Heaven and hell...literal?

Our deep, insatiable, and constant longings for love/life can not be adequately explained physically. This is a clue we are far more than mere physical beings. These longings are a hint or indication that we do not cease to exist simply because our present bodies do. 

We long for something permanent - everlasting/ eternal - instead of temporary. Once we get a "taste" of love, we never want it to stop but want more. 

Longing for satisfaction without the ability or means to obtain it is the essence of hell. I would suggest that a never-ending longing and burning desire to fulfill ourselves and derive a sense of meaning through our independent efforts (i.e. without God), while no longer having access to the good gifts of God we now enjoy, is the essence of hell.

"Hell on earth" is seeking to find fulfillment in something other than God but not finding it. Even when we think we have, it never works or lasts long term.

Not just a present but an eternal longing

Longing for fulfillment does not cease simply because our existence on earth does. We are more than mere physical beings.

Hell is continuing in the state of longing after this life is over, with no means of obtaining what we need or hope of relief.

Though hell is depicted as a physical burning, I propose it is also - if not exclusively - an emotional/ spiritual burning that is so great the pain goes beyond the physical and may, in fact, be even greater. Think in terms of solitary confinement in utter darkness with nothing to distract yourself. No food to satisfy your hunger, no water to quench your thirst, no "toys" - creature comforts - to distract you or occupy your time. All you have is your thoughts and memories of enjoying the good things you use to have access to or endlessly replaying a poor choice others made that hurt you or you made that hurt others.

This may be hard to grasp but only because we do not understand the powerful void left within us by the absence of God. We are spiritually "shut down" - dead to seeing God as the Source of infinite love that He is - no longer having access to or use of the good gifts of His creation to keep our spiritual and emotional longings in check i.e. to numb the pain.

In order to contain a large object there must be a large container - spiritually speaking. Nothing is greater than God so the void within us must be immense. Far greater than we now realize because we mask it through use/exploitation of the creation - others and the good gifts of life. 

Does evil "send" us to hell?

Does doing evil send people to hell or is it evidence they are already on the road there? Isn't this simply an indication we are already in a state of rebellion from our dependence on the Source of life and all things - and therefore evidence of our alienation and separation from Him?

The good news is Christ has provided the remedy i.e. our rebellion no longer has to separate us from God now or in eternally; our refusal to accept God's free offer and solution does. 

Isn't the heart of evil our ongoing rebellious distrust of God resulting in destructive/evil behavior? God offers us freedom from all of this, yet we refuse it. 

Doing evil does not necessarily send people to hell as much as it's evidence they are a child of hell and already heading there unless they are restored back to God, our Designer and Source of love, meaning, purpose, and all things.

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:18  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:19  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

John 3:20  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

John 3:21  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

The essence of heaven.

The essence of heaven is the complete unhindered and unfettered presence of the God of infinite love, glory, joy, delight, and bliss. Think of those best moments you have had that if they were any better, you would burst with joy and gratitude, then multiply that many times over without interruption and constantly increasing. This only begins to give us a glimpse of what heaven will be like.

However, we cannot and will not experience God's full presence without several things occurring first. 

• The animosity and alienation from our rebellious distrust and willful independence from God are removed (reconciliation). This addresses our heart towards God i.e. we are no longer his enemies aka totally untrusting, rebellious creatures.

• The just condemnation for our rebellious independence and distrust of God is removed (judgment). This addresses God's posture towards us i.e. He is not and no longer needs to be our judge. Christ was judged in our place. 

• The complete righteousness of God -- earned for us by Christ -- is assigned and credited to us, establishing our good standing before God (justification). 

• The complete and eventual *removal of our propensity to distrust God and to operate independently of him (glorification). 

• Complete freedom from our mortality and the corruption of our present existence (glorification), no aging, sickness, or death.

Until we understand what Christ entered into for us; taking upon himself our hell so we might not have to, hell will appear unfair and make no sense - yet no one ever asks, how fair was the suffering of Christ who did nothing wrong and everything right. And He did all this for us because we weren't able to. 

Since he did, if we refuse his offer, would this not be the greatest insult and rejection of His love. Our being left to our own devices would be totally just.

