The Evangelical Universalist Forum

SNIPPETS FROM MY HARD COPY UR LIBRARY

By George Hawtin:
"The times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets (Acts 3:21).
And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto You: Whom the heavens must receive until the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Peter’s statement speaks clearly of the times of the restitution of all things. Restitution, according to the best English usage, means the act of restoring something that has been taken away or lost; the act of making good or rendering an equivalent as for loss or injury. (Funk and Wagnall’s Dictionary) This is in exact harmony with the Greek work temuriak which means restoration.

Some will no doubt reply to this by stating, as many do, that Peter was not promising that God would restore everything but only those things of which the prophets had spoken. I wish, however, to show as clearly as possible that the grammatical construction of this sentence declares the exact opposite to be the truth. I mean that Peter was actually saying that all the prophets from the beginning of the world had prophesied that there would be a restoration of all things and that the restoration would indeed be universal and would include all things. You will notice that in the scripture quoted (Acts 3:21, King James Version) there is a comma after the word things. This comma indicates that the clause following : “which God hath spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began” – is what is known as a non-restrictive clause. A non-restrictive clause is one which can be omitted without changing or destroying the meaning of the principal clause or main statement. (See Mastering Effective English by Tressler-Lewis, Revised Edition, Pages 545-546.) It simply adds further information. Now read the scripture, omitting the clause in question, and you will find the meaning is clearly stated and nothing of the sense is destroyed. If this clause were modifying the word things, it would be restrictive and no comma would be used."
George Hawtin

GOD COUNTED THE COST - Ray Prinzing
"For which of you , intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he that laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock Him, saying, This man began to build, and he was not able to finish. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out! In all this Job did not sin, nor did he attribute folly to the way God was working. Luke 14:28-30; Roman 11:33 and Job 1.22.
No matter what the circumstances of life are, we should not charge God with folly. Natural reasoning cannot wrap around the negative happenings of this life, but we can relax in the knowledge that God is in complete control and He knows what he is doing.
Christendom’s theology on the plan and purpose of God has become a gross perversion of the truth and most certainly attributes folly to God. They want us to believe that God started well but the devil upset His plans; so now He has substituted a salvage program to try and save a few scraps, even though His initial plans has ended in disaster. No wonder it reads in Matthew 15:9, “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” They call Him “God” but they deny it by their teaching. They exalt the devil and attribute to his power that he doesn’t even have. They teach a so-called “rapture” in which God somehow manages to snatch a few out of the hands of a semi-omnipotent devil, while the rest are destined to suffer in the fire of hell forever. This kind of teaching, my friends, is attributing folly to God. Such a god deserves to be mocked and ridiculed for such a performance. Such a god is not really God!
Jesus said that a man should count the cost before he enters into any Endeavour, otherwise his half-finished project will attest to his inability and lack of resourcefulness. And yet Christendom dares to attribute such folly to God Himself! When God laid out His plan and purpose for the ages, He guaranteed ahead of time a totally successful accomplishment of all His pleasure. Surely God in His all-knowing omnipotence should not be accused of operating by a principle that is inferior to how He has instructed weak and finite man to operate by!
Job38:7 tells us that the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy when God started His plan of the ages. They knew that God was going to do something beyond all expectation. Christendom comes along and tries to tell us that all of a sudden the bottom fell out, an enemy interfered, and now the best that God can do is a patch up job.
God is raising up a people who will preach the truth about His plan of the ages, and this preaching will produce the results that God is after instead of bondage to a Babylonian system of beliefs. Isaiah 40:12-14 says, “Who hath measure the waters in the hollow of God’s hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales. and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge and showed to him the way of understanding?” God does not need any help from anybody to finish His job and accomplish all His pleasure. Neither can anybody hinder or delay His purposes. He is all-sufficient within Himself to get done what He wants done, and no created will can affect the working out of His plan. God has said to Himself, “I have counted the cost, and I know that I have enough resources to finish My plan for the ages and present it back to Myself a total triumphant victory. In Psalm 50:12 God says, “The world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.” The entire world belongs to God. None of it belongs to Satan. Satan can only manifest temporary partial control so that God can work a greater purpose out of it. God knew that He could not lose, because He knew that he was willing to give enough of His resources to attain a total reconciliation.
The reason that man’s love fails is because it doesn’t deep loving long enough. But God’s love NEVER fails, because He will keep loving, and keep loving until the desired loving response has been attained. God will not, indeed cannot fail to win the loving allegiance of every heart that He has created.
A man who loves a lady until she consents to marry him is like God. While courting her, the man brings her many gifts. But after she marries him he goes to her place, loads up all the gifts and takes them and her back to his place, and he hasn’t lost a thing. If he only loved half-way he would lose his entire investment; but God loves all the way and He will not lose even one soul. It is true that the sinful soul will die, but it will be raised up again into newness of life in Christ Jesus. The destruction of the sinful soul is part of God’s love-process. God’s love never fails. God’s love always wins. Contrary to what Christian Babylon teaches, God’s love will not stop being effective when we die. Neither will it stop being effective at any point in time after the resurrection. Without any failures, God will accomplish His purpose for loving us. Not even our own will can separate us from the love of God; for He has not created us with a will so strong that he cannot influence it for our own good and for His glory. God counted the cost and he said to Himself, “I will spend everything necessary till I have gained everything for My glory.” God so loved the world that He gave to receive it and, bless your heart, the world He will get! Nothing will be wasted. Nobody will be lost. But in God’s year of jubilee the creation will be returned unto Himself in better shape than when He thrust it away from Himself. Acts 15:18 says, “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the ages.” God knew every act and every sequence of events. He always knew what followed each development, for He Himself is the cause behind every development.
God knows us inside out. He knows why we feel the way we feel and why we do the things we do. He knows all of our motivations and desires, and He will control them all to work out His special plan for us. The Psalmist said, “O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether, Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whether shall I flee from Thy presence? If I make my bed in hell, behold Thou are there. If I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them they are more in number than the sand, And when I awake, I am still with Thee. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there by any wicked way in me, and lead me in Thy way for the ages.”
God is responsible for, and in perfect control of the interplay of good and evil in our life. He does not tempt us to sin, but He does allow us to be tempted in order to teach us lessons through it. God takes full responsibility for our temptation, for it is only because of His sustaining power that any tempter can tempt us. Man is accountable for yielding to temptation but God is responsible for it. And because God is responsible for it, He will see to it that man learns a positive lesson through the negative result of his accountability. God will not allow any sin to gain a permanent victory over anyone, but He will reverse its destructive power and turn it into good.
Rejected and scorned, ignored and trampled on and utterly despised - still God’s love suffers it all till it has won over every heart. Isaiah 66:9 says, “Shall I bring to birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord. Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith Thy God.” God counted the cost and He knew that he would not lose out on any part of His plan of the ages, but would gain all back into Himself. All loss is temporary, for God sows the seeds of gain in every loss. “For from Him and for Him and to Him are all things.” Romans 11:36. And Hebrews 2:15 says that Christ rendered of non-effect him that had the power of death, that is the devil, for the purpose of delivering them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Let him that buildeth a tower be careful to count the cost,
Lest having the tower started, he finds that it cannot be finished.
And others beholding will mock him for all that he purposed and lost.
Our God has a plan for the ages - a purpose beyond all compare.
He carefully weighed out the balance and marked out the course for each man.
Then measure the good and the evil, creation in sorrow would share.
He willingly gave of His treasure - not even withholding His Son,
But followed His plan of redemption through Calvary, death and the tomb,
Secure in the knowledge that vict’ry would climax all He began.
He shall not be mocked by sinners; He shall not be found to fail.
The purpose which He determined, in mysteries yet to be known
Will find in Him its perfection - His love and His grace shall prevail.
He bringeth to birth and His power is strong to deliver His own.
The firstfruits of this generation, and all that the ages shall hold,
Till ALL THINGS in Him are united to worship the King on His throne.
God has not lost. God will not lose. He sat down, counted the cost and said, “I have enough grace and love to finish the job before the ages have been completed.” ALL THINGS will be restored; nothing will be wasted, nothing will be lost. Everything will be returned to His glory and praise.

