Divine Revelation Of Heaven And Hell By John Bunyan
John Bunyan was a 17th century English preacher who spent twelve
years in prison for his Christian faith and wrote over 40 books. His
best known writing is Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most famous and
popular books in all of world history.
John Bunyan wrote the following Divine Revelation Of Heaven And
Hell when he was a young man, of how an angel was sent by the Lord to
take him to see heaven and hell. It is a true story, not an allegory or
fictional book. While all visions must be judged by the Bible, these
seem very scriptural and were used by the Lord to help transform young
John into a mighty man of God.
Chapter 1.
PLANNING SUICIDE
When evil persons 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 worshipped 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 adoration 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 is God alone.
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 inform you of what you
ask. For I am a ministering spirit, sent forth to minister to you and to
those that 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 the sons of 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 all 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 blessed 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 they that 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 that 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, that 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
that 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 meat
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 that sits upon
the throne; and to the Lamb for ever 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 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 for ever be given to Him
that 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 equally changed.
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 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 that 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 fine 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 that they enjoy here.
"Firstly, the souls of all the blessed are forever freed from
everything that can make them miserable, which above all is sin. It was
sin that 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 that threw the apostate angels down into hell, and
spoiled the beauty of the lower world. It was sin that 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 tries to cling 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 sinner to
eternal misery. Yet the blessed 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 joy unspeakable and full of glory,
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 simplicity and
purity of God. We understand about His decrees and counsels, His
providence and dispensations. We clearly see here that from eternity God
was sole existing, 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 that 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 that 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?
John 20:27-29 "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy
finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it
into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that
have not seen, and yet have believed.
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 only has immortality.”
“When I say that the bodies of the blessed 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 that dwell
in the world below
1 Timothy 6:16 "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in
the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can
see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen..
Even the bodies of all those glorified souls that 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, they shall then be
immortal. And as to what you say from the Scripture, that the blessed
God has only 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 only to have immortality. Whatever the blessed God is, He is
essentially so in His own being. It can likewise be said that He only is
holy, and there is none good but God, none righteous, nor none merciful
but He.”
Chapter 5.
WE SHALL KNEW EACH OTHER
I remarked, “As I was brought here, I saw among the saints some
that 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 blessed 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 that is put therein, till it
can hold no more. And though the vessels are of several sizes, while
each is filled there is none that can complain.
My answer therefore to your question is that those who have the
most enlarged capacity do love God most, and are thereby changed most
into His likeness. This is the highest glory 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 that 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
that I once (when upon earth) thought to show His anger.
I am now fully convinced that no affliction that I met with in
the world below (and I met with many) either came sooner or fell heavier
or continued longer than was needful. 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 never can exhaust it.
Nor is this strange, for in the world below everyone equally enjoys the
benefit of light. There is no one that can complain that they enjoy it
less, because another enjoys it also.
All enjoy the benefit of light as fully as if no one else
enjoyed it but themselves. If a multitude of persons 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 is 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 that 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 that 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 shall 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 persons, 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 that
shall be heirs of salvation. From what they report we are excited to
renew our praises to Him that 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. ”
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 stink 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 that 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, 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 goodness. So although I
stumbled you in some things, you stumbled 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 (Luke 16:27-28). 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
spirit. 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?”
ALSO READ; A Letter From Hell To A Friend.
“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 and mortgages 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 here.”
“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 for ever. 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 it
would be so!
How often I was encouraged to leave those paths of sin that
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 for ever. 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 know 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 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 for ever 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 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
that 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 think they were very miserable?
Yet all those together are but like the biting of a flea
compared to those intolerable, sharp pains that we endure. Here we have
all the sufferings of hell. Here is an unquenchable fire which burns us;
a lake of burning brimstone that ever chokes us; and eternal chains
that bind us. Here there is utter darkness to frighten us, and a worm of
conscience that 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 complete. 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 yelling
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 that 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 complete, 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 society or 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 completion of all misery, a prison, a dungeon, a
bottomless pit, a lake of brimstone, a furnace of fire that burns to
eternity, the blackness of darkness for ever; and lastly, hell itself.
Such a wretched place as this can only increase our wretchedness.
7. The cruelty of our tormentors is another
thing that 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, ye 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 CONVERSATION
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
that 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
tried to teach others the right road to heaven, while they were so in
love with hell 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 friend answered me in a scoffing manner,
“They that 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 should 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.
ALSO READ; Eternity Is So Near Unto Us.
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 that I depended on, and that
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 that sincerely wants to go to heaven when he
dies, must walk in the ways of holiness and virtue while he is alive.
You say 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 sow you reap. 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 ever 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 persons 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 that 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, “that 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 there was no God. From those hopes I
began to frame ideas in my own mind that 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, that I so proudly embraced, has been the cursed cause of
all this woe; it is the serpent that has stung my soul to death. For now
I find, in spite of my vain philosophy, 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 that 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 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 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 that 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 to 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
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 for ever, 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 that helped me to accept it.”
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 that sits upon the
throne for ever, who has all power in heaven, earth, and hell. Praise
Him for all the wonders of His love and grace that 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 that caused it. 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.