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23 Minutes In Hell: One Man's Story About What He Saw, Heard, and Felt in That Place of Torment
New York Times Best Seller and Over 1 million copies sold!
Over 750 5-Star reviews
Wiese’s visit to the devil’s lair lasted just twenty-three minutes, but he returned with vivid details etched in his memory, capturing the attention of national media, including the Christian Broadcasting Network, Daystar Television Network, Trinity Broadcasting Network, the Miracle Channel, Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural!, Sean Hannity’s America, Charisma News, and many others.
Bill Wiese experienced something so horrifying it continues to captivate the world. He saw the searing flames of hell, felt total isolation, smelled the putrid and rotting stench, heard deafening screams of agony, and experienced terrorizing demons. Finally the strong hand of God lifted him out of the pit.
Now Wiese shares his insights on commonly asked questions such as:
Is hell a literal burning place?
Where is hell?
Do you have a body in hell?
Are there degrees of punishment in hell?
Are there children in hell?
Can demons torment people in hell?
Can “good” people go to hell?
Over 750 5-Star reviews
Wiese’s visit to the devil’s lair lasted just twenty-three minutes, but he returned with vivid details etched in his memory, capturing the attention of national media, including the Christian Broadcasting Network, Daystar Television Network, Trinity Broadcasting Network, the Miracle Channel, Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural!, Sean Hannity’s America, Charisma News, and many others.
Bill Wiese experienced something so horrifying it continues to captivate the world. He saw the searing flames of hell, felt total isolation, smelled the putrid and rotting stench, heard deafening screams of agony, and experienced terrorizing demons. Finally the strong hand of God lifted him out of the pit.
Now Wiese shares his insights on commonly asked questions such as:
Is hell a literal burning place?
Where is hell?
Do you have a body in hell?
Are there degrees of punishment in hell?
Are there children in hell?
Can demons torment people in hell?
Can “good” people go to hell?
169 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 581 reviews
February 25, 2009
From a literary standpoint, 23 Minutes in Hell was an abomination. The first part of the book deals with the authors descent into Hell. The narrative is peppered with biblical references as well as personal anecdotes in an attempt to get the reader to believe his story using very fuzzy 'logic'. The intent is clear: Do whatever it takes to stay out of Hell.
The middle of the book tells of his conversion to Christianity and the end is an appendix of scripture and references which seem to lend credence to his experience.
Bill's description of Hell are simply terrible and horrifying, which brings me to my main contention with this book and others like it (the warnings of 'deciding to go to hell'):
Why does Hell exist? According to the bible, the Christian God created it. Hell is a place of eternal suffering, pain and torture, designed for Satan and his angels (demons), yet the majority of mankind WILL end up there for doing nothing more than not believing in the very God that created this place! What kind of a monster would directly cause the ceaseless suffering of anything/anyonewith no chance of rest? Why not simply destroy the offender?
It is a sick and truly evil thing to cause suffering, and eternal suffering can only be conceived by a personification of such malignancy that anyone would do well to not have any contact with such a monster!
In addition, why the delay? If Hell was created for Satan and his minions, why not simply chuck them into Hell NOW??? If Satan is the cause of all sin, suffering, evil, etc, then what is the hold up? Even if mankind was not in danger of the flames (and according to Bill, there are indeed flames), consider how many have suffered, continue to suffer and will suffer!
Just do it already.
Bill attempts to answer some of the "tough" questions such as:
Do children go to Hell? Of course not, that would be ghastly, yet the Christian bible offers no such sanction. Bill uses quote mining and what he would call reasoning to lead the reader to the answer, but his conclusions are based on nothing more than a man realizing that not even his God would do such a thing. Of course not, the bible does not contain any stories of this God demanding that his followers kill children, or of bears mauling children that dare call his prophet "Old baldy". Of course not.
Mr Wiese hammers home the point that NO ONE escapes the fires of Hell, yet breaks his own declaration by...escaping Hell. Of course, Jesus was responsible since 'I AM' allowed Bill to suffer the terrors of Hell so that he could come back warn people. The Rich Man was not allowed this.....but Bill was.
Bill then states the location of Hell, and it is in the center of the Earth. It would seem then, that Hell is not a spiritual place, but the filming location of The Core.
23 Minutes in Hell is published by Charisma House, a Christian publishing company that has a wide variety of books on Hell, but the tract "Hell-Suppose It is True after all?" is of particular interest since is invokes Pascal's Wager....Bill tries to do this well, but I have this to say about deciding to follow a God that would cast you into Hell for not believing, so it would be better to believe than not:
Anyone that believes in a God in order to escape punishment is clearly demonstrating where is motives lie. If one merely wishes to escape the worst punishment after death, it would be better to be a Muslim, since their version of Hell is indeed worse than the Christian Hell. In any event, that is seriously flawed reasoning and if Hell exists in whole of in part as Bill and the other writers of the this subject, than I WANT to be as far away as possible from the monster than created such a place! Kissing up to such a being is an indication that one lacks integrity, courage and, in the opinion of this reviewer, an intellect. Allowing fear to dictate a belief system is as best irresponsible.
I have shelved this book along next to Bob Larson, Mike Warnke and Rebecca Brown. I would entitle the shelf 'Comedy' if it weren't so damned sad.
The middle of the book tells of his conversion to Christianity and the end is an appendix of scripture and references which seem to lend credence to his experience.
Bill's description of Hell are simply terrible and horrifying, which brings me to my main contention with this book and others like it (the warnings of 'deciding to go to hell'):
Why does Hell exist? According to the bible, the Christian God created it. Hell is a place of eternal suffering, pain and torture, designed for Satan and his angels (demons), yet the majority of mankind WILL end up there for doing nothing more than not believing in the very God that created this place! What kind of a monster would directly cause the ceaseless suffering of anything/anyonewith no chance of rest? Why not simply destroy the offender?
It is a sick and truly evil thing to cause suffering, and eternal suffering can only be conceived by a personification of such malignancy that anyone would do well to not have any contact with such a monster!
In addition, why the delay? If Hell was created for Satan and his minions, why not simply chuck them into Hell NOW??? If Satan is the cause of all sin, suffering, evil, etc, then what is the hold up? Even if mankind was not in danger of the flames (and according to Bill, there are indeed flames), consider how many have suffered, continue to suffer and will suffer!
Just do it already.
Bill attempts to answer some of the "tough" questions such as:
Do children go to Hell? Of course not, that would be ghastly, yet the Christian bible offers no such sanction. Bill uses quote mining and what he would call reasoning to lead the reader to the answer, but his conclusions are based on nothing more than a man realizing that not even his God would do such a thing. Of course not, the bible does not contain any stories of this God demanding that his followers kill children, or of bears mauling children that dare call his prophet "Old baldy". Of course not.
Mr Wiese hammers home the point that NO ONE escapes the fires of Hell, yet breaks his own declaration by...escaping Hell. Of course, Jesus was responsible since 'I AM' allowed Bill to suffer the terrors of Hell so that he could come back warn people. The Rich Man was not allowed this.....but Bill was.
Bill then states the location of Hell, and it is in the center of the Earth. It would seem then, that Hell is not a spiritual place, but the filming location of The Core.
23 Minutes in Hell is published by Charisma House, a Christian publishing company that has a wide variety of books on Hell, but the tract "Hell-Suppose It is True after all?" is of particular interest since is invokes Pascal's Wager....Bill tries to do this well, but I have this to say about deciding to follow a God that would cast you into Hell for not believing, so it would be better to believe than not:
Anyone that believes in a God in order to escape punishment is clearly demonstrating where is motives lie. If one merely wishes to escape the worst punishment after death, it would be better to be a Muslim, since their version of Hell is indeed worse than the Christian Hell. In any event, that is seriously flawed reasoning and if Hell exists in whole of in part as Bill and the other writers of the this subject, than I WANT to be as far away as possible from the monster than created such a place! Kissing up to such a being is an indication that one lacks integrity, courage and, in the opinion of this reviewer, an intellect. Allowing fear to dictate a belief system is as best irresponsible.
I have shelved this book along next to Bob Larson, Mike Warnke and Rebecca Brown. I would entitle the shelf 'Comedy' if it weren't so damned sad.
December 4, 2013
I liked the book, however, I understand all the low reviews. The description of Hell is brought up right off and dealt with quickly. The rest of the book is confirmation he isn't crazy and scripture references. So there aren't 130 pages of gory detail. Plus, it is his witness tool, so if you're not believing his message, you aren't going to be impressed. I believe Hell is a real place and people are there because the reject the gift of God's salvation. That is what the Bible preaches. If you don't believe in the Bible, I don't imagine you will rate this book too high.
The book took me about 90 minutes to read, but being familiar with the Bible, I didn't need to spend much time in the footnote section at the end of each chapter. If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, you will want to spend more time there.
As a literary work, he has no style. He does follow the rules well though. However, this is his witnessing tool, his way of sharing the Gospel of Jesus. He is honest and doesn't appear to be interested in money because he was happy people were sending bootleg videos and audio CDs of his speeches around the world, with no royalties. So he honestly believes everything he says and why he says it.
