Heaven & Hell

Introduction

Chapter 3 of my book is a very (very) brief look at heaven and hell. Why did I choose to get all my rough notes written up now? In the introduction to the book I write,

"Now, in April 2011, Rob Bell’s Love wins has just been published. I feel the need to articulate my own position, based on my own study and reflection, before reading Bell’s book."

So I wrote - and then I read Bell.

3. Heaven & hell:

What is heaven? Heaven is where God lives. There are many references in the Psalms that would illustrate this. See, for example, Psalm 14.2; 33.13; 53.2; 80.14; 102.19 and 123.1.

The Hebrew word normally translated “heaven” is “shamayim” and it is used 416 times in the Old Testament (NIV exhaustive concordance). The Greek word for heaven, “ouranos” is used 274 times. ‘Heaven’ in Scripture is compared and contrasted with ‘earth’. Heaven is where God dwells, earth is where humankind dwells. This is implicit in a number of the Psalms referred to above. Thus when Jesus begins his ministry by announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is near he is saying that in him the dwelling place of God and the dwelling place of human beings is coming together – a picture picked up in the last chapters of Revelation where heaven and earth come together as one and God’s dwelling (heaven) is among humankind (on earth).

The Kingdom of Heaven, Tom Wright explains, “does not refer to a place, called ‘heaven’, where God’s people will go after death. It refers to the rule of heaven, that is, of God, being brought to bear in the present world.”¹ A programme of social justice, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed, giving dignity to men and women, the opportunity to live this life as God its Creator intended – this is bringing in the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the rule of God. The 1980s pop song was not far wrong:

Heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We'll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth.²

What about hell? In contrast to the 690 references to “heaven” in the Scriptures, the Greek “Gehenna”, translated “hell” in the NIV occurs 12 times. The Hebrew “sheol” occurs 66 times, but “sheol” is not the same as “hell” and the NIV reflects this by translating it simply as “the grave” or “the realm of the dead”, while the REB has “Sheol” and the RSV “the Pit”. See, for example, Psalm 16.10.

“Heaven” and “hell” are not equals in the Scriptures. Neither are “eternal life” and “eternal judgement/fire/punishment/sin. The NIV uses the phrase “eternal life” 42 times, and the phrase “eternal judgement/fire/punishment/sin” 6 times. That is not to say that the concept of eternal judgement/fire/punishment/sin is unimportant: four of these six occurrences are on the lips of Jesus himself. But we are wrong if we think the Scriptures have an equal focus. The phrase “eternal death” (which incidentally is a contradiction in terms) never occurs in the Scriptures.

1 N. T. Wright, “The challenge of Jesus” p20

2 “Heaven is a place on earth” by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, a number 1 hit in many countries by Belinda Carlisle in 1987.

Gehenna

Intro
Chapter 2 of my book. In the intro to the book I relate that in my mid-20s I decided I ought to write a book about hell since my study and reflections on the topic showed that the traditonal picture of hell as handed down to me seemed to be in line neither with the straightforward meaning of Scripture nor the character of God. I wrote substantial notes at the time... and filed them away. But earlier this year I made the effort to go back over my notes and write them up in a presentable form.

2. Gehenna

“In the beginning God created heaven, earth and hell.”

Nope.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1.1)

The Scriptures never say that God created hell. Why? Because “hell” is not a separate entity, but part of God himself.

In Deuteronomy the Israelites are told,

The LORD your God is a consuming fire. (Deuteronomy 4.24)

This is quoted in Hebrews 12.29:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire”.

God, the consuming fire, consumes all that is not holy; that is, those whose robes are not washed (compare Revelation 22.14 above).

He consumes the unholy parts of his people whom he has made holy (a “refiner’s fire”), and the entirety of those who are not holy, whose robes are not washed. There is a popular misconception in some quarters that the fate of those outside of God is eternal torment or torture. The Scriptures, on the other hand, teach that while the location of the lost is eternal, the lost themselves simply die there. That is, they cease to exist. Which brings us back to Gehenna.

Jesus says,

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where

‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9.42-48)

The word ‘hell’ in these verses is the Greek ‘Gehenna’. Most places in the New Testament where most popular versions have the word ‘hell’, the Greek text says ‘Gehenna’.

A book that confirmed to me that my exegesis of Scripture is along the right lines is David Pawson’s “The Road to Hell” (Hodder & Stoughton, 1992) – not because Pawson and I agree with one another but because I found his arguments for a ‘traditional’ hell wanting. However, Pawson does give a good description of Gehenna:

So how did Jesus 'picture' hell? The answer lies in the name he usually gave to it Gehenna, which means 'the valley of Hinnom'.

This is a real geographic location. a deep gorge to the west and south of Jerusalem. From it the city is visible, but most of it is invisible to the city. Few tourists visit or are even aware of it.

The valley has a sinister history. At one stage in Israel's idolatrous infidelities it became a centre for the worship of Moloch, an Ammonite deity demanding the sacrifice of live infants in gruesome orgies. Jeremiah predicted that 'the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter' (Jer 9:6).

