Universalist (sometimes called "Restoration" and "Unitarian Universalist") believes that all will end up saved. They believe no one will end up in Hell, that it is not possible for anyone, the worst person that ever lived, to not go to Heaven. Whether death is death or if death is only separation, they believe no one will die or be forever separated from God; therefore, there is no death, no wages of sin, no second death after the Judgment Day. There seems to be some who believe in a universal salvation mixed in many denominations, also there are Universalist groups like the "Tentmakers" with the one thing all have in common is the belief in universal salvation. There seems to be two kinds of Universalist. [1] Some who do not believe in any kind of Hell and that all sins are paid in full in this lifetime. [2] Some who believe there will be a Hell but a very different Hell than the Protestant versions for it will last only for an "age," and will be more of a disciplinary character than punishment. Both destroy the character of the sinner and turns them into them saints.
They do much writing to prove the word that is translated everlasting, eternal, forever, age, and world in the King James Version, is from the Greek word "aion," which means "age." In Matthew 24:3 the King James Version says, "end of the world," but the New King James Version, New American Standard Version, New International Version and many more say "end of the age." They have written hundreds of pages to prove that "aion" means "age," and their purpose was to prove that Hell will last for only an age. They may be right in their translation of aion to mean age, but not one of the repeatedly times "aion" is used says anything about Hell, aion (age) is not used in the same passage with any of the four words translated Hell in the King James Version (sheol, hades, Gehenna, Tartarus).
Without proving there is a Hell, and without "age lasting" (aion) being used with any word translated Hell, they make Hell be "age lasting," with a beginning and ending but not everlasting.
They have immortal souls in their "age lasting" Hell without proving the lost will be immortal and will live forever after the judgment.
They believe all those in the age lasting Hell will be saved when the age is over. Although Universalist have told me they do not believe in the soul being immortal they believe that no one will ever be destroyed, that all will sooner or later end up in Heaven; I can not see how all would not be immortal from the day of their birth if no one will ever be destroyed, if no one will ever really be dead.
THEIR BIG PROBLEMS FOR UNIVERSALISM TO BE TRUE THEY MUST PROVE
[1] IMMORTALITY: THAT THE LOST HAVE A SOUL THAT IS NOW IMMORTAL OR THE LOST WILL ALL BE MADE IMMORTAL AFTER DEATH, this immaterial part of a person cannot die and will outlast the "age lasting" Hell. To have never ending life is as immortal as immortal can be. IF NO ONE WILL EVER DIE AND ALL WILL LIVE FOREVER IN HEAVEN, HOW COULD ALL NOT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? HOW MUCH MORE IMMORTAL COULD A PERSON BE?
[2] THE DEATH PRNALTY: THAT THERE IS NO DEATH, those who do not believe on Christ will not perish but will have eternal life the same as those who do believe [John 3:16].
[3] HELL: THAT THERE IS A HELL even if it is only "age lasting" and will be more of a disciplinary character or “attitude adjustments” than punishment.
[1] IMMORTALITY
UNIVERSALIST MUST PROVE THAT ALL MEN NOW HAVE AN IMMATERIAL PART THAT IF IS NOT NOW IMMORTAL IT WILL BE MADE IMMORTAL IN ALL MANKIND AFTER THE “ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT,” THAT IF ALL ARE NOW IMMORTAL THEN ALL WITH BE GIVEN IMMORTALTUY. In the "Debate on the Destiny of the Wicked" between George T. Carpenter of the church of Christ and John Hughes of the Universalist Church, 1875, Hughes says, "The soul, the principle of animal life. The spirit, the 'inward man,' the real man, to be invested in the resurrection with a new, spiritual body; clothed with immortality, to live forever in the spirit world." Even so, most Universalist seems to be as unsure of what part of a person, soul or spirit, they think has immortality, as are most Protestants who believe some part of a person is now immortal and can never die therefore, this immortal part of a person must live forever somewhere. Universalist must prove that Christ will give "eternal life" to all, even to those who do not come to Him [John 5:40]. They know this and know that all will not come to Christ in this lifetime; therefore, they have made up an "age" after the resurrection, which is not in the Bible, in which they think all will come to Christ.
[2] THE DEATH PENALTY
They MUST do away with the Bible teaching on death. There can be no wages of sin, as they believe there is no death. The only real difference with them and unconditional immoralist is where their immortal souls will end up, (1) some in Heaven and some in Hell, (2) or all in Heaven.
· Both must do away with death. Both must deny the Bible when it says, "The wages of sin is death."
