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No, this is clearly wrong
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
He that believeth not (ὁ ἀπειθῶν)
More correctly, as Rev., obeyeth not. Disbelief is regarded in its active manifestation, disobedience. The verb πείθω means to persuade, to cause belief, to induce one to do something by persuading, and so runs into the meaning of to obey, properly as the result of persuasion. See on Act_5:29. Compare 1Pe_4:17; Rom_2:8; Rom_11:30, Rom_11:31. Obedience, however, includes faith. Compare Rom_1:5, the obedience of faith.
Shall not see (οὐκ ὄψεται)
Compare the future tense with the present “hath eternal life,” and the simple life with the fully developed idea eternal life. He who believes is within the circle of the life of God, which is essentially eternal. His life “is hid with Christ in God.” Life eternal is to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. Hence, to such an one, eternal life is not merely something future. It is a present possession. He hath it.
The unbelieving and disobedient, instead of having eternal life, shall not have life: shall not even see it (compare see the kingdom of God, Joh_3:3). He shall have no perception of life simply considered, much less of eternal life, the full and complex development of life.
The wrath of God (ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ)
Both ὀργὴ and θυμός are used in the New Testament for wrath or anger, and without any commonly observed distinction. Ὁργη denotes a deeper and more permanent sentiment; a settled habit of mind; while θυμός is a more turbulent, but temporary agitation. Both words are used in the phrase wrath of God, which commonly denotes a distinct manifestation of God's judgment (Rom_1:18; Rom_3:5; Rom_9:22; Rom_12:19). Ὁργὴ (not θυμός) also appears in the phrase the wrath to come (Mat_3:7; Luk_3:7; 1Th_2:16, etc.). Compare wrath of the Lamb (Rev_6:16).
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Eph 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Eph 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Nor covetous man, who is an idolater: as every man is, that indulges his lusts, the idols of his own heart; and who serves divers lusts and pleasures, and gives up himself to work all uncleanness with greediness; never having his fill of sin, but is ever craving and coveting it; as well as he who is immoderately desirous of worldly things: the covetous man may be called an idolater, because the idolater and he worship the same in substance, gold and silver, and brass, or what is made of them; the covetous man admires his gold, lays it up, and will not make use of it, as if it was something sacred; and through his over love to mammon, whom he serves, he neglects the worship of God, and the good of his own soul, and puts his trust and confidence in his riches: now no such person
hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God; meaning either a Gospel church state, in which persons of such characters, and living in such sins, ought not to be; or else the kingdom of heaven and of glory, which may be called the kingdom of Christ, because it is in his hands, for his people; and it is his righteousness that gives a title to it, and his Spirit and grace which make meet for it; and it is by his power saints are preserved unto it; and he will put them into the possession of it; and which will greatly consist in the enjoyment of him: and this is also the kingdom of God, either of Christ who is God, or of God the Father; it being of his preparing and giving, and which he calls unto, and makes meet for; and this may be said to be an inheritance, because it is peculiar to children, the bequest of their heavenly Father, and is not purchased or acquired by them, but comes to them from the free donation of God, through the death of Christ; and to have an inheritance in it, is to have a right unto it, a meetness for it, and to be possessed of it: now the meaning of these words is, not that all who have been guilty of these sins shall be excluded the kingdom of God, but all such who live and die in them, without the grace of God, and righteousness of Christ.
Gill
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Once (hapax). “Once for all” (Heb_9:26) as already stated.
Shall appear a second time (ek deuterou ophthēsetai). Future passive indicative of horaō. Blessed assurance of the Second Coming of Christ, but this time “apart from sin” (chōris hamartias, no notion of a second chance then).
Robertson.
You seem to advocate that those who are dead, without Christ, will have a "second opportunity"--"or will eventually be saved"
This is foreign to Scriptures.
Everyone can quote scriptures, but it is in rightly dividing the scriptures that is Imperative--not reading into the text with a pre-conceived, dogmatic mindset.
