In this final post related to our series on heaven and hell, we will look at questions submitted regarding the eternal fate of people in various circumstances, particular issues concerning hell, and other topics that were raised as we discussed our eternal fates.
What happens to people who don’t hear about Jesus in their lifetime because of the culture they were born into (ie, a place where the gospel has not reached)? Are these people going to hell?
Something to keep in mind about people living in areas where the gospel has not been proclaimed is that all people are able to see God’s existence and various attributes – but yet all people rebel against God. Psalm 19 and Romans 1 show us that God reveals Himself in nature to all people, with Romans 1 also noting that the default nature of humans is to suppress this truth. Therefore, the people who do not hear the gospel message are not “innocent until proven guilty” by rejecting the gospel; they are guilty of rejecting God and thus deserving of punishment. It should be noted that God is also sovereign and able to save whom He chooses; therefore, it is not that these people are left out by some happenstance. Moreover, God normally works through people bringing the good news for people to hear and believe, but God can also work in other ways. For example, many people in Muslim countries that are closed to missionaries are having visions of Jesus and coming to faith in Him. I have also heard stories of missionaries coming to a new land and discovering that people there have some knowledge or sense about who God is and their need for His grace. Thus, God can work in various ways to bring people to Himself. That said, knowing that there are people who have not yet heard the gospel should motivate us to bring this good news to these places. We know that people from all nations and tribes will be in heaven, and God can use us to share the gospel with them..
What happens to children who die at an early age or people who do not have cognitive abilities to understand or profess Jesus? Do little children and babies automatically go to heaven when they die or are young children earning hell from their earliest days? Is there an age of accountability?
This is one of the most common questions about heaven and hell, and also one that holds much emotion as there is sadness when someone dies at a very young age or is not able cognitively to understand the gospel or express faith. There are a number of places that point to the children of believers being in heaven. For example, in 2 Samuel 12:23 David says he will see his deceased child again. In 1 Corinthians 7:14 it says that the children of believers are holy. We also see Jesus welcome little children and say the kingdom belongs to them, even pointing us to have faith like a child (Mark 10:13-16). Thus, it seems that there is an expectation that the children of believers who die before they can profess faith/reject the faith would be in God’s presence. I believe that those who do not have the ability to understand would be treated the same as young children, as the same overall issue (an inability to understand and believe the gospel) would seem to be at work.
There are fewer references in the Bible pertaining to children of unbelievers. Some Christians think that all children up to a certain age may be determinative for these children in light of how God works through covenants, while others believe it is based on the faith (or lack of) of the parents. The argument for those who think all children would go to heaven often centers on the fact that while these children (like all humans) have a sinful nature, they have not yet come to the point of willingly acting out on these desires and rejecting God. While we often make comments about us being born as sinners and thus “sinning from the time we are in diapers,” there does seem to be a sense that childish behaviors are not at the same level as our choices as adults. Children have not yet developed the ability to fully understand what they are doing – thus not yet committing willful sin.
However, I also wonder if we might have the bar set too high regarding what someone needs to understand to be a believer. Children can sing praise songs, memorize Bible verses, and pray to God at a young age. Perhaps that is part of Jesus’s point in welcoming children and saying that we need faith like a child — that children understand more than we might think. Thus, I don’t think we can set a certain age of “accountability” as some have; the fact that people seem to mature at different rates – especially throughout history – also makes me wonder whether there can be a particular age or even range given for an age in which people start to be held accountable for their sins.
Is there anywhere in the Bible that indicates on the day you are born, the day you will be reborn is already known?
Since God knows all things, He does know both the day you are born and the day you will be reborn through faith in Jesus. In fact, He doesn’t just know the dates, He chooses them, as no one can come to God without Him drawing them in (John 6:44). This does not mean you are a robot – you make a real decision to put your faith in Christ. We also do not know when that day is for others. We only know that God is in control, and we seek to invite people to make today the day of their salvation.
If God has the names of all saved people written in The Book of Life since the beginning of time, then aren’t some people predestined to go to hell (the ones whose names are not written in it)? But once people have accepted Jesus, they are saved and nothing can change that, correct?
An implication of the fact that God, in His grace, chooses to save some people (the idea behind the doctrines often called election or predestination) is that others are destined to be punished in hell. However, something we need to keep in mind is that no one is worthy of going to heaven and that God’s election of individuals is essentially Him choosing to save some from the human race that was on its way to hell. Because of passages like Romans 8:38-39 and John 10:28-29 (among others), we see that nothing anyone can do can “erase” the names that are in the Book of Life. However, Scripture and experience reveal that there are people who profess faith but then fall away (see the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4, for example). Because those whom God saves will persevere in faith (as He who started the good work will be faithful to finish – see Philippians 1:6), it would seem that those who fall away never possessed true faith. In 1 John 2:19 we read that they departed because they were never part of God’s true church and thus not in the Book of Life. Believers may stumble and fall, but by God’s grace they will return as God does not lose anyone whom He calls.
It was said that only the true believers will go to Heaven. I feel that I am a true believer, but I always have questions. I tell myself to just have faith and I feel I do, but questions still pop in my head. So does that mean I don’t believe? Or is that human nature?
