Cho Seung-Hui. I'm you've heard of him already. He is the poor example of a human being--an unfettered picture of man's depravity--who is now infamous for being responsible for the worst school shooting in the history of the United States of America. On the campus of Virginia Tech, on the morning of April 16, 2007, he gunned down in cold blood 32 students and faculty, along with injuring many.
I'll spare you any further details, since--unless you've been hiding under a rock this week--you've probably heard, read, and seen more than you wanted to.
My focus of this article is one statement of Cho, which was made in his video manifesto that he sent to NBC News. As he tried to blame others for his actions and as he made himself out to be a martyr and hero, he stated, "...I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people..."
It's sadly ironic that this young man, who knew enough about Jesus to think he was dying "like" Him, neither died for Jesus nor appeared to know Him in life.
Since whackos and wicked people occasionally drag Jesus' name through the gutter as if they are/were drinking buddies, and since some less-studied observers might consider the comparisons valid, I have decided to dismantle this false analogy of the mass-murdering Cho.
What is a "false analogy"? Well, one textbook defines it as "...a comparison in which the differences outweight the similarities or an assumption that if two things are alike in one or a few ways, they are alike in all ways."
Okay, so let's look at the similarities between the Virginia Tech-gunman and Jesus Christ first:
1.) They both died.
All right, now that we're done with that, we can move on to their differences.
1.) First of all, Jesus is God. (John 1:1, 14) Cho? Not so much. Could there be a more important distinction? You'll often hear someone run off a list of people, saying, "Confucius, Socrates, Jesus, etc." While, for the intended purpose of a given statement, it may be an appropriate comparison/grouping, ultimately, to one extent or another, it's insulting to Jesus' deity.
2.) Secondly, Jesus is sinless. (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22 ; 1 John 3:5 ; Hebrews 4:15 ; Hebrews 7:26) The Virginia Tech shooter? Start with murder, hate, and lust (he allegedly stalked and took pictures of women), along with blaspheming Jesus by the simple act of comparing Him to himself, and go from there, keeping James 2:10 and Romans 3:23 in mind.
This is another important aspect to note. The difference between an innocent man--completely innocent and unstained--dying and a flagrant sinner is significant.
3.) Thirdly, Jesus didn't kill anyone. Any comparison which may otherwise have merits (though this one does not) has to come to a screeching halt here. Christ did resurrect some, and many will be resurrected in the future. As part of the Godhead, Jesus will judge the world, and can make righteous judgments at any time He so desires. However, as a Man on earth, He said, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe in Him is judged already." (John 3:17-18)
Napoleon Bonaparte, of all people, has something profound about Jesus' non-violent ministry: "I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him."
Jesus was peacefully arrested--telling Peter to put away his sword (Matthew 26:52)--and He quietly accepted His undue punishment, "...Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter." (Isaiah 53:7)
2 Peter 2:23 tells of Jesus, "...while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously." He exhibited the biblical attribute of "longsuffering." In stark contrast stands Cho, whatever wrongs may have been done to him.
Jesus said on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) No such forgiving spirit is apparent in Cho's words or demeanor.
4.) Jesus didn't kill Himself. This becomes a bit complicated theologically, but the bottom line is that Jesus did not commit suicide (an act that severely diminishes the value in a person's demise), though He did come with the purpose to die. One needs only to look at the passive voice in Isaiah 53. Cho tried to transfer responsibility for his death, but he did so in vain. It was an aggressive suicide mission, plain and simple.
5.) Jesus said, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him... I do not seek My glory..." (John 7:18; 9:50) Jesus bore our sins and did the will of the Father (Isaiah 53), showing the righteous characteristic of unselfishness. In contrast, Cho took pictures and a video of himself, comparing himself to Jesus among other things, and sent the material to a major news corporation. Then, he committed the worst school shooting in U.S. history. Selfishly seeking glory? You decide.
6.) Jesus not only died, but also rose again. That, along with being God in flesh and sinless, is what primarily makes Him "inspiring" as Cho would say. Will Cho resurrect? Well, he'll be resurrected for judgment (John 5:29), but I wouldn't hold my breath for anything before that.
7.) Lastly, a common fallacy found with people who like to throw Jesus' name around for their purposes is to mis-name His primary mission on this earth and through His death and resurrection. Isaiah 53, which I have referenced several times in this post, says, "...He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him... He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due..." (vs. 5, 8; emphasis mine) John 3:16, one of the most popular verses in the Bible, says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believers in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (emphasis mine) Did Jesus inspire "the weak and the defenseless people"? Of course, but don't confuse the side-effects with the main solution. Besides, will Cho even do such inspiring? I hardly think so.
Because of this standard, does this mean that no comparison can ever be made to Christ? No--Christians can. As Christians, we "...may become partakers of the divine nature..." (2 Peter 1:4) We are adopted as children of God. (Acts 17:29 ; Ephesians 1:5 ; Romans 8:15 ; Galatians 4:5) We are to be imitators of God. (Ephesians 5:1) Paul tells us, "To live is Christ..." (Philippians 1:21) "It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20) As Christians, we are by definition "little Christs" called to godliness.
