Against Universalism and the Denial of Hell

Bow down
To the greatest corrupter
The second coming
Of the Antichrist on Earth
Live with a curse
Kill in the name of god
The devil’s won

Knife in the back
We ignored the truth
Rise above, rise above
Rise above, rise above
Can you see through the veil that covers you?
Rise above, rise above
Rise above, rise above

Evil in place of power

–Soulfly, “Evil Empowered”–

The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.  –2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NKJV)

As you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.   –1 John 2:18 (NKJV)

I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.   –Revelation 20:4 (NKJV)


If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT ASCENDETH UP FOR EVER AND EVER: AND THEY HAVE NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. –Revelation 14:9-12 (KJV)

The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15 And WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. –Revelation 20:10-15 (KJV)

The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.   –Revelation 21:8 (KJV)

A lava lake forms at Halemaʻumaʻu as seen from the west rim of the Kilauea caldera during the volcano’s eruption in Hawaii, U.S. June 7, 2023 in a still image from webcam video. USGS/Handout via REUTERS.
David Howard Hitchcock, Halemaumau, Lake of Fire, Kilauea Crater, 1888.

“Jews, Mohametans, Deists, Heathens, are all members of the Church of Christ! Should we not add devils too?…There can hardly be any doctrine under Heaven more agreeable to flesh and blood; nor any which more directly tends to prevent the very dawn of conviction…These are your arguments to prove that Christ is in every man — a blessing which St. Paul thought was peculiar to believers. He said, ‘Christ is in you except ye be reprobates,’ unbelievers (2 Cor. 13:5, KJV). You say, Christ is in you whether ye be reprobates or no. ‘If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His,’ saith the Apostle (Romans 8:9, KJV). Yea, but ‘every man,’ saith Mr. Law, ‘hath the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ is in every soul’ (Spirit of Prayer, Part I. p. 63). ‘He that hath not the Son of God hath not life,’ saith St. John (1 John 5:12, KJV). But Mr. Law saith, ‘Every man hath the Son of God.’ Sleep on, then, ye sons of Belial, and take your rest; ye are all safe: for ‘he that hath the Son hath life.’” (“Letter to William Law,” (January 6, 1756) 2.5, in Thomas Oden’s John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity, p. 218).



The Jesus Trip, “The Lake of Fire: The Consuming Fire Episode 3 of 10.”

Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson, Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment (Zondervan, 2004), ch. 8: “Universalism: Will Everyone Ultimately Be Saved?” (J. I. Packer).

William G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1886), pp. 94-117. Addresses the universalists’ “Greek word translation” objection about for ever.

Robert Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment (P&R Publishing, 1995), ch. 8: “False Witnesses (1): Universalism.”

Harry Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (P&R Publishing, 1957), ch. 7: “Denials and Their Answers.”

Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology: Church and the Last Things, Volume 4, ch. 39: “Eternal Punishment in Hell, Part 2: Objections and Applications.”


Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity, p. 218.

Denny Burk, “Eternal Conscious Torment,” in Four Views on Hell (Zondervan, 2016).

John Walvoord, “The Literal View,” in Four Views on Hell (Zondervan, 1996).

John Wesley, “Of Hell.”

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Bible Answers for Atheists, Deists, Unitarians, Universalists, and Sodomites

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The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (Part 3): Paradise, Annihilation, Universalism – W. G. T. Shedd

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The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (Part 2): Hell vs. The Underworld – W. G. T. Shedd

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The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (Part 1): Hell – W. G. T. Shedd

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On Trusting in the Mercy of God (Against Universalism) – Charles Finney

Have you fallen asleep
With a dagger in between your bones?
That was thoughtfully placed
By your own wretched finesse
Walk on, walk on, walk on, walk on

–The Chariot, “Forgive Me Nashville”–

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A Rant Against Charismatic Self-Help Sermons

I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. –Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV)



Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis (against positive confession).

Gary Gilley, This Little Church Went to Market (against seeker-sensitive ministry).

Christopher Morgan, Hell Under Fire.

Harald Lindstrom, Wesley and Sanctification.

Kenneth J. Collins, Wesley on Salvation.

—. The Sermons of John Wesley.

Charles Finney, Lectures to Professing Christians.

—. Sermons on Gospel Themes.

—. Sermons on the Way of Salvation.

