Weekly Thoughts

9/2/06 – Hell #2

Hi all,

Last week I wrote about how much hell has been in the news recently, but wrote it from another computer so the mailing list was not up to date. I thought AOL automatically updated such things each time a person signed on but I was mistaken. I apologize. If you missed last week's "Thoughts" I have included them at the end of this weeks, so you may want to scroll down to the end and start with last week's.

The summary of last week was that the Bible presents hell as a kingdom just as heaven is a kingdom. Jesus, in his statements regarding his coming and judging the earth said evil people will be going to hell, but that it was originally prepared 'for the devil and his angels' (Mt 25:40-46). Additionally, Revelation 12:8, talking about the war in heaven in which the devil and his angels were thrown out of heaven, says that 'no place was found for them.' In other words, God looked for a place to put Lucifer and his followers but no place could be found. Therefore as Jesus said, hell was prepared for them.

In essence hell is a place without God, exactly what the devil wanted: No love, life, peace...it is therefore a place of torment just by the lack of anything Godly.

I think we are automatically brought up with the idea that the fires of hell are something God made especially for it's citizens to torment them. That there is a sadistic side to the Father God that enjoys watching people in torment.

One reason we think this is probably because of the passage that says our God is a consuming fire and that the Holy Spirit burns the chaff in our lives. Both those passages have to do with burning away things of the flesh in our lives and judging ourselves and God judging what isn't of eternal value. We are told that even if we just make it into heaven we will be saved, but anything likened to wood, hay, or stubble will be burned away. But it's not a fire of torment but rather just getting rid of things that aren't of God.

In terms of the fires of hell however, it does not appear that God is the source. Ezekiel 28:18, speaking of Lucifer's treachery and rebellion, says the source is "a fire from the midst of thee."

In other words, Satan's hatred of God is the source of the fire. He burns with hatred for everything, and that is the fuel for the fire of his kingdom. God lets it burn, yes. But the source is Satan's hatred for God and that hatred and rebellion are in fact the source for the fire.

As we are told in the NT, the Father doesn't want anyone to perish, but wants all to be saved. It hurts him deeply that people choose another kingdom. Jesus wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19 because they rejected the time of their visitation and would suffer the consequences.

We should also remember that the word hell is 'gehenna' in the Greek, the town dump for Jerusalem, a place that was burning spontaneously from the garbage decomposing there, not started by someone on the outside. It's use as a metaphor for the flames of hell illustrates the flames come from within, not the outside.

As mentioned earlier, hell is a kingdom as Jesus mentioned 'the gates of hell' shall not prevail against the church. In the same way that heaven is a city with gates of pearl, so too hell has gates. In essence, both hell and heaven seem to be city-states. The city of the new Jerusalem will one day descend to this earth and it will be the capital city. The new Jerusalem as seen in The Revelation has walls, streets, the river of Life, and so on.

When someone dies and goes to heaven, they are going to the city called heaven. 

I mention the parallel knowing that Satan creates nothing, but only copies and perverts what exists already. So we can look in the Word to see any indications that Satan took something of God and perverted it in his kingdom-city called hell.

One parallel is that there are ranks in each kingdom. Jesus mentioned in Matthew 11:11 that the least in the kingdom of heaven is still greater than John the Baptist. And the apostle John in The Revelation saw thrones around the throne of the Father in Revelation 4. This indicates some sort of ranking. Since we all start out even when born again, the ranks come from what we've done with our lives since then...and that is why the foundations of the walls of the city have the names of the 12 apostles...they did a lot with what they had. Also remember that angels appear to be ranked because Michael is called the Arch-angel (arche in Greek means 1st), and Daniel 12:1 says he is the 'Prince' that is in charge of Israel.

Similarly Jesus stated in Mt 12:41 that the people of Nineveh will rise up against the people of Jesus' generation and shall speak against it because 'a greater than Jonah is here.'

In Luke 11:31 he said the same of 'the queen of the south' because a greater than Solomon is here.'