Though we may not always live up to that standard, we know that, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9) so that we are washed "...white as snow." (Psalm 51:7)
What a blessed thought! What blessed thoughts!!!
~Kingdom Advancer
Showing posts with label Theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theology. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
How Firm is Your Foundation? Part One.
In school, how often did (do) you get problems wrong? Even if you were (are) an A-student, you probably got (or will get) hundreds or even thousands incorrect over the course of your schooling.
What about gameshows? When you watch one, you probably answer wrongly at least a couple times each show, right? Then, there are sports, political, and other predictions. How many of those of yours fail to come to pass? How many beliefs and opinions have you adamantly held, only to later be convinced otherwise, realizing how "off-base" you really were?
How often are you surprised, perplexed, confused, lost? How many philosophical questions have you not been able to answer satisfactorily?
Then, how many times have you done something wrong, as in, morally? How many times have your thoughts wandered where you wish they wouldn't have? How many times, despite your better judgment, did you "just do it," whatever that "it" was? How many times have you done or said something wrong--even evil--that was beyond your control to control yourself, or you just didn't know better--or think better--at the time?
My point is, both the human mind and human heart are frequently untrustworthy with their errs and evils. Even groups of so-called experts can be--and often are--in error. For instance, it was once accepted as fact--or close to it, anyways--that the earth is flat, and that the sun and planets revolved around the earth. Bloodletting was a common, accepted medical practice.
Civilizations collapse and crumble, usually because of a mistake in military judgment, economics, morality, or by other means. These mess-ups are oftentimes done by the hands of the leaders, and the collapses are sometimes caused by the evil of the leaders. Perhaps the selfish pursuit of power causes the collapse.
In any case, leaders and experts cannot be depended upon.
Neither can the crowd always be trusted. Anarchy brings chaos, putting power into the hands of a mindless mob. A million people can be wrong. Peer pressure does not mean "good pressure." If a bunch of experts and leaders can be wrong--and reprehensible--then a bunch of non-experts--who often follow what the experts and leaders say regardless--can certainly be off-the-mark as well. And it's not just the corruption of society causing the corruption of persons. Primitive folk can be just as morally and factually screwed up as the sophisticated folk.
Even one's self can't be relied upon. Can you really say that you can be trusted, when everyone else can't? I'm reminded of the Lord of the Rings. When Frodo cowers away from Aragorn towards the end of the first movie in the trilogy, Aragorn reassures him, "I swore to protect you." Frodo replies, "Can you protect me from yourself?" We can barely--if at all--control our lusts, appetites, and other thoughts, as well as actions to a certain extent. Self-control is not a commonplace virtue. Neither is wisdom (In fact, those virtues cannot be fully attained in a purely secular way.). You cannot always trust yourself, if for no other reason than you cannot trust the majority, the leaders, or the experts. Clearly, you cannot even put your complete allegiance into the scientific process. Errors occur, results can come slowly, scientists can be biased, and, then, of course, there are so many questions science cannot answer.
So where does that leave us? What do we do?
Well, you can do one of three things. You can go ahead and trust yourself, the majority, and the (intellectual and political) elite. In this case, the Bible would say that you have built yourself a house on a foundation of sand. (Matthew 7:24-27) Sure, you and your cohorts may be right--and even morally sound on the surface--some of the time (perhaps by randomly or indirectly and incompletely following biblical principles), but the "tide" will methodically "pull the rug" out from under you, and in the storm of spiritual matters--the most important matters--you will utterly fail and be failed, being "tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine." (Ephesians 4:14) As worldly wisdom and reasoning pervades your consciousness, you will not realize that only Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," (John 14:6) and that "no other name under heaven...has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
You may temporarily be "reasoned" to Christianity--maybe perverted Christianity--by someone, or by a flitting of your whims, but only until someone can reason you away.
This option includes of most of the religions of the world.
Option number two is to trust no one and nothing. In other words, truth is relative. This is like building a castle in the sky, which is really no foundation, or castle, at all. You will have no foundation to build upon. It's an option that leads to a pointless, purposeless, nihilistic life. In terms of spiritual and moral convictions, the hottest you could ever get is lukewarm. You could not please God, because you could not have true faith. (Hebrews 11:6) You could not be saved, because you could not have true faith. (Ephesians 2:8) You could not avoid perishing without truly believing. (John 3:16) You would constantly be sinning, acting not in faith. (
In all aspects of life, you would have uncertainty--a shaky foundation, at best--if not apathy. You too would be tossed "to and fro," only you wouldn't believe anything for certain.
Then, there's Door Number Three.
To Be Continued...
~ Kingdom Advancer
What about gameshows? When you watch one, you probably answer wrongly at least a couple times each show, right? Then, there are sports, political, and other predictions. How many of those of yours fail to come to pass? How many beliefs and opinions have you adamantly held, only to later be convinced otherwise, realizing how "off-base" you really were?
