Discussion Questions for

Discussion Questions for

Introduction: 1. Marv Besteman worried that no one would believe him if he told them about his trip to heaven. Many people have a healthy skepticism about such stories. How do you feel when you hear about a heaven experience such as Marv s? 2. Marv said he was reluctant at first to share his story, but then God put him under orders to reveal what he had seen and how it changed his life. Does it sound like he had a choice or not? Can you remember a time when you felt under orders to do something for God? 3. Marv gives just short snippets of his experience in the introduction. Which aspect of his journey are you most intrigued to read about? 4. Are you surprised to learn that most of the people who have had heaven journeys are depressed and even angry when they are sent back? Why do you think that is? 5. When we reach heaven, we will be with the Person we were made for, in a home we were made to be, according to Marv. Do you agree? Chapter 1: A One-in-a-Million Case 1. Marv discusses how he had come to be diagnosed with insulinoma, and how Ruth was given deep, divine comfort through his five-hour surgery. Have you ever sat through a loved one s surgery? What fears did you face throughout? Did you, like Ruth, feel God s comfort? 2. A banker like Marv would never in a million years have predicted his near-death experience, which happened the night of his surgery. Do you ever think something like this could happen to you? 3. Why do you think God hid the time of his near-death experience? In other words, why didn t God have a clock where Marv could see it, so he would have known at what time and how long his journey lasted? 2

Chapter 2: Two Angels 1. Were you surprised by the normal appearance of Marv s angels? 2. Why do you think Marv s angels unhooked him from his hospital tubes? 3. John Calvin said angels were ministers and dispensers of the divine bounty towards us. Have you experienced that kind of divine bounty and ministry of angels? 4. Job 38:4 7 says that angels were created before the earth. Does that surprise you? 5. What biblical story of angels intrigues you the most? 6. How does it make you feel to think about the angels who surround us unawares? 7. Which angel story most captivated you? The story of Janet, Otis, Zackery, Sharon, or Gordy? 8. Marv describes the texture of angel s wings brushing against his face in heaven. Is that how you imagined an angel s wing might feel? 9. Marv describes how his clothing changed midair on the flight to heaven. Does it encourage you to know he was wearing his usual clothing and not some kind of heavenly robes? 10. What is the main thing you took away from the chapter Two Angels? 3

Chapter 3: Lights, Colors, and a Love Story 1. Marv did not see streets of gold. Why do you think some people see some things (such as streets of gold), and others who are granted a heavenly preview see other things? 2. From what I saw, blue is the second most prevalent shade in heaven, Marv said. Before reading this chapter, which colors had you imagined being the most dominant? 3. What do you think about the fact that Marv never saw that famous tunnel with the bright, white lights? 4. Marv s favorite color was white, and he eloquently describes the lustrous varieties of white, including some shades he had never seen before. How do you wrap your mind around colors and shades we ve never seen on earth? 5. Marv compared the colors and lights in heaven to several earthly reference points, including the northern lights and fireworks. Does this help you imagine those colors and lights more clearly? 6. Does it encourage you and make you excited for heaven to hear Marv s description of the glorious and ever-changing light show there? 7. Many people secretly think heaven might be boring. Have you ever felt this way? What do you think that idea is based on? 8. Were you inspired by Marv and Ruth s love story? Why do you think their fifty-five-year marriage was such a resounding success, even in spite of difficulties and tragedies? 4

Chapter 4: At Heaven s Gate 1. How does Marv s description of the entrance to heaven (a dark wood-carved gate with dancing lights) differ from other descriptions you ve heard (a tunnel, a bridge, etc.)? 2. What do you think about the fact that Marv experienced perfect calm and peace at the gate, even though he had been dropped into another universe? 3. Marv counted about thirty-five people in line at the gate. Would you have thought there would have been more or less people there? 4. Marv goes into great detail about the clothing, ages, and nationalities of the people standing in line with him. What details struck you the most about the people in line? 5. Do you have a theory about the mystery of the Indian baby? 6. Read Revelation 21:10 14, and Revelation 21:21. How do these descriptions of the gates in heaven jibe with and differ from Marv s descriptions? 7. Marv makes an important distinction on page 83 about the difference between the Intermediate Heaven he saw and the New Heaven and New Earth believers will inhabit after Christ s return. Why is this distinction important to understanding Marv s entire heavenly experience? 8. Why do you think so many folks asked Marv if anyone was turned away at the gate? 5

Chapter 5: Hello, Marv, My Name Is Peter 1. Marv met his favorite biblical character Peter at the gate. What biblical people are you most excited to meet someday? 2. What detail of Peter s appearance was most interesting to you? 3. Read Mark 9:2 8, the account of Jesus transfiguration. What do you think of the fact that Peter denied Christ after witnessing that stunning miracle? What would you have done in Peter s situation? 4. Marv related to Peter s hardheadedness and he also saw his own flawed heart in Peter s story. How do you relate to Peter? 5. What was your reaction to Marv s report of a shining sea in heaven? Do you think Peter, wearing fishing clothes, actually went fishing as Marv suggested? 6. How does Marv s witness to Peter at the gate differ from the classic character of St. Peter acting as a front desk clerk in heaven? 7. Why do you think God chose Peter to greet Marv at the gate that night? Chapter 6: The Book of Life 1. Marv related seeing multiple Books of Life rather than just one enormous Book of Life. Does this surprise you? 2. Before reading this chapter, how would you have answered the question What is the Book of Life? How would you answer it now? 3. John 10:28 30 gives believers reassurance that they are loved and kept for all eternity. What does the phrase No one can steal them from my hand mean to you? 4. What was the most meaningful thing you learned through Marv s research and witness to the Book of Life? 5. Marv may be the only credible witness to heaven (on record) to have seen the Book of Life. Why do you think God chose Marv to see this particular sight? 6

