The LORD longs to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18; NIV).
Introduction
Over the centuries, many people have wondered what hell might be like, and how a loving God could condemn to eternal suffering anyone they have made. However, God does not send anyone to hell.
Judgement
As a Universalist Christian, I believe that after death we will stand before Christ, and judge ourselves, by looking at our lives through his eyes. We will be bitterly ashamed of all our wrongdoing, but we will be forgiven, and we will not be condemned to hell.
My evidence for this belief is as follows:
We must all stand before Christ to be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10; NLT).
Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more” (John 8:10-11; NLT).
Hell
Hell is what we experience when we choose to separate ourselves from our Creator, the lender of our soul, the God who lives within us all, and with whom we are one. We can be in this hell of separation both after death, and during our time on earth.
Free will
God has given us all free will. This means that:
The LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).
To me, this is one of the most significant verses in the Bible. It confirms that we can, indeed, choose to separate ourselves from God. Thus, we construct our own hell, by:
- Not seeking God
- Not believing in God
- Actively rejecting God
- Not recognising, or valuing, our oneness with God
- Not understanding our oneness with all humanity, regardless of religion, race, skin-colour, sex, sexuality, age, education, wealth etc
- Not grasping our oneness with the earth and the natural world
- Not loving other people as ourselves
- Rejecting Jesus as our teacher, example and Saviour
Gehenna
When we choose to reject our oneness with our Creator, whether during life, or after death, we essentially cast ourselves into Gehenna. This was the name of the Jerusalem rubbish tip, a place where child sacrifices had been made in the past, and where trash and the bodies of criminals were burned (ref: gotquestions.org). Jesus often used Gehenna as a metaphor for separation from God. Unfortunately, this word is often inaccurately translated as “hell”.
Conclusion
Hell is not a place. It is the state of choosing separation from God. When we make this choice, we live in hell during our lives, and beyond our death. As we have seen, everyone is free to choose separation from God, even though God loves us all, and is always waiting within us, longing to help us.
References
The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).
Keep on seeking and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NLT).
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me (Jeremiah 29:13; NLT).
We are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).
It doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? (1 Corinthians 6:19; NLT).
There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called into one hope when you were called. There is one Savior, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of all, who is over all, who works through all and is within all (Ephesians 4:4-6; TIV).
We shall see face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; NIV).
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12; NIV).
There is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there (Luke 16:26; NLT).