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Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven?
Both outside and inside of the church, many people today are increasingly uncomfortable with hell. They wonder:How could it be fair to punish anyone for eternity?Will Jesus really condemn millions simply for not believing the right things about him? Isn’t God a God of love, not vengeance?The top-notch contributors to Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? tackle these and other questions with an even-handed survey of the Bible’s teaching on this difficult subject. Together, they present a careful case for upholding hell, showing that it remains central to a right understanding of God, the gospel, humanity, and God’s purposes for the world.Useful for group discussion or individual study, Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? provides an accessible introduction to the historic Christian doctrine of hell.
96 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2011
34 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
About the author
Timothy J. Keller
397 books5,676 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 19, 2021
Short read on the subject of hell. I believe you can't fully believe the Bible without the doctrine of hell. It is a part of the gospel. Whether this book will convince someone who denies it I don't know. It is a good place to start. Other than the Bible.
November 27, 2013
Given the content, authors, and previous reviews, I was expecting an abridged version of the book Hell under Fire. That said, this book departs, although not in the best of ways. Because of its short length, a lot of the arguments that are elaborated on in Hell under Fire are mentioned but not elaborated on or developed.
Chapter 1: Albert Mohler
The main message is “don’t forget, whenever people stopped thinking Hell was not a place of eternal torment, they became liberals and cultists and turned people against God!” Not much of an actual persuasive argument is made beyond the implied argument that eternal torment has never had any decent adherents and so it shouldn't be believed.
Chapter 2: Robert Yarbrough
Typical prooftexts. However, there are some especially bad arguments as well:
In responding to the claim by Edward Fudge that Isaiah 66:24 is speaking of a fire that burns things up (which is usually what happens when you throw a “dead body” into a fire…), Yarbrough rebuts, “A fire that continues to burn until nothing remains is not unqeunchable; instead, it goes out after everything burns up.
But such a fire is unquenchable. Unquenchable does not mean a fire that burns for eternity. That’s simply not what unquenchable means. It’s not what it means in English. It’s not what it means in Greek or Hebrew. It’s certainly not what God meant in Ezekiel 20:47 or Jeremiah 17:27, where He warned of earthly fires that have since gone out, saying that they “will not be quenched.” To quench a fire means to put it out. A fire that burns everything and goes out on its own is one that has not been quenched, and such a fire that cannot be put out is, by definition, unquenchable.
“Further, destruction cannot be completed and at the same time "last for all eternity."
Yes it can…When something is destroyed, the result is “destruction.” To say that the destruction lasts for all eternity simply means that the thing destroyed will never be rebuilt/remade/revived, and thus stays in the state of destruction forever.
And of course, we can’t forget that the reason people rethink Hell is because they don’t take Jesus’ teachings in the gospel seriously…
There are other inaccuracies, of course, such as the claim that an unnamed church council condemned conditionalism (he’s thinking of the second council of Constantinople, which only addressed universalism). And Arnobious was not the first to hold to conditional immortality. Aside from the really good case one could make for some of the earliest fathers (e.g. Irenaeus of Lyons, Ignatius of Antioch), the fact that some writers prior to Arnobius (like Tertullian) had to address annihilationism at all means the view was being held by Christians at the time.
And like many traditionalists who are either slanderers or have never seen the whole quote, he quotes John Stott from Evangelical Essentials to imply that John Stott held to annihilationism because he found the traditional view emotionally intolerable (not because, as Stott explicitly says in that same paragraph, and then demonstrates in his arguments, he finds the traditional view to be unbiblical).
The chapter really misses the mark.
Chapter 3: Christopher Morgan
Morgan attempts to give a broad overview of what the rest of the New Testament says about Hell, and sum it up in three pictures. However, one of his pictures is destruction (used a bit interchangeably with death). On the one hand, he is right, death and destruction are major pictures of Hell. And, unlike the others, they occur in straightforward descriptions and not just parables and apocalyptic literature...But because this is a short chapter, very little explanation is given as to how this doesn't at least give us reason to rethink the traditional view. Basically, we are told that destruction can mean ruin in the Bible sometimes, and so that's what it ultimately signifies here (since Revelation 14:9-11, so there...).
