Eternity without Christ is ...

What is hell? Functionally, it is the eternal, spiritual destination of the devil and his angels, and of those who reject Christ. The question in my mind is what does it look like and what happens there? Jesus gave few specifics, nothing beyond saying that the their worm does not die and their fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:48)

Traditional imagery has pictured hell as a perpetual blast furnace (unquenched fire). Something like the third chapter of Daniel, except that the Hebrew young men and the Son of God were not harmed by that furnace. Fire is punishment, causing eternal torment. 

Let me propose a slightly different view. Fire also purifies, especially metals, from impurities. Perhaps in this eternal destination, God directly purifies those who cling to rebellion against Him. For those who love sin, this purification of sins they hold on to results in perpetual pain, because their vice is denied. Perhaps it is eternal insomnia in the middle of darkness in which the memory of actions and choices, now regretted, cannot be avoided by sleep and can no longer be remedied by repentance and atonement. A bad conscience for all eternity. Or perhaps God cleanses that by eliminating it, and there is nothing left but an empty shell, unable to enter His presence. 

C. S. Lewis offered another view in The Great Divorce. He addresses the question of how a loving God could send people to hell by picturing a post-death tableau in which people are offered the opportunity to go into God’s Presence but choose not to, for a variety of stupid reasons. The reasons are stupid because people choose transient soulish activities, and emotional relationship manipulation over permanent, transcendent bliss. And in Lewis’ depiction of hell, people reside in (can’t say live in because they are dead) ethereal dwellings in an endless slum, in which they keep moving farther and farther apart because they can’t stand each other.

Jesus said that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41) This certainly implies some forcible restraint because the demons don’t want to be there (Luke 8:31). In some respect their powers are curtailed. But their essential nature is unchanged since they chose to reject God’s love and holiness in full knowledge of the eternal consequences of that choice. They will eternally persevere in being fundamentally evil at heart. They have it, but I doubt they will like it.

Another possible view of hell might be that it is not a separation from God’s presence, but being in His presence, and the torture of feeling the pain of having our life essence being purified by His holiness. But this does not seem consistent with Scripture, which in several places has Jesus saying “Depart….” So perhaps sending people away from His presence is an act of mercy on God’s part. Their torture in the outer darkness is that they can no longer prey on those who have chosen God, and they recognize what they are missing out on because of their choice of evil instead.

We have a choice in this life: Jesus offers eternal life to those who will receive Him and choose to receive, however imperfectly, the nature and character of God. God is love. (1 John 4:7) He defines agape as sacrificial self-giving for the good of another, as demonstrated in Jesus’ death on the cross to redeem humankind. Not some namby-pamby feel-good emotional high, but a positive visceral, moral and ethical virtue or attribute. Willing and working for the best, long-term good of another. 

Hell will unfortunately include the ultimate reaping the fruits of sins, with the demons laughing at humans who foolishly chose them. It will be the eternal outcome of their own decisions and actions. For those who do not choose Christ, an endless eternity of emptiness; wanting something they can never have; all alone in pain and rejection remorse; emotional and physical desires always there but no way to satisfy them; knowing others are in heaven and enjoying God’s presence, while they have nothing; burning in their desires but no way to make the pain stop. Whatever its exact makeup, if we are separated from Christ, it will be hell.

Book Review: Deliver Us From Evil by Don Basham

Originally published in 1972, Don Basham’s book, Deliver Us From Evil, starts with an autobiographical storyline of how the Lord led him into a ministry of deliverance. This book does not deal with evil on a national or global scale -  Nazi Germany, or gang warfare in 4th world countries. The author tells of his experiences ministering to people dealing with personal evil. One hears about such individuals all too frequently in today’s headlines of mass shootings. But this book deals with the spiritual evil that simply messes up individual people’s  lives. 

Don Basham was part of the Charismatic Renewal that exploded in the 1960’s as God began to pour out the Holy Spirit on those in many different churches who were open to Him. The author  was not the first to have a ministry that included deliverance, as he frequently acknowledges. He relates his story in an accessible, matter-of-fact narrative. Demons are real and they mess up lives, so much that Jesus devoted a quarter of His ministry on earth to dealing with them. They are still around, despite having been defeated by Jesus 2,000 years ago. The first half of the book relates stories of the author learning to take this victory to the lives of those who are so afflicted and seeking release. 

