A Vision of Hell and Heaven
E. Cooper

Hell
It was the evening of November 20, 1926. I had been near death for three days. That evening I was given the opportunity to see some of the many horrors of hell. Then hell became a terrifying reality to me.

I thought I was walking down a steep mountain with a companion at my side. He suddenly said to me: "Look!" Then I looked in the direction indicated and there appeared before my eyes, to my inexpressible horror, A SEA OF FIRE FULL OF PEOPLE. Some of these I recognized. As far as I could see there was FIRE and PEOPLE. The kind of fire I had known before was not at all so terrible or so hot as this appeared to be. It was so hot that there was like a vapor almost like steam over it. Oh, what misery and what suffering! Words fail me completely when I try to give an idea of ​​what I heard.

Some tore their hair; others gnashed their teeth; and some bit their arms and hands. It is impossible for me to describe the sight.

One of them I knew was a young man, one of my old schoolmates. His mother was my Sunday school teacher, and we all thought she was a Christian. The young man stood up and said, "Mother is here too." At the time I did not know that they were to be dead, but later I learned that both had been killed in a car accident.

There were others there, some of whom I knew had died as they had lived—in open sin. There was a woman who was excommunicating, and when she saw that it did not help, she lamented, saying, "It used to ease my mind, but it does not any more." Another standing nearby said, "We had to choose after all." But the woman replied, "No, that's exactly what we didn't get. THE PREACHERS DID NOT TELL US HOW HORRIBLE HELL IS. They told us how wonderful Heaven is, but I thought I had enough fun on earth. If they had talked about Hell and told us what it's like, I might not have come here."

Another took fire in her hands and filled her mouth with it and groaned in pain and blew fire from her mouth four or five feet away and the fire came so close that I could feel the heat. Then she cried out, "WATER. WATER!" But no one gave her anything.

Then my companion said, "Do you want to go any further?" But I said, "No, I want to go back. I never want to see this place of torment again."

Heaven
When I think of the misery and suffering that I saw in Hell, I shudder. No, no one can imagine how terrible hell is. I thought I was suffering myself when I saw hell, but in a moment I had calmed down again. It was as if I had fallen asleep and someone had woken me up and said, "Do you know me?" I looked at him and said, "Yes, yes." Then he raised his hands and I saw the terrible scars from the nails that had been driven through his hands. Then I was sure that it was my Savior. Then he smiled so wonderfully sweetly at me and took my hand in his and said, "Come with me!"

I thought it was going uphill in the company of the Lord at a pleasant, soft pace. I felt quite at ease when suddenly everything became dark. The road became rough and thorny and I got tired and said, "I want to go back." Then he put his hand on my shoulder and smiled sweetly at me. Then everything became bright and good again. We went on and I began to hear music. No one can imagine how wonderful that music was. I looked, and there were countless angels. Each of them was playing his special instrument and singing and rejoicing: "Glory to God and to the Lamb!" I felt as if I had wanted to stay there forever.

Jesus said, "Look!" And when I looked, the gates were opened. I have never seen anything so beautiful as these gates. They were bright, not white as snow but like light, and they were set with precious stones that sparkled more beautifully than diamonds. We went on and as we entered, I heard children singing. I looked around and saw crowds of little children, some as big as six or eight years old, and then gradually to little babies. They all ran around clapping their little hands and singing, "Hosanna in the highest!" Their little faces beamed with love and happiness as they walked out the gates. Jesus laid His hand on their little heads.

Then I looked over to the other side and saw a bench full of crowns; some full of stars, some with just a few, and some without.

I looked, and farther away I saw the disciples and I said, "I want to go over there and talk to them." But Jesus said, "No. You have to go back. Go back and tell them what you have seen. Tell them over and over again." I started to cry and asked to stay, but when the Lord with His sweetest smile laid His hand on my head, He said, "Yes, go back and tell your people about this. Tell them all THAT I AM COMING SOON. It will make you happy."

Then I woke up. I don't know how I got back. Heaven is a wonderful, beautiful, and blissful place, more than I can express in words. But Jesus is the most wonderful of all. He is more beautiful than human language can say, more beautiful than an artist can draw, more beautiful than a man can imagine. He is more radiant than the noonday sun.

Whenever Jesus and Heaven come to my mind, I feel sick with homesickness to get there and see Him. Oh, that I could describe everything I have seen, as He would have me do.