The Saviour of the World series
by J. Preston Eby
Will Jesus Torture Billions
Forever?
How Men Are Saved
The Law of Circularity
WILL JESUS TORTURE BILLIONS FOREVER?
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator and Sustainer
of ALL things and ALL people. He either does or allows everything that is done
in heaven or on earth. If one hundred billion helpless human beings are being
tortured, then Jesus is doing it. Satan has brought suffering and death
to the whole human race. However, if eternal torment IS TRUE, then Jesus Christ
will torture forever the whole human race, except the small handful who
will be saved. In one hour, in a hot searing hell, our Lord will inflict
more pain and agony on each person than Satan inflicted on that person during
his entire life.
If this torture lasts throughout eternity, then each
unsaved person will suffer more than all the suffering of all the people
that ever lived on earth. Think of it! Billions have suffered horrible pain for
hours, days, weeks, months, and years, during the time they were alive. And
yet, after they die, EVERY unsaved person will suffer more agony than all
the suffering of the whole race PUT TOGETHER from Adam until now.
This is so horrible, so frightful, that it is difficult for our minds to grasp.
Except Satan himself, Pharaoh, Nero, and Hitler were among the most horrible killers
of men this world has ever known. Yet, the doctrine of eternal torture
makes Jesus a million times more vicious and vindictive than these three
put together. You see, these brutal murderers killed their victims. Death
brought sweet relief in a moment of time. However, that Man of Galilee, that
Man whom we love, praise, and worship, that Man who taught that we should
forgive four hundred and ninety times a day, that Man who told us that we
should love our enemies and bless them that curse us, that Man who died
for all men, will never, never forgive ANYONE who has rejected Him in this
frail life, or, worse yet, who merely failed to believe on Him during
this brief time. Instead of torturing them for a season and then ending their
suffering with death, He will torture them through all eternity.
Even the hardest, cruelest, most brutal men cannot torture
their fellow men for more than two or three hours without growing weak, faint,
and sick (see Fox Book of Martyrs). However, Christian leaders teach that our
Lord will torture His victims through endless ages. The Scripture
reveals that Christ Jesus is the kindest, the most tender-hearted and
merciful Person this world has ever known. His mercy endures forever, or to
all generations of time. The doctrine of eternal torment pictures Him to be the
most horrible monster, the most beastly, brutal, cruel, vicious Person this
world has ever known. The governments of this world, ruled by unregenerated
men, put their rebels in prisons, and the very worst offenders they put to
death. But our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of the world, will
mercilessly torture those who offend Him to the most hideous and
incomprehensible degree. Surely, this pagan and Romish doctrine of eternal
torture does NOT glorify HIM!
One of the theologians of the Church of England
(Jeremy Taylor) speaks of the fate of the wicked in the following terms:
"In hell every sense and organ shall be assailed forever with its own
appropriate and most exquisite sufferings. We are amazed at the inhumanity of
Phalaris who roasted men in his brazen bull, but THAT WAS A JOY IN COMPARISON
WITH HELL." And here is what the renowned evangelist, C. H. Spurgeon, said
on the same subject: "There is real fire in hell. The body shall be
suffused with agony; your head tormented with racking pains; your eyes starting
from their sockets; your ears tortured with horrid sounds; your pulse rattling
with anguish; your limbs crackling in the flame; every vein a pathway for the
fire to tread; every nerve a string on which the devil shall forever play the
diabolical tune of hell's unutterable lament."
If it were true, it is so awful that it should never
be spoken without tears and a broken heart. How does the mother of a murderer
speak of the corning execution of her boy? Yet the prospect to her is only one
of time, and in the limits of the physical. If the people believe it, then
their attitude about the whole thing reveals that they could care less if the
creation burns forever. The fact is, NO ONE really believes in an
eternal burning hell if we are to judge by their actions. If they saw a person
in a burning building, they would put forth every effort to save them; they
would cry and scream for help; they would be late for work; they would not rest
until the victims were rescued. Yet, those who teach eternal torment can spend
their hours relaxing in front of the television screen, visiting and feasting
upon rich dainties with their friends, and whole days in camping, vacationing,
fishing, and playing, and then lay their heads upon a pillow every night and
sleep soundly, while, according to their own teaching, countless millions are
going to a place a million times worse than a burning building!
If they believed what they teach, they would never
cease, day and night until they dropped, and others came to take their places,
in their efforts to save men from such a place! They excuse themselves by
saying, "All we can do is warn." But if they were standing before a
burning building would they preach a thirty-minute sermon, then turn and walk
away, saying, "All we can do is warn!" And how many do they meet day
after day, and never mention their danger? Ah, precious friend of mine, if my
concept of hell were what modern Christendom's is, then it is my conviction
that I would not be able to wait for God to send me to preach the Gospel! I
would have to spend my every wakened hour pleading, working, struggling,
fighting to save men from such a fate. I would be compelled to spend hours upon
hours in the chronic wards of hospitals, in rest homes, with the elderly and
those working on dangerous jobs, begging men to repent and turn to Jesus before
they die. And I am convinced that anyone with the love of God in his heart
would do the same IF HE REALLY BELIEVED the fables that are being taught today
about hell. I will say this, either those who teach eternal torture are
EXTREMELY CALLOUSED or they do not believe what they teach!
George Hawtin has so aptly written: "Is it any
wonder that in the face of such sadistic humbug there has been a wholesale
manufacture of infidels? All these statements (by eternal hell-fire preachers)
may be a show of oratorical eloquence, but they are nothing more. They hold no
part of truth. They deny every attribute of God. They make wisdom foolishness,
turn eternal love into exasperated hate, make omnipotence helplessness, and
make the justice of God the grossest injustice in the universe. To say that I
believe in such repugnance would be a lie of the first order. I do not believe
it because it is contrary to the nature of God. It is contrary to the love of
God. It is contrary to the justice of God. It is contrary to the power of God.
