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Tell me something, why is it that it was too late for the rich man? Just because God is not confined by the constraints of time doesn't mean that we aren't.

I believe the rich man was in hell, wasn't he? And we know that because God tells us that in the story.

Nobody here is saying that people in hell can get saved later, or that people, after they die, get a second chance.

Those strawmen are easy to conceive of and easy to defeat.

He set up a salvation plan for a reason. We must believe NOW. If everyone relied on the maybe of a second chance, what would that do to our witness here? Do you feel comfortable suggesting to people that there might be a chance for them later, especially if someone prays on their behalf? Is that what scripture really teaches?

Who said anything about a second chance? What we are discussing is the possibilty that someone could repent at the last minute. Could it have happened to someone engaged in a horrible crime? Could it? Would God accept the repentence of someone who truly was sorry?

I think we all bank on that fact, that no matter what we have done, God will accept us if we are truly repentent.

Now, since you yourself seem to understand God not operating in time, follow the idea out there. Don't be afraid.

It means that, inasmuch as prayer for each other helps, we may pray for another to acheive that moment of repentence, and to be accepted by God. And get this! Since we do not know if someone accepts God at the end, we can not discount the idea that maybe they did repent. And since God is outside of time, we may pray even after the subject of our prayers is dead. Not that they find repentence "now," but that they had found repentence "then," before they died.

Terribly complicated, I know, and it is much easier to just damn everyone to hell, but the implications of God being outside of time are there. Don't be afraid.

And since God is outside of time, we may pray even after the subject of our prayers is dead. Not that they find repentence "now," but that they had found repentence "then," before they died.

I do understand the point you are trying to make but I don't believe it is a valid one, simply because of what I already stated. Despite the fact that God exists out of time and is not bound by its constraints, WE exist IN it and ARE bound by them. Our prayers are unproductive if the subject of them is already dead because WE are dealing with the past tense.

So is the dead person - and this is more important - his life is OVER, and his chance GONE. If we say "I pray that he found repentence before he died," then that is valid, but only in the realm of hoping, not for effecting change.