The Witness

The Witness
Written by
Christopher Brownie

Justice is a treasure that’s often in demand.
The guilty claim ignorance when in the defendant’s stand.
For every crime there is a victim with evidence as their voice,
And for every audience of evil there is a difficult choice.
Should I conceal or reveal the truth to all mankind?
It was in this predicament, myself I did find.
Here I now dwell in the court of the most high.
Sitting in the witness chair where none can lie.
The righteous judge has now charged me to tell my story
My throat went dry as I sat there in his glory
“I have seen a crime committed, this truth I cannot hide.
The souls of this world are heading for genocide.”
“Go on” he said as he firmly gripped his gavel.
My throat cleared for the mystery I must unravel.

I was in church one New Years night with a friend at my side.
God’s holy word sat in my lap, which I use as my guide.
The man of God came forward and was preparing to preach.
Little did I know he had more than just a sermon to teach.
The preacher engaged the congregation, wearing sorrow like a shroud,
and as his face contorted with sadness, he poured his soul aloud.
He then said, “What I’m about to say isn’t going to be easy to hear.
I pray that the message God has given me, you will hold dear.
What I’ll be talking about tonight is souls, and Hell.
What we must do in this world and why people rebel.”
His face grew even more serious than it was before.
He took off his glasses that he always wore.
Then he looked up and said, “Let’s take a trip through hell.”
That’s when everything went black and I began to hear the yells.

It felt like I was in a deep sleep or a dream like state.
Seeing things which still haunt me to this very date.
I could feel myself falling through a supernatural abyss.
The darkness overwhelmed me as I clenched my fists.
My spirit clung to the shadows as I tried stopping my descent.
But this was something that no mortal could prevent.
My feet met the ground and its good friend fear.
I would give absolutely anything to get away from here.
The scenery was replaced by a living reddish glow,
It’s movement flowing like a bloody undertow.
At first there was only silence but it was quickly replaced
By heavy breathing and my beating hearts pace.
Confusion gripped me as evil surrounded my being.
All logic, and reasoning were quickly fleeing.
Terror racked my body, shaking me beyond control.
As I tried to decipher just where dwelled my soul.
Before a conclusion could clearly be reached
The silences presence was speedily beseeched.
Like a thousand trains de-railing, and the biggest chalk board scratched
This sound so pierced my ears and heart in a way unmatched.
It was the screams of millions crying in the deepest of despair
The sheer volume knocked me down, as their pain was declared.
I could hear every bit of anguish in their high, pitched squeals.
Their torment consumed me, their suffering I could feel.
Then appeared a great gate made of the hottest flame.
All mortals know its name, all devils know its fame.
From the lavishness of life I had indeed fell,
For now my soul had found the very gates of Hell.

I surveyed my surroundings, as I was repelled by the heat.
Fear’s icy hand’s choked me for my fate I would soon meet.
These things were not all I saw in that dark, evil place.
For there was a man walking towards me with a slow but steady pace.
He was a tall, muscular man with a stature of eight feet.
Indeed he was scary but an impressive man to meet.
My first impression was fear as I saw such a sight.
He then said, “Don’t be afraid.” as I trembled with fright.

“Where am I and who are you?” I asked as the giant walked to my side.
“A place of unspeakable torture and I am your guide.”
“Why am I here?” I asked the Goliath as he looked toward the gate.
“To learn a lesson that will help you in life but at first you’ll hate.
He pointed his giant hand at the gate opening it with the fire burning.
“Do you want me to go in there?” I asked as my stomach began churning.
He replied, “Yes” as he led me to the gate.
I then realized that there was no avoiding this horrific fate.
I passed through the gate into a dark, evil cave.
My steps were slow at first but they became somewhat more, brave.
The screams and shrills were now louder than before.
The voices of the screams sang in unison like an eerie roar
My nose cringed at the stench of burning flesh slowly roasting on a fire.
Being in this wretched vile place was the last thing my heart desired.
I began noticing as the cave grew larger the temperature became hotter
For now I had entered the souls house of slaughter.
I then found myself standing over thousands of fiery graves,
Pits filled with unspeakable horrified tortured slaves
A great field lay before me as far as the east is to the west.
As far as the eye can see my worst nightmare was manifest.
A great bridge went over the field’s infinite expanse,
I wanted to move closer to it but fear stopped my advance.
“I can’t believe this,” I thought standing by that shore.
I did not want to see what this journey had in store.
Pushing myself closely to the very point of madness.
My feet began moving overwhelmed by sadness.
I crept slowly to a pit not knowing what would occur.
As flames shot up all around me in a nightmarish stir
As I peered down into that chasm I saw a figure there.
The form of a friend it was, with great suffering he did bear.
His eyes were rotting away preventing him from clearly seeing,
the inward parts of his body hanging forth from his being.
Exposed bone was shown where flesh had been burned away.
What little was still there tried to keep the flames at bay.
The voices of torment for some reason slowly became quiet
But by far this was not the end of the hellish riot.
He lifted his disfigured head towards the portal of my soul,
Opening his mouth wide, he professed sin’s toll.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me about Jesus Christ.
If only you had told me I wouldn’t be paying this price.
I could have been saved but now it’s too late.
You could of kept me from suffering this eternal fate.”
Why? Why? He kept asking me Why?
there was nothing I could say. I had no reply.
The flames suddenly arose, causing him to writhe in pain
His body dropped to the floor in convulsions under the fiery rain.
There is no word to describe my emotions or what was happening here.
Sorrow, guilt, shame, anger and overwhelming fear.
I went from pit to pit seeing close relatives and friends.
All of them asking me the same question again and again
I never thought if I didn’t witness Hell would be around the bend.
If only I had told them about Christ they wouldn’t have met this end.
I ran from that horrible place with tears in my eyes.
Screaming to myself Why? Why? Why?

