And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
-- Matthew 10:28
Most of us prefer not to say the word. We just spell it out, especially in the presence of small children. And even if we dare talk about it, surveys indicate that most modern Christians and non-Christians alike no longer believe in it. So, whatever happened to Hell?
Hell was not a well-defined concept in the Old Testament period. As a matter of fact, you won't even find the word mentioned once in any of the 39 books. It does come into view 10 times in the Apocrypha.
It is not that eternity did not live in the hearts of devout Jews, for certainly they expected more that just this mortal life. It is just that they were a bit one-sided in the matter. For those who were saved by grace through faith in Yahweh, an eternal home with Him awaited. For the unfaithful in Israel and the rest of the unbelieving masses, life ended with "the grave." Have faith, live forever; have not, you rot, then disappear.
New Testament Christianity makes more of Hell, sometimes too much. I've heard preachers in my lifetime point out that Jesus talked about Hell twice as much as He did Heaven. But do the math, and you will find out that's simply not true. Heaven is mentioned hundreds of times in the 27 books of the New Testament, Hell only 14.
The majority of Christians who take the Bible seriously do believe in both a literal Heaven and literal Hell. Heaven is the eternal home of those saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Hell is the final destination for those who reject the Gospel or claim false hope in a false Gospel.
Views on Heaven are fairly unanimous and synonymous. It is unimaginably wonderful, definitely eternal, where your worst day is infinitely better than the best day you ever knew on this old earth. Views on Hell, however, diverge.
Most Christians don't expect to see Hell, but seem certain that the bad and unfaithful go there, forever, eternally, in ongoing punishment for their sins. Some of them, especially certain Hell, fire, and brimstone preachers, seem exceedingly glad about it. They are like the character in the Don Henley song, "The bubbleheaded bleach-blonde comes on at five, She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye, it's interesting when people die!"
I tend to believe in this historic, orthodox understanding of Hell. But I'm not happy about it. It puts tears in my eyes and brokenness my heart to think of anyone going there, except for Hitler and child molesters. I do not think the Almighty has a gleam in His eye about it, either. "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11).
There is a minority view among evangelical Christians that understand Hell as the grave, as the end of life, and that's it. The unbelieving and unfaithful simply cease to exist. Billy Graham discussed this as a distinct possibility. John R.W. Stott, a brilliant scholar and pastor, entertained this notion quite seriously. The guy who wrote the book, literally, about this is a Church of Christ scholar named E.W. Fudge (not to be confused with my favorite cookie), and it is particularly well-written, reasonable, and cites many biblical references.
In either case, eternal punishment or instant annihilation, it ain't good. To be conscious constantly and feel nothing but pain and abandonment has its obvious downside. But to have lived, to have wasted one's life on lesser things, to be put to sleep to never awake, to be ultimately forgotten by believing family, friends, and God Himself, does not seem like the place I'd like to go to, either. Hell is hell, awful, terrible, terminable, and in one way or the other, eternal.
So let us speak of Hell, sparingly, achingly, but honestly. And let us lift up the alternate course to the one that leads to eternal death. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Chuck DeVane is the pastor of Lake Hamilton Baptist Church. Call him at 501-525-8339 or email [email protected].