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A Chinese Woman Went to
Heaven and Returned
Another person who died, went to
heaven, saw much of the glories of
the golden city and returned to tell
of its splendor, was a Chinese woman
of Shan Tung Province, North China.
This experience occurred in
connection with the missionary
activities of Miss Louisa Vaughan
and is related in her book of
remarkable miracles, "Answered or
Unanswered", pages 42-46, from which
we quote:
"In the year of 1904, I held a
meeting of several day's duration in
the city of Wang Kia Kwan Dswang. My
audience consisted of the most
stupid and ignorant of Chinese
women. Some of them were converts,
but most of them came to hear the
Gospel for the first time. Among
these last was a Mrs. Jang, who
seemed, if possible, a little more
stupid than the rest. She was one of
our number, not because of any
interest she felt in Bible truth,
but because her husband, formerly a
Confucian scholar, had accepted the
Savior and wished her to know
something of the fundamental
principles of Christianity. Her two
little children, who were always
with her, consumed much of her time
and strength. There were some twenty
others in the class to be taught,
and I had little chance to give
individual attention. The prospect
of her learning enough truth to be
converted was not encouraging.
"My one method of work, however, was
prayer with complete reliance upon
the power of God through the Holy
Spirit to fulfill His promise in
John 14 :13,14: 'And whatsoever ye
shall ask in my name, that will I do
that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye shall ask anything in
my name, I will do it'. In the
course of these meetings the Father
was glorified in the conversion of
Mrs. Jang; for after four days of
simple instruction she returned to
her home a new creature in Christ
Jesus.
"About six months later, when I was
holding services in a neighboring
village, Mrs. Jang appeared again.
This time she brought three children
and the family dog. (She had given
away the chickens.) Again she stayed
four days, absorbed as much truth as
she could under the trying
circumstances, and again returned
home.
"Soon after, she contracted
tuberculosis and suffered intensely
for a year. Her physical pain was
only a part of her distress. Her
family realized that a great change
had taken place in her life, but
they would not accept her testimony.
They were especially bitter because
she unbound her feet. Disregarding
such a time-honored custom was a
serious disgrace to them. They
tortured her in all sorts of little
meanness's. She would be refused a
drink when she was too ill to get it
for herself, and she was frequently
told that she was to be buried with
her feet bare. A modest Chinese
woman has only her face and hands
uncovered, even in death.
Visions of Other Parts of the
Heavenly City
"In the midst of all her pain and
trials Mrs. Jang maintained a bright
clear testimony. She grieved only
because her dear ones would not
receive the message of life that so
thrilled and comforted her own soul.
"The dreadful disease had about done
its work, when I again found myself
in her vicinity. The pastor of the
church in which I was speaking came
to tell me of her year of suffering.
" 'Miss Vaughan', he said, 'the only
prayer she has offered for herself
during all these months is that she
may see your face again.'
The Body in Death Chamber
"Needless to say I went to her
immediately. I was received with a
welcome of such apparently boundless
affection that I felt I had never
before known what love was. A few
days passed. It was evident that it
was God's will to take Mrs. Jang
home, and we who loved her ceased to
pray for her recovery. We asked only
that God would give her great peace
in going, and lift from her heart
the burden of grief that it carried
because her testimony had not been
received by those nearest her.
"I made what I supposed was my last
visit to her. 'We will never see our
friend on earth again', I said to my
class. 'She is very near the
heavenly home, and can not possibly
live through the night.'
"Early the next morning her father
called upon me. 'Your daughter is
now at rest and in the Savior's
presence,' I said.
"He smiled. 'Oh, no, no!' he said
excitedly. 'The Lord has performed a
wonderful miracle. She is alive
again.
"Then he explained. Mrs. Jang had
died at three o'clock the afternoon
before, and her family, in
accordance with Chinese custom, had
immediately prepared her body for
burial. At about sunset they heard a
noise in the death chamber. They
supposed that the children or pigs
or chickens (they have equal freedom
in the houses of the poor) had
gotten into the room. But when they
opened the door they could scarcely
believe their eyes. Mrs. Jang sat
erect on the kang. She had removed
her grave clothes and put on those
she had been wearing before her
death!
