Heaven or Hell

Revelation 21:1-8

Revelation is the culmination of the entire Bible. So, its message is critical for understanding what happens when we die. Does it depend upon good works, faith, or some arcane formula combining the two? Is it heaven or hell? 

Certainly, there are many passages that indicate an eternity of suffering:

“And they [devil, beast, false prophet] will be tormented day and night forever.” - Revelation 20:10

“And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” - Revelation 20:15

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:8

It’s this last one that’s the hardest to hear. As far as I can tell, I am not the devil, the beast, or the false prophet—nor is anyone I know. But surely all of us at times have been cowardly, faithless, and liars. Furthermore, Revelation isn’t the only book that speaks of the horrors of hell:

“They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” - 2 Thessalonians 1:9

“They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” - Matthew 13:42

“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” - Matthew 25:46

Don’t let the last one fool you. Yes, it says the righteous go into eternal life, but clearly in many other places the Bible tells us nobody is righteous—not even one!

It would be a critical mistake to take any of these images literally. As we shall see, they are incompatible with other portions of scripture that indicate a generous and merciful God:

“After this there was a great multitude no one could count…” - Revelation 7:9

“As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 15:22

“…we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” - 1 Timothy 4:10

“I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” - John 12:47

“God our Savior… desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:3–6

We have these diametrically opposed passages of scripture. One that seems very clear: everybody goes to heaven. Another set seems very clear: there are people who will suffer for eternity.

To reconcile these opposing texts, we first need to admit that the Bible uses a considerable amount of poetic license to make a point. To try to simply take them at face value will lead us into problematic conclusions that simply make no rational sense. The Bible employs literary techniques such as hyperbole to drive home its message.

Last week, when we addressed Revelation, we concluded its summation is “all are welcome in God’s kingdom.” Granted, that feels like a soft-pedaling of the gospel—after all, Jesus told us we have to take up our cross daily and follow. So today we will refine the concept.

The insight comes from Jesus in the parable of the wedding banquet. Jesus tells the story of a king who prepares a grand feast, sends his servant to invite scores of guests to fill the table. But they make excuses and refuse to come, so the king commands the servant to gather people from the street corners—and this is critical—the good and the bad, and so the table is filled.

Jesus began the parable by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” In this metaphor of heaven, all indeed are welcome, but that doesn’t mean everyone is wise enough to show up. It is the same in the parable of the prodigal son. The prodigal son, who wasted his father’s money and squandered it in dissolute living, comes to his senses, and upon returning home receives a grand feast. But the elder son was so incensed he stayed outside. That was his conscious choice. 

Jesus’ parable suggests the hell is not a place that we are sent to, but it is the place we occupy when we refuse to enter into heaven. C.S. Lewis drew on this concept in his work The Great Divorce. 

In this fantasy book, Lewis imagines that hell is a place in which the residents are wispy apparitions—ghosts who become more and more translucent and immaterial as they draw further and further away from God. On occasion they might find themselves drawn to heaven enough that they embark on a bus ride and land next to a beautiful valley representing heaven. But sadly,many of them refuse to go in, for they refuse to give up their pride, their petty thoughts, and their grudges they have developed in life. In this way hell is not a place that God sends you to; it is a self-imposed exile from the presence of God. But on occasion there is a ghostly apparition that finally manages to let go and at that point they are transformed into a spirit of light and enter the beauty of the glorious valley of heaven.

Lewis’ vision of hell and heaven reflects the vision of the heavenly city. It tells us the gates of the heavenly city are never shut, implying that it is never too late to enter heaven. 

But it is important to note that going from hell to heaven is not easy. Submitting to God as Lord of our lives means giving up a lot of personal freedom. This is where today’s sermon becomes a faith lesson for each of us that will impact our life right now.

The Mission, starring Robert De Niro, is a powerful movie in which his character Rodrigo Mendoza, a slave trader, murders his brother out of jealousy and finds himself in prison. Filled with depression and self-loathing, a Jesuit Priest played by Jeremy Irons offers him a path of penance and repentance—drag a bundle of armor and weapons up the Iguacu Falls to the Guarani people—the very people he had enslaved. They cut away his burden, symbolic of forgiveness, which transforms his soul from one of agony and shame to release a sense of self-acceptance and purpose. Eventually he sacrifices his own life to seek to protect the very people he had enslaved years before. Normally we think of repentance as only possible in this life. C.S.Lewis’ works seems to suggest the opportunity is always before us.

People often wonder if those who have committed horrific acts in this life and never hinted at any repentance can possibly enter into heaven.  The answer is a clear yes. Jesus tells us with God all things are possible. But the hardest part of moving from hell to heaven is the need to face the truth about ourselves. In heaven truth is perfectly clear. In the presence of God self-deception is no longer possible. 

Thus, the question for those who have committed horrific acts is not, “Can they enter into heaven?” but “Will they?” Will they ever have the courage, like Robert Mendoza—to truly face what they have done. Because to do so, for Hitler or Pol Pot, would suddenly be to know the agony, the torture of every person they harmed. And it will require realizing how much they harmed God’s heart. There will be no getting around the full force of this harm. Through seeing the truth in full force, in some ways it means they will experience everything they have done to others to the same measure.  

It is hard for us to imagine wanting to be in a place—even if it is heaven—in which people who have committed such awful acts reside. And yet, Lewis’ insight into this matter is convincing, 

“That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it" not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” ―C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

And 2 Peter tells us that this is God’s hope for everyone:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:8-9

Heaven and hell are not places that God sends us to, they are places we can choose to enter in, and thanks be to God for eternity is an awful long time to resist God. Amen.