Snippets

#8 – A SNIPPET FROM THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S WILL – GUY MARKS

"God prearranged it all, from the fall of man to the glory of the consummation. Not one thing was left to chance. All was founded on His wisdom.

To some, evil is never to cease. God is never able, as they see it, to bring about so much good that all evil will vanish. They try to justify God with the false teaching that man is a free moral agent, whereas the only freedom of man which the scriptures affirm is the freedom of deliverance we find alone in Christ Jesus."

#9 – A SNIPPET FROM A CLOUD OF WITNESSES – J.W. HANSON

"The deliverance of the whole human family from sin and sorrow, its final holiness and happiness, has been the thought of multitudes, even when the prevailing doctrines around them were wholly hostile."

A book of quotes by more than 500 believers in universal salvation.

#10 – A SNIPPET FROM TRUTH AS I SEE IT – W.F. SALTER

"Does God not love His enemies, even as He has taught us to love ours? If He fails to reconcile even one, must it not be due to a lack of love, or of power? These qualities find their source in Him! So of a certainty He shall bring circumstances to bear which shall ultimately cause all to know, with understanding, His great love manifested in the gift of His Son, and this in turn shall fill each heart with adoration and love, and praise to God.

When God's plans for the ages of time (eonian times) have been accomplished, every experience of man will, under the guidance of His wisdom, work together with every other experience for man's highest ultimate good, as thus redound to God's honor and glory."

#11 – A SNIPPET FROM A SHORT HELP AND INCENTIVE TO AN UNBIASED INQUIRY INTO THE SCRIPTURE TRUTH OF UNIVERSALISM OR THE FINAL RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS – R. ROE

"The adjective aionios, in the case of the wicked, is restricted to a limited period by its noun kolasis; of which the literal sense is clipping or pruning. It means the kind of punishment which tends to the improvement of the criminal. If endless were the sense of the adjective describing chastisement, it would represent God as acting under the influence of an endlessly vain expectation.

The belief of the Universalist includes a reconciliation of the tenets of Calvinism and Arminianism, by uniting the leading doctrines of both as far as they are found in the Scriptures; from which union they believe that the sentiment of Universal Restoration naturally flows."

#12 – A SNIPPET FROM THE FIVE SMOOTH STONES OF THE KINGDOM – IRENE LINDSAY

"It is a great giant, this one called eternal hell!!! It can only be killed by the stone of truth taken from the running waters of God's word. These waters have been running for a long time, but the stone to kill the giant is ready now.

God told Israel to set everything free in the year of Jubilee. God is going to have a Jubilee in totality over all sin, all death, and all destruction in this world. This world belongs to God and it shall be restored and shine with glory. God's tapestry is unrolling bit by bit, and when it is all unrolled, the great Jubilee of rest for the entire universe will be unveiled."

#13 – A SNIPPET FROM TIME AND ETERNITY A BIBLICAL STUDY - G.T. STEVENSON

"Many plain direct statements in the sacred scriptures declare that the purpose of God through our Lord Jesus Christ is to bless all humanity and to bring the whole universe into harmony with Himself. How can this be if myriads of mankind whom He so loves were to be kept alive forever in hopeless misery? And what kind of a god could love the sinner with Calvary love until he died, and then leave him in indescribable suffering eternally?"

#14 – A SNIPPET FROM THE DIVINE DESTINY – K. ROSS MCKAY

"The great enmity of mankind is but a background to magnify and display the far greater love of our God. Such love is as measureless as it is timeless; a vast portion being yet unrevealed. 'And having made peace through the blood of Christ's cross, by Him to reconcile all unto Himself, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.'

This plan of the ages is our Lord's ultimate purpose according to the declared will of Almighty God. This is the divine destiny of all in His creation. This is love that never fails."

#15 – A SNIPPET FROM IS HELL ETERNAL? – MIKKEL DAHL AND JON R. WELKER

"Most Christian ministers seek only to search out passages of scripture that corroborate the eternal hell school of theology to which they belong; and whatever passages are unfortunately found in conflict are put through the required interpretations and contortions to disqualify for entry. Christian ministers all have posts to fill; they have a job to hold down; wherefore they dare not reach out for truth lest they should see too much and their conscience disturb them and their livelihood be imperiled."

#16 – A SNIPPET FROM THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL TORMENTS OVERTHROWN – by Samuel Richardson, edited by Thomas Whittemore, and published by him in 1833. On page 85, Whittemore says that Richardson wrote this book nearly 200 years before 1833.

First of all, there is what Richardson wrote nearly 200 years before 1833: "The doctrine of endless hell torments hath caused many to murder themselves, taking away their own lives by poison, stabbing, drowning, hanging, strangling, and shooting themselves, casting themselves out of windows, and from high places, to break their necks and by other kinds of death, that they might not live to increase their sin, and increase their torments in hell."

Now here is what Whittemore the editor, wrote at the bottom of the page nearly 200 years later in 1833:
"Here we see the same dreadful effects attended the doctrine of endless misery nearly 200 years ago which attend it now. It was then the cause of anxiety, despair, and suicide, as we suppose it always was before, where fully believed, and as we know it has been of late years. Let posterity know, that within the last ten years, there have been a large number of suicides, which must be attributed to the doctrine of endless torment. That doctrine makes men melancholy; it drives them to despair; they know not what to do; and they sever the brittle thread, Fathers and Mothers, in repeated instances in the United States, have murdered their children, lest they should grow up, and commit sin, and be damned. Can a doctrine which produces such dreadful consequences be the doctrine of God?" End of Quote.

#17 – A SNIPPET FROM THE GREEK WORD AION – AIONIOS TRANSLATED EVERLASTING – ETERNAL IN THE HOLY BIBLE SHOWN TO DENOTE LIMITED DURATION – JOHN WESLEY HANSON

"The word aidios (not aionios) was in universal use among the non-Christian Greek Jews of our Savior's day, to convey the idea of eternal duration, and was used by them to teach endless punishment.
Jesus never allowed himself to use it in connection with punishment, nor did any of His disciples but one, and he but once, and then carefully and expressly limited its meaning. Can demonstration go further than this to show that Jesus carefully avoided the phraseology by which His contemporaries described the doctrine of endless punishment? Jesus never adopted the language of His day on this subject. Their language was aidios timoria, endless torment. His language was aionion kolasin, age-lasting correction. They described unending ruin, He, discipline, resulting in reformation." See this link.
http://hellbusters.8m.com/upd3.html

#18 - A LETTER OF THE CELEBRATED JOHN FOSTER TO A YOUNG MINISTER ON THE DURATION OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT AND AN EARNEST APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY IN REGARDS TO THE CHARACTER OF ITS PUBLICATIONS – JOHN FOSTER

"The original terms translated everlasting, eternal, forever, are often employed in the Bible, as well as other writings under various limitations of import and are thus withdrawn from the predicament of meaning endless duration.

Since the terms do not necessarily signify an interminable duration, and since there is in the present instance to be pleaded for admitting a limited interpretation, a reason in the moral estimate of things of stupendous infinite urgency involving our perceptions of the divine goodness, and leaving those conceptions overwhelmed in darkness and horror if it be rejected, I therefore conclude that a limited interpretation is authorized."

#19 - IS HELL ETERNAL OR WILL GOD'S PLAN FAIL - CHARLES H. PRIDGEON

"The plan of God, or as it literally reads 'according to the plan of the ages' (Eph.3:11) will work out as God purposed; It will not fail. God shall be All in all (1Cor.15:28). The saving work of Christ will continue throughout the ages, for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for the ages (Heb.13:8). God's purpose and plan in creation, redemption, and new creation will then be clearly apprehended by all, and His character will be unveiled and vindicated."

#20 - THE GOSPEL FROM OUTER SPACE – ROBERT SHORT

"The gospel of love heard from the churches is at bottom a gospel at gunpoint. This gospel claims to speak of a great love, but only one step behind this "love" is an unspoken, or often very vocal great threat – the threat of eternity in "hell" if we refuse this love. What a travesty of love, even human love, not to mention God's! For one would think that God's love ought to be at least as great as what human beings are capable of. It is precisely the implied or expressed threat of eternal perdition that compromises the churches' 'gospel of love,' and gives this 'gospel' the lie to ordinary people, and is in fact behind by far, most of atheism.

On the other hand, this is not the quality of mercy I see in God. I get the strong feeling of an infinite, unconditional, no-strings-attached love for all people. At the same time this love is all-powerful and sovereign. It is not so flimsy and pitifully weak that it can be finally frustrated or defeated by mere human whim or by meager man's arrogant illusion called 'free will.' "

#21 - THE GREAT REVELATION OR GOD'S LOVE, PURPOSE AND PLAN – JOHN H. PATON

"Some say that if it can be proved that the punishment of the wicked will have an end, the same argument will prove that the life of the righteous will also end. But this is too much to take for granted on such a premise. Aionios does not of itself indicate either the limited or unlimited duration of anything, but its duration in each case depends on the nature of that to which it is applied.

Colored glasses give color to whatever men look at, and it is difficult for many to divest themselves of the influence of former teaching so far as to be willing to look at a thing from the standpoint of another.

Some of us have done this however. Though trained in the old school of thought, we have been enabled, by a careful examination of the Scriptures, to throw off the old idea and to accept the larger and better hope. And we are assured that the plan of the ages with its progressive revelation, and the general scope and spirit of the gospel as a revelation of the infinite love and wisdom of God, are far stronger evidence of the final victory of Christ in saving all men, than the mere definition of any word could be."

#22 - AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS – LOUIS ABBOTT

In the forward to his book AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS, Louis Abbott wrote, "One key area various denominations are divided over is the final destiny of the ungodly, the wicked, the unsaved, the unregenerate, or however one wishes to phrase it.
There are three views on this subject. Each position claims Scriptural support: (1) eternal torment; (2) eternal destruction; and (3) the ultimate salvation of all. It is obvious that all cannot be correct.
I pray this book will be a blessing to all who are struggling with this subject." (unquote)

This book can be read online at this link
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.html

ENJOY!

#23 - DARE WE HOPE THAT ALL MEN BE SAVED – HANS URS VON BALTHASAR
(These 254 pages are essentially an explanation of why he makes the following statement)

"The whole of scripture is full of the proclamation of a salvation that binds all men by a Redeemer Who gathers together and reconciles the whole universe. That is quite sufficient to enable us to hope for the salvation of all men without thereby coming into contradiction with the Word of God."

#24 - GOD'S ULTIMATE – A.E. SAXBY

"We do not wish to belittle the awful judgments of God. They will be terrible enough. But we desire to get all the perspective of Scripture and look to the end God has in view.

We do not believe that orthodox theology has done this. It has stopped short in the ages themselves and has misnamed them eternity, and has therefore presented the vision of a heaven full of saints and a hell full of tortured sinners in endless existence. In such a survey of the ultimate there is no place for the vision that Paul gives when God shall be All in all (1Cor. 15:28).

We contend that nothing less than the reconciliation of all would satisfy the heart of God and be a fitting consummation to the shedding of the blood of His Son."

#25 - A SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY – WILLIAM BARCLAY

"I am a convinced universalist. I believe that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God.

The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. There is no instance in Greek secular literature where kolasis does not mean remedial punishment. It is a simple fact that in Greek kolasis always means remedial punishment. God's punishment is always for man's cure." (unquote)
This is his comment regarding Matthew 25:46.

#26 - THE GOSPEL OF OUR SALVATION – ADLAI LOUDY

"The crowning glory of the 'good news' or evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ which Paul was granted the grace to bring to the 'gentiles' or nations, is the revelation that He will reconcile all to God.

What a marvelous outcome of God's purpose! What a wonderful Christ Who can accomplish such a complete and glorious reconciliation! All creatures, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens, reconciled in perfect peace to the great love of God through the Son of His love.

More of these untraceable honors and glories of Christ which Paul was granted the grace to reveal, could be pointed out with delight, but these will suffice to increase our faith, enrich our joy and brighten our expectation 'in Him in Whom our lot was cast also,' Christ Jesus our Lord, Life, and Head!"

#27 - CHRIST TRIUMPHANT – THOMAS ALLIN

It is true that aionios may be applied as an epithet to things that are endless, but the idea of endlessness in all such cases comes not from the epithet, but only because it is inherent in the object to which the epithet is applied, as in the case of God.

'This is life eternal' should be 'the life of the ages,' i.e. peculiar to those ages in which the scheme of salvation is being worked out. The 'eternal covenant' is the 'covenant of the ages,' the covenant peculiar to the ages of redemption. The 'eternal purpose' is really the purpose of 'the ages,' i.e. developed and worked out in 'the ages.'

We who teach the larger hope believe that not in this brief life only, but through future ages, Christ's work shall go on till the last straying sheep shall have been found by the Good Shepherd. Then, at the expiry of these ages 'cometh the end' when Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, and God shall be All in all (1Cor. 15:28).

#28 - THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM – HOSEA BALLOU
From the time of the apostles to the era of the reformation 1498.

"I have been careful to state, in his own words, the opinion of every Christian author extant concerning future punishment and the eventual salvation of the world. This history contains an account of every individual of note whom we have now the means of knowing to have been a universalist."

#29 - THE MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM – THOMAS WHITTEMORE
Contains the writings of several hundreds of Christian Universalists from 1498 to 1830.

A snippet from Thomas Whittemore reads, "I cannot permit this opportunity to pass without expressing my heart felt acknowledgements to that Being Who has preserved my health and enabled me to finish this work in the midst of other pressing and incessant duties. May my confidence in Him never be diminished."

#30 - RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS – ANDREW JUKES

"It is argued that whatever be the meaning of the word aionios in the case of the lost, the same must be its meaning in the case of the saved; and our certainty of never-ending bliss for penitent believers is gone if the word bears not the same signification in the case of the impenitent and unbelieving. But the truth is that this word describes not the quantity or duration, but the quality of that which it is predicated.

The word which in Matt. 25:46 we translate punishment, in its primary sense means 'pruning' and is always used for corrective discipline which is for the improvement of him who suffers it. Even those who hold the common view of the endlessness of punishment are obliged to confess this; and this of itself proves that their doctrine is untenable; for any punishment, be it for a longer or shorter time would not be corrective discipline, but quite another thing if it left those who were so corrected unimproved and lost forever. But from the fall till now the changeless way of the Lord is to make even the curse a blessing."

#31 - YOU SAID IT LORD – ALINE TALSMA

"Lord, did you really say in Your word what I used to believe You said? Is it actually ok with You that people will spend eternity in hell? No, no, a thousand times no! You do not say that - and I am so relieved. Because had You said that, it would follow that I would have to think of You as worse than a murderer, that is, as a tormentor. If a person is murdered at least the possibility of torture and torment is past. But if I were to believe that You have prepared an eternal hell for some, I would also have to believe that You can be happy while you are tormenting people eternally."

#32 - THOUGHTS ON THE DIVINE GOODNESS RELATIVE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF MORAL AGENTS PARTICULARLY DISPLAYED IN FUTURE REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS – FERDINAND OLIVER PETITPIERRE

"I am assured that goodness is the foundation, and happiness is the end of all the ways of God, to myself and every creature. Hope is the anchor of my soul, sure and steadfast; for though 'His ways should be in the deep and His paths in the mighty waters;' though I should experience every external evil; no affliction shall shake my confidence. Never will I dishonor by a moment's distrust, a Being Who has in mercy commanded me to 'cast all my care upon Him;' because 'He careth for me.'

