When I posted on this subject sometime back, most attacked my belief as heretical. However, I just discovered a Bethel University theologian James Beilby makes the same case in this book: Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death.
In his preface he says;
Regarding Postmortem Opportunity, I make two claims. The first is that Christians are permitted to believe that God will provide a Postmortem Opportunity to the unevangelized. The language of permission, here, has two senses: (1) epistemological—there is nothing epistemically substandard or irrational about embracing the theory of Postmortem Opportunity—and (2) theological—there is nothing heretical or contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture about Postmortem Opportunity. My second claim is that, for synergists at least, the theory of Postmortem Opportunity is better than other answers to the question of the destiny of the unevangelized.-Beilby, James. Postmortem Opportunity (pp. XIV-XV). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
I just started his book, hope to discover additional arguments for my "argumentative essay" I posted on my site:
But this topic should get a new thread, given all the hot air about heresy, so untrue, so malicious, and so unchristian.
Lets discuss this fresh. Its a wonderful idea.
"Does the Bible teach there is a second chance in the afterlife to be saved by Jesus?" [1]
Some say we have only one life on earth to make our decision for or against God, that a "second chance" to repent and be saved doesn't exist. Two main texts are cited for this view: Hebrews 9:27 "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" which suggests the judgment concerns acts performed while alive; and the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), which seems to rule out a "second chance" when the Rich Man is told " between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' (Lk. 16:26 NKJ).
The scriptures cited against the "second chance" have been taken out of context:
For example, the Rich Man is in Hades, which in the context of the New Testament is a temporary residence. Hades will be emptied out on Judgment Day (Rev. 20:13), it then "dies the second death" which symbolically means it will never return (Rev. 20:14). As the Rich Man is raised up out of Hades with everyone else (John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:13), the "great gulf" is not an impassible barrier "to the resurrection of life, and …the resurrection of condemnation." (Jn. 5:29 NKJ)
As for Hebrews 9:27, Christ said Christians "shall not come into judgment (2920 κρίσις krisis), but has passed from death into life" (Jn. 5:24 NKJ) [2]. That means the "judgment" (2920 κρίσις krisis) in Hebrews 9:27 is deciding what happens to non-Christians after they die, not Christians who have been saved by grace (Eph. 2:5-10).
Some claim the Judgment in Hebrews 9:27 is the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. However, the following incompatibilities make that impossible:
1.) Christ's "second appearance" is His Second coming, well before the Judgment of all the earth in Revelation 20:11-15.
2.) The Great White Throne Judgement judges sin, therefore Jesus' appearance there cannot be "apart from sin".
3.) Christ appears a second time to rapture/raise all the dead in Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 5:5, 15:51-54; Rev. 14:12-16; 7:9, 14).
4.) The only judgment Christians face evaluates their service to Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; John 5:24-25).
5.) If no judgment occurs after men "die once", how is it anyone ends up in hell? Shouldn't everyone be in the same place?
6.) If Christians are among those being judged then they must wait for Christ's second appearance, "for salvation". That contradicts Christians are saved "to the uttermost" when they believed, by grace through faith in His Name( John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24-25; 20:31; Eph. 2:5-8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Heb. 7:25. )
These incompatible properties prove beyond all reasonable doubt the judgment in Hebrews 9:27 cannot be the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 10:11-15. Everything is different about them.
Christians must be excluded because they were saved by grace through faith in Jesus while alive, and do not come under a krisis judgment, whether immediately after death or sometime in the future at the Great White Throne Judgment (John 5:24-25).
The exclusion of believing Christians implies what is judged is belief or non-belief in Christ, that alone exempted Christians from judgment. The "Judgment" in Hebrews 9:27 is a "krisis trial" to decide whether someone will become one of "the many" "believers" Christ died for. Christ "was offered once" "at the end of the ages" (Heb. 9:26) so all who died without Christ, including the generations who lived and died " since "the foundation of the world", would be eligible for His sacrifice for sin. As John put it, Christ is the sacrificial "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8) so all born into it are covered by His Sacrifice. Christ was offered once "at the end of the ages…to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself…to bear the sins of many". [Having chosen life in Christ] they now "eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time…for salvation (Heb. 9:26, 28 NKJ).
