Self-publishing is a blessing and curse. Every time I read something I want to revise what I have written. And it’s not hard to edit the files and re-upload them. I first published my book on hell in 2017. Six years later, I think it’s finally done.
I recently had something of a breakthrough on this topic. I realized that I had been missing something big in my conclusion. Here’s part of what I added.
Does a person involved in drug trafficking and murder need to hear “all shall be well?” Should the Christian message provide comfort to unrepentant criminals? Of course not. Obstinate sinners must hear the message of the prophets, apostles, and Jesus himself—“Repent!” In other words, “turn around; you are going the wrong way.” They need to hear, “A man reaps what he sows” (Gal 6:7), “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23), “There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil” (Rom 2:9), and God “has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed” (Acts 17:31). While the apostles didn’t describe afterlife punishment in the book of Acts, they warned their audiences and even pleaded with them. Instead of comforting their listeners, the apostles distressed their audiences. After Peter addressed the crowd in Jerusalem, Luke writes, “They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37). If the Christian message is merely providing comfort to criminals, it is no longer Christian.
What about deeply devout believers who are in anguish over the suffering in the world and the afterlife separation described in Scripture? What do they need to hear? What will help them overcome their agony? Probably something like God will be “all in all” and “all shall be well.”[i]
What about a loving parent who loses a child in a fatal car accident? And on and on we could go.
This doesn’t mean that afterlife reality is merely subjective, dependent on the state of the listener. Nor does it mean that we are being deceptive in answering in different ways. Both possibilities—discomfort and comfort—are objectively true. Some, in the present moment, are heading for distress after they die; others are not. Likewise, as we have seen, the Bible conveys both an afterlife separation and a universal unity with everyone bowing and confessing Christ as Lord. So, both are biblical answers. But what really matters for all of us is our current relationship with God and others. “Where are you now in relation to God and your neighbor?” What we need to hear depends on which direction we are heading.
Every good coach knows this. Some players need to hear, “Great job! I’m proud of you!” Others need to be warned, “If you skip another practice, you’re not playing in the game.” Hence, instead of finding the one right answer on this topic and repeating it like a parrot to whoever we talk to, we must consider the needs of our listeners.
[i] This is not a hypothetical scenario. Both Julian of Norwich (c. 1342–1416) and Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911) endured this agony and both were relieved with a similar revelation. In Julian’s case, “all shall be well” soothed her soul. In Smith’s case, the “all” in Paul’s statement, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22) brought deliverance from distress. We will encounter Julian’s story shortly. For Smith’s account, see The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered it: My Spiritual Autobiography (New York: Revell, 1903), chap. 22. Cited in Gregory MacDonald, The Evangelical Universalist, preface.
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After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.