Q: What is hell?
A: This question is important because it has to do with salvation, eternity, and the Gospel. Stephen Hawking, author of "The Grand Design” and “A Brief History of Time” said this a few weeks ago: “The belief in Heaven/hell is a fairytale for people that are afraid of the dark.” It’s obvious the misconceptions surrounding this question just from how we talk about it. I remember hearing a guy tell me back in January “It’s cold as hell out here.” Come on man, if you’re going to cuss, at least do it right! On the other hand, I saw a church sign the other day that said “Think it’s hot hear? What until you get to hell!” Hell is more than just a hot day where you need to turn the A/C on or go out and lay on the beach and get a sun tan.
Hell is a literal place, conscious place. Hell is separation from God. Matthew 10:28, Matthew 25:30. Jesus talked about hell more than any other author or person in the Bible. Notice the descriptions of hell throughout Scripture. Matthew 25 talks about being in deep anguish and weeping. Revelation 20:10- Tormented day and night. It's graphic and intense.
And here's a terrible misconception that I've heard people say: All my buddies will be in hell when they die, so we’ll be sitting down with Satan telling dirty jokes and drinking tequila together. No rules, do whatever we want to do. Unfortunately, that's not a legitimate claim. There will be suffering, and you will know what’s going on. It’s not going to be a marshmallow roast. It’s eternal damnation and separation from God.
So what is hell? A literal place of separation from God that involves eternal punishment. Hell is a place that because of our sins against God, we all deserve to go to and will go to, unless we have been saved by the sacrifice and propitiation of Jesus’s death on the cross.
1 comment:
Since Noah's been a police officer, he has seen and I have heard about what could be considered small bits of hell on earth. Or maybe a better way to put it, glimpses of the depth of evil on this planet.
Everyone's seen images of war—particularly our current war—that also give glimpses of what life would be like if God were totally absent. It's kind of like Wild West, looting, rioting, lawlessness, every-man-for-himself to the Nth degree. I can't imagine living in that kind of situation now, and I couldn't bear the thought of living in an even worse state for eternity.
This Q&A, though, reminded me of all the glimpses of God we have on Earth as well: the very fact that the sun rises every day, that nature is beautiful as well as unconquerable, moments of love, etc. etc. etc.
You were totally right: Actually thinking about the reality of hell made my desire for heaven (and a Jesus-centered life) all the more urgent.
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