In the blink of an eye and a flash of light, I found myself immersed in a realm of divine beauty. There I was, standing atop a huge cloud... I could barely see what was beneath. I looked around and a humongous, golden gate came into sight. As I approached it, I saw a familiar figure. Before I could make my move, the figure walked calmly towards me. I looked at him once more and instantly, I realized that standing right before me was Peter. I tilted my head, as if to say "Weren't you the man who was restored after betraying Jesus three times ?" He spoke. "Child, you are here for a purpose. You are to choose between Heaven or Hell. You have exactly 24 hours to spend in each place, afterwhich you will make your choice." Before I could even open my mouth, I was transported faster than the speed of light and I found myself in what we all know of as, Heaven. The place was tremendously beautiful. The streets were paved with gold, gold so pure it simply reflected the glory of God. There were angels everywhere, singing and praising the glorious name of the Lord. Up and around there were mansions, huge mansions that none on earth could imitate. I lifted up my head and breathed in deeply. My body quivered as the smell immersed my soul. A fragrance I have never smelled before. It was so beautiful and all I could think of was how pitiful were the souls who never believed that there was a Heaven. Immediately I pranced around the area, exploring each and every corner that was within my reach. The area was so huge and I was told that where I was was only a portion of Heaven. Just as I was about to pick up a flower that was blooming with diamonds, Peter appeared right before me and touched my shoulder. "The 24 hours are up, now that you have experienced the wonders of Heaven, it is time you go down to Hell before making your decision." I scoffed, "Well I don't think there is a need to do so, I'm pretty sure I know what my decision is." Peter looked at me and said, "Well, I'm afraid you still have to do so. Anyway, it is only a matter of 24 hours before you make your final decision." There and then, an elevator appeared and down I went, deep into the pits of darkness. As I travelled through the darkness, I heard nothing of what the preachers preached. Screams of torture, the shrills of demons and the hissing of serpents and other demonic creatures. Where were they ? I heard nothing. All I heard was a stiff silence which soon turned into a melodious sound of musical instruments of which I could not identify. The elevator stopped and I stepped out. There I saw a huge banquet table, on which all my favourite food was laid. And by all, I mean ALL and nothing short. I looked around and my curiosity immediately turned into joy. Over to the left, I saw beautiful ladies, draped in red cloths of fine linen. I looked to the right and there was dancing and merry drinking. EVERYTHING was there. Everything enjoyable was there. All the worldly treasures, "bling-blings", music, ladies, drinks. I felt ecstatic. It was absolutely fun and fantastic. Nothing like what they preach in church, what with all the ghouls and demons torturing you, all gibberish! I danced to my heart's content, I smoked with the other people, I banged my head to the sound of metal, I flailed my arms wildly as if no one was around, I continuously flung shots of vodka in my mouth, I fooled around and enjoyed merry-making. I was absolutely high. So high I felt as if I was above the heavens. Suddenly, I felt a tap on the shoulder. I turned around hoping that it would be another lady who would satisfy my increasing lust but to my disappointment, it was... Peter. "It is time for you to return to Heaven and make your choice." My shoulders slouched and I heaved out a sigh, attempting to let Peter know how troublesome this was, moving up and down. Obviously my decision is clear. No elevator appeared this time. I was simply "zapped" into the Heavens, and there I stood, positively sure of my choice. Why did we not use the elevator ? It was as if the decision was to be made quick, as if time was running out, as if it was a matter of life and death. As I waited in my assumption that I would have to sign a paper of some sort, a figure approached. This figure was different, it wasn't like that of Peter's. It was shining, it was majestic, it beared all glory. It looked compassionate, it looked loving, it was victorious. Closer it came and it's face shined on me so brightly, I could barely stand. And then it came to me, it was the one and only, Jesus Christ. I somehow felt nothing, completely indifferent towards the whole matter. It was as if my heart was hardened after being immersed in worldly pleasures, I did not want to give any of that up. It was simply impossible, especially since everything of what I heard on earth about Hell was barely anything I experienced while I was there. Jesus stood before me, his smile was warming and His presence felt so pure. But like I said, I was completely indifferent towards this. It felt like rubbish to me, as if bad things were said about Hell just to "force" us into Heaven. I looked at Jesus and asked Him apathetically, "did you really die for our sins ?" He looked at me in all His awe