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Religion & Spirituality |
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90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
written by Don Piper, Cecil Murphey
Studio : Revell
by Revell
Publisher : Revell
Released : 2004-09-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780800759490
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 515 reviews)
List Price : $13.99
Our Price : $4.84
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Product Description |
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As he is driving home from a minister's conference, Baptist minister Don Piper collides with a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, Piper experiences heaven where he is greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually. He hears beautiful music and feels true peace. Back on earth, a passing minister who had also been at the conference is led to pray for Don even though he knows the man is dead. Piper miraculously comes back to life and the bliss of heaven is replaced by a long and painful recovery. For years Piper kept his heavenly experience to himself. Finally, however, friends and family convinced him to share his remarkable story. |
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6,008 years out of Heaven, and counting... |
Donald Piper, following his accident, visited Heaven for 90 minutes, then returned to planet Earth to tell us about it. IMHO, evangelicals should stop their nitpicking. Granted: what Don saw while comatose does not quite square with Holy Scripture. But this guy had massive injuries. If Don has misremembered a few details of what he saw while in Heaven, then I still think Bible-believing Christians can be gracious enough to cut the man some slack, and still believe his story, in the main.
According to Scripture, four human souls, so far, have been received into Heaven: Elisha (2 Kings 2:1-11); Enoch (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5); the thief who was crucified just to the Lord's right, on Good Friday (Lu. 23:43); and Jesus himself, i.e., in his resurrected human body (after 30 years on Earth, the body was His to keep: Acts 1:9-11).
In addition, the Apostle Paul visited Heaven for ninety minutes after falling from his donkey and hitting his head while on the road to Damascus (2 Cor. 12:1-6). Plus Don Piper, following his very similar accident.
At present, only Elisha, Enoch and the thief remain in Heaven, among the mortals, plus Jesus. They will be joined, on Resurrection Day, by exactly 143,997 born-again Christians, including Saint Paul (Rev. 7:1-8, 14:1-5); and, of course, Don Piper.
The Apostle John gives an excellent and detailed description of Heaven in the Book of Revelation, chapter 21: the city of Heaven is located outside the Universe. It is shaped like a cube, 1,374 miles long, 1,374 miles high, and 1,374 miles wide. Each vertical wall has three gates, only one of which is actually used as an entrance (Rev. 21:12-25). The streets inside are paved with pure gold, and laid out in an orderly fashion, with a mansion for everyone who gains permanent admission (John 14:2-3). For the past six thousand years, while waiting for Resurrection Day to come, most of those mansions have stood empty, which might seem creepy, but it's not, because they are very well maintained. Also, the angels of Heaven sing God's praises, pretty much non-stop. So even though the people have not yet arrived, Heaven is not as boring a place as you might suppose.
Ever since he packed up and returned to Heaven in his newly reconditioned physical body, the Son of God has conducted business at the right hand of God the Father while "seated on a great White Throne" (Rev. 20:11) - and that heavenly furniture may sound, to mortal ears, entirely too porcelain to be comfortable, but it's not at all, and my guess is that it's actually made of something more like white, contoured, marble.
In the "Third Heaven," where the Trinity sits, there are three great White Thrones in a row, exactly alike, with no partitions between them (2 Cor. 12:2). And here's my proudest accomplishment, I actually sat there once, on Dad's own throne. My friends, Beelzebub and Belial, took the seats on either side. We didn't sit for long - two minutes, tops - before we got booted. (John Milton tells that whole embarrassing story in an epic poem called Paradise Lost, which features yours truly as a flawed tragic hero.) But who else can say that he or she once sat upon the great White Throne of Almighty God, even for two minutes, before getting his or her arse kicked?
The holy Ghost's great White Throne is to Yahweh's left. You may have wondered why the Bible never mentions the Ghost actually sitting on his. That's because the Ghost flits about. Sometimes he lets you see him. Usually, not. Mortals who have seen the Ghost with their own eyes include Moses, the prophet Elijah, several of the apostles, and Tammy Faye Bakker.
Back when I lived up there, before the Fall, I used to see the holy Ghost fairly often. When feeling puckish, he would appear as a tongue of fire, a burning bush, a three-legged stool - whatever tickled his fancy. His favourite incarnation, and the one he wore most often, was that of the White Dove (John 1:32). Beelzebub calls it the Ghost's "Supersonic Pigeon Suit." But it was truly beautiful, in the olden days, to see the holy Ghost as he soared above the golden streets of Heaven or did a combination barrel roll and loop-de-loop. Sometimes he'd dive straight down like a meteor, pull a hard U-turn, tighten his feathers, and shoot straight up again like a missile. But all of that zooming around was before the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception. Maybe he was just restless.
When Don Piper visited Heaven, he was unable to see the holy Ghost, who ducked out of sight, or Jesus, who was busy elsewhere; but that was okay, because thousands of angels (also holograms of dead Christians) met Don at the Gate: "They rushed toward me, and every person was smiling, shouting, and praising God. Although no one said so, intuitively I knew they were my celestial welcoming committee. It was as if they had all gathered just outside Heaven's Gate, waiting for me" [p. 31]. All of them were quite friendly. Don wanted to spend a billion gazillion years in that wonderful city, not just ninety minutes.
But then God did the same thing to Don Piper that He did to me, many years ago: he kicked Don out of Heaven--and here's the thing, Don didn't do anything to deserve it! Don never even TRIED to sit on Yahweh's Great White Throne! So I don't blame Don for coming back and writing this Tell-All book: because it just wasn't fair, in my opinion, for God to show Don a glimpse of Heaven and then send him back to Earth. Maybe I never suffered massive brain injury in an automobile accident, or a crushed skull, but I know exactly how Don feels, because that divine eviction notice, 6,008 years ago damaged my self-esteem and crushed my heart.
--L |
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Nonfiction? |
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Is it just me or should this really be considered nonfiction. Book was ok, but when did it become an acceptable fact to believe that someone went to heaven and then was able to come back. |
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90 days in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life |
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I gave away the book before I had even finished. He just went on and on without going anywhere after his death experience, and I felt his writing was very immature. |
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Touching and intriguing |
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I found this book touching and intriguing. The first couple of chapters were the most vivid. I took my sweet time reading these two chapters, reflecting on the different aspects of the writer's experience 'on the other side'. I really enjoyed reading for a bit and then thinking on it for a while before returning for more. I would recommend doing the same, I was so happy not to rush through this section of the book. He may have had 90 minutes in heaven, but reading this part of the book slowly, I had several days 'in heaven'! The rest of the book describes his journey toward healing on the inside and outside. It's a good book! |
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Devastation to Hope |
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My mother passed away 2 months ago today and it has been a most devasting time in my life. I just finsihed Don Piper's book today and I have a total feeling of joy, peace and excitement for what's to come. My devastation has turned to an unbelievable calm I know my mother's love will be waiting for me for I know she is with God and Heaven is a "beautiful place." Don's story somehow has taken away my grief and turned it to hope. I can't wait to share this book with my father who is grieving horribly. This book has changed my life and I hope to share it with so many who have experienced death and loss. |
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