UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION:
The truth few want to believe
Editor’s Note: The original article entitled: The
Restoration Of All Things was written and posted on 11/13/2015. The original post is still there as The
Restoration of All Things but this article
represents an edited version with additional material and new ideas. Universal Reconciliation or the Restoration
of all Things is a concept that very few people presently want to believe, but
I am convinced that it is true.
Additional, I
am in the process of editing several of the older articles to correct my
dispensational misunderstanding of prophetic scripture. If they are clicked on, there should be a
note saying it has recently been edited.
7/15/2018
Universal reconciliation or the “restoration of all
things” doctrine is highlighted in Acts 3:21.
There are several translations of the phrase including but not limited
to: all things are restored; and
restitution of all things.
Acts 3:20-21
KJV And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before
was preached unto you: (21) Whom the heaven must receive until the times
of restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
“all
things are restored” NET
“restoration
of all things” Green’s Literal, ASV,
CLT, KJ3
The word restoration
implies “a return … to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition, or
the restitution of something taken away or lost” (Dictionary.com)
There
are many ways the Restoration of All Things is taught in the Scriptures.
(1) There is the law of Jubilee, which cancels all
debt (sin) at the end of the time of judgment.
(2) There is God’s vow in Num. 14: 21 to fill the
whole earth with His glory.
(3) Jesus says that if He were “lifted up”
(crucified), He would draw [literally, “drag”] ALL MEN unto Himself.
(4) Paul quotes Isaiah in Phil. 2: 10, 11 that
“every knee” will bow and “every tongue” will confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord.
(5) Paul quotes Psalm 8 in many places to show
that “the all” will be subjected to Christ in the end. The only reason people
find Paul’s teaching offensive is because they really do not want all sinners
to be saved.
The
deliverance or redemption of the natural creation is connected with that of the
children of God. It is when the sons of God are revealed (Romans 8:19) that the
creation itself will experience its redemption. The creation is personified as
waiting “with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Some History
Universal
Reconciliation was the majority belief of the church during the first five
centuries of the Church and the majority of the early Church Fathers. Through infighting, jealousy, and outright
heresy among unscrupulous churchmen who conducted Church Councils after the
year 400 AD, the doctrine was soon disregarded then completely eliminated.
The
basic concept of Universal Reconciliation was somewhat revived during the 1700’s
by only using New Testament resources and bypassing the Laws of God in the Old
Testament. Some revivers “cast aside” the Laws of God thinking it contradicted
Universal Reconciliation i.e. the law
could only condemn people, and thus it worked against the plan of God to save
all mankind. God’s will or intention
is to place the laws into our nature by the power of the Holy Spirit through
God’s New Covenant vow.
A
detailed history of the undermining and elimination of Universal Reconciliation
can be read for free at: The
Restoration of all Things . For
$2.99 it can be read as a Kindle edition at:
https://www.amazon.com/Restoration-All-Things-Stephen-Jones-ebook/dp/B00MNMHINA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1531684998&sr=8-5&keywords=the+restoration+of+all+things
In
case anyone is wondering, “No, I do not get a cut”.
Will All Be Restored?
It
is the opinion of several people, including myself, this restoration will not
only include the entire creation but all individuals ever born, will be born, still
born, or aborted.
2 Peter 3:9
NET The
Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being
patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Peter
declares that God does not wish for anyone to perish (literally- to be destroyed) but for all to repent and be
reconciled.
Paul
states that God wants all to know the truth and to be saved. It should be believed that if God wants
something it will be done as He wants.
1
Timothy 2:4 NET since He (God) wants all people to be saved
and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
The first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. God created everything and God owns
everything. Whatever God wants to be done will be done. There is nothing He cannot accomplish,
although mere humans cannot seem to understand that fact.
God created all humans, both good and bad. He formed
man of the dust of the ground (Gen. 2: 7). God used building material that He created—
and therefore owned. Does this not mean that God owns all people as well as all
material things in the universe?
Just as the Laws of God make people responsible for
the things they were allowed to own, God owns creation and is responsible for
all of it, including the bad things that happen. It may be difficult for some to “wrap their
head” around this but God is ultimately liable for all the evil that has
occurred in the world.
One cannot blame the devil/Satan/Lucifer, because the
devil created nothing and owns nothing. As a matter of fact, the devil was also
created by God and he is thus owned by God.
He is not an independent force. Like
all humans, the devil does not have independent free will but only a certain
amount of authority that has been given him by God. One cannot ultimately blame bad men either,
because the bad men did not create themselves.
They also do not possess independent free will but, again, only a
certain amount of authority that has been given him by God.
Many do not agree with this principle and the
most common argument is “scripture says that people will burn in hell
forever”. These people apparently do not
want certain ones to be saved, because they feel that they “deserve” to be
punished forever.
