Biblical Basis for the Hope of Apokatastasis
Steve Chiara
MA in Christian Apologetics, Biola University
Apokatastasis, from Acts 3:21, means the restoration of all things... including all human beings.
The purpose of this article is to provide a list of scriptures that have been used in support of apokatastasis. I've included an index, followed by the text of each scripture with my own comments. For the New Testament list, I've front loaded them with my own personal favorites and the Old Testament verses are arranged in order as they appear in the Bible.
Preliminary Statements-
Let me preface this first by saying that there are several things that as Christians we desperately want to affirm about God. This is evident by how and why we worship Him. We want to say that He is a 'Good, Good Father'... that He has 'Reckless Love' for us... that His gospel is Too Good to Not Believe... that there's ONLY love in the 'Heart of God'... that we were made to love Him ('I Was Made to Love You')... that 'Hell Lost Another One'... that "The Lord is Gracious and Compassionate" (Ps. 145:8-10). We want to be able to tell those that we are witnessing to, "You are a Child of God, that God will never fail (Firm Foundation), that He dearly loves you!"... that He will go to any depth to find us (Luke 15:4c He searches for the lost sheep until it is found)... that death CANNOT seperate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39)... that we are 'Never too Far Gone"... that He will NEVER give up on us... that His love is UNconditional... that He is MIGHTY to Save... that He is light and in Him there is NO darkness at all (1 John 1:5)... that He is love itself (1 John 4:8, 16) and that He loves our loved ones much, much more than we do even when they don't know how to love Him back (1 John 4:19).
These ideals about God are a natural outflow of the doctrine of apokatastasis (or Christian Universalism; CU) but under the doctrine of everlasting conscious torment (ECT) they are only limited truths that need to be carefully defined and qualified. A repeated mantra I've heard many times from those that hold to ECT is "God is love BUT he is also... " just/holy/righteous etc. They do this to carefully redefine the word "love" and to limit its reach.
As Christians, we need to know that God's love really is boundless. As Psalm 136, repeats 26 times, "His steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 30:5 says his anger lasts but a moment but his favor for a lifetime. Let's not flip this on its head and declare that His favor lasts just a moment (a mere human lifespan) but His anger is everlasting. We need to know that it is okay to let our hearts believe that the gospel actually really is good news! Good news! Honestly, how is it "good news" (or the 'Best News Ever' to quote MercyMe) to believe that the ultimate destiny of many, many of our loved ones and acquaintances (not to mention the majority of all humankind) is excruciating, hopeless despair, and never-ever-ending torment?
The fact is that there is very good biblical support for CU, although it may be difficult to swallow at first because we have been trained by our tradition to ignore (or reinterpret through the lens of ECT) the passages in support of it and not educated of the fact that many early Christians believed it (not all but, yes, the large majority as even admitted by Augustine). It will, for sure require a paradigm shift in thinking about scripture and God but the evidence has always been present.
Just as our perception of the image above can switch from an old lady to a show girl, our understanding of the nature of God can switch as well when one undergoes a paradigm, or gestalt shift. This is why there are so many passages that can be cited in support of CU. It is all throughout the bible but the veil has to be removed to see what the scriptures are actually saying. It requires an acknowledgement of which is the prevailing ideal about God... love or judgement. Derek Vreeland says in his book, Centering Jesus, "God is not love and ALSO [emphasis mine] justice and judgement. Rather, God is love who displays his love in acts of justice and judgement" (pg 115). If the purported justice and judgement rendered by God cannot be understood as loving, then it cannot be from God.
Keep these things in mind as we examine a positive case... some of the biblical testimony in support of CU. A response to the passages commonly used in support of ECT (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:10 and others) may be given at a later point as it is beyond the scope of this article. However, check out the links below for help with this concern as well as avenues for additional study.
Further resources:
Grace Saves All podcast with David Artman. I recommend starting with the beginning episodes where he systematically lays out the case for apokatastasis.
Check out John Crowder's YouTube channel below. He just finished (mid October, 2024) a series on apokatastasis. It is excellent!
While I don't agree with everything he puts out, I do give credit and thanks to Keith Giles for his convenient listing of several scriptures in support of apokatastasis in his wonderful book, Jesus Undefeated (page 37 and Appendix B on page 181). Here's his list online:
Let's jump in! Here's an index of all the scriptures in this article followed by the text of each scripture with my comments. You may notice there are a couple of instances where I put letters a and b beside a listed number. That is because I added additional verses and I didn't want to renumber the whole list.
