Argument #1 (God will save all people)
Premise 1. God has mercy on, and hardens, whomever he wills according to his will [thelēma] (Rom. 9:18; cf. Eph. 1:4-5, 11)
Premise 1*. God can save anyone that he wills. [This is a weaker form of Premise 1 which leads to the same conclusion.]
Premise 2. God’s will [thelēma] is that all people ultimately be saved (1 Tim. 2:4; cf. Isa. 45:22; Ezek. 33:11; Matt. 5:44-45, 48)
Conclusion. God will ultimately have mercy on and save all people.
Premise 1
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses. (Romans 9:15-18, NRSV)
This passage makes it clear, in no uncertain terms, that one’s current position as either having been shown mercy or having been hardened is not according to one’s own will, but the will [thelēma] of God. Although Arminians would dispute this notion, largely on the basis that God would not arbitrarily assign people to ‘eternal damnation’, this is made absolutely clear elsewhere in scripture as well. Those who have been saved in this lifetime are repeatedly called the “chosen” or “elect” (Matt. 20:16; 22:14; Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12; Tit. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; too many others to cite).
Furthermore, many other passages show that our faith is itself a gift from God, predestined to us long before any choice that we ourselves make:
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants” (Matt. 11:25, NRSV)
Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Matt. 13:10-11, NRSV)
“No one can come to me [Jesus] unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.... But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” (John 6:44, 64-65, NRSV)
The combination of these three passages shows that not only does the Father determine who is able to perceive the mysteries of the kingdom and come to Jesus, but also determines the reverse — in fact, Jesus says that the very reason why some of his disciples would later leave and betray him is because the Father predestined it. This only makes sense if both faith and unbelief are predetermined by God.
For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all... For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Rom. 11:32; 12:3, NRSV)
Paul distinguishes between those to whom God has shut up in disobedience (all people), and the few to whom God has allotted a measure of faith (Christians). Again, in both cases, it is God who ultimately causes one’s faith or unbelief respectively — human ‘free will’ has no part in it.
He [God] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will... In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him [God] who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will (Eph. 1:4-5, 11, NRSV)
[God] saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (2 Tim. 1:9, NRSV)
Like in Romans 9:15-18, Paul twice remarks in Ephesians 1:4-11 that our faith and salvation has been predestined to us according to God’s will [thelēma]. Therefore, we can conclude that our faith is not out of ourselves, but is a gift from God, as Paul explicitly states elsewhere in this same epistle (Eph. 2:8-9). Furthermore, Paul says in both of these passages that God gave this grace to us before the world was created, only now manifesting it to us (as he also says elsewhere, esp. Titus 1:2-3). This makes clear that our having been given grace can’t be dependent on a choice that we ourselves make, since the choice was already made by God even before the creation of the world.
For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well (Php. 1:29, NRSV)
Here, again, Paul clearly says that our belief in Christ has been granted to us; and not only that, but even the suffering that the Philippian church experienced was brought about by God, showing that the unbelief of others is ultimately part of his will as well.
[Christ is] “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (1 Pet. 2:8, NRSV)
In this verse, Peter says in no uncertain terms that anyone who disbelieves the gospel was appointed to that unbelief. This is in accord with his statements elsewhere that those who believe in this lifetime are “elect” or “chosen” by the Father (1 Pet. 1:1-2; 2:9; 5:13).
These are far from the only passages that teach that God controls both faith and unbelief: for example, see John 1:12-13; 15:16; Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Cor. 1:27-28; 3:5-9; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:25-26; Heb. 6:1-3; and Jude 4. In summary, the faith or unbelief of humans today is not based on our own choices that we make, but God’s choosing us according to his will [thelēma]. A discussion of whether free will truly exists in the libertarian sense is not the main topic of this article (although I do not believe it does [1]), but these passages make clear that even if it does, our faith is not based on those ‘free will’ choices. Thus, we have arrived at Premise 1: God has mercy on, and hardens, whomever he wills according to His will [thelēma].
