"Hope" is irrelevant - all that matters is what is. The only hope that Arafat had was to renounce idolatry and embrace Jesus Christ as savior. He did not do that, choosing instead to live a life of hatred. To hold the belief that Arafat is in hell, all that is required is a belief in God's word.
God / Jesus says that "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life - no man comes to the Father but by Me.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:18-19
The time for hope was when Arafat was alive. Arafat is dead now and beyond hope. He IS in hell, regardless of what I hope.
Condemnation is the natural state of man, unless salvation through Christ intervenes.
""Hope" is irrelevant - all that matters is what is. The only hope that Arafat had was to renounce idolatry and embrace Jesus Christ as savior. He did not do that, choosing instead to live a life of hatred. To hold the belief that Arafat is in hell, all that is required is a belief in God's word. "
I tend to believe his life as a murderer is more of a factor in his fate than whether or not he believed the NT.
well put, Jeff.