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Dear Soul:
Do you know that you have been found guilty of sin by a holy God, and sentenced to die? If sinful man is to escape this eternal death and be eternally saved, he must receive God's mercy. Mercy in this respect is God witholding from us that which we deserved. But God does not bestow His mercy on people without condition, even though salvation is free, without price and cannot be earned. The condition on which God grants mercy is contained in one word: Repentance.
John the Baptist came preaching the Word of God and his message was simple, but powerful, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:2). Jesus, the Son of God, began His ministry with the same message: "Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:7). Repentance is a requisite of salvation, as Peter the apostle said, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins be blotted out,-"(Acts 3:19). Repentance is the door that must be opened if mercy is to be extended and salvation given.
In our world there are multitudes of people, my friend, and in many ways we are different from one another. But yet there is an area which we all share together, none excepted. The Word of God points out this area very clearly when it says: "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And listen further, "There is NONE righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10). God spoke through His Prophet, Isaiah and said, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). Do you notice the central thought of these scriptures? "ALL have strayed". "NONE righteous". "ALL have sinned". Dear reader, wouldn't this also include you? Your soul, your life belongs to God. The man or woman, whether young or old, who does not recognize God as the Master of his life is in disobedience and sin. "The soul that sinneth it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4).
Your sins have separated you from God. You feel a longing inside that you can't explain. You may feel forsaken and that God doesn't hear. The reason is pointed out by God, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save: neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear: But your iniquities (sins) have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:1,2)." Again, "The wages of sin is death--" (Romans 6:23). As you think of your life and your sins, think lso about God. God is without sin, therefore He is holy, righteous, and just. God says sin must be judged: "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14). There is a great gulf fixed between you and God, and unless we find the way which spans that gulf between a holy God and sinful man, you shall die an eternal death! (Luke 16:26). Yes, but there is a way; there is hope for you!
While it is true God has decreed a judgment of death upon sin, He is also a God of love. "God is love" (1 John 4:16). God loves you, friend, even though you are living in sin. His love has made a way for you to be saved (John 3:16). God, who cannot lie, will carry out His judgment on sin, and if this justice would be meted out to man, he would instantly die. Therefore God, not willing that any should perish, sent His son Jesus to take penalty of our sins that we may live. The Scripture says "Behold the goodness and the severity of God" (Romans 11:22). The goodness of God desired to save man but His judgment demanded sentence.
Jesus came to this world for the express purpose of redeeming our souls. He was holy, without sin, the spotless Lamb of God. God's love for us was proven when He took our sins and guilt and the wages of death, and put them upon Jesus. Behold His goodness! Then as Jesus obeyed the Will of His Father, He received the wages of our sins. Jesus has now made sin in our place, and to satisfy the judgment of God, He was crucified on a cross. For six hours He endured the pain and agony until the wages of our sins were paid, and then Jesus expired. Behold the severity of God!
Dear reader, can you see that as Jesus died for you, He also died BECAUSE of your sins? Who really crucified Jesus? Were only the Jewish rulers, or Pilate, or the Roman soldiers responsible? Peter the apostle preached a sermon one day to a multitude of people numbering thousands. Peters' message was right to the point: "Him, (Jesus) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, YE have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23). Dear soul, look to Jesus, the One Who was crucified, and acknowledge your guilt and participation in His death!
True repentance begins at this very point, as you ponder in your heart that fearful scene. By the power of the Spirit of God you will realize that you should have died rather than Jesus. But Jesus took your place! As this realization breaks into your heart, it will bring a sorrow and regret for sin. To think that one has caused the death of another is indeed a fearful matter, especially when it was the very Son of God! Souls that catch this vision repent of their guilt wiht tears and confess their sins. As we think of the judgment of God being poured out on Jesus, and knowing it was we who deserved death, we cry out, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). This is the first works of repentance. As repentance continues, it accomplishes a complete turing from our former ways of sin, and a turning to the ways of God. The person who has been washed clean of his evil way swill turn from them to heavenly things. This brefly is the work of repentance as it is wrought by God in the heart of all those who will come to Him. Unless man repents, he will never know peace, happiness and security. Unless we experience with Jesus in part the sorry and agony of Gethsemane, we will never experience with Him the joy of the resurrection experience.
