Robert Falconer holds degrees in architecture and theology. He is the Head of Research and Publishing, here at the South African Theological Seminary. His primary research interests are Architectonic Theology, African Philosophical-Theology, Architecture and Theology, Soteriology, and Eschatology. Robert also serves as an Anglican priest.
The paradox of hell, as Herman Bavinck[1] spells out, is that the purest and meekest human being, the one with unlimited depths of compassion, Jesus Christ, is the one who talks about hell more than any other in Scripture. It makes one wonder, doesn’t it? Perhaps it is supreme love that warns of the dark horror in the afterlife.
I am not going to get into technical discussions on terminology here (Hades, Sheol, Gehenna, etc.). Neither will I explore annihilationism[2] (the total extinction of hell and the damned) and universalism[3] (all humans will eventually acquire salvation). Nevertheless, these views usually, though not necessarily, do include a literal hell, even if it is temporal. We will keep it simple and stick with the plain teachings of Jesus about hell.
Joseph Ratzinger[4] recognizes that any talk of hell in light of our understanding of humanity and the nature of God seems contrary and is understandably accepted with difficulty. Yet, he insists that it exists. A theology of eternal hell, he says, developed in Second Temple Judaism and found expression in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostolic writings.
A theology of hell needs to be couched, not in the vindictive nature of a deity, but in human freedom. This freedom is ours to exercise. We are quick to point a finger at God for sending people to hell, but we fail to consider “God’s unconditional respect for the freedom of his creature,” as Ratzinger[5] puts it. We also conveniently forget that God himself in the person of Jesus Christ overcame evil by suffering and dying on a Roman cross (Isa 53:4–5; Rom 8:3; Phil 2:8–11; Col 2:15; Heb 2:14; 1 Pet 2:24) and then descending into the dark horrors of hell (Eph 4:7–10; 1 Pet 3:18–19). How exactly he experienced hell we cannot know, but we can be assured that in his love he chose freely to experience the darkest of evils,[6] only to conquer it in his resurrection (1 Cor 15:20–22; Col 1:18; 1 Pet 1:3; John 11:25). And so, Bavinck[7] has said that Jesus has revealed his love to us so fully on the cross that he delivers us from God’s wrath and eternal destruction (John 3:18, 36; Rom 5:9; 6:23; 1 Thess 1:10; 5:9). He also suggests that saving us for heaven presupposes that we have been delivered from hell.
Tom Wright[8] takes a slightly different approach, which I think is helpful as well. He suggests that people who give their loyalty and worship to something other than God gradually stop reflecting his image. He reminds us that we eventually become like that which we worship (Ps 115:4–8). Wright believes this rejection of the love and goodness of God may continue after death, in which case they become “dehumanized”—creatures who no longer bear the image of God, and therefore are beyond hope or pity. In agreement with Ratzinger, Wright understands this as an individual’s free choice. As Wright says, the sober reality of hell is “one of the darkest theological mysteries.” More could be said about hell, but these are some helpful ways to understand its reality, especially in light of a kind, compassionate, and just God.
What about hell in near-death experiences (NDEs)? Some of my readers might discredit any such experience. But not too fast; NDEs, as they are sometimes called, have entered the academic-scientific community and there has been considerable interest in certain sectors of the scientific guild with the publication of scholarly books and peer-reviewed journal articles. I can tell you researchers have found that along with very positive NDEs, there are negative ones too. They are usually called, “distressing near-death experiences.” According to empirical research, distressing or hellish NDEs have their own characteristics, namely: an acute awareness that the individual does not exist; a feeling of utter loneliness in a pitch-dark void; a hellish and ominous landscape; demonic beings; loud and annoying noises, usually from others in extreme distress; endless fire; terrifying creatures; and a very real feeling of being grotesquely tormented. These account for about 10% and are thought to be under-reported because people do not wish to discuss the horror of their experience. One ought not to construct a theology from NDEs, especially when some of them are dubious. However, despite these reports of experiencing the afterlife, they do have an important contribution to make to these discussions, even if it is secondary to Scripture.
The truth is, all of us have been given free will, so may we choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, and love and serve others, for he is our only hope of salvation from the dark horror.
*This blog post is adapted from Robert Falconer, Embodied Afterlife: The Hope of an Immediate Resurrection (2023), pp. 90–92, 129.
[1] Bavinck, Herman. 2008. Reformed Dogmatics: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Vol. 4. (4 vols). Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, p. 709
[2] See, Christopher M. Date, Gregory G. Stump, and Joshua W. Anderson, eds. Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2014) and Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment. 3rd ed. (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2013).
[3] See, Rob Bell, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived (New York: HarperOne, 2012). David Bentley Hart, All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019).
[4] Ratzinger, Joseph. 1988. Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life. Translated by Aidan Nichols. 2nd ed. Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, p. 215.
[5] Ratzinger, Eschatology, 216.
[6] Ratzinger, Eschatology, 217.
[7] Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4:713.
[8] Wright, N. T. 2008. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. New York: HarperOne, p. 183.
