FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #45

The “Offer” – Kenneth Larsen

Imagine this scenario. An automobile manufacturer builds a vehicle
model which it hopes will become a great success. During testing,
however, it becomes apparent that the car suffers from a severe design
flaw and would pose an imminent danger to the public were it released
for sale. Instead of correcting the flaw, the manufacturer decides it
has a better idea; it mentions the flaw on page 122 of the owner’s
manual and explains there how the owner can have the defect corrected
at the nearest dealership “free of charge”.

Does it appear rather lopsided that the vehicle is sold to
unsuspecting customers with little if any mention of the design
defect? Does it appear rather absurd that the responsibility for
discovering the dangerous defect and having it corrected falls upon
the buyer, when the builder could have fixed the problem before taking
the car to market?

Imagine this scenario. Because of the sin of our forefather, Adam, we
all inherit sin and mortality. None of us are tested as he was, in
order to see if we will be a righteous person or a sinner; we are all
given mortality. Our choices have nothing to do with our present
condition as sinners; we are born that way.
As for salvation from sin and death, that will depend on finding the
proper message and acting on it in an effective manner; otherwise the
condition we inherit at birth will be our everlasting downfall.

Does it appear rather lopsided that the condemnation is universal and
our choice has nothing to do with it, but our salvation from that
condemnation requires our active participation? Does it appear rather
absurd that the responsibility for obtaining salvation depends, in the
final analysis, upon each individual, while we are in no way
responsibe for our needing that salvation in the first place? Doesn’t
it seem strange that perdition is an inherited condition, while
salvation is only an “offer” made to those fortunate enough to stumble
upon it?

Fact is, salvation is not an offer we happen upon; it’s a gift. And a
Savior is One Who saves. In 1 Timothy 4:9-11, we read, “Faithful is
the saying and worthy of all welcome (for for this are we toiling and
being reproached), that we rely on the living God, Who is the Saviour
of all mankind, especially of believers. These things be charging and
teaching.” God is the Savior of all mankind, for salvation is the
destiny of all. 1 Cor. 15:20-28; 1 Tim. 4:10; Jn. 12:32; Col. 1:20;
Eph. 1:10; Ro. 5:18, 19; Phil. 2:9-11. God is the Savior of believers
especially because He prefers some from the beginning for salvation
now and during the eons of the eons (2 Thes. 2:13; Rev. 20:4, 5).
Others are vessels of indignation, as indicated in Romans 9, and will
not be saved until the consummation mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:24.
Salvation is not an “offer”; God enlightens all, at the time He
chooses. John 1:9-13.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #46

UR RESPONSES

RESPONSES TO SCRIPTURE ARGUMENTS AGAINST UNIVERSALISM

BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html

THE SCHOLARS CORNER FOR BIBLE STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL UNIVERSALISM
http://www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html

RESPONSES TO PHILISOPHICAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST UNIVERSALISM

Good news of God's love for all mankind - find it here at Tentmaker
http://www.tentmaker.org/FAQ/index.html

Quick Find: Links to Information on Hell and Universal Salvation
http://www.tentmaker.org/bloglinks.htm

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #47

CHOOSING – part 1

Everyone will choose to believe whatever they are convinced is the truth about what the Bible teaches. I post on forums to give people an alternate point of view. Had I known that one existed I never would have had a horrific twelve year nervous breakdown 1966-78 over my inability to love a god who would allow anyone actually prefer to suffer forever rather than eventually reach out for the salvation that God has provided. I'm 73 years old now.

THE FOLLOWING HAS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE TRUE REGARDING THE DEBATE ABOUT ETERNAL TORMENT

The argument about “eternal hell” nearly always gets bogged down with the words, “My Greek scholars are more reliable than your Greek scholars,” and the result is nearly always a stalemate.
My Greek scholars are Louis Abbott and the many Greek scholars he quotes in chapters three and twelve.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.html

Also see
TIME AND ETERNITY A BIBLICAL STUDY
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/time/

Also see
THE SCHOLAR’S CORNER FOR THE STUDY OF BIBLICAL UNIVERSALISM at
http://www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html

If you think it glorifies God more to let some of His creatures suffer forever, or annihilate them, then you keep believing that.

But if you think it glorifies God more to eventually meet everyone on the level of their greatest and deepest need which is a change in their stubborn will, then know that there is plenty of evidence in the Bible that is exactly what God is like.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #48

CHOOSING – part 2

ON THE BASIS OF HAVING STUDIED THE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO YOU CHOOSE ONE
Choose to believe that the Bible teaches that God will sustain people alive in an inescapable state of eternal suffering.
Or
Choose to believe that God will annihilate (cause them to cease to exist) anyone who does not become a Christian before they die.
Or
Choose to believe what the following expositors reveal about what the Bible teaches.

THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD SERIES
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/savior-of-the-world/index.htm
http://www.godfire.net/eby/saviour_of_the_world.html

Or
ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE IN JESUS CHRIST
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Absolute-Assurance-in-Jesus-Christ.html
http://www.richardwaynegarganta.com/4ViewsOfSalvation.htm
http://www.sigler.org/slagle/absolute.htm (the author, Charles Slagle’s personal website containing many other good writings about the subject)

Or
UNIVERSAL SALVATION UNIVERSITY
http://richardwaynegarganta.com/universalsalvation.htm
Or
CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL UNIVERSALISM
http://www.christian-universalism.com/links.html
Or
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
http://www.christianuniversalist.org
Or
BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreateningsExplained.html
Or
ETERNAL DEATH ANNIHILATION?
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/EternalDeath.html
Or
WILL UNBELIEVERS BE ANNIHILATED (If necessary copy and paste the following url into your browser address bar)
http://www.lighthouselibrary.com/read.php?sel=2586&searchfor=||KNOCH, ADOLPH E||&type=&what=author

I myself, along with many others with whom I am acquainted, simply cannot love a god who would let anyone choose themselves into an inescapable state of eternal suffering (Arminian), or suffer forever just because they were born into the human race (Calvinist). Neither can we love a god who would snuff us out of existence just because we didn’t hear about Jesus before we died.

But we CAN love a God Who, because of His Son’s death and resurrection, through the power in the blood of His cross, will sooner or later save all fallen creatures from everything from which they need to be saved (including their stubborn wills). That’s the God that the above expositors see in the Bible. And that’s the God to Whom I joyously yield my heart in complete and total abandonment.

SO FOR US THE CHOICE IS EASY

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #49

TRANSLATIONS

Fifteen literally translated (not interpretively translated) Bibles that reveal what God will do with the sinners in Matthew 25:46
Concordant Literal, Young’s literal, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham’s Emphasized, Scarlett’s, J.W. Hanson’s New Covenant, Twentieth Century, Ferrar Fenton, The Western New Testament, Weymouth’s (unedited), Clementson’s, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, Bullinger’s Companion Bible margins, Jonathan Mitchell’s translation (2010).

Concerning the duration of kolasis (literally - corrective punishment), Matt. 25:46 says (KJV),
"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."

1. Scarlett's New Testament written in 1792 has "aeonian punishment" in place to "everlasting punishment."
"And these will go away into aeonian punishment: but the righteous into aeonian life."

2. The New Covenant by Dr. J.W. Hanson written in 1884 renders Matt. 25:46:
"And these shall go away into aeonian chastisement, and the just into aeonian life."

3. Young's Literal Translation first published in 1898 and reprinted many times since uses the following words:
"And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during."
Professor Young also compiled Young's Concordance, where one can check the translation of each Hebrew or Greek word as translated in the KJV.

4. The Twentieth Century New Testament first printed in the year 1900 has:
"And these last will go away 'into aeonian punishment,' but the righteous 'into aeonian life.'"

5. The Holy Bible in Modern English by Ferrar Fenton first published in 1903 gives the rendering:
"And these He will dismiss into a long correction, but the well-doers to an enduring life.

6. The New Testament in Modern Speech, by Dr. Weymouth, says:
"And these shall go away into punishment of the ages, but the righteous into life of the ages."
Dr. Weymouth most frequently adopts such terms as "life of the ages," "fire of the ages;" and in Rev. 14:6, "The good news of the ages." It is a matter to regret that the editors of the most recent edition of Dr. Weymouth's version have reverted to the KJV renderings for the passages containing the Greek word aion, eon, or age.

7. The Western New Testament published in 1926 renders Matt. 25:46 as follows:
"And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."
The translation, however, has a footnote on Matthew 21:19 on the word "forever" which is the same word for "eternal" which says: "Literally, for the age.”

8. Clementson's The New Testament (1938) shows,
"And these shall go away into eonian correction, but the righteous into eonian life."

9. Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott (1942 edition) translates the verse,
"And these shall go forth to the aionian cutting-off; but the righteous to aionian life."
It should be noted that the "cutting-off" refers to pruning a fruit tree to make it bear more fruit. The idea behind the word is not destructive but productive! Had Jesus wanted to emphasize a destructive end, He would have used the word "timoria."

10. The Concordant Version (1930):
"And these shall be coming away into chastening eonian, yet the just into life eonian."

11. The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed printed in 1958 says:
"And these shall go away into agelasting cutting-off and the just into agelasting life."

12. Joseph Bryant Rotherham, in his Emphasized Bible (1959), translates this verse,
"and these shall go away into age-abiding correction, but the righteous into age-abiding life."

13. The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible copyrighted in 1976 has "age-abiding correction" instead of "everlasting punishment."

14. Jonathan Mitchell’s translation (2010) has "And so, these folks will be going off into an eonian pruning (a lopping-off which lasts for an undetermined length of time; an age-lasting correction; a pruning which has its source and character in the Age), yet the fair and just folks who are in right relationship and are in accord with the Way pointed out [go off] into eonian life (life which has it source and character in the Age; life pertaining to the Age)”.

