Dutch Daily on Universal Reconciliation

Originally posted on August 29, 2008 – by Andre Piet

In yesterday’s Dutch Daily, Wim Hoogendijk was given the opportunity to elaborate somewhat more broadly on criticism that had previously been raised by various evangelical leaders. Apparently he did this so well (click here) that the Dutch Daily felt compelled to provide his contribution today with a main editorial commentary. Koert van Bekkum writes:

Rightly Hoogendijk says that Christians in earlier times also believed in the “restoration of all things” …

Excuse me, Hoogendijk did not speak in his article about “the restoration of all things.” That would not have been correct either. In Acts 3:21 there is mention of “the restoration of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets,” and this, according to the context, refers to the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom, in “the coming eon.”
The subject of Hoogendijk’s argument, however, was “the reconciliation of the all,” as Paul speaks of it in Colossians 1:20. The latter will only become reality at the consummation of the eons, when Christ will have annulled death as the last enemy and God will become “All in all” (1 Corinthians 15:22–28).
The Dutch Daily hopelessly confuses “the restoration” and “Universal Reconciliation” (Gr. apokatastasis and apokatallasso). They are two terms that differ from each other as widely as the poles, both in content and in timing.

… and that the word ‘eternal’ in the Bible does not necessarily mean ‘forever’.

That is rather weakly phrased. The word “eternal” is derived from the Greek word aion, and in Scripture this has both a beginning (“before the eons”) and an end (“the end of the eon”; “the consummation of the eons,” etc.). The idea of an ‘endless eternity’ is foreign to the Bible.

Still, it does give pause that Hoogendijk renders the text from Mark 10, which states that Jesus gave His life as a ‘ransom for many,’ as ‘a ransom for all.’

What gives pause is that Koert van Bekkum apparently is unfamiliar with the ABC of Paul’s message! For the expression “a ransom for all” is quoted literally (not from Mark 10 but) from 1 Timothy 2:6! In this passage Paul writes that he was called as apostle of the nations to make known that GOD wills that all men be saved and that Christ Jesus therefore gives Himself a ransom for all. In other words, the whole of humanity has been bought and paid for! That is why Paul writes, as his mission statement, two chapters later (1 Timothy 4:9–11), that the living God IS the Savior of all mankind. Not “to all men,” as the NBG translation weakens it, but “OF all men” (genitive).

The Bible celebrates God’s love in all keys. God’s heart continually goes out to His creation and the invitation to believe in Christ sounds loudly: “be conciliated to God!” But that invitation is always accompanied by a serious warning against unbelief and the announcement of judgment. This applies to the parables of Jesus, but no less to the letters of Paul and John, and very poignantly to the letter to the Hebrews.

This is a non-argument, because it is not the seriousness of the judgment that is under discussion, but its endlessness. Or does van Bekkum mean that a temporary judgment is not serious? Were the flood or the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah perhaps not serious, because they did not continue endlessly?

The depth of the judgment therefore reaches much further than the meaning of words. The point is that the relationship between God’s staggering goodness and love and His justified judgment over evil cannot be grasped in human measure.

“The relationship between GOD’S staggering goodness and love and His justified judgment over evil” can in fact be very well grasped (understood) in human measure. At least, Scripture does so multiple times. Psalm 30:6 says: “For a moment is His anger; for a lifetime His delight.” And Isaiah 61:2 speaks on the one hand of “a day of vengeance of our GOD” and on the other hand of “a year of the favor of the LORD.” These human measures perfectly illustrate how God’s wrath and goodness relate to each other. God’s wrath is a means, not a goal. Temporary and never definitive.

On the one hand everything lies in His hand and it is He who grants faith. But on the other hand God takes His world and everything that happens in it extremely seriously. God calls people to account. And those who truly do not want to belong to Him, He will not force.

Whoever understands this may say so. How can the unwillingness of humanity be an obstacle for GOD if He is, after all, the One who grants faith? If it is GOD who opens eyes, ears, and hearts, would there then be hopeless cases for Him?

The latter presents a riddle.

Or shall we consider it a contradictio in terminis (= internal contradiction)?

Despite God’s love, evil and unbelief are a reality.

It is the other way around: despite evil and unbelief, GOD’S love is a reality! More than that: the light of GOD’S love shines precisely against the dark background of sin, enmity, and unbelief. Has GOD’S love ever shone more brightly than precisely at Golgotha, when the evil and unbelief of the world reached their lowest point?

No wonder that the question arises concerning the eternal well-being or woe of concrete persons. On this point the church has always been extremely reserved. After all, that judgment belongs to God alone.

That “on this point the church has always been extremely reserved” is very much open to dispute. “Hell and damnation” have, after all, been preached from the pulpit in vivid detail ever since church father Augustine. It is true that nowadays the embarrassment of ministers and pastors concerning this subject is great and many of them prefer to keep silent about it. Yet it remains, even as an abstraction, the dark backdrop of preaching.

At the same time it has always been emphasized that judgment may never be spoken of as a judgment from which we are removed in advance.

Again a non-argument: judgment as a reality is not under discussion. Indeed, one is not removed from judgment in advance; however, judgment is not the final word. That is the point.

Whoever preaches in this way pays a high price: reconciliation becomes a principle that detracts from Jesus as a living Person and the proclamation floats above reality, because the shocking experience of sin and evil is not done justice.

Speaking of a high price: this was paid at Golgotha. The ransom for all. Whoever detracts from that turns reconciliation into an empty, floating concept. It is not sin and evil that entered the world through Adam that have the definitive word, but life and justification in “the last Adam”… for all mankind (Rom. 5:18; 1 Cor. 15:22)!

True gospel preaching confronts humanity with a decision: judgment lies ahead of us if we do not believe that in Christ it lies behind us.

True Gospel preaching proclaims that the decision has already been made in Christ. God is the Savior of all mankind. Exclamation mark. And that is what humanity is to believe.

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