The Gulf Oil Crisis Prophecy

The Gulf Oil Crisis by Paul Keith Davis

Contend for a Greater Measure of Prophetic Understanding

Obviously, the question most often asked in recent days concerns our prophetic perspective of the calamities associated with the oil spill. This is something that we are very personally and intimately involved in as it is occurring right outside our home. Clearly, I have spent countless hours praying over the subject both as a defense mechanism for our region and prophetic understanding of its implications.

In the process, I personally felt it was imperative to not take a hindsight position and prophesy after the fact with various impressions or opinions. That posture has a place of value to spearhead intercession and mobilization of resources; even so, I have felt a greater need for a more sure word of prophecy that bears the insignia of Heaven and provides valid direction and insight to mobilize God's people.

The Biblical pattern has always been that prophets foretold key events with direction and insight attached to it. When the event occurred as prophesied, a greater measure of faith could be attached to the message associated with it. Exodus 4 outlines the model for ministry in the life of Moses; spiritual signs were given with a voice or message. It is the message that is of paramount importance.
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.—Exodus 4:8

According to Amos 3:7, the Lord will do nothing unless He first reveals His secret counsel to the servants the prophets. Furthermore, Jeremiah articulated God's perspective in Jeremiah 28:9 saying:
"The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent."

It is imperative that we now contend for a greater measure of prophetic understanding and foretell events before they occur with the corresponding heavenly message. With that said, I felt it essential to only prophesy of what we may have seen before the event. In December 2006 I had a prophetic experience that I now believe has direct application.

Prophetic Experience of a "Manhole"

Further below I will share a transcript of the full message as I preached it in 2008. However, there are two quick points I would like to highlight. In this experience I saw what appeared as a "manhole" being lifted from the bowels of the earth. In various times of sharing this message throughout the last three years I have used the expression "manhole" as the best description of the image I saw being opened over the "bowels of the earth" or the "bowels of Hell." (I used both expressions in various accounts of sharing the experience.)

When I finally began to understand the implications of this experience with the oil spill, the Lord reminded me that this is a "man-made hole" that has opened the bowels of the earth to this deep reservoir of oil. The footage shown on news networks of the oil billowing up into the Gulf are almost identical to the images I saw as the manhole was lifted and clouds of evil began to pour out. In my experience the lid or manhole looked like this image featured here.

As a further confirmation, there was an article published in Petroleum World magazine entitled, "The Well from Hell." In the article the author made this statement:
According to the New York Times, BP's internal "documents show that in March, after several weeks of problems on the rig, BP was struggling with a loss of 'well control.' And as far back as 11 months ago, it was concerned about the well casing and the blowout preventer." The problem is that this methane, located deep in the bowels of the earth, is under tremendous pressure...

This article utilized some of the exact language that I used while describing my experience. Furthermore, while in Connecticut in early June we were discussing the oil situation and one of our hosts commented that he had listened to me share my prophetic experience concerning the lid being lifted over the bowels of the earth. He reminded me that I saw spirits ascending that had the appearance of Hitler and other tyrants of the past. He pointed out that Hitler was born on April 20 and this event started on April 20. Just in recent days we have seen an escalation in anti-Israel sentiment that is demonically inspired.

This seemed to be a further affirmation of the application of the experience. The Bible predicted that during the last days darkness would cover the Earth and deep darkness the people; but also marked the exact time that God's people would "arise and shine for our light has come" (see Isaiah 60:1-5.)

The Oil Spill

From my perspective, I feel this is not an act of God but the foolishness and greed of mankind that the enemy has influenced and fueled as the "devourer." Even so, God will use this as a signpost that we have crossed a line of demarcation in end-of-the-age events.

The good news is, I heard a Voice say in my 2006 experience that great hosts of Heaven will be dispatched to work with Christians to prepare and equip them to walk in realms of glory to facilitate the harvest and become the mature sons of the Kingdom. That is our hope and the object of our prayerful focus and determination.

When evil abounds, grace will much more abound. This is not a time for fear but faith-filled decrees and proclamations in agreement with God to activate His people to meet the challenges of this age and overcome the enemy's attempt to hinder and impede the harvest.

The following is a written transcript of a message preached in 2008 in which I share this experience.

Encounter of Lid Being Lifted From Bowels of Hell

December 2006 I had a revelatory encounter that I have shared in various places of travel. But the Lord is beginning to give us the next installment of understanding it. I was very restless one evening and couldn't sleep. I prayed for a while and finally went to bed.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I went into a revelatory experience. I saw, as it were, a lid that looked like a manhole being lifted from the bowels of Hell. The unique thing about this experience was that as I was experiencing it, I was also articulating audibly what I was seeing. Wanda was able to listen as I spoke what I saw. I watched as these spirits came pouring up out of Hell, and I even recognized the appearance of some of them.

I saw spirits that had a resemblance to Hitler and Stalin, and other tyrants of the past; I knew we had crossed some form of timeline in the plan of Heaven, and that this end-time darkness had been released on the earth.

I watched as these spirits were coming out of Hell and literally manifesting themselves in the bedrooms of people. And I watched as these spirits were teaching individuals how to walk in realms of evil and darkness.
When it seemed I couldn't watch anymore, I heard a Voice come booming out of Heaven. And the Voice said, "The sons of light must respond in like manner." I watched as angels were coming out of Heaven and were manifesting themselves in the bedrooms of individuals and speaking to them and training them to walk in Heavenly realms never before so freely accessed by a generation of people.

And the good news of this message and what the Lord is doing now is revealing to a certain degree the nature of these angels being dispatched from the Throne room. Interestingly I had this experience on a Friday afternoon, and I went through the weekend contemplating it. On Monday morning the Holy Spirit told me to write the experience down and e-mail it to Neville Johnson.

It turned out that very day he had exactly the same experience. He even saw the identifications of the same spirits of darkness being released by name. He shared his experience with friends that morning and received my email 12 hours later outlining the exact same experience..."Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let the Word be established."

If you'll remember in the experience that Neville and I shared together, there would be angels coming out of Heaven to meet with saints to prepare them for this calling. Now we are discovering these are not just going to be ordinary angels. These are angels of a very extraordinary nature coming from standing in the presence of Almighty God. Isaiah 63:9 declares:

"In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old."

The Angel of His Presence saved them! We're finding out that this could have been more accurately translated in the original language, "Messenger of His Face." The word used here for "angel" is most often translated "messenger." The word for "Presence" is most often translated "face." The Lord sent the Messenger of His Face to save them.

So what I'm prophesying to you this evening is, "That messengers of His face are coming from Heaven to empower us to become messengers of His face."

It says in some rabbinical writings that the "Angels of His Presence" are high level angels, also known as the "Angels of His face." According to the Book of Jubilees, "Angels of His Presence" are angels of sanctification and are among the highest order of angels. According to rabbinical tradition, the "Angels of His Presence" are the carriers of His Glory.

There was an incredible promise given to the patriarch Jacob. He had one of the most fantastic experiences ever given to a human being. There was something that distinguished him from his brother Esau; I submit to you it was his un-denying desire, even though his methods were poor, to be blessed with a very specific and unique blessing. A very specific and unique blessing is what he was contending for.

If you'll remember, Abraham had been given a promise that he would have a son through Sarah. However, the promise seemed impossible since the Bible says his body was as good as dead. Then, the Lord appeared to him for the first time in human history as El Shaddai.

I was in Dallas, Texas, several years ago, preaching on the ministry and anointing of El Shaddai. I had shared that El Shaddai was the "All Sufficient-One, the many-breasted One," like I had read in dictionaries. There happened to be a professor of Hebrew in the meeting. He came to me after the meeting and said, "Can I help you a little bit?"

He said, "What you shared about El Shaddai is not inaccurate, it's just incomplete." He said, "The truest definition of El Shaddai is, 'I am the God of utter ruin and devastation and I am here to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.'"

Abraham was not able to fulfill the promise now in his own strength. God did for him what he could not do for himself. That's called the El Shaddai blessing. Can I submit to you what Israel needs in this very hour is the El Shaddai blessing? Can I equally submit to you that the Bride of Christ needs the El Shaddai blessing?
That blessing was then transferred and imparted from Abraham to Isaac. Isaac received the blessing given to Abraham; to be fruitful and multiply and occupy the land of his sojourning. That was the blessing that Jacob had to have, even if he were to become a "supplanter" to get it.
When the time came, Isaac laid his hands upon Jacob and blessed him with the El Shaddai blessing. He said, "May God Almighty, or El Shaddai, bless you to make you fruitful and multiply, and occupy the land of your sojourning."

