I am simply thinking out loud in response to the above question because I haven’t a clue.
I know that “[i]n the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” But who created hell? I believe that God can do all things consistent with His nature and character, but in my simple mind I find hell to be one of those things that seem inconsistent with God.
In fact, it is that inconsistency, in my opinion, that makes hell hell.
Hell would appear to me to be the absence of God. Those who would scream and shout that there is no God are screaming and shouting for hell on earth. While Jesus admonishes us to pray that God’s Kingdom would come to earth, the enemy is deceiving humanity to create hell on earth.
I fully believe in hell. But I am simply writing my stream of consciousness as I continue to consider hell and who creates hell? I’ve read the bible, and perhaps I am forgetting something, but is the creation of hell ever spoken of in the Scripture? I’m seriously asking – if you know, please point it out in a comment.
I have a hypothesis about this. That’s all it is. I haven’t dug deeply into the scripture to test it. I haven’t read any writing by others. I just wonder if hell is created by us – or us in tandem with Satan and his servants.
Here’s what I am thinking, but not preaching as gospel truth: I am suggesting that hell is simply the absence of God. It’s not necessarily any one particular place; it simply is any place where God doesn’t live. When God gave us free will to live for Him or to live for ourselves, He gave us the power to worship Him or to choose to worship ourselves. If during our life on earth we choose to follow our own way and never follow the Way He provided (Jesus), then He lovingly and graciously leaves us to our choice – an eternity without Him. We find ourselves in a place, for all eternity, without the presence of a Loving Creator and Father, alone. In that sense hell is a place we create for ourselves.
Does this make any sense? Is there scripture that would make this all bunk? Is there scripture that would shore it up? What do you think?