15. Even some King James Study Bibles will show the reader in the margins or appendixes that the King's translators were incorrect in their rendering of "eternal punishment.” The great Companion Bible by Dr. Bullinger is an example of that.

Greek scholar William Barclay wrote concerning kolasis aionion (age-during corrective chastisement) in Matthew 25:46
"The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. There is no instance in Greek secular literature where kolasis does not mean remedial pun

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #50

UNFORGIVABLE SIN

http://www.concordant.org/expohtml/HumanDestiny/spiritblasphemy.html

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #51

VESSELS OF DISHONOR

For anyone who may be interested, all of the arguments presented by ETers that universalism is not scriptural have been refuted in detail in this online book.
HOPE BEYOND HELL - GERRY BEAUCHEMIN (published 2007)
It can an be downloaded free and read online here
http://hopebeyondhell.net/

I thank God for being able to see that believers in eternal torment will remain believers in eternal torment for as long as God wants them to.

God needs them as vessels of the grossest dishonor, a foil of contrast against which He will demonstrate the power of His love that never fails and His undefeatable grace.

But after the resurrection God will refashion all believers in eternal torment into vessels of honor because they were marred in the Potter's hands and they never leave His hands.
The doctrine of eternal torment is part of the black background against which God will paint His glorious masterpiece of universal transformation, using the brushes of His love that never fails, and His grace that cannot be defeated.

After believers in eternal torment have done their very best to convince others about what God will not do, God is going to do it anyway.

Believers in eternal torment will probably not want to have anything to do with this link, but others on this forum might.
Why not check it out?
Read the reviews first – just a suggestion.
HOPE BEYOND HELL - GERRY BEAUCHEMIN
http://hopebeyondhell.net/

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #52

On City-Data Christian forum there is an ETer named twin-spin who frequently likes to refer to universal reconciliation as “vomit.”

twin-spin's "vomit" versus UR's "vomit"

twin-spin's definition of "vomit"
Sooner or later, because of what Christ accomplished by His death and resurrection,
He is going to save everyone from everything from which they need to be saved,
including their stubborn will.

UR's defintion of "vomit"
Sustaining anyone alive in an inescapable state of everlasting suffering.

A snippet from A TREATISE ON ATONEMENT – HOSEA BALLOU

“We are told of a god who created millions of beings whom he intends for endless torments and puts His whole design into execution; and this is called ‘goodness.’

In millions of cases this god finds it most for his glory to make his rational, hoping, wanting creatures endlessly miserable.

We are likewise told of a devil who acts for his own gratification, and who delights in making God’s creatures miserable; and this is called ‘badness.’

Shall we thus represent our kind and merciful Father from Whom streams of goodness continually flow to His wanting, needing creatures?
No; let every vibration of sense within us acknowledge His bountiful hand which will never close.”

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #53

WHO SHALL WORSHIP GOD?

A snippet from
“ASK OF ME OF THINGS TO COME” – K. ROSS MCKAY

“WHO SHALL EVENTUALLY WORSHIP GOD?
Every creature Rev. 5:13
All flesh Isa. 66:23
All the ends of the world Psa. 22:27
All the kindreds of the nations Psa. 67:7
All the isles of the heathen Zep. 2:11
All the nations whom Thou hast made Psa. 86:9; Rev. 15:4
All the earth Psa. 66:4
The whole earth shall be filled with His glory Psa. 72:19; 97:7.”

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #54

A TRIBUTE TO MY FATHERS WORK
by Steven Tutt

Rodger Tutt has taken it upon himself to address and confront one of the central ideas of many Christians and of one most misused and misdirected tools of Christianity; that of controlling people through the fear of endless hell.

His heart-felt knowing of God let him ask something like - If God Loves us, and is omnipotent, how could/would God determine that any being suffering endlessly would/could serve Loves purpose?

Even with the imposed threat of his eternal ****ation looming over his head, his spirit could not accept this distortion of Gods Love
He was taught that even to question the teachings, or consider another perspective was a sin. He had to swallow and believe everything he was told, no questions. This type of "fear-control" of a persons free thought and freedom to consider and evaluate other options is a very destructive, controlling, and blatant misuse of mind control and manipulation.
Even with no one else to back him up and no other alternative idea to comfort him, he knew, if only through its absence that there was another way. So he set out into the emptiness of total blind faith, alone, with no map, and no cane, only the pure faith and knowing that God is Love, to find the description or view of God that gave the true picture of a loving God.
I'm sure if you ask him he will tell you something like " he had no faith or knowing that God was Love at all, and that he had a nervous breakdown, and could only hope there was a better way".

But his inability to accept that a loving God would let any being suffer forever shows me that even though he had no words to describe what he felt, he knew this was not the way of Love or a loving God. Nervous Breakdown, whatever, call it what you will. I think it was the true loving God taking hold of him in the only language he had been taught, fear. I think it said to him in a voice he only could hear inside himself, something like:
"This that you call a nervous breakdown, is my loving hands stopping you from a life lived in fear.

Those that you love will **** you, as those that I loved betrayed me. But they do not know me as you do, they think I am a cruel God, but even though you have no words to protest your heart knows me and knows that I am a God of Love.

You may not understand what I am doing in your mind, or know that this fear is my hands loving you, because I talk to you with the grip of fear, and deep inside you know I am love. But, know in your soul where you have not words for it, that when this fear passes you will be free to live in the knowing of my Love.

Know that none will need to suffer forever, or even for a moment more than must be. Those who **** you are ****ing themselves to a life lived in fear, for they choose to believe that their God would allow a being to suffer eternal extreme cruelty with nothing good ever coming from it. In their minds they live in a world which is ruled by a cruel God.
When they are drawing their final breaths they may still believe they are being delivered into such cruel hands. They will not live in the peace knowing of my unconditional Love until they accept that none will be lost, none will be left behind.

I am assisting you through this temporary fear for it stops you from swallowing the poison of accepting that I am a cruel God. Here I set you free. I set free to find the way of my love which is unconditional, and if one loves without condition, none can be turned away."
Rodgers experience was of terror, immobilizing, paralyzing. He did not have the comfort of realizing what was said to him at the time. But he went on anyway, and searched as in the dark for people with other answers, as one would search for needles in a haystack. The people-needles would help him burst the bubbles of illusion and fear people had blown into his brain. In time he found these people amongst the billions that live on this earth and from each he took and preserved each little needle they gave and from them he fashioned a sword of truth, a sword of Love and Light that he would use to cut away the bonds of control, fear and guilt from others, and let them see the Love of God.
Someone had to make the sword, and working metal is a hot and tiresome job. The sword had to be very strong. Much time was needed to be put into its making. Its strength had to be of the highest integrity, so many tests were put upon it.
Rodger Tutt was commissioned by God to make this sword. He is his own testament to himself that everything will be better that it happened. For if he did not go through what he did he would never have known how the sword must be made or had the persistence to see its completion.
His spirit is the essence of the sword.

The words of his book, the actions of his life, his thoughts and speech, make up the blade.
When I was growing up I remember hearing the forging of that sword. For many hours

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #55

REGARDING THE SET OF EIGHT 90 MINUTE TAPES BY JAMES CORAM CALLED
“HUMAN CHOICE AND THE DEITY OF GOD” #240-#247
These can be purchased online HERE
http://www.concordant.org/recorded/index.html

About these tapes Rodger Tutt says, “I have listened to this set of tapes many times. I would rather have knowledge of the contents of these tapes than have millions of dollars.

These tapes will help you “unlearn” all the indoctrination that prevents you from embracing the truth of universal transformation.”

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #56

YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID – Kenneth Larsen

“You hear that it was declared, 'You shall be loving your associate' and you shall be hating your enemy. Yet I am saying to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you, so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust. For if ever you should love those who are loving you, what wages have you? Are not the tribute collectors also doing the same? And if ever you should greet your brothers only, what are you doing that is excessive? Are not those of the nations also doing the same? You, then, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matt. 5:43-48.

You have heard that it was said, “God hates those people so much He’s going to torment them in the flames.”
But God says, “To no one render evil for evil; rather, conquer evil with good. In doing this, you will be heaping embers of fire on his head.” Ro. 12:17-21.

You have heard that it was said, “God offers salvation to all mankind, but only saves those who believe before they die.”
But God says, “I AM the living God, the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers. These things be charging and teaching.” 1 Timothy 4:10, 11.

You have heard that it was said, “Some people are impossible to save; their stubborn will is just too strong!”
But God says, “With Me nothing is impossible; no one is stronger than Me!” Matt. 19:25, 26; 1 Cor. 10:22.

You have heard that it was said, “God wishes He could reconcile all the estranged on earth and in the heavens, but He has to have cooperation from those on earth; He can’t do it alone. As for those estranged in the heavens, they’re hopeless.”
But God says, “Through Christ I will reconcile all to Myself (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.” Colossians 1:20, 21.

You have heard that it was said, “For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, all those who are in Christ shall be vivified.”
But God says, “For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.” 1 Cor. 15:22.

You have heard that it was said, “Seek God and you’ll be saved. Your salvation depends on how you exercise your free will. If you’re lost, it will be your own fault.”
But God says, “No one is seeking Me. All avoid Me. Consequently, then, it is not of him who is willing, nor of him who is racing, but of My mercy.” Romans 3:11, 12; 9:16.

You have heard that it was said, “The second death will be eternal; there’s no escaping the lake of fire.”
But God says, “The last enemy is being abolished: death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26.

