Are Unbelievers “Lost”?

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The Bible says, “There is salvation in none other [than Jesus Christ], for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!” (Acts 4:12).

The Bible clearly says that everyone must have faith in Jesus Christ to receive eternal life (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-14; Ephesians 2:8). Jesus said there is no other way to be saved (John 10:9; 14:6).

But down through history, most people have never claimed to accept Jesus Christ as their savior.

Jesus also said that many would call Him “Lord,” but only those who obey God would enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 7:21-23; 5:17-20; John 2:4).

If you are honest, you must admit that most people who have ever lived have not met the biblical requirements for salvation.

But the Bible says that God “wants all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

The Bible also says that God is “not wanting that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

How can that be? Can God save those who have already died?

Yes, He can. And He will.

The Bible explains how.

Satan’s Big Lie

Have you ever read John 3:13?

No one has gone up into heaven, except He who came down out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. (John 3:13)

That is a clear statement. No one has ever gone to heaven, except Jesus Christ.

Is that what you learned at church? No. You’ve been told that when you die, your soul goes to heaven or hell.

But that’s not what the Bible teaches!

Notice what the apostle Peter said about the righteous King David:

“Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. … David didn’t ascend into the heavens…” (Acts 2:29, 34)

Read these scriptures in your own Bible. This is what the Bible has always taught.

The Bible says that Satan “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), and “he is a liar, and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Satan has deceived the whole world with lies about God. With lies about religion. With lies about what happens after death.

In the beginning, God told humans that they would die if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).

What did Satan tell the woman? He said, “Die? You won’t die!” (Genesis 3:4).

Who does everyone believe? They believe Satan, and ignore what God plainly says in the Bible.

The Bible says, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Roman 6:23).

The Bible says eternal life is a gift. It is not something we already have. The penalty for sin is death. Eternal death. The gift of God is life. Eternal life.

Life or death. Those are the two options—not heaven or hell.

But Satan wants you to believe that you won’t really die, because you already have eternal life. The doctrine of the immortal soul is one of Satan’s big lies. It isn’t what the Bible teaches.

The Bible says, “the dead don’t know anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

When you die, you’re dead. You don’t know anything. You don’t go to heaven. You don’t go to hell. You simply “sleep in the dust” (Daniel 12:2), waiting for a resurrection.

The Bible teaches the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead (Hebrews 6:2), not the false doctrine of an immortal soul.

Where did mainstream Christianity get the doctrine of the immortal soul from? From Greek philosophy. The idea of the immortal soul was developed by the Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus, and later adopted by traditional Christianity.

The Greeks considered the apostle Paul’s teaching about “Jesus and the resurrection” to be “strange things” (Acts 17:18, 20). The doctrine of the resurrections didn’t match up with the Greeks’ ideas of an immortal soul.

But later on, influential teachers from Origen to Augustine, blended the teachings of these Greek philosophers with the teachings of the Bible. Before long the idea of an immortal soul became an established doctrine of traditional Christianity.

What is a Soul?

You probably find the word “soul” in your Bible hundreds of times. But it doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Notice Genesis 2:7:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (KJV)

Notice here, in the King James Version, it says “man became a living soul.” It does not say that man has a soul. It says man is a soul.

And what is a “soul”? The Hebrew word that is translated “soul” in most Bibles is nephesh. It refers to a living thing—a person or animal that has life. In Genesis 1, the word nephesh is also used to describe the creatures that live in the sea and on land (Genesis 1:20, 21, 24). Animals, like people, are a “soul”—a living creature.

Ezekiel 18:4 says “the soul [nephesh] who sins will die.” There is no such thing as an immortal soul. Souls are just living creatures that can die.

What Happens After Death?

Although we do not have an immortal soul, we do have a spiritual component that gives us understanding and makes us different from the animals.

But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. (Job 32:8)

For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? (1 Corinthians 2:11)

What happens to this spirit at death?

the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

When someone dies, his spirit goes back to God. But without the body, the spirit is not conscious.

“His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish” (Psalms 146:4).

When you die, you are dead. As the Bible says, “the dead don’t know anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

Notice what Paul said about the doctrine of the resurrection:

For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (1 Corinthians 15:16-18)

If there is no resurrection, there is no hope for the dead, because they are really dead. They haven’t gone to heaven or hell.

But because there will be resurrections, there is hope for all people.

The Doctrine of the Resurrections

The Bible contains stories about several people who were resurrected from the dead. Most of these people simply lived a while longer, and died at a normal age.

But one, Jesus Christ, was resurrected to immortality. He was the first to be resurrected with an eternal body.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at His arrival. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

Everyone who has ever died will live again, but not all at the same time.

The first resurrection will occur when Jesus Christ arrives at the last (seventh) trumpet blast:

Look, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him one thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

This first resurrection is only for those who have the holy spirit:

if any man doesn’t have the spirit of Christ, he is not His. … But if the spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit which dwells in you. (Romans 8:9, 11)

When God gives His spirit to someone, it is a guarantee that they will receive eternal life in the first resurrection:

you were sealed with the promised holy spirit, which is a guarantee of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14)

That doesn’t mean you can’t lose God’s spirit (you can), but as long as you nurture God’s spirit, you can have confidence that you will be in the first resurrection.

How do you receive the holy spirit?

“Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Master our God will call to Himself.”

If God is calling you (John 6:44), then you have the opportunity to repent, be baptized, and receive the holy spirit, which is a guarantee of eternal life in the first resurrection.

That is an awesome opportunity.

But it is only available to those whom God calls.

What About Everyone Else?

Remember that God “wants all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

But at this time, He is only calling a few, to prepare to rule with Jesus Christ in His Kingdom.

What will happen to everyone else?

The answer in the book of Revelation:

(But the rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished.) (Revelation 20:5)

The Bible speaks of two main resurrections.

The first resurrection is to eternal life. The second resurrection is a resurrection to judgment. And in that judgment is an opportunity. You see, God has not judged most people yet. He will judge them later, after they have “come to full knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

“is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)

That is great news!

God has not judged everyone yet. At this time God is judging “the household of God”—those who have God’s spirit (1 Peter 4:17). But God will judge the rest of mankind after they have been resurrected in the second resurrection.

Notice what Christ said to those who ignored His teachings:

“The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look, one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, one greater than Jonah is here.” (Luke 11:31-32)

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.” (Luke 10:13-14)

In the judgment, all people from every generation will live again. Some, like those who Jesus preached to, heard God’s word but did not accept it. Others, like the people of ancient Tyre and Sidon, never heard the gospel.

The judgment will be “tolerable” for both groups, but it will be “more tolerable” for those who never heard God’s word, than those who ignored it (Luke 10:13). Think about it. If everyone was going to hell, the judgment wouldn’t be tolerable for any of them, would it?

God has allowed Satan to blind and deceive the world now, so that He may have mercy on all later. Paul explains this in the book of Romans:

According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” … For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the people of other nations has come in, and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I will take away their sins.” … For God has shut up all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing out! (Romans 11:8, 25-27, 32-33)

Paul explained that God, in His great wisdom, has allowed Israel to be blinded now, so that He may have mercy on them later.

Does this mean that you can say, “I don’t think God is calling me,” and then just do whatever you want to do, hoping that God will have mercy on you later?

Certainly not!

Jesus criticized those who heard His preaching and did not repent. You have heard God’s word. If you don’t act on what you have heard and understand, you will have to answer Jesus for it in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). So even if God isn’t calling you now, you are responsible for obeying as much as you understand—and God knows every thought of your heart, so you can’t pretend you didn’t know.

What Will the Judgment Period Be Like?

