The KJV Holy Bible is the source.
Addressed in this article are nine categories of people who did not have a chance to obtain salvation in this life. Before we address those nine types it is necessary to explore some Scriptural truths to understand God’s fairness in His offer of salvation to all people. Several paragraphs below this under the sub-heading, BELOW IS THE “KEY” TO NINE CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT GET DRAWN BY GOD OR HEAR THE GOSPEL ABOUT JESUS, is where the actual scriptural types start.
Remember these two definitions!!*** (Acts 4:10-12) JESUS is the only name under heaven by which salvation can be obtained. AND: (John 6:44) “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me DRAW him.” AND: (John 12:32-33) Jesus said; “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw (***pull toward, attract to) ALL men (***EACH, EVERY, ANY, THE WHOLE, EVERYONE,= MALE AND FEMALE) unto me.” God’s drawing is thoroughly explained in the one article Breath Of Life commentary on this website.
Read this scripture in your Bible: (Rom. 10:8-17) (V.14) A person must “hear” God’s word. The hearing is done with the ears and with the soul (heart). (V.10 keyword: *believe*– defined: to trust Jesus for salvation and to entrust Jesus with your well-being for the rest of your life) (V.17 & John 16:13) Your believing the truth of God’s word (the building of faith) is brought to life within you by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:1-8 keyword: gift) which is God’s gift to you. (V.8-13 esp. V.9 keywords: confess, saved) When you confess (acknowledge) what you *believe* (given above) you will be saved (deliver, preserve, make whole).
(Eph. 1:13-14 then John 14:20-26 esp. V.23) You will know you are saved because the Holy Spirit tells you when He comes to live within your soul.
The TIME OF DRAWING is God’s choice; not man’s! Common sense tells us people die all the time before they are drawn by God; YET GOD SAID HE WILL DRAW ALL MEN TO HIM. (Heb. 6:18) It is impossible for God to lie. SO: How in the world can someone get saved if they die before God draws them OR: if they never have the mental capacity to understand God’s DRAWING?
HOW IS SALVATION OBTAINED? (Titus 3:5) A person is saved by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit of God. SO: Common sense then tells us all people are physically born in an un-regenerated (lost) condition. (John 3:3 & 1Pet. 1:23) To be regenerated a person must be spiritually born again. (Luke 19:10) Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. A person does not get saved from their sins; they get saved from being lost! AND: (Acts 4:10-12) Jesus’ name is the only name by which man can be saved.
BECAUSE: (1John 1:7-10) Jesus’ blood is the only thing that will cleanse a person of their sin. (Rom. 3:23, 5:12 & Gal. 3:22) The scripture has concluded that all people have sinned. (John 3:3, 1Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19, 6:7-8) Sin cannot go to heaven. SO: The sin must be removed before a person can be saved from being lost. According to the above scripture; (1John 1:7) once the sin is washed away the person gets saved from being lost.
THIS INFORMATION FORCES US TO ASK; HOW DID PEOPLE WHO LIVED AND DIED BEFORE THE TIME OF JESUS AND also WERE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED AND DIED AT ANY TIME BEFORE THEY WERE DRAWN OR BEFORE THEY HEARD OF JESUS HAVE A CHANCE AT SALVATION?
PURPOSE OF SALVATION: When a person is drawn by God through the Holy Spirit and that person makes his decision to accept or refuse salvation; God, when it is time, will simply send that person where he has decided to go. This “time of choice” is explained in depth in this commentary.
You must understand that hell was not made for man; (Matt. 25:41) Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. (Isa. 5:14-24) Hell enlarges only as people decide to go there. (1Tim. 2:4) It is God’s will that all men be saved. God made us in His image and, just like we want someone to love us for who we are and what we are, God wants us to love Him because of who He is and what He is.
God could have made us with an “I love you” button to be pushed but then we would have just been another pop-up toaster, a robot. God could force us to say; “I love you.” but resentment, hatred and anger would be in our hearts even as we said the words. God could offer us a truck load of gold and precious jewels to say; “I love you.” but we would say it because we loved the gold and precious jewels. BUT:
God did the perfect thing: We have the ability to think, we can reason, each individual is a soul who wants, needs, searches and responds and each person has a conscience that guides. We can decide and we are free to do so. (Rev. 21:1 through 22:17) God is building a paradise so He can be in eternity with people who love Him. It is that simple!
WHAT AND WHEN IS THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY? The words accountable and accountability are not used in the unrevised KING JAMES HOLY BIBLE. The “age of accountability” is not in the Bible as an age that a person reaches to be accountable thus the concept is false. ONCE AGAIN; THINK ABOUT CHILDREN: some get saved very young but most do not until later in adulthood, sometimes much later, in life and that proves there is no set age of accountability! (Luke 2:42) Some people love to point out Jesus’ age of twelve years and call that the age of accountability.
BUT: The specific meaning of this is that at the beginning of any Jewish male’s thirteenth year a physical confirmation ceremony called the bar mitzvah is held and the boy is considered an adult and is now responsible for his moral and religious duties thus Jesus was being responsible and He started learning His moral and religious duties. (Mark 10:13-15) Jesus said do not forbid little children to come to Him. Children must also accept salvation when God draws them!
THIS ALSO FORCES US TO ASK; WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN WHO DIE BEFORE THEY GET SAVED?
Some people say thirty years old is the age of accountability because that was when Jesus was baptized. BUT: (Matt. 5:18) Jesus said the law would not be broken (Lev. 16:3-4) and the law said a high priest had to be washed before he could serve in the holy place (tabernacle). AND: (Matt. 3:11-17) Jesus was washed when He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness (Heb. 4:14-16) and He became Christian’s great high priest who sits on the throne of grace (1John 1:7 thru 2:2) to help Christians when they have sinned.
