Response to Universal Reconciliation Opposition - Part 15

It's been a long time since publishing Part 14 as I was getting tired of writing from a critical perspective rather than continuing to explore the wonder and extravagance of God's love, mercy and provision for his entire creation.

However, I must complete this assignment as I plan to use this series of posts as the source material for an appendix to a second edition of "The Really Good News About God" in the next year or two.

This is the fifteenth (and final) in a mini-series of posts responding to the arguments offered by Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Dr Arnold) against God's plan to eventually reconcile and save all His creation.

His arguments against Universal Reconciliation (UR) are offered under five headings, the fifth of which is e. The Contradiction to Scripture. (see a previous post "Opposition to Universal Reconciliation" here) 

Under the e. The Contradiction to Scripture heading Dr Arnold states that the fifth argument is that any form of universalism is directly contrary to Scripture and cites Matthew 25 : 46, John 5 : 29 and Revelation 22 : 11 - 15 to illustrate his assertion.

I find it interesting that anyone should say that the plan of the God of love and mercy to reconcile the world to Himself could be directly contrary to Scripture, when Scripture so clearly says things like:

(God our Savior,) who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
[1 Timothy 2 : 4  NIV]

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[1 Timothy 4 : 10  NIV]

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[Colossians 1 : 19 - 20  NIV]

So whatever is cited to make "the contradiction" point will almost certainly be not relevant to the topic, wrongly translated or wrongly interpreted. Let's look at Dr Arnold's verses.

Firstly, Matthew 25 : 46

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." [NIV]

I have mentioned this verse and the whole teaching of Jesus that includes it (Matthew 25 : 31 - 46) in several previous posts and devoted an entire post to it here in 2013.
In brief, this verse does not contradict the universal reconciliation verses as it addresses the judgement of nations prior to the establishment of the Christ's Messianic kingdom (the Millennium) - not individuals at a "last chance" final judgement.

Secondly, John 5 : 28 - 29

Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. [WEB]

As we have stated many times during this mini series, and most recently in Part 14, judgement is not the end of the road for anyone. It is a step on the way to "rehabilitation" and subsequent reconciliation to God.

Thirdly, Revelation 20 : 11 - 15
The most relevant verse in Dr Arnold's position is verse 15.

If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. [WEB]

The lake of fire has been discussed in several previous posts and an introduction to the topic was here in 2010.

Malachi Chapter 3 describes God as being like a refiner's fire and launderer's soap used for refining and purifying, and Paul has a similar description in 1 Corinthians 3 : 10 - 15.  
In brief, and to be consistent with God reconciling all mankind to Himself, I see the lake of fire (actually fire and brimstone/sulphur) as a picture of the cleansing and purifying process God uses to prepare everyone for eternity.

Dr Arnold's "contradictory verses", if relevant to the universal reconciliation discussion at all, can be seen as complementary to God's ongoing process of "reconciling to himself all things", rather than negating it.

Blessings, Barry

Future Study and Posts

Just a quick post to let you know I am still here and actively studying the Scriptures, although I haven't added to this BLOG for several weeks.

The reason is two fold.
I feel I have written about as much as I can over the last 10 years or so exploring the reconciliation of the universe that God planned before creation and that Jesus guaranteed through his death and resurrection 2000 years ago.

Nevertheless, I hope to start publishing revised versions of some previous posts later this year, and maybe even publish a revised/expanded version of the book, The Really Good News About God, next year.

The second reason is that my current study has been almost exclusively on eschatology (end times) and I will shortly begin sharing some of my thoughts on the workspace site at https://barrysworkspace.blogspot.com as mentioned in a December post last year.

Some of this research may also cause additional revision of previous posts and chapters of the book as well - as a growing follower of the Lord you never stop learning.

