Seeing Heaven Through a Near-Death Experience

Tales of heaven from people who have been there and back.

What do we experience in heaven? A brilliant light, reunion with our loved ones, a place of unimaginable beauty—or all of the above? Read on for five incredible near-death experiences (NDEs) that offer a glimpse into what awaits us in the beyond. 

Illustration by Guy Stauber

1 of 6 A Soldier’s Family

Bud Evans lay there, helpless and alone, as bullets ricocheted around him. Rockets shrieked overhead. He clenched his teeth, bracing against the pain. One of his fellow soldiers managed to get to him. He pulled Bud to a spot with more cover and yelled for a medic.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Evans,” he said. “We’ve got you.”

Bud fought to keep his eyes open. “‘You have to stay awake,’ the medic said. Still, Bud felt himself drifting. “Stay with us, Evans.”

Everything went black…

Read about what Bud Evans saw during his NDE.


Photo by Dan MacMedan

2 of 6 There and Back Three Times

Nadia McCaffrey is 74 years old. She has glimpsed the afterlife three times in her life. First at age seven. Then at 17. And again at 54. For many years, Nadia wondered why she was allowed to live. Read her story and then you decide: Why did Nadia come back?

Learn the message Nadia McCaffrey needed to hear.

Photo courtesy of Mark D. McDonough

3 of 6 God Told Me

Mark McDonough was a 27-year-old physical therapist who worked with burn victims at a hospital in central Florida. From the outside, he seemed on his way to success… Except for the alcohol he’d come to depend on.

Mark had grown up watching his dad’s drinking become a problem. It started after his mom and youngest brother, Toby, died in a horrific house fire 11 years earlier. Mark vowed he’d never end up like him. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Mark thought. Everything was supposed to be part of God’s loving plan. God told me so once…

See how Mark McDonough’s NDE from years ago helped him get sober.


Illustration by Adrian Deggan

4 of 6 The Near-Death Experiences of Children

Flowers that stretched as far as the eye could see. Light, ethereal and embracing. Peacefulness unlike anything imaginable.

Decades later, the survivors remember every detail. Memories so vivid, their day-to-day lives seem muted. Less real than what they saw when, as children, they were transported somewhere beyond our world. A place where time and space don’t exist. For Ingrid Honkala, it happened when she was nearly three and drowned in a water tank. For Alma Blazquez, it was at age four, suffocated at the hands of an abusive family member. And for Teresa McLean, it was at age three, after accidentally overdosing on aspirin.

Read about the remarkable NDEs of children.


Jeff Olsen and Dr. Jeff O'Driscoll (Photo by Robin Johnson)

5 of 6 A Shared Experience

Jeff Olsen lost his wife, Tamara, and their infant son in a car crash. Jeff was alive, but critically injured. He almost didn’t make it. While he was unconscious, he had a powerful NDE in which he saw Tamara surrounded by a golden light. He didn’t want to come back, but she said he had to. Their eldest son, Spencer, needed his dad.

At the hospital, Dr. Jeff O’Driscoll heard about the family coming in from a car accident. It wasn’t his patient, but he felt compelled to see Jeff himself—and when he did, he had a mystical vision. What did Dr. O’Driscoll’s vision mean? And should he tell Jeff Olsen about it?

Read about Jeff Olsen’s NDE and its amazing connection to Dr. Jeff O’Driscoll.


People I Met at the Gates of Heaven book by Don Piper (Guideposts)

6 of 6 Want more stories of Heaven?

Wouldn’t you love to glimpse heaven and experience the mysteries and joys that await you in the hereafter? That’s exactly what happened to Don Piper, who died in a horrific accident…experienced God’s peace and love in heaven…and then returned to life on earth. Don’s best-selling book about how he spent 90 minutes in heaven has riveted more than eight million readers. In People I Met at the Gates of Heaven, Don reveals for the first time, the sacred details of the people who greeted him at the gates of heaven and the profound impact they had on his faith on earth.

Whether you’re grieving a loss, facing an illness, or simply feeling fearful about death, People I Met at the Gates of Heaven will reassure you about God’s loving care.

Get Heaven is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations ($24.99 value) for FREE with your purchase! 

Read a Free Excerpt Today!

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Witnessing Heaven Series

True Stories of Transformation from Near-Death Experiences

Join the extraordinary Witnessing Heaven series and take an unforgettable journey through the stories of real people, just like you, who took a miraculous journey to heaven and back. Some of the books in the series are:

  • Book 1: Heavenly Encounters
  • Book 2: Messages from Heaven
  • Book 3: Transformed by Heaven
  • Book 4: A Love Beyond Words
  • Book 5: A Choir of Angels
  • Book 6: Scenes from Heaven
  • Book 7: A Joy Like No Other
  • Book 8: A Glorious Light
  • Book 9: In The Presence of Love
  • Book 10: Wonders of Heaven

You can join the series and save $2 per book, or you can purchase each book individually.

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