The age of accountability is when (John 6:44 & 12:32) God/Jesus starts His drawing. For effect Jesus is saying; “Your sin account has come due. Let us get it settled by MY BLOOD so you can come to heaven (Rom. 8:6-17) and be part of God’s eternal family in heaven.”
WHO IS GOD: So many people have the incorrect concept of God. They think of Him as a wrath filled, hateful, vengeful, eternal entity who is just waiting to pounce on individuals for the slightest infraction of a bunch of impossible to keep rules. Satan wants man to view God as some swollen with rage entity whose only joy is in sending people to an eternal hell of torment.
Please understand this: (John 3:16-18 & 1John 4:8 & 16) “GOD IS LOVE.” Think of that! Love itself, living love in its purity and perfection! Remember when love welled up in you for someone; that tingling, nearly breathless, happy, tender emotion that almost smothered you with the desire to do something good for them? (Rom. 5:8) That’s the way God is about people.
(James 5:11) God is very pitiful (extremely compassionate by nature) and of tender mercy (compassionate in action). (1John 4:19) God made the first move toward the salvation of man in that He loved us first even when we were lost and in sin BECAUSE: (John 3:16 & 1John 4:9-10) He sent His Son so that through Him we can be saved.
God loves us enough that He made another first move in that He draws us to Him and reveals Himself to us. If you desire to read an in-depth, detailed, scriptural, anointed revelation of God’s identity please see the commentary The Holy Spirit and You the articles Who is the Holy Spirit and Why is the Holy Spirit.
WHO IS MAN: (Gen. 1:26-27) God created man in His own image and (1Thess. 5:23) man is composed of body, soul and spirit. Every person who will ever exist is alike; yet each person is different from all the rest. Please think about the following scripture which illustrates who man really is. (2Cor. 4:16) “but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
BODY, the outward man, is the outward physical material you, your body. This outward you, your physical body, is basically the same as all other human bodies yet fingerprints, DNA, retinal scans and etc. prove we are all different from each other and the outward you is the only you that will ever be.
SOUL is you the personality. Soul defined is self, ego, mind, person, psyche and heart; all these words mean the same thing and they are the inward man. This inward you is described by about 140 words such as stubborn, kind, greedy, generous, proud, temper, bold, meek and etc. The reason all people are basically alike and yet any individual is different from all the others is because each of those soul characteristics (character traits or soul parts) can be divided into nearly infinite divisions of various amounts.
Any one soul characteristic affects one, some, or all the other individual soul characteristics in various ways depending on the amount they are; that is why we are all almost alike yet each one of us is a little bit different from all other people. The inward you is the only you that will ever be.
SPIRIT defined means (vital breath, vital principal) (Gen. 2:7) and is the spark of life given by God before Adam started physically breathing. It is the animating force we commonly call the spark of life and that all-inclusive definition hits the nail directly on the head because (James 2:26) the body without the spirit is dead.
(1Thess. 5:23) Your body, soul and spirit classify you as human and you are made in God’s image because God is (John 4:29-42) Jesus-body/Saviour, (John 14:15-23) Holy Spirit-soul/Comforter and (Gen. 1:31) God-spirit-life itself-spark of life/Creator. You are you, the only you, that will ever be. You are a one of a kind, an individual. That is how unique and precious you are to God. See “The Holy Spirit and You” commentary and click to “Who is the Holy Spirit” and the “Self” articles in the Table of Contents for a complete study of this subject.
YOU, AND ALL PEOPLE, ARE ETERNAL: (1John 5:11 & Rev. 14:11) God set eternity in the heart of man. The whole Bible talks about man being eternal and that is easily proved right where you are. Imagine yourself dead. It is easy to look there at your dead body but you will notice it is you, the soul, the inward you, doing the looking. Now try to imagine yourself not existing. You cannot do it and you will never do it because you will be you forever. You are an eternal being.
(Luke 23:43 & Rev. 2:12 PARADISE (a park, an Eden) AND (Matt. 10:28 & Rev. 20:11-15) HELL (Paradise refused, a place of torment): Paradise means #1 a spiritual Eden or #2 a physical Eden and both are a place of existence, happiness and comfort. Abraham’s bosom in the original Greek is defined: a garden of joy, a paradise.
(Luke 16:22-31) We read that an unnamed rich man and a man named Lazarus died and their physical breathing had stopped. Lazarus went to a place (V.22) called Abraham’s bosom where (V.25) he was comforted and the other man went to (V.23-24) hell which is a place of torment by fire. It is obvious the bodies (outward man) of these two men had been buried and their souls (inward man) with their eternal life from God had gone into another state of existence and the two men were in two separate places.
(Luke 16:22-31) These two people, Lazarus and the rich man, had their five senses (taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing) even though they had both left their dead physical body with its dead brain behind. (Eccl. 3:21) It is obvious they still had the God given spirit of life with their soul and (James 2:26) that spirit of life powered them in their spiritual existence. They could reason because they had knowledge, comprehension and the ability to think.
The rich man (V.23) could see (V.24) speak, taste, feel, & touch as he was tormented in the flames, (V.27) understand, reason, and pray. (V.28) He had love for his five brothers and memory of his earthly existence because he remembered the condition of his five brothers who were still in their “lifetime” state of existence on earth (V.31) where they still had a choice; he perceived a way he might help them and (V.30) he made a knowledgeable argument based on reason for their salvation even though his physical brain was dead and separated from him. Lazarus had the same senses but they were directly opposite (comforted) of the rich man.
