07/26/2025
My Loved One Died and Went to Hell
It's not the kind of thing you usually hear. Sometimes, there's talk of a better place, of the eternal golf course or fishing stream. Some may think mistakenly that one who has passed away become an angel, which is off the mark, but rarely will they say that he has become a demon. People will talk about living hells, that is the horrible circumstances in which some find themselves even now, right here on earth, but rarely of Hell. But the truth is, Hell has more citizens (not counting angels and demons of which I know no accurate census) than does Heaven.
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place of God. We should not think it a place so far off, for when our Lord returns earth and heaven will be as one in the new creation. We should not think it a place so far off, for in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, we gather, even now with angels and archangels. Christ is our Emmanuel, that is, God with us, even now. The Lord walks with us even and especially through the valley of the shadow of death.
In the heavenly places, Christ will be our sun, the rivers will flow in crystalline beauty, and the trees will be abundant with the fruit for a life that never ends. Hell, on the other hand, is described as dark, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place where the fire burns, and the worm does not die. A place of isolation and desolation. A feast is taking place, but the door is locked. Others are resting and smiling, but the gap cannot be bridged.
I think of such things remembering the art of times past. How many churches feature paintings of the Last Judgment or of Hell? Why not? Better to learn about the place now so as to avoid its miseries. Perhaps the most gut wrenching part of all this is that it's such an avoidable pitfall. Christ is here now, his word is preached in faithful churches. He comes not as a hobby to be pursued, nor is the church a place to visit, like a museum, or grandma's house only on certain holidays. Christ is all in all, the Alpha and Omega, our bridegroom, the one who truly loves us, the one sent by his Father as a sacrifice for all of the ways that we make life hellish even now.
My guess is many think that after death there is simply nothing, a scattering of ashes into the wind. Or they offer up positive words like the weakest morphine drip, with vague assurances of a better place. And so we preach, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." And that King is our Lord Jesus. And that peace is ours now, its rejection has consequences. To see what's at stake, perhaps we might simply gaze at Christ on the cross. There is the truth of our sin, our indifference. There is no Christ as Savior if Christ is not Lord, and that means all that he has said about things most basic, all the things that the rainbow flag denies, all that we by our own lives deny.
And no, when people die, they don't become angels. Our Savior is God's Son who became man, and still is man, and that's good news for us. And no, when people die, they don't become demons, though many are consigned to their place of punishment. And don't think they go to the good place because they are good people. Big mistake, for it's just a lie we tell ourselves. It's the sin of pride. For we have all sinned, and are all in need of repentance. And it is no fun saying such things, but Christ talks about them, as should we, because we want for others, every other person, true life and love, and that's with Christ, now and forever.
Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer
