Principles of Judgment – Part 1
Luke Kessler

Judgment.  It doesn’t sound good, it never sounds good.  When Christians think of judgment Hell is usually what comes to mind.  We usually connect it to the lost who have rejected Christ (or at least never put their faith in Him).  They have not possessed that special grace our Lord extended to us when He died on the cross for our sins, grace that moves us out from being under the condemnation of the law.

But Judgment is a large topic and is the special focus of this series of blogs.  So we are going to begin to look at it in more detail.  We have already seen some foundational things that are necessary to begin understanding God’s judgment – the 3 stages of salvation and a look at the righteousness (holiness) of God.  Its now time to begin looking at Judgment.

Judgment Begins With God’s People

To begin, where does Scripture say Judgment begins?  It might surprise you!  Peter says that judgment must begin with the house of the Lord!  As we noticed in the blog on God’s Righteousness, this is b/c a breach of love demands judgment in order to be restored to the purity of union it had before the breach.  And though God loves the whole world His elect enjoy a far more special and intimate love with God than the rest.  Thus ourrebellious ways and our failures demand judgment.  That is why God says,

“Those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:5,6; Proverbs 3:12)
and,

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:19)
We ought not to think that b/c we are saved and have communion with God that we are excluded from judgment.  On the contrary, because of our close proximity to God we are judged all the more for our disobedience.

“You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amos 3:2)
This judgment of God’s chosen people can further be seen all through Scripture in every instance that God’s people forsook Him and followed after the idols of their hearts (we also have idols; success, possessions, relationships, self, etc…).  Each time they failed God would judge them with disasters, plagues or captivity, until they repented and returned to Him with their whole heart.

God’s people have a high calling – to demonstrate to the lost the nature and character of God.  Thus the shortcomings of any saint demands discipline in order to prevent them from being an evil witness of God.  And God accomplishes this through making us take up our cross daily in order to truly follow Him (Luke 9:23).  Suffering/discipline is part of God’s process of growing us up, maturing us into His image.

“…[do not] be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.”  (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3)
“For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,” (Philippians 1:29)
And so Paul says,

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.  But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.  For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:26-32)
Lets take a minute to ponder that section of verses.  While it is not my intention to expound on the great mystery that communion is (in a word it is the fellowship of His sufferings), I would like to take note of some aspects of communion that apply to the topic at hand.

Firstly, communion “proclaims the Lord’s death, until He comes.”  This is to say that when Christ returns and raises His elect from the dead they will no longer need to proclaim His death, b/c they will now be proclaiming His life.  So how do we proclaim His death?  By following His example of crucifying the flesh (see Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:1-51 and Peter 2:21).  We must die to our self and in so doing we are seen to be imitators of Christ.  Communion symbolizes this because it is a partaking of His body – which was broken for us – and His blood – which was poured out for us (1 Corinthians 10:16,17; Luke 22:19).  We are now that body which must be broken (Romans 12:4; 1 Corinthians 12:12-20; Ephesians 2:16, 4:4; Colossians 3:15, etc…) and it is our blood (life) that now must be poured out (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6).  This is the fellowship of His sufferings that Paul spoke about (Philippians 3:7-11).

Secondly, we must “examine” ourselves.  That is why we must not fear the exposure of those areas of our lives that are selfish and carnal.  Paul said elsewhere that we must test (or examine) ourselves to see whether we are truly in the faith – 2 Corinthians 13:5.  He employs the same Greek word in both cases.  This examination, this testing is to prove what areas are of Christ’s character and what are not.  And in so doing we are to then “judge the body,” that is judge our fleshly nature.  In doing so we will avoid being judged by God against our will.  For Paul says, “if we judged ourselves we would not be judged by God.”

And lastly, if we judge ourselves “we will not be condemned along with the world.”  That Greek word translated “along with” means “together with” or “to accompany.”  In other words it does not mean that we will avoid condemnation if we judge ourselves now, it means that we will avoid receiving our judgment at the same time that the unbelieving world receives their judgment (see also Luke 12:46 for the same principle).  This will be more clearly seen when we look at the Lake of Fire and the 2 resurrections.  To say it another way, we wont receive the humiliation of our corrective judgment at the same time that the unbelieving rebellious world receives their corrective judgment – IF we endure it now.  We have the chance to grow up first through discipline.  To abort such discipline now will be to prove ourselves no more mature than the unbelieving, rebellious world.

There must be judgment, whether we are of God’s household or not.  Those who put themselves in the position of being judged, of having their sinful nature exposed and crucified, will endure it humbly and with grace.  Those who refuse to accept that they must be judged will have to endure their judgment with angst and hostility.  The latter will be suffering against their will, they will therefore have the added horror of that pain being an inescapable and unrelenting violation of their will and desire.  Their will being overridden like this will produce the added discomfort of confusion, such people will be unable to understand why they are suffering such a hard (and seemingly harsh) judgment.

Those who understand the cross and that judgment IS necessary will be able to accept and receive its violence and fire with much more tolerance and grace.  They will know that it is for their good.  There will be love seen in it.  Those who do not – will feel it is something hostile towards them (and indeed it is, hostile towards our selfish nature/flesh that is).  They will have a much more difficult time enduring it than those who understand the purpose and necessity of the cross.

This makes Peter’s statement make much more sense when he says,

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)
Thus, the first thing we ought to understand is that Judgment begins with God’s people.
Judgment Corrects
The second thing we should know is that Judgment is corrective not punitive – this will become much clearer as we look at the various descriptions of judgment in Scripture in the next few blogs.  Judgment corrects; God’s heart is to restore the sinner, not damn them.  He restores through corrective discipline which we understand as judgment.  Scripture confirms this many times,

“You have appointed them for judgment, You have marked them for correction.” (Habakkuk 1:12)
“When the earth experiences Your judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9)
“It was good that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:71)
“Your judgments are right…in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” (Psalm 119:75)
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” (Psalm 119:67)
“Happy is the man whom God corrects, therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.  For He bruises but He binds up, He wounds but His hands make whole.” (Job 5:17-18)
Judgment produces repentance, it makes us painfully aware of our faults and failures.  Many times we become confused when we suffer trials and afflictions, we cannot understand why this is happening to us.  But when our eyes are opened to see where we were wrong and that God was bringing discipline to correct us and to train us – we repent.  When you train up a child to be obedient and good, you must teach them through discipline (spanking).  Once they begin to understand the purpose of their discipline they stop their foolishness/disobedience.   In effect discipline causes children to repent.

Repentance by the way doesn’t mean to say your sorry, it means to turn around 180 degrees.  So that where you were going one way before, now you are going the opposite way.  When we repent we are turning away from that which we were doing (or the way we were going) and we turn our backs to it and walk towards what is right.

When a child learns through discipline to stop being naughty, they in effect are displaying true repentance.  We too learn correction and repent (turn around) through discipline/judgment.  And though it seems harsh and even opposed to grace (or our flawed idea of grace as a free ticket out of punishment), it is actually “God’s kindness (grace) that leads us to repentance.” (Romans 2:4)

True Justice Demands a Finite Judgment

The third thing we ought to discern about judgment is that it has a limit.  God demanded a limit on every punishment prescribed for sin in the Law.  I believe that the “Spirit of the Law” as Paul referenced reveals that true justice for a crime has a limit.  Even in our horrifyingly perverted justice system, if someone were to be given a life sentence, or worse yet a death sentence, for stealing a cell phone – we would consider that unjust.  To punish someone severely for such a minor offense is not true justice.  So it is with God’s Law.

True Justice Demands Restoration of both the Victim and the Criminal.
The fourth thing we desperately need to learn is that true justice restores the victim and the criminal.  This is a topic far too broad for me to detail in full, but suffice it to say that the judgments in the Law for each transgression had a unique process by which the transgressor was reformed.  The only example I am going to highlight is the law concerning theft.  (There are a multitude of other examples in the Law, I simply do not have the time or space to teach this.  But anyone who is willing to brave the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy will be able to discover them easy enough.)

The Law prescribes that a thief had to pay double what he stole.  Most likely he stole b/c he couldn’t afford the item himself, so there was no way he could pay back double.  And so the Law prescribed that a man who could not pay double was to be sold for his transgression in order to pay it off.  But this wasn’t permanent, the Law of the Jubilee demanded that he would only be able to work until the Jubilee set him free from all his debts (we will look at the prophetic significance of that in the next series).  What happened was a criminal would be sold into servitude to whoever had the most generous bid.  So say someone said, “I will pay off his double debt and he only has to work for me for two years.”  This not only restored the victim, but it also taught the thief a trade by which to make an honest living so he could afford the things that before he would have had to steal. The same principle is found in all the rest of the laws and their penalties.

Therefore it is clear to me that the Spirit of the Law is concerned not only for the victim but also the sinner.  And I do not think this is overstepping what we know of God’s heart towards the lost and depraved.  And if every sin is to be judged by God’s Law, God’s standard, then looking at the other principles of Judgment we have looked at I am convinced that the idea of sending a sinner away to be tormented for eternity is NOT true justice.  Rather it is a monstrous perversion of not only God’s heart, but His Law, which is what all true justice and judgment are based upon.   The idea of endless hell will provide neither restoration of the victim nor the sinner.

Justice is impartial and unbiased, it attributes equal value to all people.  The reason forgiveness is such an important issue with God is b/c according to His Law the criminal will eventually be rehabilitated and the victim will cross paths with him again.  In such a case forgiveness is crucial.

When I see people punished for certain mistakes, I have a lot compassion for them especially if they feel remorse for their mistake.  I believe that true discipline only works if the one being punished is comforted after said punishment.  Otherwise it just breeds resentment.  To comfort after discipline establishes that it came from a heart of love and not hatred.  And I know that the compassion in my heart is a million times smaller than the compassion in God’s heart.  Perhaps this is why God reminds us in the Law that the sinner should still be treated with dignity.

“He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes. (Deuteronomy 25:3)
For those with ears to hear the Spirit of the Law declares that endless punishment is anything but just.

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

The last thing I want us to walk away with concerning God’s judgment, is that even though,

“Judgment will be merciless to those who show no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13).
God is a God of love and grace, and though He judges, He will not judge forever, and His judgment is to correct us from a heart of love.  So that no matter how severe the judgment is, He will eventually have mercy on the suffering soul.  And compared to His mercy, His wrath will be but a moment.

“His wrath is but a moment, but His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 30:5)
He cannot deny His nature and He is the all wise Father; He knows what judgments will be most effective in turning His wayward children’s hearts back to Him.  Judgment is and always will be His tool for doing so.

Conclusion
I hope that what we have looked at so far gives you a much clearer idea that judgment will not be endless (even in the afterlife), but will be used to restore the sinner back to God. We will look at more principles concerning Judgment (Part 2) at the end of this series, but before we do there are a few items we must look at first.  If God’s Word truly is perfect, and I believe it is, then this concept should be confirmed by the imagery and language used to describe judgment in the after life – and that is exactly what we will find. In the next blogwe will look at “The Lake of Fire,” the one actual description of what we could call Hell.

Principles of Judgement – Part 2

 

In this series on judgement we have looked at every description of judgement Scripture gives us; and we have seen how in every instance it points towards restoration and life.  Judgement is never final, it is never the end.  The end is always life; the very life of Christ.

We also saw at the beginning of this series some principles concerning judgement; namely that, 1 – judgement Begins with the House of God, 2 – Judgement Corrects, 3 – True Justice demands a Finite judgement (there is a limit to all judgement), 4 – Judgement restores the victim and corrects the sinner, and finally 5 – Mercy triumphs over judgement.  We also saw in the last blog another principle: 6 – the Law upon which all judgement is founded will one day pass away.

This blog will be a continuation of those principles and will present a few final ones related to judgement to conclude the series.  In this blog we will look at the fact that; 7 – judgement is Good, 8 – Mercy is built into the Law (especially as it concerns the Law of the Jubilee), and 9 – that the Law cannot override the Promises of God (a.k.a the Old Covenant upon which all judgement will be administered cannot trump the New Covenant and its promises of restoration).  So lets get right into it.

Judgement is Good

We have seen previously how God’s judgements are based upon His Law; and His Law demands mercy to be administered in judgement and protects the rights of both the victims and the criminals.  This is because God is Good, He is not vengeful nor is He cruel.  He is compassionate and extremely merciful to all His creatures.  So His judgements are designed to bring restoration to the victim and correction to the sinner.  This is why Paul says of the Law,

“So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good…For we know that the Law is spiritual,” (Romans 7:12,14)

Have you ever noticed that before?  The Law is Good!  Even though the Law is the source of so much condemnation and death; it is still Good!  The reason it is good is because it condemns sin, and therefore condemns our old fallen nature.  And the sentence it gives our old man is death.  And the remedy to our fallen, broken situation is the death of all that is corrupt within us.  Let’s look at a bit more of that passage above,

“What shall we say then?  Is the Law sin?  May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law…for apart from the Law sin is dead…and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.  So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.  Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me?  May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.  For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.” (Romans 7:7-14)

That passage can be very confusing and is hard for some people to wrap their minds around.  But it is quite simple.  The Law is good, giving us the right way to live and act towards God and our neighbour.  But any failure/sin results in the penalty of death.  This is why Paul rhetorically asks, “If the Law results in me paying the penalty of death…how is the Law still good?”  The answer as Paul shows is because the only thing that fails to keep the law is a sinful nature, therefore the Law puts SIN to death.  Sin does not have our best interests in mind, nor the interests of our neighbour – therefore the Law is good because it condemns sin in the flesh.  It demands that that old man/nature must be put to death; and its death will liberate us from its bondage so that we are free to live to God in the newness of life and His Spirit.  So even though we are fallen, sinful creatures with a wicked nature within us the Law is still spiritual and good.

Seeing that God’s Law is good we can infer that His judgements (which are based upon His Law) are also good.  His judgements, which are the outworking of His Law, puts our sin to death.  His judgements kill that old, fallen, wicked nature within us.  And it is ONLY the old nature within us that is put to death.  That part of us that is created in God’s image remains.

For God is Good and Loving and Merciful and therefore He begets His nature in us before He kills our old man.  This is in order that as the Old Man passes away by the judgements of the Law, the New Man comes to life and grows within us; even as Christ was begotten and grew within Mary.

