Does It Bother You That Everyone Is Going to Heaven?
I hope it doesn’t. How could you be bothered that everyone else will receive the same benefit that you are going to receive?
If it does bother you, you might consider what that says about your character. It’s not as if you’ve earned the way to heaven. Jesus Christ paid the price for you. You wouldn’t have a chance without Him and neither would I.
Just because everyone is going to heaven doesn’t mean that there’s no such thing as sin, or judgment, or consequences for behavior. On the contrary, all these things are true also. We receive judgment for our sins in this life and in the next. God will be fair. But He is not going to sentence anyone to an eternity without Him. Would you want Him to? I hope not.
If you’re happy that everyone is going to heaven, be happy and repent of your sins. If you’re sad that everyone is going to heaven, be sad and repent of your sins including the sin of wishing such evil on your brothers and sisters.
For those who would like a fuller explanation, see Everyone Is Going to Heaven.
I’m grateful to be on the journey home and delighted that there are so many fellow travelers!
its not that we aren’t happy that everyone is going to heaven. we want everyone to go to heaven and God wishes everyone would repent and go to heaven. We preach hell because it is real and we dont want anyone going there. you have to accept christ to go to heaven. jesus said fear God who is able to cast both soul and body into eternal hell. can you deny the holy bible and God’s word?
pharisees knew every word of the bible but didn’t know God and go to hell. There will be Christians that say “Lord Lord I did all these things in your name, in jesus’ name” but God sent them to hell because he never knew them. There will be those that say they know Jesus, but even paul said that more Jesus’ will arise.
try the spirit. if you disagree with anything in the bible, you don’t have god’s spirit because God is the word.
we want everyone to go to heaven and no one to go to hell, thats why we have missionaries and soulwinning
Hell is real, but it is not a place you go after you die; rather, it is the place of God’s judgment and wrath while you live on earth. Indeed you should fear God and repent in order to avoid it.
The Bible is in fact God’s holy word and completely reliable, but you are not reading it correctly. You are merely quoting traditional misunderstandings of it.
If you would try the spirits, as the Bible says, try your own. You are clearly bothered that everyone is going to heaven, but have you truly sought God to understand why?
Your use of “we” throughout indicates that you are speaking from a second-hand faith. Don’t trust in people; rather, trust God and love people.
John quotes Jesus saying, “…he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) If some are not going to be lost forever, there’s no reason to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel…” That can get you in a lot of trouble, in a lot of places.
A lot of people will want to come over to God’s side when they see no other choice. It wouldn’t be “real” though. It would be like someone staying with you, not because they love you, but because they have to. Who is really happy with that? Many people wouldn’t be happy in a “perfect” society because their heart wouldn’t be in it. The coming thousand-year rule of Christ upon this earth will show that to be true.
You misunderstand what Jesus means by “condemned.” He does not mean “lost forever” as you infer, but rather “condemned to judgment for sin.” Judgment occurs in this life on earth, and in the one to come in heaven. The reason to “preach the gospel” is so that people can avoid that judgment and be saved from their sins. Everyone who sins is judged and dies; and everyone who dies is going to heaven (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Mike, I think you should pull together a comprehensive study regarding heaven and hell, and well as whether everyone is indeed going to heaven. Once you have laid it all out, I would like to look through it.
You do not have to wait. See the post Everyone Is Going to Heaven
See also Introduction, which is a set of 15 posts will give context for this wonderful truth.
See also the companion blog A Bible Reader’s Guide to Jesus, which conveys the same truths about Jesus but is written for people more familiar with the Bible (as you seem to be).
I have since posted a book online which deals even more thoroughly with the subject. I hope you will read it: The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven
There are far too many verses contrary to what you’re saying. A lot of atheists are saying the same thing as you. They reason that if there is a God who’s not willing for any to perish, then they’ll be as safe as any. Verses such as that are speaking about what God desires, and not of a decree that no one will perish. Most of the people of earth will not give God what he desires.
In John 5:40 Jesus said,”But you are not willing to come to me that you might have life.” Hebrews 9:27, “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Someone may gain the world and lose their soul, because they trust what you’re saying rather than trusting Jesus to save them.
I think what you mean is that there is far too much tradition contrary to what I am saying. It is the Bible that brought me to my position. And I assure you emphatically that there are no atheists saying what I am saying.
Jesus Christ is the only way to God. As you rightly say in your recent post Memorials, everything that has forgotten Christ is false.