I understand his motivation because the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man haunts me like this haunts the writer. I feel a great need to share what I believe about God, Jesus, Heaven, and Hell as well. So I can relate to the writer. After all, if Christians actually believe all this Hell stuff is true, we'd be doing what we can to keep people from going there. At the end of the day, that is all the writer is doing.
The book took me about 90 minutes to read, but being familiar with the Bible, I didn't need to spend much time in the footnote section at the end of each chapter. If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, you will want to spend more time there.
As a literary work, he has no style. He does follow the rules well though. However, this is his witnessing tool, his way of sharing the Gospel of Jesus. He is honest and doesn't appear to be interested in money because he was happy people were sending bootleg videos and audio CDs of his speeches around the world, with no royalties. So he honestly believes everything he says and why he says it.
I understand his motivation because the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man haunts me like this haunts the writer. I feel a great need to share what I believe about God, Jesus, Heaven, and Hell as well. So I can relate to the writer. After all, if Christians actually believe all this Hell stuff is true, we'd be doing what we can to keep people from going there. At the end of the day, that is all the writer is doing.
July 30, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. What a cool miracle if God took someone to hell for a few minutes so that they could come back and share the experience with the rest of us... but:
Luke 16
27And the (guy in HELL) said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
But the theological (Bible-loving) skeptic in me says: "God doesn't usually work this way with a Bill".
And after reading this book i'm still convinced he hasn't. Sorry Bill; but I think your trip to hell was NOT from God. I believe other famous confused people have had visions as well: Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Buddha, every charismatic and delusionally starved cult member...And they weren't from God. I won't even mention all the crazy Christian television fruits that claim to have weekly chats with the Almighty (whoops! I guess I did). I lump you in the same category as them.
Why do I not believe you actually went to Hell Bill?
Because your story doesn't match up with the Bible. You mention 100's of Bible verses...and you confuse many of them and stretch some till they break. I can't believe any pastors who actually went to a GOOD Bible college could check your Bible references and not smack you upside the head for such poor usage of God's word.
Mark 9:48
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Are there really worms in hell? Why? Or is this pointing to something of the physical nature of man? I'm guessing Worms weren't Evil incarnate and rebelling against the Holy Spirit -- Simply nothing will rot or decay in hell, or require WATER or sustenance. Hell will be eternal and the fire won't be constantly painful, but a perimeter of sorts. Nobody burns up in Hell. Worms won't be eternally judged for watching Harry Potter.
Bill, you take many parables that have nothing to do with Hell and pull them in. You take worldly punishments and historical stories and drag them towards Hell. Basically every verse you touched got yanked to say what you wanted it to say: and NOT what it actually said. IF it was one or two poorly understood verses I could understand - But you did it many many times. Only a person who never read the Bible or barely understands it could fall for your silly tale.
The 1st clue that told me you were out to lunch was all your references to creatures in Hell that torment people while they blaspheme God.
Why would God allow creatures that despise him to have dominion in Hell. They will be in chains and suffering (possibly metaphorical chains) with their own problems the Bible says. Why would a loving God put them in charge of people? (are they UNION? Time off on weekends? Casual Fridays? Ping Pong tournaments with Hitler and Richard Dawkins?) If they didn't blaspheme then MAYBE I could say there was a chance. But the Angels who became Demons will be dealt with by God - THEY DON'T GET TO BE IN CHARGE. (and yes, i'm shouting at you)
The Parable of the Rich man in Hell in (Luke 16:19-31) is probably the closest example we have in the Bible to the reality of Hell. The guys NOT being beaten up, or on fire, or in a cage with bars...He's just sitting and tormenting himself because of his lack of love for the God who made him. All he asks for is a bit of water. He's not screaming...not listening to other people scream. Just sitting! - He is surrounded by a perimeter of fire though. Fire and Hell do seem to go together. But i can't find any reference in the Bible to people actually burning and melting.
I was wondering what the danger of Bill misusing the concept of Hell as God is planning? I know for sure - that it gives atheists and others the idea that God is a big bully who torments people forever if they don't obey his every whim. This is basically the god of Islam. Allah tortures those who he sends to hell specifically: water tortures, burns people's skins off and replaces them for MORE burning. YES, It's in the Quran - all Muslims must embrace this as an acceptable act by their deity.
This is NOT in the Christian Bible - this is false. God has love for people even while they are sinners and does all he can to keep HIS CHILDREN from hell.
Hell is where God sends people who refuse to go to heaven.
Okay, I wrote this review a few years ago. So the updated Calvinist in me now knows that many assume they are heavenbound based on their bad faulty understanding of Jesus. Remember those horrifying verses: Matthew 7
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
They don't want to worship God or live in his Kingdom, with his rules. So he made them a place where they can sit all by themselves and be their own God. Do as they please, when they please...the problem is they AREN'T gods. So they have no resources or comforts - just themselves. Did God do all He could for these people? The law written in their hearts, the message sent, nature itself shows the glory of God. Rebellion is what it is. Wanting Heaven is not the same as desiring Jesus Christ as your eternal King.
And people don't interact in Hell. That wouldn't be fair. Who would want Hitler as their next door neighbor. Hell is going to be absolutely lonely.
My wife summed up the book by saying: "Its BUNK."
WE should simply go to the Bible as a source and inspiration for Heaven and Hellish matters. Not Bill and all his propaganda. Maybe if Bill had better theology or attended a few Bible studies... but mostly NO.
Luke 16
27And the (guy in HELL) said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
But the theological (Bible-loving) skeptic in me says: "God doesn't usually work this way with a Bill".
And after reading this book i'm still convinced he hasn't. Sorry Bill; but I think your trip to hell was NOT from God. I believe other famous confused people have had visions as well: Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Buddha, every charismatic and delusionally starved cult member...And they weren't from God. I won't even mention all the crazy Christian television fruits that claim to have weekly chats with the Almighty (whoops! I guess I did). I lump you in the same category as them.
Why do I not believe you actually went to Hell Bill?
Because your story doesn't match up with the Bible. You mention 100's of Bible verses...and you confuse many of them and stretch some till they break. I can't believe any pastors who actually went to a GOOD Bible college could check your Bible references and not smack you upside the head for such poor usage of God's word.
Mark 9:48
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Are there really worms in hell? Why? Or is this pointing to something of the physical nature of man? I'm guessing Worms weren't Evil incarnate and rebelling against the Holy Spirit -- Simply nothing will rot or decay in hell, or require WATER or sustenance. Hell will be eternal and the fire won't be constantly painful, but a perimeter of sorts. Nobody burns up in Hell. Worms won't be eternally judged for watching Harry Potter.
Bill, you take many parables that have nothing to do with Hell and pull them in. You take worldly punishments and historical stories and drag them towards Hell. Basically every verse you touched got yanked to say what you wanted it to say: and NOT what it actually said. IF it was one or two poorly understood verses I could understand - But you did it many many times. Only a person who never read the Bible or barely understands it could fall for your silly tale.
The 1st clue that told me you were out to lunch was all your references to creatures in Hell that torment people while they blaspheme God.
Why would God allow creatures that despise him to have dominion in Hell. They will be in chains and suffering (possibly metaphorical chains) with their own problems the Bible says. Why would a loving God put them in charge of people? (are they UNION? Time off on weekends? Casual Fridays? Ping Pong tournaments with Hitler and Richard Dawkins?) If they didn't blaspheme then MAYBE I could say there was a chance. But the Angels who became Demons will be dealt with by God - THEY DON'T GET TO BE IN CHARGE. (and yes, i'm shouting at you)
The Parable of the Rich man in Hell in (Luke 16:19-31) is probably the closest example we have in the Bible to the reality of Hell. The guys NOT being beaten up, or on fire, or in a cage with bars...He's just sitting and tormenting himself because of his lack of love for the God who made him. All he asks for is a bit of water. He's not screaming...not listening to other people scream. Just sitting! - He is surrounded by a perimeter of fire though. Fire and Hell do seem to go together. But i can't find any reference in the Bible to people actually burning and melting.
I was wondering what the danger of Bill misusing the concept of Hell as God is planning? I know for sure - that it gives atheists and others the idea that God is a big bully who torments people forever if they don't obey his every whim. This is basically the god of Islam. Allah tortures those who he sends to hell specifically: water tortures, burns people's skins off and replaces them for MORE burning. YES, It's in the Quran - all Muslims must embrace this as an acceptable act by their deity.
This is NOT in the Christian Bible - this is false. God has love for people even while they are sinners and does all he can to keep HIS CHILDREN from hell.
Hell is where God sends people who refuse to go to heaven.
Okay, I wrote this review a few years ago. So the updated Calvinist in me now knows that many assume they are heavenbound based on their bad faulty understanding of Jesus. Remember those horrifying verses: Matthew 7
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
They don't want to worship God or live in his Kingdom, with his rules. So he made them a place where they can sit all by themselves and be their own God. Do as they please, when they please...the problem is they AREN'T gods. So they have no resources or comforts - just themselves. Did God do all He could for these people? The law written in their hearts, the message sent, nature itself shows the glory of God. Rebellion is what it is. Wanting Heaven is not the same as desiring Jesus Christ as your eternal King.
