Hell and Jesus - What's Your Choice?

So what will you do with Jesus?  He made some extraordinary claims that, if honestly  considered, can ONLY lead to four possible conclusions:

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Challenge

• Jesus was a Liar.   (In John 14:6 Jesus said He is the way, the truth the life.  No one comes to the Father, except through Him. Consider His words and His actions.  Did His actions contradict or confirm what He said?)                                           
• Jesus was a Lunatic. (Consider the consistency of His life and His teachings. Can you honestly conclude that He was delusional or insane?)
• Jesus was a Legend.  (Too much proof to deny the historical Jesus, unlike Paul Bunyan and his ox, Babe! )
• OR Jesus is Lord.     If true, then…

 Whatever your conclusion / choice, you can be certain that God will honor it.   So it is up to YOU; 

 

• Not your parents – God does not have any grandchildren. 
• Not the church you may attend or its teachings – a church can only point the way.
• Not you being a member or being raised in a certain religion – God is not interested in the labels we place on ourselves.
• Not your friends – God does recognize associations / acquaintances. 

You have either been adopted as one of His Sons or Daughters or you have not.  There is no middle ground, wiggle room or gray area here.

In summary, consider once again the two passages of the Bible this response began with, but this time personalize it – insert you own name in the blanks:
 
            “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that if _________ believes in
             Him  He/She will not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send His Son into the world
             to condemn it, but to save it.  There is no judgment awaiting those who trust Him.  But
             those who do not trust Him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of
             God.  Their judgment is based on this fact:  The light from heaven came down into the
             world, but they loved darkness more than light, for their actions were evil.”     
             John 3:16-19  New Living Translation

            “The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise to return, as some people think. 
             No, He is being patient for __________’s sake.  He does not want ___________ to
             perish, so He is giving more time to repent.”      
             2 Peter 3:9  New Living Translation

 

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

From the last posting,  ... No, we do not need a god who is more human / humane.  We need a God who is able to make humans divine.

This is what is true for all those who have invited Jesus to rescue them from the penalty of their sins.  Ephesians 2 further goes on to state the Good News for those who have been rescued by Jesus:

            But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were

dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is

only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)  For he raised us from the dead along

with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with

Christ Jesus.  So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible

wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are

united with Christ Jesus.  God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t

take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we

have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has

created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long

ago.  Ephesians 2:4-10  New Living Translation

Next posting - So what will you do with Jesus?

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Continuing Ross Douthat's observations from the NY Times editorial, "One hell of a good idea:"

The writer then goes on to discuss the main character of the HBO series, “The Sopranos.”

            “The HBO hit is a portrait of damnation freely chosen: Chase made audiences

            freely love Tony Soprano, and then made us watch as the mob boss traveled

            so deep into iniquity – refusing every opportunity to turn back – that it was hard

            to imagine him ever coming out.”

            “The Sopranos never suggested that Tony was beyond forgiveness, But, by the

            end, it suggested that he was beyond ever genuinely asking for it.”

 

The thought-provoking editorial ends with the question, “Is Tony Soprano really in heaven?”

Along this same line, how about Adolph Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and all of the countless other tyrants and terrorists this world has known?   The editorial implies that many want to make God seem more human or humane, but think about the implication.  Do we want a God who is as bad, guilty, and unjust as the rest of us? 

Actually, there is such a “god” – one who is described in the Bible as “the god of this world,”  but you may know him by the name / title Lucifer, Satan, the devil.   The Apostle Paul reminds believers in Jesus of their former condition before they chose to believe in Jesus:

            Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.  You used

 to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of powers

.in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey

God.  All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of

our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone

else.  Ephesians 2:1-3 New Living Translation

No, we do not need a god who is more human / humane.  We need a God who is able to make humans divine:

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God

reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven

and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.  This includes you who

were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by

your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself

through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought

you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand

before him without a single fault.

