1. Heaven is Absolutely Real

In 1999, Dr. Mary C. Neal and her husband decided to kayak a section of river in Chile. They had been kayaking for 20 years and were in the company of professionals. Ostensibly, they had nothing to worry about—until the unexpected happened. Mary rocketed down a waterfall and was submerged in 10 feet of water, pinned by her boat. Though trapped, she felt calm, embraced in Christ’s arms. She saw spiritual beings dressed in brilliant robes of love and a flower-lined pathway leading to a great domed structure. Mary was ready to leave this world, but she was told it was not her time.

 

“God loves us more than we can ever imagine…” Mary later told Mysterious Ways of her experience. “In addition to that, there's no question that I learned that God is real and present, working in our world. God's miracles are present if we look for them. Heaven is absolutely real.”

2. Life Goes by in the Blink of an Eye

While ice climbing in Canada, then-21-year-old Peter Panagore succumbed to frostbite and hypothermia. He felt his soul sucked out of his body. Then he was floating and a giant gateway, 100 yards high and 70 yards wide, appeared. Peter wordlessly spoke to God and was given a choice to go through the gate or return to earth. Peter chose to go back.

 

The experience left him completely changed. He became a minister and today counsels the dying and grieving. Of his encounter with God, Peter recalled, “I couldn’t see God, and yet I could sense him winking at me. That’s the only human way I can describe it. A message he wanted me to know. This thing we call life, it’s the blink of an eye. But heaven, that’s a vision...READ MORE + LISTEN to audio.