Is one’s eternal fate set in stone?

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What do your comment have to do with my question ?


What man does (good or bad) runs parallel to what the angels went through in the days when angels were free to decide for themselves where they would stand concerning the Lord.

So, asking me about Hitler?

Hitler was on display before angels watching him, not just man.
They were seeing in the horrors of Hitler and the Nazis something that ran parallel to themselves
concerning when the angels who rebelled and teamed up against them and God.
 
So you think - according to my example - that it's fair that Hitler go to heaven while the atheist jude go to hell?

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
John 6:28-29​



There is only one sin Jesus did not pay for.

He could not reject himself.

The only sin that sends someone to Hell.

"Unbelief."

The work of God we must do is to believe on Him.
 
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Depends on what "heaven" is like.

You have no ability now to know how much you will absolutely love being there.

For you have nothing to compare it with. because you will not remain in the half dead body you find your soul in now.

But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart
has conceived God has prepared these things for those who love him. "
1 Cor 2:9​

Your resurrection body will be producing an energy and calm that is impossible for us now to picture.
 
The Church is divided into two main camps, when it comes to questions like these. Those who believe that salvation comes after a lifetime of obedience and good works, will say yes.
Those who believe that God chose to save a definite number, before the foundation of the world, will say no.


There's no "one size fits all" answer to this question, the debate between the opposing theologians has been raging for over 500 years, with no conclusion or consensus in sight.

You may as well have asked "is Calvinism or Arminianism Biblically correct". Neither side is willing to give an inch, so trying to reconcile these opposing views is a lost cause.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees endlessly debated the resurrection.

According to Christ, they were both children of the devil.

Just an observation.
 
Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

Hitler didn’t become a Christian, but suppose he became a Christian based on what the word of God says.. that tells me that as long as one has a sincere heart of repentance, a desire to have salvation in Christ, and responds biblically to the gospel call of salvation (Acts 2:21, 38), then that tells me even the most wicked isn’t beyond saving.

I don’t deserve salvation. I don’t deserve heaven. I don’t deserve eternal life. I deserve hell. I don’t deserve forgiveness. I deserve to be eternally separated from the Almighty God for the sins..the wicked..the evil I have done not just on the outside of my body, but on the inside, but God had and has mercy on me (by not giving me what I deserve) and the fact He gave people (such as myself) a way to be saved when I didn’t deserve it is grace (getting what I don’t deserve). The fact He forgave me and continues to offer repentance to me when I didn’t and don’t deserve it, when I deserve judgment is still grace and mercy.

There are things I have done before and after as a Christian I wish I could forget. I wonder how God could ever forgive someone like me, but Jesus made all of that possible. I did not do one thing to deserve His forgiveness.

I am not good enough in and of myself to stand before a holy God. In other words, if salvation was solely based on doing a bunch of works to receive forgiveness, then I’m eternally damned.

But thanks be to God’s undeserving love, grace and mercy, there is hope for a wretched man that I can sometimes be. God’s grace, appearing through and by Jesus (Jn 1:17), has God reaching down to save when we didn’t deserve (and still don’t deserve).

God is a God of salvation (2 Sam. 22:47; 1 Chron. 16:35; Ps. 18:46; Ps. 24:5; Ps. 25:5; Ps. 27;:9; Is. 17:10; Is. 52:10; Micah 7:7; Hab. 3:18; Titus 2:11; Rev. 12:10; Phil. 1:28; Rom. 1:16; Lk. 3:6; 2 Peter 3:14-15; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; John 3:16; etc etc)

God’s mercy closes the door to hell, and His grace opens the door to heaven (Titus 3:4-5; Eph. 2:5-8).

I'm eternally grateful that God forgives completely. From east to west.

"As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Ps. 103:12).

I'm thankful God remembers our sins no more (Heb. 8:12; Heb. 10:17; Jer. 31:34; Isaiah 43:25).

I'm thankful God is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy (Ps. 145:8-9).

I'm grateful that God is gracious in all His works (Ps. 145:17), is a long-suffering God (2 Peter 3:9, 15, Num. 14:18, Ps. 86:15).

I'm grateful that He loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Ps. 45:7)..He does not take pleasure in wickedness nor does evil dwell with Him (Ps. 5:4)... He is rich in mercy, goodness, kindness, and grace (Eph. 2:4; Rom. 2:4). Good and upright is the Lord (Psalm 25:8).

I'm so thanktul His love and mercy is everlasting (Jer. 31:3; Ps. 100:5), He is good (Jer. 33:11; 2 Chron. 16:34; Nahum 1:7), and He has no pleasure in the death of anyone, as He wants even the wicked to have life, as in be saved (Ezek. 18:32, 18:23, 33:11; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pe. 3:9).

I'm eternally grateful that His saving and amazing grace appeared in Christ Jesus who died for all men (Titus 2:11-12, 3:4; 2 Cor. 5:15), and that Christ's saving gospel is for all (Rom. 1:16; Mk. 16:15-16).

I’m eternally grateful that He teaches us by His grace in Christ on how to live godly and not sinfully (Titus 2:11-12).

I’m forever grateful to the gospel call of salvation so people are able to receive the remission of sins that is offered by Christ, (Acts 2:21, Acts 2:38; Matthew 28:19).

And I'm forever grateful that no one can work to earn His forgiveness. Instead, it was lovingly given by God through Jesus Christ, who loves all to provide the way to the Father to have eternal life (Jn. 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Acts 2:38). That's why it's a gift (Rom. 6:23).

Such is the mercy and grace of God. Such is the beauty of the gospel of Christ, God’s power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16).

“But God, who is rich in mercy…” (Eph. 2:4)
“By grace you have been saved…” (Eph. 2:8)



Your comment is the perfect answer to the question before us.