            Colossians 1:19-22  New Living Translation

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

The Choice

When it comes to the Bible, many pick out what they like (consider it to be truth), and ignore what they do not (they decide what to believe and what to disregard).  For example, many choose to not believe in Hell, or to reason that unbelievers will simply cease to exist instead of being punished for eternity.  However, if you start picking and choosing what is true or what to believe, can you, with total confidence, REALLY know where to draw the line?  It is the classical “slippery slope” that many have become all too comfortable on.  An editorial by Ross Douthat of the New York Times, with the title, “One hell of a good idea” explored some of the current “notions” on Hell and Heaven being raised by contemporary authors and how “many religious Americans find the idea of eternal punishment for wrong belief increasingly incredible.”  The writer then goes on to raise some thought-provoking points:

 
“And if it’s hard for the modern mind to understand why a good God would allow such misery on a temporal scale, imagining one who allows eternal suffering seems not only offensive but absurd.”

“Doing away with hell, then, is a natural way for pastors and theologians to make their God more humane.  The problem is that this move also threatens to make human life less fully human.”

“Atheists have license to scoff at damnation, but to believe in God and not in hell is ultimately to disbelieve in the reality of human choices.  If there’s no possibility of saying no to paradise then none of our no’s have any real meaning either.  They’re like home runs or strikeouts in a children’s game where nobody’s keeping score.”

More on this next week.

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Hell is compared to a garbage dump

During Jesus’ time on earth, he likened hell to a place that the residents of Jerusalem were familiar with known as “Gehenna” – the city dump of Jerusalem.  Have you ever spent any time at a garbage dump?  Can you imagine living at one?  It is hot.  There is smoke and heat due to the smoldering and spontaneous combustion of the trash as it is compressed and decomposes.  The stench is offensive to the nostrils, and the filth, dirt and grime become a part of you.  I visited the dump of Manila in the Philippines in 1981.  At that time people lived “on” and “at” the dump.  They scrambled as the trucks dumped their loads to compete with the sea gulls to salvage anything that was still “good.”  They made their shelters from the debris, furnished their “homes,” and quite possibly ate what had been thrown away.  While the memory of that day’s visit is distant, I remember that evening there was no talking or discussion of what we had seen and experienced, none of us were hungry, and all we wanted to do was to take a shower to wash off what we had experienced.  That was our reaction to, at most, a couple of hours experience.  It made a tremendous impression on my life and I believe it would have for the people of Jerusalem as well, as an illustration they could understand.

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Continuation of "indications" we have of what Hell will be like:

• “There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10 (previously cited). 

 Does this sound like something you would want to experience?  Do any of us purposely seek to be tormented?  Think about an unpleasant time during which all you thought about was when it would end, (e.g., severe depression, chemo, hot flashes, the flu, migraines, a stroke, paralysis, drug withdrawal, chronic back pain, etc.) never having an end.

• “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”    Revelation 21:8  New Living Translation

Some believe that rather than spending eternity in hell, that unbelievers will cease to exist – an idea often referred to as the “annihilation of the wicked.”  However, this view does not line up with the verses cited in this and the previous bullets.  Death, from a biblical standpoint, is not “the end” or “to cease to exist,” it simply refers to “separation.”  Physical death separates us from this life (i.e., human existence), but the second death will separate the individual, who now shares the image of God in being eternal, from God forever.  Do you want to be separated from God and those you love and care about for all eternity?

·   “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end

of the world.  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  And the angels will throw

them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with

ears to hear should listen and understand!  Matthew 13:40-43  New Living Translation    

Would you want to subject yourself to an eternity of lamenting at what you are missing and the anxiety / depression of thinking about it forever?  