I have in the whole of this treatise, in establishing the doctrine of perfect goodness, and following it in its consequences; constantly combated such erroneous opinions as represent the Creator of the human race as a Being Whose power will be employed in inflicting never ending torments on a portion of His creatures, and I have established the non-eternity of future torments."

#33 - HOPE BEYOND HELL – GERRY BEAUCHEMIN (recently published)

"Tradition has taught that God will not save a person against their will. I agree. However He has the power to orchestrate whatever circumstances are necessary to effect one's will to change.

Once a full revelation of God is received in the ages to come (Eph. 2:7), men will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord just as Isaiah and Paul prophesied (Is. 45:21-25; Rom. 4:11; Ph. 2:9-11). Who would want to continue in active and persistent rebellion knowing God only wants what is best for them? Knowing the great goodness and love of God, along with the Holy Spirit working in their hearts, these hardened hearts must melt before His glorious being.

It is impossible that an omnipotent God can fail in His purpose so that some would forever resist unconditional love opting for everlasting pain. This would be totally irrational. And even if one were that irrational, such resistance would not arise out of a 'free' will, but an 'enslaved' will, a will in bondage to an enslaved mind."

#34 - AT THE END OF THE AGES THE ABOLITION OF HELL – BOB EVELY

"The culmination of God's Word is found in 1Corinthian 15 when God become All in all.
The book of Revelation does not take us quite this far. Corruption is eliminated and our bodies are now incorruptible. The worst enemy of all, death, has been abolished.

The salvation of all has not meant the ignoring of sin. The lake of fire, the second death has accomplished its work. All men now recognize the wondrous ways of God and His grace as expressed through the work of Christ. The salvation of all does not negate or minimize the work of the cross. The work of Christ upon the cross and the power of God as displayed through the resurrection, were both very necessary.

But now at the end of the ages we see the true scope of God's work. Despite the sin and rebellion of humanity, God has found a way to bring every soul to the point of acceptance. The ages have ended. The purpose of the eons has now been fulfilled; to reconcile all to God. Wickedness and evil are gone. Death is no more. God is love, and He is All in all. Eternal life in perfection has begun."

#35 -THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS OR A VINDICATION OF THE GRACE OF GOD TO BE MANIFESTED AT LAST IN THE RECOVERY OF HIS WHOLE CREATION OUT OF THEIR FALL – JEREMIAH WHITE

"It may be questioned whether we understand the terms 'forever,' 'forever and ever,' and 'everlasting,' aright, for these terms are used in divers places as things that have an end and are understood in a limited and qualified sense. These terms are too weak a foundation to build an assertion of everlasting hell upon, as concludes and shuts up God forever in wrath, never to come forth in the exercise of mercy. Whether or not there is an ending is not revealed by the use of these terms.

O my God, Thou art love and canst no more cease to be so than to be Thyself. Take Thy own methods with us, and submit us to them. Well may we do so in an assurance that the beginning, the way, and the end of them all is love. I must believe then that Thy grace will super-abound wherever sin hath most abounded."

#36 - THE GREAT DELVERANCE – GUY MARKS

"In 1Timothy 2: 5&6 we read, 'For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and mankind, a man, Christ Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all (the testimony in its own eras).' This scripture defines the purpose of God through the name Jesus. Thus God exalts His Son, so at the name of Jesus, the name which means that He is salvation, 'every knee shall be bowing and every tongue shall be acclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord.' Philippians 2:9-11.

The name of Jesus must not be held in contempt. It must be exalted. How could those who bow the knee and acknowledge Him as Lord ever thus dishonor the name of Jesus, which they would be doing if they were lost? It was Jesus who died to save them as He gave His life a correspondent ransom for all. God will exalt that precious name as He transports us all into the kingdom of the Son of His love."

#37 - UNION – JAMES RELLY

In his book UNION, Relly presents scriptural texts for the view that universal salvation is assured. He argues that Jesus Christ's union with all human beings, and His assumption of their guilt for their sins ensures that the entire human race will be saved.
He further argues that faith is the result, not the cause, of experiencing the saving power of God.

He wrote, "Man, being the vessel marred between the Potter's hands is not rejected, but made into another and better vessel (Jeremiah 18:2).

#38 - THE UNIVERSAL RESTORATION – ELHANAN WINCHESTER

In the memoir of the author it is written, "He found no quietude, until, by a candid and prayerful examination of the Bible, he became fully satisfied that 'God will have all men to be saved,' and that 'He doeth according to His will.' His change of opinion was soon noised abroad, and produced a great disaffection in many of his former friends.

Here is a snippet from the book.
"The reason why I do not conceive that "forever and ever" doth intend endless duration is because I find the words as often used for times and periods that must have an end, as you find them used for the misery of the wicked. You bring three passages which are all that are to be found in the whole Bible where they are used in that sense; I shall now invalidate those evidences for endless damnation by bringing an equal number of texts where you will allow the words are used in a limited sense. Is. 30:8; Jer. 7:7; Jer. 35:5.
These passages are as many and as strongly expressed as those which you brought to prove endless misery; and yet nothing can be more evident than that they cannot intend endless duration. The words do not necessarily imply that the wicked shall never be delivered from their sins and consequent suffering.

Now if the words "forever and ever" signify without end, then there is a contradiction that cannot be reconciled, but only understand them as the ages of the ages, (as indeed they ought to be rendered), and the whole difficulty vanishes at once."

#39 - THE JUST JUDGMENT OF GOD – JAMES CORAM

"The main point which we seek to impress upon our readers is to accept God's declaration that, for those who are judged before the great white throne, the lake of fire is the second death, not a second lifetime.

While the 'injury' (literal translation) sustained by those who are cast into the lake if fire (in Revelation 20:14,15) will be fatal (since to these the lake of fire is the second death), it will not be permanent. We may be certain that this is the case, for, at the consummation, death will be abolished and all will be vivified, that God may be All in all. God is the Saviour of all mankind, and this includes all who enter the second death."

#40 - GRACIOUS GOSPEL BOOK FOUR – SHERWOOD MICHAEL

"From the beginning God was and always will be a God of all grace. He purposes to be All in all of His creation; but every man in his own foreordained and previously marked out order. No doctrine is of God that does not include, 'Having made known to us the secret of His will, according to His own benevolent design, which He previously purposed in Himself: that in the fullness of the ages He will gather together in one all in Christ, both those who are in the heavens and those who are on earth, even in Him.'

It is wrong to teach that this age of grace will soon end. In our redeemed bodies we will be righteous, and in the ages to come we will be teaching the grace of God to others."

#41 - HOW TO KEEP 0N LIVING – DUSEAN BERKICH

"Christian tradition overlooks a key text that clearly quantifies the meaning of aion.
In 1Corinthians 15:24, Paul tells us that Jesus will be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father. That's not an eternal reign in any possible context. The clear statement that Christ 'gives up' the kingdom defines what the Greek noun aion must mean. Jesus is God's mediator with mankind Who reigns only until He gets the job done. That job is winning our conciliation with God.

Paul referred to Jesus as the eonian, not eternal God, and gave Jesus reign over specific time periods leading up to the conclusion of His reign. Clearly there is a progression of eons that have beginnings and endings. All eons end when Christ's reign ends, after which what is eternal begins."

#42 - THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL – PAUL SIEGVOLCK

"Col. 1: 16-20 teaches us the extent of the reconciliation made by Christ, namely, that it extends itself over the whole creation. Therefore the fallen angels must also necessarily have their share in it, for they do incontestably belong to the invisible things created by Christ, and consequently to all things including the things in the heavens.

'Jehovah is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.' Psalm 145:9
In this passage we are plainly told that the mercy of God, or His tender love, does not only extend itself to men, but universally towards all creatures that have their being and stand in need of mercy; and consequently also towards the fallen angels; which tender love of God must necessarily at last effect or bring about the restoration of all corrupt creatures, for it is not a weak or faint, but an almighty love."

#43 - THE CHRISTIAN AGNOSTIC – LESLIE D. WEATHERHEAD

The following is my all-time favorite quote. I've had it memorized for many years and I quote it frequently. As a staunch universalist, Leslie Weatherhead meant it to include everyone without exception, after everyone who needs it experiences kolasis aionion, or age-during corrective punishment.

"God's purposes are so vast and glorious, beyond all guessing now, that when they are achieved and consummated, all our sufferings and sorrows of today, even the agonies that nearly break our faith, the disasters that well nigh overwhelm us, shall, seen from that fair country where God's age long dreams come true, bulk as little as bulk now the pieces of a broken toy upon a nursery floor, over which, thinking that all our little world was in ruins, we cried ourselves to sleep."
Dr. Leslie Weatherhead

#44 - TIME, ETERNITY AND GOD – REDEMPTION'S GLORY – RAY PRINZING

"Modern theology has so long circumvented our thinking and teaching to the biased idea that God will save only part of His creation and so limited His redemptive powers that we have forgotten that with God all things are possible and shall be wrought out in due time. God has a definite schedule for saving His creatures, and there is nothing that can withstand His purpose.

Sin was allowed for wise ends, and only after these have been secured will sin cease to exist. It is all a part of God's purpose of the ages and redemption's glory will only shine out the more after the plan's execution. God never allows sin to go beyond His transforming power. God always has everything under perfect control."

#45 - THE MAGNITUDE OF REDEMPTION – RAY PRINZING

" 'And we have seen and to testify that the Father sent the Son to be THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD." 1John 4:14.
'Who will have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come into a knowledge of the truth' 1Tim. 2:4.

This is not a pitting of man's will against the will of God as some try to teach, with man's will able to resist and hold out until God cannot change him, but must throw him into some eternal cesspool to be tormented. NAY – for we read that 'He is working out all things after the counsel of His own will,' and man cannot disannul that which HE has willed. It is God's will that all shall come to Christ. He is the propitiation for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. Why then shall we be so foolish as to dispute the immutability of His truth?"

#46 - THE INTERPLAY OF GOOD AND EVIL – RAY PRINZING

"God is sovereign, and He controls all the interaction of evil and good, and causes all to redound to His own glory. It is not – what was lost by the fall was to be regained by redemption, BUT by the interaction of FALL AND REDEMPTION, God achieves greater, wiser, nobler, and higher goals than by the Adamic race remaining in its pristine state.

Evil and good are synchronized to accomplish God's will and purpose, so that the ultimate goal shall reveal all evil transformed back into good, and all negation cancelled out by GOOD. Evil is allowed for wise ends, and when these are secured it must cease to exist, for God will restore all things into good. HE controls all the interaction between evil and good until His purpose of the ages is fulfilled. Then shall God be All in all."

#47 - DIVINE INWORKINGS – ALL IN ALL – RAY PRINZING

"We would not minimize the judgments of God, but the more the spirit of revelation unfolds the truth, the more we see God's judgments in proper perspective, that they are remedial, corrective in their nature and used to bring forth a state of righteousness. They shall not be executed in unholy vengeance, for MERCY shall balance the score. God's judgments are ever tempered with mercy, and when they have fulfilled their purpose, the judgments end. Mercy will outlast all the judgments, and will rejoice in the ultimate restoration of all that was perverted, corrupt, and evil.

Mercy can operate on the basis of justice because Christ has gathered the whole into His own heart, and suffered to reconcile all to Himself."

#48 - THE UNENDING TRIUMPH OF JESUS CHRIST – ED GREGORY

"Today every warden in the U.S. endorses the ideal of rehabilitation. Shall we say then that God is less reasonable than His creatures? No! God's punishments exist not for vindictive suffering, but rather for remedy! Praise His Holy Name!

God works with a glorious end in view. We have viewed the judgments of God against sin and unrighteousness as the end, when in reality they are only a means to an end. The revelation of scriptural truth does not view God's judgments in the ages to come as vindictive, as if to say that God is vengeful, implacable, and hateful against men (as all too often those who profess His Name appear to be!), This insight into God's purposes in judgment rather declares that these judgments are remedial, that they exist to effect a positive divine end for everyone.

Christ died "to reconcile all unto Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross" Colossians 1:20. The all saving Cross of Christ will never give up its redeeming power till sin and sinner have no more a name among the creatures of God."

#49 - THE TRUE BASIS OF REDEMPTION – A.P. ADAMS

"God says He will reconcile all; the whole creation shall ultimately be delivered, and every created thing shall finally praise God (Revelation 5:13).

The point that I wish the reader especially to note is that the final accomplishment of this purpose of God depends on Himself, and not on man. The creature may fail, the Creator never fails; and no amount of blunders, mistakes, failures or perversions of the creature shall disarrange or thwart the plans of the Creator. This is the true basis of redemption."

#50 - THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MANKIND - JOSEPH KIRK, WILLIAM C. REBMANN, DEAN HOUGH, AND JAMES CORAM

"To know the true and living God 'out of Whom all is' 1Cor. 8:6, is to recognize that His purpose for His creatures can only be loving, wise, righteous, and good.
To know Jesus Christ, 'through Whom all is' 1Cor. 8:8, is to know that God's purpose cannot fail Shall we who know Him and have had ours eyes opened to the glorious triumph of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sit idly by and let reproach be heaped upon His Name without protesting?

Think how the teaching of endless punishment slanders God and Jesus Christ! We know Christ died for all (1Tim. 2:6). Does God lack the goodness, the power, the love, the grace to save all? God declares that judgment is eonian; man says it is everlasting. Let us believe God and not man."
Joseph Kirk
#51 - SAVIOUR OF ALL MANKIND - JOSEPH KIRK, WILLIAM C. REBMANN, DEAN HOUGH, AND JAMES CORAM

"Regarding the argument that if the punishment of the unbelievers has an end, then the life of the believers has an end also at the end of the ages.

But life cannot end at that time because death is abolished (1Cor. 15:26). The life of the eons ends when all are vivified at the end or consummation of the eons (1Cor. 15:24).
Life itself, however, continues on interminably."

"Regarding the argument that in 2Cor. 4:18 eonian must mean eternal because it is set in contrast with the word temporal meaning enduring for time as opposed to eternity.

But the Greek word translated temporal has no connection with the word for time; it is literally 'toward season,' and means temporary or for the era. In this passage eonian is used in contrast between our afflictions which last for a brief season, and our promised long enduring eonian glory, which lasts until all opens out into the glorious consummation when God become All in all."
William C. Rebman
#52 - SAVIOUR OF ALL MANKIND - JOSEPH KIRK, WILLIAM C. REBMANN, DEAN HOUGH, AND JAMES CORAM

"What was done cannot be undone. The work of God and the obedience of Christ on Golgotha is not something conditional on whether or not we believe it or respond to it or prepare ourselves for it. It has already happened, and its effects are unstoppable. The consequence of the obedience of Christ is that every descendant of Adam will be constituted righteous. When Christ died, God was there in Him conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offences to them (2Cor. 5:19). Peace is not made by us; it is made by God in the death of His Son. And now God is entreating through us that this peace might be recognized and enjoyed (2Cor. 5:20)."
Dean Hough
#53 - SAVIOUR OF ALL MANKIND - JOSEPH KIRK, WILLIAM C. REBMANN, DEAN HOUGH, AND JAMES CORAM

"The use of 'forever and ever' instead of the accurate rendering 'for the eons of the eons,' is a gross mistranslation. Most translators simply lacked the insight to see the point of many of the passages that speak of the eons. Since they were able, however, to make sense of these passages by translating by 'everlasting' or 'eternal,' they simply went ahead and did so, any resultant problems notwithstanding. Due to a lack of sensible thinking it was impossible for them to face the fact that the usual translations of this word are quite mistaken and extremely harmful!"
James Coram
#54 - ETERNAL TORMENT OR UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION – A.E. KNOCH

By way of introduction Knoch wrote
"In this little handbook we tear away the false traditions of Christendom first. Then we remove the dark cover which philosophical mistranslations have laid over God's Book. With these gone all that is necessary is to read God's message to us more carefully, and its overwhelmingly glorious solution of this vexed problem illuminates our minds and flood our hearts with exultant joy and praise and adoration to the God of all grace and glory."

