Hell Part 2

In my last post on hell I commented on God’s standards of judgment, and why we fail the standard, but the question remains, how can we be happy in heaven with loved ones in hell? First of all, I do not believe hell will be the same for everyone (read Dante’s Inferno for an example). The scriptures reveal that we will be judged according to our works; not only bad deeds, but it must be good deeds as well.  A Gandhi will not suffer as a Hitler.  God will hold all accountable for rejecting or accepting Christ’ sacrifice, but not all will be equal in judgment according to deeds.  Those apart from Christ who have been victimized must have justice done to those who harmed them.  What if I spend a lifetime feeding the poor, but curse God and Jesus?  Will I be doomed like Stalin?  Hell is much too general a term, and although there will be a general suffering of the judgment of God, I do not believe it will measure to all without equity. Sin is sin and cannot be overlooked, but stealing a hundred bucks and killing an innocent person are not equal crimes with equal punishments. Crime is crime, but we do not imprison an individual for life because they have stolen a car, jewelry, or an entertainment center. <p>

My point is that we will not see God’s judgment as unfair, unjust, and un-equitable, but on that day, we will see perfect justice for all; a perfection that will bring a true shock and awe, and every knee will bow and tongues confess, Christ is Lord.  The perfections of his judgment will bring peace to the victimized, even if those victims do not enter into heaven.  The unjust may not see heaven, but they will see justice done to those who did them wrong, and justice to them for doing others wrong.  All accounts will be settled, and we will never wonder if those we love are suffering more than they deserved.  On that day all self deceit will be removed and all sin will be seen for what it is in the presence of God; evil. I will continue in my next post.

God, gods, and Stars

I walked outside tonight and the sky was filled with stars. It was a clear night, so we could see more than on a usual evening. The moon was bright, and there was a semi-cool wind blowing up our hill; it was beautiful. I began to think of everyone inside of their houses, watching tv and missing all of this beauty for Leno or Letterman. As I continued to enjoy the evening I began to understand how the ancient civilizations could worship the sun, moon, and stars: there were no televisions, internet, radio, or city lights to distract their attention from the beauty of the heavens. The lights of creation stole the show every single night. Watching falling stars burning to earth and countless brilliant lights begging for attention. Our culture of "knowledge" looks down on these long ago times with pomp and arrogance, "how could anyone worship hot gas and burning rock?", but I think we might be more ignorant than our predecessors. We may not worship hot gas and burning rock, but we worship people because they appear on tv screens every week. We worship hollywood stars (some might be full of hot gas). We believe in some way they are better than us because of money and looks; they are happier than us, more heroic than us; We buy all kinds of merchandise with their faces and names on them, and we buy bloody mouth tabloids to get the latest sexy details of their indecent exposures. The truth is that hollywood stars are nowhere as interesting as the stars above our heads. The true stars are billions of years old, it takes a stars light millions to billions of light years to reach us, and when one dies, what remains of its beauty is still traveling towards us long after it has expired. The psalmist said, "The heavens declare the glory of the Lord". Whenever I raise my eyes on a beautiful, clear night, I know exactly what he means. I worship God and not the stars, and escpecially not hollywood stars, but I can see why they ancients thought so highly of the beauty above their heads. TOTT

Amen

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=world_opinion_is_worthless&ns=DennisPrager&dt=08/01/2006&page=2 TOTT