Hell is locked from the outside

C. S. Lewis said that hell is locked from the inside, meaning that those who are sent to hell are so full of hatred against God and ego that they would (eternally!) never admit that they were wrong in their beliefs, and would never wish to live with God. This matches another C. S. Lewis quote. To paraphrase: Those who are saved say to God "Thy will be done", but "Thy will be done" is what God says to those who are damned. Christian apologists want to make hell sound less like the insane doctrine it is. But those who say hell is locked from the inside are incorrect according to the teachings of Jesus (as recorded by whoever wrote Matthew and Luke) and according to the book of Revelation. Why do Christians so often believe the exact opposite of what Jesus teaches, I have no idea. Abysmal reading comprehension? Motivated reasoning? But have no fear. I have conveniently given you a list of easily copied verses to send to any Christian who repeats the falsehood that hell is locked from the inside.

 

(The eternity of it introduces yet another problem for the belief that hell is locked from the inside. Either the obstinance of the damned is free or not. If it is free, then there is some chance of some people in hell coming to regret their choices and desiring to repent. If God forgives them, then hell is not locked from the inside. If God doesn't forgive them, then God is not perfectly forgiving. If the obstinance is not free, then so much for free will defenses and theodicies for evil and hell. Someone might argue that if the damned have free will, then they are free to self-determine the probability of their repentance to be zero. God sends only those people to hell who would self-determine for an eternity their non-repentance. But what are the chances that someone would self-determine for an eternity their non-repentance? It sounds to me like there's a zero chance of that, or at the very least the chance is extremely small. That would mean only a tiny percentage of people, if any at all, would be damned, which conflicts with verses that indicate that many people are damned, and with the orthodox Christian assumption that all non-Christians, which have always been a large majority of humans, go to hell.)

 

Verses that say (or suggest) that hell is locked from the outside (translations are in NRSVUE):

 

Quick list:

 

Matthew 8:11-12

Matthew 13:40-42

Matthew 22:13-14

Matthew 25:10-13

Matthew 25:41-46

Luke 13:23-28

Luke 16:22-26

Revelation 19:20

Revelation 20:1-3 and 20:10-15

Revelation 21:1-2 and 21:8

Revelation 21:22-27

Revelation 22:18-19

 

Expanded list:

 

Matthew:

 

8:11-12 (Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant)

 

[Jesus speaking] "I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

13:40-42 (Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds)

 

[Jesus speaking] "Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

22:13-14 (The Parable of the Wedding Banquet)

 

[Jesus speaking] "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

25:10-13 (The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids)

 

[Jesus speaking] "And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later the other young women came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

 

25:41-46 (The Judgment of the Nations)

 

[Jesus speaking] "Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life."

 

Luke:

 

13:23-28 (The Narrow Door)

 

"Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. Once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.’"

 

16:22-26 (The Rich Man and Lazarus)

 

[Jesus speaking] "The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’"

 

Revelation is notoriously difficult to interpret and, moreover, the New Testament in general contains verses that support eternal conscious torment, universalism, and annihilationism. From a theological point of view, it's difficult to know what the right doctrine of hell is (so much for the perspicuity of scripture, and so much for the idea that God is not the author of confusion). From a common sense point of view, the Bible contradicts itself on this and other doctrines because it was written by different authors at different times, inerrancy and inspiration are obviously false, and the right "doctrine" of hell is that hell is fictional and the New Testament is a mishmash of myth and history.

 

Revelation 22:18-19

 

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

 

Apparently God is willing to lock hell from the outside for anyone who adds or takes away from the book of Revelation by taking away that person's share – so even someone who has a share, someone who otherwise would be saved. This hypothetical person starts off as saved, meaning they are expecting to get into heaven and would be shocked, like those described in Matthew 25:41-46, at being kept out. Even if God never makes good on this threat, God's willingness to lock hell from the outside for anyone says enough.

 

[How could someone who is saved and thus indwelt with the Holy Spirit commit a sin so egregious so as to result in their share of the tree of life being taken from them? Shouldn't being regenerated by the Holy Spirit prevent this? And what about assurance of salvation, if God can deem a sin you've committed to be worth taking away your share for? And isn't blasphemy of the Holy Spirit supposed to be the only unforgivable sin?]

 

Revelation 20:10-15

 

"And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
 

Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire, and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

 

Whether 'forever and ever' is a good translation should be checked to make sure the original semantics / intent wasn't something along the lines of: a period of time. But here we have four parties: the devil, the beast, the false prophet, and those whose names were not found written in the book of life. All four share the same destination: the lake of fire. Presumably, the same destination means the same fate. So if the devil, beast, and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire and the lake of fire is locked from the outside, then it is plausible that it is locked from the outside for the humans who are also in the lake of fire. Though you could argue that if anyone were to be the kind of person who would refuse to admit that they are wrong and would refuse to repent and ask for forgiveness, it would be the devil and anyone sufficiently like him, perhaps the false prophet (whoever that is) and the beast (whoever that is).

 

[Side note: the devil is also called Satan, the ancient serpent, and the dragon. See Revelation 20:2. Another side note: the beast is said to be a king. See Revelation 17:11.]

 

Curiously, Revelation 19:20-21 contrasts the fates of the beast and the false prophet with those who followed them:

 

"Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the brand of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh."

 

In light of Revelation 20:10-15 (and John 5:28-29), this suggests that the followers are killed and temporarily annihilated until they are resurrected unto condemnation.

 

Back to whether hell is locked from the outside:

 

Revelation 21:1-2 sets up the context for 21:8:

 

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

 

Revelation 21:8 says the following about the damned:

 

"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

 

And Revelation 21:22-27 says that those whose names are not written in the book of life are excluded from salvation:

 

"I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

 

This reinforces that it's not just the devil, the beast, and the false prophet that are thrown into the lake of fire (I suppose 'lake of burning sulfur' and 'lake that burns with fire and sulfur' refer to the same place as the lake of fire), but the damned as well. Again, it's plausible therefore that how the devil, beast, and false prophet are treated, the damned are treated the same. With that in mind, consider:

 

Revelation 20:1-3

 

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while."

 

Here we have another place: the pit / the bottomless pit / the abyss / the prison. I suppose this is not the same place as the lake of fire for the following reasons: (1) It is not described by fire or burning sulfur; (2) Satan alone spends 1000 years in this prison, and after being let out is thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and prophet already were as described by Revelation 19:20. So while the bottomless pit is described as literally locked from the outside with a physical key (not that any of Revelation is meant to be taken literally), this doesn't apply directly to the lake of fire. However, if God is willing to lock Satan from the outside when it comes to the bottomless pit, then why wouldn't God be willing to lock the lake of fire from the outside as well? And if the "forever and ever" is an accurate translation that applies to all inhabitants of the lake of fire, and given that there is no "until they repent and ask for forgiveness" exception mentioned, the picture Revelation paints is that of God locking hell from the outside and throwing away the key. And this is exactly the picture painted by the teachings of Jesus, especially the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Indeed, it would make sense to me that the author of Revelation got their ideas from Jesus.