J.
Dear Harold,
I agree with most of what you stated. Maybe I can help by filling in some of the details on "how" Christ says everyone.
Below is paper I wrote which also teaches the meaning of life:
God's plan for this creation is perfect and is without mistake or regret. The issue for mankind is that mankind does not and cannot know God, nor does God reveal His plan to us. It is only after a person has been converted into a child of God will they be able to know God and understand His plan. Until that time, man’s carnal nature will keep God “veiled” from us.
Ecc 3:11 He has made everything fitting in its season; However, He has put obscurity (the world) in their heart so that the man may NOT find out His work, that which God does, that which God does from the beginning to the end.
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Let me explain further by presenting the “big picture”.
Mankind's spiritual condition we have from birth is flawed. It was NOT a mistake by God. We were made that way on purpose so that our flesh controls us. That is why we are carnally minded and why Christ, while in a physical body, was not. Christ was spiritually perfect and this empowered Him to overcome this carnal world and never sin. But with mankind, we cannot overcome this world and we frequently sin as a result of our spiritual flaw.
It is not man's fault that we were created imperfect. God is responsible for our marred spiritual condition which causes us to sin.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, ...
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
So why did God make us spiritually flawed?
Since this Creation is for God's purpose of producing His offspring, He wants us to be like Him. And to be like Him, we must have a knowledge of good and evil. God even created Satan to be our tempter and deceiver so that we would have a fuller experience of evil.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:
Isa 45:5-7 I am the LORD, ... I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Ecc 1:13 An experience of evil God has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.
Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Because of our spiritually flawed, carnally minded condition, we ALL become sinful evil creatures.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Mankind's carnal nature is hatred towards God and it veils God from us. Because of such, we can't understand God nor do we want to seek His ways.
On the other hand, Satan was created to feed upon the dust of the ground (Gen 3:14). The dust of the ground represents mankind’s carnal nature. For that reason, Satan works to destroy and deceive mankind.
After Adam and Eve were created spiritually flawed, they quickly become carnally minded. God put Satan in the Garden to do his work of tempting & deceiving Eve so that she would sin. Eve could not have possibly done anything but fall to Satan’s temptations. Eve even displayed the three causes of sin BEFORE she sinned (1John 2:16).
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of life), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
God, of course, knew Adam and Eve were carnally minded and would sin because He made them that way. And for this same reason, all of Adam & Eve's offspring sin as well. Mankind's sin was planned and caused by God so that we would experience evil.
With God, evil is a tool that He uses for His good and righteous purposes. In this case, His purpose is to create His offspring who know good and evil.
But since mankind's sin spiritually separates us from God and because He wants children, He needed to create a pathway back to Himself for mankind. To accomplish that purpose, God the Father sent Jesus Christ to be our Savior and to make this reconciliation:
1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
In our spiritually flawed, carnally minded condition, NO PERSON can be saved. We have all sinned and the penalty of sin is death (not eternal hell). For this reason, all mankind must die. This is an absolute truth that cannot be broken. The only solution is for mankind to be born again from the death we all must pay.
Christ's work on the cross gave Christ the legal authority to raise mankind from the grave and to give us a new life. With Christ's sacrifice, He earned the keys to death and hell (Rev 1:18).
From His work on the cross, Christ became mankind's near kinsmen redeemer. Now, mankind owes the debt of "death" to Christ. Christ will collect mankind's debt by destroying mankind's spiritually flawed vessel. But from its destruction, Christ will make us into a "new vessel".
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
In our created spiritually flawed condition, we all reject God and cannot choose Him. There is nothing good within mankind. We do not have the ability to make a free will choice to accept Christ. No man has that ability in our spiritually marred created condition. The only way we can choose Christ is for Christ to individually come to us FIRST and change us from within. He does this work by giving us the Early Rain of the Spirit.
