How Many People Will Go To Heaven?
In answering the question of how many people will go to heaven, there are three possibilities:
All people will go to heaven Nobody will go to heaven
Some people will go to heaven
As difficult as it is to receive, the Bible’s testimony is that there will be some people
who do not go to heaven:
“He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal
fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;” (Matthew 25:41)
“…for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons
and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
There will be people who will come under God’s holy & righteous judgment in their death because
of their sinful rebellion against Him. The place of condemnation for these people is
in Hell with the devil and his agents. Because of this, not all people will go to heaven.
At the same time though, it is also the Bible’s testimony that there will be people who do
go to heaven through the perfect atonement of Jesus Christ:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved…for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
WILL BE SAVED.’” (Romans 10:9-13)
Those who do go to heaven do so because Jesus paid the penalty for their sin and, through
faith, they have become united with Him in His death & resurrection. This is the gospel
– good news. Any sinner can be saved in Christ. Praise the Lord!
This means that within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy, the correct answer is that some
people will go to heaven. However, given the recognition that some will be saved and some
will not, the next logical question is whether there will be more people saved or if there
will be more people condemned.
Many churches preach that there will more people who are condemned than saved. This
is based in large part on Matthew 7:13-14:
“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.”
On the surface, this passage certainly seems to corroborate the understanding that the
majority of people will be condemned. Before totally subscribing to this idea though, there
is another passage we should consider:
“…behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes
and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white
robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation
to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:9-10)
In contrast to Matthew 7, Revelation 7 here appears to describe a scene where most people
have been saved. After all, the language used here is of a group which includes people from
everywhere and of every language – so large that no one can count it. If we take this
scripture straightforward, then the population of heaven exceeds any census number of Earth’s
population we could arrive at in our own ability as humans (either at present or across the
scope of time).
So which is it? Will the majority of people go to heaven or will the majority of people
go to hell?
Consider here the words of the famed preacher Charles Spurgeon:
“Think of the numbers upon whom God has bestowed His grace already. Think of the countless
hosts of Heaven: if thou wert introduced there today, thou wouldst find it as easy to tell
as the stars, or the sands of the sea, as to the countless multitudes that are before
the throne even now. They have come from the East, and from the West, from the North, and
from the South, and they are sitting down with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob
in the Kingdom of God; and beside those in Heaven, think of the saved ones on Earth.
Blessed be God, His elect on Earth are to be counted by millions, I believe, and the
days are coming, brighter days than these, when there shall be multitudes upon multitudes
brought to know the Savior, and to rejoice in Him. The Father’s love is not for a few
only, but for an exceeding great company. ‘A great multitude which no man could number,’
will be found in Heaven. A man can reckon up to very high figures; set to work your
Newtons, your mightiest calculators, and they can count great numbers, but God and God alone
can tell the multitude of His redeemed. I believe that there will be more in Heaven
than in hell. If anyone asks me why I think so, I answer, because Christ, in everything,
is to ‘have the preeminence,’ and I cannot conceive how He could have the preeminence
if there are to be more in the damnation of Satan than in Paradise. Moreover, I have never
read that there is to be in hell a great multitude, which no man could number…
Christ shall be Master everywhere, and His praise shall be sounded in every land. Christ
shall have the preeminence at last; His train shall be far larger than that which shall
attend the chariot of the grim monarch of hell.” (Charles Spurgeon; A Defense of Calvinism
– Pg. 16-17)
For my money I agree with Spurgeon – I believe the majority of people (and the vast majority
at that) will find redemption in the perfect sacrifice of Christ. The number of His people
will far & away exceed the number of souls Satan drags with him down to hell. Christ
wins; Satan loses.
Revelation 7 is a testimony to the great and glorious mystery that God will reveal to His
people in eternity – how so many who were hopelessly cut off were brought near through
Christ. I believe this has been the consistent promise of God throughout the the entirety
of scripture:
“I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants
all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed…”
(Genesis 26:4)
“Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out
to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants
shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 28:14)
“…to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men
of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not
pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)
“…as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one
act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one
man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the
many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase;
but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death,
even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(Romans 5:18-21)
“As He says also in Hosea, ‘I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’
AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, “BELOVED.”’ AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT
WAS SAID TO THEM, “YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,” THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.’”
(Romans 9:25-26)
“…How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe
in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they
preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF
THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” However, they did not all heed the good news;
for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” So faith comes from hearing,
and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed
they have; ‘THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS
OF THE WORLD.’ But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,
’I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING
WILL I ANGER YOU.’ And Isaiah is very bold and says, ‘I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO
DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.’” (Romans 10:14-20)
“…it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and
through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His
cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians
1:19-20)
Now, there are a couple of questions that naturally arise if we understand the scriptures
this way. The first is, “How will the majority of people be saved if they do not know about
Christ or if they have currently rejected Him?” Answering this question would overreach
our bounds here, so I will save it for a dedicated video of it’s own. For now, I will refer
you back to my previous video on the question of infant salvation, as the factors that are
at play are the same.
The second question, though, is, “What about Matthew 7? How can the majority of people
be saved if many are on the broad road to destruction?”
The answer to this question is in the context of Matthew 7. Immediately after Jesus speaks
these words, He says:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly
are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from
thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit,
but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad
tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to
Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform
many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU
WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” (Matthew 7:15-23)
Verses 13:14 are the lead-in to Jesus’ warning about false prophets in His day. The many
referred to in verse 22 are the many false prophets who are performing signs and wonders
in God’s name but who do not possess a real relationship with Him. It’s Jesus’ declaration
to these people – the false prophets – that, “I never knew you…”
Further, the verbs & participles used in verses 13-14 are all in the present tense. In other
words, Jesus is describing things as they are at the time He is speaking – from His
perspective, right now. These false prophets were the ones who are constructing the broad
road to destruction and their efforts were deceiving many people. Jerusalem was plagued
with people preaching a false gospel during and immediately before Jesus’ lifetime.
He was the only one proclaiming the true gospel – the narrow gate – and there were only
a few people who believed Him. (He only had 12 disciples.) At this stage, the Kingdom
of God was as the mustard seed. But, in the wake of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the
Kingdom grew and continues to grow to this very day.
Matthew 7:13-14 is a temporal passage – it is true of a particular point in time & place
on earth; during the life & ministry of Jesus. In contrast, Revelation 7 is set in Heaven
beyond the bounds of time & space. Revelation 7 is about what awaits the people of God in
eternity. It is this declaration that tells of a saving work of Christ that is vast & glorious
in the number of souls whom God has saved.
how many people will go to heaven, who will be saved, who can be saved,