Do people that have died have an opportunity to be saved?

This question was posed by a young believer at another blog which I visit. Let’s take a look at a couple of verses:

Hebrews 9:27: “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”

John 3:18: “He who believes in Him (Christ) is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Once a person has died, if they have not repented and trusted Christ while alive, it is all over for them. There are no second chances.

After her question she then stated, “It doesn’t make sense to me that the people left behind after the rapture are given a second chance but not the people that die before the rapture.”

The prewrath position places Christ’s coming and the gathering of the elect (the dead and living in Christ) immediately after the great tribulation. Mt. 24:22 in fact states that the days of great tribulation are cut short for the sake of the elect who remain alive. If not, no life would be saved. (For a complete explanation of the prewrath position see my first post.) There are two groups of people that are not taken in the rapture. Those that TAKE the mark of the beast, denying the Lordship of Christ, and those that DO NOT TAKE the mark, but have not repented and trusted in Christ for salvation. Rev. 14:9,10 speaks of an angel announcing from the heavens: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives the mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the wrath of God…and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.”

Scripture is clear, once a person takes the mark, their fate is sealed as well, even when they are alive.

What about the group that does not take the mark, but has not repented and trusted in Christ? Who are in this group? Will any of them come to know Christ as Savior and Lord?

For sure the Jews who escape the persecution of the beast by fleeing into the wilderness do not take the mark. They receive God’s protection for the second half of Daniel’s 70^th week. (See Rev. 12) Scripture speaks of another group of Jews that do not take the mark. They are the 144,000, 12,000 from each tribe. (See Rev. 7) Where are these Jews when Christ comes to gather the elect? The Bible doesn’t say but I would think it is possible that some are in the group that are in protection in the wilderness. The remaining would be scattered through out the world. They are not saved before the rapture therefore they are also left behind. God seals them for protection from His wrath which commences after the rapture and culminates at the Battle of Armageddon. Rev. 14:4 calls this group the first fruits (or first group) of Jews who trust in Christ as Messiah after the rapture. It is my conclusion their salvation occurs at Christ’s appearing and gathering of the elect, the Church, which cuts short the great tribulation. When Christ is revealed in the clouds their eyes are opened that He is Yeshua, the true Messiah, and they put their faith in Him at that point. They then become God’s evangelists for the remainder of Daniel’s 70^th week, proclaiming the gospel to the other Jews and Gentiles that did not take the mark, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior. Israel was God’s evangelistic agency before the Church. When Israel rejected her Messiah, the Church then became God’s evangelistic agency. At Christ’s coming and gathering of the Church, the point in time at which the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, Israel will once again be God’s evangelistic agency.

So, there will be people that come to Christ after the rapture. Romans 11:26 tells us that all Israel will be saved. Will Gentiles be saved after the rapture? I believe so, because of the witness of the 144,000. Ron Wallace at Bible Fragrances says: “These Jews and Gentiles will be citizens of the kingdom. The kingdom dispensation begins with just believers, living in normal physical bodies and functioning as faithful subjects to the King and His Bride. There will still be normal procreation for these citizens and after several years, there will once again be a need for evangelistic activity throughout the world. Even with Christ personally present and reigning in righteousness, there will be many who inwardly rebel against Him.”

Click here to read Ron's excellent article in its entirety.

Mt. 25:31-46 tells us what happens to those who survive to the end of Daniel's 70th week but do not repent. They are represented as the goats in the Mt. 25 passage. They are sent to the eternal fire. For a more complete explanation, see the comment section. (I missed this information in the original post.)

Friend, if you have yet to repent and call upon the Lord for your salvation, now is the time to "confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead". (Rm. 10:9) There is no guarantee that you will have tomorrow, or even the next minute. To be absent from the body without Christ is not entering into nothingness. To die without Christ is to seal your eternity in agony and torment. John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Call upon Him now. Do not wait. Trust Him, today.