Then, by way of conclusion at the end of His book Knoch wrote
"We have considered the traditions of Christendom which darken this subject and found them unscriptural. My love to God and my admiration have increased unutterably since I have seen that He is not the defeated fiend of Christendom, but is fully able to cope with evil and sin, and bind them all to the chariot wheels of love. All His attributes, including holiness, and righteousness, serve in the livery of love. Adored be His Name!"

#55 - CREATION, REDMPTION AND THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS – GEORGE R. HAWTIN

"Before the last age is over, every knee in heaven and in earth and under the earth will have bowed to Christ, and every tongue will have confessed to God that He is Lord to the glory of God (Phil. 2:10). 'In the name of Jesus' (literal translation) signifies much more than is implied by the simple use of the Name in speech. According to the idiom it signifies 'in the very nature of Jesus,' and as no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 12:3), we know that there will be no hypocritical confession, nor will there be any confession by compulsion, but a true confession of Christ by every creature in the universe, and that to the glory of God the Father."

#56 - EONIAN - EVERLASTING OR AGE-LASTING – GRACE H. TODD

"That the expression 'the eons of the eons' (forever and ever, KJV) cannot mean an endless successions of eons is clearly revealed by comparing Rev. 11:15 with 1Cor. 15:24-28. In Rev. 11:15 our Lord is said to reign 'for the eons of the eons' but in 1Cor. 15 His reign is said to end. He does not reign 'for ever and ever' though He does reign for the eons of the eons."

#57 - THE PROBLEM OF EVIL – JOHN H. ESSEX

"All creation remains within the care and keeping of its Creator. The vessels which become marred never leave the hand of the Potter; they are marred while still in His hand. The lesson that was taught Jeremiah (Jer. 18:4), though to be interpreted as relating to Israel, nevertheless embodies a principle which is sustained throughout the whole outworking of God's purpose. He holds all in the hollow of His hand, and though He may allow, and even cause, some of His creatures to temporarily turn away from Him, He never lets them go. That is why Paul can write in Romans 8:20, 'For to vanity was the creation subjected, not voluntarily, but because of Him Who subjects it, in expectation that the creation itself , also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God."

#58 - THE PURPOSE OF GOD – JOHN H. ESSEX

"To those who would challenge the truth of the reconciliation of all, I would reply, 'It is God's choice, and praise be to Him that He has chosen it to be so. Let no one deny God the right to choose as He wills.' "

"When God's conciliatory hand of friendship has been grasped by all in complete reconciliation, and when the wisdom of His choosings and His appointments, that is His sovereignty has been universally accepted beyond question – in short, when God is All in all, then every one of His creatures will rejoice in being one of HIS achievements, and all in the heavens and on earth will be both prepared and glad to acknowledge that of themselves they have contributed nothing, but that ALL HAS BEEN OF HIM."

#59 - THE GREATNESS OF SALVATION – WILLIAM MEALAND
(possibly the most eloquent of all the UR writers)

"A time is coming when Christ, the Beloved Himself, stands before His Father Who is Love, with the entire universe in train. What a thrilling reception, what a glorious presentation that will be! The great end for which the God of expectation waited, in perfect assurance, and for which Christ gave Himself. How fully will such a conclusion accord with the delight of His will!

There was a time when such greatness of salvation was more widely believed. But the imposed beliefs of the dark ages spoiled all this. Christendom was held as with iron bands in the grip of priest-ridden assent. And although their teaching is kept in the background, it is still there, giving that fatal bias which so clouds the perception of grace. Thus, we find resort to the limiting of Scripture by Scripture, to the seeing of finality when God's purpose is in continuance, and the ignoring of those passages which so blessedly bring out the fullness and triumph of saving grace. But how happy should they be who, brought to a present belief, enjoy to the full the prospect of future salvation for all, even the reconciliation of the universe.

Stage upon stage, the Victor of Golgotha will move on His momentous and victorious way. Then will He show that 'the Father has delivered all into His hands' John 13:3. And in those capable hands, the world, even though it be by tumult, will be led to peace. What a perfect expression God's grace finds in such a scene! What a realization of the truth attendant on so great a salvation! How rapturous a vision, too, of the One Who carried it to such a conclusion, Who sought until He found, Who loved until He won!"

#60 - GOD JUSTIFIES, VIVIFIES, SAVES AND RECONCILES ALL – E.G. JONES

"In 1Tim. 4:9-11 we are told that the living God 'is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of those who believe,' and with this 1Tim. 2: 4-6 concurs. Many seek to limit it to believers, but they overlook the significance of the double statement. That there is a special salvation for believers is plainly stated, but this does not limit the other part of the statement, rather does it emphasize it. The salvation of believers is a special work; they are a special class in the 'all mankind.' God's will for mankind is salvation, not as an experimental salvation toying with the will and choice of men, but as their Disposer – God.

My dear brethren, let us embrace this glorious truth which God has revealed for us. Let it so become a part of us that our lives will be reflecting it. Let it fill our hearts with the love of God and His glorious Son. Let us be rendering praise to the living God, the universal Creator and Reconciler, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
'To Him be glory for the eons! Amen!' "

#61 - TWO STUDIES ON HEAVEN AND HELL – A.E. KNOCH

"Love is the great thing. God loves me. Christ died for me to display God's affection. It has filled my heart to overflowing. I have tried to share it with my fellows, but O, so feebly and faithlessly. Yet I have known no joy so pure and permanent, no bliss so ecstatic as comes to me when some straying sinner or seeking saint enjoys God's love through some word of mine. What will it be to be perfectly equipped with inexhaustible supplies of power and grace and fare forth into the celestial realms as an ambassador of peace to proclaim the evangel of God's limitless love to the celestials of the starry spheres? This --- this will be happiness --- and heaven.

Not only does Paul see the entire earth blessed and saved, but all reconciled whom God created – even the principalities and powers of the heavens (Col. 1:20). So great is the power of the cross!"

#62 - A RANSOM FOR ALL – E.T. SPRINGETT MOXHAM

"We scan the dark ages of man and note how in the most pitiful ignorance, men, women, and children have died without the light of love – bitter, belabored and bereft of hope. All this and worse if the theories of men who limit the Gospel of Christ are right!

But why limit God? Why limit His power? Why indeed limit His plan and purposes for the ages of time? Why take part of His plan and label it as the whole? Why limit the great God of love at all, He Who is infinite love? Why indeed limit the compassion and overflowing love of Jesus 'who gave Himself a ransom for all'? (1Tim. 2:5,6). Are not the arms of Jesus long enough or strong enough to reach out and snatch the sinner from the jaws of suffering and death, if not in this dispensation, then in the ages to come? God 'will have all men to be saved and come into a knowledge of the truth' (Rom. 5:18). Never let it be said that any one of us limited God in any way."

#63 - THE AGES IN THE SCRIPTURES – VLADIMIR GELESNOFF

"Words are inadequate to describe the harm which has resulted from confounding the ages with eternity.

The Greek and Hebrew terms rendered 'forever and ever,' 'eternal,' 'everlasting' never refer to endlessness; but to a series of terminable periods know as age-times. These ages are periods in which God carries on remedial work, but they have a conclusion and pass away when the purpose to be accomplished in them has been realized. The ages are never synonymous with endlessness but always distinct therefrom.

That the words translated 'forever and ever' are associated with the hereafter of both believer and unbeliever is true; but in the case of both it is limited to the span of the ages, and has not the remotest reference to the final state of either. Therefore the dogmas of endless agony and endless sin rest on purely imaginary premises and are without the slightest shred of biblical support."

#64 - "HELL" – VLADIMIR GELESNOFF
This writing is a detailed explanation of why the author makes the following statement.

"The barbarous and heathen dogma of endless torment is refuted by the very passages on which orthodoxy depends for its support."

#65 - "ONE" AND "ALL" – JOHN ESSEX

" 'This is ideal and welcome in the sight of our Saviour, God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth' (1Tim. 2:3). This passage shows us what is the driving force behind salvation, the will of God. It is God Who is the Saviour, not us, and it is His will that is the decisive factor that results in the saving of all.

Many believers will have some to be saved, some to be reconciled; God will have all to be saved, all to be reconciled. He will be All in all, not all in some. Many insist on the word 'some' because it makes human endeavor a part of salvation; they will not recognize that human endeavor is, of itself, vanity, and that all is of God. He, the One, does everything for the all, that in each He may display His grace. Let us not claim for ourselves the glory of our salvation, but give it wholly to Him."

#66 - ON THESE THINGS MEDITATE – WILLIAM MEALAND
(possibly the most eloquent of all the UR writers)

In summing up his book he wrote

"Christ has truly made peace 'through the blood of His cross.' But the clear potency of it is yet to be seen when the ministry of reconciliation has accomplished its beneficial purpose. Then, the salvation of all is at last a wondrous reality. The tendency we see in God's great stream of the eons has widened and enlarged until all are richly blessed by its satisfying power. Its noble volume, now freed of all obstacles, attains a majestic flow. And so, by seemingly strange and inexplicable ways, the God of all grace accomplishes His purpose. For 'Grace not in rills, but cataracts rolls.' How glorious the stream, and how salutary its miraculous power! Sin has affected all, all but One glorious, sinless Being, and He in marvelous grace triumphs completely over it.

There will not be a single creature, then, above or below, who is not 'lost in wonder, love and praise.' A scene truly to inspire, and continuously impel to grateful thanks. Transcendent grace indeed, in fullest flow."

#67 - "ETERNAL LIFE" – DR. LOYAL F. HURLEY

"Hebrew and Greek scholars know that there is no word in the Bible corresponding to our 'eternal,' which, as commonly used among us, means unending. Most theologians know this too, but they don't teach it. Only one who is willing to stand for TRUTH for truth's sake and is willing to be branded a fanatic would dare to challenge the translation 'eternal life.'

'Eternal life,' so called, pertains to relationship and quality. What men are urged to 'lay hold of' is 'eonian life' or 'real life' or 'true life.' It is not duration but quality. How tragic that truths like this are covered up by faulty translations!"

The only definition of 'eternal life' so-called, in the entire Bible is clearly stated in John 17:3, 'And this is life eternal (eonian), that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.' That describes relationship, not duration; it signifies quality, not quantity."

#68 - TORTURING DOUBTS AND EXULTANT FAITH – JAMES CORAM

"After long years of torturing doubts, God had mercy on me and turned my darkness into light, my despair into joy and my misery into exultation. He brought me into touch with His revelation, just as He had written it, apart from most of the mistranslations of well-meaning men, who were bound by creeds and tradition.

I found out that sin and suffering are confined to the eons or ages, as 'forever' and 'everlasting' should be translated. There will indeed be an awful judgment, but it will not merely punish, but set right all wrongs.

Not only will God bring all of earth's inhabitants back into the sunlight of His love, but, through the blood of Christ's cross, He will reconcile all to Him, whether those on the earth, or those in the heavens (Col. 1:20). The present enmity toward God on the part of terrestrial and celestial creatures will, in due time, be used as a background to display His love. That is why I no longer have torturing doubts, but revel in exultant faith."

#69 - 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."

#70 - THE CONCEPT OF CIRCULARITY – JACK E. JACOBSEN

"Coming to the close of the last age, we find the earth filled with God's righteousness. All know Him from the least to the greatest. The earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Through His own blood, Christ has reconciled all back to God. We see every tongue confessing in love and adoration Christ as Lord. This can only be done in obedience and love as it is a unanimous Praise of the Universe to the glory of God the Father (Colossians 1:20).

It is little wonder that all gladly proclaim redemption's story. God now rises in everyone, bringing the consummation of God's plan of the ages – a complete circle, from God in Himself to GOD ALL IN ALL."

#71 - GOD'S PERFECT PLAN – AUTHOR UNKNOWN

"Many attempts have been made to prove that eons are eternal. The Greek word aion and the Hebrew olam, both meaning age or eon, have been translated by terms meaning endlessness. This is a grave error, for the divine Author, Himself has not used them in this way. He has indicated that they were not eternal in the past by informing us that they had a beginning (1Cor. 2:7), and, again, that they cannot possibly be everlasting in the future, for they are to end (Heb. 9:26; 1Cor. 10:11).

God's plan for creation is confined to time. It is not an 'eternal' purpose' but a 'purpose of the eons' (Eph. 3:11). Beyond the ages there will be naught but bliss and perfection for every member of creation (Rom. 8:19-22). Sin and evil and death will then be past; all will be saved and reconciled, and God shall be All, not in a few, but in all (1Cor. 15:28)."

#72 - THE CROSS AND THE AGES TO COME – G. CAMPBELL MORGAN

"We cannot conceive of a Creator Who knows the end from the beginning, One Who is Love, Who has infinite wisdom, and infinite power, giving to any being life, life which is never to end, but to continue in suffering to all eternity. The Bible does not teach it anywhere in the original languages. God's punishments are remedial and take place within the span of the ages. Punishment will last no longer than is necessary to bring man to hate his sin and be reconciled to his Saviour."

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

"In Romans 5:18,19 we have on the one side as the cause one lapse and the effects extending to all mankind for condemnation. We have on the other side one just sentence of acquittal, and the effect extending to all mankind for a justifying that carries with it LIFE.

Since 'the many' were involved in sin and death through the agency of one man, Adam, 'much more' may we believe that 'the many' will be involved in righteousness and life through the agency of the One Man, Christ Jesus."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Many do no understand the extent and purpose of God, that He is the propitiation for our sins, AND NOT OURS ONLY, but ALSO for the sins of the whole world (1John 4:10).

God is calling us to come up higher into Him and begin to see from His eyes, from His position.

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

#76 - DIVINE JUDGMENT - DORA VAN ASSEN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"WHO SHALL EVENTUALLY WORSHIP GOD?

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

#82 - THE GREAT WHITE THRONE – AUTHOR UNKNOWN

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

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

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

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

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

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

#84 - THE PURPOSE OF EVIL – GUY MARKS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#89 - OUR CHURCH FATHERS TESTIFY – DR. JACK JACOBSON

"If the concept of universal restoration seems to be a modern idea, it's only because the understanding of this glorious plan of God is new to our modern minds. Universal restoration, in fact, is a truth one taught to and received by most of the saints of antiquity. The modern church has become blinded to the fact of universal restoration as given in the scriptures, but this is not a blindness that was shared by the early church."

This introduction is followed by quotes by many UR church leaders during the first six centuries of the Christian church.

#90 - WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED? – KENNETH BRIX

"That salvation is of man and HIS works is shared by many of us who are Christians. We've portrayed God as having done all He could do to save mankind more than 2000 years ago. So now, supposedly, it's up to mankind to perform the remaining essential of exercising the good work of faith, or else suffer everlasting consequences.

