Unveiling the Truth: The Bible's Second Chance for Salvation

[Alfred Persson]

Right... and I am asking for your personal reasons.

I told you, there are no personal reasons. I also showed where #54 you can read dozens of scriptures showing WHY I believe as I do.

But discussing scripture doesn't interest you. That's why I'll likely ignore your posts, they are irrelevant to me.

 

[dwb001]

OK... Lets play this out from both sides.

If you are correct... If there is a second chance to repent once you are in Hell... how does that change things?
For the believer that believes that there is one life to live and then you are judged... no change... Heaven.
For the believer and the sinner that believes(or does not) in second chances... no change... Heaven
For the unrepentant sinner that rejects their second chance... eternity in Hell.

If you are incorrect... there is no second chance... how does that change things?
For the sinner that believes in a second chance... they remain in Hell for all eternity.
For the believer that does not believe in second chances... same result... Heaven
For the believer that believes in second chances... same result... Heaven


If you are wrong... many will be in Hell for all eternity if they follow your line of thinking.
If you are right... my position does not suffer at all... I just make my choice earlier than the sinner.

 

[Highway54]

Perhaps I caused some confusion by not distinguishing "krisis" Judgment from Christians appearing before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive or not receive recompense for their deeds, good or worthless:

10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. (Rom. 14:10-12 NKJ)

9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Cor. 5:9-10 NKJ)

14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Cor. 3:14-15 NKJ)

This last has been misunderstood as purgatory for believers, but instead of that its simile. If anyone's work is burned they will suffer the loss (of everything in the house), he will flee the burning house carrying none of its contents, perhaps even without clothing on his back, "as a man through fire" escapes emptyhanded.

4 For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.
(1 Cor. 4:4-5 NKJ)

So Christians will be judged, but not "krisis" judged which happens during the Great White Throne Jugment in Revelation.

We agree that all will be judged. I am not sure we see it the same way, but God has given Jesus the keys to life or death. There are a couple of notable judgings, for instance, the wicked Jesus destroys upon his return have already been judged as goats, whereas those preserved as his sheep. You may not understand that Jesus has 2 groups of sheep, those that are baptized with holy spirit which are referred to as the little flock, who are judged at death, or when Jesus returns. But he also has sheep not of that fold. Rev 20:5 reveals that those do not come to life until the thousand years have ended, their judgment is complete by then.

 

[Alfred Persson]

We agree that all will be judged. I am not sure we see it the same way, but God has given Jesus the keys to life or death. There are a couple of notable judgings, for instance, the wicked Jesus destroys upon his return have already been judged as goats, whereas those preserved as his sheep. You may not understand that Jesus has 2 groups of sheep, those that are baptized with holy spirit which are referred to as the little flock, who are judged at death, or when Jesus returns. But he also has sheep not of that fold. Rev 20:5 reveals that those do not come to life until the thousand years have ended, their judgment is complete by then.

You're Jehovah's Witness. I am familiar with their "little flock" error that contradicts the context: What is said to the "little flock" is said to all His disciples, who at the time were "a little flock":

22 Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
25 "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
26 "If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29 "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
30 "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.
31 "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
(Lk. 12:22-32 NKJ)

Same with Rev. 20:5. All Christians take part in the first resurrection, as they were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him in newness of life:

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
(Rom. 6:3-5 NKJ)

As for the 144,000, they are born again Jews, not aging Jehovah's Witnesses:

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: (Rev. 7:4 NKJ)


I am very familiar with JW teaching, I almost became one. Zealous people, but they err not knowing the Holy Scriptures. There is only ONE body of Christ, not a big and little one:

3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Eph. 4:3-6 NKJ)


Every believer in Jesus Christ is sealed with the Name of Yahweh on their forehead. Not just a few.

Too bad the cat is out of the bag. You should look up the name Johannes Greber and "Aid to Bible Understanding", how the Society literally quoted a demon spirit to support their John 1:1 "a god" rendering.

 

[Alfred Persson]

OK... Lets play this out from both sides.

If you are correct... If there is a second chance to repent once you are in Hell... how does that change things?
For the believer that believes that there is one life to live and then you are judged... no change... Heaven.
For the believer and the sinner that believes(or does not) in second chances... no change... Heaven
For the unrepentant sinner that rejects their second chance... eternity in Hell.