The issue isn't if hell is unfair but that we refuse to accept his going through hell for us so we might not have to i.e. it is not as if there is no solution. We are only bound for hell if we refuse that solution He freely offers. God not only does not wish for us to go there, he did everything necessary to keep us from going.

 

In short, Christ took on what was not rightfully his - total condemnation, rejection, and torment - so he could give us what was not rightfully ours - perfect love, acceptance and bliss in the Father's presence for all eternity.

However, people who don't know Christ or refuse his offer are choosing hell every day. They are choosing separation from God which simply continues on into eternity. How you may ask? By using creation to attempt to fill the void left by the Creator's absence and refusing God's free offer to restore us back to Himself.

We now have access to all the gifts of creation refusing to acknowledge the Creator, Giver, Provider, and Sustainer of those gifts (Rom 1:21-25). In eternity they will continue to refuse to acknowledge the Creator but will no longer have access to all the good gifts of creation we presently enjoy, be that the use of our own personal skills and gifts or those blessings we now find and experience all around us...the hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling and tasting of created things etc. 

Hell is our choice.

"Hell is your freely chosen identity, based on something other than God, going on forever." - Tim Keller, former pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. 

The essence of "hell" is the absence of God and His love, which is also part of our present state of existence. 

2 Thes 1: 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

The hard reality is we all are presently experiencing the absence of God in the ultimate sense -- none of us are fully in his loving presence yet, nor ²can we be in our present state. We are therefore in a kind of hell now to a limited degree i.e. In varying degrees we all experience suffering and pain now.

Intuitively we get this. Every time we experience overwhelming pain and suffering it is a reminder that Hell exists and is real. Who hasn't felt or said "that was hell" after going through some extremely painful and difficult circumstance -- yet, oddly, we have a hard time accepting the continuation of this very same state of pain and suffering after we leave this life?

At the same time, we all are also experiencing God's loving presence to a limited degree i.e. heaven. Whether we trust him or not we experience something of him through the many gifts we now enjoy. For those who have accepted God's offer of reconciliation, His Spirit of infinite, endless love also indwells us. 

Our present existence in this beautiful yet broken world is a kind of in-between state. We experience something of the joy of who God is but also the pain of not yet being fully reunited with Him in His infinite love. 

For those who have entrusted themselves to Christ and therefore love him, they experience heaven now to some degree by his presence in and through his Spirit that dwells within.

When we are finally in God's full and unfettered presence there will no longer be any pain, suffering, or crying, only joy, and endless ever-growing bliss. But not until then. Rev 21:4  

Everything good in this life that causes joy and delight points to the goodness of God and is only a prelude to the uninterrupted good/joy/glory to come for those who love him.

Everything bad in this life points to our brokenness and separation from God and the prospect of continuing in that separation for those who reject him.

If heaven is a real place, hell must also be -- just as darkness must exist because light exists i.e. darkness is simply the absence of light -- for heaven is the presence of God and hell is the absence of his loving presence.

So our present existence is as much of Heaven as someone who rejects/distrusts God will ever experience and as much of Hell a lover/worshiper of God will ever experience.

Do all of us feel God's absence? 

Does a man born blind understand sight or sense its absence? If no one told him he was blind (and everyone else around him was also blind) would he not think his condition normal? 

Most are not aware of the void of God's absence for two primary reasons. 

1. We are disconnected from God and therefore also spiritually dead to God, seeking only what we can see, smell, taste, feel, and hear.

2. Proof (and also the result) of this is we have and use the good gifts of God to mask or numb that void/deadness. Not unlike a blind man groping around, experiencing something of the reality of this world, while never fully enjoying it.

If our life is built around having and enjoying the good gifts of God and not God himself, the Giver of those gifts, we will leave this life without either and experience the full force of the void/emptiness now within us due to God's absence. This is the essence of hell.

For a further discussion on how hell is a continuation of our current path click here

For a discussion of whether we are rebels to God click here.

For a discussion on whether God's wrath is reasonable click here

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¹I would argue this removal is organic and not mechanical. Our inclination away from God even as His children, will be fully subdued or overpowered once we see him face to face i.e. we will be like him when we see him as he is i.e. no longer through a glass darkly but in the fullness of his glory. This will result in the longing of our hearts being satisfied for the first time. What (more correctly WHO) has been missed and what our hearts have longed for all our lives will now but right in front of us. How can we long after anything else once we are in the presence of perfection and perfect love? 

