Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on November 14, 1999 at 15:08:48 {fiuUEQ5dxUMSSTtTA17sslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: ******"Original Sin"? posted by honhea on November 14, 1999 at 09:26:50:
This is an area maybe we should all explore.
For instance, we know that certain people will be condemned for things they did in their previous life. The resurrection is of the "righteous and unrighteous" and some will have a "resurrection to life" and some to a "resurrection of everlasting obhorrence" or adverse "judgment."
We also know some are already written in the "Book of Life" before they are resurrected. We also know that Jesus said "every unprofitable saying you will be held accountable for on Judgment Day."
So, in general, there has to be a judgment to where the Ransom Sacrifice which covers Adamic sin and its influences line ends and where "willful" sin and/or willful sin unrepented is cut off.
Will Judas Iscariot get life because he felt bad after the fact? If you offered Satan another 6000 years of pagan-inspiring worship, would he take you up on it? Of course. And there will be lots of people who will be condemned to death who would otherwise want to stay and wish they had made better choices. "That is where the weeping and the gnashing of teeth will be."
So I'll leave it up to you. You sit on the judgment seat. You decide where to draw the line.
As far as knowing God's ways, that is only a requirement for those who have an opportunity to do so under the circumstances. That is, say, under the Covenant relationship with Israel, or perhaps Christians who know the Bible. Others won't be judged by that but by their conscience and other standards. But during the millennium, there will be a trial where everyone will actually know god's laws and standards and after they have learned them and lived under a god-directed government under Jesus Christ, they will then be tested by Satan. And still there are rebels.
Even the angels in Heaven rebelled up to the tune of one-third of the Heavens.
So the line is being drawn somewhere. It's not just a blanket forgiveness of everything IF YOU DON'T REPENT! You must REPENT to get forgiven. God doesn't say, "Oh, Jesus covers your sins so go out and commit fornication all you want." That's not it. He says "Fornicators will not inherit God's kingdom,...but that is what some of you were." Christ comes to call persons to REPENTANCE, then forgiveness can take place.
And ultimately, Jehovah knows the difference between repentance and just "sorry you got caught." That's why the inspection is so secretive and the test takes place when one is not aware they are being watched and monitored. And it is that true heart condition that will be the guide for forgiveness.
All I know is that it is in Jehovah's and Jesus' best interest to save as many as possible so the mercy is there for the deserving or undeserving as it were.
Plus there is another factor involved and that is the nature of the testing. It would seem that the separation work will not involve too many borderline cases. That is, the stress of serving God will clearly get one off the fence and clearly label one into one camp or the other. So many destroyed will likely be out-and-out rebels with haughty, judgmental attitudes, etc.
For your assurance though, the people God went through all this trouble for will not be lost He is concerned with that last sheep. So all possible efforts to get ones to repent or meet god's standards, whatever they are for various situations, is being done, and sufficient time for that to take place, even an extension of mercy. So in the end, those who fail to get in would have clearly been those "one-third" who under any circumstances would likely have rebelled against God anyway as a third of the angels did along with Satan, creatures who know God, know his requirements, know the penalty of rebellion and still decided to rebel. There is no forgiveness for those.
So you decide. All we have an assurance for is that God will be fair and merciful. That's all we need to worry about. There won't be any accidental executions of anyone righteous.
Cheers,
Bibleman