ESTABLISHED BY GRACE - Ray Prinzing
God’s grace will successfully bring our salvation to completion. He gives us both the desire and ability to work out our salvation. It is God all the way. We are not saved because we believe. We believe because God has caused us to believe.
Grace is the spontaneous generosity of God’s heart without any expectation of return and no strings attached. Grace causes us to choose righteousness. We are saved by grace, we walk by grace, and we are kept by grace. It is grace all the way.
Under the law God said, “you shall and I will.” But under grace God says “I will and you shall because I will do the you shall through you.
God will arrange circumstances that will cause us to lose all confidence in the flesh. When grace comes into our life, He becomes a life style. Grace is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Where true grace abounds, righteousness will be the result.
Grace is so expansive that it will cause everyone to be saved. It will result in the total restoration of every creature. Every preacher who fights the message of the salvation of all will also fight the message of grace and will try to shackle you with the law of only if you “do” will you be saved. But it’s only because He has saved you that you will “do” what He wants you to do. God will cause grace to expand in our consciousness until we understand that it will include everyone.
Grace doesn’t give anyone a second chance. Grace doesn’t even give anyone a first chance. Grace effectively saves. It doesn’t just give us a chance to be saved. If you can’t believe in Jesus right now, just wait. A time is coming when God’s grace will cause you to believe in Him. When God gives you faith to believe it will be impossible for you not to believe. Grace will effectively constrain us to be conformed to His image.

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME

While believers are enjoying life eonian, unbelievers will experience kolasis eonian which means age-during corrective chastisement. When the corrective chastisement has been achieved in everyone who needs it, then both life eonian and chastisement eonian will come to an end and eternity will continue with everyone saved from everything from which they need to be saved, including their stubborn will.

A snippet from
GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
“During the present wicked eon (Gal.1:4), Sin reigns, Satan who is said to be “the god of this eon” (2 Cor.4:4) blinds and deceives mankind, and death swallows up the race (1 Cor.15:22). But notwithstanding, God is over all and is 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).”

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
THE EONS OF THE BIBLE WITH CONCORDANCE
saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html

Many Greek scholars agree with John Wesley Hanson
AIÓN – AIÓNIOS
tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html

SEE

THE SCHOLAR’S CORNER FOR THE STUDY OF BIBLICAL UNIVERSALISM
tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html
and
THE EONS
martinzender.com/Zenderature/the_eons.htm

GOD’S “CONVERSION” – Kenneth Larsen

God’s “Conversion” : A mythological saga of our Heavenly Father’s change
of character, as told by theologians, ancient and modern.

In Adam, all are dying, for the creation was subjected to vanity. 1
Cor. 15:22; Ro. 8:20. It was through one offense for all mankind for
condemnation. Ro. 5:18. We were all constituted sinners through the
disobedience of one man. Ro. 5:19. This collective perdition came
through no choice of ours as individuals, but is our inheritance, our
fate.

Nevertheless, so the story goes, there came a time when God, wanting
to conform His doings to the highest ethical standards, set Himself
upon a radically different course. Henceforth, He would not act
arbitrarily, but only in accordance with the rights and sovereign
choices of the individual; from then on He was to obtain permission
from His creature before acting on his or her behalf. In contrast to
the collective loss, salvation was to be an individual matter, and
subject to obtaining cooperation from His subjects. No more “spiritual
collectivism”; now God had enthusiastically embraced the “spiritual
free market”. Our Heavenly Father was now, henceforth and officially,
a “Gentleman”, and would no longer force anything upon anyone; He
would subject His will that all mankind be saved to the whims of the
very creation He had formerly confined under collective condemnation.
1 Tim. 2:1-6. The “plan of salvation” would consist of Christ offering
salvation to all, and then being satisfied with whatever percentage He
could manage to save. Isaiah 53. He would be honorifically titled “the
Savior of all mankind”, but that would really amount to nothing more
than wishful thinking, for He would especially (that is, only, as the
story goes) save those who believe during this life. 1 Tim. 4:9-11.