It is contrary to the Word of God and it puts God in the ridiculous position of
being the almighty King of kings and Lord of lords yet having dominion a vast
pocket of hate and resistance that even He cannot overcome. Further than this
it makes the mighty sacrifice of Christ that was made for all the world to be
almost impotent in its power and scope. Worst of all, it frustrates the purpose
of God laid down in the beginning when He said, 'Let us make man in our image
and after our likeness.' Some will immediately ask me whether I do not believe
in hell. My answer is very definite on this point. I most certainly DO BELIEVE
in hell, but the hell of the Bible and the hell of human tradition are not the
same thing at all. The hell of tradition is hopeless and eternal, while the
hell of the Scripture like every judgment of God is corrective, remedial, and
restorative." -end quote.
I do not like to differ, even in minor things, from
those whom I esteem for their devotion to Christ and their valuable service in
the cause of His Kingdom. But in the immortal words of the great Martin Luther,
"Here I stand - I can do no other. So help me God!" Long centuries
ago the faithful apostle Peter penned these inspired words, "Who by the
power of God are kept through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time" (I Pet. 1:5). My conviction before God is that the extent
of the salvation of Jesus, the Christ, our Lord, is to be known only in the
last time. Jesus Himself said to His disciples, "I have yet many things to
say unto you, but you cannot bear them now." But He said when the Holy
Spirit should come, He would lead his people step by step - patiently lead them
into the way of All Truth; so that when the last time (end of the age) came,
the full revelation of that salvation would be made. I believe that I am
writing in the last time. Writings of this kind do not endear the hearts of
many people. I fear that enemies are made instead. Every time a truth is
spoken, many become offended and many are filled with wrath. People always
astonish me. It is never possible to know what attitude they will take under
any given circumstance. They will believe and trust you and feed from your
table, and for many years, only to become suddenly offended because of some
point upon which they disagree, and often become hostile and sometimes even
vicious, calling you a heretic and a false prophet, cutting you off from an
fellowship and spiritual communication, and warning other saints near and far
not to have anything to do with you.
I am also perfectly aware that these profound truths
will be misapplied by another class, and some will twist and wrest them to
their own destruction in their carnal and wicked endeavor to set aside all
repentance of sin and annul all holiness of life, as some men in their zeal to
display the grace of God have done, ridiculously living in sin and turning the
grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 4). These beautiful truths are not now
written to men of corrupt minds who have no desire to walk in the Spirit, but
to all who walk in the whole counsel of God, serving God because they love and
know Him and not in fear of some dreadful judgment that hangs like a horrible
terror before their eyes. I do not address those who would pervert the right
ways of the Lord, using God's gracious plan and His great mercy as an excuse
for careless living or unconcern for lost men, but to those children of the
Most High God who, seeing their infinite identity in Christ, are consumed with
the holy passion of becoming the very instrument of God to fight the good fight
of faith, destroying sin and death and hell, and bringing all men back into the
loving embrace of their God and Redeemer. So be it!
I recognize that there will be some still unanswered
questions in some minds, but there is neither time to write nor finances to
print a treatise dealing with every small point. How can we put the ocean of
eternal truth into the limited pages of one small book? If God will have all
men to be saved, and the Scripture is very clear on this point, then there must
be a way by which this truth falls into perfect harmony with every other
Scripture which seems to teach otherwise. We do ourselves much injury when we
seize upon every Scripture which proclaims the salvation of all men, but
carefully avoid all Scripture which speaks of the fearful judgment of the
wicked. Yet even greater harm is done when people insist upon taking the other
point of view, as almost the entire Church system has done for centuries,
emphasizing only those Scriptures which seem to teach the unending doom of
those unfortunate creatures who never once heard that God had a Son and
skillfully avoiding every direct statement of Scripture which indicates that
God has reconciled all things to Himself, and that every knee shall
bow and every tongue shall confess to God of things in heaven and
things in earth and under the earth. There is always a place of harmony if we look
for it, and it is not usually difficult to find. Otherwise we will be forced
onto that untenable ground of having to say that the Bible contradicts itself -
which, of course, it never does. Whenever you find two Scriptures that seem to
set forth conflicting views, there is always a simple explanation, and, if we
will diligently inquire of the Lord, He will give us a definite answer. Human
understanding is almost always prone to seize upon one side of a statement and
will cling to that with the grip of death, refusing to even investigate or seek
the wisdom of God to harmonize the truth. Worldly wise men are forever saying
that the Bible contradicts itself.
I have never believed that by teaching the ultimate
salvation of all men we were pitting one group of Scriptures against another,
for it is my conviction that the solution can only be found in the correct
HARMONIZATION of all the Scriptures, not ignoring one group while advancing the
other. I believe I speak by the Spirit of God when I assert that the only
sensible harmonization of all the Scriptures lies in the fact that Jesus is
indeed THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN, that He is in very fact THE SAVIOUR OF THE
WORLD, and that HE WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED and come to the knowledge of
the truth, DRAWING ALL MEN UNTO HIMSELF. To me this is a most glorious and
wonderful fact! I find all the judgments of God to be correctional and
disciplinary rather than vindictive and final. Therein lies the harmonization
of which I speak. This leaves us free to believe ALL of God's Word. It
magnifies the cross. It glorifies God. It honors the atonement. It gives
meaning to the ministry of the Sons of God. It gives purpose to the ages yet to
come, all planned and arranged beforehand by our wonderful Creator. Sin,
judgment, and death are temporary, all to be dealt with by the mighty power of
God invested in His saints. The entire universe will be reconciled to God
through the blood of Christ's cross. God will become All-in-All. Here is a God
worthy of your worship and adoration!
