What happens after we die remains one of humanity’s most enduring questions, but one man who came perilously close to death says he caught a glimpse of what lies beyond and returned to tell the story.
“I had a ruptured appendix for five days before doctors caught it, and when I was in that emergency surgery, I lifted out of my body and I looked down and I could see the doctors — they were working on me,” Colton Burpo, the central figure behind “Heaven Is for Real,” told the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast.
Burpo was just 3 years old when the medical emergency landed him on the operating table.
‘BLIND SIDE’ STAR QUINTON AARON SAYS HE ‘SAW JESUS’ WHILE IN A COMA AFTER NEAR-FATAL STROKE
What he says happened during the surgery would later inspire a bestselling book and major motion picture.
Seated with Hannity, researcher John Burke and fellow near-death experience survivor Randy Kay, Burpo recalled watching the operation from outside his body and seeing his parents in separate rooms.
“My mom, she was in one room, talking on the phone, praying with people. My dad, he was in another room, and he was praying very loudly at God,” Burpo said.
Then he found himself somewhere else entirely.
“I was sitting on Jesus’s lap, so I wasn’t in heaven yet, but I was with Jesus, and he had some angels sing to me to calm me down,” he recalled.
Though Burpo recounted the angels singing songs familiar to his frightened 3-year-old-self, including “Jesus Loves Me” and “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho,” one of his requests apparently didn’t make the heavenly playlist.
“I did request for them to sing ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen. That is accurate,” he shared, earning laughter from the group.
“I was told no, so I’ll just have to listen to Queen on this side of heaven.”
Burpo also recalled meeting a sister who he says died in a miscarriage before he was born — and whose existence he said he had never been told about — while describing his memories of encountering God the Father.
The wide-ranging conversation also touched on Kay’s account of surviving seven pulmonary embolisms and witnessing prayers ascend to God, as well as Burke’s research into dozens of recurring similarities across thousands of near-death experiences — including accounts from blind people who reported being able to see.
To catch the full conversation, look for the latest episode of “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” on iHeart, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.
