All of it is based on psychological, emotional reflexes the brain brings back to the forefront when people are on the verge of death, even for non-religious people who "see" Jesus.

Since I had read several books about near-death experiences (NDEs), I didn't expect to find much new in this book. Imagining and living for Heaven is not optional to God - it's the hope God wants us to hold in our mind's eye. John Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of Imagine Heaven, No Perfect People Allowed, Soul Revolution, and Unshockable Love.But John Burke approached the writing of this book in a way such that my yearning to be there increased all the more. Another interesting point is that there is a life review -- a sort of highlight reel (or lowlight reel -- this ain't Facebook) of what you've done. Burke hopes these accounts will strengthen your belief in heaven, and in turn, motivate you to live your life in a way that brings you closer to God.

Each of these stories are set beside the many verses throughout scripture that talk about Heaven and also the author’s own thoughts about what we could possibly expect to experience there. This book will answer many of your questions, and it is a very comforting book to read following the loss of a loved one, person or pet alike.

I actually listened to this on audiobook a while back, and purchased this hard copy book as a gift since. 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. Throughout his life, he was happy and smiling more often than not, but his earthly smile was weak and pale compared to the beautiful heavenly smile he gave me in that vision. The author takes up many of the NDE (Near Death Experiences) and compares them to what the Bible teaches about Heaven. And the fact that I had gotten this book before my mom got cancer and was able to share with her some of the stories I'd read was awesome.

Brad Barrows, whose heart stopped due to severe pneumonia, said that in heaven, he was no longer visually impaired, and the first thing he saw was a massive field with indescribable brightness. Any other time it would have been my father-in-law who would have taken me at a time when I needed my husband with me but he wouldn't have been able to get the days off. It is a perfect time to engage in discussion about life, death, and the future with some fascinating insights into the possibilities of what lies beyond this life.But if you don't even take that obvious piece of information into account, the argument is still faulty. Instead, the authors of these stories seem obsessed with details like how good they felt—how peaceful, how happy, how comforted they were; how they received privileges and accolades; how fun and enlightening their experience was; and how many things they think they now understand perfectly that could never be gleaned from Scripture alone. I did not read the last chapter completely because it seemed the author was doing a lot of speculating.

I recommend this to people of all faiths- it’s not written from a strictly western world perspective. A book which reviews all the NDE testimonies and gives a disinterested assessment of where they align with Christian dogma would be interesting. Gary Wood, who was killed in a car accident, had a different experience of the city when his friend, John, offered him a quick tour. She was quickly rushed to the emergency room, but she was given only a 10 percent chance of survival when she lapsed into a coma due to brain swelling.Burke even dabbles in a bit of physics (my husband was educated as a physicist so we appreciated that bit).