Did God truly change His dealings with mankind? Does He really change?
Of course not! Mal. 3:6; Heb. 1:12; 13:8; Jn. 14:9; 10:30. “For even
as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be
vivified.” 1 Cor. 15:22. “Even as… thus also…”- In similar fashion to
the collective death, is the collective life! Romans 5:15- “But not as
the offense, thus also the grace. For if, by the offense of the one,
the many died, much rather the grace of God and the gratuity in grace,
which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the many superabounds.” Who
are the many who died because of Adam’s offense? All mankind. And so,
much rather, God’s gratuity in grace, through Christ’s perfect life
and obedience to the death of the cross, SUPERABOUNDS to the many- all
mankind! Does the salvation of some of those lost suggest a
superabundance of grace? No! Does a collective, obligatory
condemnation to sin and death, coupled with an individual, optional
justification of life constitute a superabundance of grace? Not by a
long shot! God subjected the creation to vanity in HOPE! Ro. 8:20. Did
He hope that the entrance of sin would cause even one to be
permanently lost? Of course not! Lk. 15:3-32.

Ro. 5:18, 19- “Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for
all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award
for all mankind for life’s justifying. For even as, through the
disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus
also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted
just.” As it was through Adam (a collective condemnation), THUS ALSO
it will be through Christ (a collective justification of life)! God
promises a universal reconciliation. Col. 1:15-20; Phil. 2:5-11. He
will draw all creation to Himself, using whatever loving means He has
at His disposal, including judgments. Jn. 12:32; 1:9-13; 1 Cor.
3:10-15; Lk. 12:45-49. Our Heavenly Father will confer faith and
repentance upon all, at the time He chooses. 2 Pt.3:9; Acts 5:31;
11:18; 17:31; 2 Tim. 2:25. Obviously, our stubborn will must be
subdued, but take heart, for “Not stronger that He are we!” 1 Cor.
10:22; Is. 45:22, 23. Our unchanging God will be All in all! 1 Cor.
15:20-28.

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.

GOD’S WRATH

God’s wrath ends:
Micah 7:18 You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

Isaiah 57:16 I will not accuse them forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people I have created.

Rev 15:1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.

So God’s wrath does not go on indefinitely; it is completed at some point.

All are to be reconciled:
Col 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Eph 1:9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Ultimately God is all in all:
1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Cor 15:28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

GRACE, PLUS NOTHING – James Coram

This is not to say that our efforts are not essential or that there will be nothing for us to do since it is God Who saves us from our failings. To the contrary, God graciously saves us by causing us to work, “training us that, disowning irreverence and worldly desires, we should be living sanely and justly and devoutly in the current eon” Titus 2:11,12. But our efforts are merely a product; they are the means through which God saves us. We contribute nothing.

It is not a question of our discipline and volition, but of pride and self-reliance concerning our discipline and volition, of boasting in the flesh instead of glorying in the transforming power of God. As long as we continue to see ourselves, in the final sense, as the key to anything, we will remain proud, antagonistic to “the grace of God in truth” Col. 1:6.

It is one thing to conceive of ourselves, in a dutiful sense and relatively speaking, as “cooperating” with the Lord Jesus, as He leads us into paths of better service. It is quite another, however, proudly to fancy ourselves to be so utterly independent of the Supreme Deity Himself, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, that even He is at a loss to change our will or walk without our help.

Luke 6:32-35 shows us what God’s grace (thanks) is; He is gracious to the wicked, which means sinners like we all were when He was gracious to us. It’s not that we have to preach so they can be saved, otherwise we’re responsible for their “eternal damnation”, and they have to receive the message (if we happen to present it to them), or else they will be eternally damned. Salvation is not based on human actions, but on divine actions. He chooses who to save and when, and at that moment, that soul is saved. And He will save all, as He has clearly said He will do.

We believe the message we heard, and we preach because we are so commanded, but God doesn’t depend upon us to save ourselves, nor does He depend upon our conveying the message, to save others. He is the only Sovereign, and He so arranges EVERYTHING that each will be saved. Free will and chance are myths which have completely twisted the mindset of many Christians.

Luke 6:32-35 is a wonderful example of char’is (thanks or grace) - grace is not given in response to human cooperation; grace brings about a response on the part of the recipient, but the grace saves, not the response. God saves us freely, for the gratuity in grace to all mankind superabounds! Romans 5:15.

Matthew 11:23 is an example that whether or not we repent depends on God.
Sodom would have repented had the mighty works that Jesus did in Capernaum been done in Sodom.
The question of course arises, why didn’t God send someone into Sodom to do those mighty works that would have caused their repentance?
The answer is that God decides when He will grant repentance just like He did for Saul of Tarsus.