Finally, repentance results in a deep appreciation and loyalty to Christ and God's Will. This would include the Church as set forth in the New Testament. when we were doomed to die with no way out, Christ said, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
One of the most interesting cases of resuscitation that ever came to my knowledge was that of George Lennox, a notorious horse thief of Jefferson County. He was serving his second term. Sedgwick county sent him to the prison the first time for a similar offense--stealing horses.
During the winter of 1887 and 1888, he worked in the coal mines. The place where he was laboring seemed dangerous to him. He reported the fact to the officer in charge, who made an examination, and deciding that the room was safe, ordered Lennox back to his work. The convict, obeying, had not continued his work more than an hour, when the roof fell in and completely buried him. He remained in this condition fully two hours.
Missed at dinner time, a search was instituted for the missing convict, and he was found under this heap of rubbish. Life seemed extinct. He was taken to the top, and on examination by the prison physician, was pronounced dead. His remains were carried to the hospital where he was washed and dressed, preparatory for interment. His coffin was made and brought to the hospital. The chaplain had arrived to perform the last sad rites preparatory to burial. A couple of prisoners were ordered by the hospital steward to lift the corpse from the boards and carry it across the room and place it in the coffin. They obeyed, one at the head, the other at the feet, and were about half way across the room when the one who was at the head accidentally stumbled over a cuspidor, lost his balance, and dropped the corpse. The head of the dead man struck the floor, and to the utter surprise and astonishment of all present, a deep groan was heard. Soon the eyes opened, and other appearances of life were manifested. The physician was immediately sent for, and by the time he arrived, some thirty minutes, the dead man had called for a cup of water, and was in the aft of drinking when the physician arrived.
The coffin was at once removed and later on was used to bury another convict in. His burial robes were also taken from him, and the prison garb substituted. LOn an examination, he was found to have one of his legs broken in two places, and was otherwise bruised. He remained in the hospital some six months, and again went to work.
I learned of his peculiar experience while apparently dead soon after, from a fellow miner. Prompted by curiosity, I longed for an acquaintance with Lennox to get his experience from his own lips. This opportunity was not offered for several months. At last it came. After being removed from the mines I was detailed to one of the prison offices to make out some annual reports. The subject of this man's return to life was being discussed one day, when he happened to pass by the office door and was pointed out to me. It was not long until I had a note in his hand, and asked him to come where I was at work. He did so, and here I got well acquainted with him, and from his own lips received his wonderful story. He is a young man, probably not over thirty years of age. He had been a hardened criminal; is possessed of a very good education, and naturally very bright.
The most wonderful part of his story occurred during the time he was dead. Being a shorthand reporter, I took his story from dictation.
Said he: "I had a presentiment all the morning that something terrible was going to happen. I was uneasy on account of my feelings that I went to my mining boss, Mr. Grason, and told him how I felt, and asked him if he would not come and examine my coal room, the place where I was digging coal. He came and seemed to make a thorough examination, and ordered me back to work, saying htere was no danger, and that he thought I was going 'cranky.' I returned to my work, and had been digging away for something like an hour, when all of a sudden, it grew very dark. Then it seemed ass if a great iron door swung open and I passed through it. The thought then came to my mind that I was dead and in another world. I could see no one, nor hear sound of any kind. From some cause unkown to myself, I started to move away from the doorway, and had traveled some distance when I came to the banks of a broad river. It was not dark, neither was it light. There was about as much light as on a bright, starlit night. I had not remained on the banks of this river very long until I could hear the sound of oars in the water, and soon a person in a boat rowed up to where I was standing.
"I was speechless. He looked at me for a moment, and then said that he had come for me, and told me to get into the boat and row across to the other side. I obeyed. Not a word was spoken. I longed to ask him who he was, and where I was. My tongue seemed to cling to the roof of my mouth. I could not say a word. Finally, we reached the opposite shore. I got out of the boat, and the boatman vanished out of sight.
"Thus left alone, I knew not what to do. Looking out before me, I saw two roads which led through a dark valley. One of these was a broad road, and seemed to be well traveled. The other was a narrow path and led off in another direction. I instinctively followed the well-beaten road. I had not gone far when it seemed to grow darker. Ever and anon, however, a light would flash up from the distance, and in this manner I was lightened by my journey.
"Presently, I was met by a being that is utterly impossible for me to describe. I can only give ou a faint idea of his dreadful appearance. He resembled a man somewhat, but was much larger than any human being I ever saw. He must have been at least ten feet high. He had great wings on his back. He was black as the coal I had been digging, and in a perfectly nude condition. He had a spear in his hand, the handle of which must have been fully fifteen feet in length. His eyes shown like balls of fire. His teeth, white as pearl, seemed fully an inch long. His nose, if you could call it a nose, was very large, broad, and flat. His hair was very coarse, heavy, and long. It hung down upon his massive shoulders. His voice sounded more like growls of a lion in a menagerie than anything I can recall.