That very day that blessing opened the Heavens over Jacob. With that blessing, Jacob traveled one day's journey. When evening came, he laid his head upon a rock and saw the Heavens opened and angels ascending and descending. We need the El Shaddai blessing to open the Heavens for us as it did for Jacob.
We need the El Shaddai blessing tonight to open the Heavens and release the "Angels of His Presence." The Bible tells us over in Genesis 48:3, when Jacob is recounting this experience to his son Joseph, he said it was El Shaddai that appeared at the head of that ladder when the blessing was given to him. In Genesis 28:13-14 he said:

"Behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'"

When Jacob awoke from the experience he said, "This is none other than the House of God and the very gate of Heaven."

Later on, we then find his descendants, the children of Israel, in Egyptian bondage, but they had a promise of deliverance. There was a very specific and unique anointing that was released to them to bring them into this promise that was given to Jacob.

The Bible records in Exodus 23: "Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries... But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst."

That was no ordinary angel; it was the Angel of His Presence. That was the Pillar of Fire in the burning bush; that was the Pillar of Fire that met Paul on the road to Damascus; that was the Pillar of Fire that we saw revealed before thousands one generation ago to reveal the secrets of the hearts.

The Lord manifests Himself as the Angel of His Presence, but He has in His jurisdiction angels of His presence or messengers of His face. Remember what Gabriel said when he appeared to a little 15-year-old Jewish girl? "I am Gabriel, and I stand in the Presence of Almighty God."

The greatest revival that the modern Church era has ever seen was commissioned in a very unique way. A little, free-will Baptist minister withdrew into a cabin deep into the woods of Indiana. He was having supernatural experiences for which he had no grid of understanding. He had told his wife that day, "I'm going into my cabin to pray, and if God does not meet with me, you'll never see my face again." He said, "I'll die in that cabin before I leave it, without the Lord coming to talk to me."

Three o'clock in the morning, after having prayed and wept until his eyes were practically shut, he sat on a chair with no more prayer left in him. Three o'clock in the morning, deep in the woods, no electricity, no running water, no wife to hold on to if he got scared, when suddenly a ball of Fire came into the cabin. And if that weren't enough to scare you, a man came walking into the room and stood under the ball of Fire.

The Angel said, "Fear not, for I am sent from the Presence of Almighty God." Can I submit to you tonight that we need to hear an angel come and say, "I am sent from the Presence of Almighty God"?
The man was released into a commissioning. The Angel said, "Your peculiar life and your misunderstood ways are to indicate that you're to carry the ministry of healing to the nations of the earth. You'll pray for kings and princes and monarchs."
He said, "How can that be? I'm an uneducated man, and a poor man, and I live among poor people." The angel said, "As Moses was given two signs to validate his ministry, so will you."
That was on May 7, 1946. By 1948, the entire world was in revival. Millions of people came into the Kingdom. Millions of people were healed supernaturally by the power of God.

Never before has any generation been more desperate than ours to see a demonstration of the power of God. But we're discovering there is something greater than that: that is, to encounter the God of Power.
Right now all over the nation there are people that are following signs and wonders. But I submit to you, there will be a company of people emerging today and signs and wonders are going to follow them!
And the secret that is going to release us into that mandate is when the Messengers of His face come who are the carriers of the Glory of God.

The prophet Moses stood face-to-face before the Lord Jesus, under a covenant sealed with the blood of bulls and goats. I had an experience where I saw the Apostle Paul sticking his bony apostolic finger right in my chest. He said, "Moses had to veil his face because of the residual glory under a covenant sealed with the blood of bulls and goats." He said, "You have the covenant sealed with the ''Blood of Jesus Christ, what's your problem?" This is his admonition from 2 Corinthians 3.

In other words, he wasn't saying that we should timidly say, "Can I come into Your Presence?" He was admonishing us to prepare ourselves and come boldly before the Throne of grace and meet with the Lord face-to-face. We can't do that flippantly...there is Throne room protocol; but the grace to live in that place was purchased at the Cross and it is attainable.

Zechariah 6:1-5 declares: "Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, 'What are these, my lord?' The angel replied to me, 'These are the four spirits of Heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth...'"

I submit to you there is a host of Heaven that has been reserved for this end-time confrontation that go forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth; the very same ones that will bring the Bride of Christ into her end-time mandate will be the very same ones that cover and protect Israel.

You and I are called to be messengers of His face; we have a calling to see the Lord face-to-face. Jacob had an experience with God. He saw the Lord face-to-face and lived to tell about it. Moses saw the Lord face-to-face and carried the Glory of God. There is about to be a release from Heaven that is to begin to cause you and I to be illuminated, and we're going to shine with the Glory of God.

Daniel said we're going to shine as the brightness of the expanse of Heaven, and we're going to lead many to righteousness. The Lord Jesus said, "The Son of man is going to send forth His angels that gather out of His Kingdom all stumbling blocks and everything offensive; then the righteous shall shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father."

We have an invitation to "come up here." I believe the El Shaddai blessing is going to be released upon us to open the Heavens like it did for Jacob. The Lord is going to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. Then He gets all the Glory. No flesh is going to glory in His Presence.

Angels of His Presence; Messengers of His Face

I believe they just came in. Something just shifted in the room a moment ago. I'm contending for this to take place now. Wouldn't it be incredible if we could leave Israel carrying with us messengers of His face? Wouldn't it be incredible if the Angel of His Presence descended to protect the borders of Israel?
He will cover them and He will protect them. I submit to you that the enemy is trying to escalate things before their time. Several years ago I heard the Lord say that the Prince of Persia is once again trying to withstand the birthing of God's purposes. And the way he was trying to do that was to facilitate things that are legitimately going to happen, but he is trying to initiate them before its timing.

It says in Zechariah 14:1-3, "Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city."

But it doesn't stop there. "Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split..."

My point in all this is all about Jerusalem. It says on some level that there will be a splitting of Jerusalem. It says it here in Zechariah. But not right now! I'm not sure what it's going to look like when this prophecy is fulfilled, but I know when it happens, the Lord Jesus is coming down to set His foot upon this mountain.

And you see, the battle is taking place in the Heavens right now, as the enemy is trying to make these things happen before the right timing. He's been trying to bring you and I into a battle before we are ready for the battle. But I'm telling you, angels are coming to visit with people to facilitate the preparation. He can do for us in a day what we think will take a year. The messengers of His face are the carriers of His glory.

—End of the Transcribed Message from 2008

Conclusion

I feel confident the circumstances surrounding the oil spill highlight spiritual parallels marking the release of great darkness in our nation and around the world. Correspondingly, the prayers of the saints in agreement with God will facilitate the release of Heaven's host to work closely with the Last Day Church to:

1. Fulfill Biblical End-Time Admonitions
2. Prepare for the Harvest
3. Activate the Bride/Sons of the Kingdom
4. Function in our Role as Priests/Kings
5. Stand in the Gap for Israel in a Greater Way

All spiritual seeds are coming to maturity simultaneously, just as the Bible predicted. I see these events as a signpost in the natural to emulate spiritual realities primarily targeted against Israel and the Church. The ultimate objective is to hinder our ability to achieve our mandate and influence our generation socially, economically, spiritually and culturally.

It is my prayer that God will take what the enemy intends for evil and utilize it for good by opening doors of opportunity for Christian ingenuity and words from God to help resolve this overwhelming situation involving the oil spill.

On a personal note, I believe the enemy is attempting to utilize these events to circumvent the promised outpouring for our region. We must look at it as a personal assault on our inheritance and begin to take a stand as the mighty men of valor described in the Bible. I've always admired the story of Shammah in 2 Samuel 23:11-12 saying:

Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.

At the time of harvest the enemy routinely rushed in like a flood to steal the inheritance of God's people. The lentils could represent all things brought to the place of harvest promised during the latter days. Shammah is a representation of God's Army, filled with courage and valor imparted through God's lion-like nature, who refuses to run even when faced with overwhelming odds. That noble act will strike God's heart and He will give a great victory to His remnant. That is what I am believing for!

Paul Keith Davis
WhiteDove Ministries

Visions of Heaven and Hell by John Bunyan

Visions of Heaven and Hell

by John Bunyan

Chapter 1. Planning Suicide

When evil people have gone in a life of sin, and find that they have reason to fear the just judgment of God, they begin at first to wish there were no God to punish them. Then little by little they persuade themselves that there is no God, and look for arguments to back their opinion. I had the unhappiness to know someone like this, who would always be telling me there was neither God nor devil, and no heaven or hell.