Some may say, “well the lost do not have Christ growing in them.”  And I will agree that they do not… at least for now.  What they also don’t have is the fullness of God’s judgement falling upon them…at least for now.   All judgement for unbelievers will begin at the Great White Throne judgement; and it just so happens that their judgement will take place after,

“Every knee bows and every tongue confesses Jesus Christ as Lord.”  (Philippians 2:10,11)

And since Scripture says that “if you confess Jesus Christ as Lord you will be saved,” (Romans 10:9) the great mass of unbelievers will have God’s nature begotten within them before they are subjected to the judgements of the Law.  Therefore as they endure the refining fires of God’s Law this Scripture will be fulfilled in them,

“though [their] outer (old) man is decaying (passing away), yet [their] inner (new) man is being renewed day by day.”  (2 Corinthians 4:16)

So in the end all judgement is Good.  It will bring an end to our wayward ways.  And leave only that very image of God within us which is created in righteousness.

The Law of the Jubilee

The Law also has, built right into it, the liberation of all who incur its wrath.  For no matter how awful the crime and no matter how awful the punishment, the Law of Jubilee trumps it all.  For in the Law no punishment could extend beyond the Jubilee, where every man was set free from his debt to return to his inheritance.  In the Law all sinners were to make restitution to those they wronged.  If they were unable to pay the penalty they were sold for their iniquity in order to pay it off; a.k.a – they were sold into slavery, bondage.  Remember what we just saw Paul mention above, about how we are carnal?

“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin?”

He also says that,

“we are enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:6,14,20; see also John 8:34)

Therefore the Law is prophesying of something spiritual; because “the Law is spiritual.”  This is actually a very extensive study, one which we don’t have time to look at in detail;  however, for now, I will just mention that in Scripture all sin is reckoned as a debt.

“forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4; compare with Matthew 6:12)

“Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,” (Isaiah 50:1; see also Exodus 22:1-15)

All mankind has been sold into bondage because of our sin debt, more accurately, due to Adam’s sin.  There is a parable in Scripture concerning Adam and how because of his sin he owed an impossible debt; and,

“since he (Adam) did not have the means to repay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had.”  (Matthew 18:25)

Adam had dominion over all the earth, and now all creation along with all mankind (his offspring) are all in bondage to corruption.  BUT!!!  Since the Law is spiritual, the Law of Jubilee therefore applies to all mankind and even all of creation; for,

“The Law is a shadow of good things to come.” (Hebrews 10:1)

The Law of Jubilee is speaking of something far greater than liberation from earthly slavery, it speaks of the liberation of our bondage to sin.  Within the Law of Jubilee is the Law of the Kinsman Redeemer.  Any one who was sold into slavery had the right to be redeemed before the Jubilee by a near Kinsman.  Christ is our Kinsman Redeemer.  He came in the flesh that He might be called our Kinsman (a.k.a – related to us in our humanity; see Hebrews 2:14-17; John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 John 7).  And He paid the debt we owed and redeemed us (see Colossians 2:14, 1:14; Ephesians 1:7; 1Peter 1:18,19; 1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 5:9, Acts 20:28, etc…).

We are all now His property.  He just hasn’t come to collect on all of us yet…but He will.  But even if He didn’t (which we know He will because He came to seek and to save the lost and He will not rest until He has found and rescued every last lost soul); but again, even if He didn’t in the law of the Jubilee it says,

“Even if he is not redeemed by [a kinsman redeemer], he shall still go out [free] in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.”  (Leviticus 25:54)

The Law of Jubilee trumps all the judgements of the Law.  There is no way around it, which is why Scripture declares that,

“All creation will be set free from its slavery to corruption (sin and death) into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21)

The Law cannot override God’s Promise

Finally; the Law, as just and strict as it is, can never override God’s promises.  This is a principle that is often overlooked.  God’s promises came before the Law and therefore will always trump the Law.  The Law came after the Promises and therefore cannot annul what God had previously promised.  Even though the Old Covenant sounds like it came before the New Covenant, the New Covenant was actually prophesied and promised by God to Abraham (as well as Noah) before the Old Covenant was enacted.  Paul explains this in his letter to the Galatians,

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘all the nations will be blessed in you.‘…What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.” (Galatians 3:8,17)

The covenant previously ratified by God with Abraham was the New Covenant in type and shadow.  For the Old Covenant was dependent upon man’s ability to obey, thus it says, “if you will do…then I will do etc…” (Exodus 19:5-8) But the New Covenant only says of God, “I will do etc…” (see Hebrews 8:7-13).  This is a massive topic indeed, one which we will look at in more detail in the next series, but suffice it for now to notice that where the Old covenant was dependent upon man, the New is dependent entirely (and I mean ENTIRELY) upon God.  We just have to believe that He is going to do it all for us.

This is seen in His covenant with Abraham.  For whenever two people made a covenant – a sacrifice would be made (slaughtered) and both would swear an oath saying, “may God do so to me and worse if I do not keep my end of the bargain.”  This was how the Old Covenant was made, all the people swore to keep God’s Laws as their end of the bargain (Exodus 19:5-8), and if they failed, then they would be put to death.  This is why the Law brings death because it is impossible for the Old Man to obey and keep God’s Law (see Romans 8:3).

But in God’s covenant with Abraham, God put Abraham to sleep and made the covenant one sided (as is the New Covenant).  Abraham was prevented from taking part in the covenant.  It was and is entirely dependent upon God’s ability to keep it.  Man has nothing to do with it, its all on God and thus can be more accurately referred to as a promise.  Man can and will ONLY be the beneficiary, whether he wants it or not.  Thus as Paul mentioned in Galatians, God made a covenant with Abraham to “bless ALL the families of the earth.”  (Genesis 12:3)

My whole point is that this is a promise of God, which the Law in its demand for justice and judgement and death cannot nullify.  THEREFORE, even if the Law were merciless, which we have seen that it is NOT, it would still be unable to override the previous covenant and promises of God to bless all the families of the earth.

And in case you are wondering what exactly it means for all the families of the earth to be blessed, Scripture gives us an answer,

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” — in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  (Galatians 3:13,14)

“God raised up His Servant (Jesus) and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways (iniquities).” (Acts 3:26)

The word “turn” means “repent” and this is how God is going to bless every one of us, by causing all of us to repent from our iniquities and be saved!

Praise God!  The Gospel truly is Good News of Great Joy which will be for All People.  (Luke 2:10)

Conclusion:

The Law is Good.  The Law has mercy built directly into it with the Law of the Jubilee which trumps all judgement.  Even still, the Law cannot trump the New Covenant/Gospel which was established beforehand.  I am ever more and more convinced that all of Scripture confirms and bears witness of this beautiful truth – that God will save all mankind according to His promises.

In the next blog, we will see how all of Christ’s enemies will be put under His feet, a term of judgement, and that being put under His feet refers to being made into a holy dwelling place for His Spirit.  A temple where God can find rest.

The Lake of Fire, Part 1
Luke Kessler

We saw in the previous series what Hell is not.  This left us with very little in Scripture to base the doctrine of a ‘fiery hell’ upon.  However, the Lake of Fire (found in the book of Revelation) is a straight forward declaration concerning an existence of punishment (torment even) for those who are disobedient to God in this life.  Hell, it appears, is founded upon truth, unfortunately that truth has been distorted.

So let’s take a closer look at the Lake of Fire.

To begin with, the Lake of Fire is found in the Book of Revelation; in chapters 19:17-21 and 20:10-15 (with a very similar description found in 14:9-13).  The Lake of Fire is most clearly described in the section of Revelation that talks about the Great White Throne Judgment.  This Great White Throne comes immediately after the Millennial Kingdom, which is the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth (along with His overcomers – those that are worthy to attain to the first resurrection).  During this Great White Throne Judgment all the dead are resurrected, whether good or bad (see also John 5:28,29 and Acts 24:15).  Following this certain books are opened and anyone not found in the book of life is cast into the Lake of Fire.  Revelation describes this as “the Second Death,” which we will look at more closely later (the connection will become very clear).

I am sure that we have all read this scene in Revelation before, probably many times.  But what most do not realize, is that this is a continuation of a scene Daniel saw in hisApocalypse (apocalypse means ‘vision of the end times’).  You can find the whole scene in Daniel chapter 7, but for our purposes we need only look at verses 9-14.  In it (as in Revelation) we see the Great White Throne, where the Ancient of Days sits to judge the earth, and certain “books are opened!”  Interestingly enough, the Throne is described as being ablaze with fire and there is a River of Fire flowing from this flaming throne!  John apparently saw this same scene and described it with almost identical language.  However, where Daniel saw a River of Fire flowing from the Throne, John saw this River culminating in a giant Lake – a Lake of Fire.

The Law
The first thing that we need to notice is that this Fire comes from the Throne.  A throne is where a King sits to pass judgment; the throne room is where the King settles disputes and criminals are sentenced.  The throne room is also where the court meets to determine legal issues, with the King presiding over the hearing.  And every court determines its judgments based upon the Laws of the Kingdom (or at least it ought to).

This is the picture God is giving us to help us understand what is happening in the spirit (heaven).  You see, these are earthly descriptions of the heavenly court where God sits on His throne to rule His Kingdom and pass judgment (see also Ephesians 1:20).  All His judgments are based upon His Law.  This Law is the fire coming from the Throne.

This is further confirmed by the fact that Scripture refers to the Law as, “the fiery Law.” (Deuteronomy 33:2,3)  God Himself also declares, “Is not My Word like fire?” (Jeremiah 23:29)  So we see that the fire engulfing the Heavenly Throne is His Law, and the River of Fire flowing from the Throne, culminating in the Lake of Fire – is the outworking (or judgment) of that Law!

One of the prophecies concerning the Millennial Kingdom declares that all nations will come to the mountain of the LORD to learn His ways; and at that time,

“The Law will go forth from Zion, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3)
Zion was the headquarters for David’s Kingdom; it was the ruling name for Jerusalem where his throne was.  Of course this is all poetic language concerning the Heavenly Kingdom, New Jerusalem, where Christ sits to rule His Kingdom (see Galatians 4:25,26; Hebrews 12:22 and Revelation 3:12, 21:2,10).

But we see from this and many other pictures in Scripture that God’s Law is what He will judge all people with and this judgment is pictured as a fire.

The Nature and Purpose of Fire
In order to better understand the Lake of Fire as an outworking of God’s Law we need to see what Scripture has to say concerning fire.  If fire is the picture of the judgment of the Law then what exactly does this fire do?  What principles can we find in Scripture concerning fire?  The answer to that will clue us in on the purpose of the Lake of Fire.

First off, God likens Himself to a “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29) and His love is likened unto a violent flame that nothing can quench (Song 8:6,7).  God is love and the nature of love is that it must possess its beloved – ENTIRELY!  Therefore God is described as, “a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  He is jealous b/c He is not satisfied with possessing only part of us, He wants all of us for Himself.  So He consumes every part of us that is selfish and self-centered and un-Christ-like in order to have us all to Himself.

His love burns up all that is not of Him and it is painful to be sure but it is for our good. Thus Jesus encourages us that,

“Those whom [He] loves [He] reproves and disciplines.” (Revelation 3:19)
The Apostle Paul declares the same saying,

“For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. … For [our earthly parents] disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but [our heavenly Father] disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” (Hebrews 12:6, 10)
God uses discipline to put our rebellious and fallen nature to death in order to make us more holy.  His discipline makes us partakers of His holiness!  That is our calling, to be holy even as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15; Leviticus 11:45).  So God uses the fire of discipline to change us and make us like Himself.  Because God is just all of His discipline is based upon His Law; discipline is God applying His Law to our life.

Therefore the Psalmist declares that,

“You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined…We went through fire, but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.”  (66:10-12)
And Job states that,

“When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”  (23:10)
Isaiah also says,

“the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion…by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.”  (Isaiah 4:4)
For,

“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:11)
Thus Peter encourages us saying,

“do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you…for it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God.” (1 Pt. 4:12,17)
For God says,

“[I] will be a refiner’s fire.  [I] will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and [I] will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.” (Malachi 3:3)
“I refined you, but not as silver, I tested you in the furnace of affliction.”  (Isaiah 48:10)
When silver is refined and purified, it is heated to a very high temperature whereby any impurities within the silver separate and float to the surface.  The refiner then scoops the impurities away leaving only the silver.  As the temperature is raised higher and higher more and more impurities begin to come to the surface.  Eventually all the impurities are exposed and subsequently removed.  What is interesting is that impurities cloud the reflectivity of silver, and in the old days the purifier knew the silver was pure when he could clearly see his face reflected in the silver!

All this is an earthly witness of God’s ways.  For God will turn up the heat in our lives in order to bring all of our faults and shortcomings to the surface.  But He does this in order to remove them, and when He has fully removed them…His image will be perfectly reflected in us!

And so it is for this reason that we are,

“…distressed by various trials, so that the proof of [our] faith…even though tested by fire, may result in praise, glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6,7)
This is the nature of fire; it purifies us and removes our old nature, conforming us into His image.  This is the purpose of the “baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire” that Christ baptizes us with  (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16).  And that is the exact picture that the Lake of Fire presents, a baptism of fire.  The imagery is identical, they are both a fire in the form of water (a lake and baptism are both pictures of water).  It is also interesting to note that in the Law all things were cleansed (washed pure) by either water or fire (Numbers 31:23).  This is the spiritual picture being presented to us in earthly imagery – a purifying, cleansing fire that washes away our filth.  It is this picture the Psalmist references when he describes his own afflictions,

“We went through fire and through water, yet You brought us out into abundance.” (66:12)
God is this consuming fire, therefore it is no wonder that He brings us through the fire, for He desires to make us like Himself.  That is why Scripture declares that He,“makes His ministers a flame of fire.”  (Hebrews 1:7; see also 2 Thessalonians 1:7)  The end goal of His refining fire is to make us like Himself.  We stand through the fire till it no longer hurts and everything that could be consumed is burned away and we conform to the very nature of God Himself and become a Divine and pure and holy fire ourselves.

This is why we are encouraged to,

“…exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
Fire, therefore, is Scripture’s emblem of the Law, which comes upon us in the form of trials and tribulations; which are ordained by God to refine us and purify us and make us more like Him.  Fire is discipline, a judgment designed to expose and eliminate the sinful nature within us, and it is always administered out of a heart of love.  Everything He does is out of His nature of love, even judgment.  Therefore it is for our good – to conform us unto His image!

We will continue to look in detail at fire as a future judgment in the next blog and see that it is this process by which God “makes all things new.”