²to behold God in the fulness of the glory would kill us if we or not in our glorified state.

Hell - the continuation of our current path

Though the topic of hell is a difficult one, it is also a very misunderstood one. While we bristle at the concept of an eternal hell, we cope with hell on earth whenever we experience pain. i.e. most of us don't ¹seek God for answers or help when we go through pain and suffering - hell on earth - we deal with it ²any way we can - as long as it doesn't require us to directly engage with, depend on, or trust in God.

Because of our pain, we assume God has ³abandoned us and is therefore unloving and untrustworthy. But this is only true if we don't take the time to explore and understand what Christ did and went through to restore us back to the Father.

Humanity, as a whole, avoids God like the plague. At best we consider Him a last resort whenever we encounter pain, instead of the primary solution he is. But even then, we are not truly interested in God, only in relief.

However, if not for the pain and suffering in this life, few (if any) of us would ever consider God, much less seek Him. 

While we accept and settle for hell on earth as a part of living in this life, we bulk at suffering continuing beyond this ⁴present existence. 

But suffering only continues because we ⁵continue in life with no genuine interest or pursuit of God.

The good news is God has provided an answer and solution to pain, suffering, and death. But we typically reject, ignore, and even mock God's offer when we hear it. We do not seek or call out to Him for the solution. Why? We are not interested in God, only in relief.

What is that solution? Christ!  The eternal Son of God took on human form like us, so He could enter and embrace this world of pain, sorrow, and suffering (caused by us through our abandoning God) and took our hell (that we helped create) onto himself - physically and emotionally allowing it to kill him. He did this so we might not have to, but eventually be freed from pain and death forever.

And we will be freed if we accept his offer. If we reject His offer, we are left with our current strategy of dealing with pain and death ²without God, i.e. looking to ourselves (and anything we can get our hands on to cope with our pain) instead of God. We want (wanted) to be on our own and left alone. As a result, we are! i.e. we get what we want(ed). Hell is simply the continuation beyond this present existence of the course we are already on - one without God - (unless and until we know Christ).

The difference between using the coping strategy we now use vs when we pass into eternity is we won't have access to the ⁴resources we now use (and abuse) to numb our pain (our private and personal hell). Nothing will be available to quench our longings and spiritual thirst in our next existence (think of a never-ending consolatory confinement). All we will have are memories of how we tried to cope (but never completely did) and a never-ending longing and thirst for the current blessings of life we now have but will never be able to have again.

God doesn't send anyone to hell. It is the path we choose, create, and are currently on. It is not because there is no offer or solution to pain and suffering. But we go out of our way to ignore, deny, or ⁶ridicule it (and Him). In short, by rejecting God's solution and offer, we continue on the path we are already on and send ourselves into eternity without God. We are tenaciously committed to being our own god, even if it means continuing in our pain. God honors our choice.

The reality is to be in the presence of God, in our state of rebellious unbelief, who we want nothing to do with in this life, and unreconciled with him would be a greater hell than continuing on without Him as we currently choose to.

For a further discussion of heaven and hell click here.

For a discussion of whether we are rebels to God click here.
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¹We may seek relief and call upon God for it but this is not seeking God but simply relief and God only as a means to it - i.e. We treat God as a genie in a bottle to grant our wishes. We are only interested in God as a means of relief and not in God himself.

²We might give a "hat tip" or "nod" to God when facing death, hoping He will notice and it will be enough to appease God after living our whole life avoiding Him - or even ridiculing Him and pursuing the pleasures of creation instead of Him, who is the Creator of all things.

³The reality is we abandoned God (and continue to). He has not abandoned us but in fact, came to us and sought (seeks) us out in our rebellion, doing all that was necessary to restore us.

⁴We use the gifts of God to address our pain, yet we never acknowledge (thank) God as the Creator and Giver of those gifts. We don't actually object to hell as much as to not having access to all the blessings of life we use to try and cope with it now. We want the gifts of life as long as we don't have to directly deal with the Giver (Creator) of the gifts.

