FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

No! Universal Reconciliation is not a heresy — as long as your definition of "heresy" is not a subjective view of anyone who simply doesn't agree with your specific denominational views. The true orthodox view of "heresy" is considered anything that contradicts the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed, which have been used since 325AD to define critical church doctrine.

Universal Salvation does NOT violate either of these creeds.

In fact, if you study church history, you'll actually find that the early church fathers — many who were involved in writing these foundational creeds — were "universalists" themselves. This of course is no surpise for those who study church history, because universalim was the PREVAILING doctrine in the early church for the first 500 years, proof here!  However, they taught the doctrine of universal reconciliation under the name "the Apokatastasis" — meaning the restoration of all things to God's created intention. Therefore, you would have to deem the majority of church fathers as "heretics" for universal reconciliation to be considered a heresy.

Here are just a FEW examples of what the early church fathers believed about punishment in the afterlife:

The mass of men (Christians) say there is to be an end to punishment and to those who are punished.—St. Basil the Great

There are very many in our day, who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments. — Augustine (354-430 A.D.) 

For the wicked there are punishments, not perpetural, however, lest the immortality prepared for them should be a disadvantage, but they are to be purified for a brief period according to the amount of malice in their works. They shall therefore suffer punishment for a short space, but immortal blessedness having no end awaits them...the penalties to be inflicted for their many and grave sins are very far surpassed by the magnitude of the mercy to be showed to them. — Diodore of Tarsus, 320-394 A.D.

For it is evident that God will in truth be all in all when there shall be no evil in existence, when every created being is at harmony with iteself and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; when every creature shall have been made one body. –Gregory of Nyssa, 335-390

The wicked who have committed evil the whole period of their lives shall be punished till they learn that, by continuing in sin, they only continue in misery. And when, by this means, they shall have been brought to fear God, and to regard Him with good will, they shall obtain the enjoyment of His grace. –Theodore of Mopsuestia, 350-428

We can set no limits to the agency of the Redeemer to redeem, to rescue, to discipline in his work, and so will he continue to operate after this life. –Clement of Alexandria

Not even close! Two thirds of the Bible (the Old Testament) does not mention Hell at all. ("Sheol," the Old Testament word that is sometimes translated as Hell [in the KJV], only means "grave" by definition, and it is where everyone in the Old Testament went when they died — good or evil, Jew or Gentile). Thus, almost zero translations of the Old Testament contain the concept of Hell and only SOME versions of the Bible contain Hell in the New Testament. See for yourself:

Think about it... If Hell is real, why didn't God make that warning plain right at the beginning of the Bible? God said the penalty for eating of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was death- -not "eternal life" in fire and brimstone. - Answer by Gary Amirault

This is a popular myth, but it is not true! Jesus warned the Jews many times of impending destruction, both nationally and individually. He used several different terms to refer to punishment/destruction, some of which were erroneously translated as the same word, "Hell" by Bible translators. We do not deny that God will indeed judge the whole world, nor do we wish to make light of His judgments. We are challenging the belief that His judgment on sin and unbelief is eternal torment/Hell and never-ending separation from God. Certainly, Jesus spent a lot of his ministry warning people to repent or reap the consequences, (particularly "Gehenna.") But could we be reading more into His warnings than He originally intended? - Answer by Gary Amirault

The most popular versions of the English translation of the Bible do use the words "hell" and "eternal" punishment. We are well aware of each verse that gets commonly quoted in this debate. However, the most accurate translations of the Bible do NOT include these mistranslations. The original languages of the Bible, written in Greek and Hebrew, do not include the concept of "eternal" punishment or "hell". There of course is righteous judgement, but the punishment is always corrective and restorative - just like any loving father corrects his children. As seen below in this comparison chart, the Latin Vulgate and King James Versions are the only main versions that have hell in the Old Testament (HUGE RED FLAG - You're telling me God failed to mention hell for thousands of years before people found out about this?), while many do not include hell on a single page of either the Old Testatment or New Testament.

Read a more in depth study of this here.

There are essentially three different Greek words that have been interchangeably translated as “hell”—Hades, Gehenna, and Tartaroo, but not one conveys hell as we know and hear it taught today. Hades is the NT or Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word, Sheol. Tartaroo is only mentioned once (2 Pet. 2:4) and appears to be a temporary state of confinement. Of note is that Tartaroo is a verb meaning, “to cast down,” yet it’s used in 2 Peter as a noun, a place called hell. An accurate translation should read, “but cast them down and committed them to pits…”

The word most often translated hell in the NT is the word Gehenna, found only twelve times—once in James and the rest occurring in the Gospels. Jesus warned about Gehenna on four unique occasions in Matthew. Mark and Luke only use it in one passage (repeating Matthew), and John doesn’t use it at all.

