Pastor Eugene Peterson, the preacher author who created the Message Bible translation, may have been speaking to people in heaven before he passed away this week.

Peterson died on Monday at the age of 85 one week after being admitted into hospice care following complications from an infection. While the preacher and member of the Presbyterian Church has written over 30 books, he has become well known for creating the layman’s version of the Bible known as The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.

According to Religion News Service, Peterson’s family believed he may have been speaking to people in heaven before he took his last breath.

“During the previous days, it was apparent that he was navigating the thin and sacred space between earth and heaven,” his family said. “We overheard him speaking to people we can only presume were welcoming him into paradise. There may have even been a time or two when he accessed his Pentecostal roots and spoke in tongues as well.”

The man who pastored the Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Md., for 30 years previously spoke to RNS about his thoughts concerning death. Peterson said he was not afraid of passing on from this earth.

“I have no idea how it’s going to work out. But I’m not afraid, I’ll tell you that. I’ve been with a lot of people who are dying,” he told RNS last year. “I think those conversations are some of the best I’ve ever had. These are people who have lived a good life and who have embraced their faith. They’re not afraid.”

Peterson was sure of what is waiting on the other side of this life and spoke about his hope of dying well.

“We do know what’s going to happen, those of us who believe in the Trinity,” he said. “For us, there’s something quite… I don’t want to use the word ‘miraculous’ in a sloppy way. But there are people who die well, and I want to be one.”

 

(image via screengrab)