Hitchens, Christmas, and the Judgment to Come
By Matthew Barrett
On Thursday Christopher Hitchens died at the age of 62 from esophageal cancer. Hitchens stands out as one of the foremost advocates of atheism in our own generation and especially for the way he mocked Christianity, God, and Jesus Christ. It is very sad to see such an opponent of the gospel go to his death determined to remain an atheist, spewing words of hate towards Christianity all the way there. In light of his recent death and with Christmas almost here, I want to make a couple of observations, both theological and pastoral.
First, Hitchens was an unbeliever who hated the God we worship and Jesus Christ our Savior.
Why do I bring this up? Isn’t this obvious? Yes, it is, but I bring it up because in reading the many responses by Christians to the death of Hitchens, it was surprising to see some Christians responding with optimism as to the eternal destiny of Hitchens. While it is wrong for Christians to be happy that an unbeliever is in hell (did not Jesus weep over the lost souls in Jerusalem?), it is also wrong for us to go to the other extreme, showing significant optimism that Hitchens might be in heaven. Yes, there is always the case of the thief on the cross, who cried out in his dying moments and confessed Christ. With God, anything is possible. However, Jesus also tells us that we are to know Christians by the fruit they bear (Matt 12:33), and clearly if the life of Hitchens tells us anything it is that there was nothing but rotten fruit, demonstrating that he was a tree waiting to be cut down and thrown into the fire. We have no evidence that Hitchens confessed Christ before others as he faced death. In fact, we have evidence directly to the contrary: Hitchens went on record to say that if he was to ever make such a slip of the tongue in his final moments, we are to rest assured it was the psychological lunacy that comes from the deterioration of the body before death.
Even if my voice goes before I do, I shall continue to write polemics against religious delusions, at least until it’s hello darkness my old friend. In which case, why not cancer of the brain? As a terrified, half-aware imbecile, I might even scream for a priest at the close of business, though I hereby state while I am still lucid that the entity thus humiliating itself would not in fact be “me.” (Bear this in mind, in case of any later rumors or fabrications.)
In other words, Hitchens made it apparent even in the last months before his death, that he was determined to resist and mock Christianity until his dying breath. Anything less would undermine his entire life efforts. And, based on what was observed of Hitchens those last weeks, we have no reason to believe he was unsuccessful. Therefore, to conclude that he might be in heaven tends towards speculation that is never warranted in Scripture. What doesn’t tend towards speculation, however, is declaring a bad tree a bad tree. As Jesus instructed us,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20 ESV)
If we are able to determine whether a prophet is false or not, surely we are not out of line in determining whether an outright, plain-speaking, card-carrying atheist, who makes it his life mission to destroy the Christian faith, is a bad tree bearing bad fruit, to be cut down and thrown into the fire.
From a pastoral perspective, it is also concerning that if we, as believers, can never say with some confidence (and sadness), “So and so was an unbeliever,” how then are we, especially as pastors, to make any type of judgment at all when it comes to the eternal state of unbelievers? It is often the case, that the death of an unbeliever and the acknowledgment that the unbeliever was just that, an unbeliever, is the very door the Lord uses to then confront surviving, unbelieving family members with the gospel.
All this to say, I don’t believe we should be fearful to say, with confidence: this person was an unbeliever and we are grieved that they now face God’s eternal judgment. After all, if we cannot say this about Christopher Hitchens, who can we say this about?
So, in short: Is it possible that in his dying breath Hitchens, in the secret recesses of his heart, cried out to Christ in repentance and faith? With God anything is possible. But does this mean that we should be shy about ever declaring someone who has died to be an unbeliever? Absolutely not, especially when their entire life, including their last days, were only characterized by spewing hatred towards Christ and those who profess his name. We have every reason to believe and affirm God’s severe judgment.
It is concerning that Christians today might be shy of declaring God’s judgment, especially on those who blaspheme the name of Christ and do so from such a public podium, as Hitchens himself did. Surely we never see this to be a problem for the Old Testament prophets, or for Jesus, who was unafraid to condemn the unrighteous (e.g., Luke 11:29-32), or for Paul (Rom 2). And it was not a problem for the Reformers either. Often we read of Luther or Calvin declaring God’s judgment on those who sought to destroy the gospel and especially on those who blasphemed the name of Christ.
Second, Hitchens’ death precedes Christmas, reminding us that while a person can spend his life blaspheming and mocking the God we worship, the gospel marches on.