However, He is not yet to come; rather, He has come – just as He promised. He is here among us. Eternal life is to begin now, and John 5:40 which you quote is His invitation. If you wait until you die to accept that invitation according to Hebrews 9:27, you will be no better off than the atheists (that is, on the way to heaven but keeping Christ at a distance while on earth).
Keep loving Jesus above all else and you will come to see what I mean.
I doubt that everyone will go to heaven; but I can’t know that for certain.
If everyone is going, then great! And you are right, thinking about the possibility does help me re-evaluate my motives in modeling my life after Christ.
I commend you for your open-mindedness even when you find the statement hard to accept.
Keep modeling your life after Christ’s. The outcome will be that your doubts dissipate and certainty will grow. The confidence you see in Him is the confidence He wants to see in us.
He alone is worthy to be the model! Let us do just as you suggest and imitate Him with all our hearts!
Mike,
What did Jesus mean, in your opinion, when he said,”And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” ? Matthew 18:9
Tom
Life in the kingdom of God is so wonderful and life outside it is so awful that we’d be better off physically handicapped yet submitted to God’s rule than we would be physically whole yet subject to His wrath. In other words, even though both are important, a healthy soul is vastly more important than a healthy body. Live for Jesus and avoid judgment (that is, do whatever it takes to avoid sin and the judgment it brings).
Mike,
I don’t remember seeing any where in Scriptures where God says there is life outside the Kingdom. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death,(not life outside the kingdom) but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
If my “right eye offends me…” and I can’t, won’t or don’t do whatever it takes to avoid the judgment it brings which is to receive Jesus’ death on the cross as atonement for mys sins wouldn’t I then be “…cast into hell fire” like Jesus said?
Tom, Mark 4:11 is an example of the Scriptures speaking of people living outside the kingdom. And you yourself can see people living outside of the kingdom all the time. The kingdom of God is being actively submitted and obedient to Jesus our Lord, or as Jesus said explicitly of eternal life: it’s truly knowing Him (John 17:3), which can only come from ongoing obedience to His will. Sad to say, there are many people today living outside the kingdom of God.
It sounds like you think the kingdom of God (eternal life) is a reality that doesn’t occur until after this life is over. On the contrary, the kingdom of God is in our midst and God would have us enjoy eternal life with Him now (John 5:24; 11:25-26).
As for your question about Matthew 18:9, it sounds like you are inserting an option that Jesus did not give us. That is, you are saying that instead of doing what He said we can “receive Jesus’ death on the cross as atonement.” Certainly we should receive Jesus’ death on the cross as atonement, but that does not obviate the need for us to obey His instructions – including this verse. If we have received Him as Lord we should obey Him as Lord (Colossians 2:6). Again, it seems that the problem is that you consider eternal life, the kingdom of God, and the fire of judgment as future (i.e. after death) rather than present realities.
But perhaps I misread you, so correct me where I am wrong.
No I don’t think eternal life starts when we die physically.
Physical life can exist while we are outside the Kingdom. We are slaves to sin and the prince of the world until we receive Jesus death and resurrection as atonement for our sins. If we receive the Holy Spirit and revelation through God’s Word we will obey His instructions out of Love not fear.
I still don’t get what you think Jesus meant by the “…fires of hell.”?
I am not inserting anything.
He said no one comes to the Father except through me.
Why do you think He, Jesus, accepted His Fathers will to be scourged, humiliated and crucified?
Paul said, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor. 6:9 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God?” Do not be deceived…” Is there any other way to become the righteousness of God than by accepting Jesus as my Savior?
If I don’t, Then what?
The actual expression is “Gehenna of fire.” Gehenna was the trash heap outside of Jerusalem and symbolizes the judgment experienced outside the kingdom of God. This includes the curses of which Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 28 – in other words, everything negative that happens in life and which is a consequence of sin. Thus, being in the kingdom is being in the place of blessing and being outside it is being in the place of cursing, wrath, and judgment (the prophets described God’s wrath as fire; e.g. Psalm 89:46; Jeremiah 4:4; Ezekiel 21:31; Nahum 1:6; Zephaniah 1:18).
The meaning of 1 Corinthians 6:9 is clear: you cannot get into the kingdom of God if you’re sinning. This is why Jesus said what He did in Matthew 18:9 (the verse you originally quoted) – do whatever it takes to stop sinning. Accepting Jesus as Savior does not get you into the kingdom (Matthew 7:21); walking with Jesus gets you into the kingdom (2 Peter 1:2-11). The only way to become the righteousness of God is to believe in, honor, and obey Jesus. In our own power, we cannot stop sinning but if we keep our eyes fixed on Him He gives us the power to overcome.