And people don't interact in Hell. That wouldn't be fair. Who would want Hitler as their next door neighbor. Hell is going to be absolutely lonely.
My wife summed up the book by saying: "Its BUNK."
WE should simply go to the Bible as a source and inspiration for Heaven and Hellish matters. Not Bill and all his propaganda. Maybe if Bill had better theology or attended a few Bible studies... but mostly NO.
October 4, 2013
Walking along the aisle in the bookstore, I see this propped up next to 90 minutes in Heaven. Because, you see, if the promises of gold and pearl streets and heavenly choirs are not enough to entice those you are converting, putting the fear of Hell in them should do the trick!
That's what I always say.
Of course, I have not converted anyone yet... so... there you have it.
You know what breaks my heart? That people put this crap in their kid's heads. That people lose sleep over it. (Fear of going to hell) That people buy this stuff.
Ack. Beer me!
That's what I always say.
Of course, I have not converted anyone yet... so... there you have it.
You know what breaks my heart? That people put this crap in their kid's heads. That people lose sleep over it. (Fear of going to hell) That people buy this stuff.
Ack. Beer me!
April 17, 2010
The author purports to have had a vison from God in which he is sent to Hell for 23 minutes. The purpose, he says, is so he can tell lost people what's in store for them, and to persuade them to accept salvation from Christ. As a Christian, I don't buy it. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a story (Luke 16:19-31) of a foolish rich man who dies and is sent to Hell. He first asks Abraham (who is looking on from Heaven) for a drop of water, and Abraham refuses. He then asks the following (vv. 27-31 from the above reference):
27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
My interpretation from God's Word (which takes precedence over everything else) is that God would not choose to send a messenger to warn the lost about Hell. God's Word contains all they need to know to reject Hell and accept salvation. The existence of a messenger would do no good.
27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
My interpretation from God's Word (which takes precedence over everything else) is that God would not choose to send a messenger to warn the lost about Hell. God's Word contains all they need to know to reject Hell and accept salvation. The existence of a messenger would do no good.
June 8, 2013
This book is life changing, I don't understand how anyone can read this and still want to be selfish and want to criticize this man because why? The book was all stuff from the bible, well duh the bible is our source of information, and ya we do get crapped on almost instantly for being Christian and believing in God. How is that bad? Why has our society gone so far downhill that us Christians can't be open about our faith without having some type of repercussions? Why would you even want to risk a chance to go to hell? I can't speak for God, but he has reason for everything he does, and sending this man to hell, I think it was his way of telling us to wake up and realize Hell is real and it's a definite possibility. Instead of blasting God and Bill Wiese, whether he is telling the truth or not, which I believe he is, we should asking God for his forgiveness because he is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end.
Revelation 20:10
20.The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 21:3-8
3.And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.
4."And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
5.Then he who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And he said to me,"Write, for these words are true and faithful."
6.And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7."He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.
8."But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
These scriptures hit home for me God loves us and intends for us all to go to heaven, but he initially gives us our own free will, it's like if you have a child you want them to love you on their own, you wouldn't want to force them to love you by using powers, he wants us to know him and love him like a father, because that is what he is he made us in his image and he gave us free will and we betrayed him and chose the wants of our flesh over the needs of our eternal souls. I doubted God for a while after my dad died, but I always was missing something and anytime I heard a song or a scripture I felt a deep longing, and I always felt his presence, there is no mistaking God everything is put together too perfectly our bodies, the world, space, even things we can cant see and explain, like where did it all begin? If you are a Christian like myself, that answer doesn't haunt your mind because God is the answer. Now if you don't like what I had to say that's fine I am just simply trying to give you something to think on.
Revelation 20:10
20.The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 21:3-8
3.And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.
4."And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
5.Then he who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And he said to me,"Write, for these words are true and faithful."
6.And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7."He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.
8."But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
These scriptures hit home for me God loves us and intends for us all to go to heaven, but he initially gives us our own free will, it's like if you have a child you want them to love you on their own, you wouldn't want to force them to love you by using powers, he wants us to know him and love him like a father, because that is what he is he made us in his image and he gave us free will and we betrayed him and chose the wants of our flesh over the needs of our eternal souls. I doubted God for a while after my dad died, but I always was missing something and anytime I heard a song or a scripture I felt a deep longing, and I always felt his presence, there is no mistaking God everything is put together too perfectly our bodies, the world, space, even things we can cant see and explain, like where did it all begin? If you are a Christian like myself, that answer doesn't haunt your mind because God is the answer. Now if you don't like what I had to say that's fine I am just simply trying to give you something to think on.
July 12, 2018
23 minutes in hell 4.25 ⭐️
“The creatures that stood before me were an intensely concentrated manifestation of evil and terror”
Each giant beast resembled a reptile in appearance but took on a human form
His experience and description of what he saw and what he went through. Even though he was only there for a short amount of time... Hell is Hell a moment there could break a person I imagine.
“The duration of hell is endless”
“He said all you have to do is cast them out in my name-
Suddenly his presence there the demonic creatures now seemed powerless”
How he found his faith and grasped hold of God amongst the madness of monsters ripping him apart.
“The creatures that stood before me were an intensely concentrated manifestation of evil and terror”
Each giant beast resembled a reptile in appearance but took on a human form
His experience and description of what he saw and what he went through. Even though he was only there for a short amount of time... Hell is Hell a moment there could break a person I imagine.
“The duration of hell is endless”
“He said all you have to do is cast them out in my name-
Suddenly his presence there the demonic creatures now seemed powerless”
How he found his faith and grasped hold of God amongst the madness of monsters ripping him apart.
December 4, 2013
This book is soooo great! There is no way Bill could be lieing> I really respect him for doing everything he could to get the message out! This book really makes you want to pray more. This book changed my life. Every one should read this book, christian or not christian.
August 1, 2011
When a person states, “Thus Says The Lord”, they need to be ready to be scrutinized thoroughly to make sure their testimony matches with God’s revealed word, in Scripture, already says. Unfortunately, Wiese’s account of his “visit” to Hell does not pass this review. Wiese’s story is that he was asleep, went to Hell for 23 minutes, Christ told him he came to Hell so he could tell others that Hell is real and that Christ does not want anyone to end up in Hell. There is really nothing new in this message, as the Bible is clear that Hell exists and that it is the place of ultimate punishment for the Devil, demons and those who do not turn to Christ. So it is hard to see why God would choose to take someone to Hell to describe what has already been described. Wiese tries to back up his story with an abundance of Scripture verses describing Hell. Unfortunately, most of the verses used are not referring to Hell at all. Examples include the mental state of people in Hell (Isaiah 57:21 which talks about the enemy of Israel while on earth), talking about how thirsty he was in Hell (John 4:13-14 which refers to Christ dealing with the woman at the well) and claiming that Hell is a literal burning place (Psalm 37:20 which states the wicked will vanish like smoke – very different from eternal fire). The most obvious error made by Wiese is his description of demons in Hell. There are some demons who are chained and in torment, but there are also a group of demons who are doing God’s bidding in Hell. These demons rough up newcomers and guard the perimeter of the Lake of Fire to make sure nobody is able to get out. It also appears that these demons enjoy their job tormenting people in Hell. Really? First, Hell was made for Satan and his demons. No demon wants to go to Hell because it will be a place of eternal punishment for them, not an eternal schoolyard where they are the big bullies. Second, what demon does the bidding of God? Demons are in the business of fighting against God, not carrying out God’s commands. This is a huge miss for Wiese and tells me that what he experienced was not from God but was rather something from his own imagination. I do not doubt that Wiese had some type of experience, but I do doubt that it was physical and that it was from God. Do not waste your time on this book.
December 4, 2013
Wow. This book really spoke to me and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished it a week ago. The author, Bill Wiese, had a 23 minute experience in Hell, which he describes explicitly. He didn't have a near-death experience as one would expect; instead, God gave him what might otherwise be considered a 'vision', although (as the author vehemently expressed) this was a very active, immersive experience, not one of observation. The book details everything he saw, heard, smelled and felt during this visit, along with the time after. He was very honest in his sharing of the thoughts, emotions, fear, doubt and relief that he ultimately felt (upon return). In addition, the experience catapulted Mr. Wiese into a period of intense searching and review of what the Bible says about Hell. He documented the passages that he felt described various aspects of what he saw - it was very surprising to see how the descriptions from today's time (and words)directly reinforced what was written so long ago. I strongly recommend this book - it was both frightening and comforting at the same time and most definitely reminds us that Hell is a real place.
May 29, 2008
This book was good for it's content. I believe in a literal Hell and his description and experience was definitely moving and scary for those headed to Hell.
The book was a hard read for me despite the content and my interest. The writing seemed choppy and scattered at times.
I will recommend this book to everyone for the description of Hell. The biblical references and the question and answer session in the second half of the book are worth recommending to all.
The book was a hard read for me despite the content and my interest. The writing seemed choppy and scattered at times.
I will recommend this book to everyone for the description of Hell. The biblical references and the question and answer session in the second half of the book are worth recommending to all.
November 22, 2008
This was the most unusual book I have ever read. I never want to be in hell for eternity. The author says he not only saw images of hell, but that he experienced it physically and emotionally for 23 minutes.
