An Examination of Rob Bell's "Love Wins." Chapter 8: The End is Here

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Chapter 8: The End is Here (pages 193-98)

1. Transformation

“It’s written in one of John’s letters in the scriptures that ‘what we will be has not yet been made known.’ Jesus invites us to become, to be drawn into this love as it shapes us and forms us and takes over every square inch of our lives. Jesus calls us to repent, to have our minds and hearts transformed so that we see everything differently.” (pp. 195-96)

Observation: This quotation is from 1 John 3:2: Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

Bell’s quote is incomplete - - he mentions nothing about being like Jesus. 1 John 3:2 speaks of Christ’s return and the believers’ reception of new bodies that cannot sin rather than the present day. Simply put, Bell took the verse out of context.

2. Judgment

“These are strong, shocking images of judgment and separation in which people miss out on rewards and celebrations and opportunities.” (p. 197)

Observation: The judgment to which Bell refers is not a “loss of blessings” but separation from God for all eternity for those who don’t know Him.

59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2)