Can Postmortem Salvation be argued from Scriptures? Or can it only be inferred based upon the fact that Scriptures say that all will be saved and the fact that most people die without getting saved first?
Apparently Jonah experienced some form of Post-mortem salvation. He was in Sheol (grave, realm of the dead), conscious and in anguish, cried out to God and was saved, ressurected from the dead and set on the right course. And of course, Peter speaks of Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison, specifically even preaching to those who rejected the salvation of God under Noahâs ministry, the most wicked generation ever to exist. He preached to them so that they might be saved, 1 Pet. 3:18-4:6. And then we have Paul who mentions affirmatively âbaptism for the deadâ which went along with the concept of people giving alms in the name of the dead mentioned in Maccabees (I think). And of course Paul speaks of turning a brother over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his spirit might be saved. I suppose ultimate destruction of the flesh only comes at death. And then there is the fact that in Revelation, John sees the nations and kings as arrayed against Christ, alligned with the anti-Christ, after the complete end of the kingdom of Satan, the nations and kings are worshiping God and paying homage to the Lord.
Scripture focuses primarily on Repenting today, in this life, so that one can have a relationship with God who loves you and be delivered from the fear of death having faith in God to raise us up from the dead (life after death). But there is sufficient evidence for me, apart from the necessary implications of the many scriptures that affirm the salvation of all, that there is postmortem salvation.
Iâm posting from the phone, so bear with me. From John 11âŚ
25Jesus said unto her, "I am the resurrection and the Life. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;
26and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
I remember years ago reading an article that in the greek, verse 25 could be construed as referring to someone believing while dead. This would actually make Jesus 2-pronged statement make more sense.
I posted the following in the âCriticism of Revelationâ thread. Revelation was what ORIGINALLY started to point me toward UR, because I was amazed at the consistent PM salvation opportunities within it.
"What in Revelation inspired me toward UR? The fact that we are âpriestsâ of God. Priests to whom? To the âunbelieving, the dogs etc.â that are outside the gates. The ones that only a chapter earlier were thrown into the lake of fire --into which HELL and DEATH are ALSO thrownâŚ?
That the gates of the new Jerusalem are ALWAYS open. (Who does it say are OUTSIDE the gates again?) That Jesus was asking (always) for people to come and cleanse themselves in the spring, to wash their robes. The Spirit AND the Bride say âComeâ! To whom? The bride?? Nope, sorry. To those outside the gates! To whom we are priests."
I posted this in the âWriting an Evangelical Universalist Chick Tractâ thread at Writing an Evangelical Universalist âChick Tractâ but I think it would be fitting to re-post here:
Consider the âkings of the earthâ in Revelation:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
After I posted it james.goetz posted this:
It is a good article expressing similar ideas concerning the relationship of the âkings of the earthâ and postmortem salvation.
What do you think of the above analyses?
Not the last time something in revelation will make you sayâŚ
Whatupwithat?!
In 21:8 you have the âvile, cowardlyâŚetcâ thrown into the LoF. Then they turn up in 22:14âŚoutside the gates of the New Jerusalem!
Whaatupwiddat?
I also like that the leaves on the tree are for the âhealing of the nationsâ
So what I am gathering here is that belief in post-mortem salvation comes from Revelations 21 and 22. In Revelations 21, we see the establishment of Heaven on earth in the form of New Jerusalem. We see the kings of the earth paying homage to the Lord of lords in it, a group of people cast into the lake of fire the chapter before.
In chapter 22, we get more details about the city itself. In verse 15, just outside the gates we find those who had been cast into the lake of fire just a couple chapters before. We find the servants of God who have access to the tree of life (whoâs leaves are for the healing of the nations) and the right to go through the gates (why would anyone leave the city unless they had a mission to do outside this city, like the healing of the nations?)
Does that just about sum it up?
This is exactly what I was looking for. I have always had a problem trying to reconcile the belief that people who never had a chance to respond to the Gospel in their life would just be âgiven up on.â Most Evangelicals have no problem with children or babies getting a âfree passâ because of their âage of accountabilityâ clause which I havenât found strong biblical support for. This makes much more sense and changes the framework of justice to be restorative rather than retributive.
The overall picture of Revelation is one thing that seems to imply postmortem salvation, assuming that Johnâs Revelation was meant to be interpreted Futuristically, as opposed to Spiritually, Historically, or Preteristically. I think of Revelation like a movie that affirms that good ultimately wins, love wins over hate, the kingdom of God ultimately overcomes all the earth. Too me, getting hung up on interpreting all the figurative language often keeps people from seeing the message, not being able to see the forest for the trees.