If you are incorrect... there is no second chance... how does that change things?
For the sinner that believes in a second chance... they remain in Hell for all eternity.
For the believer that does not believe in second chances... same result... Heaven
For the believer that believes in second chances... same result... Heaven


If you are wrong... many will be in Hell for all eternity if they follow your line of thinking.
If you are right... my position does not suffer at all... I just make my choice earlier than the sinner.

I am correct, and this is how radically things change:

Those who take their second chance in hell, now eagerly wait for the 2nd coming of Christ...for salvation:

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Heb. 9:27-10:1 NKJ)

 

[Alfred Persson]

We agree that all will be judged. I am not sure we see it the same way, but God has given Jesus the keys to life or death. There are a couple of notable judgings, for instance, the wicked Jesus destroys upon his return have already been judged as goats, whereas those preserved as his sheep. You may not understand that Jesus has 2 groups of sheep, those that are baptized with holy spirit which are referred to as the little flock, who are judged at death, or when Jesus returns. But he also has sheep not of that fold. Rev 20:5 reveals that those do not come to life until the thousand years have ended, their judgment is complete by then.

I'm the one who discovered the Society's use of Johannes Greber, and made that known to all the apologists I could. What led to my discovery was a simple realization, the Watchtower rarely quotes Scripture in context. It followed they treated other sources just as poorly, and that is the case. So I went to the Library and found Greber's book they quoted, and in the introduction this "former Catholic priest" turned spiritist says he translated the Greek texts only if "the spirits were silent." If they voice their opinion on any text, for example John 1:1, then he used the translation the spirits gave him.

The Society quoted Satan to support their "a god" rendering of John 1:1. That is obvious as one reads Greber's communication with the spirits. Clearly one of them was Satan himself.

 

[Alfred Persson]

OK... Lets play this out from both sides.

If you are correct... If there is a second chance to repent once you are in Hell... how does that change things?
For the believer that believes that there is one life to live and then you are judged... no change... Heaven.
For the believer and the sinner that believes(or does not) in second chances... no change... Heaven
For the unrepentant sinner that rejects their second chance... eternity in Hell.

If you are incorrect... there is no second chance... how does that change things?
For the sinner that believes in a second chance... they remain in Hell for all eternity.
For the believer that does not believe in second chances... same result... Heaven
For the believer that believes in second chances... same result... Heaven


If you are wrong... many will be in Hell for all eternity if they follow your line of thinking.
If you are right... my position does not suffer at all... I just make my choice earlier than the sinner.

I want to help so I will go the extra mile. This argument is irrational, made no sense at all:

"If you are correct... If there is a second chance to repent once you are in Hell... how does that change things?"

The change is obvious: When a person takes the second chance reversing their eternal destiny, it changed things 100%, a 180 degree reversal.

From "death" to "life", from a "no" to a "yes."

Trying to make a logical argument without thinking, is absurd.

 

[gordon777]

All men are commanded to repent now, ( Acts 17:30) to believe in Christs life and to not go into death. ( hell)


John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?


Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.



You could say a person has a second chance in hell to repent, but they are damned. ( how can they escape the damnation of hell/they seek Jesus but cant find Him/dying in their doubting damning sins.)



John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.



Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Romans 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

 

[Highway54]

I do believe that, even if they get some of it wrong.

If you love God, love God the Son, then even hell will work for your good:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28 NKJ)

Years ago, while I still fancied myself a "heresy hunter" quick to pounce on anyone who didn't toe the Reformed Baptist line, it occurred to me my fellow Christians in Protestantism vary widely in many beliefs.

It was biased and hypocritical I pounce only on those in the "cults", when just as wide differences in belief exist in mainline churches.

And now I'm on "the fringe" accused of heresy.

But I can prove by the Scriptures, I (and the early church) are right and everyone else (believing the Catholic confusion that appeared centuries later), are wrong.

But I don't think their disagreement will keep them out of God's kingdom any more than getting other doctrines wrong. God won't turn away those who love Him just because something was unclear to them.

Were you aware that until the first resurrection all persons went to hell Alfred? What is hell sir?

