I gotta say, the idea of Hell makes me feel awkward. I don't like it. And I really don't like the idea that it is permanent. If it is tough for me as a follower of Christ, I can imagine the difficulties others who do not follow Him have with it.
But I think that may be kind of the point of Hell. We should be discomforted by it, we should not relish and revel in its existence for all those other 'sinners' to get there eternal time out. Really, Hell is the spiritual version of our earthly prison/time out/detention/capital punishment. And all types of punishment make me nervous. What if an innocent man is punished? What if the punishment does not fit the crime? What if a person is truly rehabilitated, yet still remains incarcerated? The truth is, punishment in and of itself is an idea that is DESIGNED to make us uncomfortable about it. No one wants to be punished.
Enter a thought process that has always been around, but seems to have gained a lot of traction in the last decade or so (Thanks, my generation!). It's the idea that Sin is really OK. I mean, it is bad and we shouldn't do it, but it really is no big deal. Usually called moral relativism, it started with us looking at each other's sins and saying, "Eh, whatever. Do what makes you feel good now." It was a part of our isolationist attitude, our rugged individualism. And its great until there is resistance. See, eventually, your doing whatever you want clashes with someone else's doing whatever they want. Someone gets hurt- physically, emotionally, or spiritually. And in some form or another, punishment comes. And since we are made uncomfortable with punishment (ie being told you are wrong) we had a problem.
I suppose it is a natural progression of sorts for Christians who are punishment averse yet morally freer to want to address this dilemma. This idea of universalism is one of those ways. It can vary in its form from "All roads lead to God," to some more exclusive views of the Spiritual realm. It is a vast multi-headed creature, with a variety of specific beliefs expressed in a variety different ways. The one I want to look at today is the one that states God's love is so overwhelming that all people- regardless of beliefs held or not held in life- will get to go to Heaven and be in God's presence. Eventually. It allows for Hell, but Hell is temporary.
This flies in the face of traditional views on Hell and the Scriptures. Normally, I'm not a traditionalist, but when that tradition is based on teachings in the Bible, I kinda have to stick with it. I also often point out that there are lots of differing views on somewhat vague concepts in Scripture, and that these viewpoints do not challenge our salvation if we differ in opinions, because what matters is that we believe Christ died for our sins and we accepted His gift of eternal life.
This view, however, is not one of those.
It Changes the Nature of Jesus Sacrifice
Quite simply put, if God's love will save us all eventually, and we are punished in Hell for a time for our sins- then the death of Christ on the Cross was unnecessary at best, and sadistic on the part of the Father at worst. Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty we incurred for sin- aka any time we rejected the will of God. The punishment for that sin was death and separation from God, and the way to escape that punishment was sacrifice. If we all died and went directly to Hell, paid our penalty, then God opened the cell door and said, "All paid up!" then why did God send His Son to DIE? Jesus could have come and just told us to live better lives, love more, and take care of each other while doing our best to love God. This view makes Jesus simply a short cut to Heaven, with a bypass of Hell for those who accept His sacrifice for their sins. Kinda takes the wind out of the whole "It is finished" thing, doesn't it?
Yes, God Loves Everyone and Wants No One To Perish, But He Allows You to Choose
I've heard the argument so often it is a cliche. "Why would a loving God create a Hell, let alone send people there?" Well, here is another cliche- If you love someone, you have to set them free. If I hated God, and He forced Himself upon me, He would not be loving. At least in my mind. I would see Him as a tyrant, and any attention I gave Him would not be out of love, but out of obligation and fear. Yet, the reality is, God does demand our love for good reason. (For more on this, see the previous blog post, Miracle Drug.) Proponents of "Everybody Goes To Heaven" say that because God loves us and wants us with Him, He, Omnipotent like He is, will get what He wants. 2 Peter 3:9 is a verse often used in their defense: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God also wants us to love one another, to lie, to not commit adultery, to be healthy and to spend time with Him. Yet He does not make those things happen now. In fact, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 says, "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." If we refuse to love the truth (Christ is the way, the only way, to Heaven) then we perish. And since we all die on this earth, perish is much more of a spiritual sort of death.
Do We Cease to Exist?
Most of traditional theology says we stay in Hell for ever. But one passage of Revelation is kinda vague on that (imagine that, being vague in Revelation). In Chapter 20:14-15, it says, "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." This does serve to point that people not found in the Book of Life get sent to the lake of fire- referred to as the second death. It could mean that Hell is temporary and God puts the tormented out of their misery, or they could burn forever there. Either way, this is a rather final situation. One does not get out of this. There is no reprieve.
Where Does it Say Hell is Escapable?
And what does Jesus Himself say about Hell? Quite a lot, actually. But one story, one parable He tells is about the Rich Man and Lazarus. Lazarus is carried to Abraham's side, the rich man to Hades, where he was in torment. Richy asks for some water from Lazarus, but Abraham informs him that, "And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."--Luke 16:26
Yeah, its a parable, but Jesus spoke truth in them. The truth is, the choice we make in this life about Christ determines where we spend eternity. If we choose Christ in this life, we enter into His presence for eternity. If we reject Him, we choose to leave the presence of God for eternity, and there is no mind changing.
I wish with all my heart that those who go to Hell COULD escape it's torment. I want to believe this "Everybody Goes to Heaven" theology, but that is not what God teaches in the Bible. And to those who would say I worship the Bible more than God, I say that the Bible gives us the best picture of eternity we are likely to get. At least until we get there. Anything any of say or think that is not found in the Book explicitly it our best- and faulty- guess.
Is it right that God condemns someone to an eternity of Hell for 80 years of rebellion? If I think I am justified in answering for God on why He deals with sinners who never repent, then I am thinking a great deal of myself. I know He judges us for our sins and our obedience. I know He gives out reward and punishment. And I know that He is God, and His ways are vastly beyond mine- His mind greater than mine.
And I believe His heart breaks more than I could possibly fathom when someone chooses Hell over Him.
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