Why can't God save people after they die?

[BigV]

If God is omnipotent, and all wise, why can't he come up with a way to save people who changed their minds after they died?

 

[Tinker Grey]

If God is omnipotent, and all wise, why can't he come up with a way to save people who changed their minds after they died?

Because he is not omni-benevolent. (Or it's non-existent which, one must admit, is a good excuse)

 

[Andrewn]

If God is omnipotent, and all wise, why can't he come up with a way to save people who changed their minds after they died?

He certainly can and some people speculate that He will. But we don't have concrete information about this in the Bible.

 

[tampasteve]

Some Christians would agree. I have heard it said "Hell is real - there just isn't anyone in it". Some believe that if one is not a believer and one dies it is just death, the end. Some believe that "hell" is not as bad as we presume, that "Heaven" would be closeness to God, while Hell is absence and distance from Him at that time.

I don't know the answer, but I am confident in my life path to believe that I will be on the better side, whatever that may end up being.

 

[Lost4words]

We have free will. We choose heaven or hell by our way of life

 

[HitchSlap]

If God is omnipotent, and all wise, why can't he come up with a way to save people who changed their minds after they died?

Well, god designed the game and them’s the rules.

 

[eleos1954]

If God is omnipotent, and all wise, why can't he come up with a way to save people who changed their minds after they died?

Because when one dies they don't have a conscious mind.

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

 

[Tolworth John]

If God is omnipotent, and all wise, why can't he come up with a way to save people who changed their minds after they died?

Because today is the day of salvation. When one hears the gospel that is when one must respond to it.

God has decreed that we die once and after that is judgement.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

Because today is the day of salvation. When one hears the gospel that is when one must respond to it.

God has decreed that we die once and after that is judgement.

That's no answer. You're just saying, "it is because it is."

 

[BigV]

He certainly can and some people speculate that He will. But we don't have concrete information about this in the Bible.

Well, that's an interesting response. We don't have concrete information about this, BUT, the information that is there is pretty clear that it's likely not happening, no?

 

[Andrewn]

Well, that's an interesting response. We don't have concrete information about this, BUT, the information that is there is pretty clear that it's likely not happening, no?

The Bible seems to be clear about an unpleasant post-mortem existence.

Joh 3:18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Luke 16:24 He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’

Obviously, we are talking about unembodied souls, so they cannot be tortured by literal flames. We don't know the nature of punishment or its duration or whether there is a possibility of release to a better condition if they repent / change their mind.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Because when one dies they don't have a conscious mind.

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:6
After people are dead, their love, hate, and jealousy are all gone. And they will never again share in what happens on earth.

Your proof text simply means those who have died do not know what is happening among the living on earth. Also, Solomon was insane with depression when he wrote this book.

Isa 14

A Song About the King of Babylon
4 At that time you will begin to sing this song about the king of Babylon:

The king was cruel when he ruled us,
but now his rule is finished.
5 The Lord breaks the scepter of evil rulers;
he takes away their power.
6 In anger, the king of Babylon beat the people.
He never stopped beating them.
He was an evil ruler who ruled in anger.
He never stopped hurting people.
7 But now, the whole country rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to celebrate.
8 You were an evil king,
and now you are finished.
Even the pine trees are happy.
The cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king chopped us down,
but now the king has fallen,
and he will never stand again.”
9 The place of death is excited
that you are coming.
Sheol is waking the spirits
of all the leaders of the earth for you.
Sheol is making the kings stand up
from their thrones to meet you.
10 They will make fun of you, saying,
“Now you are as dead as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your pride has been sent down to Sheol.
The music from your harps announces the coming of your proud spirit.
Maggots will be the bed you lie on,
and other worms will cover your body like a blanket.
12 You were like the morning star,
but you have fallen from the sky.
In the past, all the nations on earth bowed down before you,
but now you have been cut down.
13 You always told yourself,
“I will go to the skies above.
I will put my throne above God’s stars.
I will sit on Zaphon, the holy mountain where the gods meet.
14 I will go up to the altar above the tops of the clouds.
I will be like God Most High.”

15 But that did not happen.
You were brought down to the deep pit—Sheol, the place of death.
16 People will come to look at your dead body.
They will think about you and say,
“Is this the same man
who caused great fear in all the kingdoms on earth,
17 who destroyed cities
and turned the land into a desert,
who captured people in war
and would not let them go home?”
18 The kings of other nations lie buried with honor,
each king with his own grave.
19 But you were thrown out of your grave
like a branch cut from a tree and thrown away.
You are like a dead man who fell in battle,
trampled under the feet of other soldiers.
Now you look like any other dead man
wrapped in burial clothes.
20 Other kings have their own graves,
but you will not join them,
because you ruined your own country
and killed your own people.
So your wicked descendants will be stopped.