Not that Hell under Fire was convincing, but the authors could at least develop their arguments. Here, we basically have Morgan unintentionally giving a great introduction to the case for conditionalism from the epistles of Paul (emphasizing death and destruction), saying Revelation 14:9-11 and 20:10 (and a few others in that book) point to eternal torment, and then tells us destruction is one of the pictures God uses for eternal torment. I almost wonder if some readers may read this and think "wait, the Bible talks about destruction that much? That doesn't sound like eternal torment..."
Chapter 4: Robert Peterson
Actually, I was surprised at this section. I'm not a huge fan or Robert Peterson's work in general. Yet here, instead of attempting to make a persuasive case for the view of hell as a place of everlasting torment, he instead discusses judgment proper from areas of systematic theology. And actually, I think it's a pretty good section; not just good compared to the rest, but in fact an overall useful discussion on issues like human freedom vs. God's sovereignty when it comes to sin and judgment. So, no real complaints about Chapter 4 at least.
Chapter 5: J.I. Packer
Here, Packer deals with universalism. His characterizations of universalists are a bit broad, though based on my experience, less unfair than those made of conditionalists.
He points to some traditionalist prooftexts which admittedly do a better job against universalism than conditionalism. He ends with some (common) philosophical arguments against universalism that even I, no being a universalist, see the folly of. He argues that universalists underplay the seriousness of sin, if those in hell can be rehabilitated and given eternal life. But the problem with this argument should be obvious: some sinners are saved and not punished! After all, the whole point of Christianity is that those who believe are saved because of Jesus' sacrifice. No one says that that minimizes sin. If it is the case that Jesus' death saves us, how could it then be unjust that it saves everyone? Sin was just as strong with us, but our savior was stronger.
He also then goes on to conflate Arminianism with universalism, saying that since most universalists believe in free will, they don't understand that sin makes people too corrupt to ever choose salvation, and therefore universalism is false. That's just sloppy and irrelevant; Arminianism is by no means central to universalism, and there are at least some (perhaps many) who hold to what is essentially calvinism, except that God eventually opens everyone's eyes to see Jesus (and not just some people).
So, this chapter forced me to defend universalism, which I am not apt to do...
Appendix: Tim Keller
Keller, addressing societies obsession with "tolerance" and the subsequent disbelief in divine judgment that comes with it, appeals to some answers to this line of refuting hell. That in itself is a good thing, but in doing so, he seems to imply that Jesus suffered the equivalent of hell while He was on the cross, being rejected by the Father. The problem is (and Keller is not alone in this idea), if Jesus' conscious suffering in the cross was Him taking our punishment in full (i.e. experiencing the equivalent of hell), then what was the point of His death? Why would He have had to die in the first place if it was already done?
Conclusion:
Morgan and Peterson together give some concluding remarks, reiterating some of the points made in the previous chapters. However, due to the very short length, they don't really elaborate on or develop their claims, and some of them were not elaborated on in the chapters where they presumably came from, leaving us kind of only half-way there.
My Conclusion
Whereas Hell under Fire was a lot of proof-texting and bad arguments, at least the arguments had a chance to be developed. Here, we are just given unbelievable statements, likely in part due to the shortened length. I am almost tempted to give it to friends I hope to convince that Hell is not a place of eternal torment, just so they can see some of the bad arguments, and I can easily rebut them. Hell is real, and not everyone goes to Heaven; that said, this book fell short of proving that Hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment.
Chapter 1: Albert Mohler
The main message is “don’t forget, whenever people stopped thinking Hell was not a place of eternal torment, they became liberals and cultists and turned people against God!” Not much of an actual persuasive argument is made beyond the implied argument that eternal torment has never had any decent adherents and so it shouldn't be believed.