It was with fear and trembling that I first heard him speak about these topics, but he spoke of them so often that I felt I must consider what he said. From this time I found my mind so confused that I could not remember the truths about God, which had appeared so clear to me before. I could not think there was no God—but with the greatest horror—yet I questioned the truth of His being. I would not have parted with my hope of heaven for all the riches of the world—yet now I was not sure whether there was any such place.

In my confusion I went to my false friend to see what comfort he could give me. He only laughed at my fears and pretended to pity my weakness. His talks only made me more confused, until life became a burden to me. It is impossible to tell you the agonies I felt, until I was pushed to the edge of desperation. I thought, "Why should I linger between despair and hope? Would it not be better to end my life and find out what is the truth?" So I decided to kill myself.

One morning I went out into a nearby woods, where I had planned to kill myself. But before I tried to use the knife, I heard a secret whisper say,

"Do not fall into everlasting misery to gratify the enemy of your soul.

The fatal stroke you are about to give yourself will seal your own damnation. For if there is a God, as surely as there is, how can you hope for mercy from Him if you willfully destroy yourself, who were made in His image?"

Where this secret whisper came from, I do not know, but I believe it came from God; for it came with so much power it made me throw away my knife, and it showed me the great evil of suicide. The horror of what I had almost done made me shake so much that I could hardly stand.

I recognized my deliverance to have come from the Lord, and in gratitude I returned thanks.

I knelt down on the ground and worshiped Him, asking that He would take away the blackness in my soul so that I would never again question His being or great power which I had just experienced.

Suddenly I was surrounded with a glorious light, brighter than anything I had ever seen before. I saw coming toward me a glorious person like a man, but circled with beams of light and glory which shined from him as he came nearer. I tried to stand up, but had no strength left in me, so I fell flat on my face. As he lifted me up and I was given new strength, I said to him, "O my shining deliverer, how shall I acknowledge my thankfulness, and in what manner should I adore you?"

With majesty and mildness he replied, "Pay your adorations to God, and not to me who am your fellow-creature. I am sent from Him Whose being you have so lately denied, to stop you from falling into eternal ruin."

This touched my heart with such a sense of my own unworthiness that I could only cry out, "Oh, how utterly unworthy I am of all this grace and mercy!" To this the heavenly messenger replied, "When God decided to show mercy—He did not consult your unworthiness, but His own unbounded goodness and vast love. He saw how the grand enemy of souls desired your ruin, but He upheld you by His secret power. Through this, when Satan thought that you were destroyed, the snare was broken and you have escaped." These words made me break forth into song, and I praised my Savior and declared that He alone is God.

Chapter 2. Beyond the Sun and Stars

The heavenly messenger then said, "That you may never doubt the reality of eternal things, I have come to show you the truth of them: not by faith only—but also by sight. I will show you things never yet seen by mortal eye, and to that end your eyes shall be strengthened and made able to behold heavenly things."

At these words of the angel I was very surprised, and doubted I would be able to bear it. I said to him, "Who is able to bear such a sight?"

To this he replied, "The joy of the Lord shall be your strength." When he had said this, he took hold of me and said, "Fear not, for I am sent to show the things you have not seen." Then before I was aware, I found myself far above the earth, which seemed now to be very small.

Then I said to my bright conductor, "Please let it not offend you if I ask a question or two." To this he replied, "Speak on. It is my work to answer whatever you ask. For I am a ministering spirit, sent forth to minister to you and to those who will inherit salvation."

Then I said, "Please inform me about that dark spot below, which has grown smaller and smaller as we have mounted higher, and which appears much darker since I have come into this region of light."

My conductor replied, "That little spot that now looks so dark and despised is the world which you have lived on. To obtain one small part of that spot of earth so many men have risked and lost their immortal souls; which are so precious that the Prince of Peace has told us that though a man could gain the whole world, it would not equal so great a loss. As you have ascended higher towards heaven, the world has appeared still smaller and more insignificant; and it will appear the same to all who can by faith get their hearts above it. If men below could but see the world as it is, they would not covet it as they do now, but alas, they are in a state of darkness. And what is worse, they love to walk in this darkness. For although the prince of Light came down among them and showed them the true light of life—yet they go on in darkness and will not bring themselves to the light, because their deeds are evil."

Then I asked him, "What are those multitudes of black and horrible forms that hover in the air above the world? I would have been much afraid of them, but I saw that as you passed by, they fled; perhaps not being able to abide your brightness."

To this he answered me, "They are the fallen angels which for their pride and rebellion were cast down from heaven. They wander in the air by decree of the Almighty, being bound in chains of darkness and kept unto the judgment of the great day. They are permitted to descend into the world, both for the trial of the elect, and for the condemnation of the wicked. And although you see that they now have black and horrible forms—yet they were once the sons of Light. They once were clothed in robes of glorious brightness, like what you see me wear. But the loss of this, although it was the result of their own willful sin, fills them with anger and hatred against the ever blessed God Whose power and majesty, they fear and hate.

"Tell me," I said, "O blessed conductor, have they no hopes of being reconciled to God again, after some term of time, or at least some of them?"

"No, not at all. They are lost forever. They were the first that sinned, and had no tempter; and they were at once cast down from heaven. Besides, the Son of God, the blessed Messiah by Whom alone salvation can be gained, did not take upon Himself the angelic nature. He left the apostate angels all to perish, and took upon Himself only the seed of Abraham. For this reason they have so much hatred against the sons of men, because it is a torment for them to see men made the heirs of heaven—while they are doomed to hell."

By this time we were above the sun. My conductor told me this mighty globe of fire was one of the great works of God. Yet all the stars were not less wonderful; whose great distance away makes them appear like candles in our sight. They hang in their appointed places without any support. Nothing but His word that first created them, could keep them in their station.

"These words are enough," I said to my conductor, "To convince anyone of the great power of their Creator, and to show the evil of that unbelief which questions the being of the God who has given so many evidences of His power and glory. If men were not like beasts still looking downwards, they could not help but acknowledge His great power and wisdom."

"You speak what is true," he replied. "But you will see far greater things than these. These are but the scaffolds and outworks to that glorious place, that the glorified above inhabit. A view of it shall now be given to you—as far as you are able to comprehend it."

In a few moments I found what my conductor had told me was true. For I found myself transferred into heaven, where I saw things that are impossible to describe, and heard beautiful songs that I could never sing. Whoever has not seen that glory can speak but very imperfectly of it, and those who have seen it cannot tell the thousandth part of what it is. Therefore the great apostle of the Gentiles, who tells us that he had been caught up into paradise where he had heard unspeakable words which are not possible for a man to utter, wrote that "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man—to conceive the things that God has prepared for those who love him." I will give you the best account I can of what I saw and heard, as near as I can remember.

Chapter 3. Elijah Explains

When I was first brought near this glorious place I saw innumerable hosts of bright attendants, who welcomed me into this blessed place of happiness. And there I saw that perfect and unapproachable light, which changes all things into its own nature, for even the souls of the glorified saints are transparent. They are not illumined by the sun; but all that light, that flows with such transparent brightness throughout these heavenly mansions, is nothing else but the shining forth of the Divine glory.

Compared to this glory, the light of the sun is but darkness, and the fire of the most sparkling jewels are but dead coals. Therefore it is called The Throne of the Glory of God, where the radiance of the divine Majesty is revealed in the most illustrious manner. God was too bright for me to look upon, as He was exalted on the high throne of His glory, while multitudes of angels and saints sang forth eternal hallelujahs and praises to Him. Well may He be called the God of Glory, for by His presence He makes heaven what it is. Rivers of pleasure continually spring forth from the divine Presence, and radiate cheerfulness, joy, and splendor to all the blessed inhabitants of heaven, the seat of His eternal empire.

For my own part, I was too weak to bear the least ray of glory which shot from that everlasting Spring of Light which sat upon the throne. I was forced to cry out to my conductor, "The sight of so much glory is too great for me to bear—yet it is so refreshing and delightful that I would desire to look, though I die."

"No, no," said my conductor, "death cannot enter this blessed place, nor sin nor sorrow can abide. It is the glory of this happy place to be forever freed from all that is evil; and without that freedom, our blessedness even here would be imperfect. Come along with me and I will bring you to one who is in the body, as you are. Talk with him for a while before I take you back again."

"O rather," I eagerly said, "let me stay here. There is no need of building tabernacles, for the heavenly mansions are already prepared." My shining messenger replied to this, "Here in a while you shall forever be—but the divine will must first be obeyed."