Gehenna (or Gehinnom) is a literal valley near Jerusalem. In the OT Hebrew it was called, “the valley of Ben-Hinnom” or “Topheth.” This valley, still in existence today, is located just outside Jerusalem and was notoriously a place where extreme forms of idol worship were practiced, resulting national, collective judgment for Israel.

In this valley, some Israelite parents sacrificed their children in real fire to their false god Molech, an act that God referred to as “evil, detestable, and an abomination” (Jeremiah 7:30–31). Ironic, huh? Because the Israelites did such a thing—a thing that God says “never even entered My mind to do or to command”—they are reported by their own prophets to have come under severe judgment in this very valley. - Answer from Raising Hell, pg. 42

Read full explanation here.

There is no word for “eternity” in the Greek or Hebrew Scriptures, and that the plainest teaching of the Word of God has been obscured by incorrect and inconsistent translation of the Greek word aion (age) [and its adjective form aionios (pertaining to an age)]. It cannot possibly mean “eternity,” for consistency would force us into such senseless renderings as “the present eternity,” and “before eternity” (see 1 Timothy 6:17; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:21. Furthermore, a consistent rendering of the word in Hebrews 9:26 would give us the contradictory phrase: “at the conclusion of the eternity.” - Answer from V. E. Jacobson

The reason that aionios was translated "everlasting" is largely due to a false assumption. Their reasoning is that because this adjective is applied to life promised to believers (John 3:16), God himself (Romans 16:26), and punishment (Matthew 8:18), the word automatically means "eternal" on that basis alone. At a superficial level, that seems fine. But, at closer examination, both of logic and the scripture, it actually falls apart.

Just because aionios is applied to God does not mean "aionios" automatically means "eternal." God can pertain to the ages, and also be immortal, and the scriptures testify to both as you will see. Likewise, believers may have "the life of the ages" and also be promised a future immortality. The scripture testifies to that as well. When we study that out to find that immortality and life are distinguishable concepts in the Bible, you might be surprised to what level the meaning of "life" is misunderstood by prevalent Christian theology.

God is holy, righteous, and good. Guess what? The word "aionios" doesn't mean any of those things either. The word aionios neither means "infinite" OR "temporary." Instead, it means "PERTAINING to the aions/ages." Does God NOT pertain to the ages? Of course he does. Does the indwelling life of Christ NOT pertain to the ages? Of course it does. And, God's judgment also pertains to the ages.

For now, here is another scriptural example of how God "pertains to" - without being limited to - what he creates: God is the "God of heaven and the God of the earth." (Genesis 24:4-3) Which one cancels out the other? Neither. He is God of both. When somebody says that "aion" and "aionios" do not mean "ever" or "for ever," he is not denying God's immortality. Rather, "aionios God" refers to the generational presence of God throughout the ages, as David continually taught.

But, when another Christian claims that such a thing denies God's immorality, he is committing the error of "Affirming a Disjunct." Here is how you know:

1 Timothy 1:17 - Now unto the King eternal (aion), immortal (aphthartos), invisible (aoratos), the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever (eis aion aion). Amen.

According to that scripture:

1. God is of the age (aion)
2. He has glory and honor unto the ages of the ages (eis aion aion)
3. He is immortal
4. He is invisible

Which trait cancels out the other? None. All four traits apply to him. In this one scripture, not only does Paul affirm that God is of the age (aion), he also confirms that God has glory and honor "unto the ages of the ages," just as King David also said that "God's years are throughout all generations."

However, in this scripture, Paul ALSO affirms God as both invisible and immortal. So, why confuse his immortality with his glory and honor in the ages he created, when they are not the same traits? They are traits which build up the total truth of God's nature. Additionally, and curiously enough, in the King James Bible they translate eis aion aion (meaning - "unto the ages of the ages") as forever and ever. Does forever actually need another "ever" attached to make it infinite? Really, it doesn't because the very concept of eternity defies pluralization of itself. But, the true meaning of aion does not, because ages do multiply unto themselves.

[See follow up question]

- Answer from Mericful Truth

Let's recap the facts from the previous question:

• Aion means "age", and can also suggest a world associated with that age (eg Industrial Age, Industrial World)
• The word aionios is composed of aion + ios which means, as demonstrated before, "pertaining to aion"
• God is "aionios" which means God pertains to the ages

Why should anyone assume that such facts would limit God? Such an understanding does not rob God of his immortality, but simply underscores the important relationship drawn in the New Testament between God and the ages He created to execute his plan to live within his followers. God will never die, or end just because ages do, but doesn't God relate to what he creates, even if He is not limited to what he creates? Is this so difficult to understand? If God did not relate to the ages, how could we ever know Him?

He created the aions/ages to reveal his plan to the Israelites through their prophets of ages past (Hebrews 1:1-2). He is God of what He creates. God is big, even bigger than the universe, but is He limited to being big? Is not God also smaller than the tiniest atomic particle, able to see all things? King David said this:

Psalm 102:24 - I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.