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Continuing our consideration of the Lake of Fire / Hell:
 

Hell, like Heaven, is difficult for us to fully grasp now, because any comparison to what we know and experience in this life is incapable of preparing us to fully understand what will be eternal.  However, we are given some indications:

• In Jesus’ own words, NOT the choice you want to make:

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one
hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.  If your foot causes
you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown
into hell with two feet.  And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter
 the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 
‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’ Mark 9:43-48 New Living Translation
 

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.  For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed
 me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me
into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and
you didn’t visit me.’   “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you
 the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were
 refusing to help me.’  “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will
go into eternal life.”           Matthew 25:41-46 New Living Translation

What impression are you left with when you hear “fire, maggots and         eternal punishment?”

• Revelation 19:20 (previously cited) “thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”

Sulfur becomes molten at 200° Celsius / 392° Fahrenheit and the smell has been          likened to “rotten eggs.”   Does this sound like a place where you want to be?

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

What Will Hell be Like?

To get an idea of what Hell will be like, consider the story Jesus told of two men – one described as the unnamed “rich man” and a poor man named “Lazarus.” 

            ¹⁹"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously

living in splendor every day.  ²⁰"And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate,

covered with sores, ²¹and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the

rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.  ²²"Now the

poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich

man also died and was buried.  ²³"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and

saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴"And he cried out and said, 'Father

Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger

in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

 ²⁵"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good

things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you

are in agony. ²⁶'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed,

so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none

may cross over from there to us.'

²⁷"And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house - ²⁸for

I have five brothers - in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come

to this place of torment.'  ²⁹"But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets;

let them hear them.'  ³⁰"But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them

from the dead, they will repent!'  ³¹"But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and

the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Luke 16:19-31 New American Standard Version

Here is what we can observe about Hades that will give us impressions of Hell:

• After death, the rich man is in torment v23
• He asked for relief v24
• He was not given relief, but remained in agony v25
• He was not given any hope of changing his situation v26  (i.e., no Purgatory)
• He expressed concern for his brothers who were still living – he did not want them to suffer the same fate he had v27-28
• He was told his brothers had Moses and the Prophets (i.e., the Old Testament) just as he had for guidance v30
• He pleads that if someone (Lazarus) came back from the dead, that his brothers would repent v30
• He is told if they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead v31.   The truth of this statement was confirmed in the fact that even after Jesus’ resurrection, most refused to believe.

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

The place we normally think of as “Hell” is described in the Book of Revelation as the “Lake of Fire.”  From the standpoint of what we are told, the first two beings that will be cast into the Lake of Fire are the Beast and the False Prophet.  Thereafter, Satan and all those who rejected God will be cast in as further described in the Book of Revelation:

        

And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on

behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast

and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive

into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

           Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur,

joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever

and ever.  And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled

from his presence, but they found no place to hide.  I saw the dead, both great and small,

standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And

the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The

sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged

according to their deeds.  Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This

lake of fire is the second death.   And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the

Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

           
             Revelation 19:20 and 20:10-15 New Living Translation

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Is Anyone in Hell Now?

Granted we are temporal beings bound by time, but from the description we are given in the Bible, the answer appears to be, “No one is in Hell at this time.”  However, some clarification is necessary.  The Old Testament describes a place known as “Sheol,” which is referred to in the New Testament by the word “Hades.”   For the person who rejects God’s offer of forgiveness, there is nothing pleasant about this place.  For the unbeliever, it is best described as a “holding place” until the final judgment takes place (the Great White Throne of Judgment described in the Book of Revelation). More will follow on Hades in the next section.

Sheol / Hades should not be thought of as Purgatory, a teaching held by some that further punishment / payment for your sins will be required before you can enter Heaven.  This view is not supported by any passages of the Bible and has more to do with the history of the Catholic Church and the building of the Vatican City.  Fortunately, there is reform going on within the Catholic Church with greater emphasis on obeying the teachings of the Bible, rather than the traditions of the church.

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Like God we have many attributes and we share some common attributes with God.  In Genesis 1:27 we, like Adam & Eve, are described as being created in God’s image, and two of the ways all of us are like Him involve free-will and eternality.  Simply put, God’s love for us is so great that He will not force anyone to accept Jesus and the forgiveness of sins that is freely offered to all through faith in Him.  But make no mistake; God is very clear on faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven.  Unfortunately, there are individuals who have no interest in going to Heaven and they boast about being bound for Hell.  Next time we'll take a closer look at what the Bible tells us about Hell.