I ran until I saw the giant, standing with his arms a fold.
It was because of him I was here and it was him I would scold.
How dare he allow this to happen and not even care?
These questions burning within me I could no longer bear.
“Why has this happened?!!” I screamed as rage gushed from my heart.
Hell’s fire, now in my words, as my spirit ripped apart.
“Because you didn’t witness, and tell them about Christ,
the price he paid with his blood, the ultimate sacrifice.
You knew of his grace, his mercy and his amazing healing,
But time after time you withheld the truth, because of shameful feelings.
You feared the reaction of peer pressure, and ignored their helpless cry,
Now for all eternity in this place here they shall lie
Count yourself fortunate, for this is only a dream.
When you wake up you will understand what I mean.
But if you do not heed my warnings and truly listen to me
this dream which you have seen this night will become reality.”
Then I awoke from the dream and I was back sitting on my pew.
My eyes were wet from crying as if caressed by morning dew.
I turned to my friend who had been sitting at my side.
But the strange thing is that there were tears in his eyes.
For he had seen the same dream that I had seen,
and been to the same wicked place that I had been.
If only I had told my loved ones how God had blessed me
They could find redemption from their sin, and their blinded eyes would see.

We both went to the altar that night and prayed for the lost,
pleading and begging God that they would not have to pay that cost.
To this day I still hear the cries of the lost souls, as if I were still there.
If I ever had to relive that night again it would be more than I could bear.
I have set in the chair of the witness, and have told you this tale,
To alert you to the danger, for Hell fire shall assail.
I hope you have learned the lesson that I learned that night,
to be a witness to others and show that Jesus is the light.
If we don’t witness and tell others about Jesus Christ
and tell about how he died on the cross and paid the ultimate price
You may see the same dream that I have seen.
Only to find out that this time it won’t be a dream.

Christopher,

take this as you may,

you were put under an un-godly-evil-spell....your weakness it's food!

there is only One Saviour, and His Name is Jesus Christ -
when you belong to Him, all you will ever need to know or do,
He has written in a Book for you and for all of the ones He loves.

I wasn't put under an evil spell. The vision was from the Lord, a warning to myself to focus on reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of that experience I dedicated my life to ministry and soul winning for Christ. I thought the poem made that abundantly clear. I was inspired to write it to warn others not to be so caught up in the things of this world but instead to focus on building the kingdom of God.

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Christopher,

your poems are well crafted works of fiction - for those of us who are familiar with the classics,
your writings 'echo' Dante's Inferno - and is also very similar to 'paradise lost'.

the main problem with your witness is that it is scripturally inaccurate.

ECC.9:5.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward;
for the memory of them is forgotten.

the word 'hell' in scripture has (3) different meanings - depending upon context.
a study of the etymology has helped us very much is our understanding of scripture.

as we have learned after many years of intensive study and experiencing first-hand the propaganda
of the 'snake-handling-hell-fire-false-preachers, we have come to learn that their only motivation
is to CONTROL and then USE their converts to not only loosen their purse-strings, but also to become
submissive to counterfeit/false-spiritual-authority. .....

Dear brother in Christ, I appreciate you taking your time to lend me your council on this matter. I would like to address the issues that you brought up in your comment regarding the theological implications of my poem. Before I get started let it be clear that I am not attacking you but providing a defense or explanation for my position.

1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Let’s start with your first statement. You stated: “Your poems are well crafted works of fiction - for those of us who are familiar with the classics, your writings 'echo' Dante's Inferno - and is also very similar to 'paradise lost.'

