John Claeys
I. INTRODUCTION
“Will those who never heard get a second chance to be saved?” is a legitimate theological question that needs to be answered, for it inherently relates to the understanding of the gospel (the good news of eternal salvation). While this article seeks to answer this question, there lies, behind the theological question, a haunting moral question that is often presented as a stumbling block to the gospel. The moral question is: “How could a good and loving God condemn to hell someone who has never heard the gospel?” We will begin with this second (moral) question—and how many theologians answer it—and then proceed to answer the first (theological) question.
A. The Answer Based on Calvinism
For many Calvinists, how a good and loving God could condemn to hell someone who has never heard the gospel is an irrelevant question.1 After all, their view is that God brings about faith in the elect because He has already chosen to save them on some other basis, external to the individuals involved.2 So God, from eternity past, has elected some to spend eternity with Him and the rest to spend eternity in hell, away from His presence. Thus, for Calvinists, this is a question that need not, or cannot, be answered, since one’s eternal destiny rests fully in the determination of God. Calvinists believe it is therefore fruitless to deal with this question.
B. The Answer Based on General Revelation
For theologians such as Millard Erickson, Clark Pinnock, et al., salvation is only found through Jesus Christ; however, some who have never heard of Him may be saved. This understanding is “based on a belief in the efficacy of general revelation for a salvific relationship to God.”3 Erickson cites OT saints who were saved without hearing the name of Jesus.4 Pinnock states: “It is my opinion that, whereas objective salvation is clear (i.e., through Christ alone—Jn 14:6), subjective salvation is not so straightforward (i.e., how one is saved by Christ).”5 Thus, this view rests upon an objective/subjective salvation.
According to this view, while God mandates that people are eternally saved by believing in Jesus Christ, those who never hear His name could be eternally saved by coming to believe in God through general revelation (general truths that can be known about God through nature).6 However, this view would seem to discourage evangelism, as a person may be better off not hearing the name of Jesus––which he or she may reject, to the detriment of his or her eternal state—since the subjective nature of general revelation seems to provide salvation simply by a person acknowledging the existence of God.
C. The Answer Based on Condemnation for Sin
There is a third way Christian theologians answer the question: “How could a good and loving God condemn to hell someone who has never heard the gospel?” According to this group, the answer is: “Salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus—in this life only; however, condemnation is based on our sin.” In Faith Comes by Hearing, Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson write:
How could it be fair and just for those who have never even had a chance to hear the gospel, which is necessary for salvation, to be condemned to hell? The question sounds powerful, but behind it lie faulty assumptions. The first mistaken assumption is that our condemnation is based on a rejection of the gospel. Scripture teaches that our condemnation is based on the fact that we are sinners, not because at some point in time we rejected the gospel.7
At first, that may sound reasonable, except that this view is not Biblically correct. It conflicts with proclamations such as: “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29); “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2). The point of these verses is that Jesus has already made propitiation for the sins of the entire world. This means that eternal life is only received by believing Jesus for it, and condemnation is based only on not believing Jesus for eternal life. Jesus made that declaration in John 3:18: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
That could not be stated any more clearly. Therefore, this view is incorrect. Since Jesus has already made the propitiation for sin on behalf of all humanity, condemnation does not come because of one’s sins, but because of one’s unbelief in Jesus Christ.
D. The Answer Based on Obtaining Salvation after Death
There are others, even some in the Free Grace community, who would answer the question in this way: “Salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus, but people may obtain salvation after death.” Since the rest of this article will refute that answer, suffice it to say that I believe this view is also Biblically incorrect.
E. The Answer Based on Not Obtaining Salvation After Death
There is one Biblically correct response to the question: “How could a good and loving God condemn to hell someone who has never heard the gospel?” The correct response is: “Eternal salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus, and no one will obtain salvation after death. If one does not believe in Jesus for eternal life prior to death, it means that the individual was not open to the gospel and never will be.”8 The rest of this article will flesh out this view.
