Former self-confessed drug addict and rock 'n roll musician Tim Ehmann "died" from an overdose of heroin and crack back on Sept. 1, 2000, and he then went straight to hell.
There, he met several of his old friends—the people he used to jam and party with. As an unbeliever of God, Ehmann and his friends used to joke that hell was just a place that is similar to the music industry. But when he saw the place for himself, Ehmann said it was far, far worse than anyone could imagine.
"Hell is like a rock concert—the amplification of everything, of the sound of noise, of screaming, of horror—it is a place of total desolation. The horror just penetrates your whole being," he told the Gospel Herald.
Fortunately for Ehmann, him being in hell was not the end of the story. He said later he saw a brilliant white light appear above him, and a hand helped pull him from hell and delivered him to heaven.
"The terrifying sounds of hell faded far off into the distance, replaced by...sweet, melodic music..." he narrated. "Peace and love like I'd never known before emanated through me like waves."
Whereas hell penetrates one's whole being because of horror, heaven is the complete opposite because it is filled with God's light, said Ehmann.
"What I experienced in heaven was incredible, I got to see Jesus face to face—he's transparent in His beauty and majesty. He emanates pure love. The pureness of who He is is just peace—it's incredible," he gushed. "There's so much to heaven...mountains, the crystal sea ... everything in Heaven has life in itself, even a drop of water has life. The colours are hard to describe—you can describe yellows and golds, but they're actually full of light and life in itself. I got to see several of the old prophets and several of the disciples. There are also so many amazing places there—it's an atmosphere of total tranquillity and peace. When I speak of being there, it's just like being on earth. It's just as real as the chair you're sitting on. Everything you can touch feel and taste."
Ehmann returned back to life after experiencing both hell and heaven when he was in a near-death situation. He now believes that God gave him the "priceless opportunity" to experience the horrors of hell and the grandeur of heaven for a reason, and he hopes that people will be inspired to seek God once they read his book "I Met God in Hell."
"I would say there's only one way out of any of this (sin), and it's through Jesus Christ. I didn't ask him or seek him, his mercy chased me. I truly believe the best prayer is 'Help me God' with a sincere heart, because he looks at the heart. That's the only thing he's looking at. He's not looking at the outward appearance," says Ehmann. This God is so incredibly in love with each of us he's going to take care of the situation. A fervent prayer—that doesn't have to be a churchy prayer, just say, "Lord, if you're real, show me" that's another great prayer. I screamed both of those things."
