There has been a lot of talk over the last several years about whether there really is a hell. Mark 16:16 plainly shows there is, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Jesus Himself showed His disciples and, in turn us, the way to salvation and the consequences of not believing. If we believe the Bible and believe in the words recorded in scripture, we know the truth about salvation and hell. The only alternative is to believe that scripture is not accurate and therefore we make up our own conclusions.

Today we begin the book of John who was a disciple of Jesus. He and his brother James were called the “Sons of Thunder” for their confrontational and, at times, aggressive ways. It was James and John, who in Luke 9:54, wanted to call down fire from heaven when the Samaritans were not responsive to Jesus’ message.

John’s purpose in writing this book was, as an eye-witness to Jesus’ life, conclusively prove Jesus was the Son of God and that all who believe in Him would be saved. John wrote this book as an old man, approximately 85-90 AD. It was also written after the destruction of Jerusalem when believers needed encouragement in their faith from the persecution they were beginning to face. When reading John, keep in mind that up 90 percent of John is unique to his gospel from the other gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.