If the meaning of 1 Cor. 6:9 is clear: you cannot get into the kingdom of God if you’re sinning, where do you get to get into if you are sinning?
I agree that all the sins of the the whole world past, present and future were paid for through the death and resurrection of Jesus. If I do not accept that atonement, there is no way I can walk with Jesus.
Everything up to v. 5 in 1Peter 1 is a gift. V 5 says “and beside this, give all diligence…”
“If the meaning…” Judgment (wrath, indignation, fire, burning, Gehenna, curses) – these are realities in the earth, not something that happens after we die (John 3:36).
“I agree that…” Agreed.
“Everything up to…” I don’t understand what you are saying in this sentence.
John 3:36 doesn’t say that these realities do not happen after we die. It only says the wrath of God abides in the present tense for those who do not believe.
Jesus Parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31clearly teaches that when we die if we have not repented we go to hell (Hades) never to cross back over. (Eternal)
Re: “Everything up to…” Sorry, I meant in 2 Peter not 1 Peter that verses 1,2,3,and 4 speak of gifts that must be received just for the fact that hey are gifts and promises. Verse 5 adds “and beside this, (for this very reason. NKJ) give all diligence…” to the works that you will only know about when you have faith by the grace of God, lest you forget that you were cleansed from your old sins.
“John 3:36…” Agreed.
“Jesus Parable…” Hades and Hell are two entirely different places. Hades is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Sheol, which was the place below where, according to the Bible, ALL people went at death. Jesus Christ changed this and I explain all this at a link you’ll find at Everyone Is Going to Heaven (read the post and look for the link at the bottom). Hell, as I wrote yesterday, is “Gehenna” in Aramaic and “Ben-Hinnom” in Hebrew and refers to the place for burning trash outside Jersusalem. You do not need my link, however, if you know Greek and Hebrew and can study the Scriptures in these original languages, or if you know how to use a Strong’s concordance to trace the usage of these terms (Sheol occurs 65 times in the Old Testament, and , as I said, you’ll see that it refers to the destination below to which everyone went at death – until the work of Jesus Christ).
“Everything up to…” Agreed.
hey Mike, just some different thoughts, and i want to see what you think:
Roman 3:21-25 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
You’re right in that none of us are good. The section of scripture before this in Romans 3 proves that ‘none is righteous, no, not one”. But verse 23…I KNOW that there’s no other way to please God than faith because without faith, its impossible to please God. And a person’s faith, going by verse 23, must be in the God-Man Jesus Christ. Now let’s move down to verse 25 which shows how God took care of our universal sin problem. He did this by putting forth his son as the propitiation by the blood of Jesus, which means the averting of God’s wrath toward sin and the restoring of fellowship between God and man. But more importantly, from a human perspective, this MUST be received by FAITH. So are you concluding that everyone believes in Jesus Christ? That everyone has placed their ultimate faith and trust in the crucified and risen Jesus? I don’t think so. And if people don’t receive Jesus, they don’t know Him.
Back to Romans, this time chapter 2, which talks about a day (singular) of wrath and how those apart from Christ are storing up for themselves wrath. How do you ‘interpret’ that? A day where God’s wrath will be revealed (future) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness? I really don’t think you’re making a lot of God’s wrath by reducing it to some earthly experiences. Everyone experiences pain (loss of loved ones, relational issues, physical problems) but I wouldn’t describe this as ‘hell’, would you? Or is this whole life that we are in now, filled with tsunamis, earthquakes, suicides, murder, theft, adultery and the like, hell? That’s what it sounds like you are saying. That God’s wrath, indignation, and fury are present states here on the earth and that there is no hell for eternity apart from God’s presence. Is this true? Again, you are making too little of God’s wrath and in doing so, diminishing the beauty and worth of all that took place at the cross of Jesus FOR those who BELIEVE in him. Not for everyone.
It absolutely concerns and bothers me that you don’t believe in a God who is good and just, Mike. If you did believe in a God who was just, then you would stake your hope on not taking revenge against those who have hurt you in this present life because ‘vengeance is mine; I will repay’ says the Lord. God is just! And he will repay everyone what they deserve. True, everyone will rise on the last day, but it doesn’t end there. Some will rise to eternal life and others will rise to destruction. Not purgatory. Not some temporal existence that will end and then God will accept them. It’s eternal. Hell is forever just as much as heaven is forever. Jesus talks about separating the sheep from the goats and about throwing fruitless branches into the fire while giving life to his own branches. Jesus talks about saying to people on the last day, ‘depart from me, you who work iniquity (sin); I never knew you.’ Strong words from Jesus, right? I just think your Christianity is too soft and mushy and worse, unbiblical and untrue. You have replaced traditional misunderstandings with modern misunderstandings in attempts to go against 2,000+ years of approved church doctrine, faith, and practice. Your doctrine has no place for predestination, a discussion of the elect, which Paul also talks about in several places.
