JUST
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE WORD DESTRUCTION?
The word destruction can be found in the Authorized Version, or the King James Bible, a total of 94 times; 82 times in
the Old Testament alone. According to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, this sole English word is used to
represent 32 different Hebrew words! It is not my intention to produce a tome
on this subject, so I will briefly list some of the meanings of these different
Hebrew words.
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I hate to have to burst anyone’s bubble (not really), especially all of you “King James
Only” advocates out there, but the main point I wish to make here is that,
contrary to popular belief, there can be no such thing
as a “perfect translation” from one language to another. Despite the best
of intentions of any translator, there will inevitably
be something that gets lost in the translation. Any etymologist can assure
you that this is indeed the case. Otherwise, there is no way you would ever use just one English word to represent 32 different Hebrew words,
all of which have slightly different meanings! That being said, and since
there are only twelve New
Testament examples of the word destruction being used, it is here where I would like to focus our attention.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow
is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who
find it.” (Matthew 7:13,14 - NKJV)
The assertion was made in the article “Hell: Biblical Truth or
Pagan Myth?” that the word used here to
describe destruction, the Greek word apoleia, can never in its original sense imply “eternal
damnation.” The purpose of this study is to hopefully leave no doubt to the reader
that this is indeed the case.
STUDY TO SHEW THYSELF APPROVED
For the serious student of God’s
Word, an invaluable tool of study to have at your disposal is The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the
New Testament, as well as The
Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament, by George V. Wigram.
These volumes will show you every instance that a certain Greek or Hebrew word
is used, verse by verse. By studying in this manner, the Holy Spirit can really
open up the original meanings of these words for you.
The word apoleia is used a total
of 20 times in the Greek New Testament. In the Authorized Version (King James Bible) it has been rendered by the
English word perdition 8 times, destruction 6 times, damnable 2 times, waste 2 times, and by the words die
and pernicious ways once each. A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament,
first published by Oxford University
Press in 1916, renders this word to mean destruction, ruin, or loss. According
to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the
Bible, the word apoleia simply
means loss. Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance tells us that the
word apoleia (G#684) means ruin or loss (physical, spiritual, or
eternal): -- damnable (-nation), destruction, die, perdition, x perish, pernicious ways, waste.
Now please take note of how
closely the various meanings of this word in Strong’s Concordance matches the Authorized Version’s renderings; in
fact, they are nearly identical! The fact that the KJV was completed 2 centuries before
James Strong was even born leads me to believe that the AV translators were more the authority
in determining, at least in this
instance, the meaning of the Greek. Now in all fairness to Mr. Strong, I
must say that I have never seen an earlier edition concordance in his name, and
it is quite possible, even probable that the leaven grew as time passed.
It is also of the utmost
importance to note here that many key words in Bibles such as the KJV do not convey the meaning they had
when they were written and therefore do not convey the meaning of the original
Greek and Hebrew. A thorough study of the etymology of the word damn will show that this word no longer
conveys the meaning it once had. In sixteen century
“Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to hell, and there are many who travel it. The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and few people find it.” (Matthew 7:13,14)
According to this version, MANY are traveling the wide road that
leads to hell, and they dare to call
this “Good News for Modern Man?”
Contrary to the fundamentalist’s concept of the word hell, it can easily be proven that this word, like the word damn, no longer conveys the meaning it
once had as well. If you look in your dictionary for the word hell you will discover that it was
derived from the Old High German word helan,
which means to conceal. The AV translators probably used the word hell to describe the place of
concealment following death, which in 17th century England would not
have been inconsistent with both the Hebrew word Sheol as well as the Greek word Hades.
Smith’s Bible Dictionary tells us
“It is
clear that in many passages of the Old Testament Sheol can only mean “the grave,” and is so rendered in the A.V.
