Heaven is for Real: Truth or Hoax?
Todd Burpo and his son, Colton, tell an amazing story of a heavenly experience. Heaven is for Real is a short book that can be read in a brief period of time. The Burpo family spent two very difficult weeks at The Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte, Nebraska where Dr. Timothy O’Holleran performed emergency surgery on their four year old son to remove a ruptured appendix.
Four months later they were traveling through North Platte when Todd reminded his son that they were very near the hospital where he had been treated. Colton made an off-the-cuff comment about that being the place where the angels sang to him. Thus began a long series of astonishing revelations that stretched over a period of several years. Colton had been transported to heaven. He had a near-death experience. He revealed knowledge of things, events and people that he could not possibly have acquired unless he was a participant in some sort of supernatural event.
I read the book with the mind of a skeptic. I’m not easily persuaded to believe in things that cannot be explained by our own framework of natural laws. But I am not averse to the idea that occasionally our natural world can be traversed by the supernatural. I think the unexplained mysteries of Colton’s experience would be an extremely interesting read for anyone with a curiosity for the supernatural or the hereafter.
Colton claimed to be transported to heaven. The first to meet him was Jesus himself. Colton admits to feeling very uneasy about his experience and so Jesus brought more familiar people to comfort him. Among those was an older sister who had arrived in heaven earlier due to a miscarriage. Colton was never told about his mother’s miscarriage but he shocked her with a description of his deceased sister after his return from heaven. His great grandfather was also there to greet and comfort him. Later, in an earthly setting, Todd revealed a picture of his grandfather to Colton and asked if this was the man he had seen in heaven. Colton took a look at the picture and told his father that there are no old people in heaven. When he was shown a younger version of the same man he claimed to recognize him.
Just how credible is this amazing story? Todd Burpo is a minister. He pastors the Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska. Being a minister in the past would lend immediate credibility to one’s testimony. I’m not so sure ministers enjoy that sort of reputation in modern times. Among those who offer praise for the book is Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church. She wrote, “Colton’s story could have been in the New Testament…God has chosen to speak to us in this twenty-first century through the unblemished eyes of an innocent child.”
Is this sort of story a new phenomenon? Hardly. The Apostle Paul tells of a similar event in the years immediately following the time of Christ. “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man…was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) Near Death Experiences (NDE) are now so common that there are hundreds of books and websites available to learn about them.
Perhaps the real clincher in Burpo’s book comes near the end of the book when Colton’s account of heaven is compared with that of the young Lithuanian girl, Akiane Kramarik, who claims to have visions of heaven and Christ and is gifted with a talent for expressing and painting what she sees. Her paintings are stunning in their accuracy, complexity and beauty. On many occasions Todd would come across a depiction of Christ and ask Colton is that’s what he remembered him to look like. Colton rejected every picture of Christ until he saw Akiane’s portrait which he affirmed did, indeed, look like Christ.
I suppose everyone’s theology of heaven might differ depending on how they interpret what they read in God’s word. I was a bit skeptical when reading of Colton’s descriptions of other humans in heaven. He placed emphasis on their physical characteristics. He said that Jesus had “red” markers. He was referring to the wounds on his hands and feet resulting from his crucifixion. I am not so sure heaven is so much full of flesh. Is it not a dwelling place for spirits? Does Paul himself not say, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Corinthians 15:50) There is certainly room for speculation. The Apostle John says that “What we will be has not yet appeared, but we do know that when he (Jesus) appears, we shall be like him.” (1 John 3:2) Whether physical or spiritual, it seems very certain we will recognize friends and family members in heaven.
Colton also said that everyone in heaven carries a sword. The reason he gave for this was because the swords were assurance against the possibility of Satan reentering heaven. A sword is a man-made instrument used to defend against or do battle with other human beings. In a spirit world it would be ineffective. God wouldn’t need to arm everyone with swords to keep Satan from entering heaven. Would not the very light of his glory be enough to deter Satan from ever wanting to get near to him.
According to Colton, everyone in heaven is young. This is also what the Muslims believe who declare that all residents of heaven will all be about 32 or 33 years of age, the age of Christ when he spent his last days on earth. Will there be a measurement of time in heaven? Will not everyone in heaven be ageless? We won’t divide our eternal lives into days, months and years. Time is a gift of God to men who need organization and structure in their lives. Time will be unnecessary in heaven. We look for the ever elusive fountain of youth in heaven because we dread the wrinkles and weaknesses of aging. Why don’t we wish for everyone to be old in heaven because age brings maturity and a greater volume of wisdom by which to live by?
Colton also said that everyone will have wings when they get to heaven. Why would we need wings? Is there gravity in heaven? There is a broad misconception that when humans are transported to heaven they become angels. This is not true. We will never be angels just as angels will never be humans. Will we not be able to transport ourselves simply by thinking it to happen?
