It is instructive (for my purpose in this essay) to consider that everything that exists ~ including hell and the lake of fire, has its existence because that God both made it and He also sustains it. God created, and God shall forever sustain, the existence of both hell and the lake of fire. But why did God make such places as those? And what is the nature of those places? The Bible gives us straightforward answers to those questions, as follows:
"Then shall [the Lord] say..., Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels..." (Matthew 25:41)In the above statement, as well as in other passages of Scripture, is found the reason for the existence of hell and the lake of fire. The lake of fire was "prepared" as a place of punishment and torment for the devil and his angels. Yet, in the context of the above passage, Christ is there represented as judging and condemning certain human beings to those same places. And who are those human beings whom Christ shall cast them into the lake of fire? They are them which are "cursed." But who cursed them? Undoubtedly, those who are cursed bring such disaster upon themselves by reason of their own, respective choice. But though the choice was theirs to make, yet, the curse was not of their own making. Indeed, it was God who decreed the curse, pertaining to who shall go to hell and then, ultimately, to the lake of fire.
In sum, God made hell and the lake of fire. God also sustains those places of torment. God furthermore decreed the "curse" involving hell and the lake of fire, not only upon the devil and his angels but, also, upon every human being who rejects Jesus Christ as Lord.
Man did not make hell or the lake of fire. And contrary to what many wrongly suppose, it is highly unlikely that anyone actually "chooses" to go to hell or to the lake of fire. Instead, the choice that individuals make for themselves involves whether or not they will believe the Word of God and, then, choose to embrace the truth of God and the fear of the Lord. The difference, as I just described, is not a matter of semantics. But there is a vital distinction between those two different perspectives ~ only one of which, that is the latter, is the true way of looking at the question of how that one's own choice affects one's eternal destiny. No one chooses to go to hell; but, many choose to reject Christ ~ and go to hell for that reason.
There is still further evidence that it is God who ~ by an explicit act of His own will ~ actually "sends" people not only to hell but, afterward, to the lake of fire. The proof of which appears in the revelation involving what is called, in Scripture, the "great white throne" judgment:
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15)(My Lord! I feel that I need to stop and prostrate myself before God whenever I read such sobering words!) At some time in the future, God is going to summon all of the unrighteous dead ~ from out of hell ~ to the final judgment. At which time God will then "cast" them "into the lake of fire." Hell itself, somehow, shall also then be cast into that same lake of fire. Thus proving that God's wrath is not satisfied by the punishments of hell. And proving moreover that God is the one who "sends" His enemies both to hell and to the lake of fire.
There is yet another significant passage of Scripture ~ which issued from the lips of Christ himself, which passage reveals something very important regarding the mind of Christ in judgment against those who reject him as Lord:
"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me" (Luke 19:27).Neither God nor Christ will be content merely for the wicked to quietly slip away into oblivion, as it were, in hell and the lake of fire; which is not actually "oblivion." For, though those, who shall be eternally confined and mercilessly tormented in the lake of fire, shall never have any consciousness of God, yet, there is the suggestion in Scripture that not only God but also the saints and the holy angels shall somehow be aware of the eternal torments of the damned (see, e.g.: Isaiah 66:24; Revelation 14:11 ~ hover your 'mouse' cursor on those links).
Obviously, I have labored to emphasize a certain point, namely: That the eternal torment of hell and of the lake of fire is God's purposeful and willful response to every creature ~ including human beings ~ which refuses to submit to Christ.
Take another look, if you will, at the image, above. And think about what you've just read. Will you then be willing to say ~ as numerous pastors and/or church leaders have actually said to me, that hell is the expression of God's love to those who are in hell, forever? To many of you, no doubt such an idea seems absurd. Nevertheless, there are some (as I just indicated), professing Christians, who will even argue that "God loves the devil."
But if God "loves" the devil and if God "loves" all who are in hell ~ which can only mean that hell itself must then be an expression of God's "love" to such, devils and sinners: then, what in the world is "love?" If hell, as well as heaven, is the expression of God's love, then, I say again, what is "love?" Is the "love" that created the beauties and pleasures of heaven the same "love" that created hell and which fuels that inferno of eternal torment? Of course, God created both worlds. But many make the mistake of characterizing every action of God as "love," because, the Bible says that "God is love" (1John 4:16). And, since God is love, then God can do nothing else but to love, many wrongly surmise.
But "love" is not something other than God, as if to say that God is like that. Rather, we know what love is, only in order as we may perceive and understand the character and will of God, by the revelation of His Word to us, by His Spirit. For the sake of our understanding, it might be better to say that "Love is whatever God is in His Person." That simple rearrangement of words does not alter the meaning, though it makes the meaning of Scripture clearer. What is love? Love is God's willingness to extend mercy to those who will receive that on God's terms. Love is God's willingness to protect His redeemed Creation including His saints, from the violence and hatred of God's intractable enemies: by "destroying" all such enemies in hell and the lake of fire. That latter expression of God's love is motivated by, and directed towards, the protection of His redeemed Creation ~ which is the object (collectively) of God's love; whereas, it were a great error to suppose that hell is an expression of God's love motivated by, and directed towards, His recalcitrant and unrepentant enemies.