And what are those gifts? Anything in creation available to us (or within us) that we used to numb or cope with our pain, be that recreation, substance abuse, abuse of sex, food, our God-given talents/abilities, respect, fame etc etc.... all good gifts from God used (i.e. misused) by us to maintain our independence from God.

⁵Our existence doesn't continue beyond this life, so we might be punished. We continue to exist because we are like God and are designed to be in an eternal relationship with our Creator. If we refuse his offer to reestablish that relationship now in this life, we simply continue on the same path we now choose. 

⁶Have you ever wondered why people only use the name of Christ in a disparaging manner but not the name of Mohammed, Buddha, Vishnu, or some other religious figure? (Do people who live in a Muslim society throw around the name of Mohammad like we do Christ's name in the west? No. Why? Out of respect to Mohammad). It's as if we intuitively understand on a subconscious and visceral level Christ is the way and truth, but since our default disposition is antagonistic to God, we disregard and disrespect His Son and all He did to restore us. Why? The death of Christ to restore us back to God implies we can never fix ourselves. This is an insult to our arrogance. 

The absence of God's presence

The absence of God's presence is the essence of hell. ¹Hell is anywhere God's presence is not.

People live in ³rebellion to God every day. How? They do not acknowledge God as the Source of love and life (breath); the Creator and Sustainer of everything! 

Instead, they live as if God is irrelevant; that the blessings of life are their right to have and do with as they please, as if someone owed it to them; i.e., they are entitled to these blessings. And if they don't get what they believe they deserve, they become disillusioned, angry, or bitter. This is the approach to life many ²choose to take and live by daily.

And if they never come to the place where they acknowledge His relevance, value, and significance, they will continue on that same trajectory and path throughout their lives.

As a result, God will honor that choice throughout eternity as well. God doesn't send people to hell. They are already on that path unless and until they choose to put their trust in Him.

If the absence of God's presence is hell, then what is the fullness of God's presence? Bliss, paradise, a continual feast, i.e., heaven.

For a further discussion on why many are disillusioned with God, click here

For a discussion on the key to answered prayer, click here

For a discussion on whether hell is literal, click here. 

For a further discussion on how hell is a continuation of our current path, click here

For a discussion of whether we are rebels to God, click here.

For a discussion on whether God's wrath is reasonable, click here

For a discussion on how death and hell are totally defeated, click here 

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Footnotes:

¹this is not necessarily a specific location - though it may be. But it is a disposition or attitude of rebellious distrust (all distrust of God is rebellion to Him. It is asserting that God is a liar and not who He claims to be as all-loving, wise, powerful, and everywhere present). 

Objectively, God is everywhere present. Nothing functions or even exists without Him. But if we willfully turn away from God, then for us, God does not exist and is not present. God is not dead, but to us He is.

In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, notice the rich man did not regret his rejection of God, nor did he resent God for his being in his present state or desire to turn to Him even in his torment. He only wanted water to relieve his thirst - he only wanted a gift from God - not God Himself.

Is this not also true of humanity in general when we go through great pain? God is not our end, but the means to another end...relief. This is often the reason we pray. We don't want God; we only want comfort through the gifts (blessings) of God.

"...You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - Jas 4:2b-3 ESV

Luke 16:23-26, 28, 30-31 ESV

"...and in Hades, being in torment, he (the previously rich man) lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

²this choice is laid out in Rom 1:18-23 (emphasis added).

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness (i.e., which springs forth from rebellious distrust of God) suppress the truth. 

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God (He is irrelevant) or give thanks to him (their choice), but they became futile in their thinking (they thought they could make life work on their terms, not God's terms i.e. they thought they could be their own god, like Adam and Eve) and their foolish hearts were darkened. 

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images (their choice) resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." 

³The following passage lays out the nature of our rebellion. These are comments made to Job by Elihu in Job 35:6-16. The fourth and only "friend" of Job whom God did not rebuke, unlike the other 3, suggesting that his comments to Job were on point.

Elihu talking to Job:

"If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him (God)? And if your transgressions are multiplied (many), what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? (This is also quoted by Paul in Rom 11:35). Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man - i.e., your bad or good deeds affect only men, not God.

