Getting Job-ed
“Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!… And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:41, 46 CSB
I want us to jump into a topic that is uncomfortable for most people to really talk about, which would make sense that it’s rarely discussed and/or taught on. I saw a FB post and a podcast posted on whether hell is real or not by a Christian leader and I responded to it, so I felt that more than likely this is a topic that should be hit on altogether. The concept of eternal punishment sparks a lot of emotions in us. So, this article will address hell as whether it is real or not, the next article will address whether God is just in sending people there for eternal punishment. This article will not be an exegesis of all of the verses of hell, but rather the general concept and theme of hell in Scripture.
Hell is discussed more times than heaven in Scripture (over 150 times). We love the concepts of heaven and all of its splendor, but we forget to see the priority of warning that Scripture provides for hell. I mean, let’s just think of this conceptually on a human level: if heaven is real (pure bliss with the Divine), does everyone deserve it? Like child molesters, mass murderers, etc. I feel like most people would say no (of course, that’s without the concept of grace applied, which we’ll talk about in the next article). Now, what we don’t understand is what sin is and what it means to an infinitely holy God (which we will also discuss in the next article).
Hell is mentioned as a place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41) and a place of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43). This is not a place where the devil lives with his pitchfork and his little gang of demons, this is judgment even for him (Revelation 20:10). As the Scripture above states, hell is a place that is eternal in punishment (Matthew 25:46). It’s described as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30) and is in complete darkness. In Mark 9:43 also, Jesus makes a reference to hell as being Gehenna, which was a place of burning garbage outside of Jerusalem.
Like I said, with this topic discussed much more than heaven in the Bible, the amount of Biblical evidence for its existence is overwhelming. However, although the topic doesn’t sit well with us, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist, just like a bad diagnosis from a physician. That’s a deathly error: to believe there isn’t impending destruction coming would be catastrophic. If you’re a Christian, not believing in the destruction that is coming also will skew your view on evangelism. Why try to show people the truth of God if they’re not in danger of anything? Why believe in the ‘oppressiveness’ of God’s rules (as secular people say God is) and not just do what you want now, your best life now? Those are fatal errors.
What is hell really? It’s not a place with a devil and his pitchfork. It’s not a party like some people think it will be. It’s also not a place that is void of God as most Christians say. Hell is God’s eternal judgment on sinners that deserve it. Now, in the next article we’ll talk about whether God is just in doing that, so let’s just stick to our topic at hand. This is not a place that is absent of God, this is a place of God’s divine wrath that is discussed all throughout Scripture. This is true death: God’s wrath poured out on deserving sinners for all eternity. This is also what makes the atonement of Christ so beautiful, which we will cover in the next article as well.
So, Scripture gives many pictures of the attributes of hell. Are all of those literal or metaphoric? Is hell a real place that sinners go? I, of course, lean towards yes Scripturally. But here’s the catch, whether literal or metaphorical, it’s not that it would be the fire that is the worst thing. It’s not that it’s the smell of a burning garbage dump that is the worst thing. It’s the absolute wrath of God that is the worst thing… I believe there is a literal component to all of this, but what is more severe is the metaphorical aspect of this: the reality that God’s wrath is infinitely worse than eternal burning, brimstone, gnashing of teeth, utter darkness. God’s wrath is something we cannot comprehend, but we catch glimpses of in Scripture, especially in its description of hell. Constantly, in the Christian realm, we are told ‘don’t be afraid,‘ however, we are told to fear the One that has the power to throw us into hell (Matthew 10:28). We really should have a ‘reverential awe’ of One that has that power and right to do so, and also absolutely love, cherish, and worship Him when He does not, and even rescues us from His own impending wrath.
-Austin
