rich 1.0 He died for 15 minutes… and says he stood in heaven, spoke with an angel, and was sent back with a message he couldn’t ignore. Tony sits down with Rich, a former Alaska public safety officer, whose story builds toward a near-death experience that changed everything. After his heart stopped during a medical procedure, Rich describes waking in a place of overwhelming light, standing on what looked like sapphire glass, surrounded by swirling, radiant particles and a towering angel who confirmed he was in heaven. He recounts being led toward God’s throne, witnessing portals opening in the sky with angels moving in and out, and encountering Jesus in a moment defined by power, clarity, and indescribable love. Though he didn’t want to return, he was sent back, only to wake on the table declaring that heaven is real. Along the way, his earlier experiences in Alaska, moving stars, unexplained disappearances, and encounters tied to strange entities in the wilderness, take on new meaning through a spiritual lens. This episode moves from mystery to revelation, pointing to a reality that may be far closer than we realize. Please pray for Tony's wife, Lindsay, as she battles breast cancer. Your prayers make a difference! If you’re able, consider helping the Merkel family with medical expenses by donating to Lindsay’s GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/b8f76890 Become a member for ad-free listening, extra shows, and exclusive access to our social media app: https://www.theconfessionalspodcast.com/join The Confessionals Social Network App: Apple Store: https://apple.co/3UxhPrh (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-confessionals/id1666683243) Google Play: https://bit.ly/43mk8kZ (https://play.google.com/store/search?q=the+confessionals&c=apps&pli=1) The Counter Series Available NOW: The Counter (YouTube): WATCH HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e8Pa8OrFHM) The Counter (Full Episode): WATCH HERE (https://odx.tv/thecounter/) The Big Picture Prophecy Conference: prophecyconference26.com (https://www.tickettailor.com/events/solidrockchurch/1968105) Tony's Recommended Reads: slingshotlibrary.com (https://shop.recomsale.com/merkel/) If you want to learn about Jesus and what it means to be saved: Click Here (https://www.theconfessionalspodcast.com/gospel) Bigfoot: The Journey To Belief: Stream Here (https://merkelfilms.com/programs/bigfoot-the-journey-to-belief) The Meadow Project: Stream Here (https://merkelfilms.com/programs/the-meadow-project-night-investigations) Merkel Media Apparel: merkmerch.com (https://merkmerch.com/) My New YouTube Channel Merkel IRL: @merkelIRL (https://www.youtube.com/@merkelIRL) My First Sermon: Unseen Battles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r6jDWvlyuw&t=1160s) SPONSORS SIMPLISAFE TODAY: https://simplisafe.com/confessionals GHOSTBED: GhostBed.com/tony (https://www.ghostbed.com/pages/tony?utm_medium=influencer&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=tony) QUINCE: quince.com/tony (https://www.quince.com/our-core-collection?utm_source=veritone&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=tony) CONNECT WITH US Website: www.theconfessionalspodcast.com (http://www.theconfessionalspodcast.com/) Email: contact@theconfessionalspodcast.com MAILING ADDRESS: Merkel Media 257 N. Calderwood St., #301 Alcoa, TN 37701 SOCIAL MEDIA Subscribe to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/2TlREaI Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/theconfessionals/ Discord: https://discord.gg/KDn4D2uw7h Show Instagram: theconfessionalspodcast (https://www.instagram.com/theconfessionalspodcast/) Tony's Instagram: tonymerkelofficial (https://www.instagram.com/tonymerkelofficial/) Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheConfessionalsPodcas (http://www.facebook.com/TheConfessionalsPodcast) Twitter: @TConfessionals (https://twitter.com/TConfessionals) Tony's Twitter: @tony_merkel (https://twitter.com/tony_merkel) Produced by: @jack_theproducer (https://www.instagram.com/jack_theproducer/) OUTRO MUSIC Joel Thomas - Head In The Clouds YouTube (https://bit.ly/3VQ0TM7) | Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/head-in-the-clouds/1615220728?i=1615220729) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/track/7abIaZhBtXg5C0vUffLuuD?si=f18fca43f2a34206) The Confessionals https://audioboom.com/channels/5002796-the-confessionals Audioboom https://audioboom.com 480 95 https://audioboom.com/i/43574167/600x600/c 600 600 <iframe width="100%" height="95" src="https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/8885086/embed?v=202301" style="background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; width: 100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="allowtransparency" scrolling="no" title="Audioboom player" allow="autoplay" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>