The Three Heavens: Angels, Demons and What Lies Ahead

The Three Heavens: Angels, Demons and What Lies Ahead

by John Hagee
The Three Heavens: Angels, Demons and What Lies Ahead

The Three Heavens: Angels, Demons and What Lies Ahead

by John Hagee

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Overview

As sales of Hagee's current New York Times bestseller, Four Blood Moons, continue to soar, hundreds of thousands of readers have had their thirst whetted to know what is to come at the end of this world . . . heaven itself! Hagee's national media power assures another mega-bestseller.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781617955785
Publisher: Worthy
Publication date: 05/12/2015
Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format: eBook
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 481,857
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

About The Author
John Hagee is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including Four Blood Moons. He is the founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a nondenominational evangelical church with more than 22,000 members. He is the founder and president of John Hagee Ministries, which broadcasts his teachings nationally and internationally through network television and on GETV.org. Pastor Hagee is also the founder and national chairman of Christians United for Israel, the largest Christian pro-Israel organization in the United States with over 5.6 million members. Pastor Hagee and his wife live in San Antonio, Texas.

Read an Excerpt

The Three Heavens

Angels, Demons And What Lies Ahead


By JOHN HAGEE

Worthy Publishing Group

Copyright © 2015 John Hagee
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61795-578-5



CHAPTER 1

"MOMMY, GOD IS ALIVE!"


It began as a normal day; I was at the office by 7 am, working on my next sermon series, when I received an unexpected call from Diana. She explained that our five-month-old grandson, Wyatt, had been admitted to the hospital with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), a serious lung infection, and asked me to pray. We prayed for Wyatt's healing, and I made plans to meet her at the hospital.

However, before I could leave my office, Diana called again, informing me that Ellie, our eighteen-month-old granddaughter, was also being admitted to the same hospital with the same virus. My day was no longer normal. The Hagee family prayer chain was in full force, and we began to circle the wagons.

When I arrived at the hospital, I learned our two grandchildren were in adjoining rooms, which made it easier for "Nana" and "Papa" to divide our time between them. After a full day of assisting our daughters with our ailing grandchildren, Diana and I went home so I could prepare to leave town for a speaking engagement. I quickly packed, we drove to the airport, and Diana returned to the hospital.

As my wife walked back into Wyatt's room, she found him struggling for breath and his mother, our daughter Christina, frantically calling the nurse's station for help. A pediatric intensive care specialist raced into the room and instantly diagnosed Wyatt with a collapsed lung. He ordered our baby grandson into the pediatric intensive care unit and called for the respiratory therapist, who prepared to inflate Wyatt's tiny lung.

With the procedure successfully completed and Wyatt breathing without distress, Christina and Diana expressed their gratitude to the doctor for his swift and effective intervention. The specialist introduced himself by saying, "Mrs. Hagee, my name is Sam Zuckerman. I'm Jewish, and I have visited your church during the Night to Honor Israel. Because you are a woman of faith, I would like to tell you about an event that I believe will impact you as it has me." Diana was fully engaged and ready to hear what he had to say.

Once I reached my destination I immediately called home from the airport to get an update on our cherished grandchildren. As the Bible so rightly states, "Children's children are a crown to the aged" (Proverbs 17:6 NIV). I can say amen to that, for our thirteen grandchildren are our pride and joy!

Diana gave me her usual minute-by-minute update on Ellie and Wyatt and then said, "John, I have to tell you something remarkable that happened tonight!" And without taking a breath, she began to share the amazing account of a young patient Dr. Zuckerman had once treated.

The doctor said that three years earlier, a colleague and his wife had experienced a sudden tragedy in their family. The husband was the chief operating officer at the hospital where Dr. Zuckerman worked, and these friends had made the decision to add a pool to their backyard since their two children, Alexandria and Jackson, had learned to swim. The day the pool was completed, the family was informed by the installer that they could not use it for several days due to the high concentration of chemicals in the water.

David and Sherry took their two children into the house to prepare for dinner and celebrate the long-awaited addition to their home. Their youngest child, Jack, was an exuberant little boy of about four, so no one was alarmed that he did not come when first summoned for dinner. However, after his parents called for him several more times, there was still no sign of Jack, and it was unlike him to not respond at all.

