Most of us have been taught by the dogma of our various religious denominations that if we don't repent and "accept Jesus" we're gonna burn in hell "for ever and ever." This belief wasn't always part of the doctrine of the church. If you look at The Apostles' Creed, the oldest documented formal statement of faith (the first and ORIGINAL doctrine of the church), eternal punishment/torment/damnation is not mentioned at all. Are we supposed to believe later doctrines written by religious organizations hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of years after the Apostles or the original?
All my life we've been told scriptures are the revealed word of God. When the prophet Jeremiah says, "For men are not cast off by the Lord forever" (Lamentations 3:31). Who are we to contradict him?
It's been said to us countless times that God's word is contained in The Bible. When the prophet Zephaniah proclaims that God Himself says, "Therefore wait for me," declares the LORD, "for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations,to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger." "Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Zephaniah 3:8-9). Who are we to say Zephaniah misquoted the Lord?
We've all heard that the Gospels contain the truth about Jesus. When John the Baptist says of Jesus, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) who are we to call him a liar?
We're obligated as a Christians to accept Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. When the Messiah says "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw (ἑλκύω which literally means "to drag") all men to myself." (John 12:32), who are we to say he cannot accomplish that task?
As gentile believers, we're supposed to look to the epistles of Paul of Tarsus for guidance in living a life pleasing to God. When Paul says, "This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." (1 Timothy 4:9-10), who are we to say that all is anything less than ALL, and that especially REALLY means exclusively?
These are just a few of literally hundreds of scriptural and historical supports for what I believe to be the truth. These verses are by no means a complete catalogue of the scriptural "evidence" for the final restoration of all things.
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