Good News

Who Goes to Hell?

Escaping Judgment is not the Issue

Considering how many people incorrectly believe the good news is about escaping from judgment after death (as opposed to experiencing God's Kingdom before you die) it is worth pointing out that the issue of judgment after death is actually not part of the good news!

First, scripture is quite clear that people can go to heaven after they die even if they have not accepted Yeshua. The clearest two examples are in Romans 2:12-16 when Paul talks about people who have never heard of Yeshua being judged favorably for following their consciences as best they were able

For those who have sinned without Torah will also perish without Torah. As those who have sinned under Torah will be judged by Torah. For it is not the hearers of Torah who are righteous before God, but the doers of Torah who will be made innocent. Even when Gentiles who do not have Torah by nature do the things of Torah, they (not having Torah) are following a teaching to themselves, in that they show the work of the teaching written in their hearts, their conscience testifying with them, and their thoughts among themselves accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my good news, by Yeshua the Messiah.

and in Hebrews 11 when many people who had never heard of Yeshua (including the Patriarchs and other heroes from the Tenach) are listed as among those judged favorably as models of faith!

It is certainly true that the atonement Yeshua provides is the only assurance of being judged favorably. On the Day of Judgment the destiny of the souls of Yeshua's followers will not be an issue (John 5:24). For everyone else there is perhaps hope but no assurance.

Still Experiencing Some Judgment

Furthermore, our deeds will still be judged after we die (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Timothy 5:24) with regards to reward in the next life (Matthew 25:14-30, Revelation 3:21 and 22:3).

This is important, even if often overlooked! If following Yeshua removed all rewards for good deeds and punishments for bad deeds that would compromise God's status as a true and just judge.

The Good News is for the Living

We should also realize that the atonement Yeshua provides only helps the living; for the dead the scriptural requirement for entering the Kingdom is to kneel before the King (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10).

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) because God as the true judge cannot allow a life of iniquity to last forever (Isaiah 59:1-2); when a person dies without having accepted Yeshua, that person's death does what scripture states and pays the price for their sin. If that person is then able to kneel before Yeshua (because of a soft heart and conscience devoted to God) then scripture says he or she can enter the Kingdom. But there is no guarantee that anyone who did not kneel before Yeshua while alive will be able to do so after he or she dies. And scripture contains many examples of people who did not realize their hearts had become hard.

The question is not "Am I going to heaven or hell?" but "If I am not kneeling before Messiah now, why should I believe I will do so later?"