Translate

Thursday, January 10, 2019

BRYAN MELVIN

IN A LAND UNKNOWN: HELL'S DOMINION

The author gives a vivid account of seeing what lies beyond the grave from the perspective of a near-death survivor's journey to hell.

I'll be reading from the King James:

Ecc 12:5-7 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his eternal home and the mourners go about the streets. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broke at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

When I think of it I shouldn't be here today because 28 years ago I died. It was a very profound experience because I saw a place that I don't want anybody to go to. I saw Hell. It was the most terrifying place I've ever seen and ever experienced in my life.

Back then I wasn't saved. I was a militant atheist. I didn't believe in God. I picked on Christians. I used to have Christians come up to me when I walked on the streets. I grew up in Falls Church area near Loehmann's Plaza where I hung out. We had Christians come up to me near the Plaza to witness to me and I'd argue with them. I would tell them that they know nothing about God. God doesn't exist. I was such a militant atheist.

Then I moved to Tucson Arizona and that's where everything happened. In July 1980, Tucson Arizona, I contracted cholera by drinking contaminated water someone had left in a thermos while I was working at a local construction site. The progression on this disease left me in a severely dehydrated state which became terminal.

I was at home and lying in bed when it happened. My breathing was becoming a series of protracted wheezing gasps. Looking around the room, I was amazed that I could see so pristine clear without my glasses. The alarm clock ticked. It was ten minutes till noon. Everything became surreal.

With a sudden swoosh, I floated above my body. Hovering there, I fully realized I had died. At that time, I was not a Christian and fell into a naturalistic agnostic atheistic belief system. Despite growing up in a loving Southern Baptist family, I did not believe in the Christian concept of God. I knew very little about Jesus, the afterlife, and God. All this was about to radically change.

I floated above my body and felt no more pain from the effects of cholera. While gazing at the room, I turned and faced the ceiling. Suddenly, I felt myself drift through the ceiling’s textured drywall and was engulfed in an extremely peaceful blackness. In this pleasant darkness, I heard the most astounding humming/singing sounds. I was floating in this pitch blackness listening to the resonances while slowly moving toward a speck of light that was slowly growing bigger and bigger as I neared.

MYSTERIES OF GOD AND ETERNITY EXPLAINED AFTER DEATH

It was just sparkling and I was going towards it at a very fast speed and yet it seemed like I was going very slowly. Then I began to hear a heavenly choir singing and music. I could hear this heavenly language and I could understand what was being said to me in English although it was a different language. Then off from that light sparkling in the distance, I could hear the still quiet voice speaking to me and telling me things. They were teaching me and explaining many profound mysteries and deep truths about God and eternity. They were explaining and answering a lot of questions we have during our earthly life.

So after you die you might go through this experience where God starts answering the whys over your life: why did this happen to you, why is there evil in the world, on these great mysteries that boggle people's minds, are being answered. A lot of people have these experiences but when they come back, they say they don't remember anything. They only remember that God spoke a lot of great profound things around who He is and eternity. And the voice and the choir up there were explaining to me the mysteries of who God is and explaining things to me. Amazing everything they proclaimed I found out later in the Bible.

WE ARE ETERNAL BEINGS

So I'm going to talk about this a little bit more. While I was floating through that darkness. I heard through the music and the singing that we human beings were fashioned as eternal beings because God has placed eternity in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Whatever God does, it shall be forever and that is why God has set eternity in the hearts of men.

This qualifies Ecclesiastes 3:11, He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

It was also expressed to me that because God is a living God we also live as Acts 17: 28 says, In Him we live and move and have our being.

Like I said I really didn't know the Bible at that time. So every time I read the Bible I keep finding these nuggets of truth in there. Even after 28 years, I keep finding them. Jesus said in Mark 12: 27 God is not the God of the dead but the God of the living. Do you know what that means? As God lives so do we. He's the God of the living.

See when I died, I was this militant atheist. I thought I was going to drop off into a state of non-being, complete annihilation and just non-existence. Now you know the old atheist saying, "When you die, you're dead." That's what I thought. Here I was alive and here I was having this music and this voice and the still quiet voice explaining to me that we were fashioned as eternal beings. You're not going to soul sleep. You're not going to cease to exist. You're going to continue on because after you die you really become alive.

GOD'S GIFT OF LIFE IS IRREVOCABLE

I learned also through the singing and through the music and praises, they were actually teaching me things about God. They were teaching that God's gifts are irrevocable. Romans 11:29 says that For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

It was explained that God will always keep His word and accomplish everything He says. Isaiah 55: 11 says, So shall My word that goes from My mouth, says the Lord, it shall not return to Me empty but it will accomplish that which I have purpose and it will succeed in the thing for which I said.

God will never go back on His word. That's what it was telling me. God's never going to go back on His word. He honors His gift of life He gave you.

He breathed into Adam in Genesis 2: 7 the breath of life that continues on.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

You got a great gift that He's not going to take that away from you no matter how bad you are. That is not going to be taken away from you. He is that just even to the unjust to still keep you alive because that's an act of love and mercy to keep you alive. That might sound paradoxical. I know hell is a pretty bad place. I think it would be best if God would just zap us and destroy us and make us not exist so we don't have to go through all the torments in hell.

Wait till you hear what I'm going to say before you say a lot of things about Hell that have not been proclaimed yet. But God made it very plain to me that He's not going to take back that gift of life. He's that just. He's that fair.

GOD'S INTEGRITY IS THE SUPREME ORDER OF ALL THINGS

It was proven to me during that time that God's integrity is the supreme order of all things as they are. His integrity is explained in the Bible in Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.

As in Job 34:10-12 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that He should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity. For the work of a man shall He render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.

We have this amazing sense of justice here. If you stand before a judge and get sentenced, a lot of people think that's justice but the justice of God goes beyond that. He's just and right toward all things. He honors the gift of life He's given to each one of us. He will not take back His gifts. He's that just. God will never violate His own integrity.

So basically what I was learning was God is faithful without an equal. He is upright, fair, and God will never do wickedly and He will never pervert justice. He's good to all just like it says in the Book of Psalms, He keeps His word; He honors His gifts and calling; He is righteous; He's going to honor everything about Him.