(see, for example, Genesis 37:35, 42:38; I Samuel 2:6; Job 14:13). In other
passages, however, it seems to involve a notion of punishment, and is therefore
rendered in the A.V. by the word “Hell.” But in many cases this translation
misleads the reader. It is obvious, for instance, that Job 11:8; Psalm 139:8;
Amos 9:2 (where “hell” is used as the antithesis of “heaven”), merely
illustrate the Jewish notions of the locality of Sheol, in the bowels of the earth. In the New Testament the word
Hades, like Sheol, sometimes means
merely “the grave” (Revelation
PART I
APOLEIA = DESTRUCTION
So let us begin our study with
the word in question, apoleia. Unless
otherwise noted, all passages will be taken from the New King James Version. Besides the example from Matthew
1.
“But
indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to
him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have
power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and
another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His
power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might
make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had
prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only,
but also of the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:20-24)
In this passage we can clearly
see that God, from the foundation of the world, has prepared both vessels of wrath as well as vessels of mercy. This idea that our loving
heavenly Father would create souls in advance for the purpose of endlessly
torturing them in literal hellfire is abominable to say the least. The word wrath comes from the Greek word orge (Strong’s G#3709), and means to
show anger, wrath, passion, and in
this verse has a definite eschatological reference of the divine wrath. As the
sovereign Lord over His creation, God has a large purpose that will eventually
bring about blessing to all. But in the process of its fulfillment He has
chosen to use some (the vessels of wrath)
as foils to set forth His indignation and power, that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of
mercy.
“For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My Name may be declared in all the earth.’ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” (Romans 9:17,18)
Go back and read the Exodus story again. I will challenge anyone to show me where man’s “free will” comes into play here. Pharaoh did not at any time of his own free volition just decide to change his mind about releasing God’s people. Quite to the contrary, it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart over and over again in order to show His power and to accomplish His purposes.
Concerning the vessels of mercy,
Paul writes:
“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth; to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Thessalonians 2:13,14)
The word for chosen (KJV) is the Greek word haireomai (Strong’s G#138), which means to take for oneself, prefer. In John’s
gospel Jesus says that
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you...” (John 15:16)
Do you see anything here
resembling man’s free will, and his ability to choose Christ?
“So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” (Romans 9:16)
The ones upon whom God has showed mercy are not appointed to wrath (see
I Thessalonians 5:4-11).
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John
These are the elect of God; they will pass through the fire (Daniel
“For if we would judge ourselves,
we should not be judged.” (I Corinthians
“And whosoever shall fall on this stone [judge himself NOW while in the flesh] shall
be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall [in
the lake of fire, at the white throne judgment], it will grind him to
powder.” (Matthew
“But when we are
[now] judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be
condemned [to the great white throne judgment]
with the world.” (I Corinthians
But all of the multitudes that will walk the wide road into the kingdom
via destruction do have an appointment
with God’s wrath. The wood, hay, and stubble shall be consumed, but they ALL WILL BE SAVED (I Corinthians
2.
“For
many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that
they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in
their shame – who set their mind on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18,19)
A.
E. Knoch, in his Concordant Commentary on the New Testament, writes:
“The enemies of the cross of Christ are those who, failing to apprehend the significance of His shameful death, still cling to the terrestrial and the physical. The cross of Christ brings before us the manner of His death. It was an ignominious, shameful, malefactor’s death, to which God’s curse was attached. Hence we may avail ourselves of the efficacy of His blood, and yet, by clinging to the world and the flesh, become enemies of His cross.” [And therefore may run the risk of not qualifying for the first resurrection – GC]
And according to this passage in
Philippians, their end will be destruction,
which means that they will suffer loss,
or ruin, but absolutely cannot mean that they will suffer
eternal hellfire. How can I be so sure, you might ask? Well, let’s look to the
words of Jesus for some insight into how God treats His enemies.
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do so? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? (Matthew 5:44-47)
So here we have a set of
instructions from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on what He expects from us
concerning our behavior toward others, including our enemies. Now would God
expect something from us that He
would be unwilling to do Himself?
“Therefore you shall be perfect, JUST AS YOUR
FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT!” (Matthew
Make no mistake about it; ALL enemies of the cross of Christ WILL BE DESTROYED! This does not mean that the man himself will be destroyed; rather it is the attitude of that man which made him an enemy of the cross of Christ in the first place that will be consumed.