"It was during one of the flashes of light that I first saw him. I trembled like an aspen leaf at the sight. He had is spear raised as if to send it flying through me. I suddenly stopped. With that terrible voice I seem to hear yet, he bade me follow him; that he had been sent to guide me on my journey. I followed. What else could I do? After he had gone some distance a large mountain appeared to rise up before us. The part facing us seemed perpendicular, just as if a mountain had been cut in two and one part had been taken away. On this perpendicular wall I could distinctly see these words, "This is Hell." My guide approached this perpendicular wall, and with his spear handle gave three lourd raps. A large massive door swung back and we passed in. I was then conducted on through what appeared to be a passage through this mountain.
"For some time we traveled in Egyptian darkness. I could hear the heavy footfalls of my guide and thus could follow him. all the way along I could hear deep groans as ofsome one dying. Further on, these groans increased, and I could distinctly hear the cry, "WATER! WATER! WATER!" Coming now to another gateway, and passing through it, I could hear, it seemed, a million voices in the distance, and the cry was for water, water. Presently another large door opened at the knock of my guide, and I found that we had passed through the mountain, and now a broad plain lay before me.
"At this place my guide left me to direct other lost spirits to the same destination. I remained in this open plan for a time, when a being somewhat similar to the first one came to me; but instgead of a spear he had a huge sword. He came to tell me of my future doom. He spoke with a voice that struck horror to my soul. 'Thou art in Hell.' he said: 'for thee all hope is fled. as thous passed through the moutnain on thy way hither, thou didst hear the groans and shrieks of the lost as they called for water to cool their parched tongues. Along that passage there is a door that opens into the lake of fire. This is soon to be thy doom. Before thou art conducted to this place of torment never more to emerge--for there is no hope for those who enter there--thou shalt be permitted to remain in this open plain, where it is granted to all the lost to behold what they might have enjoyed instead of what they must suffer.'
"With this I was left alone. Whether the result of the terrible fright through which I had passed I know not, but now I became stupified. A dul languor took full possession of my frame. My strength departed from me. My limbs refused to support my body any longer. Overcome, I now sank down a helpless mss. Drowsiness now took control of me. Half awake, half asleep, I seemed to dream. Far above me, and in the distance, I saw the Beautiful City of which we read in the Bible. How wonderfully beautiful were its walls of jasper. Stretchin out and away in the distance, I saw vast plains covered with beautiful flowers. I, too, beheld the river of life and the sea of glass. Vast multitudes of angels would pass in and out through the gates of the city, singing, oh, such beautiful songs. Among the number I saw my dear old mother, who died a few years ago of a broken heart because of my wickedness. She looked toward me and seemed to beckon me to her, but I could not move. There appeared to be a great weight upon me that held me down. Now a gentle breeze wafted the fragrance of those lovely flowers toward me, and I could now more plainly than ever, hear the sweet melody of angel voices, and I said, 'Oh, that I could be one of them.'
"As I was drinking from this cup of bliss, it was suddenly dashed from my lips. I was aroused from my slumbers. I was brought back from happy dreamland by an inmate of my dark abode, who said that it was now time to enter upon my future career. He bade me follow him. Retracting my steps I again entered the dark passageway, and followed my guide for a time, when we came to a door that opened in the side of the passage, and going along this, we finally found ourseles passing through another door, and lo! I beheld the lake of fire.
"Just before me I could see, as far as the eye could reach, that literal lake of fire and brimstone. Huge billows of fire would roll over each other, and great waves of fiery flame would dash against each other and leap high in the air like the waves of a sea during a violent storm. On the crest of the waves I could see huan beings rise, but soon to be carried down again to the lowest depths of this awful lake of fire. When borne on the crest of these awful billows for a time their curses against a just God would be appalling, and their pitiful cries for water would be heart-rending. This vast region of fire echoed and re-echoed with the wails of these lost spirits.
"Presently I turned my eyees to the door through which I had a fw moments before entered, and I read these awful words, 'This is thy doom; Eternity never ends!' Shortly I began to feel the earth give way under my feet, and I found myself sinking down into the lake of fire. An indescribable thirst for water now seized upon me. And calling for water my eyes opened in the hospital prison.
