Saving Humanity: God's Plan

Saving the Eskimos (Or Buddhist, or Hindus or Muslims, etc...)

Hypothetical yet very probable scenario. At some point in the past was an eskimo, lets call him Nanook. During the life of Nanook he lives what we would call a good life. He is honest, doesn't kill anyone, never steals, honors his father and mother and is faithful to his wife all of his days. I'm not saying Nanook lived a perfect life but he was a man who believed in the great spirit who created everything and tried to keep the teachings of the elders to be honest, nonviolent, truthful and faithful to his wife. Unfortunately this eskimo tribe lived so far north that they never heard of Jesus Christ. They believed in a Supreme God but never heard of Jesus. Is Nanook doomed to hell because he never heard of Jesus, which if you believe the teachings of some the answer could be:

The following is a quote from a sincere Christian. "Yes, Nanook is out of luck if he has never heard of Jesus. That is why we =tell= those around us about Him! Consider this: if people can go to heaven w/o Christ, why are we even wasting our time trying to teach them? I mean, what's the point????? duh!"

This is an excellent example of the view that some Christians have.

So lets look at the Bible which, is a combination of Judaism and Christianity, and find out how Nanook gets saved.

It turns out that Christ answered this question for us and later revealed the answer in total to John which became part of Revelations. Let me explain:

Our first hint is in John 7: 37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

During N.T. times the priests, for each of the first seven days of the feast in Jerusalem, would go down to the pool of Siloam in a religious procession with large water jugs and there at the pool of Siloam they would fill the water jugs and come up the many steps to the Temple mount commemorating the long expected anticipation of the promise given through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 12: 1 In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

As the water poured they were reminded of how God miraculously provided water in the wilderness out of the Rock, and will also one day pour water from heaven on their thirsty souls through the Messiah. On the Eighth day, the last day, called "the great day of the feast" the priests made no procession and poured no water onto the pavement and this too was very significant, because it symbolized the fact that God had fulfilled the promise to their fathers, He had now brought them into this land that was well watered, flowing with milk and honey, they no longer needed the miraculous supply out of the Rock.

It was on this day, the last great day, that Jesus stood and cried out: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." By this act he was proclaiming that he was the "Holy One of Israel among them" and that through him all mankind would one day have access to spiritual water.

The problem is, how do those that lived before Christ become saved? What of those who lived after Christ but never heard of Christ? How can they receive the living water promised by Christ?

Another hint is given in:

Revelation 21: 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

As you can see, who will be thrown into the lake of fire is clearly spelled out here.

So how do folks who lived "good" lives but didn't have the opportunity to accept Christ as their savior avoid the lake of fire?

The answer is in the scriptures that preceeded what was just quoted:

Revelation 21: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Verse 6 is what Christ was referencing when he stood and said. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

Please notice in the next chapter.

Revelation 22: 1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

The question is, what nations are being healed? The traditional view of many is that by the time you made it to the New Jerusalem you were saved and had become a spirit being. Saved people composed of spirit and no longer physical do not need to be healed. Those that still need healing are physical people. Lets go back to what occured just before the New Jerusalem showed up on earth.

Revelation 20: 1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Please note that every man was judged according to their works. Not whether they had said magic words "I accept Christ as my savior." Haven't you always heard you can't be saved by works? Well maybe you can't be saved by good works but you can be condemned by evil works.

The Feast of Tabernacles which God commanded Israel to keep was part of the Fall Holy Days. It turns out that the Holy Days of Israel are a code for the plan of salvation for all of mankind. The Jews by not accepting Christ do not understand their glorius meaning. Christians by ignoring their importance have overlooked their meaning. Let me briefly run down their meaning so we can solve the eskimo problem.

Colossians 2: 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

It turns out that all of the "Jewish Holy Days" were about Christ. Some have come to pass and now look back as memorials and some have yet to happen which are the shadows of things to come.

In the spring we have 3 festivals: Passover, Days of Unleavend Bread and Pentecost.

1 Corinthians 5: 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Christ is our Passover lamb. The days of unleavened bread represent our new pure life as Christians where we strive to remove sin from our lives.

Romans 6: 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Then comes Pentecost 50 days after the days of unleavened bread.

Pentecost was called the Feast of First Fruits which was an early harvest.

Acts 2: 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Pentecost looked forward to the coming of the holy spirit which is the early harvest of men. In order to be saved you must have the holy spirit. Not everyone is being saved now but those that are called now make up the first fruits.

