This is an intriguing question. In a recent Q&A, we stated the following:
“The Bible does NOT say that people will DIE in the Millennium TO BE RESURRECTED TO IMMORTALITY at a later time. It appears LIKELY that all will indeed live until the end of the Millennium, so that all will be exposed to Satan’s evil devices when he is released from prison. Most (except for those very few who survive the Great Tribulation and live on into the Millennium) had never had any experience with Satan who was bound in prison for all this time, while they were born in the Millennium and grew up; so God might want to test all of them to see where they really stand. This is not the case with those who will be in the Second Resurrection, because ALL of them had been tempted by Satan in their prior life. Therefore, there is no need for God to keep Satan around to allow him to tempt them once again.”
A specific question was asked as to how this statement applies to unborn or aborted children. In what way were they tempted by Satan before their life ended prematurely? And how will they be judged by God in the Great White Throne Judgment period, since they were never born and did not sin in their mother’s womb?
First of all, let us recall that, and exactly how, aborted babies will be resurrected.
We stated the following in a previous Q&A:
“The Bible also teaches that all those who did NOT die ‘in Christ’ will be resurrected AFTER the Millennium to be given their chance to choose God’s Way of Life. This is commonly referred to in the Bible as the ‘second resurrection.’ But they will be resurrected as physical beings, not as Spirit beings. When they are raised from the dead, they will receive a new physical body–not a spiritual body… God will be using their spirit in man (which returned to God upon death) to create through it a new physical body for them. God will give them a new flesh and blood physical body, as He pleases, using the spirit in man as a ‘mold’ which has retained even the outward appearance of the person.
“This is not to say that the persons will be raised exactly to the same physical existence that they had when they died. For instance, we don’t believe that a person who, through an accident or a birth defect, had only one arm or one leg, will be resurrected to exactly that identical state, but, in all likelihood, with two arms and two legs. We find it reasonable to conclude that blind persons will be raised with eyesight. An aborted fetus will obviously not be resurrected as a fetus, but as a human being who will be capable of living on his own [To clarify, a fetus is a human being. But he or she will not be raised in the Second Resurrection as a fetus, but as a physical human being capable of living on his or her own.]. When Adam and Eve were created, God did not create them as little children, but as grown adults, perhaps in their early or mid-twenties, and He placed in them the spirit in man, even though they were without any prior experience… all [in the Great White Throne Judgment] will be resurrected to live healthy lives for about one hundred years, which–as the Bible indicates–is most likely the time allotted to them during the Great White Throne Judgment period, prior to the creation of new heavens and a new earth (compare Isaiah 65:17, 20, indicating that a ‘child’–that is a Christian who is to become like a child–will live for one hundred years, and that an unrepented ‘sinner,’ being ‘one hundred years old,’ shall be ‘accursed’).”
In chapter 11 of our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy–From Now Until Forever,” we added the following:
“After the Millennium, there will be a Second Resurrection when God will resurrect all those who did not commit the unpardonable sin, and who were not already changed into Spirit in the First Resurrection or during or at the end of the Millennium. Everyone who died without having been given an opportunity to accept the truth and to live God’s way of life will receive that opportunity then. They will be resurrected as a human being, in a physical state, here on earth, and will live for about 100 years (compare Isaiah 65:20). During that time, they will also be given the opportunity to qualify to enter the Kingdom of God.
“This Second Resurrection is also commonly referred to as the ‘Great White Throne Judgment’ period, during which all persons who have ever lived and who were never called by God for salvation during their lifetime, will have their first opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior…
“Revelation 20:5, 11–12 describes the SECOND resurrection: ‘But the REST OF THE DEAD [who were not in the FIRST resurrection] did not live again UNTIL the thousand years [the Millennium] were finished… Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it… And I saw the dead, small and great, STANDING before God… And the dead were JUDGED…’
“Ezekiel 37:7–11 describes the resurrection of the entire house of Israel to PHYSICAL LIFE. They will be resurrected in the SECOND resurrection… It is not only the people of Israel who will be resurrected at that time. We read in Matthew 12:41–42 that the men of Nineveh and the queen of the South ‘will RISE UP in the JUDGMENT’ together with people who were alive at the time of Jesus Christ…
“At the end of the Great White Throne Judgment period, there will be a ‘judicial’ finding. Those who qualified for the Kingdom of God will be changed into immortal God beings, entering the very Family of God. Those who irrevocably decided against God’s Way of Life will be condemned and die. They will subsequently be resurrected again in the Third Resurrection [to be destroyed in the lake of fire]…
“Christ will rule on the throne of David in Jerusalem during the Millennium. His rule will continue during the Great White Throne Judgment period. He will continue to RULE on the throne of David in Jerusalem (Luke 1:32-33)—His government and peace will be everlasting; His throne will stand forever, and His rule will be without end (compare Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 7:27; 2:44)…
“We referred earlier to Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, as set forth in Ezekiel 37. It describes the resurrection of the entire house of Israel. We are specifically informed that the dead Israelites will be resurrected to PHYSICAL life. They will come to know God (verse 6). God will open their graves and bring them to the land of Israel (verse 12). This implies that they will be resurrected where they died and/or were buried, but that God will then bring them to the places He wants them to be…
“After they are resurrected from the dead, apparently at the place where they were buried or died, they will all be brought before Christ in Jerusalem, to appear before His throne and judgment seat. It is very likely that angels and immortal saints will assist in this process of bringing the resurrected persons to Christ’s throne in Jerusalem.