By Hannah Whitall Smith
“…I seemed to catch a fresh and clearer revelation of the depth of the misery that had been caused to human beings by sin. It was more than I could bear. I clenched my hands and cried out in my soul, “O, God, how canst Thou bear it? Thou mightest have prevented it, but didst not. Thou mightest even now change it, but Thou dost not. I do not see how Thou canst go on living, and endure it.” I upbraided God. And I felt I was justified in doing so. Then suddenly God seemed to answer me. An inward voice said, in tones of infinite love and tenderness, “He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” “Satisfied!” I cried in my heart, “Christ is to be satisfied! He will be able to look at the world’s misery, and then at the travail through which He has passed because of it, and will be satisfied with the result; If I were Christ, nothing could satisfy me but that every human being should in the end be saved, and therefore I am sure that nothing less will satisfy Him.” And with this a veil seemed to be withdrawn from before the plans of the universe, and I saw that it was true, as the Bible says, that “as in Adam all die-even so in Christ should all be made alive.” As was the first, even so was the second. The “all” in one case could not in fairness mean less than the “all” in the other. I saw therefore that the remedy must necessarily be equal to the disease, the salvation must be as universal as the fall.
I saw all this that day on the tram-car on Market street, Philadelphia – not only thought it, or hoped it, or even believed it–but knew it. It was a Divine fact. And from that moment I have never had one questioning thought as to the final destiny of the human race. God is the Creator of every human being, therefore He is the Father of each one, and they are all His children; and Christ died for every one, and is declared to be “the propitiation not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). However great the ignorance therefore, or however grievous the sin, the promise of salvation is positive and without limitations. If it is true that “by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,” it is equally true that “by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” To limit the last “all men” is also to limit the first. The salvation is absolutely equal to the fall. There is to be a final “restitution of all things,” when “at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Every knee, every tongue- words could not be more embracing. The how and the when I could not see; but the one essential fact was all I needed- somewhere and somehow God was going to make every thing right for all the creatures He had created. My heart was at rest about it forever.
I hurried home to get hold of my Bible, to see if the magnificent fact I had discovered could possibly have been all this time in the Bible, and I had not have seen it; and the moment I entered the house, I did not wait to take off my bonnet, but rushed at once to the table where I always kept my Bible and Concordance ready for use, and began my search. Immediately the whole Book seemed to be illuminated. On every page the truth concerning the “times of restitution of all things” of which the Apostle Peter says “God Hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began,” shone forth, and no room was left for questioning. I turned greedily from page to page of my Bible, fairly laughing aloud for joy at the blaze of light that illuminated it all. It became a new book. Another skin seemed to have been peeled off every text, and my Bible fairly shone with a new meaning. I do not say with a different meaning, for in no sense did the new meaning contradict the old, but a deeper meaning, the true meaning, hidden behind the outward form of words. The words did not need to be changed, they only needed to be understood; and now at last I began to understand them.”

A snippet from The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered It
By Hannah Whitall Smith
tentmaker.org/books/unselfishness-of-god.htm


ALL FOR JESUS

THE HAPPY GOD

THE GLORY OF THE HAPPY GOD – ARTHUR CHARLES LAMB

“We read in 1Tim. 1:11 that Paul was entrusted with the evangel of the glory of the happy God. We read in 1Tim. 2:4 that God wills that all mankind be saved and come into a knowledge of the truth, and that Christ Jesus gave Himself a correspondent ransom for all (2:6).

Our God is a happy God. In Ephesians 1:10,11 we learn of the secret of God’s will, and this accords with His delight. It gives God joy and happiness and delight to purpose and bring about ‘an administration of the complement of the eras, to head up all in the Christ.’
Such an evangel is certainly for the laud of His glory.”

This anonymous article came into my inbox. – Barry Kearns
HELL DOES IT EXIST?

Does “Hell” really exist? Is there a “Hell” in the Bible?
Hell no! There is no “Hell” in the Bible!

Name withheld- an editor and publisher of Holocaust poetry and a “recovering fundamentalist”

Hell is child abuse, pure and simple. We need to end the emotional, psychological and

spiritual abuse of millions of innocent children by their pastors, Sunday school teachers and

parents, today. And as I intend to prove, there is no reason for adults to threaten children

with hell (children grow up, a fact that continually eludes Christian theologians who insist

that Jesus loves the little children, and yet may turn his back on them when they reach the

mysterious “age of accountability,” which was never mentioned in relation to salvation by

Jesus or any apostle or Hebrew prophet).

Would it surprise you to know that the God of the Bible and his prophets never condemned

anyone to “hell” at any age? Here is a simple proof that there is no reason to believe

in “hell,” according to the Bible itself:

• There is no mention of “hell” or any possibility of suffering after death anywhere in the

Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament (OT).

• The Hebrew word Sheol clearly means “the grave,” not “hell.” This can easily be

confirmed because if Sheol is translated as “hell” the Christian dogma of hell as an

inescapable place of suffering where God is absent is immediately refuted. This is true

because:

(1) King David said that if he made his bed in Sheol, God would be there with him;

(2) Job asked to be hidden from suffering in Sheol;

(3) The sons of Korah said that God would redeem them from Sheol; and

(4) The prophet Ezekiel and the apostle Paul agreed that all Israel would be saved, and

yet Israel himself said that he would be reunited with his son Joseph in Sheol. How can all

Israel be saved if Israel himself is in “hell”"? In each case Sheol clearly means “the grave”

and cannot be interpreted as “hell” unless “hell” is heaven!

• This has been confirmed by conservative Bible scholars because there is no mention of the

word “hell” in the OTs of the NIV (the best-selling Bible), the NABRE (produced by the

Roman Catholic Church), the HCSB (published by the famously literal Southern Baptist

Convention), and most other modern translations of the Bible.

• Furthermore, in biblical chronologies spanning thousands of years, the God of the Bible

and his Hebrew prophets never mentioned any possibility of punishment after death.

Nothing like “hell” was even remotely suggested to Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Job,

Moses, David, and Solomon, at all.

• In fact, “hell” was never mentioned even to the worst people at the worst of times.

“Hell” was never mentioned to Cain (the first murderer), nor to the people guilty of the

wickedness that led to the Great Flood, nor to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, nor even

to the Pharaoh who enslaved the Hebrew tribes and defied God repeatedly.

• We can further verify this because there are no Old Test. warnings about the need to

repent in order to avoid suffering after death. In the OT, people were being warned about

the need to repent in order to avoid suffering and death here, on this planet, in this life.

• Of course it makes absolutely no sense to only warn people about temporal (earthly)

punishments if they face eternal suffering. Therefore according to the Bible, “hell” clearly

did not preexist.

• But there is no mention of the creation or purpose of “hell” in the New Testament (NT).

Nor is there any verse in the entire Bible that ever announced that the penalty for sin

changed from death to “hell.” Why would God clearly announce the penalty of death before

it was enacted, but never once mention the far more serious penalty of hell before it was

enacted? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

• A loving, compassionate, wise, just God could not create an “eternal hell” and fail to

immediately warn the whole world about it. But obviously the whole world was not warned

about the creation of “hell.” Native Americans knew absolutely nothing about hell before

  1. Billions of people have lived and died never having heard anything about hell or Jesus

Christ. Would anyone who had never read the Bible consider God to be just if he died and

woke up in hell? Of course not!

