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.