That's His integrity. God will never violate His own integrity. It says that in 2nd Timothy 2:13 God will not deny Himself not deny who you are.

2 Tim 2:13 If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.

So as I was floating through this void I was learning who God is.

MEETING WITH JESUS

Soon this dazzling brilliant light began dispelling this pleasant darkness in hues of colors never before seen. The light was being emitted by an individual standing upon what appeared to me to be a huge rock suspended in space. This person wore a beautiful whitish robe like garments and seemed to be sitting on a chair carved out from the rock. I landed below this person. He stood up and walked down several steps to where I had landed. I wept and fell like a heavy sack of wheat. Someone touched my shoulder. I stood up.

This marvelous person showed me my life course, which revealed I was without excuse. It was then I knew I was being judged and deserved my fate. You could do nothing but stand directly before Him, whose robe’s drooping hood concealed His face, and receive your sentence.

As I looked at Him, I noticed that He bore terrible trauma to His hands and feet. Around the wrist were gnashes deeply cut therein. The bones clearly showing that the very joints had been ripped apart by bearing a great weight. He just stood there. I felt ashamed.

JUDGMENT BEFORE THE TRINITY

I stood before Jesus Christ veiled in a hood of judgment. Jesus standing there and there was a cloud of glory that was coming out of Him. It was part of Him; it was around Him and all about Him. It was just the spirit was a cloud and then I noticed that there was something unique because behind Jesus behind the veil the cloud that was a part of Him was somebody else standing behind Him. Also a part of Him also one with Him and then it dawned on me I had a revelation of the Trinity. I can't explain it but standing before me was the Trinity. I couldn't see the Father. Jesus was standing in front of me with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was like getting ready to judge me and asking, "Father, what are we going to do with this guy?"

Being an atheist back then I was instantly reminded about how I spoke against the Trinity. I always get Christians to stumble on the doctrine of the Trinity.

After I came back to earth, I was confronted with the Bible that spoke about a three-fold witness. Deuteronomy 17: 6, At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness, he shall not be put to death.

Ecc 4: 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Rom 5:12 declares, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

When you stand before the Lord you see how your sin made you like ugly; how you abused God's integrity.

The Bible points out that one witness cannot convict a person and all that's legally needed are two witnesses to establish a matter. However, a threefold witness is stronger than two witnesses and it finalizes the matter of judgment perfectly.

I was standing in front of a three-fold judgment ready to judge me. If Jesus had taken off His hood I wouldn't be here. I had that three-fold witness looking at me.

I want you to think that God who is perfect in all His ways would never pervert justice. He is true to His word. He could pass sentence justly on us as one God for in that one God, He is the three-fold witness of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. When you come before that power, you will fall on your feet.

When you fall on the face I want to ask you people, "Do you want the threefold witness to testify against you?"

It's is more terrifying than even my experience in Hell to know I came that close to have my silver cord snapped and enter into judgment. The realization of everything you were learning in the dark void comes to you at that moment because God honors this gift of life who does no wrong. You are paralyzed knowing He's not going to annul His word or break His integrity when He judges you.

FLASHES OF MEMORIES

Parts of my life were flashing by in front of me at this time. The Lord spoke to me and showed me all the ways I ignored Him. How He spoke to me so many times to arrest my attention like driving down the road and missing the car I was head-on. I was drunk and stoned out of my mind and not concerned about the safety of my buddies in the car. The Lord made me move the car wheel just in time. I just missed hitting a car head-on. He showed me all these times. How many times the Lord has gotten me out of a jam and yet I didn't realize it.

SENT TO VISIT HELL

He began to speak to me by the agency of thought and told me I was to see another land for an appointed time. After arriving there, I was to speak His name and title and see what I would see.

Jesus told me that when I arrive at this place where He is sending me, I will say His name and His title so that my silver cord will not be snapped. Jesus then said to me, "You are going to return to God for God's glory, not yours. When you return you're going to bear witness to this."

He said, "This is because when you're a child you yearned for Me." Yeah, when I was a little teeny kid, I had a yearning for Christ but I fell away to atheism.

So 28 years have gone by and often when I had a chance I would testify to my experience. I ran a prison ministry for ten years and spoke to a lot of prisoners and seeing a lot of people getting saved. During the time we were doing our prison ministry, the repeat rate for criminal offenses dropped.

The Lord Jesus went on and revealed that it was prearranged once for a person to die but returning is an option decided by His Father’s will. Children were raised; others were raised, for God’s glory and purposes when it was not their hour. He stated that I would return the way I had come, and then He pointed towards an entrance of a tunnel off to His left.

Seeing it, I was lifted by some gentle force and floated toward it, feet first. When this occurred, I noticed I was wearing robe-like garments. I entered the tunnel and was engulfed within a violently spinning vortex heading toward a yellowish tint of light. Reaching it, I found myself falling from its sky and landing with a thud upon the ground.

DEMONS MASQUERADING AS FAMILY MEMBERS AT FALSE PARADISE

I stood up and looked around. I saw a house on a hill, smelled horrible odors, and heard strange sounds. People came from the house and neared me with joyous shouts of welcome. Where was I? Heaven? Hell? At first, I thought I was in a paradise but the sounds and smells were all wrong.

All these people were coming out and slapping me on the back and saying, "Bryan, welcome! We love you. Welcome to paradise!" They put their arms around me, welcomed me and making me think that this must be paradise. This is how many people in near-death experiences have been deceived. You heard these positive ones where they can see all their dead relatives or see somebody walking into this paradise land all loving and caring and stuff like that.

Something was not right about these people either. For some reason, they began appearing translucent. With this, I began to see them for what they really were – strange foul creatures, half human half lizard type thing, hissing and spitting at me and they all trying to rush at me to grab me. I remembered I got to say the name and the title of Jesus Christ. When I said that name they all pulled back. They couldn't grab hold and latch onto me. They could touch my body which was horrible enough but they couldn't grab hold of me. I said, "Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ" like the staccato of a machine gun. I did not stop saying "Jesus Christ" until I left that place. I was in a state of stark terror as the reality of where I was hit home.

Then one creature started hissing and spitting and he motioned me to come along with him. I heard what this creature was saying in his own hellish language but I understood it in English. He told me that he was going to take me on a tour and he walked up just a couple of feet away from me. He stuck his hand into the horizon. I thought it was weird. There's a horizon. We can't go any farther. He stuck his hand in it and ripped it open and blasts of air gushed out and the smell hit me. I saw a dusty road. I stepped out on it. It's a wide broad road like a shaft of empty space.

