23 minutes in hell (11 page)

However, there is suffering He allows for the sake of the preaching of the gospel. This suffering usually falls into the category of persecution. In 1 Corinthians 4:12 we read, “Being persecuted, we endure.” Jesus reminded us, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Paul wrote, “Share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8).

Many of the apostles suffered tortuous deaths, stoning, beatings, and imprisonment because of their preaching of the gospel. In Acts 9:16, the Lord, speaking of Paul, said, “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” One example of Paul’s suffering can be seen in Acts 16, where Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. If God would allow His own apostles to suffer, then how much more will He allow you and me to suffer! But He reminds us to remember this: “Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good” (1 Pet. 4:19).

Always keep in mind that our suffering must be in accordance with the will of God, and not because of our own ignorance or disobedience to His Word, which can result in unnecessary suffering.

I believe the twenty-three minutes I spent in hell have caused me to accomplish more than I would have ever attempted to accomplish before the experience. The joy of seeing even one person come to Christ far outweighs any pain I experienced.

Is hell a literal burning place?

Absolutely. The place is an inferno. I saw the pit—a mile across and consumed with fire. I saw the liquid fire that falls like rain. I felt the extreme heat, and I smelled the stench of burning things. I do not believe the scripture references are merely symbolic or allegorical; I believe they speak of real fire. There are many important scriptures, and I urge you to read each one of them so that you can make your own informed decision. Appendix A is a comprehensive index of biblical references to hell. What God’s Word says is far more important than the story of my visit to that place.

Both the Old and New Testaments provide evidence that hell is a literal, burning place.

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

—Psalm 37:20, KJV

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts.

—Malachi 4:1, KJV

… and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

—Matthew 13:42

… I am tormented in this flame.

—Luke 16:24

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

—John 15:6, KJV

… suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

—Jude 7

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit… and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. [The smoke literally darkened the sky. How could that happen unless there was an actual physical fire burning in the pit? It’s not an allegorical or metaphorical fire as many think or teach.]

—Revelation 9:2, KJV

He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.

—Revelation 14:10

Thomas Vincent said:

Fire is the most affective and painful, therefore God has appointed fire to be for the punishment of the body.”[1]

Charles Spurgeon said:

There is a real fire in hell, as truly as you now have a real body—a fire exactly like that which we have on earth in everything except this—that it will not consume, though it will torture you.[2]

There are many other scripture verses on this point. (See Appendix A.)

Where is hell located?

After the judgment, “death and hell” will be cast into “the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:13, KJV). Wherever that is, it will be in “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12).

I believe the scripture states that presently it is in the center of the earth. I have listed some of the verses below. I somehow knew that I was in the lower part of the earth, and I sensed it to be approximately thirty-seven hundred miles deep. It was as if my senses were keener or more aware than normal. I remember thinking, “Most people up on the earth’s surface have no idea that there’s a whole world going on down here below the surface. They don’t know or wouldn’t believe that so many are here.” I remember falling to get there and ascending through the tunnel when I left.

“The abyss is literally a shaft. Somewhere upon the surface of the Earth there is a shaft. The entrance to this shaft leads down into the heart of the Earth where Hades exists. Hades is often translated ‘Hell’ in the Bible. Hell does exist. It is in the center of the Earth.”[3]

—Chuck Smith

Pastor Chuck Smith, who has written many books and is a very accomplished, well-respected senior pastor of one of the largest churches today for over forty years, states in his book, “Hell does exist. It is in the center of the earth.”[4]

Smith also states in his book “What the World Is Coming To”:

When anyone from the Old Testament died, they went to Hades. That is why in the Old Testament Hades is referred to as the “grave” and “hell.” It was the abiding place of everyone who died, but it was divided into two sections…. When Jesus died He descended into Hades and preached, according to Peter, to those souls in prison (1 Peter 3:19). According to Paul, when Jesus ascended He led these captives from their captivity (Ephesians 4:8). He emptied that portion of Hades where the faithful with Abraham had waited for God to fulfill His promises.[5]

“Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary” makes some interesting points about hell. In describing “Sheol “(hell) it says, “In Old Testament thought, the abode of the dead, “Sheol,” was regarded as an underground region.”[6] It also gives a description of the word “pit,” saying it “…is used in a theological way in both the Old Testament and New Testament. As a deep, underground place, the Pit became synonymous for Sheol, the abode of the dead.”[7] •Some theologians state that it is in the center of the earth. Others don’t know for certain. I believe Scripture is clear and speaks for itself. There are more than forty other verses on this point listed in Appendix A, in addition to these verses that I am including here.

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up… they… went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

—Numbers 16:32–33, KJV

“I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth… an old man is coming up.”… “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

—1 Samuel 28:13–15

But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

—Psalm 63:9

… and the earth shall cast out the dead.

—Isaiah 26:19

When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit…

—Ezekiel 26:20, KJV

For they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth… with them that go down to the pit.

