Universalism – a cunning deception

This article is also in Dutch language available

1. Introduction

It is known that the evil one is trying to deceive Christians with all kinds of lies and false doctrines. Every wrong explanation or interpretation of Bible texts deprives the sight of a good understanding of the Bible. The impression exists that the doctrine of universalism gains more and more ground, because a concept like the eternal hell or the lake of fire which the Bible speaks about, is ‘no longer considered of the present time’. Even a part of the Christians in our country no longer believes that unbelievers can be condemned forever. “It has been shown time and again by multiple publications that the ‘old snake’ keeps on trying to breathe “new” life into this ‘false old doctrine’ among Christians in the Netherlands. It was even openly debated on the Xnoizz Flevo Youth festival in August 2008” (19, 31). According to Pastor Wim Hoogendijk (member of the Church of the Nazarenes and former staff employee at Near East Ministry (NEM)), who supports the doctrine of universalism, even an increasing number of evangelical Christians believes in universalism (21). He states that “in the end of times, it will become apparent that God’s grace will be so great, that everyone will be saved” (21), and he doesn’t believe that hell is eternal (2). “He sees hell as a place of purification, where unbelievers will be freed from their unbelief and from where they can go to heaven as (having been) purified. In that way, he and his companions have their evangelical purgatory!” (2). Andries Knevel also wondered in the Uitdaging Magazine whether hell is eternal (2).

Even though a lot has been written about universalism, one and another was for me the reason to start delving into this heavy and delicate subject. Just like when I was reading about Mormonism (Promise Magazine 2004, nr.4), while reading about the doctrine of universalism I also fell from one surprise into another (not to say bewilderment) because of the violation one must do to Scripture in order to be able to keep on defending the doctrine of universalism. Attention has already been given before to an important aspect of this subject, particularly in the excellent article ‘A help to clarify hell’ by Willem Jan Pijnacker Hordijk (Promise 2013, nr. 2) and indirectly also in ‘De menselijke wil en de soevereiniteit van God’ (Promise 2012, nr. 2). (‘The human will and God’s sovereignty). In this article, we use the New King James Version (NKJV), unless otherwise noted.

2. What does universalism mean?

The concept Apokatastasis is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection, which is also called universalism, which is derived from Acts 3: 21. Sometimes Colossians 1: 20 is also referred to. It implies that in the end all men will be saved, thus will end up in heaven, and that no men will be present in the everlasting hell. There are different versions of universalism. The one version essentially implies that eventually, whether or not after a period of punishment, all men will acknowledge God and therefore be saved. Thereby, a possibility for conversion after death is considered to be present (hypothetic universalism). And yet another version, which is an extreme form of universalism, is found with those who believe that even the devil together with his angels will ultimately come to restoration, after a period of torment and punishment (absolute universalism) (3,5). The doctrine of universalism is to be distinguished from the so-called doctrine of extinctionism or doctrine of annihilationism (It’s a Latin word  Annihilatio, which means ‘to make into nothing’). This is the doctrine that ultimately, the unbelievers (including satan and his angels) will be destroyed, meaning that they will cease to exist (12, 22, 23). By the way, the doctrine of universalism is not something from only our time. Since Origines (185-254), who was the first supporter, there have always been supporters in church history. Remarkably, this Origines was a gnostic who wanted to blend his gnostic views (which Paul strongly warned us against) with elements from the gospel. He also taught amongst others that stars have a soul and that demons will be saved (a quote from “If The Foundations Be Destroyed”, by Charles Salliby) (1).

3. Why do men believe in the doctrine of universalism?

There are both general developments and more personal reasons as well to be mentioned.

3.A Some examples of general developments

Secularization. Because many people no longer believe in God’s Word and relativize all of it or deny it, also the (future) existence of hell, mentioned in the Bible, is also denied.

Postmodernism. People want to avoid that they come across as judgmental and prefer to respect everyone’s belief system. Many modern people deny absolute truths and the hereafter: “There is nothing more after death”. Therefore, it’s then a small step to deny an everlasting hell or condemnation. ‘That can’t be true’, they think. But people don’t realize that they have been lulled to sleep and that they are no longer aware of the danger of hell.

Zeitgeist. People cannot imagine that there will ever be a hell. But that’s no argument. “There are so many things that I cannot’ imagine’ but that is not what matters. God just asks of me to humbly submit myself to His Word”, according to Ouweneel (22). “By the way, it is typical for this time of apostasy, where people practically only want to listen to a ‘gospel’ that sounds pleasant in the ears of sinners, which causes a doctrine such as the doctrine of universalism, which is to gain more and more followers …. By far, most people are remarkably easy to be deceived and Satan knows that. Satan is a master counterfeiter, and his counterfeits emerge through fraud and deception” (1). “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,” (1 Tim. 4: 1).

Counter reaction to the doctrine of predestination. “This is the doctrine that in fact, you cannot make a choice for salvation and that you just have to wait and see if God will choose you to be allowed into His heaven. This doctrine is still commonly found in strict reformed (Calvinist) churches” (2). “Among others, those who suffer from the yoke of this satanic doctrine of election, are susceptible to the doctrine of universalism, due to the consequential fears and uncertainty” (1).

Counter reaction to the doctrine of ultra-dispensationalism. “This movement, in fact, stated that God has made Satan to become His enemy (with a reference to Isa. 45:7) and that Satan has not fallen (the portions regarding the morning star in Isa. 14 and the covering cherub in Eze. 28 are given a twisted interpretation). They actually teach that the Father of lights, Who can never tempt anyone and in Whom there is no darkness at all (Jam.1:13,17 and 1 Jn.1:5), could be the Creator of evil” (8).

3.B More personal reasons

• Because of the stories about hell, people think that God’s grace and love are just limited. People have a wrong idea about God’s grace, about His omnipotence and about His righteousness.
• Abhorrence about an eternal damnation, especially when people think of their family members who are unbelievers. It is after all so painful and intolerable that family members or other loved ones would end up in hell, which makes people like to believe that in the end every human will be saved. “I have met Christians that, out of desperation and sorrow, have declared (or hoped and believed) that there is no eternal punishment. They can’t imagine (or do I have to say: they don’t want to?) the existence of a gracious and merciful God, Who at the same time is holy and righteous and would therefore forever punish those who reject the substitutionary sacrifice with which He Himself has provided” (19). Through faith in universalism, the fear of hell is taken away.
• Who would not want all men to be saved? The desire that all men will be saved, speaks to our hearts. Especially because we know that the work of atonement by our Lord Jesus is focused on the whole world (3). C.S Lewis said the following: “There is no teaching (that of eternal punishment of evil and of those who associate themselves with it), that I, if I could, would prefer to eliminate from Christianity” (34).
• Universalism is appealing to people because God is love, right? “How can the existence of a hell be reconcilable with a loving God? For our own feeling/idea, the thought of an ultimate salvation of all people, is more attractive than the thought of a never-ending torment of so many lost people” (24).
• Doesn’t it also contradict God’s justice? For ‘finite’ sins in time, are paid with an eternal punishment.
• People think that God’s glory will fall short if not everyone will be saved.
• People have a wrong imagination of hell, and they particularly think that it is a place of torture, some kind of torture room in which sadistic devils find pleasure in the suffering of lost men (7,26), which makes people inclined to deny the perpetual existence of hell. Besides, it is not about tortures, which are done by others, but about the inner pain of remorse, especially the remorse that is because people have deliberately rejected the offer of God’s grace in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Hell is “a condition of God-forsakenness, a condition of a concentration of powers of darkness, eternal separation of God, destruction, remorse (teeth grinding), inactivity, powerlessness, hopelessness and deprivation. In hell, evil punishes itself, for one is surrendered to himself, thus surrendered to self-focus and to the powers of darkness to which he has attached himself”, according to Jildert de Boer (8). The Bible uses symbolic language to give expression to this condition.

