Sunday, August 29, 2021

James Beilby on Hebrews 9:27 and Posthumous Salvation

  

The text most commonly cited in opposition to Postmortem Opportunity is Hebrews 9:27 . . . These interpretations are surprising, for there is nothing in the text whatsoever to justify these specific claims (If one starts from the assumption that salvation after death is impossible, then these passages could be interpreted in a way that could be supportive of that commitment,  but that’s about it) . . . The broader context of this passage is the difference between the old system of atonement and Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Hebrews 9:25 and 26 asserts that Jesus did not atone for sins the way the high priest did, for that would require ongoing sacrifice on his part. Rather, just as human beings only die once, and after that face judgment (Heb 9:27), so Christ will only die once to pay the price for human sin, and after that “appear a second time” to bring salvation to those who are being judged (Heb 9:28). The parallelism between Hebrews 9:27 and 28 as well as the context draws attention to the fact that humans only die once. This is the point of the passage. The point of saying “death then judgment” is to reinforce the idea that death only occurs once. Consequently, if this text is an argument against any particular position or belief, it is reincarnation, not Postmortem Opportunity. There is nothing in the claim that judgment follows death that is problematic for the Postmortem Opportunity theorist. In fact, even this passage could be interpreted to teach that the day of judgment followed immediately after death, that would do nothing to impugn Postmortem Opportunity (And the parallelism between Heb 9:27, 28 works against such an inference. The assumption that death is followed immediately by judgment is problematized by the fact that Christ’s second coming does not follow immediately after Christ’s death), for it is possible to believe that the judgment that an unevangelized person experience includes an opportunity to hear the gospel and that they are judged by their response to that offer. (James Beilby, Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death [Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2021], 108-9)