It is pitiful (V.19-21) that the rich man had learned empathy compassion, and sympathy too late! The rich man felt emotions because he obviously loved and was concerned about his five brothers and he had hope because (V.27 keyword: pray) he prayed for his brothers while he was right there in hell! But he had no hope for himself because he did not, at any time, ask to be delivered out of the torment of hell! That pitiful hopelessness concerning his own state is beyond imagining. Both men had all the attributes of our physical existence yet they were in a spiritual existence! That is God’s word! WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?
BELOW IS THE “KEY” TO NINE CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT GET DRAWN BY GOD OR HEAR THE GOSPEL ABOUT JESUS.
(A) The Old Testament people who were obedient to God and died while being faithful to God but could not have heard about Jesus; so how were they drawn by God so they could have an opportunity get saved and go to heaven?
(B) (Gen. 5:5 to 6:7) There was a group of people who lived in the span of time between Adam and Noah who became so wicked God destroyed them with the great flood. (1Pet. 3:18-20 & 2Pet. 2:5) Noah had preached to them for 120 years while he was building the ark.
(C) (Gen. 10:1-32) Noah’s descendants founded the various tribes and clans all over the earth such as the American Indians, Eskimos, European tribes, African tribes and etc. Generations of them died before Jesus was ever born, OR before the church got to their place; so how did they have an opportunity to get saved?
What happens to people who are #1 murdered, #2 killed in an accident, #3 die of disease, #4 mentally retarded from birth and are incapable of reason or die very young before they can reason, or #5 suffer a brain injury or brain disease later in life and are incapable of reason, or even #6 those who commit suicide, all of them, before they are drawn by God?
Drawing is obviously the key to salvation so how can these nine categories of people have a fair chance to obtain salvation? Were they simply born at the wrong time and was it just “too bad” they did not get the opportunity to be saved. WHAT MAKES US WHO LIVE IN THIS “CHURCH AGE” BETTER AND MORE DESERVING THAN THEM?
Do you really think God would let a made in God’s image, one of a kind, eternal person simply fall through the cracks because he was born in the wrong era? THAT WOULD REALLY BE UNFAIR OR JUST PLAIN OLD SLOPPY. Remember Jesus’ statement; “I will draw (defined: Strong’s #1670: to drag, pull toward) all (defined: Strong’s w #3956: all persons individually, everyone) men” as you read.
(Luke 23:32-46 esp. V.43) When Jesus was crucified; two unnamed men (V.33) were crucified with Him. One unnamed man refused to believe Jesus was who Jesus said He was; he had no understanding or remorse in his heart (soul) and railed on Jesus. But the other unnamed man (V.41) accepted Jesus and asked Jesus (V.42) to remember him when Jesus came into His kingdom.
Think about this: Both Jesus and that unnamed believer knew they would both die that day because they were already crucified. Then Jesus promised to take the unnamed man who had accepted Him, while they were crucified, (V.43) to a spiritual paradise that day as soon as they finished dying. (John 19:32-33) The soldiers broke the legs of the two who were crucified with Jesus so they would die quicker BUT when they came to Jesus He was already dead.
(Heb. 9:12 keywords: holy place) Jesus died first and He went in His spiritual body and offer His blood in the holy place, (Rev. 8:12) which is the golden altar before the throne of God, for the redemption of man thus He could take with Him the man on the cross who had accepted Him!
SO: of the three Jesus died first. (Luke 24:6-7) The resurrection of Jesus had not taken place yet and would not take place until the third and appointed day so that proves it had to be the same spiritual paradise (Luke 16:22-31 esp. V.22-23) as the one where Lazarus had gone; don’t forget that people living in their spiritual body have the same physical, intellectual and emotional senses as people living in their physical body.
A) in the “KEY“: The people in Abraham’s bosom were those who had lived obedient to God in the Old Testament, had died and were living in the spiritual realm of paradise. Abraham was the first man with whom God made a personal covenant, (Jas. 2:23) Abraham fulfilled his part of the covenant because he was faithful and obeyed God. God counted it as righteousness and Abraham was called the Friend of God.
This spiritual paradise was named Abraham’s Bosom in honor of Abraham’s faithfulness and it was a “temporary holding place” to keep faithful people. (Gal. 3:14-23) God’s reasoning is that these covenant Israelites who had lived faithful deserved the first opportunity to accept or refuse the promised salvation that would come through Jesus.
(Job 19:25, Isa. 47:4 & Psa. 78:35) Just think—–those faithful people believed God would take care of them in His own good time, in His own way and they were waiting for THE WAY—–Daniel was waiting for the closer of the Lions jaws, Samson was waiting for the honey in the body of the slain Judaean lion, Noah was waiting for the perfect ark and Able was waiting for the perfect sacrifice. AND:
Abraham was waiting for the substitute sacrifice, the three Hebrews in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace were waiting for the flame walker; and on, and on, and on but none of them could go on to the spiritual paradise where God lives (Heb. 10:1-20) because when they died Jesus had not yet paid their sin debt with His blood.
Can you imagine the excitement and rejoicing when Jesus (His inward man, His soul—Remember Jesus physical body was dead) got to the paradise called Abraham’s Bosom and said; (John 14:6-9) “I am THE WAY the truth and the life;” “I am the one for whom you have been looking.”
It is reasonable to believe the people in this “holding place” called Abraham’s Bosom all accepted salvation and went with Jesus on to the Spiritual Heaven where God lives because they had believed and had been faithful to God.
Jesus had also brought a traveling companion with Him that day! (Luke 23:43) Jesus told the malefactor (criminal, evil-doer) that was crucified with Him that the malefactor would be in paradise with Jesus that day. To deny this would be to call God’s word a lie!
