Heart of the Matter: A Biblical Alternative

Year-End Reflections

LIVE FROM THE MECCA OF MORMONISM

• SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH –

This is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology., where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity, face to face.

Show 44 374 A Biblical Alternative – part IV
December 31st, 2013

We praise the True and Living God for allowing us to participate in this ministry. May He be with you (and us) tonight.

How about a thought-provoking quote to launch us into tonight’s show?

"He who begins by loving Christianity more than Truth will proceed by loving his sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all." — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The last day of the year. The last show of 2014. What a year it has been.

It began with me opening my big mouth and it’s ending the same way. We’ve reached people for the Lord and we have ticked enough people off to fill a Catholic Diocese. But we’re still here, and quite frankly better off than we have ever been in terms of direction, clarity, and purpose.

We stand more dedicated to God and His ultimate purposes, we stand more fervent in worshipping Him in spirit and truth, and we have matured a bit in Christ, realizing now more than ever what an honor, privilege, and blessing it is to be His, to be part of His glorious body, and to have truth that grants life eternal, taking any and all who embrace it from deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. to life.

A New Direction in Ministry

More and more this ministry is about sharing truth no matter how it comes. Less and less is it about fighting, apologetics, and division. Yes, we will stand for truth because to fail to so do is not loving, but we pray the Lord will continue to work on me (especially) as we try and “give God a chance to make sense” – especially through Christian television programming.

2014 is an exciting prospect as we are launching our own unique television network on March 1st of this year. Now, anybody “in the business” would laugh at this description (like Goliath laughed at David and his rocks and sling). They will laugh because when I say Television Network I am talking about a local station that will broadcast here in Utah on local broadcast television along the Wasatch front. It will have limited distribution – to approx 250,000 households and it is low power.

But let me say this – we are going to do it right. What does that mean?

Content and Purpose

I promise that it will be right in terms of:

Content

We are gathering the best exegetical teachers of the Word around along with the best Christian video and film productions to air. Yes, there will be divergent views presented but none of them will smack of the stuff that has created modern American Christian television. For this reason, we hope that the effort will be the best in terms of approach as we will focus everything we air on a reasonable and rational presentation of true biblical Christianity.

Why do this? Because we get your emails and we know the score of what’s going on out there in many parts of American Evangelicalism. Like this email from Jerry in Canada:

Hey Shawn

I have been watching you for the last 4 years or so off and on. After a long hiatus, I went on your website and watched all your videos on Evangelicalism. I have to say you are completely right in what you were talking about. Interestingly enough I was raised Anabaptist (Mennonite Brethren) and spent most of my early life as a Mennonite but have been in all kinds of churches both large and tiny. When I hit my 20s I got bored of the old 'traditional' way of doing church I was raised in and joined a 7000 person strong mega-church in Calgary. I spent 12 years there and saw firsthand how mega-churches operate from the ground up and just as you said, they literally are run like big corporations.

As you said, the church is supposed to equip genuine believers to serve Christ, but at this place I would say the 'Wheat to tare' ratio was about 1 to 3. People flocked to this church from all kinds of backgrounds and yet the Gospel was never presented in its entirety. I can tell you that Mega-churches are THE perfect place for a non-believer or marginal Christian to 'hang out'. It was common practice for us

The Reality of Seeker Friendly Churches

As singles hit the nightclubs and bars after church or with friends from this church and get plastered, there was tons of premarital sex going on since people were constantly hooking up or getting dumped at this church. The dating 'scene' there was about as carnal and superficial as it could possibly get. I can honestly say that my all-time spiritual LOW was spent attending this so-called 'seeker friendly' church. The leadership was spineless and really didn't care, they only wanted to protect their jobs, just like in a company. As long as the numbers (money and people) were up, the leadership was happy. So you don't have to apologize at all for your views on this as the fruit on the Seeker Friendly Tree is utterly rotten in my opinion.

