Questions
In order to have a consistent, logical Biblical worldview, some questions about the Final Destiny of people must be answered. The Bible, to be credible, must be able to be logically explained. This is self-evident. As centuries have passed, ideas that were Orthodox, but unbiblical, have fallen away. Sometimes en masse, as during the Reformation. Sometimes more slowly, as with the gradual abolition of slavery, which was led and championed primarily by Christians.
Here are a few questions about the common Orthodoxy of Eternal Damnation. Unless these can be honestly answered, without rhetorical trickery, the Orthodox is just an unorthodox as Relics and paying for release of dead relatives from Purgatory was during the majority of Christian history.
⢠If some people will end up in eternal torment, is God unable or unwilling to save them? Logically, it must be one or the other. No tricky appeal to free-will can alleviate the tension of the question.
⢠If we determine our destiny by our free will, then is not our will stronger than Godâs will? How do we deal with passages as in Romans 9 that says we cannot resist His will?
⢠If some people will be tortured eternally, which is apparently the will of Satan, how is Satan a defeated foe? Doesnât eternal torment make Satan a partial victor?
⢠How can there be âno more tearsâ if some people will be tormented forever?
⢠How can we say that âHis mercy endures forever!â if His mercy for us, in the most practical and real terms, ends if we do not choose to follow Christ before we die?
⢠Given the Bibleâs revealed standards of righteous and justice (which are clear and not myterious at all), how is unending punishment just reward for temporary sin? Again, the Bible is clear on standards so saying âGodâs ways are not our waysâ or âItâs a mystery with Godâ is only an avoidance of a hard question. The question must be Biblically answered with justification from Scripture.
⢠If God âgives upâ on those who do not choose Jesus before death, how does the parable of the 100 Sheep, with 99 found and the master leaving the 99 to find the one lost one, make any sense?
⢠Why does God give up on people after death?
⢠If eternal Hell is the price for disobeying God and living in Sin, why did God hide that from Adam and Eve and promise a different penalty? Why did God hide the most horrific fate possible, torture in Hell forever, from mankind for entire Old Testament period (probably 4,000 years)?
⢠How does the idea of Col 1:15-20 ârestore All Thingsâ (Ta Panta - The universal All in Greek) make any sense if some things are permanently and irrevocably isolated from and unrestored to God forever?
⢠Why must an omnipotent, omniscient God, who describes Himself as âLoveâ, settle for not having everything that has ever been made love and worship Him? Why must He settle for a divided creation in which some live in abundant joy and others live in mind-numbing torture? Is God really that weak or does He want that kind of reality?
⢠Why do we think that our âwillâ is so absolutely free, when it is affected by every little around us and we rarely respond from thought alone, but often from instinct built in us from birth?
⢠How can God be âAll in Allâ as Revelation states He will be in the end if All is not in complete harmony with Him and His character of love, joy, peace, etc.?
⢠Why did God create a place of unending torture in the first place?
⢠How is God glorified in unending pain that does not lead to being restored to righteousness and loving relationship to Christ?
These, and many more questions, must be answered scripturally and logically if the idea of an Eternal Torture is to be even considered as a Biblical possibility
RAY PRINZING TAPES
RAY PRINZING IS MY EARTHLY HERO AND MENTOR
GOOGLE UP RAY PRINZING TO READ SOME REALLY GOOD WRITINGS
During my twelve year nervous breakdown caused by my inability to love a god who would allow anyone to suffer forever, I would listen to a Ray Prinzing tape while I washed the dishes of my family every day and before going to sleep at night. Through the years that I repeatedly listened to these tapes I became more and more confident that that I was going to recover from my breakdown.
In the opinion of Rodger Tutt of Toronto, Canada, the following are the best of all of Ray Prinzingâs taped sermons.
