IMAGINE HEAVEN MINISTRY books
NEW RELEASE
The Imagine Heaven Podcast
With John Burke
NEW RELEASE:
An Estimated 1 out of 25 americans has had a near-death experience.
Do these accounts prove the existence of a loving God, and if so, what is God like?
NEW RELEASE
An Estimated 1 out of 25 americans has had a near-death experience.
Do these accounts prove the existence of a loving God, and if so, what is God like?
Never in history, until now, have we been able to hear from so many people across the globe who have been brought back from clinical death…and they are encountering the same captivating God.
Modern medical resuscitation and digital communication have revealed a gold mine of intriguing near-death experiences (NDEs). John Burke has spent the last three decades studying more than 1,000 NDEs.
Imagine the God of Heaven unveils the fascinating love story and characteristics of this God of all nations, revealed throughout history in scripture, illustrated by nearly 70 thrilling NDE encounters.
Adventure into realms of wonder with people from every continent who found themselves experiencing a magnificent God of captivating love. Along your journey you will realize God is the love you’ve always wanted, and his power, compassion, friendship, and guidance are closer than you could ever imagine!
For such a time as this, Imagine the God of Heaven brings a treasure of biblical truth and inspiration for a world in desperate need of God’s love and wisdom.
Never in history, until now, have we been able to hear from so many people across the globe who have been brought back from clinical death…and they are encountering the same captivating God.
Modern medical resuscitation and digital communication have revealed a gold mine of intriguing near-death experiences (NDEs). John Burke has spent the last three decades studying more than 1,000 NDEs.
Imagine the God of Heaven unveils the fascinating love story and characteristics of this God of all nations, revealed throughout history in scripture, illustrated by nearly 70 thrilling NDE encounters.
Adventure into realms of wonder with people from every continent who found themselves experiencing a magnificent God of captivating love. Along your journey you will realize God is the love you’ve always wanted, and his power, compassion, friendship, and guidance are closer than you could ever imagine!
For such a time as this, Imagine the God of Heaven brings a treasure of biblical truth and inspiration for a world in desperate need of God’s love and wisdom.
A masterpiece! This book is a treasure trove of wisdom about God’s love for you and all of humanity. You won’t want to miss this vitally important book! It’s easy to read and enthusiastically recommend.
– Dr. Jeffery Long, MD
New York Times Bestselling author of Evidence of the Afterlife
Did you picture God as a distant, disinterested entity? If so, reading this book will shatter that false image and enchant your imagination with the wondrous glory of who God really is.
– Lee Strobel
New York Times Bestselling author of The Case for Christ
As a science-based spinal surgeon, I didn’t believe near-death experiences were real until my own NDE changed my life forever. John reveals the God of endless compassion and kindness whose presence I never wanted to leave.
– Dr. Mary C. Neal, MD
Bestselling author of To Heaven and Back
Order the book
About Imagine Heaven
All of us long to know what life after death will be like. New York Times Bestselling Author John Burke is no exception. In Imagine Heaven, Burke compares over 100 gripping stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) to what Scripture says about our biggest questions of Heaven: Will I be myself? Will I see friends and loved ones? What will Heaven look like? What is God like? What will we do forever? What about children and pets?
For decades, Burke has been studying accounts of survivors brought back from near death who lived to tell of both heavenly and hellish experiences. While not every detail of individual NDEs correlate with Scripture, Burke shows how the common experiences shared by thousands of survivors—including doctors, college professors, bank presidents, people of all ages and cultures, and even blind people–point to the exhilarating picture of Heaven promised in the Bible.
This thrilling journey into the afterlife will make you feel like you’ve been there. It will forever change the way you view the life to come and the way you live your life today. You’ll discover Heaven is even more amazing than you’ve ever imagined.
