Do unbelievers get a second chance to believe in Jesus after they die?
According to universalists they do.
They say that someone who dies in unbelief today may still have a chance to believe in Jesus for eternal life in the underworld tomorrow. On that theory, when an unebeliever wake up in Hades, they will realize how wrong they were and come to faith in Jesus.
By contrast, according to the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment (ECT), you get one chance to believe in this life. After you die, it is too late.
Who is right? Which view is true?
To be honest, I wish the second-chance view was true. I wish all my dead friends and family—those who died in unbelief—could somehow come to faith after death and spend eternity with God. I don’t want them to be separated from God forever.
But I also know that wishing something to be true does not make it true.
In this series of blog posts exploring ECT and its rivals, I have tried to stand under God’s Word. I want to bring my beliefs—and my wishes—into alignment with Scripture. If ECT is wrong, I don’t want to believe it. If ECT is true, then I’ll believe it no matter what I may feel about it.
What does Scripture say about second chances after death?
First, there is no verse that explicitly teaches there are second chances after death. If the universalists were right, I would expect there to be at least one verse that says it. I don’t think there is (but I’m open to correction).
Second, Jesus said you must be alive in order to believe in Him for eternal life. Do you remember Jesus’ conversation with Martha? He added a little detail that has a bearing on this question:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
There are two conditions to have eternal life. You must believe. But you must also be alive. “Everyone who lives and believes in Me…”
Why does Jesus add that provision?
It is possible that Jesus is implying that your only opportunity to believe happens in this life. An unbeliever can come to saving faith right up until he takes his last breath. Deathbed conversions are possible. But post-mortem conversions are not. You must be alive.
Third, the fact that Hades is full tells me there are no second chances after death. If there were second chances after death, I would expect Hades to be empty right now. Every dead person will have realized they were wrong and come to faith in Jesus and gone to heaven. But in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the Rich Man remains in the fire. He does not cross over into Abraham’s bosom. He cannot.
Fourth, Hebrews implies you only get one chance to believe in this life:
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment (Heb 9:27).
What comes after death? A second chance to believe? A third? A fourth? No. After death comes the judgment. Judgment follows death—not second chances. You need to believe now.
When I take these verses together, I conclude that you and I have been given a precious opportunity to come to faith in this life. Do not waste this chance, because God has not promised you another.
Marty Cauley
I concur with the article that postmortem conversions would violate our biblical expectations. However, the article does not address semi-postmortem conversions. Basically, the data suggests that conversions sometimes occur in NDEs (Near Death Experiences), whether the person is conscious in the body or out of the body. For my documentation and analyses, see https://smile.amazon.com/Misthological-Models-Part-Extrabiblical-Experiences/dp/1985558033/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526065968&sr=8-2&keywords=misthological+models. A summary statement therein will suffice: “Since many NDErs are not actually dead, some NDErs may be graciously given a semi-postmortem opportunity to trust Christ. Biblically, I would rule out genuine postmortem opportunities. Further, we should not universalize the semi-postmortem opportunities that occasionally occur in NDE literature because some NDErs are not given any such an opportunity.”
Marty Cauley
Anon
GOD SAYS “NOW,” “TODAY,” NOT “TOMORROW”
1We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
2 Corinthians 6:1,2
Isaiah 1:18, “Come NOW, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Hebrews 4:7(b), “TODAY if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of TOMORROW ; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
Governor Felix, in Acts chapter 24, who was privileged to hear the Gospel, and was so convicted of his need for a Saviour that he actually “trembled”, but what did he do? He procrastinated, or he “put it off”, and he told the Apostle Paul in verse 25, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Friend, we never read where Governor Felix ever had “a convenient season”, or another chance to get saved. No, his chance for salvation had come and gone, and TODAY, even as you read these words, Governor Felix is suffering in the eternal flames of Hell.
What about the rich and foolish man in Luke chapter 12. He was so blessed by God that he didn’t have any more barn space in which to store his fruits, so he decided to tear down his barns, and build larger barns to replace them. He says in verse 19, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Then we read in the next verse, “But God said unto him, Thou fool, THIS NIGHT thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
Over in Genesis 6:3, God says, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man”, and neither He shall. Furthermore, if the Holy Spirit of God should stop striving for your soul TODAY, you would be as sure of being in Hell FOREVER, as though you were already there! No, you would NEVER have another opportunity to get saved; and as far as you’re concerned, the door of God’s grace would be shut, and you would have nothing to look forward to, but the terrible wrath of a sin-hating God, FOREVER.
Still another warning given by God is found in Acts 17:30, where we’re told that God “NOW commandeth all men every where to repent.” When does God want “all men every where to repent?” N-O-W, NOW! Not TOMORROW, or NEXT WEEK, or NEXT YEAR, but NOW! Again in Luke 14:17, God is inviting the sinner to the “Gospel Supper” and He says, “Come for all things are NOW ready.”
I’m reminded of what we read in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?”