We sometimes get people who ask..."what about those who lived in lands or at times when the true God and his Christ were not known or acknowledged?" It seems harsh to judge people adversely when they had no choice in a matter. Our religion and beliefs are largely dictated by our country of origin and the faith and beliefs of our family and community. But according to our scripture, people living at "the time of the end" are the only ones who will be judged....for no other reason than that they are alive at the time when Christ returns to bring humanity to an accounting. We have been expecting Christ's return for a long time and now it seems as if prophesy is all coming together as the world is brought to its knees by something so small that we cant even see it. This enemy cannot be conquered at the moment, and it is taking hundreds of thousands of lives all over the world, mostly of those too old or weak to fight it.
For the ones who have died, these have paid sin's wages....IOW they have suffered the death penalty and now all their sins are cancelled. Death was the highest penalty paid under God's law.....they have paid for past sins with their own death.
These are the ones who will be judged, not for what they did in the past, but for how they conduct themselves in the future. They will be resurrected to life on earth, and have 1,000 years to get it together and prove that they are worthy citizens of a transformed planet earth. The paradise that God gave our first parents will be returned so that God's will can be "done on earth as it is in heaven".
You have to understand the Bible's overall message....it is not racial but it has to do with whom or what we choose to worship....if we worship at all.
The apostle Peter said...
"Now I truly understand that God is not partial, 35 but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." (Acts 10:34-35)
Its all about worshipping the true God in the way that he says he should be worshipped. We are not free to practice our "own" religion as if we are the sole arbiters of what is acceptable to God or not. He is the one who dictates to us because he is the Sovereign of the Universe...we are his children and we are to respect him as such and practice what he deems to be acceptable worship.
OK...at birth, I believe that we are a new creation....the genetic product of our parents. I do not believe that we have lived before our birth, or that we will live on after death. We are who we are while we are in this body. We are judged by the choices we make in this life.
So at birth, we are a 'blank canvas' so to speak. Who we are and what we become in life is largely dictated by our genetics and our environment. Our parents contribute to our education in many ways as role models and teachers of their own life skills. Some are obviously better educators than others and some unfortunately were not cut out to be parents and its usually their own role modeling that has let them down. Generations of poor and uneducated people often lack the opportunity to better themselves and attitudes can be adopted that prevent them from breaking the mold. Some can break free and become whatever they wish, in spite of their circumstances, but they usually need a mentor to help them up out of their situation. Someone who nurtured them and gave them the confidence to try and better themselves.
So if we see God as our loving Father who wants the best for us, no matter what our circumstances, our parenting, or our history, we have God and his son as our mentors who will guide us through the trials of this life and bring us out the other side....all the better for their training and nurturing.
This life is not the one God chose for us...it is the one chosen by our first human father, Adam. He sold us into a situation that no one but God could get us out of.
As the Bible tells it...an enemy of God tempted Adam to disobey a simple but important command, and unleashed the hounds of disaster to plague the world ever since. Suffering and death have been man's lot as a result. God shows us the way out of that situation.
Those who know the Creator and love him, see what is happening in the world and are confident about its outcome.....the end of this present system of things is not going to be a picnic, but God assures us that he will see us through it and we will come out the other side, chastened and grateful that we did not abandon our God or ignore his laws. He has provided his word and counsel for all people. This is a judgment period because God has had the news about his kingdom broadcast in all nations to people of all languages and faiths, giving them the same opportunity to come to know him. (Matthew 24:14) As a reader of hearts he knows those who respond to the "good news" and those who ignore it.
God sent his son to die for you and me and all who want to live in his new world. All we have to do is seek him with a complete heart....one that is not enslaved to false beliefs and traditions. God has always had a people who have served his interests here on earth. He does not forget the righteous, and promises to reward them....but the wicked will have earned the death penalty by their own choices.
That is how I understand the Bible's message...
