地狱如何荣耀神？
要了解地狱如何荣耀神，我们得从圣经宏大叙事的亮光中来看地狱、其观点、及其在神和人方面的描述。[1]
圣经宏大叙事
圣经的情节与所有的情节都如出一辙，有开头、中间和结尾。
开头
神创造一个完美的地方并将无罪的一对男女安置在其中。神立了诫命并且清楚地说了违背的后果。仇敌欺哄那无罪的女人，她相信了那谎言，违反了神的诫命，男人也跟她一起犯罪。神咒诅仇敌，并且犯罪的后果应验了，地也受了咒诅。
在对仇敌的咒诅中，神说女人的后裔要伤仇敌的头，仇敌要伤其后裔的脚。这对男女被逐出了这完美的地方。
中间
人类被分为两群：女人的后裔与蛇的后裔，正义的和邪恶的。女人的后裔起初是指以色列国，一群被神拣选祝福的子孙。他们经历了剧情起初的重演。神将他们置于应许之地并向他们定了诫命。他们违背了神的诫命并从那地被流放，但是神继续应许仇敌将被击败，即使其实现的方法是通过女人后裔痛苦的赎罪。
然后耶稣作为那应许的女人的后裔来了。当仇敌伤他脚的时候——当他钉死在十字架上，他也打碎了仇敌的头。因为他是无罪的，并且抵御了一切的试探，死亡不能拘禁他。他从死里得胜，满足了神对罪公义的愤怒，为一切信他的开辟了救恩的道路。
结尾
创造如同妇人的产难之苦，恶人无情地攻击义人——就是那些信靠神、见证神真理的人，一直到他们最终被杀。这将一直继续下去直到耶稣的再来。当耶稣再来时，他会审判恶人，将其交付于永刑，他也要把那些信神话语并且见证耶稣的人置于一个全新、更好的完美之地。
圣经给我们关于神的观点
这情节可不是个简单的故事：它表明了神对这个世界的观点。请与我一同来思考圣经的观点，圣经作者们的看法。
他们的观点是神立了诫命并且神是对的。拒绝遵守神诫命的人是错的，并将面对神按照他的诫命所说的后果。而且，圣经不仅代表这些圣经作者们的观点，它声明为神代言。也就是说，圣经声称其呈现了从神的观点如何看待此事。
关于神、人和我们在神面前的情形
圣经中的人物是如何呈现的？主要通过介绍他们的言行来呈现，但圣经也评价其品格。让我们简要地思考圣经如何刻画神、人和耶稣。
圣经教导我们，神所做的和说的都是对的。他总是信守他的话。没有什么能阻止他的目的。他是自由且良善的。圣经总是为神辩护。也就是说，圣经总是显示神是公正的。圣经又显示神是慈爱的。
反之，全人类的言行都是邪恶的，悖逆不信神。人类在言行上都违背了神的命令。人类已经玷污了神的美好创造，败坏了他的美好恩赐，用尽方法攻击那位赐他们生命和种种美好事物的神。因此，所有人类都只配被定罪。
如上所述，有两群人。一群的特点是相信神，同意他的诫命，承认他们已经违反了诫命，从他们的罪恶过犯中转身离开，并寻求相信神的应许，使他们可以按着他的诫命而活。另一群拒绝上帝和他的诫命，拒绝认罪，拒绝远离恶事，并加入了敌人的一边。
耶稣透过他的言行显示了他是完完全全的人和完完全全的神。耶稣从未违反神的命令。他是个英雄。他拯救了世界。他倾倒自己奉献他人。任何反对或拒绝他的人就是反对和拒绝良善与爱。那些接受并且与他为伍的人却是按他的诫命而行，那就是神的诫命，包括需要认罪、悔改和信靠耶稣。
那么地狱如何荣耀神呢？
这一切如何帮助我们看到地狱荣耀神呢？
这世界是神的故事。开始存在的时候他讲这故事，这故事也一直继续着，因为神一直说话。[2]宇宙由他话语的大能维持着。这是他的计划。整本圣经贯穿着他的观点，其本性勾勒了剧情中的人物。
地狱说明神信守他的话。神把恶人投到地狱表明了神是信实公义的。如果神对于他定的诫命不强制执行，他就没有信守他的话，他就不信实了。如果他没有把恶人投进地狱，他就没有维护他自己义的标准，他就不公义了。如果他没有惩罚叛乱者下地狱的话，公义就无法得到证明。事实上，如果没有地狱，我们可能会得出结论说，义人们信靠神是错的。
但地狱是存在的，义人们很明智地信靠神。地狱表明了神公正的荣耀。地狱维护了那些遵守神诫命甚至为此大大受苦的人。地狱维护了遭受恶人逼迫的义人。地狱荣耀了神。
你想对此反驳吗？你或许可以加入萨尔曼·汗（Shere Khan）对罗德雅德·吉卜林（Rudyard Kipling，又译鲁德亚德·吉卜林）的辩论。再或者，你有改变情节、观点和表征的更多机会，就像索伦（Sauron）改变托尔金（Tolkien）的想法那样。这是不会发生的，你是受造物，是造物主所创造的杰作。接受吧。他是造物主，而不是你。我们对那些反对地狱教义并试图改写的人该多认真呢？他们想说地狱并不是整个圣经故事的一部分。我们该像让哈姆雷特批评莎士比亚作品一样认真。哈姆雷特没有独立存在。只有在莎翁决定把此情节写入剧本之时他才能批评莎翁。
神创造了宇宙，他的怜悯在其中恰恰非常有意义，因为它不废掉他的义。为了让神是公正的且施行怜悯，他必须信守诺言惩罚罪过。圣经里展示了世界的真实故事，神在十字架上主持正义，也在地狱里主持正义。耶稣死在十字架上，以此来建立神的公义，并确保那些对罪悔改的人信靠基督并蒙怜悯，并且也是公义的。神在地狱里惩罚恶人，就是一切拒绝悔改的人，这就维护了正义，把他当作神来荣耀，向他献上感恩。
简而言之，地狱荣耀神因为：
它表明神信守他的话；
它表明他的无限，持续到永远；
它展示了他制服一切反对他的大能；
它表明他对信靠他的人有何等无法言喻的仁慈；
它因着公义反对那些拒绝神的人，从而维护了爱的事实，谁才是爱；
它维护了所有忍耐聆听或宣讲神话语真理的人；
而且他表明耶稣死时成就了拯救原本该下地狱的那些信他之人的大工。如果没有地狱，也就用不着十字架了。
[1]我关于情节、观点和表征的想法是受了飞利浦·布朗二世（Philip Brown II）那本《废墟中的迷雾：以斯拉记文学与神学的分析（格林维尔：鲍勃琼斯大学出版社，2009年出版）》（Hope Amidst Ruin: A Literary and Theological Analysis of Ezra (Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 2009)）的启发。我在布朗关于文学作品的方法描述上做了笔记，参见我博客上的帖子《文学笔记之布朗的废墟中的希望》。
[2]尤其参见N·D·威尔逊（N. D. Wilson）所著的《摩天轮上的便条：在神说话的世界中那些令人瞠目结舌的奇迹（纳什维尔：托马斯·尼尔森出版公司，2009年出版）》。
How Does Hell Glorify God?