How often are you surprised, perplexed, confused, lost? How many philosophical questions have you not been able to answer satisfactorily?
Then, how many times have you done something wrong, as in, morally? How many times have your thoughts wandered where you wish they wouldn't have? How many times, despite your better judgment, did you "just do it," whatever that "it" was? How many times have you done or said something wrong--even evil--that was beyond your control to control yourself, or you just didn't know better--or think better--at the time?
My point is, both the human mind and human heart are frequently untrustworthy with their errs and evils. Even groups of so-called experts can be--and often are--in error. For instance, it was once accepted as fact--or close to it, anyways--that the earth is flat, and that the sun and planets revolved around the earth. Bloodletting was a common, accepted medical practice.
Civilizations collapse and crumble, usually because of a mistake in military judgment, economics, morality, or by other means. These mess-ups are oftentimes done by the hands of the leaders, and the collapses are sometimes caused by the evil of the leaders. Perhaps the selfish pursuit of power causes the collapse.
In any case, leaders and experts cannot be depended upon.
Neither can the crowd always be trusted. Anarchy brings chaos, putting power into the hands of a mindless mob. A million people can be wrong. Peer pressure does not mean "good pressure." If a bunch of experts and leaders can be wrong--and reprehensible--then a bunch of non-experts--who often follow what the experts and leaders say regardless--can certainly be off-the-mark as well. And it's not just the corruption of society causing the corruption of persons. Primitive folk can be just as morally and factually screwed up as the sophisticated folk.
Even one's self can't be relied upon. Can you really say that you can be trusted, when everyone else can't? I'm reminded of the Lord of the Rings. When Frodo cowers away from Aragorn towards the end of the first movie in the trilogy, Aragorn reassures him, "I swore to protect you." Frodo replies, "Can you protect me from yourself?" We can barely--if at all--control our lusts, appetites, and other thoughts, as well as actions to a certain extent. Self-control is not a commonplace virtue. Neither is wisdom (In fact, those virtues cannot be fully attained in a purely secular way.). You cannot always trust yourself, if for no other reason than you cannot trust the majority, the leaders, or the experts. Clearly, you cannot even put your complete allegiance into the scientific process. Errors occur, results can come slowly, scientists can be biased, and, then, of course, there are so many questions science cannot answer.
So where does that leave us? What do we do?
Well, you can do one of three things. You can go ahead and trust yourself, the majority, and the (intellectual and political) elite. In this case, the Bible would say that you have built yourself a house on a foundation of sand. (Matthew 7:24-27) Sure, you and your cohorts may be right--and even morally sound on the surface--some of the time (perhaps by randomly or indirectly and incompletely following biblical principles), but the "tide" will methodically "pull the rug" out from under you, and in the storm of spiritual matters--the most important matters--you will utterly fail and be failed, being "tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine." (Ephesians 4:14) As worldly wisdom and reasoning pervades your consciousness, you will not realize that only Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," (John 14:6) and that "no other name under heaven...has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
You may temporarily be "reasoned" to Christianity--maybe perverted Christianity--by someone, or by a flitting of your whims, but only until someone can reason you away.
This option includes of most of the religions of the world.
Option number two is to trust no one and nothing. In other words, truth is relative. This is like building a castle in the sky, which is really no foundation, or castle, at all. You will have no foundation to build upon. It's an option that leads to a pointless, purposeless, nihilistic life. In terms of spiritual and moral convictions, the hottest you could ever get is lukewarm. You could not please God, because you could not have true faith. (Hebrews 11:6) You could not be saved, because you could not have true faith. (Ephesians 2:8) You could not avoid perishing without truly believing. (John 3:16) You would constantly be sinning, acting not in faith. (
In all aspects of life, you would have uncertainty--a shaky foundation, at best--if not apathy. You too would be tossed "to and fro," only you wouldn't believe anything for certain.
Then, there's Door Number Three.
To Be Continued...
~ Kingdom Advancer
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Hell, Part 3
Before you read this, make sure you've read Parts One and Two with all the comments that go with them.
WHAT IS HELL LIKE?
Let's start with the obvious. Hell will be bad. Whether it will be "worse than we could ever imagine," I don't know. I can imagine to a pretty horrific extent. But the separation from God and all things good and enjoyable will be worse than we could ever comprehend. As in, although we can imagine how terrible hell will be, we can't comprehend because we've never experienced separation from God, etc., etc..
I mention the generic obvious for this reason. A common unbeliever's reply to the doctrine of hell is, "There is no hell; I'm going through my hell here on this earth. This life is hell." This is what Ray Comfort says about that (in The Evidence Bible):
This earth isn’t anywhere close to heaven or to hell. The way I see it is like this: when you’re in the middle of the United States, you’re neither close to the North Pole nor the South Pole. But if you fly to the South Pole to live until your death, your time in the U.S. is the closest you’ll ever get to the North Pole, and vice versa.