Can you go to hell and live to tell about it?
Do children go to hell?
Will good people only go to heaven?
Are there demons in hell?
Is hell a real place with real fire?
Will you remember your life on earth while in hell?
This book answers all these questions and also backs up his own experience with biblical references. His story is convincing and told from the perspective of someone who was placed in a position of extreme stress and vulnerability. He describes his 23 minutes in detail and in a very convincing manner.
He tells about his horrifying experience of being in hell and then he talks about near death experiences and why there is hope for anyone who wants to avoid going to hell after they die. Last, he focuses on verses from the Bible to give a more complete view of hell.
The thoughts in this book are somewhat sobering and the idea of spending eternity in a state of emotional distress and physical pain is more than enough motivation to try to find a way not to copy the authors experience. Fortunately he does provide a message of hope and explains how Jesus Christ is the answer and the Savior of the soul.
Can you go to hell and live to tell about it?
Do children go to hell?
Will good people only go to heaven?
Are there demons in hell?
Is hell a real place with real fire?
Will you remember your life on earth while in hell?
This book answers all these questions and also backs up his own experience with biblical references. His story is convincing and told from the perspective of someone who was placed in a position of extreme stress and vulnerability. He describes his 23 minutes in detail and in a very convincing manner.
He tells about his horrifying experience of being in hell and then he talks about near death experiences and why there is hope for anyone who wants to avoid going to hell after they die. Last, he focuses on verses from the Bible to give a more complete view of hell.
The thoughts in this book are somewhat sobering and the idea of spending eternity in a state of emotional distress and physical pain is more than enough motivation to try to find a way not to copy the authors experience. Fortunately he does provide a message of hope and explains how Jesus Christ is the answer and the Savior of the soul.
May 5, 2010
I was very curious about this book, because I had read 90 Minutes in Heaven. I started reading this book and just got a strange feeling about it, so I started reading it as a Bible study book. When he would reference Bible verses to back up his claims I would look them up as well and look at the verses around it. When I started doing this, I noticed that he is full of crap. He was quoting Bible verses that had nothing to do with what he was trying to reference. In my opinion he was just out for money cuz this book came out 2 years after 90 min in Heaven.
February 21, 2011
This book with its title and cover (flames) and reviews “this book is the closest you will ever come to experiencing hell yourself” makes you think that the great majority of this book is going to be about someone’s experience in hell. No. Infact, only the first 20 pages are just that. I went into this book with an open mind and with all the people I had heard speak of this book, saying how much it scared them to the core, I was hopeful that it would have that same effect on me... that maybe this was just what I needed. The fact that most of this book isn’t what it claims to be, made me angry and I felt deceived, therefore I read the rest in a far different mindset than I had begun. Not only are the first 20 pages his supposed experience (I am still a little apprehensive about that) but in just about every paragraph he quotes an excerpt from The Bible trying to justify what he saw. This annoys me for two reasons. First of all, you are trying to relive his experience through his eyes, but are never fully able to immerse yourself because of the constant interruptions in the flow of the story. Second, any good Christian knows that taking parts of the Bible out of context is not how it should be read, nor any indication of what is really being spoken about. I was so annoyed that I did not want to even read further, but I forced myself to, and I must say, despite much of my dislikes about this book, I still managed to gain something from it.
The remainder of the book is about who he shared his stories with and how he had to come to terms with this experience and how he felt about sharing his stories. It’s also about how he saved so many people and helped them find Jesus Christ as their savior. Wow, something new and different right? I was hoping this book would be just that and it definitely wasn’t. I hoped this book could reach me in a different way but it didn’t at all. In the way that teachers have to teach differently to meet the learning styles of each student since they all learn differently, I had hoped this book would help me recover my faith in a non-traditional way, or at least plant the seed. Church doesn’t work. I say this, not as someone who sits here not going to church and says it doesn’t work, but as someone who goes weekly and listens to the lectures and gets nothing out of it. I have never learned anything this way and have always had to come to terms with things in my own way. Somewhere along the line, I lost my faith and this book seemed a non traditional path to jolt me back to that reality, but it wasn’t... at least not the way I had hoped. I DO find myself for curious but then again, I was curious before, because a year ago I would not have ever even picked up a religious book, period.
On page 63 he discusses his experience with speaking to a public college philiosophy classroom. He said the students asked so many questions. “‘Why would there be such a place as hell?’ ‘Why would God send anyone there?’ ‘How do you know this wasn’t just your own preconceived and learned ideas that caused you to perhaps dream up such a thing?’ ‘How can one be good enough, then, to go to heaven?’” My interest was finally peaked here, as the author had suppossedly not only been to hell, but had met God as well. This is his book, his chance to share what he learned, his message. Instead he goes on to write, “We were able to clear up numerous questions for these young people” and continues on a rant about how young people don’t realize there is a distinct right and wrong, etc. If you were given this grand opportunity to enlighten others, wouldn’t a book that millions are going to read be the place to do this? Instead of answering those questions that so many are curious to know the answer to, he goes on the typical young people rant that none of us have EVER heard before. To the author’s credit, he DOES list some questions and answers at the end of his book, but not these.
Now you may have noticed I keep saying his “supposed” experience in hell. Well, I can’t understand why others have found this book to be so chilling to the core. Everything he explained about hell was what I have always imagined it to be like, read or saw in movies, or been told about. Fire pits, black, never ending. The only thing different was what I found to be most unbelievable- 10-12 ft. lizard people. I think maybe some people don’t ever stop to think about what hell would be like, so perhaps since this is right in your face, it forces you to think what it would be like. That is all I can come up with. There were small details though that make sense that I didn’t think of... how you are so exhausted but for eternity you will never get to rest or how you are so thirsty and the air is so dry, but you will never get even a drop of water. It is scary to think about if you are forced to spend your life here, absolutely. I also DO believe in heaven and hell, don’t get me wrong. I am just not so sure this guy actually experienced it because nothing I read confirmed that for me.
Although not the huge effect I expected, this book did do something for me, so I am glad I read it. First off, it motivated me to try to read The Bible in its entirety on my own (not through priests’ interpretations) so I can read the excerpts in context rather than taking what this author has to say about them, nor anyone else. Then there were two things that scared me... Part of me has to believe there could be a truth to this story and if that is so, God screaming “Tell them I am coming very very soon” definitely gave me chills. I just don’t understand how you can force yourself to have faith if no matter how hard you try, you can’t find it. What do you do then? Especially if you could be on a time limit. The other part that moved me, however, was not because of this author. What scared me was a passage from a different book that he references called, “How to Live Forever without being Religious.” It discusses how we trivialize our sins and compare ourselves to others and what we do as a means to measure how good a person we are instead of thinking how we will be measured by someone who is sinless. The comparison they made and the way they described the person is something I could relate to far more than this book. It even discusses how there is a difference between being religious and being a Christian and that many people believe they will “buy” their way out of hell with their religious works [aka, going to church] but such is not the case... that’s not what it is about. Those three or four pages shook me up far more than the rest of this book and I am interested in reading that one in hopes that I will gain something far more than I did from this one.
Overall, I am not sure whether to recommend this or not. Religion and faith is different for everyone. I do not know whether this was this man’s actual experience or a dream he believes he experienced, or if he took his interpretation of The Bible and turned it into a story or if he himself just made up a story to make some money off the faithful since religious books often seem to be some of the best selling books in America. Whatever the case may be, it is successful in that it does make you think and reevaluate your life.
The remainder of the book is about who he shared his stories with and how he had to come to terms with this experience and how he felt about sharing his stories. It’s also about how he saved so many people and helped them find Jesus Christ as their savior. Wow, something new and different right? I was hoping this book would be just that and it definitely wasn’t. I hoped this book could reach me in a different way but it didn’t at all. In the way that teachers have to teach differently to meet the learning styles of each student since they all learn differently, I had hoped this book would help me recover my faith in a non-traditional way, or at least plant the seed. Church doesn’t work. I say this, not as someone who sits here not going to church and says it doesn’t work, but as someone who goes weekly and listens to the lectures and gets nothing out of it. I have never learned anything this way and have always had to come to terms with things in my own way. Somewhere along the line, I lost my faith and this book seemed a non traditional path to jolt me back to that reality, but it wasn’t... at least not the way I had hoped. I DO find myself for curious but then again, I was curious before, because a year ago I would not have ever even picked up a religious book, period.
On page 63 he discusses his experience with speaking to a public college philiosophy classroom. He said the students asked so many questions. “‘Why would there be such a place as hell?’ ‘Why would God send anyone there?’ ‘How do you know this wasn’t just your own preconceived and learned ideas that caused you to perhaps dream up such a thing?’ ‘How can one be good enough, then, to go to heaven?’” My interest was finally peaked here, as the author had suppossedly not only been to hell, but had met God as well. This is his book, his chance to share what he learned, his message. Instead he goes on to write, “We were able to clear up numerous questions for these young people” and continues on a rant about how young people don’t realize there is a distinct right and wrong, etc. If you were given this grand opportunity to enlighten others, wouldn’t a book that millions are going to read be the place to do this? Instead of answering those questions that so many are curious to know the answer to, he goes on the typical young people rant that none of us have EVER heard before. To the author’s credit, he DOES list some questions and answers at the end of his book, but not these.
