Parents should explain to their children, at an appropriate age, and in a nonthreatening manner, the reality of evil and the devil. One can even say parents owe such an explanation to their children.
When explaining the existence of Hell and Satan to children, parents should start by explaining that evil came about through the abuse of God’s gift of free will by both angels and mankind. God created both angels and man with free will, but even before Adam and Eve disobeyed God some angels chose to not be obedient.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “311 Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love. They can therefore go astray. Indeed, they have sinned. Thus has moral evil, incommensurably more harmful than physical evil, entered the world.”
Satan Is the Evil One
One high-ranking angel named Lucifer – whom we now call Satan – sinned by not accepting God’s authority as Lord and Creator. Not only did this one-time angel who became a devil choose to rebel against God, he also took other angels with him in rebellion; thus, the reason there are many demons out there.
God banished Satan from Heaven, but that didn’t stop the evil one from continuing to sin. His clash with God continued by changing his battle plan to now be to attack God indirectly through His most beloved of creations, man.
Satan believes if he can condemn mankind to join him in Hell for eternity, he could still win his war against God. Satan is successful at this strategy whenever he can tempt a man or woman to gravely sin, and then to not repent of his/her sin. When a person does this, the evil one wins. And the unrepentant sinner is damned to Hell forever.
This explanation to children about Satan should include the fundamental idea that Satan does not force anyone to sin. He and his evil allies merely use their powers to tempt human beings to sin and to offer an occasion for sin that makes it tough to resist.
As St. Cyril of Jerusalem said in his Catechetical Lectures, “The soul possesses freedom and though the devil can make suggestions, he doesn’t have the power to compel you against your will.”
The Gate and Road That Lead to Destruction Are Wide
Scripture clearly tells us that the road to Heaven is narrow, while the road to Hell is wide. There is a reason we sing about a “Highway to Hell” and a “Stairway to Heaven.” These phrases say a lot about expected traffic volumes to the two potential destinations after people’s deaths.
Authentic Catholics know the truth. It’s probably safe to say that Adolph Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer are not the lone inhabitants of Hell. Moreover, being “nice” is not all it takes to get into Heaven.
However, too many Christians are inauthentic, either due to ignorance or through purposeful denial. They believe the world’s lie that most people, if not all, will get to Heaven. And this is a lie that Satan is all too delighted to spread.
Mom and dad might want to have their youngsters picture the evil one from the pits of Hell wringing his hands in delight and laughing in a diabolical manner like the villains they have seen in cartoons. (But Satan is no cartoon character!) His evil laugh and demonic delight are due to knowing there are so many people who do not believe he exists.
What they wrongly believe is that their “all loving” God would never allow people to go to Hell. Satan finds glee in helping people form erroneous views. These views cause them to have no cares about purposely making immoral decisions because they don’t have to fear negative eternal consequences.
The Bible Talks of Hell
Parents must inform their children about our Lord’s words on the certainty of Hell being the eternal consequence for those people who will not follow God’s commandments. Speak the truth about this reality by sharing Scripture passages such as these:
- Hell is the absence of God’s presence (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9):
“For it is surely just on God’s part to repay with afflictions those who are afflicting you . . . inflicting punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.”
- Hell is a never-ending, grotesque, painful place (Isaiah 66:24):
“They shall go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against me; For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be extinguished; and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
- Hell is a dark, harsh place that will contain many people (Matthew 22:13-14):
“Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
- Hell is a place of torment from which there is no escape (Luke 16:19-26):
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. 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. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’”
- Hell is an agonizing, blazing furnace (Matthew 13:41-42):
“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom* all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
- Hell’s fire can never be extinguished (Matthew 3:12):
“He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Parents Should Want the Truth Spoken
Lest you believe it is too harsh and scary to kids if parents are this blunt with them about Hell and the evil one, consider the following. When parents bring their children to a dentist, they expect the dentist to back them up about the importance of good dental hygiene. No one wants a dentist who will not teel their kids the harsh truth about cavities and not explain the importance of frequent flossing and daily brushing.
Educating children on proper dental hygiene is necessary and important. Hiding the truth about tooth decay from kids is not very wise as it could eventually lead to dental problems, chronic mouth pain, and future expensive procedures.
Loving parents want their child’s dentist to speak the truth to their children – albeit communicated delicately and age-appropriately. In the same way, loving parents should want their family’s pastor and Catholic school teacher or Catechist to speak the truth to their kids about Hell and Satan. And they should do the same.
As mentioned in part one, Msgr. Charles Pope’s book “The Hell There Is” is an excellent source of information on Catholic teaching in regard to Hell (reviewed here at CS.)
Parents and other adults need to turn the tables on the evil one. And they can do this by teaching their children about the hopeful and optimistic turn of events that began with the Nativity.
God became incarnated as a man, Jesus Christ, to defeat the power of Satan. Our Lord was born to suffer the unbearable pain of crucifixion to save us!
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).
Jesus tells us that if we believe in Him, follow His Commandments, and repent of our sins when we fall, we will avoid Hell and instead will be with God in Heaven forever.
Parents are duty-bound to warn their sons and daughters that punishment for all eternity looms for those who ignore the truths Christ preached. Simultaneously, mom and dad must not neglect to constantly inform their kids of the love of God. A wonderful eternal life in Heaven awaits those who love Him in return.
“So submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8).
1 thought on “Live Your Life Knowing that Hell is Real – Part 2”
Live your life knowing Heaven is real! Teach your children the Good News. It is a fallacy that we need to be scared into loving God and knowing how to be saints.