God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, which means restoring humanity's relationship with God through Christ's finished work on the cross.
• Reconciliation means "to change thoroughly" or "to restore to favor," implying we were included in God's plan from the beginning
• The Greek word "cosmos" in 2 Corinthians 5:19 refers to all humanity, not just the planet
• Jesus used the term "Gehenna" (a real valley outside Jerusalem) when speaking about hell, not describing eternal conscious torment
• Jesus only warned Jews about Gehenna, never Gentiles, suggesting it was about Jerusalem's destruction, not afterlife punishment
• Our view of hell shapes our view of God's character—love and eternal torture are incompatible
• Traditional hell doctrine developed centuries after the disciples, influenced more by Dante's Inferno than scripture
• Fear-based theology produces anxiety and superficial religion rather than genuine transformation
• Perfect love casts out fear—the two are fundamentally incompatible
• Rethinking hell isn't about denying it exists but understanding it differently than tradition
If you're struggling with questions about what you've been taught, don't be afraid to go deeper. You're not being rebellious—you're pursuing truth. God is more loving than many of us have been told, and you are already loved, already included, and already His.