"Is our eternal fate set in stone?"

No, it is not.

Our eternal fate is set upon a Stone, the One the builders who build in vain rejected, and still reject to this day, the Chief Cornerstone, the Rock of the Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Whoever falls upon this Rock shall be broken, whoever this Rock falls upon shall be crushed."

"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."
 
The Church is divided into two main camps, when it comes to questions like these. Those who believe that salvation comes after a lifetime of obedience and good works, will say yes.
Those who believe that God chose to save a definite number, before the foundation of the world, will say no.


There's no "one size fits all" answer to this question, the debate between the opposing theologians has been raging for over 500 years, with no conclusion or consensus in sight.

You may as well have asked "is Calvinism or Arminianism Biblically correct". Neither side is willing to give an inch, so trying to reconcile these opposing views is a lost cause.

There is a third option that has existed before these two options.
The option where we leave judgment up to God. The most you can say ... the most ... is to speak of your own fate if you feel saved. Not the fate of billions of people who live or ever lived. That's up to God and only God.
And you should feel saved here and now, not later. Because here and now you have the Kingdom of God in you which makes this fallen world seems almost like Heaven but without being in the physical presence of God.
 
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Dear christians.

Please read my example of Hitler and the poor jude. As several have concluded, it's fair that Hitler goes to heaven while the atheist jude goes to hell. Now my question is:

Do all of you christians agree that this is fair? Every single one of you reading this?

No one reading this who is at least a little sceptical to this way of thinking about right and justice ?

What do you think the "hell" is to which the atheist Jude goes? Is it never-ending? What does it entail?
 
The Pharisees and the Sadducees endlessly debated the resurrection.

According to Christ, they were both children of the devil.

Just an observation.
I don't think that comparison is justified, because the Church is not divided over the any of the core foundational doctrines, such as the identity and nature of Christ, the resurrection and the authority of Gods Word.

The main cause of division in the Church and among the denominations, is "the two different interpretations of the gospel".
One believes that salvation is by grace and the other believes that it's by keeping the law and or a mixture of grace and law keeping.


So it boils down to which one of the two we choose to believe, I say two because the third option (grace + law keeping) still falls under the "saved by works" version of the gospel. Because those who believe that we are saved by grace, consider that the addition of any works to grace, make it the "saved by works gospel".

Below are the main points of division;

1. (works based gospel believers) claim; although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature.

1. (Saved by grace believers) claim, because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is deaf, blind, and dead to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free and it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not -- indeed he cannot -- choose good or evil in the spiritual realm.

There's a lot more to mention here, but I don't want to overload us with all the points of contention between the two main opposing views of the gospel.
We can cover the rest in bite sized portions, if anyone is interested.
 
Thank you for your concern.

The doctrine of "annihillation" is interesting in a historical context. As you know, the nazis killed around 6 000 000 jews during Holocaust. Now, this way of getting rid of the "jew problem" was named, in German, "Die Endlösung" which translates to "The Final Solution". In some ways, this reminds me of the christian God's plan to get rid of these annoying non-christians. Just send them to Hell! The final solution! Annihillation! Let them die and forget them!

So, as a non-christian, I am - according to many christians - facing "Die Endlösung" which means either annihillation like I've never existed, or eternal pain and suffering in Hell.

Now, if this is the way of your God, I see some similarities between your God and Hitler. Say no more, think for yourselves.
No wonder I am an atheist.

But the thing is you cannot fight against God so be with Him.

Are you going to lose your soul because you do not like the concept of hell so you dot believe in the God of the Bible.

Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

And why will the wicked suffer.

Because they did not care about people and did not love them.

They hurt them, stole from them, and offended them, and even though they might not of wanted to kill a person they approved of it happening to certain people, and thought they deserved harm coming to them.

Where a saint is never to want harm to come to any person regardless how they behave.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

The hypocrites will not be with Jesus either because they did not love like they should.
 
There is a third option that has existed before these two options.
The option where we leave judgment up to God. The most you can say ... the most ... is to speak of your own fate if you feel saved. Not the fate of billions of people who live or ever lived. That's up to God and only God.
And you should feel saved here and now, not later. Because here and now you have the Kingdom of God in you which makes this fallen world seems almost like Heaven but without being in the physical presence of God.
I'm sure there are many other versions of the gospel, but they're not supported by the bible. The only two which can be supported are those two which all of the mainstream denominations teach. That being (salvation is by grace) and (salvation is by works) or the third, which is really the same as the second (salvation by grace and works combined)

The Church split on two occasions, the first was in 1054 the Eastern and Western churches divided over the inclusion of a new phrase in the Nicene Creed (the Western churches said the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son), but there were many cultural, political, and ecclesiastical reasons for the split.

The division of the Church in the 1500's, began with Martin Luther's challenge to the Pope's authority over the Church. The Pope was the first and final authority, over all matters pertaining to the Church, there were no denominations as such at the time so nobody could challenge his authority.

One important thing to consider in this, is that the vast majority of Christians were illiterate and nobody owned a bible, and they only heard portions of the bible being read by a priest (in Latin) during mass. So they were in the dark as far as their knowledge of scripture goes.

The Vatican enjoyed supreme authority over the hundreds of millions if it's members, form the late 300's up to the 1500's when Luther came to challenge the Pope with his 95 theses.

Since that time, the Church has disintegrated into thousands of Christian Denominations, each with it's unique interpretation of the bible.
I spent over three years "Church shopping", before God answered my prayer and led me to a Church, where they preach the Word of God faithfully.


I'm not sure about this third way you mentioned, salvation is either by grace or by works. I've never heard of the third option.