I have recently completed the second edition of my book Surprised by Hell. In the five years since its original publication, I have continued reading and reflecting on this challenging topic. One book that has been incorporated into this new version is That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell and Universal Salvation by David Bentley Hart. Published in 2019, Hart’s book is a robust affirmation of Christian universalism. Along with eternal conscious torment and annihilationism, Christian universalism is one of the three major views of hell covered in the book.
In addition to interacting with new books, this edition adds two chapters to the discussion of the Greek word gehenna, translated as hell in the New Testament. Originally Gehenna was used to refer to the Valley of Hinnom, located on the southern border of the city of Jerusalem. Trying to understand Gehenna was the hardest part of revising this book because it involved changing my mind about how Jesus used that term. In total, the four chapters on Gehenna now cover almost 50 pages. I have also added details to chapter 2 on the intermediate state and the conclusion in chapter 17 has been revised.
I wrote this book to explain what the Bible says about hell. That may sound like a simple objective, but things get complicated when digging into ancient Hebrew, Greek, and apocalyptic literature. Fortunately, I had a lot of help—key Christian thinkers who have tackled this subject throughout the past two thousand years. While their insights were vital, they offer differing views. For example, Augustine (AD 354–430) promoted eternal conscious torment and Gregory of Nyssa (AD 335–395) argued for universal salvation in Christ. In the end, I still had to make tough choices.
I know this topic may not be on the top of your reading list, but if you are interested in the Bible, life after death, history, philosophy, literary interpretation, and following clues, I think you will like this book. (If you purchased the previous Kindle version, you can update your version by following these steps.)
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.