The Lake of Fire, Part 2
Luke Kessler

In the previous blog we saw that the nature of fire is the Law and the purpose of this fire is to discipline and correct us, refining us until we are righteous and holy – as God is.  To clarify, we are actually imputed holiness and righteousness through faith in Christ and His righteousness, but while this is a legal standing before God we are still sinners and we are still imperfect.  In a word the old man, our rebellious nature is still alive and well. The baptism of the Spirit and fire that follows our justification by faith is what begins to make us actually righteous by killing the flesh; this process is called sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; 1).  What we own by faith, we then begin to possess by experience (Hebrews 11:1).

There is much more that must be examined concerning salvation and other related issues in order to fully understand the process by which God will save all men, but that must wait until the next series.  For now, we must focus on the Lake of Fire and other judgments that take place in the after life.

Fire as a Future Judgment
Since the picture of fire throughout Scripture is almost universally God’s emblem for a purifying judgment, it becomes clear that the judgment of fire in the next life is also a purifying fire.  This explains the curious passage in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 that says,

“…every man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.  If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.  If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Have you ever stopped and considered this statement?  Those whose works were un-Christ-like in this life will watch everything they lived for get burned away…and yet they themselves will still be saved!  And their salvation will be wrought “through fire!”  This fire is very clearly and obviously referring to the Lake of Fire in the next life, where all men will be sanctified.  You will be amazed at how clear Scripture is on this point…and even more amazed that we have been blind to it for so many years!

2 Peter 3:9-13 is also unusual, notice all the similarities,

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing that any should perish but for all to come to repentance (ahem… ). But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved…regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.”
Notice all the themes we find here: 1 – God’s will for all men to be saved; 2 – God’s patience by which that will be accomplished; 3 – the destruction of the heavens, the earth and its works through fire; 4 – new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells!  Its very similar to the previous passage we looked at where a man’s works will be burned up yet he will be saved through that very fire.

It is the fire by which the old heavens and the old earth are changed into new heavens and a new earth.  Thus as Scripture says elsewhere,

“the heavens will perish…and be changed!” (Hebrews 1:10-12)
The world will be burned with intense heat and fire because fire is the appointed means of delivering this present nature from its fallen state.  It is the fire that changes us.

Nature (which is a witness of God’s various truths – Romans 1:20) confirms this, for fire transforms whatever it touches into a higher form (from solid to vapor, the first state being material and of the earth, the latter state being immaterial [in a sense] and of the heavens [atmosphere]).

And so bringing it all back to the Lake of Fire – notice the same connection of themes as seen above,

“This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away…” (Revelation 20:14-21:1)
The new heaven and new earth are seen immediately following the Lake of Fire!  For it is in the fire that the first heaven and earth “pass away.”  And in the passing of the Old the New emerges,

“And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.’  This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:26-29)
Notice the context with which Scripture declares God to be a consuming fire!?!  It is in the removing of the old, fallen creation that the unshakable kingdom of heaven emerges – the new heaven and the new earth!  This is the purpose of God’s consuming fire – to transform the old and fallen into the new and holy.

It ought to begin to be clear to us that the overarching context of “fire” in Scripture is that it is a refining and purifying agent – making all things new.  Consuming what is not of God, until all that remains is the character and image of Christ.  And there is not one soul who will skip this process for, “All men must be salted with fire!” (Mark 9:49)  All will undergo that “baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.”  (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16)

As I pointed out in the last blog the Lake of Fire is the same imagery as the baptism of fire.  They both involve water and fire.  Those who don’t receive the baptism of the Spirit and fire in this life will endure it in the next life.  Even followers of God must go through the fire in the next life if they refuse that fire in this present life.  For Jesus declared of His servants that if they know His will and do not obey Him then they will receive their portion with the unbelievers (lake of fire) and be beaten with many stripes which He then describes as a fire! (Luke 12:46-49)

The Baptism of the Spirit is also described as a fire because it is how God conforms us to His Law.  Did you ever notice that in one of the descriptions of the New Covenant God declares,

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  (Ezekiel 36:26,27)
Statutes and ordinances are both synonymous with His Law and it is by His Spirit within us that we become obedient to His righteous standard – a.k.a the Law.  Therefore God declares concerning the New Covenant that,

“I will put My Laws upon your heart and write them upon your mind.” (Hebrews 10:16; Jeremiah 31:33)
Be assured that this process is painful, as our old man comes under the judgment of the Law and our New Man grows and matures into a fulfillment of that Law.  That is why fire is the main picture of the Law – it hurts but transforms.  Therefore when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost we see that tongues of fire appeared over each person! (Acts 2:1-4)  That was when the Holy Spirit came to dwell within man and begin the process of writing His Laws upon our hearts and minds.

Fire also appeared at the original Pentecost that Israel observed when they came out of Egypt.

“Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace,” (Exodus 19:18)
Sounds a little bit like the description of the Lake of Fire doesn’t it?  And guess what happened when God came down as fire?  The 10 commandments were given!  (Exodus 20:1-17)  It was the beginning of the revelation of His Law!  And how did the people react?  After hearing the first 10 commandments,

“they said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.’”
They were afraid to hear His Law because the Law puts our old man to death and they didn’t want their flesh put to death.  That is why it is a fire and that is why the Lake of Fire is also called “the Second Death.”  The Law kills our flesh in order to conform us to God’s holy character.  That is why the Spirit is constantly at war with the flesh (Galatians 5:17).

And, as if there wasn’t enough in Scripture confirming all this, that section of Hebrews that I referenced earlier (about the destruction of the old creation and God being a consuming fire) actually begins by saying,

“For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire…” (Hebrews 12:18)
The author of Hebrews then goes on to describe the events of that original Pentecost where the Law was given (compare Hebrews 12:18-21 with Exodus 19:10-21).

I believe that the force of Scripture on this issue is clear.  God’s Law is a fire, and it puts our flesh (old man, sin nature) to death, but in that death we are made righteous and holy, for that is the process by which the New Man matures.  And all this is done by His Spirit dwelling within us.

At this point some of you might be thinking, “that may be so, but if people being cast into the Lake of Fire don’t believe in Christ, then they don’t have a New Man and therefore they would just be extinguished…”  This objection is the reason why some believe in Annihilation vs. Endless Torment.  But those who believe such only see half of the picture; the problem is solved with a simple reference to Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10,11 which states,

“that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
It is at the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation that everybody will bow their knee and confess Jesus Christ is Lord.  And then they are cast into the Lake of Fire.  But at this point they are saved and beginning their baptism of the Spirit and Fire (their sanctification process).  For Scripture declares that,

“If you confess Jesus Christ is Lord…you will be saved!” (Romans 10:9)
And that,

“no one can confess ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit!” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
Thus they are saved before being cast into their baptism of fire, and through it they will be made righteous, even as He is righteous.

Praise God!  The Gospel truly is Good News of Great Joy, which will be for ALL People!  (Luke 2:10)

Conclusion:

God’s Law is a fire, and it is administered by His Spirit.  And this law condemns our old man and puts him to death, but in his death the New Man is renewed and grows up into the fullness of the image of the One who created Him! (Colossians 3:10)

In the next blog we will take a look at what Scripture has to declare concerning Death.  This will help us understand what the “2nd Death” is, which will further confirm what we have noticed concerning the Lake of Fire (which is the 2nd Death).

The Lake of Fire – Addendum
 Luke Kessler

There are a few noteworthy details that are related to the Lake of Fire that I wanted to mention before we move on.  This blog is not complete by any means and I plan on expanding it at a later date, but for now I would like to just offer a few more thoughts.

Brimstone
#1 – The word “brimstone” used in describing the Lake of Fire, “these…were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone,” (Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 21:8) is the Greek word Theion.  Theion happens to also be the Greek word for Divine!  As in the Divine Nature!  It is another way of saying God (theos).  One of its definitions is, “the nature or state of being God.” (Louw and Nida English Greek Lexicon) (!!!)  The verb derived from Theion is the word Theioo; which means “to make holy, divine, to devote to a God.”  (Liddel and Scott Greek English Lexicon, 1897 Edition)

In other words it conveys sanctification.  After what we saw in the previous two blogs on the Lake of Fire it is far too much of a “coincidence” that this word “brimstone,” used to describe the Lake of Fire, conveys sanctification – to make one like God (divine).

Charles H. Pridgeon explains that,

“Sulpher or Brimstone was sacred to the diety among the ancient Greeks and was used to fumigate, to purify and to cleanse and to consecrate to the diety: for this purpose they burned it in their incense … To any Greek, or to any trained in the Greek language, a ‘lake of fire and brimstone’ would mean a ‘lake of divine purification.’”  (Is Hell Eternal, quoted by G.R. Hawtin, The Restitution of All Things, Artisan Publishers,1994, pp 26,27)

Pentecost
#2 – Each of the Feasts of Israel are prophetic of not only the various stages in History by which God is working out His plan to save man, but also the various phases by which the process of salvation is worked out (accomplished) within each individual.  Everyone must pass through 3 different phases of salvation (salvation of spirit, soul and body – see my blog about it here).

The Feast of Pentecost is the second feast and details the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.  The Church began on the day of Pentecost 2000 years ago and perfectly fulfilled the original Pentecost that took place when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.  But the “harvest” taken in during that feast was to be offered to God with fire.  It was leavened and baked with fire.  Leaven is a type and shadow of sin (which is why the sacrifices were forbidden to have leaven in them, because they were types and shadows of Christ our Ultimate Sacrifice who was sinless).

The Church is leavened, we are all racked with sin in some fashion or other.  Leaven causes the dough to puff up and basically makes it empty inside and full of hot air.   It has no substance, just like us when we are full of sin.  The only way to stop the leavening action is with fire.  One of Pentecost’s main themes is fire.  Pentecost was when the Spirit was poured out within us; the Holy Spirit who writes the Law upon our hearts and minds and that law is pictured as fire (as we saw in the previous Lake of Fire blogs).  This is why tongues of fire were seen at the outpouring of the Spirit during Pentecost in Acts.  Its also why there was a blazing fire seen at the first Pentecost when the Law was given.

This fire is the Law being worked out within us by the Holy Spirit, and is the purpose of the second stage of Salvation.  The Feast of Pentecost has many more details concering this, but I have not been able to take the time to detail it at this point.  I will update this blog at a later date.

Sacrifices
#3 – the sacrifices were all burned with fire.  Fire was the process by which the flesh was not only consumed but transformed into smoke which rises to heaven.  God demanded that the flesh be burned (consumed) b/c sin had been imputed into it.  It was a substitutionary sacrifice and as such had to be fully destroyed (consumed) because it represented sin.  But in its consumption it was transformed into a “soothing aroma” which ascended to God and heaven in an acceptable form.

There is a lot more to all this that needs to be expounded, which I dont have the time to do at this point but I will do so at a later date.  What I want to point out is that it was through fire (destruction) that the sinful flesh was transformed into an acceptable form before God.

In conclusion, there is a wealth of evidence in Scripture that demonstrates fire as a consuming and purifying and transforming agent.

The Second Death – Part 1

We saw in the previous 3 blogs that the Lake of Fire portrays that cleansing, purifying and refining fire that comes from the Law as it puts our old, fallen, selfish nature to death and conforms us to God’s standard of righteousness.  The aspect of it putting our evil self nature to death is why the Lake of Fire is also called “the Second Death.” (Revelation 20:14, 21:8)  This I hope will become clear shortly.  For this reason it behooves us to take another look at what Scripture has to say about death; b/c if what we saw concerning “fire”is correct then “death” should also confirm it.

In order to understand the “Second Death” we must first agree on what exactly “death” is.  The Oxford American Dictionaries describes death as follows, “the end of the life of a person or organism.”  I’m sure that this isn’t anything new to you; the usual understanding of death is that it means something living is no longer alive; it has come to an end.  But oddly enough…when it comes to the Second Death most presume it refers to a state of unending living torment!?!

The most widely held mindset concerning death as a punishment for sin is that it is an endless death.  But death is not endless, rather it is an end.  The death of our body is the end of our existence in this physical world.  No matter how much the modern world fantasises about a Zombie Apocalypse, when we die we don’t continue on forever in some sort of zombie-like state of existence!

Nevertheless, Scripture declares that, “the wages of sin is death.”  (Romans 6:23 When Adam and Eve sinned in the beginning God told them that the consequence would be death .  He said,

“for in the day you eat of [the forbidden fruit], you will die.”  (Genesis 2:17)

God also tells us in the book of Ezekiel that,

“the soul that sins, will die.” (18:4)

When Adam and Eve sinned their spirit died immediately and they fell into a state of mortality that ultimately led to the death of their body.  Death was and is the penalty for sin.

Therefore when Christ bore the judgment for the sins of all mankind He didn’t suffer in endless torment…He died!  As a child I didn’t understand this.  I had been taught that the penalty for sin was endless torment.  So when people told me that Christ paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind I believed that meant He had to suffer in hell for all eternity!  This actually really bummed me out b/c I thought I would never get to meet Him when I went to heaven.  But as I grew up and learned that He had risen to heaven…I was relieved, but I just couldn’t make sense of it.  It wasn’t logical to me that He didn’t have to suffer in Hell for eternity if that was the penalty for sin.  It wasn’t until after I graduated Bible College that I finally put it together in my own studies that the penalty for sin wasn’t endless torment in Hell, it was death!

Death was the penalty and death is what Christ endured.  The following is an excellent quote from an author I have yet been unable to discover.

“The scriptures speak of eternal punishment and eternal life, everlasting punishment and everlasting life, therefore many conclude that those being punished must live and endure punishment as long as the saints live and enjoy eternal life.  But this is as illogical as it is unscriptural, the word eternal (aionios) is an adjective used to describe the word it modifies.  In one case it describes life and means that the life is fixed, Age-abiding or final.  In the other case it describes the effect of the punishment, for the penalty is not punishing, but punishment and the punishment is death.  Therefore “eternal” has to do with death, not the means of bringing about that death.  Were the punishment some kind of spiritual suffering, or physical pain that did not destroy or bring death, we might conclude that this punishing could go on and on forever.  But the Scripture precludes any such idea.  First in the plain statements that the punishment is death, not life under miserable conditions; second in all the types of the Old Testament that make it plain that death is the penalty (the wages of sin is death); and third by the fact that Christ in taking the punishment suffered death not perpetual punishing.” (Parenthesis and emphasis mine.)

Jesus’ death, however, encompassed more than just His physical death. Generally when we refer to people dying, we are referring to the body dying.  When that happens the body ceases to operate.  It begins decaying and eventually decomposes entirely.  However, when God’s Word refers to the wages of sin being death it is not just referring to the death of the body, but more so of the soul.

Our body is already under the judgement of death.  Thanks to the judgement passed on to us through Adam, we are born mortal.  Our body is already dead before we even have a chance to sin.  Once you’re conceived – you’re dead(!) – its only a matter of time.

And though our body is under judgement, it is not our body that sins.  Our body is just the vessel, it is our soul that moves and controls the body.  It is the soul that lusts for all kinds of evil, it is the soul that hates, it is the soul that rebels; not the body.  It is our soul that directs our body into sinful actions.  Jesus mentioned this when He said,

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”  (Matthew 15:19)

And so when the Bible talks about the wages of sin being death, it is not just referring to the wages of Adam’s sin being passed onto us through mortality, but also to the death of the soul as a penalty for its sin.  This is why Ezekiel said, “the soul that sins, will die.” (18:4)  And just like the body, the soul will cease to function when it dies, at least until it is resurrected from the dead (just like the body will be).  (This might scare some people, but let me reassure you that through all of this the spirit that has been made alive in Christ does not die, it returns to be with the Father b/c it is made of His very life – see Ecclesiastes 12:7 and Luke 23:46.)

2 Deaths

The reason that our soul must die is b/c it is wicked, fallen, depraved.  God has no desire to keep something so foul and unclean alive.  This means that we really have 2 deaths to endure.  The death of our body and the death of our soul.  Most of us are terrified of dying once…but twice!  But we need not fret about this b/c we have a great example of what this looks like – Jesus!  Jesus endured these 2 deaths therefore so can we!  After all, it is His Spirit that dwells within us.

“For if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh —  for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  (Romans 8:11-13)

We will see more of that in the next blog, but getting back to the 2 types of death: first of all – Christ endured the death of His body.  Colossians 2:20 says that Christ died to the “elements of this world,” which is the Greek way of referring to the physical 3 dimensional world.  This therefore is a physical death, a death of the body.  Christ died to this earthly existence when His body died on the cross.

Secondly; Christ endured the death of His soul.  Romans 6:10 says that Christ “died to sin.”  It is our soul that is in a sinful fallen state.  We saw above that all the evils come out of the heart.  I’m sure that we don’t actually believe that our physical heart produces evil.  No, rather it is our mind will and emotions which the term “heart” symbolises.  Our heart is a reference to our soul.  And our soul is inherently sinful.  In Scripture it is also referred to as “the old man,” “old self,” “natural man” or “outer man.”

“…that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,” (Ephesians 4:22)

“…knowing this, that our  old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;” (Romans 6:6)

“Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,” (Colossians 3:9)

“But  the  natural (Gr. Psuche – soulish) man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”  (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Christ lived His whole life denying His human soul and it’s self concerned will and instead obeyed God’s will.  This was a death to His soul.  When it refers to Christ “dying to sin” it does not necessarily mean that He refrained from sinful temptations (although I am sure that it included this) but more so it refers to His denying His own will.  For instance, if there occurred a time where it was late at night and Christ (being tired) wanted to sleep, but God told Him to stay up and pray, and Christ went to sleep anyways, that would be a sin, even though sleeping is not necessarily sinful.  It would be disobedience and disobedience is sin.  But we know that Christ lived ONLY to do His Father’s will.  And He ultimately sealed this death to His soul when He obeyed God’s will for Him to die on the cross.  Christ’s human soul will did not want to die, but Christ denied Himself saying in the Garden of Gethsemane,

“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”   (Luke 22:42)

 

Misunderstanding the Doctrine of Substitution

Christ died for our sins; He died on our behalf, this is true b/c only a perfect and spotless (sinless – holy) sacrifice could atone for us.  But despite the common opinion, that does NOT mean that we ourselves don’t have to die to sin as well.  We are righteous IN Him, but we too must die to our self nature; even as we have to die physically.  Like Christ our example, we must also endure these 2 deaths.  The Good News is that we now have the power to obey God’s will, even as Jesus did.  He is our example, and He has given us His Spirit to do this.

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in His steps,” (1 Peter 2:18)

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life (Psuche –  soul) for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”   (Matthew 16:24,25)

That word “life” used there is literally the word soul in Greek (Strong’s Greek 5590).  On top of that, the word “lose” literally means, “utter destruction.” (Apollumi – Strongs Greek 622)  We will have much more to say about this word in a later blog but for now suffice it to say that it refers to annihilation/death.  Therefore unless you deny your self nature and suffer the death of your soul, you CANNOT be saved!  Are you getting this?  We must have our soul put to death if we want to be fully saved.

This soulish death is accomplished by that process of refining that the Lake of Fire portrays (which we looked at in the last blog).  We are refined by enduring trials and circumstances that we do not like, that we do not want/will to happen.  We must suffer the denial of our own will and desires, which consequently puts it to death.  The Lake of Fire will kill the sinful selfish soul.  This is why it is called the 2nd Death (Revelation 20:14, 21:8).

Therefore we can conclude; 1 – that everybody will die physically (this is the 1st death).  2 – that everybody will eventually die soulishly, that is, a death to their soul and its selfish, evil desires (this is the 2nd Death, it is named thus b/c they have already died in the body).  And 3 – it is the Old Adamic nature within us who dies.

We must (and will) all go through this death, this baptism of the Spirit and fire.  But those who endure it in this life will get to take part in the 1st Resurrection and reign with Christ over the world during the Millennial Kingdom.  But even though the rest of the world will not endure this fate until the next life, it will still lead them to new life even as it does for us.

The Second Death – Part 2

by Luke Kessler

We saw in the last blog that death is the penalty for sin and that though Christ suffered that penalty of death for us, we still have to follow His example and die to sin and our selfish nature even as He did.  The point being is that this is what the Lake of Fire which is also called the Second Death portrays – a death of the soul or evil self nature (vs. the body).  But that is only half of the story; the other half is that after death comes resurrection.  Lets take a look.

Death and the 1st Resurrection

Jesus makes a very peculiar statement related to this, He said,

“The sons of this age (aion) marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that (next) age (aion) and the resurrection from the dead (the 1st resurrection), neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore,because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”  (Luke 20:34-36)

Jesus refers here to those who attain to the 1st resurrection as those who “cannot die anymore,” this is b/c they have already died!  For years I have always jokingly pointed out that one cannot be raised from the dead if they haven’t died!  But Jesus isn’t just referring to a physical death, for we will all die physically.  He is referring to those who died to their old man, the selfish nature – the soul as we looked at in the last blog.  That is why Jesus clarifies that those who will get this privilege must be “worthy” to attain to that resurrection.  They are “worthy” because they suffered the death of their soul (the self and its will) as well as their body.

Paul confirms this in his epistle to the Philippians when he declared that,

“…whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…and know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection out from among the dead.”(Philippians 3:7-11)

Paul says here that he must be conformed unto Christ’s death in order to attain to the resurrection.  Paul does not merely mean that he has to die on a cross, b/c he didn’t die on a cross, he was beheaded.  Rather, he is referring to that “denying yourself and taking up your cross daily” that Christ told us was the qualification for following Him (Matthew 10:38,39, 16:24,25; Mark 8:34,35; Luke 9:23,24, 14:27, 17:33; John 12:25).  Obviously the cross that Christ refers to here is not a literal one, but a mystical one.  Nevertheless, as you can see Christ mentioned it quite a bit!  Therefore it must be important.  In fact, it is the only teaching that is found in all 4 gospels!  So we would do well to pay attention to it.

Getting back to Paul’s declaration; he also says that he counts all things as loss for this purpose of attaining to the resurrection.  He is dying to himself in order to be “worthy” to attain to that first resurrection that Jesus spoke of.  He is referring to the 1st resurrection b/c he qualifies it as being “out from among the dead.”  In other words he is not referring to the general resurrection where everybody is raised; this is also called the 2nd Resurrection.  So this death to self is the qualification for resurrection.

This is why Paul elsewhere states,

“I affirm brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (1 Corinthians 15:31)

Notice how he once again connects death to self with the resurrection?  He is obviously referring to a daily death to self, b/c you cannot physically die daily!  Therefore Paul is referring to that daily taking up of his cross and the denial of himself as Jesus said we must do if we would follow Him.  It is that obedience which puts the soul to death.

This is further confirmed in the book of Revelation where John wrote,

“I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God…and they came to lifeand reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the First Resurrection; over these the Second Death has no power,but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4-6)

This is not merely referring to those who lost their heads for Christ, it means much more than that.  It is symbolic of those who gave up the life of their old man by denying themselves, taking up their cross and becoming obedient; even onto death.  Doing so is what it means to follow Christ and walk the same path that He walked.

It further says that the Second Death has no power over such people.  This is b/c they have already endured that death.  Once you have died, death has no more power over you – you are free.  In fact we will see here shortly how it is through death that death is rendered powerless.  But first we need to see how death leads to new life.

Death is the Birthing Process to New Life

You see, Christ became a man in order to die to our nature and in doing so raise it to a newer and highly life.  Paul words it marvelously in his epistle to the Philippians saying,

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him (raised Him from the dead)…”  (Philippians 2:3-9)

As we have been noticing all along this is all about dying to self and being obedient to God’s will rather than our own – even unto death.  For that is the point of obedience, it puts our will to death because we are denying it in order to do God’s will.

But doing so leads us to a higher and newer and better life than we could ever have in our fallen nature.  It is a Resurrection Life!  Which is why Paul says at the end of that section of verses that “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him.”  It was because Christ was obedient onto death that He was raised to a higher life.  Scripture communicates this very truth many times over,

“For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”  (2 Corinthians 4:11)

“The Lord kills and makes alive, He brings down to Sheol and raises up.” (1 Samuel 2:6)

“Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it remains alone.  But if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  (John 12:24)

“That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own…So also is the resurrection of the dead.  It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural (Psuche – soul) body, it is raised a spiritual body.”  (1 Corinthians 15:36,37,42-44)

Death is the process by which we are born into new life!  We die to this life and to our sinful, selfish fallen souls and we are born into a perfect, glorified life!  Jesus’ humanity was only perfected through death, and so is ours.

“In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him out of death, and He was heard because of His piety.  Although He was a Son, He learned  obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made  perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation”  (Hebrews 5:7-9)

Jesus was saved “out of death” or “through death” not from it.  It was b/c He suffered that He was made perfect.  Peter addresses this same idea from a different angle.  He was preaching to the crowds on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out and he said,

“this Man (Jesus), delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God,  you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the birthing pains of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”  (Acts 2:23,24)

Notice that it refers to death as “birthing pains.”  The reason, as is becoming redundantly clear, is b/c death leads to life.  We sow this fallen earthly life in death and through it we are born into a better world, a heavenly world.  Thus the death process is a birthing process.  Even as an unborn child must pass through that dark narrow channel called a birth canal in order to enter a new world, so we too must pass through the dark and constrictive channel of death in order to be born into a new world – a heavenly and spiritual world.

It is also curious to note that this relates to Jesus Christ as being the Head and we the Body.  In birth, the head always comes out first, and then the body follows.  So Christ was the first one to be resurrected from the dead, to come out of that birthing process of death.  And His Body will naturally follow!  Its just a matter of time!  Paul mentions this in Colossians saying,

“He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,” (Colossians 1:18)

It is also mentioned elsewhere,

“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,” (Revelation 1:5)

A firstborn, (obviously) implies more to follow.  He is the Head, we are the many membered Body!

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become  conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;” (Romans 8:29)

The Wisdom of the Cross

This process of being born into a New Life through death is considered a mystery in Scripture.  It is a mystery b/c dying in order to rise to a higher life seems foolish to our fallen nature, to our carnal minds, which are blinded by our instincts for self preservation.  But it is not foolish it is genius; it is the secret, mysterious wisdom of God.

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…[so] we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God… [For] we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory…” (1 Corinthians 1:18,23,24, 2:6-8)

Mankind is on a mission to find a way to live as long as possible, b/c we don’t want to die.  We view death as weakness, loss, humiliation.  B/c we are weak, we are drawn to strength, we think it is the solution to our failing state.  We fear and loathe weakness.  We think enough strength will keep us from death, but it is weakness and weakness alone that will conquer death!  That is the wisdom of God, that is the wisdom of the Cross.

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is PRODUCING for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,” (2 Corinthians 4:16,17)

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed IN us.” (Romans 8:18)

Death is the one appointed way out of the bondage and darkness of this present fallen age/life.

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless (Katargeo – destroy) him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”  (Hebrews 2:14,15)

It is through death, that death loses its power! This is the wisdom of the Cross!  It’s terrible and beautiful at the same time; and it will set us free.  Once this is accomplished, death will be no more!

The End of Death

“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54,55)

It is through death that death is defeated!  The sting of death is destroyed because death leads us to New life.  When this is accomplished in all men then death itself will be done away.

“For He must reign until He has put ALL His enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be abolished (Katargeo – destroyed) is death.  For [God] has put all things in subjection under [Christ’s] feet…and when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”  (1 Corinthians 15:25-28)

When Paul says here that, “the last enemy that will be abolished (katargeo) is death;” he is using the same word (katargeo) that he used when he mentioned that it was “through death that he who had the power of death was destroyed (katargeo).”  (Hebrews 2:14,15)  It is through death that the last enemy (death) is destroyed, (rendered powerless, abolished, done away with).  Because once the last person is dead there will be no more death.  Death is not a constant, it is an end; so once its finished with the last living thing it will cease to exist and that will be left is life.

Therefore, the end of death is life and life more abundantly (John 10:10)!  And this will be for all men, for all will endure the 2nd Death, the Lake of Fire.  And through it they will be delivered from the bondage of their sin; b/ecause sin will not survive past death.

“Sin reigns unto death,” (Rom. 5:21)

“the sting of death is sin,” (1 Corinthians 15:56)

“he who has died is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:7)

“Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,” (1 Peter 4:1)

I need not point out that the phrase “suffered in the flesh” is referring to death, because it is used to describe Christ’s suffering – which was death on the cross.

Though this may not yet be our experience, we have the certainty that it eventually will be.  And not just those who follow Christ in this life; but all men.  For Scripture declares that,

“One died for ALL, therefore ALL died.”  (2 Corinthians 5:14)

All mankind died in Christ when He died in our place.  This process of death will eventually become everyone’s experience when they receive that baptism of the Spirit and fire.  Some will experience it in this life, the rest will experience it when they receive their part in the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death.

