God does not create people destined for hell; the verb tense in Romans 9 distinguishes God's active preparation of the saved from passive endurance of the lost

Mike corrects the framing: "destined" implies victimhood, as if something out of their control is happening to them. In Romans 9, all of God's verbs over the saved are active ("he prepared beforehand for glory") while the vessels of wrath are "prepared for destruction" — but not prepared by God. God's activity with mankind is to convict and draw to Christ. Those who reject that work are not prepared by God for judgment; they are prepared by something else (their own rejection). God endures with patience those who are prepared for wrath.