Hell or no Hell? That is the question.

Many people in our post-modern society would prefer heaven and hell not be talked about. We see many influencing leaders of our culture going as far as to say that heaven and hell don't exist. Here in the bible-belt, where I live, we arent used to much talk like this. We tend to believe in Hell, but just pretend it's not a reality by keeping it as far back in our minds as possible. But this "no eternal consequences" ideology is gaining vast popularity in much of our country and much of the world.


 I'm not going to lie, the idea of there not being a real Hell sounds great. No eternal punishment? No eternal anguish? Who wouldn't want that to be true? I would love for that to be true! I mean, who really wants people to suffer forever? Not me.


 But let's think about this. If there is no heaven nor hell, then there can't be an absolute "right" or "wrong". And If there is no absolute right or wrong, there is no thing as absolute truth. If there is no absolute truth, then we have nothing but "personal truths" which differ according to each individuals feelings and opinions. This idea is an oxymoron in itself because two or more "truths" that contradict each other doesn't even make sense. Either one is right and one is wrong, or they are both wrong. If I tell you the sky is green and you tell me the sky is blue, we can't both be right can we? How much more severe then is the matter of truth concerning eternity. Some say there is only heaven. Some say there is both heaven and hell. Some say there neither are real. Well, someone's got to be wrong.


 Humanity in its limited capabilities is not able to determine truth. Sure, we can discover certain truths, such as gravity or the water cycle or the color of the sky. But we as mortal beings are not able to determine eternal truths. We can come up with ideas and philosophies all we want about eternity and eternal destinies, but at the end of the day they are just ideas and philosophies.


 The search for truth always parallels with the search for God. I mean, the Creator of all things would obviously be the holder of truth, correct? Correct. And every person, whether they want to accept it or not, has an innate knowledge that there is indeed a God. Therefore there is such thing as ultimate truth. The problem is, we would never know this truth unless He decided to reveal it to us in an absolute and objective way. Has God done this?


 He has. Through His Son.


 Jesus Christ came into this world bearing witness to the truth. "In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth."- John 18:37. Now, Jesus did not merely expect us to believe what He said on account of Him just saying so. The signs and miracles He performed (and ultimately His resurrection from the dead) bore witness that He was in fact true.


Many would agree that Jesus was the Son of God, but still reject the idea of the Bible being inerrantly true. But we see Jesus also confirming the authority and divine nature of Scripture. He constantly would use the words, "so the Scripture might be fulfilled" and often referred back to the Old Testament Scripture in His teachings.

• And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31) 
• Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29) 

 Yet still people would say, "well, the old testament is inspired. But not the new testament. The epistles and gospels were written after Jesus' death so we can't trust them to be true." Yet, we see Jesus addressing this as well while speaking to His disciples:

• I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:12, 13)
• But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26) 
• And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:27)

If God provided the first covenant in the form of written Scripture, why would He not provide the New Covenant in form of written Scripture? And by the way, don't let your skepticism fill your mind to the degree that you forget God is sovereign, as I have done before. He posseses the omnipotent power to reveal truth accurately and preserve it.


The Scriptures are true. The Heaven and Hell Jesus and the apostles taught about are real, folks. They are physically real places. Because of our fallen nature, we fail to see how evil we really are and how much we justifiably deserve an eternity of punishment for the trespasses we have committed against God. Before He saves us and gives us a new nature, we walk the paths of our lives blatantly ignoring Him and ignoring the truth He has revealed. We pursue our own desires and lusts and never give Him a second thought. He is our CREATOR. He deserves our worship. But we worship ourselves instead.


 Yet in a profound expression of His love and mercy, we see Him send His Son Jesus into the world to take upon Himself all of our heinous deeds, corrupt desires and vile natures. He was crushed under the wrath of God and poured out His blood so that all who would see the incomparable beauty of His sacrifice and their dire need of His rescue could drown themselves in the never-ending supply of God's grace and love. For eternity.


 Eternity may only be a concept in our minds right now, but it will be an experiential reality for every human one day. Grab hold to Jesus. He is our only escape from the damnation that we surely deserve and our only way of entry into an abundant and explosively joyful eternity with God.