Not Everyone Dies and Goes to a “Better Place”

The Narrow Door Divides Hell and Heaven

Then Jesus says this narrow door divides heaven and hell. He first describes hell: “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.” And Jesus describes heaven: “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:28-30). Heaven will be feasting and laughing and blessing, an enormous sin-free party where sickness is conquered, disease destroyed, and God glorified. The nations will come together and we will live forever under a good king’s gracious rule. But Jesus describes hell in the most painful of terms, speaking of unending torment more than anyone else in the Bible. People will weep profusely and never stop grinding their teeth in agony. Hell lasts just as long as heaven: forever and ever and ever.

The Narrow Door is Jesus

The end finally reveals that he is that narrow door. His death will open the way for us to enter heaven. He says, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:31–33). God has opened one narrow door from us to him, and that door is Jesus Christ, who says, “I am the door. He who passes through me shall inherit eternal life” (John 10:9). Jesus knew His mission and was absolutely committed to seeing it through. God became man to open a door of opportunity for men and women to come to God. He who had no sin became sin for us. He died in our place for our sins as our substitute and Savior. Jesus says, “I am the door!” He is the door of salvation, the door of invitation, the door from humanity to God, the door from hell to heaven.

The Wole Truth

The fact of this door named Jesus Christ proves all the alternatives false. Atheists are wrong—God is real and there is a world beyond this world and a life after this life. Pluralists make a grave mistake—there are not multiple doors leading to eternal life, and not all religions go to the same place. And universalists lie—not everyone dies and goes to heaven. Simply dying does not usher anyone into paradise. The decision we make in this life for or against Christ ultimately determines where we go at life’s end.

Rather than condemning God for creating a narrow door, we should acknowledge none of us does this for our enemies. At home, we do not throw open the front door to those who have harmed us, abused us, abandoned us, betrayed us, or maligned us. We do not leave a light burning to invite them in. We never welcome them into our home so we can love them and lavish goodness on them and feast with them. We are all hypocrites. God is better than us all. God owes us nothing and He has opened a door to everyone.

These are hard words, but the world needs the truth. Our message is this: Don’t complain about the door. Don’t go searching for another door. Don’t try the thousands of doors of religion and ideology and philosophy. Don’t criticize the door. Don’t critique the door. Don’t just stare at the door. Don’t walk away from the door. And don’t place your hand on the wrong knob. Don’t walk through the wrong belief system—that is a trap. Instead, run to Jesus! Run through the narrow door!

In our attempts to sound a little more sane and reasonable to the people around us, Christians have a long history of shooting to the stratosphere of theological detail. We lay out the cosmological argument, the ontological argument, the teleological argument, the intelligent design argument—but in the end people are no closer to Jesus. For most people, he might as well be hiding out on Pluto.

The average person just needs to hear about Jesus. Whatever the conversation our goal is to turn the topic to him. When someone says, “There are all these other religions.” Well, let’s talk about Jesus. “A lot of paths lead to God.” Well, let’s see what Jesus thought about that. “Everyone goes to heaven.” Well, let’s check with Jesus. He is the expert on that.