Chapter 2: Robert Yarbrough
Typical prooftexts. However, there are some especially bad arguments as well:
In responding to the claim by Edward Fudge that Isaiah 66:24 is speaking of a fire that burns things up (which is usually what happens when you throw a “dead body” into a fire…), Yarbrough rebuts, “A fire that continues to burn until nothing remains is not unqeunchable; instead, it goes out after everything burns up.
But such a fire is unquenchable. Unquenchable does not mean a fire that burns for eternity. That’s simply not what unquenchable means. It’s not what it means in English. It’s not what it means in Greek or Hebrew. It’s certainly not what God meant in Ezekiel 20:47 or Jeremiah 17:27, where He warned of earthly fires that have since gone out, saying that they “will not be quenched.” To quench a fire means to put it out. A fire that burns everything and goes out on its own is one that has not been quenched, and such a fire that cannot be put out is, by definition, unquenchable.
“Further, destruction cannot be completed and at the same time "last for all eternity."
Yes it can…When something is destroyed, the result is “destruction.” To say that the destruction lasts for all eternity simply means that the thing destroyed will never be rebuilt/remade/revived, and thus stays in the state of destruction forever.
And of course, we can’t forget that the reason people rethink Hell is because they don’t take Jesus’ teachings in the gospel seriously…
There are other inaccuracies, of course, such as the claim that an unnamed church council condemned conditionalism (he’s thinking of the second council of Constantinople, which only addressed universalism). And Arnobious was not the first to hold to conditional immortality. Aside from the really good case one could make for some of the earliest fathers (e.g. Irenaeus of Lyons, Ignatius of Antioch), the fact that some writers prior to Arnobius (like Tertullian) had to address annihilationism at all means the view was being held by Christians at the time.
And like many traditionalists who are either slanderers or have never seen the whole quote, he quotes John Stott from Evangelical Essentials to imply that John Stott held to annihilationism because he found the traditional view emotionally intolerable (not because, as Stott explicitly says in that same paragraph, and then demonstrates in his arguments, he finds the traditional view to be unbiblical).
The chapter really misses the mark.
Chapter 3: Christopher Morgan
Morgan attempts to give a broad overview of what the rest of the New Testament says about Hell, and sum it up in three pictures. However, one of his pictures is destruction (used a bit interchangeably with death). On the one hand, he is right, death and destruction are major pictures of Hell. And, unlike the others, they occur in straightforward descriptions and not just parables and apocalyptic literature...But because this is a short chapter, very little explanation is given as to how this doesn't at least give us reason to rethink the traditional view. Basically, we are told that destruction can mean ruin in the Bible sometimes, and so that's what it ultimately signifies here (since Revelation 14:9-11, so there...).
Not that Hell under Fire was convincing, but the authors could at least develop their arguments. Here, we basically have Morgan unintentionally giving a great introduction to the case for conditionalism from the epistles of Paul (emphasizing death and destruction), saying Revelation 14:9-11 and 20:10 (and a few others in that book) point to eternal torment, and then tells us destruction is one of the pictures God uses for eternal torment. I almost wonder if some readers may read this and think "wait, the Bible talks about destruction that much? That doesn't sound like eternal torment..."
Chapter 4: Robert Peterson
Actually, I was surprised at this section. I'm not a huge fan or Robert Peterson's work in general. Yet here, instead of attempting to make a persuasive case for the view of hell as a place of everlasting torment, he instead discusses judgment proper from areas of systematic theology. And actually, I think it's a pretty good section; not just good compared to the rest, but in fact an overall useful discussion on issues like human freedom vs. God's sovereignty when it comes to sin and judgment. So, no real complaints about Chapter 4 at least.
Chapter 5: J.I. Packer
Here, Packer deals with universalism. His characterizations of universalists are a bit broad, though based on my experience, less unfair than those made of conditionalists.
