuscitation. These verifiable observations have been scientifically studied, showing that 92% of their observations were completely accurate, 6% were mostly accurate, only 2% were inaccurate, yet they had no brainwaves. As cardiologist Dr. Michael Sabom reports of his patient\u2019s NDE, \u201che described the resuscitation with such detail and accuracy that I could have later used the tape to teach physicians\u201d (Imagine Heaven\u00a0<\/em>p. 21).\u00a0Verifiable observations ground these experiences in our reality, giving proof that NDEs are not a brain-based phenomenon but evidence of the soul.<\/p>\n In my books, I write about six people, blind from birth, who describe \u201cseeing\u201d the same commonalities during their NDEs that sighted experiencers report. Brad Barrows told me, \u201cThere was tremendous light up there\u2026 It seemed like everything, even the grass I had been stepping on seemed to soak in that light\u201d (Imagine Heaven<\/em>, p. 68). Vicky said a similar thing, \u201cWhat the light conveyed was love\u2026love came from the grass, love came from the birds, love came from the trees.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>This is precisely what the Apostle John describes of Heaven, \u201cThe glory of God illuminates the city\u2026The nations will walk in its light<\/em>\u2026\u201d (Rev. 21:23-24, italics mine). Blind NDErs \u201csee\u201d the glory of God\u2019s light that is God\u2019s love infusing Heaven.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve interviewed NDErs of diverse nationalities and religious backgrounds who report seeing God. Surprisingly, the God they consistently describe has the same characteristics, even though different from their own religious expectations. They encounter a very personal Being, not an impersonal force; a God who knows them intimately and whose presence they never want to leave. Their descriptions attest to the God of all nations who declared to Abraham, \u201cAll the families on earth will be blessed through you\u201d (Genesis 12:3). This happened when Jesus came, died, and rose again, proclaiming \u201crepentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations\u201d (Luke 24:47 NIV). NDErs from all backgrounds testify to this God of all nations, who stands ready to forgive all who turn back to him.<\/p>\n Near-death experiencers consistently describe God as light brighter than the sun, but not hard to look at\u2014in fact, mesmerizing. Dr. Ron Smothermon recalls how God appeared during his NDE: \u201cGod is truly glorious, magnificent, awesome, without equal. His glory is a light but made of infinite love. God\u2019s light appears like a sudden, silent, atomic bomb blast of white light, full of his power. Imagine being five feet away from the source of a nuclear explosion.\u201d Now, one apparent conflict with the Bible is how NDErs interpret<\/em> their experience of God. For instance, Neha, a Hindu woman, said that during her NDE, \u201cI went to this amazing, beautiful place: Some call it heaven\u2026 The glow looked like the sun, fire, light, morning. This glow guided me to my safety\u2026 God definitely exists\u201d (Imagine the God of Heaven<\/em>, pp. 52-53).\u00a0But Neha then says she experienced Durga Ma, the Hindu Goddess her family worships. Yet she does not report seeing anything like the classic description of Durga Ma, a beautiful woman with eight to ten arms riding a lion. She sees the God of Light. Many examples like this made me realize there\u2019s a difference between what NDErs commonly report\u00a0<\/em>and how they later interpret<\/em> their encounter. Neha also said, \u201cI felt a distant presence of Jesus Christ. I came back understanding Christianity, which previously I did not.\u201d So, we should not believe every interpretation of an NDE, but focus on the commonalities they report, which do align with the Bible. After all, Yahweh revealed himself to Moses in a brilliant light on Mt. Sinai, Jesus\u2019s face shone brighter than the sun at the transfiguration, and Jesus declared, \u201cI am the light of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n In God\u2019s presence, NDErs commonly report having a Life Review. Heidi, a Jewish girl whose horse fell on her and crushed her, surprisingly found herself up above her body with Jesus. She knew he was God and loved her deeply, yet he also knew all her good and bad. Jesus gave Heidi a Life Review: \u201cAs I floated, a three-dimensional vision of my life began to unfold before me. I could see and feel the events of my life from my own perspective, but at the same time I could also feel the impact I had on others\u201d (Imagine the God of Heaven, p. 127).