Kristen Anderson lay on railroad tracks hoping to end her life. Instead, she heard a song that changed everything.

On a bone-cold night in January 2000, Kristen Anderson made an impulsive decision: She walked to the railroad tracks not far from her Chicago home, lay facedown on the ground and let 33 freight cars roar over her body at 55 miles per hour.

The engineer frantically blew the whistle and brought the train to a halt—on top of Kristen’s body. The botched suicide attempt left the 17-year-old in piercing pain. As she lay there in her own blood, trying to decipher whether she was dreaming, Kristen managed to pull herself from under the train and crawl to some nearby rocks.

She looked around, patted the ground and suddenly realized her legs were gone. Kristen’s left leg was severed above the knee, and her right leg was cut off just below the knee. Both limbs had been thrown 10 feet away from her frail frame.

But right there, in the darkest hour of her life, the teen had an encounter with God. He had foiled her plans and instead of taking her to heaven as she hoped, He invited her to a “heavenly concert for one,” and Kristen heard the lyrics to the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

“A song filled my heart. There was no clear voice, yet the words were sharp and clear, playing 10 times louder than the music,” Kristen, now 27, tells readers in her new book, Life, in Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice.

Before that moment, Kristen didn’t realize she could turn to God with the pain she was feeling. “I didn’t know at the time in my life that I could go to God for comfort, strength, wisdom and understanding,” she told Charisma. “I stuffed it all down inside.”

She was just a sophomore in high school when her world began to feel overwhelming. In 1998, her close friend’s older brother was killed in a motorcycle accident. That same year, another friend on her high school’s football team was killed in a car accident. Then her grandmother died unexpectedly in 1999. The same year, Kristen was stalked by two boys, then raped by a third young man she considered a trusted friend.

“It was too much,” Kristen says. “When my grandmother passed away, my family didn’t talk about it. It just got really quiet in our house, and I didn’t know what to do with my feelings and how to handle them. And then I was raped.”

To look at Kristen today, it’s inconceivable that she would have tried to kill herself. She wears a bright smile and seems secure in her relationship with Christ. But in 1999 she faced yet another loss that would plant the seeds of her suicidal thoughts.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Kristen says she was stunned by the death of her childhood friend Brandon. He had been using drugs and stopped hanging out with her and his friends. But what shocked her most was the way he died. “He took his life by hanging himself in a cemetery, which was just a morbid, graphic, extreme way, and I just didn’t understand it at all.”

But she says her thought process started shifting. “It was when I was struggling through his death, wondering how he could ever do it, that I thought I could never do it the way he did it,” she says. “I started thinking, If I didn’t do it that way, how would I do it?”

Kristen now believes Satan planted lies in her mind, telling her she wasn’t worthy to live, that no one would miss her and that her life no longer mattered. But at the time, she saw no end to her torment other than suicide. She began plotting her own death, trying to decide how she wanted to die, what would work and what wouldn’t.

Kristen was lying in her bedroom one night pondering a handful of ways to kill herself when a train passed by. As she heard the whistle and felt the house vibrate, she decided that would be a sure way to die. The thought didn’t return until later when she was sitting in a park trying to push back the pain she’d been feeling for months and heard a train nearby. Thinking she could quickly end her misery, Kristen stood up from the swing set and rushed to the tracks.

“I felt hopeless, and I didn’t want to be here,” she says. “I took such an extreme route because I just didn’t trust any other route. I figured this was the only way I could die.”

Kristen knows today it was God’s plan for her to live and tell others about Him, but initially she was angry with the paramedics for saving her life. She has had multiple surgeries and is being fitted for prosthetics. But recovering from the physical wounds was just part of the battle. Even after she accepted Christ in 2001, her struggle with deep depression continued.

Up From Depression

The Anderson family has long battled depression. Kristen describes her father’s long-term struggle with the illness as “a large, dark object that everyone tiptoed around.”  When she was 15, just two years before she tried to take her own life, Kristen learned that her father’s mother also was depressed and that his uncle had killed himself. But the Andersons are not alone.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, approximately 58 million people in the U.S. have depression. And although women are twice as likely to be depressed as men, people in middle- and low-income households are reportedly less likely to be treated for the disorder because they cannot afford to get help.

The Centers for Disease Control says depressed individuals experience feelings of sadness or anxiety that last for weeks at a time. Symptoms of depression include but are not limited to feelings of helplessness, sadness, guilt and fatigue. Depressed people often lose their interest in everyday activities; they may gain weight or lose it, and may have thoughts of death and suicide.

