The Evangelical Universalist Forum

SNIPPETS FROM MY HARD COPY UR LIBRARY

Evangelical Universalism Arguments for Evangelical Universalism
#81

#73 - NOTES FROM ROMANS 5 – W.H. GRIFFITH THOMAS

“In Romans 5:18,19 we have on the one side as the cause one lapse and the effects extending to all mankind for condemnation. We have on the other side one just sentence of acquittal, and the effect extending to all mankind for a justifying that carries with it LIFE.
Since ‘the many’ were involved in sin and death through the agency of one man, Adam, ‘much more’ may we believe that ‘the many’ will be involved in righteousness and life through the agency of the One Man, Christ Jesus.”

EDITOR’S NOTE:
Some ask, Why does it say “the many” instead of “all” in Roman 5:19?

This is because the one disobedient man (Adam), and the One righteous Man (Christ) are put in a class by themselves. They are in contrast with “the many.”

We may put it as follows:
The one disobedient man plus “the many” equals all mankind made sinners.
The One obedient Man plus “the many” equals all mankind made righteous.

That “the one” plus “the many” made sinners includes all mankind no one will deny.

Even so, “the One” plus “the many” made righteous is all-inclusive and guarantees the salvation of all mankind.

#82

#74 - AGES OR ETERNITY AND THE KING JAMES VERSION – JOHN DOKAS

“By examining the texts of the Greek manuscripts we find the word AIONIOS or AGE LASTING in place of the word eternal of the King James version. AIONIOS the adjective modifies its noun AION or AGE and means lasting during the AGE, or AGE-LASTING.

For that meticulous student of the Word of God that was penned by the inspired writers, I am including this concordance of the Greek noun AION and its adjective AIONIOS for your reference in your studies of the mistranslations of the King James version versus the text of the Greek manuscripts.”

#83

#75 - THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION SEEN FROM GOD’S VIEWPOINT – DORA VAN ASSEN

“Many do no understand the extent and purpose of God, that He is the propitiation for our sins, AND NOT OURS ONLY, but ALSO for the sins of the whole world (1John 4:10).
God is calling us to come up higher into Him and begin to see from His eyes, from His position.

God never loses! HE WINS ALL! He said, ‘Pick up the fragments, let NOTHING be lost.
This is seen from His side of the picture. We do not have a tired and frustrated God unable or unwilling to save His own creation. He will vindicate His own character and nature of love and power. Praise His Name!”

#84

#76 - DIVINE JUDGMENT - DORA VAN ASSEN

"All of God’s judgments are corrective measures that counteract, and also cooperate for the eventual good and reconciliation of all through Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world.

God never judges in vengeance for vengeance sake, but only for ultimate rehabilitation. He has His perfect timing to bring forth ultimate good for all. Thus many divine judgments are postponed until iniquity comes to the full (Gen. 15:16).

All must experience human failure and total depravity to the full in order to appreciate salvation when God eventually sets all things right throughout the whole universe (Isa. 9:26; and Phil. 2:10,11).

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#85

#77 - GOD’S UNFAILING PLAN REVEALED IN THE EONS – DORA VAN ASSEN

"The whole universe will feel the impact and glory of the cross as it takes away the sin of the world. This expression of God’s influence, power, and love will continue to shine out of His own heart until all come under His sway ; saved, purified, changed, and drawn back into Himself.

None can escape the loving and corrective judgment of the Father. Nothing shall be lost or wasted. The true light is shining more and more unto that perfect day when all shall be understood – God reaching His own ultimate plan, the great cycle of love completed; God All in all, everything in everybody. This is true love in the full expression of the cross."

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#86

Yes, providing it’s an adult who has experienced both human failure and total depravity to it’s fullest. My question is, how could a small child that dies experience all of this in order to appreciate salvation? The child and/or baby has never truly lived life to find out how horrible it can be… :question:

#87

I think some will learn it by experience, while others, like infants who die, will learn it by learning what happened to others who experienced the results of human failure and total depravity first hand.

Does that help?

#88

So they will learn about it in heaven?

#89

Yes, I think that infants who die would learn from the experiences of others.

I believe that God will eventually fit every individual into His master plan in a positive way that necessitates their unique (both in degree and duration) temporary involvement in evil and suffering that will enable God to manifest, and glorify, and magnify the many facets of His character in a way that uniquely involves that person, and everyone else involved in that person’s life too.

Then, looking back from the point of view of the consummation of God’s plans for the ages of time, everyone will agree that it was better that everything happened the way that it did, including the unexplainable and seemingly unjustifiable sufferings that most of us experience, and also the kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) that everyone who needs it will experience.

Greek scholar William Barclay wrote concerning kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) in Matthew 25:46
“The 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. God’s punishment is always for man’s cure.”

#90

SNIPPET #78 - THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH – PAUL MUELLER

"Babylonish religion would have us believe that everything will end when this age concludes; however, God is not the least bit influenced by man’s religion since He already determined that His redemptive plan involves the ages beyond this present age. In the age of the fullness of times, all things in the heavens and on earth that have not yet been gathered into Christ, will then be gathered into Him (Eph. 1:8-10).