Hell is a strong word used for many earthly evils, like, "War is hell." In Darryl Worley's hit song, "Have You Forgotten?", he sings, "...when those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside, going through a living hell." One of the strongest curses known to man is, "You can go to hell for all I care." This is always taken seriously, but the person making this damnation doesn't even realize quite how strong those implications are.
Now I'm not going to try to downplay any of life's difficult consequences, especially ones I've never been through, like war and being inside a burning building. And, for those who think life is hell, they've probably lived a harder life so far than I have. But this statement shows an ignorance--as Ray Comfort said, "to the reality of hell,"--and it also shows a deep self-pity and a tendency to extremely exaggerate. Bottom line: hell will be worse than anything on this earth, as hard as that might be to comprehend. This is true, if for no other reason, than that it will be eternal, while every trial in this life generally passes, or at least wanes from time to time.
Now that I've established that hell will be "bad,"--not enjoyable, to say the very least, I might as well tackle this wisecrack remark that unbelievers often utilize: "I don't care if I'm going to hell, because all my friends will be there." This again shows the ignorance--and arrogance--to hell. It's as simple as the ole "If you're friends jumped off a cliff, would you too?" argument. Some would, I must admit, in this day of the power of peer pressure in which we live, along with the adrenaline-addict and "life has no purpose" phenomenon we are facing in society. However, this is the absolute dumbest thing a person could ever do. If a whole group of your friends decided to sit around and drink gasoline--followed with the snack of burning matches--it wouldn't be as stupid to follow the crowd in that situation than to follow your friends to hell and challenge the wrath of Almighty God.
However, like I've already said twice (using the term "ignorance"), this type of apathy towards hell usually roots in a misconception of hell. Some unsaved sinners might admit to you that there is a hell. But they don't realize that hell is not the “sinners’ heaven.” It is not a grotesque party. Judgment Day will not go like this: “Anyone who wants to party sinfully, go through that door—hell’s on the other side; but any pious Christians who enjoyed their persecuted and trial-filled life on earth--resisting temptation and the 'pleasures of sin for a season'(Hebrews 11:25), the sinless party is through this door—heaven.” No. Hell will not be a place where lewd acts are performed without reservation, conscious, embarrasment, or reproach. The Bible speaks of sinners enjoying “the passing pleasures of sin,”(Hebrews 11:25) not the pleasures of sin for eternity. Words such as damnation, cursing, wrath, punishment, torment, weeping, shame, contempt, tribulation, anguish, destruction, and gnashing of teeth show us that there will be no pleasure in hell.
So how long will this experience, which we've established won't be a party, last? Some Christians just don’t have the heart to say that “eternal punishment” will be “eternal.” But, the bottom line is—it will be. What the Bible says, I have to believe. Daniel 12:2 : "...everlasting contempt"; Matthew 25:46 : "...everlasting (or eternal) punishment..." ; Luke 3:17: "...fire unquenchable[it will never stop]..." ; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 : "Everlasting destruction..." ; Jude 7 : "Eternal fire..." ; Jude 13: "...the blackness of darkness forever..." ; Revelation 14:11 : "...for ever and ever." The list of references I'm certain goes on, but the point is made. Plus, if hell wasn't eternal punishment, Jesus wouldn’t have said numerous times to “pluck out your eye” or “cut off your hand” if those acts would keep you from going to hell. (Matthew 5:29,30; Matthew 18:9 ; Mark 9:45,47) Why go through life with impaired sight and one hand if you can just suffer for them a little while after death and then end up at the “party” later? That’s the absurdity behind purgatory. It's also how the theory of "annihilation-ism" can be discredited. You're eventually going to get relief, so why deny yourself your fleshly pleasure? These theories, of not-eternal punishment, insult the holiness and justice of our perfect God.
Now we see that hellish punishment will neither be temporary nor fun. So what will it be like? Well, it is important to note that neither heaven nor hell is a place where "spirits just float around." This is seen clearer on the topic of heaven than hell, for in heaven we will receive "glorified bodies" (Philippians 3:21), yes, our old bodies will be perfected in their resurrection.(1 Corinthians 15:42--note: this is just one reference to many of the "resurrection of the dead.") But, as I failed to realize before, those lost in their sins will also be resurrected! They won't be saved, no. The Bible says, "Those who did the good deeds [will receive] a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds [will receive] a resurrection of judgment." (John 5:29) It appears that Jesus is stating here that the unregenerate will be given bodies for the purpose of receiving punishment. John 5:29 is backed up by Acts 24:15, "That there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." These statements make sense, because the Bible seems to point to physical, conscious punishment: "Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9); "...destruction..." (2 Thessalonians 1:9); "Eternal fire..." (Jude 7); "Weeping and gnashing of teeth..." (Matthew 24:51); as well as spiritual punishments: "Shame and everlasting contempt..." (Daniel 12:2). But as I’ve stated in previous articles, I believe the wicked are suffering now, before they've received their bodies “for judgment.” So, the only thing I can say is: don’t underestimate God. I am sure He can inflict physical feeling pain on the soul. In fact, humans have difficulty separating the two sensations oftentimes (when you're in pain, you're in pain).