“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty,
give him water to drink. For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and
the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21,22)
It is probable that this passage of Scripture is also describing the method by which God will implement His fiery, tormenting judgment upon all that are called “enemies of the cross of Christ.” Repaying evil with goodness, love and mercy will be the “fire” that shall melt the many hearts of stone and consume all that separates the sinner from his Creator. In the end will come salvation, for EVERY knee shall bow, and EVERY tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!
3. “But there were also false prophets among
the people, even as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them,
and bring on themselves swift destruction.”
(II Peter 2:1)
Before I attempt to drive home a
point concerning this text, it is necessary to provide some background. In the
book of Genesis, God said, “Let Us make
man in Our image, according to Our likeness...”
(Genesis 1:26). And the very next verse tells us that God completed this
process when it says: “So God created man
in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He
created them” (Genesis
“For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.” (I John 2:16)
Now compare the above verse with the thoughts that were going through Eve’s mind right before she and her husband Adam ate of the fruit:
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food (the lust of the flesh), that it was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and a tree desirable to make one wise (the
pride of life), she took of its fruit and
ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6)
Now let’s go back to John and we
will gain further insight:
“Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15)
Did you catch that? If ANYONE
loves the world, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM! So how could Adam
and Eve have been in perfect union with God, when the Scriptures clearly tell
us that, according to their thoughts, they were not?
In order to understand this, we
need to go back to the statement where it says “God created (past tense) man in His image.” A more accurate rendering
of this verse is provided by the Concordant
Version of the Old Testament:
“And creating (present
tense) is [God] humanity in His image. In
the image of [God] He creates it. Male and female He creates them.” (Genesis
1:27)
God has a plan and a purpose for
the human race. God is creating (present tense - indicating an
ongoing activity) man in His own
image. And an integral part of that process is to provide mankind with an
experience of both good and evil.
“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:22)
* Theodore of Mopsuestia (350-428 A.D.), who was just one of a significant number of the early church fathers who taught the eventual salvation of all, provides further insight:
“God
knew that men would sin in all ways, but permitted this result to come to pass,
knowing that it would ultimately be for their advantage. For since God created
man when he did not exist, and made him ruler of so extended a system, and
offered so great blessings for his enjoyment, it was impossible that He should
have not prevented the entrance of sin if He had not known that it would be
ultimately for his advantage. Therefore God divided the creation into two
states, the present and the future. In the latter He will bring all to
immortality and immutability. In the former He gives us over to death and
mutability. For if He had made us at first immortal and immutable, we should
not have differed from irrational animals, who do not understand the peculiar
characteristics by which they are distinguished. For if we
had been ignorant of mutability we could not have understood the good of immutability.
Ignorant of death, we could not have known the true worth of immortality.
Ignorant of corruption, we could not have properly valued incorruption.
Ignorant of the burden of sinful passions, we could not have duly exulted in
freedom from such passions. In a word, ignorant of an experiment of evils, we
should not have been able properly to understand the opposite forms of good.” (Chapter XXV, History of Opinions on the
Scriptural Doctrine of Retribution, by Edward Beecher, D.D.)
Fundamental Christianity teaches
us that Satan was originally created as the archangel Lucifer, and that at one
time he also was in perfect union
with God, but because of his pride and rebellion he fell from grace and became
the devil. He then convinced one third of God’s angels to join him in this
celestial mutiny, which would eventually lead to the corruption of the human
race. There is one big problem with this viewpoint, namely, that it contradicts
the Scriptures:
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.” (I John 3:8)
This idea that Satan was once in
perfect union with God contradicts a clear declaration of our Lord Jesus, for
He declared that the devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning!
“By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.” (Job 26:13 - KJV)
“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
Now didn’t we just learn that
God made everything, including the
devil, and that everything He made
was very good?
