The book is only a couple weeks from release and I wanted to share another excerpt with you all. This comes from chapter 8 entitled, “Aren’t We Forgetting Something? I Didn’t Ask to Be Born…” Please let me know what you think and join the discussion.
God remains the same. He doesn’t change. Man is the one who sinned, not God. God knew we would sin. Why would He make us in the first place, knowing this would happen? Did we mess things up so badly that God didn’t know what else to do except to sentence most of humanity to Hell, away from Him? Or, did He create Hell during the six days of creation told in Genesis, knowing He’d need it to convince people to later accept Jesus as Savior? If He created us for fellowship, then He will finish with fellowship. Those who reject Him will have to be judged and punished but after that time they will be brought back to fellowship with God. The Scriptures teach this principle, that everything and everyone is reconciled to God. Jeremiah writes that God will not remain angry forever and that He is a God of mercy. The Psalms are full of redemption and forgiveness. They are filled with fresh starts. What good is a fresh start offered in this life but not even a chance for a fresh start after we die? That’s like telling me there’s gas for $1.29 a gallon in Tennessee when I live in Oregon and it costs $3.69 a gallon here. It doesn’t help me all that much.
The prophet Joel writes about God’s mercy. Isaiah writes about God and His pattern of abundantly pardoning those who have turned away from Him. Hosea continues with this theme. Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son. In Luke’s account, the father welcomes and forgives the son as he’s still speaking to his father. It’s almost as if he cuts him off to rejoice that he had come home. He didn’t care what he had done. All he cared about was the party. He missed the fellowship with his son. Yes, the son came home, which shows repentance. That is important. The father was also quick to forgive and God is the same way. Jesus says in Mark 6:11 that it will be more tolerable on judgment day for Sodom and Gomorrah than for those cities who reject the disciples message of the Good News. Sodom and Gomorrah is the wicked city that was destroyed in the Old Testament Scriptures. What does Jesus mean by it being more tolerable for them? Isn’t their fate already sealed?
I don’t believe it is, at least not the way we think. God does already have their fate sealed but that fate is not eternal punishment. That fate is best left up to God and He will judge them fairly. Jesus makes it clear that those who reject the message of truth will not fare well on judgment day. So, just because the judgment isn’t eternal, doesn’t mean that the judgment isn’t real and possibly harsh.
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Hi Jackson,
Great excerpt from your book. You generated some good thoughts from your questions. They help to expose the absurdity of an eternal hell as part of God’s plan. Good question, when did God create this hell? Before the foundation of the world…during creation…or after the fall? Was He taken off-guard or does He sovereignly have an ultimately good purpose for evil? Is He going to rid the world one day of sin and evil or is He going to consign it to a compartment of His universe where He will keep it alive forever among the unrepentant damned? (Talbott)
Did God really give us the power by our “free-will” to eternally damn ourselves right out of God’s hands? And can we even be the cause of others going to hell forever (as Chan presents in Erasing Hell)? Wow, that’s a lot of power! It is time to give back the absolute power and love to the Sovereign Creator of the universe. We have seriously and tragically limited Him in both.
Thanks for the necessary reiterating of God’s fair and just dealings with mankind, (a point we seem to need to belabor lest the traditionalists think we don’t believe in judgment/justice). As was said about Aslan, “He isn’t safe but he’s good”.
“If He created us for fellowship then He will finish with fellowship.” …great statement.
Jon
godslovewins.com
I love your comments Jon. I can really sense the love of God from your posts. Be blessed friend and continue to spread the Good News with everyone, everywhere.
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46)
The judgement is eternal. Jesus said so. Hence ‘everlasting punishment’. There’s no way to argue around it.
Sorry but your mistake isn’t with your sincerity, it’s with the original text. Here’s what the YLT (Young’s Literal Translation) says,
And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.
Age-during means an indefinite period of time. Yes, there is a real judgment. No, it is not for all of eternity.
1 Timothy 4:10- This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.
Joel, Jackson is correct on this. We really need to eradicate the word “eternal” from our English translations because it completely misinterprets the point. It is one of the most grievous errors of the KJV passed down to modern translations. If you do an etymological history on that word in English, its origins didn’t actual mean what it means today – it meant “an indeterminate time (age/eon)”. We have lost this concept of “ages” as a result. The Jew of Jesus’ day was looking to the “Kingdom Age” – that is the age to which Jesus is referring when he says “age-during life. He is talking about the first resurrection which John refers to in Rev. 20:4-6.
Found your blog post through Youtube. Love it!
Great Blog…keep up the good work…..
Thanks! Be blessed
You said “The Scriptures teach this principle, that everything and everyone is reconciled to God.” Would this not also apply to Satan & the disobedient angels as well? They also are created beings, and just as Judas served a purpose, so does Satan.
To be honest I am not 100% on that. They are spiritual beings so I won’t say what their eternal fates will be. The only description we get for their fate is in Revelation and I won’t base a doctrine on the book of Revelation alone. What are your thoughts?
Well under “I speak English” blog, you stated to keith :
“If it were for all of eternity, he would have written something like John did in Revelation 20:10 which says, “and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night — to the ages of the ages.”
The phrase “to the ages of the ages” means forever and ever. When it comes to judgment for mankind, there is not one place in all the Scriptures that says they will be punished/tortured forever and ever while it does say this for the Devil, the false prophet, and the beast.”
I am thinking that when God says “all in all”, that is what he means. If Satan & angels are left in “hell” then sin will not be conquered but rather still exist. Also Satan was created perfect “until” sin was found in him. Everything is of God, either He is in complete control or He is not. I am thinking that at some point Satan & angels will bow the knee. What do you think? Then God will be “all in all”. Can that be true if any sin or rebellion still exists? Would God forsake any of His creation? Your thoughts?
I know this controversial, but so is your book.
Revelation is the only place we get any information about what happens to Satan and the fallen angels. I wrote an entire chapter about it in the book and can only say that I’m not sure. I see the arguments for both sides and can’t say with confidence which is correct. Sorry I can’t give you a better answer but that’s my honest one
Thanks, appreciate your honesty. Look forward to reading your book!
Be blessed as you do
I pray it draws you closer to Christ.
What about the fact that the “evil god” came from Zoroaster? There is no mention of an independant “evil god” in the OT. Jews still reject that this “evil god” exists. It’s Persian, and the evil god’s name was Ahriman, who supposedly created “evil angels”. Has anyone ever stopped to realize that this “evil god” seems to have been adopted by some people and made it’s way into the new testament, because some of those people believed it? Perhaps this “evil god” doesn’t really exist. It seems like most Christians never considers that possibility.
I have a slightly different view, but I deeply respect you for posting this news.