Universalism- Why a literal reading of the King James Bible may imply that everyone will be saved

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

Tolworth John said:
Two points.
1/ use paragraphs, it makes reading and understand long passages much easier.

2/ Justice. Where is the justice in a sinner who has never acknowledge God, never felt sorrow for there sins and never repented of there sins going to heaven.
3/ why did Jesus have to die if God was just going to forgive everyone anyway?

Ill answer the questions in the same order that you have presented them:

1. Not a bad idea. I will do so going forward

2. Well I would say- there is no justice for you and I as Christians either. We dont deserve Christ's forgiveness, but we get forgiveness anyways (through Christ's sacrifice)

3. Because everyone was doomed before Christ died....As noted in the original post, the Bible documents that Abraham, David, Samuel, King Saul, Saul's son, Lazarus (and presumably many many others) were all in Hell before Christs death. So Jesus had to die to save them (and all of us) from that fate...

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

dqhall said:
In John 3:3 (WEB) Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”

This is not universalism. One who is saved does not conform to the errors of his past. Peter warned against drunkenness and lust (against lewd and lascivious behavior).

I suspect that many of Christ's references to God's Kingdom are references to the new status quo that Christ was about to usher in. Christ's death brought in God's Kingdom ("on earth as it is in Heaven")....a New Covenant which allowed both Jews and Gentiles to enter the Family of God. And Christ talks about this Kingdom starting as a small mustard and then growing (in the same way that Christianity has grown to fill the whole world) In Matthew 13:31 it says- The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air can come and shelter in its branches."
This does not seem to be a reference to Heaven, to the contrary this seems to be talking about a movement that takes hold here on earth (and if that is what Christ was referencing, his prediction absolutely came true, since Christianity went from being a tiny sect in Judea to becoming the most worlds largest and most powerful religion)
So when God talks about people or groups of people not getting into God's Kingdom I think that it is in that context. In the Olivet Discourse Christ seems to be saying that the old guard (the Old Covenant) was about to be displaced ... and that it was happening in an imminent fashion. Matthew 3:1 says “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” That's what really convinces me that Christ's warnings in the Olivet Discourse are not about Hell -this entire sequence (including the warnings about the Sheep and the Goats and the references to kolasis and eternal destruction) comes with that time signifier- "These things will all happen before this generation passes away". Again, why would general warnings about Hell be pinned to any one time frame or generation? It seems to me that Christ may have been accurately predicting both the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD and the transition to the Christian (New Covenant) era of human history.

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

rwb said:
This is a poor assumption! Christ descended into the grave and led people of faith who were before Christ' resurrection captives of death taking them with Him when He ascended to heaven.

Ephesians 4:8-10 (WEB) Therefore he says, "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." Now this, "He ascended," what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

The grave was, before the advent of Christ separated for those who died in faith and those who died in unbelief. That's why the parable shows us the rich man after death was buried and went to hell (hades, the place of the dead), but when Lazarus died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. This being the place for those who before the advent of Christ died in faith. This is where Christ by His Spirit descended to after He died before He arose from the dead and ascended to heaven.

1 Peter 3:18-22 (WEB) Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you--not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.

Peter also speaks of Christ by His Spirit going to preach to those Old Covenant spirits of just men imprisoned by death before Christ came to free them from the bondage of death, taking them with Him to heaven as living (spirit) souls. Abraham's bosom, or that part of the place of the faithful dead was emptied by Christ. Since Christ has come and defeated both sin and death by His cross and resurrection when we die in faith, we go spiritually alive to heaven to be with the Lord in the place He went to prepare for us by His death.

Of course I agree with you that Christ freed the people of faith from Hell (David, Abraham etc etc) but it also seems abundantly clear that he freed the sinners (those who had been disobedient while they were alive)....

That seems clear from Peter 3:18 -

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,

19 by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison,

20 who one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, wherein few, (that is, eight souls) were saved by water.

Saint Steven · Sep 25, 2022

rwb said:
... for the universalist's contradiction seems not to be a problem.

Annihilationists have biblical support for their position, which certainly contradicts Damnationism. And both of those views are in contradiction with UR. (universal redemption) So yes, contradictions are not a huge problem, for me personally anyway. I shouldn't speak for the others.

How do you feel about the OT misquotes in the NT? Contradictions, or no?

In my experience, those who claim no contradictions cook up some reasoning to explain away contradictions. Thus sweeping the problems under the rug.

dqhall · Sep 25, 2022

white gardenia said:
I suspect that many of Christ's references to God's Kingdom are references to the new status quo that Christ was about to usher in. Christ's death brought in God's Kingdom ("on earth as it is in Heaven")....a New Covenant which allowed both Jews and Gentiles to enter the Family of God. And Christ talks about this Kingdom starting as a small mustard and then growing (in the same way that Christianity has grown to fill the whole world) In Matthew 13:31 it says- The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air can come and shelter in its branches."
This does not seem to be a reference to Heaven, to the contrary this seems to be talking about a movement that takes hold here on earth (and if that is what Christ was referencing, his prediction absolutely came true, since Christianity went from being a tiny sect in Judea to becoming the most worlds largest and most powerful religion)
So when God talks about people or groups of people not getting into God's Kingdom I think that it is in that context. In the Olivet Discourse Christ seems to be saying that the old guard (the Old Covenant) was about to be displaced ... and that it was happening in an imminent fashion. Matthew 3:1 says “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” That's what really convinces me that Christ's warnings in the Olivet Discourse are not about Hell -this entire sequence (including the warnings about the Sheep and the Goats and the references to kolasis and eternal destruction) comes with that time signifier- "These things will all happen before this generation passes away". Again, why would general warnings about Hell be pinned to any one time frame or generation? It seems to me that Christ may have been accurately predicting both the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD and the transition to the Christian (New Covenant) era of human history.

Remember the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost 50 days after the Passover. Pentecost was one of the three festivals all Jewish males old enough to walk to Jerusalem were required to attend (Talmudic teaching).

The mustard species that grows in Israel is called brassica nigra. It is neither tree nor shrub, but an annual that sprang up with the winter season rains, grew to over ten feet tall in some cases, then withered as the onset of the summer dry heat parched the earth. They grow wild in Galilee easily identified by their little yellow flowers. Each plant produced numerous seed pods. They may produce numerous branches like a tree or grow shaped more like a stalk. Little birds like sparrows and finches rested on the plant. The seed, like most mustard seeds, is full of vegetable oil. It is hot and spicy. Canola oil is from a mustard species plant.

A similar parable to the one Jesus taught is, “from little acorns, mighty oaks will grow.” Asians terraced hills little by little to grow rice.

Der Alte · Sep 25, 2022

white gardenia said:
Of course I agree with you that Christ freed the people of faith from Hell (David, Abraham etc etc) but it also seems abundantly clear that he freed the sinners (those who had been disobedient while they were alive)....
That seems clear from Peter 3:18 -
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,
19 by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison,
20 who one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, wherein few, (that is, eight souls) were saved by water.

This passage 1 Pet 3:18-20 is often quoted by UR-ites as proving universal restoration. However, it does not. Hell/the grave is never called "prison" and "prison" is never called hell/the grave in the Bible. If Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison was for their salvation, then it was a dismal failure only 8 people were saved, Noah and his family, and they were alive not dead when they were saved.

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

Der Alte said:
This passage 1 Pet 3:18-20 is often quoted by UR-ites as proving universal restoration. However, it does not. Hell/the grave is never called "prison" and "prison" is never called hell/the grave in the Bible. If Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison was for their salvation, then it was a dismal failure only 8 people were saved, Noah and his family, and they were alive not dead when they were saved.

Exactly that is the point...they disobeyed God when they were alive (in the times of Noah) and faced God's wrath .....but Christ came and preached to their souls (imprisoned in Hell for all those years ). Just a few sentences later it says "For this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be iudged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." 1 Peter 4:6
I honestly dont see any other way to read these verses...they seem to lay out a very clear and consistent report of what Jesus did after the Crucifixion.

