God, Eternity, and the Cosmic Lie of hell

And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. – Matthew‬ ‭22:31-32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. – ‭‭John‬ ‭8:43-45‬ ‭ESV‬‬

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23 ESV

The fear of eternal damnation is a burden all men struggle with often upon their death beds and in their deepest inner depths. It is arguably the greatest fear of all for our life eternal appears to hang in the balance. Let us then face this fear head on, like a man facing a deadly lion, so that for better or worse, no matter the cost, we can at last resolve the struggle and deal with the terms whatever they may be, and live our lives so accordingly.

There are significant inconsistencies with the idea of an eternal hell which we must address and consider carefully. The first of which rests upon the nature of eternity itself. Philosophically it is impossible for dualistic or opposing eternities to exist, by simple defintion. There can be only one eternity. God is by defintion eternal and does not die – hence the resurrection of Jesus Christ – and God is that beingness which is life. And unlike human life – that is to say a life imbued and corrupted with sin – God’s life and living nature is eternal. As Paul has said in the quote listed above, sin is death and therefore death is sin. This means then that God, by logical opposites, is life, and life is eternal and pure. The healing miracles of Jesus Christ make much more sense – as a testimony to the living nature and wholeness of God – when understood in this manner. And so again by logical relation, if God is life, then the adversary or Lucifer or whatever other name it may take, is of a deadly nature. It is then a nature that is not permanent, not eternal, not consistent or true, and not lasting. It is a house built on sand. It is in short a cosmic lie.

The nature of the adversary is something of a mystery for it is a contradiction of itself by definition. The adversary is the father of lies as the Good Lord has explained in the quote above. We also know that the adversary is the elder brother of Christ and walks in the high heavens and corresponds with God the Father as described in the book of Job for example. And this explains, in some manner at least, why we have life on earth but not eternal life. Lucifer has corrupted life on earth with sin, the result being death, but life by definition has no death within it – for it is alive. And likewise God has no evil within it by definition. For that which is eternal can only be good as Plato and Socrates so eloquently explain and reason. That which is good is that which is eternal. The adversary then is itself confused for although it is still accessing and harnessing in some ways the life eternal of God the Father, it is also rejecting that same life eternal and attempting to force its own creation and form, albiet with the Father’s life. The adversary then is something like a derivative of God, for while it rejects God it also needs God in order to even perform the rejection at all. Its very being is in conflict with itself. Its direction and existence is split in opposing ways. The existential nature of the adversary is a house divided.

As we understand in some manner the nature of the adversary, we can begin to also understand the nature of our One True God Most High. He is not a house divided. He is not imbued with death. He is clear, true, good, and eternal. The word “eternal” has its root in the Greek word “αἰών” (or eon in English) and that Greek word has its roots in the Proto-Indo-European root word “h₂ey” which means “vital force, life, long life, eternity.” These roots of the word “eternal” are vital to understand so that we may differentiate between that which is eternal and that which is merely infinite. For although the two terms are relatable, they are not the same and are not interchangeable. The word “infinite” is a word combining “in” (which means “not” or “opposite of”) with “finite” which means definite or end or finish (“finis”). In this way “infinite” really means “no end” or “no definition” which really can also mean “no thing” or “nothing.” For if there are no borders or bounds to a given thing then what exactly is that thing and how could we even know it, see it, comprehend it, relate to it? That which is eternal is living and is particular, while that which is infinite is dead and ultimately nothing at all. The difference then between that which is eternal and that which is infinite is most significant indeed for it is similar to the difference between that which is of God and that which is of the adversary, a false, vacuous, derivative of God. Because the adversary uses the eternality of God while also being in conflict with God, the adversary then may be of an infinite nature but not an eternal one. It is an abhorration of the one true real creation that is God. There is refraction within the adversary. In this way the adversary can be amorphous, unknown, tricky, deceiving, and illusory. Alternatively, the eternality of God is concrete, real, fixed, reliable, and living. God is specific and defined, we can reach out and touch Him, His Kingdom is at hand and attainable to us, whereas the infinite is dead, numberless, countless, unspecified, undefined. When we reach for it there is nothing there to grasp for it is an illusion. In a word the infinite is nothing, while that which is eternal is something, it is alive, dynamic, relatable, available, and ultimately triumphant.

It is often counter-intuitive to consider God as a specific being and to consider the idea that there are things that are not of God’s nature or being. In this day and age the general zeitgeist view of God seems to lean towards a more “infinite” understanding of Him, that is to say a more undefined or all-pervasive sense, rather than a definite or particularized nature. And certainly at some altitude and from certain vantages God is all-pervasive by definition. Truly there is nowhere one can go and not find God there. But does that mean that God is not defined? Imagine a building with stairs that lead from the basement all the way to the attic and that each floor has direct access to these stairs so that no matter what level a person was on in the building they could, if they made their way to the stairs, move freely up and down the building. God appears to function in a similar fashion – He is available everywhere and at all times no matter where we may find ourselves, but we must move towards Him, for He has a definite form and being and nature. His nature is also our true nature. All we need to do is simply leave whatever level we find ourselves and return to Him, to the stairs, and then we, like the Prodigal Son, can return home to our Father.

Considering the specific form of God further, if God were not defined then how would we know Him? How would we relate to Him? We do know that there are false gods and an adversary that are keen to tempt us away from God, which indicates and implies that there is a definite form of Him and a place where He is more potent in form and being and living and likewise that there are other places where He is less potent, less present, and living. If God was everywhere in all things and in all ways then can we worship anything and everything to reach Him? If when we pray we ask for that which is the highest good and His will be done, then does that not imply that there are also lower goods and lesser wills? We are seeking for the God Most High – His form, His being, His definition. Anything less although it may be good, it is not wholly good. Although it may be living it is not eternal. When faced with the choice between infinity and eternity it would appear that eternity is the greater, wiser, and more true choice for that choice is closer to God’s being and nature.

With eternity established in a particularized manner it is then clear that hell, whatever that may be exactly, is not an eternal place or state of being. It cannot be for only God is eternal and that which is eternal is good. Since, by defintion hell is devoid of God and goodness, then it is also devoid of eternality. And if hell is not eternal then also by defintion it cannot last forever. This makes sense since that which is not eternal is therefore of death, and if it is of death then it is also of sin. It cannot then and does not last forever and so not one of us, not one soul, is going to any hell or any eternal damnation. Indeed eternal damnation is itself a contradiction of terms – it simply does not exist. It is one more lie, a grand lie, from the father of all lies that has pervaded our civilization and our innermost anxieties perhaps since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Pay it no heed, instead come and follow Him and be blessed forever more. The devil has no permanent hold on the eternality of our souls and our ultimate return back to the Father. To be sure the devil can delay us, can tempt us, can lead us astray and away from Him, and we should be mindful and wary and careful not to be led into temptation, but even if and when we fail and stumble and sin, ultimately no matter what, eventually, from the eternal vantage point, we will be restored with God the Father for all else, including damnation, is a mirage, a temporary state of existence at worst, while God and His Kingdom in Heaven alone are prepared for us, our true and final repose, our home, triumphant, stable, and everlasting.