Was Judas Iscariot saved, or was he not?

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Godsgood

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2024
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LUKE 6:12-16

12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
 
I remember a formerly popular pastor who had a conference in Pittsburgh. He focused his teaching on Judas being unsaved and a few doctrines.

The next conference he also focused on Judas as an example, but THIS time he confidently believed that Judas was saved!

One thing I have learned to do is to 99% of the time disregard commentaries. Regardless the pastor, I take what he says with the salt shaker, knowing he's a man prone to make mistakes.
Everything should first be filtered through basic fundamental doctrine. I have an open mind to ch

I have a couple of reasons Iange, but not on essential basics that the Word is clear on.

I think Judas was an unbeliever, namely that he's called by Jesus....

12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
John 17

Perdition in context seems to mean damnation
 
LUKE 6:12-16

12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Jesus Himself seems to make the matter clear in His high priestly prayer:

(Joh 17:12) While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Being "lost" and called "the son of perdition" don't gel with being saved.
 
LUKE 6:12-16

12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Joh 13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
Joh 13:21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Joh 13:26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
Mat 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Mat 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Mat 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Judas Iscariot is not saved.

He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

He returned the silver and repented but did not handle it right and hung himself.

He fell by transgression and replaced.

He is known as the son of perdition which the antichrist is known as the son of perdition.

Perdition
apōleia
ap-o'-li-a
From a presumed derivative of G622; ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal): - damnable (-nation), destruction, die, perdition, X perish, pernicious ways, waste.

2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

When Satan and the devils are cast to earth they will deceive all people who do not love the truth which is the strong delusion God will send them.

When they follow the antichrist and take his mark that he is the answer for the world to have peace and advance world wise and by evolution then salvation is no longer available to them and they will have the nature of a devil.

They will feel how the devil feels and know they cannot be saved and that is why they blaspheme God and do not repent even though God is punishing them and they know He exists.

Judas Iscariot must of felt like he could not be saved so he hung himself.
 
Joh 13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
Joh 13:21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Joh 13:26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
Mat 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Mat 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Mat 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Judas Iscariot is not saved.

He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

He returned the silver and repented but did not handle it right and hung himself.

He fell by transgression and replaced.

He is known as the son of perdition which the antichrist is known as the son of perdition.

Perdition
apōleia
ap-o'-li-a
From a presumed derivative of G622; ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal): - damnable (-nation), destruction, die, perdition, X perish, pernicious ways, waste.

2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

When Satan and the devils are cast to earth they will deceive all people who do not love the truth which is the strong delusion God will send them.

When they follow the antichrist and take his mark that he is the answer for the world to have peace and advance world wise and by evolution then salvation is no longer available to them and they will have the nature of a devil.

They will feel how the devil feels and know they cannot be saved and that is why they blaspheme God and do not repent even though God is punishing them and they know He exists.

Judas Iscariot must of felt like he could not be saved so he hung himself.
That's a good study.

I Corinthians 16
22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

Most of the disciples forsook The Lord for fear, but
Judas Iscariot's betrayal revealed that he did not love Jesus.
 
Jesus Himself seems to make the matter clear in His high priestly prayer:

(Joh 17:12) While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Being "lost" and called "the son of perdition" don't gel with being saved.



That was the second point that I was going to make when I woke up. You beat me to it, so I'll just add this.

A. Even with their doubts and failures, the disciples were kept by the Lord and not the other way around.
B. This example shows that it can be difficult to know if there's a Judas in church. I was surprised myself a time or two.
That struck me hard and I was upset with myself for not knowing because they caused much damage to years of work and people.

Jesus knew that he was a fulfillment of prophecy, but his disciples were unaware even at the last supper.
 
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Since OSAS believers insist that election decides our fate it should be impossible to answer this question.
Not so. People who believe in God's election (at least, all I have ever come across) believe what the Bible says about the need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. When a sinner does that, he or she shows that they are elect. Did Judas Iscariot believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? If he did, why did he betray Him, and why did Jesus refer to him as "the son of perdition?
 
People who believe in God's election (at least, all I have ever come across) believe what the Bible says about the need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.
If Judas "needed" to believe that would have been a work. Election teaches that God does all the work and that because God is sovereign in all things there is nothing that Judas could have done to affect his salvation.

IOW, the acts of Judas against Jesus had no bearing on his salvation good or bad.
 
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If Judas "needed" to believe that would have been a work. Election teaches that God does all the work and that because God is sovereign in all things there is nothing that Judas could have done to affect his salvation.

IOW, the acts of Judas against Jesus had no bearing on his salvation good or bad.
Believing is what those whom God saves do. That's why Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians that they had been saved by grace through faith:
(Eph 2:8) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
(Eph 2:9) not of works, lest anyone should boast.
(Eph 2:10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
 
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LUKE 6:12-16

12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
None of the disciples were "saved" in the same way we are saved after the cross. None of the disciples even understood the cross because it was hid from them. Only until after the resurrection did the Lord start to slowly open their eyes to the truth behind his d,b,r.
 
So why does Jesus describe him as "lost" and "the son of perdition?"
Don't know.

But if OSAS is correct then Judas is saved regardless of his actions if he is part of the elect.

The question is "if".

Judas had no say so in regards to his salvation and this is the question at the core of the OP.

We just don't know who is among the elect.