Chapter 7: Inside the Inner Gate of Heaven 1. Marv saw old boats on the shores of what he called Lake Heaven. Why do you think they were old boats and not new ones? 2. When Peter told Marv his name wasn t in the Book of Life for that day, Marv was deeply disappointed. Does it surprise you that he had no desire whatsoever to return to earth? How does that make you feel about loved ones you ve lost and who now reside in heaven? 3. Marv actually argued with St. Peter himself, insisting that he be let into heaven. What would you have done in his place? 4. Why do you think God allowed Marv to see through the gate yet not gain entrance to the other side? Chapter 8: Heaven s Cradle Roll 1. If you ve lost a baby in some way, how does reading about these tiny little ones in heaven make you feel? 2. Marv said that people always ask many questions about the babies he saw in heaven. Of the questions on page 126, which would be your number one query? 3. Witnessing babies in heaven felt like a sacred trust to me, said Marv, one of the most holy and wondrous pieces of my experience. Why do you think he felt this way? 4. What do you think about the baby who caught Marv s eye, the little one he knew had been aborted? 5. Nothing is sadder than the death of a baby or child. How does Marv s perception that the little ones in heaven were happy and content, cradled in the perfect love of God, strike you? 6. How do you think Marv s experience of losing his baby son, William, shaped how he came to terms with seeing babies in heaven? 7. After a death, people often say things that are at least unhelpful and at most cruelly insensitive. Why is it so hard to think of something to say in such times? 8. When Marv anticipated his return trip to heaven, he said that s when all the years of separation would fall away and he d be reunited with William. How do you picture that reunion in your mind s eye? 7

Chapter 9: The Six People I Saw in Heaven 1. We don t know until someone is gone what they mean to us, Marv writes on page 142. Have you found this to be true in your own life? 2. The loved ones Marv saw in heaven all looked to be about the age they were when they died, but gloriously healthy and vibrant. How do you picture your loved ones in heaven? 3. His grandparents, mother, and friends Norm and Paul all had a tremendous influence on Marv. Who do you think you might see in heaven if you were granted a similar experience as Marv s? 4. Several of the people Marv saw in heaven had died harsh, debilitating deaths, yet in heaven they were hale and hearty. Does this change the visual idea you have about your own loved ones in heaven? Chapter 10: Losing and Finding My Best Friend 1. Marv and his son-in-law, Steve, became as close as any father and son could be. Do you have family-type relationships with people who are not technically related to you? 2. Marv suspected that Steve had known on some level that he might die. Do you think people are sometimes given a feeling or instinct that they might die? 3. How do you think Marv s children felt when he told them he had seen Steve? How would you feel if someone reported seeing your loved one in heaven? 4. Why do you think it was hard for Marv s children when he told them he couldn t wait to go back to heaven? 8

Chapter 11: After I Woke Up 1. God s love warmed my soul like a fire, Marv said. Why is it difficult sometimes to feel God s love that strongly on earth? 2. God s message to Marv, delivered through Peter, was that Marv had to go back to earth, as God has more for you to do. Often, people who have NDEs (near death experiences) are told this same thing. Why do you think this is so often the message they are given? 3. Why was Marv so anxious to keep this experience a secret? 4. How was Marv s gastroenterologist a healer to his troubled, stubborn soul? 5. How did God use the coincidence of Marv s doctor s brother also having had insulinoma in both their lives? 6. God spoke to Marv out loud. Do you believe God still speaks out loud to his people? 7. How was the reset button pressed in Marv s life? Have you ever had an experience in which your own reset button was pressed? 9

Chapter 12: Until We Meet Again 1. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9. After reading this book, what things that God has prepared for you are you most excited to experience? 2. Coming from a conservative background, Marv observed that some of his friends (especially men) would have a hard time believing they would one day dance before the throne of God. What is something you have a hard time imagining yourself doing in heaven that you would never do on earth? 3. Does it matter to you that Marv could never prove that he had a near death experience? 4. Many people told Marv things they had never told anyone else before. Why do you think hearing Marv s story helped them open up to him? 5. Marv s story gave comfort and assurance to people, and sometimes even led them down a different path in their lives. How has his story affected you? 6. I do feel an urgency to tell people about my experience, because who knows how long I ve got until I go back? As it turned out, Marv had just under six years back on earth to do the work God had for him to do. What work do you think God has for you to do before you die? 7. How is Marv a tour guide... at the departure gate for heaven? 8. Why do you think God allowed Marv to hear the heavenly music once a day during his return to earth? 9. What do you think the music will be like in heaven? 10. I ll wait for you there, Marv said at the end of his story. I can hardly wait to go back. He s waiting for you in that glorious, perfect place. Will you see him at the gate? 10