In the open letter addressed to “sellers, buyers and marketers,” Malarkey said he made up the story “because I thought it would get me attention.”
Publishers and booksellers are now saying that the book the boy co-authored with his father Kevin Malarkey, and which Tyndale House publishers had promoted as “a supernatural encounter that will give you new insights on Heaven, angels, and hearing the voice of God,” will be pulled from shelves.
In the book which gives a detailed description of “miracles, angels, and life beyond this world,” Malarkey said that while he lay in a coma for two months on hospital bed, he visited heaven and met Jesus and Satan.
He described the tall pearly gates of heaven and the perfection of life in heaven, writing, “It (the gate of heaven) was very shiny, and it looked like it had scales like a fish. I was in the inner heaven and everything was brighter and more intense on the inside of the gate. It was perfect. Perfect is my favorite word for describing heaven.”
But now Malarkey, from Huntsville, Ohio, now 16, has admitted in the open letter published in the website Pulpit and Pen, that he fabricated the story.
He began the letter with an apology for being unable to express himself better due to his injuries, and goes on to state, bluntly, “I did not die. I did not go to heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies and continue to.”
He continued: “It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins so that you can be forgiven may you learn of Heaven outside of what is written in the Bible… not by reading a work of man.
“I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough.”
Malarkey’s book belongs to the popular but controversial “heavenly tourism” genre of Christian books. The book became popular among evangelical Christian readers and received positive reviews. The genre includes other popular publications such as “90 Minutes In Heaven,” and “Heaven is for Real.”
But this is not the first time that a member of the family has suggested that Malarkey’s story was fabricated. In a blog post April last year, Malarkey’s mother, Beth Malarkey, said the story was made up. She criticized the continued promotion and sale of the book, saying that his son Alex had admited to a pastor that the story was made up but was told not to speak publicly because the book was “blessing people.”
She also alleged that her family was not receiving any money from book sales.
“I am fully aware of what it feels like to be pulled in,” she wrote. “There are many who are scamming and using the Word of God to do it. It is both puzzling and painful to watch the book The Boy who Came Back from Heaven to not only continue to sell, but to continue, for the most part, to not be questioned.”
“The ones making money from the book are not the ones staying up through the night, struggling for their breath, or were they the ones at six years old, waking up unable to move or breathe and in a strange place after last remember seeing a car coming right at the car he was riding in,” Beth continued.
She concluded the post saying that “Alex’s name and identity are being used against his wishes… How can this be going on??? Great question… How did it get this far?… another great question.”
Alex’s father has not commented on the latest developments, but Tyndale House, a major publisher of Christian books, has announced that it has “decided to take the book and related ancillary products out of print.”
A major Christian bookseller, The Lifeway Christian Bookstore, also said it will pull the book from its shelves.
The bookstore said a statement: “LifeWay was informed this week that Alex Malarkey has retracted his testimony about visiting heaven as told in the book ‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven.’ Therefore, we are returning to the publisher the few copies we have in our Stores.”
