Vatican confused about God’s plan of salvation and how Pentecost is part of the plan

The pro-Vatican news organization, Zenit.org posted the following from a Roman Catholic priest Marcelo Brav:

Is There Salvation Outside the Catholic Church?

Thirty years ago, on Wednesday, May 31, 1995, John Paul II gave a catechesis that seems to have had little impact, but … in 1997, … John Paul II presented a reflection rooted in the missionary realism of the Church, noting that, after more than two thousand years of evangelization, the Gospel has not yet reached all peoples and not all have been converted to Christ.

«As far as human capacities for foresight and knowledge are concerned,» the Pope acknowledged, “for so many people it has been impossible to access the Christian message, and this practical impossibility seems destined to last for a long time yet, perhaps until the final consummation of the work of evangelization.»

Now, this fact cannot be explained simply as a failure of Christians, as a consequence of their divisions or inconsistencies. Rather, it seems to be part of a broader, mysterious, and wise salvific plan, known only to God. «

Even for those who, through no fault of their own, neither know Christ nor recognize themselves as Christians,» the Pope teaches, «the divine plan has provided a path of salvation.» This is the great theme of the «viae extraordinariae,» already present at the Second Vatican Council and taken up by «Redemptoris Missio,» according to which the salvation of Christians is part of a divine plan that can never be conceived as parallel, much less alternative, to that of Christ and of the Church. There is, therefore, a path of salvation arranged by God for non-Christians.

This conviction of John Paul II would seem to go against «extra Ecclesiam,» according to its most radical interpretation. However, as early as 1949, in a Letter to the Archbishop of Boston, the Holy Office warned that «this dogma must be understood in the sense in which the Church herself understands it.» She remains firm that there is no salvation outside of Christ (extra Christum nulla salus). …

From here arises the fundamental task of evangelization. The fact that God can also save those outside the visible Church in no way diminishes the missionary urgency. … Saint Peter says in Acts 4:12, «there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.» … Only God knows the ways of salvation, but all pass through Christ and reach their fullness in the mystery of the Church, gently touching the hearts of all. https://zenit.org/2025/05/30/is-there-salvation-outside-the-catholic-church/

While God does a plan to save those who were not called to be true Christians during the church age, because the Church of Rome does not keep all the biblical holy days, it does not understand it.

Furthermore, consider that The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1912 teaches the following about Pentecost:

Pentecost A feast of the universal Church which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ, on the ancient Jewish festival called the “feast of weeks” or Pentecost (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10).

The above article explains nothing about firstfruits which are tied to this date. The Church of Rome does not understand how the Day of Pentecost helps reveal part of God’s firstfruit plan.

Notice the following scriptures:

¹⁶ …the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; ¹⁷ and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field (Exodus 23:16-17).

²² And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end (Exodus 34:22).

²⁶ Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation (Numbers 28:26).

How does the idea of firstfruits help us understand this day?

The Feast of Pentecost or Feast of Firstfruits (Exodus 34:22) reminds us that God is now calling only a small “firstfruits” spiritual harvest, with the Last Great Day coming which pictures a greater harvest later. The Spring harvest, in most areas, is much smaller than the greater Fall harvest, and this is consistent with God’s plan of salvation for humanity.

But what about Jesus? Wasn’t He a type of firstfruits?

Yes, He certainly was. Paul notes:

²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

Christ is the fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering in Leviticus 23:10-11. He is the sheaf of firstfruits. He also fulfilled that role when He ascended into heaven on the Sunday (the wave sheaf offering was on a Sunday) after He was resurrected (John 20:1,17). But neither He nor His true followers observed what is now called Easter.

Also, James notes that Jesus brought us forth to also be a type of firstfruit:

¹⁸ Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18).

So while Jesus was the original firstfruit to represent the wave sheaf offering, true Christians are a kind of firstfruits, represented by the Day of Pentecost. “Firstfruits” mean that only a few will be part of the harvest in this age (cf. Luke 12:32; Romans 9:27; 11:5)–but they also imply that there will be a greater harvest–a time where all who never had an opportunity for salvation will later have a true and real opportunity.

Consider also that the idea of Christians being firstfruits is confirmed in the New Testament (James 1:18). In ancient Israel, there was a smaller harvest in the Spring and a larger harvest in the Fall. The Spring Holy Day Pentecost, when properly understood, helps picture that God is only calling some now for salvation (John 6:44; 1 Corinthians 1:26; Romans 11:15) with a larger harvest coming later (John 7:37-38).

Many Greco-Roman Catholic and Protestant churches observe some version of Pentecost. Yet, partially because they do not observe certain other biblical holy days, they fail to understand why God is only calling some now, and that He does have a plan to offer all salvation (Luke 3:6; Isaiah 52:10). “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).

