Universalism... mercy or deception?

Introduction.
It is my intention to give a clear explanation of why universalism undermines the gospel of Jesus Christ. This doctrine is one of many that violate the message of the gospel of Jesus, and at the same time, it functions as a mask to hide the true nature and intention of this doctrine. From experience, I found that fanatic supporters of universalism are not open to any form of reasoning at all. As a result, I do not expect the contents of this page to change their mind in any way, but neither do I shut out the possibility. In any case, my hope is that it may open the eyes of those who have doubts. However, I do not want to spend my time discussing it further. What I have ascertained is written clearly below and if people cannot find themselves in it then I suggest that they look elsewhere, the internet is a big place.
On a forum of one of the universalism gurus I ran into a statement (as a reaction to this page) which commented: "You call this a 'study?!'... the link that you refer to sounds more like the ranting of a madman, a lot of shouting and very little (read: none) substance". Men could conclude from this comment (with a little amount of imagination) that while writing this page, I must have thrown at least three computers out of the window at the same time. When in fact considering my own body strength, I could throw at least ten computers out at the same time. However, writing in this fashion does not seem to me to be the most fruitful. What I mean to say is that I cannot be bothered to get upset at all those universalists for the way they choose to practice their religion. After all the choices they make are their own. What I have written below is not a tirade but an upright attempt to do the gospel of Jesus justice. That some powerful language sometimes accompanies this is perhaps due to the inspiring example that Jesus gave in Matthew 23. Those, that in spite of this have put together another gospel, may, as previously stated find their sanctuary elsewhere on the internet. Using the word "tirade" does have consequences. When throwing mud, one will need to wash his/her hands and maybe his/her heart as well...

A world of difference.

To place all of this in the right perspective I have placed two texts below that each represent a world of their own. In addition, between the two is a world of difference. As long as man finds himself in the world of the second text, he is completely subject to that which the apostle Paul warned about in 1 Timothy 4:1: "Now the spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils". These doctrines of devils come in many shapes and sizes. That there are many false doctrines is not so surprising. Satan does not care in the least what type of religious teachings he is able to use to keep people in his grip. As long as it is a lie. The two texts I mentioned are:

In the first text, Jesus promises His disciples the comforter, the Holy Ghost. Before His ascension He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Ghost (Luke 24:49). Out of this text, we can conclude that without the Holy Ghost it would be impossible for them to obey the mission of Jesus to spread the gospel. The receiving of the Holy Ghost was and is an absolute necessity. Moreover, it has been this necessity that Christendom has neglected through the ages. There were also people who believed that a child of God receives the Holy Ghost at his conversion as part of a "standard package". If we read the words of Jesus in the four gospels or the working of it in the book of Acts, the objective reader cannot help but notice that the bible really speaks of a special (separate) baptism with the Holy Ghost. In Acts 19:2 we read the question that Paul asks the disciples in Ephesus: "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" and they gave an astounding answer: "We have not so much as heard whether there is any Holy Ghost". How many children of God are there today 20 centuries later that would answer this question in the same way? In Acts 8:14-17 we can read of a similar situation: "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost".
This baptism is merely the beginning of a relationship with Jesus as it is indicated in the text referred to earlier on this page: John 16:12-15. This baptism should follow being born again. Christians insisting that they have been reborn need to realize that being born again is not a "written guarantee" or a "diploma" but is merely the beginning of a sometimes difficult and a long-term growth process. When we were born into this world, it was never the intention for us to remain as children but to grow up into adults. For a child of God the same rule applies, that is why Jesus spoke of being born again because this birth also precedes a process of growth. In John 3:3 Jesus tells Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". What Jesus says here to Nicodemus has not so much to do with being saved or not being saved but about getting to know Jesus as He really is, and in learning about Him understanding His gospel. This gospel does not confine itself to salvation or the eternal destination, but it also teaches us that He expect a life from us in which our relationship with Him is the central focus of our attention. Moreover, everything else in our lives should take a second place to that. Every doctrine that does not give this any attention is a doctrine of devils. The relationship of a child of God with the Holy Spirit stands or falls with the sincerity with which he/she deals with the teachings of the Holy Spirit. Even if someone has received the Holy Spirit it is possible that if he/she neglects his/her relationship, he/ she could eventually end up counted with those that 1 Corinthians 2:14 refers to (see above). Once in this situation man is subject to the doctrine of devils. In addition, one of these doctrines is the universalism doctrine.

Universalism unmasked.

Looking back through Christendom, we must determine that men have neglected baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because of this many of God's children that walk the earth end up falling under the category of the second text at the top of this page (1 Cor. 2:14). Consequently, the great adversary of God has every opportunity to spread his malicious lies under God's children. Someone who has no real relationship with God's Spirit is defenceless against these lists and is easily used by evil spirits to spread Satan's lies even further. This does not mean that those who do this are necessarily lost for all eternity but it does mean that he or she is blind to the lies that confront us every day.

The calvinistic predestination.

One of the lies of this doctrine that comes to us under the doctrine "universalism" would like us to believe that Love is blind and therefore the Father in His great Love has announced a general pardon for every living creature that has rejected Him. This doctrine misuses the fear of man for an eternal punishment in which, according to the calvinistic doctrine of predestination, those who are not wanted by God will also end up, even those that have never had a fair chance to make a choice for their Creator. We only have to think about the millions of children that from the beginning of humanity have died before or shortly after birth and of the many people that have never heard the gospel of Jesus, because no one wanted to tell it to them. Furthermore if these people were to be excluded from salvation, there would indeed remain only a small portion of humanity that would evade eternal punishment. If this indeed were true than it would create the impression that we are indeed more just than God. Besides straining under the burden of the yoke of calvinistic, satanical doctrine of predestination and because of these unjustified fears, they become receptive to the universalism doctrine.

The Spirit of the antichrist.

The intention of this sophisticated doctrine of lies is this: to contaminate the holiness of God and to veil the gravity of our sins and our own sense of responsibility. To make God out to be a fickle god who does what suits him. Moreover, because of this brought good and evil into his creation, with the intention of bending the evil into good. In the way that white is more noticeable because of the black. What the creators of universalism want to accomplish is to reason away the necessity of conversion (rebirth) while the bible leaves no doubt about the necessity of it. For this reason, the name "universalism" is nothing more than a religious mask that hides a monster that has received the assignment to lead people astray. In addition, to seduce them to a doctrine that caresses the religious flesh, but renounces the sanctification of our lives, which Jesus does teach us to do. In 1 John 4:3 this monster is named the spirit of the antichrist, in this scripture John adds that: "....and even now already is it in the world". Well, twenty centuries of church history have only confirmed this. In Revelations 13 John calls this same monster "the beast out of the sea".

Aeons.