(B) in the “KEY“: THE PEOPLE WHOM GOD DESTROYED WITH THE GREAT FLOOD: (1Pet. 3:18-20 esp. V.19) While Jesus’ dead physical body (outward man) was in the grave Jesus went in His spiritual body (inward man) to the “holding place” called prison and preached to the people who had died on earth, had left their physical body behind and were living there in their spiritual state of existence.
They weren’t being punished; they just couldn’t get out of their pit of sin. How could anyone refuse to choose salvation if they were in prison? The Bible says Jesus went there and preached to these people in their spiritual existence. Think about it!
God shows us the ASPECT OF SPIRITUAL SALVATION BY THE FOLLOWING PHYSICAL EVENT. Some of these people physically lived because of their spiritual belief and some physically died because of their spiritual unbelief. To show how the people in prison in the above paragraph might have chosen to stay right there in their prison please consider the following scripture. SO:
(Numbers 21:5-9) Hard-heartedness, ignorance, unbelief and stubbornness are illustrated in the following Biblical story about the Israelite people. They had sinned and were punished by serpents biting them, injecting a poison like fire and (V.6) many people died. Sin is poison in any age, in any person, at any time. God instructed Moses to make a brass serpent and put it on a pole in the center of camp and anybody who looked on it would be healed.
Salvation was right there in front of them! All they had to do was look at the brass serpent on the pole right there in the center of camp and they would be saved from death. Compare what you have read in (Numbers 21:5-9) to what you can picture in your imagination. SEE IT IN YOUR MIND: Three tribes camped in hide tents on a side forming a perfect cross of twelve tribes with Judah, the most numerous tribe, in the long leg of the cross that pointed east, the apple of God’s eye, the chosen people of God, Israel. The Tabernacle was erected in the center, in the camp of the Levites, which formed the “heart” of the cross.
The Tabernacle was where the presence of God lived and it contained the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat and altar of sacrifice. Twelve wild, nomadic, desert tribes being prepared by Jehovah so His own Son Jesus could be born of them.
The Tabernacle was where every part and every piece of service screamed Jesus and salvation in prophetic splendor and they had sinned! Moses obeyed in haste and he fashioned the brass serpent, set it on the pole and lifted it high between the heavens and the earth (Num. 21:5-9 & John 19:14-23) JUST LIKE JESUS WOULD BE LIFTED UP IN THE FUTURE.
At that time brass was an alloy of two metals, copper and tin, (John 14:1-10) and Jesus was a human alloy of God and man! The serpent represented sin and those having the faith to ‘look’ upon it were cured. (2Cor. 5:21) Jesus became sin for us (Rom. 10:8-13) and whoever shall have the faith to ‘look’ (V.9 & 13 keywords: CALL UPON) upon Jesus shall be saved.
God’s mercy was working in this PHYSICAL SITUATION just like it does SPIRITUALLY through Jesus’ blood in the Church today. Saved people were walking around witnessing to the fact they had been saved from the poison. But many people wouldn’t look and they were swollen, rotting from the inside and dying in awful pain from the poison.
Mothers and children were begging fathers to look and be saved from death. Fathers and children were begging and crying for Mothers to look and be saved. Parents were screaming, praying and lamenting for their children to look and be saved.
Grannies, Papaws, Uncles, Aunts, Brothers, Sisters, friends and acquaintances; all trying to get those they loved with all their heart to look and be saved from death and yet many refused to look and they died! Why? HOW COULD THEY BE SO STUPID? HOW COULD THEY BE SO BLIND? WHY DIDN’T THEY CARE?
The futility of it makes one want to scream; yet the circumstances then were exactly like they are today when Christians try to get people to come to church, look at Jesus on His cross and get saved from being lost in the poison of their sins. IT IS WHY I AM TRYING SO HARD, RIGHT NOW, TO GET YOU TO GO TO CHURCH AND RECEIVE THE SALVATION JESUS OFFERS! or: TO GO BACK TO CHURCH AND RENEW YOUR SALVATION COVENANT WITH JESUS! So many times Christians leave church because of offenses from other Christians. BUT:
(For your own sake please read this scripture: Matt. 13:24-30 esp. V.28 keywords: an enemy hath done this <–this is the parable THEN V.37-43 esp. V.39 keywords: the enemy that sowed them is the devil <–Jesus explains the parable) The church is compared to a field of wheat but tares (darnel, false grain, = they look like the real thing but are worthless) sprung up among the true wheat but Jesus said let them grow up together and when reaping the harvest (V.39 the end of the world) the tares (false Christians) will be gathered and burned. WHAT? YES, it is common that some Christians do the devil’s work right in church with their attitude, their mouth and their worthlessness!
(2Cor. 4:4) The devil, the god of this world, can blind Christians (2Cor. 11:13-15) and he, Satan, can make Christians think wrong is right until they work for the devil, Satan, right in church! THE POINT JESUS IS MAKING IS THAT WE GO TO CHURCH WITH HYPOCRITES OR GO TO HELL WITH THEM IF WE QUIT CHURCH BECAUSE OF THEM. WHY? IT IS A TEST OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN’S LOYALTY TO JESUS.
(read Rev. 20:9-15) There is nothing more important in this world than being a true to Jesus Christian when you die!!
By the example of the serpent on the pole, three paragraphs above, it is very possible none of these Old Testament people Jesus preached to in their prison were saved because wickedness got them there and wickedness might very well have caused them to refuse salvation. (Jer. 17:9) Wickedness (wrong, to violate, evil, to vex) comes from the soul because the soul is “desperately wicked”.
