New Film After Death Explores Stories of People Who Visited Heaven, Came Back

Published

11 months ago

October 24, 2023

admin

Don Piper once was skeptical of near-death experiences. He didnt believe people could taste the fruit of heaven and come back. That is until he faced his own near-death experience back in 1989, he says.

I would have counted myself among them, frankly, he now says of skeptics.Piper was involved in a horrific car crash more than three decades ago and was declared dead by paramedics on the scene. For the next 90 minutes, he says, he visited heaven, talked to deceased loved ones, and even saw angels. It wasnt until a man on the scene of the crash prayed for Piper that he was revived.

Pipers story is one of several near-death experiences that are retold in the new Angel Studios film After Death (PG-13), which opens in theaters Oct. 27. Its the first theatrical movie for Angel Studios since its summer blockbuster movie Sound of Freedom shocked Hollywood.

This movie is the get-people-into-heaven movie, Piper told Christian Headlines about his goals for the film. At the very least, it’s a conversation starter. But at the very most, it’s somebody’s first step into the glory of God.

Piper is the author of numerous books, including his bestseller 90 Minutes In Heaven, which itself was made into a film of the same name. At the time of the crash, he was driving from a pastors conference back to his church. It was a rainy, cold day, he said.

I was crossing a rural, narrow bridge, and the tractor-trailer truck crossed the center line and hit me head-on [in a] horrific collision, Piper said. Two other vehicles besides the truck and myself were involved. So it was just a horrific accident. Miraculously, everyone else was okay. I was not. I was killed instantly. And was treated by four paramedics and the state trooper who worked the accident. And in spite of their best efforts to resuscitate me, they were unsuccessful. I was pronounced by those paramedics dead on the scene — body covered up with a waterproof tarp. And they were waiting for a medical examiner to come in and do an investigation so they could take me away.

At the exact moment of the car crash, Piper said, he went to heaven.

I was standing at the gates of heaven, at least one of them — there are 12 according to the Revelation — and I was at one. And [I was] surrounded by people I had known and loved in life who had preceded me in death. And we were having a spectacular reunion. They looked great. If you want to look great, heaven is where you want to be. And they looked great. Back on the bridge, I looked terrible.

Piper remembers heaven vividly, he said.

The music is beyond any music we’ve ever heard — not just the quality of the music, but the quantity, for instance. I heard thousands of songs at the same time in heaven. But they were symbiotic. They didn’t clash with each other. Quite the contrary, they complemented each other. And you could distinguish each one of them with your heavenly ears.

In heaven, he said, There are colors there that we have never seen here.

There’s [also] a gate made of pearl, but it’s so dazzling because of the light reflecting off of it that it looks living, he said. And I’m not sure that it is living in our sense. But it certainly looks that way. The people that I saw were so perfect in every way and timeless in the sense that they were not old, and they were not particularly young but fully recognizable as themselves. I knew them. They knew me. They were perfect in every way — no scars, no blemishes.

Above Piper in heaven, he said, there were angels.

I don’t even know how many [but] they were different sizes and shapes and different numbers of wings. There were angels without wings.

The accident took place around 11:45 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., an attendee of the conference who had encountered the crash stopped and prayed for Piper.

At 1:30, he’s singing the great old hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, and I start singing it with him. And I was back unaware of what had happened to me, didn’t know anything about the accident.

All total, he was in the hospital for 13 months and had 34 operations. He was in rehab for three years.

Earth, he told Christian Headlines, cannot compare to heaven.

I obviously have had a meaningful life for the past 34, 35 years being here, he said of Earth. But honestly, I would rather be there. These people that are in the movie, they would rather be there, too.

After Death is rated PG-13 for thematic material, including violent descriptions, some bloody images, and drug references.

Photo Courtesy: Angel Studios / used with permission.

Video Courtesy: Angel Studios via YouTube

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Related podcast:

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.

Business

Labour lures BlackRock chief Fink to flagship investment summit

Published

2 hours ago

September 21, 2024

admin

Labour lures BlackRock chief Fink to flagship investment summit

The boss of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, will attend the new government’s flagship investment summit next month amid suggestions it is struggling to attract large numbers of high-calibre international business figures.

Sky News has learnt that Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and chief executive, will attend the 14 October gathering, which will be held at a prominent central London venue.

Mr Fink, who was also present at a similar event organised by the Conservatives in 2021, will be among the most influential global bosses to attend.

Among the others who have agreed to come are Margherita della Valle, the Vodafone chief executive, Hemant Taneja, CEO of technology investor General Catalyst, and John Graham, who runs the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, one of the world’s largest pension plans, Sky News understands.

David Solomon, boss of the Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs, will also be there.

The emergence of some of those attending comes as Labour battles suggestions that it will struggle to draw the 300 industry leaders it pledged in early August.

Sources said fewer than 150 companies had confirmed their bosses’ attendance, with just over three weeks until the event takes place.

Roughly 100 ministers, metro mayors, officials and other government-connected figures are also expected to be present.

One insider insisted this weekend that “quality is more important than quality” and said the government remained on track to have 300 people at the summit.

That figure may ultimately be reached but comprising both the government and private sector delegations.

They questioned, however, why a formal numerical target had been set publicly when the summit was being staged at such short notice.

“It’s made us a hostage to fortune,” said one.

The event, which Labour vowed during the general election campaign to hold within 100 days of coming to power, is being seen as a key test of its economic credibility.

Whitehall officials are keen to announce investment deals worth tens of billions of pounds on 14 October, although whether they will hit this target is unclear.

