Part 6 Universal Reconciliation
Night after night, the question of hell and what it really was tormented me. I asked God for clarity. I read books and listened to podcasts.
As I walked in the tension asking for clarity as my entire faith as I knew it came crumbling down, a veil was lifted so to speak, and the mental roadblocks and passages that had previously confounded me made sense in a renewed way. Something happened in mind. I realized in what felt like a moment of full acceptance that Universal Reconciliation is the most consistent view of a God who is loving and just. Universal Reconciliation is the belief that all of humanity will eventually be reconciled back to God and pass through a refiner’s fire. It wasn’t just wishful thinking; but actually grounded in the biblical narrative, early Christian theology, and the God I have come to trust in my heart.
It started with two fundamental questions that I could not ignore even as an annihilationist. If sin and death entered the world through one man without our consent, isn't it possible for sin and death to be defeated by Christ without our consent? If the majority of humanity goes to the broad and wide gates of hell under eternal conscious torment or annihilationism, doesn't that make “Adam's sin” much more powerful than what Christ ever did?
Consider these verses.
"Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people" (Romans 5:18)
"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:22
These words do not describe two different uses of the word “all”. It is not as if a smaller version of “all” is used when referring to what Christ did and an all encompassing term “all” is used for what Adam did.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
- Colossians 1:19-20
“For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all."
- Romans 11:32
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
- 1 John 2:2
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."
- Titus 2:11
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9
The notion that God created humanity, all while knowing that the majority would be destined for endless suffering in hell, is not consistent with who God is. God’s character and attributes have been misrepresented time and time again. God even dwelt among us in flesh and blood to reveal God’s true nature, not partially, but fully. Christ is the full revelation of who God is and what God is like, helping us shed all the misconceptions humans have placed upon God. Jesus walked and lived among us, often beginning his teachings with the phrase "You have heard that it was said," followed by a traditional interpretation of the law, and then offering his own interpretation, beginning with "But I tell you..."Anyone who genuinely glimpses into God’s true nature could never turn away. Who could ultimately reject the very essence of its origin when all the layers of misconception, life circumstances, and emotional baggage are peeled away? None.
Christ is not merely a revelation of who God is but also revelation of how we are called to live. Early Christians referred to this as the Way. It is not a heavenly ticket stamped by Jesus; rather, it is the active participation in the fullest human experience, becoming a part of the unfolding or the actualization of the Kingdom of Heaven.
God is a compassionate force drawing all of humanity into a transformative journey back to God. The Way of Christ presents a challenging yet compelling invitation to live as humanity was intended, a pathway where heaven is not a distant reward but an ongoing reality in the “now but not yet.” While individuals might reject misrepresentations of God or simply lack exposure to a truer image, there is not a single soul created in God’s image that could turn away from the very essence of its origin when faced with true reality.
But if this is true, what about free will? Doesn’t one have the choice to reject God?
“If a rational creature–one whose mind is entirely unimpaired and who has the capacity truly to know the substance and the consequences of the choice confronting him or her–is allowed, without coercion from any force extrinsic to his or her nature, to make a choice between a union with God in bliss that will utterly fulfill his or her nature in its deepest yearnings and a separation from God that will result in endless suffering and the total absence of his or her nature’s satisfaction, only one truly free choice is possible.”
-David Bentley Hart from “That all shall be saved”
Christian theology teaches us that we have free will but we are born with an innate inclination towards sin. Universal Reconciliation instead reconciles free will and our inborn innate inclination to ultimately be reconciled back to God.
Our inclination towards sin is true in one sense, but it is not the truest sense. Christians give sin, death, and “hell” way more power than they deserve. Although they are real in one sense, they are not our ultimate reality. In the book of Genesis 1:31, God created us with God’s imprint, and said it was very good before sin ever entered the picture. Our truest ‘image of God’ reality ought to be the ultimate view over our penultimate sin reality.
Our inclination towards sin is penultimate, while our truest ‘image of God’ reality is our ultimate reality. To be the truest representation of God, we get to live in and live out that ultimate reality both in this life and in the next. We have the opportunity to show people what their ultimate reality is. This is good news. Turn away from your old ways, which stem from your sin reality, and embrace the ‘image of God’ reality that resides within you, in the truest part of your being. This reality brings you to life. In Christ, this ultimate reality has been embodied, fully revealed, and made available to us. Jesus reveals God’s character and shows us the Way that leads to life through his life, not as a “ticket” but as an embodiment. He conquered sin and death, co-suffered with us, and led us into the Way that leads to life. Our sin reality does not have the first word or the last word.
2. What about those who have done awful things in this lifetime? Do they get away with what they’ve done scot-free?
Nobody gets away with anything scot-free. Yes, we are forgiven, but there are still consequences. Love ultimately has the last word, but that doesn't mean there are no consequences. If our child hits their sibling, they may be forgiven for what they’ve done, but there is also a process of reparations that needs to be made. Similarly, there will be consequences for all of us as we face the refining fire of God. Hell is not a place of eternal torment, nor is it a place of non-existence. Hell is the “fire” of God’s love that draws everyone back to God through the process of refinement. For some people, this process of reparation is going to be long, painful, and arduous. For others, it may be an easier process, as they’ve already started the journey of reparation in this lifetime through convictions by the Spirit.
