Why did God let so many people go to hell by not revealing Christ sooner?

[Tony Hyman]

Why did God let four thousand years of humans go to hell before he revealed the gospel of Christ to the world so men could now start to be saved?

When and how God plans the daily management of His Creation and our indervidual paths on this earth is His own prerogative ,as I understand ,according to what God permits me to understand ,in terms of my limited perochial thinking as a Human.
What we are permitted to know is stated through God's Word which is in the Bible .The Old as well as The New Testament.

From what I have experienced is that God is a fair and Loving Father who literally bends over backwards to ensure that all whom He created in His image may have everlasting life.Gen 1:26-27.Commentaries vary as to whether Christ is included in the concept of "let Us" create as contemplated in Verse 27.See Bob Hutley Commentary on Genesis (Google) or ( Clark Biblical Commentary on The Old Testement Vol I Pentateuch Clark Edinburgh.These learned authorities are not in agreement as to whether or not the "Us" means God speaking to the angels excluding the Trinity or whether the Trinity is spesifically mentioned.

I believe that Christ was with and in the Father from the outset before the Creation according to John 1:1-14 verse 2"He was with God in the beginning."N.I.V. The difference between the OT and NT as far Everlasting Life is concerned hinges mainly on the question of sacrifice as I see it.The Levitical System was impossed where those who did not obey God's commands and seek forgiveness were by means of burning sacrifices to redeem themselfs ;in other words if they obeyed God they would have everlasting life eg "14If a man dies , can he come back to life?But I will wait for better times, wait till this time of trouble is ended.God did not wait until He sent his Son and then only did humans have the promised gift of life Mark 12" 18 after Christ adresses the issue of marriage in Heaven ,he explains the concept of resurrection to the non- believing Sadduccees in verse 26" Now about the dead rising - have you not read in the book of Moses , ..I am the God of Abraham , ..Isaak...Jacob27. He is not the God of the dead , but the living.You are badly mistaken"N.I.V.

Christ was not sacrificed to change or ammend Gods plan but to "fulfill it"Matthew 5 10: 17 Therefore those who obeyed Gods Commandments are entitled to everlasting life under the Levitical Laws but all believers both Jews and Gentiles are promised this reward as promised in the O.T. and fulfilled through the one off N.T. sacrifice of God's Only Begotten Son as explained in Hebrews 7 :11-28 .Therefore I can come to only one conclusion that the Old Testament family of God are only condemmed to Hell if they never passed the same tests as we do regarding God's will and commanments.Those who do not accept God's Plan of Salvation after the N.T.have the option of rejecting it just as the Old Testament people did and must carry the conseqences of those choices.

 

[TRUTH over TRADITION]

Re: *

The speculation and differing opinions on such a topic occur in my opinion mainly due to how we interpret salvation. If we see salvation as a Heaven vs. Hell issue, the problem addressed in this thread arises, but if we understand salvation as a life vs. death issue, much of the debate becomes moot and we can better harmonize the scriptures we use to prove one perspective is better than the next.

If we look to the OT scriptures what we find is that the hope of the faithful was a resurrection to life. Jesus made that hope a reality being that he was the 'resurrection and the life'.

 

[John 8:32]

Re: *

The speculation and differing opinions on such a topic occur in my opinion mainly due to how we interpret salvation. If we see salvation as a Heaven vs. Hell issue, the problem addressed in this thread arises, but if we understand salvation as a life vs. death issue, much of the debate becomes moot and we can better harmonize the scriptures we use to prove one perspective is better than the next.

If we look to the OT scriptures what we find is that the hope of the faithful was a resurrection to life. Jesus made that hope a reality being that he was the 'resurrection and the life'.

 

[Webers_Home]

*

†. Rom 5:13a . . Before the law was given, sin was in the world.

Where might we find sin on display in the world prior to the law? Well one really good example is Sodom and Gomorrah

†. Gen 13:13 . . Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.

†. Gen 18:20-21 . . And the Lord said: The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.

Now the interesting thing is: where there is no law; no one can be held accountable for sin.

†. Rom 5:13b . . Sin is not imputed when there is no law.

†. Rom 4:15 . .The law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

So then, since the people of Sodom and Gomorrah existed at least four centuries prior to the introduction of the law; then how was God justified in criticizing them for sin? especially since according to Gal 3:17 the laws of God aren't retroactive.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

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You are misquoting Rom 4 and 5

Is it impossible that you are the one "misquoting" those passages instead of me? Do you sincerely believe yourself infallible and speaking for God ex cathedra?

Buen Camino
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[John 8:32]

Re: *

You are misquoting Rom 4 and 5

Is it impossible that you are the one "misquoting" those passages instead of me? Do you sincerely believe yourself infallible and speaking for God ex cathedra?

