Yes, Judas did go to hell, but he could have been saved.
If Judas would have simply repented and turned to God, the Bible tells us that every person, regardless of what they’ve done, can be saved. Great men of the Bible have committed murder, adultery, idolatry, lied, stolen, acted cowardly and more. Look at what these verses say:
Second Peter 3:9, “God…is not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.”
First Timothy 2:4, “God our Savior, who desires ALL men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Judas knew he had sinned but he didn’t confess his sin or repent to God. A person can feel remorse to themselves, but not repentance for sinning against God. Second Corinthians 7:10 says, “For godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation… but the sorrow of the world works death.” The sorrow Judas had experienced was a worldly sorrow that only brings death.
Matthew Henry’s Commentary, page 1762-3 reads, “Judas repented, not like Peter, who repented, believed and was pardoned. No he repented, despaired and was ruined….he was filled with grief, anguish, indignation at himself…Judas went toward his repentance, yet it was not to salvation. He confessed, but not to God.”
Peter sinned against God when he denied him, but was extremely grieved for it. We read about Peter in Matthew 26:75, “And he went out, and wept there bitterly.”
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We must understand that Satan entered Judas, and Judas knew he was going to betray Jesus:
Matthew 26:21-25 states, “Now as they were eating, Jesus said, ‘but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.’ Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, ‘Rabbi, is it I?’ He said to him, ‘You have said it.'” The MacArthur Commentary, page 1434 reads, “Judas chose his own fate of hell by rejecting Christ.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary, page 902 also says, “Judas who betrayed him, who’s sin was greater than Pilate’s that condemned him, as Jesus said in John 19:11…A son of perdition…that will not repent to give him glory. It is here foretold concerning this bad man.”
Only Judas and the Antichrist were described as sons of perdition. This is because Satan entered Judas and Satan will enter the Antichrist. Judas could have been forgiven if he had gone to Jesus. He didn’t. He became demon possessed, he hung himself and he went to hell. His earthly sorrow only led to death.
The devil blinds many people’s eyes to the truth. He wants to take as many to hell as he can but people have a free will to choose to hear God’s Word, to repent, and to be saved. Unfortunately many people reject the truth and send themselves to hell just as Judas did.
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Bill Wiese is the author of New York Times best selling book, 23 Minutes In Hell, the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional book titles, and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife Annette founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries please visit us at: https://soulchoiceministries.org/. You can find more of Bill’s teachings at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV.