WILL THE SECOND DEATH MAKE ALL ALIVE, AS UNIVERSALIST BELIEVES IT WILL? They teach after the second death, all will be made alive. Both the good and the evil will be made alive, and both will then be immortal. They believe that when death the last enemy is destroyed, no one can be dead. They think the end of death must give life to all that are dead. All who die the second death will be alive and have immortality. THE UNIVERSALIST BELIEVES THE SECOND DEATH TO BE THE END OF DEATH, NOT THE END OF THE SINNER; THAT FOR DEATH TO END ALL THAT WAS DEAD MUST BE MADE ALIVE FOR THEY BELIEVE THAT AS LONG AS ANY ARE DEAD, IT CANNOT BE THE END OF DEATH. They seem to think that when "death shall be no more" [Revelation 21:4] could only mean that all who had died are raised from the dead, and all that ever lived would have to be alive for if any were dead it could not be said there is no more death. IT IS THE SINNER THAT WILL DIE [Revelation 21:8], AND WHEN THERE IS NO MORE SINNER LEFT TO DIE THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH, NO MORE WILL BE DYING. The wages of sin is death. It is the sinner who will be paid the wages of their sin, which is death. Universalist makes death pay the wages of the sin of the sinner, and the sinners pay nothing; THERE WOULD THEN BE NO DIFFERENCE IN A SINNER AND A SAINT. Death is an enemy and will be destroyed, but Universalist make there being "no more death" into a gateway to Heaven for all sinners, and God will forgive all sins of the worst sinner even if they rejected Christ all their life. DOES DEATH MEAN THE END OF LIFE or DOES DEATH MEAN THE BEGINNING OF ETERNAL LIFE? Death, the last enemy will be abolished [1 Corinthians 15:26]; Universalist makes the abolishment of death be a resurrection to eternal life of all the lost that are now the enemies of Christ. John said of unbelievers and murderers, "Their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which IS THE SECOND DEATH," but the Universalist changed this and say it is anyone being dead which will end, and all that have "their part" in the lake will be made alive at the death of the lake of fire (which will be the death of death)! DEATH MEANS THE END OF LIFE, NOT THE BEGINNING OF AN IMMORTAL LIFE, but they must find a way to do away with the second death. They believe the lost will be someplace, Hell or whatever name they give it, but not in Heaven and will undergo an "attitude adjustments;" then they will have their name in the book of life and never die, that the second death will be the end of death (the death of death, not the death of the sinner); for death to end they believe that life and immortality must be given to all and death being abolished must means eternal life in Heaven for all!
· Universalist believes that "the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars" will be made alive in Heaven and that death will be cast into the lake of fire and there will be no more death.
· The Bible says, "the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" [Revelation 21:8]. Both death and the lost are cast into the lake of fire [Revelation 20:14-15]; therefore, if the lake of fire is the end of death, it is also the end of the lost.
[3] THE HELL PROBLEMGary Amirault, a Tentmaker Minister in an e-mail to me said, "Most universalists I
know who believe in 'age-during correction,' do NOT see it as God torturing people in a literal lake or anything like that, they see it as
simply correcting or teaching them further." If they call it Hell or something else, they still have a place where the all the lost to go after the judgment for an "age." They have made Hell into an age lasting place where the all the lost are corrected and then go to Heaven. What if some would not repent then? Will God make them repent against their will?
G. Jessup said, "We can be sure there will be judgment, punishment, corrections, or whatever kind of 'attitude adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works, and for some it could be very long
and painfully excruciating: but forever?" He did not give one passage from the Bible to prove this "attitude adjustment," and I cannot find where they try to prove it in any of their writing. Maybe the reason they do not is that they know there is no proof. If they had proof, I am sure they would use it in bold print. That there will be a second chance after death is opposed to what is taught in the Bible.
[1] THEY MUST PROVE THAT ALL THE LOST ARE NOW ALIVE SOMEPLACE OR WILL BE ALIVE THERE, THAT THERE IS SUCH A PLACE WHATEVER NAME THEY GIVE IT.
[2] THAT THE LOST WILL BE THERE FOR ONLY AN "AGE" OF DISCIPLINARY TRAINING.
[3] AND THAT ALL WILL REPENT AND WILL END UP IN HEAVEN.
