Embedded Files
17: God knows what will happen to every human, and is the Father.
God is not just the Father of believers, the body of Christ, He is the father of the whole human race, everyone born of Adam. He was our Father before we became believers in Christ, it is not like He suddenly became our Father when we became believers.
Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father?...{YLT}
Yes I say, so why is it that He can inflict endless suffering on multitudes of his children, and have a few being blissfully happy enjoying heaven.
“Such a man will say, you tell me God is good, but what acts are these you assign to Him? He is a father; but He brings into being myriad’s of hapless creatures, knowing that there is in store for them a doom unutterably awful. He calls into existence these creatures, whether they will or no; though the bottomless pit is yawning to receive them, and the flames ready to devour them.” From “Christ Triumphant”, by Thomas Allin
“can a Father permit the endless, hopeless, sin and woe of even one of His children, and look on calmly for ever and ever unmoved and unsympathising”
“Christ Triumphant”, by Thomas Allin
18: It teaches the Cross is a “stupendous failure”
Jesus died on the Cross, but he failed, for he did not succeed in his mission, which was to save that which was lost. In his death and resurrection all sinners were meant to be saved, but if this teaching is correct then He failed big time. Even if one sin is lost for all of time, then He failed.
Under this teaching vast hoards of sinners are lost forever. Surely this is a “stupendous failure” by Christ in His mission to save the world.
“But the scriptural evidence is overwhelming, that the object of Christ's death was to save the world. "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." He came that the world through Him might be saved; i.e., the world in all its extent, not a part of it, however large.” “Christ Triumphant”, by Thomas Allin
19: Do people really believe this stuff???
“Again, there comes this very serious obstacle to accepting the popular creed. I shall state it thus, either this creed is true or false If false - the question is ended. If true, can this strange fact be explained - that nobody acts as if he believed it? I say this, for any man who so believed, and who possessed but a spark of common humanity - to say nothing of charity - could not rest, day or night, so long as one sinner remained who might be saved. To this all would give place - pleasure, learning, business, art, literature; nay, life itself would be too short for the terrible warnings, the burning entreaties, the earnest pleadings, that would be needed to rouse sinners from their apathy, and to pluck them from endless tortures. Ask me what you will, but do not ask me to believe that any human being, who is convinced that perhaps his own child, his wife, his friend, his neighbor, even his enemy, is in danger of endless torment, could, if really persuaded of this, live as men now live, even the best men: who can avoid the inevitable conclusion that its warmest adherents really, though unconsciously, find their dogmas absolutely incredible? In fact these men (and it is the best thing to be said for them) teach their creed without real conviction. Their best eulogy is that they are self-deceivers.
These remarks also explain an obvious difficulty, viz., it has been shown how the popular creed cuts at the root of all religion, poisoning the very fountains whence we draw our conceptions of love, of righteousness, of truth. But if so, it may be fairly asked, how is it that society subsists, that morality is not extinct? Because, I reply unhesitatingly, because no society, no individual, can possibly act, or has in fact acted, on such a creed, in the real business of life. It is simply impossible: who would dare so much as to smile, if he really believed endless torments were certain to be the portion of some member of his household - it may be of himself? Marriage would be a crime; each birth the occasion of an awful dread. The shadow of a possible hell would darken every home, sadden every family hearth. All this becomes evident when we reflect, that to perpetuate the race would be to help on the perpetuation of moral evil. For if this creed be true, out of all the yearly births a steady current is flowing on to help to fill the abyss of hell, to make larger and vaster the total of moral evil which is to endure for ever.” “Christ Triumphant”, by Thomas Allin
20: The problem of Joy at weddings and a mothers joy for her new baby……
“Wherever human beings exist, in what form of community it matters not, in what climate or under what conditions of life so ever, there is found everywhere a deep spontaneous belief, call it feeling, instinct, what you please, that connects the marriage tie and the birthday with joyful associations, with mirth and gladness. Now why is this - has it no meaning? So deep an instinct, one so truly natural and spontaneous as this, comes surely from the Creator of all. His voice it is that bids the bridegroom rejoice over the bride, that bids the heart of the mother overflow with tenderness towards her babe. This being so, again let me put the question, and ask, why has this been so ordered? It is God who has so ordered; do you think He has had no purpose in so doing, no message to convey to those who have ears to hear? Is it possible that our Heavenly Father should bid His creatures everywhere to rejoice with a special joy at the marriage feast, at the natal hour, if these births were in fact destined to add largely to the ranks of hell, to the hosts of evil? Do think over the matter calmly, and ask yourself if that is possible, if you can believe any such thing? And as you think it over, take with you these words of Jesus Christ (that hint so much). They remind us how the mother, in the "perilous birth" bath sorrow; but add, that all that sorrow is swallowed up in joy--" joy that a man is born into the world."
“Christ Triumphant”, by Thomas Allin
21: Is there a reconciliation of all?
Will there be a reconciliation of all, will all be reconciled to Christ? Will God be “All in All” as the bible teaches {1 Corinthians 15:28}, or is this some sort of joke? Is God mocking us?
How can there be a reconciliation of all if people are burning in the lake of fire….???? How can God be “All in All” if it does not include All.
22: Believers Have Been Given the Ministry of Reconciliation, NOT hell fire
It is the Good News that we are meant to be teaching, not the terrible awful news about Hell. “Repent or Burn in Hell,” seems to be the message. What happened to the Good News?
We are not to be teaching Hell Fire, which seems to be the message coming out of most churches these days. It is not for us to be scaring sins into becoming believers, to be giving them dire warnings of their fate if they do not repent of their ways and come to Christ. We as followers of Christ are to be teaching reconciliation, this is to be our ministry, not hell fire {2 Corinthians 5:18-20}.
More on the reconciliation of all, in the section “Christian Universalism is the Answer.”
Being tormented in the Lake of Fire/Gehenna forever is not the answer to what happens to unbelievers. I use to think it was, up till the end of 2005. In fact up till just before Christmas of 2005. I have already pointed out Annihilation is NOT the answer. So what is the answer???…and what is my view on what happens to unbelievers….Find out in up coming parts……
Copyright © M J Farquharson 2006 & 2020
Part 9 Being tormented in the Lake of Fire/Gehenna forever Part 5
Google Sites
Report abuse