The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Universalism and the Salvation of Satan

Whoever or whatever Satan is he/it seems to me in the Bible to be fairly clearly shown to be an agent of God; very firmly under God’s control and has a role to play in the cosmic and earthly drama (for reasons best known to God - all 3 of them :wink: ). I can’t see any good reason for Satan (if that is a person as opposed to a concept of evil) not to be reconciled.

As for Lucifer/Satan I know many people don’t believe the former fell to become the latter.

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There’s that to be considered, too. The OT book of Job has perhaps the most nuanced presentation of Satan/Leviathan in the Bible.

If he/it is simply (i.e. knowingly, willingly, and obediently?) playing a God-assigned role, would there not seem little reason for him/it to be “tormented unto the age of ages”?

Jason Pratt said

Gregory of Nyssa (who surely counts as something in the history of the Church, being named a “doctor of the Church,” “The flower of Orthodoxy” and “father of fathers” by eccumenical council) certainly agreed with you Jason.

We certainly believe, both because of the prevailing opinion, and still more of Scripture teaching, that there exists another world of beings besides, divested of such bodies as ours are, who are opposed to that which is good and are capable of hurting the lives of men, having by an act of will lapsed from the nobler view, and by this revolt from goodness personified in themselves the contrary principle; and this world is what, some say, the Apostle adds to the number of the “things under the earth,” signifying in that passage that when evil shall have been some day annihilated in the long revolutions of the ages, nothing shall be left outside the world of goodness, but that even from those evil spirits shall rise in harmony the confession of Christ’s Lordship.

(On the Soul and the Resurrection)

He (Christ) accomplished all the results before mentioned, freeing both man from evil, and healing even the introducer of evil himself. For the chastisement, however painful, of moral disease is a healing of its weakness.

(The Great Catechism, ch. XXVI)

As to the whole question of freewill vs. Providence, I don’t see them as mutually exclussive concepts (and I suppose that makes me a Mollinist, though I was unfamiliar with the term until I read Gregory MacDonald’s book.)

Thanks for those quotes, Michael. I was going to post the one from St. Gregory of Nyssa’s Great Catechism, but you beat me to it! :mrgreen:

John in Revelation is looking at the new earth-the recreated earth that Lucifer has destroyed by us using his principles-the law of greed. If you look at the picture the Jews were given of the earth at creation the firmament was sandwiched between water. The fountains of the deep and a layer of water in the highest level of our atmosphere. At the time of the flood the fountains of the deep were released and now are our present day oceans. The layer of water in the upper most layer was destroyed by the jettisoned steam that was coming from the core of the earth.

On the sixth day of creation God looked on the earth and said everything was very good. If everything was very good there obviously have been dramatic changes since the time of the flood. If everything was very good at creation radio-active materials could not have been on the surface of the earth. They cause cancer and can be used by man to destroy the planet many times over. If however the radio-active materials and our oceans were in the core everything would indeed be very good.

The decay of the R.A. materials would heat the fountains of the deep producing steam which would heat and water the entire planet from below. We store spent R.A. materials in caves because the granite walls contain the radioactivity. So the granites in the mantle would not allow radioactivity to the surface. When oil wells are first opened, they gush because they are under tremendous pressure. After a while the pressure is reduced and drillers then force steam through the granite mantle to force the remaining oil out. So everything I stated would have been physically possible.

If God created the world to be inhabited as he states the oceans are huge wastes of space. Again if they are under the mantle in the core they serve a purpose that is indeed very good. We need water for plants but the steam forced through the granites would have been a far superior way of doing it. Now we either can get too much and have floods or to little and have droughts. The rain packs the soil and splashes micro-organisms onto the plants causing diseases. If the oceans were in the core and were heated by the R.A. material the entire earth would have had the same temperature and constant access to moisture as God said “very good”. The Bible does say mist came up from the earth and watered the whole surface.

The layer of water around the earth in the upper level of the atmosphere would have been solid ice or ice crystals. Either way it would have been super cold water at that elevation. Super cold water acts as a magnet. Since the earth is a magnet they would have repulsed each other. God created gravity which would have offset the repulsion and kept the layer in place. Having a layer of ice in the upper level of our atmosphere would have filtered out all x-rays which destroy cells, gamma rays and UV which cause cancer and cell mutations. So before the flood very good, after, not so much.