You have heard that it was said, “When God doesn’t give the person the chance to hear the Gospel, it’s because He knows they would have rejected it anyway.”
But God says, “My saving grace makes its advent to all humanity. Jesus enlightens every soul who enters the world, and He will draw all to Himself.” Titus 2:11; Jn. 1:9; 12:32.

You have heard that it was said, “The subjection of all to Christ will, in many cases, involve compulsion, rather than the reception of a body of glory.”
But God says, “Christ will transfigure the body of humiliation, to conform it to the body of His glory, in accord with the operation which enables Him even to subject all to Himself. Every tongue will acclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, by Holy Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:9-11; 3:21.

You have heard that it was said, “All mankind is condemned in Adam, but only some of them will receive justification in Christ.”
But God says, “Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award for all mankind for life's justifying. For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just.” Romans 5:18, 19.

You have heard that it was said, “God wills all mankind be saved, but that’s really just wishful thinking.”
But God says, “The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, annulling the acts of the Adversary! My will is to save all, and I operate all in accord with the counsel of My will.” John 1:29; 1 Jn. 3:8; 1 Tim. 2:1-6; Eph. 1:11.

You have heard that it was said, “God expects something from us (to exercise our free will) before His grace will be of any benefit to us. God loves His enemies, and will give the most ungrateful and wicked among them the wages of sin (death) forever.”
But God says, “And if you are loving those loving you, what thanks [grace] is it to you? For sinners also are loving those loving them. And if you should be doing good to those doing good to you, what thanks [grace] is i

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #57

INFANT SALVATION

Believers in “eternal torment” are divided in their opinion about the fate of infants who die.
Some, who believe in God’s sovereign election of the “few,” also believe that non-elect babies who die will spend eternity suffering in hell. I have heard that John Calvin wrote, “There are babies a span long in hell”.
Others (Arminians) consider this unfair, and assert that infants who die will spend eternity in heavenly bliss. This of course is true, but not because the child is innocent. It’s true because the Scriptures teach that God intends to save everyone from everything that they need to be saved from.

A few years ago there was a story in a Montreal paper about an Ohio lady who drowned her baby in the bathtub. Her defense was that she loved the baby so much that she wanted to make sure that her child would not have to suffer forever in hell. After serving a sentence she remarried, had another child and drowned it for the same reason. She trusted that God would forgive her because her intention, though warped by false theology, was for the good of her children.
The jury decided that she was mentally ill, BUT WAS SHE? The simple pragmatic fact, if Arminians are right, is that her two infants will spend eternity in heavenly bliss because she loved them so much that she insured, by killing them, that this will be so.

Apparently they believe that there is a magical split-second in time before which a child, if they die, will go to heaven, and after which, if they die will spend eternity suffering in hell. They call this “the age of accountability”.
If I believed this nonsense I might take a gun into the largest maternity ward in Toronto and before the police arrived, kill every infant who had just been born. This would cause an enormous amount of suffering to the parents, but this wouldn’t matter much in the long run, because probably most of them (according to Arminian theology) are destined to suffer forever in hell anyway, so why not save their babies from the same fate?
Don’t try to argue that what I would be doing would be wrong (Thou Shalt Not Kill). The fact remains that my act would, in fact insure the baby's eternal salvation. If Arminians are right, then infanticide would certainly be one of the most effective ways of “saving souls”. Besides, God forgives murder, especially when it is done for such a noble, though misguided cause. Sure, they would lock me away in an institution, but I would spend my life reveling in the glow of the emotional high of knowing that I had, beyond any shadow of a doubt (even in the mind of Arminians ) guaranteed the salvation of the babies that I had killed.
Besides, Christians kill others in war for less worthy causes than preventing others from suffering forever.

Folks, the actual truth about the matter is much more sane and blessed. The Scriptures teach that salvation is all of the Lord, and He will not fail to save everyone of us according to His own timing. No one will be able to boast in His presence and say “I have saved my self from eternal hell by exercising my faith in God’s provision.” God will get all of the glory for everyone’s salvation.

The important issue never should be “what is right or what is wrong”. The only really important issue is, “What is God going to do with the person who is wrong?!” The Scriptures teach that God will fit every one of us into His master-plan in a positive way, and He will use our temporary involvement with sin to teach us the lessons that He wants us to learn. As my Dad often says, “That’s what makes Him God!”
(Afterthought) - If abortionists are, for all practical purposes, among the most effective “soul-savers” in the world, why do Arminian Christians get so upset with them?!

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #58

The Intimate Sovereign Control Of God

The Bible: God is in intimate sovereign control over what the Bible means to each individual. God also controls the extent to which we will try to change the mind of others about the meaning of the Bible, and He controls the extent to which we will be successful in changing the mind of others.
I personally believe that the Bible teaches the following things about -
THE WILL: God is in intimate sovereign control over the will of every created being. The only “free will” that anyone has is to choose in the direction of the strongest influence. Every choice we make is the product of influences that have been brought to bear upon us in the past, plus the influence that is being brought upon to bear upon us right now, and God sovereignly controls these influences. We are accountable for every choice but we are not responsible for it; God is. Every choice we make is the only one we could have made, and God will see to it that the result of every choice will be used to fit us into His master-plan in our own unique way. All loss is temporary. Even Esau’s loss was only a loss from the human point of view. From God’s point of view Esau was fulfilling His predetermined plan. Esau’s apparent loss was God’s way of fitting Esau into His master-plan in His own unique way. Even rewards are predetermined, and are the result of responses to God’s undefeatable grace. God’s grace can only be resisted temporarily, for the purpose of teaching us lessons. We are not robots, but we do have one thing in common with robots. Everything we are is the product of causality. The Bible calls us “vessels,” some of honor, and some of dishonor, with most of us somewhere in between. Satan’s greatest delusion is that he thinks he has a free will. Many believers in Christ suffer from this same delusion, but God is in intimate sovereign control over every delusion. God will never influence His creatures against their will, but in every case He will influence their wills to change, for their own good, and for His own glory. Any suffering that follows the great white throne of judgment will be for the purpose of influencing our will for our own good. Everyone is believing what they are supposed to be believing at any given point in time, and they will not change their beliefs until God wants them to.

SALVATION: God is in intimate sovereign control over everyone’s salvation. The essential meaning of salvation is that God will change every negative thing that happened into something better that it happened than if it had not happened. And God will do it for every human and every evil spirit, including Satan. Salvation is a process that will be completed for the first fruits of election at the first resurrection, and for the rest of us after the second resurrection. God is in intimate sovereign control of the timing of that process, and He will not fail to fit everyone in a positive way into His master-plan. All of the negative consequences of sin and evil will be transformed for everyone. God will not just make it up to us. He will not just do a patch-up job. He will not just bring things back to where they were before sin came on the scene; but He will see to it that a far greater glory will result for everyone because sin temporarily prevailed than if it had not. I count it a great privilege and a gift from God that He has allowed me to see these things in the Bible. Only a comparatively few people see these things, so I consider myself especially blessed. I also believe that God is in intimate sovereign control over the reaction of everyone who reads these words.
GOD IS IN INTIMATE SOVEREIGN CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME.
What a wonderful thing to be able to believe.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #59

MY OPINION

In my opinion, people who feel motivated to defend the doctrine of endless hell have been chosen by God to be vessels of the grossest dishonor, regardless as to how righteous the rest of their life appears to be. They have already sunk to the lowest level possible of moral debauchery.

In my opinion, the greatest of all manifestations of God’s grace in action is that people can believe in endless hell and not go stark-raving mad.
In my opinion, the Bible teaches universal transformation. In other words, it teaches that God will change every second of everyone’s suffering into something better that it happened, including the sufferings that Satan must yet endure.

In my opinion, at some point in the future, God will reveal to everyone that the evangelical doctrine of endless hell is the blackest part of the canvas upon which God will paint the exceeding richness of His undefeatable grace.

In my opinion, everything that a person does is because they have to do it. In other words, everyone always responds to the strongest influence at any given point in time. It is God alone Who controls the interplay between good and evil, and He will work everything out for everyone’s good in due time.

In my opinion, Satan, and all wicked beings are only doing what God wants them to do within the wise counsel of His decretive will (that which must occur). He wants everyone to rebel against His revealed will to the extent that He allows them to. Everyone will try to influence others to the extent that they feel they should, but they will only be as successful as God wants them to be.

In my opinion, people who claim to be “saved” are mistaken when they think they will not receive corrective punishment after their resurrection from the dead. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ removed the enmity between God and His creatures. But wrong attitudes cannot be forgiven. Wrong attitudes must change, and both people who claim to be “saved”, and the rest of us, will receive corrective punishment for a length of time that God will decide for each individual.

In my opinion, people who read this page will say, “You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but it’s what the Bible says that counts.” And my reply is, “These opinions of mine are an expression of what I see in the Bible, and are an expression of the kind of God that I see in the Bible.” In my opinion, it is God who controls how each person interprets the Bible.
In this great truth, I relax.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #60

CALVINISM / ARMINIANISM

Calvinism is a cruel and unloving profanity.

Arminianism is a proud and self -righteous profanity.

Calvinism is cruel and unloving because it claims that God allows beings to come into existence that deserve to suffer endlessly, and will suffer endlessly, except for a few that God will rescue from such a fate by His irresistible grace.

Arminianism is proud and self-righteous because it claims that only those who receive the proper information, and act on it properly before they die, will avoid suffering endlessly. They claim that God is unable to successfully influence anyone’s will, unless they let Him.

The Calvinist’s god allows millions of beings to come into existence and either can not, or will not, do anything to stop them from suffering forever.

The Arminian’s god lets us down just when we need Him the most. Our greatest need is a change in our stubborn will. The Arminian god either cannot, or will not meet us, on this, the level of our greatest need.

