The REST of the Dead
Christ spoke of a resurrection to LIFE, and a resurrection to "JUDGMENT" (John 5:29). The word rendered "damnation" in the Authorized Version is more correctly translated "JUDGMENT" from the original.
Notice how the Bible interprets the Bible on this important point!
John was inspired to say, "But the rest of the dead [those NOT included in the resurrection to eternal life at Christ's coming] lived not again UNTIL the thousand years were finished!" (Rev. 20:5) The words following this parenthetical statement then refer back to the FIRST resurrection of the dead in Christ!
But the REST of the dead — those millions having never heard; never having an opportunity for salvation "lived not again UNTIL the thousand years were finished!"
Notice verses 11 through 15! "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God; and the BOOKS were opened: and ANOTHER book was opened which is the book of life: and the dead were JUDGED [not sentenced, or "condemned," but JUDGED] OUT OF THOSE THINGS WHICH WERE WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. . . .
Notice what the Bible DOES NOT say! Millions have falsely pictured this event as a great "assembly line" of miserable humans, marching endlessly past a great "courtroom" — each told in his turn, "You go to heaven," "You go to hell!"
Isn't that the way YOU have always pictured it?
But that isn't what the Bible SAYS!
Your Creator says the dead will finally be judged OUT OF THINGS WRITTEN IN THE "BOOKS," and that they will be judged BY THEIR WORKS!
And what are those books? The original Greek word is "BIBLOS." And "Biblos" is translated correctly into English as "BIBLE." Surprising though it may seem, there is nothing "holy" about the word "Bible" when it is used by itself. But when the word "HOLY" is added to the word BIBLE, (which merely means BOOKS) then the meaning IS HOLY BOOKS! OF COURSE!
That is exactly how YOU will be judged. God says, "I CHANGE NOT!" (Mal. 3:6) Jesus Christ is THE SAME, yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). God will judge those people in the future JUST AS HE JUDGES TODAY!
And how does He judge HIS OWN PEOPLE?
"For the time is come that JUDGMENT must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that OBEY NOT the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4:17)
JUDGMENT is a "discerning." Those who are members of God's true Church, members of the very body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13) are being judged NOW! (I Peter 4:17)
And how are they being judged?
Christ said, ". . . Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). "Thy word is truth," (John 17:17) said Jesus Christ. The books or "Biblos" which are the laws by which YOU and I are judged are the books of your own Bible! Each Christian is judged, according to his WORKS, based upon the Word of God.
Your God is fair. God does not judge You by one "method," and then judge multiple millions, or even billions of other human beings by a totally DIFFERENT standard. Think about it for a moment.
Does it make sense to you that millions of people could be sent to a supposed "ever-burning hellfire," helplessly and uselessly beating at the flames that threaten to engulf them, shrieking in hideous and all-consuming agony forever and ever and ever — for all eternity, just because a missionary had a flat tire?
Let's follow it further. Perhaps (and this is not so farfetched but that it could have been true), a missionary was striving to reach a tiny Chinese village. Let's assume the missionary ran into trouble with his ancient old Ford automobile, and received a severe tire puncture on the rough and rocky road. Perhaps the missionary labored several hours under the hot sun to repair his tire — arriving at the village several hours later than he had intended. Meanwhile, the elderly grandfather of the family upon which he was about to call had "passed away." Mind you, this missionary was going to bring the "name" of Christ to this isolated Chinese family.
But the grandfather DIED! All during his lifetime he never ONCE had an opportunity to even hear the name of Christ — let alone hear one word out of the Word of God or one word from a missionary, teacher, preacher, government official, or even a neighbor about his responsibilities before God.
Rather, he had been reared in the Taoist or Buddhist religion.
Does it make sense to your rational mind that this elderly Chinaman would then be doomed to spend ALL ETERNITY in an ever-burning hellfire because a missionary had a flat tire?
Preposterous!
And so is it preposterous according to your Bible!
No, your God is a just God! He treats all human beings equally! He deals the same way with Chinese as with Africans, the same with Americans as with Britons, the same with Australians as with Germans, and the same with Asians as with Latin Americans!
Those who have never had an opportunity to learn about God's Word and His laws, who have never even heard the only name whereby man must be saved (Acts 4:12) must have that opportunity!
Religious hobbyists, arguers, scoffers, and bigoted antagonists will oftentimes accuse the Great Creator for this masterful plan of offering a so-called "second chance"!
With boiling rage, many a religious hobbyist has shrieked his venom at any supposed "second chance"!
But is this a second chance? When, pray tell, did these millions of wretched, hapless, disillusioned and illiterate souls ever have a "FIRST" chance?
They never did.
But they will.
God says, "But the REST of the dead lived not again UNTIL the thousand years were finished!"
And these will be resurrected to "judgment" which is NOT a sentencing based upon deeds they did in ignorance. But is, rather, a period of 100 years duration (Isaiah 65:20) during which every one of these multiple millions, perhaps even billions of human beings must have the same opportunity you have!