Jesus speaks of a broad way as a way of destruction. Every time I read that in the Bible. I just think of that place because that's what it was like - a waterless place, dry, hot and dusty. Some of the rocks out there were hot as the fire was hot. The heat was so hot it feels like your eye sockets are going to melt out of your head. You don't believe how incredible thirsty you get.

(The Following five paragraphs are a direct quote from the book: A Land Unknown: Hell’s Dominion, Chapter Seven, used with the author's permission)

CIRCULAR VOID STACKED WITH CUBES

“I followed the rank creature and immediately emerged on the other side of the horizon. A wide, dirty, flat, barren expanse of land gently sloped downward, betraying an endless circular spiral of misery. On the left side of the coiled grade were rows and rows of cubes with more cubes columned high, forming a wall of ten-by-ten foot partitions mirroring the events displayed inside.

Each cube was stacked six high, marring each ascending and descending spiraling level’s wall like a dirty mirror. The wide expanse was a road. Strange entities were traveling on it. This wide dusty road ended at a circular void, highlighting the center of this hellish domain.

The cubes appeared encompassed by thin smoke-tinted, gelatin-like walls. Each cube appeared to be about ten feet by ten feet square. You could see into these but not out of them. Within every chamber resided an individual person, trapped, unable to escape as I had.

Looking through the torn wall of the cube I had just stepped out of, the house and tree within were hauntingly calling my name to return. Perplexed, I stepped back for another glance at this cubicle. I was surprised that it was so small. Inside it had seemed so large!

Turning, I saw the lizard-like entity a few feet from me, reaching its ugly, greenish-yellow arms as if to drag me away to a desperate fate. Boxer style, I blocked the attempt. This fiend stepped back, grinning ear to ear.” End Quote.

What I saw is best described in the Holy Bible in Ezekiel 32:17-32. This chapter describes hell as a circular burial pit where the dead are buried within the walls of a pit in accordance with his or her deeds. Each individual is placed in a chamber described symbolically as a bedchamber (Ezekiel 32:24-25) where the resident restlessly rest experiencing recompense for his or her deeds (Note the context of Ezekiel 32:30) performed on earth.

Eze 32:17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 32:18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
Eze 32:19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
Eze 32:20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
Eze 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Eze 32:22 Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
Eze 32:23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
Eze 32:24 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 32:25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
Eze 32:26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
Eze 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
Eze 32:28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
Eze 32:29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 32:30 There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 32:31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 32:32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

Years later I discovered that the Bible declares that in hell there are chambers of death as mentioned in Proverbs 7:27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Listen to this. Isaiah 24:22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be "visited" [some translations say "punished"].

Wow, that correlates with what's happening in Revelations 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Putting the two verses together, After many days the prisoners are visited (Isa 24:22) and thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14).

ILLUSIONS IN THE CUBES

Inside each cube, I spied individual people in various stages of boredom, anguishes, and hideous various torments. Ghoulish entities were inside these cubes giving the illusions of people, places, and things to each trapped soul enacting the scenes from each person’s life. I also traveled between these cubes to more cubes that lay behind as the journey continued.

The creature before me began speaking to me again with such foul language and curses that I cannot record what it really said for you. I began understanding its speech and could sort out the general theme it was speaking from its cursing. It then began showing me around this domain.

Out from the cubicle wall’s was a large dusty plain or road. Both ugly and beautiful beings roamed in lose packs on this plain. During the duration of my stay, many of these entities attempted to engage me in conversation. I was too terrified to respond but only spoke out the words, “Jesus Christ” non-stop.

I was taken on a hellish tour of this place by the ghastly creature in front of me. We descended to the lower levels of the spiral road as well as observed what was happening inside the cubes to each lost soul we passed. This hellish journey seemed to last forever. I wanted to wake up so bad, but could not (For more details please see the author's book: A Land Unknown: Hell’s Dominion, published by Xulonpress).

Each trapped soul reaped in full measure whatever they had sown during their lives. Many entered this pit and into the cubes by means of spinning vortexes. I also noticed another entrance. All those people trapped resided totally alone and were not aware of each other. The only thing each was aware of, were the creatures residing with them and the scenes enacted within their own personal square nightmarish abode.

I would say that each person trapped there felt a peculiar separation from God in the form of feeling banished forever from the loving nature of God and true life. Each knew fully that they deserved his or her fate because each chose to walk away from God and now resided in a place without God as they desired during his or her life lived on earth. God, in His great justice, fairness, and unfathomable love gave them what they desired: a place without God and where each was receiving the fruits of his or her own doing.

When many of these individuals entered their private abodes, they were first deceived into thinking they had arrived in a paradise. As eternity passes – the real nature of this place was fully revealed to them. Others entered into instant anguish. It is truly a place of doom, despair, and unending nightmares.

I could see the people in the cubes and inside everybody was seeing an illusion time and space. If someone had died in the 1700s they saw the 1700s. As they died in the sixteen or eleven hundred that's what they saw; that was their world. They died in the 20th century that was their world. Their world in their cube was a re-enactment of their lives on earth. They're reliving it with every person they lied to, every person they stole from. All the abuse they have done to God's integrity were being measured back to them. None of these people inside the cubes had any moment of sleep or rest.

THE REAL "SELF" IS EXPOSED IN THE CUBES

Job 26:5-6 describes what happens to the dead, “The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them. The realm of the dead is naked before God; Destruction [Abaddon] lies uncovered.

Verse 5, The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

The "deep anguish" means they are suffering in pain under the waters. It describes the feeling of suffocation or drowning not just in water but under pressure of great depth. The deeper you dive underwater, the greater the pressure that makes you suffocate and unable to breathe.

The waters can also mean molten fire and lava as God says in Deut 32:22, For a fire is kindled in Mine anger and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

So what was happening to those in hell was that the real them their sin nature was being uncovered as it is written in Job 26:6 The realm of the dead is naked before God; Destruction [Abaddon] lies uncovered.

