Do Suicides Go To Hell?

  

Friday, September 3rd, 2010  

If you have clicked on this article – l expect that you may possibly have lost someone to this unfortunate end or are merely searching for the answer to this question. As you can see l have somewhat of a personal interest in this area having lost my only daughter to suicide. It is also a place that l am all too familiar with, having been snatched back from the brink of suicide myself;  however the reality of the emotions and the desperation that engulfed me at that time are still a vivid memory for me today.  

Through my experience with Jade l have seen that there is clearly an inability for people to minister into this situation. What to say to someone who has lost a loved one is hard enough, but when the situation is complicated by suicide it becomes even more complex and when you add a murder, now people are really going to struggle with how to minister into a crisis like this. To be honest more people will want to avoid contact so as to avoid the awkwardness or when they see you blurt out a comment like ‘you okay’  as they walk past you at a brisk pace hoping that you won’t burst into tears and then they will have to deal with what to do next, relieved that you have said ‘yes’ now they’re off the hook. Some will just brush it under the carpet in a hope that ‘out of sight is out of mind’ a little naive unfortunately. And then to the other extreme it was said to me recently that ‘suicides go to hell’, now on a scale of 1-10 that ranked 0 as definitely not helpful. Another response was as l hadn’t seen my daughter for several years that it would be easier for me to deal with, well I’m not sure in what world that comment works but it doesn’t work in mine.  So l am left wondering how many other people who have lost a loved one the same way have also encountered the above. No judgment is made on any of the above responses but….  

This is the gap l see and the gap l want to fill. However, in order to do so some scriptural understanding needs to be shed on this issue, along with a response to some of the arguments to what the final eternal destination is for someone who has taken their own life. Our ability to gain clarity from God’s perspective will enable us to minister effectively when the need arises, and it will. This is a journey that will be undertaken with humility as there will be questions raised to which there are no conclusive answers.  

 As you can imagine there are so many aspects to this question that l want to address, some of them are as follows:  

1. What does the Bible say about suicide?
2. What is the Biblical understanding about our position in judging the eternal destinations of people?
3. What influence if any is there of the demonic in such circumstances?
4. What factor does depression play?
5. What is the heart of God?
6. How can l effectively minister into such a crisis?

Writing this article will be a progressive journey, due to its complexity and scope …. so follow along as l add to this each week. If this section which will also have a strong apologetic focus (give reason for why we believe), interests you, you may wish to subscribe so that when it is updated you will be notified automatically.  

    

Wednesday, September 8th 2010  

What does the Bible say about suicide?  

Surprisingly there are seven suicides that involve humans mentioned in the Bible along with a herd of swine, plus one attempted suicide.  

Abimelech (Judges 9:54) – He ordered his armor bearer to slay him when a woman dropped a millstone on his head from on top of a tower, because he didn’t want it known that a woman killed him…somewhat undignified one would expect!   

Samson (Judges 16:26-31) – The Philistines had captured Samson and taken out his eyes, and put him in chains in prison. When they paraded him before the people in order to make sport of him, he asked a lad to help place his hands on the pillars of the temple between which he was placed and then he prayed to God that his strength return one last time so that with one blow he could dislodge the pillars, topple the temple and kill all the Philistines gathered therein. He would also have die in the process, a fact of which he was well aware. Samson was at one time a Godly man but he allowed pride & disobedience into his life and as a result was taken captive by God’s enemies.   

Saul (1Samuel 31:3-6) -  Saul fell on his own sword because he was fearful  that the Philistines would subject him to torture, but only after his armor bearer refused to take his life. Saul was at one time a Godly man but he allowed pride to enter his life and then he turned his back on the Lord.   

 Ahithophel (2Samuel 17:1,23) -  Put his house in order and then hanged himself after his plot to overthrow David failed. Ahithophel’s counsel was highly regarded, almost as though it were an oracle of God (2 Sm 16:23).  He was King David’s trusted counselor who turned traitor and joined Absalom’s conspiracy.  

Zimri (1 Kings 16:18) – Usurped the throne of Israel and was King for 7 days; when his city was taken, he burned down the palace around himself.  A man known for his duplicity and cruelty.  

Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:4-5) – Realizing the enormity of what he had done in betraying Jesus went out and hung himself.  