6 CHRIST OUR MERCY SEAT
8 NO SUBSTITUTE
9 TRUST
16 SEE NO EVIL
29 THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE
30 GODâS WONDERFUL VENGEANCE
32 SUFFICIENT THE EVIL
35 CHANGING THY STRENGTH
36 AS KINGS AND PRIESTS
38 REVELATION TO REVELATION
42 THE TREE OF LIFE
48 KEPT IN PEACE
51 GODâS RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS
55 ALLEGORY OF RACHEL
56 NONE SHALL BE LOST
59 REPENTANCE TOWARDS GOD
61 AND GOD REPENTED
63 THE END OF THE LORD
71 URGED ON BY FAITH
76 MINISTRY OF SALT
89 BLESSINGS REWARDED OR INHERITED
90 NO CONDEMNATION
95 NOT SOMEHOW BUT TRIUMPHANTLY
101 PASSING THROUGH
104 THE INTERPLAY OF GOOD AND EVIL
105 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
109 PLENTEOUS REDEMPTION
111 OF THE SAME LUMP
119 HELD TOGETHER BY LOVE
121 ESTABLISH THE SECOND
122 ESTABLISH THE SECOND, PART TWO
123 ESTABLISH THE SECOND, PART THREE
128 ADVANCE IN ADVERSITY
131 ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT
133 AFTER THE PRESSURES
134 THE POLISHED SHAFT
135 INTERNAL TRIUMPH
136 RECONCILED INTO HIMSELF
138 AT PEACE WITH YOUR CALLING
142 THE HIDDEN ONES
143 GODâS GENTLENESS TO MAN
147 BEYOND DISCIPLINE
148 BEHOLDING HIM
149 DELIVERANCE
150 ENTER THY CHAMBERS
151 GOD OF THE VALLEY
152 GOD OF THE MOUNTAINS
153 IN QUIETNESS
154 IN CONFIDENCE
158 RENEWED INTO HIS MIND
160 EAT THE BOOK
161 HOLD FAST TO THE HEAD
162 THE SEVENTH MAN
164 SORROW TURNED INTO JOY
165 MAKE READY A PEOPLE
166 DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS
167 THE BIRTHRIGHT CHALLENGE
168 MY FATHER IS GREATER
169 HIS PARTICIPATING PRESENCE
170 CHANGES, TYRANNY OR BLESSING
171 TILL HE PLEASE
172 IN HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE
173 KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
174 THE SWORD GUARDED WAY
175 THE HEAVENLY VISION
176 DEFEATING THE ACCUSERS
177 NEITHER TOIL NOR SPIN
178 THE LAW OF CIRCULARITY
180 HE THAT SHALL ENDURE
181 LIFT UP A STANDARD
183 MUCH MORE
186 WHEN GOD HIDES HIS FACE
187 FAITH VICTORIOUS
188 DIVINE CONFIRMATION
189 WAIT FOR WISDOMâS CHILDREN
190 GOD CHOSE OUR FATHERS
192 LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER
194 EARTHEN VESSEL SINKS
196 A VERY PRESENT HELP
197 A NEW COAT, YEAR BY YEAR
198 COME UP HITHER
199 UNDER HIS SHADOW
200 A HUSHED SECRET
201 EXPECTATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
202 RETURNING INTO GOD
203 PUT A DIFFERENCE
204 FROM EAST TO WEST
206 TIME OF YOUR SOJOURNING
207 HIS HAND IS STRETCHED OUT
208 WHAT SHALL I DO?
209 TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS
210 GIVE DILIGENCE
211 LIVING EPISTLES
215 THE LORD THY REARWARD
216 THE ANGER OF THE LORD
217 GOD APPOINTED HORIZONS
218 HOLD FAST TILL I COME
219 ACTIVELY RESTING
221 AN INNER REJOICING
222 BLESS ME INDEED
224 NO MORE ECCENTRIC
225 NOT A SPIRIT OF FEAR
226 FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS
227 AND SUDDENLY
228 THE HEAVENLY HOST ATTENDS
229 FIT FOR THE KINGDOM
230 JUDGEMENT UNTO VICTORY
231 GOD IS IN CONTROL
232 THE LORD OUR HELPER
233 OUR THREEFOLD JUDGEMENT
235 GOD COUNTED THE COST
236 THY LIFE FOR A PREY
237 THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
238 FROM POVERTY TO RICHES
239 ABIDING IN GOD
240 PARTS OF HIS WAYS
241 CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST
242 MASTER OF MYSELF
243 ANOINTED EYE SIGHT
244 FAITH THAT OBTAINS
246 THE FURNACE FOR GOLD
247 RAISE UP THE FOUNDATION
248 SHALL PROSPER IN HIS HAND
250 INWARD REVELATION OF THE SON
251 KINGDOM LIFE TRANSFORMING
252 SO GROWS THE KINGDOM
253 AFTER YE HAVE SUFFERED
254 CHOSEN TO KNOW HIS WILL
255 HEALING THE BREACHES
256 OUR THREEFOLD RESURRECTION
257 A THORN FOR THE FLESH
258 THE MINISTRY OF WAITING
259 THERE IS A RIVER
267 HEARING, LEARNING, COMING
268 THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE ME
269 HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED
270 GOLD IN THE MAKING
271 MAKE TO LACK, READY TO FILL
273 ACQUAINTED WITH THE ALMIGHTY
274 EACH IN HIS OWN RANK
278 GODâS UNFINISHED WORK
280 FULLY PERSUADED
285 CONTINUALLY WITH HIM
286 SURRENDERED TO HIS LORDSHIP
295 TO RECONCILE ALL THINGS
296 INIQUITY SHALL HAVE AN END
297 OVERFLOW WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
298 THINGS BELONGING TO PEACE
301 HIS DESIRE IS TOWARD ME
302 REFINED AS SILVER
303 AND GOD REMEMBERED
304 LOOSE THE PRISONER
305 ASPECTS OF SPIRITUAL LIFE
306 GODâS INDWELLING CONTROL
307 OUT OF HIM WE CAME
308 GRACE UPON GRACE
309 JUDGEMENT RESTS FOR A LIGHT
310 HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER
312 THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID
315 THE DEVIL DESTROYED
316 TOTAL AVAILABILITY
317 VIEWING THE THIRD DAY
326 KINGDOM AUTHORITY
THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE RAY PRINZING TAPES
GOOGLE UP RAY PRINZING TO READ SOME REALLY GREAT WRITINGS
Ray Prinzingâs very best, and his two extra good tapes.