Jam 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the EARLY and LATTER rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
The Early Rain of the Spirit is the Holy Spirit of Promise (Eph 1:13-14):
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of Promise (Early Rain), 14 Which is the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (Latter Rain), unto the praise of his glory.
When Christ does this work within us, we ALL accept Him and call Him Lord - just as Paul typed for us on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3-9). There are NO EXCEPTIONS.
1 Cor 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
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Herein lays the GREAT MYSTERY of Christ and His church (Eph 5:32). The Early Rain of the Spirit is only an "earnest amount" of the Holy Spirit and will not save us. Because of this partial measure of the Spirit, we remain spiritually blind (Mark 8:21-25) and controlled by our carnal nature. As a result, Satan can and does deceive us. We all follow this portion of the Pathway to Salvation because we all must live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
This portion of the path is mankind's Day of Evil:
Matt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Lam 3:38 Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?
Prov 16:4 The LORD will make all to give an answer: yea, even for the evil of the Day of Evil.
When Satan comes to a new called out believer, he masquerades as an angel of light (Christ).
2Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
We accept his deception because we are spiritually blind and don't yet have the ability to truly know Christ. Satan then feeds us his lies (leavened bread) which we readily accept as the truth of Christ because his lies are pleasing to our carnal nature.
Matt 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
A called out believer’s carnal nature (Great Harlot), who is under the control of Satan, hides Leaven in the meal until the whole loaf of bread is secretly leavened with Satan's deceptions. Since we all eat from this leavened loaf shortly after receiving the Early Rain, we all fall under Satan's deceptions. And since the leaven is hidden in the loaf, we don't even know that Satan is deceiving us.
Christ explained this process again this way:
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
The spiritual symbol of an Unclean spirit represents Satan’s false truth. Since a called out believer remains spiritually blind after receiving the Early Rain, they cannot replace their false beliefs of this world with God's Truth. ONE Unclean spirit leaves but comes back with SEVEN (represents the spirit of anti-Christ) more since their house remains void of God's Truth. Now, instead of ONE Unclean spirit within them, they now have EIGHT. The number EIGHT is a spiritual symbol and represents a new spiritual condition. In this case, the new spiritual condition is "worse than the first".
Paul calls this believer with the worsened spiritual condition the Man of Sin (2Thes 2:1-4). John, in Revelation chapters 13, refers to him as the Seven Headed Ten Horned Beast. This Beast is controlled by the spirit of anti-Christ (the False Prophet).
After an unbeliever receives the Early Rain of the Spirit, the deadly head wound which came from the sword of Christ is healed because of Satan's deceptions.
Consider these verses below which teach on the spiritual term Sword:
Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
The word Sword is a spiritual symbol which represents the Word of God (Christ).
Christ’s hidden spiritual point He is making in Matt 26:52 is that all who take up the Sword (those who are “called out”), must perish (death of the carnal nature) by the Sword. This death is a necessary part of the conversion process.
After a called out believer receives the first blow to their head by the sword of Christ, their carnality (Old Man) starts slowly dying.
During this process of judgment, Satan will come to the believer via the spirit of anti-Christ and strengthen the Old Man. Through the spirit of anti-Christ, Satan will masquerade as Christ and deceive the believer. While under Satan’s control, the believer will follow Satan’s ways instead of the ways of Christ. In other words, the believer will commit adultery with Satan and will fall away from Grace through Faith. The believer then loses his salvation and becomes spiritually worse than the first. As a result, the believer remains a part of the Seven-Headed Beast (mankind). His deadly head wound is healed:
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Since the Old Man continues to live, the spiritual death that the believer needed to pay to satisfy their sin debt remains unpaid and they remain under the Law of Sin and Death.
Christ said mankind's carnal nature prefers "works" over faith:
Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, the old is better.
The Old Wine represents the blood of the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant of Law. The Old Covenant is man's approach to God of using their own works. With this approach, the remission of sins is not possible.