Herd of swine (Mark 5:1-14) – After having been sent out by Jesus from a demonized man they entered into a herd of  swine and sent 2000 of them off the precipice.  

The jailer at Philippi (Acts 16:26-29) – Attempted suicide under the mistaken belief that  his prisoners had escaped during an earthquake; loosing a prisoner was punishable by death, however Paul stopped him. Later he and his whole household came to faith in Jesus Christ.  

What does the Bible say about their eternal destinations?  

In one word – ‘nothing’ - the Bible merely records these events and makes no judgment on their eternal states. The type of people the Bible records as having taken their lives vary; from people who once had a relationship with God, but turned their back on Him, people who never had a relationship with God, and even one who turned his hand against the Messiah. And yet the Bible is silent on their eternal destinations.  

However the Bible is concerned about our eternal destinations and where we spend eternity is based on the following : Romans 10:9 “If you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved”  Romans 10:13 ” Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”   

What is the Biblical understanding about our position in judging the eternal destinations of people?  

Simply stated – ‘we are given no authority to judge.’  The Bible from Genesis to Revelation (too many scriptures to list), clearly and without any variation states that the judging of people’s eternal destination is the role of the Father & the Son. Why?  Because we are unable to see the heart of man, this is only something that God can do. Psalms 44:21 says “…For He knows the secrets of the heart.”  Jeremiah 17:10 states, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways,  according to the fruit of his doings.”  

   

Thursday, September 30th 2010  

What influence if any is there of the demonic in such circumstances?      

Without doubt this will prove to be insightful. There are varying opinions on this subject. We are not talking about images of Casper the friendly ghost, we are talking about the reality of a demonic realm that has as its agenda to destroy all that God holds precious namely, humanity.  

When l first became a born again believer, l had the rare experience of seeing into the spirit realm. lt was as though a veil had been lifted between the tangible world and the invisible realm the spirit world, for a brief few seconds. l saw standing in the front yard of the home that my children occupied with their father at the very least a dozen giant over 6ft tall dark figures in the shape of humans standing watching and waiting. Immediately l prayed for their protection.  

Jade for many years unbeknown to myself  had episodes where she would become delirious and see demonic creatures coming at her, terrifying creatures, she would be feverish and would take a day or two to recover. Her father who was a doctor would nurse her through these events and they were taken as epileptic fits. Unfortunately she only told me of those events when she was 15. We discussed them and l was shocked that she never mentioned them before to anyone, it was something she just carried inside her. It is hard to gauge what effect on the mind such experiences had on her, she was so brave and never made a fuss about anything, never complained, never displayed any dysfunctional behavior that would lead one to suspect there were deeper issues smoldering beneath the surface.  

In this day and age we are all too aware of the presence of the demonic, we see it on the big screen, we attribute the depravity of humanity to its influence, so this reality is not foreign to us at all. Biblically the demonic realm is exposed for the murderous agender that it has. In the Old Testament we see people were mutilating themselves in an attempt to appease their gods, these were the gods of the pagan nations that surrounded the Israelite nation. It was never something that the God of the Hebrews required.   

All that stands in opposition to God is inspired by the demonic.   

Take the time to read these accounts – 1Kings 18 - Elijah was on Mt Carmel in a showdown with the pagan Canaanite god Baal and Yahweh, the God of Israel. In order to provoke their god to action the people started to self harm themselves ‘as was the custom with knives and lances until blood gushed out of them.’  

Jeremiah 32:35 ‘And they built the high places to Baal, in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, that which l did not command them, nor did it come up into My mind that they should do this abomination...’ (2Kings 23:10; Leviticus 18 & 20).    

These are just a few mentioned here, if we fast forward to the New Testament we see the account of the demoniac of the Gadarenes in Mark 5, Matthew 8 & Luke 8 these are parallel accounts with some differences in their details. Here the man is self harming himself , exhibits extraordinary strength, violent, naked and out of his mind. The response of the demon at the sight of Jesus was to reveal that he was not one demon inhabiting this man but in fact his name was Legion meaning that there were many inhabiting and controlling this man. A Roman legion is about 6,000, so clearly space constraints are not an issue when it comes to possession, many can inhabit or possess 1 person.   

to be continued…..