Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode, we're asking the question, is Khamenei in hell? Now, this is prompted by an article I read in the New York Times. Actually, the New York Times obituary of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, who was killed in US Israeli joint operations, just recently. Khamenei had ruled over Iran for a long time. Decades. And his rule, at least as described by this obituary, was one of aggression, one of oppression. for over three decades, Khamenei not only ruled with an iron fist, quashing dissent, with mass arrests, mass executions, even recently killing as many as 7,000 people that he deemed as unlawful dissidents to his regime. he also supported terrorism around the world. Iran was known for arming and equipping a number of what's called proxy militias. there are terrorist groups that are doing the operations, but everybody knows that they really represent Iran. They just can't be officially connected to Iran. Maybe the number one global supporter of terrorism, as well as routinely breaking international agreements. He was pursuing nuclear weapons. He would sign a deal like the one he signed in 2015, where he would agree to not pursue nuclear weapons, only then, to keep pursuing them. He did all of this under the name of God, at least according to him, claiming to be the divinely appointed ruler of Iran and to be executing the will of Allah in Iran and in the world. put simply, Khamenei was evil. And not only was he evil, he was evil under the auspices of being led by God, which is a double whammy. Evil and blasphemous at the same time. And, you know, I think I don't want to be cheeky with the title Is Khamenei in Hell? Because the idea that anyone will die, separated from Jesus Christ and face eternal punishment in hell is awful. But it's important to remember that hell is not just about the individual who goes there. That's the way we tend to think of it in the West. Is it really fair for God to send someone to hell? How can God be loving and send someone to hell? Those are. Those are legitimate questions, and those are questions for an episode for another day. But we always forget that that hell is fundamentally about God's justice. It is fundamentally a place where all the wrongs of human history get righted. the Bible tells us that God cares about what happens in the world. Now. Over. The Bible tells us this over and over again. My favorite place to see this is actually Genesis 4. Remember where Cain will kill his brother Abel? When God shows up to talk to Cain, knowing that he had killed Abel, Cain denies knowing where his brother is. But then God says this in Genesis 4:10. He says, the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. I mean, that is a visceral picture that tells us that not only God knows what happens. He knew Cain had killed Abel, but God felt it. You know, God experienced it. The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me is a reminder that as an image bearer and Abel was looking to God, his blood was looking to God for the justice he deserved. God had come to execute justice because God cared about Abel. that's a reminder that Khomeini and evil leaders like him have victims. Thousands of people who were brutalized, whose family members disappeared in the night, who lived under his oppression in total fear, including a growing Iranian Christian church, which was constantly in danger. For them, the death of Khomeini really is good news. And the idea that God will have him suffer as an act of judgment is also good news. God refuses to sweep evil under the rug. He refuses to turn a blind eye. a reckoning may not come today, but it will come eventually for, for every evil ruler on the planet. And that is important to note. Justice matters. Victims matter. And that's why hell exists. But let me also say this because it would be wrong to talk about or think about the judgment of another person without looking also to ourselves. The truth is, I don't have the track record of evil that Khamenei does. Of course, I also didn't have an army. I didn't have a country that basically allowed me to do whatever I wanted. I shudder to think what I would have done with either one of those things. Because the truth is, I have victims. And so do you. I've hurt people and so do you. The Bible tells us that all sin will be answered for, all wrongs will be righted in one place or another. Either as we suffer in hell, where God finally answers the prayers of all who have cried out because of our sin, or. Or Jesus Christ, the son of God, will suffer on the cross. You know, the night Jesus was arrested, when he prayed, if there's any other way, can we do it that way? And God told him no. He told him no, because my sin required justice. My victims required justice and the glory of the Gospel is that Jesus took my place so that what's waiting for me is not a reckoning, but redemption. If you have not yet turned to Jesus, let Khamenei's story be a warning to you. If you a reckoning is coming, let it be answered for you by Christ. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!