About the author
John Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of Imagine Heaven and Imagine the God of Heaven and has researched 1500 cases of near-death experiences and how they correlate with the Bible. Imagine Heaven has been translated into 28 languages with over a million copies circulated in the US and more across the globe. John’s new You Tube channel and podcast, “The Imagine Heaven Podcast with John Burke” is on all platforms and is currently reaching over 80 countries. John has appeared in multiple documentaries and movies and has been a popular guest on many podcasts and news outlets. John and his wife Kathy founded a multi-site church in Austin, Texas which he led for 26 years. They recently founded Imagine Heaven Ministries that supports their global outreach to share God’s love and the hope of heaven with the world. John and Kathy enjoy living in Austin, Texas and have two married children and two granddaughters.
Imagine Heaven Ministries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Endorsements
— Lee Strobel, best-selling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Grace
— J.P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Biola University, and author of The Soul: How We Know It’s Real and Why It Matters
— Erwin Raphael McManus Lead Pastor, Mosaic Author of The Artisan Soul
— Gary R. Habermas, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Prof. & Chair, Dept. of Philosophy Liberty University & Theological Seminary
— Walter Bradley, Ph.D. Materials Science and author of The Mystery of Life’s Origins
MEDIA
Shawn Ryan Show
Fox & Friends
Glenn Beck
The Kelly File
Metaxastalk
Bible Gateway
The Blaze
Follow or contact Imagine Heaven Ministries
Because of the large number of messages John & Kathy receive across the globe, they are unable to personally respond to each one, but care about your inquiries.
They have provided answers to some common ones in the in the FAQ below, and most thoroughly in the books Imagine Heaven and Imagine the God of Heaven (available at your local library as well anywhere books are sold). Many questions are also covered extensively in the teaching episodes John has posted on his The Imagine Heaven Podcast YouTube channel.
FAQ
What is a near-death experience (NDE)?
A near-death experience can occur during clinical death, which is when the heart stops beating and all brain func- tions cease. When the person is resuscitated, they claim to have been conscious somewhere beyond their physical body, experiencing the life to come. These are referred to as “near-death experiences” because the person came back to life. Although such experiences have also been reported in cases without proof of clinical death, the stories in Imagine the God of Heaven focus almost exclusively on experiences for which there is evidence of clinical death.
Are there any biblical examples of near-death experiences?
I believe so. Consider this account of what happened to the apostle Paul: “They stoned Paul and dragged him out- side the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city” (Acts 14:19-20, niv). If a man is stoned to death and considered dead but gets back up and tells of an encounter with the God of heaven, that’s an NDE. And this may be what Paul later described when he said of himself, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2, niv). Others who may have had an NDE include Lazarus (John 11:1-44), the twelve-year-old girl Jesus raised to life (Mark 5:35-43), the young man Paul raised to life (Acts 20:7-12), and the widow’s son Elijah raised to life (1 Kings 17:17-24). We just don’t have the stories of what they experienced while they were clinically dead. What we do know is that the Scriptures include testimonies of several people (such as Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Paul, and John) who had visions of heaven or were taken to heaven and saw God, and what they reported correlates with what NDErs commonly report today.
Why should we trust people who claim to have had a near-death experience?
While I do think NDE stories are evidence from God of his existence and the reality of heaven and hell, I do not advocate putting our trust in NDE stories. I want people to trust in God based on what he’s revealed of himself in Scripture—and in Imagine the God of Heaven, I show how you can know that God inspired the prophets to write the Scriptures. I think it’s better to see NDE stories as testimonies of God’s existence and the reality of the afterlife, just as we would the testimony of someone who had a personal experience of God in their everyday life. We are wise to evaluate human testimonies based on how they align with God’s self-revelation in Scripture. It’s no different than what happened among people who saw Jesus heal people and raise the dead. Some concluded he was the Messiah, but others said his power to perform miracles came from Satan (John 8:48). NDErs interpret their experiences in light of their background and biases, as any of us would. That’s why I’m not asking you to trust NDErs but rather to see how what they commonly report (as opposed to how they interpret it) aligns with God’s revelation in Scripture.
The Bible says, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, niv). How should this inform our understanding of near-death experiences?