Der Alte · Sep 25, 2022

white gardenia said:
Exactly that is the point...they disobeyed God when they were alive (in the times of Noah) and faced God's wrath .....but Christ came and preached to their souls (imprisoned in Hell for all those years ). Just a few sentences later it says "For this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be iudged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." 1 Peter 4:6
I honestly dont see any other way to read these verses...they seem to lay out a very clear and consistent report of what Jesus did after the Crucifixion.

If Christ was preaching to "souls (imprisoned in Hell...)" how were Noah and his family saved when they were alive?
Please tell me how those who are dead can live according to God in the spirit?
Also how was Noah and his family saved if that passage "lay(s) out a very clear and consistent report of what Jesus did after the Crucifixion."

Der Alte · Sep 25, 2022

Saint Steven said:
...

Saint Steven said:
Annihilationists have biblical support for their position, which certainly contradicts Damnationism. And both of those views are in contradiction with UR. (universal redemption) So yes, contradictions are not a huge problem, for me personally anyway. I shouldn't speak for the others.
How do you feel about the OT misquotes in the NT? Contradictions, or no?
In my experience, those who claim no contradictions cook up some reasoning to explain away contradictions. Thus sweeping the problems under the rug.

Please share some of these "misquotes" I am not aware of any.

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

Saint Steven said:
Annihilationists have biblical support for their position, which certainly contradicts Damnationism. And both of those views are in contradiction with UR. (universal redemption) So yes, contradictions are not a huge problem, for me personally anyway. I shouldn't speak for the others.

How do you feel about the OT misquotes in the NT? Contradictions, or no?

In my experience, those who claim no contradictions cook up some reasoning to explain away contradictions. Thus sweeping the problems under the rug.

I have been surprised by one thing in my Biblical studies- the more I study, the more it all fits together. That things that used to seem contradictory to me actually arent contradictory upon closer inspection. Ill give one example of this- It never quite made sense when the Bible talked about people like David and Samuel "descending" down into some version of Hell after their deaths. I always thought "what about Heaven? Why didnt Samuel go to Heaven?" But upon closer study -ALL of the Old Testament figures went to Hell (with the notable exception of Elijah, who never even died). And this makes sense because the Saints of the Old Testament were still fallen people who needed to be redeemed through Christ. Christ's death changed everything. Which is why the first mention of someone going to Paradise after death... is the thief being crucified next to Christ (a man who, as Universalists will point out, was presumably not baptized and presumably never said the Sinner's prayer). Christs Death completely changed the status quo from a situation where all people were doomed to Hell...to a situation where everyone was saved thru Christ's Sacrifice. It amazes me how consistent this narrative is- across several different Biblical books and authors

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

Saint Steven said:
Are you sure?

1 John 2:2 NIV
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Romans 11:32
For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Titus 2:11 ESV
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

1 Timothy 4:10
That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

1 John 4:14 NIV
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Romans 5:15-16
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

Romans 5:18-19
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,
so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Colossians 1:19-20
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 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.

1 Timothy 2:1-6
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

Romans 3:24 NIV
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 9:16 NIV
It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

James 2:13 NIV
... Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Mark 9:49
Everyone will be salted with fire.

Malachi 3:2
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.

1 Timothy 1:15
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling
the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Romans 8:20-21
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,
but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself
will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought
into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

More? Okay...

Edom
Edom was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. Most of its former territory is now divided between Israel and Jordan.

The destruction of Edom uses the same exaggerated language descriptions as hell in the Bible. Yet none of it lasted forever as it clearly says. And you can certainly pass through it today. For this prophecy to be taken literally it would need to be a smoking tar pit today with a bypass to get around it. Compare verse ten below. (Revelation 14:11)

Isaiah 34:8-11
For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.
From generation to generation it will lie desolate;
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it;
the great owl and the raven will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom
the measuring line of chaos
and the plumb line of desolation.

