Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

One of the more popular lies going about is that there is no hell. On one side you have the loving God advocates that say God loves so much He would never send anyone to hell. On the other side is the non-existent hell because dead is dead and then it’s over, i.e. no life after death. Various reincarnation theories avoid the issue altogether by multiple escape clauses.

My blog on resurrection dealt with those aspects, so what is the devotional all about? Why does there have to be a hell and what is it? The basic issue of why there has to be a hell comes from a proper understanding of God’s character. Which characteristic of God is responsible for hell? No, it is not justice. While we do have a just God, that characteristic is how God deals with the unresolved issues of His Holiness.

If you do not believe God is Holy, then you have a different problem, see my blog called No God. Since we already dealt with that lie, let us address the specifics of hell. Since God is Holy it is His Holiness that destroys any sin that even tries to approach Him. I’ve written extensively about how God’s characteristic of justice deals with sin. Let us reduce that down to the basics, God has resolved His issues with sin.

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

It comes down to one and only one issue, is your name written in the book of life? If it is there, you get white robes, His righteousness and you are able to approach the most Holy God. If not, you are not covered and separated into a group that does not have access to our Holy God. So what is hell?

The company you keep.

Psalm 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

One of the most consistent arguments I have heard over the years from unbelievers and believers alike is the issue of contradictions. Rather than give you examples of what others consider contradictions and refute them as a scholar, teacher, prophet, or disciple, allow me to give you an example from my life.

I lived with my father for 18 years. I joined the Army in 1965, left home and never returned. I had problems with my parents. I left with unresolved issues that I still have today because my parents are now dead and it is impossible to resolve those issues with them.

My sister lived close to my parents for over 40 years. She was an active part of their life and they in hers. Visiting with my sister after their deaths I opened up to her about my problems with them. To my surprise her answer was “That’s not the way it was at all.”

Contradictions are exactly like my unresolved issues with my parents. Contradictions do not get resolved by running away. I did not understand the depth of issues of contradictions until I received therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Contradictions are unresolved issues and the human mind does not like unresolved issues. The very nature of the human brain is to resolve issues so that we can move on. There is a natural solution for conflict resolution that is built into our brain function. It is performed within our REM sleep cycle but is best served if adequate analytical materials are supplied.

If you do not read your bible often and with good study habits, your brain does not have the resources to resolve conflict. Ignoring the contradictions and lying to yourself that it does not matter, does not make the conflict go away. So why does it matter?

PTSD leaks out into my life and affects how I treat people.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.