I have never told this experience of mine before for fear the prison officials would get hold of it, think me insane, and lock me in the crankhouse. I passed through all of this, and I am as well satisfied as I am that I live, that there is a Heaven and ther eis a Hell, and a regular old-fashioned Hell, the kind the Bible tells about. But there is one thing certain, I am never goig to that place anymore.
"As soon as I opened my eyes in the hospital and found that I was alive and on earth once more, I immediately gave my heart to God and I am going to live and die a Christian. While the terrible sights of Hell can never be banished from my memory, neither can the beautiful things of Heaven I saw. I am going to meet my dear old mother after awhile. To be permitted to sit down on the banks of that beautiful river, to wander with those angels across the plains, through the vales and over the hills carpeted wth fragrant flowers, the beauty of which far surpasses anything that mortal can imagine; to listen to the songs of the saved--all this will more than compensate me for living the life of a Christian here on earth, weven if I have to forego many sensual pleasures in which I indulged before coming to prison. I have abandoned my companions in crime, and am going to associate with good people when I am once more a free man."
We give the account to the reader just as we received it from Lennox. May God bless this experience to the awakening of many lost souls.
How can men doubt the real existence of a literal burning hell? We have the Bible, the Word of God, and revelations like Mr. Lennox's that teach of a literal hell. Men and women stop! Face the facts! Your life is going on record. God wants to save you and will forgive you when you are willing to admit that you are a sinner. The only way to salvation is to be cleansed from sin, by accepting the blood of Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for your sins. When you accpet this forgiveness from God, He will give you a peace and rest in your heart. You can be free--free in this life and much more, free to experience the bliss of heaven instead of the reality of not only forty-eight hours, but an eternity in hell.
"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. ANd it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosomL the rich man also died, and was buried;
"and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you htere is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot: neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.
"Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, enither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Additional Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:7-8; Revelation 20:10, 12, 13; 2 Peter 3:10-12.
Recognizing Satan's Tactics in the Light of God's Word.
The intent of the Holy Bible is not to focus on Satan and his work. However, we do find much in the Bible that exposes his character and works.
Satan was at one time an angel, but he turned against God, his creator, and wanted to be like Him. The practices of the dark kingdom of Satan are not new. They are typical of his efforts throught he ages to rival the kingdom of God. He is offering an alternative to what God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, is accomplishing.
We read in Exodus of the power of the magicians of Egypt who tried to reproduce the miracles that God did by the hand of Moses. In the book of Job, Satan is exposed as very jealous of Job's faithfulness to God. He used cruelty and depriviation to try to force Job to turn from God.
Satan's methods are characterized by: fear, threats, promises of pleasure or power, intimidation, and suspicion. Some of the first things he introduces to us seem very interesting and intriguing. He suggests, "Would you like to know the future or have insight that others are not able to have?" He may offer cures that are beyond the realm of science. Astrology or fortune-telling may seem innocent enough, but this is soon followed with certain magic words or formulas, observing certain days and fearing unlucky numbers. The thought is introduced that there are certain spirits to be respected and feared because of the pwer they may hae over us. Thus Satan snars the unwary into the realms of fear of him and his spirits.
Too many individuals have been caught up in curiosity of things that, at first, appear to be rather innocent. By experimenting with the Ouija board, horoscopes, palm reading, and many other such practices, they have made themselves vulnerable for evil spirits to further trouble them.
The goal of Satan is to erode and finally destroy the Christian's faith in God. The Christian experiences victory by having a faith in Christ and in Him alone. The desire for knowing the unknown or the lust of power motivates one to sometimes experiment with that which is of the Satanic Realm. A simple trust in God puts one at rest with what is unknown and makes one completely confident in the power of Christ.
That which is begun out of curiosity or experimentation soon entraps one in a web of fear; fear of what might happen, fear of greater powers, fear of other people, fear of Satan himself. These fears envelop the individual who has allowed himself to become involved in dubious practices. In response to this fear, Satan claims to have an antidote. He offers more power if one will subject himself to certain rituals or other obediences. Fear of other spirits can be counteracted with a possession or greater power other than themselves, he says. Thus a person is introduced to successive tiers of power that, rather than causing the individual to reach greater levels of peace, cause a never ending downward spiral into the depths of satanic abomination. The security promised by Satan proves elusive, being replaced by the need of protection from a still higher power in this wicked domain. This is the system of Satanism.