An important pillar that supports this is the term aeons (ages) which is the basis of an entire theory. With which some mean to be able to prove, that by referring to the original text of the bible, the eternal punishment of the enemies of Jesus is not eternal at all. More about the aeon's further on. Their problem is however, that in the same bible there are various texts that prove that this theory of the aeons is full of affirmed contradictions. The deception begins with the concept of death as we read in Genesis 2:17: "....for in the day you shall eat of it, you shall surely die". We will give this more attention further on.

It is striking that in the "universalism doctrine" almost no attention has been given to the things that Jesus taught His disciples. Instead of this, they use statements taken from the apostle Paul and use them out of context to create a completely new doctrine. They hammer almost exclusively on about deliverance of humankind and polish away sin, in spite of the fact that Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:19: "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity". This means that Jesus expects more of us than just running around worrying about our deliverance. This last comment in the spirit of: "As long as I am sure of my deliverance, I do not need to worry about the rest of the gospel!"

Salted with fire.

Something else that the "universalism doctrine" would like us to believe is the purification process in which the unbelievers need to be purified of their sins. The proof of this is supposedly found in Mark 9:47-49: "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt".

Being seasoned with salt is a metaphor that Jesus used and which we can read about in Leviticus 2:13. It states namely that: "And every oblation of thy meat offering shall thou season with salt; neither shall thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shall offer salt". The people of Israel used real salt, but the salt that Jesus was talking about in Mark 9:49 is the fire of trail and affliction that the disciple of Jesus goes through in this life. That is namely the New Testament sacrifice of obedience, which Jesus also made, up to and including his suffering and death on Golgotha. On the subject of trail and affliction due to the faith in Jesus, the bible is clear enough, for example in John 15:20: "Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also". In addition, it states in Luke 12:49-51: "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division". Jesus indicates here that even He must go through trail and suffering, including in Gethsemane and on Golgotha. Furthermore, the word division shows separation between good and evil and that is already taking place here on earth. Their eternal destination is being determined here and this division will not be altered afterwards.

The apostle Peter also writes about this refining process in 1 Peter 4:12-18: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or [as] a thief, or [as] an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Peter by saying this also brings division between those that are righteous and those that are excluded and thus are not saved.

The fire that Mark 9:49 refers to has nothing to do with the refining process, such as, for example; the doctrine which is taught by the Roman Catholic Church about the concept of purgatory. It is not without reason that in Mark 9:48 it speaks of a fire that will not be quenched, and that shows this unquenchable fire refers to a situation in which there is no change. It is definite.

Furthermore, with this deviation the universalism "doctors" completely surpass the simple fact that salvation can only be obtained through Jesus Christ. There is no replacement, including the refining process afterwards. The Bible clearly shows that man shall be judged on what he/she has done or not done in this life, in this body. As we can read in 2 Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad". Eternal reward or eternal punishment follows this judgement. In addition, with it the eternal separation between good and evil.

A rickety bridge.

Universalism is being brought as if it is a bridge between God and man. It is however a rickety bridge. Written below in no particular order are the foundations of this rickety bridge, kept standing by the followers of universalism. It must be mentioned that a number of points, such as the doctrine the [sleep of souls], is not directly part of the universalism doctrine but has a large following by those that advocate universalism. That is the reason why these points have been added to the list. Ultimately, one by one these conditions form an attack on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In unmasking the many lies our great adversary has spread around, it comes down to understanding the true nature of these lies. Like secret messages that are send over the internet in which the words are encoded with a secret code, so the lies of satan are often hidden in the secret codes that are covered by false doctrines and so hiding it's true intentions, and thus the undiscovered lies can continue to do their destructive work. Breaking these codes without the help of the Holy Ghost and understanding the word of God is impossible.

The red texts in the summation below are comments, which have been added by me.

To start of I have put the intentions of the universalism teachings in the right order:

In these 7 points, the root of universalism has been laid bare. All 41 allegations of the above summation have the purpose of obscuring the gospel of Jesus Christ, as is mentioned and summarized in the above 7 points. In the following I have, for practical reasons, combined several of these 41 allegations together and I have added my comments to them.

1. Eventually all people together with satan and his kingdom shall be reconciled with God.
2. Every knee will bow voluntarily before God.
3. God wants to save all humanity and because no one can resist His will. This will happen.
My comments: The words in 1 Timothy 2:4 state that: "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth". This is seen as a guarantee that this will in fact happen. Romans 9:19 is quoted as evidence of this: "....for who hath resisted his will?" The conclusion is made that His will is always done. The problem that nevertheless needs to be avoided is the logical conclusion that a God that wants to save all humanity does not want them to be cast into eternal separation. Moreover, because a good God according to the allegations in point 3 has a will that cannot be defied, He logically would have made sure that man would never sin. However, man did sin and in doing so proved that man could defy the will of God (although it should be stated that God does have the final word.) In understanding this, it has become apparent that the image of God that is being held up to us by universalism is a mirage. To find a solution to this the inventors of universalism have turned God into a conflicted supreme being (I will go into this more further on) that has thought up good and evil so that His love is more defined by the contrast(!). Consequently man can do little else than believe that Adam sinning was a scenario that God himself wrote.

In 1 Corinthians 13:6 Paul writes about the love of God and in doing so about God's character: "Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth...". If love is not happy with iniquity then she will never cultivate it! In Romans 13:10 Paul lets us know that: "Love works no ill to his neighbour...". A God that is love is not in the business of sin and bringing the suffering and misery that goes with it into this world. To say such a thing is slanderous. To use the words of Job 2:10 as "proof" that God has cultivated both good and evil is leaning on someone that lived in a time that the Holy Ghost had not yet been introduced as teacher of righteousness into this world. Because of this men like Job had no insight into the true nature of good and evil. More about this further on. Job only gained that insight toward the end of the book when in Job 42:5-6 he recanted and confessed: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees thee. Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes".
The words in Romans 5:18 are used by universalists to show that all humanity will be saved. It says: "Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life". The question that should be asked is: why did condemnation come upon all men? Because in the wake of Adam's sin all men chose to sin!! This is confirmed by Paul in Romans 3:23 where we read: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". In the second half of Romans 5:18 justification of life comes to all men. Which men? To the people that just as in the first half of this text make a choice, only those referred to in the second half of the text made the choice to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour.

Will every knee bow voluntarily before God, as it is claimed in the second allegation? In Isaiah 45:23 we can read the following: "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". Here we read that Yahweh swears, and swearing is a way of ratifying a statement and this is necessary when a statement is made that seems unlikely or shall meet with great resistance. By swearing Yahweh has given the guarantee that it will indeed happen as it was predicted. The reason that Yahweh has sworn by Himself is that even though not every knee shall bow voluntarily, Yahweh is very clear that every knee will definitely bow even if it is not voluntarily. All creation will have to come to the recognition that the Creator has the final word and deserves all the glory and honour.

