Hell and judgment

     The post death judgment and punishment of the wicked is clearly taught in scripture. We are even given a clear picture of what Hell is like in Luke 16:19-31. It is a place of torments and separation from God. But a careful reading of the Luke text shows that the man there repented of his past actions, even discovered a desire for evangelism.

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' (Luke 16:27-28 NIV)

Can anyone really believe that if this man had it to do over again, he wouldn't have done things differently? Men in hell do repent. They do change their minds. The gates of hell cannot lock out God.

In the teaching epistles of the Apostles there are many references to the condemnation and destruction of the unbeliever. Can a man be both destroyed and saved? Paul thought so and even handed a man over to Satan for that very purpose:

hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:5 NIV)

Men (their sinful nature) can be destroyed unto repentance and salvation. That is what happened to the man at 1Co 5. See the rest of the story at 2Co 2:5-11.

That is what was happening to the rich man in Hell at Luke 16.

In fact that is the purpose of Hell, to bring men to repentance and restoration.

Hell exists but it isn't eternal. Jesus paid the full price for the sins of the whole world. He didn't spend eternity in Hell and neither will anyone else.

Clearly if all men are saved, and some men go to hell, then all men in Hell have to repent and be saved out of Hell.

Some will object that we have no explicit text that says men will be saved out of Hell. Here one has consider the nature of death and Hell. Death is the opposite of life.

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24 NIV)

The unregenerated man is dead (separated from God). But death is not complete in this life. Here is Paul addressing the pagans on Mars Hill:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (Acts 17:26-28 NIV)

No man in this life is completely dead (completely separated from God).

Death is not the cessation of existence. Existence does not end at the grave for any man. That is clear from scripture. Existence continues for all men beyond the physical grave. Biblical death is the separation from God. Unregenerated man is currently separated from God, dead in his sins, but that separation is not total. The post death separation is total. It's is a second spiritual death, a deeper, complete, separation from God.

But death (spiritual separation from God) is not eternal.

Here is Paul on the redemptive plan of Jesus:

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15: 25 NIV)

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. (Revelation 20:14 NIV)

The word Hades in the above text is often translated as either grave or Hell. It is one of those ambiguous words that can mean either grave or Hell.

Ultimately death, separation from God, is destroyed when all men are reunited with God and God becomes all in all. Death, the grave and hell cannot be eternal because ultimately they are destroyed.

There is an order to the process of the redemption of all men:

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:22-26 NIV)

The Lord Himself was the firstfruits of those redeemed from the dead. He raised Himself from the dead:

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. (John 2:19-21 NIV)

The next phase of the redemption is the redemption of the Church. Ultimately death/hell/grave is destroyed and all men, without exception, are redeemed from it's curse.

To summarize briefly, here is the big picture of human history. Through Adam's sin all men were handed over to disobedience. But God's eternal purpose in that tragedy was to save all men without exception. Though His sovereign salvation God will reveal His infinite love for all men. Salvation comes in an _order_ to different groups of people. Jesus Himself was the firstfruits of the redemption of all men, the prototype. Next will come the resurrection of the Church. Finally all men will be redeemed when spiritual death, complete separation from God is abolished.

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 NIV)

When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28 NIV)

Perhaps the greatest question that confronts mankind is the question of why a God of love allows bad things to happen to people. There are many answers. One is to teach us perseverance, character and hope. Romans 5:1-5. Another answer is to show us the consequences of doing things "our way" to show us that the wages of sin is death. But a key reason is to reveal God's ultimate infinite loving nature.

For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:32-36 NIV)

At this point we have covered the case for God sovereign choice in the matter of salvation and the case for His salvation of all men. What remains, is to remove the apparent Biblical contradiction with respect to eternal Hell.

That is the subject of the next section.

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