Please note that I did not entitle this chapter, “What about the people who have never had Jesus?” or “What about the people who have never had the New Testament?” The Israelites (Jews) who have the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible), but who say they do not have Jesus (the Messiah), are wrong! The Old Testament is all about Jesus! The Old Testament clearly tells us that even though God is one,
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Deuteronomy 6:4
He is also plural,
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26,27
and that He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Proverbs 30:4
Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Isaiah 63:10
It foretold that the Son would come into the world
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
to die for our sins
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4 6
and it even foretold when.
Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Daniel 9:25,26
It foretold He would be born of a virgin,
Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [Immanuel means “God with us.”] Isaiah 7:14
in the line of Jesse (the father of King David),
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations shall rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. Isaiah 11:10
in the town of Bethlehem,
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. Micah 5:2
and come from Galilee.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:1,2
It foretold He would die by crucifixion,
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and feet. Psalm 22:16
soldiers would gamble for His garments,
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. Psalm 22:18
and He would rise again from the dead.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. Psalm 16:9,10
Anybody who knows the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection from the New Testament knows that this is the exact same story.
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. . . You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Luke 1.26,27,31
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, . . . Matthew 2:1
It was the third hour when they crucified him. Mark 15:25
“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” John 19:24
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, . . . 1 Peter 3:18
There were also many other Old Testament prophesies fulfilled by Jesus’ earthly visit.
Now, in regard to people who have never had the Bible, I personally cannot tell you all the ways in which God has presented His offer of salvation, throughout time or around the world. There are, however, three things which I can tell you. First, Almighty God–creator of time, space, energy, matter, life, and human languages—
The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. Genesis 11:6,7
is not restricted by our sorely limited knowledge or abilities. He is perfectly capable of communicating with people directly. He spoke directly to people who lived before the Bible,
So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Genesis 15:9
to the people whom He divinely inspired to write the Bible,
All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness . . . 2 Timothy 3:16
and still speaks directly to people today.
When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. Luke 12:11-12
He can also have messages delivered in ways beyond our understanding. He once created an unattached human hand to write a message to a king (foretelling the king’s destruction)
Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. Daniel 5:5,6
and has transported His human messengers in ways unrestricted by either time or space.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:39
He once even delivered His message of salvation in a realm which does not apply to our world today.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. 1 Peter 4:18 20
Secondly–and this is very important–the message is always the same. No matter how it is delivered, or by whom, the message is always: “Humble yourself before Almighty God, repent of your sins (disobedience), and trust in Him to save you.”
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Acts 2:38
This is the only way that people ever have been, or ever will be, declared righteous, so they can get to heaven.
Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
Thirdly–and this is equally important–once you have heard His offer (which you now have), you will have no excuse for rejecting it. God’s offer is laid out before you. You can accept it and spend eternity in heaven, or you can reject it, or even ignore it, and spend eternity in hell. The choice is, once again, up to you.
[“Christianity vs. Religion.” Please understand that I am not suggesting God would ever come to someone through a false religious system–as opposed to Christianity. Christianity and religions are totally different! First of all, Christianity is a loving, personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, while religions are simply systems of worship, which can be aimed at anything–an idea, a man-made idol, nature, the sun, or some distant, untouchable god whom we could never know. Secondly, God tells us that we must humbly and repentantly come before Him, asking for forgiveness, putting faith in what He has done for us–to get to heaven. Religions, on the other hand, allow for incredible, and sometimes absurd, pride. Some of them teach that people are god; some of them teach that people can become god; and the rest of them teach that people can get to God (or heaven) by their own abilities.]
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8,9