The last half of the book expounds the principles of the ministry, dealing with the basic questions such as:

• How to discern whether a particular issue is just human depravity (sin) or supernatural (demonic) oppression. 
• The steps to perform deliverance,  for another person or for one’s self.
• How to keep the victory once gained over demonic attack.

The key point in all this is that Jesus has won the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil 2,000 years ago, but we need to receive it from Him. There is a war going on that will not end until the return of Christ. If it seems that the evening news shows a broad offensive by evil against human civilization and society, then we need to go to boot camp so that we can be effective soldiers in this fight. Spiritual warfare is fought on all levels and we must engage the enemy when we encounter him. The authority of Jesus Christ, invoked by His name and the Word of God spoken by those who know and trust Him, is our weapon, and we must learn to use it. The need for the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17 ) become obvious  necessities once we recognize the realities of the war in heavenly realms that we are in. Bringing Christ into every situation will subdue evil far more effectively than government initiatives, however well-intentioned they may be, because Jesus will intervene to defeat the root cause of evil.

California Dreamin of Heaven

The Mamas and the Papas hit, recorded by the Beach Boys in 1986,  epitomized the feelings of discouragement and longing for relief so common to life. The Beach Boys' earlier song (1965) California Girls characterized youthful focus on fleshly pleasures. Today’s California exhibits neither of these attributes in the popular mind, except perhaps a wistful memory. What does this say to us? 

El Camino Real was first established by dedicated missionaries, who were called to establish bastions of Christianity in this part of the new world. Missions were established starting in 1683 (almost a century before the road was built) and many stand to this day was a testimony. Indeed the names of many cities, e.g. San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Jose, San Francisco,  remind us of this heritage. (That sometimes the missionaries did not live up to the standards of Jesus does not diminish the fact of their zeal for Him.)

The Gold Rush, starting in 1848 (after California was ceded to the U.S. following the Mexican War), appealed to those who sought instant wealth. Most of the consequences of this flood of immigrants were predictable, as the forty-niners’ greed, and the disease and lifestyle they brought decimated native Americans, and probably did not improve their lifestyle. [The outcomes for individuals who struck it rich were likely not much different from those who win the lottery in our day.] But this established a concept of California in popular culture that endures.

California became a place to run away to. The prodigal son went to a far country to squander his father’s wealth. Many since the gold rush fled to California, not to spend their inheritance, but perhaps to escape a miserable life, or to get a new start in life. When my maternal great uncle, who was born and raised in Michigan, married a divorced woman, this so offended the other members of his family the he and his bride moved to California in the 1920’s to escape, and had no further contact with them. My father’s parents divorced when he was nine, and continued their war so meanly that my father left Michigan to attend USC in 1941 to escape their incessant battles. California beckoned. 

Migrant workers traditionally were viewed as temporary laborers who came from Mexico to California (and a few other states) to be exploited by, I mean, to provide labor for the harvest. Many, perhaps most, traditionally returned home each year. Modern migrants have set up permanent tent encampments on the streets of major cities in California  (and other western states). This immigration has been dealt with elsewhere, but undoubtedly these migrants view California as the earthly culmination of their quest for a better life. 

Image from Nations Online Project

Recent conditions almost sound like divine judgment. Wildfires and high temperatures suggest a certain supernatural location that is not anybody’s preferred eternal destination. Anyone who has driven in the big metropolitan areas is acquainted with the driving habits of their denizens. Housing prices have soared beyond outrageous to ludicrous. Dare we ask why?

There is a basic problem. It is called original sin (theologically), but we are all acquainted with this problem in practical experience. When we run away, or move to a new location to better our lives, we take ourselves with us. And we have an adversary who will deceive us in unfamiliar settings, and then accuse us when we succumb to his lies. This is not unique to California, but universal to humankind. Why did Jacob go to Paddan-aram to find a wife? Why did Abram go to Egypt when there was a famine? They had legitimate issues and God met them where they went, but the point was that He used their travels as part of His plan to redeem them from self.

We can’t run away from ourselves - our baggage is internal to us until we take it to Jesus