Swift as thought, he conveyed me past thousands of angels, and presented me to that great saint, the prophet Elijah. Though he had lived in the world many hundreds of years ago, I knew him at first sight.

"Here is one," said my conductor to Elijah, "who by the commission of the Imperial Throne has been permitted to visit these realms of light, and I have brought him to you, to learn from you."

"That," said the prophet, "I shall gladly do. For it is our food and drink in these blessed regions, to do the will of God and the Lamb, to sing His praises, and serve Him with the humblest adoration, saying, 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him who sits upon the throne; and to the Lamb forever and ever! For He has redeemed us to God by His blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests! Even so, Amen.'" And I likewise added my "Amen" to that of the holy prophet.

The prophet then asked me why this great permission and privilege was given to me. (By which I understand, that the saints in heaven are ignorant of what is done on earth; so how can prayers be directed to them?) I then told him the events I have already written here, at which the holy prophet broke forth in praise, "Glory forever be given to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, for His unbounded goodness and great condescension to the weakness of a poor and doubting sinner." After this he said, "Now give attention to what I shall speak. What you have already seen and heard, I am sure you cannot make fully understood to those not yet translated to this glorious place, who have not yet been freed from their earthly bodies. Nor is my being here in the body any objection to what I say; for although it has not been subject to death—yet it has been transformed. It has been made spiritual, and is no longer able to suffer. Yet in this full state of happiness I cannot utter all that I enjoy, nor do I know what shall yet be enjoyed, for here our happiness is always new."

I then asked the blessed prophet to explain himself. I did not understand how happiness could be complete, and yet still be added to. The following was his reply:

"When the soul and body are both perfectly happy, as mine now are, I count it a complete state of happiness. For throughout all the coming ages of eternity, it is the soul and body joined together in the blessed resurrection state, which shall receive this happiness. But concerning the object of our happiness, which is the ever adorable and blessed God, our vision of Him is forever new. For as the divine perfections are infinite, nothing less than eternity can be sufficient to display their glory. This makes our happiness eternally added to, as well as our knowledge of Him to be eternally progressive also.

"Therefore the apostle Paul said, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor can it enter into the heart of man to conceive what God has prepared for those who love him.' Yet the human eye has seen many admirable things in nature. It has seen mountains of crystal, and rocks of diamonds, it has seen mines of gold, and coasts of pearls. Nevertheless, the eye that has seen so many wonders in the world below, could never pry into the glories of this triumphant place. And though the ear of man has heard many delightful and harmonious sounds, even all that man and nature could supply him with—yet he has never heard the heavenly melody which both saints and angels make before the throne. The heart of man is so excellent and imaginative, that it can conceive almost anything that is, or was, or ever shall be in the world below, and even what shall never be. Man can conceive that every stone on earth shall be turned into pearls, and every blade of grass into the brightest of shining jewels. He can conceive that the whole earth be turned into a mass of pure gold, and the air turned into crystal. He can conceive every star to become as bright as the sun, and the sun to be a thousand times larger and brighter. But all this is infinitely short of what the eternal Majesty has prepared for all His faithful followers."

Chapter 4. The Happiness of Heaven

The prophet continued, "I will briefly tell you about our happiness here, for ages spent on this delightful theme would only begin to explain it. That you may have the best understanding, I will first explain about what the redeemed souls have been delivered from, and secondly about the happiness which they enjoy here.

"Firstly, the souls of all the glorified are forever freed from everything that can make them miserable, which above all, is sin. It was sin which brought misery into creation. The blessed God at first made all things happy, like Himself. Had not sin defaced the beauty of His workmanship, angels and men would have never known what is meant by misery. It was sin which threw the apostate angels down into hell, and spoiled the beauty of the lower world. It was sin which defaced God's image in man's soul, and made the ones who were to be the lords of creation—into slaves of their own lust. It is sin which can also plunge them into an ocean of eternal misery from which is no redemption. It is an invaluable mercy that in this happy place, all the saints are forever freed from sin through the blood of our Redeemer. In the earth below, the best and holiest of souls groan under the burden of corruption. Sin clings to all that they do, and often leads them captive against their will. "Who shall deliver me?" has been the cry of many of God's faithful servants, who at the same time have been dear to Jesus. Sin is the heavy weight upon the saints, while they live in their corrupted flesh. Therefore when they lay their bodies down, their souls are like a bird loosed from its cage, and with a heavenly joy they rise up to heaven. But here their warfare is at an end, and 'death is swallowed up in victory.' Below their souls were deformed and stained by sin—but here their bright souls by the ever-blessed Jesus are presented to the Father 'without spot or wrinkle.'

"Not only are the saints here free from sin—but also from any temptation to sin. When Adam was in paradise, though he was innocent and free from sin—yet he was not free from temptation. Satan got into paradise and Adam fatally yielded to his temptations. Like a disease, sin has eaten into the human nature and corrupted all mankind.

"Here each soul is freed from this. Nothing but what is pure and holy can find admission here. That roaring lion who roams back and forth throughout the earth seeking whom he may devour, in respect to the saints in heaven, is bound fast in everlasting chains. The temptations of the world shall never again allure those who through faith and patience have overcome it, and safely arrived here. In heaven we look with contempt on all earthly enjoyments. There is nothing here that can disturb our peace—but an eternal calm crowns all our happiness.

"Since we are freed from all sin and its effects, we are also rescued from punishment. After death, hell confines the unforgiven sinner to eternal misery. Yet the redeemed are delivered from all these things.

"However, these things are but the least part of the happiness of heaven. Our joys are positive, more than just the negative that we have been redeemed from. What these are I shall try to show you.

"Here we enjoy the sight of God, the blessed spring and eternal source of all our happiness. But what this is, I can no more fully explain—than can finite creatures comprehend infinity. Yet the sight of God continually fills our souls with unspeakable joy, and with a love so flaming that nothing but the blessed author of it can satisfy, nor eternity itself can end. It is that which makes us live, love, sing, and praise forever, while it also transforms us into His blessed likeness. Beholding God's face, we enjoy His love. His blessed smiles make glad our souls, and in His favor we rejoice continually, 'for in His favor is life.' And by this blessed vision of God, we come to know Him far above how any had known Him in the world below. For the sight of Him opens our understandings, and 'gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' Here we all enjoy Him face to face. Below the saints enjoy God in a measure—but here we enjoy Him without measure. There they have some sips of His goodness—but here we drink largely and swim in the boundless ocean of happiness! Below the saints have their communion with God broken off many times—but here it is uninterrupted. Below love is mixed with fear, and fear has torment; but here love is perfect, and perfect love casts out fear. In heaven we love God more than ourselves, and one another like ourselves. Here we enjoy the perfection of all grace.

"In heaven our understanding and knowledge is enlarged according to the greatness of what we can observe and think. In the world below, light could only shine into our minds through the windows of our senses, so God had to condescend to our limited capacities when revealing His Majesty. Our purest ideas of God were very imperfect—but here the gold is separated from the dross and we can conceive the holiness and purity of God. We understand about His decrees and counsels, His providence and dispensations. We clearly see here that from eternity God existed alone—but not solitary, that the Godhead is neither confused in unity, nor divided in number. We see that there is a priority of order but no superiority among the persons of the Trinity—but that they equally have the same excellency and power, and equally are adored. Those ways of God that in the world below seemed unsearchable and beyond our comprehension, we understand so clearly here by His divine wisdom, that the truth could not be made more simple.

"These are some of the things which make our souls happy. However, the happiness of the saints in heaven will not be complete until their bodies are resurrected and united with their souls. I will therefore show you what the resurrection body shall be like:

"First, the resurrection bodies of the blessed, will be spiritual bodies, like mine. You may better understand this not only by seeing but by touch. (After saying this, the holy prophet was pleased to give me his hand.) They will be bodies which are purified from all corruption—yet will have substance. They will not be like wind or air, as people on earth sometimes foolishly imagine."

Then I said to him that I always understood spiritual as the opposite of material, so I thought that a spiritual body must be immaterial, and not capable of being touched or felt as I found his hand was.

To this the prophet replied that their bodies were spiritual, not only because they were purified from all corruption—but as they were sustained by the enjoyment of God without needing food, drink, or sleep. Beholding the Lord is what supports both their souls and their bodies, and is what they live upon forever. "Have you not read," said the prophet, "that the blessed Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared in His body to His disciples when they were met together in a chamber and the doors shut about them? And yet He called to Thomas to come and reach forth his hand and thrust it into His side, which shows it had substance.