Generations represent continual progression of ages in time. Now, did King David mean to suggest that because God's years are throughout all generations, that such a thing LIMITS God? Of course not. In this issue, Christians often commit a logical error called Affirming a Disjunct, which is to fallaciously claim that one distinction cancels out all other distinctions. If a cat is both fuzzy and gray, affirming that the cat is gray does not deny the fuzziness. Likewise, God's distinction of pertaining to the ages, does not cancel out his immortality.

The Bible says that Jesus died for the church (Ephesians 5:25). It also says he died for the whole world (1 John 2:2). Which one cancels out the other? Neither. They are both true. - Answer from Mericful Truth

The “lake of fire”, or more correctly the “pool of fire and sulfur,” as translated in the New American Bible, was identified by early church fathers, such as Origen of Alexandria and Gregory Nyssen, as being a refiner’s crucible used to eliminate the dross, which are impurities in the gold (1). This view is very consistent with the imagery of a pool of fire and sulfur. Sulfur has been used since ancient times in the gold parting process. This is a process of separating the gold from other unwanted metals (2)(3) . This doctrinal outline retains the same understanding as understood by these early Greek speaking church fathers. This is also related to the “furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:42, 50). This understanding is in keeping with the imagery used in Proverbs 17:3, the testing of the heart. - Answer from Michael Webber

The entire concept of eternal or everlasting punishment hinges primarily on a single verse of Scripture-- Matthew 25:46. This is the only place in the entire Bible where we find these two words together AND only in some Bibles. There are over a dozen English translations which do NOT contain the concept of "eternal punishment" on ANY of their pages, NOR the pagan concept of Hell.

The Greek form for "everlasting punishment" in Matthew 25:46 is ”kolasin aionion." 

Kolasin is a noun in the accusative form, singular voice, feminine gender and means "punishment, chastening, correction, to cut-off as in pruning a tree to bare more fruit." "Aionion" is the adjective form of "aion," in the singular form and means "pertaining to an eon or age, an indeterminate period of time." (Note: the two words in many, not all translations become reversed when bringing the Greek into English, that is, "kolasin aionion" literally punishment everlasting is reversed to everlasting punishment so as to make better sense in English.)

"Aionion," as shown above, is the singular form of the adjective of the Greek noun "aion." Many people unfamiliar with the Greek do not realize that the endings of the same word change (inflection) to indicate its mood, case, gender, etc. Therefore, "aionion" may appear with different endings. "Aionion, aioniou, aionios," for example, are all different inflections of the adjective form of the noun "aion."

The noun "aion" in Greek literature has always meant "an indeterminate period of time. It could be as short as the time Jonah spent in the belly of a fish (three days or nights even though the KJV has him in the "belly of Hell" "forever," obviously a mistranslation; see Jonah 2:2, 2:6.), the length of a man's life, or as long as an age.

The Bible speaks of at least 5 "aions" and perhaps many more. If there were "aions" in the past, then aions must have an end. The New Testament writers spoke of "the present wicked aion" which ended during that very generation. Obviously, it was followed by another "aion"-- the "aion" in which we presently live. If there are "aions" to come, it must mean that this one we live in will also end.

There is a verse which says "the consummation of the aions" proving that each "aion" ends. So how can they be eternal? There is "the coming eon" (Matt.10:30, Luke 18:30 There is "the present wicked eon" (Gal.1:4) There is "the oncoming eons (future)(Eph.2:7) There is "the conclusion of the eon (present) (Mt.13:39,40) There is "the secret concealed from the eons (past) (Eph.3:9)

Plainly, the Greek word "aion" transliterated "eon" cannot mean "eternal." A study into the Greek of the Biblical period and before will bear this out.

"Aionion" is the adjective of the noun "aion."

Since grammar rules mandate an adjective CANNOT take on a greater force than its noun form, it is evident that "aionion" in any of its adjective forms (ios, ou, on) CANNOT possible mean "everlasting" or anything remotely indicating eternity or unending time.

For example, "hourly" cannot mean "pertaining to days, weeks, months, or years. The word MUST mean "pertaining to an hour." Therefore, "aionion," the adjective form of the noun "aion" which clearly means a period of indeterminate TIME, CANNOT mean, "forever and ever, eternal, everlasting, eternity, etc." or other words which connote timelessness or unending ages.

Therefore, those many Bibles which do NOT contain the teaching of everlasting punishment or Hell are true to the original languages of Greek and Hebrew:

Those which teach everlasting punishment or Hell are false.

Scholars are just as easily subjected to the "traditions of the elders" as the rest of us. It's time to let the original Greek and Hebrew languages of the Bible break down the traditions of men. - Answer by Tony Nungesser and Gary Amirault

1. Indeed Jesus did use the phrase "unquenchable fire" when speaking about "hell".

But here's this thing…

What Jesus meant by the phrase and what modern religion means are two completely different things

1. The phrase unquenchable fire was a common Hebrew figure of speech in the Bible that did not refer to Time but to an unstoppable event. Here is an example of the exact same phrase that is applied to the destruction of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 17:27 New International Version (NIV) - 27 I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.

