Man who claims he spent three hours with Jesus during near-death experience shares what he looked like
A man who claims he met Jesus during a near-death experience has revealed what he says the figure looked like, and says the encounter was nothing like the image of Jesus he grew up with.
Mike McKinsey, a construction superintendent from Chattanooga, Tennessee, had his extraordinary experience while he was attending his son's wedding, several hours away from home.
After arriving early with his family, he began feeling unwell following a game with his children at a nearby park. “At first I thought I was just coming down with the flu,” he explained.
But his condition worsened, and by the time the rehearsal dinner ended, he was running a fever and unable to sleep. Determined not to distract from his son's big day, Mike waited until after the wedding to go to the hospital.
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Doctors quickly suspected appendicitis after a nurse examined him.
“When she tapped the bottom of my other foot, it sent pain in my abdomen so bad that I screamed,” he recalled.
Doctors called in a surgeon, and around 30 minutes later Mike was taken into surgery. He then said he said goodbye to his wife before being wheeled into the operating room.
What did Jesus look like to Mike McKinsey?
It was there, before he says he had received any medication or even met the anaesthesiologist, that he claims he saw Jesus walk through the doors.
“I looked to my right and Jesus walked through the surgical room doors,” Mike said. “He walked in as a physical person.”
Mike claims Jesus appeared to him wearing a white robe, with darker skin, short dark brown hair, a beard and 'dark greenish blue' eyes.
Despite Jesus looking different from the traditional blonde-haired, blue-eyed depiction Mike had seen throughout his childhood, he says there was no doubt in his mind who was standing in front of him.
“I knew immediately that it was Jesus,” Mike told UNILAD.
According to Mike, Jesus approached him and held out his hand. “He said, ‘I want to answer your prayer’.”
Confused, Mike says he thought he had died. “I was very confused but I took his hand, he added.
He later woke up to a doctor leaning over him in the operating room.
Although Mike felt like he had only spent around 10 minutes with Jesus, he later realized several hours had passed.
“I woke up in recovery, so at least three hours had gone by. Maybe four.” Mike would end up spending four days in intensive care and remained in hospital for 12 days in total.
But he says his encounter did not end there.
The following day, after struggling to breathe, Mike was diagnosed with pneumonia. His temperature had risen above 104°F and nurses treated him with oxygen and cooling blankets.
After they left the room, Mike claims he felt Jesus’ presence again.
“I knew Jesus was back and I figured he was coming to take me back to heaven for good this time,” he said.
Instead, Mike says Jesus sat at the end of his bed and spoke to him.
“He said, ‘I had to get you flat on your back away from all the distractions so you could hear me’.”
“Since meeting Jesus, my life has changed in a radical way.”
Mike claims Jesus told him he would make a full recovery and that he was being called to share his story. He says their conversation lasted three hours.
Mike says he no longer fears death and now spends his time sharing his story with others.
He later wrote a book titled I Held the Hand of Jesus in Heaven, where he details the experience and the message he says he received.
Mike believes the encounter was connected to a prayer he made as a child after his grandfather died. “I started asking God to show me heaven so I would know it was real,” he said. “It became a nightly prayer for about 10 years.”
Mike says exactly 40 years later, he believes that prayer was answered.
“I never believed in near-death experiences until it happened to me,” he said.
"We will all stand before God in judgement one day. Put your faith and trust in Jesus so he can be with you on that day acting as your defense attorney!! Heaven is real. Jesus is real."
Thomas Bamford