Would Jesus walk with you in hell?

A band that I can’t seem to get enough of these days is the groove metal group Lamb of God. They’ve been around for years, but for some reason it’s taken me a while to catch up to them. In fact, it was the experience of filming at Copenhell for Hellbound? that renewed my interest in the band and the genre.

One of their better known songs is called Walk with me in hell. Here are the lyrics in full:

Pray for blood,
Pray for the cleansing,
Pray for the flood,
Pray for the end of this nightmare.
This lie of a life can as quickly as it came dissolve.
We seek only reprieve and welcome the darkness.
The myth of a meaning so lost and forgotten (forgotten).

Take hold of my hand,
For you are no longer alone.
Walk with me in hell.

Pray for solace,
Pray for resolve,
Pray for a savior,
Pray for deliverance, some kind of purpose.
A glimpse of a light in this void of existence.

Now witness the end of an age.
Hope dies in hands of believers.
Who seek the truth in the liar’s eye.

Take hold of my hand,
For you are no longer alone.
Walk with me in hell.

Walk with me in hell [x5]

Take hold of my hand,
For you are no longer alone.
Walk with me in hell [x3]
You’re never alone [x5]
Walk with me in hell.

I should note up front that despite their name, this is not a Christian band. Far from it. A better descriptor might be “Christian protest music,” because they have a lot of critical things to say about religion.

As I was listening to the chorus repeat toward the end of the song the other day (“Take hold of my hand, for you are never alone, walk with me in hell”), a thought popped into my mind: If hell is a place of conscious, eternal torment–as many people imagine it to be–wouldn’t the love of God compel Christ to minister to the souls suffering there? In fact, I can just imagine Jesus speaking these very words to those in torment, “Take hold of my hand, for you are never alone, walk with me in hell.”

And if there are any saints in heaven, wouldn’t they be following in his wake offering a cup of cold water in Christ’s name?

Which makes me think: If hell does exist, it will be crammed to the gills with suffering souls–and with the saints ministering to them. And heaven? Well, you should be able to hear a pin drop there.

Because it’ll be empty.

Which leads me to ask, “If a pin drops in heaven, does anybody hear?”

In my view, no.

P.S. Lamb of God lead singer Randy Blythe is walking through his own hell right now after being charged with manslaughter in connection with a fan’s death during a concert in Prague two years ago. Which leads me to think I should be making a documentary about them right now…