30 GODâS WONDERFUL VENGEANCE
101 PASSING THROUGH
104 THE INTERPLAY OF GOOD AND EVIL
109 PLENTEOUS REDEMPTION
123 ESTABLISH THE SECOND, PART THREE
138 AT PEACE WITH YOUR CALLING
215 THE LORD THY REARWARD
216 THE ANGER OF THE LORD
217 GOD APPOINTED HORIZONS
226 FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS
230 JUDGEMENT UNTO VICTORY
232 THE LORD OUR HELPER
235 GOD COUNTED THE COST (extra good)
236 THY LIFE FOR A PREY
237 THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
248 SHALL PROSPER IN HIS HAND
255 HEALING THE BREACHES
295 TO RECONCILE ALL THINGS
315 THE DEVIL DESTROYED
339 GOD SO LOVED HE GAVE
352 BUT GOD MUCH MORE
385 FREEDOM OF THE GLORY
387 ESTABLISHED BY GRACE (extra good)
I was never able to believe what I was taught at Bible school.
Fortunately for me, my wife couldnât believe it either.
I guess an appropriate question would be, âWhy did I bother to go to Bible schoolâ?
I would say that I went to learn how I best could influence people to get them to trust in Jesus for their salvation from everything from which they needed to be saved. I had been taught from childhood that we need to be saved from âeternal torment,â but I was never able to really believe that. In fact just the thought that it might be true caused me continual intense emotional distress.
Since I was not much of a preacher, I concluded after graduating, that I would be most useful in Christian literature distribution which my wife and I did for forty years.
Everyone has an âopinion,â including Ray Prinzing (my earthly hero and mentor).
Iâm just so glad that I discovered his âopinionâ that enabled me to recover from a horrific twelve year nervous breakdown (1966-78, Iâm 79 now) caused by my inability to love or trust a god who would let anyone suffer forever or annihilate them. During that period of time I had continual panic attacks both night and day.
During my breakdown, every morning, as I washed my familyâs dishes and before I went to sleep at night, I would listen to one of Ray Prinzingâs many tapes.
I have listened to 178 of them twice, and 23 of them several times.
In addition to these tapes, I always read every issue of his periodical GOSPEL ECHOES which he later renamed LETTERS OF TRUTH (because someone else had the copyright on GOSPEL ECHOES) and I gleaned many pages of his writings into my personal journal.
Many people have an earthly hero, someone in their life that made a contribution to their welfare so significant that it is far above the influence that anyone else has had.
Ray Prinzing is that earthly hero to me.
For several years my 104 year old dad called me from his nursing home each evening. Each time he called I read a portion of my over four thousand page journal to him, and many of these readings are the gleanings that I wrote from Ray Prinzingâs writings and tapes. Many nights my dad fell asleep listening to one of Rayâs tapes.
As I listened to Rayâs tapes I gradually became more and more sure that I was going to recover. The contents of his tapes gave me the courage, in 1978, to take a public stand that I believe that the Bible teaches universal transformation, not endless suffering in hell, or even annihilation.
Now I spend most of my time offering people, in various ways, the information that helped me recover and helps me stayed recovered, and I am pleased to report that the info I share is helping other people in the same way that it helped me.
All of Ray Prinzingâs writings can be accessed by typing his name into Google. There are several pages of Google links about him.
