Friends are an important part of most peoples’ lives. Richard was a schoolboy living in Ghana. When he became ill, he could have had no idea how vital friendship with Christians of his own age would prove to be. They had the faith to pray for him when they came to visit him in hospital one day, and found the curtains drawn around his bed. This is his story.
There was a boy named Richard, living in Ghana. He was in school in Ho in the 1970’s. He became born again through the activities of the Scripture Union in his school. His father, who was a fetish priest, did not take kindly to his conversion. When he discovered that Richard had become a Christian he refused to pay for any more school fees, because Richard, as a Christian, would not want to serve in the fetish shrine of his father. So it seemed that the boy would have to stop his secondary education.
But by grace of the Lord, some Christian friends agreed to help pay his school fees, and so he continued in school up to the 5th form.
Some time later he was taken ill. He reported to the Ho Government hospital and was admitted. Friends and Christian friends used to visit him in the ward. One afternoon when his friends visited the ward to see him, the nurse on duty would not allow them to see him. They noticed that a green screen surrounded Richard’s bed. The green screen is suggestive of one of two things – a bed bath or dea1th. His Christian friends persisted with their request, but the nurse would allow only two of them to see him. When they were behind the screen, they saw to their dismay Richard had died. Without any hesitation, they started praying for him. In their prayer, they asked the Lord if it was His will that Richard should die at this point in time.
A few minutes later, they observed that Richard’s arm moved! Then, as they watched, his other hand also moved. The friends were watching intently. Finally, his eyes opened and he sighed very deeply. Richard said, ‘I am sorry to be back in this world again’. The friends asked him what he meant by that, and this is the story he told them.
‘I was thrown into the air like a bullet from a gun. I was moving into the sky until a hole opened in the sky for me to enter. When I entered, I saw a small boy in a white garment. He held my hand and said, “Welcome”. He took me in and asked me to look back at the Earth and to see what was happening there. When I looked down I saw the Earth, which looks like a ball, and also many people. Men and women were committing shameful things that can hardly be imagined. The boy remarked that the details of their lives were clearly visible.
The boy told me to follow him. We reached a place where a long line of people appeared in front of a Judge sitting on a throne. There were some people there who I recognised. People were taking turns at coming into the presence of the Judge (II Corinthians 5.10). Watching them, I saw that some people came to the front of the Judge and began to plead that they did not know that one day they would appear before Him for judgement. The Judge looked down while the man made his plea. After pleading he took a cap and found himself moving to the left of the Judge. Some people came into the Judge’s presence but never said a word and stepped out and passed the right hand side of the Judge.
Richard continued, ‘After I had watched this scene for some time the angelic boy asked me to accompany him to see what was happening to those who passed to the left side of the Judge. We went there and stood in front of a gate. The boy knocked at the gate and the door opened. The room was very dark and those inside were weeping and groaning and gnashing their teeth. I got so scared that I began to pity them. The boy took me again to see those who were passing the right. Again we came to a door. The boy knocked at the door and it opened. Looking inside, I saw the floor was made of gold. The whole place was very bright and the people were rejoicing and singing praises to the Lord of Lords. Oh, the joy of it. I got so excited that I jumped to enter in, but the boy held me back. He told me my turn had not yet come.
He then asked whether I had ever read Matthew 24. I replied that I had. He added that the signs for the Second Coming of the Lord are being fulfilled one after another. He said it would not be long before the Lord will appear and then told me to tell of what I had seen to anyone I could. The angelic boy then left me, and here I am on Earth again.’
The true story of Richard is included, with kind permission, in the free e-book BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER which includes 27 similar true stories, and may be freely read and downloaded from this web site.