We have looked upon salvation as a joint effort between man and God, and as primarily what WE do for Him. With this teaching MAN is exalted, self righteousness flourishes, and God is stripped of His sovereignty! But our salvation 'is not of him that willeth' (any decision we make of ourselves), 'nor of him that runneth' (any effort we put forth of ourselves), BUT OF GOD Who showeth mercy! (Romans 9:16)

Christ was prophesied to take away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29), so how then can a sinless world suffer everlasting punishment in the lake of fire?! How absurd! Christ is the Saviour of the world (Jn. 4:42; 1Jn. 4:14), and He will save it!"

#91 - BE YE RECONCILED – VIRGENE ANDREWS

"I CAME NOT TO JUDGE THE WORLD BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD" Jn. 12:47

"When I first began to believe in the reconciliation of the world, I fell on my knees and put my head on the floor and cried tears of joy. The revelation came to me in a flash, like lightning and immediately I received it as truth.

God was in Christ reconciling the WORLD unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. 2Cor.5:19.

All will be judged then reconciled back to God so that He will be All in all.
God is a consuming fire and will burn out all the dross from everyone."

#92 - MY UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY – HANNAH WHITALL SMITH

"As an escape from the doctrine of eternal torment, I at first embraced the doctrine of annihilation for the wicked, and for a little while tried to comfort myself with the belief that this life ended all for them. But the more I thought of it, the more it seemed to me that it would be a confession of serious failure on the part of the Creator, if He could find no way out of the problem of His creation, but to annihilate the creatures whom He had created.

One day a revelation came to me that vindicated God, and settled the whole problem forever. I saw that it was true, as the Bible says, that 'as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 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 this that day on the tram-car on Market Street, Philadelphia -- not only thought it, or hoped it -- but knew it. It was a Divine fact. And from that moment I have never had a questioning thought as to the final destiny of the human race. 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 everything right for all the creatures He had created. My heart was at rest about it forever."

#93 - WHENCE ETERNITY? – ALEXANDER THOMSON

"The inspired scriptures never speak of eternity. They describe nothing as eternal. They contain no term which itself bears our time sense of everlasting. As eternity is not a subject of revelation, our present object is to discover how and when this unscriptural term gained entrance into theology, with most disastrous results.

It may be stated, without fear of contradiction, that the more one explores into the early centuries of Christendom, the clearer does it become that a corrupt theology was alone responsible for displacing the teaching regarding the eons by a dogma respecting 'eternity.'"

#94 - MUST AION MEAN ETERNAL? – PHILIP SCRANTON

"There are many texts in which aion and aionios cannot bear the meaning of eternity. And there are no texts in which the meaning of a limited period of time does not make reasonable sense. Our great loss is that when we ascribe the meaning of eternity to these words, we obliterate from view God's purpose of the eons. Further, the character of God is slandered, making Him the inflictor of incomprehensible woe.

It does not say that "all in Christ shall be made alive." It says, "in Christ shall all be made alive." The word for made alive means to be made immortal. After the great white throne, the unbelieving will participate in the second death – the lake of fire. Finally, at the consummation, when death is abolished, all will be made alive in Christ."

God is working all things after the counsel of His will and according to His perfect schedule. But the improper translation of "for the ages of the ages" ignores the purpose and climax of history. The holies of the holies were the two inner confines of the tabernacle. They were more holy than the outer court and the camp and all the places outside the camp. In like manner, the ages of the ages are the two greatest ages of history because of what will transpire during their time. It does not cast the smallest shadow on the brilliance of God's glory to say that glory be attributed to Him during the climatic eons when His purpose will be realized by all and His glory seen more clearly than ever before."

#95 - TARDY OF HEART TO BELIEVE ALL – F. NEIL POHORLAK

Do you find your heart tardy to believe that God will have all mankind to be saved?" 1Tim. 2:4

"Those who would not yield an inch from the position that all have sinned means all, do not hesitate to rob God of His all in all shall be justified, all shall be reconciled, all shall be vivified, that God may be All in all.

This is God's grand goal: all saved, all justified, all reconciled, all vivified, that God may be All in all. This goal will see fruition when the eons have run their course. Do not confuse God's goal with His process."

#96 - MARTIN ZENDER GOES TO HELL – MARTIN ZENDER

"The world hates God because of the picture Christianity has painted of Him. The doctrine of eternal torment is a teaching of demons; a myth. It infects the world via a series of false expressions, printed onto tracts and forced into sermons. Those who espouse and teach it are in full heed of deceiving spirits, though they know it not.

There must be a remedy, and there is. 2Timothy 2:15, 'Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.'

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying."

#97 - THE DEPTHS OF GOD WILL RETRIEVE ALL - ANTHONY J. BORRELLO

"Without God's Spirit the 'depths of God' remain unknown. What an essential factor this is in the believer's quest!

When God's immense love evokes us to a higher plain, nothing will thwart our yielding to Him. Our past illusions must fade away with all of its façade in order that a more accurate realization of God and the depths of God can be grasped in prelude to the ultimate retrieving of all to God through Christ so He truly will be All in everyone. He shall be 'All in all' in the total kaleidoscope envelope of LOVE. This is the Spirit-Reality Whom we should unabatedly proclaim to those who have ears to hear."

#99 - SOONER OR LATER GOD ALL IN ALL - ANTHONY J. BORRELLO

"As hostile and objectionable our dear brethren may be, there are answers and explanations for every argument and/or insinuation presented against the undeniable fact, That God indeed is a God 'Who will have all men to be saved, and come into a knowledge of the truth (1Tim. 2:4). As greatly as man and their religious attempt to fight this utterly dynamic evangel (good news), God shall eventually be All in all (1Cor. 15:28)."
EDITOR'S ADDITION:
BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html

"But God is in no hurry. He has specific eons, and administrations within the eons, to fulfill His universal purpose and intention of universal reconciliation. All came out of Christ, including Adam. Consequently all shall be restored by and through Christ, 'yet each in his own class' (1Cor. 15:23)."
EDITOR'S ADDITION:
GOD'S PLAN FOR THE AGES OF TIME
THE EONS OF THE BIBLE WITH CONCORDANCE
http://www.saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html

"Annihilation is only one step from its false associate 'eternal torment.' When clouds of confusion gather regarding God's plan for mankind, and despair come showering down upon our studies, turn to God's word originally rendered, then, like a searchlight in the darkness of night, His love, and His light of understanding will surely beam forth. God will not allow any to be eternally lost. He is a loving Creator, working out His purpose for the universe, Who will get love from all in return, so that He can and will be 'ALL in all,' to all, 'later.'"
EDITOR'S ADDITION:
WILL UNBELIEVERS BE ANNIHILATED? - chapters three and four
http://www.lighthouselibrary.com/read.php?sel=2586&searchfor=||KNOCH, ADOLPH E||&type=&what=author

#100 - 125 NUTS FOR CALVINISTS TO CRACK – C.R. Bierbower

"Although a Calvinist myself for more than thirty years, the scriptures declaring God's infinite love, and the plain teachings of Jesus my Lord on the subject of love, mercy and truth, finally sank my theological ship. This left me searching for the truth as it is in Jesus. Finally I was convinced by the overwhelming number of Scriptures that our great God and Heavenly Father truly does, without partiality, love the whole world, and He will in His own time and in His own way finally reconcile all men unto Himself.

Arminianism and Calvinism both represent each other as the method for God's work in salvation, and both vigorously reject the final reconciliation of all men. It is my purpose in this book to point out to my Calvinistic brethren the inconsistency of their interpretation of Scripture."

#101 - 100 SCRIPTURAL PROOFS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR OF ALL MANKIND – THOMAS WHITTEMORE

INTRODUCTION: "The Scriptures analyzed in this book declare that much more was accomplished by Christ than traditionally taught. May your eyes be enlightened to see the joy that Jesus saw as He hung on the tree of crucifixion. May the traditions of the elders fall as scales from your eyes to see the full magnitude of the victory of Jesus Christ! When they do, your Bible will appear to be a brand new book, full of the power of God's love to be victorious over all things."

#102 - A TRUE REVELATION AND A SECOND WITNESS – TRAVIS OGLETREE

" 'For we must needs die, and are as water spilt upon the ground which cannot be gathered up again, yet doth God devise means that His banished be not expelled from Him' (2Sam.14:14). The entire passage from 2Sam.14:1-21 shows that no matter how far one may stray from the Lord and undergo internal banishment from a sense of acceptance, nevertheless, our merciful Lord God Himself has devised means whereby His banished ones would not be expelled forever from Him. 'For out of Him, and through Him, and for Him are all. To Him be glory for the eons! Amen!' (Rom. 11:36). 'For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all.' (Rom. 11:32 CLNT)."

#103 - THE CHRIST OF GLORY – MARVIN W. RICE

"May we get a glimpse of Christ's wondrous Person as we peer into Sacred Writ. As we go back before the ages of time, through the eons of the Scriptures, forward to the grand finale, to the consummation of the ages, to that day when total reconciliation is completed and eternity continues.

'every knee bowing, celestial
and terrestrial and subterranean,
and every tongue acclaiming that
Jesus Christ is Lord, for the
glory of the Father'

God would receive no glory merely to see the unbelievers agree that Jesus is Lord, but too late, thus going off to destruction. Nay! The blood of the cross will prevail in every situation, eliminating all sins. What august glory this will bring to the Father as every last one of His creatures acclaim His beloved Son as their Lord!"

#104 - JUSTIFICATION – DONALD G. HAYTER

"Although God introduced sin through the agency of His creatures, yet He did not sin in so doing. For it was no mistake, no failure of His. It was in accord with His intention, and it will be justified by the beneficial results obtained through its agency. In the brilliant glory of His ultimate the most somber and gloomy features of earth's history are transformed into a brilliant display of His power and wisdom and love.

During the final eons every creature in the heavens and on the earth and under the earth will have learned of the sufferings of the Christ, and of the depths of the Father's love revealed in them, and every knee will bow to Him Who died, acclaiming Him Lord, for the glory of God the Father. Thus will all ultimately be justified."

#105 - THE "EVIL" FROM THE LORD – MICHAEL KILLIAN

"All men will be saved. But God isn't trying to redeem everyone in this age, only that chosen generation that Paul spoke of.

Believing that the evil in this world has its purpose for good will bring much peace to your heart. And then to realize that God in someway, somehow, will eventually use evil to bring about good for everyone, will further add to your peace. As this revelation of the Prince of Peace is unfolded to your turbulent, battle-weary heart, you will start to more continuously abide in His love.

God not only 'allows' evil in this present world, but rather ordains it. No more, and no less evil than God Himself determines, will happen to anyone during any certain day."

#106 - THE FEET MINISTRY – DON BRUCE

"The mission of Christ was to destroy the enemy and to set the prisoners free. Now this word 'destroy' does not mean to annihilate. In the Greek it means to make of no effect. When Christ took the keys from the prison keeper he, Satan, lost all power and authority. Christ made his office of no effect (Heb. 2:14&15).

While prophets of doom forecast calamity and destruction, the mind of Christ speaks and lights our world with the vision of universal restoration and reconciliation.

Paul told of a great victory where every knee would bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Paul did not say that only a small number will bow and confess, but he said every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. And no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Spirit. What a glorious day that will be when every foot steps forth in the river of life up to the ankle, and from the ankle up to the knee. Every knee shall bow!

We are not an accident! We are not a mistake! No one has been overlooked by the Creator. All of us are His jewels, the apple of His eye, His purpose, reason and will.
When we see God in all things, and realize that all things are in His hands for the eventual good of everyone, then our lives will flow as peacefully as a river."

#107 - HELL – J.W. WILLIAMS

"Who could have peace in the Christian hope while overwhelmed with the consciousness that many of those dearest to us are even right now shrieking hopelessly for watery relief from fiery torments? If any can be happy under such a burden of woe, are they hardened to insensibility; or do they really take their creed seriously?

Do believers in eternal hell torment really believe it, in their careless unconcern for the unsaved, or do they just give formal and thoughtless assent to their creeds. A sincere contemplation of such an infinite spectacle of woe as they present about hell is enough to unseat the reason of every believer of it if it weighs on his mind as it should if true. It would be appalling to know the number of all those who thought they had committed 'the unpardonable sin,' another erroneous tradition, and that they were hopelessly hell-bound because of it, and as a result became maniacs and suicides.

Yet in utter disregard of the frightful results of their hideous pagan ideas, the eternal hell torment evangelists would like to unchristianize those of us who dare to question their views by turning the searchlight of truth on their errors.

After hell is ended in the lake of fire, where can the previous inhabitants of hell go? Not back to hell, for it then will be no more. Not back into death, for 'there shall be no more death.' Only one destiny will be possible for them, and that is the one declared in Is. 26:9, and that is correction through judgment."

#108 - LIFE FOR ALL - CHARLES W. COTTON

"The lake of fire will be abolished when it burns itself out because there is no evil left for it to feed upon, and the whole universe will throb with joy when the second death is abolished with the successful completion of the great and glorious work the Lord Jesus will bring to full fruition with the perfecting of all in the heavens and on earth.

What a prospect! God's purpose of the ages (Eph. 3:11) fulfilled in perfect accord with His irresistible will. 'And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 'Unto Him Who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for the ages of the ages (Rev. 5:13) – a grand Hallelujah Chorus echoing through the boundless universe and proclaiming that God IS Love."

#109 - UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION – MINNIE ALBERTSON

"The original scriptures taught final universal salvation; but translators usually rejected that theme. So they added to, or dropped words, to make the text conform to their wrong thinking. They could not eradicate the original theme; but we inherited their wrong thinking in our translations, and so we have the resulting direct contradictions. Unknown time periods they made endless.

Salvation is for angels also. 'All things were created by Him, and for Him' (Col. 1:16).
'For Thy pleasure they are and were created (Rev. 4:11). So He 'reconciles all things unto Himself, whether they be on earth, or things in the heavens (Col. 1:16-21).

Even the devil is not too evil to be corrected. Note who he belongs to, as well as those he deceives. 'The deceived and the deceiver are His' (Job 12:16).

EDITOR'S NOTE: Greek scholar William Barclay wrote concerning kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) in Matthew 25:46
"The Greek word for punishment is kolasis. There is no instance in Greek secular literature where kolasis does not mean remedial punishment. It is a simple fact that in Greek kolasis always means remedial punishment. God's punishment is always for man's cure."

See what other Greek scholars say about it too.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter11.html

Fifteen literally translated (not interpretively translated) Bibles that reveal what God will do with the sinners in Matthew 25:46
Concordant Literal, Young's literal, Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham's Emphasized, Scarlett's, J.W. Hanson's New Covenant, Twentieth Century, Ferrar Fenton, The Western New Testament, Weymouth's (unedited), Clementson's, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, Bullinger's Companion Bible margins, Jonathan Mitchell's translation (2010).

#110 - 125 NUTS FOR CALVINISTS TO CRACK – C.R. BIERBOWER

"Although a Calvinist myself for more than thirty years, the scriptures declaring God's infinite love, and the plain teachings of Jesus my Lord on the subject of love, mercy and truth, finally sank my theological ship. This left me searching for the truth as it is in Jesus. Finally I was convinced by the overwhelming number of Scriptures that our great God and Heavenly Father truly does, without partiality, love the whole world, and He will in His own time and in His own way finally reconcile all men unto Himself.