This is the part of Hell that people don't understand. Sin is like a little yeast that leavens the whole lump. What was happening to people in those cubes was the real them was being exposed. You get drunk and stoned in life, the real you will be brought out in the cube. You're driving to church dressed in finery praising God and somebody cuts into your lane abruptly and the next minute you give them an obscene sign with your finger as you drive past them. That is the real you.

Now the real you being exposed in hell ain't no picnic. The real you is the real corrupt you being uncovered just like it's written right in the Bible, "Hell is naked before God and the place of destruction has no covering." Your real self being uncovered and exposed will cause you to writhe in torment and deep anguish.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16:19-31, Jesus was explaining that the rich man's real nature was uncovered in hell. If you really read that with revelation knowledge, you understand what's being uncovered. You'll see his real sin nature is selfishness. "I want to drink, I want, I want." The real self that is being uncovered in hell will receive its just recompense. Watch what a man shows in his real self in life, and that is what he will also reap in the next life.

JUST RECOMPENSE OF SINS IN THE CUBES

The people I saw in the cubes receiving their just recompense in fair degrees must be understood in accordance with the Biblical principle of "reaping what you sow" (Gal 6:7) and the eternal state of life.

God will not deny Himself. He gave a gift from His own being to humanity, called life (Gen 2:7c and man became a living soul.). The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29c principle For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.). The Lord placed eternity in our hearts as Eccl 3:11 (He has also set eternity in their heart) and Eccl 3:14 (everything God does will remain forever) verifies. The wise woman spoke in 2 Sam 14:14c (God does not take away life) a central truth – though we die (our mortalness dies) God will not take away life; and yes, God through Christ Jesus makes the only way that a banished one can return back to God, thru the grace of the cross. There is no other way.

2 Sam 14:14 For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from Him.

So, we do continue on after we die, not in soul sleep, or rest, but as the Hebrew words in the OT imply as shades – our spiritual essence of who we are continues. Though God can certainly annihilate life into non-existence as Job 34:14, 15c states but as 2 Sam 14:14 states, God will not take away life He gave. Fore, if He did so, He would, in essence, deny Himself and prove Himself a liar and not really God Almighty. He would be forced to go against His own life-giving character/nature – hence deny Himself.

Job 34:14-15 “If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.

God did not annihilate the devil for his rebellion, did He? Why? God will not take away life. The devil knowing this rebelled and tempts God to unjustly destroy him in order to be able to exalt his own throne above God’s. Sin entered the universe in a limited degree through the Devil and his minions and God designed the current pit of hell for them as Matt 25:41 states, "Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.' " God does not take away life – His gifts and callings are irrevocable. God keeps and performs His word.

THE SINS OF HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT FINITE BUT INFINITE

This brings us to the reason why fallen human beings will suffer just recompense in Hell. We were designed as eternal moral beings. Fallen humanity lost the eternal life with God and face eternal condemnation banished forever away from the eternal life of God. What God does is forever.

People complain that everlasting punishment for finite sins is unjust. However, such people fail to realize that since human beings share a gift of life breathed into us by God who placed eternity in our hearts, a fallen human being’s sin is NOT FINITE - it is eternal (Job 34:11, 12c) because they were fashioned by God to be eternal. For God to annihilate into non-being would, in essence, be unjust for HIM to do as it goes against His own character and nature (Job 34:10c).

Job 34:11, 12 “For He pays a man according to his work, And makes him find it according to his way. “Surely, God will not act wickedly, And the Almighty will not pervert justice.

Job 34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, And from the Almighty to do wrong.

Billy Grahams’ daughter, Anne Graham-Lotz mentioned in the History Channel TV show, Hell the Devil's Domain, that in hell are just levels of recompense. Jesus stated this concept as well in Luke 10:13, 14, 15, 16c. Theologians mention this as well – just degrees of recompense. This is precisely what I saw, and what people do not understand regarding this instead dare/demand God to act contrary to who He is (Deut 32:4, Psalms 97:2). Thus, they unknowingly fall right into the devil’s ploy to demand God to act contrary to the foundations of God’s throne (note Psalms 97:2c again) and thus overturn God’s rule (Isaiah 14:13, 14, 15c). So reader, which side are you on?

Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

Psalm 97:2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Isaiah 14:13-15 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ Nevertheless, you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit."

There is no such thing as Finite Sins due to our spiritual nature fashioned to live eternally. Therefore, the principle of what one reaps what he sows mentioned throughout the Bible is true. That is what I saw happening in hell to the people there: their personal sin nature was slowly being uncovered much like how you peel layers off an onion until the real spiteful being is revealed totally committed to sin and rebellion. The slow peeling of an onion takes time and thus helps understand why there are just degrees of recompense.

IS GOD THE TORTURER?

People also say God is a torturer, yet, the Bible clearly states God is not the one who tortures. Do you see God in the account of Rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:20-31c? Also Rev 14:11 states its one’s own torment that torments. Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Now note the principle found in Psalms 9:16. God’s wrath is poured out and whatever God does (regarding the context of justice/life/ judgment/ promises/ gifts) endures forever. Psalm 9:16 The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands, the wicked is snared.

His wrath uncovers the real person who and what they really are, beings who after entering the eternal gain understanding of what this means, would always seek to abuse and manipulate/pit God’s own Goodness against itself so they remain in sin. That is what I saw and tried to convey in my book. Those in hell would make the only perfect upright land, Heaven, into a corrupt place, like it is on earth now just as Isaiah 26:10 says, Though the wicked is shown favor, he does not learn righteousness. He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.

So, the current hell was designed as a temporary holding center as Isaiah 24:21, 22 helps to reveal and Jesus mentions in Matt 25:41c.

For the Love of God will banish those that reject Him, justly and fairly, with no violation of trust, gifts, etc, to them or to God’s own nature/character.

Isaiah 24:21-22 So it will happen in that day, That the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high, And the kings of the earth on earth. They will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon, And will be confined in prison; And after many days they will be punished.