1. The gates of Jerusalem were set on fire by the Babylonians

2. The fires went OUT!!!

Q. So what does "unquenchable" mean?

A. The fires were not quenched ... No one was able to quench them. They were not put out. They burned down the gates of Jerusalem! The fires did their job. The gates are not still burning today.

Unquenchable does NOT mean endless. It means unstoppable ... And then comes to an end.

Jesus made it clear The fires of "hell" (Greek Gehenna) will not be stopped. And Jesus said unequivocally that the fires of [Gehenna] are GOOD and results in restoration!

Mark 9:48-50 GNT - 48 There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.’ 49 “Everyone will be PURIFIED by FIRE as a sacrifice is purified by salt. 50

“Salt is GOOD! [Gehenna] fire is good!

God's fire purifies!!

Unstoppable

All will be purified!

Thank God for unquenchable fire! - Answer by Santo Calarco

That's like asking, "What's the point of having a hospital that has discovered the cure for all diseases?" Just because Calvary will prove itself to be 100% successful does not render Christ's sacrifice unnecessary. If a rescue team saved all the passengers on a sinking ship, would that prove their mission to be futile? The unscriptural dogma that only some will be saved undermines the atonement. It renders our Lord's work as mostly a failure. Some (Calv-Arminians?) believe that most people will be saved. This renders Christ's atonement almost successful! - Answer by Charles Slagle

Explain how God saving all people diminishes the power of the cross? If you’re a fireman and you are called to a hostel fire, would you be considered more successful and honored if you rescued only a few people from out of the burning building, or if you rescued them all to safety? - Answer by Julie Ferwerda

Again, that’s like saying, “the fire department showed up to save some people from the burning building, but if they were expected to save everyone from the burning building, they didn’t need to show up.” Jesus died on the cross to save everyone from death—Adam’s curse. - Answer by Julie Ferwerda

Something amazing happened to my Mom after she learned the truth [of the victorious gospel of Jesus Christ]. I’d never heard her talk about her faith openly to others, especially to her friends. I know that some of her friends were heavy on her heart as she faced her death, thinking she would never see them again. She probably felt a burden about making sure they didn’t go to hell, but she wasn’t the confrontational type and didn’t want to corner them either. Based on their bad experiences with certain Christians, some of her friends didn’t want religion shoved down their throats, so she’d spent many years simply serving them and loving them by example. After I shared the true Gospel with Mom, she was so consumed by the joy of it that she began sharing it with most everyone around her—her hospice nurse, her cleaning lady, and yes, even her friends. You see, that’s the effect that the true Gospel—the irresistible Gospel—has on people. You can’t wait to tell people about a love so powerful, so complete, and so pure that it offers value, hope, and purpose to every human being, with no strings attached. - Testimony by Julie Ferwerda

Jesus died to save us from SIN itself.

Matthew 1:20-21 - An angel from the Lord came to (Joseph) in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save (sozo - heal) his people from (Greek apo - to separate from) their SIN."

The angel told Joseph to name the child Jesus, meaning "Jehovah saves," which makes this scripture the very thesis statement of salvation in the Bible. This scripture is interesting not only for what it says, but what it does not say.

• It does NOT say: The child will be named Jesus, "because he will save his people from punishment for their SIN."
• It DOES say: The child will be named Jesus, "because he will save his people FROM their SIN."

- Answer from Merciful Truth

Think about it, if free will truly exists the way it is suggested, then we have big problems on our hands. [I]t would mean that people actually have the ability to ruin (or save) the ultimate destiny of others. I fully agree that man does have a will and the ability to act on it. I also agree that the behaviors of others certainly affect us and can even appear for a season to have hindered our good. It’s the “free” I take issue with. If people were to be judged fairly based on genuine free will, a level playing field would be imperative for all humanity. In other words, we could not be judged fairly unless we all had the same available choices.

For instance, did you choose your nationality, gender, personality, skin color, genes, birth date and place, family, or parents? Isn’t your supposed free will influenced by your culture, peers, religious affiliation, health, education, experiences, and life circumstances? Do people choose to get cancer, get hit by a drunk driver, scrounge in starvation and poverty, get abused by parents, die before they get to live, or even to be born? Does an orphan choose to be abandoned and mistreated by everyone, only to die without ever experiencing love, comfort, contentment, or hearing the name of Jesus? Does a happy, well-adjusted person who has no immediate unmet needs choose to grow up in a loving, nurturing family? Free will is nothing more than an illusion. There is no free in free will. Even the reason that we love God is completely outside of ourselves. His love is the first cause from which our love springs, upon our realization. We love Him, because He first loved us (I John 4:19, KJV). - Answer by Julie Ferwerda