Arminianism and Calvinism both represent each other as the method for God's work in salvation, and both vigorously reject the final reconciliation of all men. It is my purpose in this book to point out to my Calvinistic brethren the inconsistency of their interpretation of Scripture."

#111 - ALL AND ALL IN ALL – VINCE HOLLANDER AND HENRY BULLER

"This is a power packed and mind shaking question!!
To wit:
How can every creature which is in the heavens and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea and all that are in them (describing every living soul made by God) which includes everyone that has come from every dimension of life or death, or everything that came out from God … say, Blessing and honor and glory and power unto the Lamb Jesus Christ the heart of the Father, if they are not all going to be enjoying Him as we who now believe are? Does this not describe and give witness to the day of the reconciliation of all unto God where they came from?"

God will not be defeated in the slightest --- for 'There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God Who worketh all in all (1Cor. 12:6).

#112 - THE WAY TO SALVATION IN THE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL – ERNEST L. MARTIN

"The traditional interpretation of an everlasting hell fire for sinners is as wrong and as senseless as believing that a three dollar bill is legal tender.

Ultimate salvation is something that has been secured by Christ for all mankind without the works of man (either good or bad) being involved in the issue. Everyone will finally be saved and brought to a full knowledge of the truth of God. All humans will finally be forgiven for their sins and they will become reconciled to God. All things in the heavens, on earth and under the earth (the angels who are kept in chains in the bowels of the earth) will one day proclaim the Lordship of Christ to the glory of God the Father.

But it will not only be all humans who are reconciled to God (now that God has reconciled Himself to mankind). The reconciliation will reach out to embrace all the hostile powers which have been out of harmony with God over the centuries. There is prophesied, according to Paul, a full reconciliation between all the antagonistic beings throughout the universe. Even they will be reconciled amongst themselves, Between themselves and mankind, and between themselves and God the Father (Col. 1:20). All grievances, both divine and human, are disposed of through the life and death of Christ our Saviour. Peace has been, or will be established between all hostile parties throughout the universe.

The Greek of the New Testament shows that all punishment is age-lasting, not forever as the King James Version renders it."

#113 - THE EARLY VIEW OF THE SAVIOR – GARY AMIRAULT
"When one looks at the first 500 years of Christianity, not one creed even hinted at "Eternal Torment;" not one creed denied Universal Restoration;" no church council condemned "Universal Restoration.

http://hellbusters.8m.com/updcontents.html

When one looks at the lives of those church leaders who brought the doctrine of "Eternal Torment" into the church, we find a long string of envyings, power plays, persecutions, character assassinations, book burnings, murders, and tortures. They became like the god they created – tormentors and murderers! They exchanged the truth for a lie and brought darkness to the world – the Dark Ages."

#114 - ETERNAL DEATH – ONE STEP OUT OF HELL, ONE STEP SHORT OF GLORY - GARY AMIRAULT

"When it comes to the final destination of the wicked, or unrighteous, Christians over the past two millenniums have divided themselves into three beliefs: 1. Eternal Torment, 2. Eternal Death (annihilationism), and 3. Salvation of the whole world through Jesus Christ. Each of these views can be supported with Scriptures. Having been in all three groups, I know there are sincere Bible centered believers in all of them. Obviously, all three cannot be true. Two of them have to be false.

This is a writing showing that the Doctrine of Eternal Death finds no support in the Greek or Hebrew texts. While the teaching makes the Christian God more loving and merciful than the Doctrine of Eternal Torment, there is a much more Scriptural way of proving that our Father's mercy extends far beyond "Eternal Death," or "Eternal Punishment."

#115 - THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL – TONY HINKLE & GARY AMIRAULT

"Christian leaders have locked themselves into the teaching that the King James Bible is 'the inerrant' translation of the so-called original texts. They say the 66 books of the present King James Bible are inerrant, but they don't tell you it lacks 14 entire books which were in the original King James of 1611. They don't tell you the King James Bible has been changed many times in the last 350 years, and there have been thousands of corrections!

This world need to be set free of false images and concepts of our wonderful Father. Please meditate on this very thoughtfully and prayerfully. If eternal torment is the penalty for sin and the Creator did not want anyone ending up there, then it should stand to reason that He would make the warning as absolutely clear as He could make it to all mankind, past, present, and future. But the fact of the matter is that thousands upon thousands were born after Adam and they were never warned. Read the prophets and you will not find a place of eternal torment for the wicked. If the Creator loved us and created such a horrible place, He would surely have plastered the warning everywhere. The KJV has the phrase 'everlasting punishment' only once. Yet, when looking at these word in the Greek, even these two references turn out to be 'age-during correction.' Again we ask, if eternal torment be the horrible fate of most of mankind, why such a little warning?

The Scriptures tell us the mind of man cannot conceive the height, length, depth, and width of our Father's love for His creation. His ways are much higher than our in all areas, including His justice, love, and wisdom. He wounds, but like a doctor, to bring about healing. He says 'Vengeance is Mine' knowing only He can return good for evil, an innocent life for a guilty one. He overcomes His enemies with good and tells you to do the same. His love never fails. Believe it. It will never fail anyone, including you. You can now enter into your rest. 'For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth, of things in the heavens (Col. 1:20).

#116 - THE SECOND DEATH – A.E. SAXBY

"Orthodox theology holds the second death to be a state of endless torment in which the sufferers are held forever in conscious being by a continuous act of Divine preservation, with the soul object of a punishment without end. This however would in no sense be death. The second death does not perpetuate the hopeless condition of the sinner to all eternity.

What the Holy Spirit mean by 'fire and brimstone' is 'divine purification,' or a judgment fire which consumes all that is antagonistic to divine law and love.

Before the Great White Throne, that vast throng, their naked spirits conscious now of the blazing holiness of God, will be subjected to the process of the second death. What those processes are, their intensity and their duration, we are not told. They will suffice, however, not in themselves to perfect, but to bring those who suffer them to that agreement with the judgment upon sin which they effect, and through the cross finally to reconcile them to God (Col. 1:20), in a subjection where He will be 'All in all.' When that acquiescence in judgment upon sin is reached, and applied in soul and spirit, then will be possible the final victory over death. Hence it is written that when this subjection is reached, then and only then, 'the last enemy, death, shall be destroyed.' "

#117 - OVERWHELMING GRACE – JOHN H. ESSEX

"God is a despot. Paul in Ephesians 1:11, speaks of 'the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will.' Yes, God exercise a despotic sway over the whole universe, but we are thankful for this because He is Love. Though He will brook no opposition to the furtherance of His purpose, He is never a tyrant. When He inflicts evil upon any, it is always in order that good may follow. His sovereign will is the ultimate salvation and blessing of all, that He may be All in all.

For all creation in its need,
The future is engraved
In words of life, for all to read,
'In grace shall you be saved.'

Let every mental conflict cease,
Let every barrier fall,
For grace removes each bar to peace
Till Thou art All in all.

O God, how glorious is Thy grace!
How radiantly divine!
It stretches out its wide embrace,
To make all creatures Thine.

When God is All in all, the whole creation will have become His achievement, and every member will be a beneficiary of His OVERWHELMING GRACE."

#118 - THE GOSPEL OF GRACE – CHARLES W. WELLER

"Love conquers all, for it is the love of God that allows humanity to see its frailty that in the bitter dregs it may choose life. I thank the Lord that the plan of redemption wasn't a stop gap measure but a well thought out plan that in the fullness of time, all will have Christ as their head. Victory in Jesus!

Before creation there was no time. Since creation there has been time. But with the consummation of things and God becoming All in all, time will end, and sin, which is limited by time shall end. Yet, God and creation shall go on.

If God cannot surmount the evil in the world and turn it all into good, then there is a power equal and opposite to Him. But sin isn't eternal. The cross of Calvary isn't a 'hope so' move by God, but rather, a well conceived thought out solution to the problem of sin. There is an end to sin and to the death it causes. All shall be swallowed up into victory. Some, God has planned to accept Him now. Others, like Pharaoh, He hardens their heart. But being a righteous Judge He will show wrath on those who need it to cleanse them of their fallen nature.

The plan of God is such that His grace, that unmerited favor, will cause man and all of creation to be restored. Great was the joy of the father for the return of his son. How much more so will God be rejoicing at the restitution of all.

A father never beats a child to death for wrong, but corrects and loves regardless. Even so is our Heavenly Father. The mercy and love of God is to be so revealed that Jesus shall be All in all.

The purpose for the present is to save some. The purpose for the future is to save all. Because men have failed to see and understand the doctrine of election, it has propagated false ideas of salvation. Even he who dies in sin shall be saved as by fire. Victorious grace covers a larger redemption than many would consider."

#119 - JUSTIFICATION – DONALD G. HAYTER

"Although God introduced sin through the agency of His creatures, yet He did not sin in so doing. For it was no mistake, no failure of His. It was in accord with His intention, and it will be justified by the beneficial results obtained through its agency.
God is justified in all He does, for His final intention to glorify Himself and bless His creatures is the dominating purpose which adds luster to all His eonian operations.
In the brilliant glory of His ultimate, the most somber and gloomy features of earth's history are transformed into a brilliant display of His power, wisdom, and love.

During the final eons, every creature in the heavens, and on earth, and under the earth, will have learned of the sufferings of the Christ, and of the depths of the Father's love revealed in them. And every knee will bow to Him Who died, acclaiming Him Lord, for the glory of God the Father. Very feebly we can enter into the joy, the satisfaction, the thankfulness that will be His as He views the vast potentials of love and adoration that will be pulsing within the heart of everyone.

Thus will all ultimately be justified. God's matchless wisdom, serving in the cause of His love, has produced a method of salvation that calls forth the adoring wonder of our hearts. What a God we have!"

#120 - THE OUTCOME OF INFINITE GRACE – DR. LOYAL F. HURLEY

"Heb. 11:3 should read, 'Through faith we understand that the ages were planned by the Word of God.' The ages will collectively end. A literal translation of Heb. 9:16 is, 'But now, once for all, with a view to the end of the ages, hath He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.' (Alexander Thompson's translation)

Throughout the eons there is sin and evil, condemnation and death. At the end of the eons, all will be reconciled through Christ's blood (Col. 1:20). Only as one sees the plan of the ages does he see the beauty of God's Program for the redemption of the race. When you perceive the truth concerning the ages your Bible will become a new and more wonderful Book than you knew you had."

#121 - THE GOSPEL – BERT BAUMAN

"Our popular English Bible carries the name of an earthly monarch and so bears mute testimony to the influence the English King had over the translators. His directive to 'do nothing that will disturb the tranquility of the church', appears to have been taken very seriously by the translators since they often chose to interpret certain Greek words to support then current church doctrine, rather than render a faithful and consistent translation of the original.

I must confess to the admiration I feel for the absolute brilliance of Satan's cunning and strategy. He has effectively polluted the entire fountain of truth from which Christians drink by causing confusion in the meaning of the single word aion, and its adjective aionios. It does not seem that this single word could be so important as to produce calamitous results, but it is just here that we see the utter genius of our adversary. Perhaps no other word, erroneously translated, could cause such widespread confusion and distortion of the truth. Practically all Christian doctrine is affected: the purposes of God, the nature of God, judgment, man's destiny, and salvation – to say nothing of its effect upon our concept of the very God we worship and the way we treat one another as Christians, and the world at large.

EDITOR'S ADDITION
AIÓN -- AIÓNIOS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html

The doctrine of eternal torment is not found in the Scripture but the teaching of judgment certainly is. But why judgment? Is it a matter of God's vengeance only? The scriptures suggest that God's judgments are desirable but not necessarily enjoyable. It is never pleasant to be judged, but the fruit of judgment is desirable. Correction produces righteousness which yields the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, while the chastening is unpleasant, the results are a blessing. Out of love for His creatures, God chastens, and corrects. He judges His creatures for their own good.

Did not Jesus teach us to love and do good even to our enemies? And while He admonishes us to be perfect even as our heavenly Father, would our Father be less than we are expected to be? Can love pour out vengeance for its own gratification, or judge to satisfy its own sense of justice? The result of God's judgments must ultimately be profitable and beneficial to the one being punished, 'for the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them' (Luke 9:56)."

#122 - WHAT GOD SAYS CONCERNING HELL – J.F. RODGERS

" May some poor soul whose loved one has died without receiving Christ as their Saviour, find a measure of relief in the assurance that they are neither now, nor ever shall be, tortured endlessly and consciously in an inferno of fire wrongly described as the eternal abode of the dammed. Instead, they will be deprived of life until the lake of fire which is the second death no longer exists."

#123 - MAN'S FAILURE OR GOD'S SUCCESS – WHICH WILL STAND? – LEE SALISBURY

"The teaching of the ultimate exaltation of Jesus Christ and the ultimate reconciliation of all men unto Him, make God's judgments consistent with His plan of creation. God's judgments become understandable, purposeful, and constructive without violating any aspect of justice, truth, or mercy. If just one person were condemned to eternal torment, then God's purpose in creation would have been defeated. God's judgments are redemptive.

The end result of God's judgments is, 'That in the Name of Jesus every knee will bow, celestial, terrestrial, and subterranean, and every tongue will acclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10,11). God planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, both in the heavens, and on earth (Eph. 1:10). Amplified Bible

#124 - ETERNITY EXPLAINED – LEE SALISBURY

"Eternity and its synonyms are grievous mistranslations of Hebrew and Greek words. Both the Old and the New Testament misuses indicate a biased mind-set which hides God's true nature and purpose. Based upon decisions made in this life on earth, it is supposed that the vast multitudes that miss heaven enter an eternal hell of burning torment and anguish.

The uniform translation of aion and its adjective form aionios solves many inconsistencies in Scripture study. Jesus came to give life eonian, a quality of relationship with the Father through Himself, a life that is only the earnest of much more to come.

The most shameful consequences of this error are the grotesque images which Christianity projects of God, Who is really so loving, wise, and powerful. God's love nature corresponds with His purpose. His wisdom and majesty dominate the ages through which all mankind will be drawn to God's goal of creating man in His own image, 'that God may be All in all' (1Cor. 15:28).

125 - JUST WHAT DO YOU MEAN? (SERIES OF16 VOLUMES) J. PRESTON EBY

A great introductory series to ultimate reconciliation.
J. Preston Eby does a thorough job covering many aspects of the topic.
Fundamental reading for any person interested in studying universalism from a solid biblical perspective.
Highly Recommended!

Internet version
http://www.godfire.net/eby/saviour_of_the_world.html

#126 – FUNDAMENTALS OR BASIS OF BELIEF – Thomas Griffith

"We will get good out of evil. Our gracious Educator does evolve for us out of corruption, temptation and sin, new purposes, new skill, new triumphs.

Beyond the overruling of intermediate evil into subserviency to a higher good, what has been superinduced as a transition state of things is therefore seen to be necessary only for a time. It will pass away with the functions which it is made to fulfill. It will at last be superseded by the highest good for everyone."

#127 – DOOMED TO BE SAVED – Frances Power Cobbe

"I think if we were not caught in the meshes of that wretched Augustinian scheme of theology which postulates eternal hell to compel us to accept it, -- I think, I say, if it were not for this theology, all Christendom must have long ago come to see, that, at the very least, God feels towards a sinner as a saint would do, and not as a man less good, or wise, or merciful.