The theme of universal salvation is prominent in all of Rayâs writings, but his book
REDEMPTION ALL IN ALL is especially good
Ray Prinzing has now passed on, but he will not likely be forgotten on this earth for many years, if ever. And that is a very good thing!
RAYMOND VAN DYKE
Mr. Ray A. Van Dyke, compiled a comparison between the revelation given in Revelation and that given to Paul, as recorded in 1 Cor. 15:22-28. His comments are reproduced here:
âIn the book of Revelation we do not have the final plan of God. Paul, in 1 Cor. 15:22-28 takes us much further into the future than does the book of Revelation. To illustrate this more clearly, study the following: 1 Cor. 15:22-28 as compared with the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 20:21-22:
In 1 Cor. 15:22-28, we have:
⢠No more rule
⢠No more authority
⢠No more power
⢠No more enemies
⢠No more reigning
⢠All subjected
⢠No more death, death destroyed.
⢠All made alive, immortal
In Revelation 20:21-22, we have:
⢠Still rule (20:6; 22:5)
⢠Son still reigns (22:1-5; 11:5)
⢠Authority (21:24,25)
⢠Power (21:24,25; 22:2
⢠Kings (21:24-26)
⢠Saints reign (22:5)
⢠Second death still exists (21:5)
⢠The nations still mortal (22:2)
-end quote
Christians who believe in universal reconciliation believe that the Bible is Godâs Word, and His Word cannot contradict itself, hence the inspired sacred Scriptures say in Rev. 11:15; 22:5, eis tous aionas ton aionon, âfor the eons of the eons.â Thus, Christ our Lord âreigns for the eons of the eons,â not as the kingâs translators rendered, âforever and ever.â Therefore, Revelation 20:21, 22 fits into the framework of the eons, and is truth relative to the eons. First Corinthians Chapter 15 fits at the consummation (end) of the eons. We give the second Adam, Christ, as much credit and numerical ability as the first Adam, and use 1 Cor. 15:22-28 also for this truth. (Read Rom. 5:18-19.)
BAPTISM
Do you believers in eternal torment believe that the thousands of members of THE SALVATION ARMY and the thousands of members of the many BRETHREN ASSEMBLIES are going to suffer forever? None of them believe in baptism.
PAULâS GOSPEL FOR TODAY
That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation (2Cor. 5:19).
Repentance will occur when God lays hold on the sinner by His saving grace and makes Jesus choice in his heart just like He did for Saul of Tarsus.
SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS DEBARRED
HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE - James Coram
CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE
âNo one to whom Christ is not yet choice can choose Christ.
And Christ cannot be choice to anyone to whom He has not yet been made choice.
When He is made choice He becomes choice and so is choice; or to say the same thing, He is chosen.
This first act of the believer in which Christ is consciously chosen, is merely a consequence of his new mental preference which has been graciously granted to him by God.â (end quote)
When God lays hold on us by His saving grace, any cooperation such as repentance will occur just like it did for Saul of Tarsus.
REQUIRED READING
IMO the following should be required reading for all Bible school students.
WHAT MOST OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVED
And they were reading the Bible in its original language!
Universalism:
The Prevailing Doctrine Of the Christian Church During Its First Five-Hundred Years
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Prevailing.html
QUOTES FROM CHURCH FATHERS
http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/churchfathersquotes.htm
Tracing Universalist Thought Through Church History
http://www.tentmaker.org/tracts/Universalists.html
THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/OriginandHistory.html
I am 79 years old.
My inability to successfully emotionally cope with the idea that God lets anyone suffer forever has caused me more suffering than all the other sufferings of my life combined.
That is why writings like the following are such a great help to me!
ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE IN JESUS CHRIST
http://www.richardwaynegarganta.com/4ViewsOfSalvation.htm
More good writings on the same subject by the same author.
http://www.sigler.org/slagle/
BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED â John Wesley Hanson
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html
RESPONSES TO PHILISOPHICAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST UNIVERSAL SALVATION
Good news of Godâs love for all mankind - find it here at Tentmaker
http://www.tentmaker.org/FAQ/index.html
A UNIVERSAL SALVATION THESIS THAT SHOULD BE ON
THE REQUIRED READING LIST OF ALL BIBLE SCHOOLS
Click on each highlighted subtitle to read the entirety of each of the seventeen sections
HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE â James Coram
Click on each highlighted subtitle to read the entirety of each of the seventeen sections
Does Scripture Teach Universal Salvation? Yes it does
http://richardwaynegarganta.com/Understanding%20Universal%20Salvation%20Part%20One.htm
GRACE OVERWHELMS
What I perceive to be a basic issue.