Partly for this reason and partly because of its convenient location and depth, the valley became the city's garbage dump. The south gate facing the valley is to this day called the 'Dung Gate', which speaks for itself. All the sewage and rubbish of a large city was 'thrown into' (note that term) Gehenna.

The waste was kept down in two ways - incineration by fire of what was combustible and ingestion by worms of what was digestible. Steep cliffs confined the heat and the smell (its lowest point was too deep for the sun to penetrate). (pp 28-29)

In the passage from Mark 9 Jesus quotes Isaiah 64 where the Lord, through the voice of the prophet, says,

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66.22-24)

The contrast in these verses is between “the new heavens and the new earth” and “your name and your descendants” on the one hand, which will endure, and “the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me” on the other hand. The new heavens, the new earth, your name and your descendants endure, whereas those who rebel against God do not endure. Those who endure look on the dead bodies of those who do not endure. The worm does not die and the fire will not be quenched: these are the agents of God’s punishment – as Pawson eloquently puts it, “incineration by fire of what was combustible and ingestion by worms of what was digestible”. But – and this is the important point – those who are consumed and ingested die. They cease to exist. The rebel has not endured.

The Tree of Life

Intro:
Today's blog is the first chapter of a book I have written about heaven, hell, love, and what it means for God to be a consuming fire.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created light and space, sea and land, plants and all kinds of vegetation, birds, fish and all kinds of animals. Finally he creates humans, male and female, and instructs them:

Be fruitful and increase in number. (Genesis 1.28)

And:

You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. (Genesis 2.16-17)

It was like an accident waiting to happen. We deceive ourselves if we think God hoped Adam and Eve and all their descendants would resist temptation and refrain from eating the fruit of this tree. Of course they ate. And we still do. After they (and we) have eaten God says,

“The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3.22-23)

Because mankind has eaten from the fruit of the first tree (“the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”) God ensures that we cannot eat from the fruit of the second tree (“the tree of life”). In so doing he ensures that mankind cannot live forever. We are mortal. We die. We are not immortal. We do not live for ever. The banishment from the garden of Eden is not phrased as a punishment: it was to stop them eating of the tree of life. Those who have not eaten of the tree of life will not live for ever. Only those who have eaten of the tree of life will live for ever.

But that is jumping to the end of the story. In Revelation 2.7 Jesus (through John) says:

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

In Revelation 22 the river of the water of life flows down from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The narrative continues:

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22.2)

And:

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22.14)

In order to enter the city (the new Jerusalem which has come down from heaven) you need to have eaten of the tree of life. In order to eat of the tree of life you need to have your robes washed.

There we have it: the beginning and the end of the story. In the beginning mankind is banished from access to the tree of life. At the end those who are “victorious”, those who “wash their robes” may eat of the tree of life and live for ever. What happens in between?

What happens in between is the result of mankind eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Death. They ate, they died. We eat, we die. Not instantaneously of course, but the result is that we are mortal. As Jesus puts it:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10.28)

Body and soul – that is the outer and inner person – God can and does destroy a person in “hell”. The Greek word translated “hell” is Gehenna, the rubbish tip outside of Jerusalem. And Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the destination of those who die.

Radical good news

The Gospel message is radical, so radical that we are afraid to share it. So we replace it with one that makes more human sense. Rob Lacey brings it out powerfully. Section entitled, “Smelly Feet”.

“Two guys, right? Both up to their hairlines in debt... The creditors cancel both accounts. They now have a clear credit rating. Which of the two will be more grateful? … The one with the bigger debt written off. And Jesus goes on to talk about the woman who is smothering his feet in kisses, etc – clear evidence that she was released from loads of debt. She is “forgiven”. Your mess is cleaned up. You're straightened out and sorted in God's books. The only further comment from Jesus: Your trust has got you through this. Walk away content.”

God cleans up mess. God straightens people out. All people? In Jesus' story the reason the creditor cancels both accounts is that neither can even get close to paying off their debt. He doesn't, for example, send them off to permanent penal pain because they are unable to pay off their debts. No, he cancels the debts. When it comes to us and God Jesus clearly states that some have a huge debt cancelled (and they are hugely grateful). But: “for someone who's done little wrong, we're right down the other end of the spectrum – not that grateful really!” Some huge debts, some tiny debts. Jesus recognises that some are worse “sinners” than others – and all have fallen short. And so all debts are cancelled, all are forgiven.

Does this apply to everyone, or just some? If just some, what are the criteria? The only clue given is Jesus parting shot: “Your trust has got you through this.” She trusted Jesus. Meaning? Presumably meaning that she recognised that she could not sort out her mess on her won, that Jesus had God's authority to sort out mess (“forgive”) and her foot-washing act demonstrated some kind of penitence. That is, she had a desire to be right with God, and not “shove the mess behind the sofa”.

So Jesus is probably not saying, “Increase your debt as much as you can, so that you will enjoy the release of so much more forgiveness,” but rather, “However huge your debt, if/when you come to your senses and want to sort it out with God, don't be afraid – he will sort out your mess and straighten you out.”