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

THE CRUEL SHIP CAPTAIN

Let me tell you a few things I saw inside the cubes for more information. As I was walking along the corridors around the cubes, I had an instant knowledge and revelation of the occupants' life histories, why they were there, whatever they lived. I saw the captain of a British sailing ship who lived in the 1700s. He was very sadistic. He punished his crew unmercifully. He just loved to torture them, to play mind games with them so, in his cube in hell, he experienced everything his crew members suffered. His ship was sunk in a battle and he drowned there so he would experience the drowning over and over again. His real sin is how evil that guy was in his earthly life was being made manifest in his cube in hell. "No wonder you're going to be punished forever, look how evil you are." That's what voices would kind of be speaking there in the cube. That's where I am trying to show people. No matter how outwardly holy you are, look at the real you. That would reveal how terrible you are. This guy was sadistic in his inward being through and through.

LADY IN DELUSION

Then I saw one lady who was a very nice lady. Everybody would think that she was really nice. She died in a car accident in 1980 and she went through the tornado vortex and dropped right at my feet. There I was looking at the inside of the cube at her. She just got up and I could see the demon in there but for her, she saw it as her grandmother welcoming her into paradise, "Welcome, my child! I know you will love it here."

All these demons were knocking on the door entering this cube and as they entered, she saw them as friends, people that she knew in her lifetime. "There's grandpa, there's the son, there's Uncle Joe, there's Uncle Sonny. Oh, this is paradise." And so they're all in this house and in haste around this house and then they walked into the kitchen and the scenery would change as they walk. It was like a treadmill inside. The floor would move and they would just be walking and then she says, "Let's go outside. I'll show you outside." She was giving this big tour of the outside and she's just going, "Wow, I know this is great. You know this is wonderful. I'm in paradise." And then her grandfather which was a demon at that time it wasn't giving the illusion because these demons give illusions of people and she couldn't see them as demons. Right then she didn't know where she was. She thought she was in paradise and then she says, "Oh honey I'm gonna go back to the house and bake these cookies like you always liked. So why don't you go over there and rest under the shade of the trees." Those trees weren't trees there were demons that look like trees because some of the demons there look like walking sticks, they look like trees and grotesque like even in my book I described that someone looked like rotting vegetables. I've no words to describe them when they were dinosaur alike or serpents and other kinds of ugly creatures.

She sat down on a rock beside this pool or stream there and so I remember her sticking her hand in the stream and pulling it up and saying, "How come my hand is not wet?" She was thinking and when she looked up, she started getting these waves of depression hit her and she realized that this wasn't paradise. Then I just remembered what gave me the chills. Those leaves of the branch were these creatures that just engulfed her and she just started sobbing and crying. She let out a little shriek and she realized how ugly she was inside and what she gave up.

OTHER CASES IN THE CUBES

Then we proceeded to another cube. In one cube, I saw a guy in there, it was a teacher or a professor at a university and he was writing something on the board over and over and over again as you do in school and he was just doing that. It was weird.

I walk to another place and I could see another guy. It looked like he was fishing. And another lady was just walking along like the streets of Paris in the early 1900's just with a blank thousand-yard stare and yet it wasn't like, "Oh poor me, look at me, I'm being persecuted." It was like evil inside of her was being made manifest, "I hate these people; I hate these people." The moment this real self in her was coming out, the demons would come in hordes and smack-bang, slash and cut her and spit and grab her and bite her. I saw so much happening to other people there as well.

PEOPLE OF OTHER RELIGIONS COMING TO THE CUBES

The part of the book I self-edited out shares how various people from other religions arrive and greeted by their religious figures, such as Buddha, or numerous Hindu gods, Krishna, pagan gods or goddesses, friends, family. These figures were not known to me until after I fully researched many years later on how each figure is depicted. I did see demonic beings give the illusion of these beings to those arriving. So in a way, one’s religious background may serve as a backdrop in uncovering the real person’s sin nature to themselves, etc…

I also saw people resuscitated back to mortal life, leaving hell before realizing they were there and report back that all is well or a works-based salvation system. I left that part out from my book as it was rather difficult to explain seeing this go about.

PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS OF THE AIR

Coming back to my narrative, all of a sudden we walked back out to the wide dusty road. As we walked across it I saw all these demons, millions of them gathering about these wavy vaporous beams. All of a sudden they looked something like telephone poles to me. These demons were climbing up. Then all of a sudden it was granted to me to see through the walls of hell. These poles were extending out in the earth in certain places and geographic locations and on top of these poles were set these big demons. Demons have rank - the taller ones have the most power and the little ones do their bidding. They're up there singing songs, not heavenly music. Their songs are very melodic, very monotonous, very dull and what they would do is entice people to hear this music and dance to the tune. Some may become gloomy at home and say, "I'm so miserable. Oh, woe is me. I feel so bad." These songs make the people start believing and living a lie. As soon as people believed these lies, this thing up the pole would call down to other demons and they would escape out of there and they'd go attack these people and try to drag them down.

Jesus said in Matthew 12: 43- 45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so, shall it be also unto this wicked generation?

When that person gets better through whatever means, that demon up there will say, "Hey you know this guy's getting better," so he finds seven demons worse than him and they climb back up that pole and they start attacking him.

MY RESCUE

When I was there the demon took me back into the cubes back to the furthest recesses of the pit back to where the wall meets the cubes. There was this cube that was open and all these demons inside that cube. I was just saying, "Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ." I was petrified. I was scared and I was like my feet were like stuck and I couldn't get out of this place. I wanted to wake up. It's your own worst nightmare. You never can wake up. That's what those people were experiencing in those cubes. You can't wake up from these living nightmares and I was watching all these demons in all shapes and sizes and hideousness. They wanted me to enter that cube but I knew if I entered that cube I would not come back to earth. I didn't want to go there. I was brought to my wit's end. There was no help. I felt the greatest fear when the beastly guide tried to entrap me inside that unique cubicle. It is here, I was rescued while screaming out the Name, Jesus Christ. I felt someone coming for me and arrive behind me and then lift me up.

(Quote from Book) “One arm was under my shoulders and the other under the bend of my knees. Oh! A sensation of love, mercy, authority, power, justice, and righteousness overwhelmed me. I no longer had any need to speak the two words that I previously spoke without ceasing. I turned my head into the cleft of the Being’s shoulder and wept profusely against the white garb.