• An eternal hell would make God monstrously unjust, but according to the Bible

itself, “hell” did not preexist and was never created. From beginning to end, the Bible is

absolutely silent about either the preexistence or creation of “hell.”

• Furthermore, the Greek word “Hades” does not mean “hell.” As with Sheol, everyone

went to Hades when they died: both words clearly mean “the grave.”

• Gehenna is not “hell” either, but a physical location in Israel known in Hebrew as

Gehinnom, or the Valley of Hinnom.

Today Gehenna is a lovely park and tourist attraction. Wonderful archeological discoveries

have been made there, such as the healing pool of Siloam and the oldest Bible verses ever

discovered, inscribed on small silver amulets. Those verses are the benediction "The

LORD bless thee and keep thee; the LORD make his countenance to shine upon thee and

be gracious unto thee." Those are wonderfully comforting words to have been discovered

in “hell,” don’t you think?

• What does all this mean? If you believe in a loving, compassionate, wise, just God, you

might conclude that “hell” has always been either an error of translation or an outright

human fabrication. Why would human beings invent hell?

Well, as ancient Greek philosophers like Celsus pointed out, hell was a good way to control

the unwashed masses. Hell was also a handy way to increase church attendance and

revenues.

But perhaps the best reason not to believe in hell is this: If at any time God, Jesus, the

Hebrew prophets, or any of the apostles were aware of the existence of an “eternal hell,”

they should have immediately warned human beings never to have children, because the

risk of giving birth was too terrible to imagine.

But of course there are no such warnings in the Bible. Rather, Hebrew prophets like Ezekiel

confidently predicted that all Israel would be saved in the end, along with Sodom and other

Gentile nations that were historically enemies of Israel, such as Samaria. Samaria is now

home to millions of Palestinians, many of them either enemies or fierce critics of Israel.

Most Jews and Palestinians have never believed in Jesus, so how can all Israel and Samaria

be saved, if only Christians are saved?

How did “hell” enter the Bible? Ironically, the only Jews who believed in “hell” at the

time of Jesus were the Pharisees. We know this from the Jewish historian Josephus, a

contemporary of Paul. The Pharisees undoubtedly “borrowed” the concept of “hell” from

the pagan Greeks after Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East during the “silent”

period between the writing of the Old Test. and New Test.

But the Greek hell was Tartarus, not Hades. As we will see, there is one verse only, in the

entire Bible containing a word that actually means hell, but that hell is not for human beings,

nor is it eternal. To note: 2 Peter 2:4-6)


Chad Holtz is a Methodist pastor who was recently asked to resign by members of his rural

North Carolina congregation after he questioned the Christian dogma of an “eternal hell.”

Holtz had made positive remarks about the bestseller book Love Wins, written by Rob Bell,

another pastor who questions the existence of “hell.” (Bell was the focus of the cover of the

April 25, 2011 issue of TIME Magazine, captioned “What If There’s No Hell?”)

Holtz agreed to leave his church in what he termed a “divorce.” In an interview published

online Holt said, "We do these somersaults to justify the monster god we believe in … Am I

really going to be saved just because I believe something, when all these good people in the

world aren’t?"

Mind you, Holtz is not saying that God is a monster. Instead, he’s simply pointing out that

orthodox Christianity makes God seem like a monster by claiming he’ll condemn billions

of people to an “eternal hell” for not “believing” in Jesus, when he could have saved them

by grace. But how can a God who chooses to remain hidden demand human belief? That is

patently unfair.

If a man refused to introduce himself to other people, then started torturing them for

not “believing” in him, we’d lock him up and throw away the key. But as I intend to prove,

if you will bear with me, that the Bible itself contradicts the idea that God ever said that

anyone would go to an “eternal hell.” In fact, if we read the Bible chronologically from the

beginning of Genesis to the end of the book of Acts (the self-recorded history of the early

Christian church), we will not find a single verse in which God or any Hebrew prophet or

Jesus or any apostle ever mentioned a place called “hell.”

This is true because the words Sheol, Hades and Gehenna do not mean “hell.” The Hebrew

word Sheol clearly means “the grave” or “the abode of all the dead, good and bad.” The

Greek word Hades also means “the grave” or “the abode of all the dead, good and bad.”

Gehenna is a valley, not “hell.”

According to the Bible “hell” clearly did not preexist and just as clearly was never created.

Did evil-minded men begin damning other people to “hell” in the name of God? Yes, they

did. But they cobbled their hellish verses into the Bible so clumsily that they forget to insert

fictitious verses announcing the creation of “hell”! Such a colossal blunder could only have

been made by fallible men, not an all-wise God.


If we consider the Bible as a whole, from multiple angles, it becomes obvious that “hell”

was created by human beings, not God. The verses that describe suffering after death

are not credible, and the proofs are simple. For instance, a verse in Genesis 3:3) clearly

announced that the penalty for sin was death, as soon as the penalty was enacted. But where

is there any verse in the Bible that clearly announced when the penalty became eternal

suffering?

Where is there any verse in the Bible that clearly announced the creation or purpose

of “hell”? There are no such verses anywhere in the Bible. Nor are there any verses that

unclearly announce such things. The Bible is completely, absolutely silent about the most

important event in human history (if it actually occurred): the creation of a place called

“hell” and the change of the penalty for sin from death to eternal damnation.

How could a loving, wise, just God create an “eternal hell” yet never once mention its

creation and purpose to any of his prophets or apostles? How could a loving, wise, just God

cause or allow billions of people to suffer for all eternity when they died knowing nothing

about the Bible, Jesus or “hell”? Why would God save “the chosen few” by grace, but deny

any chance of grace to billions of people who never heard of Jesus?