21 Prepare to kill his children,
because their father is guilty.
His children will never take control of the land.
They will never fill the world with their cities.

22 The Lord All-Powerful said, “I will stand and fight against those people. I will destroy the famous city, Babylon. I will destroy all the people there. I will destroy their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren.” The Lord himself said this.

23 “I will change Babylon. It will be a place for animals,[c] not people. It will be a swamp. I will use the ‘broom of destruction’ to sweep Babylon away.” The Lord All-Powerful said this.

God Will Also Punish Assyria
24 The Lord All-Powerful made this promise: “This will happen exactly as I meant for it to happen. It will happen just the way I planned. 25 I will destroy the king of Assyria in my country. I will walk on him on my mountains. He forced my people to be his slaves; he put a yoke on their necks. But that pole will be taken off Judah’s neck, and that burden will be removed. 26 This is what I plan to do for this land. I will use my power to punish all those nations.”

27 When the Lord All-Powerful makes a plan, no one can change it. When he raises his arm to punish, no one can stop him.

God’s Message to Philistia
28 This message[d] was given to me the year King Ahaz died[e]:

29 Country of Philistia, don’t be happy that the king who beat you is now dead. It is true that his rule has ended, but his son will come and rule. It will be like one snake giving birth to a more dangerous one. The new king will be like a quick and dangerous snake to you. 30 But even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely. And their children will be able to lie down and feel safe. But I will make your family die from hunger, and your enemy will kill anyone who survives.

31 People near the city gates, cry!
People in the city, cry out!
Everyone in Philistia,
your courage will melt like hot wax.

Look to the north!
There is a cloud of dust.
An army is coming,
and everyone in that army is strong.[f]
32 But what will the messengers from that nation report about us?
They will say, “The Lord made Zion strong,
and his poor people went there for safety.”

 

[jacks]

God can do whatever He wants.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Because today is the day of salvation. When one hears the gospel that is when one must respond to it.

God has decreed that we die once and after that is judgement.

Isaiah 49
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Servant Brings Salvation
49 Coastlands,[a] listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.
2 He made my words like a sharp sword;
He hid me in the shadow of His hand.
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
He hid me in His quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel;
I will be glorified in him.”
4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;
yet my vindication is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
5 And now, says the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be His Servant,
to bring Jacob back to Him
so that Israel might be gathered to Him;
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength—
6 He says,
“It is not enough for you to be My Servant
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,
to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and stand up,
and princes[c] will bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel—and He has chosen you.”

8 This is what the Lord says:

I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9 saying to the prisoners: Come out,
and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves.
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.
10 They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate One will guide them,
and lead them to springs of water.
11 I will make all My mountains into a road,
and My highways will be raised up.
12 See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,[d]
and from the land of Sinim.[e][f]

13 Shout for joy, you heavens!
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

Zion Remembered
14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
The Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your builders[g] hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.
As I live”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“you will wear all your children[h] as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19 For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins—
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’
21 Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering—
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself—
but these, where did they come from?’”

22 This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,
and raise My banner to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens[j] your nursing mothers.
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground,
and lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh;
those who put their hope in Me
will not be put to shame.

24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of the righteous[k] be delivered?
25 For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all flesh will know
that I, Yahweh, am your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

2 Corinthians 6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
6 Working together[a] with Him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.” 2 For He says:

I heard you in an acceptable time,
and I helped you in the day of salvation.

Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.

The Character of Paul’s Ministry
3 We give no opportunity for stumbling to anyone, so that the ministry will not be blamed. 4 But as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything:

by great endurance, by afflictions,
by hardship, by difficulties,
5 by beatings, by imprisonments,
by riots, by labors,
by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,
6 by purity, by knowledge,
by patience, by kindness,
by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,
7 by the message of truth,
by the power of God;
through weapons of righteousness
on the right hand and the left,
8 through glory and dishonor,
through slander and good report;
as deceivers yet true;
9 as unknown yet recognized;
as dying and look—we live;
as being disciplined yet not killed;
10 as grieving yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing yet possessing everything.

11 We have spoken openly[c] to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. 12 You are not limited by us, but you are limited by your own affections. 13 I speak as to my children. As a proper response, you should also be open to us.

Separation to God
14 Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 What agreement does Christ have with Belial?[d] Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we[e] are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said:

I will dwell among them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be My people.[f]
17 Therefore, come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord;
do not touch any unclean thing,
and I will welcome you.[g]
18 I will be a Father to you,
and you will be sons and daughters to Me,
says the Lord Almighty.