Premise 1*
The Bible clearly teaches that our faith is a result of God’s grace toward us, a decision that he made before the world was created, which we therefore could have had no part in. Even if the Bible didn’t tell us this, however, it follows directly from God’s omniscience (infinite knowledge). If indeed God knows everything, then he knows what circumstances would be required for each person to come to faith in him. If there are no circumstances in which a person could possibly be saved, that means the person was damned from the beginning, which is equivalent to hyper-Calvinist double predestination (that the vast majority of Christians rightfully reject). God’s omnipotence (infinite power) also means that he can bring about these circumstances. Thus, as a logical consequence of God’s omniscience and omnipotence, we can arrive at Premise 1*: God can save anyone that he wills.
Premise 2
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:1-4, NRSV)
According to this passage, God wills (thelei) that all mankind would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Calvinists dispute that this passage actually refers to all mankind, and argue that either (1) it is simply saying that God wills all the elect to be saved, or else (2) this refers to God’s preceptive will and not his providential will.
The first objection, that this passage is merely referring to all the elect and not all mankind, is false. Calvinists are correct to point out that “all” (pas) does not always mean all without exception (for example, in Matt. 3:5-6 and Luke 2:1), because it is sometimes used hyperbolically, but the referent of the “all” in 1 Timothy 2:4 is clearly all mankind (pantas anthrōpous) and not simply the elect. There are no qualifications or contextual indications that anything less than every human without exception is meant here, unlike in the other verses that Calvinists point to where “all” does not mean all without exception. How much more clear could Paul have been that God does indeed will all people to be saved? It’s eisegesis to suggest that this means only “all the elect.”
Furthermore, just two verses earlier, Paul establishes that one of the groups which God wills to be saved is “kings and all who are in authority”. At the time that this epistle to Timothy was written, the king in power was the Roman emperor Nero, who was about as far from the elect as one can get — he’s considered to be one of the worst tyrants in Roman history, who initiated the first widespread persecution of Christians. In fact, many preterists believe that Nero was Antichrist, the fulfillment of the ‘Beast’ prophecy of Revelation 13:1-10. If Paul was including him in the category which God wills to be saved, it’s impossible that 1 Timothy 2:4 is only referring to all the elect and not all mankind.
However, even if we were not sure that 1 Timothy 2:4 were truly referring to all mankind, other passages make clear that God does indeed will all mankind to be saved. One of the key passages that proves this is Matthew 5:43-48:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43-45, 48, NRSV)
This passage shows that the Father loves even his enemies, and that this love of all people — including the enemies of God — is integral to his very perfection. If God ceased to perfectly love all people, then he would no longer be perfect, and therefore he would no longer be God.
And what is love, fundamentally? Love is that which does no harm to another (Rom. 13:10), and which works for the ultimate good of the object of love, despite any temporary chastising that may occur (Heb. 12:6-11). The prophet Jeremiah tells us that, although God sometimes justly brings grief and affliction to those he loves, he always afterward shows compassion (Lam. 3:31-33). Therefore, because love is fundamental to God’s very being (1 John 4:8), and his love for all people (even his enemies) is integral to his perfection, it’s inconceivable that he could not work toward the ultimate good of all people — meaning that God indeed wills that all mankind (without exception) would eventually be saved.
The second Calvinist objection to the view that God’s will is for all people to be saved is that this verse is describing God’s preceptive will — meaning His general call for people everywhere to be saved — and not God’s providential will, by which He works all things. However, this verse, in saying that God wills all people to be saved, uses the same Greek verb (thelei) that Paul uses in Romans 9:18 when he writes that “[God] has mercy on whom he wills [thelei], and whom he wills [thelei] he hardens” and in Ephesians 1:6, 11 when describing the will by which God works all things. This is God’s will [thelēma] — in the same way that God has mercy on and hardens whom he wills, he also wills that all people should ultimately be saved.
In summary, the Bible is clear that God wills the ultimate salvation of all mankind, meaning truly all people without exception. This fact is confirmed by Ephesians 1:10 (NASB), which states that “the mystery of His will [thelēma]... [is] to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.” In fact, God’s perfect love for all people, including his enemies, is integral to his very being and perfection, which means that he must work everything for the ultimate good of all people. This leads us to the second premise: God’s will [thelēma] is that all people ultimately be saved.
Conclusion
If God has the ability to provide faith and unbelief to people in accordance with his will [thelēma], and if God’s will [thelēma] is that all people will ultimately be saved and shown mercy, the only possible conclusion is that God will ultimately have mercy on and save all people. This conclusion follows directly from the premises. Since, as I showed in the last two sections of this post, both of these premises are proven by scripture beyond a doubt, the conclusion of universal salvation is also, beyond a doubt, the biblical truth.