They must disprove the "Hell" that many Protestants believe, but at the same time prove there is some kind of a "Hell" that is "age lasting" and not eternal. As is shown in the above quotation Universalist do not believe any will forever be in the lake of fire that is not a literal lake of fire, and they do not believe the Protestant view of Gehenna; therefore, they must prove that God will torment all who do not believe in Christ in this lifetime, some for a short time, some will be tormented more, some tormented much
more extremely. G. Jessup said, "We can be sure there will be judgment, punishment, corrections, or whatever kind of 'attitude adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works, and for some it
could be very long and painfully excruciating." I have not seen where they say why there will be a judgment. Maybe for God to decide how much He will have to torment them and how much He will torment Satan and his demons to make them repent. Whatever forms the Universalist says the torment will be, physical, mentally, or whatever, it would still be God doing the tormenting.
UNIVERSALIST MUST PROVE THAT THERE WILL BE AN "AGE" OF ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT. They say there has been many "ages," and will be an "age"after the resurrection in which "judgment, punishment, corrections, or whatever kind of 'attitude adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works" takes place. They reason that there must be such an age for those who do
not come to Christ in this life must have a time to come to Him. All must accept Christ, and most do not in this life. It is a made up "age" which is not found in the Bible. Not one word about it. UNTIL THEY PROVE THERE WILL BE SUCH AN "AGE," THEY ARE ON A MAKE BELIEVE FOUNDATION. THERE IS NO PLACE CALLED HELL IN THE BIBLE, WHETHER IT IS AN AGE LASTING ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, OR EVERLASTING LIFE WITH TORMENT.
· PROTESTANTS CHANGED THE SECOND DEATH INTO ETERNAL LIFEIN HELL FOR ALL THAT NEVER BELIEVED IN GOD.
· UNIVERSALIST CHANGED THE SECOND DEATH INTO A PLACE
WHERE ALL THAT NEVER BELIEVED IN GOD WILL SOME HOW BE
MADE BELIEVERS AND MOVED TO HEAVEN WITH ETERANL LIFE. · BOTH MUST PROVE THE PLATONIC DOCTRINE THAT ALL ARE BORN
WITH A PART THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO DEATH. Both the doctrine of Hell
and the Universalist doctrine that all will be saved are founded on an assumption
that a person has an immaterial, invisible, immortal part in them that cannot die,
and this immortal soul must live somewhere.
· BOTH MUST DENY THAT DEATH IS REAL AND NO ONE WILL DIE.
Death cannot be the wages of sin for all will have the gift of eternal life; therefore,
no sinner can pay the wages of sin if it is death. Universalist point to this passage
to prove there is no Hell, but they do not believe it when it says, "the wages of sin
is death."
· BOTH MUST DENY THAT THE PENALTY OF SIN IS DEATH. The
Protestant does away with death by making death into an eternal life of torment in
Hell separated from God; Universalist cannot have death being death or an eternal
life separated from God, therefore, they must do away with death. They try to do
this by making the end of death be eternal life in Heaven for all that have died.
Both turn death into life, but both do it in different ways. Both make the dead that
are not dead be living at different places. For both, if "the wages of sin is
death," if death is death, it would completely destroy both; therefore, both
try to destroy death by making death be life. Universalist take from the
Platonic doctrine that when the soul is set free of the body, the soul will in time
return to God, death becomes the instrument of salvation for all.
o
According to one, the wages of sin is eternal life with torment.
o
According to the other, the wages of sin is eternal life without torment even to those who reject Christ.
· BOTH MUST DENY THAT DIE, PERISH, DESTROYED, LOST, AND
DEATH ARE NOT USED WITH THEIR TRUE MEANING, and must believe
that they are only used in a peculiar or theological sense, therefore, they could not
be understood without help from someone who is inspired. BOTH BELIEVE NO
ONE WILL EVER DIE. ACCORDING TO BOTH, "THE WAGES OF SIN IS
DEATH" TO NO ONE. Just as with innate immoralists, Universalist must
redefine many words, life, death, die, dead, destroy, perish, destruction, consumed, kill, end, burned up, and sleep, must ALL be redefined in a way that the world does not use them. See chapter two.
