Do Near-Death Experiences Point Us to the God of the Bible?

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Millions of people across the globe have had a near-death experience (NDE), according to the 2019 European Academy of Neurology’s 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?

Agnostic to Believer

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’ve since gone from a career in engineering to a church-planting pastor, and over the past forty years, I’ve 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’s global apologetic today. Let me give you my top reasons Christians should not ignore NDEs:

Verifiable Observations

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 “up above” 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’s NDE, “he described the resuscitation with such detail and accuracy that I could have later used the tape to teach physicians” (Imagine Heaven p. 21). Verifiable observations ground these experiences in our reality, giving proof that NDEs are not a brain-based phenomenon but evidence of the soul.

Blind People See

In my books, I write about six people, blind from birth, who describe “seeing” the same commonalities during their NDEs that sighted experiencers report. Brad Barrows told me, “There was tremendous light up there… It seemed like everything, even the grass I had been stepping on seemed to soak in that light” (Imagine Heaven, p. 68). Vicky said a similar thing, “What the light conveyed was love…love came from the grass, love came from the birds, love came from the trees.” This is precisely what the Apostle John describes of Heaven, “The glory of God illuminates the city…The nations will walk in its light…” (Rev. 21:23-24, italics mine). Blind NDErs “see” the glory of God’s light that is God’s love infusing Heaven.

God of All Nations

I’ve 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, “All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). This happened when Jesus came, died, and rose again, proclaiming “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (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.

Light and Love

Near-death experiencers consistently describe God as light brighter than the sun, but not hard to look at—in fact, mesmerizing. Dr. Ron Smothermon recalls how God appeared during his NDE: “God is truly glorious, magnificent, awesome, without equal. His glory is a light but made of infinite love. God’s 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.” Now, one apparent conflict with the Bible is how NDErs interpret their experience of God. For instance, Neha, a Hindu woman, said that during her NDE, “I went to this amazing, beautiful place: Some call it heaven… The glow looked like the sun, fire, light, morning. This glow guided me to my safety… God definitely exists” (Imagine the God of Heaven, pp. 52-53). But 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’s a difference between what NDErs commonly report and how they later interpret their encounter. Neha also said, “I felt a distant presence of Jesus Christ. I came back understanding Christianity, which previously I did not.” 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’s face shone brighter than the sun at the transfiguration, and Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.”

Truth and Omniscience 

In God’s 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: “As 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” (Imagine the God of Heaven, p. 127). NDErs say time is like what Peter describes, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (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’s words during their Life Review.

God of Joy 

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, “Joy exuded from every sight and sound, causing my heart to leap with excitement… ‘You see my joy?’ Jesus asked. I guessed that the more you serve others unselfishly in the world, the greater your joy in Heaven.” Many NDErs testify to the joy of God shared by the inhabitants of Heaven, and this should not surprise us. Jesus said, ^“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:11).

God of Jesus

In Imagine the God of Heaven, I report on 70 people I’ve 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, “I AM,” and she was back in her body with a peace and joy she’d never known. This sent her on a search to know the God who declared, “I AM.” 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 “very narrow gate” 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, “Who are you, Lord?” And just like Saul experienced on the Damascus Road, out of the light stepped a bearded man in a robe of light who said, “I am Jesus, your Savior.”

Conflict and Confirmation

What about NDErs who say things that conflict with biblical teaching? We must understand that some NDEs are classified as “shallow,” meaning they only experience a few of the forty commonalities I’ve chronicled that align with the Bible. If someone dies, leaves their body, feels great, then returns—they 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.

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John Burke is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Imagine Heaven. His newest book, Imagine the God of Heaven, reveals seventy global NDEs that confirm the God of the Bible. For 60 reflections on God’s character, see Imagine the God of Heaven Devotional.