This is good news. “You're heading for permanent penal pain unless you do this or that,” is bad news – and also misses the point.

I am a communist

Yesterday I visited ВДНХ in Moscow. ВДНХ is packed full of soviet idealism – as these pictures suggest. If the ideals were so great, what went wrong? The ideal of striving together for a better future, moving forward together, progress together, equity, fairness, justice, whereby all would have enough and resources would not be hoarded by a few – why did it so spectacularly fail?

1. Firstly it was brought in by violence and it continued to live by violence. Blood was on the hands of the soviets from the very first day. You cannot bring about a society of freedom and equality by force. Striving for a better future together – yes but. Providing sufficient food and resources for all – yes but. Such things can only be achieved by the glad cooperation of all, not by force. Freedom by force doesn’t work.

2. Secondly, why did the soviets throw God out? Didn’t they realize that God is on the side of the poor, the upholder of the weak, oppressed and downtrodden. Why didn’t they enlist his support in their strivings for justice and equality? Well, unfortunately the church had sided with the oppressor. Church went arm in arm with the Tsarist State and no one would have guessed that God was the defender of the weak and the protector of the downtrodden. The church had identified with the oppressor and so the soviet idealists ditched the church along with the rest of the old corrupt system, and of course God was thrown out too. No one realized that God was redeemable, that he is King of the Broken.

3. Thirdly, the soviets seemed to not appreciate beauty. There’s a case for arguing (as I did in 1991) that they deliberately tarnished the natural beauty God had created, and tried to create a beauty of their own – massive buildings, broad roads, spacious parks. In the late Tsarist period beauty was the luxury of the rich, the privilege of the oppressor. Out with the oppressor, out with his beauty – like God, the proverbial baby was thrown out with the dirty bathwater.

4. Fourthly, the selfishness of man was not taken into account. Not everyone wanted to work for the common good. Some were just out for no.1. An ideal state of equity and justice can only be reached with people who live up to those ideals. And while some (one likes to think many) of the early soviets really believed that their communistic ideals were achievable, sufficient numbers of others were opportunistic and/or selfish.

Think RBM. Impact statement: “A just and equal society for all.” But the ‘outcomes’ set for achieving that impact get it completely wrong:
1) Bring about a revolution, violent if need be (and it probably does need to be) in which the oppressor is toppled.
2) Banish belief in God because God and his church are part of the system of oppression.
3) Don’t waste precious resources on beauty; people don’t need things to be beautiful, they need them to be utilitarian.
4) In order to bring about our new society of justice and equality those who are opposed to it (and who are therefore opposed to justice and equality) must be eliminated.

I am a communist. I embrace the goal, the impact statement of a just and equal society for all. But I do not espouse the route the soviets took. If change is not peaceful the oppressed simply become the oppressor – and that is what happened. I recognise that God is King of the Broken, and so I harness his support. Beauty is important, people need it to bring esthetic quality to their lives. Those who are opposed to the new society – love them. Melt them with the warmth of the sun; blowing a howling gale around them will just make them cling to their opposition more tightly. But as I look at those communist ideals, they resonate with me. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.

A Psalm of Michael

I was glad when they said to me,
Let us go to the house of the Lord
Let us gather together in the name of our God
Let us rejoice together and celebrate the life that we have together in him.

How I long for the house of my God
Where the joy and laughter of the saints
Mingle with the heights and depths of coming before your throne
In awe and love and worship

There it is spring.
New life blossoms; beauty and flowers are all around.
Here it is winter.
The land is held in an icy grip; there is no together.

O my God, I long for you, I thirst for you
And I know that I do not need the community of worship
In order to find you…
But you are present in the praises of your people

You are present too in the wide open spaces
In the hills and forests, in all you have made, in me
And I can find you, new depths of you
As I wait and seek and long and thirst in exile here

But still – the psalmist was glad very glad to join the community of worship
The New Testament church reveled in the joy of meeting together
Down the ages the church, the gathering together of the people of God,
Has been the source of nurture and strength, sustenance and support.

Show me heaven! Show me the community of worship!
But like the psalmist I will rest and be at peace
You send forth your light and truth to guide me
My hope is in God.

Take these broken wings...

Kyrie eleison. Take these broken wings and let them fly again…

Michael, son of Arthur, do you love me more than these – these other things that clutter up your life and take you away from me? Yes, Jesus, you know everything – all the details of all this rubbish that clutters up my life. And you know that I love you, that I love you more than I love this junk. Then lead my people in the Bible translation movement; let the peoples know that I love them, that I have compassion on them, that I forgive them. Follow me. So Lord, take these broken wings – my broken strength, my broken vision, my broken imagination, my misuse of time and resources – and let me fly again, on the wind which is your breath, your spirit. Like the red kite soaring on the currents. Take my fish (which I can only catch when directed by you), add them to your fish, and let’s have breakfast together. Free to soar, free to serve, free to free others.