Imagine Heaven Podcast with John Burke

Episode: Marine’s Life-Changing NDE: Instant Freedom from Guilt and Trauma
Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Marine Captain Mike Lewis, who recounts a profound Near-Death Experience (NDE) that led to instant freedom from a lifetime of shame, guilt, and trauma. Host John Burke explores Mike’s traumatic childhood, brokenness, and moral failings—contrasting these with the radical acceptance he ultimately encountered in his NDE with Jesus. The conversation grapples with questions of forgiveness, grace, and the afterlife, offering hope to listeners burdened by self-condemnation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Trauma and Its Long Shadow (03:34–13:00)

• Mike’s Childhood Abuse:
  Mike shares that at age six he was molested by a trusted family acquaintance, setting him on a path of “developmental abeyance.”

  “I was molested at the age of six…It wasn't repeated, but it was enough to set me off on a course of developmental abeyance.”
  —Mike Lewis [03:34]

• Recurring Nightmares and Internalized Shame:
  The trauma resulted in frequent nightmares involving “demons,” recurring to the point of bed-wetting and stomach cramps as a child.

  “I must have had that stupid nightmare like a hundred times, John. It’s the only thing that I can remember all the details about other than my near-death experience.”
  —Mike Lewis [05:06]

• Suppression of Emotions Due to Societal Expectations:
  Mike highlights toxic masculinity:

  “Big boys don’t cry. That was another distortion I grew up with…you’re not supposed to feel or show emotion.”
  —Mike Lewis [05:06]

  John Burke comments on how trauma lingers in the body:

  “There’s even a book: Your Body Keeps the Score.”
  —John Burke [07:16]

A Life of Dysfunction and Self-Condemnation (10:30–16:05)

• Failures in Adulthood and Marriage:
  Mike details infidelity and sabotage of relationships despite achieving outward “success” as a Marine officer and business executive. He confesses lacking “character” and living from a “false self” shaped by pain.

  “Even if it was just once, it could be a thousand times. The same result…After about three months of just internal torment, I went to my wife…'This is either going to make our marriage stronger or it’s going to grenade it.'”
  —Mike Lewis [10:30]

• Self-Justification and the Ego:

  “The ego will never tell you that it’s wrong. It’s always right. And you know, what’s good for me—that's what makes it right.”
  —Mike Lewis [10:34]

• Cycle of Self-Loathing:
  Mike describes relentless self-criticism and internal hell:

  “You deserve it, dude. You stink. You know, you suck. Look at what you’ve done.”
  —Mike Lewis [12:19]

Breaking Point: Physical and Emotional Collapse (13:53–19:00)

• Descent into Suffering:
  Following divorce and estrangement from his children, Mike’s unresolved emotions manifest physically as severe hives and blisters—a “raging histamine reaction.”

  “I ended up with these quarter-size blisters from my ankles to my armpits…To the point to where I thought I was going to die.”
  —Mike Lewis [16:05]

• Refusing Worldly Numbing, Demanding Truth:
  Instead of numbing himself with “the world’s” ways, Mike turns to the Bible:

  “I was almost, like, demanding of God, I want to know the truth.”
  —Mike Lewis [16:54]

The Near-Death Experience: Encounter with Jesus (19:00–61:04)

Entering “Another World” (19:00–24:51)

• Transition from Suffering to NDE:
  Exhausted, Mike kneels by his mattress to pray—and suddenly finds himself in a “cobblestone train station,” alongside his friend Steve.

  “All of a sudden I find myself in what I’ve always described as a cobblestone train station…And I turned to him and I say, 'Steve, wouldn’t you love to meet Jesus Christ face to face just once?’”
  —Mike Lewis [19:00]

• Transported to a Heavenly Scene:
  Instantly, he is in a luminous meadow, with an endless ‘river’ of living liquid like mercury, bordered by impossibly green meadows and intricate limestone blocks.

  “On both sides of this body of water was just this amazing green, like perfectly groomed, bright pastures…And it was light. There was light everywhere.”
  —Mike Lewis [19:00]

Encountering Jesus: Unconditional Acceptance (29:43–37:43)

• Recognizing Jesus Instantly:
  Mike knows, intuitively and without seeing details, that the approaching figure is Jesus.

  “You just knew instantly. Instantly. There was no question.”
  —Mike Lewis [24:51]

• Overwhelmed with Unconditional Love:
  As Jesus draws near, Mike feels an acceptance and love beyond earthly comprehension.

