{"id":82722,"date":"2020-02-08T13:09:09","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T20:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=82722"},"modified":"2020-02-08T15:17:49","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T22:17:49","slug":"it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html","title":{"rendered":"“It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Veronica,<\/a>
When I try to imagine heaven, I confess that I inevitably think of Alpine mountain peaks and meadows. So I include here this image, from the region of Cusco, Peru: Among many other names, this peak is known as Ver\u00f3nica. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen it. \u00a0At 19,334 feet (5,893 meters), it is a genuinely serious peak.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids: Revell, 2012). \u00a0Mr. Besteman<\/a>, who died (for the last time) in 2012, had a career as a banker in the area of Grand Rapids, Michigan. \u00a0Here are some further passages describing what he claimed to have seen during his near-death experience, which occurred just a few years before his final transition:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I had a profound sense of lightness and calm. \u00a0There was just so much peace. \u00a0(33)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I felt fearless and full of wonder. \u00a0I experienced no nervousness, even though I had been dropped, literally, into another kingdom. \u00a0If anything, I was totally serene and calm, more peaceful and at ease than I had ever been on my most relaxed day on earth. \u00a0(73)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know for sure I had a renewed body there. \u00a0I felt so good. \u00a0I was in terrible pain when I lay in my hospital bed in Ann Arbor: I was as weak and uncomfortable as I ever want to be. \u00a0In line at the gate, I felt no weakness. \u00a0Actually, I felt like a teenager again, vital, very awake and alert, strong and as healthy as a horse. \u00a0Marv Besteman was restored, completely. \u00a0I was better than ever, truth be told, better than when I was a strong, young buck, playing hockey for a short time for the University of Michigan.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Seriously, it was incredible, how fantastic I felt! \u00a0When God tells us he\u2019s going to renew and revive our bodies, he means it. . . . \u00a0I didn\u2019t see anybody there with crutches, damaged bodies, missing arms or legs. \u00a0I didn\u2019t see anyone who had Down syndrome, or any kind of special needs whatsoever. \u00a0(78)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And he refers yet again to the remarkable music and sounds that he claims to have heard:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

. . . the music being sung and played (which was the most purely lovely sound I had ever heard in my life) \u00a0(79)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(See, on this topic, my previous blog entry entitled\u00a0\u201cThere is no music in hell.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life\u00a0(Grand Rapids: Revell, 2012). \u00a0Mr. Besteman, who died (for the last time) in 2012, had a career as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1727,1104,1612,1008,1011,900,903],"class_list":["post-82722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-afterlife","tag-death","tag-heaven","tag-immortality","tag-life-after-death","tag-nde","tag-near-death-experience"],"yoast_head":"\n"It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-08T20:09:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-08T22:17:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-08T20:09:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-08T22:17:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!\"","description":"    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!\"","og_description":"    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-02-08T20:09:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-02-08T22:17:49+00:00","author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html","name":"\"It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-02-08T20:09:09+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-08T22:17:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: \u00a0My","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/it-was-incredible-how-fantastic-i-felt.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82722\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}