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7 – KJV)
So we can clearly see that the evil which God has created is serving a
large purpose during this present wicked age which will eventually turn out for
good! On the contrary, the church would have us all believe that when sin
entered into the world, God temporarily lost control of His creation to Satan
and was therefore compelled to send a Savior in order to dig mankind out of the
mess into which he had fallen. But don’t the Scriptures declare that the Lamb
of whom they speak was “slain from the foundation of the world
(Revelation 13:8)?” In other words, God had a
plan from the beginning of creation,
the integral part of that plan being the offering up of His only begotten Son. It
makes much more sense to believe that God is in control, that He is sovereign,
that He had a plan from the foundation of the world, and that everything is
going according to plan.
Now let us return to II Peter 2:1. In this passage we have the word apoleia being used twice. Here I want to focus on the first
instance, which the KJV renders as “damnable heresies.” According to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition, the word damnable means liable to or deserving condemnation,
very bad, detestable. The word liable implies a possibility or probability of incurring
something because of position, nature, or a particular situation. This present
wicked age is being used as the vehicle to make all of God’s creation liable to
their Creator. Concerning the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, A
Dictionary of Christian Biography tells us that
“Man was created in the former state, his nature being from the first liable to dissolution... The fall therefore did not introduce mortality, but converted the liability into a fact... As our mortality was no afterthought with God, so neither was the sentence of death a vindictive punishment. The present life, with its vicissitudes and probationary trials, is a wholesome discipline, affording room for the exercise of free will and the attainment of goodness, which without our efforts would be destitute of moral worth. Although human nature is free, yet in its present condition of mortality and mutability it is insufficient to conquer the forces of evil without supernatural aid. A new creation is needed to abolish sin and death.
The Day is coming when the
“beast” (the old man) and the “false prophet” (all false religious systems)
will be destroyed! All will eventually come to the knowledge of the Truth (I
Timothy 2:4). Those who are teaching damnable
heresies in the Name of our Lord and Savior are being made liable to their
Creator, swift destruction (loss;
ruin) will come upon them, and they WILL repent and give glory to God!
“But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that
with the LORD one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one
day. The LORD is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but
is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that ALL
come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:8,9)
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” (II Corinthians 4:16)
4. “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to
these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and
blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation – as
also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has
written you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in
which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people
twist to their own destruction,
as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” (II Peter 3:14-16)
According to Peter, untaught and
unstable people will inevitably twist the Scriptures to their own destruction. Now allow the Word of God
to enlighten you as to exactly what it means to be “taught” concerning the
things of the Spirit. You may be in for a bit of a surprise!
In Acts 3 we are given the account of Peter and John healing the lame
man at the gate of the temple, which caused the people who had witnessed it to
glorify God. But when they started to preach in the temple the Name of Jesus
and the resurrection of the dead, this did not bode well with the Sadducees,
due to the fact that they did not believe in any doctrine of a resurrection.
The next day they were brought before the rulers, elders and scribes, as well
as the high priest.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and
they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts
The word for unlearned is the Greek word agrammatos (Strong’s G#62), and means unlettered or illiterate; while the word for ignorant
is the Greek word idiotes (Strong’s
G#2399), obviously from which we derive our modern English word idiot. So here we have, according to the
most literal rendering of the Greek language, a couple of “illiterate idiots”
standing up to the most learned men in all the land and speaking in a Spirit
and with an eloquence that made them all marvel. God does indeed choose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise
(I Corinthians
So what does the Spirit intend
to show us from this account? There is obviously a very important place for
learning and study, and I do not in any way desire to minimize the importance
of it. But God’s ultimate Truth can only come to us via divine revelation. In
Matthew’s gospel we are given the following account as an example:
“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said to him, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:13-17)
So the knowledge of Christ’s
divine nature did not come to Peter from any human source, but from above. God
chooses to reveal the Truth to those whom He will for His purposes. And Peter later speaks of this elect calling in his
epistle:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the
praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who
once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
(I Peter 2:9,10)
Once again, we see that God has from the beginning taken for Himself His special people, upon whom for His reasons He chooses to have mercy.
