Visions of Life Beyond the Grave

In the Spirit Adullam chidren were caught up to this city time after time, not as in a dream but as a living reality. Frequently when they were in Paradise plucking and partaking of the heavenly fruit, they gathered some extra to tuck in their garments to bring back to earth for "Muh Si and Si Mu" (Pastor and Mrs. Baker.)  They knew they were only on a visit to Heaven and soon to return.  Upon returning, when the Spirit lifted from them in our Adullam rooms, they proceeded at once to search in their pockets for the delicious fruit they had brought back to please us.  Not finding this fruit, a look of great surprise, confusion and disappointment came over their faces.  They could not, for the time, believe that they had not bodily gone to heaven and come back with the fruit tucked in their garments.
The Adallum children said they went to the third heaven.  As they passed through the first heaven they felt air on their faces.  Having passed the second heaven, they looked back upon the stars in their wonderful beauty, much as from a mountain height a person might gaze down upon a beautiful, light-studded city below.  Finally they reached the third heaven and came within sight of the New Jerusalem.  As they approached this heavenly city they saw its light in the distance.  Coming nearer, they saw the beautiful wall radiating its wonderful jasper light.  The foundations were of indescribable beauty, sparkling with red, yellow, orange, purple, blue, green, violet, and all the other colours of the twelve most beautiful jewels.  The children of Adullam entered by its pearly gates into the city of golden streets.  Angels is white guarded the gates and welcomed those entering in.  No beggarly reception this.  Here the one time rejected off-scourings of the earth were welcomed as kings by these angelic hosts.  Had not the Savior promised the weakest and humblest of his children a kingdom where they shall reign with the King of Kings for ages and ages?  Through the gates into the city!  Out of earth into heaven!  Out of the mortal into the immortal! Out of death into life!  All the old life behind and below!  All the new life ahead and above!  Inside the gates!  Angels, angels everywhere.  Angels talking, angels singing, angels rejoicing, angels playing harps and blowing trumpets, angels dancing and praising the King.  Such a scene no mortal ever saw; such a flood of inner joy as no one ever knew flooded the whole being.  The children clapped their hands in rapture.  They shouted for joy.  They sometimes rolled on the floor in unrestrained laughter and jumped and danced in great delight, while their faces were so transformed by this heavenly joy that the glory of the celestial city seemed to shine upon us.  There was no sorrow in this city; no mournful, long-faced religion there; no funeral dirges in the hymns.  This was a city of joy, "joy in the Holy Spirit," "joy unspeakable and full of glory."  Inside the city, the children knew the meaning of the Scripture which says, "Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels" (Hebrews 12:22.) Not only about the gates of the city were these happy angels, but also throughout the city everywhere were these heavenly hosts.  Angels were always ready to escort the children from place to place throughout the city; angels walked with them and talked with them; angels explained to them the meaning of things they did not understand, even as they talked with John (in the Bible) and revealed to him the things of God. 
Often in these experiences with the angels our children were given harps and taught to play them and sing as the angels did.  They were also taught to blow the trumpets and taught the music and language of heaven.  When we saw the children, with closed eyes, all dancing about the room in rhythm, we found that in vision they were dancing with the angels in heaven and keeping time to the heavenly music.  When we saw them apparently blowing a trumpet or going through the motions of playing a harp, we found that in vision they were joining the heavenly orchestra in the praises of the King.  We could not see the angels' joyful dance or hear their song.  We could hear only the children singing heavenly songs.  It was a daily sight to find some child off in a corner by himself, lying comfortably on the pine needles, going through the motions of playing a harp.  Upon going near, we could hear him singing a new song we had never taught him.  Approaching still nearer, we would discover that the words were as strange to us as the tune.  The singer was singing in the heavenly choir.  His song was the song the angels taught him.  The words of the song must have been in the language of angels.  Seeing the children singing in this heavenly angelic choir was a sight not to be forgotten.  Sometimes several of them in some place in the heavenly city or its wonderful Paradise would decide to play and sing together.  With closed eyes, while fully under the power of the Holy Spirit, three or four of them would get off by themselves.  If we were near, we could hear a consultation as to who would play the trumpet and who would sing.  After all was decided and everybody was ready, the heavenly hymns began.  The trumpeters held their hands up before them and blew as though blowing trumpets.  The harpists both played and sang, while those without instruments joined in the singing.  In those cases they always sang in languages we did not understand, unless by mutual agreement they decided to sing one of those hymns they "used to sing down on earth."  In that case they sang in Chinese.
