Death and 'Hell'
What the New Testament Does and Does Not Teach
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
I’m a fan of the Grove Biblical series published in the UK and have several volumes, all of which have been helpful and insightful. Even with postage across the pond, they’re an excellent value in summing important topics and great doctrines of the Christian faith (PDF versions are also available). The recently released Death and ‘Hell’: What the New Testament Does and Does Not Teach by Paul Marston is no exception and it’s been especially useful for addressing those subjects evidenced in the title. It is skillfully argued, hermeneutically responsible, historically informed, academically astute, and pastorally sensitive.
Chapter 3 mentions three views on the eternal fate of unbelievers: universalism, eternal torment without hope, and ultimate destruction. All these views present difficult challenges on several fronts (theologically, biblically, and psychologically). Marston makes clear that he argues for the latter view and it is this view that I find most compelling. In his volume he provides a keenly convincing argument for the ultimate destruction of those who are “determinedly unrepentant” and highlights the difficulties in holding to the second view (particularly).
Chapter 4 briefly addresses the genre and hermeneutical task of parables with special attention devoted to the biblical uses of 'outer darkness.’ Marston wisely concludes that:
symbolic language (especially in parables) is not always easy to fully interpret, and we should beware of pressing details in parables which are not the main point of the parable into undermining direct theological statements elsewhere in the New Testament. We should also be wary of reading implications which are not there into the graphic hyperbole of the pictures used. (p 19)
There is one section from Chapter 5 that makes a bold theological assertion with respect to the vexing issue of the fate of unbelievers. To set the stage I ask: Can we hold the belief that ‘God is love’ while also maintaining God is a consuming fire and his justice will be fully meted out toward those who are “determinedly unrepentant?” While many believers (most?) hold strongly to these two beliefs on the supposition that this is what the Bible teaches, any thoughtful person would not do so without a measure of psychological or theological dissonance. I find Marston’s theological insight helpful in reducing some of the angst produced by this troubling inquiry.
From the section titled, ‘Fire and Love’ (p 23) he writes:
The New Testament says God is love (1 John 4.8; 16), God is light (1 John 1.5), God is a consuming fire (Heb 12.29). In a sense, perhaps, these are all the same. God’s love/light/fire exposes evil for what it is and consumes it. Those who reject and resist it will ultimately be consumed by it in judgment—and this experience will be painful. The fire of his pure love and holiness is eternal, and throughout the prophecies and psalms it is clear that, depending on whether or not people have a faith relationship with him, this can enhance, cleanse or consume them. Being present in God’s holiness and love made Moses’ face radiant but would have destroyed the Israelites (Exod 34.29; 33.3).
As 1 Cor 3.12–15 says, what we Christians build into the church will also be tried by fire, which is both consuming and cleansing. Everyone will be salted by fire (Mk 9.49). This fire is eternal because it is the nature of God. Our love relationship with God means we should have no fear of judgment (1 John 4.18). The presence of this absolute love destroys the unrepentant, but uplifts and cleanses those in relationship with God.
What struck me was his final sentence above and the notion that God’s judgment somehow emerges from the same place as his love. The same light that exposes what is in a room, for example, also expels the darkness of a room. As a parent (and grandparent), it’s not difficult for me to see how love and judgment come from the same place. The discipline of a child, though often painful, comes ultimately from a place of love for the child.
The key aspect I believe Marston is getting at is this: Even though the verdict on the eternal fate of all humanity is single-sourced, rooted in God’s love, it is our relationship to God’s love that brings down the gavel and closes, once for all, the proceedings of our life on trial. Put differently, upon death, the disposition of our heart is exposed to and confronted by the love of God, and that unrestrained and unfiltered exposure seals our fate for eternity.
Consider John 3:18, which reads:
Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
F. F. Bruce’s commentary on John’s words is telling:
“In a gallery where artistic masterpieces are on display, it is not the masterpieces but the visitors that are on trial. The works which they view are not there to abide their question, but they reveal their own taste (or lack of it) by their reactions to what they see. The pop-star who was reported some years ago to have dismissed the Mona Lisa as a load of rubbish…did not tell us anything about the Mona Lisa; he told us much about himself. What is true in the aesthetic realm is equally true in the spiritual realm. The man who depreciates Christ, or thinks him unworthy of his allegiance, passes judgment on himself, not on Christ. He does not need to wait until the day of judgment; the verdict on him has been pronounced already. There will indeed be a final day of judgment…but that day will serve only to confirm the judgment already passed. Those who believe in the name of the Son of God…become God’s children; for those who will not believe there is no alternative but self-incurred judgment.”
— F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, p. 91
Like a double-edged sword, God’s love cuts one way or the other based upon the response of its subject. If I have grasped Marston’s point rightly, then significant weight is shifted away from God’s holiness, wrath, justice, et al. and moves it onto God’s love when thinking of the eternal fate of the “determinedly unrepentant.” Most importantly, the response of our heart toward God’s love will “serve only to confirm the judgement already passed.”
This is not me deconstructing. This is not me following in the footsteps of ‘progressive’ Christianity. This is me on the heals of the best evidence presented by the New Testament about the fate of those who have consistently been offered God’s love in Christ but have persistently rejected it. While spotlighting the love of God may soften the blow of how I think of the eternal fate of many, I must admit it is a strange comfort and one in which I hope never to find rest but instead discover renewed inspiration to share God’s love with everyone. Naturally, this begins with ensuring that the disposition of my heart is hospitable toward receiving God’s love in Christ.
Lord, hear my prayer.
John Dickson’s Undeceptions podcast channel offers a provocative and informative episode titled "On Hell".