For me it was studying what scripture actually says and doesn’t say concerning Hell that freed me to accept in faith that Jesus really is the savior of All, in deed not just in title. Hell, ECT is not warned of in the Garden, in the Law, or by the Prophets! To me this is a key point. And it is not as if the concept of ECT was not around back then. The Egyptians believed in a form of ECT and Annihilation, and Moses would have been familiar with that. So Moses not including such in the Law or in his telling of the creation account is significant - to me. Shoot, the Hebrew scriptures do not even have one word that correctly translates as Hell. To me this was significant and really shook my traditional beliefs in Hell.
So I went to the NT, but soon found that neither Hades nor Gehenna meant Hell either, though they were often **mistranslated **as such. And the Greeks certainly had a word that meant Hell, ECT - Tartarus. If Jesus or the writers of the NT intended to communicate the concept of ECT then Tartarus was the word to use! But not once in scripture is Tartarus used as a warning for humans. Not once is Tartarus warned of for humans. But it was used once for sinning angels, thus showing that the writers of the NT were familiar with the word and not afraid to use it. But of course, even this passage only says that the sinning angels are held there until judgment - thus not for humans and not endless.
It was finding that Gehenna, Hinnom Valley was a real place with a real and infamous history, and used by the Pharisees as a theological metaphor kinda like Purgatory, that freed me to reject the concept of Hell/ECT.
I started the study of scripture concerning Hell believing that the traditional doctrine of Hell was as rock-solid Castle only to find out that the more I examined in, the more it crumbled between my fingers like sand. It scared me so I grabbed tower after tower, wall after wall, only to find they were just sand. What I had been taught all my life to be Rock Solid, I found to be nothing but a Sand Castle! After I found the first few towers to crumble, I even called many people asking them to pray for me because what I was finding was scaring the Hell out of me! But the more I studied, well, the more I found my traditional beliefs to not line up with what scripture actually says.
I actually came to disbelieve in Hell and believe in UR for several months before I would even admit such to myself. Until one day in a traditional charismatic worship service the Lord spoke to me very clearly saying, “Stop Lying!” That’s all He said, but I knew exactly what He meant. He meant, 1) Stop lying to myself and admit I’ve come to believe in UR. And 2) Stop lying to others and admit openly that I’ve come to believe in UR, and stop saying that, oh, I’ve just been studying… It was also interesting that the Lord did not give me any reason for doing so, or even affirm that I was right. He only said, “Stop Lying”.
I knew that such openess and honesty would cost me dearly. It might cost me my job, long-term friendships, the respect and love of many people, and might even cost me my marriage. I suppose that’s why I was so hesitant to admit to myself, much less to anyone else that I had, deep down inside at the subconscious level, come to believe that “Joy to the World” is not just a catchy slogan, but that the birth of Jesus ultimately results in Joy to the whole world, not just a few, but to the whole world, not just to humanity even, but to all of creation! Joy to the World, the Lord is Come! Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing…
Well, it did cost me much. Almost lost my current livelyhood, job at a ministry. Was excluded from my local fellowship. Long-term friends turned their back on me. Even family members have shunned me and said all manner of evil about me, false accusations, even trying to drive a wedge between my wife and children and I. At one point I could see myself loosing everything, and I went crazy with rage for about 3 days. So angry I could spit fire, so angry I was afraid to be around my family because I didn’t know if I’d strike out in rage. So I spent three days in the park and woods near my house, alone, wrestling with the Lord. It was a terrible time, and I feel like I’m still limping along. But the Lord did meet me there, comfort my heart, and encourage me. I was empowered to forgive others, and even came to see that the events that hurt me so were directed by Him. He wanted to break me, and He did. And He allowed, even orchestrated others doing so. This brokeness though will produce in me precious fruit I trust. “Blessed are the broken, the poor in spirit, the hungry, the mournful…” These are things we do not want to embrace, to experience, much less have loooooooong seasons of such. But I trust that though weeping lasts for the night, Joy will come in the mourning; that though Fall sees everything dying and Winter everything turns cold, Spring, warmth and new life will eventually come, and we shall even a season of greater fruitfulness, summer, eventually come.
In the words of one of my favorite hymns:
“This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long! Perfect submission, all is at rest. …”
