T.D. Jakes Describes Heaven-Like Vision after Sudden Heart Attack Mid-Sermon
T.D. Jakes, the founder of The Potter's House, recently revealed that a "slight health incident" he suffered on stage in November 2024 was actually a massive heart attack.
"You know, I didn't really realize what was happening to me on stage until I got to the hospital in an ambulance. And [I was] fussing that it happened on stage, by the way, because I didn't want it to happen," Jakes told NBC's Craig Melvin on the "Today" show Wednesday.
"The doctor leaned over in my ear and said, 'You had a massive heart attack.' And the reason I didn't realize it is I had no symptoms that they say: no numbness, no sharp pain, no anything. I just kind of drifted off to sleep. I didn't know what it was, but I almost died," Jakes added.
Jakes, who made an emotional return to the pulpit on New Year's Eve, further explained how his heart stopped while he had been preaching, The Christian Post reported.
"He [the doctor] said five minutes later, I would have been dead on arrival. The right side of my heart had completely stopped giving blood at all. As long as I was up preaching, I felt fine. When I sat down, the adrenaline dropped and exposed the fact I was preaching with half of my heart closed through a clot," Jakes explained. "They had to go get it."
According to the megachurch pastor, Jakes claimed that he found himself in a "cloud-enveloped space" during the near-death experience, which he suggested was a glimpse of the afterlife.
"In my mind, I was in a quiet, peaceful, serene, white-enveloped, cloud-enveloped space," he explained. "I was on my way out. Afterwards, in retrospect, it was such a privilege to stand on the other side to get a little glimpse of what that might be like …I think it was absolutely amazing."
Jakes's remarks also come as he is currently facing a defamation lawsuit amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. Last month, 57-year-old Timothy Anderson of Manatee County, Florida, alleged that Jakes attempted to kiss him in the 1990s while he served as his youth pastor.
Meanwhile, Pastor Richard Youngblood and his brother, Duane Youngblood, alleged that Jakes sexually assaulted them when they were young, a claim which Jakes denies and has filed a defamation suit against Duane last year. However, Duane Youngblood's attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, supported a motion seeking to dismiss the defamation lawsuit in a legal response that includes Anderson's claim.
During Wednesday's interview, Melvin asked Jakes if he vehemently denies the allegations, to which the megachurch pastor declared, "Absolutely!"
"I haven't seen this person for 40 years, and this particular individual has been arrested as a child predator twice and convicted," he said of Duane Youngblood.
Jakes added that he was unsure whether more accusers would come forward with claims against him.
"I don't know where we are right now. From the looks of last year and how many black celebrities and celebrities in general have had to endure this kind of stuff, I don't know where we are right now," Jakes said on Wednesday.
"I think that there is a hopelessness, ….desperate people do desperate things. And they filed a motion to have it (defamation lawsuit) dismissed. So far, it's been denied. We filed 600 pages of information. I don't know what's next. I didn't see this coming."
WATCH: TODAY Exclusive: T.D. Jakes Speaks Out on 'Massive' Heart Attack
Related Article: T.D. Jakes Recovering after Health Scare during Powerful Sunday Sermon
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Originally published March 28, 2025.
