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ORIGINAL: fallenstar

Yes! I have heard of it, it is in my church bookstore, but I thought it might be a phony and not really worth reading. I just don't think it's possible that one could pass on to heaven\hell, and come back. Once you'ev gone that far, I don't think you can come back. I can't say, either, it's never happened to me before.
As for a video of it, that's pretty cool. The part where the guy is in hell might be too disturbing, though. Who's the author?

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ORIGINAL: Gallivant

It sounds interesting. What's it about?

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ORIGINAL: BeachLover99

I read 90 Minutes in Heaven. I LOVED it. My mom passed away less than a year ago, and when I found out this book existed, I bought it because I wanted to see what my mom experienced during HER first 90 minutes in Heaven. I now know she is safe and in the company of those who went before her, and I know she is pain free (for the first time in years) and oh so happy!

I believe everything Don Piper wrote in his book. That's just me. He tells his story with such eloquent conviction. He had too many people with him for this to be anything but true.

I have NOT read the 23 Minutes in Hell book, nor do I plan to; this is a personal choice I made. I would rather concentrate on happier things.

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No, this title isn't about Weise's appointment with the IRS. The author claims to have visited the actual Sheol, or Hell, in an out-of-body experience in 1998. Not in a dream; not in a vision; yet in a lifeless version of his own body he says he actually went there and was brought back by Jesus Himself.

Many readers will see a few red flags surrounding this book: Wiese lives in southern California, not exaclty the bastion of Christianity. The title is similar to other books such as "90 Minutes in Heaven," making it less original. Wiese is not a theologian.

The first part of this book--the visit to Hell itself--is littered with Scripture quotations and marks for chapter end notes which interrupt the flow of the dialogue. I think this part would have been much improved if Wiese had simply shared his experience in his own words, without pausing to support every detail with a Scripture quote. A very thorough appendix included with the book serves that purpose nicely for those who wish to consider everything Wiese says and judge it against the Bible. Personally, I have an aversion to books (and there are many) which sprinkle in snippets of Scripture, often out of context, like fertilizer pellets on a lawn. One can read everything in the Bible in its proper context by... reading a Bible.

From a literary standpoint, Wiese's descriptions of what he saw in Hell didn't add anything to what I already know through the Bible or visualized reading Dante's "Inferno."

The reading becomes better by the middle of "23 Minutes," however, as Wiese begins telling how the Lord led him by miracles to spread the word about Hell. I guess you couldn't call it "good news." Non-believers will write these off as good luck, while believers will credit the Devine purpose. Either way, they are believable. One thing I did find disturbing was Wiese says he met other people who wrote books about their visits to Hell, but he does not identify these authors. I assume they are among those listed in the appendix, but it would seem natural to me to name the author and the title of those books as they are mentioned, especially if Wiese had space to put in all of those other references.

Later chapters address the questions of what makes one bound for Hell, what demons are and do, and what physical parts make up Hell. .....

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ORIGINAL: Pat-rebel_lady
From a literary standpoint, Wiese's descriptions of what he saw in Hell didn't add anything to what I already know through the Bible or visualized reading Dante's "Inferno."

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Yes, I've read 90 Minutes in Heaven. I LOVED it too!!

I have NOT read the 23 Minutes in Hell book; ....

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What is the point of this book?. The unbeliever isnt going to be anymore convinced of anything because of this, and the believer allready accepts that hell is real.
This from The Discerning reader website: "My foremost concern involves theology. And here I want to point to the error that also plagued Don Piper’s 90 Minutes in Heaven. It regards the necessity of such visitations. Don Piper travels the world now under the banner of “The Minister of Hope.” He brings hope by telling people that he has been to heaven and can attest that it is a real place. Bill Wiese now shares his message that hell is also real and is a real place (a really bad place). Yet in the Bible I find no reason to believe that God would want or need people to carry this kind of message based on their own experiences. God has given us the Bible precisely so we do not need such people! When a man travels around carrying a message like this one, he implicitly denies that the Bible is warning enough; his ministry indicates that he feels we need something more than “merely” the Bible in order to warn people of the joy to come to those who believe and the wrath to come for those who do not. These messengers, perhaps inadvertently, deny the uniqueness and the sufficiency of the Bible. If people will not believe the words of God as given in Scripture, why should or would they believe the fanciful words of a mere man?

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It is a ministry to people suffering in extreme physical pain; which includes emotional and mental anguish as well; and how knowing there is a real place called heaven helps take the focus off themselves and their own personal pain and see others around them who are suffering too. Knowing there is a real heaven, and hearing his personal story; personal witness; It gives hope and helps that person to reach out and identify and communicate with others who are going through the same physical, emotional and mental anguish as they are.

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I'm sorry there are people blind to the need of a ministry such as this

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ORIGINAL: DaveW

Rev Charles Simpson had a guy in his congregation back in the 80s that was a nominal attender to his church (went with his family) and had never really committed himself to the Lord. (I am not sure if he went to Gulf Coast Covenant Church or one of the other congregations that Simpson helped oversee) He died in an accident working on a logjam (he was a lumberjack) and went to hell. He knew the truth but had never accepted it. He did come back - at the funeral home. He did not want to talk about it at all as it was too bad. He immediatly repented and committed his life to Christ. He told his story to Rev Simpson but would not let his name get out as he did not want to keep re-living the story.

As to these books, who knows?

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ORIGINAL: Pat-rebel_lady

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ORIGINAL: DaveW

Rev Charles Simpson had a guy in his congregation back in the 80s that was a nominal attender to his church (went with his family) and had never really committed himself to the Lord. (I am not sure if he went to Gulf Coast Covenant Church or one of the other congregations that Simpson helped oversee) He died in an accident working on a logjam (he was a lumberjack) and went to hell. He knew the truth but had never accepted it. He did come back - at the funeral home. He did not want to talk about it at all as it was too bad. He immediatly repented and committed his life to Christ. He told his story to Rev Simpson but would not let his name get out as he did not want to keep re-living the story.

As to these books, who knows?

I had heard this story too; I'd forgotten about it until you mentioned it here. I believe it to be true; Rev Charles Simpson is one of my favorite Teachers.

Pat

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ORIGINAL: JimboFletch

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ORIGINAL: Pat-rebel_lady

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ORIGINAL: DaveW

Rev Charles Simpson had a guy in his congregation back in the 80s that was a nominal attender to his church (went with his family) and had never really committed himself to the Lord. (I am not sure if he went to Gulf Coast Covenant Church or one of the other congregations that Simpson helped oversee) He died in an accident working on a logjam (he was a lumberjack) and went to hell. He knew the truth but had never accepted it. He did come back - at the funeral home. He did not want to talk about it at all as it was too bad. He immediatly repented and committed his life to Christ. He told his story to Rev Simpson but would not let his name get out as he did not want to keep re-living the story.

As to these books, who knows?

I had heard this story too; I'd forgotten about it until you mentioned it here. I believe it to be true; Rev Charles Simpson is one of my favorite Teachers.

Pat

And if it occurred after embalming it should be believable, since people have all the blood pumped out of their body and replaced with embalming fluid within 24 hours and, therefore, there's no chance that they were dreaming or experiecing oxygen deprivation, both of which can convince people they have experienced something real.

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ORIGINAL: Pat-rebel_lady
It is not required to be embalmed in order to be buried. The funeral industry pushes hard for it in order to make more money, but you don't have to be embalmed and you don't have to buy one of their caskets either. Any sturdy box will do. They actually have refrigeration units to keep you "fresh" for the day of your viewing, wake or burial. They can charge you a per day charge for refrigeration.