Hi Mike,

Hope all is going well with you and yours. I was recently reading Mark 14:21, and a question arose which I hope you can help me with.

The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

I believe Judas will be cleansed in the Lake of Fire and therefore ultimately be given eternal life. If this is true, why would Jesus say it would have been better if Judas had never been born?

As always, Mike, thanks for your time and dedication.
Your brother,

S____

Hi S____,

Far be it from me to deny that the words here are “good were it for that man if he had never been born”. That is what Christ said. Christ also ‘commended an unjust steward’ who had stolen from his master:

Luk 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Of course the point is that “He had done wisely” in preparing for his future, not that he had been dishonest and was a crook. Nevertheless we could ignore all the rest of scripture and insist that the Bible says “The Lord commended the unjust steward…” and in doing so we would miss the overall message of Christ’s gospel.

In another instance Christ also said, ‘You knew I was a hard man reaping where I had not sown…’

Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

If we took verse 26 by itself, we could use it to prove that God is a hard man who reaps where He has not sown. After all, Christ Himself said “… I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed”. However, we know from the rest of scripture that He had sown a talent to that particular servant.

Of course there are a thousand other false doctrines which we can prove by taking a scripture and keeping it isolated from the rest of the Bible. I will give just two more examples.

Luk 22:36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

That verse taken by itself tells us all to ‘sell our garments and buy a sword’, and considering the fact that Christ gave his disciples those instructions on the night He was apprehended by the chief priests, has led many to believe that Christ was urging His disciples to defend Him and themselves.

Nothing could be further from the Truth. By simply reading the next two verses it is clear that self-defense was not on Christ’s mind at all, and that the necessity of fulfilling the scriptures was what was on His mind.

Luk 22:37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
Luk 22:38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

“Two swords” were enough? Yes, that was enough to cause the scriptures to be fulfilled, and that was Christ’s point, even though He told them all to “Sell your garment and buy a sword.” Yes, it says ‘Sell your garment and buy a sword’, but that is not the message of ‘the sum of God’s Word’.

Here is one last example of how we can misunderstand the scriptures so very easily. In Christ’s so-called ‘sermon on the mount’, He tells us “resist not evil”.

Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

It may seem unbelievable to many, but whole sermons have been preached using that verse to tell those listening that they should just quit resisting sin in their lives because Christ has died for your sins. Of course that simply justifies continuing in sin, when the point Christ is making is that we are not to resist the evil which this world perpetrates upon us. Here are the next two verses:

Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

“If any man sue you… whosoever shall compel you…” So “resist not evil” is speaking only of sin being perpetrated upon us. It is not speaking of inward sin of which we are all specifically instructed:

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Now it is true that the context of some of these examples makes the meaning clear, while the very next verse in Mark 21 does not make it clear that Judas will be saved in the end.

Mar 14:21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
Mar 14:22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

Nevertheless we must never forsake the principle of “the sum of thy word is truth”.

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ASV)

The sum of God’s Word concerning the salvation of Judas is contained in all the verses which declare that “As in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive. I know you already are familiar with these verses:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

“All” certainly includes Judas, and Judas was certainly “in Adam”.

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Again, “all men” would include Judas.

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Christ’s life is worth more to His Father than all physical life on earth. Nevertheless, it is only through the work Judas was predestined to accomplish that Christ became “the propitiation for… the sins of the whole world”.

That being so, why did Christ say, “Better it would have been for him if he had not been born?” He said that for the same purpose He told the “wicked and slothful servant… you knew I reaped where I sowed not and gathered where I had not strawed.” Christ was speaking to that servant according to the idol of his heart. That servant saw his master as a hard man, so that is how God showed Himself to that man.

Psa 18:26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

So for all who believe in the monstrous, demonic doctrine of eternal torment, He is doing the same here in this verse. God himself has deceived the whole world into believing that He is a hard man and that those who do not choose to believe in Christ, here and now, in this life will burn in hell for all eternity.

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

We all “bear the punishment of our iniquity”.

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

These people, including you and me at our own appointed time, have no use for “The sum of thy word”, and they want to cling to that demonic doctrine, giving them an excuse to continue in “the stumbling block of their iniquity.”

Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

The doctrine of eternal torment is an “idol of the heart” of all orthodox Christianity. It is ‘all of God’, nevertheless, it must be lived out in each of us. “I the Lord have deceived that prophet” applies to us all in our own appointed time.

I hope this helps you to understand that ‘better were it for him if he had not been born’ is the same as saying ‘the Lord commended the unjust steward… sell your garments and buy a sword… you knew I gathered where I had not sown”, etc. Christ spoke in a way that is designed to deceive those who are intended to be ‘deceived by ‘the Lord himself’. Mark 14:21 is no exception to that Truth.

Truth was never intended to be found in any single verse. It can only be found in “the sum of thy word” (Psa 119:160 ASV).

Here is the URL for a letter that may also help in answering your question:
The Sum of Thy Word

Your brother in Christ,
Mike