“Remember that we read in Revelation 20:11-12 that John sees in vision a great white throne and Him that sat on it, and the dead are standing before God to give account and hear God’s pronouncement of judgment—the death penalty for everyone, since all have sinned. But then Christ will explain that because of His death and sacrifice, their sins can be forgiven, and the Holy Spirit will be offered to them…
“God will then ‘dismiss’ them to settle in those places on earth designed for them. The Gentiles, as well as the Israelites, will have an allotted time of perhaps 100 years to qualify for the Kingdom of God. Even though God will remove the spiritual veil from people’s minds, they still need to be taught the right way, and they have to be encouraged to stay on that right path, as is explained in Isaiah 30:20-21, referring to teachers showing the way. God’s immortal saints will be those teachers, and the God Family will hasten righteousness in mercy on the earth (Isaiah 16:5; Psalm 96:13; 67:3-4).”
In a Q&A about the spirit in man in man we pointed out the following:
“In the book of Isaiah we are told that each human being has a spirit within him. ‘Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it…’ (Isaiah 42:5)… The Bible strongly indicates that God gives the human spirit at the time of conception, and then takes it back at the time of death. We read in Zechariah 12:1, ‘Thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.’ Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, ‘Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.’ When the spirit in man leaves a person, that person is dead. James 2:26 says, ‘For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also…
“… each person has a human spirit which God gives to each human, apparently at the time of conception, and which goes back to God in heaven when the person dies. This spirit is not the person, nor is it immortal or eternal, nor does it have a conscious existence when the person dies.”
This means, then, that an aborted baby or a baby who dies prematurely in the mother’s womb, has received the spirit in man, apparently at the time of conception; he or she has therefore become a human being since conception and will be resurrected in the Second Resurrection of the Great White Throne Judgment period.
In light of the foregoing statements, we are ready to answer the question as to how aborted babies and those who die prematurely before birth, will be judged. We read in Revelation 20:12:
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”
A reference to opened books at the time when the court is seated can also be found in Daniel 7:10. The “books” which were opened refer to the books of the Bible (compare for example Exodus 17:14, referring to the writings or books of Moses; Jeremiah 30:2, referring to the book of Jeremiah; Luke 4:17, referring to the book of Isaiah—see also Isaiah 29:18; John 20:30, referring to the book of John; Hebrews 10:7 and Psalm 40:7, referring to Old Testament writings; and Revelation 1:11; 22:7, 9, 10, 18, 19, referring to the book of Revelation).
But the books are ALSO referring to the deeds, actions and thoughts which have been and will be recorded in heaven (Psalm 56:8; Psalm 139:16; Malachi 3:16). The judgment of those who will be resurrected in the Second Resurrection refers to their prior life AND to their lifetime during the Great White Throne Judgment period. As God’s judgment is already now on the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), so God’s judgment will also be upon those in the Second Resurrection until the end of that period. They will be judged in accordance with the contents of the books of the Bible. The contents will then be open to their understanding (compare Psalm 119:18), and they will be evaluated as to how they will live in compliance with the Bible. The Book of Life will also be open for them, as then will be THEIR time for salvation, when their names can be written into the Book of Life to grant them eternal life and preserve them from the lake of fire (compare Revelation 20:15).
At the BEGINNING of the Great White Throne Judgment period, all will stand in front of Christ’s throne. They will be confronted with their sins in their prior life, which they have to realize, confess and repent of, so that they can obtain forgiveness of their PAST sins. But how can this apply to an unborn baby, and how did Satan tempt the baby in the mother’s womb?
We need to understand that we do not only have to repent of what we DO, but also, of what we ARE. The Bible shows us that apart from God’s Spirit within us, NOTHING good dwells within us (Romans 7:18). The disciples asked Christ on one occasion whether a man or his parents had sinned because he was born blind, and Christ responded that neither of them had sinned (John 9:1-3). That is, neither of them had committed a particular sin which led to the blindness of the person at birth. But this does not mean that they did not have human nature, because all are born with HUMAN NATURE or, as the Bible puts it, with SINFUL FLESH. Christ never sinned, but He came into sinful flesh (Romans 8:3). He had human nature passed on to Him through His mother Mary, and He needed God’s help to overcome sin in the flesh. He had the fullness of God’s Spirit within Him without measure, and that from conception (John 3:34, Authorized Version), which enabled Him to stay sinless.