He points to some traditionalist prooftexts which admittedly do a better job against universalism than conditionalism. He ends with some (common) philosophical arguments against universalism that even I, no being a universalist, see the folly of. He argues that universalists underplay the seriousness of sin, if those in hell can be rehabilitated and given eternal life. But the problem with this argument should be obvious: some sinners are saved and not punished! After all, the whole point of Christianity is that those who believe are saved because of Jesus' sacrifice. No one says that that minimizes sin. If it is the case that Jesus' death saves us, how could it then be unjust that it saves everyone? Sin was just as strong with us, but our savior was stronger.
He also then goes on to conflate Arminianism with universalism, saying that since most universalists believe in free will, they don't understand that sin makes people too corrupt to ever choose salvation, and therefore universalism is false. That's just sloppy and irrelevant; Arminianism is by no means central to universalism, and there are at least some (perhaps many) who hold to what is essentially calvinism, except that God eventually opens everyone's eyes to see Jesus (and not just some people).
So, this chapter forced me to defend universalism, which I am not apt to do...
Appendix: Tim Keller
Keller, addressing societies obsession with "tolerance" and the subsequent disbelief in divine judgment that comes with it, appeals to some answers to this line of refuting hell. That in itself is a good thing, but in doing so, he seems to imply that Jesus suffered the equivalent of hell while He was on the cross, being rejected by the Father. The problem is (and Keller is not alone in this idea), if Jesus' conscious suffering in the cross was Him taking our punishment in full (i.e. experiencing the equivalent of hell), then what was the point of His death? Why would He have had to die in the first place if it was already done?
Conclusion:
Morgan and Peterson together give some concluding remarks, reiterating some of the points made in the previous chapters. However, due to the very short length, they don't really elaborate on or develop their claims, and some of them were not elaborated on in the chapters where they presumably came from, leaving us kind of only half-way there.
My Conclusion
Whereas Hell under Fire was a lot of proof-texting and bad arguments, at least the arguments had a chance to be developed. Here, we are just given unbelievable statements, likely in part due to the shortened length. I am almost tempted to give it to friends I hope to convince that Hell is not a place of eternal torment, just so they can see some of the bad arguments, and I can easily rebut them. Hell is real, and not everyone goes to Heaven; that said, this book fell short of proving that Hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment.
October 11, 2017
This book is a collection of essays by different religious leaders and theologians who take the reader through the history of how certain Christian denominations, mainstream and now also some evangelical churches have to retreat from the concept of hell and their reasoning behind it.
The writers are thorough in their discussion of the Biblical basis for the reality of hell and why.
Timothy Keller divides into two groups the people who deny hell, even though they would not all agree with each other on everything. The groups are traditionalists and secularists.
Secularists were not of particular interest to me because since if someone does not believe in God why would you believe in an after life, much less an eternity that is filled with torment?
The people who fascinate me are the ones who claim to be Christians while denying the clearly stated tenets of Scripture. Implicitly they are claiming to know more than the writers of the Bible, and essentially to deny the sovereignty of God. They somehow believe God was powerful enough to create the universe but not able reveal Himself and His plan for man and preserve it in writing.
The majority of mainstream denominations have rejected the historical accuracy and inerrancy of Scripture for many years now. What is troubling is that there is a movement in Evangelical denominations to shy away from preaching about hell or even deciding that hell isn't what the church for two thousand years has acknowledged.
There are a variety of reasons given: A good God, a loving Father wouldn't hurt his children; what about good people who aren't Christians or who grew up in a different religion and never heard the Gospel? Or if people do consciously reject God, God's love will wear down the rebels until they finally turn to Him. Other propositions include that if there is a Hell, it is temporary or causes soul annihilation.
The different essayists carefully list every proposition, provides Scripture and Theology to counter these claims and also give disturbing conclusions if what the naysayers say is true.
