Why hell?

 In my previous post I addressed Jesus' preaching on hell. It is non-negotiable that hell exists. After all, we say in the Apostles Creed: "... (Jesus) was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead....". This also refers to the mystery of hell as pre-existing the Resurrection and is sometimes referred to as the "harrowing of Hell" when Jesus descends to the Underworld to free the souls who had died. St Paul writes: "When it says, 'He ascended' what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of earth?" (Eph 4: 9) In the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday an ancient homily says: 

"Truly he goes to seek out our first parents like lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. he goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son.

The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: 'And with your spirit.' And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: 'Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.' "

So, our first idea of hell is that state which held souls prior to the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. By rising he created heaven, which enabled souls to experience the divine life. This is the basis of the Universal Church which encompasses the whole of humanity in the fulfillment of the plan of the Holy Trinity for the human race from the beginning: "At this moment, as the Fathers put it, all the just from the time of Adam, 'from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect' will be gathered together with the Father in the universal Church." (Lumen Gentium, 2)

However, when we hear Jesus speak of hell or Gehenna, he is referring to a state or place of never ending punishment which is different in character from the concept of Sheol, which is the state of the dead prior to the Resurrection. In the Bood of Revelation, it says: "Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death." (Rev 2: 11) This state is the enduring deprivation of the vision of God which has no remedy. Jesus warns of a peril greater than physical death when he teaches: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Mtt 10: 28)

It is interesting that our Lord makes the distinction between physical death and hell. It is also a place where body and soul experience suffering. This points not only to the reality of the bodily resurrection but also to a hell which is also experienced bodily. When we die, we do not become angels, who are pure spirit. The human condition presumes bodily existence which in turn presumes existence in space. Hell is therefore not just an idea or a state of existence but also a "place." Thus, by teasing out the implications of biblical data and Jesus' teaching we can arrive at various conclusions that point to the nature of hell.

The first idea I come to is that God is the Creator." He (Jesus) is the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers - all things have been created through him and for him." (Col 1: 15-16) The whole of Creation is destined to participate in the divine life of the Holy Trinity with human beings, who are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1: 26) receiving the invitation to experience divinization by being joined to the god who created them. 

This brings us to the second point which is the revelation of God's nature. We are told: "... God is light and in him there is no darkness at all" (1 Jn 1: 5) and that God is love: "Whoever does not love, does not know God, for God is love." (1 Jn 4: 8) God, as Creator, does not participate or admit of darkness or of hatred and those who wish to participate in his life are therefore instructed by Lord to imitate God. He tells us that God is "perfect" (Mtt 5: 48) and "merciful." (Lk 6: 36) As the best of fathers, God knows what we need (Lk 11: 13).

Third, evil and sin are not created. These are parasitic upon created things and exists in the same way that a lie does, that is, it only has a reality as long as it is believed. Once the truth is revealed the lie has no purchase on reality.  Satan, as a spirit was created by God, but his kingdom is a lie. Jesus indicates this when he says: "He (the devil) was murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (Jn 8: 44) The cause of the rebellion of Satan and other evil spirits against the loving rule of God is envy: "... for through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it." (Wis 2: 24)

Fourth, God tolerates evil in this age, but it has no part in eternal life: St Paul tells us: "For he (Jesus) must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1Cor 15: 25-26) We also have the parable of the weeds and the wheat where the Master of the harvest instructs his servants to wait until harvest concludes before the weeds will be destroyed and the righteous gathered in eternal life: "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mtt 13: 41-42)

This brings us to the fifth point - why allow for those who are evil to remain in existence at all? Jesus tells us that: "He is God not of the dead but of the living." (Mk 12: 27) God is a Creator not a destroyer. Those who do evil do not pass out of existence. Jesus says of Judas Iscariot: "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that one not to have been born." (Mtt 26: 24) Those whose being is darkness experience the light of God's love not as infinite beatitude but as infinite destruction. Both good and evil encounter God but their experience is diametrically opposed. God does not will this: "This is right and acceptable in the sight of our savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2: 3)

The sixth point builds directly on the fifth. What determines whether I go to hell or not? In the final analysis, it is me. I do so through exercising my freedom just as Satan exercised his. He, as pure spirit, made his definitive choice in an instant. I make my choice throughout the whole of my life. I do not live my life aimlessly or to no effect. I am accountable to the one who loves me and summoned me into existence with the intention that I respond with love for love. What I do in this life matters. In Revelation Jesus tells us: "See I am coming soon my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work." (Rev 22: 12) St Paul put it this way: "For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil." (2 Cor 5: 10) If I, through my choices, become darkness in this life and estranged from God, I will experience the consequences of my actions in eternity, with the chief suffering caused by my separation from God: "These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might..." (2 Thess 1: 9)

The seventh thought is that we cannot end without having mention of God's mercy. Even if I am darkness even the smallest scintilla of light will open the door to the merciful love of God. This mercy is given us through the sacrifice of the Cross. We hear every time we attend Mass: "For this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." The example of the Good Thief, dying in agony alongside the crucified Christ suffices to illustrate the prerogative of mercy which is extended to all those who trust in Jesus and call upon his name even as they are dying: 

"One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, 'Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us! But the other rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.' He replied, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise'." (Lk 23: 39-43)