Several brethren have written or discussed this
subject with me through the years, adamant against the truth I see. But their
arguments are shallow and twisted and their spirits generally harsh against men
whom God loves and for whom the Christ died, as though they wanted to make
CERTAIN that everybody gets every thing they "deserve." Their
theology is lopsided, distorted, out of balance, and it will be smashed in the
end! Those who walk in that attitude know but little of the love of Him who is
at the same time the JUDGE OF ALL and the SAVIOUR OF ALL. He is not the Judge
of some and the Saviour of some, but both Judge and
Saviour of ALL! If "Judge of ALL" means that He judges all, then
"Saviour of ALL" must mean that He saves all, for the Scriptures
plainly make both statements. Within that one fact again can be seen the
HARMONIZATION of the justice and the love of God - His judgment leading to
repentance and a knowledge of His mercy. Praise His wonderful name!
It is estimated that about one hundred and sixty
billions of human beings have lived on the earth in the six thousand years
since Adam departed from Eden. Of these, the very broadest estimate that could
be made with reason would be that less than five billion were saints of God. This
broad estimate would leave the immense aggregate of one hundred and fifty-five
billions (155,000,000,000) who went down into death without faith and hope in
the only name given under heaven or among men whereby we must be saved. Indeed,
the vast majority of these never knew or heard of Jesus, and could not believe
in Him of whom they had not heard. What, I ask, has become of this vast
multitude, of which figures give a wholly inadequate idea? What is, and is to
be, their condition? Did God make no provision for these, whose condition and
circumstances He must have foreseen? Or did He, from the foundation of the
world, make a wretched and merciless provision for their hopeless, eternal
torment, as many of His children claim? To these questions, which every thinking
Christian asks himself, and yearns to see answered truthfully, and in harmony
with the character of God, comes a variety of answers:-
CALVINISM ANSWERS: God is all-wise; He knew the end
from the beginning; and as all His purposes shall be accomplished, He never
could have intended to save any but a few, the Church. These He elected and
fore-ordained to be eternally saved; all others were equally fore-ordained and
elected to be lost - to go to eternal torment; and they are there now, writhing
in indescribable agony, where they will ever remain, without hope.
ARMINIANISM ANSWERS: Yes, God is love; and in
bringing humanity into the world He meant them no harm - only good. But Satan
succeeded in tempting the first pair, and thus sin entered into the world, and
death by sin. And ever since, God has been doing all He can to deliver man from
his enemy, even to the giving of His Son. And though now, six thousand years
after, the Gospel has reached only a very small proportion of mankind, yet we
do hope and trust that within six thousand years more, through the energy and
liberality of the Church, God will so far have remedied the evil introduced by
Satan that all then living may at least know of His love, and have an
opportunity to believe and be saved. We believe that God excuses many of them
on account of ignorance. Those who did the best they knew how will be sure of
being a part of the saved, even though they never heard of Jesus.
FUNDAMENTALISM ANSWERS: Only those who here and now,
during the fleeting years of this life, truly repent and receive the Lord Jesus
as Saviour are saved. All others have been and are and shall be eternally lost
without retrieve and go to a merciless, hopeless, hell-fire and damnation.
There is one beautiful and undeniable truth in the
Word of God. The Scriptures clearly show that there is only one ground of
salvation and that is FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST as our Redeemer and Lord.
"By grace are you saved, through faith" (Eph. 2:8).
Justification by faith is the underlying principle of the whole system of New
Testament revelation. When asked, "What must I do to be saved?" the
apostles answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall
be saved" (Acts 16:31). "There is none other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). "Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13).
The apostle Paul warned of those who would depart
from the utter simplicity of this truth to preach ANOTHER WAY, and ANOTHER
GOSPEL. "I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. For if he that comes preaching ANOTHER Jesus, whom we have not
preached, or if yea receive ANOTHER Spirit, which yea have not received, or
ANOTHER Gospel, which yea have not accepted, yea might well bear with him"
(11 OCR. 11:3-4). ANOTHER JESUS, ANOTHER SPIRIT, ANOTHER GOSPEL - ANOTHER
W-A-Y!
Many today who claim to be "Bible
believing," "Evangelical" or "Fundamental" preach ANOTHER
GOSPEL and ANOTHER W-A-Y OF SALVATION. There are some who feel the burden of
the awful doctrine of eternal torture which they embrace, and unconsciously
their souls revolt at the ghastly conclusions to which it leads. Such ones have
resorted to various makeshifts to escape the inevitable conclusions. I will
mention two or three of these. It is said that although it is true that the
great mass of the race have thus far died in their sins, yet it does not follow
that they have been lost; for if those who are unavoidably ignorant live up
to the light they have, they will be saved. These claim that Paul teaches
that IGNORANCE will save men, when he says that "The Gentiles, which have
not the law, are a law unto themselves" (Rom. 2:14). They gather from this
that the law which their conscience furnishes is sufficient to justify them.
But such persons misunderstand Paul. His argument is that the whole world is
guilty before God (Rom. 3:19); that the Gentiles, who had not the written law,
were condemned, not justified, by the light of conscience, which,
whether it excused them or accused them proved that they were unworthy sinners
and thus estranged from the life of God, even as Israel who had the written law
were condemned by it; "For by the law is the knowledge of sin"
(Rom. 3:20). The law given to the Israelite revealed his weakness, and was
intended to show him that he was unable to justify himself before God; for
"By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His
sight." The written law condemned the Israelite, and the Gentiles
had light enough in their conscience to condemn them; and thus every
mouth is stopped from claiming any inherent life, and all the world stands
guilty before God.
Remembering the statement of James (2:10), that
whosoever shall keep the whole law, except to offend in one point, is guilty of
all, and cannot claim any blessing promised by the Law Covenant, we realize
that indeed "there is none righteous; no, not one" (Rom. 3:10). And
thus the Scriptures close every door of hope save one, showing that not one of
the condemned is able to secure eternal life by meritorious works, and that it
is equally useless to plead ignorance as a ground of salvation.