"Our bodies in the resurrection shall be immortal, and incapable of dying. Below their bodies are all mortal, perishing, and subject to crumbling into dust at any time. But here our bodies will be incorruptible and freed from death forever, for our corruption here shall put on incorruption, and our mortality will be swallowed up of life."

Here I desired the prophet to bear with me a little, while I gave him an account of my own ideas about these matter.

"Speak, for I am ready to remove your doubt," he said.

"I have learned," I said, "in the holy Scriptures that immortality belongs to God only, and not to men. Daily experience tells us that bodies of men are mortal, and die. Therefore Paul told Timothy that God alone has immortality."

"When I say that the bodies of the glorified here are immortal, I am speaking about the bodies in their resurrected state, that then they are subject to death no more. Man in his corruptible state is mortal and subject to death. And there is nothing more evident to all who dwell in the world below. Even the bodies of all those glorified souls who are here in heaven, are at this time still kept under the power of death. At the resurrection day, when they shall be raised up again—then they shall then be immortal. And as to what you say from the Scripture, that the blessed God alone has immortality, it is very true. He is most essentially so in His own being and nature; there is no angel or man that can, in that strict sense, be said to be so. We are immortal through His grace and favor; but God is immortal in His essence and has been so from all eternity. In that sense He may well be said to alone have immortality. Whatever the blessed God is, He is essentially so in His own being. It can likewise be said that He alone is holy, and there is none good but God, none righteous but God, and none merciful but He."

Chapter 5. We Shall Know Each Other

I remarked, "As I was brought here, I saw among the saints some who appeared to shine with greater brightness than the others. Are there among the blessed different degrees of glory?"

"The happiness and glory which all the glorified here enjoy is the result of their communion with and love to the ever blessed God. The more we see Him—the more we love Him; and love changes our souls into His nature, and from this results our glory. This makes a difference in the degrees of glory. Nor is there any murmuring in one to see another’s glory much greater than his own. The ever blessed God is an unbounded ocean of light and life, and joy and happiness, still filling every vessel—until it can hold no more. And though the vessels are of several sizes, while each is filled there are none who can complain. My answer therefore to your question, is that those who have the most enlarged capacity do love God most—are thereby changed most into His likeness. This is the highest glory which heaven can give. Nor let this seem strange to you, for even among God’s flaming angels there are diversities of order and different degrees of glory.

While I was talking with the prophet a shining form drew near. It was one of the redeemed. He told me he had left his body below resting in hope until the resurrection; and that though he was still a substance yet it was an immaterial one, not to be touched by mortal.

He said, "We here behold a sight worth dying for—the blessed Lamb of God, the glorious Savior! Here we see Him in His kingly office, on account of which He is called King of kings and Lord of lords. But all the glorious greatness of our blessed Redeemer does not make His kindness seem distant—but only more precious. It makes heaven more than heaven to me—to find Him reigning here, Who suffered so much for me in the world below! And our Redeemer’s great happiness increases our own, as He invites each faithful servant to enter into his Master’s joy.

"Here we see not only our elder Brother, Christ—but also our friends and relatives. Although Elijah lived in the world below long before your time, you no sooner saw him—than you knew him. And so you will also know Adam when you see him. Here we communicate the purest pleasure to each other—a sincere ardent love uniting our society. And oh, how happy is that state of love! Where there is love like this—all are filled with delight. How can it be otherwise, since in this blessed society there is a continual receiving and returning of love and joy.

"But besides, all the happiness which comes to us by our communion with God and with each other—it is to me a mighty happiness to understand all the deep mysteries of religion which the wisest in the world below could not fully understand. Here we discern a perfect harmony between those scripture texts that in the world below seemed to oppose each other. And here we are especially filled with wonder and gratitude at discovering the divine goodness towards each one of us in particular. In respect to my former life on earth, I have seen the mercifulness of those very afflictions which I once (when upon earth) thought to show His anger. I am now fully convinced that no affliction that I ever met with in the world below (and I have met with many) either came sooner, or fell heavier, or continued longer—than what was needful for my good. My hopes were not disappointed—but God used all things to prepare me for a better eternal reward than what I had hoped for.

"But I remember that you are still in the body, and may be tired with hearing what I could forever tell, so great is the happiness that I possess. I shall only add one other thing about our happiness: though a vast multitude of blessed souls partakes of this joy and glory, this does not make less of what each receives. For this ocean of happiness is so bottomless, that the innumerable company of all the saints and angels can never exhaust it. Nor is this strange, for in the world below everyone equally enjoys the benefit of sunlight. There is no one who can complain that they enjoy it less, because another enjoys it also. All enjoy the benefit of sunlight as fully—as if no one else enjoyed it but themselves. If a multitude of people drink of the same river—none of them is able to exhaust it, even though each of them has the liberty of drinking as much as he can. So whoever enjoys God—enjoys Him as much as he can contain, according to his capacity.

"Thus I have given you a brief account of our heavenly Canaan. It is not the thousandth part of that which might be said—yet it is enough to let you see it is a land flowing with milk and honey. In this happy place, worldly relations cease. Nor are there male and female here—but all are like the angels. For souls cannot be distinguished into sexes, and therefore all relations are here swallowed up in God."

He had no sooner spoken than he took me by the hand. Then, far swifter than an arrow from a bow, we passed by several shining forms clothed in robes of immortality, who looked at me as I passed them. He said, to me, "Farewell, my friend, your guardian angel will shortly come and bring you back to the world below."

I drew near the shining form of a redeemed one who stood before me, who appeared extremely glorious, encircled with rays of dazzling luster. I hardly could behold her—for the exceeding brightness of her face.

She said to me, "For what I am—to Him who is on the throne, be all the praise and glory. The robe of glory which you see me wear—is only the reflection of His own bright beams!"

"You appear to be one who feels the mighty joys that you speak of."

She replied, "You should not think this strange. The mighty wonders of divine love and grace will be the subject of our song forever! Here all human relations cease and are swallowed up in God Who is alone the great Father of all this heavenly family. As for the members of the family that I left behind in the world below, I have committed them to God. I would be glad to see them all heirs of this blessed inheritance. But if they should join with the grand enemy of souls and refuse the grace offered them, and thereby perish in their unbelief—God will be glorified in His justice, and in His glory I shall still rejoice!"

Then I desired to know whether the saints in heaven understood and were concerned for what was happening in the world below.

To this she replied, "As to the affairs of particular people, we are not concerned with them and are ignorant of them. Only God is present in all places and sees all things. But the struggles and the victories of the church below, is told to us by the angels, who are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. From what they report we are excited to renew our praises to Him who sits upon the throne."

Chapter 6. Conducted to HELL

Then the bright messenger who had brought me to heaven returned. "I have," said the angel, "a commission to return you to the earth from where I took you, after first visiting the regions of the prince of darkness. There you will see the reward of sin, and what Justice has prepared as the judgment of those who would exalt themselves above the throne of the Most High God."

To leave heaven for earth, was extremely disappointing. But to leave heaven for hell, turned my very heart within me! However, when I knew that it was God's good pleasure, I was a little comforted. So I said to my bright conductor, "That which God has ordered I shall always be willing to obey. Even in hell I will not be afraid—if I may have His presence with me there."

To this my shining guardian replied, "Wherever the blessed God grants His presence—there is heaven, and while we are in hell He will be with us."

Then bowing low before the Almighty’s throne, swifter than thought, my guardian angel carried me on a speedy journey down through the heavens. When I saw the stars I told my conductor that I had heard on earth that each one of these stars had their own worlds. "But I would ask you to tell me the truth of this matter."

To this my shining guardian answered, "To Him Who is Almighty, there is nothing impossible. But from knowing that it is in His power to do this, to argue that it is His will—is no good logic in the school of heaven. We know what He pleases to reveal to us; and what He has not revealed, are secrets locked up in His own eternal counsel. For anyone to inquire into these secrets would be but bold and presumptuous curiosity. There is no doubt that He can make as many worlds as He wants—but He has not yet revealed it to us, and it is not our duty to inquire."

By this time we had come down to the lowest regions of the air. There I saw multitudes of horrible forms and dismal dark appearances which fled from the shining presence of my bright conductor.

I said, "These surely are some of the vanguard of hell—so black and so frightening are their forms!"

My conductor replied, "Now we are upon the borders of hell, and these are some of the apostate spirits that wander around like roaring lions."

Soon we were surrounded with a darkness much more black than night, and with a stench far more suffocating than that of burning sulfur. My ears were likewise filled with the horrible yelling of the damned spirits, which in comparison with—would make the most discordant notes on earth, sound like beautiful music.

