Hell is my backup plan

The English poet William Blake produced a work in the late 1700s entitled The Marriage of Heaven and Hell where the figure represented by Satan is, for all practical purposes, a hero who rebels against an imposter authoritarian deity. Blake pictures Hell not as a place of punishment, but as a source of unrepressed pleasure-seeking that is opposed to a despotic and regulated Heaven.

But more than just that, Blake attempts to symbolize the actual integration of the opposing forces of good and evil and questions our views of both, proposing that each is necessary to maintain the order of the world. His philosophy sounds not unlike the Chinese teaching of Yin and Yang whose interaction of opposite energies is thought to maintain the harmony of the universe and to influence everything within it.

Within his work, Blake introduces what he calls “The Proverbs of Hell” in this way: “As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius, which to Angels look like torment and insanity, I collected some of their Proverbs; thinking that as the sayings used in a nation mark its character, so the Proverbs of Hell show the nature of Infernal wisdom better than any description of buildings or garments.” A couple of Blake’s ‘proverbs’ include: “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom”; “Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity”; “Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.”

I have to say, Blake nailed it. Those are absolutely some of the lies and mindset of those bound for an eternal separation from God. Paul writes, “For the mind set on the flesh is death … the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God” (Rom. 8:6–7).

While Blake is correct on what the rules of conduct are for those who stiff-arm God, the idea that anyone will be “delighted with the enjoyments of Genius” in Hell is beyond wrong.

Hell is serious business

There were times in the past when I would hear comedians make light of Hell and laugh with them when they cracked a joke about it.

Not anymore.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older or perhaps I’m understanding better what Hell represents, but I get why C. S. Lewis wrote: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power.” I find myself reading about the deaths of those I never knew, thinking, “I wonder where they are right now?” and cringing at the thought of them being separated from God.

Even now I’m resisting typing out the word “Hell” and looking for more palatable alternatives for you to read. It’s become that hard for me to think about.

Now cognitively, I understand the theology behind Hell and the fact that, as Jonathan Edwards, wrote: “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment, out of Hell, but the mere pleasure of God.”

I also accept why Hell is necessary and why being born again as Jesus describes in John 3 is the only way to avoid it. In his book The Great Divorce (entitled to counter Blake’s “marriage” of Heaven and Hell) Lewis puts the rationale for Hell’s existence like this: “A sum can be put right: but only by going back til you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on. Evil can be undone, but it cannot ‘develop’ into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound, bit by bit, ‘with backward mutters of dissevering power’ — or else not.  It is still ‘either-or.’”

The Old Testament writers knew this and, contrary to some who say they never referenced Hell, wrote about God saving them from it. For example, David wrote: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Ps. 16:10).

Notice that David talks about his “soul” being rescued and not his body, indicating that “Sheol” is not just the grave as some commentators assert.

Maybe the fact that Hell bothers me more is because I’m encountering scores of people who seem to believe that, because of how they’ve lived, dismissively think Hell is their only option. To be sure, some are grossly and sadly mistaken about Hell and, like Blake, invent their own version of it to suit their preference — somewhat like AC/DC did in their song Highway to Hell:    

Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too
…Playing in a rocking band
Hey mama, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land

But others feel that, because of who they currently are, Heaven will always be out of reach. For example, the band Single Mothers says in their song "Hell is my Backup Plan" that, at first, Heaven seems boring, but then at the end, they admit:

"Cause Heaven seems like it's out of the question
At least with our reputation
Wouldn't you agree?"

Actually, no.

To be sure, if those guys think they don’t deserve Heaven, they’re right. None of us do including the guy typing this.

But the truth is all those looking to Christ as Savior “were enemies [when] we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10); there are no exceptions. While no “reputation” is good enough for heavenly access, thankfully Jesus says to everyone “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

Lewis reminds us that “No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” The book of Revelation agrees and ends with an offer to everyone, including the members of Single Mothers who I hope hear it: “Let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Rev. 22:17).

Or, put another way, with Jesus, there’s no need to have Hell as your backup plan.