The second resurrection is described in detail in Ezekiel 37:1-14. In this prophecy, Ezekiel saw a valley full of bones, which God said were the bones of all the Israelites. Then God said to the bones,

“Look, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live. I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Eternal.” (Ezekiel 37:5-6)

The second resurrection will be a resurrection to physical life. God will give all these people another life (or their first life, for those who died in the womb). In this time period, people will have their first opportunity to repent and receive the holy spirit and live forever. This is not a “second chance.” This will be their first chance to understand, repent, and receive God’s spirit:

“Look, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. You will know that I am the Eternal, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My spirit in you, and you will live. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, the Eternal, have spoken it and performed it” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

During the judgment, everyone will learn what is “written in the books” (the Bible), and they will be judged according to their works—whether they obey what God commands in the Bible or not:

I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and the grave gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. (Revelation 20:11-13)

During this time period, each person will either will chose to put their faith in God and obey Him, or will refuse to repent. Those who repent will receive eternal life. Those who refuse will be thrown into the lake of fire, where they will die a second time, and remain dead forever.

“He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be My son. But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:7-8)

After this, God will create a new heaven and a new earth, and God and His children will live forever in the New Jerusalem, on earth:

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Look, God’s dwelling is with people, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

That is the real good news.

The last God’s seven annual festivals is called the “Eighth Day” (Leviticus 23:36, 39). It represents everything that will happen after the 1000-year rule of Christ on earth, including the second resurrection and eternity with God. When the meaning of this festival is fulfilled, God’s plan of salvation will be complete.

And what will eternity with God in the New Jerusalem, on the New Earth be like?

The Bible doesn’t say much about it. God will reveal the details later. But you can be sure that it will be better than you can imagine.

What Will You Do Now?

This is the end of the Bible Prophecy Challenge.

I trust that you have learned many things you have never heard before.

You have learned the identity of modern Babylon and modern Israel. You have learned what will happen before and during the end of this age.

You have learned that Satan is the god of this age, who deceives the whole world. You have learned that many of the teachings and practices of modern Christianity are the opposite of what Jesus Christ taught in the Bible.

You have learned that the false prophet will claim to be the leader of Christianity, but will teach against God’s law. You have learned what the Mark of the Beast is, and how you can avoid it by keeping the 10 Commandments.

You have learned the real gospel, the gospel of God’s Kingdom, a Kingdom that will last forever. You have learned how God is calling a few people now to rule with Christ in His Kingdom.

You have learned God’s amazing plan of salvation, as revealed by His seven annual festivals.

Now you stand at a crossroad.

You can continue on your former path, and gradually forget everything you have learned.

You can try to play a game with God, waiting until the end is almost here, and then try to quickly get right with God (it won’t work—see Matthew 25).

Or you can take what you have learned, and act on it.

If God is opening your mind to understand His word, you can respond to His calling. At minimum, you can start reading the Bible and praying every day, if you don’t already. You can start keeping all 10 Commandments and find out whether you should be keeping God’s festivals, or the holidays of traditional Christianity.

I also have one request. In this challenge you have gained knowledge that is worth far more than gold. As you know, Jesus said, “freely you have received, freely give,” so I never ask for money to support this work. But the gospel must be preached to the whole world before the end (Matthew 24:14). Here is how you can help: Please mention this challenge to everyone you can, at the right time, in the right way.

This challenge is not for everyone. It is primarily for people who are already interested in Bible prophecy. There will be other challenges for other people. But if you know anyone who is interested in the Bible or prophecy, please let them know about this challenge. Encourage them to join, but don’t push it on them. Gently recommend it. And keep on recommending it to others as you have opportunity. In that way you can help others receive what you have received. I sincerely appreciate your help.

I wish you the best in your quest to please God and fulfill your God-given purpose. You will find useful resources to help you in your journey at TheClearTruth.com. If there is anything else you’d like to learn or ask about, just send me an email. If you don’t already have my email address, you can sign up for one of the challenges on the website and reply to the email you will get from me.

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