People will say that the concept of universal salvation is a deception of the Devil. And here I am speaking out against sin, and proclaiming a Gospel of salvation from sin with Jesus Christ as its sole author. Does the Devil, who Jesus says, "sinneth from the beginning" teach a Gospel of salvation from sin? Can the Devil preach salvation from "all moral filth" even as he is the author of such things? I assure you, he wants no part of what I am saying here. What fellowship does darkness have with light? Can demons cast out demons? Beware your own slander. - Answer from Merciful Truth

I’ve heard pastors declare this from the pulpit, and even one of my pastor friends who preaches to large audiences all across the U.S. once told me that hell is mentioned fifteen times for every reference to heaven. Huh? If we’re going to compare apples to apples, the word “heaven” is mentioned 212 times compared to “hell,” at around thirteen times, depending on the version. Conceptually, the NT uses the word “gospel” (Good News) ninety-four times and not once does it have to do with punishment. Don’t you find it strange that Paul, the apostle to the nonJews, never once mentions everlasting punishment or hell to his non-Jew audience? If hell is the worst thing that could happen to a person, shouldn’t he have at least mentioned it, especially when he had the perfect opportunity with those unsaved, pagan Greeks who knew nothing about God in Acts 17? Shouldn’t the OT be full of hell references? But hell isn’t mentioned even once in the OT. - Answer from Raising Hell, p. 265

People will claim that universal salvation says, "You can live how you want and be saved anyway." People who say that may not have had an encounter with the destruction that sin itself causes. Anyone who knows about genocide knows how sin can destroy. Anyone who knows how families can be torn apart by adultery, knows how sin can destroy. Anyone who knows about envy and how can lead to armed robbery knows how sin can destroy. Sin is a destroyer unto itself. You can see it play out on the pulpit too. How many priests and preachers from either Catholicism and Protestantism have seen themselves destroyed by their own sin? Live how you want and be saved anyway? Please. Maybe what we need most in Christian culture is a healthier respect for the dangers of sin itself. - Answer from Merciful Truth

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man has been the foundation for many of the erroneous beliefs about "hell" within traditional Christianity. Some have viewed it not as a parable, but as a true story Christ told to give details about the punishment of sinners in hell. Yet a thorough, unbiased examination of this story will show that the generally accepted interpretations of this passage of Scripture are fallacious and misleading. In this article, we will go through the parable verse by verse to determine what Christ was truly teaching. - Article by Bryan T. Huie  

Are you only obeying God now to stay out of hell? That’s exactly why the early Church conjured up this lie—to control and “motivate” indifferent or half-hearted people with fear. God sees our motives, and fear-based service is not worthy of reward or “eonian life.” Besides, there are plenty of great reasons not to live a rebellious, self-serving lifestyle:

1. Rebellion against God and selfish living leads to death, whether literally or figuratively. Try it if you want. Go out and have an affair, cheat your employees out of their fair wages, point out all the “specks” in the eyes of your friends, acquire a drug addiction, eat yourself into oblivion, mistreat your kids, live completely for yourself, and then ask yourself in a couple years if your existence is characterized more by life or death.

2. There’s still a period of judgment. If you thoughtfully consider the words of the NT writers, the Judgment seems to be primarily for “Christians” with this kind of attitude (a.k.a. hypocrites). Scriptures teach that the wrongs of injustice you commit in this lifetime and do not make right will be much more painful to reconcile later.

3. You get a chance of being invited to the Wedding Feast. Jesus seemed to teach of a period of rewards for overcomers—those who are willingly faithful and obedient (check out the eight promises to overcomers in Revelation chapters 2, 3, and 21:7).

4. Malachi 3:16–18 speaks completely to this mentality. God says if you love Him with a pure heart demonstrated by obedience that He will write your name in a book of remembrance and you will be considered a “special possession” of His. God says He will esteem you and spare you (from Judgment), regarding you as a true son or daughter.

5. You get to avoid regrets and experience life in the now. “The mind set on the flesh is death (now) but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (now)” (Rom. 8:6). 6. You reveal your true motives for obedience—loving and obeying your Father out of desire and gratitude, not fear or duty. This in and of itself yields a life of great joy, proven by all who have lived in a loving and obedient relationship with Him. - Answer from Raising Hell

Using this logic, say you are the loving, devoted parent of a willfully disobedient five-year-old. You have clearly told this child not to go in the street by your home, and the child is clearly old enough to understand and obey. But one day you see the child looking to see if anyone is watching, and then you see him heading toward the street, unaware of an approaching car that is hidden from his limited view. You think to yourself, “I have the power to save my child, but I will not force him to obey. His free will demands that I let him get run over by his own choosing, limited in his understanding though he is.”