I am puzzled, if someone did not get saved on that specific date, then they can not get saved?

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Well, that's an interesting response. We don't have concrete information about this, BUT, the information that is there is pretty clear that it's likely not happening, no?

1 Peter 3:19
And by the Spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison.

I Peter 4
4 Now those “friends” think it is strange that you no longer join them in all the wild and wasteful things they do. And so they say bad things about you. 5 But they will have to face God to explain what they have done. He is the one who will soon judge everyone—those who are still living and those who have died. 6 Some were told the Good News before they died. They were criticized by others in their life here on earth. But it was God’s plan that they hear the Good News so that they could have a new life through the Spirit

Hebrews 9
25 The high priest enters the Most Holy Place once every year. He takes with him blood to offer. But he does not offer his own blood like Christ did. Christ went into heaven, but not to offer himself many times like the high priest offers blood again and again. 26 If Christ had offered himself many times, he would have needed to suffer many times since the time the world was made. But he came to offer himself only once. And that once is enough for all time. He came at a time when the world is nearing an end. He came to take away all sin by offering himself as a sacrifice.

27 Everyone must die once. Then they are judged. 28 So Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, but not to offer himself for sin. He will come the second time to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

How much time do people spend in the grave?

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Philippians 1:23
It would be a hard choice. Sometimes I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That would be much better for me;

20 I am full of hope and feel sure I will not have any reason to be ashamed. I am certain I will continue to have the same boldness to speak freely that I always have. I will let God use my life to bring more honor to Christ. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. 21 To me, the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be for my benefit.[c] 22 If I continue living here on earth, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what would I choose—to live or to die? I don’t know. 23 It would be a hard choice. Sometimes I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That would be much better for me; 24 however, you people need me here alive. 25 I am sure of this, so I know that I will stay here and be with you to help you grow and have joy in your faith. 26 When I am there with you again, you will be bursting with pride over what Christ Jesus did to help me.

1 Thessalonians 3:13
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

The Bible seems to be clear about an unpleasant post-mortem existence.

Joh 3:18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Luke 16:24 He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’

Obviously, we are talking about unembodied souls, so they cannot be tortured by literal flames. We don't know the nature of punishment or its duration or whether there is a possibility of release to a better condition if they repent / change their mind.

John 3 does not say anything about people who have died.

Luke 16 is about people who are in the grave, not about post Judgement which Matthew 26 is about.

Luke 16:19-31
J.B. Phillips New Testament
Jesus shows the fearful consequence of social injustice
19-31 “There was once a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and lead a life of daily luxury. And there was a poor man called Lazarus who was put down at his gate. He was covered with sores. He used to long to be fed with the scraps from the rich man’s table. Yes, and the dogs used to come and lick his sores. Well, it happened that the poor man died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And from among the dead he looked up and saw Abraham a long way away, and Lazarus in his arms. ‘Father Abraham!’ he cried out, ‘please pity me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my son, that you used to have the good things in your lifetime, while Lazarus suffered the bad. Now he is being comforted here, while you are in agony. And besides this, a great chasm has been set between you and us, so that those who want to go to you from this side cannot do so, and people cannot come to us from your side.’ At this he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers. He could warn them about all this and prevent their coming to this place of torture.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets: they can listen to them.’ ‘Ah no, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘if only someone were to go to them from the dead, they would change completely.’ But Abraham told him, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they would not be convinced even if somebody were to rise from the dead.’”

 

[Daniel Marsh]

maybe those who know more than I do can tie all those texts together.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

The Bible seems to be clear about an unpleasant post-mortem existence.

Joh 3:18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Luke 16:24 He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’

Obviously, we are talking about unembodied souls, so they cannot be tortured by literal flames. We don't know the nature of punishment or its duration or whether there is a possibility of release to a better condition if they repent / change their mind.

The word "obviously" seems rather overconfident there. We don't know anything about the afterlife. Was this story from Luke a metaphor? Do souls in hell get new bodies so they can be tormented? Who knows? How could you know?
It should give every Christian enormous doubt that there is such a lot - everything, really - that they don't know about how they are going to spend the rest of their infinitely long lives. It sometimes makes me wonder if Christians actually think about these things.

 

[Andrewn]

The word "obviously" seems rather overconfident there. We don't know anything about the afterlife. Was this story from Luke a metaphor? Do souls in hell get new bodies so they can be tormented? Who knows? How could you know?

OK.

It should give every Christian enormous doubt that there is such a lot - everything, really - that they don't know about how they are going to spend the rest of their infinitely long lives. It sometimes makes me wonder if Christians actually think about these things.

We do know a lot more about heaven where we will spend the rest of our lives.