Nine Days in Heaven: A True Story by Dennis, Nolene Prince Read Free Book Online

destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
    4. “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt. 12:36).
    5. Calvinism emphasizes scriptures about the sovereignty of God in saving us—as opposed to scriptures that emphasize our free will to choose how we respond to God.
    6. “ …obtaining salvation simply through living a good life. ” The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8 –9:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

    7. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

E IGHT

    Despair of the Lost

    W ITH THIS, A GLOOMY BLACK VEIL OF NIGHT ROSE UP FROM below. My doubts formed a cloud that shut out the glory from above and plunged me into a vortex of gloom. I fell rapidly, and the surrounding darkness opened to receive me.
    Eventually, in the furthest depths I saw a vast unending plain that appeared to be covered with sparkling vegetation. Glowing objects, like waving trees with thick foliage and flowers and fruits of crystal and gold, could be seen in every direction.
    Crowds of spirits appeared beneath the foliage, moving restlessly from place to place. They wore luminous cloaks, with crowns or tiaras on their heads. Some wore jewelry that seemed to be made of clusters of precious gems, wreaths of golden coins, and cloth made of gold and silver. Others wore towering helmets or golden headbands filled with large feathers that waved and glistened, while every object gave off a pale, phosphorescent light. The whole scene seemed to be artificial, like gaudy, tinselly playacting.
    The clothes worn by the busy crowds matched their headwear. Every kind of lavish garment could be seen. Kings and queens appeared, dressed in the gorgeous robes of coronation. There were groups of the nobility (men and women) also decorated with the clothes seen in the pageantry of kings’ courts.
    Vast groups of people dressed in fine clothes passed by, and behind them I saw tribal people wearing barbaric ornaments of all kinds. Some wore the ordinary clothes of the day, while others were dressed in ancient costumes. In spite of this variety of dress style, every class of spirits acted with the same pomp and pride and restlessly moving, dazzling brilliance.
    Then I heard their voices: bursts of laughter, shouts of revelry, lighthearted amusement, and witty ridicule. There were obscenities, horrible curses, and polished sarcasm. Mixed with these were degrading propositions and backbiting, hollow compliments, and pretended congratulations. The sparkling brilliance of it all disturbed and bewildered me.
    I moved forward slowly and warily, as if I were treading on scorpions in the middle of red-hot coals. The trees that waved about me were fiery blasts, and their blossoms were the sparkle of relentless flames. 1 Each object caused me agony as I approached it.
    The phosphorescent glare surrounding each object burned my eyes. The fruit scorched my hand as I picked it and seared my lips as I tried to eat. The gathered flowers gave off a burning gas with a stinking, noxious odor that caused excruciating pain in my nostrils. The fiery atoms of the atmosphere burned as they wafted past me, and the air that moved them was laden with disappointment and misery.

T HE GATHERED FLOWERS HAD EMITTED
A BURNING EXHALATION, WHOSE FETID
AND NOISOME ODOR, INHALED IN THE
NOSTRILS, CAUSED EXCRUCIATING PAIN .

    I turned to see if I could find even a single drop of water to quench my thirst. 2 As I did, fountains appeared, and small streams flowed amongst the bushes and lay in calm and peaceful pools. However, I soon found that the pools were just another deception, and the spray from the “sparkling” fountains fell like drops of molten lead, making me recoil in horror. The small flowing streams were like liquid metal