FASCINATION WITH THE SUPERNATURAL

Lee points to the fact that public fascination with supernatural phenomena has surged in recent years, largely due to media.  “Interest in the supernatural is incredibly high in our culture.  And it’s not just in films, in articles, or at conferences.  In fact, you don’t have to persuade most Americans that supernatural phenomena are authentic. They’re already convinced.”  He cites findings from 2023 Pew Research Center and Gallup studies:

•    Eight in ten Americans believe in something spiritual beyond the physical world. 
•    Nearly 50% report having sensed something from the spiritual realm. 
•    69% believe in God, angels, and heaven, while 58% believe in hell and the devil. 
•    38% claim to have experienced at least one supernatural event. 

Lee states his motivation for writing the book: “As an evangelist, seeing that non-believers are fascinated in the supernatural, too, I want to provide a bridge to the gospel.” 

DEATH-BED VISIONS

One aspect of the supernatural world that Lee found most intriguing is death-bed visions.  These encounters differ from near-death experiences (NDE) in that the person sees something in the heavenly realm before irreversibly dying.  In an NDE, a person is found clinically dead for a time, but comes back to life, reporting what he saw in an out-of-body experience.  For this topic, Lee interviewed Dr. Steve Miller of Kennesaw State University, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on death-bed visions, based on eight hundred relevant sources.  One of Miller’s studies showed that 88% of patients in a New York hospice facility had such visions.  “They were so realistic that patients reported them as the most awake, alert, and present they had ever felt,” Miller says.  

An example of one such death-bed vision is quoted by Miller about a woman named Doris in 1920’s London.  Dying after giving birth, Doris looked toward one corner of her room with a radiant smile and talked about the lovely brightness and wonderful beings she saw, as well as God Himself. Then she said, “He has Vida with him!”  Lee asked Miller who Vida was.  “That was her sister,” he replied.  “She had died three weeks earlier, a fact that everyone had kept from Doris because they didn’t want to upset her.”    
          
ANGELS

“I’ve been a Christian since 1981,” Lee says, “and I’ve never heard a sermon on angels, though the Bible clearly teaches their existence.”  While studying what Scripture teaches about angels, he acknowledges that there are many false notions which have arisen from a variety of sources.  “For instance, the idea that people become angels when they die seems to persist, despite having no biblical support. (I blame Looney Tunes.)” Lee points out that angels are mentioned in half the books of the Bible, roughly 300 times, but are not the focus. “The primary focus of Scripture is on God and our relationship with him.  This means that a lot of details about angels aren’t spelled out with specificity.  They aren’t supposed to be.  Why? Because they are a sidelight to the central plot of the Bible and unnecessary information for us to have at this point.”  

Talking with Professor Douglas Potter of Southern Evangelical Seminary, Lee asked Potter to describe what Scripture clearly tells us about these celestial beings.  Potter was able to cite a long list.  “First of all, angels are not eternal like God is.  There’s a finite number of them, but that number is incredibly large.  Because they are immaterial in nature, they have no gender and don’t engage in marriage or reproduction.  And they are persons because they have the characteristics of personhood – intellect, will, and emotions.”  They are not omniscient.  “Only God is omniscient.  Angels are greater in both knowledge and power than humans.  Angels rank lower than God, but higher than humans.”  Potter went on to affirm the idea of guardian angels, based on Matthew 18:10, where Jesus says, “For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven,” and in Acts 12:15, where Peter, having escaped prison, shows up at the gathering of disciples, who don’t believe it’s him, saying, “It must be his angel.”

MYSTICAL DREAMS AND VISIONS

Lee shines a light on the countless Muslims who have experienced supernatural visions or dreams – many of them corroborated by outside events – which led them out of Islam to a saving faith in Christ.  “In fact, more Muslims have become Christians in the last couple of decades than the previous fourteen hundred years since Muhammed, and it’s estimated that a quarter to a third of them experienced a dream or vision of Jesus before their salvation experience.  If those statistics are accurate, this phenomenon of Jesus supernaturally appearing to people is one of the most significant spiritual awakenings in the world today.”  

Lee interviewed Middle East missionary and expert, Tom Doyle, who told him much more about Jesus dreams to Muslims, along with a number of examples.  One story revolves around Kamal, an underground church planter in Egypt.  Strongly impressed to go the busy, Friday market in Cairo one day, Kamal didn’t have time, but heeded what he believed was God’s leading.  Once there, a Muslim woman named Noor spotted him across the market and began yelling, “You’re the one! You’re the one!”  She pushed her way through the crowd to Kamal, and exclaimed, “You were in my dream last night!”  She knew because he was wearing the same clothes, glasses, and smile.  Knowing what the woman meant, Kamal asked her if he was with Jesus in the dream.  Noor said He was, and explained how Jesus told her He loves her, gave everything for her, and died for her.  She said she felt greater peace than she’d ever known.  The encounter led to a three-hour discussion about faith, and Noor left wanting to know more about Jesus and counting the cost of leaving Islam.  