Conclusion:

Death is simply another picture of that process by which we are delivered from this present bondage to sin and our evil self nature.  Death is both the judgment for sin and its remedy.  The Second Death is therefore not referring to a state of endless living torment, but an end of the old man within us and the process by which the new man is birthed.

In the next blog we will look at “destruction,” and how like fire and death, it is yet another picture of the way to full salvation and new life.

Destruction – Part 1

by Luke Kessler

In the last 2 blogs we saw how death leads to life.  We saw that death is the one appointed way for man to rise to a higher form of life through the loss of his old fallen life.  We also saw that this death must be experienced both physically and more importantly – soulishly.  Previous to that we saw how this death is accomplished via a baptism of fire – a.k.a the Lake of Fire which is the 2nd Death.

We have thus far covered 3 very significant terms that Scripture uses to describe both judgment for sin and judgment in the afterlife.  And each one has confirmed yet again that Judgment will not be endless, but the very process by which we are all transformed into God’s image through Christ.  But there still remain a few terms for judgment that we need to look at.

The next related term that we need to explore, and the one that we will be looking at in this blog and the next, is “destruction.”

“But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for  fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:7)

“These will pay the penalty of eternal (age-long) destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”  (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

The main word that we will be exploring here is the Greek word Apollumi; which the Strong’s Concordance defines as “to destroy, destroy utterly” and the Louw and Nida Lexicon defines it as “to destroy…”  with a sense of, “to cease to exist…to no longer exist, to come to an end, to disappear.”

Along with Apollumi, there are 2 other words used to denote destruction; Apoleia and Olethros.  Both of these words come from the same root word that Apollumi comes from – Ollumi; which simply means “to destroy.”

684. ἀπώλεια – apoleia; from 622.  622 ἀπ-όλλυμι – apollumi; from 575 ἀπό – apo; and the same root as 3639b.  3639b. Ὄλεθρος – olethros;from ὄλλυμι – ollumi (to destroy).

Indeed, for the majority of times that these words are used in Scripture this is the sense of the word – utter destruction.  You will notice how it carries the force of ceasing to exist or coming to an end.  This certainly aligns with what we have seen so far concerning refining fire and death; how it brings to an end the old man – our selfish, evil, sinful nature.  In Scripture judgment, death or destruction does not imply a never ending state.  Rather it refers to bringing something to an end; it is the absolute and final end for what God condemns and judges.

This Greek word Apollumi is one of the main reasons why annihilation theology rejects the idea that hell is never ending.  As I have shown in previous blogs, I agree in part with annihilation, b/c God certainly does bring our wicked nature to an end; but Annihilationists only see 1 side of the coin.  The other side is resurrection and restoration which especially connects with this concept of destruction as we will see shortly.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves.  In order to get an accurate view that destruction certainly means annihilation, or ceasing to exist in the sense of death, lets look at some references.

Past Destruction

“the earth was  formed out of water and by water, through which  the world at that time was destroyed (apollumi), being flooded with water.” (2Pet. 3:5,6)

“They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed (apollumi) them all. It was the same as happened in  the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed (apollumi) them all.” (Luke 17:27-29)

“Now I desire to  remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed (apollumi) those who did not believe.”  (Jude 5)

“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as  they also craved.  Do not be idolaters, as some of them were…Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed (apollumi) by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed (apollumi) by the destroyer (olothreutes; derivative of olethros).  Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:6-11)

“But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death (apollumi).” (Matt. 27:20)

“from  the blood of Abel to  the blood of Zechariah, who was killed(apollumi) between the altar and the house of God;” (Luke 11:51)

Now these are all historical references to people who died.  The wicked in the days of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, Egyptians, disobedient Israelites, the prophet Zechariah and even Jesus Himself.  This makes it clear that we are certainly dealing with a concept that concerns the end of life.  Those who perished all ceased to exist in this physical realm; Jesus being somewhat of an exception because He was raised from the dead.

Now lets take a look at this word as it is used concerning a future judgment.

Future Destruction

“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (apoleia)?” (Romans 9:22)

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction (apoleia), and there are many who enter through it.” (Matt. 7:13)

“and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction (apoleia) is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

“But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction (apoleia) of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:7)

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy (apollumi).” (James 4:12)

“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.  While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction (olethros) will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:2,3)

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction (olethros), away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

From the above selection we can especially see the 3 related words that all stem from the root word Ollumi – to destroy.  And we can see that it certainly refers to a future destruction that will come upon all those who were disobedient in this life.

There are certainly more instances of this word found in Scripture, but we simply don’t have the time or space to look at them all.  One can find them easily enough with a Concordance, or a simple Bible Software program.  This word is also many times translated as “perish” but you can also easily find those instances yourself if you are so inclined.  What I have given here is sufficient to get a good grasp of how this word and its relatives are used.

Destroyed and Lost

But this is where it gets interesting.  For having seen how prolifically this word is used to denote a state of utter destruction, it is also curiously used in the context of being lost.

“But He answered and said, ‘I was sent only to the lost (apollumi) sheep of the house of Israel.’”  (Matthew 15:24; see also 10:6)

“What woman, if she has 10 silver coins and loses (apollumi) 1 coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost (apollumi)!’”  (Luke 15:8,9)

This is highly significant b/c that means that utter destruction, though being an end, is not final.  On top of this, Jesus Himself declares that,

“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost(apollumi).” (Luke 19:10 and Matthew 18:11)

It is the lost that Jesus comes to seek and to save!  It is those who have been utterly destroyed through judgment that He will seek out and save!  Again, even though it certainly means an end of some form of life, it is these that Jesus comes to seek out and to save!

And it gets better.  Jesus actually makes utter destruction the prerequisite for salvation!

“For whoever wishes to save his life (psuche – soul) will lose (apollumi) it, but whoever loses (apollumi) his life (psuche – soul) for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

And that statement is made 4 more times in Scripture!  See Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35 and John 12:25.  As we saw in the previous blog, it is one of the only statements that is recorded in all 4 gospels!  In order to attain salvation, you must have your old life utterly destroyed, wiped out, no longer existing!  Paul the apostle affirms this same truth when referring to a certain rebellious member of the church in Corinth, saying,

“I decided to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction (olethros) of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of judgment.” (1 Cor. 5:5)

The destruction of your old, fallen, sinful, evil nature is the prerequisite for complete salvation!  No wonder it is the lost (destroyed) that Jesus comes to seek and to save!  It does not matter when a person is lost (suffering the penalty of destruction) or how badly a person is lost Jesus will not cease seeking them out until He has saved every last one of them.

“So He told them this parable, saying, ‘What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost (apollumi) one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost(apollumi) until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost (apollumi)!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’”  (Luke 15:3-7)

This is obviously a parable, and as such, open to interpretation.  In fact parables are perfect for conveying truth that can have multiple levels of interpretation/application.  I am convinced that one the highest truths that Christ is teaching us through this parable is that even when 99% of all humanity has be found, saved and restored to righteousness, God will refuse to rest until He has found and saved every last person.

There is a great and wonderful truth to this parable and the ones following it in Luke as it concerns this word apollumi.  But there remains more that we still need to examine.  The next blog will focus on the parable of the prodigal son as an example of mankind being “lost (destroyed) and then found; dead and come back to life.” (Luke 15:32)  We will also look at the Hebrew concept of Destruction conveying the sense of full devotion to God.

Destruction – Part 2

by Luke Kessler

In the last blog we saw how the Greek word Apollumi not only means “utter destruction” (and is used in such a sense not only concerning past things, but also to describe future judgments) but also that it means “lost.”   We further saw that one must “lose (apollumi) his life in order to save it” and that Christ never ceases to “seek and to save that which was lost (apollumi).”  And we looked at 1 parable that directly addresses this issue – the parable of the lost sheep.  God will leave the 99% who have been saved, restored and made righteous to find that 1 last soul who yet remains lost.

And interestingly enough, in case that point is hard to accept, Christ gives us 2 more parables immediately following that one which repeat the same truth.  They are the parable of the Woman who lost 1 of her 10 coins and the parable of the Prodigal Son (whom the Father lost).  Both of these parables, along with the parable of the lost sheep, repeat and reiterate the same principle: that God will not cease to seek out and save that which was lost (destroyed).

Andrew Jukes (this writer’s favorite author) directly comments on this concept concerning Apollumi (destruction) in his magnificent book The Names of God.  He says,

Our Lord’s own teaching only repeats the selfsame truth, in those blessed words, even yet so little understood, to Pharisees and Scribes, who objected that He “received sinners.”  “What man of you,” He says, fallen and wretched as you are, would be content to lose even a sheep, which had strayed and wandered from him?  Or what woman would be content to lose a piece of silver?  Would they not seek their lost until they found it?  Is God’s love for His creature less than a man’s is for a sheep?  Is not the lost creature really God’s loss?  Can He rest, when it is lost, until He find it?  And when it is found, is it not His joy even more than the recovered creature’s?  For it is not the joy of the recovered sheep, nor of the silver, nor of the once lost son, that our Lord declares in these Parables, but the joy of the Shepherd, and of the Woman, and of the Father, each of whom exclaims, “Rejoice with me, for I have found that which I had lost.” (pgs 32-33, emphasis mine).

As Andrew Jukes points out, we ought to notice 2 things: 1 – that God will not cease to seek for the lost (destroyed) for that is His nature; and 2 – that God’s joy at finding and restoring the lost is the emphasis, not the creature’s joy at being found and restored.  We may be content to let all those sad, wretched sinners be forever separated from us and God, engulfed in endless misery; but their heavenly Father is nothing like us, He is a God of endless love and will not tolerate even 1 of His creatures being forever cut off from Him.

The Prodigal Son

In Luke 15 where these parables are found Christ moves immediately into the parable of the prodigal son to further emphasize and illustrate this truth. I am certain that we are all very well acquainted with the story of the prodigal son; it concerns a wayward son, who squanders his inheritance (calling and gifts) and when he finally realizes the error of his ways, he returns to the Father who warmly welcomes him with open arms.

Among other things, this signifies the great mass of humanity who have fallen away from God through Adam’s sin.  And when we finally, “come to our senses” (Luke 15:17) we will repent and joyfully return to our Heavenly Father.  And notice the wording that Jesus uses to describe our state when we finally return.

“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and  put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet…and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost (apollumi) and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:22-24)

It is no mistake that Christ describes the lost son as “dead and has come to life again,” and “lost and has been found.”  These are descriptions of mankind in our fallen state, and especially when we suffer that 2nd Death through the Lake (Baptism) of Fire.  We will suffer the Destruction (apollumi) of our old Adamic nature, either in this life or the next, but afterwards Christ will raise us from that death to a new and higher life.

In fact it is through this destruction that our glorious transformation is wrought!  We are changed from glory to glory through the death and destruction of our old man.

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

“The heavens are the works of your hands; they will perish (apollumi), but you remain; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle you will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed.  But you are  the same, and your years will not come to an end.  (Hebrews 1:10-12)

The heavens will be destroyed and changed through that destruction!  They will not just cease to exist, they will be changed!  This is the process by which the heavens and all of creation are made new!

“This is the Second Death, the Lake of Fire…Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away,”  (Revelation 21:1; see also 2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17,22)

The New heavens and the New earth immediately follow the Lake of Fire, that baptism of Fire by which all things will be refined and purified!

But getting back to the Parable of the Prodigal Son; it is further interesting to note that one of the Father’s sons grumbles about this!  The son who stayed by the Father’s side his whole life, serving Him in obedience.  He did not like the fact that his rebellious kin was welcomed back so quickly and warmly!  Its reminiscent of the story of Jonah, who grumbled that God would be so merciful to his enemies.  Sounds a bit like many of us who don’t like the idea that God might save all our lost brethren.  But that is our Father’s heart, He cannot help but celebrate.  And so he chastises his other son saying,

“But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost (apollumi) and has been found.” (Luke 15:32)

This rejoicing will be the atmosphere in heaven in the next age as all men are finally and fully restored to fellowship with the Father through Christ and His work on the Cross.  Let us not be like the embittered son, or Jonah, who did not want God to show mercy to those poor souls.  Let us rejoice in this – that though man has lost his way and must suffer the judgment of destruction, the destruction of his old, fallen, selfish way – God will yet receive back unto Himself all and through that destruction restore all again to full fellowship with Himself.

Truly, the Gospel is Good News of great joy which will be for All people!  (Luke 2:10)

Devoted to God (Destruction)

To wrap this all up I would like to touch on the Hebrew concept of Destruction – Cherem(Strong’s Hebrew Number 2763a and 2764a).  Although it is never used to describe a judgment in the afterlife, it is very much related to what we have seen concerning Apollumi.  The Hebrew word Cherem was used to describe the utter annihilation of goods, people and/or nations. For instance it was used to describe the annihilation of the Canaanite people,

The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed (Charam) them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called   Hormah. (Chormah in Hebrew, related to Charam; Strongs Hebrew Number 2767 – Numbers 21:3; see also Judges 1:17)

Daniel also uses it to describe a future destruction that will come upon the world,

“But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate (charam) many.”  (Daniel 11:44)

This word is used as “utter destruction” over 45 times.  For more instances see Numbers 21:3; Deuteronomy 7:2; 20:17; Joshua 11:20; Judges 21:11; 1 Samuel 15:3,18; Isaiah 11:15; Jeremiah 25:9, etc…

But again, here is where it gets interesting b/c, Cherem is also used to describe the things that God “sets apart” for Himself!  In fact that is how it is translated many times – “set apart.”  When God sets something apart, He is consecrating it, which means that He is devoting it fully to Himself.  It can be used for no other purpose than His.  Thus it is “utterly destroyed” for any use other than God’s.

This is what happened when the Israelites conquered Jericho.  God demanded that all of Jericho be consecrated or devoted (cherem) to Him alone.  God had previously given them a commandment concerning the taking of certain cities saying,

“…you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword,  utterly destroying (charam) it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword.  Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God; and it shall be a  ruin forever.” (Deuteronomy 13:15,16)

A quick note on whole burnt offerings; they were commanded to be consumed in their entirety by fire in order that no one but God would be able to partake of it (see Leviticus chapter 1 for the laws of burnt offerings).  Not only that, but they are a type and shadow of Christ b/c He was 100% devoted to God, and did ONLY what God led Him to do.  Though Christ was never burned with a physical fire, He was fully consumed by God (baptism of fire) so that there was nothing He did or said that wasn’t in full subjection to God’s will.   He was truly devoted to destruction.