Kristen encourages people to seek counseling if they are depressed, a topic that often draws mixed reactions among believers. Many Christians believe depression is often a form of demonic possession, but Kristen says Christians shouldn’t be so quick to blame all depression on demons.

“I think that anyone, Christian or not, can fall into depression—even me,” she says. “It would be naïve of me to think that I’m all good, and I’m covered, and nothing will ever happen to me or go wrong or that Satan will never try to mess with me again.

“It’s so easy for him to get into our minds and make us believe that we don’t matter. Knowing that those things are not true is critical because you cannot fight the lies if you don’t know ... what the truth is.”

She learned about the enemy and how to defeat him in 2003, after she joined The Chapel, a nondenominational church located outside Chicago. There she began to see Satan at work in her life, feeding her the lies that provoked her suicidal thoughts.

Unlike the church she grew up in, The Chapel was full of love, and the people there seemed to love life and have joy, Kristen says. She became involved with the young adult ministry and started working with preschoolers and high school students. Church members would hold her accountable, and she felt she was where God wanted her. “Satan was out to destroy me,” Kristen says. “But when I got involved with the church, I got off my pain medication and antidepressants. That was the biggest surprise to my family.”

The Chapel pastor Jeff Griffin says Kristen was still suicidal and hopeless when she began attending the church, and he has watched her become joyful and content. “It would be too easy to be filled with self-pity in her situation, yet Christlike servanthood is what flows out of her heart,” Griffin says. “The level of transformation that has occurred in her life can be explained by nothing other than a miraculous work of Jesus Christ.”

Kristen says she spent three years in Christian counseling and describes herself as a “big fan” of the practice. “I struggled with depression after my suicide attempt because I was a new believer and the enemy didn’t want me to grow as a Christian,” she says. “But I needed to think through what led me to make a choice like [suicide] ... and what led me so astray.”

A recent graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Kristen says every believer must arm himself with spiritual weapons, starting with the Word of God. She also has a message for families struggling with the death of a loved one who committed suicide. “I don’t believe suicide is an unpardonable sin,” she says. “Jesus died to forgive us of all our sins. He came to set us free, and only God knows what’s in the heart of any of us.

“There are some people who accepted Christ and put their faith in Him who ended up in a battle with depression and suicidal thoughts and had their lives end through suicide who are in heaven,” she adds. “I do not think that all people who commit suicide are in hell.”

Kristen knows it is the Holy Spirit who has given her the peace she now enjoys. She wants others to know that suicide is never the answer. But her greatest desire is to see people accept Jesus and develop a strong relationship with Him.

That’s why she founded Reaching You Ministries in 2004 with a mission to “reach the hurting, the hopeless, the lost, the suicidal and the depressed with the life-transforming hope and leadership offered to us in Christ.”

Kristen shares her testimony across the U.S. at churches, colleges, women’s and youth events, and suicide prevention outreaches. In 2006, she told her story to millions of viewers on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

“When people hear Kristen’s story, they cannot deny that God does transform desperate situations,” Griffin says. “We are seeing God use Kristen’s ministry to bring many previously despairing people into a transforming relationship with Christ.”

Kristen’s inspiring message of salvation and hope has resonated with her family members. Since her accident, her mother, father and siblings have come to Christ. And she says her father has come a long way in his recovery from depression.

She says God also is moving among the hundreds of people who inundate reachingyouministries.com with e-mails. Some are hurting or struggling with suicidal thoughts, while others are spiritually lost and need direction. They come to the website hoping to hear some encouragement from Kristen.

Her words to them can no doubt be found in the lyrics she heard on that dark, cold January night when she so desperately tried to end her life: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me / I once was lost, but now am found / Was blind, but now I see.” 

Valerie G. Lowe is an associate editor for Charisma. “Amazing Grace” is one of her favorite hymns.

Learn how to gain victory over depression at depression.charismamag.com 

Demons are real—and Christians aren’t immune from their influence. But thanks to Christ’s work on the cross, we are guaranteed victory over Satan and his minions.

One of the most popular television series in recent years is Survivor. A group of people are left in a desolate location and must survive on what is at hand. As part of the intrigue, only one can win the large cash prize when the contest ends. As the show progresses, the contestants never know their friends from their enemies.