A profanity is an idea conceived by our sinful hearts. Both Calvinism and Arminianism are profanities. Against the black background of these profanities God will paint the glorious masterpiece of Universal Transformation.

The truth of Universal Transformation solves all the irreconcilable differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. It recognizes that our “free will” is the freedom to choose only in the direction of the strongest influence, and that God is in intimate sovereign control over all influences.

Each person is being fitted into God’s master-plan in God’s own special way for them. Each person responds to their own unique set of “strongest influences.” And ultimately, when the time period of the ages has ended, God will have transformed the consequences of everyone’s choices into something glorifying to Himself, and beneficial to the chooser.

It is unavoidable that how we think about God will affect our state of being. We tend to become like the god we worship. The one who puts their faith in Calvinism, tends to become cruel and unloving. The one who puts their faith in Arminianism, tends to become proud and self-righteous. If a Calvinist is not cruel and unloving, or, if an Arminian is not proud and self-righteous, it is entirely due to the intervention of God’s undefeatable grace. God often operates through people in spite of what they believe.

God’s grace can only be resisted if God wants to teach us lessons that could be learned no other way. But ultimately, God’s grace is undefeatable.

Both Calvinism and Arminianism are built upon the false foundation of “endless hell”. When this foundation has been replaced, the differences between them become irrelevant.

The profanity of the doctrine of “endless suffering in hell” is also part of the black background upon which God will paint His glorious masterpiece. Without fail, God will, in due time, transform all deceptions, delusions, and false doctrines, into something better that they temporarily prevailed than if they had not. And He will do this for everyone, without exception.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #61

Consequences

I, Rodger Tutt, had a horrific twelve year nervous breakdown (1966-78) over my inability to love or respect an endless - hell god. My breakdown was caused by my fear of what God might do to me since I was unable to love or respect Him.

One of the great comforts that helped me to recover was learning that many other people have suffered with the same problem. The following quote is from THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL HELL TORMENTS OVERTHROWN by Samuel Richardson, edited by Thomas Whittemore, and published by him in 1833. On page 85, Whittemore says that Richardson wrote this book nearly 200 years before 1833.
First of all, there is what Richardson wrote nearly 200 years before 1833: “The doctrine of endless hell torments hath caused many to murder themselves, taking away their own lives by poison, stabbing, drowning, hanging, strangling, and shooting themselves, casting themselves out of windows, and from high places, to break their necks and by other kinds of death, that they might not live to increase their sin, and increase their torments in hell.”

Now here is what Whittemore the editor, wrote at the bottom of the page nearly 200 years later in 1833:
“Here we see the same dreadful effects attended the doctrine of endless misery nearly 200 years ago which attend it now. It was then the cause of anxiety, despair, and suicide, as we suppose it always was before, where fully believed, and as we know it has been of late years. Let posterity know, that within the last ten years, there have been a large number of suicides, which must be attributed to the doctrine of endless torment. That doctrine makes men melancholy; it drives them to despair; they know not what to do; and they sever the brittle thread, Fathers and Mothers, in repeated instances in the United States, have murdered their children, lest they should grow up, and commit sin, and be ****ed. Can a doctrine which produces such dreadful consequences be the doctrine of God?” End of Quote.
Note that the victims of this theology found no consolation in the Christian gospel. This was my problem too! The question I kept asking myself was, “How can I find comfort in the Christian Gospel when I can’t even love or respect its God?”

In my library, I have several dozens of books, most of which I have read, and several hundred cassettes, by 29 different speakers, all of which I have listened to, some of them many times, by men who believe that the Bible (correctly translated) teaches universal transformation; that is, that God will eventually change all suffering into something better that it happened. These books and tapes answer, many times over, the arguments that I have read in seven, (plus parts of other) books in support of the idea that the Bible teaches never ending suffering for part of God’s creation.
In addition to these sources, Hurley Books, Westmoreland, New Hampshire, lists 463 universalist books that can be purchased from them. It will be a comfort to many, as it was to me, to learn that there are so many people who see this kind of God in the Bible.

It is my great joy in life to make this information available to many people. God will use all my efforts as He sees fit. In this great truth I relax!

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #62

Good News

Many people are unable to believe on a Lord Jesus Christ who would allow anyone to want to, or have to suffer endlessly in hell. Because they cannot love or respect such a Christ, they are unable to put their trust in Him in a way that produces assurance of salvation. For these people, the following information will be good news:
GOD IS NOT GOING TO ALLOW ANYONE TO WANT TO, OR HAVE TO SUFFER FOREVER!

Some versions of the Bible have been mistranslated. The Greek noun “aion” means “age”, not eternal. And the Greek adjective “aionious” means “of the ages”, not forever or everlasting. The Greek text clearly teaches that the ages were made by God for a purpose. Ephesians 3:11 (“eternal purpose” should read “purpose of the ages”). They had a beginning, 11Tim 1:9 (“before the world began” should read “before times eonian”). And collectively, they will have an ending, Hebrews 9:26 (“in the end of the world” should read “at the conclusion of the eons”). The context of a verse doesn’t necessitate the use of the word “eternal.” Even when referring to the attributes of God, the use of the word “eonian” doesn’t mean that His attributes will change at the end of the ages. But at that point in time He will cease to be the “eonian God.” He will no longer need to manifest mercy, longsuffering, or forgiveness, for His “eonian purpose” will have been completed and God will be “All In All” 1 Corinthians 15:28.

The phrase “forever and ever” is a mistranslation. In the Greek, the phrase sometimes reads “for the age of the ages” which refers to the last age, probably the one following the millennial age. It could appropriately be called “the age of consummation.” In other verses, the phrase reads “for the ages of the ages” which probably refers to the millennial age and the age of consummation together. In the same way that “King of kings” and “Lord of lords”: separate one from others, so does the phrase “age of ages.” And in the same way that *“holies of the holies” would separate the holy place and the most holy place from the rest of the tabernacle, so does the phrase “the ages of the ages” separate the last two ages from the previous ones. The Sinaitic manuscript actually says “holies of Holies” instead of “Holy Places”.

The true, Biblical teaching about the ages has been obscured through faulty translating. The translators introduced their own ideas into the text instead of using the proper English equivalents, “eon” and “eonian.”

Not until the sixth century, did the belief in endless hell become prevalent within the Christian church. It is true that modern Greeks use “the ages of the ages” to denote an endless succession of ages, but this is due to the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church.

That this expression “the eons of the eons” does not mean an endless succession of ages is established beyond doubt by comparing Revelation 11:14,15 with 1 Corinthians 15:22-28. In Revelation 11, Christ is said to reign “for the eons of the eons.” In 1 Corinthians 15, the reign of Christ is said to end. Therefore, if He reigns for the eons of the eons and His reign ends, the eons of the eons cannot be endless. Furthermore, Hebrews 9:26 says that the eons, collectively, end, so regardless of their number, they will collectively end.

To be sure there will be judgment. Wrongs will be righted. To those who have sinned much it will mean much indignation and fury, affliction and distress, Romans 2:8-9. But God corrects and disciplines only for good. Even hardened sinners who have often cursed Him, will be thankful for the strokes that bring them back to God. Each one gets only what is good for them in the judgment, not to **** them forever, but to prepare them for God’s salvation. If necessary, God will use a negative manifestation of His love, but negative or positive, He will keep loving, and keep loving until He has elicited a loving response from everyone.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #63
DEATH SHALL BE ABOLISHED

Argument:
“This only means that believers will never die again.”

RESPONSES:

Bob Evely
I would simply suggest that these folks are ignoring the context of the 1 Corinthians 15 passage (ALL in Adam … ALL in Christ, etc) and the many other ALL passages in Scripture. It is a case where their minds are made up that only believers will ever be saved; so they find it necessary to place limitations on what the Scriptures actually say, lest their doctrines fall apart.

Tony Nungesser
Death is abolished for the believer AT HIS PRESENCE. In 1 Cor.15:25 death is abolished AFTER Christ hands over the kingdom to God and all sovereignty, authority and power are done away. Then the rest of mankind will have death abolished for them and only then.

Kenneth Larsen
For me, 1 Cor. 15:20-28 is where the abolition of death is best detailed. And the subject is clearly all mankind. Plus, it says plainly that it is the LAST enemy, clearly detailing the subjection of all which must occur BEFORE. And there are clearly still kings during the New Jerusalem eon, so human authorities have yet to be nullified; Christ's mission isn't complete. Rev. 21:24. Death will be abolished for all mankind in three stages -1 Cor. 15:22-24. Then there are verses like Romans 5:18, 19.

"For this was the Son of God manifested, that He should be annulling the acts of the Adversary." 1 John 3:8b (CLV) That includes the act of leading Adam and Eve into the knowledge of good and evil. Christ was manifested to annul not only sin, but also death. For the second death to be endless would mean that the acts of the Adversary would never be annulled.

If only believers never die again, then death would be abolished when Christ returns, wouldn’t it? That would be the consummation or “end.” Why then is there the 1,000 years? Isn’t Satan an enemy? Yet the Bible says that death is the last enemy. Satan is still rebellious after the 1,000 years.

I would ask them, "When do you think death will be abolished?"

If they say, "When Christ returns", I would ask, "And the events of
Rev. 20:7-15, do they occur after or before Christ's second coming?"