II. FOR THOSE WHO ARE OPEN, GOD PROVIDES EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE HIS SALVATION
A. God Desires All Men to Be Saved (1 Tim 2:4)
Regarding this discussion, 1 Tim 2:3b-4 presents this critical revelation: “God our Savior…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” If God truly “desires all men to be saved,” then certainly God will afford every opportunity for those open to the gospel to hear the saving message to believe in Jesus for eternal life.
B. God Made His Salvation Incredibly Easy to Receive
Because God desires all men to be saved, He made His salvation incredibly easy to receive. As you know, He sent His own Son, Jesus, into this world to provide that salvation for us. Jesus lived a perfect life and then offered the perfect sacrifice on behalf of all people. Just before He died, Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He had done everything necessary to satisfy God’s perfect standards. At His death, Jesus had made propitiation for the sins of the entire world (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2).9 Therefore, for people everywhere (and in every epoch) to receive God’s salvation, all that remains is to believe Jesus for His promise of eternal life (John 3:16-18; 6:47; 11:25-26; 1 Tim 1:16). It could not be simpler or easier for anyone, regardless of who they are or what they have done, to receive God’s salvation. This leads us to our next point.
C. Those Open to God’s Salvation Will Hear and Believe
1. Examples from the OT
In giving Solomon directions for building the temple of God, King David said by the Holy Spirit: “For the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you…” (1 Chron 28:9).10 Though directed specifically to Solomon at the time, this is also a principle we see throughout Scripture. Those who seek God will be found by Him. This includes, as we will see in examples that follow, unbelievers who seek God.
Moses emphasizes this same point in another dramatically important highlight in Israel’s history. In preparing the Israelites to go into the Promised Land, Moses, as a prophet, foretold to his Jewish brethren that, due to their disobedience against the Lord, He would eventually drive them out of the land (of Israel) and into various nations where they would serve idols, further departing from the Lord God. However, as a ray of hope, Moses also revealed this: “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut 4:29). Thus, even after extreme rebellion, Jews who sincerely seek God “will find Him.”
The promise of Deut 4:29 will ultimately be fulfilled in the future toward the end of the seven-year Tribulation period; there is little (or no) indication that Jews who returned to the land following the reinstitution of the State of Israel in 1948 were, en masse, in a right (justified) relationship with God or that they came to “know God” (cf. John 17:3) following their return to the land. However, toward the end of the Tribulation there will be a mass fulfillment of Deut 4:29, during which “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:26). Moses is therefore predicting a time when unbelieving Jews will seek the Lord, and they will find Him.
2. Examples from the NT
In Matthew 13, after Jesus had spoken to the multitudes in parables, the disciples asked: “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered their inquiry by saying, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 13:11). Jesus went on to explain that He spoke in parables to the crowd because, “to them it has not been given…I speak to them in parables, because ‘seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand’” (Matt 13:13-15).
Jesus gave insight to His disciples because they openly sought the truth. This is demonstrated in the immediate context by their coming to Jesus and asking for the truth; however, we do not see that openness demonstrated by those in the crowd. In fact, in quoting from Isaiah 6, Jesus affirmed that those in the crowd were not open to the truth; therefore, they were not given it, at least not in terms they could understand.
An even clearer illustration of this point—that those open to God’s salvation will hear and believe—is found in John 6:45: “Therefore everyone who hears and has learned from the Father comes to Me.” While “comes to Me” in this context refers to believing in Jesus for eternal life,11 “hears and has learned” refers to something occurring before believing. Jesus uses “hear(s)” elsewhere, such as in Revelation (penned by the same author who wrote the Gospel of John) to refer to one who is open to the truth.12 Therefore, Jesus reveals in John 6:45 that those who are open—who hear and who learn from the Father— are those who will believe in Jesus for eternal life.
Cornelius, in Acts 10, is a classic example of the point that those who are open to God’s salvation will hear the gospel and will then believe in Jesus for eternal life. In Acts 10, an angel appeared to Cornelius and revealed: “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4). The angel then told Cornelius: “Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:13b-14). Cornelius open-heartedly sought the Lord, so the Lord provided for Cornelius to hear the gospel (by sending Peter to him), at which point he believed (Acts 10:34-48; 11:15-18).
