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James Watkins
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Hell's bells! Bell's hellMarch 2011 Author and pastor of Mars Hill, Rob Bell, is taking heat for what some evangelicals are accusing of universalism (where everyone receives heaven in the end) and the denial of hell's existence. The fire and brimstone were unleashed when the publisher, HarperOne, released this promo: [I]n Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith— the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic. . . . The book is not yet in stores, so rather than making any comments on Bell's book, here's a chapter from my 2000 book, The Why Files: Is There Really Life After Death? for your consideration. (The book series from Concordia House addresses real questions from over 2,500 teens about sex, death and the supernatural.)
17. Is There Really a Hell?A Texas newspaper reports: Rev. Bill Lane who . . . preaches "hell fire, damnation, and brimstone" added something new to his "preachin'." Suddenly the luke warm evangelist became one of the hottest evangelists in the country. Literally! He set himself on fire while giving a sermon on hell. The idea caught on like wildfire and soon [he] was known to millions as the Flaming Evangelist. Already, Rev. Lane has set himself on fire 75 times and has only been burned badly once. [He] wears a specially treated undershirt and shirt to prevent the fire from burning through. While the flames are raging, Bill points to the crowd with a flaming finger and shouts, "You may not like what you are seeing, but imagine this for eternity." Is there really a hell? Let's examine some ideas. Not Quite Hell The Roman Catholic Church teaches that purgatory is an intermediate state between heaven and hell. Purgatory: A place of temporal punishment for those who die in God's grace, but are not entirely free from venial [less serious] sins or have not entirely paid the satisfaction due to their sins. The existence of purgatory is universally taught by all the Fathers of the Church. The words of our Lord, "Thou shalt not come out from it until thou hast paid the last penny" are very clear (Matt. 5:25-26). Later, when speaking of the sins against the Holy Ghost, Jesus says that such a sin "will not be forgiven either in this world or in the next," thus implying that there are some sins that can be atoned for in the next world (Matt. 12:32). Saint Paul also shows his belief in purgatory when, in his second letter to Timothy, he prays for the deceased Onesiphorous. "May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day" (2 Tim. 1:18). Even in the Old Testament there was a belief in the existence of purgatory, for there we find Judas Machabeus sending 12,000 drachmas to Jerusalem to have sacrifices offered for the sins of the dead. That chapter ends with the advice: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins" (2 Mach. 12:46). In purgatory, souls suffer for a while in satisfaction for their sins before they can enter heaven. The principal suffering of these souls consists in the pain of experiencing, on one hand, and intense longing for God and, on the other, a realization that they are hindered from possessing Him by reason of their past sins. Unlike the souls in hell, they are certain of one day seeing God. They can be helped, moreover, by the prayers of the faithful on earth, and especially by offering of Mass. Protestants would protest (thus the name) the doctrine on several points. First, the word "purgatory" is not found the protestant or Catholic Bible. Secondly, the Protestant reformation was founded on the concept of salvation by grace—not human works. The Catholic Bible teaches "for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God; not as the outcome of works, lest anyone may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9, The Catholic Bible). And there is no need for additional purification, as the Catholic Bible states: "If we acknowledge our sins, [Christ] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all iniquity" (1 John 1:9, italics mine). Protestants have other problems with the arguments for purgatory. The doctrine was not taught until the seventh century, so early church fathers did not subscribe to such a teaching. The reference to Matthew 5 is actually talking about earthly court systems. And Onesiphorus is not dead yet in 2 Timothy. Protestants also question the reliability of the book of Maccabees since neither Jesus nor any of His disciples ever quote from it or make reference to it. Thus, it's not included in the Protestant Bible. Finally, it would seem that the thief crucified with Jesus would need to spend some time in purgatory for his many sins. And yet Jesus promises the repentant criminal, "Today you will be with me in Paradise. This is a solemn promise" (Luke 23:43). While there isn't anything specifically about purgatory in Scripture, there are some very detailed descriptions of hell. Hell As we discussed earlier, the unbelieving dead's bodies are left in the wrong side of the gulf in Hades until the final Judgment Day. Are you really judged? Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Is there really fire in hell? Is this a real, literal "lake of fire"? Again, let me say with absolute certainty—I have no idea! Jesus spoke of "hell" throughout the gospels. The Greek word He uses is gehenna which comes from the Hebrew word "Ghi-Hinnom" or Valley of Hinnom. Located just west and southwest of Jerusalem, there was a literal Gehenna. Here, parents had forced their children to walk through fire fueled by brimstone in worship to the false god of Molech (2 Kings 23:10, Isaiah 30:33). During Christ's time, Gehenna was a constantly burning landfill. Often garbage would lodge in the rocks above it and breed maggots. This may explain the description of "the fire of gehenna," where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out—where all are salted with fire" (Mark 9:47-49). Throughout scripture "fire" is used as a symbol for something greater or more fearful. So, if "hell fire and brimstone" are figurative, this means that hell is something far worse than literal burning. (So, I wouldn't take any comfort in thinking, hell is not literal. If it's not literal, it's something unspeakably worse!) Separation from God seems to be taught as the "hellish" part of hell: This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power . . . (2 Thessalonians 7b-9). Seven times the Gospels speak of hell as "outer darkness . . . the place of weeping and torment" (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28). Jesus warns us that the "cursed ones"—those who have refused to accept His offer of salvation—"shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life" (Matthew 25:46). In other words, the punishment of unbelievers will be the exact same length as the reward of the believers—eternity (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 18:8, Mark 3:29, 9:44-48; Jude 13). Do you get a choice between heaven and hell? The good news, however, is that God "is not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17). Max Lucado writes, "God does not send people to hell. He simply honors their choice." C. S. Lewis puts it this way: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says 'Thy will be done.'" © Copyright 2000 James N. Watkins
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