If we’re going to call it “free will,” then the same person who chose not to love God (though they were blind to Him) should also be able to use their free will to not be sent to hell. If their will were truly free, they should then be able to exercise it not to go to hell and God would have to comply. Regardless, I don’t believe anyone is going to be forced to love God. In future ages, distortions will be removed and people will realize that they only rejected false perceptions of God and not God Himself. At that time, they will be invited into the Father-child relationship they always longed for, and they will desire to be His children and to love Him. - Answer from Raising Hell, p. 266

Ask yourself this, does the presence of sin destroy God, or does the presence of God destroy sin?

I have always been taught that God cannot be in the presence of evil nor tolerate it, which is silly really, since He inhabits plenty of Christians in seasons of rebellion and sin. Besides, if God were unable to be in the presence of evil, He would have to completely remove Himself from His creation, since it is permeated by evil, like yeast in dough. The Bible paints a completely different picture than the recognized view. God interacts and works directly with and through forces, both evil and good, to accomplish His plans. Perhaps one of the most well-known passages occurs in Job when Satan asks God if he might test Job. They civilly discuss the matter and God gives him permission to test “the most righteous man on the earth” of his day, with many “evils” or calamities. - Answer from Raising Hell, p. 191

First of all, salvation is a gift, not an achievement we accomplish and are "rewarded" for (Eph. 2:1-10). However, all of God's judgments are rooted in His love (Ps. 62:12). So-for their own good-all people will be called into account for their deeds (ourselves included) and rewarded accordingly! Even so, it will not be a happy experience for any who have lived in calculated rebellion against the Lord (Romans 2:6-11, 1 Cor. 3:13-15).

However . . . you haven't always been a saint, have you? Did you volunteer to live for Christ, or did God's Spirit lead you to repentance? Do you actually want other people to suffer endless torment because the Holy Spirit overcame your stubbornness and led you to Christ before He did the same thing for them? Perhaps you need to read about the "elder brother" in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Also review the story of the hired workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). Remember, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). - Answer by Charles Slagle

People asked the same question about justification by faith in Christ alone five centuries ago when Martin Luther and others began proclaiming it. Many dedicated Christians throughout the centuries have believed in this full gospel of restoration. In fact, history indicates that most of the church understood the Good News in this way for the first three to four hundred years, AD. The oldest statement of orthodox faith known to Christianity was formulated in the 300's at the Roman government's request. Now get this-the Apostle's creed, as it came to be called later (which appears in two slightly different versions) makes no mention of an endless hell! One version mentions Christ's descent into Hades where He preached to Noah's generation. However, that passage in 1 Peter tends to disprove-not support-the notion of endless punishment!

Interesting, how the fourth century Christians' ideas about "orthodoxy" differ from those of much of today's church, isn't it? For good historical documentation, order Christ Triumphant, the book mentioned at the top of the reading list. - Answer by Charles Slagle

How much hell do you want others to go through? The love of Christ compels us. That is the urgency. People must be brought to repentance so they can experience the full redemption and deliverance which Christ died to give them. People will never be saved until they ARE saved. Does it not matter to you if your loved ones or neighbors live out their earthly lifetimes without the joy-and deliverance-that comes from knowing Jesus? What kind of environment do you desire in this world for your children? What about your grandchildren? - Answer by Charles Slagle

On the contrary, any 'God' who will permit sin such as cursing, blasphemy, and bitterness to endure eternally would be soft on sin. For only such a compromising deity would invent an endless hell of ceaseless cursing and blasphemy to co-exist with his holy nature forever. - Answer by Charles Slagle

Who do you think is greater, Christ or Hitler? Christ is going to literally rescue everyone, the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is to repent of your sins and give your life to Christ now. The hard way is being saved through the Lake of Fire. The main thing to understand is that God's punishments are based on a balanced scale of justice and rooted in his nature of love and goodness. SEE Doctrinal Outline. An evil character like Hitler would be punished in just measure within God's sovereign authority, could be a very long time, but not infinitely. - Answer by Michael Webber

In the original language of Scripture, Hebrews 2:16 says, "God is not now laying hold of angels." So if He is not laying hold of them now, why should we? The present focus is on mankind. However, Colossians 1:15-20 does say all the invisible realm was made for Christ and is being reconciled through His cross. It would harmonize with God's character for our Good Shepherd-eventually at some future age-to lead His rebellious angels to repentance (Romans 8:19-23, Heb. 13:8). But apart from true heart-repentance, there can be NO salvation for anyone! I would caution against any kind of intercession on our part for fallen angels now. At present, we're in the midst of rescuing Adam's sons and daughters. We're plundering satan's prison-house, freeing all who have been "taken captive by him to do his will" (Luke 11:21-22, 2 Tim. 2:26).