Buen Camino
/

Actually, I am very fallible, but the scriptures are infallible. The giving of the Law is a reference to God codifying the Law at Mt. Sinai, it was already in force. One can easily find each of the Ten Commandments stated or in principle from Gen 1:1 to Ex 19:25. Here are a couple of examples...

Adultery:

Gen 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
Gen 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
Gen 20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
Gen 20:5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
Gen 20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Gen 20:7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
Gen 20:8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
Gen 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Another example of adultery....

Gen 39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
Gen 39:8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
Gen 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Joseph knew that adultery and fornication was sin.

And of course the fourth Commandment...

Now the old argument goes that this was just God resting, it did not create the Sabbath per se but God's words directly from His mouth say that it is the creation of the Sabbath and that it is Holy time...

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

This Command refers directly to the creation week and the seventh day that God blessed and made Holy (hallowed).

There are two and there are eight more that are easily found.

So a google of the Ten Commandments before Moses.

 

[reba]

2.5: Respect each others' opinions. Address issues, not persons or personalities. Give other members the respect you would want them to give yourself.

Not necessarily directed at the last poster.

 

[Webers_Home]

*

According to Gal 3:17; the so-called Ten Commandments didn't exist as law in Abraham's day. So then, neither he nor anyone else in that era was obligated to comply with them; nor with any of the rest of Moses' covenanted law for that matter because God's laws aren't retroactive.

†. Gen 26:5 . . Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Whatever those particular charges, commandments, statutes, and laws amounted to was strictly between Abraham and God; and no one else. They aren't listed in the book of Genesis because they are none of anybody's business except Abraham's, God's, and Abraham's progeny.

†. Gen 18:19-20 . . I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.

The charges, commandments, statutes, and laws that God expected of Abraham are not "the law" mentioned at Rom 5:13, Rom 4:15, and Gal 3:17. That law is Moses' covenanted law; and it has some really big teeth.

†. Deut 27:26 . . Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.

In other words, "the law" works wrath (Rom 4:15). But Abraham's charges, commandments, statutes, and laws didn't work wrath. In point of fact, Abraham's charges, commandments, statutes, and laws were entirely optional because there was no curse attached to them for non compliance. In other words: Abraham could have disobeyed every last one of his God-given charges, commandments, statutes, and laws with absolutely no risk of going to hell.

NOTE: Just for the fun of it a while back , I went through the New Testament, beginning at Romans, and searched out as many of Christ's commandments as I could find. The final tally? near 500. And guess what? Not one of those commandments has a curse attached to it for non compliance similar to that of Deut 27:26. They're all entirely optional; every one of them.

Anyway, back to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Now the interesting thing is: where there is no law; no one can be held accountable for breaking the law.

†. Rom 5:13b . . Sin is not imputed when there is no law.

†. Rom 4:15 . .The law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

So then, since the people of Sodom and Gomorrah existed at least four centuries prior to the introduction of "the law"; then how was God justified in criticizing them for being sinners? especially since according to Gal 3:17 the laws of God aren't retroactive. Stay with me and I'll show you.

Q: Why does a coyote behave like a coyote? A: Because it has the nature of a coyote. Q: Why does a rattlesnake behave like a rattlesnake? A: Because it has the nature of a rattlesnake.

Now, if I were to restrain coyotes and rattlesnakes so as to prevent them from acting like coyotes and rattlesnakes, they would still be coyotes and rattlesnakes because behavior per se, doesn't define a beast; it's the nature of the beast that defines it.

Well; according to Rom 5:19, Adam's mistake made everybody a sinner. So then even on your best behavior you will still be a sinner because you have the nature of a sinner. Some people have better self control than others; but bottom line is: behavior doesn't define a sinner, the nature of the beast does.

NOTE: There is a way to be separated from one's nature of the beast, and that's via a special surgical procedure about which the Bible speaks at Col 2:11. That procedure isn't optional; no, it's a must if somebody is to have any hope at all of evading perpetual suffering. Why? Because when somebody passes into the afterlife with the nature of a sinner, they're stuck with it: forever. Hence, they will suffer infinitely not so much for their mistakes; but mostly for what they are; viz: perpetual sinner = perpetual suffering.

The nature of the beast can be thought of as a disease; in point of fact as leprosy. Well; the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were in stage four leprosy, which in cancer terms; is usually fatal. But worse, the degree of "leprosy" with which the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were infected was so far out of control that it had to be incinerated. It was nothing personal; it was just public safety.

Buen Camino
/

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Re: *

...so-called Ten Commandments...

So-called?

That's what the Law itself calls them:

"And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments." (Exodus 34:28)

 

[Webers_Home]

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Respect each others' opinions.