"Now," said my guardian angel, "you are on the edge of hell—but do not fear the power of the destroyer. My commission from the Imperial Throne secures you from all danger. Here you may hear from devils and damned souls—the cursed causes of their endless ruin. What you ask them about, they will answer. The devils cannot hurt you, though they would want to, for they are bound by Him who has commissioned me."

We then came within hell’s territories, placed in the caverns of the infernal deep in the center of the earth. There, in a sulfurous lake of liquid fire, sat Lucifer upon a burning throne. His horrid eyes sparkled with hellish fury, as full of rage as his strong anger could make him. I saw that the demons that had fled from us as we approached from heaven had given notice of our coming. This had put all hell in an uproar, and made Lucifer release horrid blasphemies against the blessed God with an air of arrogance and pride.

"What would the Thunderer have?" said he. "He has my heaven already, whose radiant scepter this bold hand should bear. Instead of those never fading fields of light, He confines me here in this dark house of death, sorrow, and woe! What, would He take hell away from me too, that He insults me here? Ah! Could I but obtain another day to try it, I would make heaven shake and His bright throne to totter. Nor would I fear the utmost of His power, though He had fiercer flames than these to throw me in!

Although I lost the battle that day, the fault was not mine! No winged spirit in heaven strove better for the victory than I did. But, ah!" he continued with a changed voice, "that day is lost, and I am forever doomed to these dark territories! But it is still at least some comfort to me—that mankind’s sorrow waits upon me. And since I cannot fight against the Thunderer, I will make the utmost of my anger to fall on them."

I was amazed to hear his ungodly speech, and felt compelled to say to my conductor, "How justly are his blasphemies rewarded!"

"What you have heard from this apostate spirit, is both his sin and punishment; for every blasphemy he belches against heaven, makes hell the hotter to him!"

We then passed on to see more sorrowful scenes. I saw two wretched souls being tormented by a demon. He was continually plunging them in liquid fire and burning brimstone, while at the same time they accused and cursed each other! One of them said to his tormented fellow sufferer, "O cursed be your face, that ever I set eyes upon you! My misery is due to you! I may thank you for this, for it was your persuasions that brought me here. You enticed me, it was you who ensnared me into this. It was your covetousness, cheating, and oppression of the poor—that brought me here. If you had been as good an example as you had been a bad one, I might now be in heaven. O what a fool I was! When I followed your steps—you ruined me forever. O that I never had seen your face—or that you had never been born!"

The other wretch replied, "And may I not as well blame you? Don't you remember how at such a time and place you enticed me to go along with you? I was minding my own business when you called me away—so you are as guilty as I. Though I was covetous—but you were proud. Though you learned how to cheat from me—yet you taught me to lust, to lie, to get drunk and to scoff at godliness. So although I tempted you in some things, you tempted me as much in others. Therefore if you blame me, I can blame you as much. I wish you never had come here—the very sight of you wounds my soul, by bringing sin afresh into my mind. It was with you, with you—that I sinned! O grief to my soul! Since I could not avoid your companionship on earth—O that I could be without it here!"

From this sad conversation, I learned that those who are companions in sin upon earth, shall also be punished together in hell. I believe that this was the true reason why the rich man seemed so charitable to his brethren (Luke16:27-28). The reason he did not want them to join him in hell—was because they would have increased his torments!

Chapter 7. The Tortures of Hell

There were yet more tragic scenes of sorrow that we saw as we left these two cursed wretches accusing each other. One woman had flaming sulfur continually forced down her throat by a tormenting demon! He did this with such horrible cruelty and insolence, that I said to him, "Why should you so delight in tormenting that cursed wretch, and be pouring that flaming, infernal liquid down her throat?"

"This is a more than just reward," replied the demon. "This woman in her life time was such a greedy wretch—that though she had plenty of gold, she could never be satisfied. Therefore I now pour it down her throat! She cared not who she ruined—as long as she could get their gold. And when she had gathered together a greater treasure than she could ever spend—her love of money would not let her spend enough of it to supply herself with her basic living needs. She often went with an empty stomach, though her money bags were full. She kept no house because she would not be taxed, and would not keep her treasure in her hands for fear she should be robbed. She would not put her money in bonds, for fear of being cheated; although she always cheated everyone that she could. She was so great a cheat that she cheated her own body of its food, and her own soul of mercy. Since gold was her god on earth—is it not a just reward that she should have her belly full of it in hell?"

When her tormentor had done speaking, I asked her whether this was all true. To this she answered me, "No; to my grief it is not."

"Why is this not true," I said, "and why are you grieved that it is not true?"

"Because if what my tormentor told you is true," she said, "I would be satisfied. He tells you that he pours gold down my throat; but he is a lying devil and speaks falsely. If it was gold I would never complain. But he mocks me, and instead of gold he only gives me this horrid, stinking sulfur! If I had my gold I would be happy still, for I value it so much that if I had it—I would not part with it even if an entrance to heaven could be bought."

I told my angelic conductor that I was amazed to hear a wretch in hell itself so greedy for riches, while forever being tormented.

"This," he said, "may convince you that it is sin which is the greatest of all evils. Whenever the love of sin controls a soul, it is the greatest of all punishments for them to be abandoned to that evil love. The love of gold which this cursed soul is consumed by—is a more fatal punishment than what the demons can inflict upon her!"

"O!" said I, "if only wicked men on earth could for one moment hear the horrid shrieks of those damned souls, they could not be in love with sin again."

"Eternal Truth has told us otherwise, for those who will not fear His ministers, nor have regard to what His Word contains—will not be warned, though one should come from hell."

We had not gone much farther before we saw a wretched soul lying on a bed of burning steel, almost choked with brimstone. He cried out with such dreadful anguish and desperation, that I asked my conductor to wait. I heard him speak as follows:

"Ah, miserable wretch! Undone forever, forever! Oh, this killing word, 'forever!' Will not a million years be long enough to bear that pain, which if I could avoid it, I would not endure for even one moment for the sake of being offered one million worlds? No, no! My misery never will have an end; after millions of years it will still be forever! Oh, what a helpless and hopeless condition I am in! It is this 'forever' that is the hell of hell! O cursed wretch! Cursed to all eternity! How willfully have I undone myself! Oh, what stupendous folly am I guilty of—to choose sin’s short and momentary pleasure—at the dear price of everlasting pain! How often I was told that it would be so! How often I was encouraged to leave those paths of sin—which brought me to the chambers of eternal death! But I, like a dumb animal, would not listen to those pleadings. Now it is too late to change it, for my eternal state is fixed forever! Why was I made a person, that I would choose this fate? Why was I made with an immortal soul—and yet should take so little care of it? Oh how my own neglect stings me to death—and yet I cannot die! I live a dying life, worse than ten thousand deaths; and yet I once could have changed all this—but did not! Oh, that is the gnawing worm that never dies! I might once have been happy, salvation was offered to me and I refused it. Had salvation been offered to me only once, it would have been an unforgivable folly to refuse it! But salvation was offered me a thousand times, and yet (wretch that I was!) I still as often refused it. O cursed sin, that with deluding pleasures, leads mankind to eternal ruin! God often called—but I as often refused; He stretched His hand out—but I would not mind it. How often have I ignored His counsel! How often have I refused His reproof! But now the scene is changed—the case is altered! Now He laughs at my calamity, and mocks at the destruction which is come upon me. He would have helped me once—but I would not accept His help. Therefore those eternal miseries I am condemned to undergo—are but the just reward of my own doing!"

I could not hear this sorrowful lamentation without thinking about the wonderful grace that God had shown to me. Eternal praises to His holy name! For my heart told me that I had deserved eternal judgment as much as that sad wretch—but that God's grace alone had made us different. O how unsearchable are His counsels! Who can fathom His divine decree?

After these thoughts I spoke to the sorrowful complainer, and told him that I had heard his woeful complaints. I saw that his misery was great, and his loss irreparable, and told him I would willingly hear more about it—if this might possibly help lessen his sufferings."

"No, not at all; my pains cannot be relieved even for one small moment! But by your question I understand that you are a stranger here; and may you ever be a stranger! Ah, had I but the least hope still remaining, how I would kneel and cry and pray forever to be redeemed from this hell! But it is all in vain—I am lost forever! But so that you will be warned about ending up here—I will tell you what the damned suffer."

Chapter 8. A Lost Soul Speaks

"Our miseries in this infernal dungeon are of two kinds: what we have lost, and what we suffer. I will first speak about what we have LOST.

