David Berg
DFO 2698 5/87—Everyone Will Have Their Chance!
1. The Christian Missionary Alliance had a lot of stories about people deep in the jungle & chieftains etc. who had never heard of Jesus, never knew anything about the Gospel, had never even seen a missionary, who really cried out in their hearts for an answer to life & their sins & all. They just instinctively knew there was a God & they cried out to God for help. They didn't even really know what they wanted, but of course it was Salvation, & what they needed was to know the Lord.
2. You've probably heard this story before, & there were many cases that followed this general idea, where the Lord speaks to them in their sleep or in a dream, or gives them a vision of a man whom they've never seen & the Lord tells them, "This man is going to give you the answer to your problems!"—And when the missionary showed up he recognised the missionary.
3. It's a lot like what happened to Cornelius!—Acts 10. The Lord gave them visions on both ends!—He gave Cornelius a message that he should send to Joppa for a man called Peter & that Peter would tell him the Words of Eternal Life etc.‚ & He gave Peter a vision that this guy was coming & what he should tell him. So there's an example of that. Cornelius was a good man who treated his servants fairly & was trying to serve God.
4. (Maria: What do you tell Buddhists & Muslims & Hindus when they say, "Well, if Jesus is for everybody‚ how come the West has had so much opportunity & so much chance & we in the East haven't heard? That's not a merciful God. Even if He is for everybody‚ how come we haven't had an opportunity?")—That's not God's fault, that's the fault of His messengers & His people to whom He gave the Message & told them to spread it! It wasn't His business to do it, the Church was supposed to do it, but the Church got bogged down in controversies & building church buildings & ceased evangelising the World!
5. Missionaries did get to some of those countries very early & there were large numbers of people converted to Christianity, but there were even larger numbers of people who rejected it & even wiped out the Christians & massacred them, & therefore wiped out the Christian faith & Christianity in those countries. This happened in different degrees in China, Japan & India. (Maria: Burma too.) The Gospel reached some of those countries fairly early, but they rejected it & even wiped it out. So the fact that they are in heathen darkness is due to some of their own people & their own history!
6. (Maria: But I wonder why God let it happen? Maybe the Lord knows it's not that crucial‚ because He knows that He's still going to give them a chance & that this life is just a drop in the bucket, such a momentary thing in the overall plan, & that it can be rectified later on.)
7. How do you know He's not giving them a chance just as soon as they die & then they learn the Truth? They could be getting saved in the next World just as fast as they're dying, in the Spiritual World, as soon as they see & hear & know the Truth! The Catholics believe that such cases go to a place called Limbo where they're held until they're given a chance to either hear the Gospel or know the Truth & make their own decision, & they're probably not so far off on that doctrine either.
8. They also believe in Purgatory‚ a place where people will be punished for a certain length of time, if they deserve punishment, & then finally released.—The Lord indicated that too! He said, "The servant that knew his Master's will & did things worthy of punishment will be given many stripes," in other words, great punishment. "But the servant who knew not his Master's will & did things worthy of stripes will be given very few stripes," very little punishment.—Luke 12:46-48.
9. In the first Chapter of John he says‚ "This is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World!"—Jn.1:9. He says, & this is the trouble, this is the problem, this is the condemnation, that the Light came into the World but they rejected it! "And this is the condemnation‚ that Light is come into the World, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."—Jn.3:19. "That was the True Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the World. He was in the World & the World was made by Him, & the World knew Him not. He came unto His Own, & His Own received Him not."—Jn.1:9-11.
10. So the condemnation of Man is that the Light has come into the World & they have rejected it! That passage alone is enough to convince anybody that everybody is going to be given a chance to hear or see or understand the Gospel, to get the Light of Jesus! This is the Light! Jesus is the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the World, so that they're either going to be given a chance in this life or the next life.
11. And my goodness, who would reject the Lord in the next life when they can see it & know it all?—And obviously see what'll happen to them if they do reject the Lord, maybe even see the Hell they're going to! Who is not going to take a fire escape then when they can already see the fire? That's why they won't get as much credit when they see it & therefore know it & don't even have to have faith to believe it! They won't be given as much credit as we who now having not seen have believed! As Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are ye who having seen have believed, but more blessed are they who having not seen have believed!"—John 20:29.
