Controversial megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress has warned that the majority of people are going to hell, where they will be eternally separated from God.
"Everybody's spirit lives forever. Doesn't matter what you believe - Jew, Atheist, Muslim, Catholic, Baptist - everybody's going to live forever. Some are going to live forever in Heaven with God. Others - the majority of people - are going to live in hell, separated by God," the First Baptist Church Dallas megachurch pastor said during a sermon focused on the resurrection.
There are three recorded times in the New Testament where Jesus raised somebody from the dead, and he did it the same way every time - by speaking to the person that had died.
"The Bible says that one day the Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first," Jeffress said.
The outspoken pastor, who in 2004 published a book about the reality of hell entitled "Hell? Yes!", frequently discusses the afterlife and has in the past urged other religious leaders to do the same.
"In today's seeker-friendly environment it is just not politically correct to talk about the subject of hell," he said. "The teaching on hell is cyclical, but I think the faithful expositor of the Word of God cannot allow current trends to determine what he's going to teach God's people."
The Baptist pastor has separately said that following Islam leads people to hell.
"Islam is a false religion that will lead you to hell. It is based on a false book that is based on a fraud. It was founded by a false prophet who was leading people away instead of to the one true God," he said during a sermon in May.
During a February interview with The Gospel Herald, Jeffress lamented that in today's cultural of political correctness, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ for salvation is Christianity's "most offensive belief."
"Today it is thought to be intolerant and hateful to tell Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists that their religions will lead them to hell and only Christ will lead them to heaven," he said.
"But this is not a message of hate, it's a message of hope...We think we're being gracious and kind when we're opening it up to people that there may be another way to Heaven than through Jesus Christ. But in reality, if every other way is a dead-end road that leads to hell, it is very selfish for us not to share the only way to heaven. If we really hated Muslims and Buddhists and Hindus, we'd keep our mouths shut and never talk to them about Jesus. It's a sign of love to share with them the only way to safety."
