When a reader asked Evangelist Billy Graham if a dying person sees heaven before their last breath, the 99-year-old responded with wisdom and caution.
Graham, who founded the Billy Grahm Evangelistic Association, was asked this question by a reader, “My uncle says my aunt had a glimpse of Heaven just before she died. How does he know? Maybe she was just having a hallucination. I admit I’m a bit skeptical, although my aunt was a very spiritual person who read her Bible every day.”
Graham said while the experience is unusual, “God does give some people a glimpse of Heaven’s glory just before they die.”
“As the stones thrown by his enemies rained down upon him, Stephen—the first Christian martyr—”looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).
Graham went on to say, “Why does this happen? It’s not a hallucination or chemical reaction in the brain (as some suggest). I am convinced it is instead a God-given glimpse into eternity.”
“Through it, God is reminding those who are present—and us as well—that eternity is real, and Christ is waiting to welcome us into Heaven,” he explained. “He alone is our hope, because by His death on the cross He paid the price for our sins, and by His resurrection from the dead He conquered death and Hell and Satan.”