If the R.A. materials would have started to increase past the rate God had set them the fountains of the deep would have caused excess steam which would have finally fractured the earth releasing the fountains of the deep and causing it to rain for forty days as the steam cooled and came back to the earth. If you overheat an egg in a micro-wave it will jerk violently just prior to shattering. Our earth is at a 28 degree angle which causes hot and cold areas from the uneven heating of the surface. This causes wind patterns. The wind over Northern Africa blows continually from the east and acts like a blast furnace killing vegetation at the western edge of the Sahara. The desert is still expanding. And determining the rate of expansion its age can be determined, which corresponds to what the Bible says is the time of the flood. The meeting of cold and hot areas is what causes all our severe weather. Hurricanes, tornadoes and violent thunderstorms are all a consequence of the earth’s tilt. So before the flood very good and after not so much.

2 PETER 3 : 7 “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

The fountains of the deep are no longer in the core so if the R.A. materials would again overheat it would not blow at 212 degrees as the first time. This time it would continue until the solid materials became vapor which would mean thousands of degrees.

2 PETER 3 :10 "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief! The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

If you investigate radio-active materials on the net you will see that they estimate that they cause about 80% of the heat generated in the core.

Here is the kicker. In May of 2012 Purdue reported that the decay rate of all materials has started to increase. Their findings have been verified by a number of other schools. I also heard two news reports on mind studies. In one case they concentrated on positive and negative thoughts while freezing water. The positive thoughts caused no change, but the negative thought caused the ice to be cloudy and a strange crystaline structure. The other study said they changed the decay rate of a material when they concentrated on negative thoughts.

At the flood God said man’s thoughts were evil continually. If you read the description that Paul gives of the endtime in 2 Timothy 3 : 1 it is a very good definition of what God said it was at the flood. God says (Zec 4:6 & 1 John 5:6) that he does nothing by might nor power but by the truth. So if he is demonstrating to the universe the defects in the law of greed compared to the law of love would he be grieved he created us, not mad but sad if they were suffering as mankind is today? If this is a demonstration to prove Lucifer’s accusations wrong no one has to die eternally. But to prove what happens if you follow the law of greed some might have to explode on this planet as part of the demonstration. If God raises everyone prior to the earth being destroyed as the Bible states, what happens to those who have believed what the churches teach about a God of wrath. Would they run in fear? Would they die the second death in a lake of fire?

Perhaps Satan and his angels (beast & false prophet) will be tormented day and night forever and ever. While wicked humans are thrown into the eternal Lake Of Fire they don’t stay there forever. They are purified. How do I know? Because the Bible says God is the Savior of all people - especially them that believe. He desires all to be saved and is not willing that any should perish and the God of the Bible always accomplishes His purposes.

What about the Book Of Life?

The Book of the living in the Old Testament is different from the Book of Life in the New. If you will notice in the Bible when God regenerates someone it will sometimes mention that He changes their name. Well, based on this we can see that the people in the Lake Of Fire receive a new name after they are purified. It is this name that was written in the Book Of Life from the foundation of the world.

Most of us define God as the ground and source of all being.

And C.S. Lewis (a mere man) said “…there is a difficulty about disagreeing with God. He is the source from which all your reasoning power comes: you could not be right and He wrong any more than a stream can rise higher than it’s own source. When you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.”
(Mere Christianity, pg. 48.)

If this is the true definition of God, and Satan and his angels know Him as the ground and source of all being, wouldn’t they know that nothing they do could possibly thwart His purposes, and that all their efforts must end up serving His plan?

Why then would they bother fighting God, tempting men, planting false doctrines in the Church, planing and sceeming, etc.?

And doesn’t James 2:19 imply that they do in fact know that there is a Supreme Being who is the ground and source of all being?

**Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. **

If they know that, and they have even average human intelligence, wouldn’t they know that they’re wasting their time?

“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” ?

