In 2 Pet 1:10-11, Peter states:

 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;  for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The abundant entrance is a reward for faithful believers who have diligently pursued the virtues Peter mentions earlier in the chapter. It’s not automatic for all believers, but rather a promise for those who persevere in faith. It’s as if Peter is describing a grand, celebratory welcome––like a ticker-tape parade in which these believers are honored for their faithfulness. They will enter the kingdom as heroes of the faith.

Everyone who believes in Jesus for eternal life will enter the kingdom, but not all will experience this kind of victorious entrance. That’s reserved for those who have been faithful and have added to their faith the qualities of virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Pet 1:5-7). This reflects the doctrine of rewards. There will be degrees of glory for believers. In this example, those who were faithful will receive recognition of their endurance and obedience in the Christian walk.

Hodges comments on v 11:

All born-again Christians will enter the kingdom of Christ, but only those who develop the Christian character described in this chapter will have a special kind of entrance. For so, says Peter, an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly. GNTC p. 579

This special kind of entrance is what all believers should seek to experience as they diligently add to their faith.

When discussing the doctrine of rewards, a question often arises about whether the same is true for unbelievers. Will there be degrees of torment for the unbeliever? The Biblical evidence says there will be.

In Isaiah 14, we see the opposite of the victorious, triumphant entrance into the kingdom of God described in 2 Pet 1:11. While Peter declares that believers who persevere are celebrated with honor and glory, Isaiah declares that the king of Babylon receives mockery and disgrace. His “abundant entrance” is one of humiliation, shame, and scorn. In short, he receives a parade of shame.

In Isa 14:9-11, as the king of Babylon descends into Sheol, kings who have died before him rise from their thrones to mock him. While this is figurative language, the picture is clear. This king is someone who was important in life; therefore, he deserves special attention. The “welcoming committee” of dead kings ridicules his fall, calling attention to his arrogance and boasting. Isaiah 14:8 describes the cypress trees as rejoicing over his destruction. The stark reversal of his previous earthly glory is evident in the language: once exalted in life, he now experiences shame in his death.

His burial is described as one in which his body is trodden underfoot by horses (Isa 14:19). The grand entrance into Sheol is not a procession of honor but a spectacle of mockery. In contrast to the abundant entrance of faithful believers, those who live in pride and arrogance will not only be removed from their earthly place of glory but will be greeted with laughter and scorn in death.

In the case of the king of Babylon, we see an example of how an unbeliever who lived in pride and arrogance reaped a fate of mockery and disgrace. The ridicule he faces in Sheol, the “abundant entrance” of scorn he receives, speaks to the severity of his judgment. His judgment is not merely death; it’s death with a spectacle of humiliation beyond what others will experience. This suggests that those who lived in greater pride, arrogance, and opposition to God will experience a greater degree of humiliation and torment in the afterlife. In the words of the old adage, “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” The greater the pride, the farther the fall.

The idea of varying degrees of punishment for unbelievers aligns with the concept of varying degrees of glory for believers. Just as the humble servant who endures to the end is rewarded with a greater, more glorious entrance into the kingdom, so too will the prideful and rebellious suffer a harsher experience when they die.

Ultimately, both the rewards for faithful believers and the consequences for unbelievers reveal God’s justice and righteousness. He rewards the faithful in proportion to their perseverance and works. The wicked will reap ruin and shame in proportion to their rejection of His grace and the harm they caused.

God is not unjust. Every entrance—whether into glory or ruin—will match the life that preceded it.