If they say, "After", I would ask them if they had read 1 Cor. 15:20-28 lately. I would encourage them to do so and to notice that death will be the last enemy, and God will abolish it. If they agree with that, I would ask them, how can death be abolished when Christ returns if Satan will later attack the saints; wouldn't that mean that there are still enemies besides death in existence? Wouldn't the fact that the nations will be deceived and join Satan in opposing God prove that God will still have many enemies at that time? I would point out that 1 Cor. 15:24-27 shows that Christ will give up His kingdom to God
the Father once all enemies are subjected and death is abolished. And I would mention one of the parallel passages in Mk. 12:36, which shows that Christ will be at God's right hand UNTIL a certain point in time, which is detailed in 1 Cor. 15. Then I would point out how Rev. 22:1-3 shows clearly that the consummation of 1 Cor. 15:24, when Christ will surrender the throne to His Father, will not yet have arrived during the New Jerusalem eon.

My POV is that God would not name the lake of fire the second death, make that death permanent, and yet claim that death had been abolished. It simply doesn't make sense to me. To argue that death being abolished only means that believers will never die again is
similar to saying that slums being abolished only means no new slums will be created, leaving the existing slums unchanged.

James Coram
The context has in view all mankind (not simply believers):
Death was long ago instituted ("to die, you shall be dying"); and yet
this institution which, at present, is very much still in effect, one
day, will be abolished.
http://www.concordant.org/expohtml/HumanDestiny/1cor15.html
See article above on this point also, for the likeness/parallel I
draw between, on the one hand, slavery, and on the other, death.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #64

THE CIRCUMCISION EVANGEL VERSUS THE UNCIRCUMCISION EVANGEL
Bob Evely

As to the “why’s” of God’s plan; we can only speculate. The fact is that no man is deserving of grace, and God’s method is to begin with a group He has called (the body of Christ) to display His grace to the remainder of humanity and to proclaim the evangel … all toward the end that grace and salvation is realized by all.

As for the words of Jesus, we must remember these pertain to the kingdom to come upon the earth … the restoration of Israel’s kingdom. In many of Jesus’ words we see that the “rules” are very works-based. But later came a more full expression of grace, when God had demonstrated that NONE could earn righteousness thru works … and with the “new rules” that Paul subsequently talked about, it is all grace and no works to boast of.

When Paul talks about the fact that some, based on behavior, would not enter the kingdom … He is telling his audience that as it pertains to the earthly kingdom, these folks would be excluded. He says this to instill within them the idea that as a result of God’s grace, they too should avoid these behaviors. The main difference in evangel’s is that the Circumcision evangel told folks … have faith and works. Paul’s Uncircumcision evangel is simply have faith, as God has accomplished what man could not. We must remember that as we read various parts of the Scriptures that mankind is a work in progress. When we read of God’s anger, or folks being excluded from the earthly kingdom, etc. … this is a part of the process, thru which God is working toward His ultimate, eventual goal … the salvation and reconciliation of all.

When folks tend to ask questions about specific objections, always try to get them to first look at the basic overall plan that God has in store for mankind. In other words, we must consider the Bible in total first to see how God is working in all ages … and then we can worry about the specific questions. To jump into the questions too quickly takes the focus off of God’s revelation in total.

A BRAND NEW EXCELLENT SHORT WRITING BY MARTIN ZENDER

MEET THE WOMAN WHO SAVED HERSELF – by Martin Zender

http://www.martinzender.com/ZWTF/ZWTF12.pdf

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #65

Love’s Goal

All that love is, God is, for God is love. As the negative side of love is unselfish - seeketh not her own - so her positive side is concern for others, a deep, ardent, all consuming concern: dauntless, self-sacrificing, invincible. “Love never faileth.” Such is the divine essence and this it is that is imparted to the creature.

There can be no self-complacency with God, neither could He provide a self-satisfied salvation. Divine joy is in the fullness of love, and love is all-embracing. To speak of a happy shepherd with an incomplete flock, or even of a happy flock with comrades missing, would be to malign both sheep and shepherd.

Heaven’s joys will be full only when sin’s sorrow cease. “Tis of mine” will be the yearning cry of the Good Shepherd spirit in the bosom of both saint and Saviour until the last of all the lost has been gathered home. Love cannot omit; His soul travail was for all. Neither can love abandon or forget. His purpose, as His promise, is “until He find it”. Thus it is that He is yet to “see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” And surely we too shall be satisfied when conformed to this likeness. Oh, the fullness of heaven’s joy when sin’s sorrows shall have ceased!
D. Buchanan

I am sorry, but G. Campbell Morgan did NOT say this. I have read the entire sermon that he preached this, and even downloaded and put it in WORD.doc to look up different words and phrases and they still didn't come up.
First of all, he preached this in USA and not in England. It was published in "The Presyberterian" and NOT in Westminster Sermons, and he preached it in 1932, but he didn't go back to England till 1933. The sermon is from "The Bible and the Cross" subtitled "The Cross and the Ages to Come".

And it can be found at...

http://www.wordsofspirit.us/morgan/morgan_1.htm

At least this webpage... wordofspirit.us, uses this to prove G. Campbell Morgan was a believer in Universalism, but even they didn't catch that it is not part of his sermon...

So little research done today by people who would besmearch the character of someone by putting words they never said into their mouths.

puritan, thank you for pointing that out.

My hard copy of THE BIBLE AND THE CROSS says it was copied from THE PRESBYTERIAN, June 1932.

Thank you for the correction regarding the quote.

I did find that quote as a comment by the editor in response to a quote from G Campbell's book called GOD'S METHODS WITH MAN (pages 185-186).

So I am replacing snippet #72 with the following taken from that book, followed by the editor's comment.

#72 - A snippet from GOD’S METHODS WITH MAN – G. Campbell Morgan (pages 185-186)

“Let me say to Bible students that we must be very careful how we use the word ‘eternity.’ We have fallen into great error in our constant use of that word. There is no word in the whole book of God corresponding with our ‘eternal,’ which, as commonly used among us, means absolutely without end. Men have divided the church, separated from each other, and persecuted one another, upon a though conveyed by an English word which has no equivalent in the Bible.”
G. Campbell Morgan

In response to that statement, the SCRIPTURE STUDIES CONCERN editor (unnamed) wrote in 1956
“We cannot conceive of a Creator Who knows the end from the beginning, One Who is Love, Who has infinite wisdom, and infinite power, giving to any being life, life which is never to end, but to continue in suffering to all eternity. The Bible does not teach it anywhere in the original languages. God’s punishments are remedial and take place within the span of the ages. Punishment will last no longer than is necessary to bring man to hate his sin and be reconciled to his Saviour.”

TO THE WEBMASTER: If you can, please replace my snippet #72 with the above.
Thanks from Rodger Tutt

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #66

WHY?

Why did God make the universe, the earth and sky above?
Scripture gives the answer when it says that “God is Love”.
Before God made the universe He worked out a master plan.
He knew how everything would end before it all began.

He made mankind so He could have an object for His love,
But man was blind and did not see that it came from above.
So God created evil as He had created night,
So man could see the good in Him - In darkness we see light.

He made the “blackboard” very black, with evil, sin, and woe.
He made an adversary to be His cunning foe.
He made the earth to be a “stage” to show the hosts above,
By all of our experiences, His wisdom and His love.

He locks up all in stubbornness to make His mercy clear;
Lets Satan lure all men away so He can draw all near.
He gives His only firstborn Son to die and save us all.
Yet each in his own class we read; we’re blind until our call.

You ask me why God made the earth, the glittering stars above?
The Scriptures give the answer when they say that ‘God is love”.

Ray Prinzing

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #67

THE PLAN OF THE MASTER WEAVER

Our lives are but fine weavings
That God and we prepare,
Each life becomes a fabric planned
And fashioned in His care.

We may not always see just how
The weavings intertwine,
But we must trust the Master's hand
And follow His design,
For He can view the pattern
Upon the upper side,
While we must look from underneath
And trust in Him to guide...

Sometimes a strand of sorrow
Is added to His plan,
And though it's difficult for us,
We still must understand
That it's He who fills the shuttle,
It's He who knows what's best,
So we must weave in patience
And leave to Him the rest...

Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why ---
The dark threads are as needed
In the Weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

---Author Unknown

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #68

Is God a Failure? - Eleanor Garrod

Now that’s a pretty poignant question. Or is it an insinuation? An inference? Or implication? Or is it truth, as many would have you believe? Have you ever heard a sermon by that title? I doubt if you have. But I’m certain you have heard many a sermon which has been riddled with such implications.

Allow me to rephrase the question: Have you ever heard a sermon stating that if you don’t accept Jesus, you’ll burn forever in hell? Ah, I knew I’d touch a raw nerve. You have, haven’t you?

If you heard that God is going to lose so much as one individual to the devil forever, then God is a failure.
If you have heard that the heathen (who have never had an opportunity to hear of Jesus) will be tormented forever for not believing in Him, then you’ve heard that God is a failure.
If you’ve heard that man’s puny will can withstand the omnipotent will of God, and that man’s will can paralyze God’s will, then you have heard that God is a failure.
If you’ve heard that the Adversary outsmarted God in the garden of Eden, if you’ve heard that God did not want Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, then you’ve heard that God is a failure.
If you’ve ever heard anyone affirm that God will lose 95% of His created beings that He’s placed on planet earth, and will torment them forever, then you’ve clearly heard that God is a failure.
If the Good Shepherd is not willing that any should perish, and yet gets weary and gives up before He finds the last sheep that’s lost, then you know that God is a failure.
If no one can come to Jesus except the Father draws him, and if the Father - eventually - does not draw every single person, then God is a failure.
What is the response of your heart to the poised question: Is God a failure? Ah, my heart says, “Nay, a billion nays.” My heart has fallen in love with a God who does all things perfectly, and one day all will be made plain, and in the end He will become ‘All in All’ and for that day my heart does wait and meanwhile I rejoice and endure because I see Him, the invisible One.