Except that it isn’t better to reign in hell than serve in heaven in God’s estimation, and if they had even the human intelligence of C.S. Lewis, wouldn’t they have to know that He’s right and they’re wrong?

That (as C.S. Lewis said) “…there is a difficulty about disagreeing with God. He is the source from which all your reasoning power comes: you could not be right and He wrong any more than a stream can rise higher than it’s own source. When you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on”?

If he/it is simply (i.e. knowingly, willingly, and obediently?) playing a God-assigned role, would there not seem little reason for him/it to be “tormented unto the age of ages”?

I think the greek word translated as “tormented” was also used to mean “refine” as in refining something into a precious metal. I think that most likely Satan was always Satan.
There are some verses that seem to say that “creation” will be reconciled to God.

So, in your view, Satan is a faithful servant just consciously doing a job that someone has to do, and that God gave him?

Did you ever see “Wholly Moses”?

Herschel meets the devil outside Sodom (he was played by the late John Ritter, I believe) where he’s come to collect souls and complains of the dirty job God’s given him.

He says that one day God just handed him the red suite he was wearing and said “try this on for size,” and I’m always reminded of that when I talk to those who believe God created the devil as is.

Does anyone else have any thoughts?

Let me be more clear - The point of reigning in Hell is not a matter of knowledge, it’s a matter of pride. I have known people that would rather experience some kind of pain that admit they are wrong.
The devil may NOT be smarter than us - if his understanding is warped, he probably is a fool. Angels may see some things we cannot yet see, but it works both ways, I think.

Granted.

But if “One God” means that there’s one Ground and Source of all being, and if James 2:19 is true (and the demons know that there’s such a God), how could he be fool enough to think he could succeed in opposing God’s ultimate purposes?

How could he expect to destroy Job if he knew that the All knowing Ground and Source of all being was on Job’s side?

How could he not anticipate that in the end his efforts could only serve to further God’s plan, if God is what we believe Him to be, and he knows God to be what we believe Him to be?

Michael, I see your point, and it’s a good one.
I wonder if, like humans, satan’s understanding is darkened, perhaps even more than ours is. (If they eye that is in us is dark, how great is that darkness) Something evil cannot rise above its ‘evilness’ and still retain the intellectual good. Perhaps he is a slave to his desires, his lusts, his perversions, but loves them anyway, much as people do.
The demons may tremble, but it might be just as much rage as fear, and it does push them to further rage, perhaps.

Could it be that satan is Insane? That would make sense.

A lot of ‘perhapses’ in there. :slight_smile: What do you think of the insanity theory?

You brought this passage to mind.

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. (John 8:44.)

I think being a slave to irrational lusts would be a type of insanity, so it kinda ties in with your first comment.

Thank you.

Torment brings to mind the weeping & gnashing of teeth in the gospels, as in sorrow & self hatred for sins.

It seems the word “unto” in “unto ages of the ages” (Rev.20:10) can mean “into”, with a purpose, & not necessarily for the entire duration of:

biblehub.com/greek/1519.htm

Just a word about the meaning of “βασανιζω” (basanizō). The lexicon provided in the Online Bible program states as its first meaning:

Also the English word “basalt” is derived directly or indirectly from this word.

So in Revelation 20:10, by analogy, the devil and the false prophet will be tested in the Lake of Fire from time to time until they are purified, and the test indicates that this is the case.

So perhaps the best translation of Revelation 20:10 is:

And they will be tested day and night for ages and ages.

I know a popular recent rebuttal to that interpretation of the term, among annihilationists at least, is that the usage is archaic to the time of RevJohn – it used to mean that, but didn’t anymore by the time of the latter half of the first century.

I haven’t seen the details on this rebuttal argument yet; but certainly the OT hadn’t stopped being used at the time of writing RevJohn (whenever that was), and the OT typically uses refining language for remedial and disciplinary-training action. Put together with a functional analogy of what the ‘basin/sea of fire’ did in Temple worship (clean sacrifices to be acceptable and pleasing to God), and I think we’re still in business there.

It just occurred to me to wonder if “basin” is also derived from this word!

Can there be any question of Satan’s eventual salvation from Revelation 5:13?