Finally, the assertion I have been making is included in Paul’s address at the Areopagus in Athens, found in Acts 17. In verses 26-27, Paul proclaimed: “And He [God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
Regarding these verses, Josh McDowell commented: “Scripture appears to be saying that we are each ordained by God to be born exactly in the moment of history that gives us the opportunity to find Him. Some overlook this opportunity, some disregard it, and others eventually [believe in Jesus].”13 This means that those open to God’s salvation will find God by hearing the good news of eternal life, and then believe in Him for that life. However…
D. Those Who Do Not Hear of God’s Salvation Are Those Who Are Not Open to It
We touched on this point earlier, but it is worth revisiting for the sake of emphasis. Once again, when Jesus addressed a multitude in Matthew 13, His disciples approached Him and asked:
“Why do You speak to them [the multitude] in parables?” Jesus then answered: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given…I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand…For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed” (Matt 13:10-15).
Some who are not open to the gospel do hear the good news of eternal life through faith in Jesus. However, others who are not open will not hear the gospel. This follows God’s sage advice in Prov 9:7-8: “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself…Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” A scoffer is one who is not open to God’s truth, particularly the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, all who are open to the gospel of Jesus will eventually (in God’s perfect timing) hear the good news and believe in Jesus for eternal life. It therefore follows that if people die without hearing the gospel, it is because they were not open to it. They are scoffers who may never hear the clear presentation of the promise of eternal life given to anyone who believes Jesus for it.14
III. THE BIBLE GIVES NO EXAMPLE OF AN UNBELIEVER BELIEVING IN JESUS AFTER DEATH
The absence of even one example in Scripture, or even one Biblical statement, regarding someone believing in Jesus following death, appears to eliminate the viewpoint that some may believe in Jesus after death. How can one push that view if no Biblical examples and no verses in Scripture support it?
IV. IF A PERSON DOES NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS DURING THIS LIFE, WHAT WOULD PERSUADE HIM OR HER TO BELIEVE AFTER DEATH?15
A. A Miracle Will Not Be Enough to Persuade
This point is illustrated in Luke 16. A deceased man in torment in Hades asked Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his five brothers so they would not end up in hell. Abraham responded to that request in this way: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.”
The man then attempted to sway him by responding: “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”
Abraham’s final reply to the man was: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:25-31).
Abraham’s point was that if one is not open to the Scriptures, that individual will not believe even if he or she were to witness a miracle. As Jesus proclaimed to the Jewish religious folk: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
Along the same lines, Jesus’ signs (miracles) did not persuade those who were not open to God’s salvation. For example, after He healed a man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus (Matt 12:1314). Later, after quoting Isaiah’s announcement that God would put His Spirit upon the Messiah (Matt 12:18-21), Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, healed a man by casting out a demon. However, the religious leaders accused Jesus of performing this sign by the power of Satan (Matt 12:24). Later, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the religious leaders plotted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (John 11:46-53; 12:10-11).
Indeed, a further point can be made from these examples: If a miracle will not persuade one who is not open to the gospel in this life, why would it persuade that same individual after death? We have already seen that if one dies without hearing the gospel, it is because that person was not open to the gospel. If one is not open to the gospel in this life, a miracle will not persuade him to be open to it after death.
B. An Extreme Change in Circumstances Will Not Be Enough to Persuade
To make this point—that an extreme change in circumstances will not be enough to persuade someone after death—we return to the rich man in Hades. He said to Abraham: “If one goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30). Abraham immediately replied to correct his theology by stating: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).
Note that even after death, the man believed one needed to repent in order to escape his circumstances in hell. Abraham subtly corrected him by substituting persuade for repent. Persuade is a synonym for belief, while repentance in Luke (and elsewhere) involves works.16 In fact, the very reason the man was in hell was due to his misunderstanding that one needed to do good works/live a good life before God in order to escape hell. While Abraham pointed out his wrong theology, there is no indication that the man heeded it. Even after death—even after ending up in Hades—the man still believed good works could save. Thus, it appears that an extreme change in circumstances will not be enough to persuade one after death.
