Today’s Scripture Reading (May 9, 2018): Revelation 20
In the final episode of M*A*S*H
(Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen) there is an
exchange between Colonel Potter and the now hard of hearing Father Mulcahy.
Potter’s words to the Father are “Well, Francis, you’ve been a godsend.” It is
not all that clear that Mulcahy hears the words. His response is “Look on the
bright side: When they tell us to serve our time in Purgatory, we can say, “No
thanks, I’ve done mine.” Maybe as Protestants,
we could echo the sentiment by arguing that we have spent their time in hell.
The idea of hell and purgatory and all
that is conjured up inside of us by the words is a complex argument in the
Bible. No theory of hell is perfect. But part of the problem is that the Bible
does not always seem to be on the same page when it speaks of hell. Maybe
that’s okay. We dwell too much there anyway. But part of the confusion is because
the Bible talks about hell using three
different words.
The first is Sheol. It is the place of
the dead. Contemporary Bible translations often use the word “grave” to
describe it. There is no moral implication, no good or evil, when the word Sheol is used.
It is simply where the dead go and may form the basis for the idea of purgatory
The second word used is Hades. This is the world beyond this life. It is the
bottomless pit or the abyss; it is the darkness of death. There is more of a
moral implication, and yet still this is far from the image of hell that most
of us have carried with us throughout our lives.
The third, and worst, image of hell is Gehenna. It is taken from the Valley of Hinnom just outside
of the gates of Jerusalem. The Valley of Hinnom was
desecrated by the human sacrifices made to the false god Molech and in
the first century was a place where garbage was
burned. It was believed that the
fires in the valley could never be extinguished.
It is these garbage fires that reflected the image of hell for early believers.
Is that an accurate description of hell?
Probably not. But like the Valley of Hinnom, hell is not a place that any of us
really want to go.
But all of this is just human imagery used to describe what is
essentially the indescribable. Welcome to hell. Even in this section of Revelation, we have two competing images. First, we are
introduced to the lake of burning sulfur,
a place of torment that may be reserved
for the devil, who has caused humankind so much pain through the length of our
existence on the earth, along with his compatriots, the beast, and the false prophet. Suffering here will last
forever and ever (or maybe just a long, long time). The second image is that of
the lake of fire, essentially an image of Valley of Hinnom which is called the
second death. But the use of the word death is important. Death means no more
life; the second death would seem to mean
no more existence, especially as it pertains to death and Hades. Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire. The penalty for sin no longer
exists because it has been destroyed in
the fire, and with death and Hades are those who refused to follow God in this
life. Here would seem to lie the seeds for a belief in Annihilation Theology.
But it is only the seeds.
The result of all of this is that we are left with questions which seem
unanswerable. But maybe that is just the way that it should be anyway. Just as
I cannot describe heaven, I have no idea how to describe a literal of hell.
So what do I believe?
Hell exists. There are simply too many
mentions in the Bible for that not to be true.
It is avoidable
and should be avoided. Jesus came and
died on a cross so that none of us would have to experience the reality of
hell. There is little need to argue over the description of hell, in the end
that doesn’t matter. Just make sure that
you do not go there.
We send ourselves to hell, whatever hell
is and for whatever length of time that suffering might last. But I also
believe that those who condemn themselves to hell would have never been happy
in heaven.
Even hell is in the hands of God. I
don’t understand the intricate points of the existence of hell, but God does.
And because hell is real, he weeps over those trapped in that kind of
existence, both in the real hell of our nightmares after this life is through,
and the hell that we create for ourselves on this planet.
The rest I leave up to God.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Revelation 21
My name is Alan Finch. I became a Christian 42 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe Great White Throne Judgment is indeed a judgment, but the outcome of that judgment will not be a judgment of people spending eternity being tormented in the Lake of Fire, but it will be a judgment by FIRE that will come forth from God’s Spirit that will do a transforming work of “Divine Purification” in every person that comes before the Great White Throne Judgment.
This transforming work from God’s Spirit will be God’s final step in RECONCILING that person to Him which has only been made possible by the shedding of Christ’s Redeeming Blood on the Cross for ALL, (Colossians 1:20).
After the transforming work from God’s Spirit is completed in each and every single person who comes before the Great White Throne Judgment, they will no doubt understand and experience Christ’s Boundless Love for them throughout their entire being.
(Note: we do not know how long that this process will take. Very likely, it will be a different length of time for each person)
I have written a 26 page article that Biblically deals with this subject extensively. If anyone would like a copy, feel free to e-mail me and ask for a copy and I will e-mail you a copy.
Candy33alan@aol.com