heaven, hell, universalism and rob bell - part 2

A Look at the Theology of Rob Bell & “Love Wins”

Part 2

www.confidentchristians.org

Review: What are we Talking About?

On March 15, 2011, HarperOne

publishers releases Emergent

Church leader Rob Bell‘s new

book ―Love Wins‖.

The promotional video for the

book immediately raised

speculations in Christendom that

Rob Bell was a universalist, and

what has followed since then has

been one of the largest theological

firestorms in some time.


Review: What did We Cover Last Time?

• Universalism or ―Ultimate

Reconciliation‖ teaches that all people

will ultimately be reconciled to God,

either in this life or the next

• Rob Bell denies being a universalist

and says he believes in Hell, but yet

his writings are universalist in nature

and the Hell he speaks about does not

seem to equate with Scripture

• Others such as Origen and Socinus

have taught very similar things

• Bell says he really doesn‘t know how

everything turns out; that it is all

―speculation‖

What does the Bible teach about Eternal Punishment?


A hallmark of the Emerging Church and their leaders like Bell is that they say

we can‘t really know what the Bible means or teaches on many subjects.

They call their stance one of ‗humility‘.

Yet, the Bible is very explicit and clear on every core doctrine of the Christian

faith. This is sometimes referred to as the ―perspicuity‖ of Scripture.

The Clarity or „Perspicuity‟ of Scripture


The Old Testament and Eternal Punishment

―Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons

of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never

occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your

people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. ―Many

of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting

life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.‖

(Daniel 12:1–2)

• The passage speaks about Israel‘s future,

but it is hard to imagine Israel would be

handled one way by God where eternity is

concerned and everyone else differently

• There is a book that contains the names of

the saved

• The same ―everlasting‖ that applies to the

saved and their ‗life‘ also applies to the

condemned

• The word ―contempt‖ literally means

―abhorrence‖


Did Jesus Believe in a Literal Hell?

―There is one very serious defect to my

mind in Christ‘s moral character, and it is

that He believed in Hell. I do not myself

feel that any person who is really

profoundly humane can believe in

everlasting punishment. . . . one does

find repeatedly a vindictive fury against

those people who would not listen to His

preaching. . . . I must say that I think all

this doctrine, that hell-fire is a

punishment for sin, is a doctrine of

cruelty.‖

- Bertrand Russell


Jesus‟ Teaching on Eternal Punishment

―Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine

linen, joyously living in splendor every day. ―And a poor man named

Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with

the crumbs which were falling from the rich man‘s table; besides, even the

dogs were coming and licking his sores. ―Now the poor man died and was

carried away by the angels to Abraham‘s bosom; and the rich man also

died and was buried. ―In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and

saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. ―And he cried out and

said, ‗Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he

may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in

agony in this flame.‘ ―But Abraham said, ‗Child, remember that during your

life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but

now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ‗And besides all

this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who

wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may

cross over from there to us‘ "

(Luke 16:19–26)


What does the Passage Teach?

• Judgment is decisive –

immediately after their death, the

rich man and Lazarus were

ushered into their eternal

destinies

• Judgment is unpleasant – the rich

man specifically said, ―I am in

agony…‖

• Judgment is final – Abraham

describes there is no further

chance for those who end up in

punishment to spend eternity with

God: ―none may cross over from

there to us‖


What does Bell Say?

―No matter how painful, brutal,

oppressive, no matter how far

people find themselves from home

because of their sin, indifference,

and rejection, there‘s always the

assurance that it won‘t be this way

forever‖ (p. 86).

―Failure , we see again and again,

isn‘t final, judgment has a point,

and consequences are for

correction‖ (p. 88).



―And he said, ‗Then I beg you, father, that you send

him to my father‘s house— for I have five brothers—

in order that he may warn them, so that they will not

also come to this place of torment.‘ ―But Abraham

said, ‗They have Moses and the Prophets; let them

hear them.‘ ―But he said, ‗No, father Abraham, but if

someone goes to them from the dead, they will

repent!‘ ―But he said to him, ‗If they do not listen to

Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded

even if someone rises from the dead.‘‖

(Luke 16:27–31)


What does the Passage Teach?