Although this argument stands on its own as irrefutable proof of universal salvation, there are also several passages that teach this truth directly. For example,
For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Tim. 4:10, NRSV)
He [God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth. (Eph. 1:9-10, NRSV)
Therefore God also highly exalted him [Jesus] and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Php. 2:9-11, NRSV)
Note: Paul is referencing a passage in Isaiah (44:22-24) in which God swears by Himself that all people will bow and swear allegiance to him — this is a promise that God made and will, beyond a doubt, come to pass (Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18). Since no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the holy spirit (1 Cor. 12:3), this certainly describes the salvation of all people everywhere.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:26-28, NRSV)
For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all. (Rom. 11:32, NRSV)
Thus, God’s will for all to be saved shall, undoubtedly, come to pass. The fact that God will ultimately save all people is taught by scripture, both directly and by logical necessity.
One common (particularly Calvinist) objection to this is that not all people are part of the “elect”, and so not all people have been chosen to receive salvation by God. After all, Jesus said that “many are called but few are elected” (Matt. 22:14), that few find the narrow path to life (Matt. 7:13-14), and that not even all who say to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter his kingdom (Matt. 7:21-23). Furthermore, the book of Acts implicitly states that not all people have been appointed to “eternal life” (13:48). Does this not prove that not all people will be saved, and render the above argument invalid?
Actually, this exact same argument can be used against these imaginary detractors: because we know beyond a doubt that God will save all people (see the above), and yet God does not elect some people to “eternal life”, not being elected to “eternal life” must not be incompatible with one’s eventual salvation. And as a matter of fact, the scriptural evidence supports this conclusion.
The phrase translated as “eternal life,” zōē aiōnios (translated better as “life of the [Messianic] Age”), actually refers to receiving life and reigning with Christ in the Messianic Age, as I argued extensively in this series of posts regarding the definition of aiōnios. Only those who are saved in this life will receive this life of the Age and reign with Christ. However, the salvation of all will not be accomplished until Christ gives up the kingdom to the Father and stops reigning (1 Cor. 15:24-28), which will occur at the end of the ages. [2] Therefore, not receiving the life of the Age is compatible with eventual salvation, because all people will not be saved until after the Messianic Age (and thus after the life of the Age).
Argument #2 (Jesus will save all people)
Premise 1. Jesus loves all people, including his enemies, in accordance with God’s precept “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 5:43-48; 22:39-40; Mk. 12:31). If he failed to keep this precept, he would be a sinner.
Premise 2. Jesus has the authority to give salvation to anyone who has been placed under his command (John 17:2).
Premise 3. Jesus has been given all authority over heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18) and over living and dead (Rom. 14:9), which includes all people that have ever lived.
Conclusion. Jesus will save all people that have ever lived.
Premise 1
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43-45, 48, NRSV)
This passage is in the larger context of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus presents a new interpretation of the law for Israel to follow. Jesus’ command to love one’s enemy as oneself is, therefore, to be considered one of the precepts of the law. This is confirmed elsewhere in the gospel accounts:
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22:35-40, NRSV)
In this statement, Jesus brings the commandment “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18) out of obscurity and establishes it as one of the two foremost commandments, upon which the entire law hangs. And as he stated in the Sermon on the Mount, this same love applies not only to one’s neighbor, but even to one’s enemies. Since Jesus obeyed (and continues to obey) the law perfectly, never sinning (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5), we can be certain that Jesus perfectly loves all people at all times. In fact, if Jesus failed to love all people, then he would be found a sinner, and his death would be worthless.
As described earlier in this post, love is that which does no harm to a neighbor, and which works for the ultimate good of the object of love, even if it involves temporary affliction and chastisement (Rom. 13:10; Heb. 12:6-11; cf. Lam. 3:31-33). Therefore, we can be certain that Jesus never harms a single person without making sure that it works for the ultimate good of that person; otherwise, as said already, he would be found a sinner, and his death made worthless. We have now arrived at our first premise for argument #2: Jesus loves all people, including his enemies, in accordance with God’s precept “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Premise 2
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1-3, NRSV)
As proven in my defense of premise 1 (and 1*) of argument #1, God the Father has the sovereignty to give whoever he wills the gift of faith and salvation. According to this passage, that same sovereignty has been given to Jesus, who has the authority to provide “eternal life” to anyone whom the Father has given Him. Since Jesus immediately defines “eternal life” as knowing God and Christ, [3] this means that Jesus has the authority to supply whomsoever He wishes with a saving faith.