Ignorance cannot entitle anyone to the REWARD of faith and obedience! Salvation
by IGNORANCE! Indeed! ANOTHER GOSPEL! ANOTHER WAY! "For there is none
other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we M-U-S-T be
saved!" (Acts 4:12).
Many Christians, unwilling to believe that so many
billions of ignorant heathen will be eternally lost (which they have been
taught means to be sent to a place of eternal and hopeless torment), insist,
notwithstanding these Bible statements, that God will not condemn the ignorant.
I admire their liberality of heart and their appreciation of God's goodness,
but urge them not to be too hasty about discarding or ignoring the words of
Scripture. God has a blessing for all, IN A BETTER WAY THAN THROUGH IGNORANCE!
But do these erring ones act in accordance with
their stated belief? NO! Though they profess to believe that the ignorant will
be saved on account of their ignorance, they continue to send missionaries to
the heathen at the cost of thousands of valuable lives and untold millions of
dollars. If they all, or even half of them, would be saved through ignorance,
it is doing them a positive injury to send missionaries to teach them of
Christ; for only about one in a thousand believes when the missionaries go to
them. If this idea be correct, it would be much better to let them remain in
ignorance; for then a much larger proportion would be saved. Continuing the
same line of argument, might we not reason that if God had left ALL MEN in
ignorance, ALL would have been saved? If so, the coming and death of Jesus were
useless, the preaching and suffering of apostles and saints were vain, and the
so-called Gospel, instead of being good news, is very bad news. Leave the
heathen alone in their darkness and ignorance and the majority will be saved by
living up to the light they have. Send them the Gospel and we know from past
experience that the majority of them will reject it and be lost. These
conclusions are inevitable. You cannot escape them while you entertain the
notion of the majority of the heathen being saved by living up to the light
they have. Such reasoning is a hideous affront to the atoning sacrifice of
Jesus, and a wicked blasphemy against God and His plan of redemption. ANOTHER
GOSPEL! ANOTHER W-A-Y!
Others, craftily seeking to evade these conclusions,
invent the silly myth that in some unexplained way ALL MEN HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH
BY GOD. These conniving souls presume that in some mysterious way God reveals
Himself to each and every son of Adam sometime during his life. Perhaps through
the conscience - or one dark night while the heathen is standing under the
canopy of the heavens observing the majesty of the star-studded sky - there
suddenly comes that burst of inner revelation there is a GOD! And if, in that
instant, we are told, that man will seek after God he will find Him. To which I
answer: -Tommyrot! Rubbish! ANOTHER GOSPEL! ANOTHER W-A-Y! And those who teach
the lie are deceivers. Why, bless your heart, if God habitually and
consistently reveals Himself sovereignly and independently to every man who
lives upon this earth, then what need is there to print Bibles, or send
missionaries, or intercede in prayer, or preach the Gospel? You will have to
tear the Bible all to pieces if you teach such nonsense. It is blasphemy. The
Word of God asks the burning question: "HOW THEN SHALL they call on Him in
whom they have not believed? and HOW SHALL they believe on Him of whom they
HAVE NOT HEARD? and HOW SHALL they hear WITHOUT A PREACHER? and HOW SHALL they
preach, EXCEPT THEY BE SENT?" (Rom. 10: 14-15). And these poor deluded
souls pretend to answer all these "HOW SHALLS" of Scripture by
creating a method by which it CAN BE DONE! They have invented a system by which
men can believe without hearing and hear without a preacher, and under this
system no preacher need be sent.
But, I ask, how are the heathen, or any lost men, to
be justified by faith by this method since "faith comes BY HEARING and
hearing by the Word of God," and "it pleased God BY THE FOOLISHNESS
OF PREACHING to save them that believe" (Rom. 10: 17; 1 Cor. 1:21).
Nowhere in all the pages of God's blessed Book does it state that God sometime,
somewhere, somehow, reveals himself to every man during his brief life in
the flesh. Show me! Here is God's estimation of the condition of the heathen:
"Wherefore remember, that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,
who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh
made by hands; that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having NO HOPE, and without God in the world..." (Eph. 2:11-12).
If God independently and sovereignly reveals Himself
to every man then the "Great Commission" is a monstrous farce and
should be torn out of the Bible and deposited on the garbage heap. No need to
"go into ALL THE WORLD and preach the Gospel to EVERY
CREATURE" if the Spirit deals with EVERY MAN sometime, somewhere, somehow
during his life APART FROM THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. Ah! The argument
is really the great "cop out," a silly invention of conniving
deceivers who are unwilling to face the fact that God would permit billions of
men to pass through this life without any chance of salvation, and equally
unwilling to concede that God has any plan for the salvation of those billions
in the future. So - in order to consign them an to eternal damnation they
concoct this outrageous lie that God really DID give these billions a chance,
apart from the preaching of the Gospel of God's grace in Jesus Christ, that
these rejected His dealing, and have of their own free wills been
damned. Such a teaching contradicts the Word of God, making a travesty of the
fact that "God has committed unto US the word of reconciliation" and
has "given to US the ministry of reconciliation" (II Cor. 5:18-19).
The fundamental flaw in the theory is that even if a heathen looked up at the
stars one beautiful night and became deeply impressed that there must be a
great God out there somewhere, such understanding in no way reveals to his darkened
heart the wonderful truth that this God HAS A SON, that His Son's name is
JESUS, that JESUS DIED FOR HIS SINS, and that ONLY BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST CAN
A MAN BE SAVED. I challenge anyone to prove that the vast multitudes of heathen
die having REJECTED JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED FOR THEM who was revealed to their
hearts by the Holy Spirit apart from the preaching of the Gospel. How foolish
can men be! Let someone answer - if they can! Ah, it is but ANOTHER GOSPEL!
ANOTHER W-A-Y!