The search was on, and suddenly David thought the worst: Could Jack possibly be in the pool? The father ran outside, and after searching the backyard, his fears were confirmed: his son was lifelessly floating in the pool, fully clothed and facedown.

David immediately pulled Jackson from the toxic waters as he frantically shouted for Sherry, who was frozen in shock, to call 911. The father attempted to revive his beloved son but instinctively knew the situation was grim.

The call to 911 was made; David continued CPR on Jackson for nearly ten minutes on the pool deck. The boy remained unresponsive, but his parents never gave up on saving him.

Finally, David and Sherry heard the piercing sound of sirens approaching their home. They were coming to their home ... for their son. It was surreal.

Sherry kept their daughter inside the house as the ambulance and fire trucks arrived, explaining to Alex that Jack had fallen in the pool and that he would be taken to Daddy's hospital. Neighbors then took Alex to their home so she would not witness her brother being worked on.

The emergency responders quickly assessed Jack and began administering medications and inserting IVs. The EMS crew continued the father's valiant attempt to revive the lifeless boy but could not detect a heartbeat.

Once Jack had been transported to the hospital, the emergency room doctor, a respiratory therapist, and a talented team of nurses and other medical personnel fought for his life for over an hour. The physician administered a series of medications and treatments to the tiny patient, but to no avail ... still no pulse. She decided to give Jack one last round of drugs before she would declare him dead.

The last treatment series produced a faint heartbeat. After stabilizing Jackson a bit more, the ER doctor informed the parents that their little boy only had a 40 percent chance of living through the first night.

The hours that followed were harrowing for all involved. That first night, as Sherry sat in the family room with their pastor, family, and friends, Dave stood in the corner of the room where Jackson was being treated and watched his son crash twice. Each time the heroic efforts of the expert medical team brought him back to life. The pediatric critical care physician knew the only way the patient could survive was to call for a helicopter transfer to Houston's Children's Hospital and place the boy on a heart-lung bypass.

Besides the fight for Jack's life, there was a fight against time. The chemicals in the pool had washed out all the pliability of the four-year-old's lungs; an artificial lubricant was essential to keep him alive. But the hospital had to wait for the vital drugs to be flown in.

When Jack's father asked why his son needed to be transferred to Houston, the physician responded, "Because we cannot sit here and watch him die."

Thankfully, the vials of surfactant (the lubricant) were delivered from Austin's Dell Children's Hospital before Jack could be transferred.

Later the ER doctor told Dr. Zuckerman that even though Jackson had regained his heartbeat, she was concerned he had gone so long without oxygen that he would be either brain dead or remain in a vegetative state.

In telling the story to Diana, Dr. Zuckerman said he and several other specialists gathered around the tiny patient and decided to place Jack in an induced coma to allow his fragile lungs to heal from the chemical burns. They sedated him with paralytic drugs to prevent the child from waking and pulling at the numerous tubes, IVs, and PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) lines that covered his small body.

The temperature of the water in the pool had been 54 degrees; Jack's body temperature was 93 degrees when he came into the ER (normal is 98.6). His body had gone into hypothermia (when body temperature drops below 95 degrees). This slowed his vital functions down, allowing his brain and heart to receive the most oxygen possible. The medical team kept Jack in a state of induced hypothermia to help him heal from the trauma.

The four-year-old was on an oscillatory ventilator for nine days, followed by two additional days on a regular ventilator. Dr. Zuckerman explained that oscillatory ventilation forces as many as 540 tides (puffs) of oxygen into the lungs per minute. This special apparatus caused Jack's little chest to rapidly rise and fall, but it was the only way the doctors could prevent their patient's lungs from collapsing.

Jack's parents sat in vigil next to their motionless son's bed. Their baby boy had been so full of life a few hours ago; now he was desperately struggling to stay alive. They reeled from the tormenting questions flooding their minds.

This was not any patient ... This was their Jackson. How long was he in the pool? How much poison did he swallow before his lungs became filled with water? How long was he without oxygen? Will our son live or die? And if he lives, what effect will this trauma have on his brain? Will he ever be the same?


ONLY GOD HAD THE ANSWERS

Minutes, hours, and days passed in drawn-out anguish as the family nervously anticipated the appointed time when the physicians would bring their beloved child out of his comatose state.