This includes everyone in the universe, including the dead and demons:

Rev.5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

John speaks of “every creature” & to emphasize this again he repeats “and all that are in them”:

Rev.5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

This worship (v.13) uses the same worshipful words as the redeemed of vs 9-10 use in v.12:

12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

All this being in the context of salvation - “the Lamb that was slain” (v.12 & 13).

Since that comment was posted it seems the OP may have modified his opinion on Origen’s view of the salvation of Satan:

theologicalscribbles.blogspot.ca … devil.html

Re the remark about “the Christian tradition”, it seems likely that the view that Satan is not a person, but a thing, has been even less a part of “Christian tradition” than the view that Satan will eventually be saved. At least in the early church. In fact it seems possible that Satan’s salvation was a “Christian tradition”, if not “the” Christian tradition, during times in the early church, in the sense of what was believed by many, if not most, Christians.

No church creed until around at least about 500 A.D. condemned either the belief in eventual universalism or the ultimate salvation of all fallen angelic beings. Origen, Gregory Nyssa, Jerome, St Isaac the Syrian & other church fathers were among those who proclaimed the final universal reconciliation of all created beings.Clement of Alexandria, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Jerome, Diodorus of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia & the Ambrosiaster writing are included, with qualifications, by the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Apocatastasis, which states the doctrine was not formally condemned until 543 AD. “The doctrine was thenceforth looked on as heterodox by the Church.” Thereafter followed the dark ages of the next 1000-1400 years, including Inquisitions, Crusades, burning of opposers & their writings, denial of freedoms such as freedom of religion & freedom of speech. Do we really want to follow the “Christian traditions” that bore that fruit?

Apocatastasis: “A name given in the history of theology to the doctrine which teaches that a time will come when all free creatures will share in the grace of salvation; in a special way, the devils and lost souls.” newadvent.org/cathen/01599a.htm

On Origen’s belief in the devil’s salvation, see Ramelli’s tome on Apocatastasis, p24, 144-155+ at: faulknerfornewyork.com/libra … &type=full

“Rufinus shows that in his exegetical works Jerome once approved of Origen’s doctrine of apokatastasis, which he now rejects…In fact, in Jerome’s commentaries, the eventual universal restoration (restitutio) frequently appears, at first to be approved of, then to be rejected” [p.18, 628-631, Ramelli, Apocatastasis].

“…the Acts of Thomas cite Bardaisan, a supporter of apokatastasis.” (Ramelli, Apocatastasis, p.80)

In “Acts of Thomas…the devil literally dissolves into smoke and disappears, thus showing its non-being…” [Ramelli, p.81]

“In Acts of Philip…the demons announce their decision to serve the Good (and therefore Christ and his apostles)” [Ramelli, p.85-6]

“Didymus too, another radical Origenian author and supporter of the doctrine of apokatastasis, including the restoration of the devil, describes Bardaisan very positively.” [Ramelli, p.116, 290]

“As Clement and Origen did, Didymus also insists that every action of divine Providence is aimed at the salvation of rational creatures” [Ramelli, p.307]

“…not only of Origen and the Origenians, but also of his[Basil’s] brother Gregory, his sister Macrina, and his friend Gregory Nazianzen, who also believed in apokatastasis, as I shall argue in the next section.” [Ramelli, p.357]

"Macrina, like Origen, regards Phil 2:9–10 as a prediction of the submission-salvation of all rational creatures, angels, humans, and demons, after their purification: “I believe that the divine Apostle …] meant that universal harmony of all rational nature that one day will obtain in the Good …] when finally, after long cycles of aeons, evilness has disappeared, only the Good will remain, and even those creatures [sc. the demons] will concordantly and unanimously admit the sovereignty of Christ.” [Ramelli, p.378]

“Evagrian Origenism in the desert probably also contributed to the diffusion of the idea of the devil’s salvation. Indeed, Epiphanius concludes his letter by expressing alarm for the diffusion of “Origenism” in Palestine promoted by the Evagrian Palladius.” [Ramelli, p.486, 582]