Because of the multitude of oppressions, people cry out; they call for help because of the arm of the mighty (those stronger than us, who oppress us).

But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ - i.e., there is no gratitude to God for all the gifts we receive or trust in God when we go through challenges. We don't want God. We only want relief from our pain by using all the gifts He gives and enjoy daily without giving Him thanks or acknowledging Him as the giver.

There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil men (who believe God is not there or is irrelevant, until we are suffering). Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it - Why? Because we don't really want God; we only want His blessings - the comfort and relief from pain His blessings bring us.

How much less when you say that you do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him! - i.e. we demand He respond the way we think He should when we are in pain - but our complaining does not impress God or cause Him to respond. 

When we approach God this way, we will always be waiting for a response, because He will not respond to our arrogant demands. Only He is God, and best knows what we need, not us. Humility is more important then relief.

And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not take much note of transgression - i.e., because God has not dropped the hammer on Job for his complaining and demands - Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge.”

To Job's credit, at the end he responded correctly...

Job 42:1-6

Then Job answered the Lord and said: 

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes - (I change my view of you and my attitude towards you).”

death and hell defeated

When Scripture says Satan is defeated and Christ now holds the keys to death and hell, what does this mean? 

This is simply saying that death no longer holds the same meaning and effect it once did. Satan and death no longer have the final word regarding our eternal destination i.e. our eternal separation from God and loss of all the gifts of life we now enjoy. When we are in Christ, death now means we are ushered into his presence when we die and exit this veil of tears. This is why Paul said,

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:“Death is swallowed up in victory.”  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Co 15:54-57

This does not mean pain and suffering (or Satan) are eliminated in this life, or that death no longer exists (people die every day). It simply means if we are in Christ, death no longer signifies judgment and our ultimate separation from our Creator, nor do the accusations of Satan that we are worthless, guilty, and justly condemned. Why? Because our acceptance by God is based solely on Christ's efforts, not ours. 

Pain, suffering, and death have been conquered, neutered, defused, altered, and are even redeemed and used to bring life in this present world (i.e. to draw us closer to God, who is life). Ultimately, they will no longer be useful or necessary and will eventually be done away with altogether. 

If we are in Christ, they are no longer tools or instruments of destruction and eternal separation from God but are now used as a means of deliverance from our focus and preoccupation with self.

Death no longer means final and eternal death because the sting of death has been removed. Before Christ, the sting was that it ultimately led to condemnation and eternal separation from the Source of life, love, and all the blessings of creation. It no longer does for those who are in Christ. Now death is used as a means to life and ushers us into His presence in this life, with fullness of life awaiting us. 

" 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' " The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  1Co 15:55-57

Christ fulfilled the demands of the law and our just condemnation for all the harm we caused others by ignoring it!

2Co 12:7  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited (who do you think gave the thorn...it wasn't Satan himself. And note it is described as a gift, not a curse or punishment).

When the Bible says that Christ now holds the keys to death and hell, it does not mean he's eliminated these, but by his resurrection, he overcame them, and now he's redeeming and using the challenges for our ultimate good and his glory. All this is offered to us if we receive His gift of eternal life in, by, and through Christ! Only through Christ is this true. 

God's wrath...reasonable or unreasonable?

The wrath of God seems unreasonable and unfair unless and until we understand how great God is and how infinitely short we come in giving God his just and due honor i.e. the recognition of His greatness and the full extent of our rebellion in not recognizing it. 

It is only as we come to see how infinitely great God is, and ²wrestle with the depth and extent of our rebellion to Him in refusing to recognize it, that we see how just God's wrath is. The more we see His greatness, the clearerc this becomes. 

But if God is so great, why are we not struck down on the spot for our rebellious disregard for His infinite greatness? If God's majesty is that great and our rebellious refusal to acknowledge it and Him is that pervasive, shouldn't we be? 

We assume God's ³lack of ⁵action means our rebellion must not be that big a deal. When in reality, it is only because of His kindness and mercy we are not destroyed, not because our rebellion is insignificant. 

2Pe 3:4  They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”... 

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

His patience and goodness are why we are not struck down. ¹Ironically, His patience, goodness, and mercy are a significant part of what makes God so great. He is great not only in power and righteousness but in grace, mercy, and patience toward us in our rebellion. 

