Live Your Life Knowing that Hell is Real – Part 1

Our primary goal in life is to get to Heaven. Everything is secondary to this. Earthly problems fade away, but Heaven and Hell are forever.

Catholicism has always taught that the “Four Last Things” are death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. The first two are definitely happening to everyone; and as for the latter two, one or the other will definitely occur.

The late Pope Francis once made a provocative statement in an interview, when he speculated that Hell is empty: “I like to think of Hell as empty; I hope it is.” While acknowledging that this was his personal view and not a dogma of faith, it was still controversial.  Francis seemed to be supporting a heresy called “universalism,” which says that everyone will eventually end up in Heaven.

But, as Msgr. Charles Pope notes is his excellent book “The Hell There Is” universalism is not very wise thinking.  He states (pg. 109) “[T[he practical denial of hell, by relegating it to anything but a very remote possibility, has the effect of removing the need for a savior.”  In other words, if there is no hell, there was absolutely no reason for Jesus to be born and then to suffer and die for us. (The book was reviewed here at CS.)

Scripture and the Church Speak the Truth

It is wrong to deny the truths God revealed in the Old Testament and Jesus and His Apostles proclaimed in the New Testament about the reality of Hell.

In Scripture words like “Hades,” “Gehenna,” “Lake of Fire,” and “Sheol” are synonyms for hell.  And, after death, the wicked will live forever, suffering in hell.

“Down to Sheol you will be brought to the depths of the pit!” (Isaiah 14:15).

“The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.” (Luke 16:22-23).

By ignoring or trying to manipulate the truth that Hell is the place where many people will end up after they die, people are calling Jesus a liar. Our Lord said:

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.  . . . Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:13-14, 21).

Along with Scripture, the ”Catechism of the Catholic Church” also clearly states who enters Heaven:

“Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ [in Heaven]” (1023).

Conversely, the Catechism reminds us that those who die in mortal sin without repenting will forever be separated from God in a place called Hell:

“The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of Hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell, where they suffer the punishments of Hell, “eternal fire.” The chief punishment of Hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (1035).

Satan Exists

Catholic dogmas are truths revealed to us by God Himself.  One such dogma is that people really do go to Hell. Another dogma is that the devil, who we call Satan, is truly a spiritual being who really exists.  He is not merely a symbol of evil but one who chose to sin of his own free will by rejecting God, and, thus, is eternally damned.

Several passages in the Bible testify to the existence of the devil – from the serpent’s tempting of Adam and Eve to Satan entering into Judas as he plans to betray Jesus (John 13:27). The Gospel accounts in particular record that Jesus referred to demons on a number of occasions when casting evil spirits out of those who were possessed. He even conversed with Satan in the desert (Matthew 4).

Later in the Gospel, Jesus noted the reality of demons and Hell when He explained:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  . . . And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:41,46).

Don’t Listen to the Liars

The existence of Hell and Satan was a commonly held belief by almost all Catholics up until around the 21^st century. Unfortunately, too many of the modern generation of Catholics are either not hearing this dogma preached by today’s lukewarm clergy, or are actually hearing a false, counter narrative that the existence of Hell and Satan are hyperbole.

Pope Francis’ “misspeak” (noted above) may have added to people’s ignorance in recent years. It is not surprising to see that a recent survey showed only 17% of Catholics believe that the devil is real and not just a symbol.

Regrettably, a large number of Catholics are growing up ill-equipped to defeat Satan and stay out of Hell. But if one hopes to defeat an enemy, one needs to know him and his strategies.

Too many priests do a disservice to their congregations by not talking publicly about Hell and the evil one. Even worse, many clerics brush aside the reality of eternal damnation. Thus, it is up to parents to inform their children that Hell is indeed real and there truly is a Satan.

As C.S. Lewis famously said, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

Satan is a liar – the father of lies – and he hates us.  But unlike him, we still have the ability to get into Heaven.  Therefore, the devil and his fellow demons test us with evil temptations, hoping to trip us up so we don’t make it to Heaven. Satan’s objective is to destroy the grace of God in our souls so he can then take our souls to Hell.

God allows the evil one to tempt us so that we may grow in our love for God. If we can resist the devil, we demonstrate our love for God. Our Almighty Father gives us the freedom to serve Him or to choose to serve the evil one by the way we live our lives. And upon our death, if our choice in life was to choose Satan’s ways, then we belong to him in Hell. God does not choose to send us there. That choice is entirely up to us.

In part two, I provide suggestions on how parents can explain the reality of evil, Hell, and the devil to their children in a nonthreatening manner.