Summarized:
Man is definitely capable of resisting the will of the holy God as is witnessed through the fall of man. However, God does have the final say. He is a holy God and not the inventor of evil (read the fall of man.) The claim in 1 Timothy 2:4 ("Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth") as proof for universalism is based on an image of God that in itself is impossible. A God that according to the universalists, wants to save all of humanity would never have allowed sin to enter into the world in the first place! That in the book of Genesis things have gone differently teaches us that the image of God in the universalism doctrine is a fable and in contradiction with what the bible teaches us about the nature of God.

4. Death shall be the last enemy that is defeated and after which God will be all in all.
5. The first death is the physical death.
My comments: The concept of death has caused confusion and misunderstanding to humankind since the beginning of time. The nature of man is inclined to see death as death of the body. The visible death. This has been the image of death since man can remember. Even in the Old Testament man lived with these thoughts and it is thoroughly understandable, considering that they lived without the insight of the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 2:17 Yahweh says to Adam: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die". This dying became a reality when Adam disobeyed God's commandment. Through this sin, he became separated from God, and every creation that is separated from its creator will die. Adam was alive physically for many years after that but spiritually he was already dead. The first death that man goes through is his separation as creation from his creator. This separation is called sin. Life is not possible on earth without the sun and in the same way life is not possible without God. An example: The devil does exist but is not alive because he rejected his creator. As a result, everything that is a reminder of God has disappeared from him: and that is death. He was the first one that this happened too. With this separation, God's love was no longer present en then only destruction remains. Much like the earth changing into a big clump of ice if the sun did not give off its warmth anymore. She would still exist but there would be no life found in her. And to put it into perspective even more, because the devil was already God's enemy before he seduced Adam to sin, death existed before(!) Adam ignored God's commandment, and gave into the seduction of disobedience. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul does not write: "and have not charity, I am nothing" without reason. Where God's love has disappeared, death has taken its place or otherwise put, where light disappears only darkness remains. Every person that sins is already dead, even if his body is still alive: his soul and spirit are already in the realm of death. Yahweh Himself says the following about it in Ezekiel 18:4: "....the soul that sins, it shall die". And in Romans 6:23 we read: "For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". Not later, but immediately, on the spot, in much the same way that Samson found out when he gave up his secret and was overpowered by the Philistines and blinded (Judges 16:18-22). The Holy Spirit left him immediately after he had betrayed his secret, against Yahweh's forbiddance. Where sin takes place, God retreats and (spiritual) death takes over. When, considering this knowledge, we look around us, we see many people walking around who are dead indeed.

Abandoning our body is nothing more than a separation that takes place between our soul/spirit and our body. When we leave our body, we go to where our spirit and soul already are. Only when a person accepts Jesus' sacrifice, and finds forgiveness after remorse he/she finds life again. In John 11:25 and 26 Jesus says: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Yahweh says in Genesis 3:17: "Because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for your sake". Sin and death entered into creation, namely, spiritual death and as a result natural death. The abandonment of our body. If it says in 1 Corinthians 15:26: "The last enemy [that] shall be destroyed [is] death" it means that death (the spiritual and as a result the natural death) will be driven out of creation. The curse of Adam will be broken forever. This does not mean that death ceases to exist but that the curse of death will lose its claim on creation, otherwise stated; its claim will be destroyed. Every creation that has not wanted to accept Jesus as their saviour will as yet find their destination in the second death and will not belong to the "all" of which 1 Corinthians 15:28 speaks. Why? Jesus came into this world to break the curse of sin and to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth. In Hebrews 2:14 and 15 we read: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage". The word to destroy means that Jesus through His death on Golgotha, paved the way to do away with the devil permanently. This will permanently destroy his claim on creation, so that the curse of Adam will be broken for good. Through this curse the devil became the ruler of this world. Jesus was crucified to lift the curse of Adam, the first death and not the second death, which follows the last judgement. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the way back to the Father was restored. This will eventually lead to eradicating the first death from creation. Nowhere does the bible teach that after the last judgement reconciliation will take place. What the bible does say in Hebrews 9:27 is that: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment". Period. And after that.... no reconciliation.

Summarized:
Jesus died at Golgotha to break the curse over creation of the first death, and to establish the Kingdom of God. Anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as his or her saviour before the last judgement waits only the second death. Death shall exist eternally but only for those that have loved the darkness more than the light.

6. The bible does not teach eternal judgement, so the devil will not receive eternal punishment.
7. The godless shall be judged and put into the lake of fire. When death as the final enemy has been defeated, the godless shall be retrieved from this suffering, and shall heartily acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
My comments: In John 3:16 we find the well-known verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son". God the Father loved the world and with that humankind, through which we can exclude the possibility of the devil and his following counted with these. With this, the universalism doctrine would like to throw sand in our eyes, because according to these teachings the devil will be reconciled with God the Father. However, as has been written above, it is not taught anywhere in the bible that after the final judgement a reconciliation will still take place. Universalism would like us to believe that after a certain period of time God will take satan out of the lake of fire after which satan will only be to happy to bow his knees before God the Father. It gives the impression that God after a certain period lifts up the lid of this boiling witches brew to see if the potatoes are done. A quick poke and yes sir, the fire can be turned off.

World history has revealed many tyrants to us that practice the most horrifying means of torture toward those that think differently and are in opposition to their regime, forcing them to change their minds. This revealed whom they resembled. Jesus was right in calling satan "murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44). Every reasonable thinking person realizes that these types of practices have nothing to do with justice. If after many years of dictatorship a man such as former dictator Pinochet of Chilli is loathed by the families of his many victims, then anyone possessing any sense of justice knows that this loathing is justified. Universalism doctrine wants to paint a picture of a God that in the same way pressures His enemies by means of torture, into changing their minds. People that proclaim this, call eternal torture a "psychopathic" idea. The idea that God would torture His enemies in the same way a tyrant would is even more "psychopathic". In addition, at the end of this satan would voluntarily bow his knees before God? How voluntary is that? A voluntary choice can never be made through torture and pain. It is remarkable that suddenly there is a notion of a voluntary choice while elsewhere universalism doctrine states that humanity including satan has no free will of their own.
In Isaiah 66, we read a prophecy about the end time and the final judgement, and in verse 24 we read: "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh". Here we read about those that have rejected their Creator. In this verse we can see what it is all about; people that have rejected their Saviour have made a choice and have been able to make a choice! Rejection is only possible if a conscious choice is made. Men choose for one thing and reject the other. Moreover, from this we can conclude that God does not condemn anyone to the second death without them first making a choice. Followers of universalism insist that this verse pertains to a valley in Israel (the valley of Hinnom) where bodies will burn, and worms will not consume them in an unquenchable fire. The logical question then becomes: won't the fire consume the worms??
The worm that is named in this verse is what remains of a person (and a fallen angel) when all their gifts, talents, abilities, power and esteem are burned in the fire of God's wrath. Only consciousness remains, life in its basic form. A worm is an animal without regard and for this reason; the symbol of the worm is used. This worm, the naked personality, will never cease to exist. The life that God created is indestructible because in God's plan men and angels were created to live eternally. John the Baptist, who was the greatest in the period of the Old Testament, and was filled with the Holy Spirit from infancy, spoke of an unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). To this, we can add that it is complete nonsense to insist that there is punishment because of sin, if Yahweh Himself brought it into this world.

