Accounts in Hell
30 min read
Kenneth E. Hagin was born in 1917 with a deformed heart and spent much of his childhood bedfast. On April 22, 1933, at age fifteen, his heart stopped. Hagin says his spirit left his body and began to descend into a pit of darkness and heat. He saw an entrance to hell, flames, and a creature that took his arm to escort him in. A voice spoke from above, the creature released him, and he was pulled back. This happened three times. On the third descent, Hagin cried out for salvation and was born again.
The central shock of Hagin’s testimony is that he was not an obvious sinner by outward standards. He had been baptized, was a member of a Southern Baptist church, and assumed he was saved. His experience taught him that religious activity and church membership are not the same as regeneration. He spent the rest of his life preaching the new birth, faith, and the authority of the believer.
First, the insufficiency of religion without regeneration. Hagin’s repeated cry — “God, I belong to the church! I’ve been baptized in water!” — received no answer. This is the most searching detail of his testimony. Second, the reality of personal choice in salvation. Hagin had to call on Jesus himself; no relative, pastor, or church record could do it for him. Third, the nearness of death and judgment. A sick boy in a bedroom in Texas was one heartbeat away from eternity. Fourth, the grace of a second chance. Hagin was pulled back so he could repent and warn others.
Hagin’s testimony is one of the most biblically aligned in the corpus. His conclusion — that church membership and baptism cannot save — matches John 3:3, Romans 10:9-13, and Jesus’ warnings about those who say “Lord, Lord” but do not know Him Matthew 7:21-23. His experience of calling on Jesus in crisis matches Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13. His emphasis on the new birth is thoroughly Johannine.
The account also has a strong corroborating element: his mother and grandmother heard him screaming and praying, and later described the room filling with what they perceived as the presence of God. This does not prove the theology, but it does suggest that something more than ordinary dreaming was occurring.
The caution is the same as with all such testimonies: Hagin’s experience illustrates the gospel; it does not become a new gospel. We are not saved because someone went to hell and came back. We are saved because Christ died and rose again.
Hagin’s testimony is devastatingly effective for people who assume they are Christians because of family tradition, baptism, or moral respectability. It forces the question: Have I personally trusted Christ? Have I been born again? It is a useful tool for evangelism among nominal Christians.
Common student mistake: Using Hagin’s testimony to dismiss baptism and church membership as unimportant, rather than distinguishing their value from their inability to save.
Practice assignment: Write a three-paragraph explanation of the difference between belonging to a church and being born again. Use John 3:3, Romans 10:9-10, and Hagin’s testimony.
Worksheet idea: "Religion vs. Regeneration" — compare signs of outward religion with signs of new birth.
Completion requirement: Student can explain why Hagin’s church membership did not save him and what did.
ANSWER: Fifteen years old.
ANSWER: Church membership and baptism cannot save; a person must be born again through personal faith in Christ.