4. Which arguments do the supporters of the doctrine of universalism want to present?

There are many dozens of texts to be found in the Bible (see ‘Enclosure 1: Bible texts that refute the doctrine of universalism’) that clearly refute the doctrine of universalism and which show that there will be a perpetual desolation for those who deliberately reject the mercy of God, thus those who refused to accept the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, for the redemption of their guilt of sin. Just think of e.g. texts such as: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Dan. 12:2); “.. in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thes. 1:8 and 9); “.. those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thes. 2:10) and “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 15). These are the horrifying texts that surely nobody can ignore.

Besides, the doctrine of universalism is irreconcilable with statements by Jesus, e.g.: “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Mat. 7:23; see also verse 19 about the tree without fruit that was cast into the fire), and “… for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (Jn 8:24b) and after this the judgment (Heb.9: 27b).So what arguments and reasoning can the supporters of the doctrine of universalism (sometimes also called universalists) bring to still prove their alleged vindication? We shall first give a brief overview of these arguments and then discuss each of them.

• God desires all men to be saved and therefore He gave Jesus (1 Tim. 2: 3-6).
• “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3: 9). The will of God is stronger than the will of man. After all, who can resist the will of God? Thus man has a will, but not a free will
• For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men ( 2: 11). Jesus died for the whole world, thus for all men. (Jn 1: 29and 1 Jn 2: 2). In Christ all men have been made righteous, right? The Bible does not teach about an eternal punishment, for eternal is not an endless condition, but it would regard a limited finite period of time. Therefore, it’s about a temporary condition.
• Human reasoning. An eternal punishment in hell is in conflict with the love, justice and the holiness of God.
• Emotional ‘arguments’: “I cannot imagine that …”.

5. A wrong view on the relation between the will of God and the human will

Supporters of the doctrine of universalism claim that all men shall be saved, for that’s after all the will of God. They then refer to texts such as “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2: 3, 4), and “He is longsuffering toward [c]us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3: 9). Rob Bell further adds the following: “If God is love and omnipotent, then He is able to win every creature to Himself” (14). Because God’s will is stronger than the human will, every man shall be saved, according to the supporters of the doctrine of universalism. God’s will, after all, has always been executed, for He is omnipotent, right? Would it not be dishonoring to God that a tiny creature as a human would be able to withstand the will of God? Surely it cannot be that the will of man would frustrate God in such a way, that His divine intention cannot be realized, right? Then the will of God to fulfill His plan would have to suffer from the unwillingness of man, according to a fervent supporter of the doctrine of universalism (15). The already mentioned Wim Hoogendijk even dares to say the following: “If God cannot make His will come to pass, then He is in fact a sinner. For sin means, missing the mark. God’s final goal is that all men will say in the end: ‘Lord Jesus, You are my Lord” (2). We shall show the incorrectness of this reasoning below.

When we study the Bible, we can, however, discover a twofold will of God, namely His “absolute or sovereign will” (the divine council of God, God’s judgment), which no one can withstand. And in addition to that also His “desiring will or His reciprocal will”. The latter is the will which He presents to men, but which men may or may not be able to withstand because of the responsibility given by God Himself to man. An example of God’s desiring will is to be found in Ps. 81: 13a: “Oh that My people would listen to Me” Mat. 23: 37 and Lk 13: 34: “O Jerusalem… How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” and Hebr. 3: 15: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion”.

So because of the free will, given by God Himself to man, the desire (the desiring will) of God does not always occur. David Pawson, the English Baptist pastor, writes in his book The road to hell the following: “Throughout the whole Bible, it is understood that man is responsible for himself and will be held accountable to God. If it were not, then a Day of Judgment would be one big farce” (3). The Bible clearly shows that man has a free will, and that he may choose himself whether he accepts or rejects God’s will (2). After all, just from the fact that a fall of man had happened because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, it shows that man has a free will (2). Obviously, God desires for our own benefit that we obey Him but he doesn’t force us to.

We have seen in the above-mentioned that some supporters/defenders of the doctrine of universalism see the free will of man as some kind of insult as it were to God. But God Himself has chosen to give man the free choice to obey or disobey Him. Therefore, it is written: “… He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebr. 5:9). God’s promises and prophecies for individuals are conditional, after all. God respects the will of man. He has intentionally chosen to do so in His sovereign will. God is a God of love. He wants a relationship with man based on love. Love leaves men free in their choice to humbly accept such love and grace, and to accept it with great gratitude, ór to reject it arrogantly and persistently. God doesn’t want us to be robots or puppets, but He wants us to do His will wholeheartedly, out of a free choice and because we love Him (15).

A very different (false) argument of the supporters of the doctrine of universalism, is that they think that Gods offer is so favorable that nobody will reject it. Objectively speaking, the offer of God is indeed so positive that you’d be crazy if you turned it down. But they don’t consider the power and the attractiveness of evil that can keep men in bondage. Think of the rebellion and pride of men, which makes them unwilling to acknowledge their dependence on God, and their unwillingness to submit themselves to God.

6. Other thinking errors about the free will

We shall render another series of thinking errors from a fervent defender of the doctrine of universalism. He says: “It’s about the question regarding the free will of the creature. Does God have power over the will of a man, yes or no? If the answer is ‘no’, and man can make choices independently of God, then it means that God has no power over everything. Concretely said: if God’s love intends that all men be saved, but all men do not want it, then all men will not be saved. This is the doctrine of the free will. Do realize what it means. It means that not God, but humanity itself has power over its own fate. God has to share His place with man. Stronger still: man has the decisive word! Therefore, the doctrine of the free will is at its deepest level, a form of polytheism (a belief in more than one god)”.

Even this brief speech already contains different thinking errors. First of all, the question whether God has power over the will of man, has been asked completely wrong. Because even if it is not the case that God has power over the will of man (for that would be in conflict with the free will!), still God has the power over the consequences of the decision of the will of man. After all, those who want to do Gods will, will be saved, but those who refuse to do God’s will, are unable to ensure that they yet will be saved. For they will end up in hell (even if those men discover too late they would rather not be there) and they will have a perpetual remorse about their wrong choice.

And even though it is true that man himself determines his choice and with that his fate by the free will that was given by God to him, it doesn’t mean that God shares His place with man, and that the doctrine of the free will, at its deepest level, would be a form of polytheism. That is a completely mistaken and even absurd conclusion. After all, God is the only God and man as a creature of God, can only choose between two possibilities that God presents to him: choosing to love God and desire to live for God and to His honor, ór to choose to live without God and doing his own will, which is ultimately choosing for hell.

No matter how twisted people think about the free will of man, it also appears from what a supporter of the doctrine of universalism claims: having to make a choice means that we are self-redeemers. But what nonsense that is, as if we would be able to make a contribution to our redemption as such. Man is only asked whether to agree or to disagree with God’s offer of grace in Christ. Agreeing is entirely different from making a contribution.

Finally, we would like to address a (false) argument of the defenders of the doctrine of universalism, which is somewhat related to the previous point.  They present the resistance of man with his free will in such a way as if the rebellious man could resist God’s will through eternity. Then God would be the loser and man the conqueror. But the answer is that man indeed may think in this time that he can resist God unpunished, but in the end of the time of grace, thus at the final judgment, God will say to the man who refused to submit to God: “your will be done”, which means going to the place where God is not present: the perpetual God-forsakenness, which is hell.