C. A Long, Long Time to Consider Truth Will Not Be Enough to Persuade
The first exhibit we will examine in support of this point—that even a long, long time to consider truth will not be enough to persuade someone after death—is found in Matt 7:21-23 where Jesus proclaimed:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Where might this interaction––between Jesus and those arguing that they need to be allowed into God’s kingdom––take place? The only conceivable opportunity for this to occur is at the Great White Throne Judgment, presented in Rev 20:11-15, at which unbelievers are judged according to their works (20:11-12). As in any courtroom, the Judge (Jesus) will apparently allow the defendants to present their cases. Some will argue their cases based on the great acts they did in Jesus’ name (Matt 7:21-23). Others, as in Luke 13:24-27, will present their petitions based on their association with Him at His first advent: “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.”17 Of course, His response in both cases will be: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
Both groups of petitioners will have a long, long time to consider the truth before presenting their cases. After all, the Great White Throne Judgment will occur a full thousand years after Jesus returns to the earth. This means that some of these will have at least three thousand years to consider what they will say to the King; even after all that time, they still will not have believed in Jesus for kingdom entrance.
Keep in mind that an extension of time does not necessarily work to the benefit of an unbeliever. This can be illustrated from 2 Thess 2:9-12 where we read:
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan…with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth.
The time frame this passage references is the last half of the Tribulation. The apostle Paul explains that those who previously were not open to “the love of the truth that they might be saved” will be handed over to deception. Not only will they be more susceptible to deception—both in this life and after death—but “God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth.”
Because of their lack of openness, God will say to them, “Okay; have it your way.” Because “they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” they will perish.
“Receiving the love of the truth is the same as believing in Jesus for eternal life…receiving the love of the truth equals believing the truth.”18 Thus, an extension of time does not necessarily work to the benefit of the unbeliever; in fact, given more time, the unbeliever can become more susceptible to deceit and hardness of heart.
V. THOSE CAST INTO HADES WILL NOT LEAVE HADES BEFORE BEING CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE
This point is presented in Revelation: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them…Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them” (Rev 20:11, 13).
Here, John uses dead (nekros) to refer to those who are spiritually dead unbelievers. At this judgment, those judged are “the dead… before God” (Rev 20:12). The “dead” at this judgment experience “the second death” in contrast to those whose names are in “the Book of Life” (20:15). This is the meaning John sees in this term, used by Jesus in John 5:25: “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [nekros] will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” (Note, also, how Paul uses this term in Eph 2:1.)
These “dead,” who have been in Hades for some time (some, such as OT unbelievers, possibly thousands of years) will not escape the lake of fire. As we observe in Rev 20:15: “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Because their names are not in the Book of Life, due to their not believing in Jesus for eternal life, they will enter the lake of fire.
Returning to Luke 16 and the formerly rich man in Hades, we observe that the rich man clearly cannot escape from Hades. If he could, he would have warned his brothers himself. If there is a second chance for the rich man, the point of the whole account is undermined. In addition, the question must be posed: “Why would the man be so consumed with concern over the fate of his brothers if they can believe later?” The question answers itself.
VI. THOSE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE WILL NEVER LEAVE THE LAKE OF FIRE
As we learned earlier, all those currently in Hades will enter the lake of fire. Once in the lake of fire, there is no escape, as we see in Rev 14:11, which proclaims that “the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night…” Granted, this refers to unbelievers during the Tribulation, but what makes them different from unbelievers who have lived during other ages?
In addition, Jesus, in Mark 3:29, reveals that the condemnation of unbelievers is eternal. Condemnation is not described as a temporary condition until they believe. Thus, there is no time after death during which any unbeliever will believe Jesus for eternal life.
VII. SUMMARY
Those who never heard will not get a second chance to believe after death. Hebrews 9:27 reveals that “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” This verse indicates that there is no second chance following death—not for believers or unbelievers.19 Thus, those who die in unbelief will not get a second chance to believe in Jesus following death. (To illustrate to his Christian audience that there is no second chance after death, the author of Hebrews used the example of Esau, who gave up his birthright and could not get it back “though he diligently sought it with tears” [12:17].)