The early harvest also explains the saying, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first."

James 1: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Now we have the plan of God as it has unfolded up to the present. On the surface it would appear that Satan is doing a better job than God. However, the plan of God is not over. The rest of the Holy Days tell us the rest of the story.

The next set of Festivals occur in the Fall and are the Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. In the future, Christ will fulfill special functions and the fall holy days symbolize the rest of the plan.

The Feast of Trumpets, during the time of the Old Testamen was a commanded assembly with a blowing of trumpets. It foreshadowes the upcoming 7 trumpets spoken of in Revelation.

Revelation 8: 1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

This is the coming great tribulation where God sends his wrath on the earth to punish mankind for its sins so that they will repent and turn away from their evil. The seven trumpets are seven great plagues.

Revelation 9: 20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The last (seventh) trump is when Christ returns. 1 Thessalonians 4: 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

This leads us to the Day of Atonement. The original ritual God commanded Israel on the day of atonement involved fasting and two goats. Lots were cast over the goats. One was sacrificed and one was led into the wilderness.

Leviticus 16: 7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Christ represents the goat that was sacrificed for sins. Notice it was the goat in "which the LORD's lot fell". Satan is represented by the goat led into the wilderness. Scapegoat is not the best translation because Satan is actually charged as being responsible for the sins of mankind. Young's Literal Translation uses the more accurate phrase 'goat of departure. This Holy Day is a shadow of when Christ returns right after the plague of the seven trumpets and it is when Satan is bound for a thousand years.

Revelation 20: 1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Then comes the Feast of Tabernacles which represents the 1,000 year reign of Christ.

Revelation 20: 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

At the end of a thousand years Satan is released to deceive the nations again and this is when the War of Gog and Magog occurs around Jerusalem. Notice the following events which is what foreshadowed by the last Holy Day which follows right after the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacle. The Last Great day is a separate Holy Day with a separate meaning.

Revelation 20: 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Now we have already had one resurrection 1,000 years before, this was the righteous who had truly accepted Christ as their saviour and made their robes white by his blood. They reigned with Chist 1,000 years. It says in Revelations that the rest of the dead;

Revelations 20: 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

Notice that those not found written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. So what happens to those that were not thrown into the lake of fire and were not in the first resurrection? Note: All the bad people are gone!

Notice the how God saves the rest of humanity.

Revelation 21: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

However, we have another prophecy that makes it even plainer what is waiting for those who aren't thrown into the lake of fire.

Isaiah 65: 17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

We know this prophecy in Isaiah is referencing the same as the one we saw in Revelation because they both talk about when God creates a new heaven and new earth. Notice the promise here, "for as the days of a tree are the days of my people."

Now remember that Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

So how do you live as long as a tree and not die? Well, its been done before!

Genesis 5: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11: 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

They will live out hundreds of years and then do as Paul spoke of.

1 Corinthians 15: 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Now Paul was speaking of those Christians who will be alive when Christ returns. But if you can be alive right before Christ returns and just be changed into incorruptible, then so can those that live after the new Jerusalem is on earth and God has established the new order of things.

It is important how we live our life. There is way more to it than just accepting Christ as our saviour. The called out ones who are true Christians will be in the first resurrection. The rest of humanity will have their opportunity for salvation after the White Throne Judgement if they are in the book of life. So our eskimo Nanook has hope after all. God has a plan of Salvation for all of mankind, even for the eskimos living before the time of Christ.

Let me leave you with the following verses.

James 2: 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.

All of the demons were at one time holy angels who knew God. In addition to knowing God one must obey God. The core teachings I'm referring to were discussed by Jesus.

Mark 10: 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: `Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' "

1 John 3: 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ... 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Knowing God and obeying God is the key, regardless of whether you have heard of Christ or not. Believing on Christ now and truly repenting of evil and accepting his sacrifice for you gives you the opportunity to be in the first resurrection. Otherwise, how you live your life determines whether you get your name written in the book of life and whether you partake of the "lake of fire" or the "New Heaven and New Earth". The New Jerusalem is the paradise promised of in the Koran and hoped for by many cultures for thousands of years. Abraham knew of the coming paradise on earth.

Hebrews 11: 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

In the Koran it says "Be they Muslim, Jews, Christians, or Sabians, those who believe in God and the Last Day and who do good have their reward with their Lord, They have nothing to fear, and they will not sorrow." Koran: The Cow verse 62

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