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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 6, 2012 5:06:57 GMT -8
#181 – From a letter by John Henderson to Dr. Joseph Priestly (eighteenth century)
“God hath declared that His will is that all should be saved; therefore, the doctrine which forges a contrary will, falsifies supreme unchangeable truth.
Unceasing torments can answer no possible good to anyone in the universe. I conclude them to be neither the will or work of God. Could I suppose them, I must believe them to be inflicted by a wantonness or cruelty which words cannot express, nor heart conceive. But let this be the comfort of every humble soul, that it hath pleased God to reconcile all things to Himself.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 7, 2012 5:54:09 GMT -8
#182 – LITERARY HOURS – Dr. Nathan Drake
“That sin and torture should be eternal can neither accord with the justice nor the goodness of Deity, and would appear to many devout Christians to convert the God they should adore and love, into a perfect demon. Fortunately, however, an opinion so repulsive is neither accordant with reason, nor the Scriptures.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 8, 2012 5:24:16 GMT -8
#183 – MISCELLANEOUS MAXIMS AND THOUGHTS – William Matthews
“In my childhood I found it impossible to fix my belief in the common notion of endless torments. I discovered there are plain arguments from reason and Scripture against that presumptuous doctrine of endless punishment, and I am now cheered with the rational, Scriptural, and as I think, glorious doctrine of the punishment of Divine justice being eventually subservient to a universal purification and fitness for heavenly habitations.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 9, 2012 5:52:12 GMT -8
#184 – CHRIST GLORIFIED IN THE SALVATION AND RESTORATION OF ALL MANKIND – Francis Leicester
“But the Scripture which crowns all, and the last which I shall bring into proof, is Revelation 5:13. Here all creation is at Christ’s feet, and that not with tears in their eyes, or petitions in their hands, not with crying or supplications or weeping because things were hidden and kept secret; but with joy in their hearts, and praises in their mouths; with melody on their lips, and hallelujahs on their tongues; with looks and countenances full of satisfaction and delight; and their faces, instead of gathering blackness, turning into paleness, or being covered with shame and confusion (as once was the case with some of them) they all now shine as the sun, replete with light, life and love, full of ecstasy and rapture. And that because the book written within and on the backside, and sealed with seven seals, is now opened and unsealed, and all things revealed and explained: their own cases particularly unfolded to their view, with all the ways and means their loving Saviour took to bring them to the situation they are now in, with other miracles of grace and love.
Where then there is universal praise and thanksgiving, universal harmony and love, and both heaven and earth sounding and resounding acclamations of joy and peace, there must be universal salvation.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 10, 2012 0:43:40 GMT -8
#185 – Anna Letitia Barbuald, widow of Rev. Rochemont Barbuald wrote “Rochemont’s favorite doctrine was the final salvation of all the human race. He preached many sermons on this doctrine, which he defended both in the pulpit and in conversation with zeal and enthusiasm, which his congregation and his friends cannot but well remember.”
Anna further commented, “I think it would be desirable to separate from religion that idea of gloom, which in this country (England) has but too generally accompanied it. No one who embraces the common idea of future endless torments, that sins committed against an infinite Being do therefore deserve infinite punishment, no one, I will venture to assert, can believe such tenants, and have them often in his thoughts, and yet be cheerful.
Surely this age (the eighteenth century) which has demolished dungeons, rejected torture, and given so fair a prospect of abolishing the iniquity of the slave trade, cannot long retain among its articles of belief, the gloomy perplexities of Calvinism, and the heart-withering perspective of cruel and never-ending punishments.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 11, 2012 4:19:37 GMT -8
#186 – AN ESSAY ON UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION; TENDING TO PROVE THAT THE GENERAL SENSE OF SCRIPTURE FAVORS THE OPINION OF THE FINAL SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND. – Rev. John Brown (eighteenth century)
In UNIVERSALIST MISCELLANY, commenting on that work, William Vidler wrote, “He considers the genuine import of the words and phrases which are thought to prove the endless duration of punishment, which he contends do not necessarily bear that sense, and he touches upon the usual topics of argument by which universalism has been defended.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 12, 2012 0:28:48 GMT -8
#187 – CONVERSATIONS ON THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT – Theophilus Lindsey
“The doctrine of eternal torments is a millstone that Christians hang around the neck of the Gospel. The words translated ‘eternal,’ ‘everlasting,’ ‘forever,’ and the like, generally signify limited periods of duration.
