"Erasing Hell is an extraordinarily important book. Francis Chan speaks with trembling and compassion. He recognizes this debate is about God, His nature, and His authority. At stake is whether or not we will trust Him. Francis lays his heart on the table; I was not only informed, but moved. It’s rare that a book mixes straight- from-the-heart talk with diligent citation of Scripture. Erasing Hell is highly readable yet goes deep and into detail exactly when it needs to. Preston Sprinkle’s research and Francis Chan’s presentation are a dynamic combination. This remarkable book embraces not what, in pride, we want to believe, but what, in humility, we must believe. My heartfelt thanks to Francis Chan for taking us to God’s Word in a Christlike spirit of grace and truth. And for calling on us not to apologize for God, but to apologize to God for presuming to be wiser and more loving than our Savior."
— Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and If God Is Good

"It’s time for the H word. A lot of people go through hell on earth, but what if there is also a hell after earth? Hell’s stock has fallen off lately from lack of public confidence, but how can thousands, perhaps millions, reject hell as a myth and yet still believe in heaven and cherish fond hopes of going there? Surely if we hate suffering, God must hate it worse and could never have founded an institution as horrible as described in Dante’s Inferno. But the same Jesus who gave heaven a five-star rating also described an otherworldly chamber of horrors. Who goes there and why? And for how long? In Erasing Hell, my good friend Francis Chan takes a close look at some tough, frightening questions ... and his answers may honestly surprise you!"
— Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

"Everyone needs to read Erasing Hell. by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle. Chan and Sprinkle accurately and clearly reflect the biblical teaching on heaven, hell, and eternal destiny. They provide a timely reminder that we don’t define God, but He reveals Himself to us in the pages of Scripture."
— Tremper Longman, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College

"Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle raise the questions we all have about this very critical topic and respond with biblical integrity and a commitment to truth, as well as incredible compassion for people. Erasing Hell is an extremely important and much-needed book."
— Dan Kimball, pastor and author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church

"Francis holds the fine line between committed biblical faithfulness and a deep compassion for people and refuses to create a false dichotomy between the two. He feels the weight and horror of the reality of hell and yet avoids the error of lapsing into mere humanism, all the while providing a well-reasoned defense for the view of Scripture on the subject. I am so thankful for this book, as will you be."
— Britt Merrick, pastor of Reality Santa Barbara

"Recent works by evangelicals on the postmortem future(s) of humanity have raised important questions and brought some sobering and uncomfortable issues to the fore. Chan and Sprinkle provide a remarkable service to the church by engaging these issues with courage, clarity, and grace. This book is a model of careful biblical scholarship, providing fresh light from the Jewish context of the New Testament. They also write as pastors seeking to provide wisdom for ministry, enabling the people of God to embody the love of God for the world."
— Timothy Gombis, associate professor of New Testament at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary

Benjamin Dahlvang's (WTSBooks Staff) Review of Erasing Hell:

“Erasing Hell is not just another response to Rob Bell. In fact the references to Rob Bell & Love Wins are not in any way essential to the overall thrust of the book. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that this book was penned as a response to the kind of questions Rob Bell raises: ‘How can a good God send people to hell?’ ‘How can a loving God create a place to punish people, especially if that punishment is not designed to correct them?’ Even though there is a significant problem or two with this book, Chan and Sprinkle more or less consistently answer these types of questions in an honest, passionate, and biblical way. Indeed, the constant refrain throughout is that we dare not create the kind of god we want, but we must submit to God’s own revelation of himself in Scripture. Chan and Sprinkle show that they are far from ignorant of the glorious and at times terrifying implications of that refrain. I found myself disagreeing with one or two of their lines of argument, but I certainly hope that I take God’s word as seriously as they do.

“The weakest part of the book is two and a half pages long (p. 85-87, as well as the footnotes), where the meaning of aionios and the duration of hell are discussed. After what seems to be a decent discussion on the meaning of the Greek word, Chan concludes that he merely leans toward a view of hell that is everlasting, but he is not quite sure. He leaves the door open for annihilationism. Honestly, I found this conclusion baffling and entirely out of place with the rest of the book. Throughout the book, Chan is clear that a part of him wishes hell did not exist. But he is also clear that God has plainly revealed that it does exist. I contend that God has also clearly revealed that sinners who die outside of Christ will experience an endless destruction. Moreover, I build that contention largely around the material that Chan himself cites! It seems clear that Chan is not saying that the Bible gives us no answer on the question of annihilationism. He is not arguing that the Bible itself is unclear. Rather, he seems to be arguing that he himself is unclear on this particular point.

“But the strengths of the book far outweigh this serious weakness. Those of us who have a negative knee-jerk reaction to Chan’s soft-handed treatment of annihilationism should take God’s vengeance even more seriously than Chan does. Moreover, we ought to be able say with Chan that ‘while hell can be a paralyzing doctrine, it can also be an energizing one, for it magnifies the beauty of the cross. Hell is the backdrop that reveals the profound and unbelievable grace of the cross’ (148). In the case of Chan’s agnostic stance toward annihilationism, a knee-jerk reaction may be good and proper, but so is joining Chan in trembling at the thought of my neighbor experiencing God’s wrath, and trembling at the thought of Christ’s experience of it. Many of us, myself included, have failed to take God’s wrath seriously. Consequently, we also fail to take the gospel seriously. Both God’s wrath and God’s love ought to terrify us. I think this book will help us do better and think clearer.”