Alone with God

Just a little reflection this morning for me. I remember when I was a young Christian, I found my identity in relationships, and usually those relationships centered around the local church. After all, I was young, had a million unanswered questions, and heavily leaned upon my fellow brothers and sisters for the answers and support that I needed during my transition "into the light". Some of my greatest memories come from that time of my life.

However, as I have grown in my walk and faith, I have found that, while Christianity is meant to be lived in community, it is not meant to depend exclusively upon said community. We all have to grow up and stand on our own two spiritual feet eventually. Our Lord went it alone. Paul went it alone. Elijah went it alone. John the Baptist went it alone. Moses went it alone. Untold numbers of our church's founding fathers went it alone. The bottom line is that there will come a point in each of our lives that we must go it alone. 

With that said, I find myself spending much more time with the Lord in private time. Just me and Him. I look forward to my devotions in the morning, reading a thought for the day, reading through Scripture, prayer, and then again in the evening. I would strongly encourage you to do the same. Yes, community is awesome, and should never be completely shunned, but there are some valleys that each of us must simply traverse alone. Just us and Him. 

Hell is a Place of Memory

Last time, we looked at the purpose and the place of hell. Today we are going to look at one final point to see that hell is also a place of memory. 

I believe this is what our Lord was referring to in Mark 9:43-44 when he said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- where their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'” 

What is up with this worm that doesn't die? Is this referring to a literal worm? I do not think so because of Isaiah 66:24 which says, "And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me.  For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched.  They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." Of course, there are various views on what this worm is referring to, but most will agree that it is not a literal worm, but instead has to be metaphorical. The word in the original Greek refers to a grub or maggot. As such, some would say that it just speaks to the eternality of hell and our Lord using the dump, that continually burned outside of Jerusalem as an example. Its proper name was the Valley of Hinnom, but it was also known as Gehenna. It was a place in which trash, refuse, animal carcasses, and even the dead bodies of despised criminals were thrown to be destroyed by the fires that burned perpetually. Those who take this view see our Lord's point as being that whatever was thrown into it never came out again as that it was totally consumed either by fire or by maggots. In other words, just as nothing and no one exterminated the maggots or extinguished the flames there, so there would be no escape from the certain fate that God has decreed for all unrepentant sinners—death in the "lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14-15).

Others would say that the worm speaks more to the consciousness of hell's occupants who still have memories of opportunities lost. Opportunities in their past life in which they were given to repent and believe in the message of the gospel. In other words, they will remember every service they attended, every altar call they refused, every conversation they walked away from and yet still refused to submit their lives to Christ. These memories will knaw on them just like the maggots did to the refuse in the Valley of Hinnom.

The Purpose and Place of Hell

We have already looked at the reality of hell and dealt with what if it doesn't exist. Next, I want to look at five things: its purpose, place, punishment, why the average Christian doesn't believe in it, and the provision that God has made for us all against going there.

First, let's take a look at the purpose of hell. Really? Why must there be one anyway? Our Lord answers this in Matthew 25:41 when he said, “Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” So, it was initially prepared for the devil and his angels. 

We see this historical account in Isaiah 14:12-17 where it recounts, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" In other words, it was not prepared for man at all.

However, for man, just like the devil and his angels, hell is the natural and inevitable consequence of sin. Sin must be punished in God's economy. Sin damns just as water drowns and fire burns. Hell is God’s penitentiary for the wicked. The Psalmist said, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:1). Just as we have prisons for those who refuse to keep the laws of earth, so God has a way of dealing with those who refuse to keep His. It is the legitimate end of a sinful, Christ-rejecting, God-dishonoring life.

Second, we are going to look at the place of hell. The Bible describes it as a real place and not simply a state of mind like some have wishfully suggested. As such, the Bible says several things to confirm this. The first of which is that it is a place of separation from God's presence and blessing as we have previously mentioned in Matthew 25:41-42. It is a separation from everything that is good. 

The Bible also says that it is a place of fire. Fire all throughout the Bible is symbolic of Divine judgment, but make no mistake, this judgment is not symbolic. Our Lord said in Matthew 5:22, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.” No symbolic language to be found there. 

The Bible also says that hell is a place of fire. Our Lord said in Mark 9:43 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.” When the rich died, he declared that he was in literal flames in Luke 16:24 when he cried, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Just assuredly as the gold of heaven is real, so are the flames of hell.

Finally, another proof text that hell is a real place with a real fire that will never cease to burn is found in Matthew 25:41 when our Lord said that one day he "will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Make no mistake, hell has a purpose and is a real place. 

What If There Is No Hell?