Satan's plan is to supplant God. Satan was created to worship, not to be worshipped. He is not a supreme power; he cannot overcome the Lamb of God; he cannot give security; he is not interested in our well-being. Nevertheless he continually works to exercise power over people to bring them into subjection to him. He tries to creat mistrust toward God and His kingdom. He is endeavoring to establish an organization with himself as the master. This is developed througha system of fear and illusions of power. He works marvels to create awe in people's minds (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15). The effect of this system is to destroy peace, and security in individuals, homes, and governments. It captures people, causing them to feel seriously threatened if they try to escape.
Satan is the most bitter, most malicious, most vicious, most terrible enemy you have. He is totally without honour. He is a liar. There is not truth in him--"He is a liar, and the father of it [untruth]"(John 8:44). He is a murderer, a destroyer. He is the very embodiment of hatred and evil. He is totally wicked through and through, with absolutely no redeeming good.
Satan is the instigator of all evil. There is neither crime nor sin too evil or too filthy for him. He is the cause of all hatred, all murder, all child or wife abuse, all drug abuse, all immorality, all broken homes, all contention, all witchcraft, all dishonesty. He delights to cause crimes of passion and evil, crimes committed agains innocent people who happen to fall into the hands of depraved or perverted persons. He is ruthless and unforgiving. Suffering does not inspire compassion in him. Bloodshed and death are tools he uses to gain his ends. He has come to "steal, to kill, and to destroy." (John 10:10).
Satan's eternal destiny is already decided. There is a place of eternal fire prepared for him and his angels (Matthew 26:41). He is interested in getting as many people as he can to suffer that torment with him. He knows he can do this by undermining and finally destroying our faith in God. He will do this either by openly challenging God's Word, or by subtly encouraging lukewarm, careless, permissive Christianity.
There is delierance from the clutches of Satan. He would have you to believe that there is no way out. The Bible tells us that Jesus has come to set the captive fee. He has come to give life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). In His life on earth, Jesus demonstrated His power over Satan by resisting the temptations of Satan and by casting out evil spirits by God's word (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 9:25-26). Jesus conquered the power of Satan by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
Can we avail ourselves of this victory and overcome the archenemy of our souls First we must realize that we have been captured by Satan and are bound by his fear. We must admit that this is sinful and that we are lost if we remain in this state. AS we realize that we are unable to deliver ourselves from Satan's grasp, we must cry out to God for deliverance with all our heart. We must repent of, and turn away from our sins. WE need to accept by faith the atoning blood of Jesus Christ for our sins. We must yield ourselves to God, accept His forgiveness and faithfully obey His Word. As we meet these conditions, He gives us peace with Him, quiets the uneasiness in our hearts, forgives our sins, gives us a new nature and makes us one of His children. This is what it means to be born again. Anyone who resists the call ofGod is still in Satan's kingdom, and the deceiver will eventually take that person with him to everlasting torment.
If you do not understand the plan that God has made for you, study God's Word, pray to Him with an honest heart, and He will show you the wya. God is caling you to Himself and wants you to escape from Satan's bondage. May God bless you. Read Psalm 91.
ADDITIONAL READING:
Luke 11:20-23....One stronger than Satan
Romans 6:20-23...Free from sin
Isaiah 61:1......Liberty to the captives
Romans 8:1,2.....Free from condemnation
Their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.(Revelation 21:8)
As a child I have a vivid memory of thumbing through a large book owned by my grandfather that riveted my attention. It was a collection of the illustrations done by the 19th-Century artist and illustrator Gustave Dore' for an edition of Dante's Divine Comedy. I would love to report that Dore''s depitcition of paradise enthralled me, but the truth is I spent most of my time looking at the punishments suffered by those in hell. Dante, of course, imagined sinners punished with tortures appropriate to their sins: flatterers lived in streams of excrement (Dante used a more common term in his original Italian!); chismatics had amputated limbs; suicides hung from trees; gluttons were seated on mounds of fetid garbage; and so on. To my juvenile mind, Dore''s violent imagination was much more fascinating than comic books that I also read with keen interest.
The lurid imaginings of hell are part and parcel of Christian iconography, popular sermons (remember the pains of hell so tellingly preached by the Jesuit retreat master in James Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man?), catechetical materials, and so on. The New Testament itself, describing the torments of Gehenna (the name of an actual garbage dump in ancient Jerusalem), uses the language of everlasting fire where the "worm does not die." In fact, the sheer amount of popular imagery about hell has had a shaping influence on the popular mind. Even clever cartoons in magazines draw on ancient store of images about hell.