Summarized:
Yahweh is not a God that uses torture as a means of changing the minds of the unfaithful, and proclaiming this attacks the Holiness and the principles of God, this is always satan's aim. The second death is a definitive death, which will only happen to the unfaithful.

8. God does not force anyone to worship and rejoice in Him, because it would not be able to still the hunger of His heart. Instead, through circumstances, judgements and the giving of His Spirit, He enables everyone to reciprocate His Love whole-heartedly.
My comments: Note the contradiction with the allegations written in number 7. It is striking to say the least. In allegations 6 and 7 pain is a means used to change the mind of the unbeliever, but here it contradicts its self and states that God forces no one. Here is spoken of "His love" while at the same time universalism doctrine attaches traits to God's love that for example are not found in 1 Corinthians 13 (see comments made about allegations 6 and 7).

9. Man has a will but not a free will. God directs this will. Therefore, God makes choices for man.
My comments: Unbelievable what people believe. What is a will? Our life is all about choice. Many situations require us to choose. Even moving is a choice. I could have not moved. Therefore, I do, as I want. A choice can only be made if there are things from which you can choose. Only when such a situation presents itself does a choice need to be made: a decision. This we do with our will. When we are confronted with the possibility of choice, and we can choose a instead of b if that is what we want to do. We can make choices if we have the freedom to do so. That is why a will can only function if it receives freedom. Without freedom our will cannot function which leaves us with force. Therefore, we can safely say that a will can only be that if it is a free will.

10. God's Love knows no boundaries, so He forgives everyone, even the devil and his subjects.
My comments: Love is characterized by the fact that it does have boundaries. We call these principles and these separate good from evil. We read in 1 John 1:5: "that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all". If we know that Yahweh is a holy God then it is not difficult to understand that He does not make compromises with sin and in this way has set a boundary for Himself. In 1 Corinthians 13:6 it says about love that it: "rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth". In John 3:19 it states rather that: "and men loved darkness rather than light" and that is a clear choice. This is a crushing blow to satan, who though he has seen the glory and light of God up close, in his enmity will not return to it. He who under those circumstances, still chooses the darkness, is someone who cannot be reasoned with. We also find evidence of this in Hebrews 6:4-6: "For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame".

Of the necessity of repentance, we read in Acts 3:19 in the speech that Peter gave: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord". The word repent in this text comes from the word "metanoeo" which means to turn around, to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins. This is a good description of the word repent. Where there is no repentance there is no forgiveness.

11. The apostle Paul is the apostle that has discovered a secret that other apostles knew nothing about; the age we live in now is a secret age, which was only revealed to the apostle Paul after he was send to prison. The other apostles were only sent to the people of Israel.
My comments: This allegation is based on something Paul said in Acts 28:25-29 in which he rebuked the Jews their stubbornness and that the gospel of Jesus would be preached to the gentiles and that they would listen. Paul reacted to their resistance against the spreading of the gospel and it is very likely that he angrily let them know that he no longer wished to waste time and energy on these men full of conceit and arrogance. And that was all that he meant to say. But the devil would not be the devil if he could in some way get a finger in, and so it can happen that the whole "secret age" was conceived out of Paul's heart felt cry. The assumption that the other apostles were only sent to the people of Israel is based on the sending of the apostles in Matthew 10:5 and 6 in which Jesus gives them the commandment to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In Matthew 28:19 however we find that Jesus gives the commandment to go to all the nations and teach them and baptize them. The universalism doctrine would have us believe that the first assignment in Matthew 10:5-6 was much more important because Jesus came only for the salvation of the people of Israel. While He Himself said in John 18:36: "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence". Jesus came for a heavenly kingdom without end and clearly, His intentions were not to free the Jewish people from the Roman yoke. After His suffering and death on Golgotha, the way was cleared to establish His Kingdom on earth. Before Golgotha, it had not been spoken of, so in Matthew 10:5 and 6 He could only send His disciples to the people of Israel at that time. This "secret age" which is spoken of in this allegation is strange indeed, when we consider that on Patmos, John received revelations from Jesus about events in the future. To believe that Jesus would simultaneously give one apostle an understanding of a "secret age" and another apostle His Revelation is to say the least contradictory in nature and shows how the universalism doctrine does not reveal anything but instead veils everything.

12. God's reconciliation with our sins is a one sided reconciliation without the need for remorse from the side of man. This one sided reconciliation only requires a reaction from man afterward.
My comments: This line of reasoning is in complete contradiction with the necessity of accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus Himself said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Although it is written in Romans 5:8: "But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". However, this was a deed from God's side without reconciliation taking place. That is how He proved His love for us, because at this time man had not made an advance towards Him. This advance was made only when men accepted Jesus as their saviour after Golgotha, and heeded the call as Peter expressed in Acts 3:19. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord". The word hilasmos (from the original Hebrew text) as found in 1 John 2:2 is used as evidence by the universalism doctrine to prove a one-sided reconciliation. However, this word is drawn from the sacrificial services of the people of Israel and means to cover sins. Here also it speaks of repentance. Subsequently the word "apokatallasso" (from the Hebrew text used in Colossians 1:20) has been put forward to show that God has reconciled with His enemies. This is the last and reciprocated reconciliation. The mendaciousness of this allegation is that in fact both of these words speak of reciprocated reconciliation with repentance. The difference is that the first reconciliation (hilasmos) speaks of the forgiveness of the sins that we commit in the present, for which we ask for forgiveness with repentance. The second reconciliation (apokatallasso) is the definitive reconciliation when sin (the curse of Adam) is erased from of creation all together, for which reason Jesus came to this earth in the first place. Yahweh also asked the people of Israel to repent and not just to bring sacrifices. (Joel 2:12, 13)
In Romans 5:10 we read: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life". This verse is used by the universalists to prove that we as people were already reconciled when we were still (this word was added by their own hand) enemies. The apostle Paul meant to say that he as an enemy of the Father, through Jesus' death and through repentance was reconciled with the Father, and for that reason, he was no longer His enemy. To put it plainly, through the death of Jesus, Paul's reconciliation was worked out and he received his salvation. God has offered reconciliation through Jesus Christ and men have chosen to respond. Reconciliation means that two become one and the wall of separation is removed.