By faith I see a Master Plan for the ages and beyond, and I know I am part of that plan, and for this I whisper, “Thank you, Jesus.” I sing a song to my Beloved, Hallelujah!

In Love with Him, Eleanor Garrod

THE MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD – Gary Siglar

The message for the world today is only one --- that God has reconciled you back to Himself. He didn't just redeem a few. He didn't just forgive a few. He didn't determine that a few would be saved and the rest would be eternally lost. God has a plan that is so perfect and worked out to restore all of mankind back to their source.

If you understand that no matter where you are today God chose you, before the foundation of the world, that you would be holy and without blame before Him in love. If you can believe this simple word you will rejoice.

I know the condition of carnal humanity. I know the condition of some people who love God. I know the carnal condition that most of us are in. The truth is --- and the truth will set you free --- you are holy, unblameable, and irreprovable in His sight. Not in your carnal adamic life, but in Christ. Christ is holy, unblemished, and undefiled. If you can accept that you will be that experientially. If you can't accept that you won't yet experience it but you still will eventually as God brings you into the knowledge of your true identity.

God has never, ever, made one human being that will fail except for a good purpose, because He works all things after the counsel of His own will. Known by God are all His works from beginning unto end.

Gary Sigler
http://sigler.org/

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #69

A Message Of Comfort

Let Nothing be Worrying
you!
William Mealand

“Let nothing be worrying you, but in every prayer and petition let your requests be made known to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God, being superior to every frame of mind, shall garrison your hearts and your apprehensions in Christ Jesus” Phil 4:6-7.
There is an elixir of life in words like these. Touching life at all points, they embrace every experience, and affect every problem. How positive they are, how emphatic! There is no room left for the smallest doubt to intrude. The words are just an exquisite echo of the Psalmist’s thought - fret not thyself!

How complete, how inclusive the injunction is! Let nothing be worrying you. Not a single thing. But can we realize it? Is it possible to live up to such a counsel of perfection? A thousand times, yes! And for the great reason that this rare paragraph enshrines a God given assurance. There is a promise, a pledge of a superior peace - the peace of God, His perfect provision for the keeping, the steadying of our hearts in Christ Jesus.
What an expression of God’s solicitude! And for each of us to make true in the circumstances of life. How true, rests with the quality of our reliance upon God. In how far we leave things to Him, for His working out. And His appointment is never a disappointment. Therefore, on no account are we to worry. It does no good, changes nothing, nor ever gives us back the thing we prized. It enfeebles and wastes our strength, keeps the brain excited, the blood feverish, and the heart beating wildly.

If, then, we must not worry, and there are things in life calculated to make us anxious, how may we displace worry? By taking God into our confidence as we voice immediate needs. “Let your requests be made known to God, with thanksgiving.” Note the proviso - with thanksgiving, which in itself affects the burdened mind. Indeed, thankfulness for the simple things of life, the ordinary, forgettable things, means much.

The tragic indictment of the ancient world was that, “knowing God, not as God do they glorify or thank Him.” Stars in the heaven are thanked, the saints in the calendar, but not God. So many occasions call for it, and a voiced acknowledgment deepens our consciousness of His daily care.
No aspect or department of life is outside the interest of God, our Father. He is at all times an interested Listener. Our requests, therefore, may be unreservedly made known. Let them flow forth, without any concern as to how they will be met. That rests with God’s will and wisdom. Seeing all the intricacies of life, He appoints in accord with them. Has He not ordered them, both good and ill?

There are some things in life God would not have us change! And happy are we, if, in the acceptance of them, we see the Father’s own rare ordering. Let us so live, in the spirit of a line from a hymn: “I do not ask to see the distant scene, one step enough for me.” It suffices that we make our requests known to God, and leave them with Him. This done, with thanksgiving, there will come to heart and mind, God’s own wonderful peace.
“And the peace of God, being superior to every frame of mind, shall garrison your hearts and your apprehensions in Christ Jesus.” Here, in a peace which surpasses all power of thought, lies the strength and joy of Paul’s counsel of perfection. It is the peace of God, in contrast with, and superior to, all human counsel, palliative, or panacea.

Gift of the God of peace, it is the only calm in a world of unrest. But oh, how this peace differs from that which the world offers! WE see the word used all around us. Yet how little it conveys, how far short it falls, of all that such a word should stand for! Does it not look lost, as a wandering star from it’s orbit?

Only as linked with God and His ministering grace does the word hold real comfort and consolation. In such union it has vital power, confirming its frequent and heartening occurrence in the calm of a rich content. The peace of God. Grace and peace. Yes, yes. In spite of all around us, and the tangle of daily events, For our hearts shall be as a citadel, gloriously kept. “The Lord is thy Keeper.”

What a glad secret of life! One that Christ Himself exemplified. He did not worry or fret impatiently. He trusted, He rested supremely in God. He gave Himself completely over to God. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup be passing by from Me. Moreover, not as I will, but as Thou!” A second time He prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this to pass by from me except I should be drinking it, let Thy will be done!” Matt. 26:39,42.

How sublime an example of utter submission to God’s will! There has been but One, and there will never be another so altogether acquiescent to the Father’s will. The purpose, will, and m

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #70

THE BLACKEST OF ALL BACKGROUNDS

As some of you know, I, Rodger Tutt, had a horrific twelve year nervous breakdown (1966-78, I’m 74 now) over my inability to successfully emotionally cope with the idea that God would let anyone suffer forever.

By listening to many audio tapes by Ray Prinzing over that period of time, I was able to gradually recover. All of Ray Prinzing’s writings can be accessed by typing his name into Google. There are several Google pages of links about him.

Millions of Muslims believe that non Muslims are going to suffer forever in hell.
Quote from
Islamic Beliefs about the Afterlife
“Being a Muslim does not keep one out of Hell, but non-Muslims (kafir), however, will be punished eternally.”
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beli ... erlife.htm

And, as most people already know, millions of Christians believe that non-Christians are going to suffer forever in hell.

The way that I emotionally cope with (i.e. stop myself from going crazy again) because of the existence of ETers (i.e. believers in eternal torment), is to perceive ETers as God’s vessels of grossest dishonour -- a necessary foil of contrast in the guise of truth – a part of the blackest of backgrounds, upon which God will paint His glorious masterpiece of universal transformation using the paint brushes of His love that cannot fail, and His grace that can never be defeated.

The marred vessels (i.e. ETers), never leave the Potter’s hands, (they are marred in the Potter’s hands), and neither will anyone leave the Potters hands. After our resurrection from the dead, all ETers will be refashioned, and transformed into vessels of honour, and it will be plain for all to see that it was better that ETers were vessels of dishonour for a long as they were (Jeremiah chapter 18).

One of the dishonourable characteristics of some ETers is that they have no desire whatsoever to check out the reasons why URs (i.e. universal reconciliationists) believe that a literally translated, (not interpretively) translated Bible, actually teaches universal salvation.

But it may be that a silent member, or surfer, or lurker on this forum might be motivated enough to check us out and decide if the conclusions of URs have any merit.

UNIVERSAL SALVATION UNIVERSITY
http://richardwaynegarganta.com/universalsalvation.htm

No doubt, some ETers will say that they have examined the evidence of the URs and have rejected it as being false. That, of course is to be expected of those for whom God has chosen to temporarily be a marred vessel. At least, that is the way I see it.
In my opinion, the greatest of all manifestations of God’s grace in action on this earth is that anyone can believe that He is going to let anyone suffer forever and not have a nervous breakdown thinking about it.

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #71

Gary Amirault interviews Greek scholar Louis Abbott about his belief in universal salvation (in eight parts)

Copy and paste the links into your browser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJoNxjUAAi8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuoRnAsugew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAsVTXJYEHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_sblmYiX4I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfx6tcwq3M4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM5fSRDxVwg
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3213148682308877255#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoWeKXdNhyg

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS - Louis Abbott
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Louis Abbott
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/AboutAuthor.html

ABRAHAM LINCOLN QUOTE

"I used to think that it took the smartest kind of man to preach and defend Universalism;
I now think entirely differently.
It is the easiest faith to preach that I have ever heard.
There is more proof in its favor than in any other doctrine I have ever heard.

I have a suit in court here tomorrow and if I had as much proof in its favor
as there is in Universalism, I would go home, and leave my student to take charge of it,
and I should feel perfectly certain that he would gain it."
-Abraham Lincoln

http://scuniversalist.blogspot.com/2009/02/abraham-lincoln-universalist.html

A BRAND NEW EXCELLENT SHORT WRITING BY MARTIN ZENDER

"THE FLY IN THE JAR"

http://www.martinzender.com/ZWTF/ZWTF2.1.pdf

GOD’S “CONVERSION” – Kenneth Larsen

God’s “Conversion” : A mythological saga of our Heavenly Father’s change of character, as told by theologians, ancient and modern.

In Adam, all are dying, for the creation was subjected to vanity. 1Cor. 15:22; Ro. 8:20. It was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation. Ro. 5:18. We were all constituted sinners through the disobedience of one man. Ro. 5:19. This collective perdition came through no choice of ours as individuals, but is our inheritance, our fate.

Nevertheless, so the story goes, there came a time when God, wanting to conform His doings to the highest ethical standards, set Himself upon a radically different course. Henceforth, He would not act arbitrarily, but only in accordance with the rights and sovereign choices of the individual; from then on He was to obtain permission from His creature before acting on his or her behalf. In contrast to the collective loss, salvation was to be an individual matter, and subject to obtaining cooperation from His subjects. No more “spiritual collectivism”; now God had enthusiastically embraced the “spiritual free market”. Our Heavenly Father was now, henceforth and officially, a “Gentleman”, and would no longer force anything upon anyone; He would subject His will that all mankind be saved to the whims of the very creation He had formerly confined under collective condemnation. 1 Tim. 2:1-6. The “plan of salvation” would consist of Christ offering salvation to all, and then being satisfied with whatever percentage He could manage to save. Isaiah 53. He would be honorifically titled “the Savior of all mankind”, but that would really amount to nothing more than wishful thinking, for He would especially (that is, only, as the story goes) save those who believe during this life. 1 Tim. 4:9-11.