Some corporate bosses, including the heads of Blackstone and JP Morgan, have declined the invitation, citing diary commitments.

Those two companies are expected to send alternates to the event, with Blackstone being represented by Lionel Assant, one of its most senior private equity executives.

Until recently, the government had insisted that only CEOs would be able to attend, with their invitations not transferable, according to insiders.

Aviva, Barclays, BT Group and HSBC Holdings will be among the FTSE-100 companies represented by their CEOs.

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, told the Financial Times this weekend that details of the government’s industrial strategy would be set out before the investment summit.

That is expected to include the appointment of a chair for its Industrial Strategy Council, although it faces going into the event without an investment minister being appointed.

The summit will also be politically delicate given that it comes just a fortnight before Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, delivers her first Budget – with higher taxes affecting many of those attending on October 14 expected to feature prominently.

The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment, while none of the companies contacted by Sky News would comment.

Environment

Mitsubishi Fuso cleans up, putting 89 electric garbage trucks to work in Greece

Published

2 hours ago

September 21, 2024

admin

Mitsubishi Fuso cleans up, putting 89 electric garbage trucks to work in Greece

The Greek cities of Athens and Thessaloniki are popular tourist spots, and those tourists are about to breathe a little bit easier – literally! – thanks to nearly 90 new electric garbage trucks from Mitsubishi Fuso.

The Daimler-owned Mitsubishi Fuso brand has been making big moves since export of its newest electric eCanter medium duty truck kicked off earlier this year. First expanding to Hong Kong, and now taking orders in the EU.

“Thanks to its compact dimensions and high chassis load capacity, the electric Next Generation eCanter is ideal for waste disposal companies that drive on narrow roads,” says Florian Schulz, Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services. “In addition, the vehicle is locally emission-free and quiet, so that garbage can be emptied early in the morning in densely populated areas. This makes it particularly suitable for municipal applications.”

One of the most important goals the cities’ governments had was to quiet down the garbage collection process. To that end, Greek body manufacturer KAOUSSIS has put a lot of development work into the upfit body to quiet the hydraulic and compaction actions. The company is calling its refuse body “the first of its kind,” creating a market advantage for the electric eCanter while meeting all EU technical regulations for operating waste disposal vehicles with standing personnel.

The hydraulic system employs proportional, electro-hydraulically operated directional valves that operate at a maximum pressure of 180 bar. KAOUSSIS says it’s specially designed for EVs, and is compatible with garbage bins between 80 and 390 liter (aka: really big) capacities. The lift also features a dynamic weighing system that records the weight of the waste with an accuracy of up to ±0.5 kg (about a pound).

“We have had a very close cooperation with KAOUSSIS for over 30 years,” says Antonios Evangeloulis, Director of Sales & Marketing of the Greek importer & general agent for Daimler truck products and services Star Automotive Hellas. “All the necessary tools, safety measures, technicians, training and certifications are in place and we are able to offer excellent after-sales support for these vehicles. Overall, it was an exciting project that we were able to realize together.”

Forty of the new electric refuse trucks are expected to be deployed by the end of November, with the balance expected to be delivered over the course of 2025.

Electrek’s Take

Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter; via Daimler Trucks.

Electrifying the commercial truck fleet is a key part of decarbonizing city truck fleets – not just here in the US, but around the world. I called the eCanter, “a great product for moving stuff around densely packed city streets,” and garbage is definitely “stuff.”

Here’s hoping we see more “right size” electric solutions like this one in small towns and tight urban environments stateside somewhat sooner than later.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Daimler Trucks, via Charged EVs.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Politics

Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer ‘very sensible’ to accept football tickets worth thousands

Published

4 hours ago

September 21, 2024

admin

Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer 'very sensible' to accept football tickets worth thousands

Lisa Nandy has said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of football tickets was “very sensible”.

The minister for culture, media and sport also said she had never accepted free clothes from a donor.

Speaking to Sky News at the start of the Labour Party conference today, the MP for Wigan said: “The problem that has arisen since [Sir Keir] became leader of the opposition and then prime minister is that for him to sit in the stands would require a huge security detail, would be disruptive for other people and it would cost the taxpayer a lot of money.

“So I think he’s taken a very sensible decision that’s not the right and appropriate thing to do, and it’s right to accept that he has to go and sit in a different area.

“But I know that he’d much rather be sitting in the stands cheering people on with the usual crowd that he’s been going to the football with for years.”

Ms Nandy also said while she has not accepted free clothes – joking “I think you can probably see that I choose my own clothes sadly” – she doesn’t “make any judgements about what other members of parliament do”.

Follow the latest on politics

She said: “The only judgement I would make is if they’re breaking the rules, so they’re trying to hide what they’re doing. That’s when problems arise.

“Because the point of being open and transparent is that people can see where the relationships are, and they can then judge for themselves whether there’s been any undue influence.”

She asserted there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by senior Labour figures, adding: “We don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes.

“We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things. We don’t claim on expenses for them. And so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind.

“MPs of all political parties have historically done that and that is the system that we have.”

She added: “I don’t think there’s any suggestion here that Keir Starmer has broken any rules. I don’t think there’s any suggestion that he’s done anything wrong.

“We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.

“But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we’re open and transparent about them.”

👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Sir Keir, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves said yesterday they will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes.

The announcement followed criticism of Sir Keir’s gifts from donors, which included clothing worth £16,200 and multiple pairs of glasses worth £2,485, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

The register shows Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations to the value of £2,230.

Sky News also revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP – his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.