You also are right about the bogus healing and prosperity Gospels. I cannot even begin to calculate how many have been hurt by both of these movements. You are absolutely right that there is something smelly in the evangelical woodpile. These two movements are also (not so coincidentally) the same ones which dominate the Christian airwaves which may have led to you losing those stations. I have been around it my entire life. You don't have to apologize for anything because all these problems have to be confronted. Perhaps you may feel that you are not the person to do it, which may be the case.

In any case, God Bless your decision and may God direct and continue to Bless your ministry.
Jerry S
Nanaimo, BC

Navigating Issues Within the LDS and Christian Communities

Of course, we’re not only going to address Christian issues, but LDS as well because at this point in the ministry, they are absolutely interrelated.

Take a look and listen:

This is from Heather Garcia:

“I just wanted to tell you I left the LDS church almost 2 years ago and to find a clean, full Bible-believing church has been the biggest struggle yet. I am so careful to never be led by another wolf in sheep’s clothing, so I really have my guard up. I have gone to twenty-four churches in that time, and I’d say three were clean. I see so much of 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 in Christianity right now it’s hard to want to go anywhere!

It is a problem bringing people out of Mormonism to dump them in some heretical church where literally Satanists could be the pastor pretending to be a Christian. It happens. It does need to be discussed and at least warn the Mormons coming out. I was Mormon one Sunday, Christian the next, and attended the River with Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne in Tampa, FL. Wow. Yeah. So, a little heads up is a good thing.”

So in terms of helping to warn, equip, and address LDS issues through solid programming, count the Heart of the Matter Television Network in.

Unique Approach to Christian Media

Additionally, we hope to really be unique in terms of appearance as we are going to try and keep our distance from typical modern-day Christian graphics, music, and themes. Instead, we will appeal to humor, art, thought-provoking quotes, investigative spots, and exhilarating interviews.

Finally, we hope to be the best in terms of our business model.

What I mean by this is we are not going to charge television production companies or Christian churches an arm and a leg to air their stuff. We won’t even charge them a finger. And being commanded to walk by faith, we will, trusting in God to see us through.

All that being said, take a look:

RUN HEART OF THE MATTER TELEVISION NETWORK SPOT HERE.

Because we have a lot to talk about, I am going to cut right to the last message of 2013 in an effort to help explain my view of the total and ultimate restitution of all men.

So, with that, let’s have a word of prayer.

PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER

Okay – let’s wrap this gig up on presenting an alternative view to both five-point Calvinism and Arminianism.

The question we have been asking is

“Is the punishment for rejecting God’s wooing (toward His Son) eternal?

Calvinism says yes it is, and lays the blame on God. Arminianism says “yes,” as well, and lays the cause on man and his or her poor choices. (Mormonism essentially does the same thing).

But I would suggest another view – that God will completely reconcile all people to himself through a number of varied methods which are ALL (listen) ALL . . . made possible by

The Concept of Hell and Eternal Punishment

And through the shed blood of His only begotten Son.

Now, one thing almost all of us do – myself included (because it is convenient) is to refer to “hell” as a catch term for where everyone has gone (or will go AND stay) that has not gone to heaven. Right? I’ve said it myself – its either heaven or hell.

In light of scripture, however, this habit or error not only adds to the confusion of the topic but is frankly wrong. Going back to the Old Testament we have the Hebrew word sheol, which is best described as “the realm of the unknown.” The Hebrews translated sheol as “the grave,” as “a pit,” and “a place” (listen) “for both the evil AND the good.” In essence, sheol is a “covered holding tank” for souls prior to Christ ascending into heaven as described in the Gospels. Before that, everyone went to sheol.

Sheol, Hades, and Their Translations

Sheol was comprised of prison and paradise. The Old Testament translators frequently called it “hell” but remember, it was the holding place for all disembodied spirits – good or bad – prior to Christ ascending into heaven. In the New Testament, the word finds its equivalent in the Greek word Hades. English translators often call it hell.

We read in Revelation 20:14 that the keys to Hades (hell) (and Hell) itself will ultimately be cast into the Lake of Fire. So we can see that hell is one place and the Lake of Fire is another. They are not synonymous. I’m going to sell you short here but we could really get into the differences between all the words translated to hell as well, but you can do that on your own time.

