God is all powerful, why doesn't he just make the devil cease to exist?
This is the answer I'm expecting:
Then there would be no point worshiping God as everyone gets into heaven.
At some point in the future, God
will put an end to Satan's evil reign on Earth. In fact, the Bible says that Satan is already a defeated foe. Christ conquered him through his sacrificial death on the cross. For the child of God, the devil is an enemy already vanquished, without real power to tempt and coerce. Soon God will put the devil in the place prepared for him and his fallen angels.
I'm not sure how you got to your expected answer...The devil isn't the reason we don't get into heaven. Our own selfish, willful, and prideful behaviour toward God and man is what condemns us. Satan simply draws out and exaggerates our natural sinful inclinations; he doesn't cause them.
If God loves us all, why not take away this eternal suffering for something else?
God loves - but He also hates. He hates sin and He is angry with the wicked every day. (
Prov. 6:16 - 19; Ps. 7:11) God is also just and will punish wickedness. God is also wrathful toward those who defy His Sovereign rule over the universe, who reject His blood-bought gift of salvation, and spurn His undeserved mercy and grace.
Heaven is a reward for worshiping god.
No, it is the destination of those who love their Maker. Heaven is ultimately heaven because God is there;
He is the reward, not the place in which He dwells.
Hell is a punishment because it is part of Gods creation, which he could change.
Yes, it is a punishment! An eternal one to be avoided at all costs!
Instead of punishment, when we die why not offer us the truth.
God has already given us the truth - and most have rejected it.
As if people knew the truth when they were alive, they would worship. Its the fact they find it hard to believe.
Really, it is
impossible to believe unless God illuminates one's mind. We love ourselves too much, we are too much in the grip of the shallow pleasures of the flesh, too blinded by these things to perceive God fully. Unless He interferes in our natural, sinful state and enables us to see, we will be blind to the truth until it is too late.
So instead of punishing non believers, why not expose them to God so they know he is real.
All people know on some level that God is real. This is an innate knowledge God imparts to each of us, that is confirmed in Creation and by our conscience, proved in the person of Christ, and revealed in the Scripture. But, a holy, just God who demands our full surrender to Him conflicts with our natural desire to be self-ruling. So, many suppress what God has revealed of Himself in order that they may feel easier in the justifications they make for their rejection of Him.
And then place them somewhere for forgiveness and worship. Sort of like purgatory but where they live again.
God has said,
Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV)
27 ...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment...
Selah.