Satan's Greatest Deception

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, (4) and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” [II Timothy 4:3-4]

It concerns me to see that some professed Christians either claim there is no hell or say that hell is only a temporal punishment for the wicked and unbeliever. And that, when the day of final judgment comes, all will be redeemed into glory--not just believers. My concern here is for those who deny the very essence of Biblical doctrine, and to have them remember, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5.

Did you just overlook the teachings of Jesus Christ on hell in The Bible? Did you know that Jesus talked more about hell than He did about Heaven? Did you also know that Jesus talked more about hell than all of the prophets and apostles combined?

Hell is not man's doctrine, its Biblical doctrine--straight out of the lips of Jesus Christ. Jesus in several passages within the New Testament Gospels (Matt 5, 8, 9, 18, 25; Luke 16--just to name a few) clearly gives warnings of a place of everlasting--not temporal-- torment called hell. How can you consider denying the teaching of Christ?

The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31), gives us a clear picture of hell, which was told--dare I say it-- by Jesus Christ. Even though you might discount this as only a parable, here is a little thing to notice about this parable: it was the only parable that Jesus told where He used actual names from actual people--Why?--because it actually happened. If hell is not real, why would Jesus use a false doctrine to teach truth? In addition, if Jesus--the Son of the Living God--is not enough for you, the New Testament apostles also wrote of such a place called hell: II Peter 2:4, 9; Jude 6, 7.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”[John 3:16] God is--indeed--a loving God, and because of His love, He gave His Son, Jesus, as sacrifice for all mankind. However, it is a two-way street: those who choose His Son’s sacrifice, they will gain “eternal life”; but those who deny His Son’s sacrifice, will “perish.” And please, stop using I Timothy 2:4 which states, “[God] who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” as the all points’ verse that suggests all of mankind will be saved. My “desire” one day is to own a Porsche, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. The point is: of course God “desires” or “wills” (found in other versions) that all of His created mankind will accept His great salvation; but He knows, and we know through Scripture, that will not happen--all will not accept.

Of course the New Testament is not the only reference to a place called hell, let us not forget the Old Testament, which in several passages gives us a clear picture of a place of eternal torment or hell, "everlasting burnings"--Isa. 33:10-14; “to some eternal life, but to some eternal shame and disgrace”--Daniel 12:2.

Now, the notions that the word “hell” was incorrectly placed in most versions of The Bible through lack of bad translation or that the translators for some reason wanted to create a place called hell is a complete farce. Though this might--at first glance--be a good argument, it still does not erase the strong warnings of Jesus Christ of a place of torment and darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth and the fire is never quenched--Matthew 8:12, and 13:41-42

If Jesus and the apostles intended to depict hell as temporal, then I am sure they would have used different imagery and wording. Furthermore, if hell is temporal than why such strong warnings? Hell is eternal, I do not think there is any side or forgotten meaning where “eternal” means “temporal,”--Revelations 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image…”. And yes, "ever knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,”-- no doubt that believers and unbelievers alike will confess; but for the unbelievers, who chose to deny Christ in the here and now--it will be too late.

Moreover, if hell is not a real place or only temporal, and that all will be eventually redeemed, then what is the whole point of the Great Commission and what is the point of even serving Christ? In The Bible, Christians are taught to love, respect, witness, and to pray for those who are unbelievers; so why are we told to do that--what is the point any of it?

The devil is a very strong, smart, and deceiving adversary, and this has to be his biggest deception to mankind. PLEASE TAKE NOTE--to deny, disregard, or manipulate the clear teachings of Jesus would be calling Him a liar or perhaps, in so much to say, to deny His very deity. The fundamental hope of Christianity is that through accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, we will in turn, live eternally with Him. To take away that hope and say that all believer and unbeliever alike will have this hope, breeds the questions--“What is the point then to witness and proclaim this Hope to the lost?”

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. (8) For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” [Galatians 6:7-8]