Now you may have noticed I keep saying his “supposed” experience in hell. Well, I can’t understand why others have found this book to be so chilling to the core. Everything he explained about hell was what I have always imagined it to be like, read or saw in movies, or been told about. Fire pits, black, never ending. The only thing different was what I found to be most unbelievable- 10-12 ft. lizard people. I think maybe some people don’t ever stop to think about what hell would be like, so perhaps since this is right in your face, it forces you to think what it would be like. That is all I can come up with. There were small details though that make sense that I didn’t think of... how you are so exhausted but for eternity you will never get to rest or how you are so thirsty and the air is so dry, but you will never get even a drop of water. It is scary to think about if you are forced to spend your life here, absolutely. I also DO believe in heaven and hell, don’t get me wrong. I am just not so sure this guy actually experienced it because nothing I read confirmed that for me.
Although not the huge effect I expected, this book did do something for me, so I am glad I read it. First off, it motivated me to try to read The Bible in its entirety on my own (not through priests’ interpretations) so I can read the excerpts in context rather than taking what this author has to say about them, nor anyone else. Then there were two things that scared me... Part of me has to believe there could be a truth to this story and if that is so, God screaming “Tell them I am coming very very soon” definitely gave me chills. I just don’t understand how you can force yourself to have faith if no matter how hard you try, you can’t find it. What do you do then? Especially if you could be on a time limit. The other part that moved me, however, was not because of this author. What scared me was a passage from a different book that he references called, “How to Live Forever without being Religious.” It discusses how we trivialize our sins and compare ourselves to others and what we do as a means to measure how good a person we are instead of thinking how we will be measured by someone who is sinless. The comparison they made and the way they described the person is something I could relate to far more than this book. It even discusses how there is a difference between being religious and being a Christian and that many people believe they will “buy” their way out of hell with their religious works [aka, going to church] but such is not the case... that’s not what it is about. Those three or four pages shook me up far more than the rest of this book and I am interested in reading that one in hopes that I will gain something far more than I did from this one.
Overall, I am not sure whether to recommend this or not. Religion and faith is different for everyone. I do not know whether this was this man’s actual experience or a dream he believes he experienced, or if he took his interpretation of The Bible and turned it into a story or if he himself just made up a story to make some money off the faithful since religious books often seem to be some of the best selling books in America. Whatever the case may be, it is successful in that it does make you think and reevaluate your life.
December 4, 2011
There are a number of reasons why we should not believe the validity of Wiese's account.
Now, I am a conditionalist (I believe the lost will be destroyed, not tormented for eternity). However, even when I did believe that Hell was a place of eternal torment, as Wiese describes, I could still see a number of flaws and reasons to be doubtful.
1. He had this vision in his sleep, in the course of less than 23 minutes (23 minutes passed between him seeing his clock before and after waking up). Normally, when somebody has a vision in their sleep, a vision that typically lasts about 20 minutes (or less), we call it a...
2. He suffers pain, but he is often spared the worst of it. He doesn't feel the pain of being burned, but he does feel the searing heat. He feels some pain when the demon throws him against the wall and tears his skin off, but not most of it. Think about that: most people know heat and some of the pain involved in being beat up. Most don't know the pain or being on fire or torn apart by beasts. In this vision, he only felt the pain he would be familiar with, like how in dreams, we experience things we know...
3. Although not in the book, in a lecture ("Bill Wiese 23 minutes in hell - reference edition"), he mentions Sheol being on the outskirts of Hell. However, he also quotes many passages about Hell from the Old Testament. The thing is, if you know anything at all about the original Hebrew, you know that whenever the OT mentions "Hell," it is Sheol. Sheol isn't outside of Hell - it is the "Hell" he is referencing. I'm not surprised that this reference to Sheol wasn't in the book...
4. Although at times he speaks of "Hell" as Sheol (the abode of the dead before the resurrection), he also speaks of "Hell" in the NT ("Gehenna", place of final punishment). Now, the two aren't interchangeable, yet, as far as he is concerned, both are referring to this place where people go right when they die (where, according to Weise, they have bodies, even though their bodies are in the ground rotting...).
5. Although in the book, he says that demons will one day be condemned with the devil, he contradicts himself in an earlier video: "23 minutes in HELL, by Bill Wiese, he explains the torments of what Hell is like." There, he tells us that demons are assigned to you for all eternity. It seems that, before he was told otherwise, he recalled that in this Hell, demons are eternally in control (despite Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10...).
6. Many Old Testament verses are taken out of context, such as Psalm 63:9 (which is about those who God kills on earth with the sword and wild animals). He says it is about Hell because it says they will go "to the depths of the earth" (even though in the very next verse, it tells us that God will kill them, thus sending them to the depths of the earth, being the grave).
7. Hell is at the center of the earth.
8. Hell is at the center of the earth, which, as he points out, is more than 12,000 degrees. He says that that would be unfathomable to endure for eternity. Of course, the place where the lost souls are now (Hades) is not their eternal abode, as is made clear by Revelation 20:13-15...Going to the lake of fire may not be any better, but they would not be in the "Hell" Bill Wiese speaks of for eternity...
What do I think of his vision? My guess is, he had a really vivid nightmare (that I have been prone to have myself), Because it fit with what he already believed the Bible said (he was a Christian when this happened), he believed that it was a real event, which explains his possible post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms he explains in the book (such as being able to re-live it, and having flashbacks).
Whatever the case, he did not spend 23 minutes in Hell.
(For more on this, why not visit my website: http://3-ringbinder.weebly.com/).
Now, I am a conditionalist (I believe the lost will be destroyed, not tormented for eternity). However, even when I did believe that Hell was a place of eternal torment, as Wiese describes, I could still see a number of flaws and reasons to be doubtful.
1. He had this vision in his sleep, in the course of less than 23 minutes (23 minutes passed between him seeing his clock before and after waking up). Normally, when somebody has a vision in their sleep, a vision that typically lasts about 20 minutes (or less), we call it a...
2. He suffers pain, but he is often spared the worst of it. He doesn't feel the pain of being burned, but he does feel the searing heat. He feels some pain when the demon throws him against the wall and tears his skin off, but not most of it. Think about that: most people know heat and some of the pain involved in being beat up. Most don't know the pain or being on fire or torn apart by beasts. In this vision, he only felt the pain he would be familiar with, like how in dreams, we experience things we know...
3. Although not in the book, in a lecture ("Bill Wiese 23 minutes in hell - reference edition"), he mentions Sheol being on the outskirts of Hell. However, he also quotes many passages about Hell from the Old Testament. The thing is, if you know anything at all about the original Hebrew, you know that whenever the OT mentions "Hell," it is Sheol. Sheol isn't outside of Hell - it is the "Hell" he is referencing. I'm not surprised that this reference to Sheol wasn't in the book...
4. Although at times he speaks of "Hell" as Sheol (the abode of the dead before the resurrection), he also speaks of "Hell" in the NT ("Gehenna", place of final punishment). Now, the two aren't interchangeable, yet, as far as he is concerned, both are referring to this place where people go right when they die (where, according to Weise, they have bodies, even though their bodies are in the ground rotting...).
5. Although in the book, he says that demons will one day be condemned with the devil, he contradicts himself in an earlier video: "23 minutes in HELL, by Bill Wiese, he explains the torments of what Hell is like." There, he tells us that demons are assigned to you for all eternity. It seems that, before he was told otherwise, he recalled that in this Hell, demons are eternally in control (despite Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10...).
6. Many Old Testament verses are taken out of context, such as Psalm 63:9 (which is about those who God kills on earth with the sword and wild animals). He says it is about Hell because it says they will go "to the depths of the earth" (even though in the very next verse, it tells us that God will kill them, thus sending them to the depths of the earth, being the grave).
7. Hell is at the center of the earth.
8. Hell is at the center of the earth, which, as he points out, is more than 12,000 degrees. He says that that would be unfathomable to endure for eternity. Of course, the place where the lost souls are now (Hades) is not their eternal abode, as is made clear by Revelation 20:13-15...Going to the lake of fire may not be any better, but they would not be in the "Hell" Bill Wiese speaks of for eternity...
What do I think of his vision? My guess is, he had a really vivid nightmare (that I have been prone to have myself), Because it fit with what he already believed the Bible said (he was a Christian when this happened), he believed that it was a real event, which explains his possible post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms he explains in the book (such as being able to re-live it, and having flashbacks).
Whatever the case, he did not spend 23 minutes in Hell.
(For more on this, why not visit my website: http://3-ringbinder.weebly.com/).
