Summary Post: Is universal salvation biblical?

Note: This post summarizes what is written in this entire section.

A.    What is salvation according to the Bible?

People are saved through 1) belief in the gospel, the truth of Christ’s saving work on the cross, and 2) the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their lives to make them like Christ. God’s goal is to make us exactly like His Son.

B.    An Argument from Logic

God is infinite in love, infinite in wisdom, and infinite in power. In His love He desires to save all, in His wisdom He knows the best way to do it, and in His power He has the ability to accomplish it. Therefore, all will be saved.

C.    Biblical Evidence for Universal Salvation

1.     The silence of God in the Old Testament regarding eternal conscious torment: A good Father, who God is, would warn people of more than just temporal judgment, but also eternal judgment. But God does not in the Old Testament, suggesting eternal conscious torment in hell was not a punishment. However, God repeatedly warns and judges people of temporal punishment:

a)     Cain’s punishment due to his murder was temporal, not eternal judgment from God in hell.

b)     The Flood is described as temporal judgment, and in 1 Peter 3-4 Jesus preaches to those imprisoned spirits to set them free by the power of the gospel. They had another chance at redemption.

c)     Sodom & Gomorrah are judged not with endless punishment but temporal destruction. Ezekiel 16:53-55 reveals that God had a plan for these cities’ restoration.

d)     God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18) is one of universal salvation. Abraham’s offspring will bless ALL nations on earth.

e)     God’s threats, at least in the Old Testament, are always limited temporal punishments and pains, not eternal.

f)      Death is not hell in the Old Testament, but going to a place called “Sheol”, which was for both the good and evil.

2.     Knowledge of God gives peace (Job 22:21). If this is true, eternal torment is not, as the knowledge of eternal torment does not give peace.

3.     God’s anger is limited and His mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13, 1 John 4:8, Micah 12:18, Psalm 103:8-9, Psalm 30:5, Isaiah 54:8, Lamentations 3:31-33).

4.     God’s mercy is unlimited (Psalm 107:1). If his mercy endures forever, how can eternal hell endure forever?

5.     Universal obedience (of the entire world) is predicted (Psalm 72:6-8, Psalm 22:27, Psalm 86:9, Psalm 65:2, Daniel 7:14, 2 Samuel 14:14). God does not make robots, so this obedience will not be forced. Someday, all will worship and glorify God together out of their own free choice.

6.     God promises to swallow up death forever and wipe away tears from all faces (Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14). All means all, so all will be saved.

7.     God promises universal salvation through Jesus: Jesus is appointed “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), God promises to restore everything when Jesus returns (Acts 3:21), God is patient and wills all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), God will bring “unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:8-10), God saves the whole world through Jesus (John 3:16-17), Jesus takes away the sin of the whole world (John 1:29), Jesus is the light of the whole world (John 8:12), he is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8), which will not be fully destroyed if a great percentage of – I would argue any of - humanity goes to an eternal hell, Jesus broke the power of the devil to free those who lives were held in slavery by the fear of death (so all of humanity, Hebrews 2:14-15), Jesus came to do away with sin once and for all (Hebrews 9:26), Jesus has power that enables him to bring everything under his control (Philippians 3:20-21), Jesus came to save the whole world (John 12:47), Jesus will inherit the whole world (Psalm 2:8), the gospel is good news for all, not some, people (Luke 2:10-11), all people will see God’s salvation (Luke 3:4-6), Jesus came to save what was lost (Luke 19:10), God reconciled to Himself all, not some, people through Christ (Colossians 1:19-20), Jesus tasted death for every person, not some (Hebrews 2:9), Jesus promises to draw all people to himself (John 12:31, 33), Jesus’ righteousness leads to justification and life for all people just as Adam’s sin led to condemnation for all men (Romans 5:16-18), all people die in Adam but all people will be made alive in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-22), and God will be all in all because of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:28). How can eternal hell exist in light of these prophetic promises, especially given that one day God will be “all in all”? Where would hell exist if God is all in all?