But how will this work? How will the unsaved be burned and scorched eternally? I picture (and yes, it’s gruesome) the unregenerate as similar to the Burning Bush, which “burned, but was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2)
Also, eternal darkness will be there? How will there be fire and eternal darkness? First of all, it will be spiritual darkness—separation of God and His common grace (even if you are not a Christian on this earth, you are receiving “common grace” from God). But the Bible also says "the blackness of darkness forever." (Jude 13) That doesn't sound like spiritual darkness. Perhaps, the gift of sight will be removed. After all, Jesus said it would be better to enter heaven with one eye than hell with two. (Matthew 5:29) Those who are condemned cannot expect the blessings of the functions of the human body to remain--except for the sensors of pain.
After these things, the specifics of hell are almost indiscernible. Will there be degrees of hell? Well, the Bible tells us that there will be differing rewards in heaven. And “Judgment Day” would be rather boring and repetitive without degrees of hell. Of course, God sees all of our sins as “exceedingly sinful,” (Romans 7:13) but is Hitler going to get the same punishment as everyone else? What about the serial rapist? Child molester? Maybe God’s justice is different than what we think, but the Bible does say He will judge us on all of our secret thoughts, idle words, and deeds. With this supporting my intuiton, I have an inkling that “Judgment Day” will be more than “He’s a Christian, she’s not; she’s a Christian, he’s not.”
The most common objection (including mine) to the idea of “degrees of hell” is found in the transitive property of equality: “If someone suffers more in hell than someone else, than that means someone else suffers LESS.” This, however, isn’t even worth talking about. It’s like saying, “Two people are in a fiery furnace. One’s in the middle, where’s it 4000 degrees. The other is toward the edge, where it’s ‘only’ 3000 degrees.” Who cares? Would you want to be in that furnace? Would you take solace in the fact that you are not in the 4000 degree part? Even if you were able to think comparatively and logically in such a position, then you’d have to realize that you didn’t sin as much as you could have. If you can handle this amount of heat, why didn’t you have more fun on earth?
If you were to ask my imagination's opinion--conjugating off words like "torment" and "anguish"--I could think of some pretty horrid scenarios. But besides "fire" and "worm," we are not given any specifics really in Scripture, so I won't expound on any fancies either. One would be the idea of demons torturing humans, but what would happen when the demons were thrown into the Lake of Fire? I don't think that God, in the year 289,756 A.D., will say, "Today I think I will give Mrs. Smith the worst migraine she could ever imagine." I could be wrong, of course. I could be underestimating the wrath of God. But my guess is that a mechanism will already be in place--automatically carrying out just wrath and punishment.
WHAT IS HELL LIKE?
Let's start with the obvious. Hell will be bad. Whether it will be "worse than we could ever imagine," I don't know. I can imagine to a pretty horrific extent. But the separation from God and all things good and enjoyable will be worse than we could ever comprehend. As in, although we can imagine how terrible hell will be, we can't comprehend because we've never experienced separation from God, etc., etc..
I mention the generic obvious for this reason. A common unbeliever's reply to the doctrine of hell is, "There is no hell; I'm going through my hell here on this earth. This life is hell." This is what Ray Comfort says about that (in The Evidence Bible):
Skeptics who say this are trying to dismiss the reality of hell. They might like
to think that life as we know it couldn’t get any worse, but the sufferings in
this life will be heaven compared to the suffering in the next life—for those
who die in their sins. This life is the closest thing to hell that Christians
will ever know, and the closest thing to heaven that sinners will ever know.
This earth isn’t anywhere close to heaven or to hell. The way I see it is like this: when you’re in the middle of the United States, you’re neither close to the North Pole nor the South Pole. But if you fly to the South Pole to live until your death, your time in the U.S. is the closest you’ll ever get to the North Pole, and vice versa.
Hell is a strong word used for many earthly evils, like, "War is hell." In Darryl Worley's hit song, "Have You Forgotten?", he sings, "...when those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside, going through a living hell." One of the strongest curses known to man is, "You can go to hell for all I care." This is always taken seriously, but the person making this damnation doesn't even realize quite how strong those implications are.
Now I'm not going to try to downplay any of life's difficult consequences, especially ones I've never been through, like war and being inside a burning building. And, for those who think life is hell, they've probably lived a harder life so far than I have. But this statement shows an ignorance--as Ray Comfort said, "to the reality of hell,"--and it also shows a deep self-pity and a tendency to extremely exaggerate. Bottom line: hell will be worse than anything on this earth, as hard as that might be to comprehend. This is true, if for no other reason, than that it will be eternal, while every trial in this life generally passes, or at least wanes from time to time.
