Life After Death PART VII (Heaven & Hell)

The Holy Scriptures' teachings regarding the delight of the righteous in heaven and the suffering of the sinners in hell can be found in the brochure "The end of the World and Future Life"(missionary brochure of our parish, number 47). What is heaven? Where is it? In conversation people refer to heaven as up "above" and hell as down "below." People who have seen hell during their clinical deaths always described its approach as a descent. Although, clearly, up and down are relative terms, it would be incorrect to think of heaven or hell as simply different conditions. They are two distinct places though they defy geographical description. Angels and the souls of the dead can only be in one particular place, be it heaven, hell or earth. We cannot denote the location of the spiritual world; it is not within the "coordinates" of our space-time system. That space is different and, although it has its beginnings here, it expands in new directions beyond the reaches of human mind.An enfeebled man after suffering for many years finally prayed to the Lord for an end to his suffering.
An angel appeared to him and said: "Your sins require cleansing. The Lord offers you to exchange one year of suffering on earth for three hours of hell. Choose." The sufferer contemplated his choices and decided on three hours in hell. Then the angel took him into the pit of hell. All around was darkness, narrowness — everywhere evil spirits, the cries of sinners, and suffering. The soul of the enfeebled began to experience indescribable fear and pain, but only echoes and the surging hellfire answered his screams. No one noticed his groans and bellows; all of the sinners were occupied with their own suffering. The sufferer felt that centuries had passed and that the angel had forgotten him. Finally the angel appeared to him and asked, "Well, how are you brother?" "You tricked me!" exclaimed the sufferer. "Not three hours, but many years I have been here in intolerable pain!" "What years?" the angel asked, "only an hour has passed, and you still have two to go." Then the sufferer begged the angel to return him to earth, where he was willing to suffer as many years as required, if only to leave this place of terrors. "Very well," answered the angel, "The Lord will show His Great Mercy." Finding himself back on his sickbed, the sufferer from that point forward bore his sufferings with meekness, always remembering hells terrors, which are incomparably worse. (from the letters of Sviatogortz, pg. 183, 15th letter, 1883).
Here is the story of two friends. One went to a monastery and led a saintly life and the other remained in the world and lived sinfully. When the sinful friend died, his friend the monk prayed to God for knowledge of his friend's fate. Once, while the monk was in a light sleep, his friend came to him. His friend began to tell him about the intolerable agonies he was experiencing and how a tireless worm was gnawing at him. Having said this, he lifted his clothing over his knee revealing an awful worm, which covered the length of his leg and was consuming it. The lesions on his leg exuded such an odor that the stench woke the monk. He jumped from his cell and the stench from his cell spread through the monastery. As the stench did not decrease with time, all of the monks were forced to move to a different site. The monk who saw hell's prisoner could not rid himself of the stench which clung to him for the rest of his days (from the book "Eternal Mysteries from Beyond the Grave" a publication of St. Panteleimon Monastery, on Mount Athos). Sometime thereafter, the Voice from the cloud said, "Let this man return to earth as he is needed by the Church." And I fell down to the ground and cried: "Alas, Alas, Lord, why have You shown me all of this if only to take it away?" But the Voice answered, "Go in peace. I will watch over you until such time as I will return you to this place." Then I went back, crying, through gates by which I had entered.
Another extraordinary vision of Heaven is related by St. Andrew the Christ Lover, a Slav, who was born retarded and lived in Constantinople in the 9th century. Once, during a harsh winter Saint Andrew was lying in the street dying from the cold. All at once, he felt unusual warmth and saw a beautiful youth shining like the sun. This youth took him to heaven, the third firmament. This is what Saint Andrew described upon his return to earth.