Hell Is For Real
The drama of judgment, the need for repentance, and the reality of hell is a constant theme of Jesus’s preaching. Many prefer the wide road to destruction because they fail to accept God’s graces to take up the battle against our lower, fleshly nature and resist God’s invitation to heal the concupiscence that came from original sin. In the last chapter, many sources and reasons for this resistance were identified. However, explanations are not merely excuses. The Lord teaches us to engage the battle that life in this world entails and His grace will be sufficient for each one of us. Failing in this effort amounts to resistance to the warnings and teachings of the prophetic Word of God in Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the natural law of the “book” of creation. To whatever degree a person’s freedom was hindered by matters beyond his control, God, who is just, will surely take such cases into account. However, because these challenges are exceptions, our intellect and free will gifted to us by God come with responsibility about which we must be sober and serious.
Correcting the Caricature of an “Angry” God
We now return to another objection—namely, that hell presents an image of an angry God that many reject. Indeed, many today trivialize God, thinking of Him more as the great affirmer or a doting grandfather. Jesus, too, has been reduced to merely a healer and a kind of harmless hippie. These caricatures must be corrected by Scripture itself. God does love us and is the great healer. But He also expects to be taken seriously and is not about to reduce healing to whatever we want it to mean. He loves us too much for that and will not lie to us. True healing will include suffering as well as consolation. Only the truth can really set us free. God is not angry, but He, like any good doctor, will not fail to summon us to lifestyle changes and call, at times, for strong medicine, including painful surgeries. But there is another aspect of God’s “anger” that must be explored. For Scripture does speak of God’s “wrath” quite frequently. In this chapter, we examine this biblical theme and seek to understand it more deeply so that we do not perpetuate another caricature of God—namely, as One who is angry and moody. The teaching about God’s wrath can be subtle and may lead us to unexpected places.
So, as noted, God’s wrath is spoken of often in Scripture. It is not merely an Old Testament concept but occurs frequently in the New Testament. Consider just a few examples.
- “Jesus said, ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains upon him’” (Jn 3:36).
- “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom 12:19).
- “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things [e.g., sexual immorality] God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient” (Eph 5:6).
- “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:9).
- “The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath” (Rv 14:19).
Clearly, the “wrath of God” is not some ancient or primitive concept with which the New Testament dispensed. Notice also that the wrath of God is not something reserved for the end of the world; it is spoken of as already operative in certain people.
What the Wrath of God Really Means
However, the wrath of God concept must be treated with due care. There are some today who simply dismiss the concept as contrary to God’s love. But that is to deny many Scriptures which do attribute wrath to the God of Love. But it is also wrong and simplistic to understand the wrath of God as merely meaning that God is angry or in some sort of bad mood. God is not moody. He is not subject to passions as we are, and He does not change. Scripture says of Him:
- “He is the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas 1:17).
- “I, the LORD, do not change” (Mal 3:6).
- “You remain the same O Lord, and Your years will never end” (Ps 102:27).
- “Lord, you will roll up the heavens like a robe; like a garment they will be changed; but You remain the same” (Heb 1:12).
- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8).
So, God is not moody. He is not beset by fits of anger and rage interspersed with arbitrary moments of mercy and patience.
The Clash of Sin and Holiness
All this just intensifies our curiosity and compels us to ask, “What is the wrath of God?”
Simply put, God’s wrath is our experience of the total incompatibility of our sinful state before the holiness of God. Sin and God’s holiness just don’t mix; they can’t keep company. Think of fire and water; they cannot coexist in the same place. Bring them together and you can hear the conflict. Think of water spilled on a hot stovetop: the water droplets sizzle and pop; steam rises as the water boils away. If there is a lot of water in the presence of fire, the fire is overwhelmed and extinguished. When water and fire meet, conflict ensues, and only one will win. This is God’s wrath: the complete incompatibility of two things—our unrequited sin and God’s utter holiness. We must purify ourselves before entering His presence; otherwise, we cannot tolerate the intensity of His glory. We would wail and grind our teeth, turning away in horror. The wrath is the conflict between our sin and God’s holiness. God cannot and will not change, so we must change, or else we will experience wrath.
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Hell There Is by Msgr. Charles Pope which is available from TAN Books.