USING DISCERNMENT

Realizing there are many misunderstandings, a thirst for sensationalism, and just plain error regarding the supernatural realm, Lee consulted with expert Ron Rhodes, who debunks much of what is believed to be spiritual, but is in fact, demonic.  This includes ghosts, psychics, and the paranormal, which Lee describes as a twisted version of the supernatural.  Rhodes offers a number of ways to exercise discernment in the supernatural arena:

•    Immerse ourselves daily in the Scripture to know truth versus error.
•    Pray for discernment, asking God to keep you from false and misleading ideas.  
•    Seek counsel when needed.  
•    Always consider the source of the report for reliability, beliefs, biases, and motives.

Lee adds, “The Bible warns about the dangers of pursuing answers about life from sources that aren’t grounded in God’s truth.”  He reminds us to assess spiritual experiences though a biblical lens to ensure they align with God’s nature and Christian doctrines.

For more information on Lee Strobel: www.leestrobel.com 

CREDITS

NY Times Bestsellling author, Seeing the Supernatural (Zondervan, 2025) / Former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, Saddleback Church, and The Woodlands Church / Former TV host, Faith Under Fire / taught First Amendment Law at Roosevelt University in Chicago / Professor of Christian Thought at Houston Baptist University / former investigative journalist, The Chicago Tribune / married to Leslie more than 50 years, two grown children, four beloved grandchildren

Fayetteville, GA

“I had those moments, waking up just in a cold sweat,” says Abigail. “Knowing that the grim reaper was standing at the foot of my bed, like, ‘I have a right to be here. I took your dad out; I took your grandparents’--I never even knew my grandparents,” says Abigail. “‘I have a right. I’m here to get you too.’”

All her life, Abigail Hot-Jennings had braced herself for this moment...a battle with cancer. She’d watched her dad fight it for ten years, until he passed away when she was 16. Now, 42 years old, she’d been diagnosed with an aggressive form of metastatic cancer.

“I think the Lord was preparing me like, ‘You are about to enter a battle, but I am with you,’” says Abigail.

Less than a year earlier she’d undergone a double mastectomy after learning she had Stage 3 breast cancer. She thought she was in the clear. But six months later at a follow-up PET scan with her oncologist...

“’This is what I feared,’” says the oncologist. “‘It’s moved into your lungs. And, you see these places? These are places I cannot get to. This is-this is terminal and you will die from this.’”

The treatments he did offer were extreme and would only put off the inevitable.

“That is when that grim reaper - I could feel - I could feel that thing,” says Abigail. “That spirit of death, and that spirit of fear walk in the room. And, THEN, I felt wonderful Jesus walk in the room as well,” says Abigail. “And He said, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And it was in that moment that something rose up inside of me,” says Abigail. “And, I remember answering Him in my mind, ‘This is gonna be a great line in my book one day.’ In other words, ‘I know you’re gonna heal me and I’m gonna write about this one day,’” says Abigail.

Abigail declined the treatments and decided she would fight cancer taking a natural and dietary approach, and above all, praying and believing God for healing.

“As believers, there is a hope inside of us. And so-now, did I just walk around like, ‘Oh, you know?’ I didn’t know how God was gonna do it, but I knew my eyes were on Him,” says Abigail.

Enlisting the prayers of her family and friends, Abigail, a single mom of two, talked openly with her children about her health.

“And I remember my little girl, Lily, came up to me with a magazine,” says Abigail. “And she opened the magazine. And she loved American Girl dolls. They now have an American Girl doll with no hair. And she said, ‘Mom, maybe I need to get this one this year in case you lose your hair.’ And I said, ‘Honey you will not have to order that doll, because Mommy is not losing her hair!’” says Abigail. 

Three months later, another PET scan showed the cancer was spreading aggressively in her lymph nodes. Holding onto hope was becoming harder.

“I simply had no options,” says Abigail. “I was just getting more scared and more frustrated, and would wake up with dreams, seeing like a movie screen—my funeral.”

Then, a couple months after getting that news, Abigail went to the Dominican Republic to visit a friend, a doctor, and take time to rest and seek God. Abigail remembers showing her friend the PET scan results.

“The look on her face when she read that last one, and I had never seen her look like that,” says Abigail. “That did rattle me. All I know to do is seek God with all my heart. That’s all I know to do.”

She would spend many hours that week in prayer, seeking God’s will. Late one night near the end of her visit...