The disagreement or opposition to the principle of “everyone
will be ultimately redeemed” comes down to three primary objections.
(1) The belief
that some people are such huge sinners that their debt to the law exceeds the
value or worthiness of the blood of Christ. It says that Christ's blood was
insufficient or not shed to pay for the sin of the whole world.
(2) The second
objection says that Christ paid for the sin of the whole world, but that most
of it was undeliverable, due to the will of man. This was the scenario
presented by Moses in Numbers 14. God’s answer was that the whole earth will be
filled with His glory, and not just Israel as a nation. It should be noted that
humans do not actually have “free will”, but rather they are given a certain
amount of authority over some things.
(3) The third
objection says that God does not love the world enough to actually purchase all
of creation by His blood. This is the idea of limited atonement. It says that
God elected only a few to be saved, and decided by His own sovereign will to
cast away all others. But Jesus said in John 3: 16, “For God so loved the
world.” Everything is the handiwork of
God. God is the creator of all
things. As the creator God owns all
things.
It has been proposed that those who do not want to see all
mankind saved are those who do not yet have the mind of Christ. Those who
harbor grudges in their hearts against those who have abused them or wronged
them in the past are those who do not know the love of Christ. But those who
have come to know the God of the Bible and to know the love of Christ which
passes all understanding are the ones that God is training to reign with Him
both now and in the Age to come.
The
sin of Adam was imputed to all, thus the penalty of death was given to
all. Sin came first and then death. Newborns without recognizable sin have the
death penalty. Death due to the sin of
Adam is a sentence of punishment given to the children because of the
transgression of the father. To correct
this seemingly unfair penalty the Son of God was made manifest to correct this
supposed injustice. Through the
sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the perfect, unblemished, and spotless offering
of God, perfect justice was restored for all people of all time regardless of
their knowledge or lack of knowledge concerning God the Father and God the Son.
Due
to the seeming injustice of imputing the sin of Adam to all individuals, God is
justified by reversing the injustice and imputing the righteousness of Jesus
Christ to all people of all times. The
inherent injustice of mortality to all people prior to any sin is made right by
sending the Son of God to ascribe immortality to all people.
1
Corinthians 15:22 NET For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
all will be made alive.
1
Corinthians 15:45 NET So also it is written, "The first man,
Adam, became a living person"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
The Law of Personal
Responsibility
In
Exodus 21:33-34 the Law of God states that if a person digs a pit and someone’s
ox or ass falls in the hole and is injured or killed, the pit owner will be
responsible and will pay the owner for the price of the ox.
Exodus
21:33-34 KJV And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man
shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; (34)
The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner
of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
God
created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. He also created the tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil as well as the serpent, (or whatever it actually was). The foreknowledge of God meant that He knew
Eve would be duped into eating the fruit and that Adam would follow suit.
Genesis
2:17 NET but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die."
God
is responsible for His creation. Adam
did not create the tree nor the serpent, the couple were just too stupid to
stay away from the tree or listen to the serpent. God also created the law of the ox and the
pit, thus it would appear that God is responsible for the sin of Adam and would
have to pay the penalty. That is why
Jesus, as God, came to earth to pay the full penalty for sin because He was
responsible for that sin.
Was
this a second thought? No, it was
foreknown from the creation. In a sense,
the law of personal responsibility was prophetic. It prophesied that God would
have to be born as a man in order to be capable of dying for the sin of the
world.
Each in Their Own Order
Not
all will receive immortality at the same time. Jesus established the fact of
universal reconciliation, but the timing is determined by our obedience to God
and our actions. The overcomers (elect/saints of the Most High) will receive glorified
bodies in the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6) and they will reign with Jesus
during the thousand-year Millennium or the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians
15:22-23 KJV (22)
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But every man in his own order: Christ
the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
John 5:24
LITV-TSP Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears
My word, and believes the One who has sent Me, has everlasting life, and does
not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
The
rest of the believers will be given life (immortality) at the general
resurrection or the White Throne Judgment which occurs at the end of the
thousand years. At this time ALL who yet remain in the tombs “shall hear His
voice and shall come forth” (John 5: 28-29). This will include both unbelievers
and the rest of the believers who missed the first resurrection. Those who
refused Christ during their life time on earth, along with the great majority
of mankind who never had opportunity to hear of Him in their life time, will
confess Jesus as Lord at the Great White Throne judgment.
Acts 24:15
LITV-TSP having hope toward God, which these
themselves also admit, of a resurrection being about to be of the dead, both of
just and unjust ones.