Human wills, therefore, must first be made free (by the church's intercession and ministry) so they can respond to and receive Christ's light. Also, satan and his minions must first be judged and punished for their atrocities before we can sensibly think in terms of their eventual rehabilitation. See Andrew Jukes' Restitution of All Things mentioned in the reading list for more exposition of Scripture on this subject. - Answer by Charles Slagle

No, there is nowhere in accurately translated Scripture that indicate there is only one chance to believe in our mortal lifetime, or else. On the contrary, God repeats over and over that if ever a person comes to Him, His mercy never fails (it’s new every morning), and it triumphs over judgment. And even for those facing judgment, show me where in the Greek or Hebrew text that the Judgment (or results of it) is eternal. - Answer from Raising Hell

How could the church be so wrong about salvation for all these years, objectors ask. Surely, it's not possible for a large group of people to believe wrongly for so long. Really? What about Rome and Israel? Didn't they come together as a large group to sanction the murder of Christ, an innocent man? This is not only a basic logical fallacy called "Argumentum ad Populem" or "appeal to the masses," it also disregards Biblical history. According to God, the Israelites were frequently misguided, and certainly, when they put their Messiah to death, as prophesied in their scriptures, they demonstrated how easily mob mentality can result in error. Mass opinion counts for nothing. - Answer from Merciful Truth

So, we're dealing with an entire theological doctrine in the church which is false, that is, the doctrine of salvation. Salvation, from a Biblical Hebrew point of view, never was about whether people went to heaven or hell. Salvation meant to be healed, to be delivered, to be made whole, to be restored, to be made roomy. Therefore, in order for this question to be properly answered, an in depth study of what it means to be "saved" can be found here. 

"Religious folks" often say that this world would be a mess if we took away the teaching of an "eternal Hell." This shows two things about this individual. First, they obviously do not study. If they did, they would discover that there was a church which preached an "eternal Hell" and had complete control of the government, economic system, and religious system. It should have manifested the kingdom of God. But what it produced was the "dark ages." The Roman Catholic Church has used the doctrine of eternal torment for centuries and it has never manifested the kingdom of God nor its righteousness, but just the opposite. Study European history, which is nothing more than church history. See what thousands of wars, killings, hatred, and decadent societies the doctrine of eternal torment has wrought upon the earth. - Answer by Gary Amirault

“Perishing”

Whenever you see Jesus use a word such as “perish” or “destroy,” the original word is “apollumi.” The Greek word “apollumi” means to “to lose, or to be lost.” It is the same word Jesus used when He said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." (Matthew 15:24) and "Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep”" (Luke 15:4-7).

This word, “apollumi,” is used to describe a sheep which was lost and then was found and restored. And Christ uses this same exact word in the following verse:

"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28-29). (The word translated as "Hell" in this verse is actually Gehenna, the city dump outside of Jerusalem)

The original word for “destroy” there is “apollumi” which means “to lose or be lost.” This verse is not speaking of an eternal annihilation of a soul, but of a temporary losing of the soul, just like the “lost” sheep that was later found. It is the same with all the times you see Jesus speaking of someone “perishing.” Such as in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. A better translation would be “whoever believes in Him should not be lost.” We are all lost until God finds us. Those who die yet unbelieving will experience further “apollumi,” or being “lost” in the lake of fire, which is the second death. But God has promised to destroy all death once and for all and grant belief to all at the consummation of the ages.

If apollumi or apollumi meant destruction according to the traditional definition by those who believe in eternal torment or annihilation, then Jesus is lost forever: "But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and DESTROY (apollumi) Jesus." Matt. 27:20

So then, will you hold to the "traditional" view which makes the word of God of no effect? Or will you have the courage to go against the traditional hell-fire or annihilation view which denigrates the precious victory Jesus bought through conquering death on the Cross for all mankind?

Those who are “lost” or “perished,” are like the lost sheep. The lost sheep was perished, but the shepherd sought it out and restored it. We are all like the lost sheep before God finds us. Even now we are. We are all “apollumi”, or “lost and perished” as the lost sheep was. We are separated and alienated from God. But the lost sheep did not stay that way. And neither does anyone else. The Good Shepherd does not stop looking until He has found the last one.

A careful read of the Parable of the Lost Sheep makes it very plain that for Jesus, ninety nine is NOT ENOUGH!

- Answer by Gary Amirault

Did you know that Apostle Paul never said the word "hell" in any of his writings? Nope. Not once. You don't believe me, right? Check it out for yourself. Have a look at this word study on "hell" in all Paul's writing from the King James Version. What did you see? "No results found." This was the same man who said to the Ephesians, "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). This is the man who said, Acts 20:20 I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house But, if you were a member of the Roman church, the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or Thessalonians, or by reading his letters to Timothy or Titus, you would have NO exposure to "hell" by reading his Gospel message. Paul did not shun to declare the counsel of God, but he certainly shunned to declare anything about "hell." - Answer from Merciful Truth

There is always a possibility of being wrong. However, the evidence is heavily weighted in favor of universal reconciliation. When the origianl languages of the Bible are honestly examined, it is not possible to come away with the belief that eternal torture in hell for unbelievers is a core biblical doctrine. There is simply no compelling evidence to believe that the words "hell" and "eternal" were translated correctly in popular English bibles, such as the ESV, NIV, NASB, KJV etc. It is so blatantly mistranslated when examining the original languages and its historical context. 

