WHAT IF HELL IS REAL?

I just finished reading an article in Maclean's May 13, 2013 issue titled 'What if Heaven is Real?'. It brings forward interesting information and reports on books written by folks who've had near death experiences (NDE's) or have been dead and revived. They write that Heaven, or the idea of a heaven-like afterlife, is hot and that hell is colder than ever (in popular opinion polls). They state in the article that even modern Christians are struggling to reconcile a loving God with the idea that He would condemn sinners to hell. And my mind took off.

I see a problem, or a fault, with the popular understanding of what hell is, not only in this article, but in our society's beliefs on it, which this article reflects. If hell is not real, then what about evil spirits? We know they exist, so if there is a loving God and good spirits (angels) is it not logical, then, that these two groups live in separate areas? All the accounts of NDE's have reported love and comfort where they went (heaven). They did not report feeling or seeing any evil spirits. So where do the evil spirits come from? Very few people, especially journalists of popular news, want to delve into that one. If they really wanted to do some investigative reporting, they'd find a motherload of evidence pointing to the existence of a place that is devoid of love. God is love. There is a place where God isn't.

So how come those who don't necessarily profess or support Christianity in their NDE's, went to heaven? My answer to that is, their life is not over yet. The lack of judgement they speak of in their NDE experience of Heaven is in line with what the Bible teaches. Judgement will be at the very end, when all the dead are raised, standing beside the ones who will still be living. My understanding of judgement is not that it condemns people to hell, as many of us would do to each other, but that God will look at the heart and judge that a person should not be condemned to the place that is devoid of His presence, aka hell.

If we believe God is who He says He is, then He is perfectly capable of providing a way for His creation to understand things of an afterlife or death magnitude. Not only that, but He should also be able to communicate important knowledge on the importance and impact of this present life, even if He does it through imperfect vessels. Some, including myself, believe the Holy Bible to be that communication. It is one of the most supported works of literature in human history, the thousands of supporting, ancient manuscripts that have been found and authenticated by science elevates the Book to historical fact status. It is not scientific fact, because only that which can be repeated in a lab can hold that label. The historical fact label is achieved by well documented eye-witness accounts (like the Mayflower brought pilgrims to America). Which the Bible has.

So this is the thing. If hell is a place where God isn't and He gave us the knowledge on the topic of Himself, if we choose not to enter into the place where He is, via the door He provided, then by default we remain where we were. The Bible tells us that in this age, hell is not allowed to take over, that the Holy Spirit keeps it back, to give us the opportunity to decide freely. We live on a planet that currently manifests the characteristics of both heaven and hell, through the choices we make each day. We see this and the Bible also speaks to that. Humans influence, and are influenced by, the spirit world. We see it and the Bible speaks to that. So what is causing all the confusion? What is causing all the doubt?

Suppose that doubt and confusion were functions of evil spirits who are the enemies of God and His angels and, because we are all created in God's image, enemies of us as well.

Why is Christianity the most controversial faith on the planet?

Why is Christianity the only religion who's God died for the love of mankind?

The NDE's all agree in their experience of love after they died.

“There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends.” John 15:13 Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Would not the One who is Love, demonstrate the greatest love?

If there is no hell, why does the Bible tell us of the Son of God, Yeshua, Emmanuel (God with us) coming down to teach us and to die in order to provide a way for us to escape it?

The article surmised that personal healing was evident in many of the NDE's.

The Bible tells us that salvation (sozo), and as demonstrated by the accounts of the life of Jesus Christ, is for the healing of our spirit, soul AND body. The healing of the whole person.

If God is love, where does hate come from? If there is a heaven, why do people struggle to believe in a hell?

Because we want what we want, the way we want it. We are selfish from birth. We create God in our own image, to our personal likes and dislikes. We are being influenced.

The good news: If we are really and genuinly interested in truth, despite what it might do to our personal beliefs, we will find it. If all we want is to feel better and find support for our own theories, we will find that too, unfortunately the end results (and some current results) will be different and only time will tell.

Love has a source, so does evil. To believe in a heaven and not a hell, is wishful thinking, in my opinion.

My prayer is that people will see God's heart for us and His provision for our healing and reconciliation to Him. I pray that I would grow to be a more accurate representation of His heart toward others, that I would live my life in a way that brings honour to God and draws people to Him, rather than repelling them. God forgive me and God forgive the Church where we have so sorely failed in that. God help us all.