I don’t know if Colton went to heaven or not. I do believe that Colton, just like Akiane, had some sort of vision or out-of-body experience. It’s much like UFOs. I don’t believe in aliens. I don’t think there are creatures from Mars getting ready to take over the earth any day now. But I do believe there is some common object that people see. There are too many reports from too many people in separate parts of the world that describe the same sort of thing. They are seeing something, I’m just not sure what.
There are too many people who have had out-of-body, near-death experiences to declare them a farce. Something is happening. Their stories contain too many similarities to reject them. I’m not sure if these people visit another realm but they seem to be in a state where the laws of nature are temporarily suspended on their behalf.
Is Colton Burpo’s account truthful or is it a hoax? Read it and decide for yourself. It is worth your time to read it if for no other reason than it causes us to think and rethink what heaven might be like and remind ourselves of what Christ has prepared for us.
About Kevin Probst
Kevin Probst teaches history and government at a Christian high school in Columbus, Georgia. He has a BA in Religion and Ministry, BA in History, MA in Secondary Education, and an ED.S. in Administration and Supervision. Kevin writes on a variety of subjects, but his primary focus is theology, apologetics and politics.
Meredith Oliver
This book was given to me by my mother for Christmas. My mother categorizes herself as a “robo Christian.” It’s a pretty accurate description. She is a very bold and vocal Christian who brings her faith into every interaction and conversation she has. She has a tendency to be fundamentalist and a biblical literalist a la Tim LaHaye but isn’t so radical that people think she’s a lunatic. She’s passionately faithful. I, too, am a strong Christian but I don’t tend to wave the flag like my mother does and, as a member of a Presbyterian church, I tend to mix a lot of logic with my faith – a fairly typical Presbyterian habit that bothers my mother greatly. She LOVES to give me books like this. After reading the book, I am profoundly glad that other people who are educated and involved with ministry are asking some of the same questions that I found myself asking. For example, the thing about Jesus showing Colton Burpo the wounds in his hands drove me utterly insane. I know this has been a debate in the Christian community for ages – hand vs. wrist. History and simple anatomy say wrist. Same thing for the concept of heaven happening right now. Many Christians, me included, were taught that heaven doesn’t happen until the second coming. And the swords? Why do angels need swords to keep the Devil out when God and his light are there? I know from being a mother myself that children are little sponges. They soak in a lot more than the adults around them realize. You don’t have to sit down and share something with them specifically and directly for it to lodge itself in their brains. It’s the whole reason why I don’t want my husband to play Modern Warfare 3 when the baby is up. The baby doesn’t know what it is or what it means but he doesn’t need to have those violent sounds making their way into his subconscious. I think that aspect of being a child is very much at work with the Bumpos’ experience. I believe that Colton and his family were in dire need and that God answered that need, whether it be because of prayer or strength of faith or whatever. God came to that child and his family. But the non-literalist, logical Presbyterian in me can’t really believe that the things Colton saw are the universal for everyone. I think God came to that child in his time of need and took him to a place that he would accept. God showed Colton his parents first so he would be comforted. God presented images and concepts that Colton would not only find familiar but would also be striking enough to his parents that they wouldn’t doubt Colton’s story and the message behind it – a family member closely bonded to Todd Burpo, a sister to ease Sonja’s grief, wings, rainbows, swords, other children, animals, etc. Based on his upbringing, his family, and his tastes, the heaven Colton saw seemed tailored to Colton…and truly, why would God present it any other way? He showed Colton what Colton needed to see to most effectively get His message across. A heaven that would be instantly recognizable and accepable while also being, most importantly, MEMORABLE. I think Todd Burpo would have really hit it out of the park with his book if he would have even briefly touched on that idea – that God came to his family in a way that was best for his family. I was always taught that God is omnipotent and I believe that to be true. In His omnipotence, then, it’s not such a stretch to think that He could tailor divine experiences like Colton’s to each individual.
Ed
Colton also describes God as a huge man who could hold the entire world (presumable, in his hands, la la la). And Jesus is a smiling blue-eyed guy right out of the children’s bible that likely rests on the Burpo bookshelf. You know, the one with the pictures that the Burpos had been reading to their son since he was an infant.
I don’t know if the parents actually believe this story or not, but it seems to be nonsense.
Firslady Shonda
Maybe he didn’t make it to the third heaven? Just a suggestion, thinking line with Paul. lol I do like your overall synostsis. Been thinking of picking up the kid version for the kids at church.
Jack Wellman
Well done Kevin. I am banking on heaven being real but I also know that hell is too. This is the impitus for going out to do the work of the Lord in the Great Commission. Heaven is truly the good news but without the bad news of hell, the good news means nothings. Thanks. I’ll have to check this out.
Rt Rev Gregory Karl Davis
The classic in visitation to the other world is Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) Heaven and Hell. Odd how the theologians of this day ignore the fascinating works of this seer. True Christian Religion by the same author contains many fascinating accounts of the hereafter.