The topic of
an eternal Hell is not a pleasant one.
No sane person wants to go to this horrible place (Mark 9:42-48). Most of us would rather not even talk about
it and we would like to think that no one goes there. If only we could be assured that it will
remain empty! Wouldn’t that be great?
Some may say
that if Hell is indeed a reality, maybe it is just there as a warning so that
we will live right and steer clear of the sins that God warned us about in the
Bible. It would be an effective deterrent. Then everyone
could go to Heaven! We can hope, can’t we? So, is there a chance that Hell will remain empty?
Well, it
seems that Pope Francis, the head of the largest church in the world (the
Catholic Church) may be convincing himself (and others) that it could indeed be
empty.
According to
an article from the Catholic News Agency (CNA)
dated January 24, 2024, Pope Francis did an interview and appeared on Italy’s
most prime-time talk show. It was an
hour-long broadcast with a viewership of three million people tuning in.
The pope was
asked how he imagines the concept of Hell.
He responded, “What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith but my own
personal view: I like to think of Hell as empty; I hope it is.”
See the
article here:
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256542/pope-francis-i-like-to-think-of-hell-as-empty
To his
credit, the pope says that this is not a dogma, that is, it is not an official or infallible teaching of the
Catholic Church.
But the
Bible is clear. Jesus Christ, Himself,
said:
“Enter ye in at the
strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it” (Matthew
7:13-14 – emphasis added).
This passage
is unmistakably clear, and of course the pope is well aware of what Jesus
said. He could have told his audience:
“Hey folks,
what Jesus said about Hell is clear: There will be many more people in Hell
than in Heaven. Let’s not fool
ourselves. We’d like Hell to be empty, but Jesus cannot lie.”
But no, he
decided to confuse his audience and plant seeds of doubt.
We can all hope that it will be empty, but
Scripture tells us otherwise. Our “hope”
does not override God’s truth. This type
of hope is not a biblical one.
Misleading the Flock
It is
interesting that in this same interview, the pope also stated:
“As a
bishop, I have a very great responsibility to the Church.” He was also asking for prayer “that I do not
end up in the attitude of a mediocre shepherd who does not take care of his
flock.”
Yes indeed,
he does have a great responsibility. People are actually placing their souls in this
man’s hand. And part of that
responsibility is to NOT mislead the flock (Ezekiel 34:7-10; Acts 20:28).
It is true
that the pope did not directly say
that Hell is (or will be) empty. But planting
that subtle, yet false, little seed about Hell is not “taking care of his
flock.” It makes him worse than a “mediocre” shepherd – this
just adds to the already-known fact that he is a false shepherd. His hope of
Hell being empty is a direct contradiction of God-breathed Scripture (Matthew
7:13-14).
Pope Francis
is flirting with the teaching of universalism. Universalism is a doctrine claiming that all
humans will eventually be saved. But
this is certainly not what the Bible teaches (Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians
1:9-10). He is toying with the
idea without actually officially declaring that Hell will be empty. It is an extremely dangerous suggestion. He is actually giving these people a false
hope by planting seeds of doubt.
Sadly, when
people believe in universalism, they will ultimately say, “Hey, I don’t have to
worry, since no one goes to Hell! So I
can live any sinful way I want and still go to Heaven.” This produces moral indifference and it is
the obvious fruit of this teaching.
Not Just Suggesting…
But just in case
anyone was wondering, there is evidence that Pope Francis does indeed lean toward universalism.
Here is a link
to a speech given by the Pope containing some interesting (and unbiblical)
statements:
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2022/documents/20220202-udienza-generale.html
According to
this official speech to a general audience by the pope, titled St. Joseph and the Communion of Saints:
“No one can
exclude themselves from the Church….”
And again, a
little later the pope says:
“‘Father,
let us think about those who have denied the faith, who are apostates, who are
the persecutors of the Church, who have denied their baptism: are these also at
home?’ Yes, these too, even the
blasphemers, everyone. We are brothers. This is the communion of saints.”