\u00a0<\/em>NDErs say time is like what Peter describes, \u201cWith the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day\u201d (2 Peter 3:8). Because of this, NDErs often re-live their entire lives in a panoramic, 3D viewing of every scene. The emphasis, they say, is on relationship. God cares most about how we love one another, and in this Life Review, they experience how every little act of kindness, or unkindness, affected the other person. They literally experience the truth of Matthew 22:36-40, that loving God and loving your neighbor matter most. The Life Review also confirms Matthew 10:26, where Jesus says that everything hidden will be made known, and Matthew 25:34-40, which says that every little act of kindness is seen and felt by God. Across the globe, people attest to the truth of Jesus\u2019s words during their Life Review.<\/p>\n NDErs who may have formerly thought of God as distant, strict, and unemotional are surprised by his joy. Former CEO Randy Kay told me that during his NDE, \u201cJoy exuded from every sight and sound, causing my heart to leap with excitement\u2026 \u2018You see my joy?\u2019 Jesus asked. I guessed that the more you serve others unselfishly in the world, the greater your joy in Heaven.\u201d Many NDErs testify to the joy of God shared by the inhabitants of Heaven, and this should not surprise us. Jesus said,\u00a0\u201c<\/strong>I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!\u201d (John 15:11).<\/p>\n In Imagine the God of Heaven<\/em>, I report on 70 people I\u2019ve interviewed from India, the Middle East, Asia, and across the globe. Despite diverse religious backgrounds, they report the same God. Sometimes God appears as a light brighter than the sun, but sometimes as a man of light they know to be God. To Bibi in Tehran, this man of light said in Persian, \u201cI AM,\u201d and she was back in her body with a peace and joy she\u2019d never known. This sent her on a search to know the God who declared, \u201cI AM.\u201d Sometimes, God gives NDErs parables, and when they seek him, they find him. Santosh, a Hindu engineer, perfectly described seeing the holy city of God, like in Revelation 21, and the Almighty on his throne. Santosh saw all twelve gates into the city were closed, but one \u201cvery narrow gate\u201d was open to him. Bibi, Santosh, and many others returned from their NDEs seeking the God they encountered and found faith in Jesus. Occasionally, God is more direct. Dr. Rajiv Parti was the chief anesthesiologist at a major hospital when he had an NDE. He asked this brilliant God of light, \u201cWho are you, Lord?\u201d And just like Saul experienced on the Damascus Road, out of the light stepped a bearded man in a robe of light who said, \u201cI am Jesus, your Savior.\u201d<\/p>\n What about NDErs who say things that conflict with biblical teaching? We must understand that some NDEs are classified as \u201cshallow,\u201d meaning they only experience a few of the forty commonalities I\u2019ve chronicled that align with the Bible. If someone dies, leaves their body, feels great, then returns\u2014they can interpret that experience within a hundred different worldviews, and they do. Even when Jesus walked the earth, many people saw his miracles and interpreted them as proof he was the Messiah, yet others called him a sorcerer. NDEs are simply testimonies, and how they interpret their experiences may vary. However, what they actually report consistently gives global witness to the God of the Bible.<\/p>\n Photo Credit: \u00a9iStock\/Getty Images Plus\/kieferpix <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n John Burke<\/strong> is the author of the New York Times<\/em> bestselling book Imagine Heaven<\/em>. His newest book, Imagine the God of Heaven,\u00a0<\/em>reveals seventy global NDEs that confirm the God of the Bible.<\/em> For 60 reflections on God\u2019s character, see Imagine the God of Heaven Devotional<\/em>.<\/p>\n Originally published December 09, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of people across the globe have had a near-death experience (NDE), according to the 2019 European Academy of Neurology\u2019s study spanning thirty-five countries. People who clinically die and are resuscitated often come back reporting an experience of Heaven or Hell, and even God. Do these wildly popular tales of the afterlife confirm or conflict<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[45,3586,182,3585,2116],"class_list":["post-12848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-christian-living","tag-bible","tag-experiences","tag-god","tag-neardeath","tag-point"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Blind People See<\/h2>\n
God of All Nations<\/h2>\n
Light and Love<\/h2>\n
Truth and Omniscience\u00a0<\/h2>\n
God of Joy\u00a0<\/h2>\n
God of Jesus<\/h2>\n
Conflict and Confirmation<\/h2>\n