1. In this sad dark place of misery and sorrow, we have lost the wondrous presence of the ever blessed God. This is what makes this dungeon—hell. Though we had lost a thousand worlds, it would not be as important as this one greatest loss. Could we but see the least glimpse of His favor here—we might be happy; but have lost it to our everlasting woe.

2. Here we have also lost the company of saints and angels, and instead have nothing but tormenting devils!

3. Here we have lost heaven, too—the center of blessedness. There is a deep gulf between us and heaven, so that we are shut out from it forever! Those everlasting gates that let the redeemed into heaven—are now for ever shut against us.

4. To make our wretchedness far worse, we have lost the hope of ever obtaining a better condition. This makes us truly hopeless. Well may our hearts now break, since we are both without hope and help. This is what we have lost; and if we think of these things, it is enough to tear and gnaw upon our miserable souls forever. Yet, oh, that this were all that our torments were!

But we are also tormented by suffering and pain, as I will try to explain to you now.

1. First, we undergo a variety of torments. We are tormented here a thousand, no, ten thousand different ways! Those who suffer upon the earth seldom have more than one affliction at a time. But if they had ulcers, gallstones, headaches, and fever all at the same time—would they not be very miserable? Yet all those together are but like the biting of a flea—compared to those intolerable, sharp pains which we endure. Here we have all the sufferings of hell. Here is an unquenchable fire which burns us; a lake of burning brimstone which ever chokes us; and eternal chains which bind us. Here there is utter darkness to frighten us, and a worm of conscience which gnaws upon us everlastingly. Any one of these is worse to bear—than all the torments that mankind ever felt on earth!

2. But our torments here are not only various—but are also universal. They afflict every part of the body, and torment all the powers of the soul. This makes what we suffer—the worst of tortures. In those sicknesses which men have on earth, though some members of their bodies will suffer—yet other parts will have no pain. Here it is different; every member of the soul and body suffers at the same time.

"Our eyes are tormented here with the sight of devils who appear in all the horrible shapes and black appearances that sin can give them. Our ears are continually tormented with the loud continual yellings of the damned. Our nostrils are smothered with sulfurous flames; our tongues with burning blisters; and the whole body is rolled in flames of liquid fire! All the powers and faculties of our souls are also tormented here. The imagination suffers with the thoughts of our present pain and the memory of the heaven we have lost. Our minds are tormented as we remember how foolishly we spent our precious time on earth. Our understanding is tormented with the thoughts of our past pleasures, present pains, and future sorrows, which are to last forever. And our consciences are tormented with a continual gnawing worm!

3. Another thing that makes our misery so awful—is the sharpness of our torments. The fire which burns us is so violent that all the water in the sea can never quench it. The pains we suffer here are so extreme, that it is impossible for anyone to know them except the damned.

4. Another part of our misery is the ceaselessness of our torments. As various, as universal, and as extremely violent as they are, they are also continual. We have no rest from them. If there were any relaxation, it might be some relief. But there is no easing of our torments, and what we suffer now—we must suffer forever.

5. The company we have here is another part of our misery. Tormenting devils and tormented souls—are all our company. Dreadful shrieks, howlings, and fearful cursing—are our continual conversation because of the fierceness of our pain.

6. The place we are in also increases our sufferings. It is the epitome of all misery—a prison, a dungeon, a bottomless pit, a lake of brimstone, a furnace of fire which burns to eternity, the blackness of darkness forever; and lastly, hell itself. Such a wretched place as this, can only increase our wretchedness.

7. The cruelty of our tormentors is another thing which adds to our sufferings. Our tormentors are devils in whom there is no pity. While they are tormented themselves, they still take pleasure in tormenting us!

8. All those sufferings that I have recounted are very grievous. But that which makes them the most grievous—is that they shall always be forever! All of our intolerable sufferings shall last to all eternity! ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed—into everlasting fire!’ is what continually sounds in my ears. Oh, that I could reverse that fatal sentence! Oh, if there was but a bare possibility of salvation! This is the miserable situation we are in—and shall be in forever!"

Chapter 9. Further Conversations

This wretched soul had scarcely finished what he was saying when he was tormented again by a hellish demon, who told him to stop complaining. The demon said, "don't you know you have deserved it all? How often were you told of this before—but would not believe it? You laughed at those who warned you about hell. You were even so presumptuous as to dare Almighty justice to destroy you! How often you called on God to damn you. Do you complain that you are answered according to your wishes? What an unreasonable thing! You know that you had salvation offered you, and you refused it. How can you now complain of being damned? I have more reason to complain, for you had a long time in which repentance was offered you; but I was cast into hell as soon as I had sinned. If I had been offered salvation, I would never have rejected it as you did. Who do you think should pity you now, with all that heaven had offered to you?"

This made the wretch cry out, "Oh, do not continue to torment me; I know that I chose destruction. Oh, that I could forget it! These thoughts are my greatest torture. I chose to be damned—and therefore justly am so."

Then turning to the demon that tortured him he said, "But I also came here through your temptations, you cursed devil! You were the one who had tempted me to do all of my sins; and now you would reproach me? You say you never had a Savior offered to you; but you should also remember that you never had a tempter such as you have always been to me!"

To this the devil scornfully replied, "It was my business to lead you here! You had often been warned of this by your preacher. You were plainly told that we sought your ruin, and go about continually like roaring lions, seeking whom we could devour. I was often afraid you that would believe them, as several other souls did, to our great disappointment. But you were willing to do what we wanted; and since you have done our work—it is but reasonable that we should pay you wages." Then the fiend tormented him again and caused him to roar out so horribly that I could no longer stay to hear him, so I passed on.

"How dismal," I then said to my conductor, "is the condition of these damned souls! They are the devils slaves while upon earth, and he reproaches and then torments them for it when they come to hell."

"The devils hate all the race of Adam," said my conductor. "And because many souls are ignorant of their devices, they easily succeed to bring them to eternal ruin. You will see more how the demons treat the damned here."

Passing a little further we saw a multitude of damned souls together, gnashing their teeth with extreme rage and pain, while the tormenting fiends with hellish fury poured liquid fire and brimstone continually upon them. In the meantime, they were cursing God and those about them, and were blaspheming in a tremendous manner. I could not help but ask of one demon that so tormented them, who were these souls that he tormented so cruelly?

Said he, "These wretches well deserve their punishment. They led others astray, and were so in love with sin, that they came here. These are those souls that have been our great helpers upon the earth, and therefore they deserve our special attention in hell. We use our full diligence to give every one their utmost share of torments, for they not only have their own sins to answer for—but also all the sins of those whom they led astray both by their doctrine and example."

"Since they have been such great helpers for you, I would think that in gratitude you would treat them a little more kindly."

To this the impudent fiend answered me in a scoffing manner, "Those who expect gratitude among devils, will find themselves mistaken. Gratitude is a virtue—but we hate all virtue. Besides, we hate all mankind, and were it in our power not one of them would be happy. It is true we do not tell them so upon earth, because there it is our business to flatter and deceive them. But when we have them here where they cannot escape—we soon convince them of their foolishness in serving us."

From this I could only think about what infinite grace it is—that any poor sinners are brought to heaven, considering how many traps are laid by the enemy to ensnare them by the way. Therefore it is a ministry well worthy of the blessed Son of God—to save His people from their sins, and to deliver them from the wrath to come. But it is also folly and madness in men—to refuse the offers of His grace, and to choose to side with the destroyer.

Going farther on, I heard a wretch complaining in a heartbreaking strain, against those men that had betrayed him and brought him here.

"I was told," said he, ‘by those whom I depended on, and whom I thought could inform me correctly, that if I said ‘Lord, have mercy on me,’ when I came to die, it would be enough to save me. But oh, now I find myself mistaken, to my eternal sorrow! Alas, I called for mercy on my deathbed—but found it was too late. Before that time, this cursed devil here told me that I was safe. Then on my deathbed, he told me it was too late! Hell must forever be my portion!"

"You see—I did tell you the truth at last," said the devil, "and then you would not believe me. A very fitting end, don't you think? You spend your days enjoying sin, and wallow in your filthiness—and you want to go to heaven when you die! Would anyone but a madman think that would be just? No! He who sincerely wants to go to heaven when he dies, must walk in the ways of holiness and virtue while he is alive. You say that some of your lewd companions told you that saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on me’ when you came to die would be enough. A very fine excuse! If you had read the Bible you would have known that ‘Without holiness, no one shall see the Lord." Therefore, if you were willing to live in your sins as long as you could, you did not finally leave them because you did not like them—but because you could follow them no longer! And this you know to be true. How could you be so stupid to think you could go to heaven—with the love of sin in your heart? No! no! no! You were warned often enough that you should take heed of being deceived, for God is not mocked—but what you have sowed—you have reaped. You have no reason to complain of anything—but your own folly, which you now see too late."

