Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God's Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You
Overview
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD
Heaven is even more amazing than you've ever imagined
All of us long to know what life after death will be like. Bestselling author John Burke is no exception.
In Imagine Heaven, he compares more than one hundred gripping stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) to what Scripture says about our biggest questions of Heaven, including:
● Will I be myself?
● Will I see friends and loved ones?
● What will Heaven look like?
● What will we do forever?
● What about children and pets?
Burke shows how the common experiences shared by thousands of near-death 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, forever changing the way you view the life to come--and the way you live your life today.
From the Back Cover
1 out of 25 Americans has had a near-death experience.
Do they reveal the Heaven of the Bible?
All of us long to know what life after death will be like. Bestselling author John Burke is no exception. In Imagine Heaven, he compares more than one hundred 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?
Burke shows how the common experiences shared by thousands of near-death 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, forever changing 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.
"Burke has managed to write this book like a detective novel--it's very hard to put down, yet filled with important content that answers the questions a typical person would have with this subject. In all honesty, this is now the go-to book on Heaven and NDEs."--J. P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy, Biola University
"In his engrossing book, my friend John Burke surveys the vast literature on NDEs, examining them in light of the Bible and showing how they can help us live with an eye on eternity."--Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Grace
"It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a book as much as this one. Imagine Heaven is clearly reasoned and draws relevant applications for our lives."--Gary R. Habermas, distinguished research professor and chair of the department of philosophy, Liberty University
John Burke is the author of No Perfect People Allowed, Soul Revolution, and Unshockable Love. He is the pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas. As an international speaker, John has addressed hundreds of thousands of people in twenty countries on topics of leadership and spiritual growth.
Top Highlights
“‘The verses in Hebrews suggest that God created Earth in the image of Heaven, just as he created mankind in his image” (source)
“Maybe the reason we never feel fully satisfied in this life is because we were created for the life to come.” (source)
“Because love must be free. The freedom to choose or reject God’s leadership is necessary for love.” (source)
“I did not want to look, but he made me look, and I was disgusted and horrified and scared. It was so ugly. The people were blackened and sweaty and moaning in pain and chained to their spots. I had to walk through the area back to the well. . . . He led me to it, but he made me go through it alone as he watched . . . and I knew that I would be one of these creatures if I stayed, because of what I saw in the well. I knew that if I elected to stay because of the greatest, most serene feeling, that I would only have misery because he didn’t want me to stay.” (source)
“What he wants you to do is learn to be secure in his love, in who he made you to be, and from that place of security, you can do what he created you to do. And first and foremost, this is to love those you uniquely can love.” (source)
Heaven is not a boring place where people will spend eternity sitting on clouds playing harps. Instead, it will be abundant life like we always knew it should be, where unconditional love makes us feel forever at home.
In Imagine Heaven, you'll learn about:
- The 12 commonalities many near-death experiences (NDEs) share
- How we can know NDEs are real
- How NDEs corroborate and align with Scripture
- What the Bible says we can expect in heaven
- What relationships will be like in heaven
- What life will be like in heaven
- How a person's view of heaven changes how they love others
You'll also find answers to many questions you may have about heaven, including:
- Will I recognize others?
- What will heaven look like?
- Will my pets be there?
- Who goes and who doesn't
- How can I know my final destination?
Most importantly, exploring people's NDEs reveals how they beautifully align with Scripture and affirm that Jesus is indeed the highlight of heaven and more glorious than anyone can imagine.
And that could change how you live life while on Earth.
Burke has managed to write this book like a detective novel—it's very hard to put down yet filled with important content that answers the questions a typical person would have with this subject. In all honesty, this is now the go-to book on heaven and NDEs.
J. P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy, Biola University
John Burke brings the mind of an engineer, the heart of a pastor, and the discipline of a journalist as he tackles the subject of heaven. If you have ever wondered about the afterlife or longed for a thoughtful investigation into the possibility of a heaven then this is your next book.
Erwin Raphael McManus, lead pastor of Mosaic, author of The Artisan Soul
John Burke’s Imagine Heaven masterfully combines the surprisingly large amount of “data” from interviews with people who have had near-death experiences (NDEs) with “data” from the Scriptures to create a remarkably believable picture of what life after death will be like. He then shows how this picture should significantly impact the way we live our lives today. As a scientist, I particularly appreciated John Burke’s careful analysis of the significant amount of raw “data” from NDE interviews with people of very different ages, cultures, religious beliefs and physical challenges (such as blindness) to find the common elements that emerge to give a vibrant picture of what life after death will likely entail.
Walter Bradley, PhD, Materials Science and author of The Mystery of Life’s Origins
Product Details
- Title : Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God's Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You
- Authors:
- Burke, John
- Piper, Don
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2015
- ISBN: 9781493400515
John Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of Imagine Heaven, No Perfect People Allowed, Soul Revolution, and Unshockable Love. The founder with his wife, Kathy, of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas, John is also the president of Gateway Leadership Initiative (GLI), a nonprofit organization. As an international speaker, John has addressed hundreds of thousands of people in twenty countries on topics of leadership and spiritual growth. He and his family live in Austin, Texas.