A View To Heaven And Hell

It has been heat in the triple digits here in Southern California these last few days. I hear people saying, "It's hotter than hell out there today." Others will complain that because of the hot weather they feel like hell. It is interesting to see how people visualize hell. On the other hand those on the beaches in Malibu, surfing or just enjoying the cool soothing breezes, proclaim that they are living in a little bit of heaven. The concept of heaven and hell is somehow built into our psyche.

Is heaven really the anticipation of majestic mansions and cities paved with golden streets and protected by pearly gates and accessible only to those who are "saved"? Is hell a fiery inferno of eternal punishment and suffering reserved for those who are "unsaved"? Or is the biblical reference to "fire and brimstone" spiritual metaphors? One should review the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew to fully understand this use of metaphor by Jesus. Orthodox Christianity teaches simply that upon death the ecstasy of heaven is to be in the total presence of God, our creator, the uncreated light and love. Hell is the absence of God. It is the utter darkness of being isolated from God.

Whether we go to heaven or hell is a choice we make in this life. The key is our own free will and how we exercise it. Judgment, as St. John's Gospel (5:24-30) points out, is going on all the time in our earthly existence. Greek Orthodox theologian Bishop Kallistos Ware states: "Whenever consciously or unconsciously, we choose the good, we enter already by anticipation into heavenly eternal life; whenever we choose evil; we receive a foretaste of hell. Christ, our Lord, is the judge; and yet from another point of view, it is we who pronounce judgment upon ourselves."

If anyone is in hell it is not because God has imprisoned one there, but because that is where a person has chosen to be. As Charles Williams shows to such devastating effect in his novel Descent Into Hell, self-love is hell; for carried to its ultimate conclusion, self-love signifies the end of all joy and all meaning. Hell is the emptiness of being cut off from others in the isolation of self-centeredness. Yes it is "fiery" suffering and pain.

A friend shared the following poignant parable with me about this very subject. It may be familiar to many of you. It makes the eternal point that it all begins right here by how we treat one another.

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said: "Lord, I would like to know what heaven and hell are like." The Lord led him to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made his mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms. Each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen hell."

They went to next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump; laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don't understand." "It is simple," said the Lord, "it requires one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves." "There, you have seen heaven."

In the words of St. Isaias of Sketis:

'The Lord Jesus in his mercy grants rest to each according to his works. To the great according to his greatness. And to the little according to his littleness. For He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions" (Jn. 14:2). Though the Kingdom is one, yet in the one Kingdom each finds his own special place and his own special work'.

Comments

[situationcritical]

There is no hell.

[Jonahson]

Father John Bakas, we create our own heaven and hell.

[HeevenSteven]

Amen

[HeevenSteven]

Welcome to HuffPo Father. I'm a reformed Roman Catholic, now compassionate atheist, non-believer, whatever. I know little or nothing of Orthodox teaching, Although I don't like that word, orthodox, very much, Judging from your two blogs here, you don't seem like a lightning bolt thrower.

Ok, compassion and golden rule are the way to go; and that philosophy was around long before Christ. So 'splain to me why it is that Catholics get first class ticket to heaven while everyone else has to live a more exceptional life to even get a coach seat. That's what the nuns taught me anyway. Is that official doctrine?

Also what about this confession stuff; isn't that just an attempt at mind control by an authoritarian religious establishment, a way to know what evil lurks in the hearts of the parishioners. And what about Limbo; I heard they closed the gates, but what about all the pagan babies there; did they get grandfathered out? So many questions, so little time....

[belikejeanvaljean]

Heaven - simple: "Yet to all who received him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" John 1:12 Or in Jesus' words: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

No first class tickets to heaven, no coach. Just faith. Freely available to all.

[HeevenSteven]

That isn't simple, it's a joke. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, non-believers, no matter how compassionate are included out; eh? Someone needs to learn what compassion is.