The suffering of Christ...a key reminder of our true condition

The reason the humbling, rejection, suffering, and death of Christ is so offensive too many is it screams out that our rebellion towards God is so great and offensive that it required Christ, the flawless Son of the Fathers infinite love, to go through all the emotional, spiritual and physical pain He did to restore us back to his Father. Because of our rebellion, we down play and even mock Christ's suffering. 

The dishonor our rebellion brought -- and brings -- to God and Christ, with the resultant harm it causes others is genuine, not ethereal, or without consequence. Disregard for who Chirst is and all He did is real with very real consequences. 

To assert that God's anger at rebellious unbelief is overly harsh is to minimize the pain it causes ⁴others as well as the dishonor it brings to God. It can not be casually or simply dismissed or ignored. God is too great, and we as his image-bearers are too significant for Him to ignore the harm our unbelief causes others. Christ's willingness to suffer and go through a brutal death for us is our greatest proof. 

It is only when we wrestle with the extent of our own personal rebellion that we see how great it truly is and begin to fully appreciate the extent, necessity, and significance of what Christ went through to restore us. 

As well, the more we grasp the extent of what Christ went through, do we begin to see how far short we come in giving him his just and due honor. 

For a further discussion on the necessity of God's judgment, click here. 

For a discussion on what makes hell, hell click here. 

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¹the unexpected irony is the greatness of our rebellion is seen clearest against the backdrop of God's love and mercy which is the primary expression of that greatness. The greatness of God is expressed not only in his power but in his humility by His willingness to suffer on our behalf. The more we see the greatness of God through the emptying of Christ's rightful glory, the more we realize how far short we come in properly recognizing and acknowledging that greatness.

For a further discussion of the humility of God, click here. 

As well, the greatness of Gods wrath only matches the greatness of our spurning God's love demonstrated to us in sending Christ to restore us back to the Father. For us to ignore and distain so great a gift of love deserves only great wrath. The greater the wrath the greater the evidence and exaltation of the value of Christ's work on our behalf and how great our distain is for it. In short the greater God's wrath for our rejecting His offer, the greater it indicates the greatness of His offer.

²our wrestling only comes over time through persistent pursuit of God. There are no shortcuts. It is something we must go through/experience ourselves, not simply grasp in our heads through the experience and stories of others. The greater and longer our persistence in pursuing God, the more we wrestle and see, through first-hand experience, the depth of our rebellion. 

However, time alone does not bring about the needed development of faith but only when coupled with an earnest pursuit of God i.e. time enables our spiritual advancement quantitatively but is not required to experience it qualitatively. To say it another way, the more (quantitatively) we engage God, the greater the quality of our walk with God can be. 

This truth is captured and illustrated well in the struggle of Jacob when he wrestled with God the night before he faced the wrath of his brother Esau. 

Gen 32:24  And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26  Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27  And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28  Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29  Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.   

30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31  The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32  Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh. 

This event resulted in two permanent changes to Jacob... 

A change in his identity (he was no longer Jacob the clever and self-reliant "heel-grabber" or "supplanter" but Israel, the Prince of God) 

and 

A physical change (see vs 25, 31 above) was a reminder of his dependence on God. 

This was also experienced and expressed by Job after a period of intense suffering. 

Job 42:1  Then Job answered the LORD and said: 2  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Job 4  ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ 5  I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 

And of course the experience of Joseph also from the time of boasting about his vision as a cocky adolescent until he was reunited with his brothers and father as an adult with a family of his own. 

³I find it interesting whenever a nation experiences some kind of great calamity (such as hurricanes or other natural disasters) that we begin to hear whispers that this is evidence of God's judgment. It's as if we have this intuitive or instinctive sense we are not giving God his due honor and are therefore under his just judgment. 

⁴Downplaying the harm our wrongdoing brings to others is the fruit of this view. This results in greater sympathy for the offender than the offended; the opposite of what it should be. 

⁵The reality is God did take action by sending his Son to take on the consequences of our rebellion. His long-suffering is such that we have the opportunity to receive his gift of forgiveness and the righteousness necessary to enter his presence. These are offered to us freely so we might be restored to God.