But getting back to Jericho, God said,

“[Jericho] shall be  under the ban (cherem), it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD…But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD…[Israel] utterly destroyed (charam) everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword…They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the  house of the LORD.   (Joshua 6:17-24)

You can see that anything “devoted” to God is destroyed in order that it can no longer be used by anyone other than God.  It thus becomes worthless to the world.

“If a man consecrates to the LORD part of the fields of his own property… the field shall be holy to the LORD, like a field set apart (cherem);  it shall be for the priest as his property…anything which a man sets apart (cherem) to the LORD out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own property, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything  devoted (cherem) to destruction (charam) is most holy to the LORD.  No  one who may have been set apart (charam) among men shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.’”   (Leviticus 27:16-29)

This is all symbolic of how we are called to be fully devoted to God.

“This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 7:35)

One day we will be so fully consumed by God’s divine fire that there will be nothing left of self, we will be given up entirely to God and we will experience the bliss and pleasure of living to please Him alone.  For,

“When all things are subjected to Him, God will be all in all.”  (1 Corinthians 15:28)

The Bible’s description of “utter destruction” is the precursor to such a state.  So let us not fear judgment, but rejoice that it will lead us to a higher life!

Next we will look at the the Greek word Kolasis that is translated as “punishment” in Matthew 25:46.  We will find that it means “correction” and not “punishment.”

Punishment – Greek – Kolasis

Luke Kessler

So far we have looked at 4 terms used in Scripture to convey judgement in the afterlife.  In this blog we will look at the term that is found in the most notorious reference to supposed “eternal damnation.”  This reference is by far the most well known in Scripture and it is almost universally seized upon as the counterpoint to Universal Reconciliation.  I know when I first heard about Universal Reconciliation this was the first argument that came out of my mouth.

The verse in question is found in Matthew 25:46 and comes at the end of the parable of the sheep and the goats.  Jesus sums up each one’s fate saying,

“These (the goats) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We have already seen in the 1st series that this word “eternal” does not normally convey the idea of eternity.  In fact it rarely, if ever, carries that sense of eternity and if it does it is an exception to the rule.  Therefore we already have an issue with this passage being used to condemn Universal Reconciliation.

But there is more.  The word “punishment” is the Greek word Kolasis which means to prune.  Literally it refers to a pruning in order to cause proper growth in order to produce better fruit.  This is highly reminiscent of Jesus’ famous teaching on the Vine and the Branches,

“Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2b)

Jesus was obviously not referring to the wicked in this passage about vines and branches; because in this parable He is the Vine and we are the branches that receive the pruning.  However, the principle is clearly seen; pruning is a method that produces greater fruit.  That is what this word means in its literal sense.

Figuratively Kolasis refers to correction in order to produce a change in character.  It certainly doesn’t carry the connotation of punishment for the sake of punishment as is so popularly thought.  In fact, this verse would be better translated in the following way,

“These will go away into character forming discipline for the duration of that Age, but the righteous will enter into the glorified immortal life during that Age.”

Though this Scripture is the banner verse for Endless Tormentors, it does not carry the thought of some horrifying place of unending torment, in fact it presents just the opposite – a place of hope.  As we have seen, God is merciful and His judgements are for our good.

Of course I am very adamant about supporting any assertion I may make, whether for the sake of my own statements withstanding scrutiny, or for those who desire to see the proof in order to believe.  So I  offer the following as support for my assertion that Kolasis means “character forming correction” rather than “punishment.”

The first thing we need to understand is that this word Kolasis is only found this one time in Scripture.  So we have no other passages and contexts by which to discern how Scripture applies this word.  So we have to look outside of Scripture where it is found in Greek Literature.

To begin, Aristotle used it as correction when he plainly and clearly stated,

“Kolasis aims at correction.” (Rhetoric. i. 10.)

He also says later in the same work,

“There is a difference between revenge (timoria) and punishment (kolasis); the latter (kolasis) is inflicted in the interest of the sufferer, the former in the interest of him who inflicts it, that he may obtain satisfaction.”  (Rhetoric 1369b,13,)

In other words, Kolasis as a punishment is meant to reform the criminal, whereas timoriaas a punishment only serves to appease the sense of revenge in the victim.

Philo, who was a contemporary of Christ, also used the word in this sense.

“It is better not to promise than not to give prompt assistance, for no blame follows in the former case, but in the latter there is dissatisfaction from the weaker class, and a deep hatred and æonian punishment (kolasis) from such as are more powerful.” (De Præmiis and Poenis Tom. II, pp. 19-20. Mangey’s edition. Dollinger quoted by Beecher)

Philo uses the same exact phrase that Christ used here in Matthew 25:46 – aionian kolasis.  Yet Philo’s use of it is applied to those who have power and authority in this life (governmental) to exact punishment on those who make a promise and fail to keep it.  It is a physical, earthly, temporal  chastisement to make sure that such people will be more prompt to keep their promises.  It certainly is not referring to a state of endless torment for the petty offence of breaking a promise!

Plato also uses it in this fashion,

“For the natural or accidental evils of others no one gets angry, or admonishes, or teaches, or punishes (kolazei) them, but we pity those afflicted with such misfortune for if, O Socrates, if you will consider what is the design of punishing (kolazein) the wicked, this of itself will show you that men think virtue something that may be acquired; for no one punishes (kolazei) the wicked, looking to the past only simply for the wrong he has done–that is, no one does this thing who does not act like a wild beast; desiring only revenge (timoria), without thought. Hence, he who seeks to punish (kolazein) with reason does not punish for the sake of the past wrong deed, but for the sake of the future, that neither the man himself who is punished may do wrong again, nor any other who has seen him chastised. And he who entertains this thought must believe that virtue may be taught, and he punishes (kolazei) for the purpose of deterring from wickedness.” (Protagoras 323 E) (emphasis mine)

Plato is arguing our very point!  That Kolasis is not simply a revenge for wrong done in the past, but a method of correction by which we change the evil doer so that he will not do wrong again!

Finally I want to quote from William Barklay, who is a world renown Greek scholar and translator.  After summarising some of the Greek writings I have quoted above He continues saying,

Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis 4.24; 7.16) defines kolasis as pure discipline, and timoria as the return of evil for evil. Aulus Gellius says that kolasis is given that a man may be corrected; timoria is given that dignity and authority may be vindicated (The Attic Nights 7.14). The difference is quite clear in Greek and it is always observed. Timoria is a retributive punishment. Kolasis is always given to amend and to cure.  (The Apostles’ Creed)

So there we have it.  Eternal Punishment as we have translated in Matthew 25:46 is neither eternal, nor retributive.  It is remedial, corrective, character forming; and it will only last for the duration of that age to which it belongs.

A Popular Argument

Not only is the verse in question (Matthew 25:46) incorrectly thought to prove an endless punishment for evil doers, but it is also used as a platform for another argument against Universal Reconciliation  The logic (faulty) goes like this, “Since the same adjective (aionios) is used to describe both life and punishment, if eternal punishment isn’t forever, then eternal life also isn’t forever.  But if eternal life is forever, then eternal punishment must also be forever.”

I have found this argument  lacking, to say the least.  It’s as illogical as saying that, “If the adjective ‘tall’ is used to describe both basketball players and skyscrapers then they must both be the same size.  Either the basketball player is thousands of feet tall, or the skyscraper is only 6-7 feet tall.”   The fault with such logic is clear.

However, I can somewhat understand why such a logical error is made in our time.  For if another culture which had no understanding of either the adjective “tall” nor of what basketball players or skyscrapers were…they might also form the idea that they were equal.  This I think is a good representation of our situation today.  We in our modern western mindset are ignorant of both the fact that aionios does not mean endless, as well as what life and punishment really signify.

Dr. Alford Plumer, in his book An Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, pp. 351-352 also comments on this issue saying,

It is often pointed out that “eternal” (aionios) in “eternal punishment” must have the same meaning as in “eternal life.” No doubt, but that does not give us the right to say that “eternal” in both cases means “endless.”  ”Then eternal life is not endless, for the same Greek adjective qualifies life and punishment.” This does not follow, for the word is used in Greek (Septuagint) in different senses in the same sentence; as Hab. 3:6, “And the everlasting (aionion) mountains were scattered –his ways are everlasting (aionion).” Suppose we apply the popular argument here. The mountains and God must be of equal duration, for the same word is applied to both. Both are temporal or both are endless. But the mountains are expressly stated to be temporal –they “were scattered,” –therefore God is not eternal. Our God is eternal and therefore the mountains must be. But they cannot be, for they were scattered. The argument does not hold water. The aiónion mountains are all to be destroyed. Hence the word may denote both limited and unlimited duration in the same passage, the different meanings to be determined by the subject treated.

I hope that this helps further clarify that we are not dealing with a concept of hell that concerns endless torment.  We are finding at every turn that Scripture promotes a temporal judgement that is designed to reform the sinner.  I myself find this exceedingly joyous, for the love and greatness of God far exceeds anything that I could ever have hoped or dreamed of.

And if in reading these blogs you have begun to feel a glimmer of hope that God just might actually be THAT GOOD…then you are really going to love the next series!  But before we begin that series we have two more issues to look at concerning judgement.  The next blog will deal with God’s Wrath.

Putting His Enemies Under His Feet

by Luke Kessler

This is the last blog I have that will fall under the Judgment theme.  So far we have looked at Death (and the 2nd Death), the Lake of Fire, Destruction, Punishment, Wrath, Judgment and various other related issues.  To my knowledge there is only one more theme that needs to be addressed – Christ putting all His enemies under His feet.

The reason I saved this topic for last is, because as much as the other themes we have already looked at dealt with Ultimate Restoration, this one does so far more blatantly.  It ties into Restoration so directly that I wasn’t sure whether I should save it for the next series on Restoration.  In the end I decided that since it clearly deals with Judgment it needed to be included here, however, I left it for last so that it would be a sort of bridge between the two; it will be a fitting end to our series on Judgment and a fitting transition into the next series concerning the Restoration of All Things.

Until I Make Your Enemies a Footstool

This subject concerns a certain Old Testament passage that is quoted in the New Testament.  In fact, of all the Old Testament passages that are quoted in the New Testament this one is quoted a total of 8 times!  Far more than any other Old Testament verse.  This is highly significant, it tells us that we ought to pay very close attention to what God is trying to teach us.  The passage is as follows,

“The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet’” (Psalm 110:1)

This passage is quoted in Matthew 22:42; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28; and Hebrews 1:13 and 10:13.

What we will focus specifically on in this blog is what it means to make an enemy into a footstool.  A footstool, obviously, is what you use to rest your feet on and the passage in question concerns the feet, as the following alternate quote renders it,

“…until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.” (Matthew 22:42)

The concept of putting Christ’s enemies under His feet is found several more times (Ephesians 1:22, Philippians 3:21 and 1 Peter 3:22) on top of the 8 direct quotes of the Old Testament verse in question.  This leaves us with a total of 11 direct references to this theme.  All in all this seems to be a very big and important concept in Scripture.  And there is more!  There are dozens upon dozens of passages in the Bible that concern this theme of subduing enemies under the feet.

This might come as a surprise to some, but WE are considered to be God’s enemies!  At least, the wicked/evil, fallen nature within us is.  The Old Man that is lawless and “hostile to God” (Romans 8:7) is God’s enemy.  That part of humanity that is dead in our trespasses and sins is considered to be God’s enemy,

“For although we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,”  (Romans 5:10)

Putting Enemies Under His Feet

The idea of putting an enemy under one’s feet is referring to a Ruler conquering those who oppose or resist said Rulership.  The Bible has many pictures of the wicked being put under the feet of the righteous.

“A great King over all the earth.  He subdues peoples under us and nations under our feet.” (Psalm 47:2,3)

One of the terms of putting an enemy under one’s feet is the term “tread” or “treading down.”

“’You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says the LORD of hosts.”  (Malachi 4:3; see also Romans 16:20; Job 40:12; Psalm 18:37,38, 44:5, 60:12; 91:13, 108:13; Zechariah 10:5; Lk. 10:19 and 2 Kings 9:33)

Now although the term “treading down” seems like it is referring to destruction, it is more specifically referring to the subjugation of an enemy.  For in war there are certainly casualties, but in the end the victor wins the subjugation of the nation/people he is battling.  Whenever this happened in Scripture the losing nation would become the “servants” of the winning nation.

“[David] defeated Moab…and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.” (2 Samuel 8:2,6,14; 17:3, etc…)

Putting someone under your feet concerned bringing them under your authority.  They were now part of your kingdom.  That was how nations expanded, when they became powerful enough they would invade and conquer neighboring nations.  And those who came under their subjection came under their authority – a.k.a kingdom.  This is what it means when Scripture refers to all of Christ’s enemies being put in subjection under His feet.

“[God] seated [Jesus] at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,” (Ephesians 1:20-22)

Notice that it says Jesus is at God’s right hand; which is a position of rulership (see Matthew 20:20-28).  Also note that the terms rule, authority, power and dominion are references to the evil spirits that rule the kingdom of this earthly realm (see Ephesians 6:10-17, 2:2, 2 Corinthians 4:4).  But Christ is above them, He has authority over them b/c they have been conquered and are part of the “all things” which have been put in subjection under His feet.  However, we do not yet see that as a reality.  For though Christ has obtained victory over them, His enemies are still fighting.  St. Paul addresses this specifically,

“You have put all things in subjection under His feet. For in subjecting all things to [Christ], [God] left nothing that is not subject to Him. However (right) NOW we do not yet see all things subjected to him.” (Hebrews 1:8)

Paul wants to make absolutely sure we understand that all things have been subjected under Christ’s feet so he says it a second time in an opposite contrast, take a look at it again,

“for in subjecting all things to Christ God left nothing that is not subject to Him.”

It doesn’t get any clearer than that.  However, Paul then clarifies that at this present time (and from our earthly perspective) we are unable to see that reality.  Which is why the Scriptures testify that,

“[Christ] must reign UNTIL He has put all His enemies under His feet.”  (1 Corinthians 15:25)

even though Christ has obtained victory over His enemies, and has authority over them, they are not yet under His subjection.  But they will be, its only a matter of time.

