Gehenna (you may call it Hell)
The place where trash was cast
to burn.

Gehenna is the only place
for broken mirrors.

A place for everything
defunct,
desultory,
defaced.

It is there Jesus says we are
destined,
driven,
doomed.

But imagine being snatched
Just before the fire licks our feet.

As the Creator recreates
for eternal light
instead of heat.

The word Gehenna is translated hell. It is the place, following Christ’s judgement, where those who have rejected him as Lord will face eternal punishment. Gehenna was also a word used synonymously for The Valley of Hinnom. The Valley of Hinnom was just outside of Israel, and was home to horrific history. It was there children were sacrificed to idols during Israel’s adoption of foreign gods. It became the site where trash was burned, and so, Gehenna was a place of unceasing fire, refuse, and unholiness. It became a live foretaste of the punishment of the afterlife, a visual warning of the reality of what is to come for those who are not in Christ. Jesus references Gehenna many times when he talks of the eternal judgement that awaits those who reject him as their Savior. It was undoubtedly a vivid word for those who heard him say it, they would have smelled the acrid burning and seen the heat rise in waves above the landscape. But Gehenna–hell, is no mere metaphor. It is clear in Jesus’ teaching that this place of eternal torment is a real and certain place. It is a place we all deserve, dead as we are in sin, rejecting our Creator and affronting his holiness. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5). But God, such sweet words of hope. Because of what Christ accomplished on the cross, and proved at his empty tomb, we do not have to be destined for flame, but can instead be at peace with God, destined to enjoy him forever in the light of his glorious grace. Gehenna is terrifying, but how much sweeter is it to know that if we are in Christ we have been rescued from such a fate? God is so generous in his kindness that he freely offers this gift of grace to whomever hears and believes this gospel of salvation. Hell is very real, but thank God, so is the empty tomb that marks the place of our rescue in Christ Jesus.