• There is no hint the rich man felt

something better was possible for

him or was coming

• The condemned are very much

conscious and aware, and also

remember their lives on earth

• The condemned greatly desire that

those they care about not share

their fate

• God‘s Word is what instructs

people on matters of eternal life

and death

• Even miraculous signs, including

someone being raised from the

dead, are not more persuasive than

God‘s Word


Jesus‟ Teaching on Eternal Punishment vs. Bell

―Enter through the narrow gate; for

the gate is wide and the way is broad

that leads to destruction, and there

are many who enter through it. ―For

the gate is small and the way is

narrow that leads to life, and there

are few who find it. "

(Matthew 7:13–14)

―Many will say to Me on that day,

‗Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in

Your name, and in Your name cast

out demons, and in Your name

perform many miracles?‘ ―And then I

will declare to them, ‗I never knew

you; depart from Me, you who

practice lawlessness.‘ "

(Matthew 7:22–23)

―A staggering number of people have

been taught that a select few

Christians will spend forever in a

peaceful, joyous place called

heaven, while the rest of humanity

spends forever in torment and

punishment in hell with no chance for

anything better. It‘s been clearly

communicated to many that this

belief is a central truth of the

Christian faith and to reject it is, in

essence, to reject Jesus. This is

misguided and toxic and ultimately

subverts the contagious spread of

Jesus‘ message of love, peace,

forgiveness, and joy that our world

desperately needs to hear‖

(Love Wins, pg. viii)


Jesus‟ Teaching on Eternal Punishment vs. Bell

―But when the Son of Man comes in His

glory, and all the angels with Him, then

He will sit on His glorious throne. ―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.

. . . 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 . . .

These will go away into eternal

punishment, but the righteous into

eternal life.‖

(Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46)

―Of all the billions of people who have

ever lived, will only a select number

‗make it to a better place‘ and every

single other person will suffer in torment

and punishment forever? Is this

acceptable to God? Has God created

millions of people over tens of thousands

of years who are going to spend eternity

in anguish? Can God do this, or even

allow this, and still claim to be a loving

God? Does God punish people for

thousands of years with infinite, eternal

torment for things they did in their few,

finite years of life? This doesn‘t just raise

disturbing questions about God, it raises

questions about the beliefs

themselves… What kind of faith is that?

Or more importantly: What kind of God is

that?‖ (Love Wins, pp. 2-3)



• ―And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will

descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which

occurred in you, it would have remained to this day‖ (Matthew 11:23)

• ―So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at

the end of the age. ―The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they

will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit

lawlessness‖ (Matthew 13:40–41)

• ―So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out

the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the

furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth‖

(Matthew 13:49–50)

• ―Then the king said to the servants, ‗Bind him hand and foot, and throw

him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and

gnashing of teeth‘" (Matthew 22:13)

• ―Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel

around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes

one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves" (Matthew

23:15)



• ―You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of

hell?" (Matthew 23:33)

• ―If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter

life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the

unquenchable fire‖ (Mark 9:43)

• ―But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed,

has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!‖ ( Luke 12:5)

• "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey

the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him"(John 3:36)

• "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the

tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good

deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a

resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29)

• ―He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He

who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death‘ " (Revelation 2:11)


Paul‟s Teaching on Eternal Punishment

• ―For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict

you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the

Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in

flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to

those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the

penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and

from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints

on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our

testimony to you was believed. " (2 Thessalonians 1:6–10)

• ―For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping,

that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction,

whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set

their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which

also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians

3:18–20)

• ―Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this

he will also reap.‖ (Galatians 6:7)


Peter‟s Teaching on Eternal Punishment• For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell

and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did

not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of

righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the

world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and

Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them

an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He

rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled

men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living

among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their

lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from

temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of

judgment" (2 Peter 2:4–9)

• ―These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom

the black darkness has been reserved. " (2 Peter 2:17)

• ―But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for

fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." (2

Peter 3:7)


John‟s Record in Revelation of Eternal Punishment

• ―Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over

these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and

of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6)

• ―Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the

second death, the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14)

• ―But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and

immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will

be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second

death" (Revelation 21:8)


What does Bell Say?