  “The level of acceptance that I experienced as it just washed over me and through me…It was exhilarating. It was life changing. It was something at a level that you…can't experience on this earth.”
  —Mike Lewis [29:43]

  “He said…‘My work is complete, Michael, and your suffering under the bondage of sin is paid for.’”
  —Mike Lewis [31:28]

  Mike receives an inner vision—a child who spills a glass at dinner and a loving father cleaning it, emphasizing God's forgiveness:

  “Michael, I’ve got this.”
  —Jesus in Mike’s vision [32:58]

• Free from Condemnation:
  John Burke relates this to scripture:

  “God does not condemn us. Romans 8:1 says, 'There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.’”
  —John Burke [35:02]

• The Mystical Oneness:
  Communication without words, attaining an unprecedented mind-to-mind connection.

  “It was like my mind was resided in his and his was in mine…an interconnectivity that was just getting tighter and tighter and broader and faster, and I didn’t want it to end.”
  —Mike Lewis [53:10–53:37]

Jesus’ Appearance and “Garment of Light” (38:13–47:16)

• Jesus’ Garment:
  At first, Mike perceives a white robe, but as Jesus approaches, he realizes it is a garment “woven of light.”

  “It was like his garment was made of trillions of tiny little light particles, each one possessing every light of the known electromagnetic spectrum…That is not cloth…it's light.”
  —Mike Lewis [45:01]

• Validation from Other NDEs and Scripture:
  John connects this description to other testimonies and to scriptural passages referencing God being “clothed in light.”

  “There’s a scripture that talks about how God wears a garment of light.”
  —John Burke [47:33]

Insights from the Questioning: The Nature of the Soul (61:04–63:54)

• Soul as the Operating System:
  Jesus explains to Mike the relationship between body, soul, and brain.

  “He said, ‘No, it's your soul, Michael…Show me a body without a soul, and I’ll show you a dead body.’ …The soul is the operating system. It tells the brain how to make your kidneys function…”
  —Mike Lewis [61:04]

• Eternal Quality of the Soul:
  The soul not only animates the body, but is also “powerful to live for eternity.”

The Return: Symbolic Resurrection and Transformation (66:45–73:34)

• Vision of His Own Death and Return:
  Mike sees a room with two figures (angels) pulling a sheet over a corpse. The body sits up—it’s him. He awakes at 3:33am, transformed.

  “Right then I woke up on the floor. It’s 3:30 in the morning…When I looked at my digital clock—3:33 to be exact.”
  —Mike Lewis [67:39]

• Signposts in “Real Life”:
  Days later, Mike walks through a cemetery and sees a tombstone with his surname—a divine confirmation that the “old Mike” has died.

  “I turned around and there was a gravestone and the only name on it was Lewis. That’s my last name…Kind of more confirmation…you know, the old guy is gone.”
  —Mike Lewis [72:46]

• The Gift of Dying to Self:
  Mike connects his transformation to scriptural imagery:

  “I am crucified with Christ. I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”
  —Galatians 2:20 quoted [73:56]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s Love and Forgiveness:

  “In that moment, John, it was as, as I experienced that and him, just the combination of all that going on at that very moment…He made me feel like I was the only person that, that existed or like ever existed…He has the power to enable each and every single one of us to feel like we’re the only thing that matters to him.”
  —Mike Lewis [36:31]

• On the Path to Salvation:

  “Abject suffering led me to true salvation.”
  —Mike Lewis [74:24]

• On the Wages of Sin:

  “The wages of sin is death…it was death to my marriage. Yeah, it's proof, folks.”
  —Mike Lewis [33:30]

• On Instant Thought Communication:

  “The language in heaven is thought…you can go as fast as you want because Jesus can keep right up…we were communicating and the lips weren’t moving.”
  —Mike Lewis [47:44]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Mike’s Early Trauma: 03:34–07:34
• Chronic Self-Condemnation & Relationship Failures: 10:30–13:53
• Physical Breakdown and Turning Point: 16:01–19:00
• Entering the NDE – Setting and Initial Vision: 19:00–24:51
• Encounter with Jesus, Love and Acceptance: 29:43–37:43
• Garment of Light & Validation: 45:01–47:16
• Thought Communication in Heaven: 47:44–53:10
• The Nature of the Soul: 61:04–63:54
• Symbolic Death and Return: 66:45–73:34
• Summarizing the Transformation: 74:24

Conclusion: No Condemnation, Only Grace

John summarizes the core message: The cycle of shame and condemnation keeps us enslaved, but the truth of the Gospel—and as illustrated in Mike’s NDE—is that God never turns away, no matter what’s been done. Freedom comes from realizing “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

“Don’t believe the lies that you’re too dirty, you’re too far gone…He will never leave you. God really doesn’t hold stuff against you, so do life with Him. It’s the best way to live.” —John Burke [75:01–End]

If you or anyone you know struggles with guilt from past trauma or feels unworthy of God’s love, Mike’s story is a moving testament to the reality of forgiveness and the transformational power of an encounter with divine grace.