Nine Days in Heaven: A True Story (10 page)

“ B
Y THIS STRENGTH OF EVIL
I
AM
BOUND AND IN IT
I
EXIST
.”

She forced my attention to the groups of people milling around. “These are the ones who exploited the poor, the employers who robbed workers of their wages, others who put heavy burdens on the weary. Those who followed false religions are here, as well as hypocrites, adulterers, and murderers. So too are the suicides, those who were not satisfied with their lives and brought them to an end.

“If people only knew about the dark and awful night that they fall into when they die unprepared, they would make every effort to postpone their death rather than speed up its coming—no matter how great their troubles. They would use their common sense and improve their lives. Earth,” she added, “is a place of testing for everyone.”
4

She forced me to walk along a path off to the side. “Do you think life is full of grief on earth? Well, here, no matter where you look, you find many more new reasons for gloom. Is your hope of finding happiness on earth fading? Well, all you will ever know in this place is unceasing, unsatisfied, and unholy desire.”

She paused, a look of pain spreading across her face.

“Not only that, but your senses here are infinitely more acute. On earth there are many sins that do no more than give your conscience a twinge. But here, those same sins penetrate into the very essence of our existence, and the pain becomes a part of us. In addition to that, the awareness of suffering and the ability to suffer are far greater here than they are on earth.”

“…
IN LIKE PROPORTION IS THE
CONSCIOUSNESS AND CAPABILITY
OF SUFFERING HERE, SUPERIOR
TO HUMAN SUFFERING
.”

She stopped in front of me and looked me in the eye.

“Marietta, it seems futile to try to describe our deplorable condition here. I often wonder, is there no hope? But I know the answer. How can disharmony live in the middle of harmony? When we were in the body, we were often warned about the consequences of our lifestyle. But we loved our own ways better than those that are good for us. Now we have fallen into this fearful place. We have caused our own sorrow.”

Her face twisted in pain as she reflected.

“God is just. He is good. We know this state we are in is not the result of a vindictive law of our Creator. Marietta, this misery came about by our breaking the moral law.
5
We should have obeyed it, and then we would have been safe. We would have lived in peace and wholeness.

“But sin!” she rasped, “You parent of endless troubles! You insidious enemy of peace and heaven!
6
Why do mortals love your ways?”

At this point she fixed her eyes, wild with despair, upon me. I shrank from her awful glare and the torture revealed in her face. Turning around, I noticed that many more of the hopeless beings had gathered around her, struggling to suppress their true feelings as they listened to her describing their sufferings. I was filled with horror and turned to try to escape from her.

This seemed to make her grief even worse, and she quickly spoke. “No, Marietta, don’t leave me. Can’t you bear it—even for a short time—to see and hear about the things I am suffering? Stay with me, for I have more to tell you.” She spoke even more fervently.

“You are shocked by these scenes, but let me tell you this. Everything you see around you is just the surface of even deeper woes. Marietta, there are no good and happy beings living with us. Everything is dark. Sometimes we dare to hope for redemption, still remembering the story of redeeming love. We ask the question: Can that love penetrate this place of gloom and death? Is there any hope that we might be set free from these desires and urges that bind us like chains? Will we ever be released from these burning passions in this wretched world?”

Overcome by her feelings, she began to sob, and she did not speak to me again. Another spirit cried out, “Go away and leave us to our lot. You just being here causes us pain. It reminds us of our lost opportunities and…”

He stopped and paused for a moment, then continued. “No, don’t go. I don’t know why, but I feel compelled to talk to you. I will tell you what we have learned here about the power of evil and why people are so attracted to it. Listen to me!” He paused again to gather his thoughts.

“…
THE INDULGENCE OF PROPENSITIES
THAT FOLDED AROUND THE SOUL
THE ELEMENTS OF EVIL MAGNETISM
AND PERVADED THE SPIRIT WITH
ITS DEADLY MIASMA
.”

“When a person is in the body, his spirit is difficult to perceive. It is inside him, invisible. But when he dies and enters this place, that spirit becomes the very basis of his existence. It becomes his whole being. It pervades everything, controls everything, and inspires everything.

“People on earth refuse to believe that men and women will suffer for their sins when the spirit leaves the body. They think that the love and goodness of God would never allow this to happen. But evil and suffering certainly do exist in this place. The cause of it is obvious, yet people reject it and even accuse God of evil.” He looked at me.

“Violation of God’s law always has harmful consequences. It brings death instead of life and perfection. It is sin, the breaking of the law that prevents men and women from becoming what they were meant to be. It is sin that removes them from a life with God.

“This fact is obvious in every aspect of our lives whenever laws are broken. This place is full of the awful results of it.”

He lifted his contorted face and cried out in despair.

“Why don’t people come to their senses and realize what happens when they sin? Why don’t they stop sinning and turn to God to escape these terrible consequences? Marietta, you are obviously not one of us. You will leave here and go back to places of peace. Aah!” he groaned. “We are overwhelmed by madness whenever there is even the mention of peace and love. I am telling you these things because you are going back to earth. Tell those people what you have seen and warn them about the terrible things waiting for those who continue to gratify their wrong desires.”

I recoiled in horror at his outburst. The hideous look on his face imprinted itself in my mind forever, but at that moment I was removed from his presence.

I knew that what I had just witnessed was utterly and undeniably real. Those spirits were people I had known on earth! But how they had changed! They had become the embodiment of sorrow and remorse. How I wished they could escape to become pure and be able to join those happy spirits in the Paradise of Peace!

Support From
the Word of God

1.
“
…relentless flames.
” Jesus said of hell, “…their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48).

2.
“
…a single drop of water to quench my thirst.
” Compare the rich man in hell in Luke 16:24:

So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

3.
Our desires—and the good things that satisfy them—food, drink, sleep, etc., were created by God, and all—good and bad—enjoy their satisfaction. In heaven, where everything is good, desires are satisfied perfectly. By contrast, hell has no satisfaction of the ongoing innate desires. Rejection of God is also a rejection of God’s good gifts.

4.
“
Earth…is a place of testing for everyone.
” The Bible has many references to God’s testings.

• God tested Abraham’s obedience—Genesis 22:1; Hebrews 11:17