He's Studied 1,000+ Near-Death Experiences and Says This Is Why He Believes They Prove the Bible

you have a new book, imagine the sky god and I want to get into the book, talk about all the details of it, but before I get into that I want to back up a little bit because a lot of people have probably heard the acronym. nde or have heard the term near-

death

experience and may not fully understand what that means. Can you define it for us? Yes, it is when someone dies clinically or really what I study is when someone dies clinically and their heart stops. They have no brain weights and yet modern medicine or the Miracle brings them back and sometimes minutes later, sometimes it's hours, and when

they

come back

they

talk about experiencing the life to come and they talk about it being more real than anything they have had.

Have you ever experienced anything in

this

world, yes, and these stories have captivated people for a long time and that's why they get so much attention. In fact, you know that you are constantly asked to talk about

this

to appear in movies about it. Obviously I've researched this for decades and you have the new book here and it's Imagine Heaven God, why did you choose to write this book right now, long after I wrote Imagine Heaven in 2015, Billy I? I actually stopped writing, I'm a pastor, and then I thought, "Enough is enough." I don't need to be an author.

I think I did what you know. I had

studied

thousands of them for 35 years and in Imagine Heaven I was trying to show how. The Theology of the Scriptures and what these people constantly overlay describing is the same thing, it is the same life to come, but one of the things they told me over and over again is beyond the beauty of Heaven and these great gatherings and the Mysteries and the wonders if they were ever in the presence of God they would say I didn't care about any of that none of that mattered to me all that mattered was just looking into his eyes just being with him and then what I'm trying to do e imagine that the god of heaven is what I am showing through 70 interviews that I have done with people who have had these clinical

death

experiences

around the world that they are seeing and experiencing the god of the Scriptures and we are looking at not only his story of love told throughout the story in the Bible but also its heart and characteristics the mystery the Majesty of God and what I'm trying to do is expand the box of people, you know, we are all finite, we put God in We have a box, but that box needs to be expanded because it's so much more glorious, so much more mysterious than we ever imagined, but it's also so much more relatable, even fun, and then for Christians, some of us it's like what not, God, it's not F.

Well, who do we think invented the idea and our ability to laugh or enjoy life or have a sense of humor or any of those things that came from him? All of those things, though, as you know, how many Christians believe in God, but don't really trust him completely because they're not sure he's really going to. That is not the path to joy, it is this way. Yeah, I have to ask you this because obviously you're a pastor and one of the things just on my part from a journalistic perspective of covering a lot of these stories talking to you over the years I know you're really the most notable person that's ever seen you know these

experiences

I think there are very few people who have seen as many of them understood, since many of them did as much research as you did, and yet sometimes I interact with people who are Christians and they will tell me, well, you know, those stories are not real or they will say, well, they violate the Scriptures, you know there is no way that could be true and I was curious why you think that reaction and of course many Christians believe this in these accounts, but why do you think there is a current of that in Christianity?

Why is there a rejection of these stories? Well, I think it's because if you don't understand that these are testimonies, they are testimonies like any testimonies and they are human, then they are interpreting the way I like to describe it, imagine if our entire existence. you live in a flat black and white painting on the wall of your house death means separation your soul separates from your body so imagine that when you die you take off that two-dimensional black and white painting and come out here into a three-dimensional world of Color and then imagine that you are pressed again and you have to describe three dimensions of color in two-dimensional terms in black and white and that is exactly what is happening with these people: they are experiencing the reality of God, the reality of a life that is extradimensional. to our three dimensions of space and one dimension of time and this is also biblical, you know, even time works, I talk about it working in two, maybe three dimensions, and you know Peter in 2 Peter 3:8, he said to the Lord a one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day, well that's exactly what independent ears say, so the reason I think people don't understand is because they can interpret their own vision of the world.