After all, that man did not want to do God’s will, meaning to be with God, right? And in that place that man will be remorseful, but then it’s too late (15). Then that man will have nothing more to contribute. He then cannot say: ‘And still, I am going to heaven’. God determines the conditions and no one else. Therefore, the rebellious man will not forever go unpunished by resisting Gods will, in the sense of avoiding the eternal judgment as a result of such rebellion (16). And that will result in perpetual remorse. Not God as the loser, but the rebellious man will be the loser. Whether men do or don’t submit to God, God remains the almighty God forever and ever and His Kingdom is and will come and will be eternal. People who persist in withstanding God’s will, rather doing their own will, and who refuse to acknowledge that they are dependent of God, are therefore no conquerors but losers (15). “There are ultimately only two kinds of men: those who say to God: “Your will be done”, and those to whom God will say: “your will be done” (C.S. Lewis in The Great Divorce)”.

Supporters of the doctrine of universalism claim that man does have a will, but not a free will, for this will is directed by God, so that God makes a choice for man. This, however, is a complete mistake. Even though these supporters believe that God doesn’t put pressure on man, it is indeed a fact that man, independently of God’s will, can make a choice. For this is precisely the essence of the free will that God Himself has given to man.

Besides, “a choice can only be made when there are options, e.g. pro or against God. Only when that condition arises should there be a choice to be made: a decision. This we do with our will. When we choose for the first option instead of the latter, it means we want it. This choice we can only make if we are given the freedom to do so. And therefore, a will only functions when it is given the freedom. Without freedom our will cannot even function and there’s no question of a will, but of a pressure. So that we can state that every will can only be a will if it is a free will. That’s how we get to the word: voluntary or freely” (1).

7. All men saved?

Defenders of the doctrine of universalism point to texts that would imply that all men will be saved. E.g. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Cor. 15: 22); “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (Jn 12: 32); and “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Tit. 2: 11). Other texts to which they point are: Jn 3: 17, Rom. 3:23 and 24; Rom. 5: 18 and 19; Rom. 11:32; 1 Cor. 15:22 and Philip. 2:10.

They conclude from these texts that ‘therefore’ all men will be saved, but they forget that the salvation offered by God, must be accepted by man who has been separated from God, due to the Fall of man. God poses, as we have already seen before, a choice to man whether or not to accept His offer of grace in Christ. The choice of man is also shown when we read John 3: 17 (also John 12: 46) carefully, for the text uses the words ‘that whoever’ and ‘might’. This on the one hand indicates the desire of God, but also the possibility that men can reject the offer of God. Also Rom. 3:23/24 is not a proof for the alleged validity of the doctrine of universalism. Besides, in the corresponding pericope it is referred several times to the requirement, namely faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, the context makes clear that ‘all’ only are justified inasmuch as they have believed. “The same argumentation can also be applied to Rom. 11: 32 and Rom. 5: 17 – 19” (3). In addition, it can be noted that only those who believe in Jesus, have received the gift of justification (verse 17).

We shall discuss below some texts. First of all, Rom. 5:17 – 19, particularly: “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (Rom. 5: 18). “The words ‘all’ and ‘all men’ are read as all men, without exception, thus in absolute sense” (8). “Thereby, they do not consider the context. In the context of Romans 5, already from the first verse, it is about faith and further about the difference between being in Adam and being in Christ. All who believe in Christ are justified and enter into live” (8). And those who are in Christ, are a new creation (2 Cor. 5: 17).

With the text mentioned by the defenders, particularly 1 Cor. 15: 22 (that ‘in Christ all shall be made alive’) can the doctrine of universalism likewise not be defended. After all, “Of significance here is that it is written ‘in Christ’. There is only one possibility to come in Christ, and that’s through the way of faith. Also verse 23 points that out, for this verse indicates whom it is about: “afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” (3).

8. What does 1 Tim. 4: 10 say?

The defenders also point to 1 Tim. 4: 10 b: “the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe”.Does God give eternal salvation to unbelievers, but the most to believers? What should we imagine that to be? “The most obvious is the interpretation that God in principle is the Savior for all people (in other words, all men can in principle be saved), but actually only for those who believe” (3). A better translation is therefore: to be precise, namely the believers. “Only those who come to the Savior, will be saved. Compare to Joseph who in Gen. 41:45 is called ‘Savior of the world’. But only those who came to hem, were saved” (31).

Referring to Philip. 2: 9-11, the defenders of the doctrine of universalism claim that all creatures, thus devil and demons included, will ultimately be saved. “Indeed, the souls under the earth will have to acknowledge that Jesus is ‘Lord’, but it is not said that they will also enter heaven as being saved (2). It also “doesn’t state ‘wholeheartedly’. If that was the case, we could make a plea for universalism, but it isn’t. Deut. 33: 29, Ps. 66: 3 and Ps. 81: 15 e.g. speak about “The haters of the Lord who would pretend submission to Him” (3). In Heb. 2:14 it is said that Jesus’ death at the cross has not saved the devil, but has destroyed him, and Heb. 2:16 reads “For indeed God does not give aid to angels”.

Another source (1) wonders whether all knees shall bow to God freely. They rightly point out to Isa. 45: 23, which reads: “I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath”. “Here we read that Yahweh swears, and swearing is a way to empower a statement, and to confirm it is necessary when a statement seems improbable or faces strong opposition. By swearing this, Yahweh, however, has given the assurance that what He has prophesied, will come to pass. The reason why Yahweh has sworn here by Himself is that because not every knee shall bow freely, Yahweh makes clear here that these knees shall indeed bow, even though it is not freely, but with the gnashing of teeth. Every creature will ultimately have to acknowledge that the Creator has the final word and that all honor is to Him” (1).

Even based on common sense, one can already figure out that it is not possible that the devil and his demons will be able to escape the lake of fire. Just consider the horrendous Christian persecutions by the liar and murderer from the beginning, who knows “that he has a short time.” (Rev. 12:12).

9. Crooked reasoning

What crooked reasoning some advocates of the doctrine of universalism follow to achieve their alleged justification, and from which it shows that they’re trying again and again to circumvent or deny the choice that man has to believe, we see e.g. in the following. “A ‘universalist’ as A. Lukkien, claims, however, that our faith in Christ is not important, but it’s about the faith of Christ. A half-truth is worse than a whole lie! Receiving the gift of righteousness occurs on the basis of faith! (Rom. 3:21, 22; Rom. 5: 17)” (8). Other proponents even say: “Jesus does not become your savior when you come to faith. He already is a savior to everyone”. This is a subtle deception. “Faith is an act from our side and without this faith, our salvation is not a fact” (1). You could compare it to the receiving of a check. Someone may have the check in his hands, but it has no value to him if he doesn’t go to the bank to cash the check. Besides, Jesus is potentially the Savior of all men.

Even crazier is the concept of Gulley and Mulholland (10). According to him, “neither the sacrifice of Christ nor our faith in Christ is necessary for a reconciliation between us and God. This has been taken care of (already) by God’s clear desire to save every person …. According to these authors, God’s approach to men should be expressed with love without any judgment of sin … According to them, God is endlessly patient, and they think that the triumph of grace cannot be complete until every last person has been saved” (10). The Bible speaks plainly another language.

Finally, yet some remarks. We would also like to point out, that there are several texts (e.g. Mat. 20: 28) that do not speak of ‘all’, but of ‘many’. That word indicates that it is not always about ‘all men’. Furthermore, the use of the word ‘all’ doesn’t always mean that it is about all men. It may sometimes mean ‘all kinds of’, pray for all kinds of men, e.g. common peoples, the high-ranking people, kings. And if you read Mk 1: 5: “Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins”, it doesn’t necessarily mean that really all men from entire Judea and Jerusalem came to John and that they all really, including all Roman soldiers in Jerusalem and all members of the Sanhedrin and all priests and Levites, were baptized by him? (2).

