A Vision of Hell
On Monday when I arrived at the hospital, as I’ve mentioned, I expected Jeff Markin to be unconscious. I was about as surprised as anyone to find him alert and talking. Then I truly became curious. What had he experienced? Seen? Known?
“Jeff,” I asked, “where were you that day? I prayed over your body, but I really thought you had gone. Where were you? I mean, did you have an out-of-body experience? What was it like?”
“Dr. Crandall,” he said, “I’m so disappointed.” He shook his head back and forth and kept shaking it. “I’m so disappointed.”
“About what?”
“No one came to visit me.”
“What do you mean, ‘No one came to visit’ you?” I asked, wondering if he was as coherent as he looked.
As he described what he had experienced, I would become more and more convinced that he was indeed coherent, but he had experienced something or been given a vision of something that comes only with death. “I was in a casket,” he said, “in a dark room for eternity—hell, okay? My family didn’t come, my coworkers didn’t come, my buddies, no one. I sat there for eternity, alone. In total darkness. I’m so disappointed. I’m so disappointed.” He kept repeating that last phrase over and over.
Finally, I broke in. “Did anything ever happen?”
“After being there for eternity,” he said, “some men came in and they wrapped me up and they threw me in the trash.”
Being thrown in the trash might have sounded too simple or anticlimactic to some, but it made me think of how Jesus had used Jerusalem’s waste dump—Gehenna—as an image of hell.1 Being thrown away as useless and unwanted can only be hell for men and women who are created to enjoy God’s love and life for eternity. Being thrown in the trash is a great description of the eternal separation from God that constitutes hell.
Through Christ I had the antidote to Jeff’s vision of final separation—the total waste of his life. I asked him if he knew Jesus.
His ex-wife was a Christian, he said. She turned to Christ twenty years before, and he left his family rather than submit his will to Christ’s. He knew about being born again. He had once decided against it.
I said, “Jeff, if you’ll accept the Lord now as your Savior, you will never again be thrown in the trash. There must be a call on your life for God to bring you back. Will you accept Jesus today?”
He said he would. I grabbed his hand, and we prayed together for God to fill Jeff with God’s everlasting life. When God called again, Jeff would be prepared to meet Him. Jeff became a Christian right there in his hospital bed, repenting of his sins, receiving Christ as Savior, tears rolling down his cheeks. He was born again.
Responding to Pain with Love
Jeff’s acceptance of Jesus was the ultimate miracle in his life—one that had been prepared by many, many prayers before mine. When I went home that evening, I received a telephone call from my friend the banker. He said, “Dr. Crandall, you are not going to believe this. After our talk, I went home and told my wife the story of the man who came back from the dead. She works at a Christian school. She told a woman who is her coworker there. The coworker dropped to her knees. ‘Do you know who that man is?’ she asked. ‘He’s my ex-husband. Twenty years ago he left me and our two children because I accepted the Lord as Savior. I was going the way of Jesus, and he decided he didn’t want that and left the family. For twenty years I’ve been praying for his salvation.’ ”
Later, I also found out that Jeff’s daughter had been in the parking lot that day. She knew her father was being treated in the emergency room. She didn’t know he had been declared dead. She was crying out to God for his life—his eternal life. She prayed, “I was born in that hospital, Lord. May my father be born again in the same hospital.”
The whole picture, one truer to the ways of God, started coming together for me. God works through His people to bring about the reign of God, the kingdom of God, in the lives of individuals. As people are transformed, so are the families and the places and the cultures in which they live. God’s love goes out in ever-widening circles. We participate in this life-giving process through entering into the mystery of Christ’s suffering. It’s ultimately all about Christ’s resurrection, yes, but first of all it’s about Christ’s cross.
An ex-wife responds to her husband’s desertion of the family not with bitterness but with prayers for his salvation for twenty years. She responds to the suffering he has inflicted with love. The daughter the man left to be raised alone by her mother does not turn her back on her father; instead she maintains a relationship and prays for his salvation. Like her mother, she responds to desertion with love.
This leads to the intervention of a doctor who, by turning toward God rather than away from Him at the moment of his son’s death, receives a special anointing for healing prayer. This “just happens” to be the doctor who is called into the emergency room to oversee this man’s care after a heart attack. A doctor who takes the risk of looking foolish and obeys God’s direction to join his prayer to the many prayers of the family for the salvation of this man, Jeff Markin. In this way Christ’s cross and resurrection triumph through those who by faith join their wills to Christ’s and walk the same difficult path.
The story of Jeff Markin shows how the work of healing prayer belongs not to me but Christ, and through Christ it belongs to all those who believe. As believers, it’s our work as Christ’s body in the world. What I have to say would only be a curiosity if it were about unusual events in my life. The true meaning of the story I’ve been telling lies in its common application. God calls everyone into the work of restoring the world through Christ’s cross and resurrection. He calls everyone to respond to the world’s evil with His love, which allows, at times, for miraculous healings as signs that God will ultimately defeat death itself. That as members of God’s family we will be resurrected to new life; to a new heaven and a new earth, where every tear will be wiped away, every sorrow. Where we will be happy the way we are when the impossible comes true and the dead come back to life.