13. Jesus did not explicitly teach universalism but confined himself with the gospel to the people of Israel and its future.
My comments: It might be better if we said that Jesus absolutely did not teach universalism. It is striking that universalism does not have much use for the message of what Jesus did bring. The gospel of conversion and repentance, to be made holy, the baptism with water, the baptism of the Holy Ghost and the baptism of fire are rarely mentioned or not at all. What they do hammer on almost exclusively is salvation. Moreover, this is done so zealously that eventually they end up contradicting the teachings of Jesus. One thing Jesus revealed was the true character of His Father. In John 14:9 He answers Philip: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father". Jesus also showed through His life that He did not make compromises with sin. One statement made by Jesus, that is not open to misinterpretation, is written in John 5:19 in which He says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner". If we ascertain that Jesus died as a sinless sacrifice on Golgotha after He Himself declared: "for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 14:30) then the only conclusion we can reach is, that Jesus Himself did not sin and did and does not seduce anyone into sin and neither does the Father. It is an evil thing that the universalists teach when in spite of this they accuse the Father of bringing sin into this world.

A basis for this is that the universalists need evidence to make God into someone that always reaches His goals (all humanity will be saved) and in that there is no room for the fall of man, which took place against His will. For this reason, according to universalism, God used sin on purpose. The "evidence" found for this are statements made in the Old Testament that were made by people that went through life without the enlightenment of the Holy Ghost, therefore the mysteries of the Kingdom of God were unknown territory. Jesus was the first one that revealed these things. Over the restrictions, whereby the gospel of Jesus was only meant for the people of Israel, I have already written about in my comments on allegation 11.

14. The lake of fire and brimstone is not the second death to satan, because he was never dead. He is only being temporarily tortured.
My comments: Death has already been explained in my comments on allegations 4 and 5, and it has already been determined that the devil was the first to taste death, when he was driven from his original position. In context to this, there are 2 texts that are important to add. In John 3:19 and 20 we find: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God". As well as Jude verse 6: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day". The first text shows that there is such a thing as a conscious choice. This is true for humankind but as we can read in the second text, it is also true for angels. For it is clear that they made a choice here. It has also been established that death existed before the original sin of man. Death is a spiritual matter and means being cut of and thus separated from the Creator of life. Just as life came to be from the spiritual world where Yahweh is, so death came to be from this spiritual world because that is where the separation between good and evil originated. This separation meant death to the devil and as a result, he and his followers (see Jude 6) were separated from their Creator. Furthermore, where the light disappears darkness remains.... and there a conscious choice was made. On the other side are the holy angels that have remained faithful to their origins and have not tasted death. Death in the first place has nothing to do with leaving this mortal body when we die, but death has to do with our spiritual situation. The supposition that the devil never died is based on the natural vision of people that have not let the Holy Spirit into their lives as their teacher of righteousness and as a result the devil has blinded them (think of Samson) for spiritual reality. Jude verse 19 writes about these people: "These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit". Moreover, such people are hostile to the teachings that Jesus gave His disciples.
About the so-called "temporary torture", my comments on allegations 6 and 7 give a clear enough explanation.

15. Death will be annihilated when all of humankind will be resurrected.
My comments: Explanation enough can be found in my comments on allegations 4 and 5.

16. The story of the rich man and the poor Lazarus has nothing to do with the death of man and his destiny in the hereafter.
My comments: Well, you have to say something, right? If you insist on every level that our soul dies when it leaves the body, (you can read more about this in point 35) you need to give the story of the rich Lazarus and the poor man (this is not a typing error) another twist. When you study the explanation given by the universalists, you can't help but notice that they can't claim that it is a typing error or error in translation. In fact, they cannot claim anything so they avoid it and grab onto Luke 13:26-30. Where it describes Jesus' (the Lord of the manor) answer in reference to being let in: "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all [ye] workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you [yourselves] thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and [from] the west, and from the north, and [from] the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last".

What Jesus said here however refers to the last judgement, hence the weeping and gnashing of teeth. See also Matthew 25:30: "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". The whole transparent explanation of the universalists about rich Lazarus and the poor man (again this is not a typing error) is best discarded.

17. The word eternity is a translation of the Greek word aeon, which means era. Eternal punishment is therefore temporary, because that aeon ends when death is at last annihilated.
My comments: In the original translation the word, "aiona" means "belonging to the coming future" as in "without end and eternal". The original form of the word is aien on, which means: existing endlessly and thus refers to the eternal. The word aionios is also translated with the word eternal and so endless. It was not until later that the word also came to mean a "certain period of time or age". First and foremost, in this context it is important to ascertain that there are only two aeons, mentioned in the bible:

This creation was originally meant as an eternal creation. Through sin, death came to claim its place, and as a result all that which was meant to stay eternal became temporal. The suffering of Jesus Christ was intended to drive this temporal state of being out of creation. This will be finalized when the last enemy is thrown into the lake of fire. Every person that has accepted Jesus as his or her saviour has already transferred from the temporal to eternity in the spirit, even though his or her natural body will die. Everything in world history can be placed into two categories, that which ends and that which stays for eternity.
In 1 John 2:17 we read: "And the world (all that is godless) passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever". Notice the contrast between the first and the second part of this statement. The word eternity in this text is the translation of "aiona" which according to the universalists can mean age or eternity. This is proof for the followers of universalism that every word in the bible that is translated with "eternity" actually means age and will pass away. If we consequently apply this text above then we read that even those that do the will of God pass away. If they namely stay "until the age" they will find their end at the end of that age, and then their destination will be the same as that of the rest of "the world". Therefore, to imply that this age will pass and life will not makes the statement of John ridiculous. Because in that case he has omitted to share with us that there will be a new age, in which we can continue life. If the same translation is applied to a speech which Jesus made in John 10:28 where He says: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand" then this eternal life is temporary, because this text also uses the translation "aiona", and this would mean that this life stops at the end of the coming age. Moreover, the same would apply to John 14:16. In this passage, Jesus says: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever". Here He promises the Holy Spirit, and here the word forever is also translated from the word aiona. Again, this would mean that the Holy Spirit would some day be taken away from us when the age in question is over. This is in absolute contradiction with the pet subject of the universalists namely that eventually God will be All in all, because in that case this "All in all" will also come to an end. Moreover.... how will this "All in all" become reality? Is it not because Jesus will pour out His Holy Spirit over everyone who is on earth after the final judgement? When this method of translation is consequently applied and the word aiona indicates not endless then all in all is not endless, and the Holy Spirit will be taken away from us in the coming age.