That said, the Eastern Orthodox, similar to the Roman Catholic Church, do understand that God has a plan to save those not called in this age, yet like the Roman Catholics, they are not sure how.

Orthodox Bishop Timothy Ware (who is now called Bishop Kallistos) wrote:

“What exactly is the condition of souls in the period between death and the Resurrection of the Body at the Last Day? Here Orthodox teaching is not entirely clear…The majority would be inclined to say that the faithful departed do not suffer at all. Another school holds that perhaps they suffer, but if so, their suffering is of a purificatory but not an expiratory character. Yet a third group would prefer to leave the whole question entirely open: let us avoid detailed formulation about the life after death” (Ware, p.255).

“There is no terrorism in the Orthodox doctrine of God … several of the Fathers have none the less believed that in the end all will be reconciled to God. It is heretical to say that all must be saved, for this is to deny free will; but it is a legitimate hope that all may be saved. Until the Last Day come, we must not despair of anyone’s salvation, but must long and pray for the reconciliation of all without exception” (Ware, p. 262).

Andreas Andreopoulos wrote:

Gregory does not accept the restoration of all and the subsequent forgiveness of all as an inescapable necessity. Nobody will be saved without going through repentance, cleansing and forgiveness, and his view of the apokatastasis is merely the belief that everyone will be able to see truth as it is at the end, and everyone will be given the chance to repent…The restoration of all however, a valid possibility according to the Church, although not a doctrine, has a special place in the hopes of saints who pray for the redemption of their enemies, and it expresses our hope for the charity of God. Possibly the honorable silence expresses this hope, which in spite of the danger of determinism, becomes almost a certainty in this light: If even one human being is able to forgive and pray for the salvation of the entire cosmos, wouldn’t God’s providence find a way to make it happen? (Andreopoulos A. Eschatology and final restoration (apokatastasis) in Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and Maximos the Confessor. Theandros an Online Journal of Orthodox Christian Theology and Practice, Volume 1, number 3, Spring 2004. http://www.theandros.com/restoration.html viewed 06/08/09)

Archpriest George Florovsky observed:

St. Gregory of Nyssa anticipated a kind of universal conversion of souls in the afterlife, when the Truth of God will be revealed and manifested with compelling evidence…

God respects human freedom, as St. Irenaeus once said…The Last Judgment remains a mystery.

(Florovsky G. The last things and the last events. Originally written no later than 1979. Missionary Leaflet # E95h Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church. Los Angeles. Editor: Bishop Alexander (Mileant) http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/last_events_florovsky_e.htm#n3 viewed 06/07/09).

Orthodox eschatology remains a mystery to the Orthodox as they tend to admit that they do not understand much of it.

But if they and others would keep the biblical holy days, they would understand that God does have a plan and that on the LAST DAY, which the New Testament refers to as “the last great day” (John 7:37, Catholic Public Domain Version, Godbey New Testament) all who did not have a real opportunity for salvation in this age, will have that opportunity.

This is something that the Continuing Church of God understands, but the bulk of the Greco-Roman Catholics and Protestants do not.

But you can know about this–see the free e-book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair?, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.

Pentecost: Is it more than Acts 2? Many “Christians” somewhat observe Pentecost. Do they know what it means? It is also called the Feast of Harvest, the Feast of Weeks, and the day of firstfruits. What about “speaking in tongues” and led by the Holy Spirit? (Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Pentecostés: ¿Es más que Hechos 2? plus one by Herbert Armstrong HWA sobre Pentecostés). Here is a YouTube sermon titled Pentecost: What it Teaches and When it is .

Pentecost is Part of God’s Plan. This combines a couple of articles from the 1980s, plus additional scriptures and modern comments about Pentecost. Here is a related sermon: Pentecost Plan.

Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18? Does any church have the confirmed dream and prophetic signs of Acts 2:17-18? Should one? Here is a link in the Spanish language: ¿Tiene la CCOG confirmadas las señales de Hechos 2: 17-18? Here is a link in the French language: Est-ce que l’Église Continue de Dieu confirme les signes d’Actes 2:17-18? A related sermon in the English language is also available: 17 Last Days’ Signs of the Holy Spirit.

Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection; here is a message in Spanish: Me Está Llamando Dios Hoy? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?

Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
About Baptism Should you be baptized? Could baptism be necessary for salvation? Who should baptize and how should it be done? Here are links to two related sermons: Let’s Talk About Baptism and Baptism, Infants, Fire, & the Second Death.

Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. Two related sermons would be Which Spring Days should Christians observe? and Fall Holy Days for Christians.

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.