Finality of Eternal Judgment

We live in the love-conquers-all age, and this affects the way we think about God. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly acceptable to believe that God will save all, since all His creatures are entitled to His love, right? Even if this universal salvation requires the unbeliever to endure a temporary purgatory, "evangelical universalists" (EU) believe all will eventually be saved.

However, Scripture refuses to support this notion. For one thing, it requires us to have faith. Jesus had been unequivocal about this requirement:

• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life...Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16, 18 ESV)

There is no indication that this will only be a temporary condemnation. Nor do other verses make any such suggestion:

• “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life...Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:24, 28-29)

Jesus had consistently distinguished between two groups of people - the saved and the unsaved:

• “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels... And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41, 46)

The fate of the unsaved was just as eternal as that of the saved. Jesus gave no indication that the unsaved would later be given another chance. Instead, He explicitly taught that some would never be forgiven (Luke 16):

• “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:32)

Scripture speaks with finality regarding those who have rejected Jesus:

• And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. (Revelation 14:11)

• and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10 )

The Bible often uses the term “destruction” to describe the eternal fate of the unbeliever:

• Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:19 )

This doesn’t leave any hope for an after-death salvation:

• They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

According to Jesus, this represented a fate that was worse than death:

• “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

Therefore, compassion should require us to warn of this horrid eternal fate:

• For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27; 6:4-8; 12:25-29)

These verses preclude the possibility of any future hope for those who continue to refuse to repent.

Besides, the teaching of a universal salvation would encourage many to continue to sin. If Scripture is correct, then this teaching offers a deceptive and deadly hope.

Jude describes the fate of the false teachers as the “gloom of utter darkness...reserved forever.” (Jude 13;

2 Peter 2:17)

If all are to be saved, then all of the warnings of the Bible are needless and misleading.

Nowhere in Scripture do we read anything like: "Well, they might not have life in this life, but in the next life, they will have life." Instead, Scripture offers no hope for those who reject Jesus in this life. No evidence of post-death salvation! To preach otherwise is to go beyond Scripture and to even oppose it. Instead, His Word continually warns that there are eternal consequences for the unrepentant:

• The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9)

How then do EUs justify their claim? There are a number of verses that claim that Jesus will reconcile all things to Himself, for example:

• and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens...if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel... (Colossians 1:20, 23)

However, the EU conveniently omits the condition that follows - to “continue in the faith.” In light of this condition, it is not possible that all will be saved. Instead, salvation requires a faith that will “endure to the end” (Matthew 10:22).

If universal salvation is a fact, most of the Bible is irrelevant. If all are to be saved, why evangelize, pray, study the Bible, believe, repent, or follow the Lord? All such teachings are needless if all are saved in the end.

In short, EU represents the rejection of the Christian faith.