Death, heaven and hell
Is hell real? How could a loving God send people there?
Short answer
Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone else in the Bible. It is real and just, and God wants no one to go there.
Most of what the Bible says about hell comes from Jesus, who warned people because He loved them. Hell is final separation from God, the source of all good. Fire and darkness show how serious it is; Christians differ on how literally to read them.
A loving God doesn't ignore evil. Without judgment, abusers and murderers would never face justice. His judgment is always fair.
But God takes no pleasure in anyone being lost. He is patient, wanting everyone to come to repentance. Jesus went to the cross so no one has to face judgment alone. No one ends up in hell because God was unwilling to save them.
If you belong to Jesus, there is no condemnation for you. If you love someone who doesn't know Him yet, pray for them by name.
My verses
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.