The Shock of Eternity
If there is anything that Christ made overwhelmingly clear, it is the fact that there will be an unending afterlife for all humanity. Jesus spoke unmistakably of two different eternities for all people; heaven and hell. All will experience forever upon exiting this life, in one of two places. One cannot deny these teachings while simultaneously take the word of God seriously.
Scripture speaks plainly. Failure to trust in the Person and finished work of Christ alone for right standing with God will leave the soul in the condemned state in which they exist. Tragically, when they exit this life, eternity in hell awaits them.
Because of what is at stake, this ought to be a doctrine which God’s people do not hide. To stutter or shuffle our feet on the truth of hell is to do humanity a great injustice. Love necessitates speaking plainly about the truths of eternity; why and how one would enter heaven or hell and what the two forevers will be like.
Hell is going to be an experience as real, conscious, and terrifying beyond what one could imagine. When those who rejected Christ in this life enter eternity, they will experience these shocking realities:
- The shock that Christ will be their absolute Judge.
“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son” ( John 5:22
).
Every human being who ever lived will stand before Jesus Christ for judgment ( Matt. 7:21-23
, Acts 17:31
, Rev. 20:11
). He is the absolute judge. He alone will render the sentence of all humanity. No one will be there to share the bench. The Jesus of the Bible will adjudicate the eternity of every soul.
When this moment in history arrives, it will be amazing. There will be people there who blew off Christ as a myth. Others will be there who scorned Christ as a narrow, obscure middle-eastern fanatic with no relevance to contemporary life. Still others will be there who gave verbal assent to Christ, but had never surrendered to him in their hearts. There will be some who disdained Christ as merely one prophet among many. Throughout the time on earth, they brushed it off: “He gave some good lessons, had some good things to say, but he is not going to judge us. He’s too loving for that.” Others mocked him. He was nothing more than a weak, well-meaning religious Jew to them. Even, perhaps, people reading this and contemplating this now, on that day, will look back to this moment and recall the way they shunned the idea.
Together, they will experience shock as the Jesus of the Bible stands before them, exalted, supreme, and serving as the absolute Judge of humanity.
- The shock of the thoroughness with which Christ will judge them.
The shock there will be twofold in response to Christ’s thoroughness. First, the thoroughness pertaining to all humanity.
“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne…And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them” ( Rev. 20:12
, 13
).
No one will escape judgment. Great individuals will be there; mighty kings; seemingly invincible tyrants; accomplished businessmen; exalted athletes and stars; people who esteemed themselves as flying over God’s radar. And, the “small” will be there; people who thought themselves as flying under his radar; they were too hidden and obscure to be seen by God.
Further, those who have been long dead will be there. And those who died in the sea, on land, and in every place. The time or place of death will not exempt them from the judgment. Nor will their stature on earth. At the judgment, the sheer number of souls present will be shocking.
Thus, it is not death, but Christ’s judgement, which is the great equalizer of mankind.
Second, the thoroughness pertaining to the judgment of one’s deeds will be shocking.
“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” ( Rev. 20:12
).
Every single person will stand before Jesus for personal adjudication. It will be an amazing moment. Every sin will be documented; great outwards sins in deed and hidden inward sins of thought; long-forgotten sins; sins which the individual rationalized as right; sins which they contemplated prior to committing; sins which they were ashamed of; sins which they were proud of; truth which they suppressed. Every sin will be brought to bear by Christ. It will be a shocking moment for all.
- The shock of the justice with which Christ will judge them.
Equally amazing as Christ’s thoroughness in the judgment, will be the justice in everyone’s personal adjudication. Throughout their lives on earth, they grew accustomed to injustice; injustice on a large scale, and small; in their favor and against it. They remember getting away with things on earth. But it will be another thing at the judgment.
When Christ sentences them all to hell, they will understand this one, very important fact: it is completely fair. Christ will have opened the inerrant record and judged them “from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” ( Rev. 20:12
). They will not be punished by sins which their parents or children committed, nor any other person (cf. Ezek. 18:20
). Jesus will administer justice for their actions only. At this moment, they will realize the truth which they knew, but suppressed, all along in this life: they were accountable to God. And they will see it, because they will have glorified minds, able to recall the things which they forgot in their previously fallen state. Christ will be flawlessly and terrifyingly fair.
In this sense, God will uphold their dignity as a human being: they were not senseless animals only operating according to instinct. They were something far greater; invaluable souls made in the image of God ( Gen. 1:27
). Christ will recognize that and, though in judgment, will uphold the dignity of their uniqueness as human beings. Yet, because they failed to trust in Christ for forgiveness, they will be shocked by the justice administered them.
- The shock of how the things they cherished in life are now utterly irrelevant and meaningless.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them” ( Rev. 20:11
).
At that moment, there will be a shocking suddenness to the irrelevance of all things earthly. Not only the earth, but heaven also will crumble away in the judgment. Only Christ will be there on his throne as humanity appears before him.