"When we get to what happens when we

die, we don't have any video footage,"

says Bell. "So let's at least be honest

that we are speculating, because we

are." He is quick to note, though, that his

own speculation, while unconventional,

is not unprecedented. "At the center of

the Christian tradition since the first

church," Bell writes, "have been a

number who insist that history is not

tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the

end, wins and all will be reconciled to

God.―

- Interview with Time Magazine


Any Chance for Post-Mortem Evangelism?

―It is appointed for men to die once and after this

comes judgment‖

(Hebrews 9:27)


C. S. Lewis on Hell

"There are only two kinds of

people in the end: those

who say to God, 'Thy will be

done,' and those to whom

God says, in the end, 'Thy

will be done.' All that are in

Hell chose it.‖

- C. S. Lewis

A Look at God‟s Love and His Justice


Bell on God‟s Character

―Millions have been taught that if they don‘t believe, if they don‘t accept in the right

way according to the person telling them the gospel, and they were hit by a car and

died later that same day, God would have no choice but to punish them forever in

conscious torment in hell. God would, in essence, become a fundamentally

different being to them in that moment of death, a different being to them forever. A

loving heavenly father who will go to extraordinary lengths to have a relationship

with them would, in the blink of an eye, become a cruel, mean, vicious tormenter

who would insure that they would have no escape from an endless future of agony.

If there was an earthly father who was like that, we would call the authorities.

If there was an actual human dad who was that volatile, we would contact child

protection services immediately. If God can switch gears like that, switch entire

modes of being that quickly, that raises a thousand questions about whether a

being like this could ever be trusted. Let alone be good. Loving one moment,

vicious the next. Kind and compassionate, only to become cruel and relentless in

the blink of an eye. Does God become somebody totally different the moment you

die? That kind of God is simply devastating. Psychologically crushing. We can‘t

bear it. No one can. . . . That God is terrifying and traumatizing and unbearable.‖

(Love Wins, pgs.173–75)


God is Indeed Love

• "The Lord‘s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never

fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.―(Lamentations 3:22-

23)

• But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

• For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor

things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any

other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in

Christ Jesus our Lord. " (Romans 8:38–39)

• The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. " (1 John 4:8)

• We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is

love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. " (1

John 4:16)


But God is Also Just

• ―Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the

wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it

from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?‖ (Gen. 18:25)

• ―And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment

for the peoples with equity.‖ (Psalm 9:8)

• "Before the LORD; for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the

world with righteousness, And the peoples with equity." (Psalms 98:9)


The Uniqueness of God‟s Justice

In every other religion in the world that holds to the idea of a

supreme deity, that deity‘s mercy is always exercised at the expense

of its justice. For example, in Islam, Allah may grant mercy to an

individual, but it‘s always done at the expense of his justice.

Christianity is different. In Christianity, God exercises His mercy

through His justice.


Christ Died for God‟s Righteousness

Christ did indeed die for sinners, but He

also died as a demonstration of God‘s

righteousness. The Apostle Paul makes

this clear when he says, ―being justified

as a gift by His grace through the

redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

whom God displayed publicly as a

propitiation in His blood through faith.

This was to demonstrate His

righteousness, because in the

forbearance of God He passed over

the sins previously committed; for the

demonstration, I say, of His

righteousness at the present time, so

that He would be just and the justifier of

the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans

3:24–26)


Limited or Universal Atonement?

If God is love…

And if Christ died a substitutionary

sacrifice for all sinners…

Then, what keeps everyone from

spending eternity with God?

Answer: The atonement of Christ is

limited. It is limited to those who believe:

―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)


What does Bell Say?