However, Jonahâs repentance after drowning, being in torment, and crying out to God from Sheol (grave, realm of dead) seems much more solid support of postmortem salvation, along with Peterâs mention of Jesus decending into Hades to preach the gospel so that the most wicked generation of humanity (Noahâs) could be saved. And then Paul speaks of turning a brother over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his spirit might be saved. He also mentions âbaptism for the deadâ in his affirmation of believing in our ressurection.
Postmortem salvation is certainly not a significant theme in scripture, but there are allusions to such. Also, as Iâve studied about judgment Iâve come to believe that judgment is terrible medicine, fearful and painful but exactly what we need. In judgment we face the fire of truth concerning ourselves, how weâve lived, what weâve done with what God gave us, how we treated others especially the less fortunate, how weâve treated those whom we have authority over, etc. It is fire that burns up the worthless, the impure elements of our lives and purifies that which is worthy. It is painful, terrible, fearful, but delivers us from evil, restoring us to God and one another!
Scripture actually notes that judgment has begun with us, the church. God stepped into our lives revealing to us our need of Him and His love for us, both convicting and forgiving us of sin when we repent and have faith in Him. Iâve encountered judgment a few times in my life, the revelation of my wickedness, selfishness, pride, and self-righteousness. It was ugly, terrible, heart-breaking, but it also delivered me from those things and filled me with love for God because He forgave me those things. âThose who have been forgiven most, love the most.â
What a wonderful day when God brings reconciliation and healing to all, despots and victims restored, abuser and abused reconciled, all healed, peace triumphing over war, life over death, shalom over dis-ease! What a day! Judgment day - terrible/good medicine for the healing of our souls! God makes things right! Justice is met and mercy triumphs!
Last summer 2012 I spent a ridiculously long amount of time and effort working on a reply to my comrade and fellow apologist JP Holdingâs two or three articles against Christian universalism and post-mortem salvation; which naturally involved a ton of discussion on various verses about post-mortem salvation (to which I could have added more verses but I was sticking to what was in his original articles).
The portion dealing with post-mortem salvation texts pro or con can be found here.
I was thinking today of the passage where Paul says that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. He says that even those âunder the earthâ would some day do so. âUnder the earthâ is a coloquialism referencing Hades, the abode of the dead. So if heâs to be taken literally and not just poetically or hyperbolically, heâs specifically saying that one day all the dead with bow in worship to God, kneel in revereance, and joyfully proclaim oneâs alegiance to the Lord! Cool!
hi!
just wanted to say that I do not believe in this concept, although it is appealing to believe in a god that saves everyone after death. the problem I have with this comes from the fact that god is a god of justice and hates sin. if everyone gets a free pass, then I believe that is undermining godâs justice against sin and his grace to forgive those who believe in Jesus Christ. if everyone were to be saved, then Jesusâ work on the cross and godâs grace exemplified through this sacrifice is completely unnecessary.
As to the verse were it says that everyone will acknowledge that god is lord, I do believe this is true, but I do not think that this will be a saving ordinance. once we die, we will be judged and therefore go to heaven or hell. I think hell is total separation from god, but there will be a time where those in that place (whether a physical one or not, I donât know) will have to face the fact that they did not accept godâs grace while on earth, and then will confess that god is lord, as the verse says. but, once again, I donât think this is a saving ordinance, but rather justification.
someone also alluded the the verse in 1 Corinthians were Paul says that the man who was committing sexual immorality with his stepmother was sent to Satan, ultimately to save this man. that is not what the phrase means. it was referring to sending the sinner out of the church and into the world ruled by satan (that is the earthly world) as a means to teach the sinner a lesson. Paul was not saying that the man should be sent to hell to try to earn repentance.
Postmortem salvation disregards the entire gospel by affirming that Jesusâ death was unnecessary, and godâs grace and mercy are irrelevant.
just wanted to share my thoughts!
Sorry for the posting delay; the admins and mods who usually check new member posts out of the automod catcher havenât been around much the past month (myself included).
Having gotten over a string of head colds and (almost) past a lot of âworkâ work (but not a recently busted finger so Iâm not typing much yet), I went to check the list today and found several new members whose posts hadnât been manually pulled through the spamcatcher yet.
What is âjusticeâ? This word does not refer to the practice of administering penalties for breaking the laws or rules.
The word means âfairnessâ. God is perfectly fair. He does not show partiality (Acts 10:34, Rom 2:11, Gal 2:6, Eph 6:9, Col 3:25). Neither does Jesus (Luke 20:21). Thus They are perfectly just.
