Todd Berpo and his son, Colton, will tell an amazing story about the heavenly experience. , Heaven for real This is a short book that can be read in a short amount of time. The Burpo family spent two very difficult weeks at the Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte, Nebraska, where Dr. Timothy Oholler performed an emergency operation on his four-year-old son to remove a torn attachment.
Four months later, they traveled around North Platte, when Todd reminded his son that they were very close to the hospital where he was treated. Colton made a cuff comment that this is where the angels sang to him. Thus began a long series of startling revelations that stretched over several years. Colton was brought to heaven. He had almost deadly experience. He revealed knowledge about things, events and people that he could not accept if he had not been a participant in some supernatural event.
I read the book with a skeptical mind. It is not easy for me to convince to believe in things that cannot be explained by our own framework of natural laws. But I don’t mind that from time to time our natural world can be overcome by a supernatural. I think that the inexplicable secrets of Colton's experience would be extremely interesting for those who are curious about the supernatural or the future.
Colton claimed he was brought to heaven. The first to meet him was Jesus himself. Colton admits that he feels very embarrassed in his experience, and therefore Jesus brought more familiar people to console him. Among those who were an older sister who came to heaven earlier because of a miscarriage. Colton was never told about his mother’s miscarriage, but he shook her by describing his deceived sister after his return from heaven. His great-grandmother was also there to greet and comfort him. Later, in a worldly setting, Todd revealed a photo of his grandfather to Colton and asked if that was the man he had seen in heaven. Colton looked at the photo and told his father that there were no old men in heaven. When he was shown a younger version of the same man, he claimed that he recognized him.
How reliable is this amazing story? Todd Burpo - Minister. He is the pastor of the Wesleyan Crossroads Church in Imperiale, Nebraska. Being a past minister will give immediate credibility to the testimony. I am not so sure that ministers enjoy such a reputation in our time. Among those who offer praise for the book is Joe Ann Lyon, the chief superintendent of the Wesleyan Church. She wrote: "The story of Colton could have been in the New Testament ... God decided to talk to us in this twenty-first century through the immaculate eyes of an innocent child."
Is this the story of a new phenomenon? Barely The Apostle Paul talks about a similar event in the years immediately following Christ. “I know a man in Christ who was raised to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether it is in the body or outside the body, which I do not know - God knows, to heaven. He heard unspeakable things, things that a man (2 Corinthians 12: 2-4). Almost death experience (NDE) is now so common that there are hundreds of books and websites available to learn about them.
Perhaps the real clinker in Burpo’s book is nearing the end of the book when Colton’s story about heaven is compared with a book of a young Lithuanian girl Akina Kramarik who claims to have visions of heaven and Christ and is gifted with talent to express and draw what he sees. Her paintings are stunning in their accuracy, complexity and beauty. In many instances, Todd came across an image of Christ and asked Colton what he remembered how he looked. Colton rejected every picture of Christ, until he saw the portrait of Akian, which he confirmed, indeed, looked like Christ.
I believe that any heavenly theology may differ depending on how they interpret what they read in the word of God. I was a little skeptical when I read Colton’s descriptions of other people in heaven. He focused on his physical characteristics. He said that Jesus had “red” signs. He meant wounds in his arms and legs as a result of his crucifixion. I'm not sure that heaven is so full of flesh. Isn't that a place for spirits? Does not Paul himself say: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Corinthians 15:50). Of course, there is a place for speculation. The Apostle John says that "that which we will have not yet appeared, but we know that when he (Jesus) appears, we will be like him." (1 John 3: 2) Whether physical or spiritual, he is very confident, we will recognize friends and family members in heaven.
Colton also said that everyone in heaven has a sword. The reason he gave it was that the swords were a guarantee of the impossibility of returning Satan to heaven. The sword is a man-made tool used to protect against or fight other people. In the spiritual world this would be ineffective. God did not need to arm everyone with swords so that Satan would not enter heaven. Would not his glory light be enough to keep Satan from wanting to be closer to him.
According to Colton, everyone in heaven is young. This is also what Muslims believe those who claim that all the inhabitants of heaven will be about 32 or 33 years old, the era of Christ, when he spent his last days on earth. Will there be a time dimension in heaven? Will not everyone be in heaven? We will not divide our eternal life into days, months, and years. Time is a gift from God to people who need organization and structure in their lives. There is no time in heaven. We are looking for an elusive fountain of youth in heaven, because we fear wrinkles and weakness of aging. Why don't we want everyone to be old in heaven, because adult marriages reach maturity and have a greater amount of wisdom, thanks to which you can live?
Colton also said that everyone will have wings when they get to heaven. Why do we need wings? Is there gravity in heaven? There is a widespread misconception that when people are transported to heaven, they become angels. It is not true. We will never become angels, because angels will never become humans. Can't we just move around, thinking it will happen?
I do not know whether Colton went to heaven or not. I truly believe that Colton, just like Akiana, had some kind of vision or experience outside the body. This is very similar to a UFO. I do not believe in aliens. I don't think there are creatures from Mars ready to take over Earth any day. But I believe that there is a common object that people see. Too many messages from too many people in different parts of the world who describe the same thing. They see something, I just do not know what.
Too many people who have had the body, almost deadly experience, to declare them a farce. Something is happening. Their stories contain too much in common to reject them. I am not sure that these people visit another kingdom, but they seem to be in a state where the laws of nature are temporarily suspended on their behalf.
Is the magazine Colton Burpo truthful or is it a hoax? Read it and decide for yourself. It is worth your time to read it, if only for the reason that it makes us think and rethink what heaven is and remind you of what Christ has prepared for us.
