Secrets from Beyond The Grave

supernatural being. Suddenly it was as if a veil was lifted, and Bill began seeing these people falling headlong into a very large opening that he described as a "massive pit." It was then that he observed a second angelic-looking creature casting people into this immeasurable opening located somewhere under the earth. As Bill himself was being pulled toward the edge of this canyon, he estimated this gaping opening to be many miles in circumference. He could see into the lower area, where the huge canyon contained thousands of smaller pits, all burning with fire. His ears were opened as he suddenly heard a mighty chorus of moans and cries arising from below, like millions of souls shouting from a large stadium. The voices were so many and diverse, both male and female. He observed that there were at least two people in each smaller pit. In some instances, a person would reach down into the fire and pull out a person and violently scream at that individual. There were older teenagers who were blaming their parents for being there. Bill heard one scream, "It's all your fault!" One part of this experience that was completely unexpected was the smell coming from this area. Bill said, "There was a very depressing darkness far above the hole, and a strong odor in the air of burning sulfur." Having worked in the mines, and, on one occasion, having seen a fire break out where men were burned, Bill was familiar with the smell of sulfur and the sickening smell of burnt flesh. While Bill was hearing, seeing, and smelling this world of the lost, he began crying out to God for mercy and help. Meanwhile, in the hospital the doctor and nurses were working on reviving Bill and were successful. In the place he acknowledges as hell, he was suddenly being drawn back upward toward the earth's surface, and everything became black again. Eventually, when he came to himself, he found himself in a hospital room, very weak and mentally overwhelmed by his experience. Shortly after he was stabilized and out of the woods , my grandfather visited Bill and was one of the first persons to hear his life-changing experience of a world that existed beyond the grave. In 1978, I was in Granddad's church interviewing Bill--just me, Bill, and his son. I asked Bill, "Were you attending church when this happened?" He replied, "I would go to church, but I was not living the life I should. But after this incident, I was so shaken that I said I would serve the Lord and follow Him all of my life." Bill certainly was faithful and did follow the Lord until his death. Bill could say as David did: He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock,

And established my steps.

--Psalm 40:2

Now--the Rest of the Story

My grandfather John Bava built with his own hands and money the church building in Gorman, Maryland, and pastored for more than thirty years. I recall that when he retired in his late seventies, one reason he did so was because so many of his church members had passed