Just remember that Revelation chapter 20:13 says:
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

The best (and better) definition of eternal punishment is found in the next few verses of Revelation 20 where it reads: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” So if we really want to argue where unbelievers go afterward, we would say first, they go to hell, which is a dark and very unwelcoming place and then after that to the lake of Fire IF their names are not written in the Lamb's book of Life. Now, the question remains, Is the Lake of Fire experience eternal, forever, ever-lasting?”

Eternal vs. Age-Abiding Punishment

We know hell is not. The question is the Lake of Fire? Reading the King James (and probably your NIV’s and ESV’s) we are presented with English words that tend to say in absolute terms, yes, “Lake of Fire suffering is eternal, everlasting, endless, etc., etc. For example, in the King James of Matthew 25:41 Jesus describes “the smoke of their torment going up forever and ever,” and Revelation 20:10 says, “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Such passages lead us to believe that the punishment is unending.

And if how the King James Translators were correct in this the idea would be sound. But here’s the deal. Where we have the word Eternal or everlasting in passages like this (in the King James and other translations) in other Bible Translations, like: “Young’s LITERAL translation” or “Weymouths New Testament” or “Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible” or the “Concordant New Testament” we have the passages saying: “Age-abiding.” In other words where the King James says in Matthew 25:46 –

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

These other translations read:

“And these last will go away 'into aeonian punishment,' but the righteous 'into aeonian life.'"

OR

"And these shall go away into the Punishment of the Ages, but the righteous into the Life of the Ages."

OR

“And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.”

Why the difference? Does it matter? Did I just go out and find Bible translations what would support my views? And what is the deal with this focus on “age-abiding” or “punishment of the ages” VERSES eternal punishment, like it says in the King James?

First of all, let me say this: In the early church, the notion of punishment of the wicked NOT being eternal was prevalent. It was Augustine who influenced the thinking that punishment was never-ending AND in actual flames of literal fire burning actual flesh. The King James Translators were instructed to

The Influence of Greek Translation on Doctrine

Translation Challenges with Greek Words

Translate well but to make sure they upheld current doctrine. And current doctrine to them had been influenced by Augustine. So, instead of translating each Greek word the same way (which is what literal translations like Rotherhams does) they would take the Greek words and assign different English words to retain accepted church doctrines of the day.

When it comes to eternal punishment much of the debate comes down to the Greek noun “Aion” and the adjective, “Aionious.” From this Greek root word we get eon, which is a period of time, or age, which has a beginning and an end. In the King James, which takes this Greek word and translates it, “forever and ever,” other MORE literal translations of the Greek to the English would translate it, “unto the ages of ages.”

The noun aheeohn (Aion) means age. Period. A specific period of time. It begins and it ends. It does NOT mean eternal. Strangely, when the root word is used as an adjective, it dubiously and suddenly is defined as meaning the opposite of the noun, and means “without end, without beginning, without beginning or ending.” I would first and foremost suggest that this is at best a dubious development of the adjective from the noun. I can say this because the adjective simply does not work in many passages of the New Testament. For example (and you can take note of these passages) Romans 16:25 ; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; and Philemon 15 all define “aheeohnois” as the world, which had a beginning and will have an end, instead of it being eternal.

But let me explain this to you in another way. When we take the Greek Word Aion and it’s adjective, we know they have a given meaning – from the root word age or eon. Everytime the Greek terms are used they ought to translate into age related phraseology. Instead of remaining true to the definitional root of the Greek Word, the King James translators took aionon and aionous and subjectively translated the terms depending on the context of what the passage was talking about.

Variations in Translation Choices

Why would they do this? Because they were intent on maintaining doctrinal purity as they translated. In most cases this proved beneficial and congruent but in the case of eternal punishment it failed. So along comes these other scholars (like Rotherham and Young or Weymouth) and instead of translating Greek words into English words they thought fit best, they produced LITERAL translations of each Greek word every time it showed up in the text. Therefore Rotherham and friends translations read consistently regarding the Greek and so everytime we come across the Greek word Aionos or Aionious we find and age-related definition.