Everything is from God, and for the good of all. All things, good as well as what we call evil, are appointed by Infinite Wisdom and Benevolence, for the wisest and most gracious purposes for everyone.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 13, 2012 12:25:08 GMT -8
CORRECTION: I have replaced snippet #72 with the following
#72 - A snippet from GOD’S METHODS WITH MAN – G. Campbell Morgan (pages 185-186)
“Let me say to Bible students that we must be very careful how we use the word ‘eternity.’ We have fallen into great error in our constant use of that word. There is no word in the whole book of God corresponding with our ‘eternal,’ which, as commonly used among us, means absolutely without end. Men have divided the church, separated from each other, and persecuted one another, upon a though conveyed by an English word which has no equivalent in the Bible.” G. Campbell Morgan
In response to that statement, the SCRIPTURE STUDIES CONCERN editor (unnamed) wrote in 1956 “We cannot conceive of a Creator Who knows the end from the beginning, One Who is Love, Who has infinite wisdom, and infinite power, giving to any being life, life which is never to end, but to continue in suffering to all eternity. The Bible does not teach it anywhere in the original languages. God’s punishments are remedial and take place within the span of the ages. Punishment will last no longer than is necessary to bring man to hate his sin and be reconciled to his Saviour.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 15, 2012 6:00:26 GMT -8
#188 – About Dr. Joseph Priestly, Thomas Whittimore writes in THE MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM
“He believed that God’s punishment will not be administered with the slightest tincture of revenge, but as a necessary means of qualifying the sinner for a better state of existence, which his present propensities disqualify him from enjoying. It is not the effect of anger in an irritated and avenging tyrant as the abominable tenets of orthodoxy would induce us to think of the Deity, but it is the medicine administered for our good by the Physician of our souls. Nor have we any reason to believe that it is greater in degree, or longer in duration than is necessary to produce the beneficial effect for which it is inflicted.
It was a constant source of great consolation to him that all things exist and move on harmoniously to produce universal good by Divine appointment and direction.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 16, 2012 5:17:58 GMT -8
#189 – In an introduction to his translation of the New Testament, Nathaniel Scarlett wrote “It has been a means of propagating the doctrine of endless d**nation, which states that God will kindle a fire, and so constantly supply it with combustible matter, brimstone, by His all creating power, as to endure as long as He Himself shall exist; and that the subjects of future punishment, being raised incorruptible and indissoluble, shall for the same period endure burning in the lake of fire, God having no end in view but the endless misery of His creatures.
The editor hopes the translation he has given will help to remove so degrading an idea of God, Who is love; and although He will afflict the wicked in the lake of fire and brimstone; yet He has a great and grand design in so doing – punishment being a means to accomplish an end, and not the end itself.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Fourteen other literally (not interpretively) translated Bibles that reveal what God will do with the sinners in Matthew 25:46 Concordant Literal, Young’s literal, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham’s Emphasized, Scarlett’s, J.W. Hanson’s New Covenant, Twentieth Century, Ferrar Fenton, The Western New Testament, Weymouth’s (unedited), Clementson’s, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, Bullinger’s Companion Bible margins, Jonathan Mitchell’s translation (2010).
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 17, 2012 5:18:06 GMT -8
#190 – In a letter to a friend, James Edmands (nineteenth century) wrote
“The death of Christ ensured the restoration of all as a result. Men are now in the hands of a Mediator, Who deals with them as rational and accountable beings, and afflicts, whether here or hereafter, only in order to bring them to a deep sense of their own folly, and then restores them to His favor. Those who love and believe in Him in this life, are the first fruits, and those who do not will be the harvest or ingathering.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 18, 2012 4:06:35 GMT -8
#191 – Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.)
“God’s justice is, of itself, nothing but goodness; for it rewards the virtuous with blessings, and conduces to the improvement of the sinful. God’s punishment is, in its operation, like medicine: it dissolves the hard heart, purges away the filth of uncleanness, and reduces the swellings of pride and haughtiness; thus restoring its subject to a sound and healthful state.
The necessary chastisements of the Great Judge, Who regards all with benignity, will make mankind grieve for their sins and imperfections, and advance them through the various states of discipline to perfection. Even God’s wrath is full of benevolence towards the human race; for whose sake the Word of God was made man. The chastisements of God are always salutary and instructive, leading to amendment.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 19, 2012 4:48:05 GMT -8
#192 – Origen Adamantius (185-254 A.D.)
