Judgment and the final conditions of heaven and hell are still among the most difficult aspects for some to accept in the overall doctrines of Christianity. More could accept heaven alone, without the existence of hell. 85% of Americans said that they believed in heaven; 65% in hell. (Gallop poll, 1968, Religions in America, Leo Rosten, 342.) This place of punishment and separation has not been properly understood. Preachers are at fault, at least in part, due to their explanations of it.

Combining these future places of abode after the great Judgment, consider some good reasons for believing these matters.

Reason #1---JUSTICE

Everyone has some sense of right and wrong, and of moral justice. If there was no future Judgment of man’s deeds, then doing evil is just as acceptable behavior as doing good. If God exists, the God of Scripture, then there is a bold distinction between right and wrong, good and evil. If He is a God of justice, as presented in the Bible, then he will judge all men according to their deeds.

"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." (1 Peter 1:17.)

"For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:30-31.)

". . . let us serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 12:29.)

"And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened, and another book was opened which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell (Hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:12-15.)

The Russian philosopher, Nicolas Berdyeav, wrote: "Unbelief in immortality is suspicious just because it is so easy and comforting; the unbelievers comfort themselves with the thought that in eternity there will be no judgment of meaning over their meaningless lives. The extreme, unendurable terror is not the terror of death, but of judgment and of hell. It does not exist for the unbelievers, only the believers know it. . . . The problem of death inevitably leads to that of hell. Victory over death is not the last and final victory. Victory over death is too much concerned with time. The last, final and ultimate victory is victory over hell. It is wholly concerned with eternity." (The Destiny of Man, "Death and Immortality," chapter one, 249-265.)

God was accused by some in Israel of not being equal and just in his actions toward them. (Ezekiel 18:25; 33:17-20.) His reply was to show how he was just. 1) Only the person who sins will die. 2) If the wicked man turns from his wickedness and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 3) If the righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits evil, he shall even die thereby. 4) God is declared to be no respector of persons.

This is real justice and fairness. I believe in a coming Judgment of God because I believe in a just God. Abraham asked, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25.) If there is no Judgment in the end, then there is no justice in our world. Much evil will go unpunished. Much good will go unrewarded. Only God is qualified to judge the world. He will answer every objection. He is the answer to every objection that evil men raise.

Have you noticed who objects to a coming Judgment? Those who obey God and fear Him do not object. Israel objected because they were ungodly and captivity awaited. Sinners today object. They want to do wrong and suffer no consequence for it.

Reason #2---RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Some object to the nature of the description of hell in the Scriptures. Admittedly, it is a horrifying description. I have presented a message entitled: Why I Wish Hell Were Not So. In that message, I list the terrible things mentioned in relation to hell.

However, we should note that the vivid descriptions in the Bible are symbolic. Some interpreters falsely think that the only correct way of understanding the Bible is to accept every word literally. Just one example is sufficient to show the error of that method. Jesus said, I am the door. (John 10:7.) Who takes that literally? One of my teachers, brother Basil Overton, once said that the Bible should be understood literally; that is, the way that it was intended. In some cases, it is literally symbolic! We should not think that the fire, bottomless pit, worms of decay, outer darkness, gnashing of teeth are intended literally. These are symbols showing the undesirable nature of hell.

Lest anyone think that symbolic language is soft and denies the meaning, remember that the real thing is always greater than the symbol of it. Jesus said that he was a door into the sheepfold. But Jesus is greater than any physical door! The reality is always greater. Heaven is more than a city or mansion or country. It is greater than walking on streets of gold. Hell is worse than fire or darkness or a bottomless pit. But in what way is hell worse than these physical words?

The application of the symbols to reality is not always easy. However, we know that the major thrust of the Bible is developing and maintaining good relationships with one another and with God. Heaven is that final union of fellowship with God; hell is that final separation and breaking of that fellowship. Paul describe hell this way:

". . . when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power." (2 Thess. 1:7-9.)

The opposite directions of left from right, down from up, also demonstrate the separation of the wicked from God. Fire, darkness, and pit are merely symbols to talk about the severity of that judgment. Being separated from God is a serious matter. The results of that separation are unimaginable. There is punishment involved, but it is not torture. There is a difference between unending separation due to one’s own choice, and unmerciful torture of a victim. There is no greater pain than that separation from the presence of God and the glory of his power.

David Underwood, instructor at International Bible College, once told a story about his conversation with an African man who was not a Christian. He said to brother Underwood: "You say as a non-Christian that I am now separated from God. Yet, I am happy. I have a good wife and family. I work like others and enjoy life. If I am separated from God in eternity, why will that be so awful?" Brother Underwood wisely replied: "You now enjoy some of God’s blessings even though you are not a Christian. We might call them reflected blessings. You have a Christian wife and good friends who honor God. God sends the sun and rain upon the just and unjust alike, for now. But in eternity, you will have even those reflected blessings. The final separation means that you will be completely cut off from God."

One of the major differences between a legalistic approach to Christianity and a grace approach is this matter of relationship. The Bible is not so much about rules, as it is relationships. There are, of course, rules that governor those relationships. But note the difference between the elder brother and the young prodigal in Luke 15. The older son kept all the rules, but did not have a close relationship with his father. The younger son was reunited with his father based upon a father-son relationship; the union was not based upon a servant-master relationship. The father did not want him to be a servant; he wanted him to be his son. Our relationship with God continues on into eternity.

Reason #3---GOD’S WISDOM V. MAN’S

There is much that we do not know about those eternal states. We make a terrible mistake if we reject what the Bible says just because we do not fully understand eternity.

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:2.)

The Jews of the Old Testament were told that they were entering into a new covenant with God. It would be different from the one that he gave them when he led them out of Egypt. The Jews could not understand the nature of that new covenant. We now know much more about it because we have lived our whole lives under the new covenant. We understand the place of the cross in our redemption. If there has been a great change from the old covenant to the new, how much more from now to the eternal states after the resurrection?

It is all right if we have questions about the future, things that we cannot fully comprehend, and things that we just ponder. But we should be careful that we do not try to sit in judgment on God. This is really the heart of the issue. Some have decided that what God is going to do is not fair and just, especially concerning hell. They think that their judgments concerning what ought to be are better than God’s! How foolish all such human reasoning.

"O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" (Rom. 9:20-21.)

"But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Cor. 1:23-25.)

C. S. Lewis wrote a small book, The Great Divorce, April 1945. The story is really about heaven and hell. In the introduction, he wrote, "If we insist on keeping Hell, we shall not see Heaven. If we accept Heaven, we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell. I believe, to be sure, that any man who reaches Heaven will find that what he abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) was precisely nothing; that the kernel of what he was really seeking even in his most depraved wishes will be there, beyond expectation, waiting for him in ‘the High Countries.’" (preface, 112.)