“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
– Matthew 25:34,41
In our anchor passage, the Lord Jesus speaks about the last day, when He will separate the righteous for eternal life and the unrighteous for eternal damnation. One interesting point we see is that Jesus mentions that heaven was prepared for us (the righteous, and indeed all mankind) before the foundation of the world. However, He says that the everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, not even the unrighteous.
This gives us a peep into the mind of God—that He has not predestined anyone to go to hell. As opposed to what some believe, God did not create some people to end up in heaven and others to end up in hell. The Bible is clear that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
– 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
In the context of the passage above, the apostle Peter explains why God is patient with the unrighteous and with mockers. He says it’s not as if God is slack or sluggish, but His patience is because He does not want any to perish. He is giving ample time for all to come to repentance. In the book of First Timothy, Paul says God’s desire is that all men will be saved (1 Timothy 2:1–4).
We must therefore preach the gospel with this in mind. God did not prepare hell for mankind, but as many as do not believe in Christ will be condemned to hell. We must let people know this truth.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us. Help us to preach Your gospel with boldness and rescue many from the doom of hell. Amen.
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