The Bible plainly declares that God manifests a wide range of emotions and of actions ~ in addition to those commonly associated with "love," including all these: anger, disapproval, judgment, rejection, punishment, wrath, fury, and even hatred. God does not merely hate the deeds of sinners. But Scripture testifies that God "is angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11). The Bible explicitly reveals, in God's own words, the mind and the will of God concerning a certain generation of the Jews:
"All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will [choose to] love them no more..." (Hosea 9:15).The Holy Ghost, in Psalm 5:6, revealed that: "the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Put very simply, in other words: There comes a time when that God "will love them no more," that is, those who ultimately reject Jesus Christ. Such a belief is not even close to being Calvinistic; which I have sometimes been accused of. Calvinism teaches that God hates certain individuals, from the beginning. Whereas, I believe the Bible teaches that God loves every soul that He creates. Only, in the case that any soul consciously, willfully, and ultimately rejects Jesus Christ, there does then come a point in time when that soul ~ having despised the longsuffering and mercy of God and thus having provoked God to anger and wrath, at last, comes to be hated by God: who then casts that soul out of His Presence and, forever afterwards, God's wrath burns against that soul in the lake of fire.
Jesus himself said: "[F]ear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). That was, and yet still is, a central part of the message which Jesus boldly and consistently preached. That is a part of the Gospel which has not merely been lost to this generation, but it has purposefully been replaced by another message. Here's what that "other message" says:
"God loves you unconditionally. He loves you just as you are. There is nothing you can do to make God love you any less. There is nothing you can do to make God stop loving you."I've heard those exact words many more times than I could recall ~ not from rank sinners, mind you, but from professing Christians many of whom are church leaders! But if such a message as that is not "tickling the ears" of sinners, then I don't know what would qualify. To tell sinners that God loves them "unconditionally" and that there is nothing they can do to make God stop loving them is to tickle their ears not with a feather but with a feather duster!
Having read volumes of sermons by men such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Wesley, and others whom God used mightily, especially during seasons of Revival associated with what is now called "the Great Awakening" in America (during the early 1700s); I can tell you that those men would have been repulsed by the sort of "gospel" above described, which today is preached all across America.
America has not seen real Revival in at least the past 40 years. Why not? Are there no reasons why that Revival has been withheld from America's churches and cities for so long a time? To be sure, there are reasons ~ many of them, not the least of which I have herein identified and described. How can the Christian Church honor God, while distorting and misrepresenting not only God's Word but, in so doing, thus misrepresent His character and will, also?
And how can sinners be brought under searching conviction by telling them that God loves them unconditionally, that is to say, without any conditions whatsoever? On what basis, then, could God judge anyone for anything ~ if such an idea were true? But it is not true. Importantly, there must be a "judgment" of the soul, which occurs at a time not later than one's physical death. For, we are given in Scripture to understand that ~ at the time of death, the spirit in man separates from and departs his body: whereupon, such spirit either 'ascends' to be in the Presence of Christ, or else it 'descends' into hell; depending upon one's relationship to Christ.
God's anger is already white-hot towards multitudes in America and throughout the world (as I have oftentimes said). God's mercy truly is very great. But His patience is not infinite! God's patience has limits! God's mercy and goodness withstand the righteous judgment of His holiness ~ but only for a season whilst God waits for those, who willingly are God's enemies, to turn from their sins and submit themselves to the obedience of Christ.
God loves no one "unconditionally." THE "condition" ~ for all who desire to be benefactors of God's love, is Christ. CHRIST IS THE CONDITION BY WHICH GOD'S LOVE IS EXTENDED TO MANKIND. Those who shall suffer eternally in hell must suffer not for their own sins only. But because they have rejected Christ ~ who actually bore their sins in his own body on the cross; therefore, those who are in hell must also suffer for having despised Christ's suffering in their stead. Which, I believe, is the most profound reason why sinners shall be tormented for ever in the lake of fire. God made a way whereby fallen human beings may be "reconciled" to God. In lieu of which, however, God's Spirit "will not always strive with man." God's holiness must requite the Savior's suffering for each and every man's sins: whether by extending grace, for Christ's sake, to those who will repent; or, else, by revealing God's everlasting vengeance and wrath, for Christ's sake, against every soul of man that persists to be God's enemy.
The Savior himself came preaching, saying: "Repent, and believe the gospel...and fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." I suppose that Jesus knew the right message to preach if his goal was to lead men to repentance.
No comments:
Post a Comment