If God intends to do whatever it takes to bring about repentance and submission in every individual, what is unjust about that? Man doesnât think in terms of reformation; he thinks in terms of penalties and punishment, and calls it âjusticeâ. (Please read my signature statement).
Where in the Bible do you read that death is the cut-off point and that any post-mortem repentance is useless?
God ⌠is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Tim 4:10)
Why âespecially of those who believeâ, or have faith. Because those who submit NOW will not have to undergo the severe correction that others who die in rebellion will have to endure. But sooner or later every one will submit to the authority of King Jesus:
**Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2:9-11)
**
"Oh yes, " I heard someone say, âevery knee will bow when someone hits them from behind with a 2 by 4!â
Yes, you could force a person physically to bow, but you could never force them to confess Jesus as their Lord. That must come from the heart. Yet the passage states that every tongue will so confess.
What do you think was the purpose of Jesusâ work on the cross? So that people could be forgiven and go to heaven? Not according to Paul and Peter and the writer to the Hebrews:
**I Peter 2:24 He himself endured our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Heb 9:26 âŚhe has appeared once for all at the end of the age to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.**
Godâs grace is much more than His âunmerited favourâ so that He forgives people, lets them off the hook so that they can go to heaven whether they turn from their sin or not. Godâs grace is that which enables us to shun evil and to work righteousness. Please consider what Paul said about the purpose of the grace of God:
For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all people, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and to live sensible, righteous, and devout lives in the present age, expecting the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of the great God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; encourage and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 2:11-15
Ah yes . . . the 2 x 4 ministry. 
I have conversed with some who might enjoy that a bit too much . . . .
God is not like that, nor would it bring Him glory. Like you, Paidion, I have heard people make that very statement youâve quoted and it always makes me sick in my stomach.
Thereâs also an interesting piece from the Continuing Church of God entitled Universal Salvation? Bible Supports Apocatastasis at Apocatastasis by Dr. Bob Thiel at Dr. Bob Thiel. It outlines how they believe it will unfold scripturally.
Iâm coming more and more to think of Justice as âmaking things rightâ, making things the way they should be. It includes restoration, rehabilitation, reconciliation, redemption, etc. If someone steals something from me, punishment of the person doesnât make it right, repentance and recompence makes it right. If someone kills my loved one, torturing the killer forever or even just killing the killer doesnât make it right; what makes it right is restoring my loved one to me and reconciling the killer to me through forgiveness and repentance. Evil is not overcome by more evil, but only by good. Darkness is not overcome by more darkness, but only by the light. Hate is not overcome by more hate, but only by love.
How can âGodâs love endure foreverâ if God gives up on someone once theyâve physically died. If youâre a parent separated from your child, the only thing that makes that right is being restored in your relationship to your child; anything less is just wrong.
If Jesus died to save all, and Jesusâ death saves all, how can âJesusâ death be unnecessaryâ. Thatâs just illogical. If a life-guard gives his life, dies, so that he can save all the people trapped in a capsized boat, how does him saving all the people in that boat mean his sacrifice was âunnecessaryâ? And if God, because of his grace and mercy, forgives all of all of our sins, how does this make his grace and mercy âirrelevantâ.
And if Jesus does not save all, how is this âgood newsâ to those who are lost? Itâs not. The traditional âgospelâ that some/most are certainly lost is not in any way âgood newsâ. The Gospel can only truly be âGood Newsâ if Jesus is truly âSavior of Allâ as scripture declares him to be. The birth of Jesus can only be heralded as âJoy to the Worldâ if Jesus is truly the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World. He is not the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of some, but the sins of the World! Joy to the World, the Lord has come, not just joy to some, but joy to all. If one person is lost then Jesus is not savior of all; he does not take away the sins of the world. If Jesus really came to reconcile all of creation, as scripture affirms, and Jesus does not âreconcile all of creationâ, then Jesus fails!
I believe that Jesus truly is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He reconciles all of creation, everything in heaven and earth and under the earth. He is the Savior of All, as scripture affirms. Joy to the World!
The verse is even more inclusive: âJesus taketh away the SIN (singular in Greek) of the workld.â
Look at:
Those Who Have Never Heard: A Survey of the Major Positions
Salvation for the Dead -Hades is not Hell- Biblical Second Chance Theology for Dead People in Hades
Universal Offer of Salvation: There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the True Doctrine of Apocatastasis -
God will offer salvation to each and every person who has ever lived.