Another makeshift theory is the theory of salvation
by INNOCENCE. Most Christians today, including the so-called
"Fundamentalists" who claim to believe the whole unadulterated Word
of God, believe this lie. They tell us that a baby that dies in infancy, or a
small child that dies before reaching the "age of accountability,"
whatever that is, is alright, automatically covered by the blood of
Jesus-SAVED! This evidently becomes a SECOND WAY to salvation, since it is
apart from FAITH in Jesus Christ. "Oh," they glibly recite, "the
little child is INNOCENT, and therefore free from the guilt of any sin."
Is that so! The Scripture says otherwise. "Behold, I was shaped in
iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5). In
this verse David was not attempting to prove that his mother was having an
adulterous affair at the time of his conception, but states the true inner
condition of his own nature from his mother's womb. Again, "Wherefore, as
by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon ALL MEN, for that ALL HAVE SINNED" (Rom. 5:12). "For ALL have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). "For God has
concluded them ALL in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all" (Rom.
11:32).
If even one infant is saved without personally believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ, then there IS INDEED A-N-O-T-H-E-R W-A-Y! "He
that believes shall be saved" is the unceasing and unalterable
testimony of God's Word. Some of the basic ingredients in salvation are
repentance, faith, and confession. No infant can do any of these things!
"Ah," you say, then you believe that all the little babies that have
died are burning in hell!" What I am saying is what the Bible says, that
all men are BORN SINNERS, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY OF SALVATION.
"As many as RECEIVED HIM, to THEM gave He authority to become the children
of God, even to them that BELIEVE on His name" (Jn. 1: 12). The child who
dies goes into the loving hands of God who watches over the souls of all men,
who is the Saviour of all, and who deals with all out of His heart of infinite
love, drawing each in the perfect timing ordained by His wisdom and
omniscience. WE CAN TRUST HIM WITH THE FATE AND DESTINY OF OUR LITTLE ONES, for
the Judge of all the earth shall DO RIGHT, but He does not cancel His
redemptive process for any offspring of Adam, all must come the same route, the
infant included.
The truth is, we who believe in the faithful
dealings of God AFTER DEATH are the only ones who have the answer to the
problem of the child that dies in innocence and ignorance of God and salvation.
We are the only ones who correctly harmonize the whole plan of God and the
processes of redemption. The rest contradict their own teaching that all men
are born sinners, arguing rather that all men are born saved and afterwards
BECOME SINNERS, when, reaching the so-called "age of accountability,"
they become guilty before God. These offer us a SALVATION BY INNOCENCE. It
would be much better to die as infants, if such were the case! What an act of
mercy the wicked old king Herod performed when in Bethlehem he sent thousands
of babies into eternal heaven by the swish of the sword! Why should he be
judged for his crime when in fact he saved more people from a life of sin, and
sent more souls to heaven in a few days than many preachers are able to show
for a lifetime of ministry! Think of how many hundreds of millions of souls we
could secure for heaven and eternal life simply by KILLING ALL THE LITTLE
CHILDREN! Chances are, if we let them live they will live in sin and end in
hell. But, again, how foolish our reasoning! It would be very profitable to
meditate deeply upon these things. THERE IS BUT ONE WAY FOR ALL, rich and poor,
male and female, bond and free, Israelite and Gentile, old and young, and a personal
encounter with Jesus Christ most surely IS THAT WAY ... now and forevermore!
The Bible, which is full of the missionary spirit,
does not teach that there are several ways of salvation, one way by faith,
another by works, another by ignorance, and another by innocence. Neither does
it teach the God-dishonoring doctrine of fatalism. While it shows every other
door of hope closed against the race, it throws wide open the one, only door,
and proclaims that whosoever will may enter into life; and it shows that all
who do not now see or appreciate the blessed privilege of entering shall in due
time be brought to a full knowledge and appreciation. The ONLY WAY, by which
any and all of the condemned race may come to God, is not by meritorious works,
neither by ignorance, nor by innocence, but by a living faith in the precious
blood of Christ, which takes away the sin of the world (I Pet. 1:19; Jn. 1:29).
This is the Gospel, the good tidings of great joy, "which shall be
unto all people."
Suppose we now look at these things just as God
tells us of them, and leave the clearing of His character to Himself. Let us
inquire, What has become of this one hundred and sixty billions of people who
have lived upon this planet? Whatever may be their present condition, it cannot
be their full reward; for Peter says, "The Lord knows how to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" (II Pet. 2:9); and He will
do so. But the thought that so many of our fellow creatures should at any time
be lost from lack of having had the knowledge which is necessary to salvation
would be sad indeed to all who have a spark of love or compassion. Then, too,
there are numerous Scriptures which it seems impossible to harmonize with all
this. Let us see: In the light of the past and the present as the only
opportunities, laying aside all hope through a restoration in the coming age
and ages, how shall we understand the statements, "God is love," and
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes in Him should not perish" (I Din. 4:8; Din. 3:16)? Would it not
seem that if God truly loved the world so much He might have made provision,
not only that believers might be saved, but that ALL MIGHT HEAR IN ORDER TO
BELIEVE?
Again, when we read, "That was the true light
that lights every man that comes into the world" (Jn. 1:9), our
observation says, Not so; every man has not been enlightened; we cannot see
that our Lord has lighted more than a few of earth's billions. Even in this
comparatively enlightened day, millions of heathen give no evidence of such
enlightenment; neither do many now living on our street; neither did the
Sodomites, nor multitudes of others in past generations and ages.
We read that Jesus Christ, by the grace of God,
tasted death "for every man" (Heb. 2:9). But if He tasted
death for the one hundred and sixty billions, and from any cause that sacrifice
becomes efficacious to only five billion, was not the redemption comparatively
a failure? And in that case, is not the apostle's statement too broad?
When again we read, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people" (Lk. 2:10), and looking about us, see that
it is only to a "little flock" that it has been good tidings, and not
to all people, we would be compelled to wonder whether the angels had not
over-stated the goodness and breadth of their message, and overrated the
importance of the work to be accomplished by the Christ whom they announced.