12. So everybody who finally accepts the Lord, whether it's in this life or the next, is going to be saved! But those who accept Him now purely by faith, without sight, without seeing the Next World, or even the Lord‚ but only by hearing about Him & believing, are more blessed! In this dispensation, this Age now, faith comes by hearing, whereas in the Next World, faith cometh by sight. They'll see it & know it. But now we only know it by the Word, except for special people & special revelations & all.
13. Even the gifts of the Spirit are manifestations of the power of the next World‚ so in a sense they're sometimes a visible or audible proof of the Spirit World & the Power of God & the Truth of the Gospel. But in a sense‚ people still haven't really seen it‚ except perhaps Prophets who have visions & dreams of it, because, of course, that is the most convincing to some people for whom seeing is believing.
14. The rule & the law that God has laid down now is that believing is seeing. You must believe first & then you'll see, & maybe not even till the Next World will you see. (See 2Cor.5:7.) But the rule for the Next World is that seeing is believing & it's going to be very easy to believe then because you can see.
15. But apparently some are still going to rebel! Like Satan—he knows, he's seen it all, & still he's a rebel! Still he doesn't want to yield or obey, he's proud & self-righteous & disobedient! So obviously there are even going to be a lot of people just like him.
16. There are going to be rebels who, having seen the Kingdom of God on Earth & seen the manifestation of the power & seen us angelic beings with tremendous supernatural powers & who know the personal visible presence of God on Earth & even see the Holy City hanging there in the sky in the Millennium, still at the end of the Millennium they are going to rebel against it & even try to attack the Christians that are saved in the Millennium—natural‚ physical people who are apparently not yet transformed, who have evidently not yet received their spiritual bodies, but who apparently are translated or even raptured, you might say‚ at the end of the Millennium when the forces of Satan surround them & there's no way out but Up! Obviously the Lord takes them out by some method & then destroys the rest & the whole surface of the Earth!
17. So there are people who even though having seen, yet they will not believe—Jesus said so! He said even though one were to come back from the dead, yet they will not believe!—Luke 16:31. Their hearts are hardened like the Scribes & the Pharisees. He said, "They have Moses & the Prophets"—they have the Scriptures, they have the Word—"even if one were to come back from the dead‚ yet they will not believe!" And they saw a number of people come back from the dead during that time of Jesus on Earth! They saw the resurrection, or at least the healing‚ of a number of people who were raised from the dead, & they still didn't believe!
18. So there are people who are so hard of heart & rebellious & anti–God & anti-Christ that even if they see the power of God & see miracles & people rising from the dead & even see the Next World & the Millennium & the Kingdom of God on Earth, they will still be rebels & rebel against God, just like Satan! And boy‚ they are really going to get it! God knows how long they'll have to spend in Hell before they repent!
19. As for the millions who die every day, if they really are not to blame for not having heard the Gospel themselves, & have never heard it or rejected it, obviously they're going to get a chance in the Next World! Jesus even indicated that there was a chance at that time. He said those that reject the Holy Spirit, "those that sin against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven in this life nor in the next."—Mat.12:31‚32. So that's just as plain as can be!
20. That indicates there is forgiveness in the Next World of some sins!—But not for rejecting the Holy Ghost, meaning rejecting the conviction of the Spirit, those who reject what they feel‚ hear, see or whatever way it is that God speaks to them. In other words, they've had some chance of Salvation & have rejected it. By some means the Holy Spirit has gotten through to them & they have rejected it, so they've had their chance in this life & they're not going to be forgiven in this life nor the Next! Jesus Himself said this & it's as plain as can be! That shows there is forgiveness in the Next Life. Praise the Lord!