But this is not true for anyone else, nor is it true for those who will be resurrected in the Second Resurrection. When they were born, lived and died, they did not have any measure of God’s Holy Spirit within them (let alone Holy Spirit without measure), as none of them had been called in this day and age. Instead, all were born and conceived with human nature or “sinful flesh.” Even though an unborn baby who dies prematurely in his or her mother’s womb or who is aborted, does not commit sinful ACTS, they are still human beings with human nature, which CANNOT be subject to God’s law (Romans 8:7). In the Great White Throne Judgment period, they will realize that even as unborn babies, they were hopelessly doomed to failure and that they need Christ’s Sacrifice for the forgiveness of their “sinful flesh,” followed by the development of divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), which can only occur through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It should be obvious that those humans who die prematurely or who are murdered through abortion will have a much easier time to accept God’s Way of Life than those who might have lived in sin for seventy, eighty or ninety years and who have to unlearn the bad habits of an entire lifetime. Persons who prematurely die as little babies will not have to UNLEARN much, if anything… but they still have to qualify by accepting God’s Way of Life and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Adam and Eve were in a similar category, but they refused to eat from the Tree of Life which would have granted them the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. God did not create Adam and Eve with wicked hearts and rebellious minds; however, He did not create them with a divine nature either, but with human nature, susceptible to the temptations of Satan the Devil. Since they were free moral agents, they could choose, and they chose to follow Satan—falling for his temptation—and to disobey God. Mankind has been following Satan ever since, but many times, man follows Satan without realizing it.
Satan has control over the whole world. He rules over this world… and he does so often by sending feelings, impulses and emotions, which are contrary to godly love and promote instead unrealized selfish ambitions. We might call this human nature… but in reality, it is SATAN’S NATURE which he instills into human beings. And in that sense, Satan has tempted everyone, to one degree or another, who will be resurrected in the Great White Throne Judgment. We read in Ephesians 2:1-3 that we all were once targets of Satan, the “prince of the power of the air,” “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were BY NATURE children of wrath.”
The Bible shows that following the time of conception, sinful human nature is there, even in a baby. We read David’s words in Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”
This is not a reference to any illicit acts of his mother and his father; rather, David describes here HIS human nature with which he was conceived and born.
The New International Version says: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
The Pulpit Commentary interprets David’s words as follows:
“Not only have I committed acts of sin (verses 1-4), but sin is thoroughly ingrained into MY NATURE. I was conceived in it; I was brought forth in it; only the strongest remedies can cleanse me from it (verse 7). But cleansing alone is not enough. I need renewal (verse 10); I need thy Holy Spirit (verse 11)…”
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says:
“Hence we learn the earliness of the corruption of nature; it is as soon as man is conceived and shapen; … and that it is the case of all men: for if this was the case of David, who was born of religious parents, was famous for his early piety, and from whose seed the Messiah sprung, it may well be concluded to be the case of all. And this corruption of NATURE is the fountain, source, and spring of all sin, secret and open, private and public; and is mentioned here not as an extenuation of David’s actual transgressions, but as an aggravation of them; he having been, from his conception and formation, nothing else but a mass of sin…”
The Ryrie Study Bible says: “It is not that the acts of giving birth or conceiving are in themselves sinful, but that from the moment of conception a person possesses a SINFUL NATURE.”
A similar statement can be found in Psalm 58:3. Even though it speaks of the wicked person, it goes back to his “origin,” showing where the development would lead if God was not to intervene. We read: “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.”
This is not to be confused with the WRONG concept of the “original sin,” which holds that Adam and Eve’s sin was “imputed” to all of mankind, and that because of the sin of Adam and Eve, everybody is guilty. This negates personal and individual responsibility and accountability. But it IS true that due to Adam and Eve’s sin, access to the Tree of Life and God’s Holy Spirit was disallowed, leading to the kind of world under Satan’s influence which we experience today (Romans 5:12)—a world cut off from God and being held captive by Satan. The point is that even an unborn baby has human NATURE, which would have led to sinful CONDUCT following birth (compare Job 13:26; 14:1-4; 25:4; Psalm 25:7). And it is that human nature, instilled by Satan, which needs to be recognized by those in the Second Resurrection, realizing that they will have to replace their heart of stone (the natural heart) with a new heart of flesh (a godly heart, leading to the development of divine nature).
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
