THE KINGDOM GOOD NEWS OF THE SECOND CHANCE
Like Jesus and the first century movement, the mission of the followers of ‘The Way’ (Acts 9:2 19:9, 23; 24:14) is more like a freedom run whereby the fulfilment of the ‘second chance’ will take place at the appointed time irrespective of anyone or anything else on the earth. The acquisition of this knowledge and the understanding that it brings, will provide the individual with spiritual and mental freedom now and actual physical freedom at the appointed time.
In mentioning the ‘second chance’ it is natural for individuals to enquire regarding the ‘first chance’ and when that was. Well the ‘first chance’ was when Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden with the opportunity of everlasting life on earth as perfect human creatures. During this time there was no ageing or death and certainly no talk of going to heaven. Due to the adverse event which occurred in Eden, this first chance of everlasting life was lost not only to Adam and Eve but to the whole of as yet un-born mankind.
But in his wisdom, due to the fact that the instrument of disobedience came from an outside source the Creator introduced a provision whereby man would obtain the opportunity of a second chance for everlasting life on the earth while at the same time enabling him to establish a Legal Precedent which in time may be used if necessary throughout all creation.
This ‘second chance’ required a second individual to be born of the same status as Adam before the ‘fall’ thereby enabling this one to reverse all that has occurred up to now. Because all who have been born since the Edenic episode were and still are imperfect, God will not judge imperfect mankind by his own perfect law. Therefore for the sake of all the angels who have been watching this since the beginning and to prove that he is a loving and just Creator [anything imperfect is dead in his eyes], he has provided his ‘chosen one’ [Christ the Liberator] who has by his own obedience to his Father reversed the Edenic curse. This means that all mankind back as far as and including Adam, will obtain a resurrection during the Millennial Reign of the Christ who will bring all resurrected mankind to the state of perfection which Adam and Eve once enjoyed in Eden.
Therefore when Satan as stated in Revelation is let loose for a short period, resurrected mankind now in this state of perfection and with full knowledge which Adam and Eve never had, can stand against the Adversary while any who do fall can never say it is because they were still imperfect and therefore unjustly judged.
The raising-up of the ‘chosen’ ones who will reign in the heavens (Revelation 20:4) are those who are personally called by the risen Christ to become the ‘Israel of God’. This is why Jesus himself states in John 3:13 that no-one has ever ascended into heaven except himself and according to his promise, his ‘little flock’ (Luke 12:32). This is something the churches and other movements do not understand. It removes any imposed fear on the part of the rest of mankind because no-one can ever say that they are saved or condemned this side of the Millennial Reign. Those who today proclaim that they are saved are living according to a deluded hope because one who is ‘saved’ according to the Holy Scriptures will not age, become ill or die. (Revelation 21:1-4.)
Many today seem to have the impression that the beliefs of the Followers of The Way are the same as the followers of universalism, the doctrine or belief of universal salvation, or the ultimate salvation of all mankind, and even of the fallen angels. If this was so, then the Millennial Judgement Period (Matthew 25:31-46 and Revelation 20:1-15) would immediately become null and void.
Blanket Salvation along with ‘once saved always saved’ is totally in opposition to the whole of the Creator’s Divine Plan and purpose. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that all mankind will be ultimately saved, in fact until the end of the Millennial Judgement Rule of ‘The Christ’ no-one will be able to say that they are saved other than the Anointed ‘Little Flock’. Therefore so far, no-one has been saved [except this group].
Ultimate earthly salvation means ‘life everlasting’ [not immortality which is impossible for humans] as perfect humans on this earth, as originally intended by God. In fact just as described in Revelation 21:1-4. So in the light of this scriptural evidence, no-one is saved or condemned before the end of the Millennial Reign of the Christ (Matthew 25:31-46 in parallel with Revelation 20:1-15).
The Bible has many parallels by which we can determine prophecy and other events, in fact it is due to the ‘Thirty year’ parallel (2 B.C. to 29 A.D.) when Jesus was born and at the age of thirty cleansed his Father’s earthly Temple, and (1914 A.D. to 1945 A.D.) when in his capacity as the Anointed-one cleansed his Father’s heavenly Temple and cast Satan down to the vicinity of the Earth (Revelation 12:12), that we are able to pin-point the date of the ‘Last Generation’ of this world system (1945-2015). So those praying for God’s Kingdom to come should take heed of the words Jesus once gave to the religious leaders of his day: “The Kingdom of God has already overtaken you!”