New Testament
1. 1 Timothy 4:10
2. 1 John 2:2
3. Philippians 2:10-11
4. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
5. Romans 5:15 - 6:2
6. 1 Cor 15:20-28
7. 1 Cor 15:54b-55
8. Romans 8:38-39
9. Romans 11:32-36
10. Titus 2:11
11. 1 Timothy 2:3-4
12. 2 Peter 3:9
13. John 1:13
14. John 12:32
15. Romans 12:17
16. Matthew 5:44-47
17. John 19:30
18. Luke 23:34
19a. Matthew 12:7
19b. Matthew 13:33
20. Matthew 16:18b
21. Romans 8:20-21
22. Romans 11:26
23. 2 Cor 5:19-20
24. Acts 3:21
25. Luke 2:10
26. John 17:2
27. Hebrews 1:2
28. Hebrews 2:9
29. Hebrews 8:11
30. Hebrews 12:6-11
31. John 6:44
32. John 1:9
33. John 13:3
34. Ephesians 1:9-23
35. Colossians 1:15-16
36. Colossians 1:19-20
37. Colossians 1:27-28
38. Galatians 3:8
39. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
40. 1 John 4:14
41. John 12:47b
42. 1 Cor 13:8a
43. Luke 18:26b-27
44. Luke 1:47
45. Philippians 3:21
46. John 3:35
47. John 6:33
48. Luke 15:11-32
49a. Matthew 18:12-14
49b. Matthew 19:26
50. James 2:13b
51. Rev 5:13
52. Rev 15:4b
Old Testament
53. Genesis 3:22-23
54. Genesis 12:3b, 28:14
55. Genesis 22:18b
56. 1 Chron. 16:34
57. Ps. 22:27, 29
58. Ps. 24:1
59. Ps. 30:4-5
60. Ps. 65:2-3
61. Ps. 66:3-4
62. Ps. 86:9
63. Ps. 136:1-6
64. Ps. 138:4
65. Ps. 145:8-10
66. Ps. 145:16
67. Ps. 145:17
68. Isaiah 25:6-8
69. Isaiah 26:9
70. Isaiah 40:5
71. Isaiah 45:21-25
72. Isaiah 52:10
73. Isaiah 57:16
74. Lam 3:22-23
75. Lam 3:31-33
76. Hosea 6:1-2
77. Joel 2:28a
New Testament Witness
1) 1 Timothy 4:10- "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of ALL people, especially of those who believe."
In what sense is God the savior of people who are never saved? If Paul did not intend what it clearly seems to say, then it is hard to understand what his intention was. After all, it says "especially," not "exclusively." God is the savior of all of humanity, not just current believers. When they finally put their trust in Jesus, all will participate in salvation.
2) 1 John 2:2 "He is the atonement for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."
3) Philippians 2:10-11 - "...so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth [he's covering his bases here; the knee of every single person in all the universe whether physically dead or alive], and that every tongue will [openly and joyfully] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Please fact check me at blueletterbible.org (this is an antagonistic witness in line with ECT) to see that the Greek word for confess in verse 11 is Strong's G1843- exomologeō which means to confess or profess, acknowledge openly and joyfully; to one's honour: to celebrate, give praise to; to profess that one will do something, to promise, agree, engage. It does NOT mean to confess begrudgingly, with gritted teeth, under threat of torment, which is how it was taught to me in my high school years (at Christ's Church of the Valley, San Dimas, CA).
Combine Philippians 2:10-11 with Romans 10:9 and you have, what I feel is a very powerful combination... "...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." By the way, the Greek word for confess in Romans 10:9 is Strong's G3670- homologeō which is a less intense form of the word than is found in Philippines 2:11. So if you are "saved" when the less intense form of the verb is used, how much more so with the more intense form!
4) 2 Corinthians 5:14-15- "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
5) Romans 5:15 through 6:2 This is a big one, hang in there with me... Please read entire passage before proceeding.
See especially verse 15- "But the gracious gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many" [emphasis mine; please note the symmetry here].
Did you catch that? Much more. How is it 'much more' if what Paul really means to say is that only a tiny fraction of those that are condemned in Adam are redeemed in Christ? In that case, Adam's offense has certainly triumphed over Christ's righteous act. The phrase is repeated in verse 17 as well, highlighting the far exceeding superiority of Christ's redeeming act of righteousness compared to Adam's act of unrighteousness.