In the meantime, if readers have suggestions for the revision of any previous posts, please make comments (in English) on the post itself and I will respond.
(Some of the comments I have had on previous posts have been in languages other than English and I have been unable to respond to them. Sorry)

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Blessings, Barry

A Fearful Experience

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10 : 31  ESV)

What is the most fearful experience you've had?
Being sent to the Principal's office for the first time, not knowing what you'll face having heard horror stories/fantasies from others?
Being diagnosed with a serious illness, not knowing what can be done about it having heard bad stories from others with a similar diagnosis?

Have you thought about standing at the Great White Throne, not knowing what your fate might be and having heard "destroyer" stories from sermons in churches about eternal torment or annihilation using Hebrews 10:31 (among others)?

Of course it's fearful!
There is no place to hide when you have to honestly face yourself and your life being revealed by the all-knowing God.
And you don't know him ...
So you have no idea that He is loving, forgiving, merciful, and has planned for everyone to be saved.

You don't know Jesus has dealt with your sins, so you don't know God is no longer holding your sins against you.
All the fear you experience is internal because of these unknowns.

But what do you discover at the Great White Throne?
Yes, you deserve punishment as all guilty criminals do before a court judge.
But, you discover that your penalty has already been paid for you.
You are saved !! - saved from punishment and further embarrassment.
    

When you fall into the hands of the living God, you are a sinner who is really falling into the hands of a loving God (who will certainly want to clean you up a bit with a visit to the lake of fire before you move on).

This is the picture that Jesus paints for us about his and our father when he told the parable of the Prodigal Son. The returning son was fearful as he fell into his father's hands, yet there was no better place to be.

He fell fearfully into the hands of the forgiveness, healing and restoration of his loving father, who ordered a radical change in his dress and appearance in preparation for the celebrations about to take place.
   
Rembrandt captured this truth in a beautiful painting called "The Return of the Prodigal Son" - a picture of a sinner in the hands of a loving God.
This painting should be hung prominently in every Christian church in the world.

The anticipated fear of appearing before the living God will be swamped by love and forgiveness - the acceptance and celebration of the God who is love - because of what Jesus has already accomplished on our behalf.

Blessings, Barry

Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

 

Jesus Kingdom Parables

Even though Jesus directed his parables specifically to Israel in the first century AD, there is much that we can learn from them.
I appreciate there is great danger in creating theology from those parables, or his miraculous events. 

To illustrate this let's consider a farcical example.
Take two cases of Jesus' healing ministry as recorded in the Gospels.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
[Mark 8 : 23 - 25  NIV]

and

After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.
"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means "Sent"). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
[John 9 : 6 - 7  NIV]

Theological conclusion?
How about this?
If you want instant healing you must use mud.
Indeed we could go further and absurdly suggest that the first two Christian denominations could be created from such theology - the muddites and the anti-muddites.

Although we need to be careful not to use parables to create our theology, parables can be interpreted and applied in various ways.
Some people consider one way is the correct way and any other ways are incorrect.
However I suggest that most ways have value and show different aspects of the teaching Jesus is presenting in the parable.

A bit like looking at a mountain. You get different views when looking from different sides or looking up from the bottom or from half way up or from an aeroplane or an overhead drone.
All the views are different. Not one is right and the others wrong. But just different views - each giving a bit more information about the mountain.

Let's consider a different interpretation than is usual for a mini-parable Jesus told.
The disciples knew from Jesus’ teachings that He was constantly talking about the Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God as some New Testament writers called it).

So they asked Him to tell them what the Kingdom of Heaven was like.
Matthew Chapter 13 records nine parables Jesus used to answer their question.
We’ll focus on the one described in verse 44.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. [NIV]

May I suggest this mini parable (one verse) has at least two views.
The usual interpretation is that the kingdom of heaven is such a precious treasure that we, like the man, should give up everything we have to lay hold of it.
Of course, that’s absolutely true.
—but possibly that is not what Jesus was talking about on this occasion when answering the disciples’ question about what the kingdom was like.

What if this isn’t a parable about something we must do to possess the kingdom?
What if we are not the man in the parable.
What if Jesus is talking about himself?
What if Jesus is the one who finds the treasure and buys the field?
What if we human beings are the treasure?
What if the field is this world, as Jesus described it in an earlier parable?
And what if it is Jesus who gives up everything He had to purchase this world and reclaim it as His possession?
What if that’s what the kingdom of heaven is actually like?

