93 地狱——恶者要被逐入无尽的痛苦里Hell - The wicked will bebanished into endless misery

《简明神学》Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs，巴刻（J. I. Packer）著/張麟至译，更新传道会，2007年。
https://yibaniba.blogspot.com/2020/01/blog-post_98.html

http://www.geocities.ws/gary_bee_za/packer/hell.htm

93 地狱——恶者要被逐入无尽的痛苦里

Hell - The wicked will be banished into endless misery

死亡和阴间也被扔在火湖里，这火湖就是第二次的死。若有人名字没记载生命册上，他就被扔在火湖里。（启20:14-15） .

现在西方文化里以感性为诉求的世俗主义，对人性乐观地高估，又将神的观念予以缩小，再加上对个人道德是否真的要紧投以怀疑——换言之，良心式微了——这个倾向使得基督徒难以正视地狱的实在。我们很难理解圣经里所启示的地狱，除非对神的圣洁、以及人和魔鬼的罪恶具有深入的洞见。但从另一方面来说，新约圣经视地狱的教义为基督徒的基要信仰，我们蒙召要试着明了这个教义，好像耶稣和祂的使徒们所了解的一样。

新约圣经视地狱（耶稣称之为gehenna，即烧垃圾的地方，太5:22；18:9）；为那些在最后的大审判里，命定要受永远刑罚者的最后住处（太25:41-46；启20:11-15）。圣经认为那是火焰与黑暗之区（犹7,13）、哀哭切齿之处（8:12；13:42,50；22:13；24:51；25:30）、毁灭之域（帖后1:7-9；彼后3:7；帖前5:3）、及受苦之地（启20:10；路16:23）。换言之，那是全然哀苦与悲惨之境。假如这些词汇是象征性的（似乎也的确是的），而非字意的（火焰与黑暗就字意言，是彼此不相容的），那么我们几乎可以肯定地说，地狱实际光景之可怕绝非我们所能想象的，而是远远超过其象征。新约圣经记载有关地狱的教训，是要叫我们闻之胆寒、惊骇哑口，并使我们确知：天堂如何好过我们所能梦想的，同样地狱也是糟过我们所能想象的。这些都是与永恒有关的事，是我们现在就需要实际面对的。

地狱的概念是一种人与神负面的关系，不但是一种缺少祂同在的经验而已，更是一种神以神怒和不悦临在的经验。人经历到神的愤怒如同烈焰（来12：29）,经历到因自己阻挡祂或眷恋祂所恨恶的罪，而受到公义的定罪，以及经历到自己被剥夺了一切有价值的、可喜悦的、可恋慕的好事，这都是地狱经验的雏形（罗2：6,8-9,12）。地狱的观念是籍着有系统地否定每一项人所能经历到神的良善而形成的，而神的这些良善是信徒籍着恩典、以及所有人类籍着神诸般恩慈的天命（providence）得以知晓的（徒14:16-17；诗104:10-30；罗2:4）。诚如我们以上所说的，地狱的实情要远比其观念可怕得多；没有人可以想象地狱有多恶劣。

圣经看地狱是没玩没了的（犹13；启20:10）。臆想人在死后还有[第二次]机会，或到了某一阶段不敬虔者的位格要遭毁灭，这些想法都没有圣经的根据。

圣经视地狱是人的自我抉择：去到地狱的人都心知肚明，那是他们因着爱黑暗甚于光明，不选择造物主为他们的主，宁愿自我放纵于罪中而不求舍己的义，还有（如果他们曾听过福音）拒绝耶稣而不归向祂（约3:18-21；罗1:18，24,26,28,32；2:8；帖后2:9-11），因此而使自己落入审判。神所赐的普遍启示导致所有的世人都必须面对地狱这个问题。由此观点看来，地狱似乎是神尊重人有自决权的一种表态方式。所有的人都必得着他们实际所做的抉择；或是选择与神永远同在、敬拜祂，或是永远不与神同在一处、只敬拜自己。举凡留在地狱里的人，不但知道他们遭遇与他们所行所为的相配，而且知道这是根据他们心中所作之选择而来的后果。

圣经教导有关地狱之事的目的，是要我们激赏基督救我们脱离地狱的恩典，希望我们以感恩之心拥抱这恩典，并以理性选择它（太5:29-30；13:48-50）。神在圣经里这样清楚地将地狱证明，对人类来说，实在是一种恩怜。我们因此不能再说，神没有警告过我们了。

HELL

THE WICKED WILL BE BANISHED INTO ENDLESS MISERY

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. REVELATION 20:14-15

The sentimental secularism of modern Western culture, with its exalted optimism about human nature, its shrunken idea of God, and its skepticism as to whether personal morality really matters—in other words, its decay of conscience—makes it hard for Christians to take the reality of hell seriously. The revelation of hell in Scripture assumes a depth of insight into divine holiness and human and demonic sinfulness that most of us do not have. However, the doctrine of hell appears in the New Testament as a Christian essential, and we are called to try to understand it as Jesus and his apostles did.

The New Testament views hell (Gehenna, as Jesus calls it, the place of incineration, Matt. 5:22; 18:9) as the final abode of those consigned to eternal punishment at the Last Judgment (Matt. 25:41-46; Rev. 20:11-15). It is thought of as a place of fire and darkness (Jude 7, 13), of weeping and grinding of teeth (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30), of destruction (2 Thess. 1:7-9; 2 Pet. 3:7; 1 Thess. 5:3), and of torment (Rev. 20:10; Luke 16:23)—in other words, of total distress and misery. If, as it seems, these terms are symbolic rather than literal (fire and darkness would be mutually exclusive in literal terms), we may be sure that the reality, which is beyond our imagining, exceeds the symbol in dreadfulness. New Testament teaching about hell is meant to appall us and strike us dumb with horror, assuring us that, as heaven will be better than we could dream, so hell will be worse than we can conceive. Such are the issues of eternity, which need now to be realistically faced.

The concept of hell is of a negative relationship to God, an experience not of his absence so much as of his presence in wrath and displeasure. The experience of God’s anger as a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), his righteous condemnation for defying him and clinging to the sins he loathes, and the deprivation of all that is valuable, pleasant, and worthwhile will be the shape of the experience of hell (Rom. 2:6, 8-9, 12). The concept is formed by systematically negating every element in the experience of God’s goodness as believers know it through grace and as all mankind knows it through kindly providences (Acts 14:16-17; Ps. 104:10-30; Rom. 2:4). The reality, as was said above, will be more terrible than the concept; no one can imagine how bad hell will be.

Scripture envisages hell as unending (Jude 13; Rev. 20:10). Speculations about a “second chance” after death, or personal annihilation of the ungodly at some stage, have no biblical warrant.

Scripture sees hell as self-chosen; those in hell will realize that they sentenced themselves to it by loving darkness rather than light, choosing not to have their Creator as their Lord, preferring self-indulgent sin to self-denying righteousness, and (if they encountered the gospel) rejecting Jesus rather than coming to him (John 3:18-21; Rom. 1:18, 24, 26, 28, 32; 2:8; 2 Thess. 2:9-11). General revelation confronts all mankind with this issue, and from this standpoint hell appears as God’s gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshiping him, or without God forever, worshiping themselves. Those who are in hell will know not only that for their doings they deserve it but also that in their hearts they chose it.

The purpose of Bible teaching about hell is to make us appreciate, thankfully embrace, and rationally prefer the grace of Christ that saves us from it (Matt. 5:29-30; 13:48-50). It is really a mercy to mankind that God in Scripture is so explicit about hell. We cannot now say that we have not been warned.