Reflecting Upon The Fate Of Billions

[Reformer]

Reflecting Upon The Fate Of Billions

[Whose only Celestial Exposure has been
the Revelation of Creation]

Special Notation

 

A few years ago a writer attempted to estimate the number of people who have lived and died since the beginning of the human family. He supposed that if this Earth were one great graveyard, the graves would be twenty deep—all over the rivers, the mountains, and the oceans. If his estimate is even close to being accurate, just think of the billions and billions of people who have lived and died since the dawn of creation, yet only a small percentage of these billions have been exposed to what is called "special Revelation" from Heaven. Is God unmindful of these billions? Is there no hope for any of them?

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It is a sobering and disturbing truth that too many of us are prone to take the position that ignorance condemns. Not necessarily, for if ignorance condemns none of us will be saved. All of us are ignorant of some truth and/or truths. If God condemns eternally the honest unexposed because of ignorance, thus requiring the impossible, how could He be a merciful God? God cares. He understands. He is aware of our plight. His mercy is beyond human comprehension.

At this point it should be said that those who deliberately sinned and disobeyed God and who lived lives of evil without the Law of Moses, will perish without the Law of Moses. They will perish without the Covenant of Jesus as well—not because they were unexposed to either Covenant or Revelation, but because they deliberately and knowingly lived lives of evil, thus violating the "divine nature" God had revealed to them through creation.

  "So they are without excuse. For although they knew God [through the Revelation of Creation], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him..." (Rom. 1:19-23).

To enact a clearer understanding, let's address a few Questions and Answers. If you feel my answers are off-center, or my questions do not adequately cover their intent, I invite your corrective suggestions.

Question— May a person reach heaven without believing in the Person of Jesus?

Answer— Yes. Among those who will be in heaven are infants and small children, the severely retarded, and the mentally incompetent. I have also added the "honest unexposed" or uninformed—those who have been and are receptive to celestial truth.

Question— If an unregenerate segment of the population will be saved, in spite of ignorance, what purpose was served in sending a Savior and the proclamation of that fact?

Answer— It is God's intention, through the Good News, to not only save the unregenerate from their fallen nature, but that those who are righteous like Cornelius, a Gentile, might be conformed to the image of His Son [2 Cor. 3:18]. This is why we take the saving message to the unregenerate. Those who are not seeking additional light will reject it. Those who are seeking more light will accept it.

Question— Why take the saving message to the unregenerate or unredeemed if they are saved already?

Answer— Why cultivate a field of corn if it can be harvested without cultivation? To make it a better or more useful field of corn. We take the saving message to the honest unregenerate or unexposed because we are commissioned, and because the "elected" ones need to hear and be spiritually cultivated—thereby producing a better harvest.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few" [Matt. 9:37]. There are not enough laborers to take additional light to all peoples like Cornelius. Consequently, it is my position that God's mercy and grace will compensate for those honest, receptive persons whose only available light was/is creation [Rom. 1].

Question— So you believe many of the unregenerate ones are part of God's "elect"?

Answer— I believe all who reach heaven, whether those born anew or the devout unregenerate, are part of God's elect.

Question— You seem to be saying the "honest uninformed" will be saved by responding to some divine revelation. Isn't this legalism? Paul says people are saved by grace through faith.

Answer— No responsible person will be saved except on the basis of grace through faith, regardless of the Divine Revelation under which he lived and died. His positive response to the Revelation under which he lived was a reflection of his faith. If I understand the divine testimony accurately, God's grace cannot be applied to an accountable person without faith.

Two Schools of Thought

It seems there are two principal schools of thought relating to this subject. I suggest you select the one that best coincides with your doctrinal position. Here they are:

1] Only those who consciously accept the redemptive acts of Jesus will be saved.

2] Only those who consciously reject the God of creation are lost.

Needless to say, I accept the latter premise, #2. The principle I've introduced in this essay should be pondered deliberately, namely: Some lack capabilities; others lack opportunities. If God extends grace and mercy to those persons lacking capabilities, will He not grant grace and mercy to those honest persons lacking opportunities?

Does God use one measuring rod for those persons lacking capabilities and a different measuring rod for those persons lacking opportunities? If we limit heaven's population only to those who had the opportunity to hear and respond to Divine Revelations in the form of audible and written messages, the corridors and airways and arcades of heaven will be mighty spacious.

I suspect that when we reach heaven we will find many people there we felt would not be there, and quite a few not there we felt would be there. It is good God is the Judge, for we are too prone to misjudge. He understands the predicament of the unexposed and uninformed. He is not a phantom. He is real. And He will save those who seek Him! The bottom line, however, is that God is still at the controls, and He will accept or reject whomever He wishes. Praise His Holy Name.

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Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mothers out there!

[garee]

I would offer- -All mankind are born under the first birth son as born telling lies — children of Adam, shaped in the image of dying mankind. Scripture declares plainly: "Let God be true, but every man a liar."

That is why mankind must be born again.

If we begin adding human qualifiers, categories, and exceptions as though salvation depends upon our ability to measure innocence, mental capacity, exposure, or worthiness, then the focus subtly shifts away from the faithfulness of Christ Himself.

The gospel pattern is simpler and greater:

"Let there be..."
and
"...it was good."

The twofold work belongs to Christ alone.