This very thing — Christ gracefully providing a person with saving faith — is explicitly described at least once in scripture, in the case of Saul of Tarsus (Paul). When Saul was on the road to Damascus, he was “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1). And yet, as soon as Christ appeared to him in a vision, his grace powerfully overwhelmed Saul and provided him with the faith he needed to be saved. This is confirmed in Paul’s own writings:
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. (1 Tim. 1:12-15, NRSV)
Jesus’ grace was more than abundant to provide Paul with the “faith and love that are in Christ Jesus,” even though he had been a blasphemer and persecutor with no hope of redemption. In fact, we are told that the very reason that Jesus provided Paul with grace is because he acted ignorantly in unbelief, for “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Therefore, we can be certain of the second premise of this argument: Jesus has the authority to give salvation to anyone who has been placed under his command.
Premise 3
Keeping in mind that Christ has the authority to give faith to anyone who has been placed under his authority, we might ask, how many people have been placed under his authority? In fact, this is answered in the very same verse that we just examined: God has given Him authority over “all flesh” (John 17:2). But there is still some ambiguity in this: does Christ only have authority over those who are currently living, or only over humans, or humans and angelic beings, or is it literally all conscious beings?
This question is answered elsewhere in scripture:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matt. 28:18, NRSV)
For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rom. 14:9, NRSV)
Jesus’ authority extends over all things in heaven and on earth — this includes not only humans, but also angelic and demonic beings (cf. Eph. 6:12). Furthermore, his authority extends over both the dead and the living, and these categories likely encompass all conscious beings that have ever lived, even animals, which are called nephesh chayyah or “living souls” (Gen. 1:20-21, 24). Even if we take “dead and living” in Romans 14:9 to refer to only humans, which is a possible interpretation, this still includes every human that has ever lived.
Thus, we have arrived at Premise 3: Jesus has been given authority over all people (at least including all humans and angelic beings) that have ever lived.
Conclusion
If Jesus truly loves all people, meaning that he wills their ultimate good, and if he has authority to provide anyone under His power with a saving faith, and if Jesus has been given authority over all conscious beings that have ever lived, the only logical conclusion is that all people that have ever lived will be saved by Jesus. Like in argument #1, the conclusion follows directly from the premises, and the premises are clearly supported by scripture.
This argument stands on its own as proof of universal salvation, but again, this truth — that Jesus will save and reconcile all people — is also affirmed directly by certain passages. For example:
For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all — this was attested at the right time. (1 Tim. 2:5-6, NRSV)
For in him [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. (Col. 1:19-20, NRSV)
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many... Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:15, 18-19, NRSV)
Note: Although some detractors claim that, because the “all mankind” of v. 18 is elsewhere called “the many,” this needn’t refer to all people without exception. However, it is clear from the context that “the many” refers to all people without exception, because it is the same amount of people who died and were made sinners that will be given grace and made righteous. Humanity as a whole is simply being referred to as “the many” as a contrast with “the one [man].”
For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. (2 Cor. 5:14-15, NRSV)
Therefore, we can be sure that Christ will bring about the salvation and reconciliation of all people, whether in the heavens (angelic beings) or upon the earth (human beings). This fact is taught in scripture both directly and by logical necessity, as also in argument #1.
But what about ‘hell passages’?
These two arguments have shown that universal salvation is clearly taught in scripture, both directly and by logical necessity. However, there are some passages that non-universalists consider to be difficult for universal salvation. These passages fall into three categories:
1. Passages that state that certain people will be judged and punished, but without stating specifically the length of the punishment or whether there is hope of redemption (e.g., Matt. 10:28; 13:49-50; Php. 3:18-19).
2. Passages that state that certain people will be punished and/or destroyed eternally (e.g., Matt. 25:46; Mk. 3:29; 1 Thess. 1:9; Jude 7).