(1Pet. 3:18-20 esp. V.19 & V.20 key: people before the flood in Noah’s time) Jesus preached to the people in their spiritual form in their prison. Jesus went there to offer them salvation. What could be more fair? If the Old Testament people in this prison did refuse the salvation offer Jesus brought they went straight to hell because that particular prison where they were being kept isn’t mentioned anymore in the Holy Bible so God must have taken it out of existence.
(C) in the “KEY“: TRIBES AND CLANS ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO LIVED AND DIED AND NEVER HEARD OF GOD, JESUS, ISRAEL, OR THE CHURCH: (1Pet. 4:5-6 ESP. V.6) Jesus preached to the dead people from the tribes and clans whose “lifetime” on earth was over and they were in a state and place of existence called dead.
This is written in the Bible, it is God’s word; not something this writer dreamed up! God had not presented them the opportunity to be obedient or disobedient in their “lifetime” so God, because He is fair, did not send them to prison and they did not deserve paradise.
Their souls were in the place called death in the state of existence called dead (Luke 16:22-31) and, of course, they had their five senses and could reason. All those people had tried to live a religious life the best way they knew how. They had been a natural people living close to nature. They sensed a guiding hand, a Creator, an all-powerful Great Spirit and they worshiped what they thought that Spirit might be.
They knew, (remember: God set eternity in the soul of man), there was life after death and they had tried to live the best they could to obtain their idea of paradise, happy hunting ground, Valhalla, or whatever their particular group called it.
The Bible does not say if any of those people in the place called death chose salvation when Jesus preached to them. It stands to reason some believed, some did not believe, some did not care, some wanted to put the decision off and wait until later and etc. There is no way to know how many of them went with Jesus to heaven and how many of them, existing in the spiritual state called dead, went on to hell. Then the “holding place” called death was empty but would fill up again with people who died but never heard about Jesus and salvation as the Jesus brought grace era began to spread across the world.
They were not being tormented, they were not being comforted, they just were. It was not too bad, it was not too good, and it must have been about like it is here today. Knowing how cantankerous, stubborn and unbelieving people are; it will be just as hard to convince someone to get saved in that place called death as it is here on earth today in this place called (Luke 16:25) lifetime.
BECAUSE: (Rev. 20:14) If they choose to stay in the place called death they will stay there until God casts the place called death, and the people in it, into the lake of fire. SO: We plainly see that God went to all extremes to get His gospel to people in these three (A, B & C) well known, scriptural realms of existence.
Think about this. As has been shown all people, you, have been given eternal life. Each individual who has ever lived, you, will be in one or the other of two eternal habitations. (Rev. 20:10-15 esp. V.10 key: the devil is cast into the lake of fire AND V.14 key: death and hell are cast into the lake of fire) You will be tormented in the lake of fire, you will be tormented by the devil who hates you AND being tormented by death. You will be forever in the agony of dying but you will never be able to get it done so you can escape! OR: Those who have accepted Jesus as Saviour; (Rev. 21:4 thru 22:13) You will be in the presence of God in heaven forever. It is your choice and God will simply send each of us where we have decided to go.
OTHER RELIGIONS: (Mark 7:1-9 esp. V.7) Jesus said; “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Rev. 12:9) Satan deceives the whole world. (2Cor. 4:4) Satan blinds people, (2Cor. 11:14-15) his ministers tell you your religion is OK (Eph. 6:12 keyword: darkness) and Satan the devil and his lesser devils (principalities, rulers) are the spirits that verify those religions are real. (John 8:44) The Devil is a murderer and a liar and the father of liars. (Acts 4:10-12) Jesus is the only way to be saved (Rom. 8:6-9) through God’s Holy Spirit (John 6:63 & Rom. 10:8-13) according to God’s word.
(Psa. 135:15-18, Acts 17:18-25, 1Cor. 10:20-21 keyword: devils, Gal. 1:6-8 keywords: pervert the gospel of Christ, 1Tim. 4:1-2 keyword: devils, 1John 4:1-3 & Rev. 9:20 keyword: devils) YOU CAN WORSHIP GOD THE WRONG WAY!
CONCLUSION: (1John 2:18-22, 4:2-10 & 2John 7:11) According to scripture any religion that does not accept Jesus the Christ as the Son of God, their Saviour, is an antichrist religion! Please read the one article commentary “Breath of Life” on this website and you will understand all of this much better. According to scripture (Zech. 2:7-8) Israel the nation is the apple (pupil) of God’s eye; BUT: (Acts 4:1-31 esp. V.10-12 & 25-26 & Rom. 10:8-14) The individual Jews who do not accept God’s salvation through Jesus Christ will be lost.
Regarding OTHER RELIGIONS: According to (Mark. 1-9 esp. V.7) “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” SO: The New Testament Grace Covenant Church was founded and authorized by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who, (1Cor. 15:3-7) according to witnesses, was resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven and sent His Holy Spirit back, according to witnesses, to take up dwelling in the hearts of blood washed, born again, baptized believers in Jesus Christ; of whom this writer is one.
(Mark 7:1-9 esp. V.7 and Acts 4:8-12 esp. V.10 & 12 then Rev. 21:24 keyword SAVED) THAT MEANS OTHER RELIGIONS are founded by men who died and were not resurrected from the dead AND their writings are “commandments of men”. WHICH MEANS: (Rom. 8:1-17) An individual can become so immersed in “HIS RELIGION” that he or she will DISREGARD AND/OR IGNORE the drawing of God/Jesus because of “THEIR RELIGION” and miss the salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ.
There is no salvation in political correctness, or a political party, (Jer. 17:9-10) or following your conscience to just do the right thing outside the concepts of true, (Rom. 10:8-13 esp. V.9-10 keywords: believe/believeth: defined: to trust Jesus for your salvation and entrust Jesus with the rest of your life) scriptural salvation through Jesus Christ.
