Nine Days in Heaven—the Vision of Marietta Davis

A Rewrite by Dennis and Nolene Prince

150 pages

More than 150 years ago, in upstate New York, 25-year-old Marietta Davis had stubbornly resisted the winds of revival that were blowing through her town. That is until seven months later, when she fell into a trance and was shown the beauties of heaven and the horrors of hell. The experience transformed the remainder of the young woman's life and sobered all who heard her story.

Seven months after the vision—at the time and in the manner she had predicted—Marietta died. But before her home-going, she wrote a vivid portrayal of her experience that remained in print one hundred years after her death. Now her story is available for a new generation of readers. The nineteenth-century language of the original edition has been updated for readability, but the detailed depiction of her vision remains untouched.

• Journey with Marietta to the shimmering reaches of paradise, where the redeemed enjoy the beauties of the new creation.

• Observe children who died on earth as they are taught the mysteries of God in infants' heaven.

• Grieve at the plight of the lost as they suffer the tortures of hell and the wages of their own sin.

• Supported by voluminous biblical references and practical observations.

Nine Days in Heaven is more than the fanciful concoction of a young woman's imagination. It is a travel-guide for the life to come, leaving the sinner sobered and the saint awestruck.

Why this contemporary re-write? Authors Dennis and Nolene Prince explain:

Our early marriage was struck by tragedy – our first child was born with Down Syndrome and died a few months later; our second was stillborn at full term. We were given an old book entitled Scenes Beyond the Grave – by Marietta Davis, describing her remarkable nine day visit to heaven and hell. Several chapters describe the angelic care of infants in heaven and this section was a huge encouragement to us in our grief. But the book was written in very difficult language – even for 150 years ago. So we spent around 300 hours putting it into simple English so that others could more easily receive the blessings inside.

It was a huge success and more than 80,000 copies have been sold worldwide and it has been translated into several languages.

Many have become Christians after reading the story. And the stories of infants in heaven have been a huge encouragement to parents after the loss of babies or after suffering miscarriages. Similarly for Christians who have lost loved ones, the story gives a beautiful picture of life for the believer when they leave this earth. A truly unique book.

Endorsements

I feel like I was Marietta in the story – as though I had gone through the whole thing. I am so grateful for this book – it is as though someone has given me a ruby. I so want to go to heaven. It has encouraged me to live a more godly life.
JC Melbourne Australia

My daughter Alexandra was born premature. God let me hold, sing to and comfort her for 90 minutes before she left. Nine Days in Heaven was a big help to me. It has been almost six years since my angel left and when I start to get selfish again I reread Nine Days in Heaven to remind me what her life is like now. She receives more love and nurturing than any earthly father could ever give her. Thank you. God Bless You.

About 11 months ago we lost our grandson unexpectedly; he was just a few days old. I want to sincerely thank both of you for taking the time and the painstaking effort to rewrite the book that was so thoughtfully given to you.

I read Nine Days in Heaven within weeks of our loss and was greatly comforted and I read the parts pertaining to the Infant Paradise over and over again. Thank you again for bringing this vision back into circulation. And thank you to my friends who followed the promptings of God to pass it on to me. I have since purchased several copies of this book and have given a copy to anyone who showed an interest in reading it.

I was absolutely and utterly inspired. I am not usually a voracious reader but I could not put it down.

A pastor related the following story. After trying to conceive for about eight years a couple eventually had a baby boy. Tragically, when the boy was about seven years old he died of cancer. The parents were unable to have more children and were devastated. The father contemplated suicide, thinking that in this way he would see his son again. Someone gave them a copy of the book which had helped them enormously, and the father was able to overcome his suicidal thoughts.

A friend working in a Christian bookshop emailed: A lady came into our bookshop - her daughter had given birth to twins and one of them died at birth. She asked me if I knew of any book that could help her daughter. I thought of your Nine Days in Heaven and told her I knew you and a little about your similar circumstances. Today she was in the shop again and told me how much the book had helped her daughter and thanked me for recommending it.

Many people have purchased multiple copies to give away. Five or ten at a time has not been uncommon. One lady obtained about 40 copies over a year. An Orthodox Christian man bought 20 copies. He gave them to friends as his way of sharing the gospel. When he ran out he contacted us to buy another 100.