~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: Did the Jews that died in the holocaust go to hell because they did not believe in Jesus? Are they suffering the same eternity as Hitler?Answer: This question will require some rearrangement.
First of all, the horrible manner in which Jews died in the Holocaust has no bearing on their souls' destinies. Secondly, the punishment of each individual who rejects Christ, will be meted out "according to their works" (Revelation 20:12).
All must die. It is what the person was at the time he died that determined his destiny, and not the manner in which death came to him (Hebrews 9:27). I suspect, although I cannot prove it, that many Jews found their Messiah when they came to the awful realization that they were marked for death. God has ways of reaching people that are positively miraculous, and I believe that Jesus in some way revealed Himself to many of them before they were killed.
Jesus Himself declared, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3). He also said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, NO MAN cometh to the Father but by ME" (John 14:6). Also, in John 8:24, Jesus said, "If you do not believe that I am He (that is, the Messiah), you shall die IN YOUR SINS."
A person who has not been born again would certainly not feel comfortable in heaven. Did not Adam and Eve hide themselves from God after they had disobeyed Him (Genesis 3:8)? If a person chooses to separate himself from the presence of God on this earth, I cannot see that he would want to be in the presence of God in the next world. That is why Jesus stressed the necessity of being "born again" to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
All humans ever born will exist eternally. The only issue is WHERE they will be in eternity. Those who receive Jesus Christ become the children of God and will be forever with the Lord. Those who reject Jesus will be separated from God forever (John 3:16-21, 36).
Hitler will receive his punishment based on his works. Those others who die without Christ will be punished on the basis of THEIR individual works. See Romans 2:7-11. There are degrees of punishment in hell.
Since all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, all of us must be saved from our sins by faith in Jesus Christ's atoning death for our sins.
We can be sure of this; that God is absolutely just, holy, and righteous. For those who have never heard the Gospel, He will do what is right. But the responsibility is on us, that we strive with all our might that the whole world shall hear the message. Christians will also be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:12). We must so live that Jesus can say to us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25;21).
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