The Person who held me fast said not a word. I glanced at the hand gripping my shoulder. There was an ugly gash near the wrist close to the hand as though a great pulling weight had made this mark and separated the bones above the wrist. A hole went straight through, then the tear. You could easily have placed a finger through the gash, with your fingertip protruding to the other side, but to do so would have been very disrespectful and inappropriate at a time like this.” (End Quote)

I wept as the Redeemer carried me back to the cube I arrived in and then through the vortex back to the rock. He set my feet upon that Huge Rock where I was granted a glimpse of Heaven and was told that none can enter Heaven unless they come through the Gate who was the robe-clad personage (Jesus) standing before me.

Many things were revealed to me there, on that rock, too numerous to record. I was told it was time to leave and return. I floated back the way I had come. I was soon in my room above my body looking at the scene below. I glided back into my body and awoke with a start. I could not regain my breath until someone began hitting me on my back. I was rushed to a Hospital for further treatment and recovery.

The duration of my NDE was about four hours. I remember seeing a clock when I first left my body stating the time was 11:50 AM and when I returned, it was close to 4 PM. I still suffer several health effects from this. My heart makes a nice clicking sound. My short term memory suffered as well. Afterward, my speech was slurred a bit but has returned to normal with the passage of time.

My experience has left me a deep appreciation for the work of Jesus Christ and His salvation. I became a born again Christian because of it. I have a renewed understanding of God’s profound love, justice, righteousness, grace, and mercy. Jesus came to save that which is lost. You see, heaven is real and hell is real. Eternity is without end. Do you really want to spend eternity without God? Or with God? That choice is yours alone – the decision is yours. What will it be? What will it be?

At the conclusion, I like to ask this one question to everybody. Just one little question. Are you certain of heaven without a doubt? How will you stand before the threefold witnesses of God before your silver cord is snapped and your spirit returns to God who gives it? How will you stand before God? Will you stand forgiven, changed into His child to be a reflection of Christ's likeness on earth being transformed into His righteousness being transformed into His love?

So if you're serious in this matter, pray this little prayer. Say, "Dear God, the Lord Most High, I know nothing. I'm tired of living my life making things all ugly around. I'm tired of living like this. Here I am, have mercy on me a sinner, who makes things ugly, who abuses Your love and goodness. I ask You to forgive me and make me whole. Clean me up on the inside of me. Teach me, instruct me, guide me, never let me go, Lord. You know I stumbled a lot, I failed a lot, I have let you down a lot. I do not always say or do the right things a lot, forgive me, make me new, dear Lord Jesus Christ, invade my life, help me make my life new again. I need your spirit of life blown inside me. Please do this for me. Make me born again. Blow your spirit on and inside me now so I can really change this time and not play stupid games. I'm tired of stupid games. Lord Jesus, the nails tore at your wrists causing Your bones to pull apart for me. I do not understand why You did this but I trust You to teach me, dear Lord Jesus Christ. Teach me the way I should go. Lead me to a real church so I can grow. Make me born again from above by the breath of Thy spirit. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

ATHET PYAN SHINTHAW PAULU

BUDDHIST MONK RETURNED TO LIFE A CHANGED MAN!

Many people have sent questions about the authenticity of the below story. It cannot be authenticated. And it cannot be proven an outright fake. No NDE that I know of can be proven or disproved.

The story that follows is simply a translation of a taped testimony from a man with a life-changing story. It is not an interview or a biography, but simply the words from the man himself. Different people react in different ways when they hear this story. Some are inspired, some skeptical, a few will mock and ridicule, while some others have even been filled with rage and anger, convinced these words are the ravings of a mad man or an elaborate deception. Some Christians have opposed the story simply because the radical and miraculous events described herein do not fit their feeble image of an Almighty God.

We were first made aware of this story from several Burmese church leaders who shared it with us. These leaders had looked into the story and had not found any suggestion of it being a hoax. It was with this in mind that we decided to step out and circulate the story. We do not do so for any monetary gain, or with a motivation of self-promotion. We just want to let the story speak for itself, and invite Christian believers to judge it according to Scripture. If God wants any part of it to be intended for His glory or to encourage His people, then we pray His Spirit will work in the hearts of the readers in those ways.

Some people have told us they think the monk in this story never actually died, but that he just lapsed into unconsciousness, and the things he saw and heard were part of a fever-driven hallucination. Whatever you think, the simple fact remains that the events of this story so radically transformed this man that his life took on a complete 180-degree shift after the events described below. He has fearlessly and boldly told his story at great personal cost, including imprisonment. He has been scorned by his relatives, friends, and colleagues, and faced death threats for his unwillingness to compromise his message. What motivated this man to be willing to risk everything? Whether we believe him or not, his story is surely worth listening to and considering. In the cynical West, many people demand hard evidence of such things, evidence that would stand up in a court of law. Can we absolutely guarantee, beyond doubt, that all of these things happened? No, we cannot. But we feel it is worth repeating this man's story in his own words so that readers can judge for themselves.

MY EARLY YEARS

Hello! My name is Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu. I am from the country of Myanmar. I would like to share with you my testimony of what happened to me, but first I would like to give some brief background information from my life growing up.

I was born in 1958 in the town of Bogale, on the Irrawaddy Delta area of southern Myanmar [formerly Burma]. My parents, who were devout Buddhists like most people in Myanmar, named me Thitpin [which means 'tree' in English]. Our lives were very simple where I grew up. At the age of 13, I left school and started working on a fishing boat. We caught fish and sometimes also shrimp from the numerous rivers and streams in the Irrawaddy area. At the age of 16, I became the leader of the boat. At this time I lived in Upper Mainmahlagyon Island [Mainmahlagyon means 'Beautiful Woman Island' in English], just north of Bogale where I was born. This place is about 100 miles southwest of Yangon [Rangoon], our nation's capital city.

One day, when I was 17, we caught many fishes in our nets. Because of the many fishes, a large crocodile was attracted to us. It followed our boat and tried to attack us. We were terrified so we frantically rowed our boats toward the riverbank as fast as we could. The crocodile followed us and smashed our boat with its tail. Although no one died in this incident, the attack greatly affected my life. I no longer wanted to fish. Our small boat sank because of the crocodile attack. We had to go home to our village that night on a passenger boat.

Not long after, my father's employers transferred him to Yangon City [formerly spelled Rangoon]. At the age of 18, I was sent to a Buddhist monastery to be a novice monk. Most parents in Myanmar try to send their son into a Buddhist monastery, at least for a time, as it is considered a great honor to have a son serve in this way. We have been observing this custom for many hundreds of years.

