It seems more and more people believe that everyone will go to Heaven, whether they are a Christian or not; whether they have trusted in Jesus for their salvation or not. They either don’t believe that Hell is real, or they believe that only Satan and the demons will be sent to Hell.
When asked why they believe this, their response almost always is that God loves us all, and therefore He would not condemn anyone to Hell.
Whenever you put so much emphasis on one characteristic of God, and lessen or ignore the others, you don’t have a correct understanding of God.
God is loving, but the Bible also lets us know that He has other characteristics. He is good, faithful, honest, trustworthy, righteous, patient, all knowing, all powerful, and everywhere at all times. And now the characteristics people tend to leave out; holy, just, jealous and wrathful.
The Bible clearly tells us that there is a literal Hell, and people will be sent there. Jesus Himself told us that several times, and since God can’t lie, it must be true.
Here are just a few verses that clearly tell us that there is a literal Hell, and some people will be sent there. There are more verses, but these will prove the point.
Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.” Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! Matthew 13:36-43 NLT
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:47-50 NLT
But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. Matthew 25:31-46 NLT
But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Revelation 21:8 NLT
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. Matthew 25:46 NLT
They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 NLT
And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. Jude 1:7 NLT
Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 NLT
The heresy that no one will be sent to Hell is not new, but I believe it has become more prevalent now than in times past. Sadly, this is just another example of why many believe we are in the last days, or “end times”.
God warned us that there would be false prophets who twist God’s words and deceive many. They do this to gain fame, or to make money selling books and speaking engagements. If they are pastors, telling people what they want to hear helps to get more people in the pews, and more money in the offering plate.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT
But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. 2 Peter 2:1-6 NLT
This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to his people: “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes.
They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the Lord! Jeremiah 23:16 NLTFor false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Matthew 24:24 NLT
So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Acts 20:28-30 NLT
So we know that God tells us that Hell is real, that some people will be sent there, and that there will be false teachers among us trying to lead us astray.
How can we spot a false teacher? Its easy. If they say something that contradicts God’s word / the Bible, you should not listen to them.
I’ll leave you with this thought.
If Hell wasn’t real, and people were not going to be sent there as punishment for their sins, then Jesus would not have had to die. It makes no sense why He would allow Himself to die a gruesome death on the cross.
Jesus also would not have told us to go into all the world and share the good news / the Gospel. If everyone was going to Heaven, what would be the point of telling people about what Jesus did for them?
Clearly, Jesus wanted us to tell others so that they could be saved from eternal damnation.
