Before we answer this question, let us address the problem prompting this question.
First of all, it is clear from Scripture that Samson, Gideon and Jephthah WILL BE resurrected to eternal life and that they WILL enter the Kingdom of God when Christ returns.
We state the following in our Q&A, titled, “Were There ‘Christians’ in Old Testament Times?”:
“We know that Old Testament followers of God will be in the Kingdom of God… we find a rather long list of God’s Old Testament servants in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. The list includes people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Verses 39-40 explicitly state: ‘And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise [of eternal life and of entering the Kingdom of God], God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect APART FROM us.’”
In regard to Samson, we stated this in our Q&A, “Will a newly-baptized person be in God’s Kingdom if he dies shortly after baptism?”:
“God looks at the heart of a person, and when He determines that a newly-converted person is qualified to enter the Kingdom of God, He may let him die soon after his baptism. We find that Samson will be in the Kingdom of God (compare Hebrews 11:32, 39-40), even though we understand that he only came to true repentance and conversion shortly before his death, when his hair grew again in the dungeon…”
This Q&A also touched upon the question as to how it could be that Samson would be in the Kingdom of God, after a life of constant disobedience and defiance of God. As we stated, it appears he came to repentance at the very end of his life, when he was in the dungeon and when his hair grew, which was in the case of a Nazarite an outward sign of submission to God. Before, he treated this sign with disdain, but now, he accepted it for what it meant. And we said that “God looks at the heart” (compare Psalm 73:1). He saw in Samson a changed attitude from glorification of self to glorification of God.
Still, even with his very last action, he sinned when committing suicide. We say in our Q&A, “What Does the Bible Say About Suicide?”:
“There are a number of examples in the Bible where suicide was committed. Ahithophel hanged himself (2 Samuel 17:23), Zimri burned himself (1 Kings 16:18), Saul fell on his sword, as did his armorbearer (1 Samuel 31:4-5), Judas hung himself (Matthew 27:3-5), and Samson killed himself, while destroying the pagan temple, knowing that his actions would lead to his death (Judges 16:29-30)…”
We also pointed out:
“Taking one’s own life or helping someone else to do so is a sinful act.”
Still, Samson will be in the Kingdom. How could that be, as he did not repent of his sin of suicide (and of killing others) which led to his death? We stated in the Q&A on suicide:
“What about those who have been baptized in the Church of God and received the Holy Spirit, and who subsequently take their own life? Are they lost forever? They would certainly have known that it was wrong, but we all sin in many different ways, and we don’t know another person’s heart or situation. We do read in Psalm 103:11: ‘For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.’ In James 2:13, we read: ‘For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.’
“God is a merciful God, and He will always make the right decision about everyone. For instance, even though Samson committed suicide, he will be in God’s Kingdom, as Hebrews 11 tells us… God, as a merciful and loving God, will judge them righteously and fairly, something that any man would be incapable of doing.”
We also stated in our Q&A, “Did God ORDER Ancient Israel to SIN?”:
“Some passages in the Old Testament are perhaps difficult to understand, but we must appreciate that God will judge people based on what they knew, not on what they did not know. For example, Samson is going to be in the kingdom of God (compare Hebrews 11:32, 39-40), but his entire life, as reported in Scripture, reflects little of a converted person. At the very end of his life, he must have become converted (otherwise he would not be in God’s kingdom) – most likely while he was in the dungeon – but even then, he asked God to give him power to avenge himself against the Philistines (compare Judges 16:28).
“But somehow, his nature had begun to change – perhaps now he was finally and fully realizing that it was God Who gave him his strength. This mindset might have been sufficient for God to decide that He would resurrect Samson in the first resurrection, as God looks at the heart, and He overlooks ignorance.”
Christ told us that God does not see as man sees (Isaiah 11:3). And He most certainly does not judge according to human standards and appearance (John 7:24). He overlooks times of ignorance (Acts 17:30) and what He had not clearly revealed to people. But Paul says that once he will be in the Kingdom of God, he will fully know or understand (1 Corinthians 13:12). IF David did not fully understand that killing in war is sin, he will most certainly understand this fully, and he will be repentant of his conduct and mindset, when he enters the Kingdom. And God knows this, as He knows the hearts of men. David, as well as everybody, including Samson, will be judged based on what they knew—not, based on what they did not know and understand. This would also involve situations when one slips and falls, sliding into sin, but his overall conduct is acceptable in God’s eyes.