God’s original purpose was to have a race of perfect humans on the earth with the gift of everlasting life as described in Revelation 21:1-4. However due to the Edenic episode, although God gave man the choice to exercise his free will, due to the intervention of the Covering Cherub who had now become an opposer [Satan] of Almighty God, this new challenge meant that a Liberator was now needed to redeem mankind from Adamic death and choose for himself a new Government (Isaiah 9:6, 7) [this is the Cause for which Jesus died] to enable God’s original purpose to go ahead but this time with mankind being brought to a state of perfection with full knowledge [which Adam and Eve never had] and incorporating Satan and the angels that followed him who like in Eden will once more try to turn the whole of perfect mankind this time as shown in Revelation 20:7-10.
Of course as shown in this same scripture, even though with the whole of mankind having reached this state of perfection with full knowledge, a vast number as uncountable as the sand of the sea will still follow Satan but this time, unlike in Eden they will be totally annihilated along with Satan himself [No universalism here!]. So the point is that if Adam and Eve had disobeyed without any outside interference the issue would have been clear-cut and they would have just been terminated, but due to an outside force [Satan] becoming the instrument of deception and causing the fall from perfection, this twist of a challenge to Almighty God raised a legal issue which will soon be settled now very shortly.
We read that Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death “for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9) But when again we read: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to ‘all’ people.” (Luke 2:10), and then looking about us, see that it is only to a “little flock” that it has been good tidings, and not to all people, we are compelled to wonder whether the angels have not overstated the goodness and breadth of their message, and overrated the importance of the work to be accomplished by the Messiah whom they announced.
The Apostle Paul’s statement “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6) again confirms a ransom for ‘all’. Therefore why should not ‘all’ involved have some benefit from Christ’s death? Why should not ‘all’ come to an accurate knowledge of the Truth, that they may believe?
Without the ‘key’, how dark and how inconsistent these statements appear; but when we find the ‘key’ to God’s plan, these texts all declare with one voice: “God is love.” This ‘key’ is found in the latter part of the text last quoted – “Who gave himself a ransom for all, ‘to be testified in due time.” God has a due or appointed time for everything.
A point also to consider is that Jesus has redeemed man from ‘Adamic’ death, whereas today each does not now die for his own sin, but for Adam’s sin –“In Adam all die.” However, the scriptures show that there will soon be a period provided by God during which each individual will die according to his own merit. The day in which “every man [who dies] shall die for his own sin [only].” is the Millennial Judgement or Restitution day. This is the ‘second chance’ without which there would be no ‘second death’. Those who fail at the end of the Thousand-year Judgement Period incur the ‘second death’
Christ was sacrificed to take away the sins of many, here is where understanding applies. When he died, Jesus gave himself [his life] as a ransom in exchange for ‘many’ [his Anointed ‘Little Flock’ – The Israel of God] (Matthew 20:28) over which the second death has no authority (Revelation 20:6). At the same time, he also gave himself [his body] as a ‘corresponding’ ransom for ‘all’ [Adam and the rest of the human race] (1 Timothy 2:5, 6) over which the second death remains a threat for all who do not measure up at the end of the Millennial Judgement of the Christ (Matthew 25:46 in parallel with Revelation 21:
Many hold to the erroneous idea that God placed our race on trial for life with the alternative of ‘eternal torture’, whereas nothing of the kind is even hinted at in the penalty. The favour or blessing of God to his obedient children is life – everlasting life – free from pain, sickness and every other element of decay and death.
Adam was given this blessing in the full measure, but was warned that he would be deprived of this “gift” if he failed to render obedience to God – “In the day that thou eatest thereof, dying, thou shalt die.” He knew nothing of a ‘life’ in torment, as the penalty of sin. Life everlasting is nowhere promised to any but the obedient. Life is God’s gift, and death, the opposite of life, is the penalty he prescribes.