David, Sherry, and Alex were surrounded by loving family and steadfast friends during their ordeal. Their minister, Pastor Robinson, visited and prayed with them every day. All anyone could do now was wait.

Jackson's parents met with the dedicated team of specialists, who walked them through the next crucial steps of their son's life-and-death crisis. Once their son emerged from the medically induced coma, they would wait, hoping for his eyes to open and his lungs to breathe unassisted.

The next hurdle would be to confirm that Jackson's brain was functioning normally. The medical staff prepared David and Sherry that if and when Jackson woke up, he would most likely have significant neurological deficits.

The days were filled with fierce anxiety and raw emotions. Time dragged by as David and Sherry spent countless hours praying for an answer to Jack's dire situation. They knew they needed a miracle ... and a miracle is what they received!

The evening before Good Friday, Sherry had a dream that her little boy would open his eyes. Early Friday Sherry held her son's hand and whispered, "Good morning," and true to her dream, Jackson opened his eyes for the first time since his accident. The doctors had to keep him sedated, but God had given Sherry the confirmation she needed: Jack was going to be okay.

The parents of this adorable boy watched in awe as he came back to life in the days that followed. As he was gradually weaned from the medications, Jack was able to breathe on his own, his motor skills were unimpaired, and amazingly, he managed a weak smile when he saw the faces of his ever-grateful parents.

At one point after the tubes were removed from his body and he was being held by his dad, Jack looked up into his father's eyes and said in a very weak whisper, "Daddy ... I be okay ... I be okay."

The night before Jack was released from the hospital, the pediatric neurologist came to the young patient's room and gave his parents a copy of his EEG, a test that diagnoses brain function. Their son's numbers were textbook perfect! "I have no medical justification for these results," admitted the neurologist. He had felt sure that Jack would suffer significant brain deficiency based on the length of time he had gone without oxygen.

His only explanation? "It was the grace of God."

Jackson had been given back to his family by an ever-merciful God. For that, David and Sherry would be eternally thankful. However, they quickly recognized their once high-spirited child was now uncharacteristically quiet and restrained. Upon Jack's discharge from the hospital, the doctor assigned to the case recommended that his parents not push to discuss the traumatic event right away, but wait instead for a time when Jack could better deal with its terrifying memory.

Because this little boy had lost nearly 20 percent of his body weight, the clinicians felt he would have to be sent to rehabilitation upon his discharge to regain his strength. Yet on day fourteen, the young patient ran out of the hospital!

The family was whole again, and soon their son's bubbling personality resurfaced. Following Jackson's cues, David and Sherry determined it was time to cross the bridge that would take them from the memories of that horrific day to a place where they could enjoy being together once again without worry. It was time to get Jackson back in the pool.

Four days after their son left the hospital, he went swimming in the same pool he had nearly drowned in. The family spent the afternoon together in the water, enjoying the Texas sunshine. It was almost as if their near-tragedy had all been a bad dream.

A doting Sherry was thankful her son was splashing water in her face, because it disguised the tears of gratitude that were welling up in her eyes. Eventually she took a deep breath and decided to ask Jack if he remembered what had happened weeks earlier. Jack immediately responded, "Yes, Mommy, I drowned."

"What happened, buddy? You are such a good swimmer!"

Sherry instantly wondered if she had overstepped her bounds by asking the question that had nagged her and her husband for weeks.

Things got quiet.

Jack didn't swim long; he had lost six pounds on an already small forty-two-pound frame, so he became cold quickly. Sherry took him from the pool, wrapped her little boy in a towel, and sat him on her lap in a nearby chair.

The grateful mother held her child closely as they enjoyed the sweet quietness around them. The sky was beautiful, with the sun just beginning to set. The rays reflecting against the clouds reminded Sherry of heaven.

Unexpectedly, Jack blurted out that he remembered how he fell in the pool that dreadful day. Sherry hugged him and said, "Mommy and Daddy are so sorry we weren't there to help you."

The boy then began to freely share the memory of that dark day. "I dropped a bucket in the pool by accident, so I went in to get it. My clothes got really heavy and I kept going down to the bottom, and then I couldn't hold my breath anymore."

"Buddy, were you afraid?" his mom asked.

