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Post by rodgertutt on Sept 29, 2014 8:16:37 GMT -5
AGAINST THE MANICHEANS - Titus of Bostra (written 364 A.D)
“The abyss of hell is indeed the place of torment; but it is not eternal. The punishments are holy, as they are remedial and salutary in their effect upon transgressors; for they are inflicted, not to preserve them in their wickedness, but to make them cease from their wickedness.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Sept 30, 2014 6:49:21 GMT -5
Gregory of Nyssa (335-390)
What is the scope of St. Paul’s dissertations? That the nature of evil shall, at length, be wholly exterminated, and divine immortal goodness embrace within itself every rational creature; so that of all who were made by God, not one shall be excluded from His kingdom. All the viciousness that like a corrupt matter is mingled in things shall be dissolved and consumed in fire; and everything shall be restored to its pristine state of purity.
In 1Cor. 15:22-28, the apostle Paul declares the extinction of all sin, saying that God will be All in all. For God will be truly All in all only when no evil shall remain in the nature of things. All evil must at length, be entirely removed from everything, so that it shall no more exist. For such being the nature of sin, that it cannot exist without a corrupt motive, it must, of course, be perfectly dissolved and wholly destroyed, so that nothing can remain a receptacle of it, when all motive and influences shall spring from God alone.
As the devil assumed a fleshly shape in order to ruin human nature, so the Lord took flesh for the salvation of man; and thus He blesses not only him who was ruined, but him also who led him into perdition; so that He both delivers man from sin, and heals the author of sin himself.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 1, 2014 6:52:46 GMT -5
Didymus, the blind, of Alexandria (313-398 A.D.)
“As mankind, by being reclaimed from their sins, are to be subjected to Christ in the fullness of the dispensation instituted for the salvation of all, and the superior rational intelligences, the angels, will be restored to obedience by correction.
The blasphemy which shall not be forgiven in this age, nor in the age to come, may have been the blinded Jews; and their punishment, that which came upon them when they were delivered up to the Romans, and scattered over the whole earth. They will be pursued with vengeance from the Lord, not for a short period only, but for the whole future age, so that they shall be captives and fugitives, wandering among all nations, and possessing neither city nor country.
Nevertheless, as God Who overthrew them is naturally kind and compassionate, He hath still reserved for them a space for repentance.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 2, 2014 7:43:07 GMT -5
COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT – Jerome (347-420 A.D.)
“In the end or consummation of things, all shall be restored to their original state, and be again united in one body. We cannot be ignorant that Christ’s blood benefited the angels and those who are in hell; though we know not the manner in which it produced such effects. The apostate angels shall become such as they were created; and man, who has been cast out of paradise, shall be restored thither again. And this shall be accomplished in such a way, that all shall be united together by mutual charity, so that the members will delight in each other, and rejoice in each other’s promotion.
The apostate angels, and the prince of this world, though now ungovernable, plunging themselves into the depths of sin, shall, in the end, embrace the happy dominion of Christ and His saints.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 3, 2014 7:41:31 GMT -5
AVITUS and BASIL, A GRECIAN (approx. 410 A.D.) together taught ----
“Future torments are not endless; for although they are called everlasting, yet that word in the original Greek, does not, according to its etymology, and its frequent use, signify endless, but answers only to the duration of an age; so that every sinner, after the purification of his conscience, shall return into the unity of the body of Christ.
The devil himself will at length be saved, when all his wickedness shall have been subdued.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 4, 2014 7:04:38 GMT -5
Theodorus of Mopsuestia (350-428 A.D.)
“All sins will be wiped away, because a true remission consists in the remission not of some sins but of all of them, as the blessed John said: "Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." This, however, will take place fully in the next world when after the resurrection we shall be immortal and when all the impulses of sins will cease. This is the reason why the blessed Paul also said: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised, and if Christ be not raised your faith is vain and ye are yet in your sins." He shows in this that in the future resurrection from the dead we are expecting complete abolition of sin.