"This lecture of the devil was a very cutting one to the poor tormented wretch," I said to my conductor, "and shows the true situation of many now on earth as well as those in hell. But oh, what a far different judgment do they make in this sad place from what they did on earth."

"The reason for this," replied my guardian angel, "is that they will not allow themselves to think what the effect of sin will be, while on earth. Carelessness ruins many souls who do not think about what they are doing, nor where they are going—until it is too late to help it."

Chapter 10. An Atheist in Hell

We had not gone much farther before I saw a vast number of tormenting demons. They were continually lashing a large company of wretched souls with knotted whips of burning steel. The tormented were roaring out with such loud cries that I thought it might have melted even cruelty itself into some pity. This made me say to one of the tormentors, "Oh, stop your whipping, and do not use such cruelty on those who are your fellow creatures, and whom you probably helped lead to all this misery."

"No!" answered the tormentor very smoothly. "Though we are bad enough, no devil was as bad as them, nor were we guilty of such crimes as they were. We all know there is a God, although we hate Him; but these souls would never admit (until they came here) that there was such a Being."

"Then these," I said, "were atheists. They are wretched men, and tried to ruin me had not eternal grace prevented it."

I had no sooner spoken—but one of the tormented wretches cried out mournfully, "Surely I know that voice. It must be John."

I was amazed to hear my name mentioned; and therefore I answered, "Yes, I am John; but who are you?"

To this he replied, "I once knew you well upon the earth, and had almost persuaded you to be of my opinion. I am the author of that celebrated book entitled ‘Leviathan.’"

"What! The great Hobbs?" said I. "Are you come here?"

"Alas," replied he, "I am that unhappy man indeed. But I am so far from being great, that I am one of the most wretched people in all these dirty territories. For now I know there is a God. But oh! I wish there were not, for I am sure He will have no mercy on me. Nor is there any reason that He should. I do confess I was His foe on earth, and now He is mine in hell. It was that proud confidence I had in my own wisdom, which has so betrayed me."

"Your case is miserable, and yet you admit that you suffer justly. For how industrious were you to persuade others and try to bring them to the same damnation. No one can know this better than I, as I was almost taken in your snare to perish forever."

"It is that," said he, "which stings me to the heart—to think how many will perish by my influence. I was afraid when I first heard your voice that you had also been cast into hell. Not that I wish any person happy—for it is my torment to think that anyone is happy while I am so miserable. But I did not want you to be cast into hell, because every soul that is brought here through my deceptions, increases my pains in hell."

"But tell me," I said, "for I want to know the truth. Did you indeed believe there was no God when you lived upon earth?

"At first I believed there was a God," he answered, "but as I turned to sins which would lead me to His judgment, I hoped there was no God. For it is impossible to think there is a just God, and not also remember that He will punish those who disobey Him. But as I continued in my sins, and found that justice did not swiftly come, I then began to hope that there was no God. From those hopes I began to frame ideas in my own mind, which could justify what I hoped. My ideas framed a new system of the world’s origin, which excluded from it the existence of God. At last I found myself so fond of these new theories that I decided to believe them and convince others that they were true. But before this, I did find several checks in my own conscience. I felt that I could be wrong—but I ignored these warnings. Now I find that those checking thoughts that might have helped me then, are here the things that most of all torment me. I must confess that the love of sin hardened my heart against my Maker, and made me hate Him first, and then deny His being. Sin, which I so proudly embraced, has been the cursed cause of all this woe; it is the serpent which has stung my soul to death! For now I find, in spite of my vain philosophy, that there is a God. I have also found that God will not be mocked, although it was my daily practice in the world to mock at heaven and all that is sacred, for this was the means that I found very successful to spread abroad my cursed ideas. For anyone that I could get to ridicule the truths of God, I looked upon as becoming one of my disciples. But now these thoughts are more tormenting to me—than the sufferings I endure from these whips of burning steel."

"Sad indeed," I said. "See what Almighty Power can inflict on those who violate His righteous law." I was making some further comments when the relentless fiend who had been tormenting them then interrupted me.

"Now you see what sort of men they were in the world. Do you not think they deserve their punishment now?"

To which I answered, "Doubtless it is the just reward of sin which they suffer, and which you will suffer also. For you, as well as they, have sinned against the ever blessed God, and for your sin you shall suffer the just vengeance of eternal fire. Nor is it any excuse to say you never doubted the being of a God; for though you knew there was God—yet you rebelled against Him. Therefore you shall be justly punished with everlasting destruction, away from the presence of the Lord."

To this the fiend replied, "It is true we know we shall be punished, as you say. But if you say that mankind should have pity showed them, because they fell through the temptations of the devil, it is the same case with me and all the rest of the inferior spirits. For we were tempted by Lucifer—the Bright Sun of the Morning to rebel with him. And therefore, though this multiplies the crime of Lucifer, it should lessen that of the inferior spirits."

To this my bright conductor replied with an angry countenance. "O you apostate, wicked, lying spirit! Can you say those things and see me here? You know it was your proud heart which made you rebel with Lucifer, against the blessed God who had created you with glory! But since you proudly exalted yourself above your blessed Creator, and joined with Lucifer—you are justly cast down to hell. Your former beauty has changed into your present horrible form—as the just punishment of your rebellious pride!"

To this the apostate spirit replied, "Why do you invade our territories, and come here to torment us before our time?" And when he had said this, he slipped away as if he did not want to have an answer. After he was gone I said to my guardian angel that I had already heard about the fall of the apostate angels—but wanted to know more about what happened. To this my guide answered me, "When you have finished your earthly life and return to heaven—you shall learn many things that you are not yet ready to understand. In your present state—do not desire to learn more than what is written in the Scriptures. It is enough to know that the angels sinned, and for their sin were cast down to hell. But how pure spirits could have a thought arise in their hearts against the eternal Purity that first created them, is what you are not yet capable of understanding."

"I have observed," said I, "that those in hell complain most about the torment from their own sense of guilt, which confirms the justice of their punishment. This gloomy prison is the best place to rightly understand sin; for were it not so evil, it would not be rewarded with such extreme punishment."

"What you say is very natural; but there is yet a better place to see the just reward due to sin. That place can be seen when you behold the blessed Son of God upon the cross. There we may see the terrible effects of sin. There we may see all of its true evil. For all the sufferings of the damned here—are but the sufferings of created beings; but on the cross you see a suffering God!"

"Surely," said I, "did justice and mercy triumph, and kiss each other in that fatal hour. For justice was fully satisfied at the cross—in the just punishment of sin; and mercy triumphed and was pleased there—because salvation for poor sinners was completed. Oh, eternal praises to His holy name forever, that His grace has made me willing to accept this salvation, and become an heir of glory! For I remember that some of those lost wretches here have lamented, that when salvation had been offered to them, they had refused it. It was therefore grace alone—which makes me differ from them."

At this point my shining guardian told me that he must bring me back to the earth again, and leave me there until it was time for me to enter my heavenly reward. "Come," he said, "let us leave this place of sorrow and horror to the possession of their black inhabitants."

In a very little space of time I found myself on earth again. I was left at the very place where the angel had met me, when I had been thinking about committing suicide through the temptations of the devil, who had tried to persuade me that there was no God. How I returned there, I do not know. But as soon as I was back there, the bright angel who had been my conductor said, "John, I must go now. I have another ministry to complete. Praise Him who sits upon the throne forever, who has all power in heaven, earth, and hell. Praise Him for all the wonders of His love and grace—which He has shown you in so short a time."

As I was going to reply, the shining angel disappeared and I was left alone. I spent some time considering the amazing things I had seen and heard—and then knelt down and prayed. When I rose up I began blessing and praising God for all His goodness.

When I returned back to my house, my family was very surprised to see how my countenance had so greatly changed. They looked at me as if they scarcely knew me. I asked them what they were staring at. They answered that it was the change in my face which caused their astonishment. I said, "How am I so greatly changed?"

They told me, "Yesterday you looked so depressed that you seemed the very image of despair. But now, your face appears radiantly beautiful, and seems full of perfect joy and satisfaction."

"If you had seen," I said, "what I have seen today—you would not be surprised at the change in me." Then I went into my room, took my pen and ink, and wrote down everything that I had heard and seen. And I hope that those who read this will be moved in their hearts—just as I have been, as I wrote everything down.