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5017
qualitative
book
Sabom, Michael. Light and Death. Zondervan, 1998. Chapter 6/9. Jake.
Light and Death, Chapter 6/9, Jake, 1998
1980
1998
27
M
Jake, a 40-year-old wheelchair-bound war veteran with flaccid legs, attempted suicide 13 years earlier when deeply depressed. He drove to the North Georgia mountains and overdosed on 20-30 Quaaludes and several cans of beer. After passing out alone, he experienced being in a place like hell - a valley with scorched earth resembling a Bosch painting. Vapor rose from the ground like steam, with an overcast sky of grayish clouds.
He felt awful, depressed, miserable, and unbearable - worse than anything experienced before. He no longer had his body. Demons were giving him a bad time, making fun of him and kicking him. He kept falling down. Chain lightning appeared in the background and God spoke to him not in voice but like a voice saying "You could have had anything you wanted - you threw it away." The sky would light up like heat lightning when God spoke. Jake thought about how he could have been anything but had destroyed it. In desperation, Jake threw himself to his knees and prayed "Forgive me. I want to live. God, please help me." He begged hard and suddenly came to, throwing up the Quaaludes. He believes his spirit left his body and went to a waiting room, insisting this was real, not a nightmare. Despite scoring very low on spiritual questionnaires (3.5 on Spiritual Beliefs, 14 on Hoge's scale), Jake maintains deep belief that God loves him and looks over him. Following this NDE, Jake reattempted suicide twice with Valium but had been drug-free for eight years at the time of interview. He continued using prayer during difficult times, including a hospitalization for foot burns where prayer relieved his fears. Jake firmly believes his prayerful turning to God during his NDE saved his life.
5
Other
5
8
13
Weak Evidence
0
Intentional overdose of Quaaludes and alcohol causing unconsciousness
Hellish realm with demons, heard God's voice, specific environmental details
written_account
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8/4/2025
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