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1-Page PDF Summary of Heaven Is For Real

In July 2003, 4-year-old Colton Burpo made a remarkable claim: that, during a period of serious illness earlier that year, he’d visited heaven and met Jesus. In the months and years that followed, Colton revealed more and more details about his heavenly experience, claiming that he’d seen God’s throne, met his late relatives, and foreseen the battle of Armageddon.

Penned by Colton’s father, pastor Todd Burpo, Heaven is for Real is an account of Colton’s illness and subsequent revelations. It explores not only Colton’s experiences, but also Todd’s journey to casting aside his doubts and accepting that his son had truly visited heaven.

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The Burpos wonder how Colton had known what his parents were doing during the operation, and question whether the experience Colton is describing was a dream or real.

Around July 10th: Todd questions Colton further about his experience. Colton explains that he met Jesus and the angels while visiting heaven. He gives a description of Jesus that matches both passages in the Bible and the depiction of Jesus on crucifixes—but Todd notes that Colton hasn’t encountered crucifixes or those sections of the Bible yet. He begins to contemplate the idea that his son is describing a real experience.

Later that week, both Todd and Sonja ask Colton questions about heaven. He states that:

  • Jesus was his “teacher” while he was in heaven, and he had to do “homework” along with many other children.
  • Everyone in heaven had wings that they used to fly, except Jesus, who could fly without wings.
  • Everyone in heaven had light shining above their heads.
  • He only spent three minutes in heaven (although Todd concedes that, since Colton can’t tell the time yet, what he thinks of as three minutes may be much longer).

Todd believes that much of what Colton is describing matches the descriptions of Jesus and heaven in the Bible, again strengthening his belief that Colton is telling the truth.

August: Colton reveals that while in heaven, he met Todd’s late grandfather, Pop, and says he was very nice. He also states that Jesus had described reaching out to Todd and telling him to be a pastor. Todd is astounded, as this matches his experience of deciding to become a pastor: He’d felt that someone or something had been calling him to do so, and now knew that it was Jesus.

October: Colton tells his parents that while he was in heaven, he met his sister who’d passed away in the womb. Todd and Sonja are shocked, since they did suffer a miscarriage before Colton’s birth, but had never told him about it. It comforts them to know that one day, they’ll reunite with their late daughter in heaven.

December: Todd asks Colton whether he saw God’s throne while in heaven. Colton confirms that he did, and that it was huge. He states that Jesus also had a throne, on the right-hand side of God’s. This makes sense to Todd, as it matches the description of the heavenly thrones in the Bible.

By this point, Todd almost entirely believes that Colton went to heaven. However, he wants to give Colton one last test to check he’s telling the truth. So, Todd asks Colton what he did when it got dark in heaven, knowing full well that, according to the Bible, heaven is actually bathed in perpetual light. Colton passes the test, telling his father that it never gets dark in heaven because God and Jesus create its light.

Later Events

Late April 2004: Colton gets in trouble for running out into the parking lot at a fast-food restaurant. Todd warns Colton that if he’s not careful, he’ll get hit by a car and killed. Colton responds that this would be a good thing since he’d get to go back to heaven.

Fall 2004: One night, Sonja encourages Colton to pray for Todd to get lots of study time in preparation for his sermon that Sunday. In response, Colton states that in the past, he’d seen Jesus “shoot power down” to Todd when he spoke in church. When Todd asks Colton what this “power” is, Colton replies that it’s the Holy Spirit.

2005: Colton tells his babysitter, Ali, about his experience in heaven. He also tells her that he misses his late sister. Subsequently, Ali tells the Burpos that not only did she believe Colton, but that hearing about his experience strengthened her Christian faith.

Early 2006: Colton reveals that people have swords in heaven to protect them from Satan, who isn’t yet stuck in hell. He also states that he saw Satan while in heaven, but refuses to describe him or talk about him any further.

Later in 2006: Out of nowhere, Colton warns his father that a holy war is coming. He says that while in heaven, he foresaw a battle in which Jesus and his supporters (including Todd) fought Satan and his monsters. He states that this battle will eventually bring about the end of the world, although the forces of good will ultimately prevail. Todd realizes that Colton is describing the battle of Armageddon.