In Luke 10:12-15 Jesus pronounced "woes" on Chorazin and Bethsaida, saying that if the works done in them had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented. As a result, in verse 14 he said it will be more tolerable for them at the day of judgment than for Chorazin and Bethsaida. (and Capernaum)

When we toss in our understanding from Ephesians 6, that Satan has organized in terms of powers, rulers, principalities and so forth, we can see ranks in Satan's realm, whether by his choice or by judgment perhaps...but as heaven has ranks so too does hell both in the people realm and (fallen) angelic realm.

Presumably then some parts of hell will be more tolerable than others, or Jesus would not have used such wording in his statements. For instance in our example of the 2 men in Luke 16:19-31, the evil rich man was in torment by the flame, yet he was still capable of seeing around him, talk and hold a conversation without interspersing his words with screams of anguish. I'm not trying to say it's not that bad, I'm just saying that we have in our minds often the idea that a person can't catch a breath due to the torment, and I'm pointing out from the Bible and Jesus' own words, that the man here (and commentators I've read agree this was a really case not a parable) could walk and talk and hold a conversation, though his surroundings weren't pleasant by any means.

I also find it interesting that Jesus said that if the residents of Tyre and Sidon would have had the chance to hear him they would have repented, indicating a supreme fairness in judgement. There won't be anyone saying "Well if only I'd lived in those times I would have believed in Jesus".

In Luke 16:19-31 we have the case of 2 men who died; one went to hell and the other went to Paradise, called Abraham's bosom.

The man in torment saw Abraham and the beggar Lazarus, and commented he was in torment in the flame and he wanted Abraham to resurrect Lazarus so he could warn the other man's 5 brothers about hell. Abraham's comment was that if they wouldn't believe Moses and the prophets they won't believe it when someone rises from the dead...an allusion to Jesus' own resurrection, but also a statement of knowing the condition of the hearts of the 5 brothers. Judgement is supremely fair.

Like any city or nation, hell can in fact enlarge it's territory. Isaiah 5:13-14 says this: "My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge. Therefore hell has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it."

That is what Satan is trying to do on the planet...enlarge the domain of his kingdom, taking as many people into the authority of his gates as possible.

Going back to the 2 men from Luke 16:19-31, notice that the man in torment seems to be surprised that he is there. Abraham explains to him that the beggar Lazarus is being comforted and he in torment. That is what prompts the man to ask that Lazarus be sent to warn his 5 brothers.

Last week I shared about how each of us is in one kingdom or the other and that is true. But from this example we can see that some in hell will be surprised to find they are citizens of that kingdom. If we go back to the culture of the 1st century and enter this rich man's house we would find a man that thought he was going to heaven. Though he ignored the beggar Lazarus who was laid at his gate everyday, the beggar just wanting to get the leftovers from the rich man's table (Lk 16:21), he probably gave to the synagogue. In that day they equated wealth with God's blessing. If you were blessed financially then God was doing it because you were so good and holy. So from the doctrine of the day he would have thought he was going to heaven.

This culture that equated wealth with holiness and rightness before God can be seen in the incredulous reaction ("exceedingly amazed" Mt 19:25) when Jesus talked about how hard it was for a rich man to make it to heaven.

So the rich man thought he was going to heaven because of the culture around him. He hadn't bothered to read and believe Moses and the prophets, choosing rather to believe pop culture and its doctrine rather than the Word.

Speaking of his own people in Revelation 3:14-22 Jesus notes the church at Laodicea said: "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." But Jesus said the truth was:

"(you) know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."

Notice...they know not. They too believed the pop culture that equated wealth and possessions with Godliness. But they didn't know their real spiritual condition.

Thus we have both a man going to hell that didn't know his own spiritual condition and a church full of people who didn't know their spiritual condition. Yet all either of them had to do was know the Word, get in touch with their own hearts and spend some quality time in communion with God, and he would reveal in a mere moment of time where their hearts really were.

I will continue next week talking about what judgment day is all about, who actually makes it into heaven, and write about the role of knowledge plays in our destiny. These are just thoughts that I hope promote introspection and self examination in your own life. As I've told students many times in the past. Don't just swallow hook, line and sinker, what some preacher or teacher tells you, know what you believe and why. It's not that important whether you believe me or not, examine it yourself and know yourself, God, and what you believe and why.

 

Blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org