3. Passages that state that less than all people will be saved (e.g., Matt. 7:13-14, 21-23; Acts 13:48).
The first category of passages actually provides no evidence against universal salvation, and is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what universalists believe. The arguments above only prove that all people will, ultimately, be saved and reconciled. There’s no argument against the idea that God punishes people at all, a fact that is also clearly taught in scripture. The question is not whether God will punish people at all, but whether that punishment will be eternal and without hope of redemption. According to the biblical authors, God punishes people in order to restore them (Lam. 3:31-33; Heb. 12:5-11), which goes against the idea of hopeless, eternal punishment.
The second category of passages, those which state that people will be punished and/or destroyed eternally, is based on an unfortunate mistranslation of scripture. Those passages which characterize punishment as “eternal” do not use the Greek words that mean strictly “without end”, like aidios and ateleutos, but the Greek word aiōnios, which literally means “age-lasting” or “pertaining to/of the Age.” [4] Other passages describe this punishment as eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn (Rev. 14:11; 20:10), meaning literally “for the ages of the ages,” the same period for which Christ will be reigning over the kingdom (Rev. 11:15). Both the life of the Age and punishment of the Age prophesied in scripture will last only until the end of the Messianic Age, when sin and death will be abolished, Christ will step down and voluntarily subject himself to God the Father, and God will finally be all in all (1 Cor. 15:24-28).
The third category of passages, which are interpreted by non-universalists as saying that not all people will be saved, is based on a misinterpretation of scripture. There are no passages which say that any person will never be saved. The passage parallel to Matt. 7:13ff in the gospel of Luke (13:23-30) makes clear that this is about entering the Messianic kingdom, as are all of Jesus’ other parables which describe the “casting out” of people from the kingdom. Since few people actually enter the Messianic kingdom, and all others will instead be saved only at the end of the Messianic Age, this provides no challenge to the belief that all people will eventually be saved. Likewise, other passages which state that certain people will not receive “life of the Age” (e.g., John 3:36; Acts 13:48) have no bearing on whether all people will be saved after the Messianic Age.
Because all of the prooftexts for non-universalism fall into three categories, being either based on misunderstanding, mistranslation, or misinterpretation, there is really no good evidence against universal salvation. Furthermore, even if a few passages (especially Matt. 7:13-14; 25:46; Mk. 3:29; and Rev. 14:11 which are the most commonly used against universalists) can be interpreted in a way that contradicts universalism, this in no way addresses the above arguments which show that the broad themes of the Bible, like God’s love for and sovereignty over all people, necessitate the eventual salvation of all. We should rejoice in the truth that Paul tells us to “command and teach”: that God is the savior of all mankind, especially of those who believe (1 Tim. 4:10-11).
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[1] Based on passages like Job 23:13-14; Ps. 33:14-15; Prov. 16:1, 4, 9, 33; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1; Isa. 45:5-7; Jer. 10:23; Lam. 3:37-39; Dan. 5:23; Acts 17:25, 28; Php. 2:13; Jas. 4:13-15; Rev. 17:17.
[2] See the original Greek of Lk. 1:33 and Rev. 11:15, both of which state that Christ will reign “for the ages” (eis tous aiōnas).
[3] As noted above, the term “eternal life” or “life of the Age” refers to living and reigning with Christ in the Messianic Age. However, in the Johannine corpus, it has a more specific meaning. According to John, we already “have” the life of the Age in the present tense if we believe (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54; 1 John 5:11, 13). It is defined as “knowing God and Christ” (John 17:3). This is more than a mere intellectual knowledge, and involves God and his Son actually coming to dwell in communion with us (John 14:23; 1 John 1:3; 2:24; 3:23-24; 4:12-13). The love of God is being “perfected” in those who are in communion with the Father and the Son (1 John 2:5; 4:12, 18). This is a spiritual blessing which believers possess now. The fact that Jesus can grant this blessing shows that he, like God, is sovereign over our salvation.
[4] The word aiōnios is the adjective form of the word aiōn, meaning “age.” Furthermore, as I argued extensively in another series of posts, the words aiōn and aiōnios (along with their Hebrew equivalent olam) are used all throughout scripture to describe lasting (but not everlasting) things. See the fifth post in the series for a comprehensive debunking of ‘eternal punishment’ interpretations.
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