I really can't answer most of that. I don't know what happens after death, no one really does.
I really don't think God will let a really good person go to Hell just because that person hasn't heard of Jesus. Maybe one day that person will be flipping through channels and come upon a religious show catch a word or something to get him interested. Maybe he pumps into a priest on the street who treats him nicely. Or maybe no opportunity presented itself so God brings him to Heaven.
Going to Heaven and Hell is not based solely on believing or not believing. But believing in Jesus makes it close to a sure thing. Sorry about that "Washing the sins" thing. I was just trying to make it clear how or why believing in Jesus works.
People can't just be the Anti-Christ then ask for forgiveness. God isn't dumb. He knows everything, He knows what's in a person's heart, if a murderer is really sorry for what he did or if he's just trying to play it safe by "finding Jesus." But God does give people the benefit of the doubt. Judging a person for who they are and what they deserve is what happens in the end of time, Judgement Day. And sure, maybe God judges you some on death, maybe it's just a small preliminary judgement: "do you believe in Jesus," "did you try to be a good person," et cetera. I don't know, no one on earth can say for sure.
The afterlife is eternal, either Hell or Heaven. Thus it doesn't really have a frame of time to reference it. 400 years could be nothing up there, or down there. That's what I was getting at. 400 years until that poor peasant who tried to be good will be judged... that's the example you were using before, right?
And when I say "up there" and "down there" you know I don't mean that I think Hell is down in the volcanic center of the earth and Heaven somewhere in the clouds. It's just a metaphor that's used.