Concerning the six categories mentioned in the “KEY” paragraph: Any individual who is #1 murdered, #2 killed in an accident, or #3 dies of a disease BEFORE THEY ARE DRAWN TO JESUS IN THIS LIFETIME is still guaranteed to be given a fair chance to obtain salvation by Jesus’ own words (John 6:44) “No man (defined: Strong’s w #3762: *****nobody, not even one, man, woman*****) can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him (defined: Strong’s w #846: *****himself, herself*****) .”
Concerning the six categories mentioned in the “KEY” paragraph: Any individual who is #1 murdered, #2 killed in an accident, or #3 dies of a disease BEFORE THEY ARE DRAWN TO JESUS IN THIS LIFETIME is still guaranteed to be given a fair chance to obtain salvation by Jesus’ own words (John 6:44) “No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”
(John 12:32-33) “and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, WILL DRAW ‘ALL’ MEN to me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” Jesus is the one who said ALL MEN. DO YOU THINK JESUS/GOD LIED?
Think about the life after death experiences we hear about all the time from the people who experience them. Are these people “messengers” sent back to tell us there is life after death? Jesus paid for our sins with His blood. Jesus, the Son of God, was the ultimate sacrifice God could give to cleanse mankind from our sins and Jesus loves us enough that He did it. There was simply nothing more valuable than the life of the Son of God.
God makes sure, for sure, His Son’s sacrifice is for “all” people: “I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME:” You must understand in His Spirit Form Jesus can meet with any number of people, or all people, at the same time as soon as they die.
REMEMBER THE NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES YOU’VE READ ABOUT AND HEARD ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE LEFT THEIR PHYSICAL BODY? Jesus will give the people in these three categories above an opportunity to be saved after they die but before they are sent to heaven or hell because if they were not drawn in this lifetime His drawing must be after this lifetime.
Just remember (John12:32-33) “I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME.” (Titus 1:2) “God cannot lie.” Jesus will meet them in the space of time between life here and life in hell and offer them a fair chance to obtain salvation.
(1Thess. 5:14) The church is told to “comfort the feebleminded” and (Psa. 116:6) “The Lord preserveth the simple:” SO: #4 in the “key“: if a person is mentally retarded from birth and is incapable of reason, or dies very young; OR: #5 in the “key“: if a person suffers a brain injury OR: disease.
OR: birth defect to the point they are incapable of reason and cannot comprehend salvation BEFORE THEY ARE DRAWN TO JESUS OR IF THEY CAN NOT UNDERSTAND THE DRAWING, IN THIS LIFETIME, God will give them a fair chance to choose salvation after they die!
They won’t have an immature brain or a bad brain in that state of existence! How can a wonderful, one of a kind, made in God’s image, eternal person be held responsible for having a “FAULTY” BRAIN THAT CANNOT COMPREHEND GOD OR HIS DRAWING”? The brain is the physical body’s thinking organ used by the soul; SO, IF THE PERSON/SOUL HAD A DEFECTIVE BRAIN YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART GOD WILL NOT SEND THEM TO HELL BECAUSE THEY CAN NOT COMPREHEND SALVATION!
(Luke 16:22-28) The Bible stresses that when we die our physical brain is left behind with the body and a person is no longer limited by a “defective brain” or an “immature brain” and the inward man, their soul, will still have the five senses, can reason, feel emotion and understand hope as has been explained so it is obvious (John 6:44 & 12:32-33) Jesus will present Himself to these people whose “lifetime” here has ended and He will DRAW them in a manner that is fair to all of us. Nobody gets a better drawing than anybody else!
THEN: He will offer them the opportunity to be saved. If this is not so how do you explain the scriptures (John 6:44 & 12:32-33)? DID GOD LIE IN HIS HOLY SCRIPTURES? ARE YOU CALLING GOD A LIAR?
Please read (Luke 18:15-17). If you have a loved one who died as a baby or a child please take comfort in the fact that children flock to Jesus because they are irresistibly drawn to that which is love. CHILDREN HAVE NOT LIVED LONG ENOUGH IN THIS WICKED WORLD TO HAVE THEIR SOUL HARDENED OR FOR DOUBT TO HAVE TAKEN ROOT. (Matt. 19:14) CHILDREN SWARMED AROUND JESUS IN THEIR INNOCENCE. SURELY YOU HAVE SEEN HOW EASY AND TENDER IT IS FOR A CHILD TO GET SAVED IN YOUR CHURCH?
What about miscarriages and abortions? There appears to be 5 main questions concerning the controversy over abortion and miscarriage. Is it alive? Is it human? Is abortion murder? Did I lose a fetus? Did I lose a baby?
Of course these 5 questions engender a host of other questions but when they are answered the others are also answered. It is easier and safer to let God answer these questions by the KJV Bible scriptures given below. (Rev. 20:10-15) In the long run God’s opinion is the only one that counts anyway.
Medical science has proved at conception the egg and the sperm unite and become one cell (zygote stage also known as a fertilized ovum). Nothing else is ever added except nutrients and oxygen. Everything is there and it is alive. It must be living because the cell contains the information to divide (after the two-week period of cell division the zygote becomes an embryo and in eight to ten weeks the embryo becomes a fetus) and keep dividing until the body is complete.
It will be shown below that the soul is there even if the cell has not divided enough for the body to have a brain with which that little one celled person can use to think. All this is obvious because babies exhibit emotions in the womb and as soon as a baby is born it exhibits emotions which demonstrate a personality, a mind, a self, a me, a person, a soul. (Luke 1:24-41) Elizabeth was six months pregnant and Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus was either in the zygote or very early embryo stage YET ELIZABETH’S SIXTH MONTH OLD BABY RECOGNIZED MARY’S ZYGOTE/EMBRYO AS A PERSON! Think about it!
