Originally published April 1, 1993

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel...for IT is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth [IT].

—Mark 16:15; Romans 1:16

What is the gospel and from what does it save us? We must begin in the Garden. Persuaded by Satan that God had lied to her, and seduced by the appealing promise of godhood, Eve rebelled against her Creator. Not wanting to be separated from his wife, whom he loved more than God, Adam, who was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14), deliberately joined in her disobedience. Thus "by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men [and women], for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). Death not only ends this short earthly life, but it separates the sinner from God forever.

In His infinite foreknowledge, wisdom and love, God had already planned what He would do to reunite mankind with Himself. Without ceasing to be God (an impossibility), He would become a man through a virgin birth. Only God could be the Savior (Isaiah 43:11; 45:21, etc.), thus the Messiah had to be God (Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 45:15; Titus 1:3-4, etc.). He would die for our sins to pay the penalty demanded by His justice: “’Tis mystery all, the immortal dies!" (Charles Wesley). Then He would rise from the dead to live in those who would believe in and receive Him as their Lord and Savior, giving them forgiveness of sins and eternal life as a free gift of His grace.

There is a growing movement among professing Christians towards universalism: the belief that everyone will finally be saved. One can empathize with those who hold this opinion. Eternity is forever. No matter how just the penalty, endless punishment seems cruelly excessive. The very thought of the Lake of Fire being the eternal abode of any creature, no matter how evil, is humanly repugnant.

Could God who "is love" (1 John 4:8) really sentence anyone to eternal punishment? Would He not find a way, somehow, for all eventually to be saved? The Bible must be our guide. But does the Bible in fact teach that those who leave this life without Christ are lost forever?

Jesus warned of hell repeatedly, referring to it fourteen times. Peter refers to it three times, James once, and the four times it is mentioned in Revelation make up the balance of the twenty-two times the word "hell" occurs in the New Testament. Jesus referred to hell as a place of torment in a "fire that never shall be quenched" (Mark 9:43-48). That sounds like eternal punishment—but for whom?

Knowing that we are in the last of the last days, with an imminent Rapture a very real hope, our thoughts often (and indeed should) turn to the signs that Christ said would herald the nearness of His return. The signs that are most widely cited include “wars and rumours of wars...[when] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...and...famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes...these are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:6-8).

Unquestionably, these specific “sorrows” have been both prominent and accelerating since Israel again became a nation in 1948. Since that time, the intensity and frequency of these signs have increased like the birth pangs of a woman approaching her time of delivery, exactly as Christ foretold. However, the first sign that Christ gave has been largely overlooked and His solemn warning neglected:

* And Jesus answered and said...Take heed that no man deceive you.

* For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many....

* And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many....

* For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Mt 24:4,5,11,24) [Emphasis added.]