23 Minutes In Hell: One Man's Story About What He Saw, Heard, and Felt in that Place of Torment [Paperback]

Bill Wiese (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2006

"My sincere hope is that this book is the closest you will ever come to  experiencing hell for yourself"--Bill Wiese saw the searing flames of hell, felt total isolation, and experienced the putrid and rotting stench, deafening screams of agony, terrorizing demons, and finally, the strong hand of God lifting him out of the pit--"Tell them I am coming very, very soon!"

Wiese’s visit to the devil’s lair lasted just twenty-three minutes, but he returned with vivid details etched in his memory. Since this life-changing ordeal, he has spent the last seven years studying the Scriptures to find answers and has listed more than 150 Bible verses referencing hell.

Everyone is curious about the afterlife, and now Wiese shares his insights to commonly asked questions such as:

• Is hell a literal burning place?
• Where is hell?
• Do you have a body in hell?
• Are there Degrees of punishment in hell?
• Are there children in hell?
• Can Demons torment people in hell?
• Can "good" people go to hell?

"Even if you don’t believe my story, I hope you will believe the Scriptures and avoid hell just the same."

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

"Even if you don't believe my story, you should believe these Bible verses and avoid hell just the same. To me, it doesn't matter what causes you to understand the truth as long as it sinks in. My sincere hope is that this book is the closest you will ever come to experiencing hell for yourself," Wiese writes.

From the Back Cover

"My sincere hope is that THIS BOOK IS THE CLOSEST YOU WILL EVER COME TO EXPERIENCING HELL FOR YOURSELF."

Bill Wiese saw the searing flames of hell, felt total isolation, and experienced the putrid and rotting stench, deafening screams of agony, terrorizing demons, and finally, the strong hand of God lifting him out of the pit.

"Tell them I am coming very, very soon!"

Wiese's visit to the devil's lair lasted just twenty-three minutes, but he returned with vivid details etched in his memory. Since this life-changing ordeal, he has spent the last seven years studying the Scriptures to find answers and has listed more than 150 Bible verses referencing hell.

Everyone is curious about the afterlife, and now Wiese shares his insights to commonly asked questions such as:

* IS HELL A LITERAL BURNING PLACE?
* WHERE IS HELL?
* DO YOU HAVE A BODY IN HELL?
* ARE THERE DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT IN HELL?
* ARE THERE CHILDREN IN HELL?
* CAN DEMONS TORMENT PEOPLE IN HELL?
* CAN "GOOD" PEOPLE GO TO HELL?

"Even if you don't believe my story, I hope you will believe the Scriptures and avoid hell just the same."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 169 pages
• Publisher: Charisma House; 1st edition (January 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591858828
• ISBN-13: 978-1591858829
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.4 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (535 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Religious Warfare
  • #46 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Bibles
  • #62 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Religious

More About the Author

Bill Wiese is a successful Realtor in Southern California. He has appeared on several television and radio shows and is an accomplished speaker.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

541 of 635 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars 23 Minutes in Hell... or perhaps a bad dream August 20, 2010

By John Marrow

Format:Paperback

With a heavy heart, I must give an honest review of this book. Before I begin, I want to start off by stating upfront that I am a born-again Christian, and I do believe that unbelievers who die without Christ will suffer eternal torment in Hell. However, with this said, I must say that I do not believe Bill Wiese' account.

I had heard about this book for quite some time before I had actually read it. At first I thought this was going to be a story about a man who wasn't a Christian, clinically died and went to Hell, came back to life and is now a Christian. Instead, I was surprised to find out that not only was Wiese already supposed to have been a Christian, but he didn't even die. Instead, he just went to bed at 3:00a.m. one night, fell into a pit and ended up in literal Hell. In this Hell he was tormented by demons, heat so intense that he should have been dead, and he witnessed a pit of fire where souls were being tormented. During his time in Hell, Wiese claims that he didn't know about God and had "forgotten" he was a Christian. He later supposedly gets rescued by Jesus and is told that he was purposely made to forget that he was a Christian. The entire reasoning behind this experience is so that Wiese can know that Hell exists and he can now tell others about it. He wakes back up in his living room where he fell asleep at 3:23a.m.

Right away, one would think that Wiese just had a nightmare, but Wiese is convinced that he had an out-of-body experience where his soul literally descended into Hell. Wiese insists that this wasn't just a dream.

This is all told in the first three chapters of the book, and the rest of the book is simply accounts of Wiese' evangelistic testimonies and answering a few questions about Hell.... But the first three chapters are really the "highlight" of the book. In fact, I found myself getting bored after the third chapter, because the rest of it becomes testimonies of Wiese being invited to speak about his experience, and then the book going into answering standard philosophical questions about Hell that can be found in many other books.

The main problem I have with Bill Wiese' story is that it just simply isn't consistent with what the Bible teaches about how God operates.

