Tonight’s ‘A-Z of Christian Faith’ had reached the letter H, where we looked at two subjects for the price of one! Heaven and hell might not be mentioned as much nowadays as in the past, but it would be foolish to believe they are not crucially important for everyone. We may feel the popular images of heaven and hell are irrelevant nowadays, but actually despite the fact there are many questions we cannot answer about heaven and hell, the fact remains that we need to be sure we don’t ignore their relevance to our daily lives as well as our eternal destinies.
Heaven is best understood as being where God is and where God rules: it’s not just about fluffy clouds and celestial gates.
Jesus often spoke of the ‘kingdom of heaven’ and the ‘kingdom of God’, indicating that heaven is synonymous with God’s reign. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, Jesus said (Matt 13:31-32): outwardly small, but growing into something much bigger. It’s like yeast (Matt 13:33): you only need a small amount of yeast to make a large loaf of bread! It’s like hidden treasure or a pearl that’s valuable but may not look much to the outsider (Matt 13:45-50). Other images are developed much more: the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding banquet, Jesus said (Matt 22:1-14), and this image of a marriage between the Lamb and the Bride of Christ and a wedding feast is taken up by John in his great Revelation (Revelation 21:2-5, 9). A wedding feast conjures up pictures of joy, feasting, pleasure, celebration, and all of these are ideas that show us it’s a good thing when God is ruling and reigning. There is satisfaction and wholeness; a place without tears, where ‘there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ (Rev 21:4)
Hell, by contrast, speaks of separation from God, absence from God. It’s described as a place of torment, and whilst the imagery of fire and burning may be metaphorical, the anguish of hell is real.
Jesus repeatedly issued warnings that if we turn away from God in this life, we will be alienated from God eternally. Hell was prepared for the devil and his demons (Matt 25:41), but those who persistently refuse to acknowledge God and accept His offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ will end up being separated from God for ever. One of the most vivid descriptions of hell is given in Luke 16:19-31, where we see the rich man in hell, a ‘place of torment.’ (Luke 16:28) There are many different words translated as hell in our Bibles: Gehenna (the valley of Hinnom), Hades, Sheol, but the overall picture we have is of torment, ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matt 8:12).
Many question how a God of love can ‘send’ people to hell, but ultimately because God has given us free will, because He wants us to serve Him faithfully but freely, He will not force us to accept His offer of salvation. He tells us that the wages of sin is death and offers us the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (Rom 6:23). It is up to us whether we believe Him or not, whether we accept this free gift or not. C. S. Lewis said, ‘the damned are, in one sense, successful, rebels to the end; the doors of hell are locked on the inside. All that are in Hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.’ (‘The Problem of Pain’) We have to trust that God’s love, mercy and justice will ultimately ensure that He does what is right.