“The end and consummation of the world will take place when all the wicked shall be subjected to punishments. How long each one shall suffer God only knows. The great variety of characters and different orders of beings which now exist, will, through the goodness of God, their subjection to Jesus Christ, and the unity of the Holy Spirit, be finally restored. As the sick must be cured by harsh medicines, so God administers for the purpose of amendation.
Our God is a consuming fire. He shall come as a refiner’s fire, to purify rational nature from the alloy of wickedness. Rivers of fire are said to go forth before the face of God for the purpose of consuming whatever of evil is admixed with the soul. (Dan. 7:10).
We assert that the Word, Who is the Wisdom of God, shall bring together all intelligent creatures, and convert them to His own perfection. We deny that of all the vices of the soul, there is any which the supreme Word cannot cure. For the Word is more powerful than all the diseases of the soul; and He applies His remedies to each one, according to the pleasure of God. And the consummation of all things will be the extinction of sin. This may not, indeed, take place with mankind in the present life, but be accomplished after they shall have been liberated from the body.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 20, 2012 4:35:34 GMT -8
THE MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD – Gary Siglar The message for the world today is only one --- that God has reconciled you back to Himself. He didn't just redeem a few. He didn't just forgive a few. He didn't determine that a few would be saved and the rest would be eternally lost. God has a plan that is so perfect and worked out to restore all of mankind back to their source. If you understand that no matter where you are today God chose you, before the foundation of the world, that you would be holy and without blame before Him in love. If you can believe this simple word you will rejoice. I know the condition of carnal humanity. I know the condition of some people who love God. I know the carnal condition that most of us are in. The truth is --- and the truth will set you free --- you are holy, unblameable, and irreprovable in His sight. Not in your carnal adamic life, but in Christ. Christ is holy, unblemished, and undefiled. If you can accept that you will be that experientially. If you can't accept that you won't yet experience it but you still will eventually as God brings you into the knowledge of your true identity. God has never, ever, made one human being that will fail except for a good purpose, because He works all things after the counsel of His own will. Known by God are all His works from beginning unto end. Gary Sigler sigler.org/
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 21, 2012 5:12:29 GMT -8
#193 – AGAINST THE MANICHEANS - Titus of Bostra (written 364 A.D)
“The abyss of hell is indeed the place of torment; but it is not eternal. The punishments are holy, as they are remedial and salutary in their effect upon transgressors; for they are inflicted, not to preserve them in their wickedness, but to make them cease from their wickedness.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 22, 2012 5:47:07 GMT -8
#194 – Gregory of Nyssa (335-390)
What is the scope of St. Paul’s dissertations? That the nature of evil shall, at length, be wholly exterminated, and divine immortal goodness embrace within itself every rational creature; so that of all who were made by God, not one shall be excluded from His kingdom. All the viciousness that like a corrupt matter is mingled in things shall be dissolved and consumed in fire; and everything shall be restored to its pristine state of purity.
In 1Cor. 15:22-28, the apostle Paul declares the extinction of all sin, saying that God will be All in all. For God will be truly All in all only when no evil shall remain in the nature of things. All evil must at length, be entirely removed from everything, so that it shall no more exist. For such being the nature of sin, that it cannot exist without a corrupt motive, it must, of course, be perfectly dissolved and wholly destroyed, so that nothing can remain a receptacle of it, when all motive and influences shall spring from God alone.
As the devil assumed a fleshly shape in order to ruin human nature, so the Lord took flesh for the salvation of man; and thus He blesses not only him who was ruined, but him also who led him into perdition; so that He both delivers man from sin, and heals the author of sin himself.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 23, 2012 5:06:34 GMT -8
#195 – Didymus, the blind, of Alexandria (313-398 A.D.)
“As mankind, by being reclaimed from their sins, are to be subjected to Christ in the fullness of the dispensation instituted for the salvation of all, and the superior rational intelligences, the angels, will be restored to obedience by correction.
The blasphemy which shall not be forgiven in this age, nor in the age to come, may have been the blinded Jews; and their punishment, that which came upon them when they were delivered up to the Romans, and scattered over the whole earth. They will be pursued with vengeance from the Lord, not for a short period only, but for the whole future age, so that they shall be captives and fugitives, wandering among all nations, and possessing neither city nor country. Nevertheless, as God Who overthrew them is naturally kind and compassionate, He hath still reserved for them a space for repentance.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 24, 2012 5:45:48 GMT -8
#196 – COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT – Jerome (347-420 A.D.)