Treading Grapes Under Foot

Related to this is the concept of crushing grapes, or the treading grapes.  There are 3 feasts in the Law that Israel was commanded to observe; and like all the rest of the Law they are “a type and shadow of good things to come.” (Hebrews 10:1; Colossians 2:16,17)  Each feast concerned a specific harvest: Passover concerned the harvest of Barley, Pentecost concerned the harvest of Wheat, and Tabernacles concerned the harvest of Grapes.

Each of these harvests concerns a harvest of souls that will be brought into the kingdom.  We will look at this in much more detail in the next series.  But suffice it for now to say that each harvest required a specific labor necessary to process it.  The Grape harvest required that it be “trodden underfoot.”

“I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; no one will tread them with shouting,” (Jeremiah 48:33; see also Amos 9:13; Micah 6:15)

The treading of grapes was used many times by God as a description of trodding down His enemies – a.k.a subjecting them under His feet.

“The Lord has trodden as in a wine press the virgin daughter of Judah.” (Lamentations 1:15; see also Isaiah 63:1-6; Jeremiah 25:30-38; Joel 3:9-14; Micah 7:19)

The book of Revelation has one of the clearest pictures of treading grapes as a judgment of God upon His enemies and even connects it to “God’s Wrath” which we looked at a few blogs previous.

“’Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.  And the wine press was troddenoutside the city,” (Revelation 14:8-20)

The Grape connection is very enlightening, not to mention fascinating, unfortunately we don’t have enough space to pursue it further, but we will in a later blog for there is a lot of great information/insight connected with it.  I merely add what I have for the sake of further connecting the subjection of one’s enemies with the concept of being put under one’s feet.  In other words the treading of the Grape harvest is symbolic of the process of subjecting one’s enemies under one’s feet.

The Temple of God

It is very curious that God would describe the triumph of His enemies, putting them under His feet, as making them into a footstool.  As I mentioned above, a footstool is where you rest your feet.  What does it mean that God will find a resting place in His enemies?  It becomes even more fascinating when we realize that the temple of God was also called His footstool!

“Let us go into His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool.” (Psalm 132:7)

God’s Temple is where He dwells, where He is able to rest.  And yet, does God actually dwell or find rest in earthly sanctuaries?

“David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.  But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.  However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands;” (Acts 7:46-50; see also Matthew 5:34,35)

In Isaiah God sarcastically makes fun of this foolish idea.

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.Where then is a house you could build for Me?  And where is a place that I may rest?’” (Isaiah 66:1)

Some people have a hard time grasping that God doesn’t dwell in temples made of stone.  He never actually intended to.  The reason God ordained the building of Temples in previous ages is because He was teaching us in type and shadow about the true temple.

“…who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the Tabernacle; for, ‘see,’ he says, ‘that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.’”  (Hebrews 8:5)

“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;” (Hebrews 9:24)

The true temple as we all ought to know is the Body of Christ – US!  The New Testament makes it very clear that WE are the true Temple of God, not some building of stone.

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

“For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them;’” (2 Corinthians 6:16)

God dwells in His people and (as with His enemies) He is slowly bringing everything within us (everything that resists Him) into subjection until He can truly rest in us.  Even more amazing is that we are not only individual temples of the living God, but together we make up a corporate temple, a building made without hands, a temple made up of living stones.

“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4,5)

“You…are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”  (Ephesians 2:19-22)

God is removing all opposition within His corporate Body as well, so that one day we will be a perfect resting place for His Spirit.  But here is the connection I am trying to make: we are the temple of God, and the temple is God’s footstool where He finds rest – therefore when it says that Christ’s enemies are being made into a footstool for His feet it is telling us that they will be temples of the living God!

Christ And Warfare

If that isn’t convincing enough, listen to the Old Testament’s description of buildingGod’s temple and how it is connected to putting His enemies under His feet.

“Then King David rose to his feet and said, ‘Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, “You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.” (1 Chronicles 28:2,3)

“Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ‘You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.  But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune.  Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.”’” (1 Kings 5:2-5)

So God couldn’t build His Temple, where His Spirit could dwell until He had put all His enemies under His feet.  The temple is His footstool b/c He can rest upon it and there is no rest in war.  God is waiting until all the warfare is accomplished before He can rest.  He cannot rest while there is anything that is at enmity with Him.  He has no peace as long as there are still enemies that need to be reconciled.   But once they have been subjected to Him then He can rest; and so He makes His enemies into a footstool by placing them under His feet, by subjecting them.  They become His servants through subjection and are no longer working against Him b/c now they are working for Him.

We are being made into a footstool of God, a holy dwelling place, and we wont be fully completed until Christ’s enemies are brought into subjection and also made part of His footstool.  They too will be part of this holy temple in which holiness and righteousness dwell!

All those verses we just looked at, concerning David not being able to build a temple for God until all his enemies had been put under his feet, are “types and Shadows of the good things to come.”  For David is a type of Christ in His spiritual warfare to subject all His enemies under His feet.  Christ must be a warrior before He can be a prince of peace.  He must subdue all things before He can institute an age of rest (sabbath means rest and was required every 7 days, 7 years, and 7 sets of 7 years – and the 7th millenium from Creation will also be an age of rest, after Christ has put all His enemies under His feet).

God will convert all of His enemies into His friends by loving them to death!  So before the Body of Christ can be completed as a Divine Temple, a footstool, a place where God can dwell and rest, He must finish His warfare against His enemies.  But once the warfare is accomplished this temple will be finished!  That is the end game!  Listen to one last reference to putting all things under His feet!

“…then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet…For He has put all things in subjection under His feet…When all things are subjected to Him, then…God will be all in all.”  (1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

God will be All in All when His enemies are put under His feet!  Because they will be part of His Temple where He dwells!  He will fill all with all of Himself!  And so Scripture declares,

“A man’s enemies will become the members of His household.”  (Matthew 10:36; and Micah 7:6)

Can you hear it?  Its beautiful and glorious and a thousand other words that the human voice cannot articulate.  All I can do is echo what the Angels said when Christ was born and they declared that the Gospel truly was Good News of Great Joy which would be for All people (Luke 2:10),

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased.” (Luke 2:14)

Conclusion:

Almost without exception any time there is a reference to judgment it is not without hope.  Every warning and threat of judgment comes with a promise of restoration.  God will make His enemies a footstool for His feet, but His footstool is His Temple, where He will rest, for His enemies will become part of His dwelling place.

In the next series we will begin looking at all of the Scriptures that positively and clearly declare God’s plan to save all mankind.  I find it to be the most exciting and convincing proof of Universal Reconciliation.

It has taken me more than six months to write this letter.

Why so long?

Because it discusses my beliefs and how they’ve changed over the last five years. Beliefs are a sensitive subject, both for me and most of the people of the world.

Recognizing this sensitivity, I have done my best to write what follows in a spirit of love. Nevertheless, I imagine that what you read here will polarize you. After reading it, you may be angry. You may be shocked. You may even be…

More Excited Than You’ve Ever Been In Your Life!

Let’s start at the beginning…

One holiday night five years ago, I was talking with Ed, my uncle-in-law. Perhaps the wine had loosened Ed’s tongue, or perhaps he had sensed an opportunity. Whatever the case, he began to talk about his spiritual beliefs.

First, he suggested to me that God would eventually save everyone. Not just a few, but all the people who have ever walked the earth.

As if that wasn’t enough, Ed also suggested that the modern concept of hell was wrong… that “hell” didn’t actually exist.

At first, it sounded ridiculous. After all, I had been raised as a Protestant Christian–a Southern Baptist, to be specific. I knew most everybody was going to hell for eternity.

But Ed then began to quote verses from the Bible to support his position. I did not know how to refute them. Fact is, I was a little shaken. Did the Bible really say what Ed was claiming?

One reason I had believed in the concept of hell was because of what I thought I had read in the Bible.

You see, I believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God. And it seemed to me that it clearly spoke of salvation for the few and damnation for everybody else.

So I told Ed what I thought and quoted a few verses. I thought I had him cornered.

And yet Ed wasn’t phased at all. He seemed to have an explanation for everything.

Up to that point, I had never met anybody like Ed. He knew scripture. And he never got defensive about his beliefs. He just shared what he believed and left it at that.

Needless to say, I couldn’t stop thinking about the things Ed had shared. Lord knows I tried! It was far easier to go on believing what I had always believed… to ignore these new ideas.

But I simply couldn’t. So I bought a few books and started digging. Pretty soon, I was deep into the rabbit hole. There was no turning back.

 

The First Page of the First Chapter Pulled at My Heartstrings

At Ed’s suggestion, I bought a book by A.E. Knoch called All in All. It was written nearly a hundred years ago.

As I read the first page of the first chapter, I was hooked. It expressed a latent idea I had thought of before, but had never been able to Biblically support. Here is what Knoch says…

The grand truth concerning the eonian times, now recovered from Scriptures, will relieve the minds of many noble men. So said a trained theologian, after having spent seventy years of his life without ever hearing it mentioned. No normal human being desires to believe in everlasting torment, even for his worst enemy. Some of its strongest and noblest advocates have expressed their profound sorrow that they were compelled to teach it, and declared that God Himself would have it otherwise, were it in His power. Those who gloat in it and enjoy preaching it, expose the baseness of their own hearts. The fact that the Bible teaches it may demand acquiescence, but it cannot command heartfelt accord.

The fact that everlasting torment is contrary to God’s revealed character and clashes with every human instinct does not disprove it. If God’s Word teaches it, it’s true. But the fact that it is repugnant, not merely to the nature we have by creation, but especially to the spirit we receive as a seal of God’s salvation, should lead us to investigate the grounds on which it rests. The original Scriptures are infallible, but the Bible we have is only a translation, into which a measure of human fallibility is mixed. Does the Original teach endless punishment?
Long story short, after reading thousands of pages and studying scores of Bible passages, I concluded the Bible does not teach endless punishment. In fact, it teaches something grander and more magnificent than I could have ever imagined.

Let us begin by examining some verses to see what they say.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

How many times have we read this simple verse and yet failed to realize its full implications? Notice the reason God gave his Son. The verse says God loved the WORLD. It does not say, “For God so loved Christians…” No. He sent his Son for everyone.

This is supported by many other verses, as we will soon see.

 

What is God’s Will Regarding the Salvation of Mankind?

Because of the writings in the Old Testament, some Bible students have concluded that God is angry and He’s out to punish evil people. But this assumption is made without a full understanding of Scripture or the story it tells.

In 1 Timothy 2:4, Paul writes that God “wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth.”

Even Peter agrees when he writes that God “does not intend for any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

These are interesting verses. They reveal God’s will for man. And God’s stated will is to save ALL mankind.

Not Christians only. Not 5% of humanity. But all. Every last person who has ever walked the earth.

Most students of the Bible agree that God wants to save all mankind, but they don’t believe He will actually do it. Either they believe He is not able to save everyone (denying his omnipotence), or that he cannot do it because it would violate his character.

It has often been said that were God to save everyone, it would violate his sense of justice. Most Bible teachers believe that temporary sins on earth deserve an eternity of suffering. If this is God’s sense of justice, it is twisted justice indeed.

After all, does not 1 John 4:8 teach us that “God is love.” And if God is love, would it not be a violation of his character to torture the majority of people in a fiery hell?

These observations raise an important question…

 

If God’s Stated Will Is to Save All Mankind, Will He Actually Do It?

Let’s dig deeper.

There are many places in the Bible that speak about future events. One particular event is particularly significant. It is repeated in multiple times in Scripture.

“[…] but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Numbers 14:21

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
Both of these verses suggest there is a time that is yet future in which the glory of the Lord will fill the earth. The verse in Habakkuk gives us a simile for picturing how much of the earth will be filled.

How much of the sea is covered by water? Naturally, ALL of the sea is covered by water.

Therefore, we can conclude that ALL of the earth will be filled with God’s glory–no exceptions.

Here are a couple more passages that speak of these future events.

“I have sworn by Myself… that unto Me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance to Me.” Isaiah 45:23

“at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10,11
I believe these verses speak clearly about what is to come. All the people of the earth will confess Jesus as Lord. All will swear allegiance to God. I don’t believe they will do this at gunpoint. I believe they will do it out of love.

Will some be burning in “hell” when this happens? I don’t believe so. The idea defies logic.

Will some confess Jesus as Lord and then be cast into “hell” for “eternity” immediately thereafter? Again, I don’t believe so. If this were true, it would be like threatening a man with death to “persuade” him to convert… and then killing him anyway after he has “converted.”

Now, some will ask, “But what about all those passages in the Bible that talk about hell? You can’t just ignore them.”

You are right. These verses can’t be ignored. I will address them in a moment. But first, let us examine…

 

The Purpose of God’s Judgments

If your son or daughter lied to you, would you sentence them to burn alive for eternity?

This is not a trick question.

What if they stole a car? Would you do it then?

What would your child have to do for you to condemn them to an eternity of fiery torment?

As of yet, I have not found a parent who is willing to send their child to hell for eternity. Discipline, yes. Eternal punishment, no.

I believe God established the family to mirror His relationship with us. For instance, God is my true Father. I am a child of God even as I have children of my own.

This is why I believe God’s judgments have purpose. They are not senseless or vengeful as some Christians seem to believe. Rather, they are corrective in nature.

In Isaiah 26:9, the prophet says, “For when the earth experiences Thy judgments, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”

Would a person burning in “hell” learn righteousness? Probably not. They’d probably learn bitterness. And yet the Bible says God’s judgments lead to righteousness.

Consider also that…

 

The Penalty For Sin Is Death. (Not Eternal Torment.)

Paul writes in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When Adam sinned, he reaped death (Genesis 3:19). He did not reap eternal punishment. The Bible never says that.

What’s more, if the penalty for sin was eternal torment, would not Jesus still be burning in “hell” to pay for our sins?

Of course, Jesus is not still burning in hell. He rose on the third day. He overcame death, ascended to heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). Jesus lives!

Now I’m going to make an assertion some readers will find hard to swallow, even though the Bible supports it. That is…

 

Hell Does Not Exist!

…at least not in the way you think it does.

Let me say this: I believe the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God. I also happen to believe man is fallible. He is capable of making mistakes, and he does.

Which is to say, man’s TRANSLATION of Scripture can be flawed!

My belief is not uncommon. Anybody who has become a translator understands the difficulties of translating from one language to another. Consider, for a moment, another religious text: the Qur’an.

Three years ago, my brother enlisted in the Army. He became a linguist, specializing in Arabic. He speaks and reads the language fluently. He has also spent months listening to Arabic and translating it for the Army.

