Dannion Brinkley, a former US Marine, experienced something few ever have: being declared dead for 28 minutes after being struck by lightning in 1975. The lightning strike traveled through a phone line while he was on a call, hitting him with devastating force. He described the moment as being thrown into the air, seeing the ceiling, and then being slammed down, engulfed in fire and pain. Paralyzed and blinded, his body was lifeless.
During those minutes, Brinkley recalls leaving his physical body and floating beside the ambulance taking him to the hospital. From above, he watched as doctors declared him dead. His consciousness then passed through a tunnel and he encountered a radiant, spiritual being of light in a place he called the “Crystal City.” There, he witnessed a 360-degree replay of his entire life, observing it from a second-person viewpoint. The being asked him, “In the life you just reviewed, what difference did you and God make?”
Though some remain skeptical of these accounts, Brinkley’s story is supported by his own additional near-death experiences—in 1989 during open-heart surgery and later during brain surgery—where he says he was reunited with angelic guides who taught him to use new spiritual gifts to help others.
Brinkley has shared his insights in books, seminars, and through hospice volunteer work, counseling terminal patients and veterans. His powerful message is that death is not an end but a transition, and realizing this spiritual truth inspires personal transformation.
