my name is Nathaniel Johnson I was born in Memphis Tennessee and lived here for 77 years this life experience made me aware of a sin I didn't even realize I had committed one that might send you to hell too so listen carefully to make you understand I need to start with this story I was 14 years old when one day I went to the neighborhood store to buy a bottle of soda the white woman at the counter gave me a look that made me feel something was wrong even a simple look can tell a lot
to someone that young within a minute a police officer came into the store twisted my arm and pinned me against the wall what did you steal empty your pockets he demanded all I had on me was that bottle of soda but I knew explaining wouldn't help that moment burned itself into my mind that day I made myself a promise I would never let anyone treat me that way again the anger I felt that day grew inside me over the years you'll defend your people Nate I told myself but that anger led to things I couldn't
foresee on June 12th 2024 as always I went for an evening walk at Shelby Farms Park park it was a ritual that brought me peace I was following my usual path then I heard it a faint rustling behind me like the sound of a leaf but heavier I slowed my steps and instinctively turned around to check that's when bam I felt an explosion of pain at the back of my head and hit the ground hard my vision went black in an instant I lay there for a while my ears ringing I tried to lift my
head but my neck felt like Stone my eyelids grew heavy and everything faded into darkness in that moment I remember thinking just one thing is this it is this How It Ends when I opened my eyes everything was pitch black but not the kind of Darkness you feel when you close your eyes this was something else a darkness that seemed to strip your soul away deeper heavier and suffocating I lifted my hand toward my face but couldn't see it then I heard a sound a faint chirp chirp at first I thought it was a bug
but no it was something deeper more humanlike moans and murmurs began to Echo around me Whispers coming from both far and near I felt someone breathing breathing right next to my ear I turned sharply but no one was there this this must be a dream I need to wake up I said but I couldn't wake up I began to walk through the darkness was I in empty space or was there ground beneath me I couldn't tell then I heard the rustling again but this time it came from multiple directions it felt like something or someone
was circling me that's when I saw them at first they were just Shadows then my eyes adjusted red glowing eyes like those of a rat but sharper the Silhouettes moved quickly one of them stopped right in front of me it was a creature bat-like Wings long sharp teeth and clawed hands resembling those of a human the most terrifying part was its ears one was torn and the other was UN naturally large it slowly walked toward me its teeth Beed bits of Flesh hung between them this must be a nightmare it has to be a nightmare
I said but my feet were frozen we locked eyes it tilted its head as if examining me its gaze didn't waver get away from me I shouted but it only responded with a wider grin then it let out a scream a sound that echoed in my my brain I covered my ears but the sound didn't stop I ran I ran as fast as I could but that scream followed me out of breath I had to stop with my hands on my knees I tried to catch my breath that's when I noticed how hot the air
had become sweat poured down my back I kept walking the ground which had felt like dirt now burned like hot metal the Souls of my feet were on fire ahead of me I saw something a pile no a mass of people I was in a place that looked like a junkyard burning books broken bottles rusted metal pieces and rotting food littered the ground but what caught my attention most were the people writhing on the ground they were naked their skin burned and blistered some crawled on their stomachs While others melt in prayer I walked through
them after running for a while I came to a stream but this wasn't an ordinary stream the water was green and bubbling foam and Bubbles popped releasing a sharp acidic smell that burned my nostrils I stopped at the edge and looked down there were people in it these people flailed and screamed raising their arms for help but this wasn't water it was acid I watched as their skin slowly peeled away melting into the liquid their ey sockets emptied leaving Hollow voids at that moment I collapsed to my knees clutching my head and my hands no
this can't be real this isn't real this is a nightmare God I need to wake up I need to wake up I heard a woman's voice she was crying by the riverbank her hands were covering her face I ran toward her hey hey I'm going to get you out of here I said but she lifted her head and looked at me her eyes were gone she stared at me with empty sockets and said no one gets out no one gets out a chill ran down my spine this place what was it was this hell I
stared at the river for a while a man caught my attention in the water I knew him I definitely knew who he was he was one of my students back when I was a high school teacher I couldn't remember his name but his face that face he used to sit right in front of me every day I always kept my distance from him because he was white what are you doing here I asked the man looked at me his mouth was open but no sound came out his eyes locked onto mine and as acid dripped
from his mouth he spoke just one phrase you will come too my knees buckled in that moment I understood this wasn't a nightmare this was hell but I still didn't understand why I was here I was exhausted from running my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest breathing became harder with each step the heat was Rising but this was an ordinary heat it felt like it was seeping under my skin every breath scorched my lungs I wanted to turn back but I didn't know which way I'd come that's when I saw it
a sign in front of me the letters glowed in a crimson light and I could read them clearly Eternal fire my eyes widen Eternal fire I muttered to myself what am I doing here I didn't want the answer but I couldn't stop myself from stepping forward it felt like an invisible rope was pulling me ahead at the end of the path there was a red glow this time along with the smell of burnt flesh I also noticed a strange perfume likee scent it was a mix of perfume and burning coal nauseating I moved toward the
glow when I when I reached it I saw a stage yes a real stage Bright Lights fog machines and a screaming crowd but these weren't cheers of excitement these were screams of pure Agony in the middle of the stage someone was dancing the moves were familiar I watched for a few seconds and then my breath caught in my throat is that Michael Jackson I rubbed my eyes but nothing changed it was Michael he was doing his famous moonwalk but his legs his bones were visible it was grotesk to be honest I wasn't even surprised to
see him there as I kept walking I noticed something even stranger another sign there was another inscription under the sign it read slave owners my throat went dry I took a few more steps forward and heard the sounds the clinking of chains mixed with the sound of something dragging across the dirt a scream echoed a raw wet scream I slowed my Pace what I saw made my stomach turn there were chained men their skin was pale but their bodies were covered in black marks their arms and legs were Bound in Chains their backs were scarred