A ZEALOUS DISCIPLE OF BUDDHA

When I turned 19 years and 3 months old (in 1977), I became a normal monk. The senior monk at my monastery gave me a new Buddhist name, which is the custom in our country. I was now called U Nata Pannita Ashinthuriya. When we become a monk we no longer use the name given to us at birth by our parents. The name of the monastery I lived at is called Mandalay Kyaikasan Kyaing. The senior monk's name was called U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw [U Zadila is his title]. He was the most famous Buddhist monk in all of Myanmar at the time. Everyone knew who he was. He was widely honored by the people and respected as a great teacher. I say he "was" because in 1983 he suddenly died when he was involved in a fatal car accident. His death shocked everyone. At the time I had been a monk for six years.

I tried hard to be the best monk I could and to follow all the precepts of Buddhism. At one stage I moved to a cemetery where I lived and meditated continually. Some monks who really want to know the truths of Buddha do things like I did. Some move deep into the forests where they live a life of self-denial and poverty. I sought to deny my selfish thoughts and desires, to escape from sickness and suffering and to break free from the cycle of this world. At the cemetery, I was not afraid of ghosts. I tried to attain such inner peace and self-realization that even when a mosquito landed on my arm I would let it bite me instead of brushing it off!

For years I strived to be the best monk I could and not to harm any living being. I studied the holy Buddhist teachings just like all my forefathers had done before me. My life proceeded as a monk until I got very, very sick. I was in Mandalay at the time and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. The doctors did some tests on me and told me I had both Yellow Fever and malaria at the same time! After about one month in the hospital, I was getting worse. The doctors told me there was no chance for me to recover and discharged me to make arrangements to die.

This is a brief description of my past. I would now like to tell you some of the remarkable things that happened to me after this time...

A VISION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER

After I was discharged from the hospital I went back to the monastery where other monks cared for me. I grew weaker and weaker and was lapsing into unconsciousness. I learned later that I actually died for three days. My body decayed and stunk of death, and my heart stopped beating. My body was prepared for cremation and was put through traditional Buddhist purification rites.

Although I faded away in my body I remember my mind and spirit were fully alert. I was in a very, very powerful storm. A tremendous wind flattened the whole landscape until there were no trees or anything else standing, just a flat plain. I walked very fast along this plain for some time. There were no other people anywhere, I was all alone. After some time I crossed a river. On the other side of the river, I saw a terrible, terrible lake of fire. In Buddhism, we do not have a concept of a place like this. At first, I was confused and didn't know it was hell until I saw Yama, the king of hell [Yama is the name ascribed to the King of Hell in numerous cultures throughout Asia]. His face looked like the face of a lion, his body was like a lion, but his legs were like a naga [serpent spirit]. He had a number of horns on his head. His face was very fierce, and I was extremely afraid. Trembling, I asked him his name. He replied, "I am the king of hell, the Destroyer."

THE TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE LAKE OF FIRE

The king of hell told me to look into the lake of fire. I looked and I saw the saffron-colored robes that Buddhist monks wear in Myanmar. I looked closer and saw the shaven head of a man. When I looked at the man's face I saw it was U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw [the famous monk who had died in a car accident in 1983]. I asked the king of hell why my former leader was confined to this lake of torment. I said, "Why is he in this lake of fire? He was a very good teacher. He even had a teaching tape called 'Are You a Man or a Dog?' which had helped thousands of people understand that their worth as humans is far greater than the animals." The king of hell replied, "Yes, he was a good teacher but he did not believe in Jesus Christ. That's why he is in hell."

I was told to look at another person who was in the fire. I saw a man with very long hair wrapped on the left-hand side of his head. He was also wearing a robe. I asked the king of hell, "Who is this man?" He replied, "This is the one you worship: Gautama [Buddha]." I was very disturbed to see Gautama in hell. I protested, "Gautama had good ethics and good moral character, why is he suffering in this lake of fire?" The king of hell answered me, "It doesn't matter how good he was. He is in this place because he did not believe in the Eternal God."

I then saw another man who looked like he was wearing a soldier's uniform. He had a large wound on his chest. I asked, "Who is this man?" The king of hell said, "This is Aung San, the revolutionary leader of Myanmar." I was told, "Aung San is here because he persecuted and killed Christians, but mostly because he didn't believe in Jesus Christ." In Myanmar the people have a common saying, "Soldiers never die, they live on." I was told that the legions of hell have a saying "Soldiers never die, but they go to hell forever."

I looked and saw another man in the lake of fire. He was a very tall man and he was dressed in military armor. He was also holding a sword and a shield. This man had a wound on his forehead. This man was taller than any person I have ever seen. He was six times the length between a man's elbow and the tips of his fingers when he stretches his arm out straight, plus one span of a man's fingers when he spreads out his hand. The king of hell said, "This man's name is Goliath. He is in hell because he blasphemed the Eternal God and His servant David." I was confused because I didn't know who either Goliath or David was. The king of hell said, "Goliath is recorded in the Christian Bible. You don't know him now, but when you become a Christian you will know who he is."

I was then taken to a place where I saw both rich and poor people preparing to eat their evening meals. I asked, "Who cooked the food for these people?" The king of hell replied, "The poor have to prepare their own food, but the rich people get others to cook for them." When the food had been prepared for the rich people they sat down to eat. As soon as they started a thick smoke came up. The rich people ate as fast as they could to ease their consciences. They were struggling to breathe because of the smoke. They had to eat fast because they were fearful of losing their money. Their money is their god.

Another king of hell then came to me. I also saw a being whose job is to stoke the fires beneath the lake of fire, to keep it hot. This being asked me, "Are you going into the lake of fire too?" I replied, "No! I am only here to observe!" The appearance of this creature stoking the fire was very terrifying. He had ten horns on his head and a spear in his hand that had seven sharp blades coming from the end. The creature told me, "You are right. You came here just to observe. I cannot find your name here." He said, "You must now go back the way you came." He pointed me toward the desolate plain that I had first walked along before I came to the lake of fire.

