Mike McKinsey says a near-death experience during a family wedding led to an encounter with Jesus, and he insists the figure he saw looked very different from the image he had grown up seeing.
McKinsey, a construction superintendent from Chattanooga, Tennessee, said the episode began while he was away from home for his son’s wedding.
He had arrived early with relatives and started feeling ill after spending time playing with his children at a nearby park.
“At first I thought I was just coming down with the flu,” he explained.
As the day went on, his symptoms became more severe. By the end of the rehearsal dinner, he said he had developed a fever and was unable to sleep. Not wanting to pull attention away from the wedding, he chose to wait until after the ceremony before seeking medical help.
Once he got to hospital, staff quickly began to suspect appendicitis.
“When she tapped the bottom of my other foot, it sent pain in my abdomen so bad that I screamed,” he recalled.
A surgeon was called, and McKinsey said he was taken into surgery roughly half an hour later. Before entering the operating room, he said goodbye to his wife.
He claims that, before any medication was administered and before he had even met the anaesthesiologist, he saw Jesus enter the room.
“I looked to my right and Jesus walked through the surgical room doors,” Mike said. “He walked in as a physical person.”
According to McKinsey, Jesus was dressed in a white robe and had darker skin, short dark brown hair, a beard and ‘dark greenish blue’ eyes.
Although he said the appearance did not match the blonde-haired, blue-eyed portrayals he had seen in childhood, he felt certain about who he was looking at.
“I knew immediately that it was Jesus,” Mike said.
McKinsey said Jesus then came toward him and extended a hand.
“He said, ‘I want to answer your prayer’.”
He said the moment left him disoriented, and he believed he may have died.
“I was very confused but I took his hand,” he added.
The next thing he remembers is waking to see a doctor over him in the operating room.
Though the encounter seemed to last only around 10 minutes from his perspective, he later discovered that several hours had passed.
“I woke up in recovery, so at least three hours had gone by. Maybe four.”
He ultimately spent four days in intensive care and remained in hospital for a total of 12 days.
McKinsey says the experience continued the following day. After he had difficulty breathing, doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia. His fever rose above 104°F, and nurses treated him with oxygen and cooling blankets.
After staff left the room, he said he sensed Jesus again.
“I knew Jesus was back and I figured he was coming to take me back to heaven for good this time,” he said.
Instead, McKinsey says Jesus sat at the foot of his bed and spoke to him.
“He said, ‘I had to get you flat on your back away from all the distractions so you could hear me’.”
He claims he was told that he would recover fully and that he had been called to tell others about what happened. He says that conversation lasted three hours.
Since then, McKinsey says he no longer fears death and has dedicated much of his time to speaking publicly about the experience. His testimony has reached a wide audience, with his firsthand account of his near-death experience garnering more than 5 million views combined on YouTube and TikTok.
He later wrote a book titled I Held the Hand of Jesus in Heaven, in which he describes the event and the message he believes he received. The book was released in 2025 and continues his testimony that has resonated with audiences seeking comfort, encouragement, and spiritual insight.
McKinsey also connects the experience to a prayer he says he began making in childhood after his grandfather died.
“I started asking God to show me heaven so I would know it was real,” he said. “It became a nightly prayer for about 10 years.”
He believes that prayer was answered exactly 40 years later.
“I never believed in near-death experiences until it happened to me,” he said.
“We will all stand before God in judgement one day. Put your faith and trust in Jesus so he can be with you on that day acting as your defense attorney!! Heaven is real. Jesus is real.”