and spoke nothing. He unravelled his long sleeves and showed the wounds that were present on his palms and wrists. It seemed to have disappeared after I noticed it. Then He spoke, "It is time for you to choose. This is a choice for eternity and once you've made your choice, there will be no point of return." Though He spoke with such compassion, I could sense the seriousness in his voice. It made me think, but I stayed affixed to my choice. "Well, Jesus, firstly, thank you for dying for my sins. But I don't particularly feel that that is as big of a deal as it is compared to giving up fun since, like you said, this is a choice made for eternity. I have come to my final decision, and I choose..." Before I could complete my sentence, I was interrupted. "Before you say it, are you absolutely sure you want that ? Once you proclaim it there is no turning back." I could sense a change in His voice, it sounded somewhat sorrowful, as if He felt that I was about to make a very wrong decision. But then I remembered about the gibberish that was mentioned about Hell and instantly I stood firm to my decision and quickly spoke before I could be interrupted once more. "I love you, but I choose Hell." Immediately, before I could see anything else, I was transported down to where I wanted to be. But it felt entirely different this time. And again, there was no elevator. As I passed what seemed like earth, I could hear faint screams and demonic growls from below. This can't be, I thought to myself. Then I came across the same pit of darkness, immediately my soul felt tormented. I could feel this great sense of loneliness and depression overwhelmed me. I sobbed out and screamed "What is going on! This can't be!" But I continued on that journey of no return. The smell of sulphur and rotting, decomposed meat became more intense as I was nearing a somewhat bright looking place, but it beared no glory. It was fiery bright. My lungs felt as if they were going to explode as I was forced to inhale the sulphur. I "landed" but my mind was in shock. As I looked around, I saw no banquet, no ladies, no melodies, none of that sort. All I saw was torture. A great sense of fear gobbled me as I sunk into an all time low. I saw demons all around, serpents and other creatures that were so ugly, I wanted to gorge my eyes out. I could literally feel my eyes burning just by looking at them. My whole body was in pain and it was so immense I can barely describe it. There were many other souls around but they were in no state of fun. There was so much screaming and shouting and fear gripped my heart. What was happening ? Just then, I turned around and lo and behold, I saw a creature. It was humongous, it was ugly, it was sadistic. It was evil, it was notorious, it was a destroyer. It was none other than Lucifer. He stared at me and gloated so much so that a wave of shame engulfed me. Then he spoke. His voice was terrible, it sounded like that of a demented growl. "Look at you, you pathetic fool. How silly were you. Look where you are now. You are in the pits of Hell, there is nothing but torture here. And you will NEVER be able to escape." I wailed loudly and forced my voice out, "Where are the banquets and all the people! You liar! You destroyer!" He pointed his finger at me, and used his grossly overgrown nail to lift up my face. It felt completely grotesque, like a trillion bacteria had landed and dug deep into my pores. And his nail felt like a thousand thorns, piercing through my every vein. But that was the least of the pain that I was feeling right now. "You ignorant fool. I was merely recruiting you. Take him away to the chamber of torture, it is his time." As I cowered in fear, I looked up through the darkness and across a huge chasm I saw Heaven. And there at the gate I saw Peter with many other souls, rejoicing in the name of the Lord. And then, I saw Jesus. I could see sorrow in His eyes. I could feel the burden. I saw a tear drop from the chin of His face and down it went. I pushed out my tongue with all the energy I had left in hope that it would touch me and cool me from these unbearable flames even for a second. Just as it was about to reach, its molecules dispersed, as if there was an invisible wall that prevented anything holy from entering this filthy, horrendous place. I felt incredibly remorseful. Oh how foolish I was! How ignorant was I! I wouldn't have had to go through any of this if I had listened, if I had not depended on the pleasures of the world. The preachers mentioned of this, and yet, I didn't want to think anything of it, I didn't want to believe anything of it until I see it. But it is now too late, I was deceived. I now understood the true meaning of faith, the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. I realized that everything in the bible was true, but I was too stubborn, too disobedient, too unwilling. It is now, too late. As I sat there on my knees before the screams of many others and the sadistic laughter of the demons, two of which lugged me away, my body felt as if it was being shredded into pieces but no, there was no such thing as death here. If only I had listened. Even after seeing and experiencing it all, if only, I had been, obedient.