In addition, as we have seen, unbelievers who are not open to the gospel during their lives on earth will not be open to believing in Jesus for eternal life after death. Thus, no unbeliever will obtain salvation after death.
VIII. CONCLUSION
After reading this article, there still could be questions, so I want to take this opportunity to answer a couple that I can anticipate. One question might be stated something like this: “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow…” (Phil 2:10; also, Rom 14:11; Isa 45:23), so doesn’t that indicate that all unbelievers will eventually believe in Jesus?”
The answer to this question is “no.” This quotation indicates that all will eventually recognize Jesus as Lord, but recognizing Jesus as Lord is not the way to enter the kingdom, as Jesus reveals in Matt 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Doing the will of the Father involves believing in Jesus for eternal life (cf. Matt 21:28-32; John 6:40), not recognizing Him as Lord.
Another question may run something like this: “But could unbelievers eventually (after death) believe in Jesus, yet not be saved (receive eternal life)?”
The answer to this question is also “no.” We learn from 1 John 5:1 that “whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Therefore, one cannot believe Jesus is the Christ (the Giver of eternal life to whoever believes in Him for it) without receiving eternal life (being born again).
Furthermore, if God truly desires all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), why, then, would He put a “stopwatch” on the time frame (from birth to death) during which people could believe and be saved? Does God truly desire all men to be saved if, following death, they were to believe Jesus is the Christ, but God then said, “Too late! You did not believe in time.”
This does not present the Biblical God of love or the God who desires all men to be saved. Rather, God understands that if one will believe, he or she will either believe prior to death, or they will not believe at all.
I will conclude with an observation pointed out to me by Bob Wilkin. In John 11:26, Jesus proclaimed: “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die [italics added for emphasis].” Of course, Jesus was very purposeful with His choice of wording. Thus, the promise of eternal life is to those who live, not to those who have died. For if one will not believe prior to death, he or she will not believe following it.
1 Calvinists, for this article, are those who embrace Reformed theology. See the next footnote for further elaboration.
2 More specifically, they believe that at some point in time, God regenerates those He has elected from all eternity past, then grants them faith so they can believe the gospel. For example: “I think there are many texts that teach that the new birth precedes and brings about faith—in other words, texts that teach that the new birth, or regeneration, is the gracious, free, sovereign work of God prior to our new life in Christ, which creates that life and brings about faith.” (John Piper, “Does Faith Cause Regeneration?” Desiring God, Episode 1774, Apr 25, 2022, https://www. desiringgod.org/interviews/does-faith-cause-regeneration. Accessed Sep 3, 2023.) Also, “Regeneration precedes faith. That is, the power of faith, the power of believing, is a result not of an act of our will independently, but it is the fruit of God’s sovereign act of changing the disposition of our hearts and giving to us the gift of faith” (R. C. Sproul, “Regeneration Precedes Faith,” Ligonier.org, Oct 9, 2019, https://www.ligonier.org/posts/regeneration-precedes-faith. Accessed Sep 3, 2023).
3 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2013), 123.
4 Erickson, Christian Theology, 138. Clark, Pinnock, and John Stott are also examples of inclusivists. Pinnock states: “It is my opinion that, whereas objective salvation is clear (i.e., through Christ alone—John 14:6), subjective salvation is not so straightforward (i.e., how one is saved by Christ).” (Clark H. Pinnock, “An Inclusivist View,” in Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World, eds. Dennis L. Okholm and Timothy R. Phillips [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995], 157-68).
5 “‘Misgivings’ and ‘Openness’: A Dialogue on Inclusivism Between R. Douglas Geivett and Clark Pinnock,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (Summer 1998): 34.
6 Verses such as Ps 19:1 (“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.”) and Rom 1:20 (“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”) are used to promote general revelation.