 

[Highway54]

You're Jehovah's Witness. I am familiar with their "little flock" error that contradicts the context: What is said to the "little flock" is said to all His disciples, who at the time were "a little flock":

22 Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
25 "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
26 "If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29 "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
30 "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.
31 "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
(Lk. 12:22-32 NKJ)

Same with Rev. 20:5. All Christians take part in the first resurrection, as they were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him in newness of life:

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
(Rom. 6:3-5 NKJ)

As for the 144,000, they are born again Jews, not aging Jehovah's Witnesses:

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: (Rev. 7:4 NKJ)


I am very familiar with JW teaching, I almost became one. Zealous people, but they err not knowing the Holy Scriptures. There is only ONE body of Christ, not a big and little one:

3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Eph. 4:3-6 NKJ)


Every believer in Jesus Christ is sealed with the Name of Yahweh on their forehead. Not just a few.

Too bad the cat is out of the bag. You should look up the name Johannes Greber and "Aid to Bible Understanding", how the Society literally quoted a demon spirit to support their John 1:1 "a god" rendering.

Is not a god proper sir? Why does your same version say a god at Acts 28:6 even though recorded the same. At any rate it is inconsistent, and as you see you became closed minded as soon as you realized I serve the God Jehovah. Well, truth is truth, either Jehovah is God or He is not. That is up to you to decide, but as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah as did Joshua who said it. 24:15

 

[Alfred Persson]

Were you aware that until the first resurrection all persons went to hell Alfred? What is hell sir?

Hades/Sheol is different for different people. All who die without Christ go to Hades, but not all are wicked. When a righteous OT saint died, an angel would carry their soul to Hades, he would be "gathered to his people" (Gen 25:8) where Abraham was. But when a wicked person died, no angel would appear. Their souls would sink down into the tormenting regions of Hades, where the fires of God's inspection would purge their souls of self delusion and bondage to sin:

22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Lk. 16:22-23 NKJ)

Hell/Hades/Sheol is a function of God's love (Rom. 8:28), the "intermediate state" where the dead hear 100% gospel truth, they are judged according to men in the flesh, but can choose to repent and believe and live according to God in the spirit:

Even those who mocked Christians and the gospel, can reconsider in Hell:

4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.
5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
(1 Pet. 4:4-6 NKJ)

That's how much God loves us, He goes the extra mile to save sinners. Those who have NOT committed eternal sins in this life (like accept the Mark of the Beast or blaspheme the Holy Spirit), are illuminated in Hades hell, completely informed about the Lake of Fire reserved for obstinate wicked, and they can choose which they prefer > That, or life with God in Cosmic paradise.

13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Pet. 3:13 NKJ)

 

[Alfred Persson]

Is not a god proper sir? Why does your same version say a god at Acts 28:6 even though recorded the same. At any rate it is inconsistent, and as you see you became closed minded as soon as you realized I serve the God Jehovah. Well, truth is truth, either Jehovah is God or He is not. That is up to you to decide, but as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah as did Joshua who said it. 24:15

No, "a god" is polytheism. For us there is only One Infinite Ocean of Essence that is God, in which Three Persons equally exist. One Name, but three are named Father Son and Holy Spirit, that's who Christians are baptized in (Mt. 28:19)

19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matt. 28:19 NKJ)

As for using "a" before "god", context proves its "a god" in Acts 28:6 (because Paul didn't create all things, nor was he "already with God" at the beginning of Creation," like the Word was:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
(Jn. 1:1-3 NKJ)

I recall the day I went to the Kingdom Hall, wanting to be baptized. An elder asked, "what do you think of baptism" and I said "we are buried with Christ in baptism, and raised to a newness of life with Him!"

buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Col. 2:12 NKJ)

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4 NKJ)

Wrong answer for most JWs, as few believe themselves actually Christians. One of the 144,000 anointed.

That worked to my good. In time I learned just how badly JWs misinterpret the Scripture, and thankfully God prevented me (by His Bible Truth) from becoming one of them.

Thank you Jesus! My LORD and my God! God the Eternal Son of the Father, not to be confused with God the Father or God the Holy Spirit. Yahweh our God is One Yahweh!

Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son's name, If you know?
(Prov. 30:4 NKJ)

I do!

Yahweh is God!

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God!

Yahweh God the Son!