UNIVERSALIST USE OF "ALL"
The way Universalist use “all” seems to be their main argument. "But what it really
says is IN CHRIST...ALL A-L-L ALL shall be made ALIVE! Then each of the ALL in his own order" (from one of their web pages, "CAN THIS BE TRUE?"). They ask questions like: God will have all to be saved [1 Timothy 2:4]; can
His will be thwarted? Jesus came to save all [John 12:47]; will He succeed? Jesus is the savior of the world (1 John 4:14); why don't you believe it? And many more like these. Their thinking seems to be that Christ came to save ALL; and if He does not do it in this lifetime, then He must save all who are not saved in this lifetime after the resurrection. This would be great if it was true, but nothing is said about anyone being saved after his or her death. They know that most do not believe in Christ in this lifetime, therefore, they MUST make ALL believe at some time after death. What will happen after death? Christ says "For the hour comes, in which ALL that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of LIFE; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of JUDGMENT" [John 5:28-29]. There is nothing said about anyone being saved after death. The lost are raised to judgment, not to eternal life. "NOW is the acceptable time: behold, NOW is the day of salvation" [2 Corinthians 6:2]. God loves ALL, and Christ died for ALL, but ALL will not come to Him. He made a person where he or she could choose to or choose not to. Universalist teaching is that God will show His love to ALL in a way that ALL, even Satan, will love Him. To so overpower the freewill of a person is the same as making them love Him when they could not help it. It would be the same thing as taking their freewill away. This "attitude adjustments" must be strong enough to overpower the most evil; therefore, they are made to believe even against their will. They make up both this "attitude adjustments" and the place where it takes place because they must have them if ALL are to be saved. They are not in the Bible.
UNIVERSALIST TEACHING OF ALL WILL BE SAVED makes much of the Bible be foolishness, vain babbling, meaningless, or just an out right lie. It makes:1. Satan's greatest lie would be no lie, but is the truth. If all will be saved, no one will die. Satan told the truth; but when God said they would die, He is the one who told the greatest lie [Genesis 3].
2. God said, "The fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars; their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which IS THE SECOND DEATH" [Revelation 20:8]. Universalist says, "Not so God, all will be saved. None will die the second death, for there cannot be a real second death, all will have eternal life in Heaven."
3. No broad way "that leads to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby" [Matthew 7:13].
4. NO DEATH. Whatever you think death is, whether death is death, or if death is just a separation from God, no one will be dead; no one will be separated from God. Death could not death. The wages of sin could not be death [Romans 6:23]. “The wages of sin is death” must be changed to some "kind of 'attitude adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works," which will last for an "age"; but the wages of sin cannot be a real death that will be forever. While this attitude adjustment is going on, they must be very much alive, just as alive as they will be when it is over; IF THE WAGES OF SIN IS NOT DEATH, DOES SIN HAVE NO WAGES?
5. “But he that obeys not the Son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE” [John 3:36] must be changed to, “But he that obeys not the Son, even he that denies the Son and kills those that obey Him SHALL SEE ETERNAL LIFE.”
6. They use "all made alive" to teach all the lost will be raised with immortality. When they make "all made alive" to be all will be given eternal life at the second coming of Christ, there cannot be a judgment or a second death. All will be saved. No need of a judgment day to judge some good and some bad, it is made to be useless for both those who believe in this lifetime and those who do not believe will be the same, all will be saved. They over look the fact that THE "ALL" PAUL IS SPEAKING OF ARE ALL THE SAVED. ALL saints who are asleep in Christ, and ALL saints who will be living at His coming. Nothing is said in that passage about ALL the ones who are not in Christ; they will be raised to judgment, not life at the resurrection; they are not NOW IN CHRIST, and they never will have the "life" Christ gives to those who obey Him. Their names are not in the book of life. "For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life" [2 Corinthians 2:15-16]. Christ will raise them from the dead, but only to be judged and return to the dead "from death unto death"; and there will never be another resurrection.
7. Makes parables of Christ not true. They do not teach anything and, therefore, are useless. THERE WILL BE NO TARES. Christ said, "I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn" [Matthew 13:30]. Christ was wrong. The tares will not be gathered out of the kingdom and burned at the end of the age (aion-age, not world). The tares will not be turned into wheat and gathered into the kingdom, for they will not be burned as Christ said they would be "at the end of the age." NO BAD FISH. All the bad little fishes will be turned too good little fishes. There will be no bad little fishes to burn.
8. "I tell you Nay: but, except you repent, you shall all in like manner perish" [Luke 13:5]. Universalist says not so Jesus, all will be saved; no one will perish. It can be asked of them as they ask, "Did Christ not know what He was saying; why don't you believe it?" Even they cannot deny that Christ said, “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” Why do they not believe Him? How do they change “perish” into “you shall all likewise be saved even if you do not repent”?
