CHAT WITH GOD ON HELL

God. Let's talk about Hell.
(I cannot say it is my pleasure to do that.)

Why would you consign people to such a dreadful place?
(Explain to me first why you call it dreadful since many seem undaunted.)

Lake of unquenchable fire, gnashing of teeth, hopeless. Is that not dreadful enough?
(But many are not afraid of such a place. Neither were you.)

Oh yes, once I was an arrogant bug ignorant of your matchless righteousness and unsurpassable love.
(So you now have a problem with Hell?)

I do. Many people resent to the mere mention of it.
(Why would anyone be resentful if they choose to go there?)

Oh please. They have no middle ground between Heaven and Hell.
(Forget the idea of purgatory. Indeed there is no middle ground.)

It is by your unshakably sovereign will that this dichotomy of eternal fate comes to pass.
(After all I am that I am, the Lord of lords and King of kings.)

So please tell me why such a harsh punishment to the unrepentant rebellious bunch.
(I respect their freewill choice.)

The answer is that simple?
(Simple answer happens to be the right answer.)

But any parents would do their absolute best to prevent bad choice made by their children.
(Yes, only if the children are not capable of making a meaningful choice.)

Are you suggesting that people incapable of making choices will be spared of Hell?
(That is a mystery that I shall reveal on the Judgment Day that is to come.)

Have you done anything substantial to dissuade people from being Hell-bound?
(Absolutely and positively. You name my efforts, please.)

OK. You have prepared a path of salvation through your son, our savior Jesus Christ.
(The only path to eternal salvation under heavens.)

There lies the real problem. It is confusing to many as to how mankind can be saved.
(Why do you say my only plan of salvation is confusing to people?)

You see, there are so many religions in this world vying for their adherents.
(But all major revelatory religions affirm one true God, the Maker of all things.)

That is certainly true. But they differ by the way how we may be saved.
(Yes, man's lifelong mission is to pick out the only correct path to me.)

But I wish this picking process is made less confusing to us.
(Why are you hung up on this issue of confusion?)

I am speaking for other people who claim your salvation plan is confusing.
(Let them speak for themselves. You are not confused, aren't you?)

I guess I am not. After all, you call me to be an evangelist.
(So state to others why my plan is crystal clear.)

OK. First you have placed a moral code and sense of eternity deep in our conscience.
(And symbolically my ten commandments were etched onto the two tablets given to Moses.)

So by your holy decree, we are measured and found short of your perfect standard.
(In other words, all man have sinned and fallen short of my glory endowed to mankind at creation.)

Next you chose a people of your own, the nation of Israel.
(By calling out a man I renamed as Abraham, meaning the Father of all nations.)

You spoke to many prophets among the chosen people.
(They prophesied in my name to reveal progressively and collectively the nitty-gritty of my salvation plan set out for all nations.)

And the only Savior of mankind came and lived and died and rose again just as what were prophesied hundreds to thousands years before His appointed time.
(That is my Son who willingly humbled himself to become a man of flesh and blood.)

He is the Lamb of God, sacrificed on the Cross to shed His blood for all sinners.
(Again just as prophesied. I sure hope people's hearts of stone may be melted by that supreme sacrificial love.)

All who believe unto Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
(Whosoever accept Him by believing in Him shall be called my redeemed children.)

You did not stop there. You sent the Holy Spirit to convict people of their sin.
(And also to guide and regenerate them into the Way, Truth, and Life found in my Son.)

You set up your Son's Church to bear witness for Him and preach the gospel to all mankind.
(So that my Kingdom will spread the world over, just as what I revealed to prophets David and Daniel in their times.)

OK. You have done a great deal, even sacrificially, to convince people for making the right choice.
(No one has any excuse not to make the right choice.)

Now let's go back to our initial question: Why Hell?
(Hell is the lot of those who choose to spend eternity there.)

But can those who reject your plan of salvation be directed to a half-decent place?
(I see your confusion here. Other than Heaven, there is not place better than Hell.)

Really? I am startled by your statement.
(You see, Hell is a place devoid of my glory. Man there will become like devils.)

So the overwhelming punishment is an absolute necessity to stop any and all evil deeds?
(Precisely. In that regard, hell is a prison where no more evil deeds can be committed by sinners against each other.)

In other words, save for this type of Hell, Hell would become an unthinkably far more hellish hell.
(That is a mouthful, but well said.)

We can say then the severe and irrevocable punishment is actually flowing from your care and love.
(But I wish they accept my love in totality and live happily in my presence in Heaven.)

Will the suffering in Hell be forever or the sinners will be annihilated sooner or later according to the severity of their sins in this life?
(All are created as immortal souls. The latter-day resurrection, even of the unrepentant, guarantees that outcome.)

Will your redeemed children in Heaven have any conscious knowledge of the existence of Hell? If so, will Heaven become painful and distressful for many in view of the suffering of our unsaved blood relatives in Hell?
(Pain, sorrow and death are things of the old universe and will no longer be a part of your Heavenly experience. All mankind, redeemed or lost, are my children and each other's relatives. I love all more than any of you do. I will carry alone the pain and distress of eternal separation since I alone am able to.)

So you still love them? Can't you just forgive all whether or not they believe you?
(My Son and the Holy Spirit would have gone in vain into their space time to seek, convict and forgive. Still, many have rejected our merciful call to eternal salvation.)

Thus man as freewill being is gonna be accountable for their willful choice.
(How I wish all man choose life, not death. If only they have ears to hear.)

(June 10, 2004)