By translating in this manner even "all in all" will come to an end and by doing so the universalists oppose their own teachings. In relation to this doctrine men would like us to believe that eternal punishment is the punishment for the coming age and therefore not endless because the coming age will pass also. According to this type of logic, the punishment of the coming age passes, but life of the coming age does not. This once again is a contradiction. If, according to the universalists, death shall cease to exist when the coming age ends then this only serves to show that they have a vision that is based on a misunderstanding of the concept of death. See comments 4 and 5.

Summary:
The original form of the word aion is aien on which means: endless existence and as such related to the word eternity. The whole theory about aions is based on a questionable story, which was exclusively thought up to keep the universalism doctrine upright. It is based on a manner of translation which when consequently applied, loses all credibility. This does not diminish the fact that Gods plan for salvation is in stages. But all these stages can be brought under these:

18. The bible does not teach us that there is such a thing as endless eternity, but means to say that this means the future centuries in which God will bring his plan for the centuries to completion.
My comments: Universalists need these "coming ages" to make universalism credible. In Colossians 1:19 and 20 Paul writes: "For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven". According to the universalists "whether they be things in earth or things in heaven" should also include the devil and his followers. However, the reality will be that by then the devil is no longer in the heavens but in the lake of fire. And there reconciliation is not possible. We have already established above that there is no escape out of the lake of fire. The reconciliation with Gods creation shall happen at the place that they are at the time whether that is on earth or in heaven.

According to universalism the expression "for ever and ever" (aions of aions) means a period that passes. In allegation 17 we have already established the contradictory results it gives. One more example we find in Revelations 4:10, which talks about the twenty-four elders worship Him who sits on the throne for "ever and ever". If we are meant to believe the universalists then this worship will also end. That the kingship of Jesus will end is according to the universalists based on a statement that Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 15:25: "For he must reign, till He hath put all enemies under his feet". Because it is said of Jesus that He shall reign for aions and aions the conclusion subsequently made is that these aions and aions are not endless as well. But... what is actually meant by this? In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says to His disciples: "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". And this He was able to say after His victory at Golgotha where He opened the road to freedom for creation. For this reason, he received the authorization (blank cheque) from God the Father to complete this work of salvation. After death and the realm of the dead are thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone and with the curse of Adam broken (see above) He gives His authority back to the Father. However, just as Joseph in Genesis 41 became regent in Egypt and had only the Pharaoh to answer to, so Jesus, after He, completing His work of salvation, gives His absolute authority back to the Father, and becomes prince again. The whole history of Joseph is a representation of this. That Jesus will submit Himself to the Father means that just as Joseph was subject only to the pharaoh, He will be subject only to the Father. Today it is so that the Father in favour of His Son has taken a step back, and when Jesus submits Himself to the Father this situation will be reversed (1 Corinthians 15:28).

In all of this, we need to realize that we as people are not able to imagine eternity. The expression forever and ever, as it is described in the bible is for the writers of the books of the bible the most successful attempt at giving eternity a name. That these limited human efforts are misused by the universalists to set up a theory that is full of contradictions is a vile affair.

19. At the end of the last aeon, Christ will submit Himself to God the Father.
My comments: There is only one truth but there are many lies. Lies have a way of contradicting themselves and once again, we see that here. Since allegation 18 proclaims that, there is no such thing as an endless eternity but instead only the coming ages, here they are attempting to show us that there is a last age. What is going to come in this last age? Could it be that, maybe it will be endless eternity? We shall wait and see.....

20. The earth in Adam's time before the fall of man was not as "idyllic" as people have always believed it to be.
My comments: If we read in Genesis 1:31: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good", would it be acceptable for us to say that He would be satisfied with anything less than perfect??

There are a number of theories, doctrines, and explanations about the first chapters of Genesis, and one of these is the doctrine of restitution. In short, it comes down to this: men means to conclude out of the first two verses of Genesis 1 that before Adam and Eve, another world existed that fell through sin, and because of this was cursed by God. So that the story of creation described in Genesis 1 and 2 must be seen as a recreation. From which flows that Adam was made out of the dust of the earth that was cursed. Reasoning even further men has concluded that Adam cannot be held accountable for sinning because it was, as they say, inevitable. There was, men claimed, nothing fundamentally wrong with Adam's disobedience. However in Genesis 3:17, Adam is told the following: "And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life". In this passage, it is abundantly clear that the curse of sin came into this world because of Adam's disobedience. Therefore, it was not until after this drama that life became less than idyllic. This is in conflict with the doctrine of restitution that assumes that the earth was already cursed long before Adam. To make this doctrine credible it is suggested that the wages of Adam's sin, death, and the curse of the earth because of Adam's sin are two very different things. But.... the curse of the earth, including all life that would come out of the earth after Adam, meant that death had made its entrance into the world. The whole of creation had become mortal and where mortality enters, death becomes king. Death is the separation between God and His creation. The consequence of Adam's sin was the curse of the earth and with it the entrance of the curse of death into creation.

With the allegation that there was fundamentally nothing wrong with Adam's disobedience, they circumvented what the bible teaches us many times about God's opinion of the sin of man. Through this deceitful allegation, it is implied that the good God had delivered humankind in to the hands of satan beforehand. If this really was the case, then in the Garden of Eden, satan would not have found it necessary to use seduction as a means to disobey the word of God, instead he would have used violence to submit humankind to sin. For satan this would have been the path of least resistance. Through means of a doctrine such as this one, it would have made a mockery of God's holiness, implying that He is a God that would have consciously steered the first human couple towards sin.

21. God shall one day once again live in a temple made by human hands.
My comments: Why would He? If He were to do this, it would be a first. It remains strange and unimaginable that people think that church buildings are the place to meet God, while King Solomon already knew that the Most High does not live in a temple built by human hands (1 Kings 8:27). When King David was planning to build a house for Yahweh, the prophet Nathan told Him that Yahweh had not asked for this but for David's sake He allowed his son Solomon to build Him a temple (2 Samuel 7:1-17). This shows that it was not Yahweh's wish in the first place. He created humankind to live in humankind and that is the only temple that He wishes to live in. Jesus prophesied that all true worshippers would worship God in spirit and truth, (John 4:23) and this is not bound to one holy place or building. The holy place that God seeks is the sincere person that seeks Jesus with their spirit. "For the lord seeks such to worship Him!" Jesus said in John 4:23. Let us then reflect on the fact that the veil of the temple did not rip from top to bottom because a seam came lose, (Matthew 27:51) but because the Father himself ended the period of the shadows and with it the role of the natural people of Israel and the temple which went with it. Because reality had come, and that reality is Christ, so a temple of stone was no longer necessary.

