A Second Chance For Salvation?

A magazine article I read recently seems to say that the unsaved dead don’t suffer eternmal punishment, but will have a chance to accept salvation at the Great White Throne judgment if they’ve never heard the Gospel before.

Q. Have you ever come across the Tomorrow’s World magazines? I’ve been reading them for a year now but don’t agree with everything they say.

One article I read seems to say that the unsaved dead don’t suffer eternmal punishment, but will have a chance to accept salvation at the Great White Throne judgment if they’ve never heard the Gospel before. If they accept they’ll be saved then, and if not they’ll be destroyed along with all the others who rejected Jesus. Overall I don’t agree with a lot of the things they say here, because the references, or lack of, don’t directly support what they say, even though they write it as if they do. Overall, what is your view on the existence of Hell, and what they say in the article about certain people getting a ’second chance’ at the White Throne Judgement?

A. You’re right. There are several things this article teaches that aren’t biblically accurate, and as you’ve pointed out, the Bible is clear on the eternal suffering for those who don’t choose to accept God’s pardon during their lifetimes. And while God is merciful, He’s also absolutely just. Therefore any doctrine that portrays Him as some sort of tyrant who would consign innocent victims to eternal punishment is a violation of his absolute justice.

If God is both merciful and just, it stands to reason that if He holds each person accountable for the choices of his or her life, then He has to give everyone the opportunity to make an informed choice based on the knowledge available to them before they die. This is consistent with Hebrews 9:27, Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment. Just because we don’t understand how this happens, doesn’t mean that it can’t. We’re a lot safer believing that God can make things like this work out, than inventing interpretations of His word that fit our limited perspective.