How RIGHTEOUS, how just, how merciful, and how PERFECT is the great plan of God!
What happens, then, if a loved one of yours died not having "understood" much of the Word of God?
The FIRST CHANCE — for Everyone!
Death IS DEATH — the complete absence of life and consciousness. Remember, your Bible reveals the "dead KNOW NOT ANYTHING." There is no consciousness of the passing of time. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man "lift up his eyes" in a resurrection — unaware that thousands of years had passed between the time when he died and his yet future resurrection. If you have not yet read the gripping booklet on Lazarus and the Rich Man, then write for your free copy immediately.
The MAJORITY of those dying today in all nations ARE NOT CONVERTED!
The majority of those having died through past centuries died with NO KNOWLEDGE of Christ, of the Bible, of the way to salvation.
But they are NOT hopelessly lost. They must have their first chance for salvation.
Notice what God says about His own specially chosen people, Israel. "What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (according as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber; eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day" (Rom. 11:7-8).
Are God's own elect (Isaiah 44:1; 45:4) LOST FOREVER because God Himself has caused them to be BLINDED to His truth?
No! Notice the proof! "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom. 11:25).
God has a TIME SCHEDULE He is working out. He WILL finally give all those ancient Israelites — whose hearts were hardened, who DID NOT KNOW the way to salvation — their FIRST chance!
Notice it. "And SO ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED!" (Rom. 11:26)
He says further, "For God hath concluded them [shut them up in unbelief — original] all in unbelief, that He might have mercy on all!" (Rom. 11:32)
. God our Savior; Who will have ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:3, 4).
Every human being WILL be given an opportunity to hear, and to understand the Word of God. He will then make up
HIS OWN MIND; make HIS OWN decision about WHETHER he will obey!
What about Suicide?
And what if someone kills HIMSELF? Will he be resurrected?
Of course! Suicide is SELF-murder. God commands, "Thou shalt NOT KILL" and says the wages of sin, which is the breaking of God's Ten Commandments (I John 3:4), is death (Rom. 6:23).
In the case of suicide, the penalty is the same as for any other broken law. In the resurrection AFTER the millennium of PEACE on the earth (Rev. 20:5); the resurrection to judgment, any person having committed suicide will learn the enormity of his sin; will HEAR the Word of God, just like the millions of others who committed sins, and who died not having the knowledge of the truth.
Is There A Hellfire?
Believe it or not, the Bible shows there must be a THIRD and FINAL resurrection'! This time, a resurrection to DEATH — by fire — for those who have deliberately and willfully sinned.
Remember, there are THREE CLASSES OF PEOPLE with whom God is dealing. Those who have repented, and, whether living or dead, will rise to meet Christ in the air (I Thess. 4:15-18), coming down ON THAT DAY with Him to the mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4) to RULE with Him for 1,000 years (Rev. 2:26; 3:21; 5:10; 20:4). Then there are the millions of those who have never understood — the "REST" of the dead (Rev. 20:5).
And then there are those who WILL not choose to repent — who are finally to lose out on salvation.
Notice the Bible proof!
After the millennium of Christ's rule on earth; even AFTER the picture of the Great White Throne resurrection to JUDGMENT (Rev. 20:11-12), God says, "And death and hell [Greek word, "Hades" meaning THE GRAVE] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death!" (Rev. 20:14)
A grave is only a grave when it contains a body. This scripture speaks of a resurrection to physical life, for the incorrigible evil, and a "GEHENNA" fire destroying them!
Read what God inspired the prophet Malachi to write: "For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up . . . and ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet . . ." (Mal. 4:1-3).
The GEHENNA fire of your Bible is MUCH HOTTER than the pagan myth of an "ever-burning" fire. This fire really burns — it destroys!
Write for the booklet about Lazarus and the Rich Man. It explains how the rich man comes up in THIS final resurrection — only to see the advancing wall of flame before him. There is a mighty REAL FIRE revealed in the Bible — GEHENNA (Greek word) fire.
Peter said, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up!" (II Pet. 3:10)
But before giving this awesome warning of impending DESTRUCTION of the wicked, Peter again shows the righteous MERCY of the LOVING God, who ". . . is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance!" (II Pet. 3:9)
There is the real TRUTH about death — from your own Bible! Death is DEATH — without consciousness. A resurrection is the hope of the dead — not living for all eternity in some fanciful "limbo" or compartment of "heaven" or "hell."
The stories you've heard all your life about the boiling pots or the "pearly gates" are sheer MYTH!
But the plain truth of your Bible is CLEAR!
What a great blessing it is to know the TRUTH about death! And how especially comforting is this knowledge when you must literally see death come to a loved one!
God's great and merciful PURPOSE in our lives is achieved because Christ conquered death! He will soon release those who are "waiting" for their change to come — and that day is much nearer, now, than you may think!