The Other Side, by Michael H. Brown, a brand new faith-filled and journalistic look at what happens when we die -- including in-depth descriptions of death, the parting of the soul, 'judgment,' transition to the other side of the veil, and the various regions which at the highest reaches will astonish you with their splendor and light! Of all his books, one not to miss because no other could be as important! Actual testimonies from those who 'returned' and insights on preparing for the wondrous day we all can joyfully reach!  CLICK HERE

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SEERS AT MOST FAMOUS APPARITION ECHO NEAR-DEATHERS IN DEPICTIONS OF PASSAGE TO HEAVEN

There have long been similarities between what seers of apparitions describe in visions of the afterlife and those who -- whatever their religion -- have what we call "near-death experiences."

They both attempt to describe colors that can't be described. They both recount a light brighter than the sun (but one they are able to look at). They both describe buildings without limit, or at least without structuring as we know it. They both describe tremendous meadows. They both describe encounters with the deceased. They both describe those on the "other side" as dressed in ethereal pastel robes and wearing radiant, incredible smiles (knowing, as one seer, Vicka Ivanković, put it, the "absolute fullness of a created being").

But Vicka's recollections take the similarities a dramatic step closer.

She -- like near-deathers -- describes seeing the deceased communicating with the Blessed Mother "like in a tunnel."

It is the first time we have seen this common aspect of near-death experiences described in the same way by a first-tier visionary (in this case one of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina).

"Only it wasn't exactly like a tunnel," said Vicka in a book called Queen of the Cosmos. "But a tunnel is the closest comparison. People were praying, they were singing, they were looking."

Those who have clinically "died" and returned similarly struggle to depict a passage that is like a tunnel, the inside of a tornado, a whirl of kaleidoscopic lights, an enclosure, a funnel, a vacuum, a valley, a corridor, or a cylinder.

And like near-death experiencers, they describe hell as a place where people go of their own choice -- opposing God right to the end and gravitating to the netherworld.

Why would anyone want to go to hell?

"We all know that there are persons on this earth who simply don't admit that God exists, even though He helps them," said Vicka, whom our group saw during our recent pilgrimage to the apparition site. "He always tries to nudge them onto the path of holiness. They just say they don't believe, and they deny Him. They deny Him, even when it is time to die. And they continue to deny Him after they are dead. It is their choice. It is their will that they go to hell. They choose hell."

The more they are against the Will of God, she said, "the deeper they enter into the fire, and the deeper they go, the more they rage against Him. When they come out of the fire, they don't have human shape anymore; they are more like grotesque animals, but unlike anything on earth, as if they were never human beings before. They were horrible. Ugly. Angry. And each was different; no two looked alike. When they came out, they were raging and smashing everything around and hissing and gnashing and screeching."

It was so bad that the youngest seer -- Jakov Ĉolo (who saw hell with Vicka) -- refuses to speak of it. (During their "visit" to the after life, they inexplicably disappeared from Jakov's home.)

Do humans turn into demons?

After death, we look like we really are. We learn who we really are.

Like near-death experiences, Medjugorje is a place where some have reported seeing their entire lives flash before them. In particular, this has occurred to pilgrims climbing Cross Mountain.

In near-death episodes, it is known as the "life review."

Said another visionary there, Marija Pavlović Lunetti, "In the moment of death, God gives us the light to see ourselves as we really are. God gives freedom of choice to everybody during his life on earth. The one who lives in sin on earth can see what he has done and recognize himself as he really is. When he sees himself and his life, the only possible place for him is hell. He chooses hell, because that is what he is. That is where he fits. It is his own wish. God does not make the choice. God condemns no one. We condemn ourselves. Every individual has free choice. God gave us freedom."

She added: "At the moment of death, God gives everyone the grace to see his whole life, to see what he has done, to recognize the results of his choices on earth."

Jakov described Heaven as "a place of never-ending light, a light I had never seen on earth. The light could be described as warm and we also saw many people praying in this place. This is how Heaven can be described best because Heaven cannot be described by anybody. What impressed me most about this place was the peace and joy that could be felt, the peace and the joy that could be seen on the faces of these people."

We delve into this at our retreats, and will do so in New Jersey and soon (God-willing) in Denver and Boston.

Another seer, Ivan Dragicević, says that during an apparition the sky seems to open and sometimes he can see Heaven and people walking and praying behind the Blessed Mother. "To be with the Blessed Virgin Mary means to stand in the light which shines from Heaven and to see Heaven," he says in a recent book, A Conversation with the Visionaries. "It is not easy to come back to earth after being in this light. I need time, sometimes up to a few hours, after each of my apparitions, to get used to reality and to accept this world. It is not easy at all."

Finally, at Medjugorje (which the Vatican is still studying, and has not yet approved), seers, like near-deathers, say on the other side we find out that God is the God of everyone and that it is man who makes divisions. "[The Blessed Virgin Mary] also emphasized the failings of religious people, especially in small villages -- for example, here in Medjugorje, where there is separation from Serbian Orthodox and Muslims," said seer Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo. "This separation is not good. The Madonna always stressed that there is but One God, and that people have enforced unnatural separation. One cannot truly believe, be a true Christian, if he does not respect other religions as well."

Near-deathers have repeatedly said that to God, religiosity counts for little if it has not led to love.

The precise same was stated at the Church-approved site of Kibeho, Rwanda -- which began the same year as Medjugorje.

She came to reconcile people, said the Blessed Virgin -- yet, she also suggested to four of the seers that they enter a convent or the priesthood. And while profoundly ecumenical -- saying God judges on love, not legalism -- she added, according to Father Svetozar Kraljevic, in The Apparitions of Our Lady at Medjugorje, "It is not equally efficacious to belong to or pray in any church or community, because the Holy Spirit grants His Power differently among the churches and ministers. All believers do not pray the same way. It is intentional that all apparitions are under the auspices of the Catholic Church."

[resources: Michael Brown retreat in New Jersey]

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