The way to heaven is through faith in Jesus. This does not mean that our faith is always strong or without doubts. In fact, it seems that these doubts are common in light of all the challenges we face in the world. The question is what do we do with these doubts? Do we cry out “I believe, help my unbelief” or do we allow these doubts to creep in and take away the faith? Remember, it is not the strength of your faith but the strength of the one in whom you believe; we need to keep on believing, but we can believe and still have questions about things we don’t understand.
We discussed that there are rewards in heaven. Are there similarly different degrees of punishment in hell?In Matthew 11:22-24 when Jesus pronounces punishment on the cities that reject him, he says “it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you” and that “it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” Thus, it would seem there are different degrees of punishment depending on the sin of a person. That said, what might be surprising is that the ultimate sin is rejecting Jesus when he is offered to you.Therefore, those who have a great knowledge of the truth but turn their backs on it might be in line for greater punishment than those who did wrong but had little knowledge of the Christian message. This is a sobering reminder for us all to continue in the faith if we are in it.
Is hell eternal? If so, then how does that relate to the doctrine of divine simplicity?
There are a number of places in the Bible that mention that hell has eternal, conscious torment. Jesus calls hell an eternal fire and eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41, 46) and says it is an unquenchable fire where the “worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-48). Similarly, Revelation notes that the lake of fire is a place of torment “day and night, forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10) and that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11). Thus, it seems that just as heaven is eternal, so is hell. The idea of divine simplicity is that God is without parts and that His essence and existence are the same; God does not just have holiness but is holiness and is always holy, good, etc.. I am not completely sure of the potential problem one sees between simplicity and eternal hell, but I will do my best to relate the two ideas. I wonder if people think that if God is always just and loving, how can there be an eternal hell in which there is judgment. Judgment is not at odds with love, and thus the eternal judgment does not call into question God’s love – both are present at the same time. In hell, people do not experience the goodness of God that they experience on this earth, but that does not call into question the reality of goodness.
Why is hell eternal if our sins are finite?
Something that Scripture seems to point to is that the people who are being punished have not turned from their ways. We see this idea in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, as the Rich Man is still seeking to command Lazarus and Abraham and does not seem to have repentance. He doesn’t want to suffer, but that is like being sorry you got caught more than sorry that you did something wrong. At times hell is described as a place with weeping and gnashing of teeth; gnashing of teeth is an expression indicating anger. Thus, while they may recognize God’s authority now, they still do not submit to it for all eternity. The imagery of people gnashing their teeth also seems to show defiance. The imagery of fire may even point to that — your pride and defaults will continue to consume you more and more.
The other thing to remember in terms of the length of punishment is that sinners have sinned against and rebelled against the eternal, infinite, and awesome God. If you punch a wall in someone’s house, there is a certain punishment. If you punch them, there is a greater punishment, and if you punch the Queen of England…I’m guessing you will get a more severe punishment. And doing it again, and again, and again….you will probably have a very severe punishment. Defying the Holy God is deserving of eternal punishment. As Pastor Sam Storms has said, it is not the magnitude of sin but the magnitude of God that leads to this eternal punishment.
What is the belief of conditional immortality? Is it feasible?
This concept is that a person is not necessarily immortal; this immortality is contingent upon believing in Jesus, and thus those who go to hell are not punished for eternity but rather will cease to exist at a certain point (an idea often called “annihilationism”). In light of what was said above about hell being eternal, this idea does not seem consistent with the teaching of the Bible. While some people feel that some of the language in the Bible used to describe hell may point to this idea (as terms like “destroy” are used), closer examination shows that these terms do not always imply annihilation. Moreover, other language explicitly affirms eternality.
In the discussion of heaven and hell, I didn’t hear a mention of the rapture or snatching up. Is that a belief in this denomination?
The focus of our series on heaven and hell was upon the final state of individuals and also what happens to us when we die. We touched a bit on the topic of what happens when Jesus returns in the recent series on 1 Thessalonians and blog posts related to that topic last October and November. Some Christians and churches believe there is a sequence in which Jesus will “snatch up” or “rapture” the church before, during, or in the midst of a time called the Great Tribulation. That is 7 years that precede a 1,000 year period of peace when Jesus rules on earth, which is then followed by a final rebellion and final judgment (this period is described in Revelation 20); in most accounts of this viewpoint, the resurrection of believers happens with Jesus’s return at the start of that 1,000 year period. This is not a universal belief, however, as other Bible-believing Christians see a simpler sequence in which Jesus returns, the dead are raised, believers who are alive then are transformed, and then there is final judgment; in this view the 1,000 years referred to in Revelation 20 are more symbolic in light of how numbers are used in Revelation. (For more on those different views, see this post from last year in particular.) Our church’s statement of faith does not come down on either side of this debate, with members and leaders holding both of these views. Our church’s confession focuses more on the points that Christians seem united on: Jesus will return, there is judgment, there is a resurrection of the body, and everlasting life in the presence of God (see Belgic Confession, Article 37).
One More Question – To Start New Posts
A final question received will actually prompt the next series of posts. Someone asked, “Did God make Lucifer/Satan so he is not of the same power as God?” In the next post, we will turn our attention away from heaven and hell and to the topic of Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.
