WHY have countless millions died without ever having had an opportunity to understand the purpose of life and to be saved?
Even today the vast majority of people have not heard Christ's true Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God. And of those who have heard it, most have not understood that message – because Satan has deceived them (Rev. 12:9). Think of it! – even they have not really had an opportunity to understand or to be saved!
Are they all, through no fault of their own, “lost” forever, condemned to the lake of fire? Absolutely not!
Shocking as it may sound, God does not intend for everyone to understand His truth at this time! If He wanted everyone to understand at this time, everyone would understand!
God, in that sense, is responsible for having allowed the vast majority of humanity to be blinded by Satan to His truth. It is God's purpose and plan that, until Christ returns, only those He specially calls (John 6:44, 65) will understand.
Jesus severely criticized some of the Galilean cities in which He had performed many miracles: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matt. 11:21, New King James).
But the people of Tyre and Sidon had not repented of their idolatry. Are they, as some Christian denominations teach, eternally condemned? If God had sent Jesus in earlier ages to them, they would have repented. But God didn't send Jesus to them. God allowed them to be punished by the Babylonians and, later, the Persians and Greeks. Why? Wasn't God trying to save them?
Jesus also admonished the city of Capernaum: “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day” (verse 23).
Because of their grievous sins, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone (Gen. 19:24-25). Some Christian denominations seem anxious to condemn them to eternal punishment. Yet Jesus said that if He had performed miracles in those cities, they would not have been destroyed. The people would have repented.
Is God fair? Yes. God knows that the people of Tyre, Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah had not been sent a prophet to warn them. They will be given a future opportunity to see Jesus' mighty works; they will have an opportunity to repent; and they will have an opportunity to be saved!
God is a perfect combination of love and justice (I John 4:16; Isa. 11:2-4). He punishes at particular periods in history the wicked for their sins.
But what of the millions of people for whom Christ died, yet who – through no fault of their own – did not know of God's provision to offer them salvation at a later time? How will they learn of salvation?
The answer is revealed in the final step in God's Master Plan – pictured by the seventh and final Holy Day.
After Christ returns and establishes the Kingdom of God on earth, He will then begin to teach the way of salvation to millions. As we learned in our last lesson, all those born during the Millennium will have their opportunity to understand God's truth and be born into His Family during the Millennium.
But what about the thousands of millions who have already died without ever hearing or understanding the way of salvation?
After the Millennium, they will be resurrected to mortal life and given their opportunity to understand God's truth, to be begotten by God's Spirit, to grow in His character, and to become spirit-composed members of His ruling Family.
God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). Everyone will ultimately be given an opportunity to receive salvation! God is absolutely fair!
Just as the week is not complete without the seventh-day Sabbath, God's Master Plan is not complete without His seventh and final annual festival – the Last or Final Great Day.
The number seven in the Bible indicates completion and perfection. This seventh festival of God reveals the perfection of God's great Master Plan – that God's love and mercy toward mankind will extend beyond the Millennium.
In this lesson you will see God's perfect justice and mercy on all those who have not yet had their opportunity for salvation. To understand this final phase of God's plan, let's learn about the last of God's annual Holy Days, symbolizing the Last Great Judgment Day!
