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Gospel Brochure, Large Print, 14-Point Type
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Will those who have rejected or neglected God’s great salvation offered in the gospel of the grace of God have the opportunity to be saved after the Lord has come and has taken all of the saved ones to heaven? In order to answer this question, we will begin by quoting some passages from the Bible:
“And they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Matthew 25:10-12
“And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
“For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Luke 12:24
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” Hebrews 2:3
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), the work of redemption was gloriously completed. “For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14. He told his disciples that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations (Luke 24:47). The disciples went out with that glorious message, and many believed and were saved. The message of salvation and pardon is still going out to “whosoever will.” In the Bible, it is called “the gospel of the
grace of God” which the apostle Paul preached (Acts 20:25), and with it the truth of the church of God. Paul also preached the kingdom of God, for one must be born again to enter it (John 3:3-5); but this is not “the gospel of the kingdom.” The gospel of the kingdom is the announcement of a future time when His kingdom will be established on earth in power (see Matthew 24:14).
When the Lord Jesus comes for His own, as we are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, He will then take all of the saved ones to heaven. He will descend from heaven with a shout, and all those who have died in faith shall come forth from their graves; and all living believers shall rise together to meet the Lord in the air, to be forever together with Him in heaven. The gospel of the grace of God will then no longer be preached, and the door will be shut for all those who have refused or neglected this wonderful offer of salvation (Matthew 25:10-12). They will ALL come under the strong delusion spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12; and they will be eternally lost.
The gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14) will then be preached among all nations, announcing that the Lord Jesus is going to set up His kingdom on earth and that “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:5). This message shall be preached by those from the nation of Israel, God’s earthly people, raised up as from the dead (spiritually dead, see Ezekiel 37:11-14, Romans 11:15), and they are spoken of as “the godly remnant” (Romans 9:27). This remnant, who have never rejected the gospel of the grace of God, will be used of God to preach the gospel of the kingdom in all the world (Matthew 24:14) during the seven year period spoken of as “the tribulation” (Matthew 24:21), telling of how the Lord Jesus will come out of heaven with those who have been previously caught up in the air to their heavenly home (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), for then He will come down to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31) and to set up His earthly kingdom in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-9, Isaiah 32:1). A great number of people from all the nations of Israel (the twelve tribes) and also a great company of Gentiles who have not heard and refused the gospel of the grace of God, will believe this gospel of the kingdom; and they will be given a place in the earthly kingdom. This is clearly brought out in Revelation 7, which tells us who will be blessed in the earthly kingdom.
The Bible makes it very clear that there will be two places of glory and blessing in a coming day, heavenly and earthly, as we read in Ephesians 1:10, which is sometimes called the key verse to understanding the purposes and ways of God: “That in the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in Him.”
The real purpose of this little paper is to show that if anyone who is still refusing God’s offer of salvation presented to “whosoever will” in the gospel of the grace of God, such persons will not be given the opportunity of receiving the gospel of the kingdom, after the Lord has come and has taken all the saved ones to heaven. The Bible clearly and emphatically warns that “the door was shut” and that “none of these men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” And, last of all, there is no escape for those who may not have scornfully rejected God’s gracious offer of salvation but have neglected it until it was too late.
Perhaps it would be helpful here, to speak about what the Bible calls “the everlasting gospel.” The gospel of the grace of God tells us of God’s provision for our salvation and of the solemn consequences of refusing his gracious provision—His great salvation. The everlasting gospel mentioned in Revelation 14:6, is God’s testimony at all times of His greatness, power, and goodness to man, and man’s responsibility to his Creator (see Psalm 19:1-6, Proverbs 8:22-31, Acts 14:15-17 & 17:25-27, and Romans 1:19-20). It is not a message of salvation like the gospel of the grace of God, but it should cause men and women to acknowledge their Creator, to Whom we must all give account.
We would remind anyone reading this paper that you are responsible to your Creator. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Ecclesiastes 12:1. If you have heard and are presently refusing God’s gracious plan for your salvation now, hear also that it will be too late when the door is shut at the Lord’s coming.
We would press this verse upon you: “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart.” Hebrews 3:15. Do not be deceived by those who may tell you that if you refuse God’s gracious offer now, you may accept the gospel of the kingdom after the Lord has taken all the saved ones to heaven. This is a lie and a delusion, because the door of salvation will be closed when the Lord calls His own to heaven—closed to all those who heard and neglected or rejected the grace of God, which is now being offered to all.
G. H. Hayhoe
Come, for angel hosts are musing
O’er this sight so strangely sad,
God beseeching, man refusing
To be made forever glad.