Eternal Consequences

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. Mk 16:16

Yes or no; are the words 'saved' and 'condemned' in Mk 16:16 referring to eternal consequences (e.g. 'saved from eternity burning in hell' or 'condemned to eternity burning in hell')?

If yes, can you build a case from scripture to prove it?

( I hope to discuss also other 'eternal consequence' passages on this thread; Mk 16:16 seems a good place to start)

I vote no. I don't believe eternal consequences were the immediate intent of this statement by Christ.

 

“The Scriptures are to be taken in the sense attached to them in the age and by the people to whom they were addressed.” C. Hodge

Answer:
Mk 16:16 is immediately referring to the Jews of 'that generation'. Their belief or unbelief would ultimately determine whether they were 'saved from' or 'condemned to' the casting forth of Mt 8:12, or the wrath of Mt 3:7 & Lu 21:22,32, or the destruction of Acts 3:23, or the breaking off of Ro 11:20, etc..

Explanation:
Determining what 'the eleven' (Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was absent) comprehended Christ to say (or NOT to say) in the preceding verse 15, leads to clues for what is actually meant by 'saved' and 'damned' in verse 16:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Mk 16:15

Luke records Christ's words to 'the eleven':

But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

(Note Christ said, 'ye shall' be my witnesses unto the end of the earth. He told them, 'the eleven', that they indeed would do it.)

A few weeks earlier Christ had told them in the Olivet Discourse:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. Mt 24

(Note Christ said that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in the whole world BEFORE that generation had passed away.)

In Acts 2 Luke records:

5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem JEWS, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. Acts 2

I suggest to you that the preaching of 'the eleven' on the day of Pentecost itself became a 'gospel bomb' that was heard 'unto the uttermost part of the earth'. After hearing and believing the gospel and themselves having received power from the Holy Spirit, those 'Jews from every nation' left the celebration of Pentecost at Jerusalem and went back to their homes carrying the gospel of the kingdom with them.

Paul verifies the fulfillment of Mt 24:14 here:

So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, Did they not hear? Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world. Ro 10:17-18

(Note Paul is referring to JEWS, Israel after the flesh, throughout the context of the 10th chapter of Romans. Referring to JEWS, Paul says, “Did they not hear? Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world.”)

and here:

5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6 which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. Col 1:23

and here:

Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith: Ro 16:25-26

In the 10th chapter of Acts:

We're given a detailed account of how the Spirit worked on both ends to bring Peter and Cornelius together for the purpose of bringing the gospel to Cornelius (a Gentile).

In the 11th chapter of Acts:

Peter is called upon by the circumcision at Jerusalem to explain his actions (going in to men uncircumcised). After Peter related the events of Acts 10 there is rejoicing among them because of the obvious conclusion, “Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life” (do you believe that 'life' means 'immortality' (e.g. eternal consequences) here? [Acts 11:18]).

The significant conclusion to draw from this is that it is obvious that neither 'the eleven' nor the circumcision at Jerusalem comprehended the statements to them of Mk 16:15, or Acts 1:8, or Mt 28:19,20 to include the Gentiles, but only the Jews that were among the nations. It is apparent that they were still operating under the charge of Mt 10:6.

In Galatians 2:

7 but contrariwise, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision8 (for he that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for me also unto the Gentiles);
9 and when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision;

Again, it is apparent that James, Cephas and John did not comprehend the statements of Mk 16:15, or Acts 1:8, or Mt 28:19,20 to include the Gentiles, or they would have never so readily left 'the gospel of the uncircumcision' to Paul; indeed, they would never have even made a distinction between 'the gospel of the uncircumcision' and 'the gospel of the circumcision'. To do so would have been to blatantly disobey their Master if the Gentiles had been included in His statements to them of Mk 16:15, Acts 1:8, and Mt 28:19,20.

The gospel was to 'the Jew first', and for good reason. There was a very serious time line involved for every Jew of 'that generation' alive on the planet. The urgency of the message to the Jew was 'Save yourselves from this crooked generation' (Acts 2), and 'Every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people' (Acts 3).

Consider what was coming upon 'that generation':

upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. Mt 23:35,36

God made sure that every Jew on earth of 'that generation' was given the chance to 'hearken to that prophet' before the wrath came. All the Jews of 'that generation' on earth heard the gospel, and were given the chance to repent and avoid the wrath and the curses of the OT that were to come on the nation of Israel.

Mk 16:16 is immediately referring to the Jews of 'that generation'. Their belief or unbelief would ultimately determine whether they were 'saved from' or 'condemned to' the casting forth of Mt 8:12, or the wrath of Mt 3:7 & Lu 21:22,32, or the destruction of Acts 3:23, or the breaking off of Ro 11:20, etc..

 

THREE TIMES Paul verifies the fulfillment of Mt 24:14.

 

I don't know why.

Because it's apparent that the 'hearers', the ones that that command was addressed to, understood it to mean Jews, not Gentiles.

"The progressive order of the world-wide spread of the gospel" is not what's being debated here. It's the meaning of 'saved' and 'damned' in Mk 16:16.

 

In the OP I requested, "If yes, can you build a case from scripture to prove it?"

I've presented my case as to why I don't see 'saved' and 'damned' in Mk 16:16 to imply eternity in heaven or hell.

Instead of criticizing, can you present a case, from scripture, that shows sozo in Mk 16:16 to have eternal consequences?

[edit] ....and while you're at it, does "the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" [Mt 8:12] carry eternal consequences?

 

Again, "The progressive order of the world-wide spread of the gospel" is not what being debated here. It's the meaning of 'saved' and 'damned' in Mk 16:16.

Again, "The progressive order of the world-wide spread of the gospel" is not what being debated here. It's the meaning of 'saved' and 'damned' in Mk 16:16.

I believe it's apparent 'the eleven' had Israel in mind, and once again, "the progressive order of the world-wide spread of the gospel" is not what being debated here. It's the meaning of 'saved' and 'damned' in Mk 16:16.

 

.... Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life. Acts 11:18

Does 'life' here mean 'eternal' life?

Were all non-Jews going to hell for all eternity prior to this?