We do not think man's evil can, in the long run of the ages, finally outspeed God's ever-pursuing mercy. He must overtake us sooner or later. We may temporarily choose evil rather than good, and vileness instead of nobleness, and be ungrateful and sinful. But God will get the better of us at last."

#128 - This is a thrilling poem by Matthew Arnold, keeping in mind the following fact.
Universalism was The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years
http://hellbusters.8m.com/updcontents.html

As students of the history of Christian doctrine know, among believers in eternal torment, Tertullian was one of the most extreme. That is why I think this poem is so powerful. It sent a thrill up and down my spine.

"He saves the sheep, the goats he doth not save!"
So rang Tertullian's sentence, on the side
Of that unpitying Phrygian sect which cried, --
"Him can no fount of fresh forgiveness lave
Who sins, once washed by the baptismal wave!"
So spake the fierce Tertullian. But she sighed,
The infant church, of love she felt the tide
Stream on her from her Lord's yet recent grave,
And then she smiled, and in the Catacombs,
With eye suffused, but heart inspired true,
On those walls subterranean, where she hid
Her head in ignominy, death and tombs,
She her Good Shepherd's hasty image drew,
And on His shoulders, not a lamb, a kid.

#129 – A POEM BY A.G. CAMPBELL

I deem they greatly err, who hold
That He Who made the human soul,
Will not its destinies control
For final good – but, wrathful, fold
It in the shrouds of hopeless woe,
Of deathless gloom, of quenchless fire,
The creatures of His vengeful ire,
Whence it can never ransom know.

So, in the world to come, His love
Shall freely unto all abound;
Even prisoners in the depths profound
Shall see His kind face beam above
Their dreary cells, and hear His voice,
Unheeded once, in mercy call, --
"Turn, turn to Me and live!" and all
Shall hear the summons and rejoice.

Lost men, lost angels, shall return, --
Satan himself be purified;
Death shall be conquered in his pride,
And hell's fierce fires shall cease to burn.
Then shall our God be All in all –
His love bear universal sway;
His love preserves all souls for aye,
Nor shall the weakest fear a fall.

#130 – FROM A SERMON ON UNIVERSALISM – Stopford A. Brooke
"That Christ should have descended to assume the nature of all men, only to cast them away as refuse to be burned, does so contradict His revelation that it is no wonder that the idea of everlasting damnation should have destroyed men's belief.

No, the earthly dead will move on, a mighty stream to mingle in the ocean of the righteousness of God, on that far off but certain day when God will be All in all."

#131 – ENIGMAS OF LIFE, POSTSCRIPTUM – W.R. GREG

"Given a hell of torment and despair for millions of our friends and fellow men, can the good enjoy heaven except by becoming bad, -- miraculously changed and changed deplorably for the worst. In a word, putting on, along with the white garments of the redeemed, a coldness and hardness of heart? Does not this simple refection suffice to disperse into thin air the current notions of a world of everlasting pain?"

#132 – THE SHAKING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH – Charles Kingsley

"We do not deny that the wages of sin is death. We do not deny the necessity and certainty of punishment. Only tell us not that it must be endless, and thereby destroy its whole purpose. We too believe in an eternal fire, but we believe its existence to be not a curse but a blessing. That fire is God Himself Who taketh away the sins of the world, and of Whom it is therefore written, 'Our God is a consuming fire."

#133 – POEM BY HELEN BRONTE

There lives within my heart,
A hope long nursed by me;
And should its cheering ray depart,
How dark my soul would be.

That as in Adam all have died,
In Christ shall all men live;
And ever round His throne abide
Eternal praise to give.

That even the wicked shall at last
Be fitted for the skies;
And when their dreadful doom is past
To light and life arise.

I ask not how remote the day,
Nor what the sinner's woe,
Before their dross is purged away;
Enough for me to know,

That when the cup of wrath is drained,
The metal purified,
They'll cling to what they once disdained
And live by Him Who died.

#134 – DISPUTED POINTS – George Dawson
"Take the doctrine in which most of you were brought up – that every man who is not saved will go to hell, and that hell is a constant fire whereunto a man must be condemned forever.

I am told this is in the Scriptures. I can't find it; but if it were there I would not believe it. I was told that it was so, and I have no doubt I said it was so. But now I disbelieve it. If this is backsliding, I will backslide.

Well, how came we ever to doubt this horrific doctrine? Not that any commentator with marvelous exegesis showed us that the text did not mean that; -- for I am but little interested in the quibble that the fire burns forever, but that the thing put into the fire burn only so long as it is capable of burning.

What has put hell fire out is a better understanding of God, and a fuller comprehension of the quality of God's love. The love of God conquers the assertion of orthodoxy."

#135 – YUSEF – J. Ross Browne

"Oh, ye who are wrapped in the selfishness of a single idea! – ye who bode eternal destruction to others! Look out upon the world and learn that there are millions of human hearts as sincere and devoted as yours, who perceive a divine power great and good and merciful enough to save all, even to the weakest and most benighted."

#136 – BODY AND MIND – George Moore
"Every soul that is out of keeping with divine order must remain, in the license of a perverse will, forever vile, until restored to the dominion of truth by the attractiveness of light, and the miseries of darkness."

#137 – CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE – J.S. Taylor

I cannot believe that any being will exist in any part of the universe, so steeped in guilt and anguish (no, not Satan himself), as to be beyond the redeeming love and healing power of the Creator.

Oh, no; on the contrary, I believe that in this mysterious, but divinely ordained conflict of good and evil, the powers of light are everywhere slowly but surely gaining the ascendancy over the powers of darkness, and that it will continue to be so, even unto the perfect day; yes, that perfect day, wherein all these blessed victories over sin and ignorance shall have been consummated, these transformations completed, and no solitary stain of folly, guilt, or grief, be left to mar the luster of the universe."

#138 – CHILDHOOD OF THE WORLD – Edward Clodd
"You would think your father very hard and cruel if he loaded you with good things, and sent your brothers and sisters to some homeless spot to live uncared for and unloved. And yet that is exactly what some people say that God does. They have spoken of Him Who has give life to every man, woman and child as staying near only a few of His creatures, and leaving the rest to care for themselves.

Believe that He who is called our Father is better, more just, more loving, than the best fathers can be."

#139 – BIBLE DICTIONARY – John R. Beard

"The word translated 'everlasting' or 'eternal' expresses time, and not eternity.

Punishment that does not end in reformation is vindictiveness, which cannot be ascribed to our Merciful Father.

How then has it come to pass that belief in eternal punishment took root in the Christian church?

Ancient doctors of the church, mislead by theoretical conclusions, declared that sin was an infinite transgression, to be atoned for only by an infinite expiation. The doctrine is the child of human reasoning."

#140 – IN MEMORIUM – Alfred Tennyson

"Oh, yes, we trust that somehow good
Will be the final goal of ill,
To pangs of nature, sins of will,
Defects of doubt, and taints of blood.

That nothing walks with aimless feet,
That not one life shall be destroyed,
Or cast as rubbish to the void,
When God hath made the pile complete:

Behold! We know not anything;
I can but trust that good shall fall
At last – far off – at last to all,
And every Winter change to Spring."

#141 – ONE RELIGION; MANY CREEDS – Ross Winans

"Our belief is that man, being governed and trained through time, a good and happy result must ensue to each individual. The idea of hell fire and eternal torment, when properly considered, is an idea that is alike blasphemous and illogical.

God has ordained that every man shall sooner or later, recognize and appreciate His blessings. Nothing else is consistent with His determinate will. God is a God of infinite goodness, not of vengeance; to be loved; to be worshiped for love's sake, not through fear of everlasting punishment. We believe that every man will eventually love Him, and strive more and more to serve Him."

#142 – THE STRANGER IN LOWELL – John Greenleaf Whittier

"Through discords of sin and sorrow, pain and wrong, truth rises, a deathless melody whose notes of wailing are hereafter to be changed to those of triumph as they blend with the great harmony of a reconciled universe."

#143 – THE UNITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT – John A.D. Mauricq

"In Romans 5, the justification is co-extensive with the condemnation. Since all share in one, all share in the other. If only a certain portion of the human race had partaken of the sin of Adam, only a certain portion would partake of the justification of Christ. But St. Paul affirms all to have been involved in one, and all to be included in the other."

#144 – DISSERTATIONS ON THE FINAL STATE OF MANKIND – Thomas Newton

"Nothing can be more contrary to the divine nature and attributes, than for a God all wise, all-good, all-powerful, and all-perfect, to bestow existence on any being Who He foreknows must terminate in wretchedness and misery without respite of end. His goodness could never give birth to any one being, and much less to numberless beings whose end He foresaw would be irretrievable misery; nor could even His justice inflict everlasting punishment.

God made all His creatures finally to be happy; He could never make any whose end He foreknew would be misery everlasting. God is love; infinite benevolence alone prompted Him to action, and infinite benevolence combined with unerring wisdom, and supported by irresistible power, will infallibly accomplish its purpose in the best possible manner."

#145 – THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE – Hans Christian Andersen

"I received gladly, both with feeling and understanding, the doctrine that God is love. Everything which opposes this –- a burning hell, therefore, whose fire endures forever –- I could not recognize."

#146 – LIFE – Thomas Guthrie

"St. John uses a very broad expression. 'Jesus Christ,' he says, 'is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our only, but also for the sins of the whole world.' 'The whole world. Ah,' some would say, 'that is dangerous language.' It is God's language – John speaking as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. It throws a zone of mercy around the world. Perish the thought that would narrow it by a hand's breadth."

#147 – AUTOBIOGRAPHY – LEIGH HUNT

"Are God and His ways to be represented as something so different from the best attributes of humanity? If an angel were to tell me to believe in eternal punishment I would not do it; for it would better become me to believe the angel a delusion, than God monstrous; and we make Him monstrous when we make Him the author of eternal punishment, though we may not have the courage to think so. For God's sake, let us have piety enough to believe Him better."

#148 – THE PEOPLE'S OWN BOOK – F. De La Mennais (1782-1854)

"If suffering was eternal, we should be compelled to conceive of it as independent, as subsisting by itself, or to admit something still more monstrous, for if it was not self-existent, if it was dependant on the divine will, God would be the direct author of eternal suffering.

But what Christ said is now and ever will be true:- 'Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' And one day all will come unto Him. The world, deluged with light, and feeling within itself, with the revival of hope, the revival also of faith and love, shall salute that day with songs of joy."

#149 – THE EPICURIAN – Thomas Moore

"The God of benevolence, in Whose hands sin and death are but instruments of everlasting good, and Who, bringing all things 'out of darkness into His marvelous light,' proceeds watchfully, and unchangingly to the great, final object of His providence, the restoration of the whole human race to purity and happiness."

#150 – POEM BY HOSEA BALLOU (1771-1852)

"In God's eternity
There shall a day arise,
When all the race of man shall be
With Jesus in the skies.

As night before the rays
Of morning flees away,
Sin shall retire before the blaze
Of God's eternal day.

As music fills the grove
When stormy clouds are past,
Sweet anthems of redeeming love
Shall all employ at last.

Redeemed from death and sin
Shall Adam's numerous race,
A ceaseless song of praise begin,
And shout redeeming grace."

#151 – In A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, John Wesley Hanson quotes Thomas Belsham (1750-1829).

"I affirm that there is not in the whole voluminous code of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, from the beginning of Genesis, to the end of Revelation, one single passage, one solitary text, in which the doctrine of the eternity of hell-torments is taught.
We see the triumph of God's benevolence in restoring the dead transgressor to life; in visiting him with suffering in exact proportion to the greatness of his offences; and finally, in his ultimate purification from moral stain, and his restoration to virtue, to happiness, and to God. This clears up at once all the difficulties of divine dispensations, and the belief of it fills the pious and contemplative mind with unspeakable satisfaction and delight."

#152 – In A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, John Wesley Hanson records the following words of John Prior Estlin (1747-1817).

"To a belief in the doctrine of the eternity of hell torments, I impute more absurdity, more misery, and more un-Christian conduct, than to all other false opinions put together. The effects of this doctrine, when a person applies it to himself, are gloom and despair, often terminating in mental derangement; when he applies it to others, pride, cruelty, hatred, and all the worst passions of human nature.

It certainly argues a greater degree of benevolence in the Governor of the world, after the punishment of His creatures, to restore them to His favor, than either to preserve them in misery, or to blot them out of existence.

The firm belief in the doctrine of final universal restoration, has afforded much consolation to myself during a large portion of my life; has rendered advanced years placid and serene, and enables me to contemplate death itself, notwithstanding its gloomy appearance, as one of the most essential blessings of the whole plan of Providence.

I would as a friend, advise everyone to take this subject into his most serious consideration. I would wish him to experience during the remainder of his life, all the happiness which results from the full persuasion of this delightful doctrine. I pray to God that others may experience that perpetual sunshine of the mind, that joy in the divine administration, that serenity through life, and that cheering prospect in the hour of death, which the belief in the doctrine of final universal restoration does so manifestly inspire."

#153 - In A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, John Wesley Hanson records the following words of Jung Stilling (1740-1817).

"Not a single soul will be lost. They will all – all be saved at last. The Holy Scriptures do not in one instance say the contrary. All the passages wherewith some are essaying to prove the infinity of hell torments, prove nothing further then that they shall continue an undefined time. The Hebrew word olam, and the Greek word aionios signify nowhere an infinite, but an indefinite length of time."

#154 – FOOL OF QUALITY – Henry Brooke

"And thus, on the grand and final consummation, when every will shall be subdued to the will of good to all, our Jesus will take in hand the resigned chordage of our hearts. He will tune them as so many instruments, and will touch them with the finger of His own divine feelings. Then shall the wisdom, the might, the goodness of our God, become the wisdom, might and goodness of all His intelligent creatures. The happiness of each shall multiply and overflow in the wishes and participation of the happiness of all. The universe shall begin to sound with the song of congratulation, and all voices shall break forth in an eternal hallelujah of praise transcending praise, and glory transcending glory to God and the Lamb."

#155 – OBSERVATIONS ON MAN – Dr. David Hartley

"I thank God that He has at last brought me to a lively sense of His infinite goodness and mercy to all, and that I now see it in all His works, and in every page of His Word. It has taught me to love every man and to rejoice in the happiness which our Heavenly Father intends for all; and has dispersed all the gloomy and melancholy thoughts which arise from the apprehension of eternal misery for myself or friends.

How long, or how much God will punish wicked men, He has nowhere said, and therefore I cannot tell. But this I am sure of, that in judgment He will remember mercy; that He chastens only because He loves, and His tender mercies are over all His works. God will conduct the wicked through all the afflictions which He thinks fit to lay upon them for their good, with infinite tenderness and compassion."

#156 - In A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, John Wesley Hanson records the following words of Olympiodorus (A.D. 550)

"Do not suppose that the soul is punished for endless eons. The soul is not punished to gratify the revenge of the divinity, but for the sake of healing. The soul is punished for an eonian period (aionios) calling its life and its allotted period of punishment its eon."

#157 – FUTURE LIFE - William Rounseville Alger
"Even the loathsome realm of darkness and torment shall be burnished and made part of the all-inclusive Paradise. All darkness, falsehood, and suffering, shall flee utterly away, and the whole universe be filled by the illumination of good spirits, blessed with fruitions of eternal delight."