I can respect other's opinions; but I cannot, and I will not, respect other's judgmental assertions. When somebody asserts that I am misquoting scripture: they are implying that they themselves are infallible and speaking for God ex cathedra. I'm sorry but that attitde is unacceptable.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

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So-called?

One of Webster's definitions of "so-called" is: commonly named; popularly so termed

Buen Camino
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[Jethro Bodine]

Re: *

So-called?

One of Webster's definitions of "so-called" is: commonly named; popularly so termed

Buen Camino
/

Hmm...I'll try to remember that.

 

[Elijah674]

We find that some died not knowing Christ as we do. Paul in Rom. 2:14-15 has Paul saying it this way...

[13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
[14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
[15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.

--Elijah

And yet we read this...

Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Joh 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

You miss the point!! Where was the LAW AT? The person of Christ is NOT what you see is it?? What does He look like???

Verse 15 says it all! In other words, who has all of Christ except by lovingly Obeying Him right down to ones death bead?

--Elijah

PS: That still is not PLAIN ENOUGH! These ones never even had the Bible! YET, WHERE IS GODS LAW AT!

 

[dadof10]

Re: *

NOTE: Just for the fun of it a while back , I went through the New Testament, beginning at Romans, and searched out as many of Christ's commandments as I could find. The final tally? near 500. And guess what? Not one of those commandments has a curse attached to it for non compliance similar to that of Deut 27:26. They're all entirely optional; every one of them.

Because there's no "curse" attached, it doesn't necessarily follow that Jesus' commands are "optional". I can command my kids to do certain things without a threat attached, and the commands still wouldn't be optional. Do you believe that everything commanded in Scripture that doesn't have a stated punishment for non-compliance is optional?

 

[Webers_Home]

*

.

Do you believe that everything commanded in Scripture that doesn't have a stated punishment for non-compliance is optional?

[edited by staff] What it means to be "in Christ"

†. Rom 8:1-2 . .There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Buen Camino
/

 

[dadof10]

Re: *

.

Do you believe that everything commanded in Scripture that doesn't have a stated punishment for non-compliance is optional?

[edited by staff] What it means to be "in Christ"

†. Rom 8:1-2 . .There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Buen Camino
/

What does this verse have to do with Jesus' commands being "optional"? Two of Jesus' commands are "love the Lord your God..." and "believe in me". If I stop loving God, and having faith, there will be no 'condemnation"? Are these two commands "optional"?

 

[Webers_Home]

*

.

If I stop loving God, and having faith, there will be no 'condemnation"?

If you were to go find out what it means to be "in Christ" your question would answer itself.

†. Rom 8:1-2 . .There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

FYI: the "law of sin and death" is located at Rom 6:23

Buen Camino
/

 

[dadof10]

.

If I stop loving God, and having faith, there will be no 'condemnation"?

If you were to go find out what it means to be "in Christ" your question would answer itself.

†. Rom 8:1-2 . .There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

FYI: the "law of sin and death" is located at Rom 6:23

Buen Camino
/

Thank you for answering my question with such a thorough explanation. If you can't answer, just say so.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Webers_Home]

*

.
Eternal life is a species of life that's impervious to death. Therefore, those who have eternal life are impervious to the wages of sin.

†. Rom 6:23 . . For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Which is how it was possible for Jesus to testify that people with eternal life are in no danger whatsoever of the wrath of God.

†. John 5:24 . . I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

The information in the two passages above tells me that people claiming to be Christ's followers; while not possessing eternal life are (1) vulnerable to the wages of sin, (2) not in Christ, (3) insinuate that Christ is a person of questionable integrity who can't be trusted to tell the truth, (4) failing to listen to Christ, (5) don't believe God, (6) in danger of infinite suffering, and (7) dead men walking.

FYI: According to God's testimony, as an expert witness in all matters pertaining to His own son; people who lack eternal life, also lack His son; viz: they are not only dead men walking; but they are also quite christless.

†. 1John 5:11-12 . . And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has the life; whoever does not have the life, does not have His son.

Buen Camino
/

 

[eddif]

Why did God let four thousand years of humans go to hell before he revealed the gospel of Christ to the world so men could now start to be saved?

Some awfully good scripture has been posted. Some folks have some good book learning. In Mississippi we can not read so well, and think on what we have heard (real problem at times).

Some have basically said most of this and my comments may not help.

The time from Adam to Jesus going into the Grave for a day or two, was taken care by Jesus and his visit there. All those folks for thousands of years had a chance to hear the best preacher ever. Jesus evidently preached to them and may have given a garment to be worn later.

The disciples were told to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. I hope we still preach: repentance, salvation in Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit so we can have power to preach / teach.

I am looking forward to clearly understanding all the things I see through a glass darkly today.

eddif