The conclusion is that the word ‘all’ is not a compelling argument for the alleged justification of the doctrine of universalism. Furthermore, we see that the advocates of the doctrine of universalism rely on individual texts without keeping a close eye on the context, that they assume a completely wrong view on the free will of man (in relation to God’s sovereignty), and have to squeeze themselves into all sorts of corners and take their refuge in demonstrable (and harmful) thinking errors to try to uphold their indefensible view.

10. The concepts of eternal and eternity

According to the advocates of the doctrine of universalism, the Greek ‘aiōnios’ (‘aiōnion’) do not relate to everlasting, i.e. eternal, but only to a limited time period. It is true that the Greek word aiōn (aioon) can sometimes also relate to a certain time period or to its characteristics, particularly in cases where there is mention of this century or world, e.g. Mat. 12: 32, Lk 16: 8, 20: 34 (12). Only in three texts, aiōnios is connected to the meaning aiōn, ‘century’ (= limited time period), namely in Rom. 16: 25; 2 Tim. 1: 9 and Tit. 1: 2, where we find the expression chronois aiōniois or chronōn aiōniōn (literally: ‘[the] times of centuries’) (12, 22).

However, normally, the adjective ‘aiōnios’ has the meaning of a continuous uninterrupted mode of existence (3, 6). Certainly, when it is stated that something will not cease to happen, for example “…. Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ (Mk 9: 48) (31). Very strongly this is depicted in a particular style form to express eternity, e.g. eis pantas tous aiōnas, literally: ’to all the etern(ity)ities’ (Jud. 25) and eis ton aiōna tou aiōnos, literally ’to etern(ity) of etern(ity)’ (Heb.1: 8), which is translated into ‘to all eternity’.

“The Greek language has no stronger expression for something that lasts to eternity, something which is absolutely unending” (27). See also Rev. 20: 10 where it is stated that the devil, the beast and the false prophet will be tormented day and night forever and ever. “It is impossible to say even more emphatically that their punishment will be complete and absolutely without end” (27). The words ‘forever and ever’ are a typical Semitic expression, which were taken from the Hebrew le-olmei olamim. The separate word ‘olam’ is in itself not always clear-cut, for ‘olam’ can among others mean: ‘era, human age or eternity’, but, however, if people want to achieve clarity in Hebrew, then they just say in Hebrew le-olmei olamim and that then means compelling ‘forever and ever’ (19, encl. 2).

The General Biblical Encyclopedia states among others: “So eternal then simply means ´an exceptional long period of time´, and this is the general meaning of it in the New Testament”. Besides, eternal is also used to indicate de quality of life. Jesus spoke about eternal life as a life which is a result of a surrender to Him (Jn 17:3). Indeed, also the quality of eternal life is indicated, but that doesn’t change the fact that this life also really lasts forever (16).

11. The exposure

What the advocates of the doctrine of universalism are now doing is by referring again and again to the three exception texts mentioned, namely Rom. 16: 25; 2 Tim. 1: 9 and Tit. 1: 2, making a wrong use (not to say: an abuse) of the fact that the Greek word aiōn sometimes also can refer to a certain period or to the characteristics of a period. And by doing so, they try to ‘prove’ that everything that is translated in the Bible with ‘eternity’, actually means ‘age’ and thus will pass away” (1). Choosing for a temporary meaning of the concepts, they try, however erroneously, yet to prove by pointing to the texts mentioned above, due to a link between times and eternity, namely ‘[the] times of ages’. But one needs to discern this carefully from the plural form ‘to the ages of ages’ which definitely relate to infinity.

The fact that is totally unjustified and utterly unsustainable that the advocates of the doctrine of universalism claim that aiōn always refers to a finite period of time, becomes clear when we compare the Greek texts from the New Testament to the quoted Hebrew texts from the Old Testament. Then we see something very important! Thus, 2 Cor. 9: 9 is a quotation from Ps. 112: 9 where it is written that God’s righteousness endures forever. It is, therefore nonsensical to say that the word aiōn would refer to only a limited period of time, and not always, for that would contradict Ps. 112: 9. The word ‘forever’ in the Old Testament, is consistently translated with always, eternal, forever. God’s righteousness is ‘forever’, and inextricably linked to God Himself, Who is eternal and thus not: temporary, right? Other examples are the combination of Ps. 45 with Heb. 1: 8; Heb. 5, 6 with Psalm 110: 4 and 1 Pet. 1: 25 with Isa. 40: 8! (9).

12. Inconsistent

What now also becomes clear, is that the advocates of the doctrine of universalism choose for the meaning of a limited period of time, wherever the word aiōn appears in a negative context, e.g. the eternal punishment. ‘Remarkably, people who believe in universalism do interpret the positive texts that are about eternal life and to all eternities as everlasting and endless (eternal inheritance, eternal salvation, eternal redemption, eternal glory, etc.), but texts with ‘to all eternities’ that are about eternal punishment and torment, consider as temporary. Texts about the lake of fire with the indication ‘in ALL eternities’ (to the aiōns of aiōns; to the eternities of eternities, which is the whole eternity) are interpreted as to be relating to a (very) long time, thus as, thus as a temporary period of punishment and/or purgatory (Rev. 14: 11; 19: 20; 20: 10, 14-15; 21: 8, 27 and Mk 9: 43-48. This is absolutely inconsistent” (8).

“If eternal life means the eternal experience of the redeemed, then the eternal punishment means the eternal torment of the lost because the Greek constructions are symmetrical. Not a single significant translation of e.g. Mat. 25: 31-46 speaks about hell as being of limited duration or as a time of purgatory, such as Bell suggests several times in Love Wins” (14). “If the advocates of the doctrine of universalism would have been right that eternal is not eternal, our eternal salvation shouldn’t last eternally either, but only for a limited period” (2). If there’s no eternal punishment, then there’s no eternal life either! (19, encl. 2). And even God would not be eternal either. That would be absurd, wouldn’t it?

Of great importance still to point to the expression “this aiōn/olam nor in the future” (e.g. Mat. 12: 32) because these terms are misinterpreted by these advocates of the doctrine of universalism, namely as two limited periods. It is an expression that occurs frequently in the Jewish apocalyptic and rabbinic literature and which intends to indicate a contradiction between the temporary (only this aiōn, in which this world exists) and the eternal (when this world will be abolished)” (6). “The logical conclusion of this dichotomy in aiōns is a sharp contrast between life in the present, in which God is not visible yet, and the coming life in the Kingdom of God that has become visible. Nowhere does the Bible mention more than two aiōns: there is the present aiōn ánd there is a future age, which will not cease. There is no mention of a third period of time. That possibility is not given, and with that, the way of escape which people are looking for in the possibility of universalism after ‘all aiōns’ has been radically cut off! (6).

It is therefore wrong what the advocates of the doctrine of universalism say, namely, that the Bible would not teach that an endless eternity will come, but by this would indicate the “coming eternities” in which God will accomplish His “intention for ages”. This apparent theological interpretation is just simply fabricated, in order to sustain their own view. After all, in order to be able to ‘sell’ this misinterpretation, they need these “coming eternities” as a period that would pass (and after which something else would follow). To demonstrate that the concept of ‘eternal life’ is also temporary, the ‘universalists’ consider that eternal life to be a portal to the imperishable and immortal life, which has no end. But this imagination of a portal is a wrong interpretation, because if we look at Rev. 4: 10, then we cannot suggest that the worship of the elders will cease. And from Rev. 11: 15 cannot be concluded that the government of God and Jesus will cease, can it? (1). As it has already been indicated, the term ‘to the eternities of eternities’ is a strong expression of endlessness.