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Supernatural Theology 147: Charismatic Anti-Intellectualism vs the Apostle Paul

When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. –1 Corinthians 2:1-5

With persuasive doctrines of human wisdom: in every case I left man out, that God might become the more evident. I used none of the means of which great orators avail themselves in order to become popular, and thereby to gain fame…The doctrine that he preached was revealed by the Spirit: that it was a revelation of the Spirit, the holiness, purity, and usefulness of the doctrine rendered manifest: and the overthrow of idolatry, and the conversion of souls, by the power and energy of the preaching, were the demonstration that all was Divine. The greater part of the best MSS., versions, and fathers, leave out the adjective ανθρωπινης, man’s, before σοφιας, wisdom: it is possible that the word may be a gloss, but it is necessarily implied in the clause. Not with the persuasive discourses, or doctrines of wisdom; i.e. of human philosophy.  –Adam Clarke



John Wimber, Power Evangelism.

—. Power Healing.

—. Power Encounters.

—. Power Points.

Jack Deere, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit.

—. Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God.

John White, When the Spirit Comes with Power.

Guy Chevreau, Catch the Fire.

J. Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology.


Harald Lindstrom, Wesley and Sanctification.

Augustin Poulain, The Graces of Interior Prayer.

Henry Rack, Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism.

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The Universalist’s Lake of Love-Fire Debunked: A Wesleyan Response to John Crowder

If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT ASCENDETH UP FOR EVER AND EVER: AND THEY HAVE NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. –Revelation 14:9-12 (KJV)

The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15 And WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. –Revelation 20:10-15 (KJV)

The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.   –Revelation 21:8 (KJV)

A lava lake forms at Halemaʻumaʻu as seen from the west rim of the Kilauea caldera during the volcano’s eruption in Hawaii, U.S. June 7, 2023 in a still image from webcam video. USGS/Handout via REUTERS.
David Howard Hitchcock, Halemaumau, Lake of Fire, Kilauea Crater, 1888.

“Jews, Mohametans, Deists, Heathens, are all members of the Church of Christ! Should we not add devils too?…There can hardly be any doctrine under Heaven more agreeable to flesh and blood; nor any which more directly tends to prevent the very dawn of conviction…These are your arguments to prove that Christ is in every man — a blessing which St. Paul thought was peculiar to believers. He said, ‘Christ is in you except ye be reprobates,’ unbelievers (2 Cor. 13:5, KJV). You say, Christ is in you whether ye be reprobates or no. ‘If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His,’ saith the Apostle (Romans 8:9, KJV). Yea, but ‘every man,’ saith Mr. Law, ‘hath the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ is in every soul’ (Spirit of Prayer, Part I. p. 63). ‘He that hath not the Son of God hath not life,’ saith St. John (1 John 5:12, KJV). But Mr. Law saith, ‘Every man hath the Son of God.’ Sleep on, then, ye sons of Belial, and take your rest; ye are all safe: for ‘he that hath the Son hath life.’” (“Letter to William Law,” (January 6, 1756) 2.5, in Thomas Oden’s John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity, p. 218).



The Jesus Trip, “The Lake of Fire: The Consuming Fire Episode 3 of 10.”

Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson, Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment (Zondervan, 2004), ch. 8: “Universalism: Will Everyone Ultimately Be Saved?” (J. I. Packer).

William G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1886), pp. 94-117. Addresses the universalists’ “Greek word translation” objection about for ever.

Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology: Church and the Last Things, Volume 4, ch. 39: “Eternal Punishment in Hell, Part 2: Objections and Applications.”

Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity, p. 218.

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Supernatural Theology 146: Prophetic Thorns in the Flesh

So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. –Job 2:7 (KJV)

Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. –2 Corinthians 12:7 (KJV)

Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils by William Blake



Augustin Poulain, The Graces of Interior Prayer, Ch. XXIV: “The Trials That Are Sent to Contemplatives.”

John Loren Sandford, The Elijah Task (Charisma House, 2015).

Art Katz, The Prophetic Call: True and False Prophets (Burning Bush Press, 2009).


Jim and Michal Ann Goll, God Encounters (Destiny Image, 2011).

T. Austin Sparks, Prophetic Ministry (Destiny Image, 2011).

Gottfried and Theoderic, The Life of the Holy Hildegard (Liturgical Press, 1995).

Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis (HarperOne, 2009).

Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century (Thomas Nelson, 2009).

WesleyGospel, “Supernatural Theology 140: The False Teaching About Positive Confessions and Decrees.”


Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson, Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment (Zondervan, 2004).

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