This post reflects on T.D. Jakes’ sudden heart attack and his vivid description of a peaceful, heavenly space. Join the discussion on whether such experiences provide insight into eternity.
In November 2024, Bishop T.D. Jakes experienced a major health scare during a sermon at The Potter’s House in Dallas. Without warning, he collapsed from a heart attack. Medical professionals later told him that if help had arrived just five minutes later, it could have been fatal (Chron, Page Six).
What he described next was powerful: a quiet, serene, cloud-filled space that he interpreted as a glimpse of the afterlife. He later said the experience reminded him how fragile life is and how much we should cherish each moment (Crosswalk).
Have you or someone you know ever had a near-death experience? What are your thoughts on these types of encounters? Are they purely biological responses, or could they be windows into something greater?
The brain supposedly releases DMT upon death which creates a dragged out floaty experience akin to some form of drug induced trip.
I don’t think anyone can honestly say they know because of the steps the body takes to make release easier. Where that experience ends and the other begins, who could say?
Some people claim they knew what people were saying or doing while they were dead. They claimed they could see or hear things while they floated above their bodies.
But even then, unless they could know things that happened away from earshot like in another room, it doesn’t really prove anything about the afterlife. The ears could still be picking up information as the brain is dying. We don’t know how long after physical death this continues for people to be able to hear.
Which is why people are told to tell their loved ones that it is okay to go forward in peace after they pass.
No. I do not believe that near-death experiences offer glimpses of the afterlife. Why is that limited to near-death experiences? After all, the person is still alive.
Hi,
No.
If this is a Christian experience, why is it selective?
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. KJV
According to Solomon, this is what happens to our spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. KJV
Paul agrees.
I don’t know of any Scripture that supports a “near death experience.”
I personally believe it to be Christian sensationalism used to sell books.
Maybe the person did have an experience.
But there is no basis for it Scripture of which I know.
People claim to get abducted by aliens also.
Did they really have such an experience?
Who can say?
There is no measurable proof.
But a good story can sell books.
There are many accounts of ’ nde ’ some have not been pleasant.
As far as Im concerned there is a simple test as to whether it is a real spiritual experience or not.
I have read many NDE books, but one story stuck with me. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which book I got this from.
In this story, the patient described that he was in a hospital room, had a cardiac arrest, and while hospital personal came rushing in, he left his body and floated up to the ceiling.
Here something remarkable happenend. He spotted a note that was left on top of one of the closets, right under the celing. In a place where it could not be seen from the hospital bed that he was lying in. After his out of body experience this was verified and they found the note.
To me, this can simply not be dismissed as some leftover function of the brain, but it hints at something eternal - our soul.
From a biblical perspective, no—I don’t believe near-death experiences offer genuine glimpses of the afterlife.
While people may sincerely describe vivid and emotional moments during those experiences, they are not authoritative or trustworthy sources of truth about eternity. Scripture is clear that after death comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27), and Jesus’ teaching in Luke 16 shows that even someone rising from the dead would not be more persuasive than the Word of God. Experiences can be shaped by many things—trauma, brain activity, emotions—but God has already told us everything we need to know about heaven, hell, and salvation through His Word.
So while I don’t doubt that people experience something during an NDE, I don’t believe those experiences are revelations from God about the afterlife. Truth comes from Scripture—not from visions, feelings, or personal stories.
While near-death experiences (NDEs) are often emotionally intense and described with striking detail, they should not be considered reliable glimpses into the afterlife. According to Scripture, God has given us a complete and sufficient revelation about life after death through His Word. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” There is no indication in Scripture that people return from the dead with insider information about heaven or hell. In fact, in Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus, where Abraham tells the rich man that if people do not listen to Moses and the prophets—that is, to God’s Word—then even someone rising from the dead would not convince them.
The danger of relying on NDEs is that they can easily promote experiences or feelings over truth. Many accounts contradict biblical teaching, promoting universalism or vague spirituality rather than the gospel. God has not left us in the dark about eternity; He has spoken clearly through Scripture, and everything we need to know about the afterlife is already there. Rather than seeking truth through subjective experiences, we are called to trust in the certainty of God’s Word and the salvation found in Christ alone.