Why Me?
The rest of Jeff’s story, to date, underlines how miracles are one means by which God draws people into a relationship. So many fine Christians pray for God’s healing and are not healed in this life, just like Chad. (We know by faith they are healed, nevertheless, when they pass through death into God’s presence.) On the other hand, God can grant such favors as signs of His love, even when that love is not being reciprocated. While Jeff’s healing made perfect sense to the Christians around him, the miracle at times puzzled Jeff. Who am I? he asked. He was not educated, a person of influence. He certainly didn’t deserve the miracle in terms of his own behavior. He was living in unbelief when he was miraculously healed.
Miracles are not about who we are or what we deserve. They are about how God sees us and what God wants for us. God loves us and He draws us through showing us how much He loves us—at times through miracles. At one point, almost in desperation, Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (John 14:11–12).
Jeff began maturing in the faith, worshiping regularly and participating in a Bible study. Who knows what God has in store for Jeff now? Only this, that God is jealous of Jeff’s love and wants to draw Jeff closer and closer to Him. This is God’s essential will for all of us. We may experience miracles of healing or we may not—either way, strangely, that’s no guarantee of belief. On one occasion nine of the ten lepers Jesus healed went away without a word of thanks (Luke 17:11–19).
If we reach out to God in faith, though, we will most certainly experience the ultimate miracle of God’s love.
CHAPTER 15
The Story Goes Global
I never thought that the story of Jeff Markin’s healing would garner worldwide attenti
on. But God’s purposes are always far beyond our own, and God works with both a shocking profligacy and economy at the same time. God performs a miracle when it’s least expected, then takes this sign and uses it as a chess master would to resolve a thousand possible moves and countermoves with one stroke.
An invitation came from the World Christian Doctors Network to submit a case study of God’s miraculous work to their fourth annual conference in Miami. I asked my colleague Jeremy McKeen, whom I had brought into my practice as a chaplain, to write up what had happened in Jeff’s case and submit it for consideration. Once Jeremy’s summary of the case landed, the phone started ringing off the hook. This surprised me, but I was happy to attend the conference and document Jeff’s healing. I appeared there on Friday, July 13, 2007.
At the beginning the conference threatened to be a little too matter-of-fact, with doctors presenting one case after another. I was sitting at a cafeteria table, the second one back from the podium, waiting for my turn to present. I was becoming impatient, actually, with the general lack of enthusiasm, as I felt we should be testifying to God’s glory without so much professional detachment.
Then a Korean music team came out, six young women who played violins. They began playing praise music masterfully. I could not help but think of Chad, naturally, as he had become so adept at the violin so quickly. My friend the minister Joel Stockstill was also an expert violinist. The music recalled all that I had been through with Chad, and the Holy Spirit used the music to release emotions and heal my grief. I started weeping and wailing in this conference. I wasn’t crying softly. I let it all out: Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh! The more I wailed, the better I felt. I let loose for about fifteen minutes while these magnificent young women played. People came around me, patted me on the back, and asked if I was okay. I was being purged clean by the Holy Spirit, who was restoring my spirit, making it fresh and new.
The master of ceremonies then announced that Dr. Crandall would be presenting his case, having no idea Dr. Crandall was the basket case in the second row. I could hardly stand and make my way to the stage, but I had at that moment an unbelievable anointing of the Holy Spirit.
At the podium, I started to present what happened with Jeff Markin. I had a video presentation as further evidence. As I told the story, the detached professionals in the audience became engaged and shouted affirmation. They were cheering and clapping. As I summarized, I said, “Who at this conference wants to raise the dead in Jesus’ name? Isn’t that what we are called to?”
The whole place stood up, praising God—it was electric. Then they began to come forward for prayer. Nothing like this had ever happened at the conference. I started praying for people individually, and they were touched left and right.
The Lord had it all planned. He knew when they were going to call me up. He knew I needed to be slammed by the Holy Spirit right before. He prepared me and my audience to open our eyes to the wonder He had performed in Jeff Markin’s case.
The Lord also placed Dan Wooding from ASSIST News in the audience. For many years Dan reported on Billy Graham’s crusades. He wrote up Jeff’s story and sent it to all the news outlets.
The story was picked up by the local Fox TV affiliate and then Fox produced a segment on the story for a national Christmas special. Online videos about Jeff Markin’s healing have now been accessed millions of times.
A Consuming Fire
Once a humdrum Christian, I now experience my faith as a consuming fire. I want every moment of every day to be devoted to advancing the kingdom of God. My wife, Deborah, and I try not to be drawn to the world anymore. God has given us everything, we feel. He’s opened up the heavens. Our only questions are How do we serve Him today? and Which direction would God have us go?