The invisible declaration comes first, and the confirming work follows according to His faithfulness, not according to the wisdom of dying mankind attempting to build categories around salvation.

Christ in us — Emmanuel — remains the only true hope of glory.

The new birth is not produced by human intellect, denominational membership, outward ability, or earthly qualification. It is the work of the living Spirit.

If salvation finally depends upon man's conditions, capacities, or uninformed status, then confidence slowly moves from Christ's finished work toward human measurement.

But scripture continually points back to the power and sufficiency of Christ Himself working in those He calls:

"Let there be..."and the witness appears.

Faith rests in the faithfulness of Christ, not in the ability of earthly systems to define every exception beforehand.

[4WD]

To enact a clearer understanding, let's address a few Questions and Answers. If you feel my answers are off-center, or my questions do not adequately cover their intent, I invite your corrective suggestions.

Question— May a person reach heaven without believing in the Person of Jesus?

Answer— Yes. Among those who will be in heaven are infants and small children, the severely retarded, and the mentally incompetent. I have also added the "honest unexposed" or uninformed—those who have been and are receptive to celestial truth.

Question— If an unregenerate segment of the population will be saved, in spite of ignorance, what purpose was served in sending a Savior and the proclamation of that fact?

Answer— It is God's intention, through the Good News, to not only save the unregenerate from their fallen nature, but that those who are righteous like Cornelius, a Gentile, might be conformed to the image of His Son [2 Cor. 3:18]. This is why we take the saving message to the unregenerate. Those who are not seeking additional light will reject it. Those who are seeking more light will accept it.

Question— Why take the saving message to the unregenerate or unredeemed if they are saved already?

Answer— Why cultivate a field of corn if it can be harvested without cultivation? To make it a better or more useful field of corn. We take the saving message to the honest unregenerate or unexposed because we are commissioned, and because the "elected" ones need to hear and be spiritually cultivated—thereby producing a better harvest.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few" [Matt. 9:37]. There are not enough laborers to take additional light to all peoples like Cornelius. Consequently, it is my position that God's mercy and grace will compensate for those honest, receptive persons whose only available light was/is creation [Rom. 1].

Question— So you believe many of the unregenerate ones are part of God's "elect"?

Answer— I believe all who reach heaven, whether those born anew or the devout unregenerate, are part of God's elect.

Question— You seem to be saying the "honest uninformed" will be saved by responding to some divine revelation. Isn't this legalism? Paul says people are saved by grace through faith.

Answer— No responsible person will be saved except on the basis of grace through faith, regardless of the Divine Revelation under which he lived and died. His positive response to the Revelation under which he lived was a reflection of his faith. If I understand the divine testimony accurately, God's grace cannot be applied to an accountable person without faith.[/justify]

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

My question----Are there other possible next life destinations in heaven other than the kingdom of God?  That is, are there only the two destinations of the kingdom of God and eternal condemnation? I don't really know the answer. There are those who I think are not or were not born again but were pretty good people by our measure.  I can only hope that if they do not make it to heaven, they would not be eternally condemned, i.e., thrown into the lake of fire. My own grandpa, whom I loved dearly, is one such person. 

What do we interpret from Revelation 20:13?  What does it mean that they were judged according to what they had done?

What is the meaning of "Death and Hades"? Is that the present abode of all of the dead until Jesus returns and all will stand before the great white throne (Rev 20:11-15)?

[garee]

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

My question----Are there other possible next life destinations in heaven other than the kingdom of God?  That is, are there only the two destinations of the kingdom of God and eternal condemnation? I don't really know the answer. There are those who I think are not or were not born again but were pretty good people by our measure.  I can only hope that if they do not make it to heaven, they would not be eternally condemned, i.e., thrown into the lake of fire. My own grandpa, whom I loved dearly, is one such person. 

What do we interpret from Revelation 20:13?  What does it mean that they were judged according to what they had done?

What is the meaning of "Death and Hades"? Is that the present abode of all of the dead until Jesus returns and all will stand before the great white throne (Rev 20:11-15)?

I would offer the the pattern of "two" seems to run throughout scripture as a parable used to aid gospel understanding — the seen temporal witness alongside the unseen eternal witness.

From the beginning, the "generations" as they are spoken of in the plural, the visible creation testifying of the invisible eternal work.

What I call the "dynamic duo" — the unseen Holy Father working salvation outwardly through the Son of man Jesus. Philippian 2:13-14  the key both two-- to reveal the will and empower dying mankind to do it to the good pleasure of our invisible Holy Father in that way He does not forget the good works we miraculously offer toward the power of His Holy name good works accompany salvation (Hebrew 6 )


The invisible creative declaration, "Let there be," becomes the visible "it was very good" witness. The work unseen revealed through the witness seen.

Genesis 2 says:"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created..."

The witness of two.As I understand the parable, death represents the condemnation of the letter of the law — "thou shalt not" — while hell speaks of the suffering and bondage experienced in these present bodies of death because of sin.

After physical death, the body returns to dust, and the spirit returns unto God who gave it. The suffering tied to this mortal condition is connected to the temporal body under the law.

The gospel hope is not found in fleshly power or earthly systems, but in Christ the anointing Teacher working in believers from within — not merely "Christ is us," but Christ in us, teaching, leading, and giving rest through the Spirit.