7 Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A Peterson, Faith Comes by Hearing (Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 241. A similar way to answer this question is: “So when people ask what happens to the innocent guy in Africa who dies without ever hearing the gospel, I would say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he goes to heaven. However, before you begin to label me a heretic, consider: If there is an innocent guy in Africa who has never heard the gospel, then he doesn’t need a Savior. He hasn’t done anything wrong, so why would he be separated from God? But that’s precisely the problem: There is no innocent guy in Africa or Asia. Every one of us has rejected the knowledge of God, so we are not innocent.” East-West Staff, “What Happens to Someone Who Never Hears the Gospel?” https://blog.eastwest.org/what-happens-to-someone-who-never-hearsthe-gospel. Accessed Mar 18, 2023.
8 There is one exception to this statement: I understand children who die under the “age of accountability” will have the opportunity in the millennial kingdom to believe in Jesus. See John Claeys, A New World Coming, 136-45 for a discussion of this subject. Thus, this statement references any adult who does not believe the gospel prior to death.
9 This means Jesus satisfied God’s demand regarding sin for all people.
10 First Chronicles 28:12 states that David had received all the plans for building the temple “by the Spirit.” However, it is most likely that not only the plans regarding the temple, but also David’s instruction to, and exhortation of, the one (Solomon) who would be leading this immense project, came by the Spirit. In addition, we know David was also a prophet who spoke by the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt 22:42-44; Acts 1:16; 2:25-30), and it is most probable that, in giving these critical instructions regarding the all-important temple, David had not only received these directions from the Spirit, but also relayed them as well as other essential revelation (such as the one to Solomon mentioned above).
11 See John 6:35, where Jesus announces: “He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Here, Jesus is presenting synonymous parallelism in which the second half of the statement is a reiteration of the first half. That means that “comes to Me” has the same meaning as “believes in Me.” See Robert N. Wilkin, Is Calvinism Biblical? (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017), 25, where Wilkin states that even “Calvinists agree that coming to Jesus in John 6:35 refers to believing in Him” and then cites some (such as John MacArthur and John Piper) who agree with that understanding.
12 Examples include Rev 2:7, 11, 17; 3:6, 13, 22.
13 Josh McDowell, “What Happens to People Who Die Without Hearing the Gospel?” https:// www.josh.org/what-happens-die-without-hearing-the-gospel/?mwm_id=496610987446&utm_ campaign=MW_googlegrant&mwm_id=496610987446&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwtWgBhDhARIsA EMcxeAQmXjli0lXFZC5RY3SrSXV3QxnzQ85s_TLBKkZku3tBy2Tqe9F-0AaAnD9EALw_ wcB. Accessed Mar 18, 2023. For purposes of clarification, the quote has been modified from “wholeheartedly accept Him” to “believe in Jesus.”
14 If God allows a scoffer (one not open to the gospel) not to hear the gospel, this determination is a merciful provision by God. The more one rejects a clear presentation or demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the greater will be his or her judgment in the future. This is illustrated in Luke 10 in Jesus’ instructions to the seventy He sent out to the surrounding cities. In verses 10 and following, He explains that it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment (Great White Throne Judgment) than for those who reject these ambassadors of the Messiah who were among them. Therefore, since there will be a greater condemnation for those who reject a clear presentation of the good news of Jesus, it is a merciful provision of God not to allow some scoffers to hear the gospel.
15 In using person, the writer is referring to an adult. See the footnote 8, referring to children who die under the age of accountability.
16 Note Jesus’ comment in Luke 11:32: “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.” When we go back to Jonah to learn the results of Jonah’s preaching, here is what we find: “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10). In comparing Jesus’ statement in Luke and God’s view in Jonah, we observe that repentance involves works. Thus, repentance cannot equal believing in Jesus for eternal life.
17 Of course, this group will consist of first-century Jews from Israel.
18 Robert N. Wilkin, “Second Thessalonians,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 2:956.
19 Each classification will have its own judgment. Believers will face the Judgment Seat of Christ, while unbelievers will encounter the Great White Throne Judgment. Neither group will have a second chance to prepare for their judgment.
