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Wiese was also given information that he ordinarily wouldn't have known. The creatures in his cell were speaking in a blasphemous language, Wiese says which he was supernaturally able to understand. Then, "one of the creatures picked me up. The strength of the beast was amazing. I was comparable to the weight of a water glass in its hand. … Instinctively, I knew that the creature holding me had strength approximately one thousand times greater than a man."

Jesus told Wiese to tell people that hell is real. Wiese says he was brought to hell in order to warn others about its torment. Twenty-three minutes after first being catapulted from his bed, Wiese woke up. He was lying on the floor of his living room, screaming in horror. His wife, hearing his screams, woke up and brought Wiese a glass of water.

If Wiese's trip left him eager to return home, Don Piper's visit to heaven left him regretting he returned to earth. His trip began when he saw a truck coming the opposite direction on the highway. It swerved into his lane. Piper writes,

In my next moment of awareness, I was standing in heaven

Joy pulsated through me as I looked around, and at that moment I became aware of a large crowd of people. They stood in front of a brilliant, ornate gate. … As the crowd rushed toward me, I didn't see Jesus, but I did see people I had known. As they surged toward me, I knew instantly that all of them had died during my lifetime. Their presence seemed absolutely natural.

Piper continues. "Heaven's light and texture defy earthly eyes or explanation. Warm, radiant light engulfed me. As I looked around, I could hardly grasp the vivid, dazzling colors. Every hue and tone surpassed anything I had ever seen."

But in a mere 15 pages, Piper's visit to heaven is over. He is back in his car, at the scene of the accident.

Interestingly, Piper's vision corresponds to American Christians' view of heaven. "Nearly all Christians think that union with God, peace, and tranquility, and reunion with relatives are likely to await them," writes Alan F. Segal in Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion.

So, either Piper proved American views of the afterlife correct, or he saw what he expected to see, because he expected to see it.

Wiese is adamant that his visit to hell was real and that it corresponds precisely to the Bible's description of it. He states flatly, "I saw the liquid fire that falls like rain. I felt the extreme heat, and I smelled the stench of burning things. I do not believe the Scripture references are merely symbolic or allegorical; I believe they speak of real fire."

However, biblical scholars do believe the Bible's descriptions of the afterlife are symbolic or allegorical. "We're dealing with metaphorical, analogical language about eternity," says Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson professor of religious studies at North Park University and author of The Jesus Creed. "Ghenna, hell, is a graphic image of the burning pit outside Jerusalem," McKnight says.

McKnight and Wiese would agree that hell is a real place where people will suffer in the absence of God. However, McKnight says, "Most people's perception is rooted in Dante rather than the New Testament."

"The primary vision of heaven in the Bible encompasses two necessary elements: worship and fellowship," McKnight says. "We have to be careful in making these things too literal." Biblical images of heaven always include the worship of a fellowshipping body. "That's the big idea of heaven," McKnight says.

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May (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50