Please, for your sake and the sake of others, stop sharing this soft, false gospel that we are all God’s children and going to heaven. Please be a man and respond to this post (i have much more to send your way). But the truth of the matter is is that God has the final word, and He says he will have mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy; he will save those whom he foreknew and those whom he predestined to be his children. God’s desire is that all would repent, but repentance entails a changed life, a new life, and you’re declaring by your faith that repentance doesn’t really matter. New life in Christ doesn’t really matter because everyone is going to heaven. And thus, sharing the gospel doesn’t really matter because everyone is already going to heaven. Mike, your false gospel is falling apart at the seams. Hell is real and eternal. If hell isn’t real and sin has no eternal consequences, than Christ died for nothing, and that’s a dangerously sad belief to hold to.
Agreed.
Yes, but remember that a person who looks to his Creator in faith, not knowing Jesus Christ, can be led by the Holy Spirit to Christ (such as happened with Cornelius in Acts 10 and Lydia in Acts 16). Therefore, just because a person is not yet seeking Jesus does not mean they are not yet seeking God. God looks on the heart.
Agreed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t go to heaven when they die. It means they don’t experience the fullness of His grace on earth.
The day of wrath began with the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures also call it the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, the day of Christ, and so on. It’s an eternal day; the sun never sets on it (Malachi 4:2). See Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again as well as the longer biblical case supporting it, Whatever Became of Jesus Christ?
Yes, it is.
Yes.
On the contrary, I am showing the wrath of God to be the awful consequences that they are, and I am exalting all that took place at the cross by showing that its benefits apply to the whole human race (1 John 2:1-2).
God is most certainly good and just!
Yes, God will repay both in this life and in the one to come. God forbid that you or I should seek vengeance on anyone. We have enough wrath to avoid for our own sins.
You are merely reciting traditional heaven-or-hell doctrine. See instead what the Scriptures teach in The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven.
Yes, they are strong words – but they apply to seeking His kingdom and avoiding His wrath in this life, not what happens to us after this life.
My words are not soft and mushy. Wrath and judgment are real. It is terrifying to be without God when His judgments come. I do not reject traditional understanding except when the Scriptures say differently. The conflict between the word of God and the traditions of men is a recurring one (see Matthew 15 and Mark 7). Predestination is true in that every human being is destined to live in heaven after this life just as every human being was destined to live on the earth in this life. There will be an elect in heaven for many who are first in this world will be last in heaven, and many who are last here will be first there.
Yes, God will have the final word and I am glad that He does rather than you, because you seem to be saying that you wouldn’t be as merciful as He will. I remind you that He said mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). We should imitate Him and be as merciful to others as He has been to us.
Repentance, faith, new life in Christ, and sharing the gospel are all of enormous importance because they can spare people from sin and wrath in this life and shame in the next.
Sin has consequences both in this life and the next. Please read the links I have given above and see how the Scriptures make this clear. Christ died to give us understanding of God and freedom from sin. Let us receive the inheritance He has left us!
And if you don’t feel like responding to all of that, let’s break it down to this paragraph:
How do you ‘interpret’ the ‘day of wrath’? A day where God’s wrath will be revealed (in the future) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness? I really don’t think you’re making a lot of God’s wrath by reducing it to some earthly experiences. First question: everyone experiences pain (loss of loved ones, relational issues, phyiscal problems) but I wouldnt describe this as ‘hell’, would you?
Second question: Or is this whole life that we are in now, filled with tsunamis, earthquakes, suicides, murder, theft, adultery and the like, hell? That’s what it sounds like you are saying. That God’s wrath, indignation, and fury are present states here on the earth and that there is no hell for eternity apart from God’s presence. Is this true? If so, you are making too little of God’s wrath (the same wrath that flooded the earth and turned people into salt and killed people instantly) and in doing so, diminishing the beauty and worth of all that took place at the cross of Jesus (the averting of God’s wrath toward sin) FOR those who BELIEVE in him. Not for everyone. Please respond at least to this. Thanks.
I think I answered this all above. If not, please let me know.
In this statement, you yourself are properly describing the wrath of God (i.e., flood, salt, death) as something that occurs in the earth. Why then do you elsewhere try to change its meaning and say it is something that applies in the afterlife?