Will Everyone Go To Heaven? "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me'... Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me'... And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" Matthew 25:31-46.
In order to believe that everyone will eventually go to heaven is to tiptoe through the Bible, being careful not to step on the passages which clearly say differently (Daniel 12:2, Isaiah 66:24, John 5:29, Romans 9, Thessalonians 1:9, Revelations 14:10-11, 20:15, 21:8; not to mention, that the synoptic gospels all record the Lord Himself speaking of eternal judgement and Hell: Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 9:44-49, Luke 16:19-31). Why would Jesus warn people about a place of eternal punishment if He, being God, knew that they would never have a chance of enduring it? Was it some sort of deceptive effort by the one called the Truth (John 14:6) to scare people into following Him while He was on earth? Or perhaps, He really was speaking the truth. Everyday I witness people who mock Him and take His name in vain. There are even those in this world who openly curse Him. Are they to have an equal part with those who truly turn to Him and call Him Lord? The above scriptures are just a few that answer that question.
Some people think that it would be unfair of God not to save everyone. The problem is that when we fail to see God for who He is "holy holy holy" (Isaiah 6:3, Revelations 4:8) and fail to realize the eternal chasm that exists between His righteousness and our sinfulness (Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 15:19), our view of Him becomes less reverential. Part of the Bible's message is that man through his sin has offended a HOLY GOD. God is so set apart from us in His holiness, that our sin will separate us from Him for an eternity. Viewing this across the plains of humanity (on a human level) makes it hard to believe, but when viewing it from the High and Lofty throne of God (Isaiah 6) it becomes evident. The Bible tells us that the "good deeds" of humanity are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6) and that we are so depraved that without His intervention none of us would ever come to Him (Romans 3).
As we fail to see God as GOD, we will make the terrible mistake of trying to pull Him down to a human level, something that is more moldable to our own imaginations, and that is where graven images are first formed. We often try to make God's nature fit who we imagine Him to be, or who we would like Him to be. But, we must understand that we cannot completely understand Him or His purposes. He is eternal; we are created and are not to question His sovereign judgement (Romans 9), whether it makes sense to our limited, biased, and tainted way of thinking (Jeremiah 18:12, Romans 8:7,8), or not.
We can try to numb the reality of eternal suffering with an anesthetic of wishful thinking that all will inherit the kingdom of heaven, and turn our heads as not to look at the severity of the wound that sin has caused, but that will not change the fact that there is a deadly wound and it can only be healed by Jesus Christ. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" 1Corinthians 15:22. The all in the second part refers to those who are in Christ as explained in the very next verse "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" 1 Corinthians 15:23. The Bible is clear; those who do not come to Christ cannot be healed and receive eternal life. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" 1 John 5:11-12.
I personally know that I am undeserving of anything that God has given me, including eternal salvation. It is only because of His mercy and great love that I have received salvation, as He is a loving, gracious, and merciful God. But, He is also a God of righteous judgement who will not allow sin to go unpunished; and He is just in doing so. The problem is that we do not see the severity of our own sin. Sin is rebellion against God; and to reject Jesus Christ in this lifetime is to be a rebel for eternity. Salvation is for those who desire a personal relationship with Him.
"But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
John 10:26-28
Copyright 2000 A. Mitchell Moore, Jr.