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Writer's pictureBible Brian

"All the best people are in Hell"?


One of the strangest paradoxes in this world is that sometimes, even when atheists are actively trying to be stupid, they end up making a half decent point. Just not in the way they'd like to think. Take, for example, "all the best people are in Hell". This sarcastic jab, and many like it, are designed to suggest even if the atheist believed in Heaven and Hell, Hell somehow sounds like the better option, either because of some perceived drawback of Heaven, benefit of Hell, or both.


In this case, atheists have, in their mind, an idea of what sort of people will be in Heaven, and what sort of people will be in Hell. This can be based on their experience with Christians. If every Christian they've ever met has been a jerk, they're likely to say things like "if Heaven is filled with that kind of Christian, I'll take my chances in Hell". On the flip side, they see non-Christians they really like, and, realising they'll be in Hell, feel like they'd at least be in good company.


Of course, one thing they fail to realise is that Hell will be filled with the worst of the worst. This includes many so-called Christians. Notorious murderers, such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong, do not appear to have repented before their deaths, so they will be in Hell. Pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, serial killers, corrupt political figures, cannibals, witches, Hell will be filled to capacity with these people, and more. So even ignoring all the eternal punishment, it's not like Hell would be a happy chillout lounge where your kind atheist neighbors get to serve coffee at their weekly book club.


But the reality is, Hell will actually be a lot more empty than it should be. Why? Simply because we all deserve to be there. Every single human being on this Earth, including me, has done something to merit the eternal wrath of the Holy God who is of too pure eyes to even look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13). Thus, what makes Heaven so great isn't the absence of bad people, but the presence of them.


Hell is a terrible place precisely because it was designed to be. In fact, it wasn't even designed for man, but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). And I can assure you, you won't look at those beings and be glad to spend eternity with them. One minute on Earth is too much with a demon, and I speak from experience.


But regardless of what species Hell was designed to hold, the simple fact is it is a punishment designed to fit the crime. This, of course, means it will never be a pleasant place, regardless of who goes. Humanity could be perfectly divided between all the "best" people in Hell, and all the worst in Heaven, and not a single person in Hell would be happier there. It would be worse than a criminal mob, each being held in separate jail cells.


But a final point is that even the worst of the worst do not stay the worst in Heaven. Before he converted, the Apostle Paul was, by his own post-conversion admission, the worst of sinners. He was insolent, he was a blasphemer, he was a murderer. God had him dead to rights. Yet even the Christians he murdered cheered as he entered the Kingdom as their beloved brother. The most bitter of enemies here on the Earth will find themselves perfectly reconciled in the Kingdom, closer than siblings on the Earth. Hell, therefore, will not be filled with all the best people, but with people who were content with not being the best they could be.


The truth is, it took the death of the best person who ever walked the Earth in order to save anyone from Hell. Unlike us, Jesus never committed a single sin, and so while there are those who found Him positively intolerable, by any objective measure, Jesus was perfect. Thus, whoever ends up in Heaven or in Hell, we should all be tripping over ourselves in order to accept the ticket to Heaven He bought us with His own blood. Silly statements like "all the best people are in Hell" are just that: Silly. Rather than give any points to atheism, all they do is show just how glorious Heaven really is.

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