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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The question of whether there are more people in heaven or hell is answered by Jesus Himself in one succinct passage: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads ...
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Seth Freeman
Unfortunately, Jesus provides the hard truth to this question in Matthew 7:13 - "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Hairy Animals
John 14:6 says that Jesus is "the" way, "the" truth, and "the" life. He says, "No man shall come unto the Father but by me." So Jesus is the only way anybody can get to heaven. There is no other way. (2 Corinthians 5:10) All men will be judged. People covered with the blood of Jesus will go to heaven, people still in their sins go to hell. The word of the Lord is "sharper than any two-edged sword" Hebrews 4:12. There is a clear distinction. Knowing all this, look at the world around you. Are most people saved? No. Very few people are following the straight and narrow path. Most people are still dead in their sins, (Matthew 7:14) and more people will fall into hell than heaven.
James Kraft
No one knows the answer to the question. Think of all the children that die before the aged of accountability. Think of all the aborted babies. Think of all of those who Just heard John 3:16 and believed it. Think of all of those that went to a Sunday School and heard the gospel preached, believed it, and were saved. There are more people on the earth now than ever before. So just out of sheer numbers many will hear the gospel and be saved. Every one who has ever trusted Jesus as their savior will be saved. The bible says, John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. We know that what we do or how we live has nothing to do with salvation, because salvation is what Jesus did for us without works. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power, to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name.
Tamara Estes
Matthew 7:22,23: "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them, 'Depart from me I know you not.'" That to me is Jesus answering this question. He knew then that many people would fall into a 7-11 type of Christianity--they believe and live according to what they find convenient for them. And that, in my opinion is the wide path He was referring to that leads to destruction. How many times did Jesus warn us to not be deceived? He told us to we would have to bear our cross, and in this day and age of hedonistic self centered life, there's not a lot of evidence that people are doing just that.
Bruce Lyon
The question: Will more people go to heaven or to hell? To begin with there is only one person who has gone up into the heavenlies and that is the lord Jesus God's anointed one. No one else is going to go there, unless in a vision, i.e. John's visions of what he saw, Ezekiel's vision and Isaiah's among others. There is no place in scripture that states that anyone goes to heaven when they die or when they are resurrected. Jesus said plainly that the "meek" shall inherit the earth and that applies to all those who are in him and are God's people. This earth is our inheritance which we will share with the lord Jesus. This world is where we will exercise our rulership as co-rulers with the lord Jesus. WE are not going to heaven, but God in the new age going to come down to this earth and establish His presence in Zion - Jerusalem as indicated at the end of Revelation. As to whether more will go into the lake of fire at the White throne Judgment that have a part as new creations in the new creation of which the lord Jesus is the beginning the answer is yes. A lot more. Most of humanity down through the ages has rejected the testimony of God and chosen to do anything but follow His guidance and commands or be subject to His will and their names will not be in the book of life at the White Throne Judgment and they will be cast into the lake of fire and destroyed, the memory of them extinguished. It comes down to choosing life in the lord Jesus or choosing death and being destroyed. There is no middle ground,. Jesus said you are either against him or with him..... Choose life!
Kenneth Heck
To answer the question, we need to be more precise about defining the word "heaven." For Christians, the true heaven is the New Jerusalem, which contains the tree of life (Rev 22:14), the paradise of God (Rev 2:7). and the throne of God. No other religion contains these three characteristics. Generally speaking, all religions offer some form of paradise after death for those following their commandments, and a form of hell for those who don't, for any reason, great or small. The question is, over the active life of any religion, do more adherents go to paradise or to hell? Certainly, if many more are always bound to go to hell than to paradise, the religion is suspicious and something to be always avoided by sincere seekers of God and the truth. Unfortunately, at the time a religion is about to naturally die, most, possibly all, adherents will be going to hell, giving a misimpression that the religion has always been a wide road to hell. During Christ's time on earth, he emphasized that only the few, not the many, are chosen to enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, able to stand in front of God on his throne (among other things). This was before his death and subsequent resurrection, which opened heaven up to many more believers than possible in Judaism. Even in Christianity, Christ and the apostles warned about the end times when many false prophets and Christs will arise, along with doctrines of demons, resulting in true believers being in a distinct minority. But we have the expectation of Christ's second coming to save his own from destruction. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church (Matt 16:18) as has been true of past religions. Besides the 144,000, the first-fruits in heaven, we have the "great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues [which] stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (Rev 7:9). Based on this scripture, I believe Christianity is a quite successful religion for sincere believers, and sincere believers going to heaven do outnumber those going to hell. Any other religions must speak for themselves.
Jack Gutknecht
In 1991 a Gallup poll showed that 78% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die. However, many of them hardly ever pray, read the Bible, or attend church. They admit that they live to please themselves instead of God. I wonder why these people would want to go to heaven. Jesus Christ pictured the way of salvation in terms of narrowness. (He spoke of "the narrow gate" in Matthew 7:13-14 Compare Luke 13:22-30). He gave warnings about entry into the kingdom of Heaven: The way (really!) is narrow Lk 13:24-28 See also Mt 7:13-14; Mt 23:13 The way of life is narrow, lonely, and costly. We can walk in the broad way and keep our “baggage” of sin and worldliness. But if we enter the narrow way, we must give up those things. Salvation is not easy; the sinner must enter a narrow gate and walk a narrow way(Luke 13:24; Luke 9:23-24.). The world’s crowd is on the easy way, the way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14), and it is much easier to walk with them. Entry into the kingdom of Heaven isn't based on outward appearances nor granted to all who claim to know the Lord Matthew 7:21-23. Many are depending on words, saying, “Lord, Lord”—but this is no assurance of salvation. Even religious activities in a church organization are no assurance. Compare Matthew 13:24-30, 47-50; and Luke 13:25-27. Jesus makes the matter personal. The question is not how many will be saved (Luke 13:23. --"Someone asked him, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?'", but whether or not you will be saved! Let's get that settled first, and then let's discuss what we can do to help get others saved.
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