"I never taught Revelation in China
and nothing had ever been told Mrs.
Jang of the glories of Heaven as
described in that book. She had
instruction for only eight days in
her life.
Visions of
Other Parts of the Heavenly City
Mrs. Jang Inside the Golden City
"This is her story as she related it
to me: 'I remember seeing all the
family around me crying. Then the
Lord Jesus came into my room and
took me by the hand and said, 'Come
with me!' In a short time we were
before a gate of pearl. It was the
gate of Heaven. Angels opened it and
we went in. I saw many beautiful
houses all of pretty colors. I
walked beside the Lord on the golden
streets. Miss Vaughan, I was so glad
you had told me to unbind my feet; I
would have been so ashamed to walk
beside my Savior with little feet.
"Then we went on and I saw thousands
of angels in a circle, singing and
playing lovely music. In the midst
was the throne of glory. The
Heavenly Father sat upon it, and
when I saw Him I was afraid. I
hardly dared to lift my eyes'.
" 'You have come', He said.
" 'Yes, Lord.'
" 'You may go back for a while, but
you must return to me here on the
twelfth of the month'.
Sent Back to Earth
" 'Miss Vaughan, here I am, and now
they'll have to accept my testimony,
for I have walked on the golden
streets and I've seen the Father.
They'll have to believe me now.'
"Did her relatives and neighbors
believe her?
"People flocked in from miles around
to hear the wonderful story. She
spoke as an eyewitness and they
could not reject her testimony.
God's mighty power was upon it, and
hundreds were converted. Even today,
missionaries in that vicinity find
an eager reception for the Gospel
message because that is the 'Jesus
doctrine' believed by Mrs. Jang who
went to heaven and came back again
to tell what she saw.
"The days passed until the twelfth
of the following month. When that
day came the family tried to
convince Mrs. Jang that she had
reckoned the date incorrectly, but
her eager heart was not to be
deceived. Late in the afternoon she
asked her mother for her grave
clothes. Under strong protest they
were folded and put on the bed. At
sunset while the family were at
their evening meal in an adjoining
room, she dressed herself quietly in
her burial garments then lay down,
and her beautiful soul went back to
her God".
It can be seen that the testimony of
this simple eye witness of heaven's
glories is in accord with the word
of God, and the present day visions
of heaven given his children through
the Holy Spirit.
Visions of Other Parts of the
Heavenly City
This woman had never heard of the
Heavenly City nor its golden street.
There is no natural explanation for
her accurate description of the New
Jerusalem in heaven, its "pearly
gate", its "beautiful houses of
pretty colors", "the golden street",
"thousands of angels singing and
playing lovely music", "the throne
of glory", and "the King of Glory".
There is most simple explanation to
the child of the Lord—while Mrs.
Jang's body lay a corpse in the
death chamber from three o'clock to
sunset her spirit was enjoying the
bliss of the celestial city, where
is "the throne of glory" and "The
King of Glory."
The testimony of this ignorant
Chinese woman, as believed by her
friends and community, is the
testimony to be believed by all of
the children of men, that there is a
golden city in the heaven far above
the stars, the city eternal where
"thousands of angels sing and play
music" around the throne of God and
where the King walks the golden
streets with his humblest child
amidst the glories of the city of
glory, the crown of the universe,
the pyramidal capstone of all God's
creation.
This is the abiding city, the golden
city that is eternal, the city whose
builder and Maker is God, the
heavenly Jerusalem that is now the
home of the redeemed in the third
heaven and will some day be the
glory center of the New Earth when
God makes all things new.
Visions of Other Parts of the
Heavenly City
taken from:
THE THREE WORLDS
by
H. A. Baker
Missionary to Tibet, China, and
Formosa
Author of Visions Beyond the Veil,
Heaven and the
Angels,
Plains of Glory and
Gloom,
Through Tribulation,
and
other books
Fifth Edition
Printed by Osterhus Publishing House
4500 West Broadway
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55422
Printed in U. S. A. |