There are millions of people in the world who have never even heard of Jesus.
Would a caring God reject non-Christians if they had never heard of Christianity?
uppydogeyes
If you look at my earlier posts about the feasts, you will see this is not the case where God rejects anyone. However, people are saved in their own time when God calls them in their proper order. Things can be simplified if we take these following scriptural facts into consideration:
1) No man can come to Christ except the Spirit draws him (commonly misconstrued as predestination is only that of sorts at the time of the calling, not as a final outcome)
2) When Christ is lifted up, he will draw ALL men unto him (so there will be a time that everyone who ever lived will have that opportunity contingent on Christ's work at the cross).
3) He is not willing any should perish (hence everyone will be given a chance)
If we look at Ezekiel chapter 37, we find an interesting view of the resurrection of all Israel. But when are they raised? We can look to Revelation first:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. <sup class="versenum">5 </sup>But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
<sup class="versenum">6 </sup>Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Ancient Israel that said,
Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts, cannot be part of that first resurrection as they were exiled due to their sins. But the promise in that passage is:
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
<sup class="versenum">13 </sup>And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
<sup class="versenum">14 </sup>And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
So, besides a national restoration which this can include if we take it symbolically, also has a literal application to those Israelites raised again (as Revelation says there will be a resurrection after the 1000 years) and these people will be saved.
Let's now look closer at the resurrection after the 1000 years:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
<sup class="versenum">12 </sup>And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
In the feasts of the Lord, this event, a judgement (not sentencing yet), is where people not in the first resurrection (which the bible makes it clear only those who rule and reign with Christ, not all of humanity) will be raised (see John 5:28-29, as a matter of fact that while chapter is good).
The books that will be opened will be the bible. The fact that the book of life is there shows there's those whose name will be written in the book of life, despite not being raised until then. Already, I've shown scripture about the Israelites raised again.
Jesus made an interesting proclamation that I already addressed in John 7:37 regarding this great day.
But, after this age, after the millennium, and even after the Great White Throne Judgement, there's those who knew the truth but refused to follow it. Revelation answers the fate of those in their resurrection:
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
<sup class="versenum">14 </sup>And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
<sup class="versenum">15 </sup>And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Eternal fire represents judgement: these people are burned up, being incorrigibly wicked (they were resurrected in physical bodies--- e.g. Lazarus was raised physically whereas Paul speaks of the believer as having a spiritual body, so there are different ways). They become ashes and are forever destroyed, thus eternal fire. As Malachi 4 states they will become ashes under the feet of the righteous.
I think it's then fitting after such a lake of fire that the earth will need a little renovating from this. Don't you?
That's where the new heavens and new earth come in.
I told the story the way I believe the bible teaches. In all this, is there anyone that can honestly say that God is unfair or reject anyone? So, if everyone is not called now, why preach the gospel? Simple (these are my reasons I found in the bible)
1) To proclaim the coming Kingdom of God as a witness.
2) For God to call and prepare those who heard that proclamation to be rulers and priests with Him
3) And a corollary to #2, by virtue of the fact that we were born into this age and have the capacity to hear the gospel shows that perhaps God does want more called than we realize, in spite we are called a "little flock"--- just so as not to sound too lazy
I don't want to be misconstrued as saying, "We'll get saved tomorrow". We all have one chance. If God gives another, then great, but he is not required to. Today may be yours. However, that's also contingent on hearing the
true gospel. Nothing personal, but much of mainline Christianity is a false gospel, and as such I do not believe God would judge a person who has been deceived.
