A Tennessee man who says he saw Jesus after being declared dead for around 45 minutes has now spoken about a second experience he believes he had with the son of God.
Mike McKinsey began feeling ill not long after reaching the venue for his son’s wedding, which was roughly a five-hour drive from home.
The Chattanooga-based construction superintendent had arrived ahead of time so he could spend time with the bride’s relatives and give the children a short break before the school year resumed.
At first, Mike believed he was simply dealing with the flu and tried to carry on. But after the rehearsal dinner, his condition worsened, a fever set in, and he found himself unable to sleep.
Although he made it through the wedding day, he was taken to hospital soon afterward.
Doctors initially believed he might have appendicitis, and he was quickly moved into surgery.
Mike says that was when he first saw Jesus, before experiencing another encounter about a day later.
“I woke up and could barely breathe. I called the nurse and she told me I was coming down with pneumonia. More nurses came in and hooked me up to oxygen, put ice blankets on me because my temperature was over 104.
“They gave me a spirometer to breathe into. As the nurses were leaving, I felt a holy presence enter the room. I knew Jesus was back and I figured he was coming to take me back to heaven for good this time!
“I knew I waited too long to get checked out. But he sat down at the end of my bed and started talking to me.”
Mike said the second moment happened while medical staff were treating him for pneumonia symptoms and trying to lower his high fever.
“When he spoke, the nurse who had stayed in the room couldn’t hear him. And when I spoke to him, she couldn’t hear me either! He said: ‘I had to get you flat on your back away from all the distractions so you could hear me’.
“He went on to tell me I would make a full recovery and he was calling me out to do more for his kingdom.”
According to Mike, that exchange continued for about three hours.
Speaking about the first experience, Mike said Jesus appeared to him in bodily form, dressed in a white robe and with a complexion he described as darker than the way he had seen him depicted in childhood.
“[He] had a short dark brown beard with dark wavy hair. His eyes were a dark greenish blue. Even though he looked different, I knew immediately that it was Jesus. As he came closer to me, he held out his hand and said, ‘I want to answer your prayer’. I was very confused and thought I must have died, but I took his hand,” Mike said.
He said the figure then guided him to a place he believed was heaven.
“I was standing on beautiful, lush green grass, a very dark green. The blades of grass were perfectly manicured. My senses were heightened to the point that I could feel every blade of grass touching my feet. I even knew the exact number of blades of grass!”
Mike also described seeing a hillside covered in flowers that appeared to move gently, despite there being no breeze.
Since his experience, which he says occurred in 2004, McKinsey has made a full recovery and has become an accomplished author and motivational speaker dedicated to sharing his story. He published a memoir titled “I Held the Hand of Jesus in Heaven,” detailing both his near-death experience and the encounters he believes transformed his life’s purpose. McKinsey has appeared on multiple podcasts and speaking engagements, discussing how his experience shifted him from pursuing success in business to dedicating himself to what he calls his spiritual calling and faith-based mission.
Near-death experiences like McKinsey’s have been documented for centuries, and medical researchers have noted patterns in these accounts. Studies have found that many individuals who report near-death experiences, particularly those from Christian backgrounds, describe encountering Jesus or other religious figures during their episodes. While the medical and scientific communities continue to debate the causes of these experiences—which some attribute to neurological responses to extreme stress or oxygen deprivation—there remains no scientific consensus on the underlying mechanisms. McKinsey’s account has attracted significant attention online due to its detailed nature, though as with all such personal testimonies, the medical circumstances and his descriptions cannot be independently verified through hospital records.