To redeem us, Jesus Christ did not need to do what condemned sinners are said to do:  suffer forever.  In Hell.  No way.  Jesus suffered temporarily.  If it wasn’t necessary for the Paschal Lamb to suffer forever, why is it necessary for the unsaved?

From Psalm 22:  “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him” (NIV).

The New Jerusalem Bible translates the words for “all the ends of the earth” as “the whole wide world.”  The whole wide world will remember and turn to the Lord.  All humanity?  Seems that way.  From Psalm 65:  “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.”

To redeem us, Jesus Christ did not need to do what condemned sinners are said to do:  suffer forever.  In Hell.  No way.  Jesus suffered temporarily.  If it wasn’t necessary for the Paschal Lamb to suffer forever, why is it necessary for the unsaved?

From Psalm 22:  “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him” (NIV).

The New Jerusalem Bible translates the words for “all the ends of the earth” as “the whole wide world.”  The whole wide world will remember and turn to the Lord.  All humanity?  Seems that way.  From Psalm 65:  “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.”

Isaiah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked:  Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear” (Isaiah 45, NIV).

This is strong language.  What fanfare!  But why?  Why is it so important that God has uttered in all integrity the not-to-be-revoked “Before me every knee will bow”?  A number of Bible translations render the last part of this passage “every tongue will swear allegiance.”  Allegiance?  Yes, to God.  Remember Philippians 2:11 (“every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”).  Again, why the fanfare?  Is it because all people will ultimately be saved, that this is what it means for every knee to bow, etc.?

Isaiah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked:  Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear” (Isaiah 45, NIV).

This is strong language.  What fanfare!  But why?  Why is it so important that God has uttered in all integrity the not-to-be-revoked “Before me every knee will bow”?  A number of Bible translations render the last part of this passage “every tongue will swear allegiance.”  Allegiance?  Yes, to God.  Remember Philippians 2:11 (“every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”).  Again, why the fanfare?  Is it because all people will ultimately be saved, that this is what it means for every knee to bow, etc.?

Christian women, like other women, chat about past gatherings with relatives, as on holidays.  Obviously they mention mothers and fathers and grandparents and others who have passed on, liking the stories they tell about them, getting a laugh because of them.  But some, or many, of these relatives were not Christians; they never converted.  They died in their sins.  Thus the church would have to regard them as being damned in Hell.  Yet I inexorably sense that these women (men too) secretly believe that their relatives died in grace, that somehow God went ahead and saved them.  Perhaps they wouldn’t converse about them if they didn’t.  It’s like this:  They had a grandpa who never lived a Christian life—never—but it’s okay.  God didn’t allow him to go to Hell.  He will be judged, yes, but not damned.  Why should they believe such a thing?

They do, however, or they behave as though they do.  Are they secretly noticing an outrageousness in the damnation doctrine?  Do they suspect (I more than suspect) that the traditional church is wrong?