People who donât think salvation is 100% by God, not just 100% âprovidedâ by God like to be in the hands of their own âfreeâ will. That is where they feel most secure.
IMO, that is the most basic difference between ETers and URs.
Just like in the case of Lydia (whose heart the Lord opened, Acts 16:14) and Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-8), our cooperation to be saved is the result, not the cause, of God laying hold on us by His sovereign grace and causing Jesus to be âchoiceâ in our heart.
The timing of the salvation of everyone is under Godâs sovereign control.
God arranges everything so each person will be saved according to His perfect timing for each individual.
HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE - James Coram
CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE
biblical studies: His Achievement Are We - Part 9 - Choosing What Is Choice
âNo one to whom Christ is not yet choice can choose Christ.
And Christ cannot be choice to anyone to whom He has not yet been made choice.
When He is made choice He becomes choice and so is choice; or to say the same thing, He is chosen.
This first act of the believer in which Christ is consciously chosen, is merely a consequence of his new mental preference which has been graciously granted to him by God.â
THE FOLLOWING IS BY BRIAN ON CITY-DATA CHRISTIAN FORUM
pcamps has been very scripturally bringing us back to the fact that God is not holding menâs sins against them. Can you believe it? Can God just forgive people freely? Is that fair? Is that âjust??â
Well, itâs not only fair. Itâs GRACE!!
Now, from this link here: Sovereignty Scriptures
I was truly blessed this morning.
Hereâs what I feel the LORD was showing me this morning, verse-by-verse:
Mt. 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Now many refers to the whole world. Just as the âmanyâ in Romans 5 refers to all mankind, so here too, many are indeed called by God, in Godâs time. However, only a few are chosen in this life (such as Paul the apostle) to declare His Grace and His Glory to the world.
Jn. 12:39-40 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, âHe has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them.â
When God makes the sinner to hear His word, He causes the man to be converted and healed. Without this intervention of God directly in a personâs life, there can be no healing and conversion. God does it all, in His time. When one person is âsaved,â thatâs God at work. If a person is ânot saved,â itâs simply that God is not yet doing work in that person.
Acts 3:26 âŚand sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.
Again, it is GOD who TURNS us AWAY from our sin. He does it in His time. It is an active work on His part, and until He works in the individual, that person can do nothing.
Rom. 5:20 And the law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.
See that? God added the Law on purpose, in order to increase the transgression. Do you believe that God is for us? If you do, then you must know by now that God increased transgression, in order that His grace would supercede it. Itâs all GODâs doing!! Praise God!
Letâs continue:
Rom. 5:18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
Here again we see clearly, that justification is Godâs gift, brought in by His Own Hand, and has been extended to ALL mankind. That includes Hitler and Bundy, like it or not!
Rom. 9:21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
Rom. 9:22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
Rom. 9:22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
Yes, God made vessels of wrath. But He doesnât show His wrath on them, but brings them unto salvation by grace, according to His timing.
11:32 For God has shut up all men in disobedience that He may show mercy to all.
Here is Godâs final plan. He has made all people sinners, in order to have mercy upon them all! His grace is what saves us, not any works we have done. It is G-R-A-C-E which He bestows upon each sinner, one-by-one, reviving each one as He sees fit!
Grace means that man has no part in it whatsoever. Grace means that, one day, God comes to you and draws you unto Him, giving you conversion and healing. It is by grace that we are saved. As He called Saul, so He will do to each one, in His own time.
Praise God!!
I hope someone out there can hear this!!
Blessings,
brian
A little more on grace:
Jesus told His disciples that no one would be able to come to Him without the Fatherâs drawing power. (Like a spiritual tractor beamâŚ)
ET denys this. ET says that man can draw himself to God at any time. But that is not scriptural. Grace means that it is Godâs doing, not manâs. Hereâs more:
Quote:
âLk. 8:10 To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables; in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.â
God purposely opens the eyes of some people, and blinds other people. Why? To show His Grace in His time!
Quote:
âLk. 10:21-22 No one knows who the Father is except the SonâŚand anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.â
Here again, Jesus shows us plainly that it is the decision of the Father and the Son, not man.
Quote:
âMk. 4:10-12 To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables.⌠lest they return again and be forgiven.â
Question: Have you repented and been forgiven?? If yes, then you must know that it was GOD who made you to understand it. Men who have not been drawn yet do not understand that they have been forgiven! Hallelujah! BUT, when the Father DRAWS you, He spontaneously converts and forgives and heals you!! It is HIS doing, not manâs. This is what is so important to understand. Otherwise, you cannot understand what is meant by Godâs grace.
