Hell

Scripture reading: Revelation 20:10 and Luke 16: 20-26

The Bible and Jesus Himself very clearly inform us that there is a day of judgement and there is a place reserved for those who refuse to believe on Jesus Christ. This place is commonly known as hell. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that this place is eternal.

Throughout Scripture, hell is referred to as a place of torment and fire. Whether this is literal or figurative is a debatable subject. I tend to fall in the figurative camp. The reason for this is that hell is essentially a place of eternal separation from the Lord. There are several concepts our human minds cannot even begin to comprehend: love, eternity, and eternal separation are a few.

The reason we cannot comprehend eternal separation from the Lord is that His Spirit still strives with us, even though we are not always aware of His presence, and we do not have any concept of what life would be like without this striving. Exodus 9:15-16 gives us a taste of what this striving looks like: “For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.”

Let’s consider an example. We go through life not knowing anything other than the earth’s gravitational forces which we cannot see but which we know keep us firmly planted on the ground. This is like the Spirit of the Lord striving with us. We cannot see Him, we cannot know when He is coming or going, and unbelievers especially cannot even identify Him. What if one day the earth’s gravitational forces ceased to function while you were outside. The only way to stay on earth is to hold onto something fixed to the ground (tree, post, building, etc.) or have the capacity to propel yourself in a particular direction. If you floated off the earth without holding onto something, you would continue in that same direction indefinitely, drifting further and further away from earth.

We cannot know what this might be like or what really would go on in our minds. But for the sake of understanding the point, spend a moment thinking about it. One thought you may have is despair in never being able to return to earth again. Now, this is what it might be like without the Spirit striving with us. And now you have an idea of what eternal separation from the Lord might be like.

Total aloneness, and powerless to change our circumstances.

It would be torment, being utterly powerless to change our direction, return to earth or even to stop ourselves from continuing in a particular direction. The torment of hell was described in Luke 16:22-26. In essence, he was asking for just the tap of a finger in the direction of earth, something, anything that would bring even momentary relief.

This is complete separation from the Lord. This is hell. It is real and it is serious.

Knowing the reality and seriousness of hell, our worldview should be adjusted to look at people from an eternal perspective as opposed to the next few minutes. We are quick to write people off who mistreat us or do not do what we want. Our attitude should instead be to love our enemies and those who despitefully use us and curse us. Our attitude should be one of compassion and considering their eternal destiny.

Preachers of days gone by had a sense and vision of the reality of hell which drove them to speak to as many people as possible about salvation. We today think this is corny and passe, but that is only because modern church goers have lost the seriousness of hell. We are not reminded from our ministers that we have something to lose and that the Lord’s wrath will be poured out on judgment day.

If we clearly understood the reality and seriousness of hell and determined to do everything in our power to avoid hell, then this is the same determination we should apply toward others. It is an overwhelming sense of horror and woe that should drive us to accept and follow Christ and plead with others to do the same.

Consider your children, your siblings, your parents, your family, your closest friends and neighbors. The person who sits in your row at church. Could you stand the thought of any of them in hell? Personally, the thought of any of my children and family members being in hell drives me to a state of panic that I just can’t stand it and end up on my knees in prayer for myself and them.

Just think. We are all given one life to live. We are given only one opportunity to trust in the Lord. At the end of this life, there is no do-over. The choices and decisions we make now will impact our eternal status. Do the people you are most familiar with know this? Have you told them? Will you tell them?