It’s important to understand that a near-death experience is not full biological death or entrance into eternal life. A commonality of NDE stories is encountering a border or boundary that NDErs say they knew they could not cross and still come back to earth. In some cases, Jesus tells the person, “You have not died yet; you must go back.” An NDE is not the same as crossing over into eternity—it’s an experience somewhere between life on earth and the life to come. So when the Bible says, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” this refers to permanent death and eternal life. What NDErs experi- ence does not contradict Hebrews 9:27 because they do not cross the boundary into eternal life but come back to earth. Further, the judgments spoken of in the Bible—the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and the so-called bema seat judgment pertaining to rewards for deeds done on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10)—don’t happen until the conclusion of human history. So when NDErs experience a sort of life review in their NDE, this is not the same thing as God’s judgment. Rather, it seems to be more a validation of Jesus’ words that everything that is secret will be made known, even our secret thoughts and motives (Luke 8:17; 1 Corinthians 4:5).
What about the Scripture passages that say no one has seen God? Shouldn’t we reject these claims of NDErs who say they’ve seen God?
Probably the most seemingly problematic statement rela- tive to NDEs is Jesus’ assertion that “no one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father” (John 6:46, niv). A key principle of interpre- tation is to always interpret Scripture in light of Scripture. So, what must Jesus mean by saying, “No one has seen the Father,” when Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all claimed to have seen God on his throne (Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1; Dan- iel 7; Revelation 4)? Clearly, what NDErs claim to see does not contradict Scripture if what the prophets say aligns with Jesus’ words. As I discuss in Imagine the God of Heaven, I believe Jesus is referring to the transcendent greatness of the infinite, eternal God whose being exceeds even what people in heaven can see or comprehend.
Even in heaven we are not infinite in nature, so we can’t “see” all of God. In that sense, no one has fully seen God except Jesus, the Son, who is one with God.
Jesus said, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man” (John 3:13, niv). Doesn’t this discredit those who claim to see heaven in their NDE?
On first take, this can be a confusing statement. Jesus would have been well acquainted with the Scriptures written by prophets such as Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel who had seen heaven (which aligns with what NDErs see). In context, he’s talking to Nicodemus, who also knew and studied the Prophets but was struggling to believe the mysteries of heaven Jesus was revealing. Likely, what Jesus is saying here is that either he is the only one who can come and go from heaven of his own accord, or he is making the point that he understands the ways of the heavenly Father in a uniquely intimate way because he is the one who descended from heaven. Regardless, NDEr reports align with something experienced later by John when God says to him, “Come up here,” followed by John’s report, “At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it” (Revelation 4:1-2, niv).
Is it possible that people who have had near-death experiences are being deceived by demons?
Evil is real, and it’s deceptive—on earth and in the after- life. I found it interesting that many Christian NDErs I interviewed told me they had a welcoming committee of people whom they knew were there to guide and protect them on their journey to heaven. I always ask, “Protect you from what?” They don’t know, but they intuitively knew in their NDE that those who came to meet them were there to protect them from something. So it appears that NDErs need protection, possibly from demonic interference, and without that protection could possibly be deceived by the demonic. How do we discern whether an NDEr has been deceived? By checking what they say with Scripture. God has given much evidence that the prophets and Jesus spoke his words of truth. I’ve given ways we can know God spoke through the prophets in Imagine the God of Heaven. So, we should always evaluate what NDErs say against what Jesus and the prophets taught. In some cases, I believe it’s also possible that NDErs can have a “truthful” experience, but later interpret that experience in ways that evil twists into partial truths, leading them and others away from follow- ing God.
Can NDE stories be useful in pointing people toward God?
I believe that NDE stories are a gift from God to our globally connected world. They are testimonies from around the world of God’s identity, love, forgiveness, and compassion that align with what the Bible teaches. I believe these stories provide a line of evidence for a new apologetic, capable of pointing people everywhere to the God who created us all for his love. These stories are well known and widely studied. What’s missing is helping people see how they align with God’s revelation, which is what I try to do in Imagine the God of Heaven.
Aren’t you in danger of adding to Scripture by giving credence to these extra-biblical reports, some of which seem pretty wild?