One of the amazing lessons from church history is this: No matter how many unbelievers try to squash the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and no matter how hard they try, they do so to no avail. In the first centuries of the church, Christians were persecuted severely, even to death. And yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ marched on. Today we see the same. Missionaries continue to take the gospel to the nations and they pay for it with their own blood. And yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ marches on. And the same applies to those waging war at an intellectual level. Though men like Hitchens spend their life telling others that this Christ named Jesus is a phony and this God these Christians worship is a fake, nevertheless, the gospel goes marching on.
As Christians we have an immutable, undefeatable and indefatigable gospel. Hitchens led many, many people astray, to the gates of hell itself. Hitchens spent his life cursing the gospel, the Jesus behind it, and the triune God who orchestrated it. And then, he dies. For me at least, his death right before Christmas is a reminder that the Christ we believe in and worship will not be silenced by his enemies. Another atheist goes to the grave with his fist in the air, protesting Christianity, and meanwhile, millions of Christians will gather this week to celebrate and rejoice in the gospel of the risen and living Savior, Jesus Christ.
Third, the death of Hitchens should spur us on to urgently tell others, even atheists, about Christ and the judgment to come.
I am always sad to see an unbeliever go to his grave hating the Jesus I know to be true. But the death of Hitchens should move us to tell others we know, who perhaps hate Christ, that death is coming for us all and after death comes judgment (Heb 9:27). As I have stated before, Scripture everywhere affirms that a final judgment is coming. In Revelation 20:11-15 John has a vision in which he sees the dead standing before the great white throne and the books are opened for judgment. The dead are judged according to what they have done (Rev 20:12-13; cf. Rom 2:6-11). John tells his readers that those names not written in the “book of life” are to be thrown into the lake of fire, along with Death and Hades. The point of John’s vision is striking: unbelievers will be condemned for their sins (cf. Rom 3:23), but those whose names are written in the book of life will enter into the new heaven and earth (Rev 21:1), not because of their own works but only because they have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb who was slain (Rev 13:8; 21:27).
Other New Testament passages also affirm a final judgment to come. For example, we read in Acts 17:30-31 that while God overlooked the “times of ignorance” (i.e., God did not execute immediate judgment), he now commands all people everywhere to repent. Why? Because “he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed” (Acts 17:21). Or consider Romans 2:5 where the apostle Paul says, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” Paul goes on to say that God will render each one according to his works. Those who “by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom 2:7-8). Paul concludes that God shows no partiality, both Jew and Greek will come under his judgment, once again proving that the whole world is subject to the judgment of God.
And not only the apostle Paul but Peter also speaks of a judgment to come. In 2 Peter 2 we are told that false prophets will secretly bring in destructive heresies and many will follow them in their sensuality, resulting in the truth being blasphemed (2 Peter 2:2). Peter warns of the condemnation and judgment yet to come. God certainly knows how “to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority” (2 Peter 2:10). Many other passages could be enlisted in defense of the final judgment to come (Matt 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; 25:31-46; 1 Cor 4:5; Heb 6:2; Jude 6), but what is important to recognize here is that every last person must appear “before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10).
In light of the biblical reality of the final judgment to come, what should be our response? If you are an unbeliever, God’s final judgment should strike fear and trembling into your heart. God is holy and just, and the penalty for your sin is eternal death. But there is great hope to be found in the gospel of Christ. Do not wait until tomorrow for today is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). Repent and turn to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the hope of eternal life. Take heed the words of Christ, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
For believers, there are several lessons to learn from the doctrine of final judgment. First, as those who have been saved not because of anything in us but purely because of God’s grace and mercy (Eph 2:4-9), we should take great joy and confidence in the fact that we will not face God’s judgment unto eternal punishment but rather are safe in the arms of Christ and no longer face condemnation (Rom 8:1). Second, the fact that one day we will stand before God to give an account of our faithfulness for what he entrusted to us (1 Cor 3:12-15; Luke 19:17-19), should only motivate us to godly living and good works. Third, the final judgment should remind us of the urgency in evangelizing to those who are lost and in danger of eternal condemnation. We cannot hesitate to boldly preach the final judgment. Unless sinners understand the gravity of their sin and the wrath of God against them, they will not truly see their need for a Savior.
To conclude, contrary to Hitchens, God is great and his gospel changes everything. I leave you with the sobering words of Christ himself,
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:18-21 ESV)
Matthew Barrett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett has contributed book reviews and articles to various academic journals. He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Cassandra and Georgia. He is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.
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