All
resurrected people at the White Throne will be judged according to their works
(Revelation 20: 13). Because all sin is reckoned as a debt, the great Judge
will reckon each man’s “debt” according to his sin and according to his level
of knowledge (Luke 12: 48) and then sentence him to be “sold” according to the
law in Exodus 22: 3. The purchaser may be an overcomer, one with the character
of Jesus Christ, who will be given authority and responsibility to teach them
righteousness by personal example. This judgment could endure until the
Creation Jubilee (i.e. it has been said
by some that the Creation Jubilee will occur at the 50,000th year).
The
certainty of final judgment is also affirmed by the apostle Paul in 2
Corinthians 5:10, where he states that “all must appear before the judgment
seat of Christ”.
2 Corinthians
5:9-10 KJV (9)
Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted
of him. (10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad.
Murray
Harris has pointed out that wherever Paul speaks of the recompense, according
to works, of all mankind (such as in Romans 2:6), “there is found a description
of two
mutually exclusive categories of people (Romans 2:7–10), not
a depiction of two types of action i.e. good or evil, which may be declared for
all people.”
Romans 2:6-9
LITV-TSP He "will give to each according to his
works:" (7) everlasting life truly to those who with
patience in good work are seeking glory and honor and incorruptibility; (8)
but to those even disobeying the truth, out of self interest, and
obeying unrighteousness, will be anger and wrath, (i.e. judgment) (9)
trouble and pain on every soul of man that works out evil…..
Eternal
life is not an issue in this judgment (White Throne); it is eternal reward.
This judgment is not designed to determine entrance into the Kingdom of God but
blessing, status, and authority within the Kingdom. The evidence suggests that
it happens in two instances: (1) at the
second coming of Christ (2) at the close of the Millennial Age and will include
all unrighteous believers and all unbelievers known as the great White Throne
Judgment.
Paul
clearly emphasizes the individuality (each one) of the final judgment. As important
as it is to stress the corporate and communal nature of our life as the body of
Christ, each person will be judged individually and no doubt partly concerning
how faithful each person was to their unified responsibilities in the body of
the Church.
Romans 14:12
LITV-TSP So then each one of us will give account
concerning himself to God.
As
for the manner of this judgment, we do not merely “show up” but are laid bare
before him. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:5, the Lord “will bring to light
the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”
Murray Harris stated that “not merely an
appearance or self-revelation, but, more significantly, a divine scrutiny and
disclosure, is the necessary prelude to the receiving of appropriate
recompense.”
John 5:28-29
LITV-TSP Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming
in which all those in the tombs will hear His voice. (29)
And they will come out, the ones having done good into a resurrection of
life; and the ones having practiced evil into a resurrection of judgment.
Paul
is slightly more specific in 1 Corinthians 3:14–15. There he writes, “If the
work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a
reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself
will be saved, but only as through fire.”
The
fire is the Word of God, including the “fiery law” (Deuteronomy 33: 2). It is
the manifestation of the righteous character of God Himself, for He manifested
Himself to Israel only as fire. He is a “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4: 24). When He comes in a baptism of fire, its
purpose is to destroy “the flesh” and quicken our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11).
The fire is the glory of God as well, which will cover the earth as the waters
cover the sea.
Deuteronomy
33:2 NET He said: The LORD came from Sinai and
revealed himself to Israel from Seir. He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran,
and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them.
Deuteronomy
4:24 KJV For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Regardless
of the many myths, opinions, teachings, and misunderstandings, there is no
place called Hell where people are eternally tormented with fire.
The
lake of fire, or the fire of God, is a purifying agent that will rid the spirit
of all offending worldly flesh until everyone receives eternal glorified
existence. However, it may take a long
period of time in some cases, although elapsed time should not be an issue at
the end of the Millennium.
Fire
represents the judgment and divine justice of God. The unlawful will be “sold as a slave/servant”,
so to speak, to a glorified overcomer where they will be taught and nurtured,
without malice, the laws and ways of God.
In
the Old Testament, Zechariah 13:9 reads, “Then
I will bring the remaining third into the fire;
I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is
tested”. In the New Testament 1 Corinthians
3:13 reads, “each builder's work will be
plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done”.
Most
readers would admit that the use of “fire” in each of the above verses is
spiritual symbolism and is not literal.
However, when many people read the Revelation, which is highly symbolic,
they consider the “lake of fire” to be literal, although it employs the same
metaphoric language as the two verses above.
We
must not fear that regret and remorse will spoil the bliss of heaven,
considering the exposure and evaluation of our life and actions. If there be tears of grief for opportunities
squandered, or tears of shame for sins committed, the Lord will wipe them away.
Revelation 21:4 KJV And God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Some
ideas and concepts were borrowed from The Restoration of All Things by
Sam Storms (available as a PDF from Amazon) and Christ the Mediator by
Stephen Jones (available as a Kindle book from Amazon).
For
more information and related commentaries, check the following links:
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