Quote:
âJn. 6:65 For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.â
Does the Father âgrantâ it to everyone? Yes, but not at the same time! Thatâs why some are saved now. âMany are called, but few are chosen.â That doesnât mean that most are rejected! That means that a few are chosen in this life. But all are called eventually.
Quote:
âJn. 12:32 And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.â
Hereâs the promise! Jesus will indeed draw all men. Some now, the rest later. Count on it!
Quote:
âJn. 17:2 Even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give life eonian.â
Does Jesus have authority over all mankind? YES, and He knows how to use it to our advantage, folks! Itâs called GRACE!
Quote:
âActs 3:26 âŚand sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.â
Did God do something here without manâs permission?!? YES! He BLESSED us by turning us from our wickedness!
Does that include Ted Bundy?? YES! (But Bundy didnât know it, poor fellow⌠But by now he probably already knows it! )
THAT is Godâs GRACE. He reveals His Power to us individually, according to when He so chooses. Individually. And when He does, we are set free!
Quote:
âActs 11:18 God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.â
Repentance IS GRANTED, NOT CHOSEN. By GRACE we are saved. Godâs decision, NOT ours!
Quote:
âActs 18:27 On arriving, he [Paul] was a great help to those who by grace had believed.â
and this:
Quote:
âActs 16:14 And the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.â
Now do you see it??? Oh, I do hope so!!!
Blessings of Godâs grace to all!!!
Brian
Men are afraid of God. And death.
Why?
Because they havenât yet been shown by the Father that they have been blessed with Life! And when He draws them to Himself, they will automatically convert and be revived from the dead! All this, by Godâs grace!
Jesus told the centurion that he would be âthrust down to hell.â Was he? I believe he was. But not in the afterlife, but while on Earth, when he saw people receiving Godâs grace to know Life! What Life? Eternal Life? It is a quality of life. And others were receiving it, and he was tormented because he was not yet drawn by the Father.
But when the Father decides to draw him individually, he will spontaneously repent, be healed and revived into that same Eternal Life.
All according to Godâs grace.
May Godâs grace touch each of us today!
brian
Butch Cassidy
To paraphrase what the Sundance Kid might say to Butch Cassidy during a theological discussion â
âYou keep believing that God is going to sustain people alive in an inescapable state of everlasting suffering Butch. Thatâs what youâre good at.â
But if any reader has any desire to consider another point of view about what the Bible teaches then here is a great place to start.
UNIVERSAL SALVATION UNIVERSITY
http://richardwaynegarganta.com/universalsalvation.htm
THE GOSPEL FROM OUTER SPACE â ROBERT SHORT
âThe gospel of love heard from the churches is at bottom a gospel at gunpoint. This gospel claims to speak of a great love, but only one step behind this âloveâ is an unspoken, or often very vocal great threat â the threat of eternity in âhellâ if we refuse this love. What a travesty of love, even human love, not to mention Godâs! For one would think that Godâs love ought to be at least as great as what human beings are capable of. It is precisely the implied or expressed threat of eternal perdition that compromises the churchesâ âgospel of love,â and gives this âgospelâ the lie to ordinary people, and is in fact behind by far, most of atheism.
On the other hand, this is not the quality of mercy I see in God. I get the strong feeling of an infinite, unconditional, no-strings-attached love for all people. At the same time this love is all-powerful and sovereign. It is not so flimsy and pitifully weak that it can be finally frustrated or defeated by mere human whim or by meager manâs arrogant illusion called âfree will.â â
CHARLES SLAGLE
Just like in the case of Charles Slagle, my sanity quite literally depends on rejecting the ET interpretation of the Bible.
If anyone on this forum feels the same way, the exposition/testimony of Charles will probably be a huge help to them like it was to me. During my 79 years of living I have not found any writing that has been more helpful than this one. Why not check it out?
ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE IN JESUS CHRIST
http://www.richardwaynegarganta.com/4ViewsOfSalvation.htm
You can Google up Charles Slagle and find many more good writings by him.
Just type in Charles Slagle
In my opinion the greatest of all manifestations of Godâs grace in action in this world is that anyone (Christian or Muslim) can believe that God will let anyone suffer forever and not go insane thinking about it.
If I were to become convinced that the Bible does teach ET, I would live out the rest of my life as an agnostic, trying to treat others the way I would like to be treated by them, and hoping for the best after I die, rather than claim to love a god who would let anyone suffer forever.
The idea that the Bible is the word of God is not important enough to me to try to embrace the idea that it teaches an endless-hell god. No amount of threatenings by ETers could possibly change my mind about that.