#!58 – THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNIVERSALISTS - Ulriucus Zuinglius

"I cannot believe that the Lord will cast away from Him nations whose only crime it is never to have heard of the gospel. No, let us abjure the rashness of setting bounds to the divine mercy."

#159 – THE MYSTERY OF GOD – Gerard Winstanley

"Christ Jesus will deliver all mankind out of bondage. This I see to be a truth by testimony of Scripture, as God is pleased to teach me. But this mystery of God is not to be done all at once, but in several dispensations, some whereof are past, some are in being, and some are yet to come. The whole creation of mankind, which is God's work, shall be delivered from corruption, bondage, death, and pain. Mankind shall be by Christ reconciled to his Maker and be made one in spirit with Him; i.e. the curse shall be removed, and the power of it killed and consumed.

Truly this is according to the current of the whole Scriptures, that everyone shall be made of one heart and one spirit, i.e. that all shall be brought to obey the Father, walk humbly before Him, and live in peace and love in Him. This is the doctrine of Christ and the gospel. This is glad tidings to hear of. When you are made to enjoy this doctrine as yours, then you shall know what it is to know the Son, and what it is to be set free by the Son."

#160 – GOD'S LIGHT DECLARED IN MYSTERIES – Richard Coppin

"What is hell? Tis the separation from the enjoyment that the soul is capable of.
They shall not come forth till they have paid the utmost farthing, then shall they receive mercy. For know that God is good, and He will not punish a finite being infinitely."

Richard Coppin also wrote a work with the following long title ---
"OF THE TORMENTS OF HELL; THE FOUNDATION AND PILLARS THEREOF DISCOVERED, SEARCHED, SHAKEN AND REMOVED, WITH INFALLABLE PROOF THAT THERE IS NOT TO BE A PUNISHMENT AFTER THIS LIFE THAT SHALL NEVER END FOR ANYONE TO ENDURE"

#161 – Thomas Whittemore wrote, "Entirely upon the ground of the Scriptures, according to the views he entertained of them, Jeremy White wrote a work in defense of the doctrine of universal salvation called
THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS, OR A VINDICATION OF THE GOODNESS AND GRACE OF GOD, TO BE MANIFESTED AT LAST IN THE RECOVERY OF HIS WHOLE CREATION OUT OF THEIR FALL."

Thomas Whittemore continues, "Jeremy White believed that all are to be restored, and that we have the assurance of this truth in the character of God Who is love, to which His very anger is subservient, and that the Scriptures assure us of His complete abounding grace over all sin and all death."

#162 – REASON AND PHILOSOPHY NO ENEMIES TO FAITH – William Whiston (translator of Josephus)

"The words used about the duration of torments in the New Testament, and all over the Septuagint, whence the language of the New Testament was taken, no where mean eternity. My reasons for that opinion I have long embraced, and intimated to the world against the eternity of hell torments."

#163 – Sir Isaac Newton, commenting on Scriptures in the book of Revelation wrote

"The degree and duration of the torments of degenerate and anti-Christian people should be no other than would be approved of by those angels who had ever labored for their salvation, and the Lamb Who has redeemed them with His most precious blood."

#164 – THE PHILOSPHICAL PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL AND REVEALED RELIGION – Andrew Michael Ramsay

"Eternal Providence desires, wills and employs continually all the means necessary to lead intelligent creatures to ultimate and supreme happiness. Almighty Power, wisdom and love cannot be eternally frustrated in His absolute and ultimate designs: therefore, God will at last pardon and re-establish in happiness all lapsed beings."

#165 – From a letter to Dr. Phillip Doddridge from Henry J. Barker:

"It is so. We read it in the book of God, that word and truth and gospel of our salvation, that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Yes Doddridge, it is so. The fruit of our Redeemer's sufferings and victory is the entire and eternal destruction of sin and death for everyone. And is it not a glorious destruction? A most blessed ruin? No enemy so formidable, no tyranny so bitter, no fetters so heavy and galling, no prison so dark and dismal, but they are vanquished and disarmed; the unerring dart is blunted and broken, the prison pulled down and razed. Our Lord is risen as the first fruits of them that slept."

#166 – THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL – Paul Siegvolk

"As the centre of the whole Bible, whereat all its contents aim, is this, that by God in the beginning every thing was created very good; and that by Christ, the heavenly Wisdom, through Whom all things were created, all whatsoever is corrupted through sin, must at last be made good again. So may anyone whose eyes are opened to see clearly into this point, find a great many testimonies of this eternal truth, both in the books of the Old and New testament."

#167 – THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF HAPPINESS - Gotthelf Samuel Steinbart

"God can never punish any, more than is necessary for his reformation. He cannot mistake in the choice of His means, and must always reach His end. He would appear less lovely if one creature should be forever miserable."

#168 – APOLOGY FOR SOCRATES - Johann August Eberhard

"Punishment being an evil, cannot be employed by a good being, unless for ends whose goodness is greater than the evils suffered, and which could not be obtained without inflicting them. God punishes not for the common good only, but also for the reformation of the sufferer; which being accomplished, punishment has no further use. It was designed to influence the love and practice of virtue; and when these are produced, it must give place to the happy consequences of amendment. Punishment therefore, being a benefit even to the sufferer, when properly viewed by him, must produce emotions of love and gratitude."

#169 – HISTORY OF THE CHURCH – John Le Clerc

"Christ's judgment will be conducted so that its justice shall be seen by all. For the great diversity of crimes there will be a proportional variety of punishments, whatever they consist in. Aionios may be considered an indefinite duration to which God hath placed no limits known to us, the word sometimes signifying an AGE."

#170 - INTRODUCTION OF JOHN'S GOSPEL – Samuel Crellius

"I am persuaded that all men will be finally saved by Jesus Christ, and delivered from the torments of hell."

#171 – PHILOSOPHICAL AND CRITICAL INQUIRIES CONCERNIG CHRISTIANITY – Charles Bonnet

"It will be suitable to the spirit of the whole system of thought to set forth the pains of the wicked as aionion, or rather of an indefinite duration.

If in the Supreme Being, justice be goodness guided by wisdom; if Almighty Benevolence essentially requires the improvement of all intelligent beings; if punishments can be the means of leading to perfection; if there be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth; if there be much love where much has been forgiven: My heart leaps for joy – I am lost in admiration – what a wonderful chain of doctrines! The compassion of the Only Good is infinite – 'He desireth not the death of a sinner; but that he should turn from his wickedness and live.' God DESIRETH! – and shall He desire in vain?

The celestial heralds commissioned to celebrate by their hymns the glad tidings, were to instruct these shepherds in the object and the extent of the mission of Christ – on earth peace, good will towards men – GOOD WILL – not towards one single elected nation, but towards all the nations of the world. GOOD WILL – not to one single generation; but to every generation past and to come. The Benevolence of the Best and greatest of Beings includes all mankind, BECAUSE HE IS THE FATHER OF ALL."

#172 – THE MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM – Thomas Whittimore

"In his book THOUGHTS ON DIVINE GOODNESS, Ferdinand Oliver Petitpierre taught that men are sinners, and God punishes them with severity; but this severity is dictated by goodness, and all the punishments God inflicts are declared to be for the sinner's good.

How opposed to this is the dreadful doctrine of eternal punishment, and error which grew up under a misconception of the meaning of the word rendered everlasting. God punishes always to reform, a fact which the author establishes with the most irresistible reasoning.

'These shall go away into eonian punishment' in which the word rendered punishment, he maintains, quoting the authority of Wittenbach, and Grotius, signifies a remedial, corrective discipline. The infinite authority of God is entirely founded on His goodness.
'Eternal' punishment is real evil, an infinite evil, in which everything conspires to exclude from God's plan of the ages."

#173 – ERSKINE'S SKETHCHES OF CHURCH HISTORY records the words of John Gasper Christian Lavater.

"God is not gracious in time and cruel through eternity. Ascribe not to God, what in a human judge all would account a defect in wisdom and goodness, the punishing for the sake of punishing. It is enough my Creator, Thou art love. Love seeketh not her own; Thou seekest the happiness of all, and shouldst Thou not then find what Thou seekest? Shouldst Thou not be able to do what Thou willest?

My prayers are comprehensive. I embrace in my heart all men; present and future times, and nations, yea Satan himself. I present them all to God, with the warmest wishes that He will have mercy on them all."

#174 - WHAT IS TRUTH? ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE – Don Bast (published 2011)

"It has taken me a long time to unlearn the harmful instruction received over many years of indoctrination. It is God's word alone that is the trustworthy source of truth. The good news of the glory of our happy God (1Tim. 1:11) will expose the error and set us free from the spiritual bondage of man's creeds.

At the present time salvation is enjoyed only by those who believe; the balance of mankind will be saved at the consummation. A savior is one who actually saves. God is the savior of all mankind, not just the 'potential' savior. When the truth concerning the eons displaces the error about eternity, judgment and grace are seen to work harmoniously together till each reaches its predestined goal. All the threats of punishment to follow the judgment of the wicked can be accepted at their full, dreadful value without doing violence to our innate sense of justice, and without denying the predictions of a final victory of grace.

Someday the entire creation itself shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God, and is groaning and travailing, even now, in anticipation. We ourselves also, who have the first fruit of the spirit, we also are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our body. For to expectation were we saved (Rom. 8:21-24).

Whatever trials and troubles come our way we are assured that it is not a sign of God's anger or even displeasure. The bond of love we share with God through His Son will never be broken. His desire to please us and be with us never changes. The love of God in our hearts is our steadfast anchor through all the storms of life."

#175 – MEMOIRS OF THE PRIVATE LIFE OF MY FATHER (James Necker) – by Baroness de Stael Holstien

"Eternal punishment! Power Almighty, can they who entertain such an idea know Thee? Eternal fire for those miserable creatures who have so many combats to sustain, and are armed with such feeble weapons! Power Almighty, Thy goodness preceded our birth, it still subsists, it will subsist after we are cut off by the hand of death."

#176 – LETTER OF RESOLUTION – clergyman George Rust

"To imagine that man, for his disposition, be kept in a never-to-be-ended doom of intolerable pain and anguish of body and mind, is to fix so harsh a note upon the mercy and equity of the Righteous Judge of all the world, that the same temper in a man we would execrate and abominate."

#177 – IN A LETTER FROM WILLIAM DUNCOMBE TO REV. SAMUEL SAY

"Vindictive justice, in the Deity, is, I own, no article in my creed. All punishment in the hands of an infinitely wise and good Being, I think, must be medicinal, and what we call chastisement."

#178 – POEM by Soame Jenyns (eighteenth century)

"Oh could mankind but make this truth their guide
And force the helm from prejudice and pride,
Were once these maxims fixed, that God's our friend,
Virtue our good, and happiness our end.

How soon must reason o'er the world prevail,
And error, fraud and superstition fail!
None would hereafter, then, with groundless fear,
Describe the Almighty cruel and severe

Predestinating some without pretense
To Heav'n, and some to hell for no offense;
Inflicting endless pains for transient crimes,
And fav'ring sects, or nations, men or climbs.

None would fierce zeal for piety mistake,
Or malice for whatever tenets sake,
Or think salvation to a few confined
And heav'n too narrow to contain mankind!"

#179 – DYER'S LIFE OF ROBINSON (eighteenth century)
In a letter to a friend, Robert Robinson wrote

"These believers in eternal torment are never shocked; they never blush; but affirm, 'This is wise and just, and kind; and it will be more glorious to God to save me, and damn them to endless and unavoidable woe, than it would be to share eternal life amongst us, and we few, though we hate one another here, shall be the happier for the damnation of the rest.'

Barbarians! What arrogant madness inspires you?
Poor * honies! -- servants that know not what their Lord doth.
O my soul, to such be not thou united.
Cursed be their anger, for it is cruel.

* (definition of "honies" – "the common man without proper revelation")

#180 – SERMONS by George Walker (eighteenth century)

"Some have thought that they could not clothe the future punishment of sin with sufficient terrors, and have given therefore, such exaggerated descriptions of them, both as to degree and duration, as in the opinion of many, can no way be reconciled with just sentiments of God.

The future punishment of the wicked does, in God's nature, suppose a capacity to be relieved of it, of gradually acquiring that better state of mind, and returning inclination towards virtue, which is the first and most desirable end of all punishment."

#181 – From a letter by John Henderson to Dr. Joseph Priestly (eighteenth century)

"God hath declared that His will is that all should be saved; therefore, the doctrine which forges a contrary will, falsifies supreme unchangeable truth.

Unceasing torments can answer no possible good to anyone in the universe. I conclude them to be neither the will or work of God. Could I suppose them, I must believe them to be inflicted by a wantonness or cruelty which words cannot express, nor heart conceive.
But let this be the comfort of every humble soul, that it hath pleased God to reconcile all things to Himself."

#182 – LITERARY HOURS – Dr. Nathan Drake

"That sin and torture should be eternal can neither accord with the justice nor the goodness of Deity, and would appear to many devout Christians to convert the God they should adore and love, into a perfect demon. Fortunately, however, an opinion so repulsive is neither accordant with reason, nor the Scriptures."

#183 – MISCELLANEOUS MAXIMS AND THOUGHTS – William Matthews

"In my childhood I found it impossible to fix my belief in the common notion of endless torments. I discovered there are plain arguments from reason and Scripture against that presumptuous doctrine of endless punishment, and I am now cheered with the rational, Scriptural, and as I think, glorious doctrine of the punishment of Divine justice being eventually subservient to a universal purification and fitness for heavenly habitations."

#184 – CHRIST GLORIFIED IN THE SALVATION AND RESTORATION OF ALL MANKIND – Francis Leicester

"But the Scripture which crowns all, and the last which I shall bring into proof, is Revelation 5:13. Here all creation is at Christ's feet, and that not with tears in their eyes, or petitions in their hands, not with crying or supplications or weeping because things were hidden and kept secret; but with joy in their hearts, and praises in their mouths; with melody on their lips, and hallelujahs on their tongues; with looks and countenances full of satisfaction and delight; and their faces, instead of gathering blackness, turning into paleness, or being covered with shame and confusion (as once was the case with some of them) they all now shine as the sun, replete with light, life and love, full of ecstasy and rapture. And that because the book written within and on the backside, and sealed with seven seals, is now opened and unsealed, and all things revealed and explained: their own cases particularly unfolded to their view, with all the ways and means their loving Saviour took to bring them to the situation they are now in, with other miracles of grace and love.

Where then there is universal praise and thanksgiving, universal harmony and love, and both heaven and earth sounding and resounding acclamations of joy and peace, there must be universal salvation."

#185 – Anna Letitia Barbuald, widow of Rev. Rochemont Barbuald wrote
"Rochemont's favorite doctrine was the final salvation of all the human race. He preached many sermons on this doctrine, which he defended both in the pulpit and in conversation with zeal and enthusiasm, which his congregation and his friends cannot but well remember."

Anna further commented, "I think it would be desirable to separate from religion that idea of gloom, which in this country (England) has but too generally accompanied it.
No one who embraces the common idea of future endless torments, that sins committed against an infinite Being do therefore deserve infinite punishment, no one, I will venture to assert, can believe such tenants, and have them often in his thoughts, and yet be cheerful.

Surely this age (the eighteenth century) which has demolished dungeons, rejected torture, and given so fair a prospect of abolishing the iniquity of the slave trade, cannot long retain among its articles of belief, the gloomy perplexities of Calvinism, and the heart-withering perspective of cruel and never-ending punishments."