Eternal torture is nowhere suggested in the Hebrew Scriptures, and only a few statements in the Christian Greek Scriptures can be so misconstrued as to appear to teach it; and these are found either among the symbolisms of Revelation, or among the parables and dark sayings of our Lord, which were ‘not understood’ by the people who heard them (Luke 8:10), and which seem to be but little better comprehended today. “The wages sin pays is death.” (Romans 6:23) “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)
God assures us that as condemnation ‘passed upon’ all ‘in’ Adam, so he has arranged for a new head, liberator and life-giver for the race, into whom ‘all’ may be transferred by faith and obedience and that as all ‘in’ Adam shared the curse of death, so all ‘in’ Christ will share the blessing of restitution; the ‘Israel of God’ [Little Flock] being an exception.
Under the Covenant of Grace Members of the “Little Flock” during the Gospel Age, have had the righteousness of Christ imputed to them by faith, to make up their unavoidable deficiencies through the weakness of the flesh. Divine Grace will also operate toward “whosoever will” of the world during the Millennial age. Not until physical perfection is reached [which will be the ‘privilege’ of all before the close of the Millennial age] will absolute moral perfection be expected.
That new trial, the result of the ransom and the New Covenant, will differ from the trial in Eden, in that in it the acts of each one will affect only his own future. This of course will be giving some of the race a ‘second chance’ to gain everlasting life. The ‘first chance’ for everlasting life was lost for himself and all of his race [yet in his loins] by Adam’s disobedience. Under that original trial “condemnation passed upon all men”; and God’s plan was that through Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, Adam and ‘all’ who lost life due to his failure, should, after having tasted of exceeding sinfulness of sin and felt the weight of sin’s penalty, be given the opportunity to turn unto God through faith in the Redeemer.
If anyone chooses to call this a “second chance” let him do so, it must certainly be Adam’s second chance and in a sense at least; it is the same for the entire redeemed race. However it will definitely be the first ‘individual’ opportunity for his descendants, who, when born, were already under condemnation to death. Call it what we please, the facts are the same; viz., all were sentenced to death because of Adam’s disobedience, and all will enjoy [during the Millennial age] a ‘full opportunity’ to gain everlasting life under the favourable terms of the New Covenant.
Men, not God, have limited to this Gospel age this chance or opportunity of attaining life. God, on the contrary, tells us that the Gospel age is merely for the selection of the Anointed ‘Little Flock’ – The Israel of God [the royal priesthood], through whom, during a succeeding age, all others shall be brought to an accurate knowledge of the truth and granted full opportunity to secure everlasting life under the new covenant.
In the light of this of course, there will never be a need for a ‘third chance’ and as the Apostle Paul stated, until he was chosen as one of the Anointed Flock, he too was ‘dead’ in the Creator’s eyes. This is why when a man who wished with all his heart to follow Jesus but wanted to wait until he had buried his father, Jesus replied “Let the dead bury the dead.” The point being that at that time, he too would have been in line as a chosen Anointed-one. As we therefore are not part of that select group, we come into the category stated by the Apostle John in Revelation 20:5 “The rest of the dead [mankind] did not come to life [in the Creator’s eyes] until the thousand years were over, whereby the Highway of Holiness will be the Way along which all [saved] mankind will travel following the conclusion of the Millennial Rule of the Christ.’ (Revelation 21:1-4)
This is why John the Baptist of whom Jesus said that there has never been a greater man born than him, yet the least one in the heavens is greater than him, will like the rest of us, enjoy an earthly resurrection with the opportunity of everlasting life on the earth. “The righteous themselves will possess the earth and reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:11, 29) This of course pulls the plug on all of Christendom and the rest of the world empire of false religion.
So while the Churches of Christendom and others portray a faith of fear by limiting what we do now during the Gospel age to determine whether we gain salvation or not, Almighty God himself shows that the Gospel age is merely for the selection of the ‘Little Flock’ (Royal Priesthood) [Israel of God] and the Sabbath Millennium for the choosing and establishing of those who are to receive earthly salvation with ‘everlasting life’; in other words ‘The Second Chance’.
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N.B.
Matthew 24:14 is the Good News of the Kingdom or ‘second chance’ for ‘all’ mankind. How do we know? Because one cannot be in danger of Gehenna, the ‘second death’ (Revelation 21:
until resurrected from the ‘first death’. (Acts 24:15)
