Secrets from Beyond The Grave

church history about what happens to the unevangelized. The seven beliefs are: 1. All unevangelized are condemned to hell.

Proponents teach that access to salvation is not universal; therefore, not everybody will have the opportunity to be saved, and most will die condemned to hell. Leading proponents of this position are primarily Augustinian-Reformed theologians such as Augustine, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards. 2. All unevangelized are saved. This is referred to as universalism. Ultra-universalists teach that there is no hell, while restorationists teach that there will be a hell from which people will be given the opportunity to escape of their own free will. Proponents of universalism include some Reformed theologians, liberal pietists, and pluralists. Most names you would not recognize, but they include Origen, Charles Chauncy, and William Barclay. 3. God will send the gospel message before death. Proponents teach that nobody is condemned to hell without first being given the opportunity for salvation. They believe that God can send the gospel message through human beings, angels, or dreams. Proponents include Thomas Aquinas, Dante, and some Roman Catholics. 4. Universal opportunity at death, also known as the "final option" theory. This belief states that all people will have an encounter with Jesus Christ at the moment of death and thus have an opportunity to believe on Him. Those who hold this view admit that they have no scripture to back it up. Leading proponents include Roman Catholics, with Cardinal John Henry Newman being one of the most notable. 5. God will judge the unevangelized on the basis of how they would have responded if they had heard the gospel. Proponents believe that God knows what could, would, and will happen; therefore, He knows who would have been saved had they been given the opportunity to hear the gospel. While there are not many proponents of this belief, they include Donald Lake, George Goodman, and William Lane Craig. 6. People will receive an opportunity after death to hear about Christ and to accept or reject Him.

Proponents teach that a person must be able to have explicit knowledge of Christ. Therefore, the only reason people are condemned to hell is for explicit rejection of Jesus Christ--not for ignorance of the gospel but for refusal to accept the gospel message and salvation.