( A few examples: Are people "doomed" to salvation? Where's free will? And if hell is temporary, doesn't it follow that heaven must also be temporary?)
There is a lot of information and good exegesis packed into this small book and I recommend it to anyone who has felt challenged by people who deny the existence of hell in order because it will help to develop a good working knowledge of Scripture to counter false claims.
The writers are thorough in their discussion of the Biblical basis for the reality of hell and why.
Timothy Keller divides into two groups the people who deny hell, even though they would not all agree with each other on everything. The groups are traditionalists and secularists.
Secularists were not of particular interest to me because since if someone does not believe in God why would you believe in an after life, much less an eternity that is filled with torment?
The people who fascinate me are the ones who claim to be Christians while denying the clearly stated tenets of Scripture. Implicitly they are claiming to know more than the writers of the Bible, and essentially to deny the sovereignty of God. They somehow believe God was powerful enough to create the universe but not able reveal Himself and His plan for man and preserve it in writing.
The majority of mainstream denominations have rejected the historical accuracy and inerrancy of Scripture for many years now. What is troubling is that there is a movement in Evangelical denominations to shy away from preaching about hell or even deciding that hell isn't what the church for two thousand years has acknowledged.
There are a variety of reasons given: A good God, a loving Father wouldn't hurt his children; what about good people who aren't Christians or who grew up in a different religion and never heard the Gospel? Or if people do consciously reject God, God's love will wear down the rebels until they finally turn to Him. Other propositions include that if there is a Hell, it is temporary or causes soul annihilation.
The different essayists carefully list every proposition, provides Scripture and Theology to counter these claims and also give disturbing conclusions if what the naysayers say is true.
( A few examples: Are people "doomed" to salvation? Where's free will? And if hell is temporary, doesn't it follow that heaven must also be temporary?)
There is a lot of information and good exegesis packed into this small book and I recommend it to anyone who has felt challenged by people who deny the existence of hell in order because it will help to develop a good working knowledge of Scripture to counter false claims.
September 11, 2021
As a Christian, the theology of Hell is a difficult one to talk about. There are a lot of questions and uncomfortable answers that most Christians would rather not ask. Is Hell for Real is an honest and theological grounded look at this topic. It expanded my understanding and I would recommend it for anyone interested in the subject.
March 3, 2025
This was a somewhat frustrating book for me. It does a decent job of laying out the historical evangelical view of Hell, but it cartoonizes the alternate viewpoints. Packer’s chapter especially uses fairly derogatory/dismissive language when speaking about universalism. That isn’t fair, I think, when dealing with a doctrine so intense and critical that it causes many people to walk away from their faith.
If you want an even-handed approach to the various views on hell, this is not the book for you. Instead it’s a strongly apologetic argument for eternal conscious torment. I’m not entirely sure who the appropriate audience is, to be honest (though I have the same question about most apologetic books).
I plan to read the more promising book “Four Views on Hell” next.
If you want an even-handed approach to the various views on hell, this is not the book for you. Instead it’s a strongly apologetic argument for eternal conscious torment. I’m not entirely sure who the appropriate audience is, to be honest (though I have the same question about most apologetic books).
I plan to read the more promising book “Four Views on Hell” next.
September 23, 2017
This book does a great job addressing all kinds of opposition to the notion of hell. It doesn't make the reader feel guilty for their struggle to be ok with hell but also makes it very clear that it is a necessary part of Christian belief. The authors debunk universalist and liberal attempts to erase or soften hell, by using Scripture (especially the words of Jesus) and logical arguments.
The book was a nice length. If the authors had gone into more details about the opposing viewpoints or tried harder to be extra sensitive or understanding, it would have been longer and I think that can make it less likely for the average person to read.
The book was a nice length. If the authors had gone into more details about the opposing viewpoints or tried harder to be extra sensitive or understanding, it would have been longer and I think that can make it less likely for the average person to read.