#186 – AN ESSAY ON UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION; TENDING TO PROVE THAT THE GENERAL SENSE OF SCRIPTURE FAVORS THE OPINION OF THE FINAL SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND. – Rev. John Brown (eighteenth century)

In UNIVERSALIST MISCELLANY, commenting on that work, William Vidler wrote, "He considers the genuine import of the words and phrases which are though to prove the endless duration of punishment, which he contends do not necessarily bear that sense, and he touches upon the usual topics of argument by which universalism has been defended."

#187 – CONVERSATIONS ON THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT – Theophilus Lindsey

"The doctrine of eternal torments is a millstone that Christians hang around the neck of the Gospel. The words translated 'eternal,' 'everlasting,' 'forever,' and the like, generally signify limited periods of duration.

Everything is from God, and for the good of all. All things, good as well as what we call evil, are appointed by Infinite Wisdom and Benevolence, for the wisest and most gracious purposes for everyone."

#188 – About Dr. Joseph Priestly, Thomas Whittimore writes in THE MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM

"He believed that God's punishment will not be administered with the slightest tincture of revenge, but as a necessary means of qualifying the sinner for a better state of existence, which his present propensities disqualify him from enjoying. It is not the effect of anger in an irritated and avenging tyrant as the abominable tenets of orthodoxy would induce us to think of the Deity, but it is the medicine administered for our good by the Physician of our souls. Nor have we any reason to believe that it is greater in degree, or longer in duration than is necessary to produce the beneficial effect for which it is inflicted.

It was a constant source of great consolation to him, that all thing exist and move on harmoniously to produce universal good by Divine appointment and direction."

#189 – In an introduction to his translation of the New Testament, Nathaniel Scarlett wrote
"It has been a means of propagating the doctrine of endless damnation, which states that God will kindle a fire, and so constantly supply it with combustible matter, brimstone, by His all creating power, as to endure as long as He Himself shall exist; and that the subjects of future punishment, being raised incorruptible and indissoluble, shall for the same period endure burning in the lake of fire, God having no end in view but the endless misery of His creatures.

The editor hopes the translation he has given will help to remove so degrading an idea of God, Who is love; and although He will afflict the wicked in the lake of fire and brimstone; yet He has a great and grand design in so doing – punishment being a means to accomplish an end, and not the end itself."

#190 – In a letter to a friend, James Edmands (nineteenth century) wrote

"The death of Christ ensured the restoration of all as a result. Men are now in the hands of a Mediator, Who deals with them as rational and accountable beings, and afflicts, whether here or hereafter, only in order to bring them to a deep sense of their own folly, and then restores them to His favor. Those who love and believe in Him in this life, are the first fruits, and those who do not will be the harvest or ingathering."

#191 – Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.)

"God's justice is, of itself, nothing but goodness; for it rewards the virtuous with blessings, and conduces to the improvement of the sinful. God's punishment is, in its operation, like medicine: it dissolves the hard heart, purges away the filth of uncleanness, and reduces the swellings of pride and haughtiness; thus restoring its subject to a sound and healthful state.

The necessary chastisements of the Great Judge, Who regards all with benignity, will make mankind grieve for their sins and imperfections, and advance them through the various states of discipline to perfection. Even God's wrath is full of benevolence towards the human race; for whose sake the Word of God was made man. The chastisements of God are always salutary and instructive, leading to amendment."

#192 – Origen Adamantius (185- 254 A.D.)

"The end and consummation of the world will take place when all the wicked shall be subjected to punishments. How long each one shall suffer God only knows. The great variety of characters and different orders of beings which now exist, will, through the goodness of God, their subjection to Jesus Christ, and the unity of the Holy Spirit, be finally restored. As the sick must be cured by harsh medicines, so God administers for the purpose of amendatation.

Our God is a consuming fire. He shall come as a refiner's fire, to purify rational nature from the alloy of wickedness. Rivers of fire are said to go forth before the face of God for the purpose of consuming whatever of evil is admixed with the soul. (Dan. 7:10).

We assert that the Word, Who is the Wisdom of God, shall bring together all intelligent creatures, and convert them to His own perfection. We deny that of all the vices of the soul, there is any which the supreme Word cannot cure. For the Word is more powerful than all the diseases of the soul; and He applies His remedies to each one, according to the pleasure of God. And the consummation of all things will be the extinction of sin.
This may not, indeed, take place with mankind in the present life, but be accomplished after they shall have been liberated from the body."

#193 – AGAINST THE MANICHEANS - Titus of Bostra (written 364 A.D)

"The abyss of hell is indeed the place of torment; but it is not eternal. The punishments are holy, as they are remedial and salutary in their effect upon transgressors; for they are inflicted, not to preserve them in their wickedness, but to make them cease from their wickedness."

#194 – Gregory of Nyssa (335-390)

What is the scope of St. Paul's dissertations? That the nature of evil shall, at length, be wholly exterminated, and divine immortal goodness embrace within itself every rational creature; so that of all who were made by God, not one shall be excluded from His kingdom. All the viciousness that like a corrupt matter is mingled in things shall be dissolved and consumed in fire; and everything shall be restored to its pristine state of purity.

In 1Cor. 15:22-28, the apostle Paul declares the extinction of all sin, saying that God will be All in all. For God will be truly All in all only when no evil shall remain in the nature of things. All evil must at length, be entirely removed from everything, so that it shall no more exist. For such being the nature of sin, that it cannot exist without a corrupt motive, it must, of course, be perfectly dissolved and wholly destroyed, so that nothing can remain a receptacle of it, when all motive and influences shall spring from God alone.

As the devil assumed a fleshly shape in order to ruin human nature, so the Lord took flesh for the salvation of man; and thus He blesses not only him who was ruined, but him also who led him into perdition; so that He both delivers man from sin, and heals the author of sin himself."

#195 – Didymus, the blind, of Alexandria (313-398 A.D.)

"As mankind, by being reclaimed from their sins, are to be subjected to Christ in the fullness of the dispensation instituted for the salvation of all, so the superior rational intelligences, the angels, will be restored to obedience by correction.

The blasphemy which shall not be forgiven in this age, nor in the age to come, may have been the blinded Jews; and their punishment, that which came upon them when they were delivered up to the Romans, and scattered over the whole earth. They will be pursued with vengeance from the Lord, not for a short period only, but for the whole future age, so that they shall be captives and fugitives, wandering among all nations, and possessing neither city nor country. Nevertheless, as God Who overthrew them is naturally kind and compassionate, He hath still reserved for them a space for repentance."

#196 – COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT – Jerome (347-420 A.D.)

"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.

#197 – AVITUS and BASIL, A GRECIAN (approx. 410 A.D.) together taught

"Future torments are not endless; for although they are called everlasting, yet that word in the original Greek, does not, according to its etymology, and its frequent use, signify endless, but answers only to the duration of an age; so that every sinner, after the purification of his conscience, shall return into the unity of the body of Christ.
The devil himself will at length be saved, when all his wickedness shall have been subdued.

#198 – Theodorus of Mopsuestia (350-428 A.D.)

"All sins will be wiped away, because a true remission consists in the remission not of some sins but of all of them, as the blessed John said: "Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." This, however, will take place fully in the next world when after the resurrection we shall be immortal and when all the impulses of sins will cease. This is the reason why the blessed Paul also said: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised, and if Christ be not raised your faith is vain and ye are yet in your sins." He shows in this that in the future resurrection from the dead we are expecting complete abolition of sin.

"When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of the sin is the law." Then will truly take place the abolition of all these: of death, sin and corruption."

#199 - John Scottus Eriugena (810-877 A.D)

"There will be a conscious return (reditus) and merging of all beings into God. No souls (including the souls of animals) will be left out of this grand return. No one will be damned to suffer forever in hell or wither away into oblivion. There can only be a single destination for all: eternal salvation in God, the whole of humanity as in the image of God eventually to be restored to its divine exemplar. The object of punishment is not the will of the individual himself, but the misdirection of the will, so the result of punishment is the final purification and redemption of all. Even the devils shall be saved. The ultimate goal is deificatio, theosis or resumption into the divine being, when the individual soul is raised to a full knowledge of God, and where knowing and being are one."

#200 – THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS – Jeremiah White (1613-72 A.D)

"God's love demands that all punishment be reformative, Divine punishment is both good in itself, because everything that God does is good, and good for those being punished, because God loves His creation"

#201 – BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html
"Passages of Scripture Sometimes Quoted to Prove Endless Punishment
Shown to Teach Consequences of Limited Duration, showing that Christian universalism, or ultimate reconciliation is the true Biblical doctrine."

Arguably, this is the most helpful link on the internet for people who want to believe that the Bible, (literally, not interpretively) translated, teaches universal salvation, not eternal torment, or even annihilation.

#202 - AIÓN – AIÓNIOS – ("shown to denote limited duration") John Wesley Hanson
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html

The etymology of the Greek word aionios does not contain the meaning of everlasting.

"THE VOCABULARY OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT (edited by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan) is helpful. Concerning aionios we read, "In general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . ." (p.16). If the horizon of the extermination spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is simply not in view, then we can see that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can truly occur. The same all who are dying in Adam, which includes some who incur eonian extermination, can indeed eventually be vivified in Christ. The Bible, in fact, does not speak of judgment and condemnation, death and destruction, hades and Gehenna, or any of these serious consequences of sin, as unending. It may refer to them as not having the end in view, but none of these fearful works of God can keep Him from achieving His will (1Tim.2:4); reconciling all through the blood of Christ's cross (Col.1:20, and becoming All in all (1 Cor.15:28)."
Dean Hough

#203 - AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS – Louis Abbott
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.html

Regarding the words translated "forever and ever."

"There are several analogous expressions in the Scriptures which should show the meaning of the words under discussion. In Ex. 26:33 (LXX), tou hagiou ton hagion, "in the holy of the holies." This is similar to the "eon of the eons" of Eph. 3:21. In IKings 8:6 (LXX) we see, eis ta hagia ton hagion, for "the holies of the holies" - similar to "eons of the eons." The "holy of the holies" and "holies of the holies" refer to the tabernacle. Psalm 44:7 says, ho thronos sou ho theos, eis ton aiona tou aionos, "Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of eon"-similar to Heb. 1:8. Daniel 7:18: "until eon of the eons" and similar to that of Eph. 3:21, where a singular is followed by a plural, "eon of the eons." In these expressions we see the eons corresponding to the holies in the tabernacle.

While there are many different teachings on the types in the Tabernacle of Moses, it should not be too difficult to see that there were at least five divisions: (1) without the camp; (2) in the camp; (3) in the court; (4) in the holy place; and (5) in the holy of holies. These may be likened to the five eons we find in the Scriptures (past eons, present eon, future eons). The last eon is called the "eon of the eons," because it, like the "holy of holies," is the climax of the others. In Hebrews chapter 9, the Greek text of Nestle reads (margin v. 25), eis ta hagia ton hagion, "into the holies of the holies," and (v. 3), hagia hagion, "holies of holies." Just as the two holy places in the tabernacle are called the holies of holies, so the last two eons are often called the eons of the eons.

As the tabernacle illustrated man's approach to God, it corresponds closely with the eonian times, which also brings man to God. The "holy of holies" was a single holy place. The "eon of eons," a single eon. It was the pre-eminence of the "holy of holies," in relation to the other holy places, which caused it to be so designated. So the pre-eminence of the "eon of the eons" lies in its being the fruitage and harvest of previous eons. The same is true of the "holies of the holies" of Heb. 9:25. They may be likened to the "eons of the eons" of Rev. 11:15; 22:5."

#204 – A MESSAGE FROM GARY AMIRAULT
(that I will be posting on many websites)

"Hell is a myth! Jesus Christ saves all mankind. That is the growing view of Bible scholars, translators and Bible publishers. Hell is leaving the pages of many Bible translations.

Bible scholars and church historians are acknowledging that early Christians were taught by Jesus and the apostles that ALL mankind would ultimately be saved. Discover how the heathen concept of Hell crept into the church and then on to the pages of many Bible translations.

Tentmaker Ministries website contains hundreds of articles and books explaining how this happened and its horrible effect on mankind. We also make available many other resources for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.

Experience your heavenly Father's unfailing love for you. Be set free from the fear that you or a loved one may be eternally damned to Hell."

Gary Amirault, Tentmaker Ministries.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #1

Sooner or later "God will have all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4)
It is God's "pleasure" that all mankind be saved.
And "God is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11).

Change it to read "in accord with the counsel of what He wants" if you like.
Because God says
"My counsel shall stand.
I will do all my pleasure
(the saving of all mankind is part of the pleasure that God wants)
Yea I have spoken it.
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it.
I will also do it."
Isaiah 46:10,11

Job 23:13 "But He stands alone, and who can oppose Him?
He does whatever he pleases.
(the saving of all mankind is part of what He wants that pleases Him).

Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
(the saving of all mankind is part of all of which God desires or wants)

So we see God does all His pleasure, He does whatever He pleases, and His word accomplishes that which He desires.
His pleasure, that which He desires and pleases Him is what He wants.

His will = What He wants
What does He want?
THE SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND
Why will it happen?
Because God Himself will see to it that it gets done.

Any cooperation towards our salvation is the result, not the cause of God laying hold on us by His saving grace and causing Jesus to be "choice" in our heart, just like it was in the case of Lydia and Saul of Tarsus.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #2

Everyone who is cast into the lake of fire which is the second death will be saved out of it.
Greek scholar William Barclay wrote concerning kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) in Matthew 25:46
"The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. There is no instance in Greek secular literature where kolasis does not mean remedial punishment. It is a simple fact that in Greek kolasis always means remedial punishment. God's punishment is always for man's cure."
See what other Greek scholars say about it too.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter11.html

Fifteen literally translated (not interpretively translated) Bibles that reveal what God will do with the sinners in Matthew 25:46

Concordant Literal, Young's literal, Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham's Emphasized, Scarlett's, J.W. Hanson's New Covenant, Twentieth Century, Ferrar Fenton, The Western New Testament, Weymouth's (unedited), Clementson's, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, Bullinger's Companion Bible margins, Jonathan Mitchell's translation (2010).

Regarding the meaning of aionios, many Greek scholars agree with John Wesley Hanson.
AIÓN – AIÓNIOS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.shtml

SEE

THE SCHOLARS CORNER THE CENTER FOR BIBLE STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
http://www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #3

GRACE OVERWHELMS

What I perceive to be a basic issue.

People who don't think salvation is 100% by God, not just 100% "provided" by God like to be in the hands of their own "free" will. That is where they feel most secure.

IMO, that is a basic difference between ETers and URs.

Just like in the case of Lydia (whose heart the Lord opened, Acts 16:14) and Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-8), our cooperation to be saved is the result, not the cause, of God laying hold on us by His sovereign grace and causing Jesus to be "choice" in our heart.

The timing of the salvation of everyone is under God's sovereign control, some sooner, the rest later.

HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE - James Coram
CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE
biblical studies: His Achievement Are We - Part 9 - Choosing What Is Choice
http://www.concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchievement/HisAchievement009.html
"No one to whom Christ is not yet choice can choose Christ.
And Christ cannot be choice to anyone to whom He has not yet been made choice.
When He is made choice He becomes choice and so is choice; or to say the same thing, He is chosen.
This first act of the believer in which Christ is consciously chosen, is merely a consequence of his new mental preference which has been graciously granted to him by God."