While God is love, he is also just, and his justice demands the punishment of all willful sinners with death. We have already noted the clear testimony of the Scriptures on this point; but it is important to realize that this testimony of the Word, insofar as mankind in general is concerned, applies to the age of restitution, not to the present time. Many of the Lord’s people down through the age failed to realize this and so made the mistake of supposing that all were lost who did not accept their message.

This mistaken viewpoint did not come about suddenly but was the result of a gradual falling away from the true faith. The apostles foretold that this would happen. The apostasy continued to develop until the church illicitly joined hands with the state and claimed that thereby the kingdom of Christ had been established. This formed the basis of many serious errors, including the unscriptural teaching that the opportunity to gain salvation is limited to this present short span of life.

If the kingdom was then established, every text of Scripture applying to the work of the kingdom would of necessity be in process of fulfillment, including those which indicate that those who dis- obey the laws of the kingdom would be everlastingly destroyed. By that time, of course, “destruction” had come to mean “torment.”

The reasoning seemed sound; but it was based on a false premise, for the kingdom of Christ was not then established. Kingdom authority was not then, and never has been, entrusted to fallen and imperfect men. However, while today nearly all recognize the evils of the church-state counterfeit of Christ’s kingdom, most of the errors which grew out of the great apostasy still becloud the thinking of millions, not the least of which is the false view that there can be no opportunity beyond death to accept Christ and obtain salvation.

At this end of the age, however, the glorious Gospel of the kingdom was, in the Lord’s providence, restored to humble followers of the Master. It again became clearly understood, as it was by the Early Church, that the work of God in the present age is merely the selection of that “little flock” who will live and reign with Christ during the kingdom age. Again it was seen that the glorious promises of God concerning kingdom blessings to all the families of the earth would be fulfilled only after all who were to reign with Christ in his kingdom were glorified together with him.

This restored understanding of the loving plan of God revealed not only that the promised blessings of restitution must wait for fulfillment until the kingdom was established, but also that not until then would the world be on trial for life. This meant that all the various texts of Scripture describing the righteous judgments of God against willful sinners do not apply now but in the kingdom age, that “judgment day” of the future.

However, not all who once rejoiced in this clear light of truth continued in it. With some, the viewpoint again developed that the kingdom is already established, not through a church state system, but through them. The claim is that they are now the Lord’s kingdom class and that the authority of the kingdom is now being exercised through them. If this were true, it would follow that any and all who might fail to heed their message and join them in their work would thereby become subject to the “second death.” The reasoning is correct, but again the premise is wrong. Kingdom authority is not yet being exercised in the earth.