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

So now that we've considered there is more to God than just His attribute of love let's look further.  Here are some of the descriptions in the Bible made directly by God or someone (Moses) who had encountered Him:

            “He (God) passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the LORD, I am the Lord, the merciful

and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness.  I show

             this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.  Even so
             I do not leave sin unpunished…”       Exodus 34:6-7a  New Living Translation

            “Say this to the entire community of Israel: You must be holy because I, the Lord your

            God, am holy.”    Leviticus 19:2  New Living Translation

            “I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God!  He is the Rock; His work is

perfect.  Everything He does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how

just and upright He is!  But they have acted corruptly toward Him; when they act  like that

are they really His children?”     Deuteronomy 32:3-5  New Living Translation

In just these couple of verses look at what we need to further understand:

• God is holy (completely set apart from sin). 
• God is perfect (flawless, complete, lacking or needing nothing). 
• God is fair and just (He cannot judge with partiality or leave sin unpunished).

What follows is by no means a complete picture / description of God, but it helps to illustrate that all attributes of God must be considered:
            Love                                       Holy
            Merciful                                  Just
            Gracious                                Perfect
            Righteous                              Jealous – He will have no other “gods” before Him
            Compassionate                      Wrath – on those who reject Him
            Eternal                                   Unchanging
            Omniscient                            Omnipresent

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Referring back to the last posting, John 3:16 speaks of God’s great love for us and if asked to complete the following sentence, “God is ______,” most of us are probably going to insert the word – LOVE.  And while the statement “God is Love” is absolutely and unequivocally true, it does not present a complete picture of God.

What if someone described you totally by ONLY one of the following statements?

            She is blue-eyed.                 He is bald.
            She is short.                         He is tall.
            She is beautiful                    He is intelligent.

Even if the statement is true, it does not totally and adequately describe you.  You are the sum total of your attributes, personality preferences, physical characteristics, life experiences, memories, emotions, etc.  And neither does the statement that “God is Love” tell us everything God has revealed to us OR wants us to understand about Him. 

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

The place to start the consideration of hell is with the realization that God has done everything that He could, short of forcing every person to go to Heaven (which would be a violation of each individual’s freewill), to keep each of us from spending eternity in Hell.  Sadly, there are many individuals who go to church on Sunday and yet, they are no closer to knowing with a certainty their eternal destination.  Perhaps the best-known verses of the Bible, which speak to God’s LOVE and WILL for us are: 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him      

will not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  There is no judgment awaiting those who trust Him.  But those who do not trust Him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.  Their judgment is based on this fact:  The light from heaven came down into the world, but they loved darkness more than light, for their actions were evil.”    John 3:16-19  New Living Translation

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise to return, as some people think.  No, He is     being patient for your sake.  He does not want anyone to perish, so He is giving more time for everyone to repent.”   2 Peter 3:9  New Living Translation

HELL – Does It Really Exist and Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone There?

Many people today choose not to believe in an eternal place of punishment, referred to as Hell, and for others it is just inconceivable for such a place to serve a purpose.  Even within the greater Christian community there are those who do not believe what is clearly stated in the Bible concerning Hell.  Some contemporary authors are making headlines, following the course of many before them, by continuing to challenge the existence of Hell. They advocate various ideas of “universal reconciliation” – that God’s love for us is so great, that no human being will be condemned to Hell. Even a local newspaper announced one of these author’s books with the headline, “New Book Challenges Classic Notions of Hell.”  The word “notions” puts a particular slant on the belief, which could lead to the conclusion that the other truths God has revealed to us are to be regarded as “notions” (an opinion, whim, idea, fanciful impulse) as well.  So how do we begin a candid, honest investigation of this place that is self-described by its very name?