It will be shown below that the soul is there even if the cell has not divided enough for the body to have a brain with which that little one celled person can use to think. All this is obvious because babies exhibit emotions in the womb and as soon as a baby is born it exhibits emotions which demonstrate a personality, a mind, a self, a me, a person, a soul.
The Hebrew definitions will be given in the below scriptures so you can clearly understand your miscarried or aborted baby will be waiting in heaven for you if you make it your choice to go there. (2Tim. 3:16) “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” and King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, wrote in the scripture; (Psa. 139:13-16) (V.13) “For thou hast possessed my reins (essential organ, interior self, mind): thou hast covered (protect, screen, fence, defend) me in my mother’s womb.
(V.14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (V.15) My substance- Strong’s Concordance #6105- (life, might, strength) was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (This denotes David’s humility, he knew by scripture our body is composed of the elements of the earth and David is saying his body is made from the deepest, poorest earth.)
(V.16) “Thine eyes did see my substance, Strong’s Concordance #1564 (a different Hebrew word meaning unformed mass- zygote, embryo stages), yet being unperfect (not whole, not made) and in thy book all my members were written (to record- zygote stage), which in continuance (forever, process of time) were fashioned (earthen, fashion as a potter- Gen. 2:7: God knows just like He knew how Adam was going to be formed before He started), when as yet there was none of them.” At the moment of conception God recognizes that one cell as a person, a self, a soul, a me. At death that beautiful baby’s soul goes back to God. BECAUSE:
(Phil. 3:20-21 esp. V.21 keywords: like unto his glorious body) Even if that one cell made by the uniting of the egg and sperm never divides that miscarried or aborted baby will receive a complete, glorified body just like that of Jesus because it is a person. God had its design recorded and nothing can change that and your baby will be the baby it was intended to be. (Matt. 17:1-2) The description of Jesus’ glorified body is recorded and his face shown as the sun but he was easily recognizable.
Your shining baby is waiting for you in heaven if you are a born again Christian. If you are not a born again Christian and wish to be one please read the one article commentary Breath of Life on this website and it will tell you how to obtain salvation. If you are a backslid Christian please click on the Sin in Church commentary, scroll the menu to the article Backsliding: The Failure Principal and it will tell you how to return to God.
Remember this: (Prov. 6:16-19 esp. 16 keyword: hate & V.17 keyword: hands that shed innocent blood) God hates those who shed innocent blood and an unborn baby has the most innocent blood of all. BUT: (2Sam. 12:9) David murdered innocent Uriah with the Ammonite sword but God forgave him when David repented. (Rev. 20:10-15 esp. V.10 keywords: for ever and ever & 21:8 keyword: murderer) Murderers will go to the lake of fire BUT: (Acts 8:1-3 esp. V.1 keywords: consenting unto his death & 9:1 keyword: slaughter) Saul, while he was unsaved, the man who would become the apostle Paul, was a murderer (1Tim. 1:12-14) but Jesus forgave him of his sins when he repented and Jesus made him an apostle. YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN FOR MURDER!
THINK ABOUT THIS: That tiny darling, aborted because it was unwanted, will never know its Mother’s tears upon its tiny blanket and her gentle fingers touching its tiny, tender cheeks as she gently kisses its forehead and whispers through her tears; “Please, please don’t go. Stay with me. I want you, I want you with me because I love you with all my heart.” I know! I know because when I was a child my baby sister Jolette never made it out of the hospital where she was born. BUT I also know another thing; because of Jesus and His sacrifice of Himself for us I will hold my baby sister in my arms as we run across the green fields of heaven and we will laugh together while our Mommy and Daddy look on and clap their hands for joy and Jesus, (1John 4:8-16) Pure Love, will be there with us!
We believe this or call God a liar because He said; “I WILL DRAW “ALL” MEN UNTO ME!” Please, please click on the commentary “The Holy Spirit & You” menu the article “Who is the Holy Spirit” for a discussion about time and timeless and click on the “Grace” article for a window into Jesus’ soul. The one-article commentary “Breath of Life” will tell you all about salvation and how to obtain it and on the commentary “The Holy Spirit & You” please click on the menu and read the two-article series “I Have Experienced Christian Physical Death“. (Matt. 18:15-16 & 2Cor. 13:1) Two witnesses to an event are Biblically required; one was an EMT and the other was a mortician.
We believe this or call God a liar because He said; “I WILL DRAW “ALL” MEN UNTO ME!” Please, please click on the commentary “The Holy Spirit and You” the article “Who is the Holy Spirit” for a discussion about time and timeless and click on the “Grace” article for a window into Jesus’ soul. The commentary Breath of Life” will tell you all about salvation and how to obtain it.
If you find the above mentioned places impossible to believe because we don’t know where they are even though they are in God’s word; just think a minute about what you do accept and believe about things you can’t see and hear: It is proven there are colors and light wavelengths the natural eye cannot see. There are decibels of sound too low and too high for the human ear to hear. These things have been proven by science so do you suppose there are colors, light, and sound scientific instruments cannot record? I don’t know either.
Science suspects there are other dimensions of time and space. Think about aurora borealis, commonly called “the northern lights,” science can only guess (a theory) where they come from, where they go, what they are composed of, or why they are. We can see them with our natural eye, we can stand in them, we can put instruments in them and we can even fly airplanes through them but we just do not know! We can’t see electricity flowing in the overhead power lines but it operates our appliances. There are dimensions we don’t know about.