Gideon would be another case in point. After some initial “hiccups,” he acted as Israel’s righteous judge for many years. Still, we read in Judges 8:27: “Then Gideon made… an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.” Surely, Gideon would have known that committing idolatry was sinful. We do not know to what extent Gideon himself engaged in it, or whether he finally repented of it. The Bible simply does not say.
The Study Bible states: “The ephod, rather than being a blessing, became a ‘snare,’ or a trap, leading to spiritual downfall. This highlights the danger of creating objects or symbols that can become idols, drawing people away from true worship of God. For Gideon and his family, the ephod’s presence led to unintended consequences, illustrating the principle that even well-intentioned actions can lead to sin if they deviate from God’s commands.”
But the Bible does say that Gideon will be in the Kingdom of God. God, in looking at the heart and considering the motives of a person, and in His great mercy, decided that Gideon was worthy of inheriting eternal life at the time of Christ’s return.
Another person who will be in God’s Kingdom was Jephthah even though he committed a horrible sin. We state in our Q&A, “Did Jephthah sacrifice his own daughter? If so, how could he still be granted access to the Kingdom of God?”:
“The account referred to can be found in Judges 11:30-31, 34-40. We read: ‘And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”… When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah [after having defeated the Ammonites], there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
“‘And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.” So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth… let me alone for two months, that I… bewail my virginity…” And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.’
“… it is possible that Jephthah had strictly an animal in mind, when he made his vow, as Jephthah’s words (in Judges 11:31) can be translated from the Hebrew, as follows: ‘Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me…, I will offer IT up for a burnt offering’ (compare Authorized Version). It was common at that time for houses to have enclosed courtyards where animals were kept.
“In any event, whatever Jephthah’s original intent, the earliest Christian and Jewish commentators all seem to have accepted the story at face value; that is, that Jephthah killed his daughter… It has also been the long-held understanding of the Church of God that Jephthah did in fact sacrifice his only daughter. It is stated in ‘The Bible Story’: ‘Though some commentators have thought Jephthah kept his daughter a perpetual virgin, the Jews and most commentators have understood this tragic story as explained in the Authorized Version of the Bible. Jephthah learned a mighty lesson. He discovered, through this tragedy, the real lesson of faith — that one does not have to vow to God in order to have Him perform what He has promised. What God expects is that we learn to trust Him in everything. When Jephthah finally learned that lesson, he became an outstanding example of faith…
“An older letter from the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God added: ‘Jephthah made a very rash and foolish vow. He further compounded his error by keeping his vow (Judg. 11:39). That, no doubt, was greatly displeasing to God. Nevertheless, Jephthah is mentioned among the faithful listed in Hebrews 11 (see verse 32). This leads us to conclude that — like other servants of God — he ultimately realized the error of his own ways, repented, and received God’s forgiveness.’”
Maybe so. But the Bible does not say expressly that he repented of sacrificing his daughter. We see from the narrative, however, that this was an act which he greatly regretted from the outset, even before it was carried out. He let it happen because of his erroneous belief that God would hold him to his vow. Again, due to God’s mercy and His righteous judgment, which considers the attitude and the motives of the heart, Jephthah was deemed worthy to enter the Kingdom of God. And as in the case of Samson and possibly David, upon seeing the errors of his way, even when already in the Kingdom, he will deeply repent… and God knew that this would happen.
We all sin from time to time, and we might not even know that we do. We would therefore not repent of unrealized sins before dying, but God looks at our hearts and motives (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39), and unrecognized and therefore unrepentant sins will not keep us out of the Kingdom of God. If our overall life is one of love and mercy, then love will cover all sins (Proverbs 10:12; also compare Luke 7:47), and we will be judged mercifully by God because we have shown mercy to others. And we read in the letter to the Hebrews that Samson, Gideon and Jephthah will be in God’s Kingdom because of their faith in Him and His promises (Hebrews 11:13, 33-34). They might have committed sinful conduct at times, but their faith did not cease and it did sustain them.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link