After thought:
If conscious eternal torment is true, why did God not repeatedly plaster warnings of it from Genesis to Malachi? A Calvinist would probably say, âWhy bother. Their goose is cooked anyway since the non-Israelites were totally depraved and not among the elect. But how would a non-Calvinist (free-willer) answer that question. I wonder?
âSECOND CHANCEâ
It is true that God doesnât give anyone a second chance after they die.
But it is also true that God doesnât even give anyone a first chance while they are still alive. God doesnât save anyone by chance. But He will eventually save everyone on purpose.
CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE
People who donât think salvation is 100% by God, not just 100% âprovidedâ by God like to be in the hands of their own âfreeâ will. That is where they feel most secure.
IMO, that is the most basic difference between ETers and URs.
Just like in the case of Lydia, and Saul of Tarsus, our cooperation to be saved is the result, not the cause, of God laying hold on us by His sovereign grace and causing Jesus to be âchoiceâ in our heart.
The timing of the salvation of everyone is under Godâs sovereign control.
We are saved when God wants us to be, no thanks to ourselves at all.
SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS DEBARRED
HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE - James Coram
CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE
âNo one to whom Christ is not yet choice can choose Christ.
And Christ cannot be choice to anyone to whom He has not yet been made choice.
When He is made choice He becomes choice and so is choice; or to say the same thing, He is chosen.
This first act of the believer in which Christ is consciously chosen, is merely a consequence of his new mental preference which has been graciously granted to him by God.â
Repentance will occur when God lays hold on the sinner by His saving grace.
If you cannot love an eternal torment god
For the first 500 years after Christ, universalism was the prevailing doctrine believed and taught by the Christian church.
These online books explain why and how this changed.
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/OriginandHistory.html
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/EarlyChristianView.html
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Prevailing.html
Universalism The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years
The author, J.W. Hanson wrote âThe purpose of this book is to present the evidence of the prevalence in the early centuries of the Christian church, of the doctrine of the final holiness of all mankind. The author believes that the following pages show that Universal Restitution was the faith of the early Christians for at least the First Five Hundred Years of the Christian era. He has aimed to present irrefragable proofs that the doctrine of Universal Salvation was the prevalent sentiment of the primitive Christian church.
The salient statements and facts in all which will be found in these pages show that the most and ablest of the early fathers found the deliverance of all mankind from sin and sorrow specifically revealed in the Christian Scriptures.â
And they were reading the Bible in its original language.
TRACING UNIVERSALIST THOUGHT THROUGH CHURCH HISTORY
Well known Christian church leaders who believed and taught Biblical universalism.
Including a separate list of famous people embracing Christian universalism.
http://www.tentmaker.org/tracts/Universalists.html
Up until now, after reading this post, many believers in eternal torment have said something like, âI truly sympathize with your sufferings, but itâs what the Bible says that matters, not whether or not it makes you suffer.â Thatâs why I want to say right at the outset that many of the links posted here show that a correctly (literally, not interpretively) translated Bible actually teaches universal salvation, not eternal torment, or even annihilation.
Iâm 79 years old. The idea that God lets anyone suffer forever has caused me more suffering, including a twelve year nervous breakdown 1966-78, than all the other sufferings of my life combined.
This suffering was caused by the fear produced by not being able to love a god who would let anyone suffer forever and wondering what this god would do to me for not being able to love him. Even though I was and am trusting for my salvation in what Jesus accomplished by His death and resurrection, through the power in the blood of His cross, I was, and still am unable to love a god who would let anyone suffer forever. Here are testimonies similar to mine.
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/hells_fruit.html
http://greater-emmanuel.org/Hope4You/consequences.html
If you are like me and cannot love a god who would let anyone suffer forever, you can copy and paste (if necessary) the following urls into the address bar and find out that a literally (not interpretively) translated Bible actually teaches universal salvation, not even annihilation.
Copy and paste into Google
THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD SERIES
If necessary, copy and paste the following urls into the address bar.
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/savior-of-the-world/circularity.htm
At the top and bottom of that same THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD page, there is the following link to fourteen other writings in the same series that deal with the many aspects of this same subject.
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/savior-of-the-world/index.htm
Donât kid yourself. If anyone suffers forever JESUS IS DOING IT TO THEM
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/savior-of-the-world/circularity.htm
Why I believe that everyone who is cast into the lake of fire which is the second death will be saved out of it.