We live in a beautiful world, yet to survive we, too, must know our enemies. Our worst adversaries are not people but invisible forces of darkness. These forces carry out the orders of a former ally who turned against God. Satan and his evil minions are very near and ready to take out God’s soldiers. Yet God has given us the resources to survive and thrive.

To defeat our enemy, we must know him and be fully aware of the weapons at our disposal. Revelation 12:9 reaches back before time: “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (NKJV). These fallen angels are given several different names in Scripture—demons, principalities, powers, ruler(s) of darkness, wicked spirits, unclean spirits, among other descriptions—and there are many of them. According to Revelation 12:4, one-third of the innumerable hosts of angels fell. The “stars of heaven” refer symbolically to the angels.

Jesus Christ regularly confronted demons as an integral part of His ministry. Luke 4:18 records how He launched His public ministry by quoting Isaiah 61:1-2: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor ... to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Obviously Jesus knew His purpose was to rescue humanity from the bondage and oppression of the enemy.

Jesus confronts demons at least nine times in the New Testament, notably in Luke 8:26-39 when He cast a legion of demons out of a man and into a herd of pigs. The demons had the power to torment and create mental disorders. Yet the glorious truth is that they had to obey the commands of Jesus Christ.

Can people still be demon-possessed? The short answer is yes. The Greek word describing the condition of a person affected by a demon is “daimonizomai,” which was translated as “demon-possessed” in the King James Version. According to Bible scholars, the word is in present tense with an active voice and a passive ending. A person in this condition can be described as in “a demon-controlled passivity.” He or she is being controlled to the a point of passivity by a demon.

Because Christians have the Holy Spirit living in them, the degree of demonization is limited in believers. A Christian can be controlled by the enemy, but not owned. This is important to remember because one of Satan’s great strategies is to get Christians to believe that they are immune to demonic influence. A Spirit-filled believer walking in obedience to Christ is absolutely protected from the enemy. However, while a disobedient Christian’s spirit is protected from the enemy, his mind and body can be subject to attack.

A Christian can “give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). When a Christian lives with unconfessed, habitual sin the enemy moves in to that place in the believer’s life. The enemy constructs a thought pattern around that sin or attitude. Second Corinthians 10:4-5 describes that house of thoughts as a stronghold. Demons can take up residence in that stronghold in the believer’s life. These demons don’t possess the Christian anymore than a cockroach can possess a house. Cockroaches are dirty and troublesome, but they don’t own the house. In the same way, demons can harass, oppress and depress the believer, but they can’t damn him or her.

Symptoms of a Bound Life

After spending a decade doing hand-to-hand combat with satanic forces, I have discovered several symptoms of demonic operation. Some of these indicators can be signs of mental illness, which isn’t always the result of demonic attack. But when good psychological care from Christian professionals doesn’t result in a cure, it is often possible that the person’s symptoms could point to demonic operation.

Drawn from the account of the demoniac of Gadara in Mark 5, the first six symptoms are extreme. The man in that passage was controlled by a legion of demons and had been chained in a cemetery because of his erratic and violent behavior. Other signs of demonic activity may be subtler, but they are no less dangerous and shouldn’t be ignored.

1. Incapacity for normal living (see Mark 5:1-5). The actions of legion made him unsuitable for normal social interaction with friends and family. An unusual desire for solitude, accompanied by a deep loneliness, will often set in. The person will often become very passive with no desire to change.

2. Extreme behavior (see Mark 5:4). An explosive temper and extreme uncontrollable anger could be signs of demonic activity. These are dangerous behaviors that control the individual and affect surrounding loved ones.

3. Personality changes (see Mark 5:9,12). Changes in personality, extreme or mild, may be evidence of demonic activity. And though all cases of multiple personality may not be demonic, in most cases demon activity is involved.

4. Restlessness and insomnia (see Mark 5:5). The demoniac cried in the tombs “night and day.” He couldn’t sleep. Insomnia can be a sign of a physical or spiritual problem. God has gifted His children with sleep (see Ps. 127:2). So when you can’t sleep night after night and there is no medical reason, the devil may be tormenting you.

5. A terrible inner anguish (see Mark 5:5). Grief and anguish are normal emotions. Yet persistent unresolved anguish that won’t leave after normal therapies of counseling, encouragement and prayer could well be demonic.

6. Self-inflicted injury and suicide. In Mark 5:5, the demonized man was cutting himself. And in Mark 9:14-29, a man’s son was both deaf and mute because of a demon, and the evil spirit would often throw the boy into fire and water to destroy him. Demons can cause people to injure themselves and even incite suicide.