To the Glory of Yahweh God the Father:

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11 NKJ)

 

[Alfred Persson]

Is not a god proper sir? Why does your same version say a god at Acts 28:6 even though recorded the same. At any rate it is inconsistent, and as you see you became closed minded as soon as you realized I serve the God Jehovah. Well, truth is truth, either Jehovah is God or He is not. That is up to you to decide, but as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah as did Joshua who said it. 24:15

Why not start a thread defending JW beliefs? For example, the concept of God as a finite spirit, bigger in size than the angels, but still finite.


"While there are physical bodies visible and palpable, there are also spiritual bodies, invisible to human eyes and entirely beyond human senses. (1 Cor. 15:44) The bodies of spiritual persons (God, Christ, the angels) are glorious...The true God is not omnipresent."--Aid To Bible Understanding, p. 247, 665 (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1971)



Or "recreation" as JW version of "resurrection". Etc.


God's ability to resurrect

For the One with the ability and power to create man in His own image, with a perfect body and with the potential for full expression of the marvelous characteristics implanted in the human personality, it would pose no insurmountable problem to resurrect an individual. If scientific principles establish by God can be used by scientists to preserve and later reconstruct a visible and audible scene by means of videotape, how easy it is for the great Universal Sovereign and Creator to resurrect a person by repatterning the same personality in a newly formed body."-Aid to Bible Understanding, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1971, p. 1394.



***



In the Watchtower's <i>Insight on the Scriptures</i> we read:



"God's ability to resurrect...If scientific principles established by God can be used by scientists to preserve and later reconstruct a visible and audible scene by means of videotape, how easy it is for the great Universal Sovereign and Creator to resurrect a person by repatterning the same personality in a newly formed body."-Insight on the Scriptures, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, Vol 2, p. 784.

 

[Alfred Persson]

Is not a god proper sir? Why does your same version say a god at Acts 28:6 even though recorded the same. At any rate it is inconsistent, and as you see you became closed minded as soon as you realized I serve the God Jehovah. Well, truth is truth, either Jehovah is God or He is not. That is up to you to decide, but as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah as did Joshua who said it. 24:15

Jehovah's Witnesses believe as the pagans do, that God is like the angels, existing as a spirit like them:

"While there are physical bodies visible and palpable, there are also spiritual bodies, invisible to human eyes and entirely beyond human senses. (1 Cor. 15:44) The bodies of spiritual persons (God, Christ, the angels) are glorious...The true God is not omnipresent."--Aid To Bible Understanding, p. 247, 665 (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1971)

That is why the idea of One God in Three Persons seems so impossible to them. Then God must have three heads on one body.

But Christians, who know their Bible, realize all things exist IN infinite God:

"for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said,`For we are also His offspring.' (Acts 17:28 NKJ)

He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. (Col. 1:17 RPTE)

Colossians 1:17 is talking about God the Eternal Son, the Word of God. In infinite God that is the Son, all things consist, are held together. How is that possible you ask? Jesus is the "Word of God". When God (Father Son and Holy Spirit) decide something should come into existence, it is Jesus the Word of God who "verbalizes" God's Thought, brings it into concrete reality:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
(Jn. 1:1-3 KJV)

God is not like the angels, He does not have a "spirit body", therefore Jehovah's Witnesses prove they don't know the scriptures or Jehovah when they liken Him to angels in a spirit body:

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. (Isa. 40:25 KJV)

Jehovah (Yahweh actually) says idolatrous people liken God to creatures:

5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
(Isa. 46:5-6 KJV)

So the Jehovah's Witnesses are polytheists, believe in a pantheon of gods or spirit beings, Jehovah is the biggest and on top, Jesus is next an "a god". Both are like the angels in spirit bodies, only theirs is bigger.


Scripture is very clear on this so its odd Jehovah's Witnesses got this simple doctrine wrong. King Solomon by the Holy Spirit made it clear, even the heavens and heavens of heavens (all creation in the most infinite measure) cannot "CONTAIN" God:

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (1 Ki. 8:27 KJV)

Its sad a people so zealous for God, end up likening Him to finite spirit creatures, proving they don't have a clue who Jehovah is.

Yahweh God is the "I AM", the Infinite One, the only One who is uncreated. Everything finite is created.

 

[Robert Pate]

Some propose 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.

