“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
The book’s title is 90 Minutes in Heaven. It is the account of a fatal automobile accident that took the life of Don Piper. Piper was pronounced dead only to be prayed back to life by a pastor ninety minutes later. In those ninety minutes, Piper went to heaven, and much of what he saw is described and promised in Scripture.
Piper’s account reminds us that heaven is more than a hope and a dream. It’s a real place. But equally important are the biblical truths that Piper’s experience confirms. As Christians, we believe by faith what the Bible says about heaven, but Piper believes because of what his faith has shown him.
I thought it might be a little fun to compare some of Piper’s account against what the Bible says. Seven is a perfect number in the Bible, so here are seven examples of how biblical truths were borne out in Don Piper’s journey to heaven:
1. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” Piper says, “Simultaneous with my last recollection of seeing the bridge and the rain, a light enveloped me…In my next moment, I was standing in heaven.”
2. Revelation 21:4 says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Piper says, “I wasn’t conscious of anything I’d left behind and felt no regrets about leaving family or possessions. It was as if God had removed anything negative or worrisome from my consciousness, and I could only rejoice.”
3. John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time.” Piper says, “I did not see God. Although I knew God was there, I never saw any kind of image or luminous glow to indicate his divine presence.”
4. Revelation 21:10, 21 says, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem…The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Piper says, “The gate…was pearlescent…To me, it looked like someone had spread pearl icing on a cake…I paused just outside the gate, and I could see inside, it was like a city with paved streets. To my amazement, they had been constructed of literal gold.”
5. Revelation 5:11 says, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne.” Piper says, “My most vivid memory of heaven is what I heard. I can only describe it as a holy swoosh of angel wings…It was the most beautiful and pleasant sound I’ve ever heard and it didn’t’ stop. It was like a song that goes on forever.”
6. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” Piper says, “I became aware of a large crowd of people…As the crowd rushed toward me, I didn’t see Jesus, but I did see people I had known…More and more people reached for me and called me by name.”
7. Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Just before he came back to life, Piper recounted one last experience: “The only way I’ve made sense out of this experience is to think that if I had actually seen God, I would never have wanted to return. My feeling has been that once we’re actually in God’s presence, we will never return to earth again, because it will be empty and meaningless by comparison.”
Jesus told us the truth. Heaven is a real place and what the Bible says about heaven – how we get there, what we will see, here and feel – is also true.
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