Heaven and Hell Are Real

Isaac Chen—Taichung, Taiwan

            “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)

            Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right. (Prov 20:11)

My daughter Chen Jia-Yin was born in 1996. To me, she is a special heritage given by our Lord Jesus. Her liveliness has been a constant source of comfort and joy for me. As a concerned father, I have often fretted over her faith, her studies and other areas of growth. I especially wished that she would receive the Holy Spirit. I would be much more at ease if she had the Holy Spirit to help and to guide her into God’s truth (Jn 16:13).

From my experience as a full time minister, I feared that, with my daughter’s level of focus and zeal towards prayer, it could be years before she would receive the Holy Spirit. But the love and the grace of God extend beyond the imagination of man. During a prayer session for the Holy Spirit, Jia-Yin saw a vision. A few days later, she received the precious Holy Spirit. I felt very comforted knowing that she would have the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit for her life.

I now recount the vision she saw and her experience of receiving the Holy Spirit.

THE VISION OF TWO PATHS

            Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Mt 7:13-14)

On Friday, April 23, 2004, during a spiritual convocation at our church in Northern Taichung, Jia-Yin went to the front of the chapel to pray for the Holy Spirit. As she continued saying “Hallelujah, praise the Lord,” there appeared before her a sudden darkness. She felt her spirit being lifted, and then floating in the air, she saw a vision.

Jia-Yin saw souls of the dead rising up from their bodies and proceeding to walk on a road. Not long after, they arrived at a junction where they had to choose between two paths. There was a broad road that led downhill, and it became narrower and darker as they walked. The other was narrow and full of stones, going uphill, but as they walked the road became brighter.

The Road to Destruction

She saw that those who chose the broad road huddled together as the road became smaller. At the end of the road was a beautiful and magnificent bridge. Those who walked this road thought that heaven lay beyond this bridge. Hence, they chose this road. Shoving and pushing, each blindly followed the person ahead. At one point, the bridge came to an abrupt end and they fell, one by one, into a bottomless pit. No one had time to warn those behind them. The people trudging behind thought that those ahead had crossed the bridge to paradise, having no inkling of the imminent bottomless pit.

The bottomless pit was filled with skeletons and corpses. There were also worms that would not die and fire that could not be quenched.

The Road to Heaven

As the vision continued, Jia-Yin looked to the other path. Although it was narrow and stony, the longer someone walked along it, the brighter it became. Those who walked on it eventually arrived at a large and magnificent golden gate.

Jia-Yin descended in front of the gate and stood among the crowd. Suddenly, from the top of the gate, a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak appeared in the air, becoming larger as it approached.

At this moment, a bright and glorious light surrounded the gate.

WHO CAN ENTER THROUGH THE GATES OF HEAVEN?
Baptized in Accordance with the Bible

            “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:5)

Three angels flew from behind the gate. Two angels flanked each side of the gate as the third angel said in a loud voice, “Have you been baptized?” Some of the people looked shocked. They did not know why they had to be baptized in addition to believing in the Lord Jesus. They did not believe in the efficacy of baptism and had not been baptized. These people were turned away towards the road that led to destruction.

There was another group of people who received baptism that was not performed in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. So, the heavenly gate appeared to them as if it was the gate of hell, and they angrily turned towards the broad road. They ended up falling into hell like those who first chose the bridge.

Received the Holy Spirit

            … having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession . . . (Eph 1:13-14)

To those remaining at the glorious gate of heaven, the angel asked a second question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” A force pushed back those who had not received the Holy Spirit, and they slid backwards to the road of destruction. Two other groups suffered the same fate: those without the Holy Spirit who refused to leave, and those who mistakenly thought that they had the Holy Spirit.

Named in the Book of Life

            And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (Is 4:3)

After the questioning, many still remained by the gate of heaven and the bright gate of heaven slowly opened. Two angels guarded the gate and another angel brought the book of life and came before the people. The angel then took the roll call. Those who were called immediately passed through the gate of heaven.

Suddenly, Jia-Yin could see what was in the book of life. It was filled with names. Next to each name was recorded some fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

God used many different symbols such as ○ × ∆ to record each person’s daily life, in terms of whether one had lived a life filled with good deeds and was full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

 

Those who were called to enter the gate of heaven were not necessarily those who were perfect and made no mistakes. Rather, these were people who in their lives always repented and confessed their wrongdoings. They were people who relied on the Holy Spirit’s rebuke and humbled themselves.

Through prayers, they repented and removed the impurities of faith. They manifested the fruit of the Holy Spirit abundantly and led lives that glorified God and benefited mankind.

Those whose names were not called were those who, in spite of having received the Holy Spirit, did not value the Holy Spirit. They did not rely on the Holy Spirit to watch and pray, nor did they apply righteousness and judgment to examine themselves (Jn 16:8).

They lacked faithfulness, humility and a repentant heart. They neglected their faith and wasted time given to them on earth. Some among this group realized their mistakes and resolved to repent. But it was too late. There was no longer an opportunity for repentance.

At the completion of the roll call, those who qualified had all entered and the gates were shut immediately. The impact of the gates closing shut was so strong that those remaining outside were flung into hell.

Scenes of Heaven

The ground in heaven was paved with shining gold. Even the flowers were singing!

As the qualified people passed through the gate of heaven, their clothes were immediately transformed into bright white garments. Regardless of age and gender, each person’s face and appearance became like that of angels: young, tall, and beautiful.

In the spirit, everyone recognized each other, including the twelve apostles. There were Peter, John, James and more. Saints who were called earlier lined horizontally in front of those who were called later. Everyone stood in line, holding one another’s hands and singing hymns joyfully as they marched forward.

On both sides, many angels accompanied them and sang with them. The language used was not of this world. It was the language of heaven. Everyone sang and matched in beautiful harmony.

These people arrived at a majestic and beautiful church building. One after the other, they entered the chapel. On both sides, the angels welcomed the congregation with beautiful tunes on flutes, violins and harps. At the front of the chapel, an angel was playing the harp. There was another person present. In the vision, Jia-Yin knew He was the Lord Jesus, who was about to deliver the sermon.

First, He spoke of the calling of the first four apostles, Peter, Andrew, James and John, to be fishers of men. Then, He spoke of the miracle of the five loaves of bread and two fish where, through the offering of a small child, five thousand were fed (cf. Mk 1:16-20; Jn 6:9-13).

As to why there was a need for sermons in the kingdom of heaven, Jia-Yin heard the Lord Jesus say, “Today you are all able to enter the heavenly kingdom and to be seated here. Look not only to preserve yourselves. You have the duty to preach the gospel and to offer your abilities. Let the Lord bless and guide, and let Him finish the salvation of God.”

The Lord Jesus’ sermon served to remind believers who were still on earth about their life commission.

Jia-Yin Received the Holy Spirit

Throughout the time when she saw the vision and heard the Lord Jesus’ sermons, Jia-Yin was praying fervently. Her heart was touched and she cried joyfully. It was at this time that a deacon patted her shoulder and encouraged her: “Jia-Yin, pray harder, you will receive the Holy Spirit soon.” Jia-Yin opened her eyes and the vision disappeared.

Although she did not receive the Holy Spirit at that spiritual convocation, as Jia-Yin was saying “Hallelujah, praise the Lord Jesus,” during a bedtime prayer a few days later, she began speaking in tongues, thanks be to the Lord. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and she prayed loudly. After a while, we said “Amen.” I told her, “Jia-Yin, you have received the Holy Spirit.”