FOREVER IS A LONG TIME

By Danelle Carvell

                                                    

People who say they've been to Heaven have amazingly similar stories. Shouldn't we all be intrigued by that? 

You can't argue with a personal testimony. When someone experiences something, I can't question that experience because I was not there and I am not that person. So when someone claims that they went to Heaven, I can't argue or prove them wrong. 

I wouldn't want to prove them wrong because I'm looking forward to seeing Heaven one day. I believe it is a real place because the Bible says so. And God has been allowing people to experience Heaven and then return since biblical times. They have returned to earth with obviously similar stories, which leads one to believe that Heaven is real and we should be concerned about the requirements for getting in. 

Dr. Eben Alexander, a Harvard-educated neurosurgeon, contracted bacterial meningitis. At one point during his illness, he went into a coma and visited Heaven. He wrote about his experience in the medical journal, Missouri Medicine. 

Alexander described a white bright light, beautiful music, colors beyond human understanding, constantly blooming plants and millions of butterflies. He said people didn't speak, but they transmitted thoughts without speaking. The experience led him to write a book titled, Proof of Heaven.

Don Piper described the same beautiful music, a bright white light and the most vivid colors he had ever seen in his book, 90 Minutes in Heaven. Piper went to Heaven in 1989, after his car was hit by a truck on a rainy day while crossing a bridge. 

He said that the bright light came directly from the glory of God. Even his sense of smell was tantalized. Piper said that Heaven smells wonderful. And he confirmed that the streets are paved with gold. 

After his car accident, Piper had no detectable pulse for 90 minutes until a passerby prayed over his lifeless body. His recovery was brutal because his injuries were horrific. He had body parts laying in the back seat and a list of bones that were either broken or shattered. 

Piper said that his grandfather was standing at the entrance to Heaven waiting to welcome him. He had been very close to his grandfather before he died. Other people that he had known before they passed were also there to greet him. 

His experience was made into a movie also titled, 90 Minutes in Heaven. I recently saw it on Pure Flix. What that man endured can only be compared to what Jesus went through. He was conscious during the ambulance ride to the hospital and his pain was hard to watch. 

Another person who claims he went to Heaven is Colton Burpo, who was three years old at the time. He died briefly on the operating table after his appendix burst. When he came home, he told his family that he saw Jesus. 

Like Don Piper, Colton also saw family members in Heaven. He met his great-grandfather, who had died before Colton was born. His parents were amazed when Colton got back home from the hospital and was able to identify his great-grandfather in a photo album. 

Colton also met a sister in Heaven that he didn't know about because his mother had a miscarriage. Colton's parents had never talked about their baby that died before Colton was born. Imagine his parents surprise when he told them that he met his sister in Heaven. His amazing story was turned into a bestselling book and a 2014 movie, both titled Heaven is for Real. 

Another child who went to Heaven is Annabel Beam. This little girl had been suffering from a mysterious illness that left her incapacitated for years. In 2011, she fell head-first into a hollow cottonwood tree in her front yard. She was trapped inside for five hours. 

Shortly after the ordeal was over, her family discovered that Annabel was completely healed. She was no longer in pain and she could run and move as she did before her illness. Annabel told her family that she met Jesus. He had on a white robe with a purple sash. She described Heaven as a peaceful place with lots of light and no pain. Her story was also turned into a book and a 2016 movie, both titled Miracles from Heaven.  

Now a cynical person would say that these people just wanted to sell books, so they made all that stuff up. I say, "What if God allowed them to come back from Heaven so they could convince unbelieving, cynical people that Heaven is Real?"

Eternity is a long time. And God doesn't want anyone to perish. You can't escape eternity once you're there. You will be there forever. That is a big deal. And if you're not thinking about that big deal, you should be. 

The Bible says that the road to Heaven is narrow. And the road to Hell is much wider. Which road are you on? Is it wise to gamble with your own eternity?

You can call me a religious nut, but you know deep down that there is a chance I'm right. Which one of us has our butts covered the best if I am right . Am I the nut, or are you?