“Cyril explains that the Son’s submission to the Father is not a sign of the Son’s inferiority, but he submits from the point of view of the salvific economy, for our sake. Since the human being, having sinned, ended up with being submitted to corruption, and, because of the devil and the demons, detached itself from God …] then the Only-Begotten became a human being for our sake, and has annihilated κατήργηκε] the power of
death and also eliminated ἐξῆρε] the root of death, which is sin; he threw out ἐξέβαλε] the ruler of this world. After doing all this and bringing the whole salvific economy to completion, he will hand to the Father the Kingdom that once upon a time had been stolen from him and had passed under the power of others, so to exert his power over all beings on earth, after restoring them ἀποκαταστήσας], having them return to himself, once he has annihilated κατηργημένου] death and satan, who had tyrannised them, the Son will have again, and for the world to come, the excellence of the power over all πάντων].” [Ramelli, p.599-600]

"Synesius’s very notion of the rational beings is close to that of Origen: human souls and good and bad demons can either elevate themselves
toward God or fall down toward matter and evil. In his ninth Anacreontic Ode Synesius celebrates Christ’s descent to hell: there, he “liberated the souls from their sufferings.” In his Ode to the Saviour as well, Synesius emphasises the role of Christ’s descent to hell: being God, Christ in his tomb purified the earth, the air, and even demons and hell, “the depth beneath depth.” In this way, he made himself a “help to the dead.” [Ramelli, p.603]

"Among these objects of rational investigation Rufinus included the restoration of the devil, an “opinion” [Ramelli, p.647]

“Sudhaili explains the nature of the Good and the ascent of the mind toward it, stating that “All rational essences glorify and love the Essence from which they were separated.” For it is from the primordial Essence that the spiritual and material universe proceeded. Sudhaili embraces the idea of the eventual end of punishments in the next word, whose function is thought to be purifying rather than retributive. In line with Nyssen’s view, the final restoration will include even demons and the devil, whose redemption is minutely described in the Book, in a chapter entitled On the Repentance of Those Below.” [Ramelli, p.692]

“Clement, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and others who laid such emphasis on human free will and the possibility of conversion and redemption at any stage, even for demons, thanks to the healing and enlightening work of Christ-Logos.” [Ramelli, p.693]

Isaac the Syrian, see p.762

Eriugena p.770, 785

Ambrose p.798-9, 801

“Origen, and Eriugena with him, underline that God will be not only in few or in many, but in all, absolutely, once both evil and death have vanished altogether…But the devil is not destroyed in his substance, which is good in that it is a creature of God, but rather his perverse will shall be abolished…” [Ramelli, p.792,7]

“Salvation surely is universal, and coincides with the universal restoration, so that it is safe to assume that for Eriugena apokatastasis will in fact be tantamount to universal salvation.” [Ramelli, p.808]

“God being the absolute Good, when God is “all in all” evil has vanished altogether, according to its ontological non-subsistence. I have shown that especially for Gregory of Nyssa the eventual apokatastasis will be, not only the oikeiōsis of all creatures to God, who is their prōton oikeion, but also and especially the Godhead’s own glorious and definitive act of oikeiōsis or re-appropriation of what belongs to it, that is, all of its creatures, which were alienated by evil. When they all, after purification and instruction, finally reject evil, then evil—which is no being, but the result of a wrong choice—will utterly disappear. This is a point on which Origen, Eusebius,Gregory of Nyssa, Evagrius, Ps. Dionysius, Maximus the Confessor and other Fathers insist. In his In Illud: Tunc et Ipse Filius Gregory depicts with special effect the final triumphal march of the Good (that is, God), which conquers all evil, from the slightest to the worst, ending up with the conquest of the devil himself. Destruction of evil coincides with the transformation of all sinners and their return to the Good/God.” [Ramelli, p.824]

“We can set no limits to the agency of the Redeemer to redeem, to rescue, to discipline in his work, and so will he continue to operate after this life. –Clement of Alexandria”

“Clement of Alexandria (150-215) “And not only for our sins,’-that is for those of the faithful,-is the Lord the propitiator, does he say, ‘but also for the whole world.’ He, indeed, saves all; but some He saves, converting them by punishments; others, however, who follow voluntarily He saves with dignity of honour; so ‘that every knee should bow to Him, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth;’ that is, angels, men, and souls that before His advent have departed from this temporal life.” (Fragments, 1:3, c. 2, v. 2)"

