This same question may be asked with slightly different words:  “What will happen to my loved one who has never been baptized?” or “What will happen to my loved one who never accepted Jesus as her Savior?”

The answer to these questions is the same—Jesus “suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrew 2:9)  Since he paid the death penalty for everyone’s sin, ALL will be restored to life in the resurrection.  Paul explains in 1Corinthians 15:20-26, 52, that:  1) people who are dead are “sleeping” in death, awaiting the resurrection, 2)  ALL died in Adam so ALL will be made alive, 3) each one will be resurrected or awakened in his own order, and 4) the last enemy to be destroyed is death.   

Paul in his letter to Timothy writes about “the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for ALL, the testimony borne at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:6).  If a person is concerned that their loved one did something terribly bad and might not be resurrected, fear not.  Acts 24:15 says, “. . .there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”   John 5:25, 28-29 (NAS) states, “. . . the hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice,  and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

What will the resurrection of judgment be like? The Bible teaches that the Day of Judgment is the 1,000-year period of Christ’s reign. Isaiah 35 describes God’s Kingdom as a time when blind people will see again and the deaf will hear.  Verse 10 tells that “the ransomed of the Lord (everyone) will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads.  They will find gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”  So, rest assured, you will see your dear daughter again because everyone will be resurrected.  (See also Isaiah 26:19, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, Romans 5:12, Galatians 1:4, Revelation 20:5, 12-15).

Your daughter and all mankind will be instructed in righteous living. Isaiah 26:9, “when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants…will learn righteousness.” Jeremiah 31:33-35 (NIV), “…I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts,. I will be their God, and they will be my people…I will forgive their wickedness…” At the end of the 1,000 years, God will test mankind’s allegiance. They will be given a chance to choose to remain righteous or to turn back to their sinful ways.  The righteous will have everlasting life (Revelation 21:22-27). Those choosing to return to sin will be punished with Second Death—a death from which there will be no resurrection.