2 posts tagged “hell”
The Biblical understanding of hell has been one of the greatest controversies throughout church history. The issue has undergone many debates. The traditional view over the centuries has been generally a picture of a dark cave on fire, filled with unimaginable physical torment that never ends and is irrevocable. It has been the subject of famous sermons and comic strips alike.
Since we are speaking about existence after death, that great unknown, we must rely primarily upon prophecy. Few other documents give us as much solid and consistent insight as the Holy Bible, although those truths can be difficult to comprehend.
In my limited study of the issue, I've been compelled to look at differing viewpoints such as Conditionalism, that souls are naturally mortal unless granted immortality by God; Annihilationism, the belief that sinners are completely destroyed either before or after a time of punishment; and Universalism, that all humans will eventually be reconciled to God and saved from hell in the afterlife. All of these views have been supported by theologians and Bible scholars, some greatly renown.
Conditionalism is argued mainly from the Scriptures 1 Timothy 6:15-16 that "God ...alone is immortal" and 2 Timothy 1:10 that "Christ Jesus... has brought immortality... through the gospel." Many Eastern Orthodox theologians advocate this view of the mortality of the soul.
Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses are two churches among others that commonly accept the Annihilationism theory, although the belief is gaining more acceptance as legitimate for some Protestant theologians. Their main Scriptural support is Matthew 10:28, "... fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" and also John 3:16, that unbelievers will perish and not have everlasting life. They believe that the second death spoken of in Revelation 21:8 is the death of the soul.
Universalism, a belief that was held by people such as M K Ghandi, George MacDonald, and possibly the beloved C.S. Lewis, is based largely on the verses that speak of God as loving and merciful, that Christ came not to condemn the world but to save it, and from other scriptures such as Luke 3:6, "And all mankind will see God's salvation."
The study of hell or Gehenna is one worth doing in my opinion. The documented records in the Bible have much more to say about it than I had previously realized and many words about death and the after-life were spoken by Christ Himself. Our belief about heaven and hell profoundly affects the way we live presently as well as vice versa. What purpose is one without the other?
I believe that there is much indication that rewards and punishments will be administered in various degrees in accordance with works performed while individuals were on earth. There also seems to be a strong gesture for the exception of innocents such as unborn babies, children and mentally challenged or disabled and those who never heard the gospel in this regard. But all of these propositions are for another post.
While the aforementioned views seem to have valid biblical support, I would like to deal primarily with refuting the Annihilationist view from Scripture which, I think, will also ultimately oppose the others. How the Bible defines death and describes hell is of great significance to our understanding. For the sake of brevity, I will assume the reader has already had some exposure to biblical doctrine concerning these issues.
The Bible describes the picture of hell differently than many common portrayals which has caused much confusion such as, how can darkness and the fire of hell exist in the same place? Darkness in the Bible is often figurative such as in John 3:19, "...men loved darkness rather than light...." Eternal fire is also often symbolic. The fire and brimstone of Revelation 20:10 appears to be a metaphor (along with the "wine of the wrath of God" as well as the rest of the book of Revelation) referencing verses in the Old Testament.
Although darkness and fire are most likely figurative terms, the Bible describes hell in other, more literal, conscious terms of torment: like a wandering star, a prison, a burning garbage dump, dark, uncomfortably hot; it feels like perpetual death. It is where the full are now thirsty and hungry, the rich experience poverty, cowards are consumed with terror, the proud are rebuked, those who laughed are now weeping, the peaceful are now fighting, liars are lied to, kidnappers are held captive, etc. Some will be physically tortured.
As a side note, the question always inevitably turns up regarding the atrocity of the whole situation of hell and this is why many have sought an alternative to it. How could a loving God torture people? Why not simply place these souls out of existence. I do not feel that I have adequately understood this concept myself but I think it has much to do with the fact of justice and that love and mercy can not exist unless equity, fairness and standards of righteousness are upheld. Undiminished justice is a difficult truth to accept, especially in our modern, "civilized" day but it is a truth nonetheless. The Bible as well as reality are clear: what we sow is what we will reap.