May 11, 2011
OK, so now that I spilled the beans on how little I have read all my life, anyone that read my last book review knows that this would be book number 3 (Who moved my cheese, Jim Breuer, & 23 Minutes in Hell) but its actually number 4, but I will review the other one at a later time. I am still trying to figure out what I think of the book... Anyway, this book "23 Minutes in Hell" was excellent! A lot of people probably wouldn't believe the guy who writes it and I am kind of 50/50 and the more I read, the more I believed him. The first half of the book is pretty scary. Not scary like a scary fictional movie, but scary like a wake up call. It's about a guy who is a normal everyday middle class married guy who comes home from a meeting and during the night at 3:00AM he wakes up in Hell. I know, sounds like BS, but until you read this book, you cant really judge the storey accurately. He is there for 23 minutes, which seemed like a life time to him. When he was there he saw the damned souls screaming and burning and being tortured. When he arrived in Hell he was in a prison cell type of cage. In the cell with him was gruesome deformed large demon monsters that beat him and hated him. We was dragged all over hell to see the people begging for any kind of help they could get. He explains how everything was dark and smokey to a point where he couldn't even breath, but you couldn't die in hell so you had to deal with your surroundings. The smell was awful and there was no way out and he knew that he was stuck there forever. The book goes on and on about the scenery and the feelings in Hell. Eventually he is lifted out of there and faces God who explains to him that he needs to share this experience because time is running out. When he awakens it is 3:23AM and he is in the fetal position on the kitchen floor shaking, sweating and panting. His wife woke up and ran to him and he was in shock and didn't snap out of it for a while.
The second half of the book is more about him explaining the research he did after this awful night and the people he met with to help him cope with this. He interviews people that claim to have had the same experience and there is quite a bit of "proof" he claims to have found which he shares in the book. Even if you read this book and don't believe that this man went to Hell, it sure will keep your attention. However, if you DO believe what he has to say, I can guarantee you that you will start to question some of the actions you make in every day life as no one and I mean NO ONE will want to be stuck in that horrendous place for eternity. If you aren't much of a reader and you are interested in the story, my dad found a website that shows a 60 minute event the author held where he tells his story for free. I watched it and it is verbatim what the book is like, so if you are interested, here is the link: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/852697/...
When i put this book down last night at 10:30 PM I was so charged up still so I started my next book. "A Clockwork Orange" I cant wait to review that one! I never saw the movie but after about 20 pages last night, I am pretty sure this one is going to be a trip!
The second half of the book is more about him explaining the research he did after this awful night and the people he met with to help him cope with this. He interviews people that claim to have had the same experience and there is quite a bit of "proof" he claims to have found which he shares in the book. Even if you read this book and don't believe that this man went to Hell, it sure will keep your attention. However, if you DO believe what he has to say, I can guarantee you that you will start to question some of the actions you make in every day life as no one and I mean NO ONE will want to be stuck in that horrendous place for eternity. If you aren't much of a reader and you are interested in the story, my dad found a website that shows a 60 minute event the author held where he tells his story for free. I watched it and it is verbatim what the book is like, so if you are interested, here is the link: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/852697/...
When i put this book down last night at 10:30 PM I was so charged up still so I started my next book. "A Clockwork Orange" I cant wait to review that one! I never saw the movie but after about 20 pages last night, I am pretty sure this one is going to be a trip!
March 12, 2018
I think every Christian should read a book like this. Emphasis on the word, 'like'.
I think anyone would do well to read it, but then to gather a more informed opinion of Hell by reading St. Faustina's Diary.
In short, I don't believe it actually happened. Having read St. Faustina's Diary and her accounts of Hell, plus the lives of the Saints and their own accounts, this account holds too many contradictions to take seriously and is written in a very 'earthly' style, meaning that he uses too many things similar to our experience on earth, and not really the state of the soul and torment of Hell as such.
Though I think the motive is noble, that he is desperately trying to convince his audience to consider the reality of Hell, I think his execution is poor. If anyone has to lie to tell a truth, the lie told undoes the merit of the truth. Why lie about a reality? It would have been better if he did a doctoral thesis on Hell and what theology has to say about it. 2000 years of Church writings surely has something to say about it. Plus there have been quite a few visionaries already who have seen Hell and made public accounts of it. Our Lady of Fatima, St. Veronica Giuliani, St. Faustina and such.
Theology of Hell tells us that a single minute spent there is like 1,000 years. That the hottest flames of earth are as a cool, gentle breeze compared to Hell, and that it is reserved for those who have rejected God and His love.
As for my understanding of Hell, one is not led from place to place in Hell, according to the visions and experiences of the Saints, or from torment to torment. The worst torment is simple the absence of God! But there is hardly a mention of this, if there is one at all. Eternal separation from our Divine Creator, for whom our hearts are made, and restless they are until they rest in Him. No fire or torment matches any degree of pain and anguish as does our soul suffering the separation from God. Nor does he mention the throne of Satan, which is, for St. Veronica Giuliani, the single most hideous thing to behold in Hell.
He tells how he went there for a second time, but makes no effort to elaborate on it as a new or different experience. It was all the same. If one considers the 'beauty ever ancient, ever new' of God and the love poured out that is in one moment the same love experienced through all eternity, yet different in each wave of love poured out from the beatific vision of God, then surely Hell must be the very antithesis of that. The most anguishing suffering made new in every wave of fire, the curses and hatred for God made new moment by moment by those damned sinners, the blasphemy and eternal cries.
Having read much of the experiences of the saints with Hell, I now realise how lack lustre this book was comparatively.
I would recommend any reader of this comment to spend time reading St. Faustina's Diary, which has accounts of both Hell and Heaven, as well as God's love for sinners and his inexhaustible ocean of mercy, but also the abyss of justice awaiting those who remain unrepentant until the end.
Any book on Hell I think ought to have a deep imploring to love God and live for Him.
I think anyone would do well to read it, but then to gather a more informed opinion of Hell by reading St. Faustina's Diary.
In short, I don't believe it actually happened. Having read St. Faustina's Diary and her accounts of Hell, plus the lives of the Saints and their own accounts, this account holds too many contradictions to take seriously and is written in a very 'earthly' style, meaning that he uses too many things similar to our experience on earth, and not really the state of the soul and torment of Hell as such.
Though I think the motive is noble, that he is desperately trying to convince his audience to consider the reality of Hell, I think his execution is poor. If anyone has to lie to tell a truth, the lie told undoes the merit of the truth. Why lie about a reality? It would have been better if he did a doctoral thesis on Hell and what theology has to say about it. 2000 years of Church writings surely has something to say about it. Plus there have been quite a few visionaries already who have seen Hell and made public accounts of it. Our Lady of Fatima, St. Veronica Giuliani, St. Faustina and such.
Theology of Hell tells us that a single minute spent there is like 1,000 years. That the hottest flames of earth are as a cool, gentle breeze compared to Hell, and that it is reserved for those who have rejected God and His love.
As for my understanding of Hell, one is not led from place to place in Hell, according to the visions and experiences of the Saints, or from torment to torment. The worst torment is simple the absence of God! But there is hardly a mention of this, if there is one at all. Eternal separation from our Divine Creator, for whom our hearts are made, and restless they are until they rest in Him. No fire or torment matches any degree of pain and anguish as does our soul suffering the separation from God. Nor does he mention the throne of Satan, which is, for St. Veronica Giuliani, the single most hideous thing to behold in Hell.
He tells how he went there for a second time, but makes no effort to elaborate on it as a new or different experience. It was all the same. If one considers the 'beauty ever ancient, ever new' of God and the love poured out that is in one moment the same love experienced through all eternity, yet different in each wave of love poured out from the beatific vision of God, then surely Hell must be the very antithesis of that. The most anguishing suffering made new in every wave of fire, the curses and hatred for God made new moment by moment by those damned sinners, the blasphemy and eternal cries.
Having read much of the experiences of the saints with Hell, I now realise how lack lustre this book was comparatively.
I would recommend any reader of this comment to spend time reading St. Faustina's Diary, which has accounts of both Hell and Heaven, as well as God's love for sinners and his inexhaustible ocean of mercy, but also the abyss of justice awaiting those who remain unrepentant until the end.
Any book on Hell I think ought to have a deep imploring to love God and live for Him.
November 26, 2018
Is it possible that Hell is real? If it is a place, where is it? Why was it made, and what is its purpose? Did Jesus Christ have anything to say about Hell and who might go there? How could a loving God allow a good person to go to hell?
These are some of the questions discussed in this book in which a man shares his experience of being in hell for 23 minutes. Is his account true? You would have to be the judge of that. I can only share my belief with you that it is accurate and real. What convinces me he is telling the truth is that his descriptions do match with scripture in both the old and New Testaments of the Bible. I have heard some Christians say Hell is not a real place and that God never intended people to go there. Scripture says God does not want any of us to go there, and God says Hell was made for angels who rebelled and follow Satan. Hell is not meant to be our home. Yet the Gospels, the part of the Bible where Jesus taught us about things, have several references and descriptions of hell. I don’t want to believe that Hell exists. So I have felt a lot of conflict and avoided reading this book. I had to make a decision about whether or not I believed the Bible and believed what Christ taught. I finally concluded that if I can’t believe what Jesus said about hell, I am saying he either lied or doesn’t know what he is talking about. But if he lied about one thing, where would it end. If he lied about hell, he might also be lying about salvation, love, or any number of things. So either I believe he was the sinless son of God who does not lie, or I have a big mess on my hands.Either Jesus and the Bible are credible, or they are all a hoax.