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
The New Wine represents the blood of Christ which He shed for the New Covenant of Grace through Faith.
Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
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The New Covenant of Grace through Faith is the only acceptable approach to God and it is based solely on the works of Christ “lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:9). Under this covenant, Christ will change mankind from “within”. However, this approach to God is rejected by mankind’s carnal nature because it inherently believes that mankind has at least some ability to make themselves acceptable to God. This inherent belief is responsible for the many religions of the world and is why called out believers will mix their own “works” with faith.
When believers commit this sin, they are trying to serve two masters:
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
After receiving the Early Rain of the Spirit and coming under Satan's deceptions, the believer becomes a Man of Sin. At this point, the believer has truly fallen away and turned to religion for their salvation. They have experienced the Abomination of Desolation. This is the one and only sin that leads to a believer’s spiritual death (1John 5:16). And from this death, the believer cannot be renewed by repentance:
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
The Doctrine of Free Will is the most common belief that causes a believer to fall away. They use this “works” based belief system to differentiate themselves from why unbelievers are worthy of hell and why they are not. They falsely believe that they made the right choice from their supposed "free will" because they were smarter, wiser or just not as evil as those who rejected Christ. But in truth, they are not. Their decision to accept Christ as Lord was made ONLY because of the work Christ did within them beforehand. Christ did this work when He gave them the Early Rain of the Spirit.
What I have stated above is part of the Wide pathway that leads to destruction. We ALL MUST and WILL travel this path since our spiritually marred vessel must be destroyed (Jer 18:4).
Because a fallen away believer cannot be renewed by repentance, they will remain in this lost, spiritually worsened condition until Christ comes to them a second time. In this age, Christ is only coming a second time to His Elect - the First-Fruits of the harvest of mankind. They have been chosen from the foundation of the world and are the only ones who are going to be saved at this time.
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
However, the rest of mankind will not be forgotten by Christ. Their salvation will come in the final age (Lake of Fire age). Since mankind's salvation is 100% the work of Christ, no man has the ability to choose the timing of their own salvation. Only the Elect have been chosen by God to be saved in this age. Everyone else must wait for the final age for their time of salvation. And in that final age, there is a group order that has been established by God: the remaining Gentiles will be saved first, then after their "fullness" has come into the Kingdom of Heaven, the remaining bulk of Israel will finally be saved.
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
If a person has been chosen from the foundation of the world, Christ will not let them die in their sins. He will come to them a second time and give them the Latter Rain of the Spirit. This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is the same event the Apostles experienced on the Day of Pentecost and it is the same event Paul typed for us when he received the Holy Spirit after being in Damascus for three days. This is the point in time when the new child of God is born.
This event is the Second Coming of Christ which is commonly taught in scripture.
After Christ comes to an Elect believer a second time and gives them the Latter Rain of the Spirit, the Day of the Lord will immediately follow with judgment upon the Man of Sin/Old Man. After their judgment is complete, the Elect believer will be fully converted.
What I have presented above is an abbreviated summary of how Christ saves one of His Elect in this age. They are the First-Fruits of His harvest of mankind.
And as I said earlier, Christ will not forget the rest of mankind and will NOT leave them to rot in the field. In the final age, at the end of the harvest season (Feast of Tabernacles), Christ will finish His work within them and bring in the full harvest of mankind. Then it will be testified to be true that ALL who died “in Adam” is the same ALL who will be made alive “in Christ”.
1 Cor 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as IN ADAM ALL DIE, EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE.
1 Tim 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4 who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
God does not fail and He never makes mistakes. What mankind is experiencing now is how God reproduces Himself in His children. This is the meaning of life that seems to elude most people.
Mankind is NOT restored to the Father because of our "will". We are restored to the Father because it is God's "will" for it to happen.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Mankind truly has a loving and merciful creator who will do all that is necessary to save each and every one of us!
Joe
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