Jack responded, "Yes. But then I saw the pool light and I swam to it."

Sherry was puzzled—the pool light had never been turned on. She thought for a moment, Could Jack have seen the Light of God directing him to the other side?

Then her son said, his voice still hoarse from being intubated, "Mommy, you know God is alive. I saw Him. He was as bright as the sun, and He told me to wake up. And I saw Nana and she told me to wake up. And then she shouted at me to wake up!"

Could this be? Sherry wondered. Nana was Jack's paternal grandmother who had died when their son was not yet two years old! And God? What about God?

Sherry looked at David, who was only a short distance away, in amazement. Did our son just say that he saw God?

Sherry held back a river of tears for fear she would startle her little boy. Wanting nothing to prevent Jack from telling his story, she sat quietly, nodding her head and silently thanking God for Jack's life and the wonderful miracle their family had experienced.

As her youngest child talked, what Sherry began to hear was the most beautiful story of heaven.

"Mommy, why did Jesus have to die?" Jack asked a few moments later.

"Well, He died so we could live," Sherry answered with a trembling voice.

Then their little boy made a statement that further astounded his parents: "I think that Holly is Jesus' dog now." Holly was the family dog that had died the previous year.

"Why do you think that, son?" his mother asked in disbelief.

"I saw her standing next to Jesus."

"What else do you remember seeing?" his mom asked softly.

"Oh, Mommy, I heard you telling me to open my eyes. I tried to open them, but I just couldn't." Suddenly Sherry remembered that while Dave was performing CPR on their boy, she had repeatedly pleaded with Jack to open his eyes.

David was stunned, his heart pounding and his head reeling from the questions swirling in his mind. He tried not to show his astonishment as he joined in the conversation. "Wow, buddy, where were you?"

"I was in heaven, Daddy."

Heaven? Did Jack really die and go to heaven? This only happens in the movies ... not to our boy!

Jackson then went on to describe gates, a throne with a rainbow behind it, faces with great color, and music that he could not easily explain.

"Son, what else did you see in heaven?"

"I saw Jesus, Daddy ... I talked to Him."

David and Sherry could not believe what they were hearing. Jackson was so young; even though he attended church regularly, how could he possibly have seen Jesus?

The father continued, "What happened then?"

"Jesus held me and showed me heaven. I saw big houses and shiny yellow streets. I saw blue skies, and Nana and Holly were with me. Jesus looked at me and told me not to be afraid; I was going to see you and Mommy and Alex again."

"What did Jesus look like, son?" David asked in awe.

"His face had a big shiny light on it with lots of colors ... I couldn't see it."

"How did you know it was Him?"

"He told me His name."

"And then what happened?" asked his father.

"He kissed me on the face and said it was time to come back."

In the following days, David and Sherry had several extraordinary conversations with Jack about his journey, and his descriptions of what he saw were always straightforward—not at all like a four-year-old's imaginings.

With this initial, mind-boggling chat over, Sherry felt compelled to go to her Bible, which they used for family study. She thought of Jack's descriptive phrases: "Big houses ... shiny yellow streets ... the light on God's face ..." She remembered her Sunday school classes and went to the Gospels and the book of Revelation. There it was: her four-year-old son was describing mansions, gates of pearl, the streets of gold ... Jackson was speaking of the throne room of God!


(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Three Heavens by JOHN HAGEE. Copyright © 2015 John Hagee. Excerpted by permission of Worthy Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Contents

Section One: The First Heaven,
Chapter 1: "Mommy, God Is Alive",
Chapter 2: The Heaven We See,
Chapter 3: Journeys into the Supernatural,
Section Two: The Second Heaven,
Chapter 4: The Midst of Heaven,
Chapter 5: The Clash of Two Kingdoms,
Chapter 6: Invasion of Demons in Society,
Chapter 7: Invasion of Demons in the Church,
Chapter 8: The Evolution of Evil,
Chapter 9: The Spirit of the Antichrist,
Chapter 10: Deliver Us from the Evil One,
Chapter 11: Why I Believe in Angels,
Chapter 12: Where Angels Tread,
Section Three: The Third Heaven,
Chapter 13: The Throne Room of God,
Chapter 14: Your Eternal Home,
Acknowledgments,
Notes,

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