We only have briefly addressed the meaning of olam, aiōn, aiōnios and the use of it in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, and the arbitrary, inconsistent and even dubious interpretation by the advocates of the doctrine of universalism. Various experts (among others specialists in Greek, classic and modern Hebrew) overwhelmingly indicate that the advocates of the doctrine of universalism are wrong. For those who wish to delve further into the matter, I can refer literature with extensive information on it (See 12, 19, Encl. I, 6, 3, 22).

13. Wrong reasoning

Advocates of the doctrine of universalism have certain concepts or reasoning to deny the future existence of a hell. We shall mention some examples and comment on them.

(a) An eternal punishment in Hell is considered a contrast to the love of God; He cannot have pleasure in tormenting humans forever and bear to hear the continual weeping and teeth-grinding of millions of miserable humans, can He? Of course, God has no pleasure in the perishing of men. On the contrary, He desires that all men come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2: 4) and for them to be saved. Neither is it He that torments men. The torment and the teeth-grinding are expressions of remorse because men themselves have rejected the offer of grace of God in Christ. Nor will God hear the crying because there is a complete separation in the spiritual world between heaven and hell. “Hell is not in contrast to God’s love, but a result of man’s consistent rejection of God’s love that went to the utmost. Nobody is forced to go to heaven against his will” (26).

(b) An eternal punishment would be in contrast to God’s righteousness because it is in no proportion to the sins that man has committed, no matter how horrible they may be, in a short period of time, which in terms of duration disappears against eternity. First of all, it can be questioned “whether someone among us is able to judge what a ‘suitable’ punishment would be for defying the holy and sovereign God, except for God Himself” (14). It is after all very arrogant to sit in God’s judgment seat! After all, the question is whether our frame of mind is right. Then one should also ask whether there would be righteousness if evil were not punished ultimately. “Denying hell is at odds with God’s righteousness …., because without believing in a hell after this life, this life becomes a hell” (26). “Just as the great American theologian and preacher Jonathan Edwards emphasized, human sin is an offense against an infinite God (see Ps. 51: 1). In relation to that, punishment should be eternal. Edwards argued that because God is ‘a Being of infinite greatness, majesty and glory’, He is therefore also ‘infinitely honorable’ and worthy of absolute obedience”. Sin against God, which is a violation of infinite obligations, cannot be anything but an infinitely heinous crime and deserve an infinite punishment” (14). In any case it is true that we don’t need to judge, but God judges and condemns. We can peacefully leave it to Him because He is perfectly righteous.

(c) An eternal punishment is considered to be in contrast to the holiness of God, for it would mean that God would allow that millions of people will continue forever with sinning against Him (by their hatred and cursing). This is a totally wrong imagination of matters because God who dwells in heaven, will – humanly speaking – no longer notice anything about what’s going on in hell. After all, there will be a complete separation between light and darkness, between heaven and hell. Additionally, people can also reason that particularly universalism is in contrast to the holiness of God, for even evil would then be reconciled to God, and that means that God would associate Himself with evil, but exactly that would defile, thus desecrate God.

(d) An eternal punishment is in contrast to the loftiness of man as a creature and as a bearer of the image of God, for it suggests that the lost would continue to harden themselves under such an eternal punishment without ever yielding and humbling themselves to God. Again, this is a fallacy (wrong argumentation). Man was created and intended as potential image bearer of God. Man becomes an elevated image bearer of God, only if he lives in dependence of God and under the guidance of the Holy spirit. But if man doesn’t live according to the will of God and goes his own way without God, then he is totally not elevated, but humiliated by and in sins. In hell, the lost will in that sense (have to) give in because they, when it’s too late, become aware that during the time of grace given by God, they have chosen wrongly.

Some other strange readings

(e) Another very unbiblical concept of the advocates of the doctrine of universalism is that the lake of fire and brimstone for the devil is not a second death because he has never been dead. He will be tormented there only temporarily.

This concept is incorrect for various reasons. First of all, the second death is the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 14 and 21: 8). Additionally, the devil is actually dead, namely spiritual dead, i.e. spiritually separated from God and His glory. By the way, that goes for every man that is separated from God by sin, but who through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus can be reconciled with God and can be saved. But that doesn’t apply to the devil and his demons (Heb. 2: 16). In addition, Satan and his angels in their original rebellion against God, made an irrevocable, irreversible choice, namely for a perpetual, irreconcilable enmity with the Omnipotent God. The devil is unable to repent and therefore there is no possibility for him and his demons for reconciliation (27). Consider also that Jesus did not come to save the devil, but to dethrone him.

(f) Advocates of the doctrine of universalism claim that the Bible doesn’t teach an endless judgment, thus that the devil also will not be punished endlessly. The ungodly will be judged, after which he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. When death will be destroyed as the last enemy, the ungodly will also be taken out of this torment and will whole-heartedly confess that Jesus is Lord (1).

One can only think this way when he has a misconception of death and of death being conquered as the last enemy. The spiritual death (the separation between God and man as a result of sin) when the last enemy has been defeated by Jesus and for those who are in Christ. Only to those it applies, that (the claim of) death has been nullified and that they will not end up in hell. To the unbelievers, however, it doesn’t apply that (the claim of) death has been nullified, thus it can therefore not be true that the ungodly will be taken out from the torment. They will indeed acknowledge Jesus as Lord, but by grinding their teeth. And “Death itself will continue to exist indefinitely, but only those who loved darkness rather than light will find themselves in it” (1).

(g) All good and evil comes from God’s hand and it is God Who has created evil, not the devil. The devil cannot do anything in this world without God’s permission. “Using the words from Job 2: 10 as a ‘proof’ that God works both good and evil, is relying on the insights of a person that lived in the time that the Holy Spirit had not come yet as a Teacher of righteousness in this world. Job did not have the insight yet in the real facts of good and evil. Only through Jesus, God the Father was fully revealed (Jn 1:18). The claim that the devil was created by God as an adversary, is a defamation. A God who creates the devil as an adversary, would therefore also be partly to blame for the consequences arising from this. This is in contradiction to among others Jam. 1: 13 that reads: “… for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone” (1).

(h) If you believe that rejecting Jesus creates an endless torment in hell, it is a crime to bring children into the world (a statement of Wim Hoogendijk on 15 Aug. 2008 during the Xnoizz Flevo Festival). This is a very dangerous and cunning reasoning that the advocates of the doctrine of universalism use.  Especially because one could also say that God should not have made man if hell were eternal. First of all, it can be noted that then the conceiving of children would also be a crime in case of an endless punishment, because that too would be horrendous. In addition, the argument is out of order. After all, God created man, so that he might rejoice and delight in God and His creation in eternity. That can only happen by a free choice of man that chooses with his heart and soul to honor and worship God!  If there is something to be called a crime, then it is the refusal of accepting Jesus as personal Redeemer.

(i) According to Rob Bell and Wim Hoogendijk, hell is a (contemporary) trajectory of punishment and atonement, with the goal of repentance and conversion (14, 26).
“This is, however, a false doctrine that lulls people to sleep with a false safety, which we should expose. Hell is not a re-educational institution, but a place of revenge” (26). Carson states: “There is not a single evidence in the New Testament that hell brings sincere remorse ever. Sin remains as a part of the punishment and its cause. This is the reason why the New Testament emphasizes the urgency of conversion in this life: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion (Heb. 3: 15; 4: 7)” (14).

14. Are the emotional arguments justified?

The advocates of the doctrine of universalism cannot imagine that there will ever be an eternal desolation.

Their view is in fact not the biblical message, but is what they think whether something is or is not possible. They do their best to impose the conviction on the Bible. In order to ‘prove’ that conviction, they mention a number of Bible texts that seem to confirm their own justification. In that way they let the Bible ventriloquize, which makes it rather a case of eisegesis than of exegesis. However, there is a major objection to this method, to take certain passages from the context and explain them in isolation. In this way the Biblical message is easily distorted. “From that attitude, all Scriptures that speak about the perpetual, endless punishment, are transformed in such a way that the ‘universalist’ can accept in his idea how God should be, according to him” (19).

