An Instructive Moment about Death (Luke 16:19-31)

"Death. It is the most misunderstood part of life. It is not a great sleep but a great awakening. It is that moment when we awake, rub our eyes, and see things at last the way God has seen them all along." ~Gire, Moments with the Savior, pg 257.

Christ taught that in Hell, the wicked suffer terribly, are fully conscious, retain their desires and memories and reasoning, long for relief, cannot be comforted, cannot leave their torment, and are bereft of hope (Luke 16:19-31). He could not have painted a more bleak or graphic picture. And, just how long will Hell last? Christ said they "will go away to eternal punishment" but "the righteous to eternal life" (Matthew 25:46). In the same sentence, Christ uses the same word translated "eternal" (aionos) to describe the duration of both Heaven and Hell. The biblical teaching on both destinations stands or falls together.

Let me be the first to admit that if Scripture were not so clear and conclusive, I would certainly not believe in Hell. Trust me, trust me, when I tell you I do not want to believe in it...at.all. However, if I make what I want, or what others want, the basis for my beliefs, then I am a follower of myself and my culture, not a follower of Christ.

The most basic truth is that there are only two possible destinations after death. They are Heaven and Hell. Each is just as real and just as eternal as the other. Many believe it is more humane and compassionate to deny the existence of an eternal Hell, but in fact it is arrogant that we, as creatures, would dare to take what we think is the moral high ground in opposition to what God the Creator has clearly revealed. I think that we don't want to believe that others deserve eternal punishment, because if they do, then so do we. But really, if we we understood God's nature and our own nature, we would be shocked, not that some people could go to Hell, but that anyone would be permitted into Heaven. By denying the endlessness of Hell, we minimize Christ's work on the cross. Why? Because we lower the stakes of redemption. If Christ's crucifixion and resurrection didn't deliver us from an eternal Hell, His work on the cross is less, less potent, less consequential, and therefore, less deserving of our worship and praise. Satan obviously had motives for fueling our denials. His biggest desire is for unbelievers to reject Christ without fear; he desires Christians to be unmotivated to share Christ, and he wants God to receive less glory for the radical nature of Christ's redemptive work.

Jesus asks a haunting question in Mark 8:36-37, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

For me, I choose to believe what God says. In my way of thinking, I figure He knows tons more than I do or than I ever will. He is infinite and I am finite. I'll believe what God says. In fact, I'll trust my eternal destination to Him.