It is precicely that visual store that has made it very difficult for contemporary people to speak about hell in any meaningful fashion. It does not seem credible that there would be a place of fire peopled by creatures complete with horns and pitchforks. The notion that there is a place where sinners are punished in marathon sessions (we always imagine eternity as being a ling time whne eternity, in fact means no time) with an array of insturments and teams of devils seems like a repugnant notion. Such an idea seems even more distasteful when one tries to think of a God who is described as a God of love and mercy sending someone into such a place forever.
When life is Hell
So what are we to make of the concept of hell? Does the church accept, as an article of faith, that there is a place called hell and that it is the destination of those who die unrepentant? Further, is hell compatible with an all-loving and ever-forgiving God? Are the sinners there tortured by fire and the interior pangs of despair?
It is interesting that the Catechism of the Catholic Church, judged to be an authoritative articulation of Catholic faith, shows a great deal of restraint when discussing the subject of hell. The catechism has five relatively short paragraphs (Nos. 1033-1037) devoted directly to the subject. Those paragraphs state:
++taht to die in unrepented sin results in a separation from god;
++that hell is spoken of by Jesus;
++that the church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity;
++that the very fact of hell calls upon people to use their freedom with responsibility;
++and, finally, as a rebuke to those who hold a theory of double predestination, that God does not predistine anyone to eternal damnation. Those short assertions seem to summarize that the catechism wishes to say on the sujbect.
When one looks closely at those brief affirmations, a number of things, easily missed, come into sharp focus. First, hell is described as a tate of separation from God or, in its words, the "definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed."
Second, hell is described as a state of being or a condition of existence but not as a particular geographical place.
Third, the pain of hell is not described in the lurid language of fire and worms but a pain of separation and loss, unlike in the 25th chapter of Matthew's gospel, where there is a scene of the Last Judgment in which the "sheep" and the "goats" are separated with the latter hearing the ominous words "Depart from me...into the eternal fires prepared for the devil and all his angels."
Finally, the existence of such a state should be a salutary warning to seek conversion, to implore the mercy of God, and ask for the grace of perseverance. In other words, the catechism's final words on eternal damnation are not words of condemnation but words of conversion and hope. They point beyond the condition of damnation to the hope of eternal life.
When one unpacks the scriptural and doctrinal vocabulary of the catechism's language, what exactly is being said? Something like this: Every person, made in the image and likeness of God, has an eternal destination, which is to find fulfillment in God. If a person so lives a life that he or she resolutely and definitively rejects the love and mercy of God, that person receives what he or she wills: an eternity with the self but not in God.
When Dante, in the Divine Comedy, asks Virgil who all those people are who are in the Inferno, Virgil says that they are the ones who "have lost the good of intellect." In the mouth of Virgil, Dante articulates the notion that we are intended in will and spirit, toward God, but the damned have lost the capacity through their own choice. The finality of their lives has been thwarted. The damned chose against God, and they got their desire. That fact explains why Dante depicts Satan not as a persuasively evil intellect but as a great slobbering grotesque beast.
Who the hell knows?
If a person so lives a life that he or she resolutely and definitively rejects the love and mercy of God, that person receives what he or she wills: an eternity with the self but not in God.
To believe that sin and evil are as powerful or more powerful than God is an ancient heresy and a perfidious one at that.
Does condemnation to this state of existence happen? Does it happen frequently? We do not know what is in the hearts of people. The tradition of the curch affirms that one can be separated from God, which is hell, but it is notoriously reticent about saying who, if anyone, is actually in that state. There is no definitive church statement that places in this or that person is hell.
Catholics of an older generation had such a keen sense of "mortal sin" that many believed that committing such a sin would damn them if they did not get to Confession or make an act of contrition. By preaching a very mechanical view of sin it was easy to overlook that many people do wrong things but they do so without any accompanying notion that they desire to turn away from God or reject God's mercy. Such a simplistic view of the connection between sinful acts and eternal destiny had the unhappy result of haunting certain people with fear of damnation or, worse, trivializing the concept of sin.
Some years ago an older woman walked unannounced into my office here on campus with a "question for a theologian." She told me that she was haunted by a fear of damnation because of some things that had happened in her younger days--what these things were she did not say nor did I inquire. What she suffered from was a sense of overwhelming remorse (remorse is from the Latin remordere--to bite again and again) from which she could not escape. What could she do about this, she asked.