Another statement is, "There is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a
ransom for all" (I Tim. 2:5-6). A ransom for ALL? Then why should
not all involved have some benefit, from Christ's death? Why should not ALL
come to a knowledge of the truth, that they may believe? Without the KEY, how
dark, how inconsistent these statements appear; but when we find the KEY to
God's plan, these texts all declare with one voice, "God is love."
This key is found in the latter part of the text last quoted - "Who gave
Himself a ransom for all, TO BE TESTIFIED IN DUE TIME." Ah, God has a
"due time" for everything! He could have testified it to these in
their past lifetime; but since He did not, it proves that their
"due time" must be the future. For those who will be of the
Church, the body of Christ, the firstfruits of His redemption, the present
is the "due time" to hear and receive; and whosoever now has an ear
to hear, let him hear and heed, and he will be blessed accordingly. Though
Jesus paid our ransom before we were born, it was not our "due time"
to hear of it for long years afterward, and only the appreciation of it,
quickened by the Holy Spirit, brought responsibility; and this, only to the
extent of our ability and appreciation. The same principle applies to all: in
God's due time it will be testified to an, and all will then have the glorious
opportunity to believe and be blessed by it. The prevailing opinion is that
death ends all opportunity; but there is no Scripture which so teaches; and all
the above, and many more Scriptures, would be meaningless, or worse, if death
ends all hope for the ignorant masses of the world.
Nothing is more evident in the Word of God than the
fact that man had his beginning IN GOD. Every son of Adam, born as he is in trespasses
and sins, enters into this world shrouded by the darkness of the carnal mind
and imprisoned by the power of the carnal nature. But it was not always so!
Everything everywhere OUTSIDE OF CHRIST belongs to the realm of death, and
because it belongs to the realm of death, it likewise belongs to the realm of
darkness. Before ever man touched this dreadful realm the record states:
"In the beginning WAS the Word, and the Word WAS with God, and the Word
WAS God. In Him WAS life; and the life WAS the light of men" (Jn. 1:1,4).
W-A-S! It is a wonderful fact that in Him IS life, and His life IS the fight of
every man who believes, but, wonder of wonders, in that long ago beginning
Christ WAS THEN THE LIFE and His life WAS THEN THE LIGHT OF MEN. It was into this
realm OUTSIDE OF CHRIST, the realm of OUTER DARKNESS, that Adam was banished
when he partook of that strange tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There
he died, as God had warned, and we all died in him. Thus death passed upon all
men, for all have sinned. Has mankind not fully proved throughout the centuries
that he is in truth the son of Adam? Which of all God's commandments have we
not broken, justifying ourselves in having done so even as Adam seemed to do.
Oh, sweet mystery of the ages, that a second Adam
should stand upon the earth and declare, "The thief comes not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, and
that they might have it more abundantly. For the bread of God is He which comes
down from heaven, and gives life unto the world. I am that bread of life. If
any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: the bread that I will give
is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (Jn. 10:10;
6:33, 48,51). No greater revelation can break upon any man's consciousness than
this simple truth that there is ONLY ONE LIFE in the universe, and that one
life is JESUS CHRIST. May God make this truth real to your heart! When a man
comes to Christ the life, he comes not only to the life that IS the light of
men, but to the same life that in the beginning WAS the fight of men. What we
have received in Christ's opening again of Paradise is a re-turn, a
re-storation, a re-newing, a re-demption, a re- conciliation, a re-surrection.
The prefix "re" means BACK AGAIN, ANEW- and all the words with this
prefix speak of something that LEFT ITS PLACE AND HAS NOW MADE ITS CIRCUIT AND
COME BACK TO THE POINT OF ITS BEGINNING.
Let me give you now a Scripture that shows the hand
of God in this and the extensive scope of both the departure from, and the
returning unto, God. I quote from Ps. 90:1-3. "Lord, You have been our
dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever You have formed the earth or the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God. YOU TURN MAN TO DESTRUCTION; and say RETURN YOU
CHILDREN OF MEN." You could never read this word "return" here,
if you had not first read that man had been "turned" away to
destruction. In this passage the word "destruction" has this meaning
in the original: A COMPLETE COLLAPSE, crumbling man to a contrite condition.
Here is the picture: For the magnificent purpose God
had in mind He made all the provision necessary before the foundation of the
world. He made provision for a Lamb to be slain (Rev. 13:8). He made provision
for a company of people to be chosen in Christ, to be holy and without blame
before Him in love, as a firstfruit of His redemption in the earth (Eph.
1:45,10). Then He brought into Eden a poisonous serpent, a murderer, a
MANSLAYER (Gen. 3: 1). Having prepared all this HE THEN BROUGHT MAN INTO THE
GARDEN. Having brought man into the Garden, GOD PUT HIM INTO THE PATHWAY OF A COMPLETE
COLLAPSE. It was GOD who turned man to destruction, set him on this
downward course, sent him into outer darkness, and made him subject to vanity.
God our Father has never once blamed man for the fall, but takes the
responsibility for it Himself when He says, "For the creation was
subjected to frailty - to futility, condemned to frustration - not because
of some intentional fault on its part, BUT BY THE WILL OF HIM WHO SO
SUBJECTED IT. YET WITH THE HOPE that creation itself WILL BE SET FREE from its
bondage to decay and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious
freedom of God's children" (Rom. 8:20-21, Amplified). Man did not
volunteer for this time of travail, but the plan of God included this process,
so God turned man into this route, this experience, and it will also be the
sovereign work of a sovereign God who shall BRING BACK INTO HIMSELF the whole
of His creation.