7. Unexplained illness. When medical testing produces no physical cause for an illness, then we should look to the mind and spirit for answers. Sometimes illnesses are psychological, and good counseling can result in a cure. Other times the battle is with demons. Luke 13:11-16 tells the story of a “daughter of Abraham” who was afflicted by a “spirit of infirmity.” Although she was a child of God, she was tormented by illnesses caused by this class of demons.

8. Addictive behavior. Addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, food, gambling and other things opens the door to demonic influence and control. I’m not saying demons cause all of these problems. But anything that causes one to be out of control opens that person to infernal control.

9. Abnormal sexual behavior. The spirit of harlotry is mentioned several times in Ezekiel 16:20-51. This spirit infected the nation of Israel with the sins of Sodom and even motivated the people to sacrifice their own children. Homosexuality, adultery, fornication and even infanticide were all inspired by the spirit of harlotry (see Hos. 4:12). And nations and families are sold into spiritual bondage by the witchcraft of this spirit (see Nah. 3:4). When we play around with sexual sin, we open ourselves to this demonic spirit. We must battle this principality that dominates our nation.

10. Defeat, failure and depression in the Christian life. It is Satan’s purpose to rob us of the victorious life that is ours in Christ (see 2 Cor. 2:10-14). This symptom is often manifested by an inability to praise and worship, which is a weapon of warfare. In Psalm 106:47, David asks God for salvation so he could “triumph in [God’s] praise.”

11. Occult involvement and behavior. Occult involvement is clearly a symptom of demonic control. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 catalogs the works of the occult, including child sacrifice, fortune-telling, sorcery and calling up the dead.

12. Speech difficulties. In Matthew 9:32-33, Jesus rebuked a demon, and the mute man was able to speak. Speech difficulties may be physical, emotional or mental, but in some cases they are demonic. Extreme language and cursing also may be prompted by the enemy.

13. Doctrinal error. First Timothy 4:1 warns that in the last days deceiving spirits will teach the doctrines of demons. Today religious cults and charlatans abound. The reason these deceivers draw many people is the power of the demonic that teaches them.

14. Religious legalism. In Galatians 3, the church at Galatia had forsaken a faith ministry that resulted in the miraculous for a law ministry of rules and regulations. Paul classified this error as witchcraft. Some deeply religious people are under the bondage of tradition, man-made rules and outward appearances. Demons thrive in this kind of environment, especially demons of control. Whenever something is substituted for faith in the finished work of Christ, it is a doctrine of demons.

The Liberating Truth

Ignoring the truth about demonic forces is frivolous and perilous, but at the heart of spiritual warfare is this truth: The battle has already been won! Satan and the forces of hell are on a short leash because of what Christ did at Calvary. We are not fighting for victory, but rather from victory. The powers of darkness were conquered at the cross. Colossians 2:15 says, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

The blood of Jesus wiped out our sin and left Satan powerless. Every blow that drove the nails into His holy hands was also a nail in the coffin of Satan. The glorious truth is that you and I can enforce that victory. We can see Satan in rapid retreat, and the steps to victory are simple.

Submit to the authority of Christ. Before a believer can effectively put Satan to flight, he must be under authority himself. James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The word proud in that verse describes a self-sufficient person who runs his own life. The word resist means “to arrange an army against.” God has placed an army against the self-sufficient.

A rebellious, sinning Christian cannot put Satan to flight. The Christian who lives in obedience under God-given authority can send the enemy fleeing. The secret to Jesus’ power was that He lived under the will of the Father. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death (see Phil. 2:8). After His submission came His exaltation. Philippians 2:10 declares that every realm is now under Christ’s authority—the spiritual realm, the natural realm and the demonic realm. Before we can stand in authority, we must submit ourselves to God completely.

Resist Satan. James 4:7 says: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” We must learn that we can’t hide from Satan. We can’t outrun him, and we can’t get away from him on this planet. How, then, do we resist the enemy?

•  
  • Live, under authority, an obedient and clean life.
  • Stand against Satan in the authority of Christ.
  • Remain steadfast in faith, believing God for the victory.
  • Verbally attack Satan with the Word of God and the work of Christ.
  • Give no place to Satan; give up no ground whatever.
  • Demand in the authority of Christ that he leave.
  • Give thanks and praise to God and watch the devil run.

When believers are set free from bondage, it releases the flow of God’s life into the church. The dry places are where demons live, according to Luke 11:24. When believers experience the liberating power of the truth of the good news of Christ, then the power of God is released through them. God promises revival and a harvest to those who come home from bondage.

