18 Days in Heaven

Gabe Poirot, a YouTuber and evangelist, recounts his near-death experience during an 18-day coma and the heavenly encounter with Jesus Christ that he says transformed his life. The book is a first-person spiritual testimony interwoven with biblical scripture, medical documentation, and eyewitness accounts.

At 20 years old and one month from his 21st birthday, Poirot was riding an electric skateboard at 30 miles per hour with his friend John Michael when the board struck a bump, sending Poirot into a backflip that landed him directly on his skull. Blood poured from his ears, vomit filled his lungs, and his body went rigid and unresponsive. John Michael held him while calling 911. Medics raced Poirot to the emergency room, where staff regarded the case as terminal. His parents, a thousand miles away, received a call telling them to come immediately.

Poirot asserts that from the moment his skull hit the pavement, his spirit departed his body. He describes watching the scene from above without pain or sorrow, feeling as though he had stepped out of an old suit. His spirit was drawn upward into a tunnel of living light, passing through a veil separating the physical world from another realm. As he crossed over, his entire life replayed in a flash. He realized that accomplishments he had valued, such as his college degree and YouTube channel, mattered less than he thought, while certain people and moments carried far more significance. He saw Jesus beside him at every point in his life, even during periods when he denied God.

On earth, Poirot remained unconscious for roughly 18 days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while family and friends watched his deteriorating body. In heaven, the passage of time felt like a breath. After traveling through the tunnel of light, he arrived at the center of a city illuminated not by sun or moon but by the glory of God, aligning with the description in Revelation 21:23. His eyes locked with Jesus' eyes, and he describes being seized by a force stronger than gravity and enveloped in an ocean of love. The throne room was vast yet intimate, filled with countless beings, elders, living creatures, harps of praise, and golden bowls, its atmosphere charged with holiness.

Poirot emphasizes that every prior image of Jesus he had encountered was inaccurate. Jesus' eyes contained all colors that had ever existed, and every feature communicated love. A holy fear struck Poirot, and he was certain the record of his sins was about to be exposed. He fell face-down. Jesus called him "Gabriel," embraced him, and welcomed him home with joy. Poirot wept, overwhelmed that he was not merely tolerated but cherished. Jesus sternly corrected Poirot's disbelief, affirming that the Father loves Poirot with the same love He has for Christ. Jesus then showed him the pierced wounds near His wrists and asked why Poirot was looking for something that did not exist. Within the wounds, Poirot saw how Jesus had fully paid the price for all transgressions. Written above the scars was Poirot's name. Jesus commissioned him to reveal God's true nature to everyone and to show them how much God believes in them.

Jesus showed Poirot a detailed life review from the Father's perspective, revealing that Poirot was God's "Plan A," not a burden but a treasure. At each stage where Poirot fell short, Jesus spoke prophetic declarations: When teachers identified him as having a speech impediment and ADHD, Jesus declared he would speak for God. When young Poirot bullied classmates, smoked marijuana, and lived a double life, Jesus declared he would bring others into the light. When doctors during the coma said he would never wake up, Jesus declared he would fulfill his destiny. Poirot states that all these declarations came to pass.

On a heavenly timeline where past, present, and future exist simultaneously, Jesus took Poirot to witness key moments. He saw the creation of humanity and the moment Father God breathed him into existence, understanding each person as a unique expression of God's breath. He watched the biblical figure Moses, afraid and feeling worthless, encounter God at the burning bush and receive the commission to lead Israel out of Egypt. He also witnessed the story of the prophet Elisha from 2 Kings 6, where an enemy army surrounded Elisha's city but a servant's eyes were opened to see a hillside filled with chariots of fire, with Jesus on a white horse at the summit.

Poirot describes Jesus as roughly six feet tall, strong and masculine, with medium-length hair radiating white light yet also curly with dark tones, and eyes burning with purple fire. His skin was darker than Poirot expected, Middle Eastern, and His voice carried absolute authority. Heaven's colors were a thousand times more vivid than anything on earth, engaging all senses simultaneously. Songs of praise echoed across the landscape, reverberating through flowers, golden streets, oceans, and mountain canyons, each echo sounding fresh.

A holy fire in the throne room transformed Poirot's relationship to sin. Before his experience, he was comfortable straddling the line between light and darkness; afterward, he only wanted the light. He understood that Jesus died not so he could freely sin but to free him from sin. Poirot illustrates this transformation with a post-recovery story: While playing basketball in Fort Worth, Texas, a fellow player named Enoch repeatedly fouled him and eventually threw him onto the hardwood floor. Instead of retaliating, Poirot felt an unexpected peace, apologized, and listened as Enoch confessed to anger issues and deep personal struggles. Poirot led Enoch in prayer in front of the entire gym, an act of grace he says would have been impossible before his encounter.

Poirot addresses the origin of evil, explaining that Jesus showed him Adam and Eve choosing independence from God at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan deceived Eve, Adam surrendered his God-given authority, and God removed them from the Garden as the consequence of their choice. Poirot saw Jesus weeping because hell was never created for human beings but for fallen angels. He concludes that evil on earth results from humanity's disobedience, not God's will, and states that even someone as evil as Adolf Hitler could theoretically have received forgiveness had he repented in his last breath, not to dismiss the atrocities of the Holocaust but to illustrate the scope of Christ's atonement.

Poirot saw the Lamb's Book of Life, heaven's register of those who belong to Christ, where names were signed, sealed, and etched in Christ's own blood. He observed that while everyone in heaven was there by grace alone, some lacked certain rewards because of their lack of faithfulness on earth, a principle he connects to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.

As the experience drew toward its end, Poirot watched from the throne room as the prayers of friends, family, and church members formed mighty bridges between earth and heaven. Rather than accepting the medical reports, which stated his brain was nonfunctional and his memory would never return, they spoke words of life over him. Jesus desired to bring Poirot back and actively used willing partners in prayer to open the way. Ginger Ziegler, the grandmother of Poirot's friend John Michael Howell, provides testimony of intense intercessory prayer, including a hospital visit where she commanded Poirot to live and he woke up. The Father declared that Poirot would live and not die, and Poirot's spirit was carried back into his body on the bridges built by prayer.

By the week of November 12, 2021, just before doctors were to perform a tracheotomy that would alter his voice, Poirot fully woke up. Though he weighed only about 130 pounds, nearly half his normal weight, he got out of bed and walked. His memory was restored. Within months he returned stronger than before: His skull healed, his collapsed lung was restored, his hearing and vision returned, and his voice came back. He committed to living entirely for God, cutting out influences he considered ungodly. Since recovering, Poirot has married his wife, Ally, and they expect their first child in 2025. He shares his testimony on YouTube, reaching millions, and travels the world spreading the revelation he received.

The book closes with a salvation prayer and an encouragement to read the Bible daily, beginning with the Gospel of John. In a bonus section, Poirot acknowledges that skepticism is understandable and invites readers to test everything against Scripture, citing biblical precedents for heavenly encounters. These include the apostle Paul's account of being caught up to the third heaven, the highest heaven and God's dwelling place, in 2 Corinthians 12; the early Christian martyr Stephen's vision of Jesus while dying in Acts 7; and Isaiah's vision of God's throne in Isaiah 6.