“The source of all light and power”

I share here quotations from an account of an experience reported by Ian McCormack, a native of New Zealand, who, at the age of twenty, was stung four times by a school of box jellyfish while scuba diving on the reefs off of Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean.  His account is included in John Burke, Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God’s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015):

Then a brilliant light shone upon me and literally drew me out of the darkness . . .  I could see that the source of the light was emanating from the very end of the tunnel.  It looked unspeakably bright, as if it was the centre of the universe, the source of all light and power.  It was more brilliant than the sun, more radiant than any diamond, brighter than a laser beam.  Yet you could look right into it. . . .

The first wave of light gave off an amazing warmth and comfort.  It was as though the light wasn’t just material in nature but was a “living light” that transmitted an emotion. . . .

I came out of the end of the tunnel and seemed to be standing upright before the source of all the light and power.  My whole vision was taken up with this incredible light.  It looked like a white fire or a mountain of cut diamonds sparkling with the most indescribable brilliance.  (139)

I was so close I wondered if I could just step into the light that surrounded God and see him face to face. . . .  As I stepped into the light it was as if I’d come inside veils of suspended shimmering lights, like suspended stars or diamonds giving off the most amazing radiance.  And as I walked through the light it continued to heal the deepest part of me. . . .  Standing in the centre of the light stood a man with dazzling white robes reaching down to his ankles.  I could see his bare feet.  The garments were not man-made fabrics but were like garments of light.  As I lifted my eyes up I could see the chest of a man with his arms outstretched as if to welcome me.

I looked towards his face.  It was so bright; it seemed to be about ten times brighter than the light I’d already seen.  It made the sun look yellow and pale in comparison.  It was so bright that I couldn’t make out the features of his face. . . .  I knew that I was standing in the presence of Almighty God — no one but God could look like this.  (140-141)