I have spent the past 15 years studying things like archaeology, history, literature, and even a little physics, trying to understand the evidence that we have that proves the Bible is accurate. I started out thinking we might have a couple of pieces of evidence. Instead, I have found over 20,000 pieces of evidence that validate scripture. In fact, the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are written by Luke, and they have some of the most strong evidence I’ve seen that is historically accurate in all the Bible. The Roman empire was a record keeping society, and that has been of great assistance in tracking the movement and ideas of disciples of Christ during the first few centuries after his death. We have more evidence proving the existence of King David, of Paul the apostle, and Jesus Christ then we have documenting the life of Alexander the great. We also have letters written by early church leaders documenting some of the work and travel of Paul, Peter, and Jon.
For these reasons, I have come to believe that the Bible is generally historically accurate. I have also come to believe in heaven and Hell are specific places that people go, not because they are good or bad but because they have either excepted or rejected Jesus Christ. There are around 150 versus about Hell throughout the Bible, many of them attributed to things Jesus taught. Because I have found overwhelming evidence to show me the historical accuracy of the Bible, I do believe hell exists. I know that is not a popular viewpoint. I am sharing all of this because there might be someone reading my reviews that needs to hear about this book. If this story is a hoax, you will only lose about 90 minutes of time reading it. If it is true, you might lose a lot more by ignoring it.
These are some of the questions discussed in this book in which a man shares his experience of being in hell for 23 minutes. Is his account true? You would have to be the judge of that. I can only share my belief with you that it is accurate and real. What convinces me he is telling the truth is that his descriptions do match with scripture in both the old and New Testaments of the Bible. I have heard some Christians say Hell is not a real place and that God never intended people to go there. Scripture says God does not want any of us to go there, and God says Hell was made for angels who rebelled and follow Satan. Hell is not meant to be our home. Yet the Gospels, the part of the Bible where Jesus taught us about things, have several references and descriptions of hell. I don’t want to believe that Hell exists. So I have felt a lot of conflict and avoided reading this book. I had to make a decision about whether or not I believed the Bible and believed what Christ taught. I finally concluded that if I can’t believe what Jesus said about hell, I am saying he either lied or doesn’t know what he is talking about. But if he lied about one thing, where would it end. If he lied about hell, he might also be lying about salvation, love, or any number of things. So either I believe he was the sinless son of God who does not lie, or I have a big mess on my hands.Either Jesus and the Bible are credible, or they are all a hoax.
I have spent the past 15 years studying things like archaeology, history, literature, and even a little physics, trying to understand the evidence that we have that proves the Bible is accurate. I started out thinking we might have a couple of pieces of evidence. Instead, I have found over 20,000 pieces of evidence that validate scripture. In fact, the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are written by Luke, and they have some of the most strong evidence I’ve seen that is historically accurate in all the Bible. The Roman empire was a record keeping society, and that has been of great assistance in tracking the movement and ideas of disciples of Christ during the first few centuries after his death. We have more evidence proving the existence of King David, of Paul the apostle, and Jesus Christ then we have documenting the life of Alexander the great. We also have letters written by early church leaders documenting some of the work and travel of Paul, Peter, and Jon.
For these reasons, I have come to believe that the Bible is generally historically accurate. I have also come to believe in heaven and Hell are specific places that people go, not because they are good or bad but because they have either excepted or rejected Jesus Christ. There are around 150 versus about Hell throughout the Bible, many of them attributed to things Jesus taught. Because I have found overwhelming evidence to show me the historical accuracy of the Bible, I do believe hell exists. I know that is not a popular viewpoint. I am sharing all of this because there might be someone reading my reviews that needs to hear about this book. If this story is a hoax, you will only lose about 90 minutes of time reading it. If it is true, you might lose a lot more by ignoring it.
August 9, 2021
This book pushed me to draw closer to God. To not take for granted this life He has given. I read this book during a time of numbness. I felt disconnected to God even though I knew He was in my life. I've had this book on my shelves for years, and finally felt it was time to read it.
I'm grateful I did.
God spoke to me through the book so much BUT it was not because of the account in the book. I read this originally out of curiosity. Often, I would pause reading and think about how much I took for granted in life. That even when things are bad and difficult, I can breathe. I have trees outside to look at. I know Jesus is with me despite what I feel. All of these things I've taken for granted.
The book was an opportunity to dig deeper, but it was not the book that ministered to me at all. It was God, and His truth in scripture. Originally, I appreciated the scripture referenced in the book. I appreciate the opportunity it gave me to think things over with God and thank Him for everything He's given. To not take Him for granted.
However, we must always look at what people say in light of scripture. At first, I really struggled when people said Bill was twisting scripture. Now, I can see what they are saying. We cannot ever add to scripture. Scripture does not give us the details of Hell that Bill claims, though some pieces of scripture certainly do paint us a picture.
Nowhere in the Bible will you see demons being a torturer. Nowhere in the Bible will you see a follower of the Lord have a vision and NOT know they are a follower of the one true God. Daniel, John, Isaiah, Zechariah, Paul, etc.
It's really tempting, at least for me, to desire to hold accounts like this ALMOST EQUAL to scripture, and that's why accounts of Hell and Heaven are so dangerous. We desire more beyond scripture, and that's a very bad place to be. The Lord never changes. So, if He shares something with someone than we can't lower His authority, yet, these accounts often want to do just that. They add to the Bible, but they do not want to be counted as the same. When we claim something is of God... we cannot lower Him at all.
Again, I am grateful for how the Lord used this book as a stepping stone for me. Romans 8:28 He can use all things for our good. But I do caution you, should you want to read this book, to hold it heavily in an examination of scripture. Bill does state many scriptures, and I truly admire his studying ability. I want to grow more in studying scriptures so I can direct people to God's Word. Yet, even though Bill shares many scriptures, by no means does that support every single thing he says.
The one truth we have when it comes to Hell and Heaven relates to scripture. That's all we need.
I hope you take something away.
I'm grateful I did.
God spoke to me through the book so much BUT it was not because of the account in the book. I read this originally out of curiosity. Often, I would pause reading and think about how much I took for granted in life. That even when things are bad and difficult, I can breathe. I have trees outside to look at. I know Jesus is with me despite what I feel. All of these things I've taken for granted.
The book was an opportunity to dig deeper, but it was not the book that ministered to me at all. It was God, and His truth in scripture. Originally, I appreciated the scripture referenced in the book. I appreciate the opportunity it gave me to think things over with God and thank Him for everything He's given. To not take Him for granted.
However, we must always look at what people say in light of scripture. At first, I really struggled when people said Bill was twisting scripture. Now, I can see what they are saying. We cannot ever add to scripture. Scripture does not give us the details of Hell that Bill claims, though some pieces of scripture certainly do paint us a picture.
Nowhere in the Bible will you see demons being a torturer. Nowhere in the Bible will you see a follower of the Lord have a vision and NOT know they are a follower of the one true God. Daniel, John, Isaiah, Zechariah, Paul, etc.
It's really tempting, at least for me, to desire to hold accounts like this ALMOST EQUAL to scripture, and that's why accounts of Hell and Heaven are so dangerous. We desire more beyond scripture, and that's a very bad place to be. The Lord never changes. So, if He shares something with someone than we can't lower His authority, yet, these accounts often want to do just that. They add to the Bible, but they do not want to be counted as the same. When we claim something is of God... we cannot lower Him at all.
Again, I am grateful for how the Lord used this book as a stepping stone for me. Romans 8:28 He can use all things for our good. But I do caution you, should you want to read this book, to hold it heavily in an examination of scripture. Bill does state many scriptures, and I truly admire his studying ability. I want to grow more in studying scriptures so I can direct people to God's Word. Yet, even though Bill shares many scriptures, by no means does that support every single thing he says.
The one truth we have when it comes to Hell and Heaven relates to scripture. That's all we need.
I hope you take something away.
May 9, 2022
In the mood for something dark, sinister, and scary? Read this.
Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, or have doubts believing this is truly his personal testimony, nobody wants to fathom spending eternity in hell. “What we believe or don’t believe doesn’t change realities.“
This is a personal account of Bill Weise who describes seeing the searing torturous flames of hell, total isolation, and experienced the putrid and rotting stench, deafening screams of agony, terrorizing demons, and finally, the strong hand of God lifting him out of the pit.
The descriptions of Hell are reinforced with Bible verse references which I really enjoyed.
𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: 💭
Remember Dante’s Inferno that used to be taught in school in various denominations? Hell is now considered “too negative” for most preachers to speak on in fear of scaring away their congregations.
Not only is the concept of hell shied away from in churches and school, but our culture has trivialized the subject of hell to such an extent that we have become desensitized and conditioned to accept various forms of demonic creatures, caricatures of Satan, and glimpses of hell as simply “entertainment.”
“We are meant to tremble and feel dread. We are meant to recoil from the reality. Not by denying it, but by fleeing from it into the arms of Jesus, who died to save us from it.”
“So many of today’s young people are taught that whatever seems right to them is OK. They are not told there is a definite right and wrong, and they know nothing about God’s great love for them and His will for their lives.”
The sad and simple fact is that people make the choice to go to hell every day. Satan forever tries to discredit the truthfulness of the Word of God; he coaxes individuals to deny the authority of God, and persuades the world to wallow in the deluding comforts of sin.
Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, or have doubts believing this is truly his personal testimony, nobody wants to fathom spending eternity in hell. “What we believe or don’t believe doesn’t change realities.“
This is a personal account of Bill Weise who describes seeing the searing torturous flames of hell, total isolation, and experienced the putrid and rotting stench, deafening screams of agony, terrorizing demons, and finally, the strong hand of God lifting him out of the pit.
The descriptions of Hell are reinforced with Bible verse references which I really enjoyed.
𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: 💭
Remember Dante’s Inferno that used to be taught in school in various denominations? Hell is now considered “too negative” for most preachers to speak on in fear of scaring away their congregations.
Not only is the concept of hell shied away from in churches and school, but our culture has trivialized the subject of hell to such an extent that we have become desensitized and conditioned to accept various forms of demonic creatures, caricatures of Satan, and glimpses of hell as simply “entertainment.”
“We are meant to tremble and feel dread. We are meant to recoil from the reality. Not by denying it, but by fleeing from it into the arms of Jesus, who died to save us from it.”
“So many of today’s young people are taught that whatever seems right to them is OK. They are not told there is a definite right and wrong, and they know nothing about God’s great love for them and His will for their lives.”
The sad and simple fact is that people make the choice to go to hell every day. Satan forever tries to discredit the truthfulness of the Word of God; he coaxes individuals to deny the authority of God, and persuades the world to wallow in the deluding comforts of sin.
December 9, 2009
23 Minutes in Hell is written by Bill Wiese about his unusual encounter one night where he claims an angel took him to Hell. The book starts out with Bill asleep in bed one night next to his wife at home. Bill was in good health but a divine revelation happened- he died and visited Hell. He describes his transportation into Hell by saying there were these large wind tunnels which resembled small tornadoes, and there were hundreds of them all leading to one place; the center of Earth. As he traveled through one of the tunnels he could hear the screams of people, and saw demons flying all around him. When he finally fell to this holding cell, he knew he was in Hell by the weeping and nashing of teeth from other people. Bill describes the holding cell as a prision where people were attacked and threatened by demons which resembled reptiles with large claws and sharp teeth. Bill said that this was the worse place he had ever seen or been to. Bill Wiese was not a Christian when he said he had this real life experience but says that God allowed him to see Hell so that when he returned to life he could warn others about it and to avoid it! The book concludes with the salvation of Bill Wiese and the true horrors of Hell are explained in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who does not take Hell seriously or would like to know what true Hell is like. Bill said he felt an absence of God which is parallel to what the Bible teaches. The book is interesting but you have to remember that the story is the representation of one man but the core to the story remains the same for everyone- Hell is real, and it's waiting for anyone who does not know Jesus.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2013
Although extremely controversial to anyone who does not take the Bible literally, this book will give the reader a BIBLICAL perspective of the terror and utter hopelessness of what awaits those who fail to believe and act upon the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Scriptures.
The subject of hell is not something that should be taken lightly or casually - and so this book is not what I would call 'light reading'.
I do believe that this book can be a definite tool, that when used properly, will raise the awareness of those who do not believe that hell is a 'real' place - and that there is no escape from it - ever - for the lost.
Filled with scriptures to back up everything the writer experienced, it defines the very principals of heaven and hell and what awaits those who fail to believe and act upon the Biblical principals set forth in the scriptures.
Definitely worth reading.
The subject of hell is not something that should be taken lightly or casually - and so this book is not what I would call 'light reading'.
I do believe that this book can be a definite tool, that when used properly, will raise the awareness of those who do not believe that hell is a 'real' place - and that there is no escape from it - ever - for the lost.
Filled with scriptures to back up everything the writer experienced, it defines the very principals of heaven and hell and what awaits those who fail to believe and act upon the Biblical principals set forth in the scriptures.
Definitely worth reading.
April 17, 2010
California born Bill Wiese tells about his personal experience of Hell. He tells how he was lying in bed at 3 a.m. when he was sent into hell. It was not in a dream, but in reality. Not because he had died and was being punished, but because God wanted him to experience hell so he could warn others. Wiese believes that after 23 minutes of Hell, Jesus came to rescue him and led him back to earth, where he landed on his living room floor.
This book is very detailed from the very beginning paragraph, "On November 22, 1998... I was catapulted out of my bed into the very pit of hell. My point of arrival was a cell that was approximately fifteen feet high by ten feet wide with a fifteen-foot depth." It explains in detail the torture he actually felt and saw in the different chambers of Hell. They way he describes it, there is no way you can't believe that it is real. It scares you to the truth and warns you of what will happen to you if you are not saved by Jesus.
This book is very detailed from the very beginning paragraph, "On November 22, 1998... I was catapulted out of my bed into the very pit of hell. My point of arrival was a cell that was approximately fifteen feet high by ten feet wide with a fifteen-foot depth." It explains in detail the torture he actually felt and saw in the different chambers of Hell. They way he describes it, there is no way you can't believe that it is real. It scares you to the truth and warns you of what will happen to you if you are not saved by Jesus.
February 21, 2017
I never truly believed in Hell. I thought God would make allowances for behaviors due to mental illness, emotional issues, etc. This book made me understand that Hell truly exists and is so horrific that I want to tell everyone I know to read it. It could mean the difference between everlasting life with Christ in Heaven or condemnation to eternal, unrelenting misery beyond our comprehension.
February 27, 2012
Good book. I like that it has biblical verses to back up what he says.
September 12, 2017
Must read for believers and non believers alike
April 20, 2023
What a disappointment! This is not a recount of a man's near death experience, it's a collection of citations from the Bible, meant to accomplish...I don't know what. Don't get me wrong, folks, I believe in God. As a matter of fact, I'm a Roman Catholic. But the way that Bill Weiss uses citations from the Bible to divert the reader from the subject at hand is downright blasphemous! I picked up this book expecting an account of a man's hellish near death experience but all I got was a collection of citations from the Bible.
The book also lacks that intimate, personal touch which the person describing his or her experience should add at all costs. What can be more personal, more humanising more intimate than sharing the experience of one's soul, one's very essence?!
Not once in this so called "recount" has Bill Weiss taken the time to depict his surroundings, the goings on within them or, the most important aspect of all, the impact they had upon his Soul. (All of which, if I might add, was why I picked up this book in the first place!)
I feel very disappointed with this book, as I didn't get what I wanted (or expected) and, in my humble opinion, Bill Weiss would have made a greater impact had he positioned himself on any New York City street corner, with a Bible in his hand.
The book also lacks that intimate, personal touch which the person describing his or her experience should add at all costs. What can be more personal, more humanising more intimate than sharing the experience of one's soul, one's very essence?!
Not once in this so called "recount" has Bill Weiss taken the time to depict his surroundings, the goings on within them or, the most important aspect of all, the impact they had upon his Soul. (All of which, if I might add, was why I picked up this book in the first place!)
I feel very disappointed with this book, as I didn't get what I wanted (or expected) and, in my humble opinion, Bill Weiss would have made a greater impact had he positioned himself on any New York City street corner, with a Bible in his hand.
April 21, 2019
This book has been on my "to read" list for several years, when I found it on the clearance shelf of a local used bookstore I snagged it up and started reading right away.
For me, this book was a disappointment. The writing just wasn't good. The trip to hell was right out of the gate, lasted only a few pages. And then the rest of the novel was stories about how great the author thought he was with all these testimonials from readers backing him up. The novel read like a really boring, bad lecture-- with the professor telling you up front (header: in this chapter I'm going to tell you why John from Alabama thinks I'm amazing) what you'll be learning and then spending several minutes siting references and quotes.
I believe the author did have this experience and I cannot fathom how traumatic and life altering it must've been. I do think a live reading or seminar would be much more engaging than reading this novel. I just found it incredibly boring & ridiculous.
For me, this book was a disappointment. The writing just wasn't good. The trip to hell was right out of the gate, lasted only a few pages. And then the rest of the novel was stories about how great the author thought he was with all these testimonials from readers backing him up. The novel read like a really boring, bad lecture-- with the professor telling you up front (header: in this chapter I'm going to tell you why John from Alabama thinks I'm amazing) what you'll be learning and then spending several minutes siting references and quotes.
I believe the author did have this experience and I cannot fathom how traumatic and life altering it must've been. I do think a live reading or seminar would be much more engaging than reading this novel. I just found it incredibly boring & ridiculous.
November 6, 2023
The constant scripture throughout the book helping describe what this man went through, was awesome as every experience should be looked at through the word of God to base its accuracy on.
It also really shines light on how short life is. So very short, and the urgency in which people need to find out about Christ, and how little earthly things matter.
It also really shines light on how short life is. So very short, and the urgency in which people need to find out about Christ, and how little earthly things matter.
November 28, 2023
I think in order to appreciate this book I think you either have to be a Christian, or searching for God, with an open mind and a wish to want to confirm salvation. If you aren’t searching for this you may brush it off as pure fiction, however, as a Christian it struck me in my gut about how hell will be and that this man truly was granted this privilege to share with the world! The word pictures he provides is a truly frightening one if you refuse to accept Gods greatest gift of his son!
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