But with the King James (and others that took up its cause) we are presented with prejudicial confusion. Why do I say this? Because the King James translators, instead of ever translating aionos and aionious in terms of the English word age (a period of time with a beginning and an end) they translate the terms 197 times using all of the following English words. For the noun “Aion” they used the English words Ever (72 times) World (40) NEVER (7) Evermore (2) Course (1) And for the adjective, they translated the Greek word Aionious Eternal (42) Everlasting (25) World (3) And Ever (1) Only twice out of 197 times were the Greek words translate correctly. I mean the exact same Greek word in one place is translated eternal and in another place it is translated “never,” and in another it is translated, “world!”

There are forty places in the King James where the Greek Word Aion is translated world. The Greek word for world is Kosmos, not Aion. Aion means age. So if you read these literal translations we discover that the Bible, from the Greek, literally does not teach eternality of the lake of fire but an “age abiding” lake of fire. “The smoke ascends up unto the ages of ages, (not forever and ever).” Reading the Greek properly, we would read the following passages like this:

God has a “purpose of the ages” Ephesians 3:11

He is the “King of the ages” 1st Timothy 1:17

He prepared “the ages” by His word Hebrews 11:3.

Describing God's Eternity

Now, the biggest argument against this examination of ages is that the Word also uses aion to describe God! Therefore, some maintain, since we KNOW God is eternal, we must therefore conclude that aion means eternal! That is really sloppy subjective thinking. When scripture calls God “age-God” or God of the ages it means exactly what it says, “He is God of the ages.” This in no way takes from His eternality. It’s just saying that

Greek Words in Relation to Eternity

in His relationship to man He is God of the ages. Additionally, there are two very simple Greek words that would have cleared all of this up had they been used. Akatalous and aperantos. They both clearly mean endless.

1st Timothy 1:4 speaks of endless genealogies” (akatalous) and Hebrews 7:16 speaks of the power of an endless life (aperantos).

Additionally, the Greek word (athanatos) for immortal and (aptharsia) for immortality also indicate “never-endingness” but NONE of these clearly defined terms in the Greek (which denote eternal and endless) are EVER assigned to hell, damnation, or punishment for sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace.. Additionally, there are two simple prevalent adverbs in the New Testament which would have made the argument decisive regarding punishment being eternal – aei (which means always) and pantote (which means evermore) but neither of them are ever used to describe damnation, hell, or punishment for sin.

Descriptions of Eternity and Punishment

It is also of interest that the super strong phrase “to the uttermost” is used only once and describes hell? The punishment in the lake of fire? Nope – Neither. It describes God’s ability at saving us. Additionally, the Greek phrase “for perpetuity” could have also been used to describe the Lake of Fire punishment – but it is only used to describe God and ultimate sanctification. LISTEN! No Greek word that truly is used to describe forever, forevermore, evermore, always, endless, to the uttermost, etc. is EVER connected to punishment . . . but the terms that are related to age (to a beginning and an end) are.

Consider this statement from James Hope Moulton and George Milligan who published THE VOCABULARY OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT. It might be helpful as it says, talking about the Greek word aionios:
“In general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . .” (p.16). If the horizon of the extermination spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is simply not in view, then we can see that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can truly occur. The same all who are dying in Adam, which includes some who incur eonian extermination, can indeed eventually be vivified in Christ. The Bible, in fact, does not speak of judgment and condemnation, death and destruction, hades and Gehenna, or any of these serious consequences of sin, as unending. It may refer to them as not having the end in view, but none of these fearful works of God can keep Him from achieving His will (1Tim.2:4); reconciling all through the blood of Christ’s cross (Col.1:20, and becoming All in all (1 Cor.15:28).

Understanding the Lake of Fire

So let’s continue by looking at the term fire itself. And I’m talking about fire as it is related to The Lake of Fire, which as we pointed out, scripture defines as, “the second death.” There are four passages in the Book of RevelationA symbolic prophecy fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not a prediction of future global events. (which is the only book that mentions the Lake of Fire) that tie a unique word to that place – brimstone. Revelation 14:10, 19:20, 20:10 and 21:8.