—Ezekiel 31:14, KJV

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [Hades had two compartments, or two sides, separated by a great gulf fixed. On the one side was paradise; on the other side, torment.]

—Matthew 12:40

He [Jesus] also first descended into the lower parts on the earth.

—Ephesians 4:9

Do you have a body in hell?

I certainly did. My body appeared the same as the one I have now, except there was no blood or water in it. Life exists in the blood, and water represents life. I was able to endure suffering that would have caused death to my current physical body immediately. Other than that, it felt like a normal body and all my faculties seemed to work. I could think, reason, and remember. My emotions were still there, and although my strength was almost nonexistent, my physical senses were acute—I could see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. What the Bible says about this is the important thing.

Let us swallow them up alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down to the Pit.

—Proverbs 1:12

Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

—Matthew 10:28

… that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

—Luke 16:24

Luke 16:23–24 describes a man who had a tongue, eyes, and a mouth with which he spoke. He had some type of body. In addition, he recognized Abraham and Lazarus, so they must have had bodies to be seen and recognizable. Some experts say we will not have a body in heaven or hell until after Judgment Day. However, Jesus had a body after the Resurrection. Jesus said, “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). When Jesus arose, Matthew 27:52 states that: “The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went in to the holy city and appeared to many.” These saints had to have some type of physical body to be seen! The body we receive after the judgment will most likely be different, according to the Scriptures, than the body we would have after death at this time.

Are there children in hell?

The Bible implies that there are not. From the outlines of the people I saw, they seemed to be fully grown or adult in size. In addition, the screams I heard were not the screams of children; they were mature voices. I will say that I had an impression, an unexplainable internal feeling, that there were no children there. This was my experience. What the Word states is the only thing of concern.

[David] said… “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” [David wept over his child who died, and stated that he would go to him.]

—2 Samuel 12:22–23

Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

—Matthew 18:3

Suffer [permit] little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

—Matthew 19:14, KJV

Whoever receives one of these little children in My name, receives Me.

—Mark 9:37

Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

—Mark 10:14–15

In his book “One Minute After You Die,” Erwin W. Lutzer states:

Children will not be in heaven because they are innocent. Paul taught clearly that children are born under condemnation of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12)…. If children are saved (and I believe they shall be) it can only be because God credits their sin to Christ; and because they are too young to believe, the requirement of personal faith is waived.[8]

“The clear teaching of the Bible is that the souls of those children who die before they reach the age of understanding and responsibility are taken to the New Jerusalem with Christ to live joyfully with Him until the day of resurrection when they shall receive their own immortal body fit for eternity. I believe the Bible shows us that children will be in heaven.”[9]

—Grant Jeffrey

Chapter 8 Notes

1. Vincent, “Fire and Brimstone,” 111–112.

2. Morgan and Peterson, eds., “Hell Under Fire,” 28.

3. Chuck Smith, “What the World Is Coming To” (Costa Mesa, CA: Word for Today, 1993), 91.

4. Ibid., 91–93.

5. Ibid., 91–93.

6. Ronald F. Youngblood, ed., “Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary” (Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference, 1995), 1164.

7. Ibid., 96.

8. Lutzer, “One Minute After You Die,” 73.

9. Grant R. Jeffrey, “Journey Into Eternity” (Minneapolis, MN: Waterbrook Press, 2000), 219.

Chapter 9

Understanding What Happens in Hell

How could I “see” in hell?

Some people have asked me how I could see fire, pits, and desolate areas at all, since Scripture mentions “…the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 13; cf. 2 Pet. 2:17; Ps. 49:19). These verses refer to the time when death and hell are cast into the lake of fire and into outer darkness. (See Revelation 20:14; Matthew 25:30.) This will happen after Judgment Day.

Currently, the hell we are talking about is Sheol or Hades and is not in outer darkness yet. But I believe, as Scripture states, that this also is a place of total blackness in the center of the earth. I could only see when I was near the large pit of raging flames. John Wesley said, “In the dreary regions of the dead… there is… no light but that of livid flames.”[1]

Remember that in Luke 16:23 the rich man lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham and Lazarus “afar off,” across a “great gulf fixed.” How could he see them if it is total darkness?

Are there prison cells and bars in hell?

I found myself in a prison cell, just as you would see on the earth. It had a barred, metal door and rough-hewn stone walls. I had an understanding that there were many such cells. But what I encountered in my experience can never compare to the truth of God’s Word. There are several scriptures that speak of prison cells and bars.

In Proverbs 7:27, the Word indicates that hell is an inner room, a chamber that holds the sinner.

Prison cell

… descending to the chambers of death.

—Proverbs 7:27

They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison.

—Isaiah 24:22

… who did not open the house of his prisoners?

—Isaiah 14:17

He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone [could be prophetic of hell].

—Lamentations 3:9, KJV

… out of the low dungeon.

—Lamentations 3:55, KJV

Bars

They shall go down to the bars of the pit.

—Job 17:16, KJV

Have the gates of death been revealed to you?