―Many people have heard the gospel

framed in terms of rescue. God has to

punish sinners, because God is holy, but

Jesus has paid the price for our sin, and

so we can have eternal life. However

true or untrue that is technically or

theologically, what it can do is subtly

teach people that Jesus rescues us from

God. Let‘s be very clear, then: we do not

need to be rescued from God.‖ (p. 182)

Who is ―we‖? If Bell means Christians,

OK, but that doesn‘t seem to be who he

is speaking about…


Bell vs. Paul―Many people have heard the gospel framed in terms of

rescue. God has to punish sinners, because God is

holy, but Jesus has paid the price for our sin, and so we

can have eternal life. However true or untrue that is

technically or theologically, what it can do is subtly teach

people that Jesus rescues us from God. Let‘s be very

clear, then: we do not need to be rescued from God.‖ (p.

182)

―For they themselves report about us what

kind of a reception we had with you, and

how you turned to God from idols to serve a

living and true God, and to wait for His Son

from heaven, whom He raised from the

dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the

wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10)

VS.


Question…

If sinful people don‘t need to be rescued from God, then who

or what should they fear? And to what or whom is the wrath of

God talked about in the Bible directed?

• So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him,

―You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? " (Luke

3:7)

• ―He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son

will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.‖ " (John 3:36)

• For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and

unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, " (Romans

1:18)

• But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up

wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of

God" (Romans 2:5)

• but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey

unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. " (Romans 2:8)

• "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,

we shall be saved from the wrath of God through

Him.‖(Romans 5:9)

• "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining

salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ‖ (1 Thessalonians

5:9)

Believers are Delivered from God‟s Wrath


God‟s Wrath is Real and is Coming

• What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His

power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for

destruction? " (Romans 9:22)

• and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ―Fall on us and hide us

from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of

the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to

stand?‖ " (Revelation 6:16–17)

―The church has failed to tell me that I am a sinner. The church

has failed to deal with me as a lost individual. The church has

failed to offer me salvation in Jesus Christ alone. The church has

failed to tell me of the horrible consequences of sin, the certainty

of hell, and the fact that Jesus Christ alone can save. We need

more of the last judgment and less of the Golden Rule, more of

the living God and the living devil as well, more of a heaven to

gain and a hell to shun. The church must bring me not a message

of cultivation but of rebirth. I might fail that kind of church, but that

kind of church will not fail me.‖

- Stanley High


God‟s Wrath is Coming upon Unbelievers

• Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the

wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. " (Ephesians 5:6)

• Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to

immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to

idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come

upon the sons of disobedience" (Colossians 3:5–6)

• ―For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‗The Lord said to my Lord, ―Sit at My right

hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.‖ ‘ " (Luke 20:42–43)

• " And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called

Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of

fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one

knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called

The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and

clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that

with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He

treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty."(Revelation 19:11-15)

Jesus is Coming in Wrath

Sign of execution

―And there is salvation in no one else; for

there is no other name under heaven that has

been given among men by which we must be

saved.‖ " (Acts 4:12)

(Jude 1-2)

Soteria

Word Study – Salvation

① Deliverance

② PreservationArndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-

English lexicon of the New Testament and other early

Christian literature.

Greek Meaning

Interpretation & Application

―Jesus Saves‖ is a very familiar phrase that Christians use to describe what Jesus offers to the

unbeliever. But saved … from what? The word salvation literally means ―deliverance‖. Christians

have been delivered by God through the atoning death of Christ. But what have they been

delivered from? Simply bad choices, the consequences that naturally come from sinful living, or

something much more? While there is no question that God provides wisdom through salvation

and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit for proper living, the overarching theme of salvation is that

believes have been saved from the wrath of God that will come.

On an American troopship, the soldiers crowded

around their chaplain asking, ―Do you believe in

hell?‖ ―I do not‖, replied the chaplain. ―Well, then,

will you please resign, for if there is no hell, we do

not need you, and if there is a hell, we do not

wish to be led astray.‖

Is there Biblical Support for Universalism? We‟ll Look at that in Part 3 of this Series…

heaven, hell, universalism and rob bell - part 2

Spiritual

father abraham

similar things bell

inagony judgment

time michael

therich man

time of distress

literal hell

christendom thatrob