The will of God has been positively affirmed in this matter, for Paul wrote of God, ‘Who will have all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth,’ (1Tim 2:4). The Lord is omnipotent and shall perform all that He has purposed concerning all mankind, ‘Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient time the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE’ (Is. 46:10).

#91

#79 - “FOR WHO HATH RESISTED HIS WILL” – K. ROSS MCKAY

"Because of their past teaching in the tradition of man, many will argue that man’s own will shall prevent the fulfilling of God’s own stated will. But according to God’s word of truth wherein He cannot lie, He shall mercifully prove them to be wrong. Fortunately for mankind, God works ALL things, including man’s destiny, after the counsel of His own will, and always, what His soul desires, even that He does (Job 23:13).

Believe it or not, God’s intimate sovereign control is absolute and universal in scope (Job 3:7), even to the extent of man’s delusions (2Thes. 1:11; Is. 66:4; Jer. 6:19). This is notably evident in the church’s delusion – that God cannot successful influence the human will unless we let Him. But God has absolute control over the extent of success to which His word reaches and changes others, even to the extent of controlling what that word means to each individual (Is. 29:14; Matt. 13:11; 19:11).

It is a prophetic fact, predetermined, willed, divinely promised, and assured by the word of our faithful God Who in fact ‘WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED’ (1Tim. 2:4), This is true not only because ‘HE IS THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN’ (1Tim. 4:10), and not just of the first fruits whom He now specially causes to believe, but also because of the truth that 'HE IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH or be rendered unfit for the ultimate pleasure of His will (Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:5,9; Col. 1:19,20), for 'IT IS NOT OF HIM WHO IS WILLING, NOR OF HIM WHO RUNS, BUT OF GOD (Rom. 9:16).

#92

#80 - “MY COUNSEL SHALL STAND” – K. ROSS MCKAY

“Some believe that God’s satisfaction will be found in the eternal torment of some of His creatures. But John was not speaking of a perverted pleasure when he penned, ‘Thou hast created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created (Rev. 4:11). God’s plan and purpose of the ages (Eph. 3:11) is to include perfectly executed and unique stages of progressive development resulting in the final restoration and reconciliation of all.

God has been and always will be in absolute sovereign control over His entire cosmic plan, even unto its ultimate consummation in perfection. His plan for all of humanity cannot fail. All of His working together of good and evil is in perfect harmony and balance. God’s love shall not fail. His absolute power and might insures His completing of all He has willed to do, both in our individual salvation, and in the universal salvation that is sure to come.”

#93

#81 - “ASK OF ME OF THINGS TO COME” – K. ROSS MCKAY

“WHO SHALL EVENTUALLY WORSHIP GOD?
Every creature Rev. 5:13
All flesh Isa. 66:23
All the ends of the world Psa. 22:27
All the kindreds of the nations Psa. 67:7
All the isles of the heathen Zep. 2:11
All the nations whom Thou hast made Psa. 86:9; Rev. 15:4
All the earth Psa. 66:4
The whole earth shall be filled with His glory Psa. 72:19; 97:7.”

#94

#82 - THE GREAT WHITE THRONE – AUTHOR UNKNOWN

“The throne is white. May the One Who will be seated upon it keep us from painting it black. The judgment is viewed in the light of its outcome. If it leads to eternal conscious torment for all who stand before it as orthodoxy demands, then the throne is black and an outrage on justice and a heartless exhibition of fiendish cruelty.

It is only when we see that the outcome of this judgment is universal reconciliation (Col. 1:20), that we can really acknowledge that the throne is white. It is only when we limit the actual infliction of pain and penalties to the judgment era that we are able to appreciate the righteousness of God’s throne.

The judgment is as varied as the individual. It is as different as their acts. Some will suffer severely, some slightly, and all according to their deserts. But there is no reason to prolong this time to infinity. It is preparatory to their reconciliation.”

#95

#83 - PROGRESSIVE REVELATION WITHIN THE BIBLE – EARNEST L. MARTIN

“Salvation through Christ will extend outward to include all people (Rom 5:18; 1Tim. 2:4-6). Indeed it is far more than that. Salvation in Christ reaches out to embrace all intelligent beings in the entirety of the universe (Eph. 1:10; Phil. 2:10,11; Col. 1:15-20). The power of God to save is all encompassing. And when God sets out to accomplish a task (such as saving the world and the universe), He will be successful – God will always be successful!

No power in the universe, including Satan himself, can thwart God’s plan to save all those within His creation. And this is precisely where Progressive Revelation leads – it leads to the truth that God will finally save all!”

#96

#84 - THE PURPOSE OF EVIL – GUY MARKS

“Evil begins with God and is a necessary part of His plan. It is the method He uses to accomplish His purpose. Usually when man works evil he sins because His motives are wrong, but this is not true of God for His motive is always to produce good. God uses the forces of evil to bring about good.