8.     What about God’s purpose in election (Romans 9-11)? Paul does talk about God’s elect in these chapters, and the New Testament talks about God’s elect in other passages too. But just because God chooses some first, does this mean the rest will never be saved? These 3 chapters read together shows saving some is God’s temporary, not His ultimate, plan. Romans 11:32 says, “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience that he may have mercy on them all.” God’s plan is to have mercy on all of humanity, according to Paul. Having an “elect” group does not mean all will not be saved. He explains in Romans 11 that Israel, who he refers to as unsaved in Romans 9, went through a partial hardening so that the full number of Gentiles will come in, and “in this way all of Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26). God’s final purpose and plan is for all to be saved. 1 Timothy 4:10 proves this, “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10) God is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe, who are the elect. In context, Scripture does not show that God only saves an “elect group”. That is not His heart. (See full argument in the “Biblical Evidence” post.)

9.     The Lord’s Prayer: It is God’s will for all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:1-6, Ephesians 1:9-14, John 6:38-40). Christians have been praying this prayer for centuries in faith – for God’s will to be done – will God not answer this prayer in the affirmative, which is in part a prayer to save all people as that is God’s will? Of course not! God always says yes to the prayers of His people that are aligned with His will. All will be saved.

10.  Philippians 2:9-11’s Assurance of Universal Salvation: These verses say that every knee will bow and all will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Romans 10:9-10 says that all who believe Jesus Christ is Lord, confessing with their mouth and believing God raised Jesus from the dead, will be saved. So, if all will do that according to this passage, all will be saved as it is completely against God’s nature of freedom and love to force anyone to bow before Jesus and confess that he is Lord to God’s glory. So, won’t all, in the end, be saved, given that all will bow before Christ and confess he is Lord?

11.  God’s Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4): Only the Christian universalist can truly comfort those who are “in any trouble”. If most perish to an unending hell, what comfort does the believing Christian have to offer to the friends and family of an unbeliever who has died?

12.  God’s Love (1 John 4:8): If God truly is Love, how will He not accomplish the universal salvation of every soul? Perfect loves drive out all fear according to this verse. If God will not save all, how can anyone truly live a life free of fear? 1 Corinthians 13:8 says that love never fails. Love – the essence of who God is – will not fail. I am sure of it.

D.    The Nature of Punishment

1.     God is both just and loving. Justice is part of God’s love. God’s judgment is corrective and restorative.

2.     Interpreting “aidos”, “aion”, and “aionios”: These are all Greek words that in English Bibles are translated as eternal or eternity and have been used to support the doctrine of an eternal hell for most of humanity. However, in Greek they all mean a temporary period of time, not an endless duration of time. God’s judgments are ultimately redemptive and restorative, not eternally punitive. (See the “Nature of Punishment” post for a more detailed examination of these words and the specific verses that have these words.)

3.     Translating “hell”: “Hell” is a translation of 3 Greek words, “Gehenna”, “Hades”, and “Tartarus”. Gehenna referred to a trash dump outside of Jerusalem and was a place of temporary judgment and purification. Hades refers to the place where both good and bad spirits go and is an intermediate state between death and the final resurrection. Tartarus is only used 1 time in the New Testament and is a temporary place of torment for angels awaiting a final judgment (2 Peter 2:4).  So, hell is temporary according to the Bible.

4.     Translation of “damnation” and “damned”: These are 2 Greek words “krino” and “katakrino” that mean to “judge” and to “condemn”. They do not mean endless torment.

5.     The New Testament on “hell”: Jesus used a lot of imagery and metaphor in his teaching. Christians do not take Jesus literally for much of his teaching – so why do Christians tend to take Jesus literally in his teaching on hell? Is hell literal fire? Or a purifying fire from a God who loves His children and wants them to share in His holiness? Jesus spoke to everyone being salted with fire, unbelievers and believers (Mark 9:43-50). The judgment of God is real and something to warn people of as Jesus did, but what I argue, based on Scripture, is that God’s judgment is temporary, corrective, and restorative for all. (See my post on “The Nature of Punishment” for an exegesis on the Scriptures about hell and how they do not point to an eternal fiery torment but a temporary state of purification and judgment.)

