Most commonly after clinical death people recall something pleasant: some exterrestrial light, communication with benevolent creatures, feeling of happiness…
However, sometimes there are stories describing a terrible place full of suffering and despair, i.e. – the hell.
Assistant engineer Thomas Welch from Oregon misstepped and fell down the water having hit at that against the crossbars of scaffold during performing works for future saw mill. His fall was noticed by several people, so the search was organized at once. Thomas was found in about an hour and restored to life. However, during that hour the soul of Thomas was rather far from the place of tragedy. When Thomas fell down, he suddenly found himself near the large fire ocean. The vision amazed him and stroke him with awe and respect. The lake of fire were spreading around him and covered all the space, it was boiling and rumbling. Within the lake there were no alive beings, and Thomas was observing it from aside. However a lot of people were near him. Thomas was even acquainted with one of them, although he had never talked to him. Once they wereclassmates, but he had died from cancer being a child. Those around him slumbered away in some pensiveness; they were confused with the view of awful lake of fire. Thomas understood he had occurred in a prison with no exit. He thought that if he knew about such a place in his lifetime, he would do everything not to get there. Hardly these thoughts had glimpsed in his head, Jesus has appeared in front of him. Thomas was very happy as he decided Jesus would help him to get out of there, but at the same time he didn’t think fit to ask him about it. So Jesus has passed by and paid no attention to him, however, before leaving Jesus turned back and stared at Thomas. His look brought soul of Thomas back to his body. Then Thomas heard voices of workers and opened his eyes. This case was described in Maurice S. Rowlings “To Hell and Back” – the book, in which one can read some more stories about souls appeared in hell during clinical death.
One patient was dying of heart attack. Dyspnea caught her, then she felt she had left her body. Suddenly, she found herself in a gloomy room, where she discerned a horrible enormous creature. He was watching her. There dwarfs and imps ran to and fro. The monster beckoned the woman with the hand and she reluctantly followed him. Darkness was all around, moans of people were heard. Someone was running next to her, she felt they touched her ankles. Then the tunnel ended and she found herself among even ghoulish beasts. The woman cried, but could do nothing. But the giant, who accompanied her, sent her away, and she understood they took pity on her. In the same flash of time she recovered herself abed in the hospital.
Another patient experienced severe pains because of pancreatitis. He was given meds, but they didn’t work, and the patient lost consciousness. At that moment he began to go away through a long tunnel, surprised as he didn’t touch it with feet, as if floating in space. That place was like a cave or a dungeon alive with eerie sounds and decay odor. He forgot something of the seen, but villains came flooding back to him, the image of whom was human only in half. They spoke their language and imitated each other. In the depth of despair the dying cried, “Jesus,save me!”. Then and there a Person in radiant white robes appeared and looked at him. That felt exhortation to live differently. That’s all the person managed to remember. Probably, his consciousness wasn’t able to retain all horrors he had seen there.
Kenneth E. Hagin, who became a priest after he had experienced clinical death, described his apparitions and feelings in the brochure “My testimony”.
April 21, 1933. His heart stopped to beat, and the soul left the body. It began to descend lower and lower until the light of the earth disappeared completely. At the very end he found himself in the impenetrable darkness, where he couldn’t discern even his hand put to his eyes. The lower he descended, the hotter and stuffier surrounding became. At last he came to be in front of the road to the belly of hell, where hellfires was glaring. A flaming sphere with white crests stared in the face. It began to pull him. Soul didn’t want to go, but couldn’t resist, as it was drawn to, like iron to a magnet. He felt a flash of unpleasant heat. He was at the bottom of the pit. Some creature turned to be next to him. He was mesmerized with the picture of sprawling hell and took no notice of the creature, but he put his hand on Kennet’s shoulder to lead him to hell. At that moment came a voice, a voice of the God Himself. The soon-to-be priest didn’t understand his words, but felt his power and might, “His voice echoed around the cursed place, shaking it, like wind sways leaves”. At that moment his attendant loosened his grip, and some force dragged him away. He founded himself in his room and slipped into his body in the same manner as he had left it – through the mouth. Grandmother with whom he started talking, having come to life, thought he was dead.
There are descriptions of hell in orthodox books. One person, who suffered from a disease, prayed to God to make him ease his pain. A heavensent angel offered the sufferer to spend 3 hours in hell instead of one year on earth to make his soul pure. The man agreed. But it was all in vain. It was the most disgusting place, which one can imagine. There crowding was everywhere, darkness, soaring spirits of anger, sinners’ cries were heard, only suffering was there. The man’s soul experienced unspeakable fear and thirst, he called ho help, but no one answered, except for hellish echo and bubbling fire. It seemed he had been here for eternity, although the Angel, who visited him, said it was only one hour. The sufferer begged to take him away from this horrible place and was released, after that he patiently endured his disease.
According to church ideas, hell is a place, where souls of the dead are isolated from the God, sinners are tortured with twinges of conscience and unappeased passions, that’s why weeping and grinding of teeth are always heard there. The needs that a person had while alive, will torture him in hell even more and never will be satisfied. An addict will have everlasting agonies, a drunkard – hangover, a smoker – craving for tobacco, a glutton will suffer torments in the absence of food, and an adulterer will suffer from fleshliness. However, curiously enough, hell was created not for the purpose of punishments. As it happens, when a sinful soul appears by the side of the God, it’s also a specific torture, as it cannot rejoice at light and blessing, enshrouded in darkness.
The pictures of hell are frightful and uninviting, but they give rise to reflect on many things, reconsider attitude toward life, desires and goals.