The word brimstone was translated from the Greek word “theion” – T-H-E-I-O-N. You probably recognize the Greek word Theos – it means God – and it’s where we get the word “theology,” which means the study of God. Additionally, the Greek word THEIOS means divine. So it is really easy to see that the word brimstone, which comes from the Greek word THEION is in the family with other Greek words used to describe God. In Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament the word brimstone is defined as fire from heaven used to purify. If you check Strong’s Concordance or Thayers you will discover that brimstone is connected to God’s divine power to purify NOT punish.

Purifying Fire

So we have to also ask, it the fire for punishment or purging, for torture or trying, for cruelty or for correction? As an interesting aside, where is the Lake of Fire actually located? There are passages in Revelation 14 that might surprise you.

Understanding the Lake of Fire

where the fire and brimstone exists, or at least who is present amidst it.

Revelation 14:9 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

From these passages we can see that those tormented in fire and brimstone are “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb!” We know from scripture that God does not take pleasure in this type of death – in any death of the sinner and wicked.

The Nature of Torment

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

2nd Samuel 14:14 says something interesting, in my opinion alluding to God and His ways of redemption, saying: “For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.”

From all these passages and the information they provide it seems we see the lake as having a few different elements present that what we might have thought were there before. I had been taught from almost every faction of modern Christianity that the Lake of Fire is God tormenting evil men for the sake of cruel punishment.

Listen – this assessment is absolutely correct . . . IF the fire is literal and unending. It couldn’t be LOVE that exposes most of the world to the flame IF they never get out. Get it? But we can say it is love if they do and will.

Refined Through Torment

In other words, if those who do not receive Christ shed blood in this life – those who die unsaved – are banished to torments and fires forever, the torments MUST . . . MUST be based in cruelty and torture . . . because they have no redemptive value. So let’s take a look at that word “tormented” in Revelation 14:10 – the passage that says they will be tormented by fire and brimstone in the Holy Angels and Lambs presence.

Ready for this? The word translated tormented in Strongs, Vines, and Thayers is “basinizo.” And it comes from the Greek word that literally means “to put to the test by rubbing on the touchstone.” Touchstones are pieces of rock or flint that are used to grind off elements or particles in the processing of alloys or other metals. From this definition we can see that the process in the Lake is not one of a mindless, endless torture for the sake of cruelty but one of refining, purging, rubbing off the rough edges, so to speak.

I find this interesting because in it we discover real meaning – loving meaning – in something Jesus says in Matthew 21:44. Jesus had just given the parable of the wicked husbandman to the scribes and Pharisees.

He ends the parable by telling these religious leaders

(Matthew 21:43) “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future. shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

They had the True Messiah come and they rejected Him and therefore, Jesus tells them, the Kingdom is going to be taken from them and given to another nation (the Gentiles) which would bring forth fruit. Then he says something interesting and relative to this touchstone concept in the very next verse:

“whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” The nation refused to fall upon Him the Rock or stone and humbly receive Him. Therefore, He says, the other option is He will fall on them and grind them to powder.

I would suggest, in light of the meaning Torments found in Revelation 14, and the fact that those in the Lake of Fire will be subject

God's Will and Human Salvation

to brimstone and fire in the presence of the Holy Angels and the Lamb that again, we are talking about painful mandatory refinement – grinding down upon the willful – a grinding that, producing friction simultaneously produces heat or fire. Some things to think about.

Additionally, the wrath of God is to come. And it will be poured out on those who reject His Son. Revelation speaks of His wrath, and fierce anger being contained in a cup – a container of limited dimensions. A loving, forgiving, longsuffering God would not have wrath that runs like a river forever. It is limited, justly appropriate to the crime, and delivered in appropriate amounts – like stripes that come to some as a few, and to others as many.

I’d like to stop here . . . but I can’t! There are three more concepts that must be addressed in this matter to help round it all out.

The Will of God

There are two basic Greek words for the will of God – THELEMA and BOULEMA. Thelema is essentially defined as “God’s gracious design and it is indicative of His desires. His desired will. In this word we see connections to the Greek word Theos or God.