“In the end or consummation of things, all shall be restored to their original state, and be again united in one body. We cannot be ignorant that Christ’s blood benefited the angels and those who are in hell; though we know not the manner in which it produced such effects. The apostate angels shall become such as they were created; and man, who has been cast out of paradise, shall be restored thither again. And this shall be accomplished in such a way, that all shall be united together by mutual charity, so that the members will delight in each other, and rejoice in each other’s promotion.
The apostate angels, and the prince of this world, though now ungovernable, plunging themselves into the depths of sin, shall, in the end, embrace the happy dominion of Christ and His saints.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 25, 2012 10:17:56 GMT -8
#197 – AVITUS and BASIL, A GRECIAN (approx. 410 A.D.) together taught
“Future torments are not endless; for although they are called everlasting, yet that word in the original Greek, does not, according to its etymology, and its frequent use, signify endless, but answers only to the duration of an age; so that every sinner, after the purification of his conscience, shall return into the unity of the body of Christ. The devil himself will at length be saved, when all his wickedness shall have been subdued.
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 26, 2012 6:03:15 GMT -8
#198 – Theodorus of Mopsuestia (350-428 A.D.)
“All sins will be wiped away, because a true remission consists in the remission not of some sins but of all of them, as the blessed John said: "Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." This, however, will take place fully in the next world when after the resurrection we shall be immortal and when all the impulses of sins will cease. This is the reason why the blessed Paul also said: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised, and if Christ be not raised your faith is vain and ye are yet in your sins." He shows in this that in the future resurrection from the dead we are expecting complete abolition of sin.
"When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of the sin is the law." Then will truly take place the abolition of all these: of death, sin and corruption.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 27, 2012 5:41:24 GMT -8
#199 - John Scottus Eriugena (810-877 A.D)
“There will be a conscious return (reditus) and merging of all beings into God. No souls (including the souls of animals) will be left out of this grand return. No one will be d**ned to suffer forever in hell or wither away into oblivion. There can only be a single destination for all: eternal salvation in God, the whole of humanity as in the image of God eventually to be restored to its divine exemplar. The object of punishment is not the will of the individual himself, but the misdirection of the will, so the result of punishment is the final purification and redemption of all. Even the devils shall be saved. The ultimate goal is deification, theosis or resumption into the divine being, when the individual soul is raised to a full knowledge of God, and where knowing and being are one.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 28, 2012 7:10:07 GMT -8
#200 – THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS – Jeremiah White (1613-72 A.D)
“God’s love demands that all punishment be reformative, Divine punishment is both good in itself, because everything that God does is good, and good for those being punished, because God loves His creation”
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 29, 2012 5:59:19 GMT -8
#201 – BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html“Passages of Scripture Sometimes Quoted to Prove Endless Punishment Shown to Teach Consequences of Limited Duration, showing that Christian universalism, or ultimate reconciliation is the true Biblical doctrine.” Arguably, this is the most helpful link on the internet for people who want to believe that the Bible, (literally, not interpretively) translated, teaches universal salvation, not eternal torment, or even annihilation.
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 30, 2012 5:56:46 GMT -8
#202 - AIÓN – AIÓNIOS – (“shown to denote limited duration”) John Wesley Hanson www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html The etymology of the Greek word aionios does not contain the meaning of everlasting. “THE VOCABULARY OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT (edited by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan) is helpful. Concerning aionios we read, “In general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . .” (p.16). If the horizon of the extermination spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is simply not in view, then we can see that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can truly occur. The same all who are dying in Adam, which includes some who incur eonian extermination, can indeed eventually be vivified in Christ. The Bible, in fact, does not speak of judgment and condemnation, death and destruction, hades and Gehenna, or any of these serious consequences of sin, as unending. It may refer to them as not having the end in view, but none of these fearful works of God can keep Him from achieving His will (1Tim.2:4); reconciling all through the blood of Christ’s cross (Col.1:20, and becoming All in all (1 Cor.15:28).”Dean Hough
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Post by rodgertutt on Dec 31, 2012 6:31:41 GMT -8