Satan and his minions are defeated foes. The victory has been won at the cross. The battle rages on earth, but we don’t have to live in bondage and defeat. We can know the joy of victory and release. 

Ron Phillips is pastor of Abba’s House in Hixson, Tenn., and author of Everyone’s Guide to Demons and Spiritual Warfare, which releases in September.

Find out how to recognize and defeat the seven demons that attack the church at warfare.charismamag.com 

Author and hell survivor Bill Wiese answers the six most common questions about hell

Given that, here are six of the most frequently asked questions on hell, followed by simple and succinct answers that should stir you to dig deeper for what the Bible has to say on the matter.

1.  Why did God have to make hell 
in the first place?

Just as prisons have been constructed to protect the innocent from those who break the law, hell has been prepared for the offenders of God’s law. Would you say that our governmental leaders are mean for constructing prisons? No—especially when you realize you don’t have to go there. If you do go, it’s your choice (see Deut. 30:19; Ps. 9:17; 86:5; 2 Pet. 2:9).

Besides, hell was not prepared for man but for the devil and his angels (see Matt. 25:41). God never intended for men and women to go there. By contrast, He is preparing a place for us in heaven (see John 14:2). It is only by our stubborn will that we reject the provision He has made for our access into heaven. It is arrogant of us to desire to go to heaven yet demand our own terms of access. If you want to live in God’s house, you come by His way and not your own (see Luke 13:3; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Tim. 2:4-6). If you want nothing to do with God, then there is a place prepared that has nothing to do with His goodness.

Salvation is a free gift, but we must receive it in order to be saved. God loves you and is a good Father. He is trying to keep you out of hell and to divert you from your misguided course. Nevertheless, hell exists—and it will be your own fault if you go there.

The simple solution is, don’t break God’s law. Jesus said, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3; see also John 3:36; Rom. 10:9-10, NKJV). Remember this point: Just as prisons were not the first thing our founders had in mind when they came to this country, so too hell wasn’t God’s first intent when He made humanity.

2.  Isn’t God mean and unloving for sending people to hell?

God is not sending anyone to hell! He sent His Son to keep us from going to hell (see John 3:16; 6:40; 12:47).

All of us are on the road to hell automatically (see Matt. 7:13-14; John 3:17-18) because we all are born in sin and already condemned (see Matt. 18:3; 19:14; Ps. 51:5).

If Jesus hadn’t come to die in our place, we all would end up in hell. Because we are sinners, we cannot live in His perfect kingdom as we are. We must be given a new heart and spirit.

We become new creatures in Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:17) when we trust in His Son and His shed blood for our sins (see Rom. 5:8; 1 John 1:7). He will not let sinful humanity into heaven, as we would corrupt or defile heaven just as we have the earth (see Rev. 21:27).

People think He is mean for allowing so many to suffer in hell, but they don’t realize He is the same God who suffered an excruciating personal death on the cross to keep us out of hell. He loves everyone, even those who deny Him and mock Him (see Ps. 145:9; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Eph. 2:4-5).

If you play a game, you must play by the rules that are established. You don’t apply the rules of another game when you play Monopoly, right? Why do we think God should follow our rules and not we His? He is the designer, not us.

God is not mean. He has provided a way for everyone to live with Him in heaven for all eternity. It is we who are mean and unloving for not acknowledging His existence. God’s Word will teach us the truth about heaven if we will only read it.

3.  Where was God when the disaster struck?

Let’s establish first things first: Disaster usually does not come from God. Evil forces exist on the earth, and we must pray for God to intervene and stop the evil (see John 10:10). God can, of course, send a plague or disaster if He chooses. If He does, then it is usually because rebellion and sin continue after His many warnings have been sent but ignored.

Jesus told us to pray that His will be done on the earth as it is in heaven (see Matt. 6:10). Yet, for the most part, men do not pray. 

So, if we don’t pray, His will is not always done. If we would pray, God could get involved to a greater degree, as prayer gives Him the access to intervene (see 2 Chr. 7:14).

We live in a fallen world, and people choose to sin and disobey God every day. There is also a spiritual law of sowing and reaping at work in our world, and destruction is a result of sowing sin (see Prov. 13:21).

In addition, God has given humanity dominion in the earth (see Gen. 1:28; Ps. 115:16). He also has given the born-again Christian power over the devil (see Luke 10:19). The mess that the earth is in is not God’s fault but man’s.

