Heaven & Hell Series, Part 1: Introduction
Before I move on to the book of Ephesians, I want to interrupt my posts going through the Bible as I feel the need to write a series on a specific topic: heaven and hell. I do not know yet how many parts there will be to this series.
Based on the Christian content I watch on YouTube, a video was recommended for me to watch on the near-death experience of a man named Jim Woodford. I have seen and read quite a few reports of people who have visions of both heaven and hell, some of them have literally died, while others, like my husband, have had dreams and visions without being near death. However, I am always skeptical that what the person has to say is legitimate, because quite often these reports are made up for the sake of gaining attention, to appear spiritual, or to gain fame, and/or the visions were influenced by demons and not from God at all in order to confuse and mislead people about what heaven and hell are really like. I felt that Mr. Woodoford's story was real. I also read his book titled "Heaven, an Unexpected Journey" where he goes into greater detail of his experience.
Mr. Woodford's story prompted me to reread Rebecca Springer's book, "Within the Gates" (Their books were checked out from my library's digital selection for free, so you can also read these at no cost.) I also watched a few more stories on YouTube.
I am going to give a brief synopsis of each of the above people's stories, will be sharing other experiences, as well as give warnings on what not to believe. Before I do that, however, I always tend to overexplain myself, I will do so now! The reason I feel so compelled to write about this topic is based on an interview I watched where people were asked about their views on heaven and hell. The large majority of them said they did not believe either place existed or felt that heaven and hell were what we create in our own minds. It really saddened me that so many people are so blind and callus about what waits for them after time on this earth is over. Our time here is so very very teeny tiny compared to eternity, and yet the way we choose to live our life here will depend on where we spend forever. That should be a sobering fact to all of us, not something to shrug off so lightly. I pray this series reaches at least one person and helps them to think seriously about eternity.
Although I will share more scriptures as we journey through this series, here are just a few to start things off:
The word "heaven" is found in the Bible 691 times (KJV), 55 of those references are in the book of Revelation alone. The word hell is only listed 54 times KJV). Hell is not always mentioned by name but as a place with fire and/or brimstone, so technically hell is mentioned more than 54 times, just not by name. For today, I am only going to reference both Revelation 20 & 21 as they mention both places.
(Revelation 20:12-15) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 21:1-27) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
And He that sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new... It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
And there came unto me one of the seven angels... And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal...And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Heaven & Hell Series, Part 2A: The Reality of Hell
You may wonder if one of the purposes for me to write this series is to scare people. The answer would be yes, it is. I don't believe we should choose to accept Jesus' free gift of salvation based on fear of hell, but out of love for a gracious, compassionate, and forgiving Savior. However, if fear of hellish torment prompts you to open your Bible and start seeking Jesus and living for Him, then I will absolutely be happy to share the experiences of what other people saw of hell. Make no mistake, heaven and hell are both very real places, and if you have actively chosen to live in rebellion against God, you will go there the moment you die.
This will be an eight or nine-part series, and before it is concluded, I will absolutely share with you more scriptures on how you can choose where you spend eternity. In the meantime, please read the Bible on you own, especially the words of Jesus Christ.
One of the things all the people who have seen heaven, hell, or both have in common are that they feel they were sent back here for the sole purpose of sharing what they saw. If their stories keep even one person from going to hell, even the terror they experienced was worth it. It is their stories that have inspired me to write this series. To help further their missions to share the truths that heaven and hell are real.
Rather than taking the time to write this series, I could simply give you links to YouTube videos to watch, but I know some people prefer to read, some watch videos, or like me, do both. You can always search each of the people I mention for their testimonies. Also, the main reason I do not share an entire video is because sometimes there are false testimonies on the same video as the true experiences, and I do not want to confuse anyone. I will expose some of the frauds I am aware of in a later writing.
For the sake of not making these blogs the lengths of novels, the stories I am retelling are very much shortened versions. I am only going to share three stories as they take a while to recount. One in this blog, and two in part 2B. I will start with the man I mentioned part 1, Jim Woodford. I will tell more of his story about heaven in part 3. This retelling is taken both from an interview I watched and from his book, "Heaven, an Unexpected Journey."