August 16, 2021
Some good chapters & some great illustrations for presenting & defending the biblical view of hell. One thing I found interesting, is that the objections raised by universalists against the doctrine of Hell are very similar to those raise against Reformed theology.
Packer, Morgan, Peterson & Kellers contributions are the most useful. The historical addition by Mohler doesn't add a lot & is too brief & the biblical assessment by Yarbrough is too obvious.
This book would be great for someone new to the faith who wrestles with this doctrine, also it's a great prompt to evangelism.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Packer, Morgan, Peterson & Kellers contributions are the most useful. The historical addition by Mohler doesn't add a lot & is too brief & the biblical assessment by Yarbrough is too obvious.
This book would be great for someone new to the faith who wrestles with this doctrine, also it's a great prompt to evangelism.
Soli Deo Gloria!
March 13, 2021
Editors: Our prayer is that you will join us and countless Christians throughout history and around the world in sharing the whole counsel of God — including hell—with Christians and non-Christians alike. May we do it with a passionate love for the Lord Jesus, abiding conviction in the truthfulness of God’s Word, and heartfelt compassion for the lost.
Thank you Lord for this short book that has strengthened my convictions and belief in the biblical doctrine of hell in this age where the idea of it is disliked and ridiculed.
Thank you Lord for this short book that has strengthened my convictions and belief in the biblical doctrine of hell in this age where the idea of it is disliked and ridiculed.
June 29, 2023
Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? is a handy little primer and reminder of this much neglected and very important Biblical doctrine. It also supplies some forceful refutation of the wishful thinking of Fudge, Stott, and the rest of the Universalist/Annihilationist movement that likes to water down the Good News by removing the bad news.
“Every New Testament author writes about the coming future judgment of hell.” p. 37. Therefore, this easy-to-read book (that can be read in an hour or two), is a timely refresher.
“Every New Testament author writes about the coming future judgment of hell.” p. 37. Therefore, this easy-to-read book (that can be read in an hour or two), is a timely refresher.
April 4, 2019
My main problem with this book is how short it is.
It's not poorly argued. The arguments are not exactly weak or unconvincing. But they don't feel complete. It feels like there is so much more to be said. The entire book feels rushed.
Also, as is typical with a collection of contributors, parts of it were far weaker than others.
It's not poorly argued. The arguments are not exactly weak or unconvincing. But they don't feel complete. It feels like there is so much more to be said. The entire book feels rushed.
Also, as is typical with a collection of contributors, parts of it were far weaker than others.
April 4, 2019
It’s aite. Classic book on heaven/hell. Super basic. But I guess that’s what it was trying to do so maybe my 3/5 is a little uncalled for. This book will not answer hard, tough, deep questions. Look elsewhere for that. If you want an intro, this is a decent start.
August 29, 2017
A good book on an important topic. It shows what the Bible says.
Man's opinion is not relevant. What the Bible says is true.
Man's opinion is not relevant. What the Bible says is true.
May 16, 2022
A quick read about hell. This book written mainly because in the recent years, many teaching of people would be destroyed and not suffer for eternity in hell.
August 27, 2023
This is a really nice introduction and summary of the topic. However, I wouldn't read it if you are looking for a more in-depth dive and study.
July 12, 2016
I had read "Is Hell For Real..." once before, and at the time I thought it presented a strong argument for a literal view of hell as unending torment, whether physical or mental or some combination of the two. The authors in this book argue that hell needs to be taken more seriously, and they reject any view that tries to lessen its seriousness - primarily Annihilationism or Universalism.
However, re-reading this book after reading Edward Fudge's book The Fire That Consumes which makes a very solid case for Annihilationism, I have found "Is Hell For Real..." much less persuasive than I had originally thought. The authors seem to simply quote scripture and assume it proves on its own that hell is unending eternal conscious torment. But when you actually stop and read the verses as written and take them at face value, without reading any additional meaning into terms such as "destruction", it is actually a lot less obvious than the authors seem to think it is, and this is a major weakness of this book. I think these authors make the mistake of reading their own preconceptions of hell into scripture. An Annihilationist reading of nearly every verse is possible. So I don't think they proved their case very well that Annihilationism is unBiblical, and I don't think they should have come against Annihilationism as strongly as they did.
