HELL IS PART OF THE GOOD NEWS TOO!

"Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off" (Nahum 1:15).

The book of Nahum is about the predicted fall of the city of Nineveh (v.1). The striking thing about verse 15 of chapter 1 is that this is called "good tidings" and the publishing of peace. How can the destruction of Nineveh be called good tidings?

Nineveh had been the enemy of Israel and of Judah. In fact, they had carried Israel away into captivity. The Assyrian empire (of which Nineveh was the capital) had also fought against Judah. In addition, in 733 BC Tiglath-pileser III had fought against King Ahaz (2 Chron. 28:20). In 701 BC, Sennacherib came against King Hezekiah. And, in 650 Ashurbanipal made war against King Manasseh. In other words, Nineveh was the enemy of Judah. So news about the destruction of Nineveh represented glad tidings to the Jews. This short book was written as an assurance to the Jews that the wicked (Ninevites) would no more pass through them.

"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1:6-9).

God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), and does not desire that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). We also should desire the salvation of all, even our enemies. This article is not intended to promote any joy over the idea of any individual being lost.

But as you can see from Paul's words to the Thessalonians, there is comfort to be found in the fact that God will punish sinful man. Hell is part of the good news too.

Why is hell part of the good news?

HELL REMINDS US OF THE POWER OF GOD

Our world looks out of control. That is not true. Sometimes it seems that the forces of evil threaten to overcome the forces of good. This also is a mistaken impression. God is still in control. He has always been in control of our world, and he always will be. "Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding" (Daniel 2:20-21). There is no doubt that when all is said and done, God's word will be fulfilled. His promises will come true. God is in control.

HELL REMINDS OF US GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS

We should rejoice that our God is a righteous God. He himself is pure and separate from sin (Hab. 1:13). God, in his righteousness and justice has decreed that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). God is so loving that he allowed his Son to die to pay the wages of sin (1 John 2:1-2), but if we neglect so great a salvation (Heb. 2:3), we must ourselves pay the wages of sin. The doctrine of hell stands as a constant reminder of how much God hates sin. Hell is part of the good news because it reminds us of the righteousness of our God. Imagine, if you can, what it would be like to serve a God who was tolerant of sin, who didn't care when evil was done.

HELL REMINDS US THAT SOMEDAY SIN WILL BE NO MORE

Not only is it true that sin must be punished, sin must also be stopped. There is coming a time when no innocent person will suffer due to the sin of another. No child will starve because of the neglect of his parents. No babies will suffer from the addiction of their mothers. No children will suffer physical or sexual abuse. Someday, the only ones who will suffer will be those who have earned such suffering by their own sin. God, in his longsuffering, has allowed this world to continue for many years (2 Peter 3:15), but he will not allow it to continue forever. Someday every knee will bow and every tongue will confess (Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11). As one man said, "Every day the devil helps the thief; someday God will help the policeman."

CONCLUSION

People can argue about hell. They can try to deny its reality and hide behind their rationalizations and finger pointing. They can deny that fear is a proper motivation to serve God. But they are arguing with God, not with man. And, the same short prophecy that says the destruction of Nineveh was glad tidings to the Jews also says God will punish more than just Nineveh. The punishment of God will be upon all the wicked, unless their wickedness is cleansed by the blood of Jesus. "The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet" (Nahum 1:3).

No, we should not feel joy that people will spend eternity in torment. That is not God's attitude, and may it never be the attitude of his saints. But we can feel joy and comfort that there is a hell -- that our God is powerful enough to control the forces of evil -- that he is righteous enough to punish evil -- that he is loving enough to stop the suffering that comes from sin. And, we can rejoice that our God, who hates evil so much, loves people enough to offer a way to escape this awful end.

Written by: Rusty Stark