It’s not about what we feel or what we can imagine, but about what the Bible says. We may believe that God, Who is love and does not want that people perish, and Who has the highest moral authority, will judge righteously. The fear that we may have that our children will perish, should not tempt us to distort God’s Word, but should cause us to pray for our children and to bless them, and in that way live the life out that God intended for them, so that it might be attractive to everyone.

15. Good message?

In The Netherlands, the doctrine of universalism is proclaimed and advocated by among others the ‘GoedBericht’ (GoodMessage) Foundation. This foundation has meetings regularly in about seven places in our country (sometimes monthly, sometimes every fortnight). If people listen to the sermons of the spokesman André Piet, e.g. ‘Verrassingen over verzoening’ (Surprises about reconciliation) and visit their website on which the foundation tries to refute the objection against the doctrine of universalism, then they cannot help but be grieved about it, that a preacher who should be expected to know the Bible, besides sometimes making good claims, unfortunately also make nonsensical claims.  On the website of Promise, we will elaborate on this in the article ‘Dealing with the errors of the doctrine of universalism’ and we shall refute the objections that the advocates of the doctrine of universalism have presented on the criticism of their erroneous doctrine. With that refutation, we hope to have removed to every ground on which the doctrine of universalism stands, and to have opened the eyes of the proclaimers and supporters of that erroneous doctrine for the lie in which they were entangled. TOT ZOVER

16. Biblical and other indications that refute universalism

People can refute the doctrine of universalism on different levels. First of all, on the level of the whole of the Bible and God’s intention with the creation of man with a free will. God did not want puppets, but humans who love Him out of a free will. And that will ultimately result in an eternal separation between those who out of a free will submit themselves to God and serve Him, and those who refuse to submit themselves to God and reject His grace in Christ and thinking that they could live without God.

Next, we can list a totality of dozens of Bible texts (see Enclosure 1. Bible texts that refute the doctrine of universalism) about an eternal judgment, an eternal separation between good and evil, light and darkness. And of course, also the statements of Jesus Himself about hell (e.g. “Fear Him Who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell” [Lk. 12: 5]), and the severity of the letter to the Hebrews, e.g. Heb. 10: 26 and 27. Furthermore, wrong text exegeses and false reasoning of the supporters of universalism are debunked, as we have given some examples in the above-mentioned. Also, with a few considerations one can refute their view. We will give some examples below.

• Jesus says for example in 22:14: “For many are called, but few are chosen”.
• “The depth of wickedness in the heart of man. The Bible says in 22:11: ‘He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still”. o, the separation doesn’t get smaller, but larger as time passes in which we live now” (3). How do the supporters of the doctrine of universalism think to incorporate that in their view?
• Consider the broad and narrow path. The broad way leads to destruction, to the downfall ( 7:13). Does that not point to the denial of universalism?
• If according to the supporters of the doctrine of universalism everything will eventually be alright, why does God then allow all those horrible misery with faith persecution, terrorism, war, corruption, etc., continue for many years still?
• Supporters of the doctrine of universalism think that God’s love offer in Christ is so positive and advantageous, that everyone will accept it, but they overlook the core of sin, namely, wanting to be independent of God, i.e. wanting to be god themselves. The gospel is certainly a good message, but also an offensive message for the self, the ego. The doctrine of universalism totally overlooks the fact the ‘self’ must die first!
• “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly’ (16: 20). What does that matter if according to another version of the doctrine of universalism even the devil will be reconciled?
• Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3: 8) and Jesus has triumphed over the devil and his demons ( 2: 15) and dethroned him, in other words: made him powerless. But would that have been necessary if in the end everyone, including the devil would be reconciled with God? And someone who has been defeated, is not someone who has voluntarily reconciled, is he? The devil would like the doctrine of universalism to be true, because in that case he would even escape God’s judgment.
• The evil remains evil and will never become the good. Lie/untruth will always remain to be lie/untruth and can never become truth.
• John 8: 44: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it”. Also half-truths are whole lies. The devil also quotes the Bible, but does he do it in the right way? We need to test everything.
• Matthew 8: 29: “And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Does that indicate to reconciliation?
• Do people think that the devil, who is the originator of both horrendous crusades and the current persecution of Christians as well, will ever change his mind? He hates God and man intensely. When you read that Muslims have chopped off both arms of a Christian in Pakistan because he refuses to deny Jesus, who then dares to claim that Satan will reconcile with God? This cunning and ruthless misanthrope will absolutely never ever become a kind philanthropist. The power of lie and deception by Satan are stronger than people may often think. And the devil is often the most cunning when he abuses the Bible. An example of that is the following: “It is a bad thing that the doctrine of universalism nevertheless wants to blame God the Father that He allowed sin to enter into the world. The reason for that is that the supporters of the doctrine of universalism need to have a proof to be able to make a god out of Him that always achieves His goal (i.e. all men saved) and the Fall of man that happened against His will, has no place in it. For that reason, He deliberately used sin, according to the doctrine of universalism. The ‘proofs’ found for that purpose from the Old Testament, are statements of men who in those days had to do without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, due to which the mysteries of the Kingdom of God were still unknown territory for them. Jesus was the one who gave notice of that” (13).

17. Why is the doctrine of universalism dangerous?

People could think: what does it matter whether one as a Christian believes that all men will be saved? For the most important thing is that you as a Christian acknowledge Jesus as your redeemer and that you love Him, right? In itself it is true, but what becomes obvious, is that people, in order to persevere in the doctrine of universalism, are violating the Word of God in all kinds of way and they interpret many texts in other ways than they are supposed to. “The doctrine of universalism forms a great danger for the believers. Also, a lot of Christians who are well-known as ‘Bible-abiding’, have been contaminated by it. And that’s humanly speaking, also understandable, because this false doctrine has an enormous attraction for both the human mind and for the human emotions” (22).

A result of the doctrine of universalism, even though it is denied by the supporters of the doctrine of universalism, is that it belittles God’s powerful appeal for repentance NOW in this current time, and it paralyses the need/urgency of the work of mission and evangelization because people wrongly assume in advance that everyone will be saved LATER (8). It creates a false hope. Thus, the question is whether one can have compassion for the lost if they will be saved anyhow. Besides, it can be noted that no one has come to faith yet through the preaching of universalism (9). Because why would you, if everything will eventually be alright, is it not?

Many statements in God’s Word are clear and unambiguous and beyond any doubt. However, it cannot always be said of those isolated texts that are argued by the supporters of the doctrine of universalism. “Here, it also becomes immediately clear now why universalism is so awful: With this doctrine the unambiguous statements of God’s Word are being attacked” (19). The danger of the doctrine of universalism is that all kind of texts, without properly considering the context, are placed in a different light: the wandering light of the doctrine of universalism. There comes a blurring over the mind of the supporters of the doctrine of universalism, which causes them to no longer understand God’s Word properly. The doctrine of universalism is originally demonic, also because the dabbling with the meaning of the word ‘aiōn’, the eternity of God also comes under attack. If ‘eternal’ does not mean forever, God Himself would not have existed always. Then He would be the god of this age (2 Cor. 4: 4), and we know who that is, namely God’s enemy, the devil (35). And we see in the doctrine of universalism a follow-up to the satanic lie in Paradise: “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4b), namely: “No man will perish forever”.

18. Conclusion

The doctrine of universalism is a very cunning deception. After all, it sounds so beautiful that all men will be saved. But the doctrine of universalism is a doctrine of lies staged by the kingdom of darkness, in order to reduce the sharpness of the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  After all, a holy God cannot tolerate sin and for that reason He has given His Son, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish.  “We need to be very well aware that we live in a time wherein the devil is making every effort by using pleasant-sounding lies and confusions to inflict as much damage as possible to God’s children and to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ” (1).