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells a story about a rich man who dies and ends up in Hell. The rich man becomes concerned that his family might end up in Hell too. So he asks Abraham (who is in paradise but is able to communicate with the rich man) if he can go and tell his family about Hell. And Abraham responds with, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead" (v. 31). So, knowing that Jesus told this story of the rich man, and the Bible teaches that if someone isn't persuaded by the Scriptures, then they will not be persuaded by someone returning from the dead, why would Jesus send Wiese to Hell to basically do what Abraham says won't persuade unbelievers anymore than the Scriptures will? The simple answer is, Jesus wouldn't do that.

There is also the issue with the demons that supposedly tortured Wiese. Jesus said that Hell is prepared for Satan and his demons. They will be eternally punished in Hell (Matt 25:41). Yet, Wiese claims that demons are in Hell feeling pleasure from torturing him and the more they tortured him, the more pleasure they felt. This doesn't make sense if the Bible teaches that Hell was created to punish the demons. In fact, Wiese makes it sound like the demons have a nice playground in Hell and are the ones administering the punishments rather than being punished themselves.

Another problem I have with Wiese's account is that Jesus said that anyone who believes in him will not see death (John 8:51).

After reading the book, I must admit that I am really disappointed. And while I am a born-again Christian who believes in the existence of Hell (and by that I mean eternal punishment, not annihilation), I must tell the truth of what I believe about this book. I had thought about not writing a review at all, but Christians need to stand on biblical truths, not lies. I'm still not even sure why Wiese is so convinced that he didn't just have a really bad dream... which is what I think he had if he's not just making this whole thing up. Read more ›

405 of 478 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking October 21, 2006

By tintin2002

Format:Paperback

Whether or not the author really did go to hell is immaterial. What matters more is that what he said about the existence of hell and its horrors are found in scripture. The first part of the book deals with his own testimony, and what he claims happened to him in hell. The second part of the book is a citation of scripture on hell.

I found the second-half to be heart-convicting. According to the author, there are about 150 verses on hell in the Bible. Many are listed down in the book. I checked the verses in his book against those in the Bible. All tallied. And then the reality sinks in: hell is really a place. It is not to be trifled with. There is no good thing there, no flower, or leaf, or even mercy, because God is not there. And all good things are from God. But the starkest and saddest truth is this: it was never meant to be a place for people, whom God created for eternal fellowship with Him. Such a horrible place was only meant for Satan and his fallen angels. Yet, so many souls are there, people who never heard about God, or who turned their backs to God. What this book did for me was point me back to the importance of evangelism - in God's loving plan, no one, not a single soul, should have to go to hell.

151 of 184 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop! Think! March 7, 2007

By Shirley Priscilla Johnson TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I was surprised at the diferent viewpoints I have read concerning this book. However I have learned when it comes to Hell.....well things can indeed get hot. The author to me is upfront and honest in his testimony of what happened to him. And also to me, it is not surprising that people are experiencing visions of Hell, after all, we are in the endtimes and God is doing all He can to sound the alarm. And even if we were not, no one is promised tomorrow so why take the chance of ending up in this dreadful place?

This testimony clearly shows that Hell is a place of torment, absent from God, love or any kind of goodness. It is a place of pain and suffering, sorrow and hate. I can't even imagine how difficult it was for the author to relive such an experience and I thank him for sharing it with a world that needs to hear the truth. I have seen this man on TV share his experience and believe me he is truly telling what he saw and felt and he is screaming to all that will listen, "Please, do not go there. You have a choice." Great book! Serious Warning! A read that should awaken some serious thought as to where we will spend eternity.

161 of 199 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Experience I Won't Soon Forget... July 8, 2006

By Mark Whittle

Format:Paperback

I consider myself a fair reader of literature, but I have yet to read a book that has had the effect on me as this one has. I was half way through it before being aware of the time. I've read several testimonies of (and about) men and women that have departed this life and found themselves in that Great Abyss called HELL and returned to tell about it. The author's experience is different in that he places the reader along side himself experiencing it as well. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well that night. Not for myself as I'm a Christian but for all the people I come in contact with everyday who I know... haven't made Jesus as their Lord.

This book will wake up the Dead. I know because I've left it to where anybody could read it and for those that did, their reading experience was similar. A great witnessing tool.

I gave it 5 stars just for that reason.

74 of 90 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Read October 29, 2006

By Pastor Carl

Format:Paperback

For the naysayers who believe that God is only a cuddly teddy bear and that no one will experience a hell, then you have missed much of what the Bible has to say concerning it. Bill Wiese brings this out in this page turner of a book. No, Bill Weiss is not a theologian, but then neither were the Apostles that Jesus chose to lead the early church. 12 ordinary men with no special religious backgrounds. Bill Weiss also doesn't need to be an Apostle to have and experience such as this and write about it.

To the one reviewer who talked about Lazarus, I will tell you that the Lazarus mentioned in Luke who was in the bosom of Abraham and the one Jesus raised from the dead were two different individuals who just happened to have the same name.

I highly recommend this book. Even if it were fiction, which I do not believe it is, I would still recommend it because it is scripturally based.

Rev. Carl Kaspick, MDiv

The Keepers Outreach Ministries