January 2007: Todd speaks about Colton’s experience publicly for the first time, during a church service in Sioux Falls.

At the time Todd finished writing Heaven is for Real, Colton was about to turn 11. He hadn’t experienced any more major health struggles and hadn’t revisited heaven. However, he remembered his first trip in great detail, and he was still adamant that heaven is for real.

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PDF Summary Chapters 1-10: Colton Gets Sick

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On March 3rd, the Burpos decided to return to their hometown of Imperial, Nebraska, to check Colton into the local hospital. Once they arrived, it quickly became apparent that Colton was very unwell: An X-ray revealed masses in his abdomen. The doctor wasn’t sure what was causing the masses, but, based on evidence from Colton’s blood tests, he didn’t believe it was appendicitis.

Over the next 24 hours, doctors ran test after test on Colton, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. Meanwhile, Colton’s condition declined further and further as he failed to respond to any treatment.

Eventually, the Burpos became frustrated with the doctors’ lack of progress. On March 5th, they decided to transfer Colton to Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte, Nebraska, hoping to receive better treatment there.

Colton’s First Surgery

Shortly after the Burpos arrived at Great Plains, a CT scan confirmed that Colton did have appendicitis after all. Even worse, his appendix had ruptured, leaving toxins leaking into his body. Colton required emergency surgery to remove the toxins and save his life.

Before Colton went into surgery, Todd asked the lead doctor for...

PDF Summary Chapters 11-15: Colton First Describes Heaven

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Colton Describes Meeting Angels and Jesus

(Shortform note: The information in this section was originally part of the book’s prologue. We’ve moved it here to keep the sequence of events chronological.)

In early July 2003, the Burpos took a trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to visit Sonja’s brother and newborn nephew. It was the first trip the family had taken since the one that ended in Colton’s hospitalization, and they hoped that this one would be somewhat less eventful.

During the journey, the Burpos drove past the turn to Great Plains Regional Medical Center. Sonja decided to ask Colton—now aged 4—if he remembered the hospital. Colton replied that he did: It was the place where the angels had sung to him.

Todd and Sonja were stunned by this revelation. Colton had never mentioned angels singing to him before. They decided to press the issue further, so Todd pulled into the parking lot of a nearby Arby’s restaurant and turned off the car’s engine.

After a few minutes of gentle questioning, Colton revealed that:

  • The angels had sung two songs: “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.” (Colton had asked them to sing “We Will Rock You” by...

PDF Summary Chapters 16-26: Colton Reveals More About His Heavenly Experience

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Interestingly, when shown a picture of Pop as an older man, Colton didn’t recognize him. However, when shown a photo of Pop as a younger man, he recognized him immediately. Todd saw this as proof that Colton must have met the “younger” Pop.

Colton Describes Todd Becoming a Pastor

The day after Colton revealed that he met Pop, Todd’s mother visited the family. After hearing about Colton’s most recent revelations, she asked her grandson whether Jesus had mentioned how Todd became a pastor. Colton responded that Jesus had: He’d described reaching out to Todd and telling him that it was his purpose to become a pastor. When Todd had agreed, Jesus had been thrilled.

Todd was astounded: The event that Colton was describing had happened, and Todd remembered it in detail—although he’d never told Colton about it. When he was 13 years old, he’d attended a youth camp and listened to a pastor speak about how God calls people to do his work. The pastor had mentioned that God could call kids, too—and at that moment, Todd had felt someone or something telling him that he should be a pastor. **He’d known in his heart that this was God or Jesus calling him, and Colton had just...

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PDF Summary Chapter 27: The Burpos Share Their Story

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Shortform Note

Heaven is for Real drew widespread media attention following its publication. The book debuted at number 3 in the New York Times’s non-fiction bestseller list, and many readers hailed it as faith-affirming.

However, Colton’s narrative has been met with some skepticism. For instance, some critics have questioned how Colton could have visited the afterlife when there's no medical evidence that he died during his two surgeries.

Criticism of the book intensified in 2015 when a teenager who'd made claims similar to Colton's admitted that he'd lied. In the wake of this scandal, Colton—then aged around 16—posted a statement on his website, acknowledging that some people doubted he was telling the truth. However, he stands by his narrative.

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