There Are No "Second Chances"

In the book of Romans the Apostle Paul writes, “For there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:11). In other words, God is not a respecter of persons! So then what answer is there for the children who die prematurely? What happens to old atheist Uncle George? What is the answer for the Muslims, Hindus and “professing Christians” who continue to lie, steal and cheat? What happens to the guy who died in Papua, New Guinea the day before Jesus Christ’s crucifixion? What happens to your friends and dearest family members that you love so much, yet reject God currently? Man has been given 6000 years under the sway of Satan. We can go our own way—to try out our own ideas—to learn a whole lot of hard lessons through human sufferings (2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9). Untold billions have never had their minds opened to the truth—is God unfair (Acts 10:34)? What is the Biblical key to that unlocks these answers? It is just a matter of when God chooses to call each individual to the genuine knowledge of the truth. The real reason why Christ spoke in parables was so that people do not understand—He is not trying to convert the whole world right now (Mark 4:11-12), but He is also not condemning the deceived right now. There is a future time of judgment. The Bible says that it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah then the cities of Jesus’ day because these ancient cities did not have a genuine opportunity for salvation. And because those in Jesus’ time rejected Him in person (Matt. 11:21-24)! Those in ancient times were never presented with the truth—they never had a chance at all! For the first time, after the millennial period, literally billions of human beings will have a genuine opportunity for salvation and then they will be judged according to what they do at that time when there eyes are really opened to the truth. How will they be saved (John 10:1-8)? The only way to everlasting life is through Jesus Christ—any other way is condemned (Acts 4:10-12). The cities of Tyre and Sidon never had a genuine chance. They are not held responsible for being blinded. In fact, in Luke 10:13, Christ said if they would have seen the same mighty works being done—they would have repented! When will they be given a chance? The time sequence is found in Revelation: Chapter 19 refers to Christ’s return in full glory (vv14-16). In Revelation 20:2-3 we see Satan is cast into the bottomless pit. Why? Because he was deceiving the nations. Verses 4-6 refers to the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints (1 Cor. 15:50-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; Heb. 11:35; Matt. 5:5; Rev. 5:10). Verse 5 states, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” This is a parenthetical statement pointing to V11-12. The Rest of the dead points to the untold billions of blinded people who never knew the true God or His plan. Simply multi-billions of well-meaning people who are given there first real chance of salvation in the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-12)! This will truly be one of the most awesome events in human history. The rich, famous and the unknown will come together and for the first time come to understand why they were born—something the true Church knows now (1 Peter 4:17-18)! This event is depicted by the vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. These resurrected people are found standing before God—and books are opened. What books are opened? This word is derived from the Greek word biblion and therefore, is a reference to the books of the Bible. All the blinded people, from every century, will have the books of the Bible opened to their understanding—for the first time the veil will be lifted from their eyes! Finally, these people will have their first genuine opportunity to know God and to decide whether to repent and accept the real Jesus as Lord and Savior or to go their own way. The Book of Life is opened, meaning everlasting life is offered to billions of people for the first time. We are told in Philippians 4:3 that saints are already written in the book and in Revelation 21:27 that only those written in the Book of Life will inhabit New Jerusalem. How long is this judgment period? The Bible does not emphatically say how long the Great White Throne Judgment will be; however, it does seem to indicate a 100 year period as noted in Isaiah 65:20, “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.” This will be their first genuine opportunity for salvation! It will be a period long enough for a thorough opportunity to learn and grow (2 Peter 3:18) and to be tried and tested as to their willingness to live God’s way of life. They will be called and have a first chance to study and really understand the Bible. Then and only then will they be judged? Judged by how they respond to and obey the truth—separate from the works of their former lives (1 Tim. 5:17-21). God does not have a double standard—everyone deserves at least one real chance and to be judged by what they do after they have known the truth of God. Not a second chance, but a real first chance! In that sense, we can only kill Christ once (Heb. 6:4-6). God is not calling the majority of the world right now, but unless people knowingly and deliberately reject God, they will be given a genuine chance to understand, to really repent and to become truly converted in the Great White Throne Judgment.