And unless you have been granted the Spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear God’s Truth, you will ever be like the former group to which Peter refers:
“They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” (I Peter 2:8)
I am sure that many of the
scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day were fine, upstanding people
with nothing but the best of intentions. Many were undoubtedly very dedicated
in their zeal to serve God, and spent a lifetime studying the Scriptures. Saul
of Tarsus was one of the most learned men in all the land, zealous to serve
God, and blameless under the law (Philippians 3:3-6). But after our Lord met
him on the road to
“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39)
And just as it was in the past,
so it also is in our day
(Ecclesiastes 1:9-11). We have in place a whole religious infrastructure that
is by the millions leading people to
their destruction (ruin). How can I
be so sure, you might ask? I will let the Scriptures be the authority
concerning this matter.
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (I Corinthians 1:10)
Now, do we have an undivided Christian church that is “perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment?” Of course we don’t;
instead, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different denominations and
“cults” all claiming to have the real truth!
But God’s Word is emphatic in telling us that
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
According to the Scriptures, there is but ONE true faith and ONE true body of believers! IF this is true, and I believe that it is, then it would probably be safe to assume that the rest are impostors.
“For among My people are found wicked men; they lie in wait as one who sets snares; they set a trap; they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.” (Jeremiah 5:26,27)
We can read in Matthew 23 the
account of Jesus pronouncing judgment upon the scribes and Pharisees of His day. And since Ecclesiastes 1 tells
us that history will always repeat itself, that there is nothing new under the
sun, then Jesus’ words are still applicable. Read Matthew 23 in light of what is happening in
the church today, especially on what
is called Christian television. Tune
in to TBN just about any time of the night or day, and I will guarantee that
within 5 or 10 minutes you will see some slick, smooth talker either trying to
sell you something or attempting to manipulate your emotions in order to extort
money from you.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” (Matthew 23:14)
Once again we have further confirmation that Judgment Day will be “more
tolerable” for worldly people than it will be for all of the religious leaders
who are leading the multitudes astray. According to Jesus, they are the ones who will receive the greater
condemnation.
“They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” (II Peter 2:15)
“The story of Balaam (Numbers 22-25) shows the fearful lengths to which men will go for reward, even in the face of divine displeasure. They are lower than brute beasts in their rejection of God’s revealed will, if it leads to preferment or pecuniary [monetary] advantage.” – A. E. Knoch; Concordant Commentary on the New Testament
Now, do you still think anything
has changed?
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” (I Timothy 4:1,2)
The ultimate “doctrine of demons” that has infested the church and is
now spreading worldwide thanks to Christian
missionaries is this idea that unless you pray some “sinner’s prayer,” get
baptized and speak in tongues, our loving heavenly Father will end up torturing
you in literal hellfire for ever and ever and ever and ever...
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much the son of hell (Gehenna) as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven [referring to the way of life via the first resurrection] against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)
Now do you still really truly believe that things have changed for the better?
If so, then chances are very good that you have not been given the “eyes that
see and the ears that hear” the Truth in this present wicked age. But don’t
worry,
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have ALL men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time.” (I Timothy 2:3-6 – KJV – emphasis added)
In due time, ALL WILL come to the knowledge of the Truth!
May God’s Name be praised forever!
* ENDNOTE: Theodorus
of Mopsuestia, as well as Origen and a host of many other early church fathers,
believed in the eventual salvation of all mankind (I Corinthians 15:20-28). It
is important to note here that this was the prevailing belief of most of early
Christianity during the first five centuries. It wasn’t until the middle of the
sixth century that this doctrine was officially declared anathema, that coming
via imperial decree from the Emperor Justinian. This declaration would give
birth to the dark ages where the church was to be used as the vehicle to
suppress the truth to give the empire firm social, political and economic
control of its citizens. For a more in depth look at the history of this be
sure to avail yourself of the following resources on our homepage:
Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church
During its First Five Hundred Years, by J.W.
Hanson, D.D.
History of Opinions on the Scriptural Doctrine
of Retribution, by Edward Beecher, D.D.
Comments/Questions?
Comments/Questions?