Hell? - What is it?

What we usually mean by Hell is the "Lake of Fire" referred to in Revelation 20:15 "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." This place is not set aside just for those not "in the Book of Life" but also according to the book of Revelation the beast and the false prophet (19:20); the devil (20:10); and Death and Hades (20:14). 

Maybe I'm too simplistic but it looks as though everything that is contrary to God ends up in this lake of fire. Until that event, Christians go to heaven when they die (Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise") and others to Hades (Luke 16:20 - 31).

Hell? - Does it exist?

As with many issues in today's "Customer is King" society we would like the freedom to choose - "I see that Sir has selected the Christian faith. Would Sir like that 'With' or 'Without' hell ?" Although we can tailor a meal to our requirements Christianity is not about an 'a la carte' God. Hell either is, or isn't. Either we know that there is a hell; we know that there isn't a hell; or we can't be sure either way.

The argument I have heard most frequently for there not being a hell is that God is "Love" and a loving God would not send anyone to hell. This is the sort of statement that leads to a view that was taken by some in the early church that there were two Gods in the bible. A judgemental Old Testament God to whom the bible attributes many seemingly vindictive acts (sending a worldwide flood, destroying Sodom, etc, etc) and a New Testament God who seems to be entirely loving. This was considered error in the early church - and is still error today. Retaining the fundamental truth of one God but without the 'distasteful' Old Testament events requires that everything that does not sit squarely with a "God of Love" be consigned as fictitious, or allegorical. This then leads to selective interpretation of the Old Testament. In order to retain the fundamental truth, we embrace a fundamental error - that the bible cannot be wholly trusted. 

My understanding is that if we believe Jesus to be the express image of God, then the key to understanding His character is in John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." God's truth is that all have sinned - God's grace is that Jesus died for our sin. In the Old Testament we have the Law and mankind's failure to solve the problem of sin through self-effort and self-reformation. In the New Testament we have God's mercy expressed in the form of the ultimate sacrifice to do that which we were unable to do ourselves.

So why do we have a problem with hell? I believe that it is more of an issue today because we as a society are doing the opposite of Genesis 1v26. God said "Let Us make man in Our image" - we are now remaking God in our image. We have compromised with sin and as the saying goes, we want to have our cake and eat it. Our fallen nature is (as the bible says) a slave to sin. Our conscience knows that it is wrong but we don't want to suffer any consequences. So the solution is to reinterpret God as being someone with, let us say, a more flexible attitude to sin. As a society we have attitudes that are becoming increasingly lukewarm and casual. We have standards that change over time. Many things that were once anathema are now acceptable.

The God of the bible, however, takes things very seriously. He cannot abide the presence of sin and so His actions to counteract sin seem, to us, to be extreme. Sending a worldwide flood, destroying Sodom, etc, etc are the actions of someone who views sin seriously. Sending His son Jesus to die is the action of someone who views sin seriously. Consigning everyone who has chosen sin and has rejected salvation, to the lake of fire is the action of someone who views sin seriously. We are proud of being tolerant and flexible; our God declares Himself to be absolute and unchanging. This is why the mention of hell stirs up resentment, it reminds us that there are absolute standards. We do not make the rules.

One thought that arises if we take the view that there is no Hell, is that of the fate of those people whom we do not want in Heaven. We would probably find general agreement that (say) Adolf Hitler would truly be a "neighbour from hell" and so he should not be in Heaven. If Adolf Hitler is not consigned to Hell then what happens to his immortal soul? Or does the immortality of a soul depend upon the spiritual state of a person at the time of death? Does the soul of a sinner cease to exist upon death? Or does God preserve them until the Day of Judgement and then wipe them from existence? The reasoning has to be followed through. 

God does not want to send people to Hell... 
John 3v16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
...but it will be our decision that forces His hand.

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e-mail : mcadam@cfn.org.uk