The view of the supporters of universalism is erroneous, not only in terms of content, but also in their dealing with texts is very dubious. They do not rely on what the Bible has to say, but they want to impose their own view to the Bible. They read the Bible without including other texts, that is, without including the context. What does not suit them, they simply leave out. There seem to be misunderstandings about the first and second death, the free will, about the imagination of hell, and concepts as eternal/eternity, etc. are interpreted differently than the Bible intends.

In addition, they are inconsistent by not using certain concepts unambiguously. They twist and turn to make the vision plausible. They also make several thinking mistakes, and that is disastrous for the sustainability of their view. Their incomplete and therefore so often vague interpretation falters again and again and it apparently can only remain ‘standing’ if many Bible portions, e.g. regarding the need of repentance and faith, are being disregarded. Whatever the supporters are trying to claim, the doctrine of universalism has not one single Scriptural basis.

Also the attitude of the supporters of universalism is remarkable. They are so compulsive and fanatically driven, that they are not open, or hardly open to arguments of others. It is noticeable that in the literature it is said several times that there’s no sense in having a discussion with the supporters of the doctrine of universalism. “From experience, I know that the fanatic supporters of the doctrine of universalism are not open to any reason” (1). “It is not likely that an ardent advocate of ‘universalism’ is convinced by arguments that he is defending a false doctrine” (19, 23). Apparently, they don’t want to be convinced and they hide behind a dubious explanation of words in the original text. We must remember that there’s a war going on in the heavenly places: the devil is trying to deceive even believers. From the way some deal with Scripture and how they rely on certain Bible texts, it shows how important it is to know God’s Word in its entirety and how imperative it is for us to ask and to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit at reading and understanding the Bible.

We realize that have not discussed and refuted all the considerations of the supporters of the doctrine of universalism. However, even though some of the texts used by the ‘universalists’, seem to prove them right, an overwhelming number of texts refutes their doubtful and unfounded view. In the article ‘Dealing with the errors of the doctrine of universalism’ on our website, we shall address in detail all the counterarguments that the supporters of the doctrine of universalism are to get their alleged vindication, and refute them.

19. Closing remarks

We are well aware that the subject of eternal damnation for those who have refused to accept the reconciling sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is very delicate. We understand people who honestly and sincerely ask various questions, as mentioned in this article.

We as humans, are unable to imagine what endless means. And that certainly is the same with the imagination of hell that indeed is so horrible and unimaginable, that we as humans are inclined to deny it or don’t think about it. If only it were so, that hell would not exist. But God’s Word is clear enough about it, that there will be an eternal punishment (13), whatever the supporters of the doctrine of universalism wrongfully try to claim to deny it. Ouweneel (22) writes:  “Nobody in Scripture has expressed God’s love in such a way than He; nobody had a deeper compassion with the lost than He. And yet, nobody speaks more often about the eternal punishment of hell than He (Mat. 5: 30; 8: 10-12; 13: 40-42, 49-50; 22: 13; 24: 51; Lk 16: 19-31). As much as no one more wonderful than He, has depicted eternal life and the heavenly blessedness, nor has anyone so seriously pointed out the eternal fatality of the lost.

Precisely the revelation of the highest love goes essentially hand in hand with the revelation of the heaviest punishment. Exactly He Who is the light of the world, revealed the existence of the outer darkness. And as much as eternal life is eternal, so much is the eternal punishment eternal; the parallel in Matt. 25: 46 leaves no room for doubt about that”. It was also Jesus Who warned us for the sin against the Holy Spirit, that would never be forgiven (Matt. 12: 31-32; Mk 3: 28-30; Lk 12: 10) (14).

Derek Prince (27) writes the following serious words: God makes two things in His Word very clear. First of all, that He is perfectly righteous and undivided. Secondly, that He has judged the devil and his demons to an everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. Anyone who doubts the second claim, in that way, also doubts the first. Whoever denies the latter, in that way rejects the truth and righteousness of God. One cannot possibly be an advocate of Satan and at the same time a friend of God. By the subtle deception of universalism, Satan has seduced people to choose his side against God. If people persevere in this attitude, God’s righteousness demands that they shall so perish as the devil.

Even though we don’t understand the facts of an eternal damnation, according to our human standard, and also the unbearable thought of it, we should absolutely not allow ourselves to be tempted to rationalize the horror about hell away with a false appeal to Bible texts and with distortions of Bible texts, and delude ourselves that every human (and even so the devil and his henchmen) will eventually be saved. We can bring our revulsion of an everlasting hell to the Lord with the confidence that He as the highest moral authority in the universe, is righteous and knows what He is doing. We must and may leave the judgment to God.

In order to take away the impression as if we, by rejecting the doctrine of universalism, are doing injustice to the grace of God, we want to note that God’s grace in Christ is so great that even former Muslim terrorists that have come to faith in Jesus, can be saved. The key point is that they have accepted and received Jesus as their Redeemer. We may therefore become all the more deeply aware of the greatness of the perfect sacrifice (the suffering and death) of our Savior Jesus Christ, by which we have been reconciled with God through our faith in His redemptive work and have been freed from the eternal damnation. We do not endorse the doctrine of universalism, as much as a person would love to endorse it based on his feelings, but then of course the question arises as to who would perish? With the supporters of the doctrine of universalism, we also think that people, who have never heard the gospel, will not be sent to hell beforehand. The judgment is after all, not up to man, but up to the most righteous and optimally loving God. And we can and should safely leave that to Him, for He shall judge righteously.

Although God will do everything possible, in order to still reach these people, we must nevertheless, on the basis of the Bible, take into consideration that those who willfully and knowingly have loved darkness rather than light, and reject Jesus as their Redeemer until the end, will be perished (15). That’s why it is perpetually crucial to accept the sacrifice of Jesus. God in His wisdom has left that choice up to man.