And see especially verse 18- "So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind [emphasis mine].'
David Bentley Hart comments on this verse, "[Paul] is saying: that just as one transgression... brought condemnation to all human beings, so by one rectifying act... all human beings receive a rectification of life... The strict proportionality of the formulation... is quite clear, here and in the surrounding verses: just as the first sin brought condemnation and death to absolutely everyone, so Christ's act of righteousness brings righteousness and life to absolutely everyone. ... the plain meaning of the verse is that of universal condemnation annulled by universal salvation" (The New Testament: A Translation, Hart, David Bentley, comment "r" on Romans 5:18).
Vs 20 "...but where sin increased grace abounded all the more."
Death, sin, and offense are no match for the grace in Christ Jesus.
Then in 6:1-2, because of everything Paul just said, he gives caution so people don't misunderstand him. He does this because once people get a hold of the idea that God doesn't condemn them for their sin, God's grace is now seemingly open to abuse! And this is actually true. His grace is open to abuse... in a way. People may feel that they can now "sin all they want" and God still will not condemn them; God's grace abounds all the more!' True... however, just as if you decide to take a nap in the middle of the street you will probably get squashed, you still will reap the natural consequences of your sins. This is simply an undeniable truth of what Paul explains in chapter 5.
It is in light of that truth that Paul rounds out this understanding in chapter 6. What needs to be recognized is that sin itself is what ensnares and enslaves us (6:6). Sin is a coin of two sides, one is pleasure (of some kind) and the other is death and judgement. This is so easy to see in alcoholism or addiction of any kind. Death and judgement are not imposed externally from God, they are the natural outgrowth of sin. This is what God saves us from. He saves us, not only from the consequences of our sins but from our sins themselves. If the consequences of our sins are not realized and recognized in this life, so that we abandon the sin and let Jesus heal us, then they will eventually be recognized in the next life.
6) 1 Cor 15:20-28. Take the time to prayerfully read the entire passage before proceeding.
See especially v 22- "For as in Adam ALL die, so also in Christ, ALL will be made alive" and v 28- 'When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.'
This verse has been described as Origen's (c.185-253 AD) master key to his exegesis of universalism. (See interview of David Bentley Hart on this point, at 1 min, 40 sec: https://youtu.be/V63TYBflvrk?si=9stMRD4ae6RgEOmJ).
In what sense will God be "all in all" and in what sense will all things be "subjected to him" if the majority of mankind will forever be in open rebellion against Him in Hell? Was Paul actually trying to say, "so that God may be all in a very tiny fraction of 'all' that He has made!"? A little anticlimactic for my taste.
7) 1 Cor 15:54b-55- "...then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
If vast multitudes will be burning forever, 'Death' would simply say, "You see those billions upon billions of souls right over there... writhing in anguish and hopeless misery? There's my victory, that's my sting. An eternal, everlasting, living monument of my victory!"
8) Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
See that? Death cannot seperate us from God's love. Similar to 1 Corinthians 13:8 "Love never fails" (number 42 in the list). Nor any other created thing... Last I checked we are created things, so no, not even ourselves, using our "free will" will ultimately be able to separate us from the love of God.
9) Romans 11:32-36
See especially vs 32, "For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all." [Notice the symmetry].
This is a perfect example of how, given ECT, the word 'all' in the phrase 'mercy on all,' has to be carefully defined and limited but given CU, the natural, organic understanding of the word is given full weight and authority.
After making the above statement in v 32, Paul goes into an effusive doxology in verses 33-36 to celebrate praising God for His triumph over the human problem of disobedience, sin, separation, suffering, and death. Verse 32 is the conclusion of a very long argument Paul has been making from the beginning of the book of Romans.
[Aside: Keith Giles points out that Paul is using a rhetorical device called prosopopeia. This is where an imaginary, absent, or dead person is represented as speaking or acting for one position so that it can be pitted against the position you're advocating for. This begins in Romans 1:18-32 where Paul launches into a tirade against sinners using the voice of the prosopopeian antagonist. He then begins his counter in Romans 2:1 with, "Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things."
Paul goes back and forth throughout Romans this way concluding that section with 11:32.]
And see especially vs. 36- "For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."
All things must necessarily include all people.
10) Titus 2:11- "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people." The NIV puts it this way, "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people." The only problem with that is that they inserted the word "offers" into the text. It is not there in any original manuscript.
