Could Hitler be in heaven?

It would be challenging to find a human being more evil than Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) during his life on earth. He planned to exterminate all the Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, communists and other "undesirables" and "decadents" in death camps during the Second World War (1939-1945).

During the infamous "Holocaust", he issued orders which resulted in the deaths of about 6 million Jews, 3 million Soviet prisoners of war, 3 million Polish Catholics, 700,000 Serbians, 240,000 Gypsies, 80,000 German political or religious opponents, 70,000 German handicapped citizens, 12,000 homosexuals and 2,500 Jehovah's Witnesses.

On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin. And now? It would be easy to mentally consign Adolf Hitler to hell for all eternity in punishment for the wickedness he displayed during life.

 But wait, God might have granted even such as he a last- minute chance to repent.

Reflect on the scene on Mount Calvary, on a Friday afternoon about 1,500 years ago. Three crosses stand outlined against a dark, threatening sky. On each cross hangs a dying man, victims of the Roman mode of execution. On the centre cross, a crudely-made sign has been affixed, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you shall be with me in paradise." Luke 23: 39-43

Jesus honours deathbed, or last-minute repentance.

Who's to say that in the very last seconds of life, Hitler did not mentally tell God he was sorry? He was raised in a Catholic home, even though he seemed to abandon all religious precepts and practices later in life. Early training endures, even though it may be buried deeply. Only God knows what went on, if anything, between Adolf Hitler and God in those last moments of his earthly life.

Jesus has a word for us too, when we try to speculate on the ultimate destiny of Hitler or anyone else.

"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged". Matt. 7:1

Wise words from the Son of God echo down through the ages to people of all times. Human nature hasn't changed, we're still curious to know the news about the famous and infamous among us.

We needn't waste time wondering about the ultimate fate of Hitler or others who have shared this globe with us at one time or another. We'll never know the truth anyway, until we reach heaven and see who's already there.

Our sole task now is to live in such a way that we'll eventually get there ourselves. The others are in the hands of God, as indeed are we all.