Did God truly change His dealings with mankind? Does He really change?
Of course not! Mal. 3:6; Heb. 1:12; 13:8; Jn. 14:9; 10:30. “For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.” 1 Cor. 15:22. “Even as… thus also…”- In similar fashion to the collective death, is the collective life! Romans 5:15- “But not as the offense, thus also the grace. For if, by the offense of the one, the many died, much rather the grace of God and the gratuity in grace, which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the many superabounds.” Who are the many who died because of Adam’s offense? All mankind. And so, much rather, God’s gratuity in grace, through Christ’s perfect life and obedience to the death of the cross, SUPERABOUNDS to the many- all mankind! Does the salvation of some of those lost suggest a superabundance of grace? No! Does a collective, obligatory condemnation to sin and death, coupled with an individual, optional justification of life constitute a superabundance of grace? Not by a long shot! God subjected the creation to vanity in HOPE! Ro. 8:20. Did He hope that the entrance of sin would cause even one to be permanently lost? Of course not! Lk. 15:3-32.

Ro. 5:18, 19- “Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award for all mankind for life's justifying. For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just.” As it was through Adam (a collective condemnation), THUS ALSO it will be through Christ (a collective justification of life)! God promises a universal reconciliation. Col. 1:15-20; Phil. 2:5-11. He will draw all creation to Himself, using whatever loving means He has at His disposal, including judgments. Jn. 12:32; 1:9-13; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; Lk. 12:45-49. Our Heavenly Father will confer faith and repentance upon all, at the time He chooses. 2 Pt.3:9; Acts 5:31; 11:18; 17:31; 2 Tim. 2:25. Obviously, our stubborn will must be subdued, but take heart, for “Not stronger that He are we!” 1 Cor. 10:22; Is. 45:22, 23. Our unchanging God will be All in all! 1 Cor. 15:20-28.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Some ask, Why does it say "the many" instead of "all" in Roman 5:19?

This is because the one disobedient man (Adam), and the One righteous Man (Christ) are put in a class by themselves. They are in contrast with "the many."

We may put it as follows:
The one disobedient man plus "the many" equals all mankind made sinners.
The One obedient Man plus "the many" equals all mankind made righteous.

That "the one" plus "the many" made sinners includes all mankind no one will deny.

Even so, "the One" plus "the many" made righteous is all-inclusive and guarantees the salvation of all mankind.

A VALUABLE LINK!

Richard Condon's library of writings by dozens of universal reconciliation writers.
The section called IN THE GARDEN is especially inspirational.
And THE MAIN LIBRARY is huge!

http://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://web.archive.org/
web/20110713224225/http://gtft.org/

If the link doesn't open for you, click on the word "impatient"

ENJOY!

FROM THE DOCUMENTS OF RODGER TUTT #71

Gary Amirault interviews Greek scholar Louis Abbott about his belief in universal salvation (in eight parts)
Copy and paste the links into your browser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJoNxjUAAi8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuoRnAsugew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAsVTXJYEHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_sblmYiX4I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfx6tcwq3M4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM5fSRDxVwg
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3213148682308877255#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoWeKXdNhyg

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS - Louis Abbott
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/index.html

#1. A snippet from Universalism the Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian
Church During its First Five Hundred Years, by J. W. Hanson, 1899:

(Origen Adamantius)
“This greatest of all Christian apologists and exegetes was a distinctive Universalist. He culd not have misunderstood or misinterpreted the teachings of his Master. The language of the New Testament was his mother tongue. He derived the teachings of Christ from Christ himself in a direct line through his teacher Clement; and he placed the defense of Christianity on Universalist grounds.
When Celsus, in his “True Discourse”, the first great assault on Christianity, objected to Christianity on the ground that it taught punishment by fire, Origen replied that the threatened fire possessed a disciplinary, purifying quality that will consume in the sinner whatever evil material it can find to consume….God will act the part….Origen says, “not like a cook but like a God who is a benefactor of those who stand in need of discipline of fire.””

#2. A snippet from Whatever Became of Melanie? (2005), pages 138-139, by
Allan Ernest Chevrier:

(Romans 5:18-21)
“Now what was the result of Adam’s transgression? It was universal
condemnation of all, without first consulting them or asking for their
contribution. The result of Adam’s disobedience was complete and
universal in its scope and consequence, plunging each and every member
of his race into sin and spiritual separation from God.
Now, just as Adam’s sin had a direct, powerful, irresistible effect on
the whole for evil, so the righteous act of Christ has a direct,
powerful, irresistible effect on the whole for good. Just as one sin
resulted in universal, real, actual condemnation, so the one act of
righteousness performed by Christ, the second Adam, results in
universal, real, actual justification, not just an opportunity to cast
your lot in with Jesus, not just the offer of life, but the real,
actual, powerful impartation of life! The real actual, powerful
communication of righteousness! The plain language of the text allows
for nothing less!”

#3. A snippet from The Really Bad Thing About Free Will , pages
66-67, by Martin Zender:

“God is now conciliated to all mankind (II Corinthians 5:19). This
blessing has come to us through the blood of Christ’s cross
(Colossians 1:20). God no longer holds men’s offenses against them (II
Corinthians 5:19). This same blood will reconcile all to Himself, both
that in the heavens and that on earth (Colossians 1:20).
The cross saves everyone, but not all at once (I Corinthians
15:22-23). Jesus Christ is a ransom for all, but the testimony of it
will not be seen until the eras designated to show it (I Timothy 2:6).
God will one day be all and in all (I Corinthians 15:28). How can He
be that if billions of the all remain dead or tortured?

Paul speaks of a time called the consummation, when death is to be
abolished (I Corinthians 15:26; II Timothy 1:10). If there will one
day be no more death, then the time is coming when even the second
death will cease to be. At this time, those formerly captured by it
will be delivered into the life won for them by Christ on the cross.
With no more death, nothing remains but life. Some come to Christ
sooner, some come later. But eventually, all come.”

#4 A snippet from The Inescapable Love of God, Pages 59, 60, by Thomas Talbott:

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life (Romans 5:18).
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all (Romans 11:32).
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (I Corinthians 15:22).

In each of these texts, we encounter a contrast between two universal statements, and in each case the first “all” seems to determine the scope of the second. Accordingly, when Paul asserts in Romans 5:18 that Christ’s one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all, he evidently has in mind every descendant of Adam who stands under the judgment of condemnation; when he insists in Romans 11:32 that God is merciful to all, he has in mind every human being whom God has “shut up” to, or has “imprisoned” in, disobedience; and finally, when he asserts in I Corinthians 15:22 that “all shall be made alive” in Christ, he has in mind everyone who has died in Adam. The grammatical evidence here seems utterly decisive; you can reject it only if you are prepared to reject what is right before your eyes.”

Does “All” mean “All”?
http://hopebeyondhell.org/

#5 - “Hippolytus (about A.D. 220) enumerates and comments on thirty-two
heresies, but universal restoration is not named among them. And yet,
Clement of Alexandria, and Origen- then living- were everywhere
regarded as the great teachers of the church, and their view of man’s
future destiny was generally prevalent, according to Augustine, Jerome
and others. It could not then have been regarded as a “heresy” or
Hippolytus would have named it.

What a force there is in fact that not one of those who wrote against the heresies of their times ever named universal salvation as one of them! Hippolytus mentions thirty-two.

Epiphanius wrote his Panarion and epitomizes it in his Anacephal’osis
or Recapitulation, but not one of the heresy-hunters includes our
faith in his maledictions. Could there be stronger evidence than this
fact that the doctrine was not then heretical?”

A snippet from
Universalism the Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During
its First Five Hundred Years, by J. W. Hanson, 1899
http://hellbusters.8m.com/updcontents.html

#6 - http://www.truth.info/future/universalism.htm

The subjection of all to Christ

What does God mean when He states that Christ can subject all to Himself? Philippians 3:21 tells us that this will be in accord with the transfiguration of the body of our humiliation, to conform it to the body of His glory. This is further explained in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44: “Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is roused in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is roused in glory. It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. It is sown a soulish body; it is roused a spiritual body.” Verse 28: “Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.”

So not only is Christ able to subject all to Himself; He WILL subject all to Himself. Once all are subjected to Christ, Christ will subject Himself to God, that God may be all in all. This is when Christ will be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father- verse 24. Verses 25-27 show the intimate relationship between the subjection of all to Christ, and the abolishment of death. In verse 22 we are informed that the “all” encompasses the entirety of mankind. This is in perfect harmony with Phil. 3:21.

To further elucidate the theme, Paul gives us the revelation of Romans 5:18, 19. Being constituted just (immortality/ vivification) is contrasted with being constituted sinners (the body of our humiliation). Just as all mankind were condemned through Adam’s act, all mankind are justified through Christ’s sacrifice. This is an essential and unavoidable part of Christ’s achievement, “…For this was the Son of God manifested, that He should be annulling the acts of the Adversary.” 1 John 3:8. Never doubt that Christ and God are able to overcome Adam and Satan. Death will be abolished in practice; it already has been in principle. The realization of this achievement is accomplished in phases, for there are three classes in view in 1 Cor. 15:20-28.