Jim Woodford lived a very selfish life where he only cared about his own pleasures and his success as a pilot and businessman. His marriage was not a happy one, and he was facing debilitating pain due to having Guillain-Barré syndrome. He was in so much pain he was taking large amounts of pain killers. One day, desperate just to function, he took an unknown number of prescribed pain pills. He had unintentionally taken a fatal dose (he said he was not suicidal) and quickly experienced a searing pain throughout his whole body. Feeling he was dying, he cried out, "Jesus, forgive me." He then suddenly found himself standing outside his truck looking in at his own dead body inside the vehicle. He was lifted faster and higher than any airplane he had flown and was speeding through a tunnel. When he finally reached the end, he could see a dark door right next to the beautiful grass (I will save his description of heaven for part 3).
This was a surprise to me to realize that the entrance to hell was literally next to heaven. However, if you read the account of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (not the one Jesus raised from the dead) in Luke 16:19-31 (posted at the end), the rich man in hell can see the beggar in heaven from his place in the flames.
Anyway, back to Mr. Woodford's account. He heard the screeching doors of hell open, and either a demon or Satan himself (he was not sure which it was) was next to him with hideous, grotesque and twisted features. He said he could feel utter despair in this creature as if he had swallowed and carried tormented souls with him. He says the voice was as if a snake was speaking. He told Jim it was his time to go to hell, and Jim was shocked at how well the evil being knew him. He turned his back to the demon and felt a sharp talon scrape down his back. In his terror, he called out, "God, save me!" Suddenly three angels were at his side, and... I will continue his story in part 3.
In order to keep this reading from being so long no one will read it, I will continue 2 more testimonies of hell in part 2B.
All these accounts as well as the below verse show not only how terrifying real hell is, but also that we do not go to sleep when we die. We are either immediately ushed to heaven or hell.
(Luke 16:19-31) There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Heaven & Hell Series, Part 2B: The Reality of Hell
When people believe there is no heaven or hell, this means they do not believe there are any consequences for their actions. They can do whatever they so choose, and then they will simply cease to exist. A free license to sin, however, is not reality.
While there are many more accounts of people seeing hell I could explore, some are credible and others are questionable. The accounts vary based on what God wants that person to see and based on what they can spiritually and mentally handle. If you choose to search for such stories of heaven and hell, please pray for discernment to know what is real and fake, and what is from God and what is confusion from Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light and loves to trick people (2 Corinthians 11:14 - For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.) I will list two more that I feel are the on credible side.
Ronald Reagan (NOT the former US president), was admittedly a very rebellious man. He had suffered abuse from his alcoholic father which turned him to also abuse drugs and alcohol and end up in jail for manslaughter (caused by an automobile accident) by the time he was 15. His marriage was one the verge of divorce, and he revealed he was abusive with his children as his father had been. He had a very hot temper, and one day he took his son to the convenience store when he got into a verbal confrontation with a man walking out of the store. Mr. Reagan shoved the other man who fell onto a pile of glass bottles. The man than took one of the broken bottles and began attacking Mr. Reagan. The artery under his arm was cut so severely, he was about to bleed to death. The store owner took Mr. Reagan to the hospital but the ER could not help and put him in an ambulance to another hospital. He was sure he would have his arm amputated.
While Mr. Reagan lay in the ambulance, his wife now by his side, the driver, sensing Mr. Reagan was close to death, urgently told him more than once, "Sir, you need Jesus Christ!" I fully admire the boldness of that driver!
Mr. Reagan did not actually die but had a vision. What happened next was that it appeared to him as if the ambulance had exploded into flames and he was surrounded by smoke. He was then in a tunnel filled with smoke where a multitude of voices could be heard warning Mr. Reagan not to come to where they were. Their voices were full of agony, pain, and frustration. He knew if he went where the voices were, he would be there forever. A tsunami of loneliness and heavy depression washed over him. It was as if he was looking down a volcano and he could see fire, smoke, and people inside; they were being burned but not consumed by the flames. He realized he recognized some of the people as his former party buddies who had died due to their reckless and rebellious actions. The smell of sulfur was the most horrible stench he had ever smelled, and he felt a terror he never knew existed. His wife later told him he was thrashing about in the back of the ambulance, and she could tell he was experiencing extreme fear.
He awoke in the hospital where he was covered in wounds, but they operated and had saved his arm.