The first thing I told her, in a lighthearted way, was that I very much doubted she was capable of committing any sin so new or horrible that it was beyond the mercy of God. Most of us are rather pedestrian sinners (try to even imagine a new sin!) in the eyes of God. Second, I further remarked that it is at the core of Christian faith that Christ redeemed all of us, gave up His life for all of us, and that, as Saint Paul writes, God desires all to be saved.
In other words, God's mercy is greater than our sinfulness. To believe that sin and evil are as powerful or more powerful than God is an ancient heresy and a perfidious one at that. Confessors will admit that most people sin through weakness, clouded intelligence, impulse, or thoughtlessness rather than from malice or a clear intention to reject God. That's why even the catechism stresses not God's punishment but God's mercy and forgiveness.
Eternal damnation
Which brings us to a crucial point. Is the state of damnation (Notice how I am trying to steer this discussion away from the notion that hell is a place)eternal? Is it true, as Dante says, that those who enter hell must abandon all hope? Damnation, as understood in the common Christian tradition, is eternal.
However, in our century at least one very prominent (and very traditional) theologian has asked (as Origen did in the third century) whether, in the final consummation of history, everyone will be saved00that all will be summed into the saving mystery of Christ. Hans Urs von Balthasar has noted tension in parts of the Christian tradition. The New Testament speaks of damnation for eternity but also speaks of the salvation of all through the power of Christ. The Christian tradition prays for the dead and excludes no person from their prayers. It is perfectly possible to list the worst sinners we know in our prayers for the dead. Even when we wish to exclude this or that sinner(he notes sarcastically) we almost always omit our own name from the list! In his analysis, then, von Balthasar tenders an observation: In the end, it is possible to entertain the possibility that hell is vacant.
The title of the book that explicates this thesis tells us clearly how much of an hypothesis this is for the Swiss theologian: this hope of John Paul II's book Crossing the Threshold of Hope (1994), with its emphasis on Christ who holds the keys to death and the netherworld.
The issue of eternal damnation is one about which the theologians speculate, and eventually, in God's good time, the teaching authority of the church will broach. In the interim, what do ordinary believers do as they confront this fearsome doctrine? A number of points seem in order.
First, we mut not put the doctrine of eternal damnation at the top of our doctrinal concerns. If there ever was a place for what Vatican II called a "hierarchy of truths," this is the place. At the core of our faith is a fundamental conviction that Christ died for our sins, and in so doing, redeemed us by making us children of God by adoption. It is faith in Christ and hope in His promises that are the center of our faith.
Second, we understand we are all sinners who, in the words of Paul, have "fallen short." As such, we must pray for conversion of heart and hope for final perserverance with a prayerful hope that God does not renege on God's promises. The Christian life demands a delicate balance between taking the human capacity for evil very seriously (both in ourselves and in the world) while holding on to the sheer graciousness of God who overcomes evil. In keeping his balance we must make allowances for human weakness while resisting the worst kind of evil: that which springs from sheer malice and total self-absorption.
Third, the twin bulwarks against the powers of evil are the two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbour. These cannot be separated. Both love of God and love of the other presuppose that we are not bound up with our own egos. To love God is to affirm Someone who is not us; to love our neighbour is to recognize obligations outside the narrow confines of our own ego. To be totally bound to the self is, after all, the deepest meaning of damnation, which is to say, a state of being frozen in our own egos incapable of loving God or others. Hell is not fire but, as Dante recognized, absolutely frigidity. If there is to be any shorthand description of eternal damnation it is this: a condition where both the capacity and the actuality of love are totally absent.
Finally, the best source for our faith in God's promises and our hope of being with God as the final meaning of our life is found in the constant witness of the prayer life of the church. If we listen to and become a participant in the liturgy, we never find reason to lose faith in the redeeming work of Christ.