Now that I've established that hell will be "bad,"--not enjoyable, to say the very least, I might as well tackle this wisecrack remark that unbelievers often utilize: "I don't care if I'm going to hell, because all my friends will be there." This again shows the ignorance--and arrogance--to hell. It's as simple as the ole "If you're friends jumped off a cliff, would you too?" argument. Some would, I must admit, in this day of the power of peer pressure in which we live, along with the adrenaline-addict and "life has no purpose" phenomenon we are facing in society. However, this is the absolute dumbest thing a person could ever do. If a whole group of your friends decided to sit around and drink gasoline--followed with the snack of burning matches--it wouldn't be as stupid to follow the crowd in that situation than to follow your friends to hell and challenge the wrath of Almighty God.
However, like I've already said twice (using the term "ignorance"), this type of apathy towards hell usually roots in a misconception of hell. Some unsaved sinners might admit to you that there is a hell. But they don't realize that hell is not the “sinners’ heaven.” It is not a grotesque party. Judgment Day will not go like this: “Anyone who wants to party sinfully, go through that door—hell’s on the other side; but any pious Christians who enjoyed their persecuted and trial-filled life on earth--resisting temptation and the 'pleasures of sin for a season'(Hebrews 11:25), the sinless party is through this door—heaven.” No. Hell will not be a place where lewd acts are performed without reservation, conscious, embarrasment, or reproach. The Bible speaks of sinners enjoying “the passing pleasures of sin,”(Hebrews 11:25) not the pleasures of sin for eternity. Words such as damnation, cursing, wrath, punishment, torment, weeping, shame, contempt, tribulation, anguish, destruction, and gnashing of teeth show us that there will be no pleasure in hell.
So how long will this experience, which we've established won't be a party, last? Some Christians just don’t have the heart to say that “eternal punishment” will be “eternal.” But, the bottom line is—it will be. What the Bible says, I have to believe. Daniel 12:2 : "...everlasting contempt"; Matthew 25:46 : "...everlasting (or eternal) punishment..." ; Luke 3:17: "...fire unquenchable[it will never stop]..." ; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 : "Everlasting destruction..." ; Jude 7 : "Eternal fire..." ; Jude 13: "...the blackness of darkness forever..." ; Revelation 14:11 : "...for ever and ever." The list of references I'm certain goes on, but the point is made. Plus, if hell wasn't eternal punishment, Jesus wouldn’t have said numerous times to “pluck out your eye” or “cut off your hand” if those acts would keep you from going to hell. (Matthew 5:29,30; Matthew 18:9 ; Mark 9:45,47) Why go through life with impaired sight and one hand if you can just suffer for them a little while after death and then end up at the “party” later? That’s the absurdity behind purgatory. It's also how the theory of "annihilation-ism" can be discredited. You're eventually going to get relief, so why deny yourself your fleshly pleasure? These theories, of not-eternal punishment, insult the holiness and justice of our perfect God.
Now we see that hellish punishment will neither be temporary nor fun. So what will it be like? Well, it is important to note that neither heaven nor hell is a place where "spirits just float around." This is seen clearer on the topic of heaven than hell, for in heaven we will receive "glorified bodies" (Philippians 3:21), yes, our old bodies will be perfected in their resurrection.(1 Corinthians 15:42--note: this is just one reference to many of the "resurrection of the dead.") But, as I failed to realize before, those lost in their sins will also be resurrected! They won't be saved, no. The Bible says, "Those who did the good deeds [will receive] a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds [will receive] a resurrection of judgment." (John 5:29) It appears that Jesus is stating here that the unregenerate will be given bodies for the purpose of receiving punishment. John 5:29 is backed up by Acts 24:15, "That there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." These statements make sense, because the Bible seems to point to physical, conscious punishment: "Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9); "...destruction..." (2 Thessalonians 1:9); "Eternal fire..." (Jude 7); "Weeping and gnashing of teeth..." (Matthew 24:51); as well as spiritual punishments: "Shame and everlasting contempt..." (Daniel 12:2). But as I’ve stated in previous articles, I believe the wicked are suffering now, before they've received their bodies “for judgment.” So, the only thing I can say is: don’t underestimate God. I am sure He can inflict physical feeling pain on the soul. In fact, humans have difficulty separating the two sensations oftentimes (when you're in pain, you're in pain).
But how will this work? How will the unsaved be burned and scorched eternally? I picture (and yes, it’s gruesome) the unregenerate as similar to the Burning Bush, which “burned, but was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2)
Also, eternal darkness will be there? How will there be fire and eternal darkness? First of all, it will be spiritual darkness—separation of God and His common grace (even if you are not a Christian on this earth, you are receiving “common grace” from God). But the Bible also says "the blackness of darkness forever." (Jude 13) That doesn't sound like spiritual darkness. Perhaps, the gift of sight will be removed. After all, Jesus said it would be better to enter heaven with one eye than hell with two. (Matthew 5:29) Those who are condemned cannot expect the blessings of the functions of the human body to remain--except for the sensors of pain.