“The Son “breaking in pieces” His enemies is for the sake of remolding them, as a potter his own work; as Jeremiah 18;6 says: i.e., to restore them once again to their former state. --Eusebius of Caesarea (265 to 340 A.D). Bishop of Caesarea”

“Gregory of Nyssa (A.D. 330-394) “A certain deception was indeed practised upon the Evil one, by concealing the Divine nature within the human; but for the latter, as himself a deceiver, it was only a just recompense that he should be deceived himself: the great adversary must himself at last find that what has been done is just and salutary, when he also shall experience the benefit of the Incarnation. He, as well as humanity, will be purged.” (The Great Catechism, 26, newadvent.org/fathers/2908.htm)”

“Our Lord is the One who delivers man [all men], and who heals the inventor of evil himself. – Gregory of Nyssa (332-398 A.D.)”

“Origen (185-254) “If, then, that subjection be held to be good and salutary by which the Son is said to be subject to the Father, it is an extremely rational and logical inference to deduce that the subjection also of enemies, which is said to be made to the Son of God, should be understood as being also salutary and useful; as if, when the Son is said to be subject to the Father, the perfect restoration of the whole of creation is signified, so also, when enemies are said to be subjected to the Son of God, the salvation of the conquered and the restoration of the lost is in that understood to consist.” (De Principiis, 3:5:7)”

“In the end or consummation of things, all shall be restored to their original state, and be again united in one body. We cannot be ignorant that Christ’s blood benefited the angels and those who are in hell; though we know not the manner in which it produced such effects. The apostate angels shall become such as they were created; and man, who has been cast out of paradise, shall be restored thither again. And this shall be accomplished in such a way, that all shall be united together by mutual charity, so that the members will delight in each other, and rejoice in each other’s promotion. The apostate angels, and the prince of this world, though now ungovernable, plunging themselves into the depths of sin, shall, in the end, embrace the happy dominion of Christ and His saints.” – COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT – Jerome (347-420 A.D.)

“It is interesting that many of these comments touch on the concept that is well-articulated by C.S. Lewis’ mentor, George McDonald, in his sermon, “The Consuming Fire.” The concept is that God himself is the consuming fire and he will burn away all our iniquities, including those of Satan, who will emerge from the experience as the purified Lucifer, as he was created to be. This is what at is pictured in Isaiah 66:24 where all beings will look upon their old selves as carcasses burning in God’s eternally consuming fire. To understand this picture one must realize that the perspective is that of a totally redeemed eternal being looking back on his or her past life and sensing some regret for their own sins. This concept allows for a new understanding of what Jesus meant when he said that the lake of fire is reserved for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41), which is the same thing as the river of fire in Daniel 7:10, which is the same thing as the river of life in Ezekiel 47:1-11 (who is Jesus as he describes himself in John 4:10-13).”

As to the extent among Christians of the belief in the devil’s eventual salvation, feel free to peruse the following:

  1. “Augustine, the champion of eternal torment said in his day, “There are very many (imo quam plurimi, which can be translated majority) who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments.” (Enchiria, ad Laurent. c. 29)”

The Augustine quote, in the context of chapters 111 & 112, appears to include fallen angels, & imply their ultimate salvation.
leaderu.com/cyber/books/auge … 7-122.html

  1. "St. Basil the Great (c. 329-379) in his De Asceticis wrote: “The mass of men (Christians) say that there is to be an end of punishment to those who are punished.” "(The Ascetic Works of St. Basil, pp.329-30…Conc. 14 De. fut judic).

If there is an end of punishment to those punished, then what is left but universal salvation, even of devils?

  1. "St. Jerome (342-420), the author of the Vulgate Latin Bible…writes: “I know that most persons understand by the story of Nineveh and its King, the ultimate forgiveness of the devil and all rational creatures.” " [Commentary on Jonah 3:6-9]

I welcome any comments.

For further reading: askelm.com/news/n020820.htm