At the time of Jesus and Paul, “the entire world” meant the Roman Empire: a narrow strip

of cities, towns and villages fringing the Mediterranean Sea.

The early Christians knew nothing about vast continents that wouldn’t be discovered and

explored for another 1,500 years or more: North America, South America and Australia.

They knew nothing about China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Central and Southern Africa,

Russia, or thousands of faraway islands. When they vowed to preach the gospel to "the

entire world," they had no idea what that really entailed.

So what happened to the billions of human beings who lived and died in the meantime,

knowing nothing about the Bible or Jesus? If God condemned them all to “hell,” that would

make God horrendously unjust, and therefore unqualified to judge human beings. But if

people who hadn’t heard about Jesus didn’t go to “hell,” while people who heard about

Jesus and rejected him did, then it would be a terrible crime for Christians to ever mention

the name “Jesus” to non-Christians.

Furthermore, through the centuries Christians have so defamed and blasphemed the name

of Jesus by raping, enslaving and murdering multitudes of non-Christians that it makes no

sense to expect non-Christians to “believe” in him. Should a Jewish girl who was raped,

tortured and murdered by German Christians during the Holocaust be punished eternally

for not converting to their religion? Heaven forbid!


I believe Holtz made a very important point: one that is seldom voiced by Christians. If

Jesus will cause or allow Mohandas Gandhi and Jewish Holocaust victims to suffer for

all eternity, when the Christian Bible clearly says that Jesus is the only savior and human

beings can’t save themselves, wouldn’t that make Jesus a monster?

If an all-knowing God created human beings foreseeing in advance that many (or any)

of them would suffer for all eternity, wouldn’t that also make God a monster? And if

Christian mothers believe in “hell,” how can they give life to babies who might end up in

“hell” — wouldn’t that make them monsters?

This is the horror of hell-based Christianity: it turns God, Jesus and Christian mothers into

monsters willing to play eternal roulette with the souls of innocent children.

And what about all the mothers who would be forced to choose between Jesus and their

own children? Could good mothers live happily in heaven with Jesus, knowing their

children were suffering forever because Jesus refused to save them, when he was able

to save the thief on the cross with a nod of his head? Surely only the bad mothers would

remain in heaven. All the good mothers would curse Jesus and storm out of heaven to be

with their children. They certainly wouldn’t worship or praise the petty egomaniac who

demanded belief without ever bothering to introduce himself to their children personally!

Please keep in mind that I am not calling Jesus a petty egomaniac. It’s the “Bible believing”

fundamentalists who turned Jesus into a petty monster with their bizarre theology, not me.

I’m a recovering fundamentalist who no longer blasphemes the name of Jesus by accusing

him of saving Christians by “grace” while condemning the saints of other religions and

non-religions to an “eternal hell.” Ironically, most atheists, agnostics and other nonChristians have much higher opinions of Jesus that Christians who accuse him of being

petty, unjust and inhumanly cruel.

Gandhi and Einstein both admired Jesus, while not “believing” in him in the orthodox

Christian sense. But at least they didn’t accuse him of being so petty and cruel that he

would cause or allow billions of souls to suffer for all eternity. Most Muslims believe in

Jesus and have a high opinion of him, but they don’t believe he sends people to “hell” for

not “believing” in him.

Ironically, the people with the lowest, basest opinions of Jesus are the Christians who

pretend to “love” and “admire” him in order to “save” themselves, while in effect telling

the rest of the world that he’s the Devil. How can anyone “love” a being capable of causing

or allowing their loved ones to suffer for all eternity?

That would be like me pretending to “love” and “admire” Hitler during the Holocaust, in

order to escape torture at the hands of the Nazis. But of course the driving impulse would

be fear, not love. The Bible says perfect love casts out fear because fear produces torment.

Should I believe in the perfect love of God or in a hell that produces nothing but torment?

As we will see together, there are many Bible verses that completely contradict the idea that

God will punish anyone for all eternity, or fail to save anyone in the end. Here are just a few

of them (there are more at the bottom of this page)

truly I say unto you, the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of heaven

before the self-righteous. (Matthew 21:31) Think about it: Jesus had table fellowship with

the outcasts of society, drank wine and ate with them, and reserved virtually all his criticism

for the “religious experts” who failed to be hospitable to “sinners.”

Today conservative Christians seem to despise prostitutes, homosexuals, and anyone else

who doesn’t meet their “high moral standards,” while their self-righteousness makes the

rest of us gnash our teeth. But Jesus clearly said that love and compassion were the real

moral standards.

(The Hebrew prophets and Jesus also clearly said that the “sin of Sodom” was selfrighteousness and a lack of compassion, not homosexuality, which ironically would make

conservative Christians the “Sodomites.”) Jesus also said that the first would be last and the

last first. Did he mean what he said?

The verse above doesn’t say that anyone will be excluded from the kingdom of heaven in

the end, but it certainly doesn’t make moralists the “chosen few” who inherit heaven at the

expense of the people they despise.

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.

(Isaiah. 25:

Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

(Matthew 16:18) Most of the estimated hundred billion people who have lived here on earth

died without reading the Bible or knowing anything about Jesus. If most of mankind ends

up going to “hell” then the gates of hell will have prevailed and Jesus will be just another

inept, failed Messiah. How can Jesus be the Savior of the World unless the entire world is

saved?

For unto this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God,

who is the Savior of all men, especially believers. (1Timothy 4:10) This is only one of many

Bible verses that say all men will be saved, and that God will be all in all (not all in some, or

all in the self-proclaimed “chosen few”).

Paul said that all Israel would be saved, agreeing with the prophet Ezekiel, who also said

that the Gentile nations, including Sodom, would be saved in the end, linking their salvation

to Israel’s. Paul said that different people would be saved at different times, in stages, with

Jesus being the First fruits of the resurrection. Orthodox Christians ignore the best verses

in the Bible to focus narrowly on the worst. Why is that? If we can’t believe the best verses,

why believe the worst?

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, (1 Corinthians 15:22) We

know that all human beings die; this verse clearly says that the same “all” shall be made

alive, in Christ. There are many such verses in both the Old and New Testaments.

All flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Luke3:6)

I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor

things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be

able to separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38-39)

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness, as in:

(Jeremiah 31:3) In his epiphany on Divine Love in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul said that Divine

Love never gives up, endures all things, and never fails, which sounds like the love of the

best human mothers. And the Bible insists that the love of God exceeds human love …

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has

borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15) This verse compares the

love of God to the love of a human mother. Would any compassionate mother torture her

child for a second, much less all eternity? No, the only suffering she might permit would

be remedial suffering, such as surgery to correct a birth defect. And even then she would

agonize with her child. Just think about that?

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 – James Coram
concordant.org/expositions/his-a … nt-are-we/

Click on each highlighted subtitle to read the entirety of each of the seventeen sections

HOPE BEYOND HELL - GERRY BEAUCHEMIN…
A recently published book that shows why Gerry believes that the Bible teaches universal salvation.
Read the reviews first – just a suggestion.
hopebeyondhell.net/what-others-are-saying/

HOPE BEYOND HELL - GERRY BEAUCHEMIN…
hopebeyondhell.net/
It can be downloaded FREE and read online.

HOPE BEYOND HELL BOOK AUDIO - Gerry Beauchemin
hopebeyondhell.net/audio-book-with-text/

THE HORNETS :slight_smile:

Sung to the tune of “This Is Like Heaven To Me.”

When the Canaanites hardened their hearts against God
And grieved Him because of their sin,
God sent along hornets to bring them in time,
And help His own people to win.

The hornets persuaded them that it was best,
To go quickly, and not to go slow;
God did not compel them to go 'gainst their will,
But He just made them willing to go.

Chorus

He does not compel us to go, No! No!
He does not compel us to go.
He does not compel us to go 'gainst our will
But He just makes us willing to go.

If a nest of live hornets were brought to this room
And the creatures allowed to go free,
You would not need urgings to make yourself scarce,
You’d want to get out, don’t you see.
They would not lay hold and by force of their strength
Throw you out of the window, Oh No,!
They would not compel you’ to go 'gainst your will,
But they’d just make you willing to go.

Chorus

When Jonah was sent to the work of the Lord,
The outlook was not very bright;
He never had done such a hard thing before,
So he backed and ran off from the fight.
But God sent a big fish to swallow him up,
The story I’m sure you all know;
He did not compel him to go 'gainst his will,
But He just made him willing to go.

Chorus

When Moses was sent to lead Israel out,
To Canaan’s rich fruit-bearing land.
Resisting His Spirit they worshiped a calf,
But refused to obey God’s Command.
God did not compel them to go to the land,
Which with wine, milk, and honey did flow,
But fed them on manna for forty long years,
'Till He got them all ready to go.

Chorus

When Balaam was sent to the Moabite king,
And wanted things run his own way,
His mule, ever faithful, spoke at the right time,
Made him willing God’s Will to obey.
God can use any man, since He used Balaam’s mule,
For He is Almighty you know;
He does not compel us to go 'gainst our will
But He just makes us willing to go.

Chorus

HOW I RECOVERED

WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN DURING MY YOUTH —
How I recovered from a 12 year nervous breakdown (1966-78) I’m 76 years old

My name is Rodger Tutt. I am 78 years old. I could have avoided a horrific twelve year nervous breakdown (1966-78) had I known as a youth about the following information concerning what a correctly (literally, not interpretively) translated Bible teaches.

BOOKS THAT SHOW THAT THE BIBLE TEACHES UNIVERSAL SALVATION,
THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF WHICH CAN BE READ ONLINE

If necessary, copy and paste the following urls into your browser address bar.

  1. ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE IN JESUS CHRIST – Charles Slagle
    tentmaker.org/books/Absolute … hrist.html
  2. HOPE BEYOND HELL - Gerry Beauchemin (recently published)
    tentmaker.org/books/hope_beyond_hell.pdf
  3. CHRIST TRIUMPHANT - Thomas Allin
    tentmaker.org/books/ChristTriumphant.htm
  4. THE BIBLE HELL - J.W. Hanson
    tentmaker.org/books/TheBibleHell.html
  5. THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT – Thomas Thayer
    tentmaker.org/books/OriginandHistory.html
  6. THE OUTCOME OF INFINITE GRACE – Dr. Loyal Hurley
    tentmaker.org/books/infinitegrace.htm
  7. JUST WHAT DO YOU MEAN “HELL” - J. Preston Eby
    tentmaker.org/articles/savio … d/hell.htm
  8. ONE HUNDRED SCRIPTURAL PROOFS THAT JESUS CHRIST WILL SAVE ALL MANKIND - Thomas Whittemore
    tentmaker.org/books/ScripturalProofs.html
  9. TWENTY-FOUR SERMONS ON UNIVERSAL SALVATION – John Bovee Dods
    tentmaker.org/Bovee2.htm#Top
  10. THE SECOND DEATH AND THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS – Andrew Jukes
    tentmaker.org/restitutionindex.htm
  11. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY REASONS FOR BELIEVING IN THE FINAL SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND – Erasmus Manford
    tentmaker.org/books/150reasons.html
  12. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS – J. Patching
    tentmaker.org/books/RichMana … ching.html
  13. BIBLE TRANSLATIONS THAT DO NOT TEACH ETERNAL TORMENT – Gary Amirault
    tentmaker.org/books/GatesOfHell.html
  14. AION – AIONIOS – John Wesley Hanson
    tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html
  15. BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson
    tentmaker.org/books/BibleThr … ained.html
  16. THE CASE OF JUDAS, ETCETERA - Louis Abbott
    tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter16.html
  17. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL – John Essex
    AND THE ROLE OF THE ADVERSARY – James Webb
    tentmaker.org/articles/TheProblemofEvil.html
  18. HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE – James Coram
    concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchie … index.html
  19. THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS – Andrew Jukes
    auburn.edu/~allenkc/jukes2.html
  20. THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS – George Hawtin
    godfire.net/restitutionHawtin.html
  21. THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD SERIES – J. Preston Eby
    tentmaker.org/articles/savio … /index.htm
    ESPECIALLY THIS ONE IN THAT SERIES
    tentmaker.org/articles/savio … larity.htm
  22. THE PURPOSE OF EVIL – A.P. Adams
    thegloryrd.com:80/apadams/evil.html
  23. TEN REASONS NOT TO BELIEVE THE TEACHING OF ETERNAL TORTURE - Thomas Kissinger
    completerestorationinchrist. … s-not.html
  24. IS HELL ETERNAL OR WILL GOD’S PLAN FAIL? – Charles Pridgeon
    archive.org/stream/willgodsp … 3/mode/2up
  25. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL AND THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD – A.E. Knoch
    concordant.org/expohtml/TheP … index.html
  26. GOD’S EONIAN PURPOSE
    gtft.org/Library/loudy/GodsE … pose00.htm - Adlai Loudy
  27. THE TRUE BASIS OF REDEMPTION – A.P. Adams
    tentmaker.org/articles/TrueB … Adams.html
  28. THREE TREASURE HOUSES OF CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALIST ARTICLES
    auburn.edu/~allenkc/articles2.html
    tgulcm.tripod.com/cu/univart.html
    theheraldofgodsgrace.org/Library.htm