Hell and the second death are believed by most Christians to be the ultimate separation from God (Matthew 7:21-23, et al). Since God is omnipresent "even the highest heavens can not contain Him", He will also be present in hell (Revelation 14:9-11). The separation from God is a relational one, an absence of experiencing His mercy and grace. Could part of hell's torment be for souls to see and know the goodness of God and yet be unable to experience it? The parable of Luke 16:19-31 reminds us that nothing will be able to change the minds of those who reject Jesus Christ, even in the after-life.
Some annihilationists believe that punishment for the unrighteous will be served for a time and then these souls will be completely annihilated. But "eternal" is the key word in the Bible. Hell is described as a place where "their worm [figurative] does not die" (Mark 9:44, 46, 48) and Matthew 25:46 could not make the terms more clear, "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." To say that the punishment ends at any time in eternity, one must completely ignore the term "eternal" as well as the definition of it. It means without beginning or end, outside of time, endless, perpetual, changeless.
In Genesis 2 after the creation story, mankind was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would surely die. Many theologians interpret the Hebrew word for "day" as figurative in Genesis, but it is clear in Genesis 2 that something changed the very moment that man ate from the wrong tree. The change was that he was now susceptible to certain horrors such as pain, disease, suffering and death, i.e. torment. The realities of hell began to be experienced on earth. Biblical death is interpreted by many as "in death always dying".
God told Adam that if he ate of the wrong tree he would surely die but he did not die. In the Bible, death never means extinction but always separation. Physical death is the separation of the body and soul. Spiritual death is the separation between man and God. "Dead" to sin and the law is the separation between Christians and sin and the law. Marital death is the separation between two spouses. There is never any indication that death is extinction, but only separation, and this belief has been scrutinized repeatedly yet held consistently by Bible scholars throughout all of religious history.
The biblical definition of death is contrary to the finite human understanding of it. The Bible not only defines death, destruction and perishing as ongoing existence, but it describes hell as an eternal death. In the prophetic books as well as throughout the Bible, we are clearly warned. If one seeks to understand truth according to the Bible, I can not see any way around the fact that hell and its inhabitants are eternal.
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36 NASB
Many a person has asked the question, "If God is the creator of the universe and he is in control of the world, why does he allow suffering and death? And even worse, why would send people to hell to be in torment for eternity?"
I find myself wondering these same things from time to time. Yeah, God, suffering seems so unnecessary. Can't you just relieve us of these awful heartaches and physical pain? Plus, this concept of hell... it seems so very conflicting to your love.
So why does he choose to not only allow suffering to exist, but even allow it to completely swallow us at times?
I would like to write down all of the benefits that come from suffering as a reminder to myself next time I begin to doubt God.
Our physical and emotional suffering can result in:
Sympathy for people we know, and for the rest of the world
An expanded love for others
Gratitude for what is good
Deepened insight
Commitment to what is important
Longing for something new or a new day
Hope
Strength to endure higher difficulties
Faith in God and a desperation for him
Peace that passes all understanding
Courage and beauty
Unknown joy
Heavenly honor and rewards
And this list could go on and on...
The bible reminds me that suffering is the result of sin or wrongs committed and that God will one day destroy this damaging sin. It will not exist in heaven. For now, he takes advantage of the situation by using it to accomplish things that would never otherwise be accomplished. We can not enjoy the view at the top of the mountain until we hike up it.
The torments of hell are actually evidence of God's great love. Since he knows that sin is the cause of such painful suffering, he must punish any and all wrongs. How often I hate suffering but I forget the severe and damaging effects of sin. He is a just God and cannot allow someone to harm his children without doing something about it. Therefore, all sin must have a punishment, which is one purpose of hell.
Christ knows suffering. He underwent the most emotionally and physically painful death that I can't even imagine. He paid that steep price for our sin because he was full of love. God knows suffering of the worst kind as he watched his son die in that way. Those who believe that Jesus paid for their sins are completely forgiven of their sins and will not be punished because of them.
So often I forget that God has feelings too. If my heart breaks over seeing or hearing of someone, such as a young child, who experiences pain or abuse, how much more must God feel that suffering too, having so much more love for that child?
God values love so much that he suffers, and he allows us to suffer too so that we might also know real love. Continued suffering enlarges the capacity of our hearts to feel and give love, if we do not resist and resent the pain. Love causes the greatest happiness, far greater than any pain experienced here on earth, and it is also the essence of our eternity in heaven.