After these things, the specifics of hell are almost indiscernible. Will there be degrees of hell? Well, the Bible tells us that there will be differing rewards in heaven. And “Judgment Day” would be rather boring and repetitive without degrees of hell. Of course, God sees all of our sins as “exceedingly sinful,” (Romans 7:13) but is Hitler going to get the same punishment as everyone else? What about the serial rapist? Child molester? Maybe God’s justice is different than what we think, but the Bible does say He will judge us on all of our secret thoughts, idle words, and deeds. With this supporting my intuiton, I have an inkling that “Judgment Day” will be more than “He’s a Christian, she’s not; she’s a Christian, he’s not.”
The most common objection (including mine) to the idea of “degrees of hell” is found in the transitive property of equality: “If someone suffers more in hell than someone else, than that means someone else suffers LESS.” This, however, isn’t even worth talking about. It’s like saying, “Two people are in a fiery furnace. One’s in the middle, where’s it 4000 degrees. The other is toward the edge, where it’s ‘only’ 3000 degrees.” Who cares? Would you want to be in that furnace? Would you take solace in the fact that you are not in the 4000 degree part? Even if you were able to think comparatively and logically in such a position, then you’d have to realize that you didn’t sin as much as you could have. If you can handle this amount of heat, why didn’t you have more fun on earth?
If you were to ask my imagination's opinion--conjugating off words like "torment" and "anguish"--I could think of some pretty horrid scenarios. But besides "fire" and "worm," we are not given any specifics really in Scripture, so I won't expound on any fancies either. One would be the idea of demons torturing humans, but what would happen when the demons were thrown into the Lake of Fire? I don't think that God, in the year 289,756 A.D., will say, "Today I think I will give Mrs. Smith the worst migraine she could ever imagine." I could be wrong, of course. I could be underestimating the wrath of God. But my guess is that a mechanism will already be in place--automatically carrying out just wrath and punishment.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Hell, Part 2
Before reading this, make sure you've read "Hell, Part One" and all of the comments that go with it.
Where are the locations of heaven and hell?
It is debatable whether heaven or hell are in this universe. As I said in Part One, some believe that those in Hades are under the earth, in secret chambers. Greek mythology states that Hades is “under the earth.” Sometimes Sheol, in the Bible, refers less to the grave and more to “the depths of the earth.” Heaven is referred to as being the—or in the—“third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2)—suggesting that heaven could be reached, providing we had the proper technology and God allowed us—which He would not (See the Tower of Babel). Jesus ascended "to heaven." It is even an intriguing thought, in a science-fiction sort of way, that hell would be located in the center of the earth (the core), where it is incomprehensibly hot, and even that, Hades, along with the whole earth, would be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
However, there are many problems with such a fanciful philosophy. First of all, some believe that the “new earth” spoken of in the Bible is a renewed earth, not an entirely brand-new one. Secondly, the “third heaven” referred to in 2 Corinthians could mean that heaven is past our atmosphere and past outer space—“out of this world” and “out of this universe.” We know that “neither height, nor depth...will be able to separate us from the love of God" (Romans 8:39), so proximity wouldn't be an issue. Thirdly, we know that God sits on His throne in heaven (To point out a few verses: Matthew 5:34; 23:22; Acts 7:49). Although at some point in time nothing existed (though our finite minds can’t grasp that), God was probably sitting on His throne, being worshiped by angels (angels likely weren’t part of the Genesis Creation), before He created the universe. (Although, admittedly, we are given the impression in Genesis 1 that nothing existed before the Creation) But if heaven were in this universe, then where was the Father, the Son, and the Spirit before the Creation? As for Jesus' ascension, well, it can be assumed that He didn't spend days and weeks and months and years "ascending" to the "third heaven." Once He evaded the sight of men, He likely was immediately with the Father in heaven.
In reference to hell, there are also issues. Although both the Bible and Greek mythology seem to point to physical, earthy places beneath the dirt surface, this could simply be an analogy to the fact that bodies are buried. And as the “heavens” is a term for the sky, so “hell” has become synonymous with “below the dirt.” (As a little child I could summarize it as “heaven is up, hell is down.”) Not to mention the fact that, if this universe (or just earth) is going to be destroyed, what would happen to hell, which Scripture says will dole out punishment eternally? And like I said in Part One, if the body separates from the spirit at death, where would the requirement of the spirit staying on earth be?
Whether or not hell or heaven exist in this universe is really irrelevant in the end (since no living human can access either of them) and ultimately indiscernible, since good and logical arguments go both ways. Feel free, however, to give me your opinions. You may see it in a way I haven't.
~Kingdom Advancer
Where are the locations of heaven and hell?