From all that’s happened, I know that wherever I go the Holy Spirit goes with me and speaks through me. Everything must be consumed by this fire of God. I used to think about how I could advance in medicine, acquire wealth, and so forth. Now I think only about how I can advance in the Lord and do the Lord’s work. One step off that narrow path and Deborah and I both begin to notice. Our anxiety levels rise. When we are utterly devoted to the Lord, the work becomes easy. It’s not a burden. When someone wants to work for the Lord, the Lord opens the doors. His burden is light.
Many people I pray for are not healed, of course. I let that be the Lord’s business. I don’t stop. I keep going, on to the next battle. If one battle’s not won, I don’t let that discourage me. I’ve learned how to battle, how to pray, how to keep walking in faith. As I’ve done so, praying for people has become more and more natural. I have faith that God is real, and that God will show up. So I pray with authority. I pray with boldness. And I carry the fire of God. God has given me the gift of healing in order to keep me standing in His holy fire, to keep me in full blaze.
My number one desire is to gather souls into God’s kingdom. It’s not to heal people, as important as that is. I’m after your soul, for Jesus, in Christ’s name. That’s my mission. It’s one that I feel Chad joins me in, as his suffering and death were the means God used to give me a share in Christ’s cross. So as I reach out to those million souls I asked for in exchange for Chad’s life, I think of the life Chad and I, Christian and I, Deborah and I, and all the people of God will ultimately share together for eternity.
I invite you to become a follower of Christ or to become “radicalized” in your Christian walk. As in Jeff Markin’s case or in that of my patient Elizabeth, who feared hell would be her eternal destiny, it doesn’t matter where you find yourself in life. The Bible says that if we confess our sins, God through Jesus Christ will forgive us and make us right and whole (1 John 1:9). It proclaims, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Jesus Christ Himself assures us that the work of God is to believe in Him. You can begin a relationship with Christ right now through the simplest of prayers. Confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you, acknowledge Him as your Savior and Lord, and pledge that you will follow Him as long as your life will last.
If you are a humdrum Christian as I was, don’t wait until you are confronted with an ultimate test of faith like a child’s illness to learn how to fight the battle. You are in a war! You need to be in training every day, with constant prayer and times for fasting. You need to “put on the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11 KJV) by immersing yourself in the Scriptures and putting all your gifts and talents at God’s disposal. Following after Christ will entail offering whatever suffering God allows in your life back to God for the redemption or betterment of the world. Will you be able to do this? Will you count suffering for Christ as a privilege? That takes a degree of spiritual maturity that you just won’t have unless you prepare yourself in advance.
I pray for you. I pray for all your hurts and wounds and illnesses and those of the people you love. I pray that God will heal you now through Jesus Christ our Lord!
I pray for the griefs that you bear—the loss of children, of parents, of husbands and wives, of brothers and sisters and dear friends. I pray for you in whatever loneliness and fear you may be experiencing, in whatever trouble. May God heal you of all your distress, removing every sorrow, wiping away every tear.
I pray that the glory of God will be upon you, that Christ will be in your heart so that it’s bursting with joy, that the Holy Spirit will dwell within you with a power you’ve never known before.
And I pray with confidence, because in Christ every promise is yes! (2 Cor. 1:20). The deepest longings of our hearts will all be fulfilled, as God raises us from death to life. “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8). I’ve seen it with my own eyes and I know that if you have faith in Christ, you will as well. Amen and amen!
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank those who supported me as I “ran after Jesus for everything he could give me”—many of the Lord’s gifts came through these men and women.
I cannot fail to mention God’s minis
ters who taught me and prayed with me, especially David Hogan, Joel Stockstill, Charles and Frances Hunter, Reinhard Bonnke, Andrew McMillan, Greg Rider, and Tom Mullins. Many others prayed with my wife, Deborah, and me, and I want them all to know that their prayers were answered because “no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Cor. 1:20).
I received invaluable assistance in developing the manuscript from several talented publishing professionals. Thanks go to the staff at FaithWords, especially my editor Joey Paul. Joey took the time to get to know me personally and helped me think through how I could be most effective as an author and speaker. Holly Halverson provided detailed editorial assistance, making sure the manuscript would have the greatest possible impact and stand up to scrutiny.
My assistants Jeremy McKeen and Peter Mariades made extremely helpful contributions to the project at various stages. I could not have carried on my practice, my active speaking schedule, and completed this book project without the work of these two fine men.
I am indebted more than I can say to my literary agent, Sealy Yates, who saw the book’s potential and enabled the project to go forward at a difficult stage. Thanks for getting the project on the right track, Sealy.
Finally, I’d like to thank Harold Fickett, my book doctor, who cared for the story’s beating heart.
Notes
Chapter 4
1. Brian J. Druker, MD, et al., “Activity of a Specific Inhibitor of the BCR-ABL Tyrosine Kinase in the Blast Crisis of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with the Philadelphia Chromosome,” New England Journal of Medicine 344 (April 5, 2001): 14.
Raising the Dead Page 17