If God weren’t intervening through our prayers, then we would have destroyed ourselves long ago. There are no disasters in heaven, and this is His will for the earth, too.

4.  What about the person in the jungle who has never heard of Jesus?

You don’t have to worry about him; the Bible says God is fair and just (see Deut. 32:4; Ps. 96:10,13; Acts 17:31). If that person looks up at the heavens and cries out: “God, I want to know You. Please reveal Yourself to me,” then God will somehow make Himself known to that individual. He even gives people dreams and visions to keep them out of hell: “For God may speak in one way, or in another ... in a dream, in a vision of the night ... He keeps back his soul from the Pit” (Job 33:14-15,18).

God warns us throughout our lives in many ways in order to keep us out of hell. He warns us through His creation (see Rom. 1:20), our conscience (see Rom. 2:15), His Bible (see 2 Tim. 3:16).

If the person in the remote jungle doesn’t cry out to God to reveal Himself and doesn’t believe in the Son of God as the only Savior, then he will die in his sins, as the Bible says: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Ps. 9:17).

There are signposts of warning all along our road of life. Bible teachers say there is a warning about hell in each of the 260 chapters in the 27 books in the New Testament. 

If you equated those warnings to actual signs on a highway and equated the 27 books to 27 miles, then there would be a signpost every 540 feet, or about every six seconds when traveling 60 mph. If we ignore all those signs and then drive off a bridge, it is our own fault, not the sign-maker’s.

God will find a way to make Himself known to all of the people in our world. The more important question is this: Now that He has made Himself known to you, whom do you say Jesus is?

5.  Is the fire in hell real or just metaphorical?

Revelation 9:2 states that there arose a great smoke out of the pit and that “the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.” How could a metaphorical fire produce smoke that darkened the sky?

The rich man who had been sent to hell said he wanted a drop of water to cool his tongue because he was “tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). If it were only mental anguish or something other than real fire that tormented him, then why would water suffice?

The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary notes that the parable of the tares in Matthew 13, which discusses eternal judgment, includes the Son of Man, the world, children of the kingdom, children of the wicked one, the devil, the angels—all literal figures. Holman then states: “It is then natural to conclude that the burning of the tares should also be taken literally.”

If you take the Word of God literally, then it is easy to arrive at an interpretation of literal fire. I understand there are metaphors and idioms; but it’s obvious when they are being applied, such as when Jesus said He was the bread of life (see John 6:48). His Word is representative of bread, and He is the Word.

To say that all the verses in question are allegorical would require some proof. Jesus mentioned hell in 46 verses, and 18 spoke of the fires of hell. The word He uses for hell in 11 instances is Gehenna. Gehenna was the Jerusalem city dump, and it burned continually. The unclaimed dead bodies were thrown into that fire, and the wild dogs and maggots ate the flesh. 

This is a graphic picture Jesus wanted the people hearing Him to see so they would recognize He was giving them a severe, sobering warning. Why would He compare hell with a place were bodies burned if the fire of hell was something quite different?

6.  Is it fair for someone to live in sin and at the last moment “get saved”?

It doesn’t seem fair. Most of us would think that person deserved hell. The truth is, we all deserve hell. Salvation is not based on our good works. We all are evil in God’s sight (see Ps. 143:2; Rom. 3:10-12,23). Only repentance brings salvation (see Matt. 3:2; 4:17).

The point is this: For God to save an extremely wicked person, whether it happens 10 seconds or 10 years before death, shows how loving and forgiving God really is. He is not trying to keep people out of heaven but to get them in. If we can get it in our minds that getting to heaven has nothing to do with our being good, then we can see how He can save a wretch at the last moment.

Look at the two thieves on the cross. One said, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us” (Luke 23:39). 

But the other one corrected him: “‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’”

The one thief was humble and knew he deserved his punishment. He also knew Jesus was God. He called on Him at his last moment, and Jesus saved him. That is how loving our God is. 

You and I might not always be that loving, but God will be. Just imagine, the other thief now has all eternity to think that he was right next to the only one who could have saved him from hell and he didn’t know it—or believe it. What an eternity of the deepest regret.

I’m not saying you can live any way you want and then plan to get saved at the last second. God knows your heart, and only true repentance with a sorrowful heart brings salvation (see 2 Cor. 7:9).

Also, you don’t know that you will have an opportunity to get saved before you die. Many people die suddenly. Do not take a chance with your soul. Make the right choice today (see Deut. 30:19). 