I'll give you an example in Imagine the God of the Sky. I have people from all continents and from all religious backgrounds and I am showing that they are not seeing the god or experiencing heaven, they expect it like this, Santos, who is this manufacturing engineer, this God of Light and love takes him to this, he is looking at. about this city that he describes as a giant complex thousands of miles long, 12 gates he counts, he is perfectly describing the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, but he knows nothing about it and comes back and realizes that the God he found was Jesus , but they're seeing things and experiencing things that their worldview would have no context for and I also give an account of a girl, uh, Nia, who had almost the same kind of experience, sees this God of light and and love and the beauty of the sky but come back and interpret that God is Durga Ma so go to Goddess Durga now the truth is I mean Goddess Durga is described as a woman with 8 to 12 arms with weapons riding a um writing a lion and that is not at all what she saw, what she described was this God of Light who is personal and loving and then she also said: I came back with the knowledge of Christianity and Jesus that I didn't have before.

Wow, so you got and In the book I have a Muslim in Rwanda who was an imam and he dies of blood cancer and in this place he was starting a hellish experience. His mother was actually going to Christians at the time because nothing had worked to save her son. so she and an Anglican Christian Church are praying for him and in this hellish experience Jesus comes, he had a beard, a robe and a golden sash and he said: light coming out of him like the sun that went through Swedish and then he said He stretched out his hands and saw holes of nails in his palms and told him: I died for humanity, you are one of those who died, never deny it and tell everyone, wow, today he is an Anglican pastor and his life has been threatened seven times. times and but my point is that the god of the story is being seen and experienced and that is what I am showing in Imagine the God of Heaven that this God did not begin to reveal himself in the age of near-death experiences. and what he's been saying throughout history in the scriptures is that the same God that they are experiencing, and for non-Christians, I mean, because when I first heard this I was agnostic, so hearing these experiences as an engineer it made me think maybe This is evidence and then it took me to the scriptures and then I started looking at the evidence and I got to Faith and I think non-Christians will really help them see that, but believers will be blown away. .

We know things like love, we know that God is love, but you have no idea what that really means. I didn't have it and I hear these people talk about God's love being in a different order of magnetity than what we are talking about for you. I know, yeah, no, I mean, it's very interesting to me because a lot of the rejection of these stories, actually, some of it seems to come from Christians, right? I mean, and it's interesting because when people say, well, it's not scripture, it's not biblical. The apostle Paul talks about an experience that seems very similar to these stories you're describing, see?

I mean, there's nothing for me in Scripture and correct me if I'm wrong to tell us that this is not true or to tell us that I couldn't believe these stories correctly and then I don't know where that piece comes from when people specifically say "well , the Bible

says

it can't be true, they haven't

studied

it." I just heard someone speak and that's why you know both of my books are full of Scripture. You know this is a study of God through the Scriptures, but you are seeing it illustrated through 70 people from around the world. I think Billy, this is from God.

I think God is bearing witness to himself in our era of global connection and for a time like this, I mean, it's getting crazier, right, it's also on the cusp of hey, look, I'm everyone's god. Nations, is what he said in Genesis chapter 12, he is going to raise up Abraham and Sarah to form a nation, he is going to bless them to bless all the nations, yes, and then the whole story of the Bible ends in Revelation, where John sees people from every tribe, language, language and nation you know worshiping God together in heaven, so I think he's just reminding us all that no, I am the god of all nations and I want children of all the nations return home. why he did well what he did through Jesus and so do you.

I just wanted to throw out what you're saying because I think it's important. You know, we also have many accounts of Muslims who know very little about Jesus outside of what they know. They tell me that in the Middle East they have dreams that they find Jesus. Through dreams, I mean, this is something that is not one or two people, this is something that, in fact, when you interview some of the evangelists that you know who are working in the Middle East, they will tell you. I'm telling you, you'd be surprised to talk to someone who hasn't had that experience and who converted to Christianity in the Middle East, so these are examples.

I think of God reaching people in very unique ways and then most of these people and you know better than me, but those I interviewed said they felt God calling them to come back and share their story that part of visiting the heavy sky was to go back and share it, that's compelling to me too, oh yeah. Santosh the Hindu industrial engineer sees the almighty on his throne sees a very narrow door the only one open said it was a narrow door the other 12 doors were closed for me but there was a narrow door open and the Lord said Santos I will send you back and When you return you must love your family, especially your daughter, she needs you right now and you will see how tender, how merciful and compassionate because Antos also saw hell and describes it exactly as the Scriptures do. and when he looks into the eyes of God he has this review of Life where he sees all his sins and he falls to his knees and

says

forgive me forgive me forgive me and then he feels the love and the tenderness and the mercy and the Grace of the Lord and when he comes back, it ends Seeking God with all his heart, he's like, who is this God?