According to him and other sources (like Wikipedia), Muslims argue that the Qur’an cannot be reproduced in any other language except the original. They believe this because one word in Arabic may have a range of meanings depending on the context. This makes an accurate translation nearly impossible.

Of course, this hasn’t stopped translators from translating the Qur’an. Neither has it stopped translators from translating the Bible, even though they face the same translation difficulties with Hebrew and Greek as with Arabic.

Am I saying we should not translate the Bible? No. I believe we should translate it so it is accessible to as many different people groups as possible. But when we make a translation, we must be careful not to alter the meaning conveyed in the original inspired language.

Let’s compare some verses from two different popular translations, the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and The Message. The following passage is Proverbs 3:19-24. First, the NASB:

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew. My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Now here is The Message:

With Lady Wisdom, God formed Earth; with Madame Insight, he raised Heaven. They knew when to signal rivers and springs to the surface, and dew to descend from the night skies. Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don’t for a minute lose sight of them. They’ll keep your soul alive and well, they’ll keep you fit and attractive. You’ll travel safely, you’ll neither tire nor trip. You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry, you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.
If you read each version critically, you will see there are quite a few differences. Some of these differences significantly alter the meaning of the passage. Which version is right? Which one is wrong?

I do not intend to answer the question, but I bring it up to illustrate the problem of translation.

 

Thou Shalt Commit Adultery?

In addition to translation issues, Bible readers may sometimes encounter typos. This is far less common today, but it has happened more often than you may think.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the “Sinner’s Bible” printed in 1631. It says, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” (They forgot the word not.)

Then there’s the “Sin On” Bible. It reversed two letters and mistakenly made Jesus say, “Go and sin on more.” (On should have been no.)

Perhaps the worst of all was the “Fools Bible,” which accidentally printed, “the fool hath said in his heart there is a God.” (They replaced the word no with a.)

Of course, it is easy to see these errors. You might say they are “glaringly obvious.” (For a complete list of famous errors, see Wikipedia’s article about Bible errata.)

But some errors are not so obvious. They only become apparent after diligent study.

Is it such a stretch to believe that our modern concept of “hell” has been caused by mistranslation?

 

Let’s Take a Look…

There are three different words in the Greek, all of which have been translated as “hell” in the KJV and NIV Bibles.

These three words are Geenna, Tartaroo, and hades.

The first two are places. Properly translated into English, these would read Gehenna and Tartarus. (Gehenna is the place name for the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem. You can find it on a map.)

Hades, on the other hand, simply means “unseen.” The first part of the word, [h]a, means “un” (a is the Greek negative–and ours as well, as in “asymmetrical”). The second part of the word, ades, means “perceived.”

Hades, then, is anything outside of our five senses. The author Martin Zender explains the concept well…

Our English word hell is derived from the Anglo-Saxon helan, which means “to cover, conceal, or hide.” This is the precise meaning of the Greek hades, as well as its Hebrew counterpart, sheol. […] The words hell, heel, hole, hull, helmet, cell, cellar, holster, and hold (as of a ship) are all derived from the same root, helan. Examine these words individually and see how the idea of being covered, concealed, or hidden fits them all. (Martin Zender Goes to Hell, pp. 63-65)
If this is true, you might wonder…

 

“Where Did the Modern Concept of Hell Come From?”

Books have been written to answer this question. Nevertheless, I will introduce you to one major cause for the idea of eternal torment in a fiery hell. His name was Augustine of Hippo. He lived 354-430 A.D.

Prior to his conversion to Christianity, Augustine had been a Manichaean for eight or nine years. Manichaean theology is based on dualism. Manichaeans believe there are two equal powers in the world: good and evil, light and darkness. There is no supreme deity who is all good or all loving. What’s more, the religion’s doctrine says non-Manichaeans are condemned to hell. According to a New Advent article about Manichaeism…

Sinners, however, must, after death wander about in torment and anguish, surrounded by demons, and condemned by the angels, till the end of the world, when they are, body and soul, thrown into hell.
As you might imagine, Augustine was an ardent proponent of hell and eternal damnation for unbelievers, even after his conversion to Christianity. This was, at the time, an unpopular view. In the first 300 years following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, most Christians believed that God would restore all men in the end. In his book At the End of the Ages… the Abolition of Hell, Bob Evely writes…

[…] most average people in the first few centuries A.D., and many (if not most) of the “Church Fathers” (leaders within the church) believed in the ultimate salvation of all. Furthermore, we will see from many direct quotations that this belief came directly from a study of God’s Word. (p. 101, emphasis in the original)
Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Didymus, Gregory of Nyassa, John Cassian, and Gregory of Nazianzus are among some of the notable teachers of early Christendom who taught universal restoration and salvation for all. In fact, Augustine was familiar with their belief that all men would be saved, and recognized he himself was in the minority. He said as much when he wrote…

There are very many who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments. (Enchiria, ad Laurent, c. 29 and Evely p. 125)
Why then did Augustine become so hot for hell when so many other teachers believed otherwise?

As we have already seen, Augustine carried over some of his beliefs from Manachaeism into Christianity. This influenced his thinking and interpretation of Scriptures. It also didn’t help that he favored the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. In fact, Augustine knew very little Greek and said he hated the language. Unfortunately, the Latin Vulgate had many mistranslations that only encouraged Augustine’s belief in eternal torment for non-believers.

Furthermore, as carnal men came into power within the church, they used the threat of eternal punishment to coerce people into submission. They did not like the idea of universal restoration because it eliminated their primary means of controlling people. Finally, in 553 A.D., the Fifth General Council (which included 151 bishops from the Greek and African churches) declared…

Whoever says or thinks that the torments of the demons and of impious men are temporal, so that they will, at length, come to an end, or whoever holds a restoration either of the demons or of the impious, let him be anathema.
This decree silenced the teaching of universal restoration and set the course of Christian orthodoxy to the present day.

So, having examined the original language of Scripture as well as early church history, we see that hades means only “unperceived,” or anything that cannot be perceived through our senses. The word does not carry with it any sense of burning, torture, or endless torment. Since we now know the real meaning of hades, let us examine…

 

What God Says About Who Will Be Saved

Will God save only a fraction of mankind, as modern Christians say? Or will He save ALL? Here’s what the Bible says:

“For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22
Notice in these two passages the obvious parallel. How many of us die? All of us. How many will be made alive? All of us.

When you were born, did you have a choice about whether you would die or not? No. You inherited death and you had no say in the matter. Likewise, Jesus will raise you up and give you life. You will not have a choice about this either.

Despite the logical structure of these verses, modern Christian teachers attempt to bend these Scriptures to say what they want. They believe the verse in Corinthians says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all [Christians] will be made alive.” Obviously, this is not what it says.

Here’s another verse to consider:

“All things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16b
I would like to point out here that this verse says all things were created through Jesus and for Jesus. It does not say all things were created for Him and satan. You see, in modern Christianity, satan is the real winner. He gets the bulk of all the people who have ever lived, while Jesus gets the leftovers. If this is true, it is NOT good news!

Let’s continue…

“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:19-20

“For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” 1 Timothy 4:10

“For it is written, ‘As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.’” Romans 14:11
The verse in 1 Timothy is one of the most interesting in the above list. It says God is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. This implies there is a special reward for believers that unbelievers do not receive.

Whatever the special reward is, it cannot be salvation. Because the verse clearly states that God is already the Savior of all mankind. The reward must be something beyond or in addition to salvation.

Probably the most powerful verse in the entire Bible that speaks of Universal Restoration was spoken by Jesus Himself in John 12:32-33. He said:

 

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.
The word draw here is helkuo in the Greek, which literally means to drag.

Was Jesus lifted up on the cross? Yes! Then, He says, I will drag all men to Myself. Your “will” doesn’t matter here. Jesus is going to drag you to Him sooner or later.

John 6:44 also uses the word helkuo. It says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

We do not drag ourselves to Jesus. We do not “bootstrap” our way to salvation. Rather, God drags us to the foot of the cross! Paul goes on to affirm this when he says our salvation is from God, and not of ourselves, so that no man can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

For some, the dragging will be easy. They will respond quickly. But for others, it will be harder. And that’s where judgment comes in…

 

How Long Does Judgment Last?

To be completely clear, I believe God will judge people. The question then is 1) What is the purpose of that judgment? and 2) How long will that judgment last?

The first question we’ve already answered. As we saw in Isaiah 26:9, the purpose of judgment is to lead us to righteousness. Said another way, the purpose of discipline is to correct. But what about the duration of this judgment? How long will it last?

If you pick up a King James Bible (or just about any Bible for that matter), you’ll see dozens of verses that use the words “eternal” and “everlasting,” as well as phrases like “forever and ever.” Take Matthew 25:46 for example…

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The word translated “eternal” and “everlasting” comes from the Greek word aion. Do we have an English equivalent? Yes. It is the word “eon.” Look it up in your dictionary. You will see that the word “eon” derives from the word aion.

But does “eon” mean “everlasting?”

No. “Eon” means a finite, but indeterminate length of time. In other words, an unknown period of time that has a beginning and end.

So why did the translators choose to use “everlasting” for the Greek word “aion?”

In the case of Matthew 25:46, the word “aion” appears twice. The translators assumed the verse had to mean eternal life (“Why would someone receive life for the eon?”); which meant the preceding portion of the verse had to be translated in a similar fashion.

A lack of understanding influenced the translators’ word choices. Because they could not understand, they rendered the words according to their own (flawed) understanding.

With that in mind, a proper translation of Matthew 25:46 would read as follows (quoting from the Concordant Literal Translation):

And these shall be coming away into chastening eonian, yet the just into life eonian.
What this means is simply this: the judgment (or “chastening”) lasts only for an eon… or an unknown period of time with a beginning and end.

There are many more scriptures like this in the Bible. A surface-level reading may lead you to conclude that judgment lasts forever. But closer inspection reveals otherwise.

Now, because there is an end to the judgment… and we know the purpose is to bring about righteousness… it becomes much easier to believe what the Bible actually says–that Jesus is the Savior of ALL mankind!

But perhaps in light of all this, you will say, “Well, the New Testament may talk about Universal Restoration, but certainly the Old Testament does not.” At one point in my journey, I thought the same thing. Fortunately, through some in-depth study I discovered…

 

Forgotten Laws of the Old Testament Reveal God’s Plan to Save All Men!

Not many people read the Bible. Those who do read primarily the New Testament. Which means the Old Testament is an unpopular volume.

Because of this, much of God’s law has been forgotten. And I’m not even talking about The 10 Commandments. I’m talking about all the other laws in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy that nobody likes to read.

First things first: in the Bible, all sin is reckoned as debt. If a man sins, he is said to be indebted to the Law. This is why we pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

Another example can be found in Colossians 2:13-14 (emphasis mine):

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Having established that sin is reckoned as debt, we can now look to the Old Testament with new eyes…

 

Sabbath Years & The Jubilee

The number “7” is an important number. For instance, every seventh day is called a Sabbath, or a day of rest. Most readers will be familiar with this concept.

Every seventh year is called a Sabbatic Year, a year of rest. Not only does God command a year of rest for the land during which no crops should be planted, He also commands the suspension of debts during the Sabbatic Year (Deuteronomy 15:1). This means creditors are not supposed to collect payment on debts during the Sabbatic Year. This is important because it plays out on an even grander cycle.

The third manifestation of the Sabbath concept is seven times seven years, or 49 years total. Every 49 years marks what is called “The Jubilee.” It is a year of release in which all debts are canceled. All men go free and return to their inheritance.

In a Sabbatic Year, there is only remission of debts. It’s like hitting the “Pause” button. After the Sabbatic Year is over, the debtor must continue to make payments against his debt.

A Jubilee Year is different because it’s a year in which all debts are canceled. It makes no difference how much a man owes. Every last penny of debt is forgiven, and he starts afresh during the new Jubilee cycle.

The savvy reader will have already put two and two together. Basically, the Law of Jubilee establishes the legal precedent for the forgiveness of all sins!

What’s more, it does not matter one iota whether the debtor wants his debts to be canceled or not. He has no say in the matter. Only the creditor has the authority to cancel the debt, and he does it of his own prerogative.

Who is the creditor? God, the creator of the Law, of course. Who is the debtor? Man is. Who came to cancel all debt? Jesus, God’s own son.

There is much more that could be said on this topic, but the purpose of this letter is to make you think and inspire you to search out the truth on your own.

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

–King Solomon in Proverbs 25:2

 

Eat, Drink & Be Merry?

Based on what I’ve written so far, some will say I’m encouraging those who don’t know Jesus to remain apart from Jesus. That I’m encouraging them to “eat, drink, and be merry.” After all, everybody gets saved, right?

But this is not what I’m saying at all. When standing before the high priest Annas, Peter declared…

He [Jesus] is the “STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.” And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:11,12)
The only way we may be saved is by professing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. There is no other way.

I can’t tell you how many times my agnostic and atheistic friends have told me, “I refuse to follow a God who sends people to hell for eternity.” If you feel this way, then the good news is you don’t have to follow a God like that. God is love, and “perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

Since coming to an understanding that God is saving all men, I find my relationship with God has changed for the better. It turns out God is just and merciful after all.

It is much easier for me to love God when I know that God is love–and that He is demonstrating that love to us. It is also much easier for me to love others (even my enemies) when I know that God loves them just as much as He loves me.

So how do we follow Jesus? It is actually quite simple. 1 John 4:14,15 says…

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
On the other hand, if we only confess God–but deny that Jesus is the Son of God–then we do not have God at all. 1 John 2:22,23 says…

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
If you would like to know Jesus, you must profess that he is the Son of God and rose from the dead. It requires no scripted prayer. Simply ask Jesus to be a part of your life. Paul says in Romans 10:9-10…

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
If you decide to do this, you will be amazed by the changes that happen in your heart and in your life. I am a testament to that.

 

Is This Too Much Good News?

I’m always amazed by Christians who respond vehemently when I suggest that God intends to save (and will save!) everyone. It’s as if they can accept only so much good news; too much good news sends them over the edge.

I hope this isn’t the case with you.

You see, the real good news is that Jesus’s death on the cross paid the full penalty of sin for all people who ever lived. All men will receive life through Jesus. All men will stand before Almighty God and worship Him. This is when God will truly become “All in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28)

I believe this is “the greatest love story never told.”

Let me end with this:

If this letter speaks to you, it is God who speaks and not me. Only God can open your eyes and ears to the truth. May God grant you the ability to see and hear.