'Lie From the Pit of Hell': Dr. Michael Youssef Dispels Heaven, Hell Mistruths

Dr. Michael Youssef believes there are some key facts people get wrong about heaven — and hell. Youssef's new book "Heaven Awaits: Anticipate Your Future Hope, Your Eternal Home, Your Daily Reality" tackles this important topic, with the preacher breaking down some of the mistakes people — and pop culture — make while discussing the afterlife. First, he addressed misconceptions popularized in Hollywood and by individuals in the secular world. "For those who [believe in heaven], they say ... 'I'm a good person and therefore I'm going to go to heaven,'" he said. "And Hollywood [says], 'Everybody goes to heaven, everyone becomes an angel when they die, and they earn their wings and all that stuff." But Youssef said there are also issues within Christendom, calling out "more dangerous falsehoods" that have permeated church circles in recent decades. "It began in the mainline denominations, and now it's spreading to the evangelical churches," he said. "So much so that so [that research has] shown that ... 60 plus percent of churchgoers believe that Jesus is just a way, not the way — and therefore, they say, if you're a good person, you go into heaven; you don't have to be a Christian." Another issue Youssef addressed is the claim there's no hell — no place of eternal damnation. "This is a lie from the pit of hell in order to deceive people to end up in hell," Youssef said. "And Satan wants to take as many — just as we want to take as many people to heaven with us — Satan, for whom hell was made. I mean, the lake of fire was created for Satan, and his angels, and his demons." He continued, "So, he wants to take as many people with him. So, he can say, 'Well, Satan doesn't exist or hell doesn't exist' ... misleading people straight into hell." This is why Youssef believes the Gospel message needs to be made clear. He warned that these faulty ideas about heaven and other related issues are muddying the waters and have "been sweeping across and invading so-called evangelical churches." "Universalism, which it says that basically when Jesus died, he died for everyone, whether they know it or not, whether they become Christians or not, that he redeemed everybody — He redeemed the whole world," he said. "It doesn't matter what you do, and it [runs] contrary to the very heart of the Gospel and why Jesus left the glories of heaven." Watch him explain.