God’s reconciliation work is easily and quickly undermined by those who oppose Universal Reconciliation. When people hear about Universal Reconciliation, there is an immediate belief that it means there is no justice or somehow implies that God is not just. However, Universal Reconciliation takes justice more seriously than ECT. ECT asserts that only the Christians who claim to believe get away scot-free from the fires of hell, while the majority are tormented endlessly for all of eternity. Somehow, Christians in heaven are okay with this reality as the majority of creation burns up forever. This is not justice; this is psychopathy that views God as a psychopath. We somehow allow Love to coexist with something we could never do to our own children. This does not mean that there is no judgment or justice with Universal Reconciliation. In fact, God’s judgment is just AND good. It is the kind of justice that has an end goal of healing and reconciliation, and it is not easy. It is a heart-wrenching process for those who have committed acts against Love. God’s wrath, judgment, and justice are not infinitely contradicting facets of God. God is Love, which means our view of God’s judgment, wrath, and justice must be seen in the light of Love that we find fully embodied in Christ. If it is not Christ-like, it is not of God. Sadly and ironically, many Christians do not worship a Christ-like God but an anti-Christ-like God.
3. But how can the world’s most evil people be reconciled and coexist with the victims in this new heaven and new earth?
In each of us lies the victim and the oppressor. Every victim experiences complete healing in their heart, body, mind, and soul. Every oppressor experiences the remorse, agony, and regret that come from fully realizing their actions and fully repenting for the damage they caused. The line between victim and oppressor, or good and evil, lies within each person. There is no such thing as “good people vs bad people” or “us vs them” or “in vs out.” We are all one. Fear creates the illusion of separation, but Christ conquered fear, death, and sin so that God’s Love can restore, reconcile, redeem, and remember our ultimate reality. Imagine a fully repentant individual who has felt every pain, shame, and remorse in the fiber of their being upon facing the fiery truth of the magnitude of what they have done. And now, imagine this person being forgiven by a fully healed victim who has found infinite and complete freedom, peace, justice, and restoration for every second of pain they have suffered. That is the incredible power and heart-wrenching process of God’s justice and restoration. Can you imagine how difficult, painful, freeing, and healing it all is?
Many within Western Christianity often view God as a Judge in the courtroom who serves retributive justice and punishes those who have done wrong. Within this view, it seems that we are all condemned and wretched, deserving of eternal conscious torment, and God, in his “mercy,” decides to save only those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart a very specific religious set of doctrine. However, as we have seen revealed in and through Christ, God is, in fact, not this horrible Judge handing out punishments, but the Great Physician who judges our sin in order to operate on us to heal us. The judgment may be painful, but it is ultimately for our own good. This judgment from the Great Physician is good. When we can trust and expose ourselves to the Great Physician or Refiner’s fire, we will be rid of our penultimate sin reality. Those who have spent their entire earthly lives trusting God as their Physician, open to transformation, will find this process easier and familiar even after this lifetime.
4. What purpose did Jesus serve if all of this will take place regardless of whether we accept Christ or not?
While some may critique Universal Reconciliation, stating that it negates the atoning work of Jesus, it is important to remember that the atoning work of Jesus was not a ticket-to-heaven type of endeavor but the climax of God’s story, where death, sin, and fear are defeated for all—not for some, but for all. It is done. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear can experience and live out this truth right now, but it is done for all, no matter what. We are living in the “now but not yet”—it is done and not fully realized. More and more people are remembering and seeing, while some are becoming more blind, but the truth remains: the atoning work of Christ is done. There is nothing you can do to change that. No amount of religious gatekeeping can alter this truth.
When one truly understands the depth of God’s mercy and love towards us, it becomes that much easier to extend that mercy to others. The amount of mercy you show to others is a reflection of how much you understand God’s love in your own life. Our free will still plays a role in the daily choices we make to follow the Way of Christ, but when it comes to salvation and the atoning work of Christ, it is all God and a pure gift for all—nobody can change that. As much as some people may wish to take credit for their salvation and create rules around how to receive it, we all know we would be in a much different place if we had been given much different circumstances. Thus, our call is the extension of mercy. God’s plan of redemption and reconciliation is bigger and wider than we can possibly comprehend, and the ultimate restoration of all things is a beautiful and hopeful reality already done but not fully realized, in which we can all take part right now and look forward to.
5. What should I do with the wrath and genocide committed by God in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament?
There are a great many atrocities and pains attributed to God or done in God’s name, but God has never endorsed these things. God meets people where they are and works with us to bring us even one step closer to the character of God. It may still be distorted, but sometimes one degree of change can have a larger impact on the future, for both good and bad. People have misrepresented and continue to mischaracterize God, attributing notions such as eternal conscious torment to God. God does not erase or censor what people say about God but will continue to convict, move, and challenge everyone, working with humanity where they are in their understandings. Early on in my deconstruction, when I was spiraling after the death of Cici, I felt an all-too-familiar voice tell me, “This is not who I am.” Even though I did not have the rails to understand what that meant at the time, it resonated in the deepest part of my soul, and my continuous seeking for truth brought me here today.
When I explain Universal Reconciliation to my children, they accept it with such ease. They were never indoctrinated with the idea and fear of an everlasting infernal hell. It is as though the truth of God’s universal reconciliatory nature is obvious to them. I asked my older son if he thought it was possible for God to punish someone forever. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me, saying, “Definitely not,” which brought me to the words of Jesus when He said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" - Matthew 18:1-3. This verse is not about ECT. I could only imagine their confusion and distraught if I brought in the infinitely contradictory idea that a loving God, who created everything, could allow most of His creation to burn in hell forever.
I have had to heal, read, process, think, and pray to break from the indoctrination I was fed and reach where I am today. I am even writing a whole blog series for the sake of potentially helping others who might be asking similar questions that I have had to seek answers to. But for my 7-year-old, he reminded me of a verse that simplifies our faith, and we are called to be like these children. The verse he mentioned hit me harder than ever before in my lifetime as a Christian:
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)