There Are No Atheists in Hell

Where do atheists go when they die?  You say, “They go to hell.”  Not true. Why do I say this?  Everyone who goes to hell believes in God.

The rich man in Luke 16 was an unbeliever.  The Bible does not call him an atheist, but he very well may have been. He wanted nothing to do with God.  Certainly, he lived his life as an atheist.

When he died and landed in hell, while being in torment, he saw Abraham and called out to him as “father” (v. 24), which conveys a spiritual awakening.  He also prayed (v. 25-30).  Atheists do not pray. The rich man then prays for Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to bear witness to his five brothers (vv. 27-28).  Bear witness of what? Bear witness that there is a God who is out there in which all are accountable to. He didn’t want his brothers to come to the same place he was in – i.e. hell.  

When Moses told the rich man that his brothers have the Scriptures – i.e. Moses and the prophets (v. 29), the rich man never said, “I don’t believe in the Scriptures.”   While in hell, he is a believer. In fact, he wanted someone to come to visit his brothers from the dead to warn them that hell is a real place (v. 30).  But Abraham said that the Scriptures were sufficient (v. 31).

Moreover, the rich man who lived as an atheist or unbeliever now believes in “repentance.”  He tells Abraham, “if someone goes to visit my brothers from the dead (i.e. sending Lazarus), they will repent” (v. 30).

There are no atheists in hell.  Atheists exist only here on earth, but when they die, they will become believers. By saying “believers,” I do not mean “saved” believers. In hell, there will be no opportunity to turn Jesus in saving faith for salvation. But nevertheless those in hell are “believers” in the existence and authority of God.

Finally, the Bible teaches that when history has come to a close, this is what will occur before the throne of God:  Therefore, God elevated Jesus to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father – Philip. 2:9-11.

Notice the passage says, “Every knee will bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth (afterlife).  Even in hell, those who are there will have to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. (cf. Col. 1:20, where the phrase, “under the earth” is missing so as not to mislead anyone into thinking that in the end, everyone will be saved, including the devil himself). 

Conclusion:  There are no atheists in hell. There are no atheists in heaven. The only place that is hospitable to atheists is earth.  But life on earth is temporary.  Life afterwards will be eternal.  Some have chosen to live a temporary life of atheism on earth, not knowing that they will spend eternity in hell as a believer in God.

So where do atheist go when they die? They go to hell as believers in the existence and authority of God. In hell there are no atheists.  Everyone there knows for certain that God exist, and He is “God and Father of all, through all, and in all” (Eph. 4:6).