That’s a great testimony and a great list. Do you have other forums that you post on, Rodger?

Hi Dave
I post on Facebook several times every day and I also post on Tentmaker fairly regularly too.
Sometimes I also post on City Data Christian forum but there are also many URs there holding the fort. :slight_smile:

SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON “I NEVER KNEW YOU”

“There is no better place than being in the hands of God.”
For a UR that is definitely true!
But for an ETer, probably not, because they might turn out to be one of these guys.

"Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils, and in Thy Name have done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them I never knew you. Depart from Me ye who work iniquity’ (Matt. 7:22,23).

We could probably add to those declarations that many, in astonishment, will also say, – “but my name should be right there in the book of life because I got myself saved in Your Name!”

They fully expect to go right into heaven based on what they had done in the Name of Jesus.
Instead, Jesus will cast them into the lake of fire which is the second death which will include kolasis aionion, which means age-during corrective chastisement.

It is God, not us, who decides who will or will not be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death.

If you cannot love an endless hell god

QUESTION TO ME BY A POSTER
“In your own words, please explain why you find it so important to ‘evangelize’ so zealously.
Thank you.”

Because many people are unable to love a god who would let anyone choose themselves into a state of inescapable everlasting suffering.

I’m 78 and the idea that God lets anyone suffer forever 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.

tentmaker.org/articles/hells_fruit.html

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 – J. Preston Eby
If necessary, copy and paste the following url into the address bar.
godfire.net/eby/saviour_of_the_world.html

Infant Salvation
Believers in eternal torment are divided in their opinion about the fate of infants who die.
Some, who believe in God’s sovereign election of the “few”, also believe that non-elect babies who die will spend eternity suffering in hell. I have heard that John Calvin said, “There are babies a span long in hell”.
Others consider this unfair, and assert that infants who die will spend eternity in heavenly bliss. This of course is true, but not because the child is innocent. It’s true because the Scriptures teach that God intends to save everyone from everything that they need to be saved from.
A few years ago there was a story in a Montreal paper about an Ohio lady who drowned her baby in the bathtub. Her defense was that she loved the baby so much that she wanted to make sure that her child would not have to suffer forever in hell. After serving a sentence she remarried, had another child and drowned it for the same reason. She trusted that God would forgive her because her intention, though warped by false theology, was for the good of her children.
The jury decided that she was mentally ill, BUT WAS SHE? The simple pragmatic fact remains that if evangelicals are right, her two infants will spend eternity in heavenly bliss because she loved them so much that she insured, by killing them, that this will be so.
Apparently, believers in eternal torment believe that there is a magical split-second in time before which a child, if they die, will go to heaven, and after which, if they die will spend eternity suffering in hell. They call this “the age of accountability”.
If I believed this nonsense I might take a gun into the largest maternity ward in Toronto and before the police arrived, kill every infant who had just been born. This would cause an enormous amount of suffering to the parents, but this wouldn’t matter much in the long run, because probably most of them (according to evangelical theology) are destined to suffer forever in hell anyway, so why not save their babies from the same fate?
Don’t try to argue that what I would be doing would be wrong *(Thou Shalt Not Kill). The fact remains that my act would, in fact insure the babies’ eternal salvation. If evangelicals right, then infanticide would certainly be one of the most effective ways of “saving souls”. Besides, God forgives murder, especially when it is done for such a noble, though misguided cause.
Sure, they would lock me away in an institution, but I would spend my life reveling in the glow of the emotional high of knowing that I had, beyond any shadow of a doubt (even in the mind of evangelicals) guaranteed the salvation of the babies that I had killed.
Folks, the actual truth about the matter is much more sane and blessed. The Scriptures teach that salvation is all of the Lord, and He will not fail to save everyone of us according to His own timing. No one will be able to boast in His presence and say “I have saved my self from eternal hell by exercising my faith in God’s provision.” God will get all of the glory for everyone’s salvation.
The important issue never should be “what is right or what is wrong”. The only really important issue is, “What is God going to do with the person who is wrong? !” The Scriptures teach that God will fit every one of us into His master-plan in a positive way, and He will use our temporary involvement with sin to teach us the lessons that He wants us to learn. As my 102 year old Dad often says, “That’s what makes Him God!”
(Afterthought) - If abortionists are, for all practical purposes, among the most effective “soul-savers” in the world, why do evangelicals get so upset with them?!

  • Believers in eternal torment kill each other in war for less worthy causes!

CONSEQUENSES OF TEACHING THE DOCTRINE OF “ETERNAL HELL”

tentmaker.org/articles/hells_fruit.html

greater-emmanuel.org/Hope4You/consequences.html