In my last blog, we looked at the reality of hell according to the Scriptures. Today, I want to address the question to the best of ability, "What if there is really no hell?" Just some things to think about. I am sure that there could be more. 

Just a few things to think about. First, if there is no hell, then the Bible is just a fairy tale and cannot be trusted. If some parts of it are true and some parts of it are false, how are we to determine which is which? Rely on the experts? Second, if there is no hell, the prophets, apostles, and preachers of old were all liars at worst and deluded at best. The same could be said of Jesus. Third, if there is no hell, Jesus' death on the cross was a mistake and really served no purpose because he would have saved us from nothing. Fourth, if there is no hell, then there is no heaven either; and if there was, what would be the point?  Fifth, if there is no hell, Christianity is of little use other than possibly for a set of moral codes. Even then, those codes would be built upon the lies and delusions of others. Sixth, if there is no hell to receive us, then there is no God to condemn us. In the end, if there is no hell, Christianity is false and virtually a waste of time.

This reminds me of a story of two men who were fishing two or three miles from a dangerous waterfall. Eventually, after a little conversation, they got on the subject of hell.  One man asked his friend, “Do you believe in hell?” “No,” replied the other man. All of a sudden they looked up and found they were about fifty feet from the falls. They grabbed the paddles, pulled for dear life toward the shore, and finally reached safety. The fellow said, “I thought you didn’t believe in hell, what was the matter when you thought that you were going to die?” He responded, “Listen, this business of no hell is alright to go fishing with, but not over the falls with.” I explain it to people this way. If there is no hell, I have absolutely nothing to lose. I would have lived a moral life. However, if there is a hell, you will lose everything.

To that same point, there is an occasion when Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, an agnostic lecturer of the last century, was announced to give an address on hell. He declared he would prove conclusively that hell was a wild dream of some scheming theologians who invented it to terrify credulous people. As he was launching into his subject, a half-drunken man arose in the audience and exclaimed, "Make it strong, Bob. There are a lot of us poor fellows depending on you. If you are wrong, we are all lost. So be sure you prove it clear and plain."

I believe that there have been two occasions for great joy among Satan and his angels since creation. The first is when he tricked Eve by telling her that she would not suffer the consequences of her disobedience, and the second, when he persuaded preachers to not preach on the subject of hell anymore. After all, we’re an educated society! It is repugnant to reason! It is on the level of “Dante’s Inferno”. It is the product of a crazy person. We live in the age of enlightenment.  No one believes in hell anymore, right?

My summation is quite simple. Either the Bible is true or it is not. Stop playing games. It is one or the other, and nothing in between. You believe in its totality or you don't. It clearly teaches that there is a heaven for the saints and a hell for the aints. Denying it will not erase it no matter how much we wish it so.

Is There Really a Hell?

I open this blog with the humorous story of a new believer who was on a plane with an intellectual nonbeliever. He sneered at her reading the Bible. Asked if she believed it? "Yes." "Jonah and the whale story?" "Yes." "How did it happen?" "Don't know, but I'll find out when I get to heaven." "What if Jonah isn't there?" "Then I guess you'll have to ask him for me." Of course, the supposition of this little story is that men either go to one of two places after death: heaven or hell. 

I was speaking with a young man the other day who really had a lot of questions about the afterlife. In particular, he seemed more concerned with the issue of hell. I have found that most people find heaven much easier to believe in than hell. Of course, the best place to search this subject out is the Scriptures themselves. Our Lord spoke on the subject more than any other, if you can imagine that. I can only conclude that he might have been a bit concerned that none of us go there. In Matthew 13:24-30, he said, "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." He continued in verses 37-43, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

  

He also spoke on the subject in Mark 9:42-48 when he said, "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

Unfortunately, while our Lord spoke of it frequently, twice as much as heaven, it is not spoken of very much in the church today. As a matter of fact, it is my opinion that most church members do not truly believe in it at all even though the New Testament refers to it some 162 times.

So, what are some of the prevailing thoughts on the subject today? Some will say that it is repugnant to reason. To be direct, the very thought of a literal hell tends to be a bit too simple for our finite minds to grasp. Others will go on to say that the very thought of hell is a nightmare of a disordered mind. Something akin to "Dante’s Inferno”. It must be simply the product of a crazy person. Finally, others say that hell is an antiquated, moth-eaten, disproven theory which belongs to the age of superstition. After all, we live in the age of enlightenment. No one believes in hell anymore, right? Gotta be just a flashback to a product of our superstitious past. Well, I say to that that no one believed in rain in Noah's day, but it still destroyed them all. The bottom line is that unbelief does not negate reality.