Sometimes a story stops you in your tracks and makes you look at life differently. That’s how Michigan pastor Gerald Johnson describes the moment he says his heart stopped in 2016. What followed, he claims, wasn’t peace or light—but something far more haunting.
Johnson believes his spirit slipped out of his body and fell deep beneath the earth. He expected comfort after a lifetime of preaching, yet he says he was shocked to find himself in a place he describes as Hell. That surprise became the turning point that changed his entire outlook.

He recalls hearing familiar music, but not the way people know it. Johnson claims demons were singing twisted versions of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” The cheerful tunes he once heard on the radio now felt sharp and cruel, echoing through the darkness around him.
As he moved deeper, he says he witnessed scenes that shook him to his core. One memory that still pains him is the sight of a man burning while a demon held him by a heavy chain. Johnson says the look in the man’s eyes is something he can never forget.

When he was revived, the pastor believed his experience carried a warning. He now feels that some popular music may influence people in ways they don’t realize. But he also admits his own downfall came from something personal—holding on to old hurt and failing to forgive.
In the end, his story reminds us how heavy an unforgiven heart can truly feel.