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41. The Lesson

19th August 2017 by Arthur Eedle

The deep thoughts of Professor C. S. Lewis, expressed in many of his writings, are worthy of our closest attention. He opens up realms of theology that probably most of us have never faced or resolved. But although being one of the highest ranking intellectuals of his era, (1898 – 1963) he had the humility to present his knowledge in language that most of us ordinary folk would be able to understand. Two of the best loved of his writings are “Mere Christianity” and “The Problem of Pain.”

 

In chapter 8 of “The Problem of Pain” Lewis addresses the subject of Hell. The contemplation of Hell he finds utterly gruesome. This is how he begins the chapter, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture, and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason. . . . .I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully ‘All will be saved’. . . .We are told that it is a detestable doctrine – and indeed, I too detest it from the bottom of my heart, . . . .I said glibly a moment ago that I would pay ‘any price’ to remove this doctrine. I lied. I could not pay one-thousandth part of the price that God has already paid to remove the fact. And here is the real problem : so much mercy, yet still there is Hell.”

 

Throughout the rest of the chapter Lewis struggled to find a satisfactory answer to the ‘detestable doctrine’, but as many have found in reading it, he never fully persuades himself, so earnestly does he cling to the grace and mercy of God expressed at Calvary. I feel sure he now has a much clearer appreciation of God’s purpose in Hell.

 

Gradually, from the days of the Reformation until the present day, theologians have felt the necessity of getting to grips with the subject of Hell, and have written expressing equally loathing thoughts about the subject, but always based on the material available in our translations of original Greek and Hebrew. Some of these writers have realised that bad translations coupled with a poor understanding of figurative language have been the source of people’s mental impressions of ‘everlasting hellfire’. Some have written to tell us that properly understood, Hell is neither ‘everlasting’ nor an expression of an overflowing divine passion for revenge on evildoers. These have attempted to show by their careful expositions that Hell is the necessary environment to bring evil people to the recognition of their own need, and eventually cause them to cry for mercy, which God ‘who is rich in mercy’ would be always ready to answer, thereby ending their term in Hell.

 

In Wellspring 40 I spoke about the lesson of the four ‘sample’ evildoers, and how God approached them in vastly different ways to achieve His end, namely to render them forgiven once they understood their need of forgiveness. Nebuchadnezzar’s story is unique in the annals of history in this respect, and we are truly blessed to know that such men can and will be forgiven. And if God brought Nebuchadnezzar to repentance, shall He not be able to cope with more recent examples of incorrigible wickedness, such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Chairman Mao, to mention just three? This was why I preferred to look upon Hell as equivalent to a woman’s labour pains, which always issue in new life rather than the dismal never-ending continuance of vengeful punishment.

 

To conclude this paper I should like to quote two stanzas from a lengthy poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, the New England Quaker Poet (1807 – 1892). Many are aware of him because of his beautiful hymn, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.”

 

Not with hatred’s undertow

Doth the Love Eternal flow;

Every chain that spirits wear

Crumbles in the breath of prayer;

And the penitent’s desire

Opens every gate of fire.

 

Still Thy love, O Christ arisen,

Yearns to reach those souls in prison!

Through all depths of sin and loss

Drops the plummet of Thy cross!

Never yet abyss was found

Deeper than that cross could sound.

 

(Stanzas 23 – 24 from “The Grave by the Lake”)

 

 

Filed Under: The Wellspring 2017

About Arthur Eedle

Arthur was born in 1931, and became a Christian in 1948. At London University he gained a 2nd honours degree in Physics. He went on to get a Teaching Diploma, and throughout his career life taught physics in England, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Coupled with his love of science, he was a keen student of Greek and Hebrew, and gave many lectures on Biblical subjects. Read more

The Wellspring 2017

1. Revival 1

9th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

2. Revival 2

10th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

3. Revival 3

11th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

4. Revival 4

12th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

5. Revival 5

13th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

6. Revival 6

14th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

7. Revival 7

15th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

8. Revival 8

16th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

9. Revival 9

17th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

10. Revival 10

18th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

11. Revival 11

19th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

12. Revival 12

20th January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

13. Revival 13

21st January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

14. Revival 14

22nd January 2017 By Arthur Eedle

15. The Cosmic Chessboard

2nd February 2017 By Arthur Eedle

16. Preaching the Gospel

29th April 2017 By Arthur Eedle

17. Pure Religion

30th April 2017 By Arthur Eedle

18. Michael and the Beast

6th May 2017 By Arthur Eedle

19. Number of the Beast

7th May 2017 By Arthur Eedle

20. 144000 Virgins

8th May 2017 By Arthur Eedle

21. Jots and Tittles

16th May 2017 By Arthur Eedle

22. Tomorrow’s News

29th May 2017 By Arthur Eedle

23. Divine Commands

5th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

24. Antichrist

6th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

25. Where Eagles Gather

7th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

26. The Breach

10th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

27. Elijah

11th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

28. Inside and Invisible

14th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

29. More on the Antichrist

16th June 2017 By Arthur Eedle

30. The Return

1st July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

31. Times

4th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

32. Signs. Part 1

12th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

33. Signs. Part 2

13th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

34. Signs. Part 3

14th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

35. Ambassadors

15th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

36 Lions and Grass

17th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

37. The Taming of Man

19th July 2017 By Arthur Eedle

38. Fred Lemon’s Anniversary

10th August 2017 By Arthur Eedle

39. Fred Lemon and Others

11th August 2017 By Arthur Eedle

40. Fred Lemon. The Lesson

12th August 2017 By Arthur Eedle

41. The Lesson

19th August 2017 By Arthur Eedle

42. Shared Minds

2nd September 2017 By Arthur Eedle

43. Divine Compassion

4th September 2017 By Arthur Eedle

44. Ribs

1st October 2017 By Arthur Eedle

45. The Blood of Christ

1st November 2017 By Arthur Eedle

46. Deep Sleep

16th January 2018 By Arthur Eedle

47. Israel’s Deep Sleep

17th January 2018 By Arthur Eedle

48. The Awakening

18th January 2018 By Arthur Eedle

49. Remnants

19th January 2018 By Arthur Eedle

50. Bride

29th January 2018 By Arthur Eedle

51. Conclusion

15th February 2018 By Arthur Eedle

52. Behemoth

11th April 2018 By Arthur Eedle

53. Dinosaur Blood

12th April 2018 By Arthur Eedle

54. Flash-Frozen Mammoths

13th April 2018 By Arthur Eedle

55. Moon Attack

15th April 2018 By Arthur Eedle

Article Series

  • All our Yesterdays (30)
  • Before He comes (13)
  • God's Spoken Word (37)
  • Mysteries of Science & Faith (8)
  • New Series (101)
  • Newsletter (2)
  • Original Series (109)
  • Prophecy considerations (5)
  • Recognising the Hand of Judgment (33)
  • Resurrection and Change (16)
  • Seekers Corner (14)
  • Simple Statements on Serious Subjects (6)
  • The City of God (18)
  • The Millennial Octave (23)
  • The Restitution Times (22)
  • The Song of Solomon (6)
  • The Standard (19)
  • The Wayside Pulpit (107)
  • The Wayside Pulpit 2015 (96)
  • The Wellspring (101)
  • The Wellspring 2017 (55)

Index of Topics

Arthur & Rosalind Eedle's Personal Testimonies Discipleship Expository Items Good and Evil Human Pre-Existance Jane Leade. Philadelphian Numerology in the Bible Quotations from other Authors Resurrection and the Change Ron Wyatt. Archaeology Science Topics The Kingdom of God the Millennium and the Return of Christ The Sabbath Day Universal Reconcilliation

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