#203 - AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS – Louis Abbott www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.htmlRegarding the words translated “forever and ever.” “There are several analogous expressions in the Scriptures which should show the meaning of the words under discussion. In Ex. 26:33 (LXX), tou hagiou ton hagion, "in the holy of the holies." This is similar to the "eon of the eons" of Eph. 3:21. In IKings 8:6 (LXX) we see, eis ta hagia ton hagion, for “the holies of the holies" - similar to "eons of the eons." The "holy of the holies" and "holies of the holies" refer to the tabernacle. Psalm 44:7 says, ho thronos sou ho theos, eis ton aiona tou aionos, "Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of eon"-similar to Heb. 1:8. Daniel 7:18: "until eon of the eons" and similar to that of Eph. 3:21, where a singular is followed by a plural, "eon of the eons." In these expressions we see the eons corresponding to the holies in the tabernacle. While there are many different teachings on the types in the Tabernacle of Moses, it should not be too difficult to see that there were at least five divisions: (1) without the camp; (2) in the camp; (3) in the court; (4) in the holy place; and (5) in the holy of holies. These may be likened to the five eons we find in the Scriptures (past eons, present eon, future eons). The last eon is called the "eon of the eons," because it, like the "holy of holies," is the climax of the others. In Hebrews chapter 9, the Greek text of Nestle reads (margin v. 25), eis ta hagia ton hagion, "into the holies of the holies," and (v. 3), hagia hagion, "holies of holies." Just as the two holy places in the tabernacle are called the holies of holies, so the last two eons are often called the eons of the eons. As the tabernacle illustrated man's approach to God, it corresponds closely with the eonian times, which also brings man to God. The "holy of holies" was a single holy place. The "eon of eons," a single eon. It was the pre-eminence of the "holy of holies," in relation to the other holy places, which caused it to be so designated. So the pre-eminence of the "eon of the eons" lies in its being the fruitage and harvest of previous eons. The same is true of the "holies of the holies" of Heb. 9:25. They may be likened to the "eons of the eons" of Rev. 11:15; 22:5.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Jan 1, 2013 6:06:18 GMT -8
#204 – A MESSAGE FROM GARY AMIRAULT (owner of the TENTMAKER website) www.tentmaker.org/ lovewins.us/what-the-hell-is-hell.com/“Hell is a myth! Jesus Christ saves all mankind. That is the growing view of Bible scholars, translators and Bible publishers. Hell is leaving the pages of many Bible translations. Bible scholars and church historians are acknowledging that early Christians were taught by Jesus and the apostles that ALL mankind would ultimately be saved. Discover how the heathen concept of Hell crept into the church and then on to the pages of many Bible translations. Tentmaker Ministries website contains hundreds of articles and books explaining how this happened and its horrible effect on mankind. We also make available many other resources for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. Experience your heavenly Father's unfailing love for you. Be set free from the fear that you or a loved one may be eternally d**ned to Hell.” Gary Amirault, Tentmaker Ministries
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Post by rodgertutt on Jan 2, 2013 6:02:13 GMT -8
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Post by rodgertutt on Jan 3, 2013 5:44:55 GMT -8
FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #1 Some day everyone is going to learn that it was not even possible for them to not start trusting in Jesus as their Saviour when they did start trusting in Him. Sooner or later “God will have all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4) It is God’s “pleasure” that all mankind be saved. And “God is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). Change it to read “in accord with the counsel of what He wants” if you like. Because God says "My counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasure (the saving of all mankind is part of the pleasure that God wants) Yea I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also do it." Isaiah 46:10,11 Job 23:13 “But He stands alone, and who can oppose Him? He does whatever he pleases. (the saving of all mankind is part of what He wants that pleases Him). Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (the saving of all mankind is part of all of which God desires or wants) So we see God does all His pleasure, He does whatever He pleases, and His word accomplishes that which He desires. His pleasure, that which He desires and pleases Him is what He wants. His will = What He wants What does He want? THE SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND Why will it happen? Because God Himself will see to it that it gets done.Just like in the case of Lydia (whose heart the Lord opened, Acts 16:14) and Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-8), our cooperation to be saved is the result, not the cause, of God laying hold on us by His sovereign grace and causing Jesus to be "choice" in our heart. The timing of the salvation of everyone is under God's sovereign control. God arranges everything so each person will be saved according to His perfect timing for each individual. HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE - James Coram CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE biblical studies: His Achievement Are We - Part 9 - Choosing What Is Choice concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchievement/HisAchievement009.html"No one to whom Christ is not yet choice can choose Christ. And Christ cannot be choice to anyone to whom He has not yet been made choice. When He is made choice He becomes choice and so is choice; or to say the same thing, He is chosen. This first act of the believer in which Christ is consciously chosen, is merely a consequence of his new mental preference which has been graciously granted to him by God."ARMINIAN ET BELIEF - It's as if God says “Unless you are lucky enough to find out about my son during this lifetime, and even if you are that lucky, if you don’t have the good sense to use your "free" will and cooperate with my son properly before you die, then I am going to raise you from the dead and I will sustain you alive in an inescapable state of eternal torment forever.”My advice, don't put your faith in your faith. Your faith may, and probably will be misplaced from time to time, especially if you are having faith in your self. Put your faith in Jesus Christ instead, because even if He casts you into the lake of fire which is the second death it will achieve the age-during corrective chastisement that He has promised to everyone who needs it. Any cooperation towards our salvation is the result, not the cause of God laying hold on us by His saving grace and causing Jesus to be "choice" in our heart, just like it was in the case of Lydia and Saul of Tarsus.
