Matt Uribe met Jesus and his late brother in a light brighter than the sun, and minutes later found himself surrounded by demons in the darkness of hell. In this episode of God’s Truth Podcast, the Coast Guard veteran shares his near-death experience: an overdose, a glimpse of heaven, a descent into torment, and the whisper he still can’t forget.
A Coast Guard sailor and a hidden addiction
Matt grew up in Long Beach and Cypress, California, and joined the Coast Guard, where he served for eight years. A back injury led him to ask a friend for painkillers. What came back was methadone, and with it an addiction that would shape the next decade of his life. His younger brother David was soon using it too.
The day his brother died
After a Fourth of July weekend, Matt was on watch in the station tower when he was called back to base. Expecting to be in trouble, he walked into the master chief’s office to find his best friend waiting. His father had called. David, two years younger and his closest companion, had died of an accidental overdose.
On his last visit home, Matt had sensed the Holy Spirit warning him he wouldn’t see his brother again. When they said goodbye, David held him in a hug that lasted a full minute. That moment, Matt says, set him on the path that led him to the Lord.
The night the spiritual door opened
Months later, at a friend’s house, Matt smoked something from a pipe without knowing what was in it. He says a spiritual door opened. Over five of the people in the room he saw dark shadows, and he began to hear demonic voices, mocking him and plotting harm against two of his friends. Barely able to move, he prayed silently, and heard the Lord tell him he had to act. He managed to reach one of the girls’ brothers, who got both women to safety. The voices cursed him all night for ruining their plans.
“There will be no more sorrow”
Still grieving, and now using ecstasy, Matt was overcome one night by a crushing darkness. Voices urged him to end his life. He swallowed a handful of pills and blacked out.
In the darkness he heard David singing a line from a song they grew up on: “When the only true Messiah rescues us from ourselves, there will be no more sorrow.” Then came the most beautiful voice he had ever heard, and a light brighter than the sun. Matt fell to his knees and wept. He shot upward, he says, like a missile, into a peace he describes as home. David spoke to him one last time, remembering the words Matt had said at his memorial paddle-out: “You’re my brother. I’ll always love you.”
Then Matt found himself before Jesus. He was shown things about his future that he would only remember later, in moments of déjà vu. The last words he remembers are: “You need to have faith.” Then he was told he had to go back.
Shot down to hell
Instead of returning to his body, Matt plunged downward into total darkness and terror. A swarm of demons surrounded him, laughing and cursing: “You’re done. We got you now.” He describes being held up as if in chains while his body was torn apart and restored, over and over, as the demons fed on his fear. There was no sense of time. It felt like eternity.
The more he called on Jesus, the angrier they became. His last prayer was simple: “Lord, I love you. Please get me out of here.”
“We almost got you”
Heavy footsteps approached, and Matt was certain Satan himself was coming for him. Then the demons walked away, all but one, which leaned in and whispered: “We almost got you.” In that moment, the Lord lifted him out. “Don’t do this again,” He said, and Matt was back in his body, drenched and trembling, his jaw aching from grinding his teeth.
The long road back
Healing didn’t come overnight. Matt faced years of depression, PTSD, rehab and recovery. But he sees the hand of God in every step: a compassionate master chief who helped him leave the Coast Guard with an honourable discharge, a job that ended just in time to send him back to school, and a path into social work that he never thought possible. The student who once told his father he wasn’t a school person went on to graduate with a Master’s in Social Work and a 4.0 GPA.
Matt Uribe today
Today Matt uses his story to serve others, including veterans battling addiction, older adults in care, and people many would rather avoid. He has no doubt that God is real, loving and present. In the second half of the episode, Abigail shares her own testimony of deliverance and encourages Matt, and every believer, to seek a church that moves in the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you’re struggling with addiction, or with thoughts of ending your life, please reach out today to someone you trust, your doctor, or a local crisis line. You are not alone, and there is hope.
Scriptures in this episode
- Mark 16:17–18, signs that follow those who believe
- Matthew 12:43–45, the unclean spirit that returns with seven others
- Matthew 15:22–28, deliverance as the children’s bread
- Ezekiel 47:1–5, the river flowing from the temple, ankle-deep to overflowing
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