The Hell of Fire

Recently, I attended a Church service which presented a video of a man who claimed to have spent “23 minutes in hell.” I learned from the video that he also authored a book by the same title. What he experienced, he called a vision – an “out of body” experience. Now, he seemed genuinely sincere, and very humble, not desiring to set himself up as some kind of prophet or spiritual guru. He was also adamant that everything he said was backed by Scripture – 150 Scripture references to be exact. Plus, he claimed to have partnered with some Bible scholars regarding the Scripture references to be sure that none were “out of context.” Yet, as I listened intently to his story, it seemed to me that, almost without exception, every Scripture he used was either “out of context” or a gross misinterpretation.

At the end of the video, almost an hour, the pastor turned off the DVD player and asked for comments and responses. One man commented that “...he backed everything up with Scriptures, and you can't argue with that.” Others related how we are “more fearful of men than of God” and that's why we are lax in telling people about hell. The general attitude seemed to be that this was indeed a Scriptural message that needed to be preached more often; that people must be told that if they don't repent, the only alternative for them is an eternity in the conscious torment of a fiery hell.

Well, I can't tell you how heavy my heart was after hearing all this. I wanted so bad to stand up and say NO! NO! NO! This is all wrong! Can't you see that this “hellish” doctrine does not honor God at all? Can't you see that it does no justice to God's nature and character, much less to His precious Word? On the one hand, we believe that God is patient, not wanting any to perish but that all should come to repentance; we believe that God is merciful and “His mercy endures forever”; and that he is just!? And yet, this doctrine of an eternal punishing hell requires that, at some point in the future, God is no longer patient or merciful or just, much less loving or kind! He willingly consigns the murderer and rapist along with a good husband and father alike, to the same eternal punishment! The doctrine posits that eternal punishment is "away" from God's presence and yet we must consider that only God can sustain the life of the impenitent and therefore He must keep them forever in the state of misery and torment!

Of course, supporters of the doctrine attempt to vindicate God from this cruelty by pointing out that He created "hell" for the devil and his minions. Therefore, it is man's choice to go to hell, not God's. Yes, they say, men who reject Jesus, regardless of how they live their lives – good or bad – choose hell because they do not choose Jesus! But can this be right? What about those who have never heard? Who never even had a chance to hear? And what about those who rejected Christianity purely on the basis that they cannot reasonably accept such a cruel and merciless doctrine? I cannot help but think that the teaching of this doctrine offends our loving heavenly Father! I do not question the reality of “final punishment” - the Bible is quite clear about that fact. The question is rather, what is the nature and duration of that punishment?

I knew it would not be well received and would serve no good purpose to disrupt the meeting with my opposing opinion, so I kept quiet. After all, how could I fight against 150 Scripture references in only a few moments! Plus, I had the disadvantage of not having had a vision, or “out of body” experience! It never ceases to amaze me how blind people can be to the plain language of the Bible (I once was blind to these things myself), and how open people can be when they hear that someone has had a vision – especially if that vision supports long held traditions!

If this topic is of interest to you (and I think it certainly should be), you may profit from reading a couple of very excellent articles. Just click the links below. I will also be posting more on this topic myself.

God Bless,
Keith

Making the Dead Alive: Translating Sheol as Hades Brings the Dead to Life

The Final End of the Wicked – by Edward Fudge