The climax of all the heavenly joy and wonder was "seeing Jesus" and worshipping them who had saved them by his blood.  Soon after entering the gates of the city the children were escorted by the angels to "go and see Jesus."  We could hear these children talking about "going to see Jesus."  When they came into his wonderful presence they stood reverently gazing with love and devotion upon the Lord of all creation, who was also their Savior.  First of all they thanked him, adoringly worshipping him and bowing in true obeisance.  Then they knelt and bowed their faces to the floor in true worship "in spirit and truth" (which few if any know on earth who have not received the Baptism of God's Holy Spirit.)  The throne of Christ the children saw as John did when he was "in the Spirit:" "And behold a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.  And he that sat was to look upon like jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."  (Revelation 4: 2 - 5.) 
On either side of the beautiful golden streets were buildings side by side, a room for each person, every room opening onto the street.  On the door and about the front were precious jewels so resplendently brilliant that the building shone with light and glory.  The name of each occupant was above the door.  Angels led the children into the rooms.  Within all the rooms were the same kind of furnishings: a beautiful golden table upon which was a Bible, a flower vase, a pen and a book; by the table was a golden chair; there was also a wonderful golden chest and a golden bed.  In each room was a jewelled crown, a golden harp and a trumpet.  The walls were gold.  From the Bible, made of such paper as had never been seen on earth and bound with gold, light and such brilliant glory shone forth that the whole room needed no other light.  The visitors were told that when they came to stay after death they could go out into Paradise and pick any flowers of their choice to place in the beautiful vase on the golden table.  In these visits to heaven the children could go to their rooms at pleasure to read their Bibles or to play their harps and trumpets.  Sometimes they took their trumpets or harps out into the streets or out into Paradise to play and sing with the angels and the redeemed who are now in heaven.  In these excursions through heaven, the children, though always lost to their real surroundings on earth, were always conscious that their visits to heaven were temporary.  They knew they were there only to see what was prepared for them after death, so they might go back to earth again to tell others.  The angels and the Lord told their visitors that, if they believed and obeyed, all these things would be theirs.  They not only knew they must come back to earth again, but they sometimes knew when they were coming.  One boy, after enjoying the glories of heaven, hung his crown and trumpet up in his room so he could have them again after he died and went to heaven to remain.  He then came back to earth.  The power of the Holy Spirit left him.  When he opened his eyes he was in our Adullam room telling the wonders of his trip to heaven.
The first day when the Holy Spirit fell upon the children, one of the boys was caught up to heaven and he was welcomed by the angels and the two Adullam boys who had died the year before.  These two, "Hsi Dien Fu" and "Djang Hsing" had with them in heaven a little girl who had died four years previously, and whom our children had forgotten.  These who had died and had gone on before led those who were caught up in the joys and wonders of heaven.  They led them to see Jesus first of all, and to worship and thank him.  After this they were shown their dwellings and escorted around the city or led out into Paradise to play.  All who went to heaven were given white garments.  The angels, also dressed in seamless garments of spotless white, had wings, but the redeemed (Christians) did not have wings.  There was a clear distinction between the two.
One of the young men was in Paradise almost as soon as he entered the heavenly city.  There he was met by the two Adullam boys who had died in Hokow.  These boys, taking him through Paradise and the other parts of the Holy City, soon came to a great, lawn like, grassy, open plot surrounded by magnificent trees.  The whole scene was so entrancing that the young man said to his two glorified friends, "This is good enough for me.  There can't be anything more beautiful.  I'll stay right here."  The two boys said, "No, don't wait here, there are far greater marvels."  Going a little farther they came to still more wonderful trees, some of them bearing fruit.  The whole park like surroundings and the grassy lawn beneath the trees were enticing beyond any earthly understanding.  The young man said, "I must stay here, I cannot go on and leave this great beauty.  I am so happy."  The two boys said, "Come on.  There are many things in heaven exceeding this."  He said, "You go.  I shall remain here for a while."