In his preface he says;
Regarding Postmortem Opportunity, I make two claims. The first is that Christians are permitted to believe that God will provide a Postmortem Opportunity to the unevangelized. The language of permission, here, has two senses: (1) epistemological—there is nothing epistemically substandard or irrational about embracing the theory of Postmortem Opportunity—and (2) theological—there is nothing heretical or contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture about Postmortem Opportunity. My second claim is that, for synergists at least, the theory of Postmortem Opportunity is better than other answers to the question of the destiny of the unevangelized.-Beilby, James. Postmortem Opportunity (pp. XIV-XV). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death: Beilby, James: 9780830853762: Amazon.com: Books
Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death [Beilby, James] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death
www.amazon.com
I just started his book, hope to discover additional arguments for my "argumentative essay" I posted on my site:
Does the Bible teach there is a Second Chance to be saved by Jesus? | End Time News, Today - Rapture Ready News
Postmortem Opportunity in Biblical Perspective: A New Argument Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans Life and the Afterlife The Fate of those who die unevangelized has been debated ever since the Apostles departed to be with Christ. Did God create knowing the opportunity for...
endtimenews.net
But this topic should get a new thread, given all the hot air about heresy, so untrue, so malicious, and so unchristian.
Lets discuss this fresh. Its a wonderful idea.
"Does the Bible teach there is a second chance in the afterlife to be saved by Jesus?" [1]
Some say we have only one life on earth to make our decision for or against God, that a "second chance" to repent and be saved doesn't exist. Two main texts are cited for this view: Hebrews 9:27 "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" which suggests the judgment concerns acts performed while alive; and the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), which seems to rule out a "second chance" when the Rich Man is told " between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' (Lk. 16:26 NKJ).
The scriptures cited against the "second chance" have been taken out of context:
For example, the Rich Man is in Hades, which in the context of the New Testament is a temporary residence. Hades will be emptied out on Judgment Day (Rev. 20:13), it then "dies the second death" which symbolically means it will never return (Rev. 20:14). As the Rich Man is raised up out of Hades with everyone else (John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:13), the "great gulf" is not an impassible barrier "to the resurrection of life, and …the resurrection of condemnation." (Jn. 5:29 NKJ)
As for Hebrews 9:27, Christ said Christians "shall not come into judgment (2920 κρίσις krisis), but has passed from death into life" (Jn. 5:24 NKJ) [2]. That means the "judgment" (2920 κρίσις krisis) in Hebrews 9:27 is deciding what happens to non-Christians after they die, not Christians who have been saved by grace (Eph. 2:5-10).
Therefore, the "judgment" in Hebrews 9:27 is "the second chance for salvation", because after this judgment Christ will appear: "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time…for salvation." (Heb. 9:28 NKJ).
That fits the meaning of the Greek krisis, it denotes a "trial, contest, selection" where an "opinion or decision" is given one way or the other.-Strong's Concordance.
Some claim the Judgment in Hebrews 9:27 is the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. However, the following incompatibilities make that impossible:
1.) Christ's "second appearance" is His Second coming, well before the Judgment of all the earth in Revelation 20:11-15.
2.) The Great White Throne Judgement judges sin, therefore Jesus' appearance there cannot be "apart from sin".
3.) Christ appears a second time to rapture/raise all the dead in Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 5:5, 15:51-54; Rev. 14:12-16; 7:9, 14).
4.) The only judgment Christians face evaluates their service to Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; John 5:24-25).
5.) If no judgment occurs after men "die once", how is it anyone ends up in hell? Shouldn't everyone be in the same place?
6.) If Christians are among those being judged then they must wait for Christ's second appearance, "for salvation". That contradicts Christians are saved "to the uttermost" when they believed, by grace through faith in His Name( John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24-25; 20:31; Eph. 2:5-8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Heb. 7:25. )
These incompatible properties prove beyond all reasonable doubt the judgment in Hebrews 9:27 cannot be the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 10:11-15. Everything is different about them.
Christians must be excluded because they were saved by grace through faith in Jesus while alive, and do not come under a krisis judgment, whether immediately after death or sometime in the future at the Great White Throne Judgment (John 5:24-25).
The exclusion of believing Christians implies what is judged is belief or non-belief in Christ, that alone exempted Christians from judgment. The "Judgment" in Hebrews 9:27 is a "krisis trial" to decide whether someone will become one of "the many" "believers" Christ died for. Christ "was offered once" "at the end of the ages" (Heb. 9:26) so all who died without Christ, including the generations who lived and died " since "the foundation of the world", would be eligible for His sacrifice for sin. As John put it, Christ is the sacrificial "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8) so all born into it are covered by His Sacrifice. Christ was offered once "at the end of the ages…to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself…to bear the sins of many". [Having chosen life in Christ] they now "eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time…for salvation (Heb. 9:26, 28 NKJ).
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