THE ROAD OF DECISION

I walked a long time until I was bleeding. I was hot and in great pain. Finally, after walking for about three hours I came to a wide road. I walked along this road for some time until I came to a fork. One road, going off to the left, was wide. A smaller road went off to the right-hand side. There was a signpost at the fork saying that the road to the left was for those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The smaller road to the right was for believers in Jesus.

I was interested to see where the larger road led so I started down it. There were two men walking about 300 yards ahead of me. I tried to catch up with them so I could walk with them but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't catch them up, so I turned around and went back to the fork in the road. I continued to watch these two men as they walked down the road away from me. When they reached the end of the road they were suddenly stabbed. These two men cried out in great pain! I also cried out when I saw what happened to them! I realized the bigger road ended in great danger for those who traveled down it.

LOOKING INTO HEAVEN

I started walking down the believers' road instead. After traveling for about one hour the surface of the road turned to pure gold. It was so pure that when I looked down I could see my own reflection perfectly. I then saw a man standing in front of me. He was wearing a white robe. I also heard beautiful singing. Oh, it was so beautiful and pure! It was much better and more meaningful than the worship we have in churches here on the earth. The man in the white robe asked me to walk with him. I asked him, "What is your name?" but he did not answer. After I asked his name six times the man answered, "I am the one who holds the key to heaven. Heaven is a very, very beautiful place. You cannot go there now but if you follow Jesus Christ you can go there after your life has finished on the earth." The man's name was Peter.

Peter then asked me to sit down and he showed me a place to the north. Peter said, "Look to the north and see God create man." I saw the Eternal God from a distance. God spoke to an angel, "Let Us make man." The angel pleaded with God and said, "Please don't make man. He will do wrong and will grieve You." [In Burmese literally: "He will make you lose face."]. But God created a man anyway. God blew on the man and the man came to life. He gave him the name "Adam". [Note: Buddhists do not believe in the Creation of the world or of man, so this experience had a significant impact on the monk].

SENT BACK WITH A NEW NAME

Then Peter said, "Now get up and go back to where you came from. Speak to the people who worship Buddha and who worship idols. Tell them they must go to hell if they don't change. Those who build temples and idols will also have to go to hell. Those who give offerings to the monks to earn merit for themselves will go to hell. All those who pray to the monks and call them 'Pra' [respectful title for monks] will go to hell. Those who chant and 'give life' to idols will go to hell. All those who don't believe in Jesus Christ will go to hell."

Peter told me to go back to the earth and testify about the things I had seen. He also said, "You must speak in your new name. From now on you are to be called Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu ["Paul who Came Back to Life."].

I didn't want to go back. I wanted to go to heaven. Angels opened a book. First, they looked for my childhood name (Thitpin) in the book, but they could not find it. They then looked for the name I had been given when I entered the Buddhist monkhood (U Nata Pannita Ashinthuriya) but it wasn't written in the book either. Then Peter said, "Your name is not written here, you must return and testify about Jesus to the Buddhist people."

I walked back along the gold road. Again I heard beautiful singing, the kind of which I have never heard before or since. Peter walked with me until the time I returned to the earth. He showed me a ladder that reached down from the heaven to the sky. The ladder didn't reach to the earth but stopped in mid-air. On the ladder I saw many angels, some going up to heaven and some going down the ladder. They were very busy. I asked Peter, "Who are they?" Peter answered, "They are messengers of God. They are reporting to heaven the names of all those who believe in Jesus Christ and the names of those who don't believe." Peter then told me it was time to go back.

IT IS A GHOST!

The next thing I was aware of was the sound of weeping. I heard my own mother cry out, "My son, why did you leave us now?" I also heard many other people weeping. I realized I was lying in a box. I started to move. My mother and father started shouting, "He is alive! He is alive!" Other people who were farther away did not believe my parents. I then placed my hands on the sides of the box and sat upright. Many people were struck with terror. They cried out, "It is a ghost!" and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them.

Those who remained were speechless and trembling. I noticed I was sitting in smelly liquid and body fluids, enough to fill about three and a half cups. This was liquid that had come out of my stomach and my insides while my body was lying in the coffin. This is why people knew I had indeed been dead. Inside the coffin, there was a type of plastic sheet fixed to the wood. This sheet is placed there to retain a corpse's liquids because many dead bodies release much fluid as mine did.

I learned later that I was just moments away from being cremated in the flames. In Myanmar people are placed in a coffin, the lid is then nailed shut, and the whole coffin is burned. When I came back to life my mother and father were being allowed to look at my body for the very last time. Moments later the lid of my coffin would have been nailed shut and I would have been cremated!

I immediately started to explain the things I had seen and heard. People were astonished. I told them about the men I had seen in the lake of fire, and told them that only the Christians know the truth, that our forefathers and we have been deceived for thousands of years! I told them everything we believe is a lie. The people were astonished because they knew what kind of a monk I had been and how zealous I had been for the teachings of Buddha.

In Myanmar when a person dies their name and age is written on the side of the coffin. When a monk dies, the monk's name, age and the number of years he has served as a monk are written on the side of the coffin. I had already been recorded as dead but as you can see, now I am alive!

EPILOGUE

Since 'Paul who came back to life' experienced the above story he has remained a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. Burmese pastors have told us that he had led hundreds of other monks to faith in Christ. His testimony is obviously very uncompromising. Because of that, his message has offended many people who cannot accept there is only one Way to Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite great opposition, his experiences were so real to him that he has not wavered. After many years in the Buddhist monkhood, as a strict follower of Buddhist teachings, he immediately proclaimed the Gospel of Christ following his resurrection and exhorted other monks to forsake all false gods and follow Jesus Christ with all their hearts. Before the time of his sickness and death, he had no exposure to Christianity at all. Everything he learned during those three days in the grave was new to his mind.

In a bid to get his message out to as many people as possible, this modern-day Lazarus began distributing audio and video cassette tapes with his story on them. The police and Buddhist authorities in Myanmar have done their utmost to gather these tapes up and destroy them. The testimony you have just read has been translated from one of those cassette tapes. We are told it is now quite dangerous for citizens of Myanmar to be in possession of these tapes.

His fearless testimony has landed him in prison at least once, where the authorities failed in their bid to silence him. Upon his release, he continued to testify of the things he saw and heard. His current whereabouts are uncertain. One Burmese informant told us he is in prison and may have been killed, while another informant was told he is now released from prison and is continuing his ministry.