Literature

1. Alverzoening: 100% misleiding. (Universalism: 100 percent deception) Bron: //www.wat-is-waarheid.info/alverzoening.htm
2. Alverzoening. Bron: //www.hetlichtdeslevens.nl/artikel/92alverzoening.html
3. Alverzoening, wie denkt daar als christen met liefde voor mensen nooit eens over na? Bron: Morgenster, Urk
4. De apologeet, Alverzoening, nieuwe trend, oude dwaling. (Gepost door Yossman). Bron: //apologeet.blogspot.nl/2008/08/alverzoening-een-nieuwe-trend.html
5. M.J. Arntzen. Niet ieder wordt zalig (Not everyone will be saved). Bespreking en weerlegging (Discussion and refutation). Recensie boek van Ouweneel (Review on the book of Ouweneel). Nederlands Dagblad, 15 februari 2016. Bron: //www.vergadering.nu/boekouweneelalverzoend.htm.
6. D. I. Barst, Eeuwig is eeuwig (Eternal is eternal): een analyse van Griekse terminologie in bijbels spraakgebruik (An analysis of Greek terminology in Biblical common speech). Source: //www.apologetique.org/nl/artikelen/religie/Christ_theologie/bijbel/Bijb_theol/DB_eeuwig.htm
7. Rob Bell, Love Wins, Nederlandse vertaling: En de meeste van deze isLiefde, een eerlijk boek over hemel en hel (But the greatest of these is love. An honest book about heaven and hell.) Kampen: Kok, 2012.
8. Jildert de Boer, De Schrift recht snijden?(Rightly dividing the Word of Truth?) Over de ultra-bedelingenleer. (About the Ultra dispensational doctrine.) Hoofdstuk 5 (Chapter 5): Eeuwige straf, vernietiging of alverzoening. (Eternal punishment, annihilationism or universalism) Johannes Multi Media, en Verdieping en Aansporing (Exploration and exhortation), 2de druk, 2007.
9. R. Brinkman, Aioon (Aionos, Aeon) en Olam. Bron: //bijbelaktueel.nl/bijbelstudie/aioon_olam.pdf. Zie ook: //www.rudybrinkman.nl/bijbelschool/wat-is-eeuwig/
10. R. Douglas Geivett, A Summary Critique: Universalism Isn’t for Everyone. Recensie van het boek van Philip Gulley en James Mulholland  If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person(Harper, San Francisco, 2003). Source: //www.equip.org/article/if-grace-is-true-why-god-will-save-every-person/
11. J.W. Embregts, De hel (Hell); Jezus sprak er het meeste over. (Jesus spoke most about that.) Het Zoeklicht, 2009, Doorn
12. J.G. Fijnvandraat, Alverzoening is een dwaalleer. (Universalism is a false doctrine) Bron: //www.jaapfijnvandraat.nl/index.php?page=artikel&id=2877
13. Robert Govett, De eeuwige straf (Eternal punishment). Cross Link Services BV, Dordrecht.
14. Douglas Groothuis, Love Wins: Making a Contradictory Case for Universalism. Christian Research Journal, volume 34, nummer 4 (2011). Bron: //www.equip.org/article/love-wins-making-a-contradictory-case-for-universalism/
15. Piet Guijt, De vrije wil en de soevereiniteit van God, Promise, 2012, nr. 2. (The free wil land the sovereignty of God)
16. Piet Guijt, Correspondentie met Johan van Arkel, aanhanger van de alverzoeningsleer, Zoetermeer, 2004.
17. Internetbijbelschool, Voor wie is christus gestorven?
    //www.internetbijbelschool.nl/htmldoc/voorwiegestorven.htm
18. John Juedes, Unitarian Splinter Group Wants to Believe in God. In: Christian Research Journal, volume 24, nummer 1 (2002). Bron:
    //www.equip.org/article/unitarian-splinter-group-wants-to-believe-in-god/
19. Ger de Koning, Verzoening. Dwaling en dwaalleer. Bron: //www.oudesporen.nl/Download/OS1796.pdf
20. Steven P. Mueller, Beyond mere Christianity: an assessment of C.S. Lewis. Christian Research Journal, volume 27, nummer 4 (2004). Bron: //equip.org/PDF/JAL400.pdf
21. Nederlands Dagblad, Alverzoening roept hartepijn op (Universalism evokes heartache). Bron: //www.cip.nl/nieuws/augustus-2008/402-Alverzoening-roept-hartepijn-op
22. Willem Ouweneel, De alverzoening. Bron: //www.bodedesheils.nl/jaargangen/j132/j132_005_De_alverzoening_1.html; //www.bodedesheils.nl/jaargangen/j132/j132_018_De_alverzoening_2.html
23. Willem Ouweneel, Alverzoening. Bron: //www.dossiers.tk/alverzoening.htm
24. W. Ouweneel, Alverzoening besproken en weerlegd (Universalism discussed and refuted). Uitgeverij Medema, Vaassen.
    (een gratis pdf-versie in het Duits staat op //www.vergadering.nu/studie/wjo-allversoehnung.pdf)
25. David Pawson, “De weg naar de hel, eeuwige kwelling of verdelging?”( The road to hell, eternal torment or annihilation?), uitgegeven door Opwekking, 2004.
26. W.J.A. Pijnacker Hordijk, De hel helpen verhelderen (Some help to clarify hell), Promise 2013, nr. 3.
27. Derek Prince, Zal satan ooit verzoend worden met God? (Will Satan ever be reconciled to God?) DPM Onderwijsbrief, november 2001.
28. Bart Repko, Kom niet aan de hel. De eeuwige hel heeft zijn langste tijd gehad. Aalsmeer: Exchange, 2013.
29. Henk Rothuizen, Geloof jij ook in Jezus om niet naar de hel te gaan?”, Gideon. Zie ook: EXIT, Een andere kijk op het hiernamaal
30.  Jeffrey Schipper, Waarom is de hel eeuwig?, cip-nieuws, 25-3-2011
31. Harry Sleijster, Alverzoening rukt op. Bron: //www.dossiers.tk/alverzoening.htm
32. Harry Sleijster, Verzoening. Bron: //www.vergadering.nu/brlist/verzoening.htm
33. A. Symank, Worden alle mensen gered?
34. Citaat aangehaald door dr. J. Hoek. In: ‘Hemel of hel. Onze eeuwige bestemming’. Theologische Verkenningen Bijbel en Praktijk onder redactie van drs. A.G. Knevel, Kok Voorhoeve, Kampen 1991, pag. 14.
35. Walter Tessensohn, De God van het recht contra Alverzoening. Uitgeverij W. Stonehens, juni 2015.

Enclosure 1. Bible texts that refute the doctrine of universalism

There are dozens of examples of texts to be mentioned that refute the doctrine of universalism, among others:

Proverbs 6: 15: Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly;
Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

Proverbs 29: 1: He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Daniel. 12: 2: And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Matthew 5: 22: But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. …. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5: 29: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Matthew 7: 23: Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 8: 29: “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

Matthew 12: 32: But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Matthew 12: 45: Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation. PM: See also the epistles from Peter. The parable of the weeds in the field in Matthew 13: 41 and 42: The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And then verses 49 and 50: This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 18: 6: But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18: 8: It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.

Matthew 18: 9: And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 25: 41: Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’.

Matthew 25: 46: And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Mark 3: 29: but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.

Mark 9: 44 describes hell as the unquenchable fire (cf. Jer. 17: 4), and in vs. 48 is added with regard to the unbelievers: … where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ (cf. Isa. 66: 24).

Mark 13: 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. See also Matthew 24: 22.

Mark 16: 16: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Luke 12: 5: But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

Luke 13: 26-30: where it is described what Jesus (the Master of the house) replies to the request to be admitted into the house:  “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (this indicates desperation. If hell were not eternal, it would not be a place of desperation. Then one could look forward to his deliverance. (Martie)), when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

John 3: 18: He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3: 36: He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

John 5: 24: Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. This again, indicates a personal choice.

John 6: 58: “This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”  ‘Eating this bread’ indicates the acceptance in faith of Jesus as your Redeemer.

John 8: 44: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Romans 16: 20: “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” 

Galatians 6: 7: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

2 Thessalonians. 1: 8 and 9: “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”

2 Thessalonians. 2: 9 and 10: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Hebrews 2: 3: “How shall we escape IF WE NEGLECT so great a salvation?”

Hebrews 10: 26, 27: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” 

1 John 5: 12: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

1 Peter 4: 17: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Revelation 2: 11: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” And what will happen to those who do NOT overcome?

Revelation (9: 20 and 21 and Rev. 16: 9 and 11): “……and they did not repent …” So how can it be said then that man has no will?”

Revelation 14: 11 reads (regarding the unbelievers who have worshiped the beast and his image): “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever”.

Revelation 17: 3a – 6: “And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (read the entire Revelation 17).

Revelation 19: 20 “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone”.

Revelation 20: 10 (states about both the devil and the beast as well as the false prophet): “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Which will be in ‘the lake of fire and brimstone’; vs 14 states that all unbelievers will end up in the same ‘second death, i.e. the lake of fire.’

Revelation 20: 15 “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 21: 8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21: 27: “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Revelation 22: 11: “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him [e]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” So there are people who will become filthier and filthier because of spiritual hardening. What do the supporters of the doctrine of universalism do with the texts from Revelation (9: 20 and 21 and Rev. 16: 9 and 11): “……and they did not repent …” So, how can they say that every man will eventually repent/convert and that man has no will of his own?

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