The Bible teaches that there is no work, device, knowledge or wisdom in the grave where we all go (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10). Satan is God’s adversary and he would like humans to think God is unfair and unjust. Not a great deal is written about this momentous event, but God’s fairness would be contradicted if humans were relegated to “hell” without ever being able to make a choice. ![]() What a delight to understand that the dead who are not in the first resurrection will live and will know the truth! God will open their graves and then their minds, and they will understand (John 5:24-29). Skin color, geographic location, language, culture-all do not, and cannot, matter. They must have a chance that is perfectly equivalent to all those who have their names written in the Book of Life. The Scriptures help us to understand that there will be a resurrection to physical life of all those who never had a chance. Wow! This was big stuff! With an Almighty God-One who is seated on the throne of mercy and One who loves the whole world-it cannot be permitted that people who never had a chance should be relegated to no future. Most of mankind has never had a chance to repent and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is the only way one receives eternal life (Acts 4:12). Pagans have no chance, babies have no chance, mentally infirm people have no chance, the ignorant have no chance, those born into evil have no chance and so on. That is the only conclusion one can reach. ![]() ![]() Most of mankind has not known God or Jesus Christ and has had no chance whatever to be saved. All humans must have a chance to receive eternal life. It follows that since God is perfectly just, fair and reliable, He will not allow anyone to be condemned who has not had a full and complete chance to be saved. Most Christians believe that God is fair and just, but they can’t really answer the question, What happens to those who die never having learned about Christ? God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Romans 11:26 tells us that all Israel will be saved-that is a future event, since most of Israel caused God such grief that He divorced Himself from the nation (Isaiah 50:1). I found scriptures telling of the resurrection of the whole nation of Israel-people who had not followed God’s ways and were in fact cut off from God (Ezekiel 37). In fact I was surprised to find the concept of “resurrection” tied to everything the Bible says about our afterlife. I found scriptures about the “better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35)-the “first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5). But that wasn’t the only resurrection I discovered. It seems every religion condemns everyone else to hell!Īs I began to study the Bible, I was enthralled with the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to which over 500 people bore witness (1 Corinthians 15:6). They were pagans and Christianity had condemned them to hell. I gave no more than a passing thought to the billions of people who know nothing about Christ. I never heard a funeral in which the minister said, “This guy has gone to hell”-no matter how loathsome his reputation. I didn’t give much thought to death and dying! It did seem a little strange that everyone went to heaven. ![]() For the first 26 years of my life, I did not give much thought to the distant future.
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