After turning man to destruction God then says,
"RETURN TO ME, children of men." In verse four of Psalm ninety, the
writer makes the statement that in God's sight a thousand years is as a day
when it is passed. But in verse thirteen the Psalmist exclaims, "Return, O
LORD, HOW LONG?" In the beginning of the Psalm the writer is joyful in the
knowledge that though the Lord has turned man to destruction, yet God has also
given the command to return, and what if it does take a thousand years or more,
it is but a day in God's sight. But by the time the writer reaches the position
of the thirteenth verse, he begins to cry out, saying, "O Lord, HOW LONG
is all this going to take? HOW LONG before our full return to You?" A thousand
years had become an unbearably long time. Surely this is the cry from the
hearts of men today! This is the crying, groaning, and travailing we find the
creation passing through in the eighth chapter of Romans, waiting for the
manifestation of the Sons of God.
There was a day when Paul, standing in the center of
the Areopagus (Mars Hill Auditorium) declared to the philosophers of Athens,
"The God who produced and formed the world and all things in it, made from
one common origin, one source all nations of men to settle on the face of the
earth, having definitely determined their allotted periods of time and the
fixed boundaries of their habitation - their settlements, lands, abodes; SO
THAT THEY SHOULD SEEK GOD, IN THE HOPE THAT THEY MIGHT FEEL AFTER HIM AND FIND
HIM, although He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move
and have our being; as even some of your own poets have said, FOR WE ARE ALSO
HIS OFFSPRING" (Acts 17:24-28, Amplified).
Oh, yes, He turned us to destruction, but planted
deep in the subconsciousness of every man the SECRET COMMAND to RETURN, which
is revealed in that inner desire, yearning, craving, seeking, feeling,
compulsion which is never satisfied until man does find himself home in God
once more. All the religiousness of men, from the witch doctor in the jungle to
the modernist in the pulpit in America, is the manifestation of this FEELING
AFTER GOD, IF HAPLY THEY MIGHT FIND HIM. While mankind in general is still lost
in the hellish darkness of sin and death, yet there is a firstfruit company
whose hearts have been charged by the inward call to return, and with the
Shulamite maiden in the Song of Solomon share this blessed experience: "By
night on my bed I sought Him whom my soul loves; I sought Him, but I found Him
not. I will arise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the
broadways I will seek Him whom my soul loves: I sought Him but I found Him not.
The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw
Him whom my soul loves? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I
FOUND HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVES AND WOULD NOT LET HIM GO" (S. of S. 3:1-4).
As the Spirit has witnessed through the prophet, "And yea shall seek Me,
and find Me, when yea shall search for Me with all your heart" (Jeer.
29:13).
Mankind is yet groping about in the dense darkness
of the carnal mind, knowing not that HE is standing right there in the shadows,
were their eyes opened to see. Yet He has appointed a day - Oh glorious day! -
when His light shall shine forth and the plan shall be completed as the apostle
says, "For God has allowed us to know the secret of His plan, and it is
this: He purposed long ago in His sovereign will that all human history should
be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth
should find its perfection and fulfillment in Him. In Christ we have been
given an inheritance, since we were destined for this, by the One who works out
all His purposes according to the design of His own will" (Eph. 1:9-11,
Phillips).
The very laws of physics and mathematics establish
with indisputable certainty the absolute inevitability of the creation's return
back to God. Psalm nineteen was long a source of amusement to Bible critics. In
speaking of the sun, the Psalmist says: "His going forth is from the end
of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing
hid from the heat there of' (Ps. 19:6). It was claimed that the writer of this
verse, obviously believed in the ancient notion of the sun's revolving about the
earth. This charge is most unjust, since we still use words and phrases of the
same sort, simply because from our natural viewpoint the sun does rise in the
morning, move across the sky, and set in the evening. The whole science of
nautical and engineering astronomy is based on the assumption, made purely for
convenience, that the earth is the center of a great celestial sphere, moving
along the surface of which in ordered paths are the sun, moon, planets and
stars. And as far as any practical usage is concerned, this is so. On this
assumption, courses can be plotted, positions determined, and scores of other
applications made.
But the words of the Psalmist have a deeper, more
scientific meaning than that. It is now concluded by the leading astronomers that
the sun, with the entire solar system, actually does move through space at the
tremendous speed of 600,000 miles per hour in such a gigantic orbit that it
requires over two million centuries to complete it, but complete it it shall,
returning again and again, as the ages roll onward, to the point of its
beginning. Furthermore, it is believed that our galaxy is also moving with
respect to other galaxies. The sun's circuit IS from one end of the heavens to
the other! Who can accuse the Holy Spirit of ignorance of modern astronomy?
The entire universe is an infinite sphere and each
galaxies solar system, star and planet within it moves continuously and
harmoniously in circular motion; thus, all worlds and suns have circles for
their pathway. This principle has been referred to by scientists as the
"law of circularity." Science is beginning to tell us that in the
highest development of physics and mathematics the old theory of straight lines
of infinite length has to be changed and modified to satisfy all the data of
electro-dynamics, light, and some of the new electrical phenomena. There is no
such thing in the universe as an absolutely straight line of infinite length.
All straight lines will be found to be portions of immense circles. This law of
circularity runs through all nature. If you were to leave planet earth
traveling steadily in one direction, the day would surely come, be it in some
distant age millions or billions of years hence, when you would arrive back at
the precise point of departure, having completed the circuit - home again!
Someone has said (a scientist) that if we were to build a telescope that could
see into infinity, we would one day be looking at the back of our heads!
This great law of circularity by which all things in
God's creation are seen to RETURN to the place of their BEGINNING, in its
spiritual significance, is expressed in Rom. 11:36: "For FROM HIM and
THROUGH HIM and TO HIM are all things - for all things originate with Him and
come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend
to CONSUMMATE AND TO END IN HIM. To Him be glory forever! Amen"
(Amplified). All manifestations of nature discernible to the senses confirm
this law of circularity. "The sun also arises, and the sun goes down, and
hastes to its place where he arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns
about unto the north; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according
to his circuits. All the rivers run i into the sea; yet the sea is not
full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return
again" (Eccl. 1:5-7).
Today, scientists tell us that there is just so much
water in the earth. There has always been that amount and there always will be.
