We
all have a belief system. What I mean by this is that we all believe
or trust a great many things to be true. You may have a certain faith
you believe is the true religion; you go along with most if not all
the doctrines which make up that religion. Even if you are agnostic,
that is part of your belief system. There are many areas which make
up our belief system; health, monetary, security, religion, probably
others which I can't think of right now. In each of these areas, you
believe that if you can only reach or maintain a place in each one,
that your life will be as good as it can get. You may not have
reached that perfect place yet but you still believe that if you ever
get there, you will be happy; things will be good.
I
think that the hell talked about in the Bible is related to our
belief system. If you and I were to compare our belief system with
each other, we would most likely find areas where we don't agree.
Aren't our actions, our decisions, governed to a large degree by our
belief system?
I
found this definition from the Science20
website:
“Belief
systems are the stories we tell ourselves to define our personal
sense of "reality". Every human being has a belief system
that they utilize, and it is through this mechanism that we
individually, "make sense" of the world around us.”
Well,
I think that the great day of judgment, talked about in the Bible, is
God revealing to each one of us the places where our beliefs are
flawed; our thinking is wrong. This in turn will cause us to weep and
gnash our teeth; weep bitterly. Have you ever believed something to
be true, maybe about some person, and later found out that you were
totally wrong? How did it make you feel, or maybe, like I did, tell a
lie. My lie haunted me for a very long time; fifty some odd years. I finally got my lie reconciled by asking forgiveness of those I told the lie to. They had no memory of that lie but still, it was something I needed to do to get a peace about it. Think about all this stuff
that hasn't been reconciled being brought to your attention all at
once; how dreadful will that be? There are parables that Jesus told
that I think tells us about this.
Matthew 11:22 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
22
Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable
for Tyre and for Sidon on the day of judgment than for you!
Matthew 11:21 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
21 “Woe
to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in
you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long
ago in sackcloth and ashes.
As for the length of time our grief, our torment will last, I don't believe that it is like how we think of everlasting. My wife and I have been watching a documentary on PBS about the brain; quite interesting. Our brain perceives time differently depending on what it is that the brain is dealing with. Something painful can seem like an eternity. Another parable of Jesus that says how long it will be:
Matthew 5:26Lexham English Bible (LEB)
26 Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!
The
Bible so often uses symbolism and metaphors to say things. If I were
to tell you to think of yourself as a fruit tree. Could you see that
the soil and your roots could be thought of as your belief system?
Your sustenance, your anchor, and support comes from the soil through
your roots; your belief system. If you are rooted in good ground then
you will be healthy with healthy branches to bear good fruit. Now
think about what it says in Malachi:
Malachi 4:1 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
4 “For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven,
and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The
coming day will consume them,” says Yahweh of hosts. “It will not
leave behind for them root or branch.
If
your belief system is totally wrong, there won't be anything left;
your whole belief system has to be rebuilt. It will all depend on
where you are on that day. Jesus hinted to this as told to us in the
book of Mathew:
Matthew 5:29-30 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
29 And
if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from
you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed
than your whole body be thrown into hell. 30
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it
off and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one
of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.
You
know, I've been wondering why the Bible seems to be so cryptic? Why
doesn't God just come out and say things in a way we can all
understand? I think it is because God knows us too well; some still
won't believe. If you are a parent, have you ever thought much about
how the teaching of our children so often goes. You can tell a child
many times not to touch the hot stove or oven but there always seems
to come the time where they have to touch it.
Jesus
told another parable that shows or hints at that it doesn't matter
how we are told about God and Jesus; you will either believe or you
won't.
Luke 16:19-31 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “Now
a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine
linen, feasting sumptuously every day. 20
And a certain poor man named Lazarus,
covered with sores, lay at his gate, 21
and was longing to be filled with what fell from
the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and licked
his sores.22
Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was
carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich
man also died and was buried. 23
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he was
in torment and saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at
his side. 24
And he called out and said, ‘Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the
tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering
pain in this flame!’ 25
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you
received your good things during your life, and Lazarus
likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are
suffering pain. 26
And in addition to all these things,
a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those
who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so,
nor can they cross over from there to us. 27
So he said, ‘Then I ask you, father, that you
send him to my father’s house, 28
for I have five brothers, so that he could warn
them, in order that they also should not come to this place of
torment!’29
But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the
prophets; they must listen to them.’ 30
And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone
from the dead goes to them, they will repent!’ 31
But he said to him, ‘If
they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
convinced if someone rises from the dead.’”