with open wounds and deep gashes one of them had black liquid oozing from his shoulder another was writhing on the ground yanking at his chains I'll never forget the look on their faces pure helplessness and fear then something caught my eye one of the chains on the ground stopped right in front of me the end of the chain was tied to a man's ankle he had gray hair and sharp facial features his jawline was was familiar too familiar my mind clicked is that is that Andrew Jackson I muttered that face it was the same face
from the history books the portrait that hung in every classroom I recognized him instantly my breath hitched for a moment at that moment the man pulled at his chains trying to stand his eyes locked onto mine get me out of here get me out of here I'm a president he yelled but no one cared a shadow loomed over him a demon approached holding a whip in his hand with a deep guttural growl the demon hissed there's no presidency here the whip cracked through the air Andrew Jackson's screams echoed in my ears I turned and walked
away my eyes stung but I didn't look back something inside me broke for a brief moment I thought this is right this is what he deserves but I didn't want to admit that to myself that thought it was the same anger I'd felt as a child I kept walking forward this time I wasn't as afraid because I understood something about this place everyone here was getting exactly what they deserved but then I asked myself a question what about me what am I doing here the darkness ahead was denser than before but I knew one thing
this path was leading me somewhere and no matter what I was going to keep walking I reached an open space suddenly everything around me widened I looked up there was no ceiling but I could see things moving in the darkness above I saw the Shadows of winged creatures growls echoed from all directions when I turned around I saw them they were bigger and more terrifying than the creatures I had seen before demons these creatures surrounded me in an instant their red eyes glowed in the dark some stood on two legs others crawled on all fours
a few of them had long Twisted horns one of them stood right in front of me its hot breath burned my face it licked its teeth with its long disgusting tongue what I saw in its eyes was enough to pierce a man's soul in its eyes I saw hatred rage and something even worse Amusement it was having fun you belong here too it roared but then something happened images from the past week flashed before my eyes the first scene my daughter Rachel we were sitting in a kitchen that day she was holding my hand trying
to tell me something dad I want to get married she said I was happy at first but then she showed me the boy he was white and I opposed it her eyes filled with tears what does it matter Dad she said I gave her a hard look forgive me please God forgive me I'm not like this I'm not like this tears streamed down my face I started crying like a child I pressed my face to the ground please please it was a mistake please dot dot dot chains tightened around me from every side breathing became
harder and harder the laughter of the Demons echoed inside my mind this will last forever I told myself this pain will never end the tears that fell from my eyes sizzled on the hot ground I pressed my head against the ground God if you can hear me get me out of here please dot dot dot at that moment everything stopped the laughter ceased the clanging of metal chains fell silent the first thing I noticed was the silence then I heard a sound the moment I heard heard it tears streamed down my face like a flood
that sound it carried every truth I had ever known in my life I lifted my head there was a figure within the light it was slowly approaching me even with my squinting eyes I could see the outline clearly dressed in white arms open wide his face radiated such peace that looking into his eyes felt like a child gazing into their mother eyes who are you I asked though I already knew the answer he was Jesus my heart knew it before my mind did as long as you continue to hold on to hatred anger and Prejudice
your soul will remain chained he said his voice was soft but each word carried weight I dropped to my knees I was just defending myself I I I didn't know you knew Jesus said you always knew you ignored every sign that was shown to you you mistook your anger for justice you mistook your Prejudice for protection those words shattered my heart I fell forward onto my knees my face pressed to the ground everything came rushing back to me the student I yelled at in class the moment I judged my daughter instead of hugging her the
cold distance I kept from my white students all of it every one of those moments was a chain a chain I had forged myself I was wrong forgive me I sobbed my words were broken but every word came from my heart Jesus placed his hand on my shoulder it was warm and full of Peace at that moment I felt the chains Fall Away my hands were free my feet were free it felt as if a weight had been lifted from my chest Jesus looked at me and said you are forgiven but your soul still needs
to be transformed the light poured over me with such peace that I stopped crying it was like waking up from a dream but this time I could see everything more clearly more openly I felt pressure on my chest intense pressure it was like someone was sitting on my rib cage with each push I heard my ribs crack 1 2 3 come on breathe suddenly I felt the rush of cold air fill my lungs I gasped struggling for breath my eyes open bright lights but they weren't the same red lights from that hell these were different
these were the lights of an ambulance I turned my head and saw two paramedics with their faces covered by masks one of them was putting away the defibrillator we got him back one of them said I'll never forget that phrase we got him back I I was back I was still in the world of the living I stared at the ceiling thinking about what I had seen it felt like a dream but every time I touched my hands I could still feel the cold of those chains every night I saw the priest the chained people
and the screams from that River of hell that's when I realized it wasn't a dream it was an Awakening one day my daughter Rachel entered the room she wasn't alone that young man was with her the white man I didn't remember his name but that was because I had never tried to I had always seen him as a stranger he was holding my daughter's hand I had seen him hold her hand before but this time I saw it more clearly than ever that man loved my daughter without fear and my daughter's happiness was so clear
to me that a lump formed in my throat I looked at Rachel and swallowed hard Rachel if he makes you happy then he's my family too my words trembled it felt as if those words were breaking a CH pain that had strangled me for decades Rachel's eyes filled with tears the man placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head but at that moment my eyes stayed on Rachel in her eyes I saw the little girl she had once been I was setting her free and I was finally freeing myself after that I dedicated
myself to the church and to Jesus thank you for listening to me may God protect you all