Read the next four verses together...
11) 1 Timothy 2:3-4 "This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
&
12) 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
&
13) John 1:13- "[Children of God] were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
&
14) John 12:32- 'And I, if I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself. '
Please note, the word 'draw' here is elkuso (Strong's G1670), the same word used in John 21:6 to describe Peter 'dragging' his net full of fish onto the shore. Jesus is not asking permission. He will get it done (but not against anyone's will, please don't misunderstand).
...So God's will (His desire) is for all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4) and that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9) and children of God are born only due to God's will (John 1:13; God is the efficient cause; not anything to do with the will of man). From these three premises it follows that God will (eventually) draw all people to Himself (John 12:32).
Read the next two verses together:
15) Romans 12:17- "Repay no one evil for evil"
But...
16) Matthew 5:44-47 "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ... 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
I love the above passage because Jesus is inviting us not to retaliate or 'get even' so that we will be like our God who does not do that sort of thing. Instead, while He is seated on His throne, He issues His judgement, which is: "Father forgive them. They know not what they do." And this was while we were murdering Him (Acts 5:30). The Father, of course obliged, as seen by His tearing of the veil... opening up direct access to Him for all us sinners.
17) John 19:30- "It is finished"
The hour of judgment is complete... And the next verse (below) declares, ex cathedra, His final verdict on humanity...
18) Luke 23:34- "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
19) Matthew 12:7- "And if you had known [really known] what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless."
Here, Jesus is scolding the Pharisees about condemning His disciples, but the principle applies more broadly to our knowledge and acceptance of God. If we really knew God... who He truly is, we would not have condemned and crucified Him, nor would we ever turn Him away from entering our hearts and changing our lives.
19b) Matthew 13:33- He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
20) Matthew 16:18b- "...and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [the church]."
This is a statement regarding the offensive capabilities of Christ's Church. It invades Hell and rescues captives out of it. ('Hell lost another one!'🎶)
21) Romans 8:20-21 "For the creation was subjected to futility —not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it —in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children."
'Creation itself' would include all people.
22) Romans 11:26- "And in this way all Israel will be saved..."
I would contend that this doesn't just mean all the Israelites who happen to be alive at the time.
23) 2 Cor 5:19-20 "... In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
God has reconciled the whole world to himself and no longer counts anyone's sins against them. We have all been set free but if you don't know you're free then you might as well still be in bondage... Like a prisoner who doesn't know his cage door is unlocked. This is why Paul implores his readers, "Be reconciled!" For the lost, this self-inflicted bondage continues even after death until they acknowledge their need for Christ, repent, and come to the Father. See my discussion of Romans 5:15-6:22, #5 in this list, as it is discussing this same point.
24) Acts 3:21- Through Jesus is the "restoration of all things [apokatastasis], which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning."
25) Luke 2:10- "And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news [the gospel] of great joy that will be for all the people.'"
Read the next two together:
26) John 17:2- "...since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him."
&
27) Hebrews 1:2- "God has appointed Him [Jesus] heir of all things and made the universe through Him."
... So Jesus gives eternal life to all whom the Father has given him (John 17:2) and the Father has given him all things (Heb 1:2), therefore Jesus gives (or will give) eternal life to all things.
28) Hebrews 2:9 "But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."
How might he be tasting death for those that will forever be experiencing death? They will be tasting it for themselves.
29) Hebrews 8:11 "And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest."
30) Hebrews 12:6-11 "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated [emphasis mine], then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Note verse 8 where the writer says that all have participated in God's discipline (therefore all are sons and daughters). Also verse 10- God's punishments are for our good; intended to bring us into right relationship with Himself... not to destroy or torment us forever.
As to the question of whether everyone is really a child of God (although many, of course do not act like it... they are more like prodigals), in the sermon on the mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) Jesus repeatedly invites the crowds, full of random people, to refer to God as their Father... "When you pray, pray like this: 'Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name... '" This shows that Jesus thought of everyone as an actual child of God.
Also, in the genealogy of Jesus, in Luke 3, it starts with "Jesus was known as the son of Joseph, Joseph was the son of Heli, Heli was the son of..." etc, etc... all the way finally to " ...Adam was the son of God." This shows that we are all part of the same family... with God as our Father.
Also in Ephesians 3:15 it says, "every family in heaven and on earth is named" after God the Father.