“I got out there and I said, ‘God, I need to know, am I gonna die? What do you have to say about this?’” says Abigail. “It was just me and God. That is when I felt Jesus walk in, if you will. And I felt His presence. He said, ‘Abigail, I came to have a conversation with you. I came to actually go on a walk,’” says Abigail.

Abigail says she then saw a vision of herself with Jesus in Jerusalem. He walked her past the cross and into the tomb, where He lay down.

“And He said, ‘Watch this’ and He sat up. And He said, ‘Abigail, when I sat up, you sat up,’” says Abigail. “And then He walked to the entrance of the tomb, and I will never forget this as long as I live,” says Abigail. “He said, ‘When I walked out of the tomb, did I have cancer in my lungs?’ 'No, Jesus, you didn’t.' He said, ‘So do you have to have cancer in your lungs?’ 'No, Jesus, I don’t,'” responds Abigail. “And in that moment, I knew, I am cancer-free.”

A few weeks after she came home, Abigail faced yet another PET scan. She says that morning, Jesus spoke to her again.

“‘Good morning. This is the glory scan.’ And I went in that tube,” laughs Abigail. “You know I hate those things! And I just sang, not a fear-not-nothing.”

Later that day, a nurse called with the results...

“And she goes, ‘Abigail, I don’t really know what to say, but, uh, there’s nothing here. Like, there’s-there’s nothing here,’” says Abigail. “And I’m like, ‘I know! I know!’” 

At the follow-up appointment, her oncologist confirmed that Abigail was cancer-free.

“I don’t need my degree on my wall to see that this is a miracle,” states the oncologist.

That was 2017. And Abigail has been cancer-free ever since. To anyone who’s fighting a battle, her message is clear: keep your eyes on Jesus.

“He was trying to tell me, ‘This doesn’t have to do with you. I took care of sin at the cross. I took care of every disease. I took care of every sickness,’” says Abigail. “He is entirely the Healer. Entirely.”

15-month-old, Angel, was born with a tethered spinal cord, which can appear as a small tail protruding from his lower back. His mom, Maria, said it can be quite painful. “Whenever he tried to stand up, he screamed in pain,” she said with tears in her eyes. “And he cried when I moved the tail it as I changed his diaper."

Doctors said the prognosis for recovery without surgery was grim. “He told me that my child would not be able to walk as he gets older. He said he would lose movement in his legs and arms and the ability to move around.” 

Angel’s dad, Marvin, feared for the worse for his son. “I imagined him in a wheelchair. I imagined the other children playing and he could not.” But paying for the expensive operation to repair the condition was out of reach for the young family. “I remember at a clinic, they told us it would cost about $5000,” he added. 

“My husband's work is not enough to help my son. We can only afford rent and food. We have no other income,” said Maria.   

Then, thanks to YOU, Operation Blessing paid for surgery to repair Angel’s tethered spinal cord. The operation was successful, and a short time later he was walking and learning to run! “I am very grateful to Operation Blessing and to all the staff who helped our son,” said Marvin. “God bless you!” 

“Thank you to the people who support Operation Blessing," said Maria, now with tears of joy in her eyes. “I can hardly speak because of the emotion I am feeling. Thank you.”   

The new year began with a rescheduled Superbook Christmas Performance in Sesvete, Zagreb (Croatia), and it was nothing short of wonderful. The hall was packed, the organization by the local church was flawless, and the atmosphere was filled with joy and anticipation. Over 200 children and their parents attended, and at the end of the show, the children received special gifts.

Among the many smiles and moments of joy that day, one story stood out. A family from a town two hours away had reached out to the Superbook team before the event to confirm that the performance was still happening. Their son, a huge Superbook fan, had been eagerly anticipating the event. They made the journey together, and when they arrived, his joy was unmistakable—he was the happiest boy in the room.

Later, the team learned that this young boy has special needs, making his experience with Superbook even more meaningful. His parents’ dedication to bringing him to the event was a beautiful display of love and commitment. One Superbook team member later reflected, “They traveled miles just to put a smile on their son's face, and in doing so, they put one on ours as well. This is why we do Superbook shows. We bring smiles, hope, and the Word of God to children and their families, creating moments that leave a lasting impact.”

This heartwarming event in Sesvete is just one example of how Superbook is making a difference around the world. By supporting this mission, you can help bring hope and transformation to even more children and families. Whether by donating to CBN Animation’s Superbook ministry through the link below, sharing this story, or accessing Superbook resources for your own family, your support can extend the reach of this incredible ministry. 

Together, we can continue to spread the love and teachings of Jesus, one story at a time. Join us in this mission and be a part of the global impact of CBN Animation’s Superbook. Let's continue to reach more children for Christ together.

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