In spite of seeing that hell was a very real place full of the consequences of people's rebellion against God, he still fled from God and had not yet repented. However, sometime later (I am not sure how much time had passed), his wife gave her life to Jesus. Her once angry face was so full of joy and peace that he agreed to go to church. It was there he heard the pastor speak about Jesus as the lamb of God. Due to the love he had had for a pet lamb as a child (that his father had cruelly killed and thus ignited his spiral into a rebellious lifestyle), Mr. Reagan was very sensitive to the idea of Jesus being the perfect lamb who loved him and died for his sins. God knew Mr. Reagan would be there that day and had planned the perfect message just for him. He gave his life to Jesus and never looked back as he now lives for Jesus and shares his testimony in order encourage others to repent of their sinful lifestyles and to keep others from hell.
The last account I will share is from a man named Howard Storm, a strong atheist that did not believe in life after death. Mr. Storm was what you would consider a good man, not living a criminal life by any means. He had been married for 20 years and had a good marriage. He did, however, admit that he lived a life that was all about himself. He and his wife were vacationing in Paris when he experienced a perforation in his stomach. He spent 8-10 hours in agony in an ER hallway because the hospital was short staffed. After the long wait, he was informed that the hospital could not find anyone to operate and they had no idea how much longer he would have to wait. It was then he gave up fighting to stay alive, and he and his wife tearfully said their goodbyes.
I am not sure if Mr. Storm then died or if like Mr. Regan what he experienced was a vision, but this is a brief version of what he reported. He saw himself standing outside his own body and heard sweet and gentle voices outside the hospital room calling, "Howard, come out here." He said they used very "syrupy" tones to entice him out. He exited the room into a grey hallway where about a dozen people waited that he thought might be medical personnel. They kindly encouraged him to follow them, and he thought maybe he was about to have his operation. However, they walked for an unknown amount of time because time suddenly had no meaning. He compared the length of the walk as if they walked from Nashville, TN to Louisville, KY (about 175 miles or about a 4-hour walk). The longer they walked the more hostile the others became. They began telling him to hurry and to shut up if he asked any questions. They eventually ended up in complete darkness, and he refused to go any farther.
Mr. Storm says that what he experienced next was "too ugly" to fully describe as the dozens of people became 100s or maybe even 1000s. They tore, bit, scratched, ripped, and gouged his flesh until he was covered in painful wounds. He was unable to fight them, and it went on for an unknown amount of time. When they stopped for a time, he lay in the dark in physical pain, but the emotional trauma was many times worse.
He heard his own voice say to him, "Pray to God." Although he had attended church as a child, he could not remember how to pray. He quoted what he remembered and every time he said the name of God or Jesus, his abusers would scream and yell the worst profanity he had ever heard, but it kept them away from him. He kept saying prayers and he was soon alone for what felt like an eternity. He reflected on his life and realized the only god he had served was himself. He then remembered singing "Jesus loves me" as a child and that he had once believed that God was good and loved him. He desperately wanted back what he had thrown away. He called out, "Jesus please save me!" and Jesus was instantly there.
Although I am saving Jim Woodford's heaven experience for part 3, I will continue with Mr. Storm's account because he did not actually see Heaven. Jesus took Mr. Storm into His arms and carried him out of the pit and took him to where he called a place in between, neither heaven nor hell. He felt dirty and unworthy, but Jesus cleaned him up, healed the wounds caused by the demons, and filled him with a pure sense of Jesus' love. (Amen! Hallelujah!) He was taken to a different room and shown his life by angels (he did not provide any descriptions of Jesus or the angels) In a nutshell, they made it clear to him that all his kind actions pleased God, but his cruel ones made God unhappy. Mr. Storm did not want to go back to earth, but Jesus and the angels assured him that they would always be with him as long as he prayed, confessed his sins to God, and gave all his cares, hopes, and dreams to God.
I do not know how long he was dead or unconscious, but as soon as he reentered his body, a doctor miraculously showed up to perform the lifesaving surgery.
Mr. Storm fully believes he was given the soul changing experience to share so he could help save others. Which, as I stated at the beginning of this blog, I want the same thing. If I can convince even one person that there are indeed consequences for living in active rebellion against a holy God because we our soul does indeed continue after we die, then these blogs are worth writing.
(Psalm 9:16-17) The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Please come back for more in this series tomorrow as there is so much hope and beauty of God's goodness and grace still to be revealed!
(Psalm 86:13) For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
