Two Hours at the Gate of Hell Part #2

My focus was drawn back into the cave and up ahead a light appeared and it was very slowly moving towards me.  The darkness seems not to comprehend it and became agitated. The closer it came it began to take on a humanoid form.  This form of light had hand or arm shapes and they were slowly extending themselves toward me and there was something in the hand.  A scroll or a book, what was it? My questions were heard and answered by my dying spirit without me saying a word.  The darkness began to shimmer, the demon of darkness began to tremble and groan.  My dying spirit told me Jesus was coming and in his hand he held judgment, and once Judgment is rendered it could not be changed.

I knew I was a sinner, and the only thing holding the demons of darkness at bay was they were waiting for judgment to be announced.  I cried out for Jesus to forgive me and it seems the shape the form began to move faster toward me.  Every time I cried forgive me the form, the shape inched closer.  The hollow shape of my plea seemed so shallow.  The spirit spoke in its weaked state and said to defer judgment from the Christ would require more than forgiveness. One does not ask for forgiveness in the presence of judgment.  Forgiveness is what God gave because he loved us. Judgment is what we get through justice based upon how we treated or accepted the forgiveness nature of God.   What I needed now in the face of judgment was not forgiveness; I needed mercy, the only thing that could save me from the impending judgment.   Mercy is imputed by grace.

Earl Gillespie

James 2:13 says, “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.”  In a court of law many of us are familiar with, it is that moment after the verdict has been rendered, and before judgment is pronounced,  mercy is allowed to speak.   Only mercy can stand in the face of judgment, and mercy is not based upon love or forgiveness.  It speaks from the conviction that maybe, just maybe there is a spark of goodness left and that spark can become productive and serve God and humanity.  That’s the mercy that comes from the judge, that’s the mercy that comes from God.   Mercy is not given because of our goodness; it is given because a flicker of light, a simple manifestation of hope.

My abused soul, my pitiful soul cried out, “Save me Jesus”. The movement of the form, the shape slowed, my spirit seems to gain strength. With all that it had my soul cried out Jesus have mercy on me and save me? The sound or the feeling or expression of sound was like the guttered sound cows make when their calves are led away to slaughter.  It was a sad, painful and pitiful sound.

My spirit and soul seems to come together and reenter my body.  I say this because for the first time I became fully aware aware of my limp body unable to move lying on the floor of my shop, and limited memory of my past began to take shape.  I continued to cry save me Jesus and my body would seem to rise up and then it would be slammed back to the floor.  I began to cry save me Jesus faster and faster, all the while I felt as if I was being beaten up. 

The demons of darkness, the hordes of Hell were determined that judgment be rendered.  They seem to cry, “No” every time I cried save me.  Every time I crashed against the floor a voice spoke and demanded “why”. What right did I have to ask for mercy? I had wasted the best years of my life.  I thought of bargaining, but that would be so profane.   Have mercy on me and I will serve you for the rest of my life, just didn’t seems right.  Please God give me another chance seems so selfish   Then it came into my spirit that mercy cannot be granted for selfish reasons.  To receive mercy one must be willing, able and ready to show mercy.  If I could tell someone what I have experienced, I could help someone.  When I projected these thoughts only then did the form, the shape stop stopped moving. 

The Simplicity and success of my appeal were based upon my desire to serve someone other than myself, to help someone else other than trying to help myself.  We spend many moments in prayer begging God for things to make our life better.  Based upon our prayers if God were to answer our prayers, Christians would be rich and sinners would be poor.  Then sinners would see the richness of the Christians and they would say I want that too, soon there would be no more sinners, because they would be serving God for what they could get.  

When I open my eyes I was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall in my office.  I saw the clock on the wall, it said 11:A.M.  My bloodied and beaten body slowly crawls across the room to a chair behind my desk and I pulled myself up into it.   It was impossible for me to breathe because my sinus and throat was clogged with blood.  I pulled my shirt off and used it as a handkerchief.  I open my mouth and globs of congealed blood were expelled.  Congealed blood in a rope shape was expelled from my sinus cavities.  The words congealed and rope shape is used to shape and frame the question, “when does blood congeal deep inside the body?”

My memory slowly came back to me for a while I was not sure of who or where I was.  Trying to figure out what to do I saw a list of phone numbers on the wall, one number was marked "Daughter".  I called my daughter and asked her to take me home.  I had no knowledge where home was. My daughter took me to the hospital. Everyone was sure someone came into my shop and beaten me up.  The doctors and nurses were constantly asking, “can you remember who attached you?”

Soon after this event took place, I began to consider means and ways to tell my story.  I had a very rude awaking.  It is OK for a professional preacher to say God spoke to me , but when a lay person uses those words they are looked upon as strange.  It is ok to speak of feeling the spirit of God, but to speak of near-death-experiences or an out-of-body experience is taboo, and in many assemblies you are labelled a kook.  God, Heaven and Jesus have been reduced to abstract terms.  Many times when I hear people speak, I am forced to respond, “You do believe in God, don’t you?”  After a few failed attempts to tell my story and the response I received, telling the story soon took a back seat to other things that I was doing, like teaching Sunday school lessons that focused on the life of an apostle rather than the Gospel of Grace.
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The Gospel is not about Moses crossing the Red Sea, nor is it about Daniel in the lion's den.  These are good stories to tell and learn from, but the Gospel that Jesus preached when he came up out of the water after being baptized by John was, Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, which later was expanded on the cross to include Jews and Gentiles that became the Gospel of Grace. 

Jesus never preached a message on earthly entitlements, he put it all in the proper perspective when he said what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Every message delivered by Jesus showed his concern for the soul.  Jesus wanted humanity to remember and repent so the soul would not be lost.  

It is so strange today the focus of the church has turned away from saving the soul ministry.  The church has become embroiled in teaching us how to live a better life down here on planet earth.  Jesus's church should not be used as the road to earthly richness and pleasures.   A question that formed in my mind was how do you equate thanking Jesus for a brand new car with thanking Him for dying on the cross? 

Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” He breathed into man that never dying essence of himself and man become the processor of a living soul.  God created man in his image. These are our fundamental beliefs.

There is the natural aspect of man and there is the often forgotten spirituality of man.  We can visualize the death of humanity, but can we visualize the death of the soul?  How can the soul which is a part of God die?

Imagine yourself being in a place where you could not communicate with anyone, you could not do simple things like go outside and look up at the sky.  You are confined to a small room.  The door is locked and you are in Jail.  You spend the day and night laying on a bed.  The same as you have always done, but you are in a locked room.  You cannot touch anyone, you cannot talk to anyone, you are all alone.  The light is artificial you cannot see the day or night.  The air is stale, and the heat, yes the heat, it is hot, you are in Jail locked up for life. This is a close natural depiction of Hell.

The Consciousness of the soul never dies, it is tormented by being disconnected from its creator.  This is the death of the soul, and the soul that sinneth it shall die.  Adam became disconnected from it's creator when he sinned.

The word of God is convincing, the soul has a consciousness and that consciousness lives on forever and forever, for as long as God live.

Mark 12:30 and thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

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