That scripture has been taken out of context:

Christ said Christians "shall not come into judgment (2920 κρίσις krisis), but has passed from death into life" (Jn. 5:24 NKJ).

So the writer of Hebrews is talking about the unsaved dead, its appointed for them die once and then be judged.

Therefore, the "judgment" in Hebrews 9:27 is "the second chance" because, after being judged, some "eagerly wait for Him…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.

Read it for yourself, it screams "second chance", its why Christ came, to save the lost:


How can we be certain this trial is not a judgment whether one died a Christian? Christ our Teacher (Mt. 23:10) said so (John 5:24). Moreover, as all the dead since the foundation of the world undergo the same "judgment", if dying a non-Christian condemns everyone who died before the 1st century, the trial would be a sick parody of justice. That cannot be.

The context implies what is being decided about the dead: It is written: "He…appeared….once at the end of the ages…to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" so He would not "have…to suffer often since the foundation of the world" (Heb. 9:24-26). Therefore, the Judgment is whether Christ's sacrifice applies to the one being judged, whether he is one of the "many" saved by it. As belief or non-belief in Christ are the only grounds for salvation or condemnation (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; John 3:16-18; 5:24; 14:6; 20:31; Acts 4:11-12;1 Peter 2:6-8), it follows belief or non-belief in the gospel of Christ decides the outcome of this Trial. Therefore, regardless of when someone died, the Gospel is preached to them so they be judged according to men in the flesh, but choose to live according to God in the spirit (1 Pt. 4:6).

That is "the trial", those who believe Jesus is "the Christ the Son of God" are saved, live according to God in the spirit and eagerly wait for Christ's second coming, for salvation, the resurrection to life. Having heard and obeyed Christ's voice while in the grave they done good (John 5:28-29).

ALL unsaved humanity goes through the same trial, from Adam and Eve forward. Therefore, all who repent and believe in Jesus during their trial have Jesus as the propitiation for their sins just as the scripture promises: "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2 ).

No second chance. "Today is the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2.

 

[Alfred Persson]

No second chance. "Today is the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2.

No second chance. "Today is the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2.

Begs the question, Today is the day of salvation, because its the "day" of the New Covenant in Christ's blood. "Today" is idiom, for "Now" as seen in other translations:

1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor. 6:1-2 NKJ)

"Now" is the age in which the gospel is in effect. Even now in the 21st century, "Now" means its available to everyone today.

Of course, people couldn't believe in Christ before the 1st century, but "now" that He arrived and sacrificed Himself, they can. Therefore, "Now is the day of salvation"

Your argument is only the living know about this, but according to Peter the Gospel of Christ is preached even to the dead who mocked Christians and the gospel while alive:

4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.
5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
(1 Pet. 4:4-6 NKJ)

So, according to Peter, "now is the day of salvation" also for the dead, so they can be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

 

[SoldierofHIM]

How can people sin after receiving eternal life?
Where is that verse found?

My friend we have all fallen short of the glory of God. Christians still sin after being saved. But the change in regeneration is that they have new desires. To not to sin but we still do. Christians are not perfect or sinless but God treats us as if we are.

 

[Alfred Persson]

My friend we have all fallen short of the glory of God. Christians still sin after being saved. But the change in regeneration is that they have new desires. To not to sin but we still do. Christians are not perfect or sinless but God treats us as if we are.

Well said, concise and to the point. And most important of all, true.

 

[Hopeful]

I want to help so I will go the extra mile. This argument is irrational, made no sense at all:

"If you are correct... If there is a second chance to repent once you are in Hell... how does that change things?"

The change is obvious: When a person takes the second chance reversing their eternal destiny, it changed things 100%, a 180 degree reversal.

From "death" to "life", from a "no" to a "yes."

Trying to make a logical argument without thinking, is absurd.

It seems to me that if men could change their minds after having died, then Jesus' death and resurrection was unnecessary.

 

[Hopeful]

Your argument is only the living know about this, but according to Peter the Gospel of Christ is preached even to the dead who mocked Christians and the gospel while alive:

4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.
5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
(1 Pet. 4:4-6 NKJ)You misinterpreted Peter's meaning.

Those "dead" that Peter mentioned, were the people and prophets of the OT written of in 1 Peter 1:10-12.
"Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."