31) John 6:44- "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."
So, given Arminianism, does God draw everyone to Himself, but some people's wills are stronger than God's so that they end up rejecting Him?
32) John 1:9- "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
33) John 13:3- "...the Father had given all things into his [Jesus's] hands. "
34) Ephesians 1:9-23
See especially v9-10, "...making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."
All things in Him. All things must necessarily and especially include all people. The clause, 'things in heaven and things on earth' is an abbreviated version of the clause he uses in Philippians 2:10, "of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth," but it means the same thing, everything in all of creation.
And see especially v22-23 [not in Giles' list] "And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."
There's that expression again, all in all.
35) Colossians 1:15-16 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him."
36) Colossians 1:19-20 "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
Similar to Ephesians 1:9-10
37) Colossians 1:27-28- "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
38) Galatians 3:8 "All the nations shall be blessed."
39) 1 Corinthians 3:11-15- "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."
Thomas Talbot- comments (here's the link):
(I give credit to 'Origen' [a pseudonym], at the Evangelical Universalist for his article that led me to the above source.)
40) 1 John 4:14- "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world [literally, kosmos]."
As author and pastor Brian Zahnd likes to say, 'The world... the whole world, will certainly be saved because Jesus is the savior of the world.'
41) John 12:47b-"...I did not come to judge the world [kosmos] but to save the world."
42) 1 Cor 13:8a "Love never ends." Or another translation, "Love never fails."
Similar to Romans 8:38-39 (number 8 in the list).
Read the next two together:
43) Luke 18:26b-27 ""Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”"
&
44) Luke 1:37 "For nothing will be impossible with God.”
45) Philippians 3:21- Jesus will, "even... subject all things to himself."
46) John 3:35- "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand."
47) John 6:33- "For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Kosmos" in greek.
48) Luke 15:11-32 Parable of the prodigal sons. This passage while not explicitly universalist nevertheless has strong universalist undertones. For example, the father was disrespected by his son by him saying, in effect, 'I wish you were dead and I want your stuff.' (This is even more pronounced given the fact that they lived a very highly honor based society.) Nevertheless, the father, who was quite well-to-do and highly respected, debased himself by girding up his loins to run out to meet his son. Vs. 20- "And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him." The father cut his son's apology short to order his servants to slaughter the fattened calf to celebrate the fact that his son, who "was dead" (vs 23, 32) nevertheless came back to life.
The other prodigal was out in the field and instead of going in himself to inquire about the music and celebrating, he summoned a servant (vs 25). When he learned it was to celebrate the reunion of a lost brother, he refused to go in (vs 28; kinda sounds like 'outer darkness') so his father went out to him. When I hear the objections from the church about the idea that everyone will eventually be reconciled, their responses are strikingly similar to the older brothers response in that parable.
I understand this to mean that the first prodigal represents those that are judged to be too far gone to be saved because they have died (see vs. 23 & 32). The second prodigal represents the churched folks who make the judgements about the first prodigal and refuse to go in to celebrate their eventual repentance. The father, of course, represents God who implores both sons to go in, celebrate and be part of the family.
49a) Matthew 18:12-14- Lost sheep: there's a total of 100 signifying completeness. One is lost and the shepherd looks until it is found, bringing the number back to 100... every single last one is at home and safe.
49b) Matthew 19:26
Starting at vs. 25:
25 "When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Remember the greater context here. This is on the tail end of the interaction with the rich young ruler. Jesus tells him to pray the sinner's prayer and invite Jesus into his heart and he will be saved (or something like that 😉) but he walked away because he didn't want to give up his riches.
Jesus then exclaims to his disciples "How difficult it will be for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!"
Astonished, the disciples ask in verse 25, "Who then can be saved?"
In answer to this question Jesus says, "With man this is impossible, but with God, ALL are possible." As my friend Rob has said many times during our 'Bibles, Burgers, and Bros' Wed night studies, the Greek word for "All" (pás) means... drum roll please, "ALL"
Here's something interesting though... The word "things" isn't there in the original Greek.
See: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/19/26/t_conc_948026
It is an interpretive decision to put the word "things" there. In context Jesus is obviously referring to (at the very least) people. Even if there were some grammatical reason (I took one semester of biblical Greek, so I'm not an expert by any stretch) for interpreting pás to refer to "things" instead of specifically "people," "things" is a broader term that of course, includes "people."
