Book Review: 5 Books Written by Authors Claiming to Have Seen Heaven or Hell

I believe in a literal heaven and hell as implied by the Bible. When I thought about writing an article on authors that claimed to have seen heaven or hell I knew I had to make this my opening sentence. When writing about this subject you should always be upfront and honest about your spiritual bias and let the reader make up his or her own mind. What a Christian is going to write about these five books is going to be quite different from what an agnostic or atheist would write.

Both my brother and mother died from cancer. As a result, somewhat naturally I would expect, I've become interested in reading books by people claiming to have seen heaven or hell. Is there evidence of life after death? What is the afterlife like? I'm not so naïve as to assume that just because a person claims to have visited heaven or hell or had some out-of-body experience that they are being truthful, but I think by grouping like narratives, written by different people over a span of time, we can get a glimmering sense of what these supernatural places are like. (For a Biblical description of heaven and hell, I refer the reader to the Book of Revelation, specifically Revelation 20:10 and Revelation 21.)

I think even the most hardened skeptic would find these books interesting to read, if only for what it says about the human condition. I'm listing these in chronological order, to the best I can discern, based on when the person claims he or she had their heavenly or hellish experience.

Book title: Visions Beyond the Veil. Author: H.A. Baker. Heavenly or Hellish? Both. Date: 1920s-1930s
H.A. Baker and his wife Josephine were missionaries serving in China at the Adullam Home, a rescue mission for orphaned beggar boys. There was a sudden revival in their midst and the children began having visions of demons, angels, heaven, and hell and sharing their visions with the Bakers. The children claimed to have seen the lost being chained and dragged away by demons, as well as being thrown into a literal lake of fire. They also speak of visiting heaven, describing beautiful Eden-like parks, and walking on streets of gold in the Holy City, Because Mr. Baker wanted these experiences to be shared, he intentionally did not file for copyright for his book and made sure it would always be in the public domain. You can read this book in it's entirety here.

Book title: Return from Tomorrow. Author: George G. Ritchie, M.D. Heavenly or Hellish? Both. Date: 1943
When he was interviewed for this book in 1965, George Ritchie was a psychiatrist and had had over 14 years experience as a general practitioner. His experience occurred when he was a 20 year old army private. According to what the army doctors of that time told him, he was declared clinically dead from pneumonia, only to come back to life again about 10 minutes later. During the time he was declared "dead", he says, he had an out-of-body experience where he not only walked the earth as a ghost like spirit, but also visited hell and saw the fringes of heaven while in the presence of Jesus. His description of hell was quite intriguing in that there seemed to be different levels or experiences, depending upon a person's besetting sin. His experience seemed to imply that part of hell might actually be here on earth, where the ghost like spirits of suicide are locked into shadowing those people most hurt by their choices. He also visited a strange depressing plain where the ghost like spirits of lost people were engaging in attacking and screaming at each other, trying to hurt each other, though none of them were capable any more, with their ghost spirit bodies. Before he returned to his body, he saw just the outskirts of a great glowing city in the distance where people who trusted in Jesus went. Over half the book is used to describe his hellish and heavenly encounters, while the remainder is used to describe what happened after he resurrected and how his life changed as the result of his experience.

Book title: Angels on Assignment. Author: Roland Buck. Heavenly or Hellish? Heavenly. Date: 1977
Roland Buck was the pastor of Central Assembly of God Christian Life Center in Boise, Idaho when he began to have angelic visitations. For two years, he claims, angels would visit him with messages God wanted him to pass on to his congregation and to any one else who would listen. Prior to the beginning of his angelic visitations, in 1977, God called him out of his body and took him to the Throne Room in heaven. While he was there, God showed him the vast heavenly archives that contains the files on all the believers. When God showed him the files on Abraham and Sarah (of Biblical fame), Pastor Buck noticed that none of their sins or failings were recorded. God replied by saying "I do not record failure in Heaven." This visit is described in chapter 4, "My Visit to the Throne Room." The remainder of the book describes his angelic encounters, as well as the specifics of the messages he was told to preach.

Book title: 90 Minutes in Heaven. Author: Don Piper. Heavenly or Hellish? Heavenly. Date: 1989
Don Piper was a Baptist pastor in 1989 when he was in a car crash. According to the medical personnel that came on the scene, he died instantly. After another minster prayed for him, he came back to life 90 minutes later. During the time he was declared clinically dead, he says he was visiting with friends and family in heaven. Chapters 2 and 3 of the book describe his heavenly experience. He describes standing before a vast wall with a beautiful gate and being surrounded by people who loved him, who he recognized as having died during his lifetime. He remembers hearing music of incredible beauty and complexity. When he tried to walk through the beautiful gate he was called back to his body. The remainder of his book describes what happens to him after he returns to earth, including spending months in painful physical recovery.

Book title: 23 Minutes in Hell. Author: Bill Wiese. Heavenly or Hellish? Hellish. Date: 1998
Bill Wiese is dedicated Christian and a successful realtor. Two weeks after celebrating his first anniversary in 1998 he had a dramatic vision in which he believes Jesus sent him to hell for 23 minutes so that he could come back and warn people that it is a very real, very literal place. His descriptions of hell are some of the most horrific and terrifying of all the books I've read. He describes being naked in a cell, of seeing demons and a literal lake of fire, and watching a steady stream of people falling down a tunnel into the pits of hell. This book is not one to be read by the faint of heart; it is extremely graphic. The first four chapters describe Mr. Wiese's experiences including when Jesus rescues him from hell, then shares some of the aftermath as he shares his experiences with people. More than half the book contains Bible verses and reference material about the subject of hell, including answers to common questions people have like "Is hell a literal burning place?" and "Where is hell located?"

Some of these books are out of print! Where can I find copies?
I always recommend people check with their local booksellers first, but if they can't help you, try these premium bookselling sites: Abebooks, Biblio, and Alibris.

Blessings!

Sources
H.A. Baker. Visions Beyond the Veil
Roland Buck, as told to Charles and Frances Hunter. Angels on Assignment
Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. 90 Minutes in Heaven
George G. Ritchie with Elizabeth Sherrill. Return from Tomorrow
Bill Wiese. 23 Minutes in Hell