To get at the way that hell glorifies God, we need to see hell in light of the Bible’s big story, its point of view, and its characterization of God and man.[1]
THE BIBLE’S BIG STORY
The Bible’s plot, like all plots, has a beginning, middle, and end.
Beginning
God creates a perfect place and puts an innocent man and woman in it. God sets the terms and clearly states the consequence of transgressing his terms. An enemy lies to the innocent woman. She believes the lie, breaks God’s terms, and the man sins with her. God curses the enemy and initiates the consequences of transgression, cursing the land also. In the curse on the enemy, God states that the seed of the woman would strike the enemy’s head, while the enemy would strike the seed’s heel. The man and woman are then banished from the perfect place.
Middle
Humanity has been divided into two groups: the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, the righteous and the wicked. The seed of the woman are initially a subset of the nation of Israel, a line of descent that God has chosen to bless. They experience a re-do of the plot’s beginning. God puts them in a land of promise and sets the terms. They transgress the terms and are banished from that land, but God continues to promise that the enemy will be defeated even though it will be through a painful purging of the seed of the woman.
Then Jesus comes as the promised seed of the woman. He crushes the enemy’s head, with the enemy striking his heel—he dies on the cross. Because he is innocent and has resisted all temptation, death cannot hold him. He triumphantly overcomes death, satisfying God’s wrath against sin and opening the way of salvation for all who will trust him.
End
Creation will be like a woman in childbirth suffering labor pains, with the wicked viciously attacking the righteous, who trust God and testify to God’s truth until they are killed. This will continue until Jesus comes again. When Jesus comes again, he will judge the wicked and consign them to everlasting punishment, and he will take those who believed the word of God and the testimony of Jesus into a new, better, perfect place.
THE BIBLE GIVES US GOD’S POINT OF VIEW…
This plot is not merely a story: it presents God’s point of view on the world. Think with me about the Bible’s point of view, the biblical authors’ perspective.
Their point of view is that God set the terms and God is in the right. Those who reject God’s terms are in the wrong and face the consequences God stated when he set the terms. Moreover, the Bible not only represents the point of view of the biblical authors, it claims to speak for God. That is, the Bible claims to present God’s point of view on the matter.
