On Nov. 23, 1998, God gave Bill Wiese a vision of hell, an out-of-body experience, as retold in his book, 23 Minutes In Hell. At that point in his life, Bill had been a Christian for 28 years. He was a devoted follower of Jesus Christ with a deep love for God’s Word. While many have heard of Bill’s journey to hell, some don’t know that Bill also had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.
As Bill tells it, “After seeing hell and all its horrors, I was lifted up out of hell into a dark tunnel where it was full of demons. Suddenly the Lord appeared to me in a bright light. I didn’t see His face but just the outline of a man standing in this bright, pure, holy light. I knew immediately who He was. I said, ‘Jesus.’ He said, ‘I Am.’ When He said those two words, I fell to the ground. I don’t know if I passed out or died. After a time, He touched me, and I came back to my awareness. I was so very grateful that I was a Christian … that I had been saved from hell. I didn’t want to ask Him any questions. I just wanted to thank Him and praise Him, but thoughts started coming to my mind, and He began to answer them.
“My first thought was, ‘Why did You send me to this horrible place?’
“My second thought was, ‘Why would anyone believe me? They will think that I had a bad dream or that I’m crazy.’
“My next thought was, ‘Why did those demons hate me so much?’
“Then I thought, Those demons are so powerful and Why didn’t I know You?
“I had seen a vapor of smoke and I thought, What was that?
“Next I heard in my spirit these words, ‘My people make excuses why they don’t witness. They say, “I didn’t feel led”; they fear man rather than God.’
“The last thing He said to me was, ‘Tell them I am coming very, very soon.’ He repeated Himself and said again, ‘Tell them I am coming very, very soon.’
“I felt in my heart that we are near the end. I felt an urgency to share the way of salvation with others. I believe He has delayed His coming, as the Bible says in Matthew 25:5, so that more people have the opportunity to turn from sin, repent and give their lives to Jesus. That window of opportunity is rapidly coming to a close.”
Bill expands on these thoughts and questions in greater detail in the 23 Minutes in Hell podcast episode titled, “8 Things God said To Me.” {eoa}
Bill Wiese is the author of New York Times bestselling book, 23 Minutes In Hell, the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional book titles and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife Annette founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries, please visit us at: soulchoiceministries.org/. You can find more of Bill’s teachings at youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV.
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