Firstly, as I stated in my first response that this is not a fictitious depiction of hell created from my imagination but is a true story of my personal testimony as to how I came to ministry. The Lord took me through this experience to admonish myself to preach the gospel of Christ to others. If there are any similarities to Dante’s Inferno or any other classics to which you ascribe my writings, I assure you that it is purely coincidental. If you doubt that people receive visions from God in this dispensation may I refer you to the following:

Acts 2:16 - But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy

Secondly, you stated: “The main problem with your witness is that it is scripturally inaccurate.”

ECC.9:5 - For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

My brother, on the contrary my vision and depiction of Hell is quite Biblically accurate. I am familiar with the various renderings of Hell in scripture, Sheol, Tophet in the Old Testament Hebrew and the three Greek words in the New Testament Hades, Tartarus, and Gehenna. For the sake of space and time I am only going to deal with Sheol / Hades. Based on the verse you quoted above I am assuming that you ascribe to the Soul Sleep Doctrine in that when someone dies they remain in an unconscious state in the grave until judgment day. In order to maintain that point of view you have to take into account Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19 - There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Here we have one of the most graphic depictions of Hell by Jesus Christ. I want to draw your attention to the following observations.

1. The rich man was fully conscious In Hell (Verse 23)
2. He was aware of his surroundings (Verse 24)
3. He is aware that he is dead (Verses 29-31)
4. He desired relief from his suffering (Verse 24)
5. The Rich man had a full dialogue with Abraham showing that he was not only sentient but he also had the ability to communicate (Verse 24-31)
6. He had memories of his past life because he remembered that he had five brothers and recognized Lazarus from when he was alive afar off in Abraham’s Bosom. (Verses 23 & 27-28)

Based on this text I fail to see how my vision clashes with the scripture. As a matter of fact my vision and poem illustrates all of these Biblical elements as told by Jesus Christ in Luke 16:19-31. Well what about the verse you quoted. Let’s get a better understanding of what it is saying.

ECC.9:5 - For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

It states that the dead doesn’t know anything. My question is what is death and what has died?
James 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The verse above answers both questions. Death is the separation of the spirit from the body.

Genesis 25:8 - Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

What dies is the body and not the spirit, therefore Ecclesiastes is referring to the body being unaware or having no sensory knowledge of anything and not the actual spiritual consciousness that departs and goes from Heaven or Hell. It is the spirit that animates or brings life to the body.

Genesis 2:7 - And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Therefore the body without a spirit is dead. The Greek word in Luke 16:19-31 is the word Hades which is also known as Sheol in the Old Testament or translated the grave in the New Testament in modern translations. This is where the wicked dead currently go immediately upon death if they are unsaved.

Luke 16:22 - And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

The righteous go to be with the Lord immediately upon death.

2 Corinthians 5:6 - Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The counter argument to my analysis of Luke 16:19-31 is that this is just a parable and not a true story. That also makes no sense for the following reasons.

1. It’s not a parable because in all of Jesus parables the characters have no names but in this story the beggar is named specifically.
2. Even if it were a parable, the facts extrapolated from it would still have to be true because a parable by definition and by application must be based on something real and not abstract otherwise it would make no sense.

For example the parable of the sower: Jesus references seed, different types of soil, birds, and a sower or farmer of which all are real. He depicts their interactions in real life scenarios to show a spiritual truth. If the references and their interactions were not real they would have no application and therefore be pointless. All of Christ’s parables referenc things that were real, therefore the facts presented in the story of Lazarus and the rich man must also be real.

You stated: “As we have learned after many years of intensive study and experiencing first-hand the propaganda of the 'snake-handling-hell-fire-false-preachers, we have come to learn that their only motivation is to CONTROL and then USE their converts to not only loosen their purse-strings, but also to become submissive to counterfeit/false-spiritual-authority. .....

I could be wrong about this but I’m assuming by this comment you are ascribing greed, ignorance, deception, and manipulation to my character by comparing me to “snake-handling-hell-fire-false preachers.” I must admit that I don’t appreciate this assertion of myself nor its implication that everyone who warns the world of a hell to shun are bedfellows with thieves con-artists and dictators. I find that to be “biblically inaccurate” considering Jesus preached about Hell.

Matthew 18:8 - Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Not only that, but yet again your comment demonstrates that you still don’t understand why I wrote the poem in the first place. This poem isn’t to people who aren’t saved but on the contrary it’s to believers. I am not trying to coerce someone through intimidation and fear to come to Christ but to admonish believers that if we don’t preach the gospel, this will be the end of those who are lost.

2 Corinthians 4:3 - But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

Matthew 9:36 - But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

In conclusion, I hope you now have a better understanding of my position. I also hope that I have not caused offense as that was not my intent but to do as I stated at the beginning, which was to provide an explanation for the reason of the hope that lies within me and a defense of the gospel. My brother, I hope you see my heart, that it is sincere in reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ and that I am basing my preaching, writing, and actions on holy scripture. I ask that you pray for me as I endeavor to build the kingdom of God. I most certainly will be doing the same for you. God bless.