Our Concept of Salvation Enriched
This second way of looking at the parable gives us another way of looking at the gospel of salvation.
Probably, for the first thousand years of Christendom this view was likely the more common way of understanding the concept of salvation.
It is sometimes described as Christus Victor (Christ the Victor).
 
Today the more common view of salvation is penal substitution: that is, Jesus died in our place to pay for our sins.
It’s not that Christus Victor is right and penal substitution is wrong.
They simply represent different ways of looking at the gospel.
God’s work of salvation is so great, like a huge mountain, that we must view it from many angles to gain a more comprehensive picture.

Interestingly, as Augustine put it centuries ago, Christ is both Victor and Victim.
By becoming the Victim and dying on the cross, he also became the Victor by defeating sin and Satan there, being resurrected three days later to conquer death, then ascending to the Father to establish his kingdom.
That used to be a more common way to understand the gospel of salvation.

Other Biblical Support for Christus Victor View
This view of the parable of the treasure in the field – that we are the treasure Jesus found and bought – is supported in other parts of Scripture.
Indeed, this short parable seems to condense several verses about Jesus’ death found in Hebrews and Paul’s letters:

.... is so happy that he goes ...

—“because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, ...”
(Heb. 12:2  GNB).

.... and sells everything he has ...

—“of his own free will he gave up all he had ...”
(Phil. 2:7  GNB).

.... and buys that field

—“You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price.”
(1 Cor. 6:19–20  GNB).

Just in passing, let’s note that Jesus didn’t just purchase the treasure, he bought the whole field – the whole world.
The kingdom of heaven contains the treasure and the rest of the field. Which again can also be supported Biblically:

“And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone.”
(1 John 2 : 2  GNB)

“Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself.”
(Colossians 1 : 20  GNB)

Penal substitution is certainly one way to understand the gospel, but so also is Christus Victor. They both contribute to our understanding of the extent of God's love for this fallen world.

Blessings, Barry

Keeping Christ in Christmas

 

Ho! Ho! Ho! It's Christmas time again - the season when we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.

However, I hear the name of Santa far more frequently than the name of Jesus during this season.
Even though they have some similarities, they have profound differences.

The most important being that Santa comes with gifts only for "good" people
(just ask the children you know) whereas Jesus comes with a special gift for
"bad" people called sinners (just ask a Bible reader you know).

Let's enjoy the wonderful happiness and excitement that family, Santa and gift-giving bring, but let's also appreciate and embrace the hope and joy of eternal life that Jesus brings.

It is Christmas! And the reason for the season is in its name.

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas season and a healthy New Year. Barry

Universal Reconciliation is Wrong IF

Universal Reconciliation is the understanding that the entire creation will eventually be reconciled to God.
This understanding is clearly wrong ...

IF Jesus did not die for the sins of the whole world.
But the Bible says that he did.

And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone.
[1 John 2 : 2  GNB]

IF God is still planning to make us pay for our sins.
But the Bible says God no longer keeps account of our sins.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.
[2 Corinthians 5 : 19  NIV]

IF Jesus was always addressing eternity in his teachings.
But the Bible says he was solely focused on the kingdom.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
{Matthew 4 : 23  NIV]

IF the disciples and the Jewish crowds were also into eternity-thinking.
But the Bible says they were also totally kingdom-focused.

He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
[Luke 9 : 2  NIV]
Then they gathered around him and asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
[Acts 1 : 6  NIV]
"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
[Mark 11 : 10  NIV]

IF our English translations of the Bible really forecast eternal punishment.
But more accurate, literal translations of the Bible correctly speak of conditions in relation to the kingdom Age.

And these will go to the chastening of that Age, but the just to the life of that Age.
[Matthew 25 : 46  DBH]
And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.
[Matthew 25 : 46  YLT]

I'd rather believe the Bible, and especially an accurately translated one, which teaches that God's love motivated him to send Jesus to save us, not judge us.