21. Just think of the horrible punishment the kings & leaders of the Eastern World deserve for having stamped out Christianity! There are traces of Christianity & definite evidence that Christianity was brought to nearly every nation in the Eastern World.—Definitely Japan, China & India! (Maria: And Burma.) They all have historical evidence that Christianity & the Message of Christianity did reach those countries, but that the leaders or kings or emperors or tyrants of those countries finally stamped it all out & slaughtered almost all the Christians!
22. Think of the punishment they deserve for having stopped Christianity & wiped it out so that others couldn't know about it or hear about it until more recent years when missionaries came! But now the missionaries have come to nearly all those countries. China had a great revival some years ago. Korea had a great revival & there are still a multitude of Christians in both North & South Korea as a result. I don't know that Japan ever had a great revival, but it has had oodles of Gospel!
23. So those countries can hardly say that they haven't heard. They may not have heard the pure Gospel like ours, but they've heard of Jesus & heard of Christianity. The trouble is, a lot of the Christianity they've heard of is so distorted & polluted & perverted churchianity! (Maria: A works trip like their own!) Yes, perverted so that they haven't really heard the Gospel of Grace, Salvation by Grace! They just go from one works religion to another. (Maria: Even if they hear it from the Word, the way the Christians act belies what they say. They look at them & all they see is works trips!)
24. Well‚ plenty of people are hearing the Gospel today, so hardly anyone has a right to complain! Even some of the most benighted countries have all received a lot of Gospel at some time or other & had a chance, so that they can hardly say that they never got a chance!
25. I believe that probably because of the perversion of the Christian religion now & the darkness of it, such as Catholicism & even a lot of Protestantism which teaches a works Salvation, that although they've heard something‚ what they heard didn't bring faith to save them. So that's not their fault. If they didn't get the right Message & therefore didn't believe it, that's not their fault, they'll get it in the Next Life! They'll get their chance to be forgiven There, as Jesus indicated! (Mat.12:32)
26. That's always been a mysterious verse to a lot of preachers, but it's just plain as day now to me! It means that however the Spirit worked on them to try to convince them & convert them, by hearing or seeing or even in their hearts the Lord tried to get through to them & they resisted it, they will not be forgiven in this World nor the Next World! They had their chance!
27. But those who have really not had their chance in this life are certainly going to get it in the next‚ that's for sure!—When they're passing through what the Catholics call Limbo, wherever it is, or just like Jesus went to visit the spirits in prison during His death time. (Mat. 12:40; 1Pet.3:19, 4:6; Eph.4:9) From the time He was crucified till the time He was resurrected, He preached the Gospel to the spirits in prison‚ & that to me means all of those who were then in Limbo, or wherever, who had not had a chance to hear the Gospel.—And some of them must have gotten saved or there wouldn't have been any point in preaching to them! Right? So they had their chance then. (See also "The Pied Piper Prophecy," ML#102; "Heaven, Hell & In-Between!", ML#1466.)
28. And obviously the others who die every day‚ perhaps as they die & enter the next World, then they see & know & believe & receive! They're given their chance right then & probably the Lord lets'm go some place. There was a place that was even indicated in the New Testament, a Paradise that is inside the Earth somewhere. They may not be immediately translated or go to Heaven like us, but they will not be punished because they're forgiven, saved by grace‚ & apparently will be finally judged at the Great White Throne Judgement when they're all resurrected.
29. It seems to be indicative of that, because Dives the rich man went straight to Hell, to his punishment, immediately, & Lazarus‚ the poor beggar‚ went straight to some kind of Paradise where Abraham was, & certainly that was some kind of Paradise or Heaven.—Luke 16:19-25. Obviously, either way they get it immediately—some go to Hell immediately because they don't repent & don't receive it, & others go immediately to either Heaven or Paradise or wherever the Lord has made provision for them.
30. So everybody will get their chance—everybody! "This is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World!" And "at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow," even those under the Earth.—Phil.2:10. Even those in Hell are going to bow down at the Name of Jesus, whether they like it or not! Everybody gets their chance‚ & those millions of heathen who are dying every day are undoubtedly getting their chance. Even if they haven't already had it, they're getting their chance immediately after death in the Next World to determine which way they go.