It is debatable whether heaven or hell are in this universe. As I said in Part One, some believe that those in Hades are under the earth, in secret chambers. Greek mythology states that Hades is “under the earth.” Sometimes Sheol, in the Bible, refers less to the grave and more to “the depths of the earth.” Heaven is referred to as being the—or in the—“third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2)—suggesting that heaven could be reached, providing we had the proper technology and God allowed us—which He would not (See the Tower of Babel). Jesus ascended "to heaven." It is even an intriguing thought, in a science-fiction sort of way, that hell would be located in the center of the earth (the core), where it is incomprehensibly hot, and even that, Hades, along with the whole earth, would be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
However, there are many problems with such a fanciful philosophy. First of all, some believe that the “new earth” spoken of in the Bible is a renewed earth, not an entirely brand-new one. Secondly, the “third heaven” referred to in 2 Corinthians could mean that heaven is past our atmosphere and past outer space—“out of this world” and “out of this universe.” We know that “neither height, nor depth...will be able to separate us from the love of God" (Romans 8:39), so proximity wouldn't be an issue. Thirdly, we know that God sits on His throne in heaven (To point out a few verses: Matthew 5:34; 23:22; Acts 7:49). Although at some point in time nothing existed (though our finite minds can’t grasp that), God was probably sitting on His throne, being worshiped by angels (angels likely weren’t part of the Genesis Creation), before He created the universe. (Although, admittedly, we are given the impression in Genesis 1 that nothing existed before the Creation) But if heaven were in this universe, then where was the Father, the Son, and the Spirit before the Creation? As for Jesus' ascension, well, it can be assumed that He didn't spend days and weeks and months and years "ascending" to the "third heaven." Once He evaded the sight of men, He likely was immediately with the Father in heaven.
In reference to hell, there are also issues. Although both the Bible and Greek mythology seem to point to physical, earthy places beneath the dirt surface, this could simply be an analogy to the fact that bodies are buried. And as the “heavens” is a term for the sky, so “hell” has become synonymous with “below the dirt.” (As a little child I could summarize it as “heaven is up, hell is down.”) Not to mention the fact that, if this universe (or just earth) is going to be destroyed, what would happen to hell, which Scripture says will dole out punishment eternally? And like I said in Part One, if the body separates from the spirit at death, where would the requirement of the spirit staying on earth be?
Whether or not hell or heaven exist in this universe is really irrelevant in the end (since no living human can access either of them) and ultimately indiscernible, since good and logical arguments go both ways. Feel free, however, to give me your opinions. You may see it in a way I haven't.
~Kingdom Advancer
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Hell, Part 1
I’m sure many people probably don’t like the idea of an entire article on hell, and I want to make it clear that I don’t focus on why people go to hell in this article, but what hell is.
Why write/read about hell? I can think of at least three reasons why Christians should know a lot about hell:
- The realization of the details of hell should make the Christian cling tighter to God.
- The realization of hell should motivate the Christian to save sinners.
- The knowledge of hell should help Christians persuade sinners.
Before we look at the details of hell, however, I think we should look at a little background—on heaven and hell. That will comprise Part One.
Heaven:
Christians who have passed on are now in “paradise,” or “old heaven.” In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), heaven is referred to as “Abraham’s Bosom.” The heaven that Christians (and God) are currently in isn’t old, but it will be in comparison to the new heaven and the new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1) that is created, which will include the new Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12; 21:2) and all of our mansions Jesus is currently preparing (John 14:2), when Jesus comes again to claim His throne and judge the world in righteousness. ( Acts 17:31)
(Note: “Heaven” or “heavens” may refer to the sky, and therefore the original heaven may remain forever, for whereas the “sky” has been affected by sin, “heaven” has not.)
Hell:
Similarly, people who are dead but are not covered by the blood of Jesus to save them, now are in hell (or Hades), but not in the “Lake of Fire.” (Revelation 20:14-15) The definition of Hades is “the abode of the dead,” but basically, it is hell, for those who God finds favor in go to heaven (“Abraham’s Bosom,” Luke 16:19-31), and Jesus says in the same parable that the rich man in Hades was “in torment.” The Bible refers to Hades synonymously with what we refer to as hell (“…the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”—Matthew 16:18; “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!”—Luke 10:15) It is clear that hell is already being experienced because the Bible states, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment...” (2 Peter 2:4) “Gehenna” is another term for the “place of punishment,” but it’s synonymous with hell as well, so much so, that, the NASB (the most accurate readable translation of the Bible to date) considers them interchangeable (see Matthew 5:22,29; 10:28; James 3:6) Eventually, however, complete judgment will come—the “Day of Judgment” or “Day of Wrath” will come (2 Peter 3:7; Romans 2:5)—and then Hades and all it contains (including death itself) will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14). This implies that hell will get worse (Hell "inside" the Lake of Fire). I think of the deceased unregenerate people’s current state as the torture chamber before the execution—the flogging before the cross.
(Note: Some believe that those now in “Hades” are actually on earth—under it, in secret chambers. Greek mythology states that Hades is “under the earth.” This is intriguing but unrealistic. At death, we know that the spirit separates from the body, so why would the spirits stay on this earth?)
~ Kingdom Advancer
September 21st, 2006
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