Steve Kang: From Buddhist Death Ritual to Hell and Back
Date: October 10, 2025
Source: God's Voice Today YouTube Interview
Context: Former Buddhist's near-death experience during suicide attempt leads to dramatic conversion
Executive Summary
Pastor Steve Kang's testimony represents one of the most dramatic conversion stories in contemporary Christian circles. A devout Buddhist from childhood who attempted suicide while under the influence of a "death bowl" (marijuana laced with heroin, cocaine, and PCP), Kang describes a terrifying journey to hell followed by divine rescue and eventual transformation into an evangelical pastor. His account provides vivid descriptions of both spiritual torment and redemption, offering insights into addiction, spiritual warfare, and the power of intercessory prayer.
The Buddhist Foundation
Early Religious Training
Kang was raised in a deeply Buddhist household with committed grandparents and an aunt who was second-in-command of a major Buddhist sect:
"I was a fervent Buddhist with both my grandma and grandpa as Buddhists that was very committed so they took me to the temple from the age of six... I was taught how to meditate and pray and do the chants"
Spiritual Seeking
Even as a child, Kang demonstrated serious spiritual hunger:
"I would ask questions to the monks and they were like you know what you if you want to reach nirvana which was my concept of eternal life... they said you have to pray and get your sins forgiven so I was like man let's start now so I was praying every morning to the wrong god"
False Security
Buddhism provided him with a sense of spiritual superiority and exclusive truth:
"I was like brainwashed into thinking there's no other way like we tolerate other religions but this is a superior one and I had spiritual encounters"
The Descent into Darkness
Financial Collapse
The 1998 Asian financial crisis destroyed his wealthy father's business empire:
"He calls me and says hey Steve we you know all my companies went bankrupt... he had a Furniture Company Shipping Company medical company Restaurant Group... all of a sudden I can't go back to Korea I was kind of shocked because we went not from Rich racks to riches but from richest to rags in 1998"
Drug House Environment
Desperate for housing, Kang moved into what turned out to be a drug dealing operation:
"Little did I know that it was a drug dealing getting hyped like Party Center and the mom was Christian but all the Son and the kids were in the same so called Gang and as soon as I got there I got the same haircut we're selling the drugs going on these drug runs"
The Death Bowl
The turning point came when Kang consumed an extremely dangerous drug cocktail:
"I ended up smoking a death bowl which is a laced it looks like marijuana but it's laced with heroin and cocaine and PCP... when somebody smokes heroin there's a 50% chance you'll commit suicide from the addiction people will sell couch Furniture to get one more hit that's how powerful this drug is"
Ten Days of Torment
Complete Breakdown
The drug combination kept Kang awake for ten straight days, leading to complete psychological and spiritual collapse:
"I stayed up for 10 straight days... I've never been so demon possessed in my life... around the third fourth fifth day I don't even know what date is what time it is and what I'm doing and where I'm going"
Physical Manifestations
The spiritual oppression manifested in disturbing physical phenomena:
"I look in the mirror and my eyes the white part was like literally gone... we had like cups falling there was like cups that just dropped I was like in the middle of a poltergeist horror movie... we bought a little Buddhist artifact that we put on the wall supposed to was good energy and it was making metallic noises"
The Demonic Visitation
On the ninth day, Kang received a visit from what he now believes was a demonic entity disguised as a Buddhist figure:
"What I thought was God or a manifestation of the devil but I thought it was like a Buddhist guy came to me but not with a pitchfork and horns he came to me as an Asian Grandpa and he said Steve I know how much you're suffering... if you offer your life to me as a living sacrifice... I will give you 50,000 less years of Hell"
The Suicide Attempt
The Calculation
In his tormented state, Kang made what seemed like a rational decision:
"I still could do a little bit of math so I'm thinking two minutes of pain 50,000 less years let's go"
The Final Preparations
He wrote a farewell letter and prepared for death:
"I wrote my mom a letter saying mom I failed you in this this life but I'll see you in the Nether world I put my Buddhist bag on I put my wallet in there the Buddhist beads I thought maybe I could take it with me"
The Act
The suicide attempt was brutal and nearly successful:
"I went to the kitchen I grabbed a big knife and I got on my knees... I stabbed my neck and there's blood gushing out... I went for the stomach and then went like deep I went all the way down... the entire living room was covered with blood there was not one spot that was not red"
The Hell Experience
The Descent
Instead of the relief he expected, Kang found himself sinking into darkness:
"Instead of going up I'm sinking I feel myself sinking... I'm sinking into what I now know is the biblical hell I thought I was going to go up to be honest with you after I did this I was like maybe I'll get a break I'll see Angels or the Buddhist version of heaven but there's that doesn't exist"
The Landscape of Hell
His description of hell is vivid and terrifying:
"This place has no light it's dark there's only rocks everywhere there's no plants it was like a purplish dark rocks cliffs there's demons there... these demons are not small they were I knew they were in charge of this place... the entire Cliff was the little the valley the cliff hell was crowded"
The Spiritual Revelation
In hell, Kang experienced supernatural knowledge about his true spiritual condition:
"Supernaturally I knew that I am a sinner for the first time in my life because in Buddhism there's no concept of original sin but I knew that I knew that I am a sinner... I knew that I would never get out of this place that this is an eternal sentence I knew this was eternity"
The Agony
The suffering was beyond physical pain:
"I'd rather be tortured in a prison in North Korea or like in some African Muslim Nation by radical Muslims than just like go to hell I rather get tortured on Earth than go to hell because the physical spiritual emotional pain that a human being feels is something you cannot describe in words but it was utter hopelessness utter condemnation"
The Power of Prayer
The Prayer Warriors
While Kang was dying, Christian intercessors were mobilized:
"My mom's friend who was in charge of that house where we were I was staying at for the summer was a Christian who was praying for me to get saved... this church is not a normal church it's a Pentecostal spirit filled church one local church with 5,000 members that planted 10,000 churches and baptized 1 million members"
Eight Hours of Intercession
The prayer team maintained their vigil throughout his surgery:
"The pastors and the prayer warriors came rushing into the ER they're praying for me not for one or two hours but for eight hours they were with me praying the whole time"
The Miraculous Surgery
The medical team was amazed by his survival:
"The surgeon was like it's a miracle of your life we almost lost you twice your blood pressure kept falling you almost died it's a miracle you're alive... because he was a surgeon specialist that re ties the blood vessels he said it's a miracle you're alive"
The Voice of Jesus
The Divine Intervention
At the moment of greatest darkness, Jesus spoke to Kang:
"Right if I open my eyes I didn't see Jesus yet and I didn't see his glory but he spoke to me and said no more Buddhism no more drugs and I love you and I was like who is this person comforting me but it sounds a lot better and I felt this glimpse of Hope"
The Immediate Response
Kang's response was immediate and desperate:
"They go you know what Steve you just saw the biblical hell do you want to accept Jesus as your lord and savior I was like ah it makes sense that's Jesus talking to me so I said the sinner's prayer"
Multiple Confirmations
His conversion was thorough and repeated:
"I didn't feel peace yet so I said can I pray the prayer one more time... in that day I prayed The Sinner prayer not three times but 10 times and that was my introduction to Jesus and the biblical Christian faith"
The Vision of Heaven
The Second Encounter
Nine months later, while still backsliding, Jesus visited Kang again with a vision of heaven:
"He visited me in the June summer of 1999 nine months after I saw hell and he showed me heaven which was the New Jerusalem... I saw the New Jerusalem I was on the top of a mountain... we were in a very open grassy field with rivers it was the most beautiful grassy Valley pure with mountains in the back"
The Heavenly City
His description of the New Jerusalem matches biblical accounts:
"The New Jerusalem came down from heaven and this is not a symbolic City... it was 1,600 Miles by about 2,000 miles by 2,000 miles by 2,000 miles just like the Bible says Revelation 20 21:22 streets of gold this was pure transparent Golden City with Gates 12 gates foundations coming down from heaven"
The Voice of the Father
God the Father spoke to him from unapproachable light:
"God spoke to me from this ball of light... God is unapproachable light in this light he speaks... he said Jesus is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased listen to him listen to him listen to him"
Family Transformation
The Father's Conversion
Kang prayed for his absent father for ten years before seeing breakthrough:
"I started praying for my dad... my dad got saved 10 years later... he had a dream where I came to me and said Dad you need to come home you need to live with Mama... he flies to Irvine where I was living with my mom and my brother... he gets baptized at a Revival there in the Holy Spirit"
Complete Reconciliation
The transformation was dramatic and complete:
"Next day he comes to me on his knees and says Steve I'm so sorry for being an absent father I'm crying he's crying and we got reconciled right now he's on fire evangelism explosion... he's known as a saint in my church... he has no desire for money and fame anymore"
The Whole Family
Eventually, Kang's entire family came to faith:
"My mom she got saved the fastest my brother he was hiding the little Buddhist statues... he like threw everything away he got baptized in the Holy Ghost and married a Godly woman and speaks in tongues"
Ministry and Evangelism
The Family Business
Faith became the organizing principle of their lives:
"It's like a family business now... Jesus said I'm always about my father's business... my father's will his business is that you trust or believe in me and that none of these sheep that I called perish so I realized it was evangelism"
Daily Prayer Commitment
The family maintains an intensive prayer schedule:
"My mom... wakes up at 5:00 a.m. every morning and prays for me for an hour at morning prayer we are on day 1,424 of our morning prayer Monday through Friday... and our ministry just grew like tenfold after covid everything multiplied"
Street Evangelism
Kang now leads regular evangelistic outreaches:
"Last night we were at Walmart open air preaching people are crying accepting Christ we go out every Thursday... when I meet leaders the Holy Spirit tells me like this guy's gonna be a pastor"
Practical Guidance on Hearing God's Voice
The Prerequisite of Holiness
Kang emphasizes that sin blocks communication with God:
"Repentance is the only thing that opens up the heart of me and Jesus having clear communication again without Holiness no one shall see the Lord and you know when you see him you hear him"
Confession and Accountability
He advocates radical honesty about sin:
"I told my youth kids... I put it on Facebook too I said guys I'm a fake pastor... I need to be holy guys and have a hidden sin and for me it's smoking... I confessed it and that sin disappeared"
Multiple Ways God Speaks
He outlines various channels of divine communication:
"God speaks through our spiritual leaders who love you he speaks through our circumstances he speaks Through the Bible he speaks with a still Small Voice and at times yes he will speak to you audibly"
Message to Different Audiences
To Those in Condemnation
Kang offers hope to those struggling with guilt and shame:
"I would tell that person that first of all you're God's favorite child... you're the perfect person for God to pour out all your great his grace into... there is nobody perfect on Earth... we're all the same some are ahead in the journey others are in a season of healing"
To Witches and Satanists
He warns about the reality of spiritual forces:
"The power they are trying to tap. Is the power of the devil... it doesn't matter what you think you believe the truth with a capital T is out there and Yeshua is the way the truth and the life"
To Religious People
He emphasizes that even religious leaders in the Bible had serious moral failures:
"The Old Testament was written by Moses who murdered Egyptian the New Testament by Paul who murdered Christians you're reading a book written by two murderers saved by God's grace... if you want to talk about degrees of sin and I'm not being good enough no one's good enough but God's grace can redeem murderers"
Current Ministry Focus
Church Planting Movement
Kang is involved in an expanding ministry:
"We're planting churches right now we started a Ministry School... we're planting another one here there Minnesota Michigan Japan not Michigan sorry Minnesota Virginia New Jersey I'll be in Toronto in few weeks to preach to 300 Young kids"
Global Revival
He sees signs of worldwide spiritual awakening:
"There's so many Christians getting saved in Japan the Prime Minister of Japan is Christian... I just came back from UK Wales where when I went street evangelizing... 50 to 100 people came to Christ every day"
End Times Urgency
His ministry is driven by eschatological expectation:
"Jesus Christ is coming back very soon Heaven is 2,000 years closer than when Jesus was first born and he's not coming back as a little baby in a Manger he's coming back as a to judge the world of wicked and to save his people"
Key Theological Insights
The Reality of Hell
Kang's experience confirms traditional Christian teaching about eternal punishment:
"I experienced I think it was the lowest level... I experienced absence of God... I believe there's degrees of punishment but I think it's all bad and our goal should be to go to heaven"
The Power of Intercession
His testimony demonstrates the effectiveness of persistent prayer:
"Prayer works because I thought he's not going to change but he changed at his perfect timing... nothing can stop God nothing can stop God including my dad's old heart"
Spiritual Warfare
The account illustrates the reality of demonic activity and divine protection:
"Buddhism and drugs is a very bad combo it's a gateway to instant possession... the Holy Spirit made me a lot more Bolder for his sake"
Conclusion
Steve Kang's testimony represents a powerful narrative of redemption that spans the extremes of human experience - from privileged Buddhist upbringing through drug-induced hell to evangelical ministry. His account provides vivid descriptions of spiritual realities that many find difficult to accept, yet his transformed life and fruitful ministry serve as evidence of the encounter's authenticity.
The story demonstrates several key themes: the inadequacy of non-Christian religions to provide true spiritual security, the reality of both hell and heaven as literal destinations, the power of intercessory prayer to reach even the most desperate situations, and the possibility of complete transformation through genuine encounter with Jesus Christ.
Perhaps most significantly, Kang's experience illustrates that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace - not the drug-addicted, not the demon-possessed, not even those who have literally been to hell and back. His message offers both warning about spiritual realities and hope for the most desperate circumstances, emphasizing that authentic transformation is possible through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
This summary contains direct quotes from the God's Voice Today interview for educational and ministry purposes. Pastor Steve Kang's full testimony and ongoing ministry can be found through All Nations JC and his YouTube channel Steve Kang 97.