6.     God Wounds to Heal (Deuteronomy 32:39): God does this throughout the Bible:

a)     A fire kindles against Israel forever, but this turns to the promise of all Israel being saved. (Jeremiah 17:4, Romans 11:26, Ezekiel 39:25)

b)     Israel’s hurt is incurable, but God will heal their wound. (Jeremiah 30:12, 15, Jeremiah 30:17).

c)     Hosea says no mercy remains for Israel by God, but then speaks of Israel’s reconciliation with God. (Hosea 1:6-10, 2:4, 10, 14, 15, 19, 23, 9:15, 13:14, 14:4).

d)     Israel is said no more to rise, but God raises her up. (Amos 5:2, Amos 9:11)

e)     The wound of Samaria in incurable, yet then it is cured. (Micah 1:9, Ezekiel 16:33).

f)      Sodom and Gomorrah experience “eternal” fire, but they are restored (Jude 7, Ezekiel 16:35).

g)     Amnon is to be a “perpetual” desolation, but is restored. (Zephaniah 2:9, Jeremiah 25:21, 27, Jeremiah 49:6).

This is the heart of God: He is both just and loving. He wounds and corrects, but His ultimate goal is to restore all people: His people, Israel, and all nations.

E.     The Power of Intercession

Even if B, C, and D do not provide enough evidence for universal salvation, there is still hope of universal salvation because of the power of intercession. God hears and responds to the prayers of His people, and Scripture shows that He sometimes changes His mind over judgment – moreover, He changes His Words of judgment because of His people’s intercession. Even if there was not a word in the Bible about universal salvation, should not God’s people still pray to that end as we serve a merciful, loving, all-powerful God? In Exodus 32, Moses intercedes for the people worshipping the golden calf who God says He will destroy. Because of Moses’ intercession, the punishment for their idolatry is way less severe. In Joel 2, God says “even now” if you “return to Me” God may relent from sending calamity. Verse 18 says, as a result of the people’s repentance, “the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people.” Intercession has great power to change God’s mind, move His heart, and even remove judgment God has said He will do. Finally, all things are possible with God, including universal salvation (Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:37, Luke 18:27, Mark 10:27, Mark 9:23, Matthew 17:20, Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah 32:27, Job 42:2).

F.     Conclusion: Therefore, given the witness of logic (point B), the witness of Scripture that 1) universal salvation is God’s purpose and plan and 2) the nature of God’s punishment as corrective, restorative, and temporal, and the power of intercession, universal salvation is biblical. At a minimum, it is certainly possible given the power of God and prayer.

G.    Concluding Thoughts

1.     Why should we care? If this is true, doesn’t this fill you with hope, joy, peace, and faith? God is such an amazing Father and promises all will be saved somehow! Further, this changes the gospel message that some preach (repent or you will go to an eternal hell) to a more hopeful, true message about who God really is: a loving Father who judges His world with temporal punishments and desires and wills all to be saved.

2.     Wouldn’t this decrease the Christian motivation for evangelism and discipleship? No! This is a total misunderstand of the doctrine of universal salvation. The Church is God’s Plan A to bring salvation to the world through the message of Jesus Christ, and there is no plan B. I think this should help drive the Christian mission of evangelism and discipleship as we are fighting a battle that is already won. This is extremely encouraging – but God has called us to fight this already-won battle. As stated in point A, salvation is not about a ticket to heaven: salvation is about being like Jesus and becoming perfect in love like God is. The task is for the whole world to become like Jesus, and this will take all of the world to accomplish this, starting with each individual person’s decision to love God and others, not live selfishly.

3.     How can this be? How can this be given the many who have died without hearing the gospel message? The short answer is that based on all the Scriptures that witness to universal salvation, God will make a way. I referred to 1 Peter 3-4 where Jesus is described as preaching to the ungodly generation that perished in the Flood so that they can be saved. So again, God will make a way.  I address another way I believe the Scriptures show, which would take much longer to explain, in section 4 of my blog.