However, this book is potentially useful to disprove Universalism, because it shows that hell is real, its consequences will last forever, and that God is just to judge sinners. So I agree with these authors that sin deserves eternal consequences, hell is not just temporary purgatory which everyone will eventually be saved from, and God will not simply let everyone into heaven. This book is also useful as a short introduction to the doctrine of hell, and highlights the most important verses on the topic. However, I am disappointed by the authors' blindness to their own preconceptions which cause them to read more out of scripture than what is actually there, and their failure to look objectively and closely at the Annihilationist arguments. They also seem to assume a Calvinist view of how God interacts with humans, which Arminians and others would disagree with.
So if you've read this book, I would also challenge you to read Fudge's The Fire That Consumes, or perhaps Four Views on Hell by Walvoord, Crockett, Hayes, and Pinnock, in order for you to see some of the alternative interpretations and their strengths and weaknesses, and may help give more perspective on the issues surrounding the debate on the nature of hell than were put forth in "Is Hell For Real..."
However, re-reading this book after reading Edward Fudge's book The Fire That Consumes which makes a very solid case for Annihilationism, I have found "Is Hell For Real..." much less persuasive than I had originally thought. The authors seem to simply quote scripture and assume it proves on its own that hell is unending eternal conscious torment. But when you actually stop and read the verses as written and take them at face value, without reading any additional meaning into terms such as "destruction", it is actually a lot less obvious than the authors seem to think it is, and this is a major weakness of this book. I think these authors make the mistake of reading their own preconceptions of hell into scripture. An Annihilationist reading of nearly every verse is possible. So I don't think they proved their case very well that Annihilationism is unBiblical, and I don't think they should have come against Annihilationism as strongly as they did.
However, this book is potentially useful to disprove Universalism, because it shows that hell is real, its consequences will last forever, and that God is just to judge sinners. So I agree with these authors that sin deserves eternal consequences, hell is not just temporary purgatory which everyone will eventually be saved from, and God will not simply let everyone into heaven. This book is also useful as a short introduction to the doctrine of hell, and highlights the most important verses on the topic. However, I am disappointed by the authors' blindness to their own preconceptions which cause them to read more out of scripture than what is actually there, and their failure to look objectively and closely at the Annihilationist arguments. They also seem to assume a Calvinist view of how God interacts with humans, which Arminians and others would disagree with.
So if you've read this book, I would also challenge you to read Fudge's The Fire That Consumes, or perhaps Four Views on Hell by Walvoord, Crockett, Hayes, and Pinnock, in order for you to see some of the alternative interpretations and their strengths and weaknesses, and may help give more perspective on the issues surrounding the debate on the nature of hell than were put forth in "Is Hell For Real..."
March 2, 2016
Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson. Is Hell For Real Or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. 96 pp.
It is unusual to hear about the doctrine of eternal punishment these days. Indeed, it is rare to hear a sermon that dares to address the very notion of hell. Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson are the editors of the excellent work, Is Hell For Real Or Does Everyone Go to Heaven?
The short and readable book includes five chapters which are authored by Albert Mohler, Robert Yarbrough, Christopher Morgan, Robert Peterson, and J.I. Packer. Each author addresses the doctrine of eternal punishment for different angles. Yet each author is committed to the biblical doctrine of hell.
The respective authors explore the reality of hell, Jesus’ teaching concerning hell, and related topics of annihilationism and universalism. Each author defends this all-important biblical doctrine and remain faithful to the teaching of Scripture.
Is Hell For Real Or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? is not meant to be a comprehensive treatment on the doctrine of hell. Rather, it serves as an introduction to this very important topic. Robert Peterson’s book, Hell On Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment provides a more thorough defense. I recommend it highly!
