Possible Answer To A Tough Question: If a Person Has Not Ever Heard About Jesus, let alone the Bible, Are They Destined To Go To Hell?
 |
________________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE TEST EACH BLOG I POST WITH STUDY, RESEARCH, AND PRAYER. JUDGE MY WORDS AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD AND THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AND THEORIES I USE TO SUPPORT MY STUDY TO ENSURE MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH BOTH THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE.
___________________________________________________________________________________
There is a problematic question
that non-Christians and Christians alike have justifiably asked church
leaders and Christians in general: “Since the Judeo-Christian Bible says the
only way to be saved and go to heaven is by accepting Jesus as their Lord and
Savior, what happens to people or cultures throughout world history, beginning from
the antediluvian
period – “[Of] or relating to the period before
the flood described in the Bible” [1]
– to present-day that never heard the name, Jesus, let alone anything about the
Bible; are they destined to go to hell?
Well, I believe the Holy Spirit
has given me an answer to this question through a dream I had several weeks ago.
To ensure what was revealed to me was from the Holy Spirit, I studied,
researched scripture, and prayed to ensure the revelation I received was
biblically sound. I respectfully request that you do the same and talk with a
trusted Christian leader or friend before accepting what I say.
First,
It Is Important To Remember….
It is important to remember that when
God makes a promise or covenant – “a
usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement”[2]
– He does not break His Word; God’s Word is bond! The following scriptures
support this.
 | |
|
Psalm 89:34 (NKJV)
My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)
“So shall My
word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it
shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I
sent it.”
Malachi 3:6 (NKJV)
“For I am the
Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Biblical Evidence
That Jesus Personally Fulfilled His Great Commission To The Antediluvian and
Pre-Resurrection Era Peoples
After Jesus said, “Eli, Eli,
lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? [then]
cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit,”[3]
and died on the cross, but before His resurrection and sit at the right hand of
God; Jesus had a scheduled appointment to visit Sheol – “(Hebrew),
refers to the grave or the abode of the dead ( Psalms 88:3[4]
Psalms 88:5[5]
)”[6]
– where everyone who died from the antediluvian era to pre-resurrection period,
Jesus made a special guest appearance to preach the Gospel to every person in
hell.
I posit Jesus went to Sheol Himself
to preach the Gospel and fulfill His Great Commission to the pre-resurrection period
dead, as He told His apostles (and Christians) to do when He visited with them after
His resurrection.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV):
The Great Commission
“18 And
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. 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, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
The Apostle
Peter, in 1 Peter 3:18-20
and 1 Peter 4:1-6, writes
about Jesus going to hell to preach the Gospel:
1 Peter 3:18-20
(NKJV)
18 For
Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19
by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who
formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight
souls, were saved through water.
1 Peter 4:1-6 (NKJV)
1 Therefore,
since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same
mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that
he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of
men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime
in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts,
drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 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.
What
About People Who Were Alive After Jesus’s Resurrection And Had Zero Knowledge About
Him Or The Bible From Antiquity to Modernity?
The short answer to this question,
I posit, is that Jesus will and is doing the same as He did when He visited
with the dead during the pre-resurrection period. Especially since we have been
told that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”[7]
Pre-Great
Tribulation: OK, So What About People Who Have Heard The Gospel?
The Bible is crystal clear on
this point, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:16-21 (NKJV).
John 3:16-21 (NKJV): For God So
Loved the World
16 For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God
did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved. 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. 19 And this is the
condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone
practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds
should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that
his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
In Luke 16:19-31 (NKJV), Jesus, when
confronted by Pharisees “when they attempted to ridicule Him,”[8]
told them the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus makes two critical
points regarding the rich man’s request that Abraham warn his brothers that if
they continue to live as they do, they will suffer the same judgment as the
rich man; they, too, will be sentenced to hell.
1.
‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them.’ (v.29)
2.
‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ (v.31)
Here is an excellent short film
dramatizing The Rich Man and Lazarus' story.
“Rich Man and Lazarus - gospel - full movie” posted by “zending in eigenland” YouTube channel.
End
of Days: God Goes To Extraordinary Extremes During The Great Tribulation To
Save Humanity
During the Great Tribulation, popularly
known as the Apocalypse – “an event resulting in great destruction
and violent change”[9] – it is prophesized that the Holy Spirit, who
has been restraining the son of perdition, the Antichrist, until his ordained
time to be revealed (2
Thessalonians 2:1-12), will have three holy angels go throughout the world
to preach the Gospel to humanity.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God in Genesis 3:1-24, God told the serpent, Satan, the Seed of Eve (Jesus) will bruise His heel on the seed of the serpent (the Antichrist) head in Genesis 3:15.
2 Thessalonians2:1-12: The Great Apostasy
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Revelation 14:6-13 (NKJV): The Proclamations of Three Angels
Revelation 14 Explained in Detail – Who are the 144,000 in Revelation? // Three Angels Message. Post on Angels in the Glen YouTube channel.
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” 8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
To
Conclude
I hope this blog entry answers the question, or at least gives you something to ponder regarding “If a Person Has Not Ever Heard About Jesus, let alone the Bible, Are They Destined To Go To Hell?” Moreover, I hope I have presented biblical evidence of God’s love for humankind, respecting the free will of individuals to decide if they will accept God’s grace and salvation in Christ Jesus.
___________________________________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES
[1]
Merrian-Webster Dictionary. Accessed January 7, 2024. “Antediluvian.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antediluvian.
“[Of] or relating to the period before the flood described in the Bible.”
[2]
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Accessed January 9, 2024. “Covenant.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covenant.
[3]
Matthew 27:46, 50.
[4]
Psalm 88:3. https://biblehub.com/psalms/88-3.htm.
[5]
Psalm 88:5. https://biblehub.com/psalms/88-5.htm.
[6]
Bible Study Tool. Elwell, Walter A. "Entry for 'Sheol'.
"Evangelical Dictionary of Theology". . 1997.” https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sheol.
[7]
Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV).
[8]
Luke 16:14b (NKJV).
[9] Cambridge Dictionary. Accessed January 9, 2024. “Apocalypse.” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/apocalypse.
_______________________________________________________
Here is the sinner’s prayer if you are moved to give your life to Christ, and please send me an email if you would like me to say a prayer for you –
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins, rose from the dead, and are now sitting at the right hand of God the Father. I turn from my sins and invite You into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”
_______________________________________________________
Leni D. Anderson, MLIS, MA.AC, BA ArtH, AA
Comments
Post a Comment