Why the Jews Are Not Going to Hell

Of course the Jews are going to hell. That’s what most of us Gentiles have been taught quite emphatically for years. If you don’t accept Jesus Christ as your savior you go to hell when you die. It is that simple, isn’t it?

Yet, a careful study of what God has to say on this matter reveals quite a different story. Throughout the Old Testament God proclaims his love for, and devotion to, Israel and declares His relationship with her to be an everlasting covenant. As in forever. As in no way, no how, not the slightest scintilla of a chance that He’ll cut her loose.

Paul speaks quite clearly as to the ultimate disposition of Israel in his treatise to the Romans, specifically throughout chapters 9 through 11. Utilizing the effective imagery of olive trees, he metaphorically likens Israel to a natural, powerful, cultivated tree and Gentile Christians to wild olive branches. Gentile Christians are grafted as foreign objects onto the tree of Israel in order to share in Israel’s status and benefits because of their faith in Christ. But for Christ, the Gentiles would be left to their own devices. Thus, the reality is that Christians are dependent upon, and join with, Israel. Our Christianity allows us to be co-inheritors along with Israel; it unites us rather than separating us. It is Israel with the irrevocable status and benefits, we Christians are only being permitted to hang with them as long as we toe the line. He is crystal clear in the implication that that Gentiles need Israel but that Israel does not need Gentiles. This is most definitely not a reciprocal relationship. It appears to be more of a parasitic one, actually – and the Christians are the parasites. We, through grace, are being permitted to obtain nourishment from the root: Nourishment to which we are otherwise not entitled. Additionally, Paul points out that the grafted wild branches are most certainly more dispensable than the naturally occurring branches. The tree itself will never be dispensable.

It seems to me that we evangelical Christians try to out-think the Bible. We bog ourselves down in the minutiae of verbiage while neglecting the obvious - what ought to be common sense. Often we fail to see what is directly in front of our faces because we are seeking every possible nuance, in every language and dialect from every translation going back several millennia. I think God is much cooler than we give Him credit for. In this case I picture Him saying to us “Duh, McFly!”. Or, “What? You need me to spell it out for ya? Hellooooo – I already did!”.

I firmly believe that God makes things nice and clear. He doesn’t hide stuff we need to know. He doesn’t try to trick us. He doesn’t require that we compile a mass of esoteric knowledge in order to discern His true meaning. To believe otherwise requires also believing that His purpose is to make Himself less accessible, less known, and less appreciated. Obviously, this cannot possibly be true since throughout the entire Bible He vigorously pursues humanity, intervenes on our behalf, and provides prophets to give us a heads up on what’s in store down the road.

God is not some sort of sadistic trickster. He doesn’t offer something and then deny the means necessary for taking Him up on His offer. He is God - therefore He doesn’t need to engage in that sort of sick manipulation. For this reason, the prophetic references to the divinely-imposed blindness of the Jews to the identity of Messiah could not possibly mean that He intends to deny them their birthright as a nation. That would make God a particularly mean-spirited liar. Thus, the very idea that Jews will go to hell unless they accept Jesus Christ as Messiah, on human terms, is absurd.