It is unusual to hear about the doctrine of eternal punishment these days. Indeed, it is rare to hear a sermon that dares to address the very notion of hell. Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson are the editors of the excellent work, Is Hell For Real Or Does Everyone Go to Heaven?
The short and readable book includes five chapters which are authored by Albert Mohler, Robert Yarbrough, Christopher Morgan, Robert Peterson, and J.I. Packer. Each author addresses the doctrine of eternal punishment for different angles. Yet each author is committed to the biblical doctrine of hell.
The respective authors explore the reality of hell, Jesus’ teaching concerning hell, and related topics of annihilationism and universalism. Each author defends this all-important biblical doctrine and remain faithful to the teaching of Scripture.
Is Hell For Real Or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? is not meant to be a comprehensive treatment on the doctrine of hell. Rather, it serves as an introduction to this very important topic. Robert Peterson’s book, Hell On Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment provides a more thorough defense. I recommend it highly!
November 24, 2011
Highly readable and straight to the point, Is Hell For Real Or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? should be on every reading list. The authors explore the history of the doctrine of hell and its relationship to the atonement. Most importantly, this collection of essays provide scripture based answers to many questions posed by people uncomfortable with this historic teaching and brings Christians into even deeper relationship with Christ as we learn that,"Yes. I always thought hell told me about how angry God was with us, but I didn't know it also told me about how much he was willing to suffer and weep for us. I never knew how much hell told me about Jesus' love."
December 22, 2015
As with most books containing different essays - a mixed bag. The best of these were
1) Peterson's Essay "three perspectives on hell", putting the teaching on hell alongside other Christian doctrines;
2) JI Packer's "Does everyone go to heaven", which contained some helpful thoughts on the flaws of universalism and
3) Timothy Keller's Appendix on Preaching Hell which gave some helpful thoughts on the different angles we can approach when speaking of hell.
Overall I think I was expecting more - and so wasn't blown away by the content. Still a helpful beginner-intermediate guide on the Bible's teaching re: Hell
1) Peterson's Essay "three perspectives on hell", putting the teaching on hell alongside other Christian doctrines;
2) JI Packer's "Does everyone go to heaven", which contained some helpful thoughts on the flaws of universalism and
3) Timothy Keller's Appendix on Preaching Hell which gave some helpful thoughts on the different angles we can approach when speaking of hell.
Overall I think I was expecting more - and so wasn't blown away by the content. Still a helpful beginner-intermediate guide on the Bible's teaching re: Hell
August 20, 2019
This is a very brief and readable response to the most recent debate on the traditional Christian doctrine of Hell sparked by Rob Bell's Love Wins. Rather than picking apart Bell's book, this focuses on how views of hell have changed over time, what the Bible says about hell, how the doctrine of hell is tied to other essential Christian doctrines and how to preach about hell in a culture where talking about it is considered tasteless. Overall, a good read if you want to be more educated on the subject in a short time.
April 7, 2014
In short fashion it addressed all of my questions with reasonable scriptural responses. I had been hoping that the explanations wouldn't satisfy me. I hoped that all of those other books and videos out there about alternate interpretations of scriptural references to hell might be correct. That hell might not be real. But alas, this book provided a succinct explanation and rebuttal of common alternate interpretations. I will keep on studying, though. And in the mean time keep praying that no one I love ultimately chooses hell over the love and mercy of God.
July 10, 2014
I was looking forward to this short book, hoping that it would be a book that would be helpful in sorting out the idea of eternal justice. I found that most of what you'll read is rehashed teachings on hell, with little expounding on the original Greek and what the original hearers would've understood.
August 14, 2011
Very clear presentation of an orthodox doctrine of hell. Much more helpful than Chan's 'Erasing Hell' as a response to Bell's 'Love Wins.'
August 1, 2012
Great book on Universalism.
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