#7 A snippet from The Outcome of Infinite Grace
Death Swallowed Up in Victory
By Dr. Loyal Hurley:

“"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph.2:8,9). Why do these verses follow immediately the statement, "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus"?
And why do these verses begin with the word "for"? The word "for" shows a relationship between what precedes and what follows. In the ages to come, He will demonstrate His grace, for He has already shown it to us, His church, whom He will use as the demonstration.

No member of the church deserves to be saved by grace. Not one thing can we claim that has any merit in it. Some will say that at least our faith is our own. "For by grace are ye saved through faith"—and surely the faith is ours. But Paul will not have it so, for he adds, "and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Yes, God gives to us our faith, "according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom.12:3). And He gives it to us through "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb.12:2). Not only does He give us grace: He gives us the faith to receive it. Otherwise we would still be in stubbornness or unbelief. "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all" (Rom.11:32).

So God chooses a few undeserving sinners in this age through whom He will demonstrate His grace to other undeserving sinners, "in the ages to come." And the demonstration will be convincing, too. It will accomplish what God intends that it shall accomplish: "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him" (Eph.1:10).” 7

#8 - THE NATURE, THE CHARACTER OF CHRISTIAN PRAYER - JOHN WESLEY HANSON

Every human being is under perpetual obligation to pray to God as the Father of all souls, to bring in His kingdom, fulfill His will and deliver from evil, and save from sin the whole human family; and that we are commanded to pray for this,—universal salvation—is evident from the language of the Apostle Paul in I Timothy 2:1-4:
"I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings and
all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life
in all godliness and honesty; 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."

Thus God desires all men to be saved, and you and I and all men are commanded therefore, to pray that all men may be saved. God does this. This prayer proceeds from the divine heart all the time. "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire uttered or unexpressed." All men must, when they follow the instincts of their nature, pray for the salvation of
all men...

But the second feature in prayer is, that men, "whatsoever they ask for of God, shall pray in faith, nothing doubting.
I Timothy 2: 8:—"I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting
up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."
It is wicked to pray for anything to God, unless we pray in faith,
unless in our heart of hearts we believe our hopes will be answered. A
faithless prayer is an abomination in the sight of God; hence the
apostle says in Romans 14:23:—"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

Now, then, a Christian must pray for universal salvation; if he does not, he does not offer Christian prayer; and if a man thus prays, but believes that his prayer will not be answered, then he cannot offer Christian prayer. Genuine Christian prayer comprehends the final salvation of all men, and as it is necessary to give it in full faith, nothing doubting, it demonstrates the final salvation of all, for certainly God would not command his children to pray for a thing and pray without doubting, unless in the divine plan that were to be the result. Hence Paul appeals to this ground of faith in I Timothy 2:5-6:
"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." 8

#9 - In John 12:32, in signifying by what death He was about to be dying (v.33), Jesus said, 'And I, if I should be exalted out of the earth, shall be drawing all to Myself.'
It is not that "draw" means "drag;" it is rather that an agency which draws, is equally as effective as an agency which drags. When a man is dragged, he is moved contrary to his will; when a man is drawn, he is moved in correspondence to his will, according to the influences which cause him to choose as he does. Agencies which drag, determine the
body; agencies which draw, determine the heart, from which spring the outflowings of life (Prov.4:23).

When one is "drawn in" to doing something, he is still caused to act as he does; he must still do what he, even if gently, is "drawn" to do--as much so as if he were "dragged" ("kicking and screaming") into so doing. It is simply that an agency which "draws," engages the will and instills the voluntary behavior which follows, in contradistinction to a power that merely compels outward acts--"dragging" them forth--without gaining the acquiescence of the will.
Thus we rejoice to know that while no one can come to Christ if ever the Father Who sends Him should not be drawing him (John 6:44), in due time, under God, Christ "shall be drawing all to Himself" (John 12:32). James Coram http://www.concordant.org/expohtml/QuestionsAndAnswers/Q&AIndex5.html#115a
It would be good to answer this question: When will Christ draw to Himself the multiplied millions who die without having once heard about the one true God? (This would include hundreds of millions of small children.) - Kenneth Larsen 9

#10 - Does God “offer” salvation to all, and it’s up to each one to either accept it or reject it?
First, of ourselves, none of us would accept it. So, we should receive the clear Bible teaching that faith is a gift. Ro. 3:10-18; Eph. 2:6-10; Phil. 1:29.
Second, we know from Ro. 9 and other verses such as Eph. 1:4; 2 Thes. 2:13 and 3:2, that God does not choose to save all in this life.
Third, we know God wills all to be saved. Titus 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:4-6.
Fourth, we know that all things are possible with God. Matt. 19:25,
26; Jeremiah 32:17.
Fifth, we know that Christ enlightens all, and draws all to Himself.
John 1:9; 12:32.
Sixth, we know God will reconcile all to Himself. 1 Cor. 15:20-28;
Col. 1:15-20; Phil. 2:9-11; Ro. 5:18, 19.
Therefore, seventh, we know that God grants salvation (faith,
repentance, and reconciliation) to all, for He is the Savior of all
mankind. Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25; 1 Tim. 4:9-11 - Kenneth Larsen.

#11 - “Not you choose Me, but I choose you…” John 15:16

“Too often is salvation made a matter of the sinner's choice. This sadly mars the full and clear apprehension of God's love which it is intended to reveal. All active effort in redemption is the outflow of divine love, and is entirely on God's side. All the sinner's activity is a hindrance, He would choose anyone but God. His part is a passive or a negative one.
This basic truth is much more forcibly revealed later on in connection with the call of the nations. We were chosen by God in Christ before the disruption. Sin itself was subsequent to His choice of us. Hence, sin, either past or present, cannot affect God's purpose for us, or our acceptance of His grace. He chooses, He calls, He glorifies. He does not give man his choice or a chance. He has the wisdom and the power to impel men to fall into line with His purpose no matter what their natural inclination may be.
All human experience confirms the divine declaration that He it is Who is operating in us to will as well as to work for the sake of His delight (Phil. 2:13).
Man can carry out his own will only so far as it accords with the purpose of God. When men rage against God, He uses their wrath as far as it is useful to His plans. The remainder of their wrath He restrains.”
-Snippet from the Concordant Commentary
(http://concordant.org/expohtml/ConcordantCommentary/CC04_John.htm)

#12 - TENTMAKER MINISTRY WEBSITE ARCHIVES
INTERESTING READING THAT URS WILL ENJOY
If the link doesn’t open up, click on the word “impatient”

January 15, 1998: http://web.archive.org/web/19980115040606/http://www.tentmaker.org/

December 1, 1998: http://web.archive.org/web/19981201194938/http://www.tentmaker.org/

June 10, 2000:
http://web.archive.org/web/20000610020831/http://www.tentmaker.org/

#13 - DESTRUCTION IS NOT ETERNAL – Kenneth Larson

Jesus knew that John 3:16 was not the end of the story…that’s why He continued to John 3:17 and talked about the salvation of all mankind!!!
Jesus makes no attempt to use verse 16 to negate or qualify verse 17. He simply makes both statements side by side as if both are completely true. The reason He does this is that both ARE completely true.

We see this over and over in Scripture, especially in the writings of Paul – a statement about people who have faith now (maybe a warning or exhortation or encouragement about the benefits of taking part in the kingdom of God a.k.a. the next two ages of life on earth) right next to a statement about how Christ accomplished the justification of all men. See Romans 3:23-24 and 5:18 and their contexts for example. This is no big deal; none of these statements negate, qualify (change), or contradict each other, because both concepts are 100% true. Some will be saved from death early and take part in the kingdom of God, and everyone else will be saved from death later.

To attempt to use some statements (about those who get saved early) to negate the others statements (about the eventual salvation of all) is to butcher the common sense rules of language and communication. We would never do this to each other in everyday communication; the only reason people try to do it to Jesus and Paul is because they cannot bring themselves to believe the plain statements about the eventual salvation of all mankind.

If I said to my kids, “Those of you who help me clean the yard today will get to go to a movie with me tomorrow, and next week I will take the rest of you to a movie,” I have made it very clear that all the kids will eventually go to the movies. My two statements do not contradict each other or negate each other in any way. This is the exact same thing Jesus does in John 3:16 and 17 – He makes two equally true statements. Yet “hell mindset” Christians try to make one statement negate the other in order to fit their preconceived pagan inherited ideas.
http://www.bible-questions-and-answers.com/Erasing-Hell-book.html

#14 - IS GOD STRONG ENOUGH? – Kenneth Larson

“For which of you, wanting to build a tower, is not first seated to calculate the expense, to see if he has the wherewithal?- lest at some time, he laying a foundation and not being strong enough to finish up, all those beholding should begin to scoff at him, saying that 'This man begins building and is not strong enough to finish up!’” Lk. 14:28-30.
God’s perfect foundation is Christ Jesus. 1 Cor. 3:11; Is. 28:16; Lk. 20:17; Heb. 5:7-9. What God is building on His foundation is a perfect, reconciled creation. Ro. 8:20, 21; Col. 1:15-20; 1 Cor. 15:20-28; Phil. 2:5-11.
God is strong enough to reconcile all, for He controls all hearts. Is. 26:12; 2 Chronicles 30:12; Rev. 17:17. God has a purpose- a will for creation. Eph. 1:9-11; 3:11. God “wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2:4. And “All that Yahweh delights He does, in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and every abyss” Ps. 135:6; see Is. 46:10 and John 1:29.

Christ will draw all to Himself. Jn. 12:32. Our stubbornness and unbelief are no match for Almighty God. Romans 11:32. "Not stronger than He are we!" 1 Cor. 10:22. God is a perfect Savior, and He is more than strong enough to save all. 1 Tim. 4:9-11; Is. 53; Matt. 19:25, 26.