Indeed, the contrary is true. There is no instance in the liturgical life of the church where we are forbidden to pray for the salvation of the whole world. The entire thrust of the liturgy is to petition God through Christ in the Spirit to grant grace to all, to hope in the Resurrection, and to give evidence of our faith in the redeeming power of Christ's Paschal Mystery--His Passion, death, and Resurrection. This sentiment of hope is perfectly summed iup in a prayer used on All Souls Day:
As we renew our faith in your Son
Whom You raised from the dead,
Strengthen our hope that all [my emphasis] our brothers and sisters
Will share in Your Resurrection,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
The possibility of eternal damnation is, however, a salutary remedy for thos ewho take a too-sunny attitude in the face of the human capacity for evil and malice. As Peter Berger argued years ago in his little book A Rumour of Angels(Anchor), the doctrine of hell fulfills a deep human need to ensure that those who are most egregious in their exercise of malice will see the scales of justice balanced. There are some crims so heinous tht we feel that human punishment is not just enough. We feel a need to see justice even beyond this life.
At the same time, the urge to make everything a deadly sin worthy of condemnation somehow trivializes the radical evil of sin. For that reason we need to name radical evil wen we see it, that is, evil becoming a way of life. To have ill feelings toward a person is a failure in Chrisitan perfection; to turn one's life over to a hatred of the other (think of hard-core racists) is a radical evil. To fall into sensuality is wrong; to be a systematic abuser of the young is more radically evil. Radical evil can only be overcome by radical conversion that demands, in turn, a hope for divine mercy.
Finally, we should not mistake the popular image of damnation and hell with the reality of the doctrine. Saint Thomase Aquinas rightly notes that faith ends not in what is said but what stands behind what is said. To dismiss the concept of damnation because we cannot accpet hell as a place described in popular imaginings is just as wrongheaded as accepting the doctrine by an appeal to such imaginings.
Heaven help us
The reality of hell (maybe we should even avoid the word because it conjures up so many odd images in our heads) or damnation as a doctrine of the church leads us to understand the radical freedom each person possesses to choose God or not to choose God. The doctrine, in short, is an account of how we are to live in a world in which the saving work of God in Christ is freeloy offered to every person. In the final analysis, God puts before us a choice of saying yes or no. If we say yes it is because God has offered us His love. If we say no, it is our choice, but the radically sad thing is that in responding negatively we get exactly what we choose: a life that never finds its finality, a life of love with others and with God.
Beyond this choice for or against God is the deeper conviction tht we live in a world in which sin has been overcome through the redemptive work of Christ. Karl Rahner writes--and correctly in my opinion--that as Christians we ought to live in that hope as opposed to constnatly worrying whether or not we are choosing for or against God. Hope is what puts the fear of damnation into its proper context. As Rahner once wrote in The Content of Faith: "The proclamation of the cross is the preaching of God's victory over our guilt in and through our responsible freedom, not the moralistic preaching that our freedom is faced with two possibilities of which we have ot choose one."
This article was taken from the April 2001 issue of U.S. Catholic
This is BEAUTIFUL!
FOOTPRINTS.. .A New Version
road together. For much of the way, the Lord's
footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely
varying the pace. But your footprints are a
disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops,
turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.
For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but
gradually your footprints come more in line with the
Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently. You and
Jesus are walking as true friends!
This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing
happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand
next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His
steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller
ones, you and Jesus are becoming one.
This goes on for many miles, but gradually you
notice another change. The footprints inside the
large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually
they disappear altogether. There is only one set of
footprints they have become one.
This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the
second set of footprints is back. This time it seems
even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops.
Starts. Gashes in the sand. A veritable mess of prints.
You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you
pray: "Lord, I understand the first scene with
zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just
learning. But you walked on through the storm and
helped me learn to walk with you."
"That is correct." " ... And when the smaller
footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually
learning to walk in Your steps; followed you very
closely." "Very good. You have understood everything
so far." " ...
When the smaller footprints grew and filled in
Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like you in
every way." "Precisely." "So, Lord, was there a
regression or something? The footprints separated,
and this time it was worse than at first."
There is a pause as the Lord answers with a smile in
his voice. "You didn't know? That was when we
danced." :-)
To everything there is a season, a time for every
purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to
laugh, A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4.
Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through
e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you
start sending messages regarding the Lord, people
think twice about sharing. Funny isn't it? Are you
laughing? Are you thinking? Spread the Word and give
thanks to the Lord for He is good!
Funny isn't it, when you go to forward this message,
how many on your list are not receiving it because
you're not sure they believe in anything?? ...Sad.
It's not WHAT you have in your life, but Whom you
have in your life that counts....
I ASKED GOD for a flower,
He gave me a garden.
I asked for a tree,
He gave me a forest.
I asked for a river,
He gave me an ocean.
I asked for a friend,
He gave me "YOU."
Send this to whomever you think of as a friend