"When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of the sin is the law." Then will truly take place the abolition of all these: of death, sin and corruption.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 5, 2014 6:46:55 GMT -5
John Scottus Eriugena (810-877 A.D)
“There will be a conscious return (reditus) and merging of all beings into God. No souls (including the souls of animals) will be left out of this grand return. No one will be d**ned to suffer forever in hell or wither away into oblivion. There can only be a single destination for all: eternal salvation in God, the whole of humanity as in the image of God eventually to be restored to its divine exemplar. The object of punishment is not the will of the individual himself, but the misdirection of the will, so the result of punishment is the final purification and redemption of all. Even the devils shall be saved. The ultimate goal is deification, theosis or resumption into the divine being, when the individual soul is raised to a full knowledge of God, and where knowing and being are one.”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 6, 2014 7:10:33 GMT -5
THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS – Jeremiah White (1613-72 A.D)
“God’s love demands that all punishment be reformative, Divine punishment is both good in itself, because everything that God does is good, and good for those being punished, because God loves His creation”
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 7, 2014 8:37:02 GMT -5
BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html“Passages of Scripture Sometimes Quoted to Prove Endless Punishment Shown to Teach Consequences of Limited Duration, showing that Christian universalism, or ultimate reconciliation is the true Biblical doctrine.” Arguably, this is the most helpful link on the internet for people who want to believe that the Bible, (literally, not interpretively) translated, teaches universal salvation, not eternal torment, or even annihilation. 301 |
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 8, 2014 8:36:33 GMT -5
AIÓN – AIÓNIOS – (“shown to denote limited duration”) John Wesley Hanson www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html “THE VOCABULARY OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT (edited by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan) is helpful. Concerning aionios we read, “In general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . .” (p.16). If the horizon of the extermination spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is simply not in view, then we can see that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can truly occur. The same all who are dying in Adam, which includes some who incur eonian extermination, can indeed eventually be vivified in Christ. The Bible, in fact, does not speak of judgment and condemnation, death and destruction, hades and Gehenna, or any of these serious consequences of sin, as unending. It may refer to them as not having the end in view, but none of these fearful works of God can keep Him from achieving His will (1Tim.2:4); reconciling all through the blood of Christ’s cross (Col.1:20, and becoming All in all (1 Cor.15:28).” Dean Hough 302 |
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 9, 2014 8:28:12 GMT -5
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS – Louis Abbott www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.htmlRegarding the words translated “forever and ever.” “There are several analogous expressions in the Scriptures which should show the meaning of the words under discussion. In Ex. 26:33 (LXX), tou hagiou ton hagion, "in the holy of the holies." This is similar to the "eon of the eons" of Eph. 3:21. In IKings 8:6 (LXX) we see, eis ta hagia ton hagion, for “the holies of the holies" - similar to "eons of the eons." The "holy of the holies" and "holies of the holies" refer to the tabernacle. Psalm 44:7 says, ho thronos sou ho theos, eis ton aiona tou aionos, "Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of eon"-similar to Heb. 1:8. Daniel 7:18: "until eon of the eons" and similar to that of Eph. 3:21, where a singular is followed by a plural, "eon of the eons." In these expressions we see the eons corresponding to the holies in the tabernacle. While there are many different teachings on the types in the Tabernacle of Moses, it should not be too difficult to see that there were at least five divisions: (1) without the camp; (2) in the camp; (3) in the court; (4) in the holy place; and (5) in the holy of holies. These may be likened to the five eons we find in the Scriptures (past eons, present eon, future eons). The last eon is called the "eon of the eons," because it, like the "holy of holies," is the climax of the others. In Hebrews chapter 9, the Greek text of Nestle reads (margin v. 25), eis ta hagia ton hagion, "into the holies of the holies," and (v. 3), hagia hagion, "holies of holies." Just as the two holy places in the tabernacle are called the holies of holies, so the last two eons are often called the eons of the eons. As the tabernacle illustrated man's approach to God, it corresponds closely with the eonian times, which also brings man to God. The "holy of holies" was a single holy place. The "eon of eons," a single eon. It was the pre-eminence of the "holy of holies," in relation to the other holy places, which caused it to be so designated. So the pre-eminence of the "eon of the eons" lies in its being the fruitage and harvest of previous eons. The same is true of the "holies of the holies" of Heb. 9:25. They may be likened to the "eons of the eons" of Rev. 11:15; 22:5.” 303 |
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 10, 2014 7:18:12 GMT -5
A MESSAGE FROM GARY AMIRAULT (owner of the TENTMAKER website) www.tentmaker.org/ lovewins.us/what-the-hell-is-hell.com/“Hell is a myth! Jesus Christ saves all mankind. That is the growing view of Bible scholars, translators and Bible publishers. Hell is leaving the pages of many Bible translations. Bible scholars and church historians are acknowledging that early Christians were taught by Jesus and the apostles that ALL mankind would ultimately be saved. Discover how the heathen concept of Hell crept into the church and then on to the pages of many Bible translations. Tentmaker Ministries website contains hundreds of articles and books explaining how this happened and its horrible effect on mankind. We also make available many other resources for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. Experience your heavenly Father's unfailing love for you. Be set free from the fear that you or a loved one may be eternally d**ned to Hell.” Gary Amirault, Tentmaker Ministries 304 |
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 11, 2014 8:26:01 GMT -5
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 12, 2014 6:43:33 GMT -5
Great snippets... Please let me share one as well: It's from a book titled Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“At the Last Judgment Christ will say to us, “Come, you also! Come, drunkards! Come, weaklings! Come, children of shame!” And he will say to us: “Vile beings, you who are in the image of the beast and bear his mark, but come all the same, you as well.” And the wise and prudent will say, “Lord, why do you welcome them?” And he will say: “If I welcome them, you wise men, if I welcome them, you prudent men, it is because not one of them has ever been judged worthy.” And he will stretch out his arms, and we will fall at his feet, and we will cry out sobbing, and then we will understand all, we will understand the Gospel of grace! Lord, your kingdom come!”— Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Also I want to include a quote from Heinrich Heines, a German poet and journalist who lived during the 18th and 19th century. I came across his name while I was reading the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. What he says is a statement of complete faith and trust and the most succinct of all that God is about that I've ever found.
"God will save me, that's His Job"
Love you
Rick Coyne
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Post by rodgertutt on Oct 13, 2014 7:25:26 GMT -5
#1 - REDEMPTION ALL IN ALL - RAY PRINZING (my earthly hero and mentor)
“Aionian punishment means of the age, or age during. It is a period of time designated by God for the bringing to naught that which is wrong. God will mete out exactly the amount of time necessary for correction, but it will not be prolonged beyond that which is needed. All of God’s punishments are corrective in nature, motivated by His love, and used to work into our good and His praise.”
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