For God did so love the world, that His Son—the only begotten—He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.
For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him;
[John 3 : 16 - 17  YLT]

And since belief (or faith) is required, it will need to be given to everyone for God to achieve his revealed purpose - just as it has been given to many of us already.
(Believers in the current age are the firstfruits of the great harvest to come.)

How could God, who is love, which was demonstrated so clearly on the cross, want anything less for his creation than reconciliation of all? 

In a nutshell:

With all wisdom and understanding,
he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure,
which he purposed in Christ,
to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—
to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Ephesians 1 : 8 -10  NIV]

Blessings, Barry

Births and Deaths

Revelation 20 : 14 declares that the lake of fire is the Second Death.

Many Christians believe this lake of fire is a place of eternal torment or annihilation for those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by the time they complete their earthly lives.

I struggle with this belief for many reasons, but mainly because of God's character:

Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. ... for God is love.
And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.
[1 John 4 : 7 - 9  GNB]

and His declared purpose for His creation:

Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.
[Colossians 1 : 19, 20  GNB]

(There are three previous posts discussing the Lake of Fire which can be found by placing "Lake of Fire" in the search box on the right.)

So what is this death that the Bible calls the Second Death?
Surely a sensible starting point might be to discover and understand what the first death might be.

There have been so many differing opinions offered throughout the centuries regarding the first and second deaths. I have read several of them, but I have yet to find one that supports my offering here. If there are others that offer something similar - terrific - I just haven't found them yet; if not then my offering may be brave and leave me open to some challenge.

Nevertheless, let me share my thoughts that have been strengthening over recent years, and let's begin even further back with what the corresponding "births" might be.

The First Birth is our physical birth with its condition inherited from Adam
    
➧ we are born spiritually dead, not alive to God, indeed maybe hostile to God
➧ we are mortal, physically dying from the moment we are born
➧ both aspects of death apply to everyone as we are all related to Adam.

Therefore, just as sin entered into the cosmos through one man, and death through sin, so also death pervaded all humanity ...
[Romans 5 : 12  DBH]

The First Death is the physical death that all humans experience because we were born under Adam's legacy.

➧ although this death is certain, it is only temporary as we will all be resurrected at some stage in the future.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
[1 Corinthians 15 : 21, 22  NIV]

➧ however after this physical death we will still be spiritually dead - unless we've been born again beforehand.

As the Scriptures say: "There is no one who is righteous, no one who is wise or who worships God. All have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is right, not even one.
[Romans 3 : 10 - 12  GNB]

The Second Birth is a spiritual birth, called "being born again" or "being born from above" or "being in Christ".

This birth involves some big changes, for example:
➧ moving from spiritual death to spiritual life

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. [Colossians 2 : 13  NLT]

➧ becoming a new creature in Christ

Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.
[2 Corinthians 5 : 17  GW]

➧ becoming dead to sin and alive to God

... you also must regard yourselves as dead in relation to sin, but as alive in relation to God, because you are in Christ Jesus.
[Romans 6 : 11  Weymouth]

➧ receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit

And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.
The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
[Ephesians 1 : 13, 14  GNB]

The Second Death is a spiritual death, the death of everything that offends God.

➧ includes the offences to be removed from those who have not had the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit involved in their lives (as those who have experienced the second birth will have by that time).
    
➧ includes the death of Hades (the realm of the dead) and Death itself.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of fire; this is the Second Death--the Lake of fire.
[Revelation 20 : 14  Weymouth]

When the Second Death has finished its work it will no longer be needed.

For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet. The last enemy to be defeated will be death.
[1 Corinthians 15 : 25, 26  GNB]

And the result of the Second Death's work?

But when all things have been placed under Christ's rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.
[1 Corinthians 15 : 28  GNB]

Anyone like to discuss my definitions of births and deaths?
Please use the Comments section below - I am a keen seeker of truth and always prepared to discuss and refine or reshape my views.

Blessings, Barry