Step Five: Even If All The Heathen Heard; Not All Heathen Would Be Saved.
Step Five: Even If All The Heathen Heard; Not All Heathen Would Be Saved.
Many have a mistaken idea that if all the "heathen" were given the Gospel, most of the "heathen" would abandon their idols, their false gods, and be gloriously saved! This kind of reasoning leads one to blame God for their eternal destiny in Hell. The idea that all, or the majority, of those who have not heard the truth would be saved, if they had the truth, is just not true! The word of God repudiates this philosophy from man's reasoning. Remember, God knows man—a thousand times better!—than man knows man. No man knows what another person will or will not do; but, God does, because he is omniscient.
Recall the words of Christ, Himself, in Matthew 7:14,
"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT (i.e., perceive or obtain it)."
Why is this so? The answer lies in man's pride and self-righteousness; therefore, they willfully reject the truth. Notice Christ's words in Matthew 13:15,
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed..." ( i.e., to the truth.) Compared to the multitudes who have ever lived; only a few have been saved from the time of Creation until now. At the time of the flood mankind had lived upon the earth 1656 years, and there were hundreds of thousands of people living on the earth at the time. How many were saved at the time of the flood? Only eight. Those who decided not to board the ark had heard the truth, as Noah preached for 120 years prior to the flood judgment. The Bible says, Noah was "a preacher of righteousness." (2 Peter 2:5).
What about Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Genesis 14:2), which were all destroyed by God? (Genesis 19:24-25). There were hundreds of thousands of people in these cities; yet God could not even find ten that were saved.
Look at Pentecost, just 50 days after Christ was crucified and resurrected. We have the record of the first 40 of these 50 days after His Resurrection in Acts 1:3,
"To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:"
"And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: (5) After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once: of whom the greater part remain alive unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. (6) After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles." (1 Corinthians 15:4-7).
He then ascended back to Heaven ten days before Pentecost. (Acts 1:11). Also see 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
We learn, from Acts 2:8-11, of the tremendous populace from all sects and areas that had come to Jerusalem to worship at the Feast of Pentecost. It is estimated that there could have been over 300,000 in and around Jerusalem. Remember, all Jewish males were required by the Law to come to this feast. (Deuteronomy 16:16; Exodus 23:17). In Acts 2:41 we are told that only 3,000 out of approximately 300,000 believed and were saved. That is only one out of 100. One must remember that many of these had seen Christ crucified, with their own eyes, and then observed Him alive after the Resurrection for a month and ten days. (Acts 1:3). Yet, only one out of every hundred would believe and be saved. On to Step Six.