Bill Wiese is a former real estate broker in California who in 1998 had a terrifying vision of hell. He and his wife, Annette, have since founded the evangelistic ministry Soul Choice. He’s the author of 23 Questions About Hell, which releases this month, and the best-seller 23 Minutes in Hell.

Watch Bill Wiese expound on his trip to hell at wiese.charismamag.com

To Hell and Back Again

Bill and Annette Wiese have been changed forever by 23 minutes of unthinkable horror 

When Bill Wiese says he’s been to hell, he isn’t using a metaphor. He says he saw and felt its horrors for precisely 23 minutes.

At exactly 3:23 a.m. on Nov. 22, 1998, Annette Wiese awoke to her husband’s screams. Rushing down the hall of their Santa Ana, Calif., home to the living room, she found him lying on the floor in a fetal position, his hands grasping at the sides of his head, begging her to pray for him.

Wiese explained in gasps to his wife that God had taken him into hell, a place that many people don’t believe exists.

“I knew that most people on the surface of the earth did not believe or even know that there was a whole world going on down here,” Wiese says. “This place was so terrifying, so intense and so hostile that it would be impossible for me to exaggerate the horror.”

Wiese described being mauled by four enormous fiends and feeling complete terror. He had insatiable thirst, he breathed putrid air, heard endless screaming and was aware of intense flames and a gigantic pit.

“It was terrible,” he says. “I was thinking, I have to get out. Only, in hell, you understand you’re never going to get out.”

Although Wiese had been a Christian many years, he says God blocked his awareness of that so he would experience the hopelessness of hell. “The fact that I knew God was kept from my mind,” he says.

When suddenly Christ removed Wiese from his torment, He told him he was to preach the message that hell exists and assure unbelievers it is not God’s desire for them to suffer for eternity.

The visit, chronicled in Wiese’s 2006 book, 23 Minutes in Hell, started the Wieses’ evangelistic journey. They founded Soul Choice Ministries and since 2007 have transitioned from successful real estate careers in Southern California into full-time ministry.

Both are longtime Christians and neither had a prophetic inkling of the event Wiese would go through or their call to evangelism. Wiese does not know why God chose him to carry this message.

“The only possible reason I can think of,” he says, “is that God knew I would draw attention to His Word and point people to what the Word has to say [about hell].”

He believes God wants the message delivered to the unsaved for salvation and to Christians to invoke witnessing. His description of his visit is sobering enough to do both.

“It’s impossible to know the hopelessness of hell,” he says. “Here, even if things are terrible, you think you can die and get out. But there you can’t die. And you know you’re never going to get out.”

His message stirs an adverse reaction in many people because Wiese claims hell is not a biblical metaphor but an actual place. Hell, he has discovered, is under fire by some Christians.

“The doctrine of hell has disappeared this century,” he says. “God wants me to draw attention to His Word that says hell is real—not allegorical but [a] literal burning hell—and people will go there if they don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

“It’s not important that [people] believe me,” he says. “It’s important they believe what the Bible says. Hell is real, and I don’t want anyone to go there.”

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A firsthand account of what heaven is like

“MY DAUGHTER, Choo Nam, I am your Lord.” It was the familiar voice of my Master speaking so compassionately and confidently in my bedroom during the wee hours of the night. I was getting somewhat accustomed to His presence. His figure was bathed in a soft, warm glow of pristine whiteness.

The Master took me into a huge tunnel. Unlike most tunnels, it was bright and shiny. I reasoned this must be the tunnel that people who have near-death experiences frequently describe as the passageway from this life to the next. This, I thought, must be the doorway to the indescribably wonderful kingdom of heaven. Now my Lord and Savior was taking me there. Jesus then said, “We are going to heaven.”

No sooner had Jesus announced our destination than I began to fly. I had flown in airplanes before, and those flights were always exciting and exhilarating; but this time my body was taking flight like a bird. I remember the passage from Isaiah: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Is. 40:31, NKJV). I’d always interpreted that verse from a spiritual perspective, but now it had become a living reality. I was flying and soaring like an eagle, and I wasn’t afraid because I knew Jesus was with me.