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Post by rodgertutt on Jan 4, 2013 5:53:52 GMT -8
FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #2 Why I believe that the Bible teaches that everyone who is cast into the lake of fire which is the second death will be saved out of it. Greek scholar William Barclay wrote concerning kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) in Matthew 25:46 "The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. There is no instance in Greek secular literature where kolasis does not mean remedial punishment. It is a simple fact that in Greek kolasis always means remedial punishment. God's punishment is always for man's cure." See what other Greek scholars say about it too. AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS – Louis Abbott www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter11.htmlFifteen literally translated (not interpretively translated) Bibles that reveal what God will do with the sinners in Matthew 25:46 Concordant Literal, Young’s literal, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham’s Emphasized, Scarlett’s, J.W. Hanson’s New Covenant, Twentieth Century, Ferrar Fenton, The Western New Testament, Weymouth’s (unedited), Clementson’s, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, Bullinger’s Companion Bible margins, Jonathan Mitchell’s translation (2010). Regarding the meaning of aionios, many Greek scholars agree with John Wesley Hanson. AIÓN – AIÓNIOS www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.shtml Dean Hough wrote “The definition given in THE VOCABULARY OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT (edited by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan) is helpful. Concerning aionios we read, “In general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . .” (p.16). If the horizon of the extermination spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is simply not in view, then we can see that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can truly occur. The same all who are dying in Adam, which includes some who incur eonian extermination, can indeed eventually be vivified in Christ. The Bible, in fact, does not speak of judgment and condemnation, death and destruction, hades and Gehenna, or any of these serious consequences of sin, as unending. It may refer to them as not having the end in view, but none of these fearful works of God can keep Him from achieving His will (1Tim.2:4); reconciling all through the blood of Christ’s cross (Col.1:20, and becoming All in all (1 Cor.15:28).” Dean Hough SEE THE SCHOLARS CORNER THE CENTER FOR BIBLE STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.htmlTHE LAKE OF FIRE WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH THE JUST JUDGMENT OF GOD – JAMES CORAM “The main point which we seek to impress upon our readers is to accept God’s declaration that, for those who are judged before the great white throne, the lake of fire is the second death, not a second lifetime. While the ‘injury’ (literal translation) sustained by those who are cast into the lake if fire (in Revelation 20:14,15) will be fatal (since to these the lake of fire is the second death), it will not be permanent. We may be certain that this is the case, for, at the consummation, death will be abolished and all will be vivified, that God may be All in all. God is the Saviour of all mankind, and this includes all who enter the second death.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Jan 5, 2013 6:16:56 GMT -8
FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #3 GRACE OVERWHELMS What I perceive to be a basic issue. People who don't think salvation is 100% by God, not just 100% “provided” by God like to be in the hands of their own "free" will. That is where they feel most secure. IMO, that is a basic difference between ETers and URs. Just like in the case of Lydia (whose heart the Lord opened, Acts 16:14) and Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-8), our cooperation to be saved is the result, not the cause, of God laying hold on us by His sovereign grace and causing Jesus to be "choice" in our heart. The timing of the salvation of everyone is under God's sovereign control, some sooner, the rest later. HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE - James Coram CHOOSING WHAT IS CHOICE biblical studies: His Achievement Are We - Part 9 - Choosing What Is Choice www.concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchievement/HisAchievement009.html "No one to whom Christ is not yet choice can choose Christ. And Christ cannot be choice to anyone to whom He has not yet been made choice. When He is made choice He becomes choice and so is choice; or to say the same thing, He is chosen. This first act of the believer in which Christ is consciously chosen, is merely a consequence of his new mental preference which has been graciously granted to him by God."
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