Hell

Pastor Ronald Stelzer
Our Savior Lutheran Church
Centereach, NY

In the last chapter of the Bible, heaven is described: “The night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5) Jesus described hell as “outer darkness.” (Matthew 22:13)
An imaginative story was once told of one day when there was no sunrise. The entire day was entirely dark. People grew increasingly, greatly alarmed, distressed, panicking, depressed. The next day the sun came back at sunrise! People were exceedingly relieved, jubilant, thankful.
Now imagine hell as a place of utter, unending darkness — not for one day, but forever, with no hope of change or escape. It’s hard to imagine anything more depressing, but that’s the reality.
For now we have the sun, and the Son as light for the world. Jesus said, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness will not overtake you.” (John 12:35) “Walk in the light.” (1 John 1:6-7)  
In Jesus account of the rich man and Lazarus (illustrative parable? Jesus didn’t say), Jesus describes hell as a place of “torment,” “anguish,”  “flames,” with no hope of change or escape. (Luke 16:19 – 31) Elsewhere Jesus calls it a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:13) Jesus talked more of hell than anyone, and nowhere does he indicate that it is anything but immense, endless, hopeless, conscious torment. When the rich man requested that he could at least return to earth and warn his family, Father Abraham succinctly said, “They have Moses and the prophets.” As Jesus told the unbelieving scribes of his day, “you search the Scriptures … it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)
John concludes his Gospel saying: “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)