Greek scholar William Barclay wrote concerning kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) in Matthew 25:46
âThe Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. There is no instance in Greek secular literature where kolasis does not mean remedial punishment. It is a simple fact that in Greek kolasis always means remedial punishment. Godâs punishment is always for manâs cure.â
See what other Greek scholars say about it too.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter11.html
Fifteen literally translated (not interpretively translated) Bibles that reveal what God will do with the sinners in Matthew 25:46
Concordant Literal, Youngâs literal, Wilsonâs Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherhamâs Emphasized, Scarlettâs, J.W. Hansonâs New Covenant, Twentieth Century, Ferrar Fenton, The Western New Testament, Weymouthâs (unedited), Clementsonâs, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, Bullingerâs Companion Bible margins, Jonathan Mitchellâs translation (2010).
Regarding the meaning of aionios, many Greek scholars agree with John Wesley Hanson.
AIĂN â AIĂNIOS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.shtml
Dean Hough, director of THE SAVIOUR OF ALL FELLOWSHIP wrote âThe definition given in THE VOCABULARY OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT (edited by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan) is helpful. Concerning aionios we read, âIn general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . .â (p.16). If the horizon of the extermination spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is simply not in view, then we can see that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can truly occur. The same all who are dying in Adam, which includes some who incur eonian extermination, can indeed eventually be vivified in Christ.
The Bible, in fact, does not speak of judgment and condemnation, death and destruction, hades and Gehenna, or any of these serious consequences of sin, as unending. It may refer to them as not having the end in view, but none of these fearful works of God can keep Him from achieving His will (1Tim.2:4); reconciling all through the blood of Christâs cross (Col.1:20, and becoming All in all (1 Cor.15:28).â
Dean Hough
SEE
THE SCHOLARS CORNER THE CENTER FOR BIBLE STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
Scholarâs Corner: The Center for Bible studies in Christian Universalism
http://www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html
Sooner or later God will have (wants if you like) all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4)
It is Godâs âpleasureâ that all mankind be saved.
And âGod is operating all in accord with the counsel of His willâ (Ephesians 1:11).
Change it to read âin accord with the counsel of what He wants if you like.
Because God says
âMy counsel shall stand.
I will do all my pleasure
(the saving of all mankind is part of the pleasure that God wants)
Yea I have spoken it.
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it.
I will also do it.â
Isaiah 46:10,11
Job 23:13 âBut he stands alone, and who can oppose Him?
He does whatever he pleases.
(the saving of all mankind is part of what He wants that pleases Him).
Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
(the saving of all mankind is part of all of which God desires or wants)
So we see God does all His pleasure, He does whatever He pleases, and His word accomplishes that which He desires.
His pleasure, that which He desires and pleases Him is what He wants.
His will = What He wants
What does He want?
THE SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND
Why will it happen?
Because God Himself will see to it that it gets done.
Any cooperation towards our salvation is the result, not the cause of God laying hold on us by His saving grace and causing Jesus to be âchoiceâ in our heart, just like it was in the case of Lydia and Saul of Tarsus.
The opinions of exactly how God will achieve universal salvation may differ from UR to UR just like the opinions of ETers also vary from person to person about what the Bible teaches about salvation.
NOW IS âAâ DAY OF SALVATION
(not âtheâ day of salvation)
http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/today.html
125 NUTS
In my opinion, this book blows the theological ship of the Calvinists clean out of the water.
A snippet from 125 NUTS FOR CALVINISTS TO CRACK â C.R. Bierbower
(another book in my hard copy UR library)
âAlthough a Calvinist myself for more than thirty years, the scriptures declaring Godâs infinite love, and the plain teachings of Jesus my Lord on the subject of love, mercy and truth, finally sank my theological ship. This left me searching for the truth as it is in Jesus. Finally I was convinced by the overwhelming number of Scriptures that our great God and Heavenly Father truly does, without partiality, love the whole world, and He will in His own time and in His own way finally reconcile all men unto Himself.
Arminianism and Calvinism both represent each other as the method for Godâs work in salvation, and both vigorously reject the final reconciliation of all men. It is my purpose in this book to point out to my Calvinistic brethren the inconsistency of their interpretation of Scripture.â
And IMO, C.R. does a very good job of pointing out the inconsistency of the Calvinist interpretation of Scripture.â
OPPOSERS REFUTED
Calvinism, Arminianism, or Christian Biblical Universalism
Which view of salvation is true?
Two good expositions specifically answering that question!
ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE IN JESUS CHRIST â Charles Slagle
http://www.sigler.org/slagle/absolute.htm
THE LAW OF CIRCULARITY â J.Preston Eby
http://www.godfire.net/eby/circularity.html