We should understand that neither water, nor anything else, can be destroyed.
Its form can be changed, but it eventually will return to its original form.
The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that water is taken from the oceans in the
form of moisture by the sun. Then the winds in their circuits carry that
moisture as clouds over the land. There through certain actions of cold and
heat, according to the laws of God, that moisture falls to the earth in the
form of rain or snow or hail. Creeks and rivers are formed that carry this
water back into the oceans, thus completing the circuit or cycle. Water may be
frozen, but under the right condition it will return to water. It may be heated
and converted into steam, but the steam will eventually condense, becoming
water again. Water sinking into the ground is either evaporated, or taken up by
plants and evaporated, or perhaps finds its way to underground streams. In any
event it eventually finds its way back to the sea, and the circuit continues
on, unseen, unheard, almost unknown, but it is by the law of God.
Ray Prinzing has written, "We have known what
it is to take the downward journey, picking up the debris of the flesh and
self, until we come to the bottom, a filthy pool. But there is another river,
much more invisible, spiritualized, we might say, and that is the one which
forms by the DRAWING OF THE SON, lifting us up out of the 'dead sea' and
raising us again into the heavenlies, to bring us back to the height of the
mount of God. Of this glorious river we read, 'There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God' (Ps. 46:4). Some are still on the low
road, taking the downward path in self, sin, wayward rebellion. And some,
praise God, are already being irresistibly drawn upward, to take that HIGH WAY
back to Father's house.
"What is true in the cycles of our own life, is
also true concerning God's dealings with His whole creation. That which was
turned away from Him, to run an erratic and wild course of self-will, shall
eventually come meekly and submissively back to its Source, our Creator. Thus
we need this perspective, to view from the vantage point of God's great purpose
to BECOME ALL IN ALL, for without this purpose there would be no rhyme nor
reason to any unfolding event. We often say that the 'way UP is DOWN,' bit to
always have to go down, without a way up, would bring forth a hopeless
frustration that would surely end in defeat. But, in God's law of circularity,
there is a place in our going down process, God knows when and where, we come
to a curve and begin that upward way"-- end quote.
We read in Isa. 40:22, "God sits upon the circle
of the earth." While the word for "circle" in the Hebrew denotes
the sphericity of the earth, it may also indicate the cycles of nature.
These cycles are the continual goings and comings of the seasons, days, months,
years, etc., which were ordained of God in the beginning. Everything in nature
moves in cycles: winter and summer, seedtime and harvest; generation after
generation, all show the might and wisdom of God. Even electricity must have a circuit.
A battery has a positive and a negative to complete the circuit. SO IT IS WITH
GOD IS WORK. In the spiritual realm God is the positive, and Satan is the
negative. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that man, the highest of God's
creation, came out of God, was then lowered into the world of vanity, darkness,
and death, but will return to God, thus completing the cycle, not in part, but
in full. Even Jesus came out of God, and descended into the depths of man's
fall, then arose and returned to God.
The King James version of Rom. 11:36 begins,
"For of Him..." This word "of" comes from the Greek word
"ek" literally meaning OUT OF. This clearly places God as the one
Source of all things, and hence the Amplified's beautiful rendering, "For
all things originate with Him and come from Him." Col. 1: 16 says,
"For it was IN HIM that all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers or
authorities" (Amplified).
The law of circularity requires that EVEN AS ALL
THINGS BEGAN IN CHRIST, ALL SHALL END IN CHRIST. "I am ALPHA and
OMEGA, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last," says the Lord (Rev. 22:13). Only the glorious mind of Christ
can reveal to our hearts what that means! Through a glass darkly I can see that
He was the FIRST - "before all things." Can I also believe that HE IS
THE LAST? If He is the BEGINNING, can my feeble mind dare to comprehend what it
signifies when He says that He is also the END? All that existed IN CHRIST
before the ages began, shall RETURN INTO HIM AGAIN that He may be the FIRST and
the LAST, the BEGINNING and the END. All that came out of Him, lowered
into the realm of the negative, completes its circuit and returns once more to
its former estate - IN GOD! The first Adam had power to take ALL with him into
death, without their knowledge, or consent: therefore, the second Adam, the
Lord from heaven, gathers up the same number in His redemptive work and man who
came out of God shall return, that the circle may be unbroken.
To quote Ray Prinzing once more: "When we
understand the glorious truth that our God is both the Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the Ending, then we realize that no matter how vast the cycle and
circuit, the end is secure, for all things return unto Him again. To read only
a portion of God's Word, the facts are too few to rightly calculate the CURVE
of God's plan. And while HE does, gloriously, illumine a specific verse or
sentence to speak to our hearts for that day, we also need the full sweep of
the Book to gain an overall view of His purpose, and then understand the
tremendous victory which is ours in Christ"-- end quote.
Long milleniums ago Adam was banished from the
Paradise of God and its life-giving tree. But God has provided a way by which
His banished may return! Some glad morning, when the unfolding plan of God is
complete, all who once stood "in Adam" in the Garden will again be
gathered together and their eyes will behold with endless joy that heaven blest
Eden in which walked Adam, the son of God. But even now there is a remnant, the
election of grace, the firstfruits of His redemption WHO IN SPIRIT HAVE ENTERED
THOSE ONCE-CLOSED PORTALS AND HAVE PARTAKEN OF THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF LIFE!
In the power of the Christ, the last Adam, though the firstfruits of Christ's
redemption still move about in a world which is under the curse, where the
traces of sin are visible on all hands, these have found their way, by faith,
to the bosom of the Father, and are NOW AT HOME AGAIN IN GOD! The mighty
transformation that has come and is coming to our lives shall be experienced
ultimately by ALL MEN, God's own law of circularity secures it, and none can
resist it, praise His glorious name!
For this and other Saviour booklets or Kingdom
Studies write to:
J. PRESTON EBY - P.O. Box 371240 - El Paso, Tx. 79937-1240