Notice also that Jesus did not say, "With man it is impossible, with God it is impossible, but with man and God together (now that's the secret sauce!) ALL are possible." The rescue of mankind is not a collaborative effort. Salvation of Man is because of God, by God, through God, and for God... But I digress.
50) James 2:13b- "Mercy triumphs over judgment."
51) Rev 5:13- "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea [similar phrase is used in Philippians 2:10-11, #3 in this list, and Ephesians 1:10, #34, which undeniably means every creature in all of creation] and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
52) Rev 15:4b- "All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
The Old Testament Witness-
53) Genesis 3:22-23 "Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken."
God banished Adam and Eve from Eden because they might take of the fruit of life and live forever... in a fallen, lost state. God will not permit this. He would not permit it for Adam and Eve and He won't permit it for the vast majority of humankind. This is not so much a verse in support of CU as it is a verse against ECT.
54) Genesis 12:3b, 28:14- "...all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Ephesians 3:14-15 is very similar which says, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named."
55) Genesis 22:18b- "...all the nations of the earth be blessed"
56) 1 Chron. 16:34 "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."
57) Ps. 22:27, 29 "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive."
The above passage reminds me of Philippians 2:10-11.
58) Ps. 24:1 "The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein."
59) Ps. 30:4-5 "Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."
Again, let's not flip this on its head and declare that His favor lasts just a moment but His anger lasts to infinity (literally).
60) Ps. 65:2-3 "O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions."
61) Ps. 66:3-4 "Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4 All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.”
Immediately after it says that all God's enemies will submit themselves to Him, it literally says all the earth shall worship and sing praises to Him. That sounds like salvation to me.
62) Ps. 86:9 "All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name."
63) Ps. 136:1-6 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever"
This phrase, "His steadfast love endures forever" repeats 20 more times in this Psalm alone. To balance out this understanding of God, do a fact check... Google search: 'His anger lasts forever Bible verse' (which is exactly what eternal conscious torment entails) and see what you get.
64) Ps. 138:4 "All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth."
This makes me think of when Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Ps. 138:4 seems to be saying that at some point, all the nations will finally have ears to hear. Also, the above psalm is similar to Philippines 2:10-11, Ephesians 1:10-11, Gal 3:8, etc.
65) Ps. 145:8-10 "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. 9 The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. 10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You."
66) Ps. 145:16 "You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing."
67) Ps. 145:17 "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works."
68) Isaiah 25:6-8 "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken."
69) Isaiah 26:9 "For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."
70) Isaiah 40:5 "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The above verse makes me think of Matthew 5:8 when Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I don't think either verse is saying that people will literally see God with their physical eyes. It's talking about an understanding... an appreciation for who God really is. Consider John 1:18, "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." Compare that to what Jesus said in Matthew 11:27, "no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
All of that to say, that Isaiah 40:5 is declaring that all flesh, everyone, will see who God really is and in doing so will be saved. Also see Isaiah 52:10; #72 below.
71) Isaiah 45:21-25 "Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. 22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ 24 “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”
72) Isaiah 52:10 "The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."
73) Isaiah 57:16 "For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made."
We know that God's anger is always just. If God's just anger was finally satisfied, as the above verse seems to indicate, then justice was served (satisfied) and punishment would cease. If people are writhing and burning forever in Hell how could it be said that God is no longer angry with them?
74) Lam 3:22-23 "Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."
75) Lam 3:31-33 "For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow."
76) Hosea 6:1-2 "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him."
This shows the intent of God's punishments. It is for the good of those punished (see also Hebrews 12:10, #30 in this list). Eternally torturing people could never serve for their good.
77) Joel 2:28a "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh."
If all flesh receives the outpouring of the Spirit, then all flesh will be saved.
Auxillary-
Yes, it is appointed for man once to die once, and after that comes judgement (Heb 9:27)... but that does not mean God will torture those don't know Him forever. We have been trained to read it that way and that is far more than what the text can bear.
You tube video: Peter Hiett how one biblical annihilationist became a universalist, 14 minutes 34 seconds in he references a Greek word theon which means brimstone or divinity. He references Sodom and Gomorrah being burned by divinity and in 1 Peter (I think I'm not sure where actually) it says that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was an example of aionios fire. I'm sure this could be used somewhere in this article. Just as light destroys the dark, and truth destroys lies, love destroys enemies not by annihilating them, not by torturing them forever, but by transforming those enemies into friends.
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