A man who once did not believe in God was completely shaken when he met God in a near-death experience. He reminisces about his savior who brought him from hell to Heaven, and looks back on what's possible in life. It was here that he realized the grave error of his old way of life.
Howard Storm, 75, admits he was obsessed with success in his younger years. Raised in the suburbs of Boston (USA), he went to school in California, later became a professor of art at Northern Kentucky University in 1972. He became a famous painter and sculptor, and his pursuits That exhausted him. Currently, Mr. Storm is a retired pastor and lives in Fort Thomas.
“I am my own God”
Storm told The Epoch Times : “I used to be an atheist. I thought life was short and sweet, and when you die, the key is to be as successful as you can be. I am a successful man. I consider myself a good person, because I do not blatantly break the law, rob, steal or kill. I am my own God.”
But on June 1, 1985, at the age of 38, a death and resurrection completely changed his outlook on life.
- A painting of Mr. Howard Storm; (pictured) Mr. Howard Storm when he was young and now. (Photo: Howard Storm)
“ I took a group of art students with my wife on a three-week tour of Europe. We spent our last week in Paris. The last day… I drained the students, taking them to galleries, museums, and some archeological sites.”
“At the hotel… I fell to the floor with the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life. My wife called the hotel reception, they called emergency services, and a doctor arrived promptly. With a lot of effort, he lifted me off the floor and checked… I had to operate immediately, or else I would die.”
Mr. Storm suffered a perforation of the duodenum, the first segment of the small intestine where gastric acid enters the digestive system and is at risk of sepsis. The cause of this was never determined, but Mr Storm believes it was due to excessive alcohol consumption, overeating and excessive stress.
He was taken to a Paris hospital. Mr. Storm spoke to doctors in the United States, who thought he had only two or three hours to live. Yet he survived for ten hours. It was on a Saturday, and there was no surgeon. He had to wait in excruciating pain.
Between life and death
“It took me hours to get medicine,” he recalls . About every hour or so, the nurse comes and asks me how I'm doing, and I say, 'I'm dying, I need morphine'. She said she was sorry but couldn't - no doctor, no prescription."
Breathing hard, Mr. Storm felt that death was very near. With tears in his eyes, he and his wife said goodbye before he fell into a coma.
“I don't know how long I was unconscious, but the next thing I knew I was sitting next to the bed, and I felt great,” he recalls . I feel a goodness that I have never felt in my entire life. I was overjoyed, amazed, thrilled, delighted. … The next thing I noticed was that my senses were heightened. I can see better, hear better, taste better — much better than before.”
Mr Storm does a "reality check" on his body, feeling it from head to toe. He felt very "real". He tries to communicate with his wife and the patient next door; but despite raising their voices and even shouting, they could see right through him. What followed was a disturbing prospect: a lifeless body lying on the bed, right next to him.
He continued: “The cloth covered the shoulders, neck and head turned to one side. I bent down and looked at the face of the body, I was absolutely horrified and surprised that it looked like me."
The horror continued as Mr. Storm realized he was not alone in this reality, which he learned was the afterlife.
Hell
In the video recounting his near-death experience , he said: "I heard some people outside the room calling me. There was a group of people in the dark, shadowed hallway, maybe eight people… They said, 'We know all about you, we've been waiting for you for so long, and it's time for you to come with us'.
Mr. Storm wanted to believe that these were doctors, but as he followed them into a dark abyss, their professional demeanor changed, their numbers increased, and their speech became rude. , blasphemy and ridicule. Mr. Storm became scared and lost.
"I'll be back!" he said.
But the men disagreed, and they beat him on his stomach on the floor. He found himself in hell, and he was forced to call on Jesus, despite the atheism he believed in. He recalled his Sunday school class as a child.
- A painting by Mr. Howard Storm depicting strangers who sent him to hell while he was in a near-death state. (Photo: Howard Storm)
Mr Storm continued to The Epoch Times : “My prayer is simple: Jesus, save me. This prayer comes from the heart, from despair, it is simple and straightforward.”
In response to his prayer, a man in a white robe appeared, causing the accursed figures to retreat. Mr. Storm recalled: 'The man in the cloak had a beard and long hair, was very dignified and was extremely gentle and kind .
This is Jesus. He led Mr. Storm to a safer place, bathed in a pleasant light.
Heaven
Mr Storm said: “He gave me a tour of Paradise, but I never belonged there, I was really just a tourist. God said, 'You don't have a personality fit for heaven'."
“When I asked Jesus, 'Are you going to have to come back in pain?' He said, 'Yes, but you will learn from that. You will suffer a lot'. He wants me to fulfill the purpose for which I was brought into this world: to be a kind and loving person.”
Mr. Storm wakes up, certain that Heaven is vast and ruled by the love of God, and all that is good is there. But he is still not qualified to go to Heaven.
- A painting by Mr. Howard Storm depicting the road with God standing at the end. (Photo: Howard Storm)
- A painting by Mr. Howard Storm depicting the world of Jesus and the beings in His world. (Photo: Howard Storm)
An hour later, Mr. Storm was brought to the operating table. After returning to the United States, he was hospitalized for two months due to complications, before being sent home for a month-long rehabilitation.
Weak and bedridden, he had time to reflect on his spiritual experience.
“The only thing I can do is read,” he said . I asked my wife to buy me a book on Buddhism and Hinduism, and I have a Bible. I came to the conclusion that the Bible was much closer to what I had experienced than the other books, so I decided that I would go the Christian route.”
When Mr. Storm was well enough to walk, he and his wife attended a local church. He quickly felt at home, accompanying others who were searching for the Lord. However, finding your own spiritual path is easier than convincing friends and colleagues in the art world.
Convince
“Everybody made fun of me, and told me I needed to see a psychologist,” he said . All my friends, all the other college professors are atheists. One of our favorite subjects was mocking Taoists, because they resemble grown-ups who believe in fairy tales."
He added: “Love those who attack you and don't share your values, it's a lifelong journey, but Heaven is the final destination.
“We are only really amateurs in love,” he said . When we go to Heaven, when we become perfect, holy, sanctified, fully loved, we are given responsibility. Over time, we can manage and work in interaction with God on other systems: people, maybe several cities, maybe several countries, maybe several worlds gender".
- A description of God by Mr. Howard Storm. (Photo: Howard Storm)
- The scene of Heaven was drawn by Mr. Howard Storm. (Photo: Howard Storm)
After a one-year near-death experience, Mr. Storm returned to university. In 1989, he left to attend the seminary, eventually becoming an ordained minister. His longest serving was 14 years at Zion United Church of Christ in Norwood, Ohio.
His work, he says, even involves exorcising "devil entities", advising followers of "devil attacks", and advocating the power of prayer. “It has to be sincere, it has to come from the heart, it has to be strong.”
Currently, he is retired but still works in a village in San Victor, Belize. He has written four books based on near-death experiences, including "My Descent into Death" (2005), "Befriend God: Life with Jesus" (Befriending God: Living with Jesus). Jesus) (2019), “Lessons Learned: A Spiritual Journey” (2014), and “It's All Love” (2014).
He painted several oil paintings of his experience, including a portrait of Jesus. But the shining eyes of God he still did not grasp. “Those are sparkling eyes, coming from compassion and light, and I have not yet been able to describe them,” he said .
Today, Mr. Storm's beliefs are simple. He just repeated God's words: "Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself."
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Theo The Epoch Times