However, if I am wrong, and eternal punishment is correct, then you better hope and desperately pray that you are part of "the elect". Though morally detestable, Calvinism is the only other logical explanation for how humans can enter the Kingdom of God. "Freewill" is easily ruled out altogether. For freewill to be true, we would all need to have an equal playing field, be given the same amount of chances to believe, be presented with all of our options, and with all the correct facts in order to "choose" which god we actually want to serve. However, we all know that billions of people never even hear about Jesus. No, the major characteristic that both Calvinists and Universalists agree upon is that we do not have the capability in our fallen nature to "choose" God. He is the one who graciously chooses us. 

But if we go down the calvinist road, there is literally zero things you or I can do to change God's mind on whom he randomly chooses to predestine to heaven or hell. If I am predesitined, me teaching this doctrine changes nothing — I will still go to heaven. If I am not predestined, me teaching this doctrine changes nothing. I was never going to go to heaven to begin with, and neither were you if God didn't choose you.  

So all I can say is, may the odds be ever in your favor. 

- Answer by Rachel Parker

Please, let me ask: If you are one of these concerned souls, can you imagine Jesus, or my Father who is the God of Love, saying to me at the great white throne judgment, "Elwin, oh Elwin, I had such hopes in you; but you failed Me. I hate to do this; but I am going to have to send you to hell for thinking that My love was so enormous, so victorious that I could actually save everyone against their free-will. You really overextended yourself by giving Me that much credit. To think that I had the power to carry out My plan was way out of line. As admirable as your intentions were, how could you have spread such rumors about Me? Not only that, once you embraced this silly notion of Me saving everyone that I died for, you really started loving people way too much. For how in the world could anyone who loved as much as you do find solace, much less joy, in knowing and seeing most of humanity burning in their deserved hell forever? You went over the line in believing and teaching that my love and blood could accomplish such a monumental feat. You really overestimated Me, and now that it is too late for you to repent, you know you carelessly made Me bigger than life itself." - Answer by Elwin & Margit Roach

Concerning most of those who believe in the salvation of all mankind, most of those I have met who believe in this teaching, have come to this conclusion by revelation and/or intense study of the Bible, church history, language studies, etc. They often are severely persecuted for their beliefs, not by the world systems, but by the church systems. They have cried out in earnestness to our Father for truth because they would have gladly abandoned this teaching to avoid the severe persecution which their entire family suffers at the hands of the "orthodox." We are not masochists. We do not long for cold stares, whisperings behind our backs, hate letters, being called wolves, anti-Christ, and a host of other defaming names. Could we wash away this humiliation and be accepted by our other Christian brothers and sisters, we would most gladly give up this rejection up, but not at the cost of maligning the precious name of our Father. We would rather receive the praises from above than compromise the glory of our Father and exchange it for the praises from man. - Answer by Gary Amirault

First of all, there is “safety in numbers.” Many theologians, and pastors don’t want to step out of the safe zone long enough to question tradition or to change what they have personally taught and invested in for decades. As soon as they question or deviate from accepted doctrine and church tradition, they risk losing position (job), credibility, financial stability, popularity, and pride. This is exactly the same scenario that happened during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century when the religious majority held firmly to their established doctrines. I’m sure many mainstream clergy then were confronted with more observable truths, but the cost of challenging the Church was often too great (i.e. burning at the stake) and that’s why it took many years for the Reformation to unfold. Being educated, studious, brilliant, or even super spiritual is no sure bet of being “right,” because even the smartest scientists and theologians have opposing beliefs and views of their contemporaries on nearly every issues. Brilliant theologians with decades of education can’t agree on many critical doctrines, which is why you have at least 21,000 “Christian” denominations. - Answer from Julie Ferwerda

Those whose mentality says, "My belief in a "Hell of torture" is "safer" to believe because at least that way I am sure of being "in"-what can we ascertain from such a view? If they are wrong, then they spent their entire life maligning God's name and character to the whole of creation. But they will say, "Well, God will understand. I just wanted to be sure I was in." What kind of spirit is this? Do not the Scriptures tell us that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom?" The fear spoken of here is a reverence, a respect, a lifting up His being above our own. It speaks of exalting Him, magnifying Him, glorifying Him. Those who preach a "Hell" because it is "safer" reveal to the world they are thinking of themselves, not of glorifying God in the highest. They have given themselves away. It is clear this kind of person has not laid down their lives. They are still very much into themselves. They cannot enter into the promised "rest." Their "religious works" will hopefully "earn" them a place in the kingdom. - Answer by Gary Amirault