The teaching that sin and death are eternal is a travesty of God’s character, for it presents God standing by in complacency while Satan introduces an evil that all but destroys the human race.

The purpose of evil is to establish a background for a display of God’s love and grace which we could never know apart from the experience of sin. Evil is a necessary part of God’s purpose to mold us and to fashion us in the image of His beloved Son. Evil is a problem only to those who fail to see God’s purpose in it and who refuse to believe that God will bring blessings to all mankind through His dealings with evil and sin. The forces of evil cannot continue beyond the circumference of God’s purpose in it. God always has control over the forces of evil and evil never has any power apart from the authority of God. God has complete control over Satan and all of his activities.

The teaching that sin is to continue eternally blinds our minds to an understanding of the purpose of evil. Those who have made the greatest progress in seeking out the revelation of the cross no longer consider evil to be a problem, for the cross of Christ will turn all the evil of sin into infinite good. God will do infinitely more than repudiate sin and abolish death. He will not simply restore the human race to the status of Adam in the garden.

Even if one person were to suffer endlessly because of Adam’s sin, the justice of God would be defeated. So the grace differs from Adam’s offence because it will accomplish far more than Adam lost. Then too that which resulted from Adam’s offense is temporary but the results of grace will be permanent. Grace more than meets the need for it exceeds the need by far. It is enough and to spare for it is a superabundance. And this proves conclusively that the ruin caused by Adam’s sin is overcome and more by the superabundance of grace.

Before the eons, before there was any evil, before there was any sin, God designated all the events that would make sure that not one would be trapped in the forces of evil, but that all would be delivered from death and sin. God prearranged it all, from the fall of man to the glory of the consummation. Not one thing was left to chance. All was founded on His wisdom.

To some evil will never cease, or so they believe. God is never able, or at least He never tries to bring about so much good that all evil will vanish. They try to justify God with the false teaching that man is a free moral agent. But the only freedom of man that the scriptures present is the freedom that comes through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus.”

#97

#85 - THE PLACE OF HUMANITY IN GOD’S PURPOSE – JOHN H. ESSEX

“The freedom we now enjoy in spirit will ultimately be enjoyed by the whole creation when it is reconciled to God, and this includes the whole of humanity, for God wills all mankind to be saved and to come into a realization of the truth (1Tim.2:4). When His purpose is accomplished, there will be no vessels of indignation left.

When the reconciliation of all is complete the joy of the universe will be full. When the purpose of the All-sufficient God has reached its consummation, and He is All in all, every heart will be filled with the true laughter which accompanies the praise and adoration of Him Who is Supreme and Whose name is Love.”

#98

#86 – A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE SCRIPTURES – G.J. SALTER

“It is hard for man to accept how completely he is in the hands of God. Churchianity pictures God as sitting off to one side, waiting and pleading for His creatures to come to Him. Instead of that He is the active force; He is the mover of all things. We simply live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28). If He does not move us we are not moved; if He does not enlighten us we are not enlightened.

The course that God has taken to accomplish His purpose for man is preeminently the right one for God is Almighty, so there is no question of His power to do whatever He wills, and He wills all men to be saved (1Tim. 2:3&4).”

#99

#87 - RESTORATION: THROUGH THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES – CHARLES WELLER

“The feast of tabernacles means the feast of ingathering. It takes an eight day period to bring in the fullness of the ingathering. Eight is the number of new beginnings in scripture or FULL RESTORATION.

1Corinthians 15 is the last chapter in the Bible. The fifteenth chapter clearly shows how great the totality of the feast of tabernacles will be. ‘As in Adam all die (every preacher will agree that all people are in Adam but few believe that the word all mean all in the second part of the verse) so in Christ all shall be made alive.’ Jesus is going to gather all together in Himself. He will have everyone in His nature.

Everything that occurs, occurs in the plan and order of God. In 1Corinthians 15 God shows that there are different orders. The highest order is Jesus Christ. Everything will, in time, be brought into Jesus Christ. All shall be gathered into Him. When this is done then Jesus, the Son, will turn all over to the Father. It is then we find that time ends, for God becomes All in all (verse 28).

#100

#88 - THE EONS OF THE BIBLE – JOSEPH E. KIRK

The introduction reads “Mistranslation of the Greek word ‘aion’ is a master stroke of diabolical genius. Perhaps no other word erroneously translated, could more effectively pervert man’s image of God and cause such widespread confusion. Because the understanding of the eons and God’s purpose in them has been lost, the church is divided on important issues like judgment, and man’s destiny. The following work by Joseph E. Kirk is offered in the hope that the serious seeker after spiritual truth will be aided in their quest.”

Here is a snippet from the writing itself. “During this present wicked eon (Gal.1:4), sin reigns, Satan who is said to be ‘the god of this eon’ (2Cor. 4:4) blinds and deceives mankind, and death swallows up the race (1Cor. 15:22). But notwithstanding, God is over all and in supreme control. He is the eonian God.
In due time, He will deliver the entire creation and bring good out of all the suffering mankind is called upon to endure (Rom. 8:18-23).”