The second word, Boulemea, is His deliberate design or His purposed will. Themema his desired will. Boulema his purposed will – what will not be altered. If we look at 1st Timothy 2:3-4 we will read:

“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.”

The English word “will” here is taken from the Greek Thelo – He desires that all men to be saved. Now, if eternal punishment is a reality, God will not have His desires accomplished for all men will not be saved – in fact, only a few. This is the standard rationale of most Christians – God is love and He desires all to be saved, but His desires (due to the free will of man) will not be met.

Does this response differ from your earlier view that God will have all His desires accomplished? But let’s get a little more emphatic here.

Go back to II Peter 3:9. It says:

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Where it says that God is NOT WILLING that ANY should perish, are we talking Thelema again, “that He does not desire that any should perish?” No. The Greek word is Boulamai – His purposes and expressed will shall be done. He has not purposed that ANY should perish. From these two passages we see that it is both God’s desire and His purpose that none should perish, but all should come to repentance and be saved.

From these passages and passages like these we are confronted with a serious breach if intellectual, biblical, and spiritual integrity is not maintained. What is the breach? That a sovereign God, who knew and knows all things from the beginning to the end, and by and through foreknowledge of all things WILL NOT see His loving and good desires and purposes fulfilled! This is an impossible contradiction.

Understanding Salvation and Redemption

Calvinists meet it by saying this Sovereign God’s desires and purposes are accomplished in that He has predestined some to burn in hell forever, ignoring the fact that He is love and mercy. But the Bible suggests otherwise through what we have discussed on the matter. In and through this beautiful approach, God maintains LOVE, SOVEREIGNTY, A RESPECT for FREE WILL, and JUSTICE while having his pleasure and desires completely and fully met.

Another point to consider.

In light of all we have talked about I find new meaning in the term lost. Since Jesus paid for all the sin of the world, paying the debt and redeeming all, we are dealing with people who are blinded by the prince of this world who seeks to have them suffer.

Seeing the redemptive work of our King in this manner enables us to see those who have yet to believe as lost and sinful due to unbelief or a lack of faith, not sinful in the sense of numbered and categorized sin. This is important because when we as believers start looking out at the world as “the sinful” and ourselves as “the worthy” it is easy to forget that our righteousness has come by faith, and abides in the flesh we call home. If we are able to

The Good Shepherd and the Lost

See the rest of the world as failing in faith and therefore lost due to their blindness, it enables us to retain a modicum of humility and gratitude for Him who redeemed us RATHER than looking down our noses at those who have YET . . . to be found. In other words, if a person is a lost sinner it merely means they are temporarily separated from the Good Shepherd who owns Him. And if Jesus redeemed the world, there are those who are “always with Him and who have been His from the beginning (The Bride of Christ),” but there also remain those needing to be found. And here’s the key – a Good Shepherd would never abandon the search and return of those who are His.

Parables of the Lost

In Luke 15:4, Jesus said:
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

That last passage used to frustrate me to no end. Who needs no repentance? Jesus here paradoxically says the ninety and nine. I would strongly suggest that this parable speak NOT only to The house of Israel and them being the lost sheep. The church and those who backslide, but also to the whole of humankind. See, there are words used in the King James especially that have been assigned to the wicked of this world. Lost, Perish, and Destroy. In Luke 13:3, Jesus says (KJV) “ . . . except ye repent, ye shall all likewise “perish.”
2nd Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.”
And James 4:12 says:
James 4:12 “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.”

The Meaning of 'Lost' and 'Perish'

These words sound definite and complete, don’t they? But all of these words come from the Greek word, apollumi. (apoolomee) Unfortunately, some have assigned meaning to this Greek term that is not consistently applied. For example in my Powerbible software it suggests that apololamee means to obliterate. In a sense it does because the better definitions mean “ruin,” and “loss,” but not total extinction. I can prove this through other passages of scripture. For example in the story of the Lost Sheep Jesus tells, the Greek word for lost is apoloomai. In the story of the prodigal son the word is “apollomai,” and in Luke 19:10, where Jesus says:
“For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” the word is the same. It obviously does NOT mean totally destroyed or completely perished, but suffering loss.