The experience of flight didn’t last long, however. It seemed like only a second. Soon we touched down on a narrow, winding road that was beautifully bordered by tall trees and lush, green grass. Just ahead I could see a huge gate that was set in a white fence. As we approached the gate I noticed that the road on the other side of the fence was all white, and on both sides of the lane, gorgeous flowers of every type and hue displayed their varied colors and tender blossoms. The array of flowers was more spectacular than any garden I’d ever seen. I found myself thinking, I’m happy to know there are flowers in heaven. They had the most lovely blossoms I’d ever seen, and they seemed to grow brighter and more colorful as we approached the entrance to the large, white palace we had been walking toward.

Jesus led me up the steps to the double doors at the front. I noticed that the entry was framed with gold, and beautiful stained-glass panels were on both sides. We walked through the doors onto a white marble floor. The shiny stone walls of the corridor reminded me that I was in the vicinity of the throne room of God and with each step we took, my heart pounded more intensely.

We entered a room, and it was even more awe-inspiring than before. The Lord’s glistening, golden throne stood atop a raised, oval-shaped platform. Beams of radiant glory streamed from the center of the room where this platform was located.

The Lord took me to another building that looked like pictures of medieval European castles I’d frequently seen. There was a rock wall on both sides of the castle, and magnificent flowers were planted all around. As I took in the scene in front of me, I felt like I was in a wonderland of beauty, peace and happiness. I didn’t want to return to Earth. We entered the castle, and I immediately noticed how colorfully carpeted the foyer was. The elegant furniture was selected to fit the color and style of the carpeting. The walls were sparkling and shiny—so brilliant, in fact, that they almost blinded me.

Then the Lord took my hand, and we were miraculously transported to a beautiful beach. He held my hand as we walked along the shore, and the Lord seemed eager to talk with me. It was as if He had a burning desire to share many things with me.

We sat down on the sand near the edge of the ocean. As the waves ebbed and flowed in front of us, an amazing thing happened. The edge of the water turned to blood. A dark red, foaming surf surged in front of us. It seemed as if the blood was filthy, and I asked, “Why is the blood so dirty?”

“It is My blood, Choo Nam,” He said. “It has washed away all the sins of My children.”

I began to weep as I heard this statement. He had shed His blood for me, to cleanse me of all my sins. He who knew no sin became sin for me so I could be clothed with the righteousness of God. The blood of the perfect Lamb of God had washed me clean and set me free. The tears I cried came from a deep reservoir in my soul as I recognized with gratitude all that Jesus had done for me.

“Don’t cry, My daughter,” He said. He took my hand, and off we flew once more. As I ascended with the Lord, I knew He was going to reveal more truth to me. I was filled with eager anticipation.

The next stop on our heavenly itinerary was the huge white mansion where Jesus had taken me before. I noticed that inside the great room were numerous men but very few women. “Who are these people?” I asked. “These are people who sacrificed for Me.” I wondered how may of them were the patriarchs and saints of the Bible, and I remembered faith’s “hall of fame” in Hebrews 11, which lists the great men and women of faith, such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, and what they accomplished through faith. By showing me this room that was filled with people wearing beautiful gowns and bejeweled crowns, Jesus was portraying the importance of sacrifice.

After seeing all these scenes, the Lord took me to a peaceful pond where we sat and talked. “I am telling you all this and showing you these things so you can tell the world,” He said. “I know that a lot of My children don’t think I will come back for them for a long time. Some even think I will never come back for them, but I want you to tell them that My kingdom is ready for those who are ready and waiting for Me. I am coming very soon.” There was such an urgency in His voice.

The Lord showed me the ocean of dirty blood once more and then concluded that visit to heaven with these words: “I’ll never leave you. I’ll be with you forever. I will guide everything that you do. You will not have to worry about anything because I will be there to do it for you. I am releasing My power to you and in you. You will be able to heal the sick and do the same things I did when I lived on Earth. The key to these gifts is your faith, My daughter.”

His words, so tender and uplifting, opened fountains of tears deep within my soul. “Do not cry, My daughter.” He continued. “I want you always to remember how precious you are to Me. I will talk with you again.”

From that day forward I have felt like I’m living more in heaven than on Earth. My visit to heaven has wrought permanent changes in my life. I don’t even require as much sleep as I used to, because I feel supernaturally energized by the power from on high. Truly, I know that heaven is real, and this makes all the difference in this world. 

Choo Thomas became a Christian in 1992 and says that four years later Jesus escorted her on the first of numerous trips to heaven. He told her to write what she saw and heard and put it into a book. Her experiences are recorded in Heaven Is So Real, which was first published in 2003 and has since been reprinted in 60 countries.

Watch Choo Thomas recall her vision of heaven and hell at choothomas.charismamag.com