This is not who I learned about in My Religion growing up and he goes to this church um when they invited his daughter to sing there and they're talking about the narrow way, the narrow way, just the narrow gate, you must enter the kingdom of God through the narrow door and Jesus says: I am the door, you know, through which the sheep enters, goes home and begins to read the Bible and comes to faith. in Christ wow and this is happening and one of the things that God told him is to tell the truth and what he said is that not only did he mean not to lie but he meant tell the truth about hell tell the truth about the kingdom of hell heavens and Tell the truth about me at the narrow gate, so yes, I completely agree.

You mentioned that Muslims see God. So this Muslim who was a pastor in Tron came to talk to me and wants to go to lunch. He brings in his mother, who only speaks Farsy, and it turns out that she came to Christ through a vision of Jesus. She asked him and he said she was related to the Prophet Muhammad and I asked him if she was still Muslim and he said, "I'll let her tell you" and she starts telling. through this translation about when she had a near death experience her heart stops this God of Light but with a robe and a beard but a giant comes and tells her I am the one that is this is how they translated it I am the one that is now, that's the God of Light that appears to Moses and says, "I am," you know, I'm right, that's it and that's what I'm trying to show and it's just incredible, Billy, see that God is doing something like that as Christians here.

What I like to say, you know, every good gift comes from a God of God, but we can abuse them, of course. I will use an example: sex, it is a good gift from God, is it absolutely abused? Christians should back off because it's horrible and it causes so much pain and you know so much immorality is committed through it, no, we should talk about it, not run from it, and that's the same with these near-death experiences. I think they are testimonies from God, but you know if you went and interviewed a group of people on Jesus' day, some would say I saw him raise the dead, I saw him heal a leper, he is the Messiah and theOthers would say yes, I saw him do that, but he's a demon, he's possessed by a demon, so people can interpret the same event in different ways but what's important and I say don't believe in any near-death experience. .

I do not do it. I'm seeing what the overlapping commonalities are and how they line up with Scripture and in that our faith is just reinforced because they're putting words and color into the truths and the words of Scripture that just amplify the truths of Scripture are my last question for you and I could talk to you for hours about this because I find it incredibly fascinating and you are so knowledgeable about these stories and I love what you do. said there about you know how to investigate it and understand that you know the truth behind these stories and get to that truth, but how has this study and EXPERIENCE changed you?

How has your perspective changed? Obviously, you started it. We know where you started when you first looked at this. I'm an agnostic, but once you became a Christian and immersed yourself in all of this, what has shown you that God is better than you ever imagined? I mean, and I'm not just saying this because it's the title of my book. saying, you know an example, so there are some things in the Scriptures like um psalm 37:4 delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. I always knew that doesn't mean you know if you are.

You're delighting in God, you want a Lamborghini, you get the Lamborghini, you know, that's not it, but as I listen to these people in the presence of God and what He did for them and what He told them and even Jesus saying when when one. a guy who was very, very bullied as a kid and his little fox terrier dog was his best friend he would always jump on him and lick his face like it was a lollipop and then the dog died when he was in college and here's a man. a CEO and dies and is in the presence of Jesus and Jesus says look and here Across The Meadows of Heaven comes running, his dog Casey jumps on him like he used to do and licks his face like he used to do and Jesus says look darling I give you the desires of your heart wow well things like that and the book is loaded with things like that where you just go, it's better than what I ever anticipated like people think they're going to miss it somehow after Jesus in this life because maybe maybe they make sacrifices or don't do things that everyone else does you won't miss anything there's nothing you'll miss out on he I love that more than you can imagine I love that message and and I love that you're pointing people to God through these stories.

It's absolutely incredible. The book imagines the god of the sky. I appreciate your time as always. It's always great to talk to you. Thanks Billy.