Two more things and I guess we’ll open it up to questions and comments. The first is the Psalms. When I read them I am able to hear the heart of God shining through. Admittedly, I have come across a number of them that give me pause. In light of all we have talked about over these past few weeks, let me share a few with you – see if they hit you in a similar way?

Psalm 2:7-8 “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”
Psalm 22:27-28 “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.”
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
Psalm 65:2 “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.”
Psalm 68:18 “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.”
Psalm 89:11 “The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.”
Psalm 86:8-10 “Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither

The Concept of Eternal Punishment

"Are there any works like unto thy works. 9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. 10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone."

And of course,

Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

Didn’t Paul say love never fails? If God is love, can He, will He, ever fail to bring about His Good will and pleasure?

Doesn’t the Word say that Death will be swallowed up in victory? Does some death escape victory of Christ on the cross?

God's Justice and Mercy

As I’ve talked on this topic over the last few weeks with others I’ve had people say, in their efforts to establish eternal punishment as a fact: “God is Just, God is Just!” He certainly is. And because He is just He sent His Son, a Son who not only saved all men, He is a Son before whom “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.”

Do you know what James, Jesus brother said about Mercy and Justice? James 2:13 says, “Mercy Triumphs over Judgment.”

Early Church Fathers' Views

Let me close with some quotes to consider from those we call the Early Church Fathers.

Now, admittedly, they made some mistakes – this may (MAY) be one of them. But they were willing to voice their opinions on the topic and were not castigated as heretical when they did. I would suggest, prior to reading them, that the doctrine of endless eternal punishment was a rarity among believers in the earliest centuries of the church and it was the Roman and Greek traditions that helped bring the ideas to the church in time.

Augustine (in 354 -430 AD) was one of the first to truly popularize the teaching of eternal punishment. Proving the teaching was still around in the church when Augustine was alive let’s first hear a quote from him, which says: “And now I see I must have a gentle disputation with certain tender hearts of our own religion, who are unwilling to believe that everlasting punishment will be inflicted, either on all those whom the just Judge shall condemn to the pains of hell or even on some of them.”

Augustine aside, the earliest church fathers tended to believe that the torments were purposeful, and aimed at purging and cleansing rather than cruelty and suffering for sufferings sake. These thoughts all fell under what was known as “the restitution of all things” (which, interestingly enough, Paul refers to frequently but never mentions hell). It wasn’t until 533 AD that an official attempt was made to rid the world of the “restitution of all things idea.” By this time, most of the men (who dominated Christianity) couldn’t even read Greek.

Irenaeus (130-200AD), who wrote intimately of Polycarp who was a close friend of the Apostle John, reveals through his writings a belief in “an ultimate reconciliation of all things back to God.”

Clement of Alexandria (185AD – 254) wrote: “The Lord is a propitiation not for our sins only, that is, of the faithful, but also for the whole world. Therefore He indeed saves all universally; but some as converted by punishments, others by voluntary submission, thus obtaining honor and dignity, that “to Him every knee will bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth, that is to say angels, and men, and souls who departed this life before His coming into the world.”

ORIGEN (185-254AD) wrote: “He that despises the purification of the Word of God, the doctrine of the Gospel only keeps himself for dreadful and penal purifications afterwards; that so the fire of hell may purge him in torments whom neither apostolical doctrine nor gospel preaching has cleansed, according to that which is written of being “purified by fire.” But how long this purification which is wrought out by penal fire shall endure, or for how many periods or ages it shall torment sinners, He only knows to whom all judgment is committed by the Father.”

I could write on and on, adding a dozen or more to the list, but let me conclude this.

Luther's Perspective on Faith Acquisition

This whole thing with the words of Luther, that if uttered today, would certainly cause many to scream HERESY.

This is what the Father of the Reformation said in a letter written in 1522:

“God forbid that I should limit the time of acquiring faith to the present life. In the depth of the Divine mercy there may be opportunity to win it in the future.”