In Paradise they saw trees bearing the most delicious fruit, and vistas of the most beautiful flowers of every colour, sending forth an aroma of heavenly fragrance.  There were birds of glorious plumage singing carols of joy and praise.  In this park were also animals of every size and description: large deer, small deer, large lions, great elephants, lovely rabbits, and all sorts of little friendly pets such as they had never seen before.  The children held the little pets in their arms and passed them from one to another.  They found the lion peacefully lying beneath a tree and climbed on his back, ran their fingers through his shaggy mane, brushed his face, and put their hands in his mouth.  If they desired, they curled down beside him to enjoy together the love of their common maker.  The little children rode the small deer, while larger children rode the larger deer or the friendly elephant.  When hungry, the children ate of the wonderful fruit or gathered the sweet tasting, refreshing manna that was scattered about.  Were they thirsty?  Here and there trickled little brooks of the stimulating and refreshing water of life.
I well remember how one of our boys was given a vision of what happens at the death of a Christian.  As relatives and friends gathered about the dying one, an angel stood by the bed awaiting the liberating of the Christian's soul.  When the man was set free from his bodily encumbrance, the angel took him by the arm and ascended with him into heaven.  The principalities and powers of evil hosts in mid-heaven in their attempts to hinder the passage of the angel and his charge were overcome by the angel's faith and praise as the ascent continued toward the heavenly city.  Having been welcomed at the gate, this new arrival was received by hosts of angels, singing, dancing, rejoicing, all uniting in giving him a royal welcome into the eternal city of the redeemed.
The same boy who saw the Christian dying also saw a vision of what happens at the death of an unbeliever.  He saw a man wandering about unhindered from place to place on earth, until one of the devil's angels, descending from the sky with chains, bound him and forced him down to hell.  Another vision of the death of  a professing Christian who had known the Lord, but had not truly repented, was still more terrible.  When this man was dying, demons by his deathbed waited in fiendish delight for the liberation of the soul of this hypocritical, one time professing Christian.  The demons began to bind him before he was entirely out of the body and completed the binding of their captive the minute he drew his last ungodly breath.  The hypocrite did not enjoy one moment of freedom to wander about the earth.  An object of ridicule to his demon captors, in terror he was at once dragged and pushed into hell.  One such ungodly man was the special sport of demons who, having bound him in chains, dragged him along on the earth, again and again jerking him up on his feet only again to drag him down and haul him along like a dead dog.  After furnishing amusement for his captors, the man was dragged down the dark road to the infernal regions.
Opposite our front gate lived a university student who was to have graduated from the university that year.  One morning when one of our girls was out at our front gate, it happened that this young university student was there too.  The girl began telling him he ought to be a Christian, in a simple way urging him to believe in Jesus to save him from his sins, make him a good man, save him from hell, and lead him to heaven.  "What's the use of my being a Christian?  I do not need to be saved.  Who are you?  You are a little snip of an ignorant girl, just a sort of useless beggar.  I am a university student.  I am wise.  I have read many books.  I have been many years in Peking.  I can speak and read English as well as Chinese."  He then spat in her face and told her to mind her own business.  Two weeks later, hearing a funeral commotion in the alley, I was surprised to learn that they were carrying this university student to his burial; I had seen him only a few days before.  One of the boys said that as we were going out to preach, a few days previous, he had offered this young man a tract but he would not take it.  About a month later this girl was in a trance under the power of the Spirit.  This is what I heard: "Ah! There is a hell.  No, I cannot; I have no power to help you now.  You certainly are in an awful plight.  It is you who are worse than a beggar now; all dirty, all filthy, and suffering in the lake of fire.  In fact, you look worse now than any beggar I ever saw.  I thought you told me you were wise and that you had a great education.  Where is your education now?  Well, I cannot help you now even if you do apologise.  That may be, but I have no power.  No, only Jesus can save you, but when I told you about him you made fun of him and cursed me.  Look what we beggars who believe in Jesus have received in heaven: all is joy, all is happiness, all is love in the city of golden streets with its wonderful Paradise of God."

Extracts from Visions Beyond the Veil, H. A. Baker, 1973.  Harold and Josephine Baker ran the Adullam Rescue Mission for street children in China from 1919 to 1950.