…ABOUT GOD, MAN, AND OUR STATE BEFORE GOD
How are the characters in the Bible presented? They are mainly presented by means of their words and actions, but the Bible also evaluates its characters. Let’s think briefly of how the Bible characterizes God, humans, and Jesus.
The Bible teaches that God always does and says what is right. He always keeps his word. Nothing can thwart his purpose. He is free and good. The Bible always justifies God. That is, the Bible always shows that God is just. Paradoxically, the Bible also shows that God is merciful.
Conversely, all humans do and say what is wrong, what betrays a lack of faith in God. By word and deed humans transgress God’s commands. Humans have defiled God’s good creation, perverted his good gifts, and in every way attacked God, who gave them life and every good thing. For this, all humans deserve condemnation.
As stated above, there are two groups of humans. One group is characterized by trusting God, agreeing to his terms, confessing that they have broken the terms, turning away from their transgressions, and seeking to believe God’s promises so that they can live by his terms. The other group rejects God and his terms, refuses to admit their guilt, refuses to turn away from evil, and joins the side of the enemy.
Jesus shows by his words and deeds that he is fully human and fully God. Jesus never transgressed God’s commands. He is the hero. He saves the day. He gave himself for others. Anyone who opposes or rejects him is opposing and rejecting goodness and love. Anyone who opposes and rejects him deserves condemnation. Those who receive and join him, however, do so on his terms, which are God’s terms, and which entail confession of sin, repentance, and trust in Jesus.
HOW THEN DOES HELL GLORIFY GOD?
How does all this help us see how hell glorifies God?
This world is God’s story. He spoke it into being, and it keeps going because he keeps speaking.[2] The universe is sustained by the word of his power. It’s his plot. He is the Author whose point of view is communicated in the Bible and whose characterizations define the participants in the drama.
Hell is about God keeping his word. That God sends the wicked to hell shows God to be faithful and just. If God does not enforce the terms he has set, he does not keep his word and he is unfaithful. If he does not send the wicked to hell, he has not upheld his own righteous standard and he has not been just. If he does not punish rebels in hell, the righteous are not vindicated. In fact, if there is no hell, we might conclude that the righteous were wrong for having trusted God.
But there is hell, and the righteous are wise to trust God. Hell shows the glory of God’s justice. Hell vindicates those who obey God’s terms, even if they suffered terribly for doing so. Hell vindicates the righteous who were persecuted by the wicked. Hell glorifies God.
Do you object to this? You might as well join with Shere Khan against Rudyard Kipling. Or again, you have about as much chance of altering the plot, point of view, or characterization as Sauron does of changing Tolkien’s mind. It isn’t going to happen. You are a creature in the Creator’s work of art. Accept it. He is the Creator, not you. How seriously should we take those who object to hell or try to rewrite the story so that hell isn’t part of it? As seriously as we would take Hamlet critiquing Shakespeare’s work. Hamlet has no independent existence. He can only critique Shakespeare if the author decides to write that scene.
God has created a universe in which his mercy has meaning precisely because it does not nullify his justice. In order for God to be just and extend mercy, he must keep his promise to punish transgression. In the Bible’s presentation of the true story of the world, God upholds justice at the cross and in hell. Jesus died on the cross to establish God’s justice and ensure that those who repent of sin and trust in Christ receive mercy that is also just. God punishes the wicked in hell to uphold justice against all who refuse to repent of sin, glorify him as God, and give thanks to him.
In sum, hell glorifies God because
it shows that he keeps his word;
it shows his infinite worth, lasting forever;
it demonstrates his power to subdue all who rebel against him;
it shows how unspeakably merciful he is to those who trust him;
it upholds the reality of love by visiting justice against those who reject God, who is love;
it vindicates all who suffered to hear or proclaim the truth of God’s word;
and it shows the enormity of what Jesus accomplished when he died to save all who would trust him from the hell they deserved. If there were no hell, there would be no need for the cross.
[1] My thoughts on plot, point of view, and characterization have been stimulated by A. Philip Brown II, Hope Amidst Ruin: A Literary and Theological Analysis of Ezra (Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 2009). For the notes I took on Brown’s description of the way literature works, see my post, “Literary Notes from Brown’s Hope Amidst Ruin,” on my blog: http://jimhamilton.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/literary-notes-from-browns-hope-amidst-ruin.
[2] See esp. N. D. Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009).
作者：James Hamilton
詹姆斯·汉密尔顿是位于肯塔基州路易斯维尔市美南浸信会神学院的圣经神学教授。他也是肯伍德浸信会的讲道牧师。
翻译肢体：张金星
用圣经视野和实用资源装备教会领袖
进而通过健康的教会向世界彰显神的荣耀
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