9. "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by your name, and by your name cast out demons, and by your name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity" [Matthew 7:21-23]. How could Christ have been so wrong? How could He not know that the Universalist says ALL will enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Why would Christ be telling them in the Judgment Day after the resurrection that not all will enter into the kingdom of Heaven?
o UNIVERSALIST: ALL will enter into the kingdom of Heaven. o
o 23]. Why do they not believe Him?
10. They must change the words of Christ. "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be condemned" must be changed to, "He that believes and he that believes not shall both be saved." Why do they not believe Christ? Why do they make, “Shall be saved,” and, “Shall be condemned” both mean, “Shall be saved”?
11. Makes being a Christian and living for Christ be no better than not being a Christian. All are going to end up being saved. Makes taking the Gospel to the lost a waste of time. They are all going to be saved anyway, and those who do not hear the Gospel may spend less time in the age lasting Hell and have less torment than will those who hear and reject the Gospel; therefore, taking the Gospel to them may do more harm to most than it will do good. Because most will not believe the Gospel and will reject Christ, most will be made to suffer longer in the "age lasting attitude adjustment" than they would if the Gospel were not taken to them.
Will Jesus save everyone? Gary Amorality in an E mail to me June 15,1999, said,
"You've taken a big step out of Hell, but you still leave Jesus as a sinner. He didn't accomplish what He came to do...save the world. If He
fails in His mission, He can't be the Messiah."
1. God give His Son to save "whosoever believeth on Him." [John 3:16], but they must believe in their lifetime, and many do not. "Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto God" [Hebrews 11:6]. God will not raise them and save everyone after He torments them for an age. He will not take away their freewill and make them believe.
2. Paul says they who practice the works of the flesh SHALL NOT inherit the kingdom of God [Galatians 5:16-24]. Universalist says Paul was wrong, they who practice the works of the flesh shall inherit the kingdom of God after they spend some time in some kind of torment having an "attitude adjustments."
3. Christ said, "He that obeys not the son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE," [John 3:36]. Universalist says they will see life. How could those who shall not see life, and shall not inherit the kingdom of God have everlasting life in the kingdom they shall not inherit [Matthew 7:21-23]?
HOW DOES UNIVERSALIST THINK JESUS IS A SINNER? Gary Amorality said,"But you still leave Jesus as a sinner." Jesus had no sins of His own and even if He saved no one, not one person, He had no sins, and not giving eternal life to those who do not believe in Him does not make Him a sinner as Gary Amorality said it would.
UNIVERSALIST says God is a God of love, and He will not kill any; all will be saved. They overlook the fact that He is also a just God, and sin must be paid for with death [Romans 6:23]. The death of the sinner is just if it be death in this life or is the second death at the judgment for ALL who has not had their sins washed away by the blood of Christ; for ALL have sinned, and therefore, it is just for them to receive the wages of their sins. If they have not had their sins washed away by the blood of Christ, raised with Christ in baptism, the sinner will die. Death is sure and just for them. Throughout the Old Testament, God destroyed those who rejected Him, as in the flood, or ordered the destruction as with the Amalekites. He never tormented His enemies. He destroyed them; their life ended. Death is the way God dealt with His enemies then, and the way He will deal with them at the judgment. He will destroy them with death, the second death, not torment them forever or for an age.
Universalist may think this cruel, but it is justice, not cruelly. God would not be God if He were not just? If He had no law, which has a penalty for not keeping it, He could not rule and there would be no sin. There is sin, and its penalty is death.
"In the first place we complain of its relative novelty. It does not appear in the history of doctrine until the beginning of the third century. Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Hermas, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus, all the first fathers of the church are Conditionalists. Not one of them taught Universalism. Merely the first slight traces of the doctrine are contained in the writings of Clement of Alexandria." E. Petavel, D.
D., The Extinction Of Evil, Page 90, 1889.
Note: Many in the Church of God and Congregation of God also teach there will be "an opportunity for salvation" after the resurrection, but unlike the Universalist, they believe some will reject it, and for them there will be the second death, not torment in Hell.
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THIS IS CHAPTER NINE FROM “IMMORTALITY OR RESURRECTION, updated” all ten chapters free on line in formats usable with the Kindle, Sony Reader, iPad and other readers at:
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Not one of the repeatedly times "aion" is used says anything about Hell, aion (age) is not used in the same passage with any of the four words translated Hell in the King James Version (sheol, hades, Gehenna, Tartarus).
Without proving there is a Hell, and without "age lasting" (aion) being used with any word translated Hell (sheol, hades, Gehenna, Tartarus), they make Hell be "age lasting," with a beginning and ending but not everlasting.