22. All the good and evil come out of God's hands as Job ascertained in Job 2:10.
23. God created good and evil and not the devil.
24. The devil has been created by God as an opponent and slanderer. Moreover, He fulfils his role very well.
25. Satan cannot do anything on this earth without God's permission.
My comments: To use the words of Job 2:10 to provide the "evidence" that God produces good as well as evil, is to lean on the insights of someone who lived in a time that the Holy Spirit had not yet come as teacher of righteousness in this world. Therefore, people such as Job would have had no insight into the reality of events surrounding good and evil. It wasn't until the end of the book of Job that Job gained that insight, and at that time professed (Job 42:5,6): "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees thee. Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes".
Even appealing to Job 1 where is described how leeway was given to satan to strike Job with calamities is not an accurate description of the events that took place. To draw the conclusion that satan can do nothing without the permission of Yahweh is surpassing the fact that satan is the prince of this world and as such has, and at times this is forgotten, a lot of power. In Psalm 34:19 it says: "Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous (that have been inflicted on them by the prince of this world) but the LORD delivers him out of them all". In the case of Job it becomes apparent that Job, a righteous man, lived under the protection and out of the blessings of Yahweh. Immediately when a person turns to his Maker and obeys Him, he gives Him the right to care for Him, and in Job's case this was clearly so. In James 4:8, this principle is described with the following words: "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you".

The other side is that the devil as prince of this world has rights as well. They were unjustly gained through Adam's sin but Yahweh had no choice but to respect those rights. A clear explanation is given in Psalm 15:4: "[He that] swears to [his own] hurt, and changes not". If this applies to a righteous person, it applies even more so to Yahweh. Yahweh could not just reverse the problem that was created when Adam squandered and surrendered his power to the great adversary. That is why it is possible that as long as the power of the prince of this earth is not permanently broken; he is able to persecute the righteous. The allegation that God created the devil as adversary is slander. A God that creates a devil as adversary is then just as much to blame for the consequences that flow out of this. This is in contradiction with, for example, James 1:13 where it is written: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man". The whole story of Job shows us, that God did not do these things to Job. That is why the statement that Job made in Job 2:10: "What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" however sincerely meant was not a true representation of reality. The fact that Yahweh states among other things, in Exodus 4:11 that he makes dumb, deaf, giving sight or making blind does not mean he does those things arbitrarily. What we can read repeatedly in the bible is that He blesses those that live according to His commandments and only after man has refused to hear is the bill presented to him. In Ezekiel 13:22, it says the following: "Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad...". Yahweh does not inflict suffering on the righteous, but the unrighteous and every one that is not willing to repent, can expect a just punishment. In this light we must view the misuse of words by the universalists taken from Isaiah 45:6 and 7 where is says: "That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things]". Yahweh's intention with these words was to make clear that, in the end He has the final word, whatever his adversaries might be up to. Therefore, He brings salvation to the obedient and calamity to the disobedient. A God that would deal differently would not be a just God. To suppose that Yahweh created evil is saying that black is white and white is black.

26. Healing through prayer is not biblical and not of this time. All our blessings are purely spiritual.
My comments: For the universalists this is just one of many ways to hide that the faith they have in Jesus is not faith at all. An interpretation such as this makes clear that the gospel Jesus brought in any case has no meaning to them. This makes their doctrine completely incredible.

27. The works of man are of no interest to God according to 2 Timothy 1:9 and 10. This means that we as humans have no influence on our endless destination because it has already been decided for us.
My comments: That our own works do not sway Jesus is obvious. His mercy was and is our salvation. To conclude out of the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 1:9 and 10 that our salvation is predestined is twisting Paul's words. Paul writes: "Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel". In Ephesians 2:8 and 9 Paul lets us know that: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". With this, Paul says that it is not our works but our faith that has saved us, meaning our faith in God's mercy. This mercy is a gift from God and we have received this gift because we choose to believe it. This is an action on our part. Whoever chooses not to believe in this gift of mercy will not receive salvation. Galatians 3:22 confirms this: "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe".

28. God gave the laws to the people of Israel so that sin would perpetuate so that His mercies could increase (based on Romans 5:20).
29. The law given to Israel was not a command but a promise.
30. The bible is not a guidebook about how we should live.
My comments: In Romans 5:19 and 20 we read: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound". Allegation 28 would have us believe that Yahweh gave the law to the people of Israel to stimulate sin. However in Galatians 3:24 Paul writes: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith". The law here is called a schoolmaster, and the purpose of a schoolmaster is to bring and keep the student on the right path. First of all, notice verse 20: "moreover and the law entered" and in principle something that enters can also leave. In this case, it was a temporary schoolmaster until Christ came. Christ was the fulfilment of the law as He himself declares in Matthew 5:17. Better put: He was the only fulfilment of the law, the only one who could live up to the demands of the law. No one before Him had been able. In Romans 5:20 Paul meant to say (in other words): "When the law entered it became obvious that the law was absolutely unable to turn the sinner into the righteous". That the sins of the people of Israel became visible through the law (through the law we know sin) only shows hoe great the forbearance of Yahweh is toward sinners that ignore Him and continue in their own sinful way. We can find this in Romans 3:25 where it says: "Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God". That is mercy. Conclusion: the law alone shows that without Christ, salvation cannot be expected, and proves the necessity of conversion and repentance.
Moreover, is the law nonetheless not a commandment as allegation 29 says? In Joshua 1:8 Yahweh expressly says to Joshua: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success".
Moreover, in Psalm 119:4 it is confirmed: "Thou hast commanded [us] to keep thy precepts diligently". In addition, we must not overlook what Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 28:19: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in My name (original version): teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you".

Nevertheless, according to allegation 30, the bible is not a guidebook. The person making this allegation; has he read the bible or rewritten it?

31. We should not struggle against the sin in us and not worry about it. However, it is a reality, which we should consider.
32. We sin because the devil makes us and we cannot do anything about it.
My comments: I will leave as answer what it is that the bible has to say in Romans 6:1 and 2: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" In addition, 2 Timothy 2:19 says: "Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity". Also Romans 3:8: "And not [rather] (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say) Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose damnation is just".

It is unimaginable that this last text is also used by the universalists to show that we cannot just live as we please. This is therefore, one more piece of contradictory doctrine of the universalists, in which, on the one hand it is supposed that we need not regard the reality of sin (allegation 31) and on the other hand, occasioned by Romans 3:8 we are not supposed to live as we please.

33. God wants to prove His love for us. This makes a temporary estrangement between God and his creation necessary. As a result, sin did not come into this world without God intending it to.
My comments: Because I wish to show how good my intentions are toward you and how much I love you, I will first let you go through all kinds of misery, because only then you will able to see how good my intentions are. Is this the type of love we want in our lives?

34. Because of the fall of man into sin man could no longer approach God because he was a Holy God. He rejected man.
My comments: I totally agree. Typical however is the contradiction with the allegation before this. Because a Holy God would under no circumstance purposefully bring sin into the world!

