“What if divine judgement is not the opposite of love, but an expression of it?”
On Sunday, March 8, at 6 p.m., Brad Jersak, Ph.D., held a Mendenhall Lecture in Gobin Church titled, “Unwrathing God: Rethinking Hell, Judgement and the Afterlife.”
Jersak is a Christian theologian, author and teacher who resides in Abbotsford, British Columbia. In his work, he focuses on how God is love, and therefore, Christ died for all without exception. In the lecture, he dives deeper into this revelation, all while connecting it to judgement in the afterlife.
To kick off the lecture, Rev. Jonathan Martin, the associate chaplain and director of the Center for Spiritual Life, briefly introduced Jersak and welcomed him to the podium.
Jersak began by stating his case: he believes in hell. However, he isn’t concerned whether one believes in it or not. It’s how one thinks about the nature of hell. For example, most think of hell as a pit engulfed in flames where one may be stuck for billions of years.
Jersak took this common perspective on hell and brought the audience into a vivid memory of his own childhood. This memory takes place when he was at Bible camp, and his counselor would wave his hands through the campfire in the evening. The counselor then would ask the children, “Do you think you could hold your hand in the fire for a minute? How about a whole day? How about for a billion years?”
The kids, including himself, shouted, “No!” to which the camp counselor responded, “Well, that’s what’s going to happen to you unless you pray this prayer.”
From this experience, Jersak realized that this threat was a form of spiritual abuse. Additionally, it certainly was not a willing faith response to the love of Jesus Christ. To him, it felt like a hostage situation rather than a loving place of fellowship.
Jersak used this story to transition to his point that hell is a barrier to faith for many people. Many ask, how can I follow God if my loved ones who don’t follow him will go to hell? One of his friends had this exact question for him, and she told him, “If they’re out, so am I.”
This is the turning point where Jersak felt pulled to double-check if people really have to believe that or not. Therefore, he spent days upon days reading Scripture while also writing his own book titled, “Her Gates Will Never Be Shut: Hell, Hope and the New Jerusalem.”
It was during this time that he realized human beings are experiencing hell — that they are already perishing in some kind of way, and that is what God wants to rescue everyone from. He then went on to explain how God is merciful, loving and caring. Humans may die with all of their good and bad deeds, but he tips the scale with grace.
While looking through the books of Jeremiah and Psalms, Jersak reminded the audience that the Bible’s words are not always supposed to be taken literally — sometimes they are meant to be taken metaphorically. Jersak then made a point to ask if humanity really even knows anything. “I feel like if we are going to talk about this [Hell], it has to be from a place of humility, not certainty.”
As he read through some passages, he made a point to acknowledge how the Bible has many verses he doesn’t like. However, instead of ignoring them, he makes an effort to understand them more. “I undergo those words, and I stay there until the verses I hate become the verses I love.”
For example, Mark 9:42-50 sounded like a nasty threat at first to Jersak, but he explained that Jesus is using hyperbolic imagery to explain the ‘refining fire’ in verse 49. The imagery is used to show how God restores and cleanses humanity of the malice and brokenness of the world. Therefore, he urged the audience to welcome the fire of God into their hearts “to cleanse us from the things that cause harm to others and ourselves.”
Additionally, Jersak read Matthew 25:31-46, where he suggested that the criteria to get into Heaven may be different than what we originally thought. What if those who never claim faith are welcomed in, simply because they helped others? Jersak notes that the act of doing good is responding to Jesus, whether one knows it or not.
Nearing the end of Jersak’s lecture, he brought up a thought based on 1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
What if, at the end, there is ultimate reconciliation for all people? After all, Jersak noted that Jesus died on the cross for all, not just certain people. Therefore, through him, all people will be reconciled.
From this, Jersak deduced that it is dangerous to believe that God is wrathful. He then called out those churches that only focus on aspects of hell and judgement, also ignoring the verses that demonstrate God’s unconditional love. He reminded the audience to never forget God’s sacrifice through Jesus Christ, which showcases his great love.
To conclude, Jersak acknowledged that there will be a judgement, but it will be where the people who have been victimized will have their day in court, and the people who’ve done the victimizing will have to face what they’ve done. Jersak then said, “And perhaps God will so totally heal the victims that they will be agents of the forgiveness of the offenders.”
Jersak ended with a possibility for the offenders: maybe through this, they will finally see past the worldly delusion and evil that has clouded their judgement and see the light.
