5 Near Death Experiences: Did They Really Happen?

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Dying and coming back to life has been featured on talk shows, in books and in feature films. Given the entire attention over the years, one really wonders if people really do see heaven and hell, and can live to tell about their journey. If you’re not a person of faith, science is also intrigued by the mystery of life after death. Scientists are becoming more interested regarding Near Death Experiences (NDE) as medical technology improves to save lives. The reason is that people who usual go through these experiences are engulfed in medical equipment to measure vitals and to record brain activity. This is giving them a bigger window into the afterlife, and what a person could be experiencing. The Near Death Research Foundation is a free public service and welcomes people of all religions to share NDE’s with them. “Most people who have come to death say they remember nothing, around 18 percent later report that “something happened. That "something" is often a near-death experience. NDE's are relatively common. As of 2001, almost 600 adults per day in the United States experience an NDE,” the site offered.

Dean Braxton

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Dean Braxton died in 2006 and went to heaven after his heart stopped for over an hour after having multiple organ failure. On the way to heaven he saw all the prayers coming from the earth. He saw angels that were assigned to him, and saw Jesus, the Savior. Braxton was happy, he recalled as there was a feeling of rest, and peace like being home. However, Jesus told him it was time to go back. He told CBN: “The first thing that comes to me is, He’s bright, just like John said, 'He’s brighter than the noon day sun,' and the next phrase I say, I wish people could grab it, and it’s this one: 'We could look at Him.' And what you’re looking at is not so much the physical part of it--you’re really experiencing the love He has for you. It’s like He only loves you and no one else. I saw Him communicating to angels. He would just look at them. Communication there was thought to thought. They would acknowledge receiving His information, bow before Him like this and then, back out." Today Braxton shares his story with others to encourage them to follow Christ.

Don Piper

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Preacher Don Piper experienced going to heaven for over an hour after a car accident in rural Texas. Immediately, he was transported to a place and was greeted by loved ones, and a bright light that led him to a bridge. He sensed the glory of God there, and heard the most exquisite music. He also saw thrones and brilliant colors in heaven. “The moment the truck struck me on the bridge I was standing at the gates of heaven there—12 of them, of course, according to Revelation. And I was at one of them surrounded by people I had known and loved in life who had preceded me in death. Grandparents, friends, teachers, relatives, and I was greeted by them and they were literally in perfect condition. Many of them had died in old age here but they were perfect and healthy there,” he told The Christian Post. Meanwhile, a man and his wife were praying for Piper, and he was ushered back to life. Piper tells more of his story in the book 90 Minutes in Heaven.

Dr. Rajiv Parti

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Dr. Rajiv Parti’s was dying fast. The infection in his blood was shutting down the body as he was rushed to UCLA hospital. The doctors scheduled surgery as the antibiotics were not working. After 20 minutes into surgery he was floating near the ceiling in the operation room. He heard the staff make dirty jokes, something he shared with them later to confirm his experience. Then Parti saw darkness, and saw hell. He was rebuked for not taking care of his own patients and family. Scared, he cried for help, and saw his father. “He moved through another tunnel and was greeted by his guardian angels who imparted divine knowledge," his website shared. "After promising they would always be with him, the angels directed Dr. Parti to a Light Being brighter than a thousand suns. Before the Light Being, Dr. Parti was given a new direction in life, to help people battle the diseases of the soul – the same ones he had himself!” Parti discusses this heartbreaking journey in the book, Dying to Wake Up.

Dr. Eben Alexander

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Dr. Eben Alexander did not believe in the afterlife, but after he was infected with meningitis in 2008 and slipped into a comma, he saw heaven. He recounted the experience by sharing the colors were vivid, and he was guided by a little girl. Alexander was encouraged that he would be taught many things, and was deeply loved. He told ABC News that all his earthly memories were gone."I had no body awareness at all. I was just a speck of awareness in kind of a dark, murky environment, in roots or vessels or something. And I seemed to be there for a very long time--I would say years. I was rescued by this beautiful, spinning, white light that had a melody, an incredibly beautiful melody with it that opened up into a bright valley. [He saw] an extremely verdant valley with blossoming flowers and a just incredible, rich, ultra-real world of indescribable complexity.” He also said that it would be scientifically impossible to survive severe bacterial meningitis, and have such visions.

Mickey Robinson

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Mickey Robinson’s plane engine stopped and hit an oak tree at 100 mph, face first. He felt the Lord’s presence immediately. Robinson found himself surrounded in darkness and he felt the horror of eternal hell. Soon Robinson was standing on a moving river of gold and a light came with a feeling of immeasurable love. “As I was laying there in that condition, wracked with pain and discomfort in every way possible, suddenly my inner man, the real me, my spirit sat up out of my body and I could feel my legs go through the springs of the bed. And my spirit came out of my body as if you would take a glove off your hand and instantly I was in the spiritual world. Instantaneously I knew this was the real world and this man I was seeing was the real me now.” It was a moment he would never forget. Robinson still shares his experience with people all over the world.