Heaven, hell, and death could be at our elbow and we wouldn’t know they were there. (Col. 1:16-17) God owns it all, He can do anything with it because He made it. He told us what He wants us to know in His Holy Bible and that is all we get because it is enough! We, as individuals, have the choice to believe or to not believe. Do you believe in Abraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Julius Caesar whom you have never seen? Why? DO YOU BELIEVE IN OTHER DIMENSIONS? See what I mean?
#6 in the “key“: SUICIDE: Just remember this: If you can reason (think, rational thought) well enough to READ THIS WITH UNDERSTANDING and say to yourself; “Well, well, I can go ahead and commit suicide because God will give me a chance to get saved when I meet Him after my death”; YOU WILL NOT GET THAT CHANCE TO GET SAVED AND YOU WILL GO TO HELL FOR (1John 3:15, Gal. 5:21 & Rev. 22:15) SELF-MURDER.
IN OTHER WORDS ALL YOU ARE DOING IS FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF AND GOD WILL SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOUR SORRY EXCUSE BECAUSE YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING WRONG WITH YOUR PHYSICAL BRAIN! Think about this: (Psa. 44:21) Shame on you for thinking you can fool God because it can’t be done; AND: (Luke 7:11-15 esp. V.13 & Matt. 19:16-22 esp. V.19 then Deut. 5:16) double shame on you for hurting the people who love you.
Before you decide to pull the trigger or whatever you use think about this: Two Biblical examples of men who were capable of rational thought (reason, thinking) and still committed suicide are (1Sam. 31:4-5) Saul and (Matt. 27:5) Judas. (1Sam. 9:2 thru 31:4 esp. 16:14) Saul had had a long history of disobedience to God’s Law and he let an evil spirit enter into him because of his jealousy, fear, pride and anger. (1Sam. 28:7-20) Then Saul called on what is commonly called a witch in spite of the fact (Lev. 19:21) he was forbidden to do so by the Jewish Law of Moses.
(1Sam. 16:14) For effect God had departed Saul and turned him over to the devil (evil spirit) because of Saul’s many sins and his suicide was the result. (Luke 22:3) Satan entered into Judas, (Matt. 26:14-15) Judas betrayed Jesus (Matt. 27:5) and Judas committed suicide. SO: It is obvious the devil wants people who are capable of thinking (rational thought) to commit suicide (John 8:44) because Jesus said the devil is a murderer and a liar. AND: (Rev. 21:8) They will go to hell for self-murder!
Chemical imbalance, electrical misfiring, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and etc. in the brain can cause mental and emotional instability but they can be, and are, treatable SO: there’s no excuse for suicide there. A truly mentally retarded person will not be able to reason out an excuse to commit self-murder. Remember; (Psa. 116:6) “The Lord preserveth the simple.” If a mentally retarded person somehow manages to kill himself by some “simple-minded” act he gets the same fair opportunity to choose salvation as those in #4 above. OF COURSE THEY WILL BECAUSE GOD HAS PROVED HE IS FAIR!
When all is said and done (Rev. Ch. 21 & Ch. 22:1-6) the people who have chosen the salvation God offers, through the blood of Jesus Christ, will be right back in A Garden of Eden, A paradise, heaven in our resurrected, glorified and eternal bodies to live eternally with God. One is forced to ask why and that is the simplest answer of all.
The answer lies in your own heart and is written in (Rev. 21:3 & 7) God wants us to love Him for Who He is and for What He is; just like you and I want someone to love us for who we are and what we are. THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF GOD IS THAT (Rom. 8:17 keywords: V.16 children of God and V. 17 joint heirs with Christ) HE IS BUILDING A FOREVER FAMILY TO BE WITH HIM IN ALL HIS GLORY FOREVER. DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF IT?
THE TIME OF YOUR CHOICE EXPLAINED: This is very important. The above nine situations do not apply to you because you can think, you are aware and you can reason. In your lifetime you have heard about God, Church, Jesus and salvation. God’s word in this commentary has God’s drawing power.
The fact the Church exists and you know about it, the fact that you question about God and Jesus, the fact you wonder about and are thinking about your death are all part of your drawing from God! (Prov. 1:23-28) Go to Church before you miss your chance! (1Cor. 6:2) YOUR TIME IS NOW.
Normally a seeker of Christ doesn’t know the scriptural process of getting saved. He or she is simply drawn to church and to Jesus. The person listens to some preaching and teaching about Jesus and salvation. They realize they are lost and they want saved. A time of decision comes. They decide to either accept Jesus as Saviour or refuse Jesus as Saviour. Knowing it is a time of decision makes it obvious they already believe in Jesus.
Then you need to be willing to pray. The person prays and it is done; they are saved. It really, really works because that is the way it happened to this writer who was totally ignorant of the scriptural mechanics of salvation as you can read my salvation event in the article at the left of the commentary titles “About the Writer” if you so desire. When they are finished they are glad to confess that Jesus saved them. It is that simple and that is the way it happens the vast majority of the time.
I was with a dear friend to three generations of my family the last few weeks of his life. He had refused God’s drawing in the past and it was a horror story. You can read it on the commentary The Holy Spirit & You, the menu article The Holy Spirit is Truth about two-thirds of the way through the article in the paragraph starting with the words PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
If you wish to know the spiritual mechanics of the salvation process it is written in the commentary “Breath of Life”. Please read it then read “Backsliding: The Failure Principal” in the “Sin in Church” commentary menu because then you will be able to see and understand all the beautiful effort, wonderful patience, amazing love, locked in safeguards and infinite grace, compassion and mercy God exerts to help you obtain (1John 1:7 thru the first eight words of 2:2 keywords: us, we & our– used several times each- the apostles were just like us, they sometimes sinned) and keep your salvation.
GOD BLESS YOU.