Not at all. I like to think of NDEs not as new revelations but as enhancing the picture the Bible has already given us with more vivid color and detail. In other words, they enhance the understanding of the information we already have. An analogy would be watching a beautiful sunset from the shores of Hawaii while meditating on the verse, “The whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3, niv). The beauty of the surroundings isn’t providing new reve- lation but providing vivid clarity and color that enhance the biblical truth that the world is full of God’s glory. If an NDEr says something that does not align with Scrip- ture, reject it.
How can you endorse the validity of NDE reports when some have gone on to occult practices or contacting the dead? Doesn’t this prove all NDEs are deceptions meant to lead people away from the Bible and Jesus?
It is true that some who have an NDE come back and seek out occult-like practices. But others come back, seek God, and find faith in Jesus. This should
not surprise us since those who watched Jesus do mir- acles during his earthly ministry also had differing responses—some believed in him, and some denounced him. Every good gift from God can be twisted by evil. For example, while sex is a good gift from God (read Song of Songs), people have caused much harm by misusing it. Does that mean sex is evil? No, it means we should help people see what God intended when he gave us the gift of sex. The same is true with NDEs. They are meant to be a gift to help us discover that God is who he says he is and that he loves us.
How do you account for those who see God or Jesus in their NDE but are clearly not believers prior to dying?
It is not unbiblical for nonbelievers to see the risen Jesus. The apostle John wrote, “Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him” (Revelation 1:7, niv). Paul was an unbeliever when he saw this same God of Light, who then identified himself as Jesus. And Paul was not converted just because he saw Jesus. In fact, Jesus did not share the gospel with Paul but only told Paul, “Go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:6, niv). Once there, it was a disciple named Ananias who told Paul what to do to be saved. Paul still had a choice. So it should not surprise us that un- believers see the God of Light and Love and feel loved, yet God does not make the gospel clear in their NDE. God has always used people to tell other people about him, and he wants us to first make the choice to seek him; then we find him.
Don’t NDEs promote universalism, that we’re all going to heaven regardless of belief?
Not at all. There are heavenly NDEs, and there are hell- ish NDEs. If anything, NDEs clarify the reality of all
that Jesus taught. It’s also important to realize that NDEs are not indications of someone’s final destination. I may be invited to visit Buckingham Palace, but that does not mean I’m being adopted into the royal family to live there forever. NDEs are just visits, not permanent residence.
So we can’t draw conclusions about who goes to heaven or hell based on their NDE. I found in my research that some NDEs start off wonderful, and if they had ended there, the NDEr would have concluded, “Atheists go to heaven.” But then the person realized they were being deceived and were led into an outer darkness similar to what Jesus warned about. That’s why I’m trying to show how NDEs fit within the bigger picture of God’s revelation.
Paul wrote, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). How do we know the God of Light NDErs encounter is not a deceptive spirit?
I’m not sure if Paul was being literal or metaphorical here. The context in which he made the statement is discern- ing false teachers, so it could be Paul is referring to “light” in the sense that Satan can cloak his temptations to make them appear to be good. For example, when Satan tempted Eve, he appealed to her by saying that eating from the for- bidden tree would make her wise like God, knowing good and evil. He pretends he’s bringing us light, yet his tempta- tions enslave us in darkness. But if Paul meant that Satan literally appears as an angel of light, I am certain Satan could not also disguise himself to the point of conveying God’s attributes. Many NDErs say things like, “This God of Light is the pinnacle of all love in whose presence I’ve never felt such overwhelming love.” Love comes from God, and Satan rejected God’s love and leadership and was cast out of heaven. Jesus says Satan is a murderer and a liar, and Jesus implies that evil is incapable of love (see John 8:42-44). So it’s hard to imagine that the God of Light and Love NDErs encounter is Satan disguised as God. How- ever, it’s also true that someone can encounter the true God of Light and Love in an NDE yet still be deceived into a false understanding of what their NDE means. Again, that’s why it’s so important to first understand the bigger picture of God’s revelation throughout history so we can wisely discern NDE stories.