35. Our soul is mortal and shall enter into something called a "sleep of souls". The idea of immortality comes from the Greek philosophy and not from the bible.
36. The doctrine that the dead are not dead is in fact a spiritual teaching. Almost all religions assume this and this creates a portal through which demons attack.
My comments: Meanwhile I hope that the reader has already been convicted by the unfounded and non-biblical nature of the allegations of the universalists and knows to take allegation 35 not seriously. Where would Greek philosophy get the idea of immortality from anyway? We can safely assume that the Greek were intelligent men and seriously seeking for the meaning of life and consequently the questions surrounding the possibility of life after death. If men ponder these questions seriously then it is only a matter of time before they stumble across that which Yahweh has instilled in humankind, therefore the need for searching for the supernatural has been included in the creation of humankind. Paul found evidence of this in Athens where he found an altar with the inscription "to the unknown God" (Acts 17:23). The Greek speculated about the existence of a god, that they were never told about. This is what Paul himself wrote about in Romans 1:20: "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse". If the Greek speculated about the existence of an unknown god (and indeed He exists) wouldn't their idea about the immortal soul be also worth considering??

About the concept of "death" (allegation 36) I have written all that is necessary. If people occupy their time with calling on the spirits of the dead, then indeed, they will be confronted with the spirits of the dead, namely the fallen angels that have denied their creator and for whom only the darkest darkness awaits (2 Peter 2:17). They present themselves as the dearly departed. Occupying your time with these things is indeed a "spiritual" activity.

This does not mean that after dying men enter into a "state of sleep". The many who were for a short time clinically dead, tell a very different story after returning in their body. This became apparent to me after reading a book by an American doctor who, over the course of several years, encountered patients that during an operation or as result of an accident or an illness, were declared clinically dead. Whereby it frequently occurred that after a successful reanimation, the patient could give an accurate account of what the doctors had done to reanimate them. What these people told about their experience, were strikingly similar to other accounts of near death or death experiences. The well-known tunnel with a bright light at the end of it, is one of many similarities found in each account. We have, next to what the bible tells us about it, and on the grounds of these stories no reason at all to believe in a "sleep of souls".

37. Because of reasons only known to God, we have only received a taste of the Holy Spirit and not yet the full portion.
My comments: It would be better to say: for reasons that we do not want to know. If men are unreceptive toward the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they create excuses to reason the baptism away and in doing so avoiding it all together. The gospel brought according to Jesus shows us that he thought quite differently about it. This has been written about above.

38. The Gospel does not occupy itself with the sinner and consequently not with sin. The gospel only preaches reconciliation.
My comments: If we speak of the gospel then it is exclusively about the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other gospel. The apostles brought only this gospel, and this gospel has to this day the very goal of turning the sinner into the righteous. The intention of such an allegation is, among other things, to smooth away the need for repentance. This has been written about above.

39. The justice of God is not a legal term. It means that He alone believes in His own promises and does them justice.
My comments: With which is meant that Gods justice is not the same thing as righteousness. This creates an image of a god that at his own discretion, does pretty much as he pleases, because there is no one above him that can slap him on the fingers. He defines what is right and wrong, and indeed, he does. But.... to let us know what His principles are He gave us the bible. And in it, we find among other things:

This Yahweh is just and His promises stand fast. With these texts, I wanted to draw attention to some of those promises, and in them, it certainly is apparent that God is righteous.

40. Jesus does not become your saviour when you repent. He is the saviour of everyone.
41. In Acts 17:30 it speaks of "metanoia" and this word does not mean conversion but to think about and come to different thoughts, to come to a realization. This word has nothing to do with repentance. Repentance is simply an emotion.
My comments: Once again, the necessity of faith is reasoned away. The universalists' much quoted apostle Paul however, writes the following on the subject: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16). Faith is an active deed from our side and without this faith; our salvation is not a fact.
That allegation 40 actually says that repentance is not a necessity, is pretty obvious to the alert reader. Allegation 41 pours more fuel on to the fire with the intention of getting rid of this so-called apparition of "repentance" all together. The word "metanoia" is used, derived from Acts 17:30 where the word means "to have a change of mind or to think differently" this is a very good description of repentance.

In Acts 3:19 Peter gives a speech and in it he uses the word "epistrepho" which means to convert, turn back to cause to return to God. Again, in Acts 26:20 this word is used by Paul in his answer to king Agrippa. So, conversion really is an invaluable part of the gospel that the apostles brought. Repentance and conversion are entwined with each other. In John 16:7-11 Jesus promises His disciples the Comforter that He will send after His ascension into heaven. In verse 8 and 9 Jesus says: "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me". Here unbelief is called a sin by Jesus. The Holy Ghost convicts us of our sins, and when we allow ourselves to be convicted of our sins, repentance will follow, and after that conversion. Repentance is not an emotion as claimed in allegation 41 but a state of the heart which in God's eyes is so important that without it forgiveness is not possible, as Jesus says in Luke 17:3: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him".

Conclusion:
"There is nothing new under the sun" the preacher of the Ecclesiastes said. The doctrine that we call universalism and that is based for a large part solely on the letters of Paul, is a continuation of events taking place in the days of the apostles and what Peter so aptly put into words in 2 Peter 3:15 and 16: "And account [that] the longsuffering of our Lord [is] salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all [his] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as [they do] also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction".
We need to realize that we live in a time where the devil, using agreeable sounding lies, will do anything to inflict as much damage as possible to God's children and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When children of God refuse to be sincere and alert they will undergo the destiny of those that live in the world of the second text, which I placed at the top of this page (1 Corinthians 2:14) which says: "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned". Then man finds himself in hostile territory and universalism is part of that too. In Isaiah 66:24 it shows that only the apostate, are shut out of eternal salvation and these are the people that have made a conscious choice and where capable of making a choice!

Getting back to the title of this page, the end conclusion is that universalism has nothing to do with reconciliation and mercy, but is in reality a deception. This doctrine assaults God's holiness and intends to make the gospel of Jesus a mystery. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit, we are unable to see through these lies.
In Luke 11:13 Jesus lets us know that everyone that asks to receive the Holy Spirit with a sincere heart will receive Him. When we let the Holy Spirit into our lives we can say together with Paul:

"That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:14).

Proverb:
The gospel is to complex for adults.
Only a child can understand it.
(based on Matthew 18:3)

P.S.
If you wish to read the contents off-line and/or bring to attention to other interested parties in a more conventional way, feel free to print this page. After all, that "old fashioned" paper remains indispensable.

Universalism... mercy or deception?	Contact	But if I had not charity...	Home
The real reason for the crucifixion of Jesus	Babylon, that big city	Mister president
The mystery of the sons of God	The Suffering is no mystery	Criticism of the Messiah
The trinity, what's wrong with it?	The giants in Genesis 6	The gospel of Judas
They have Moses and the prophets	The mystery of Yahweh	The rejected Messiah
The deception of Rick Warren	Altar of the unknown god	Evolution? Even they do not believe in it!
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