When God made the earth and the entire universe, He had not yet prepared hell. Hell was prepared or “made ready” for Satan after he had sinned and was cast out of heaven.
Hell was not “created” it was “prepared” as Matthew 25:41 states. In the six days of creation, hell didn’t exist when all of creation was completed. God said it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). The reason hell is so terrible is because God’s attributes and His goodness are absent. James 1:17 states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.”
There is no such thing as good apart from God. You get to enjoy God’s goodness here on the Earth, even if you don’t acknowledge Him. Psalms 33:5 says, “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” If you deny Him, you don’t get to enjoy His goodness after this life. You will go to a place apart from Him because He will not dwell with sin.
Heaven is a perfect place and we are not perfect. Why should God allow us in to His perfect place knowing we are a sinful people? We would corrupt it just as we have the earth. He has to give each of us a new heart and a new spirit that are compatible with His. This doesn’t come through good works but through a relationship with Him. Thankfully He sent Jesus Christ to save us from hell.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” You must receive Him as your Lord and Savior (Rom. 10:9-10) and then ask for forgiveness for your sins (Luke 13:3). He will forgive you because He loves you. He suffered and died a horrific death on the cross to keep you out of hell. Jesus rose from the dead as He said He would. He has come to give all of us a more abundant life and an opportunity to live with Him forever in heaven.
Because of this no one has to go to hell.
In the end, it will be your own decision. You will choose to believe Him or reject His words, but there are eternal consequences for your wrong decision. Revelation 21:8 states, “all unbelievers shall have their part in the lake of fire.” If you say, “I just don’t believe that He is the only way” then your own words will condemn you.
The decision to receive Him as your Lord and Savior is up to you. He made a way for you to stay out of hell and go to heaven. There is no middle ground. A non-decision is a decision to reject Him. Will you believe His words or won’t you? What will you decide?
Bill Wiese is the author of New York Times best selling book, 23 Minutes In Hell, the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional book titles, and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife Annette founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries please visit us at: https://soulchoiceministries.org/. You can find more of Bill’s teachings at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV.
Paul McGuire 