31. Just like the Angel meets the saved people at the end of the tunnel in those many after-death experiences & gives them another chance to go back & finish some unfinished business that they need to do, the Lord must have some kind of an Angel to meet the unsaved at the end of their tunnel & explain to them the Gospel of Salvation. If the Christians see their life like an open book & they face that Angel at the end of the tunnel & it's all revealed to them in what seems to be even a few seconds, why can't the Lord reveal to these dying heathen the same thing the minute they get to the end of their tunnel, wherever it goes? They could meet an Angel that reveals to them the Gospel & instantly they have a chance to receive it or reject it‚ & that determines where they finally end up!
32. There's a chance for everybody, but no one deserves more than one chance! If they reject it in this life, it doesn't mean they're going to get another chance to receive it in the Next Life. They had their chance! If they knowingly hear the Message of the Gospel of Grace & wilfully reject it in this life, they don't deserve another chance. But everyone will have their chance & is having their chance right now, whether in this life or the Next. Maybe that would be a good title for this: "Everyone Will Have Their Chance to be Saved!" God will give everyone a chance either in this life or in the Next!
33. So if they're not saved, it's not going to be God's fault! They will have had their chance & they themselves personally, knowingly, wilfully rejected it. You just wonder how anybody could do such a thing‚ but they do it in this life right now all the time, so that's how they can do it! Look how the Scribes & the Pharisees saw Jesus, saw Him work & do miracles, raise the dead & all the rest, & heard the Word, & still their hearts were so hardened they rejected Him! So they had their chance & the Lord said it was not going to be forgiven them in either this life or the next‚ that's it! They've had it!
34. Maybe a little more understandable title for this would be something that has a little more punch & is more direct & personal, like: "You've Had It, Buddy!" I don't believe in a second chance at all. I believe all that anybody deserves is one chance to really know it, hear it, understand it, perceive it, comprehend it & have the Holy Spirit convict them of the Truth‚ & then if they reject it, there's no more!—"No more place of repentance."—Heb.12:17.
35. I think that's what Hebrews 6 & Hebrews 10 are all about!—People who have heard it, seen it, tasted it, really had a chance & were convicted by the Holy Spirit that it was the Truth, & yet they turned against it, it says there will be no more renewing them to repentance.—Heb.6:4–6‚ 10:26,27. So if they've really heard the Gospel & understood it‚ but knowingly, willingly, rebelliously rejected it, they have had it, that's their last chance!—At least the last chance to be saved like we are.
36. (Maria: Here in this life it seems like the Lord gives some people quite a few chances!) Oh yes, but He doesn't have to give them any more. "My Spirit will not always strive with men!"—Gen.6:3. As my Mother used to preach‚ some people pass the point of no return! She used to illustrate it with that story about the boat on the Niagara River. There was a point where they had a sign that they were not supposed to go beyond that point near the Falls or there was no possibility of them being rescued, they were bound to be swept over the Falls with tons of water crushing them on the rocks below! It was called "The Point of No Return," & beyond that point there was no possibility of them saving themselves or being saved by others, they were bound to be swept over the Falls!
37. A lot of people are playing around with many chances‚ but one of these days God is going to give them their last chance & that's it! "You've had it, Buddy!" Think of what their guilt is going to be & the punishment they deserve for having had so many chances, like the American public & the Western public, so-called Christendom! They've heard so much & rejected so many times! They're going to be worthy of many stripes! "But they that knew not their Master's will," Jesus said plainly, "shall be beaten with only a few stripes."—Luke 12:46-48. We all deserve some punishment because all are sinners‚ but if they didn't know, then it wasn't their fault. Probably some of their stripes are going to be given to some of those so-called Christians in the U.S.A. who didn't become missionaries & go preach the Gospel to them! They deserve many stripes! You've had it, Buddy!
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Related Pubs
The following Letters also cover subjects mentioned in this Letter, for further reading & study: "Salvation in the Spirit World!" (ML #1476, Bk.5), "Singapore Sailor!—He's Released!" (ML #1262, Vol.13), "The Dangers of Rejection!" (ML #2421, GN 325).