Interestingly,
there is absolutely nothing in this speech about repentance, forgiveness,
guilt, contrition, or sorrow for sin.
Apparently, a person does not need repentance after blaspheming or
becoming an apostate, and he can still
be a member of the Catholic Church!
Again, the
pope says that no one can exclude himself from the Catholic Church. Is Francis teaching some kind of “Once Saved,
Always Saved” doctrine for Catholics?
Is God’s Justice Too Harsh?
In another
article concerning the same interview, Pope Francis is said to have also
commented on the phrase from the traditional Act of Contrition prayer:
“… because I
have sinned, I have deserved your punishments.”
But the pope
doesn’t seem to like this wording and described this as “overly harsh.” See here:
https://ucatholic.com/news/pope-francis-discusses-hope-for-empty-hell-in-candid-tv-interview/
Overly
harsh? Is punishment for sin really a
radical concept? Our very laws in
America are indeed based on biblical principles – including punishment for crime
and punishment for sin. Why should this
surprise anyone?
While the
idea of an “empty Hell” may seem
“compassionate,” this concept is not biblical.
The “Gradual Decline” Concept
There is a
principle, a concept, in which the devil operates – one that I will term the
“gradual decline.” When the devil wishes
to attack most people, when he wants you to move away from God and His Word, he
will not show up as a scary monster in a red suit with a pointy tail and a
pitchfork, and announce that he is here to steal your soul! That’s much too obvious. If he did that,
everyone would easily recognize the danger and reject him. But since he is very subtle and deceptive (2 Corinthians 11:13-14), he is more
likely to introduce false teaching a very little bit at a time, so that no one
notices the damage until it is too late.
A fitting
analogy would be if you were talking to someone and a third person was hiding
and he ever-so-slightly turned down the light dimmer switch every fifteen
minutes while you talked. And before you
know it, after a couple of hours, to your surprise, you are almost completely
in the dark!
It is the
same concept that the devil uses to deceive people with a little bit of false
doctrine, given every so often, until it is too late and you are neck deep in
heresy.
This, I
think, accurately describes the pope’s subtle twisting of Scripture. First he plants a tiny “harmless” seed by
suggesting Hell may be empty. To the faithful Catholic, the pope is seen as
the “Vicar of Christ.” He represents Jesus
Christ on earth, or so they teach. This
faithful Catholic has never seen Jesus, but he has seen his representative (the pope). It is hard for him to doubt the leader of
Christ’s Church, since they see him as utterly trustworthy. If the pope says that he hopes that Hell will
be empty, then this Catholic can say the same thing!
This seed sits
there in his brain and becomes quite real to him and may become a
“foundational” concept. After this idea
is completely saturating his mind, it becomes easier to accept this teaching as
absolute. Once that happens (and an
empty Hell becomes a “reality”), it is just a small step to feel free to go
deeper and deeper into sin, and finally, his heart becomes hardened (Romans
2:5) and anything goes. You
know, because there is no danger of Hell anyway, right?
This person
is in a gradual decline, falling directly into the devil’s trap. And it all started “innocently” with the
pope’s “hope” that Hell will be empty.
Conclusion
Make no
mistake – Universalism is a false teaching.
The Bible is clear when it tells us that Hell will not be empty. (1
Corinthians 9:16, Romans 2:6-10 and Revelation
21:8)
This is bad
enough, but what’s next for the average Catholic? What deception does the pope have in store to
convince the world tomorrow or next week?
He’s been a very controversial pope in the past, and this idea of an empty Hell is certainly
raising eyebrows, as well. We know that
this is not an official Catholic teaching, but this is still being pushed by its
leader.
Some may be
thinking that what the pope said is no big deal – he’s just talking or pondering,
not teaching. But words have meaning and many of the one billion Catholics in the world
are impressionable and may be easily swayed by him.
My prayer is
that they would be swayed by the Holy Scriptures and not be corrupted by these
seeds of doubt.
“And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4)
