Question:
I was listening to a Christian talk show.
As part of an answer that the host was giving to a caller, he said that
there were levels of rewards in heaven and levels of punishment in hell.
I have been under the impression that we are saved and nothing is more
glorious, or we are condemned, and nothing is more horrible.
Thanks
for your guidance,
David
Answer: Dear David,
The
basis of this discussion/argument is 1 Corinthians 15:39-41.
Paul is making a logical assertion about the resurrection body and notes
that there are differences in splendor in heavenly bodies (verse 41)—the sun,
moon and stars. This idea is
combined with the parables of the pounds and talents (Matthew 25 and Luke 19)
where all servants are “saved” but are given differing levels of
responsibility by the Master. Some
thoughts:
1.
All of this is speculation.
The Bible reveals very little, specifically, about
2.
Heaven, hell and specifics about the afterlife have
never been thought of as
3.
The biblical passages to which I refer above are
about salvation, not about hell. IF
(and
it’s a big IF) the Bible is telling us that there are levels of rewards in
heaven, then we have to infer that the same will happen in hell.
Dante’s “Inferno” becomes a guide for much thinking at this point,
whether the person making such assumptions realizes it or not.
But Dante’s “Inferno” is not the Bible, was never a creed or
confession of Christianity—it is pure speculation.
It would be similar to taking Tim LaHaye’s fiction novels about being
“Left Behind” and constructing a theology about the end times from them
(which many people do, but they do so in disregard to the Bible).
Thanks,
Dave, for allowing PTM to be of service.
In
Christ,
Greg
Albrecht