Individuals will experience shock as everything they valued will disappear. The things and experiences in which they found security and meaning will be gone. They will be utterly useless to give help and salvation to the damned in the judgment. They will come to Solomon’s realization, but it will be too late: “all was vanity and striving after wind” ( Eccles. 2:11
).
- The shock that there will be no discussion or appeal regarding their sentence.
The scene in Revelation 20:11-15
is sobering. Christ appears on the throne. The dead are resurrected to appear before him. The judgment is justly rendered. And that’s it. No discussion. No appeal. No debating. No going back. No do-overs. Only finality.
“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” ( Rev. 20:15
).
In their previous life, they were often able to get out of things and negotiate. They were able to have civil penalties reduced and eliminated. They were able to make appeals to authorities. They were able to negotiate errors with their bosses.
But it will be another thing in the judgment. No discussion or appeal regarding their sentence will be possible. They will not be able to say, “Oh, wait, all that stuff about you, Jesus, was real?! Ok, then, please forgive me and save me from hell.” It will be too late. They will have had ample opportunity in the previous life. The finality of it all will be terrifying. Perhaps especially for those who considered Christ as a divine pushover; too loving to judge; to sentence anyone to hell, this will be a shock.
6.The shock that their time in hell will be unending.
This will be the greatest shock of all: they will be sentenced to hell forever.
The eternality of hell is the overwhelming testimony of Scripture ( Isa. 66:24
; Matt 3:12
, 18:8
, 25:41
, 46
; Mark 9:48
; Luke 16:26
; 2 Thess. 1:8-9
; Rev 20:10-15
).
Common claims such as, “Well, we don’t really know what eternal means,” will not do. We don’t know all of the details on hell. But we do know that it will be conscious, painful, and eternal. The words are plain, simple, and clear: “forever and ever,” “unquenchable,” “eternal.”
No one rejects the idea that heaven is forever. But many do regarding hell. We are happy with eternality of heaven, but not hell. Even so, the words Jesus uses are the same for both: “eternal” (e.g. Matt. 25:46
). In reality, there is no difficulty comprehending the texts which teach the eternality of hell. There is only difficulty in embracing the truth. We understand that difficulty. It’s a terrible reality which must move us to compassion and disciple-making. Even so, it is a reality.
In terms of justice, the eternality of hell makes sense: the debt of sin against an infinite Being can never be paid by finite, sinful beings.
And when every individual who failed to trust in Christ enters hell, they will experience the shock of the time frame. Eternity. It will be incredible. Sentence quickly rendered and then it will begin. No turning back. No change. In this life things often came to an end. They had no concept of forever. But it will begin, and will be unspeakable.
The first day they are in hell will be dreadful beyond anything they experienced on earth. Then a week will pass, then a month, then a year. But, shock will set in as they realize that one year was zero percent of the whole. Then, ten years will pass, then 100, then 10,000. And still, after 10,000 years, zero percent of the whole will have been completed. With each passing of time, there will still remain the entirety of hell to endure. That is what “forever” means.
In his sermon, “The Torments of Hell Will Be Eternal,” Jonathan Edwards said, “The time will never come when it can be said concerning the wicked in hell that a tenth part or a thousandth or a millionth part of their continuance in hell is past.”
This is absolutely how it will be. Those who refused to repent and trust in Christ in this life will be unable to do two things in hell; end it and exit it. There will be the shock of eternity.
Again, Edwards writes:
“This doctrine is indeed awful and dreadful; it is dreadful to think of it, yet ’tis what the eternal God who made us, and who has us soul and body in His hands, has abundantly declared unto us So as sure as God is true, there will absolutely be no end to the misery of hell, either by the sufferers ceasing to be or by their states being changed.”
The forever-ness of hell will be an unspeakable shock for all who enter there.
How might we respond to the truth of hell?
If you have yet to put faith in Christ, it’s clear. Nothing is so valuable in this life that it is worthy enduring eternity in hell. Hell should be avoided at all costs. And it can be: God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, precisely to serve our penalty on the cross so that we could be rescued. Because he is the righteous, sinless God-man, Jesus’ death on the cross completely pays for the hell which we would otherwise justly endure forever. Hell can be escaped simply by turning from personal sin and calling on Christ for forgiveness and reconciliation to God. Though the judgment is coming, it is open season for abundant mercy from God by faith in Jesus Christ.
For those who know Christ, we must respond with compassion.
We must take up the anthem of Ezekiel 18:32
“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.”
Second, hell should move us to make disciples. While the knowledge of hell is not enough to save, it should be enough to move God’s people to bring the good news of Christ crucified and risen. Especially for preachers, there is a certain hate we possess if we will not preach both hell and the cross.
Third, the reality of hell moves the regenerate to thankfulness for the Person and finished work of Christ. Think of it: by simple, childlike faith in the Jesus of the Bible, the eternity in hell which we all deserve is entirely eliminated. Incredible.
Fourth, we ought not apologize for the doctrine of hell. In fact, we can get a glimpse of what those with perfected natures, intellects, love, and wisdom think about God and his doings:
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” ( Rev. 15:3-4
).