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NASB | Revelation 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 21:8 "But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." |
Subject: Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? |
Bible Note: Thanks for some great thoughts! Question... If God reveals Himself to all people, are there really any unreached people? If Paul attests that all are without excuse, then one would think that there must be a means of faith provided with God's revelation to all, otherwise they would have an excuse. I don't think we have enough information to know how God does this, but we often don't know how God does things. We just trust that He does. There are many OT Scriptures where people trust God for their salvation (Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah among others), all looking forward to, but without specific knowledge of, Jesus. Similarly, Jesus does not condemn the woman caught in adultry (John 8:3 et al), though she did not know Him or show a relationship with God in her life. I believe that John 14:6 means that salvation comes only through the substitutionary payment of our debt by Christ, and that this is the all-sufficient means of God's grace. How God reveals this to every human, I do not know. A continuing theme throughout Scripture (OT and NT)is that the righteous shall live by faith, and salvation is only by faith. I am not convinced that God is bound by our understanding of His ability to reveal Himself. I am certain that however He does it, Christ is the only means of salvation for the sinner. I also, for the record, believe that God is relational, and that He desires for us to share in the joy of delivering the Good News to the world. Thus, the Great Commission. But this is a long way from saying that the eternal life of those living in remote places is dependent on our success as missionaries. I ask... is Jesus dependent upon disciples to carry the message? Jesus answers in Luke 19:39-40... "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" God is God, and we don't always understand His limitless capabilities. I thank Him for His grace and that He paid the price for my sin. For others, I pray that I'm not just one of the "lucky chosen". |