Thank you ....That is a great collection of verses.

white gardenia · Sep 25, 2022

Der Alte said:
If Christ was preaching to "souls (imprisoned in Hell...)" how were Noah and his family saved when they were alive?
Please tell me how those who are dead can live according to God in the spirit?
Also how was Noah and his family saved if that passage "lay(s) out a very clear and consistent report of what Jesus did after the Crucifixion."

1st Peter 3:18- "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

And then- several sentences later-
1st Peter 4:6- "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."

It seems clear to me that Peter is talking about souls who once were alive (in the time of Noah) and were disobedient.....They physically died in the Flood because they were disobedient...and they had been in Hell that entire time.

It all seems fairly self-explanatory to me...but you do raise an interesting question- was Noah also in Hell that entire time? We know that Noah was physically saved through his obedience to God (by constructing the Ark that saved him and his family) but did Noah go to Hell after he died? The Bible seems to document that Abraham, David, Samuel, King Saul, Saul's son, Lazarus all descended down to Hell when they died....So presumably Noah did as well. Although Noah was certainly a sinner (as we see in Genesis 9...where Noah engages in drunkenness and possibly some form of sexual sin) he was presumably consigned to the more "pleasant" region of Hades (Abraham's Bosom) along with the other Saints.

The Bible seems amazingly consistent on this (consistent across several books and several authors)- Hell was the destination for EVERYONE until Christ made His sacrifice.

Der Alte · Sep 25, 2022

white gardenia said:
It seems clear to me that Peter is talking about souls who once were alive (in the time of Noah) and were disobedient.....They physically died in the Flood because they were disobedient...and they had been in Hell that entire time. It all seems fairly self-explanatory to me...but you do raise an interesting question- was Noah also in Hell that entire time? We know that Noah was physically saved through his obedience to God (by constructing the Ark that saved him and his family) but did Noah go to Hell after he died? The Bible seems to document that Abraham, David, Samuel, King Saul, Saul's son, Lazarus all descended down to Hell when they died....So presumably Noah did as well. Although Noah was certainly a sinner (as we see in Genesis 9...where Noah engages in drunkenness and possibly some form of sexual sin) he was presumably consigned to the more "pleasant" region of Hades (Abraham's Bosom) along with the other Saints.
The Bible seems amazingly consistent on this (consistent across several books and several authors)- Hell was the destination for EVERYONE until Christ made His sacrifice.

But there is still the problem that the "the grave/hell" is never called "prison" and "prison" is never called "hell/the grave."

rwb · Sep 26, 2022

white gardenia said:
Of course I agree with you that Christ freed the people of faith from Hell (David, Abraham etc etc) but it also seems abundantly clear that he freed the sinners (those who had been disobedient while they were alive)....

That seems clear from Peter 3:18 -

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,

19 by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison,

20 who one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, wherein few, (that is, eight souls) were saved by water.

Those who died in unbelief (disobedient) are separated from men who died in faith (grave - hades/hell; Abraham's bosom). The disobedient are said to be imprisoned by death because they died in unbelief. Christ preaching to the unrighteous imprisoned in death does not save them. It condemns them because in life they refused to believe even though righteous Noah had been sent by God to repeatedly warn them of the judgment that was coming for them through disobedience (refusing to believe).

This was not the part of the grave that was emptied by Christ. Christ emptied that part of the grave called Abraham's bosom. It is the righteous spirits of justified men that went with Christ spiritually alive when He ascended to heaven. The place of the dead for unrighteous men; the grave/hell/hades is still collecting dead bodies and will not be emptied until the last day when all of humanity will be physically resurrected. The bodies of them who died in faith will be resurrected to life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. The righteous spirits/souls since the advent of Christ leave the physical body at death and go alive through the life-giving Spirit in them to Christ in heaven. The spirits/souls of the unrighteous dead also return to God who gave them, but without the life-giving Spirit of God giving them life.

John 5:28-29 (KJV) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 (KJV) Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

rwb · Sep 26, 2022

Saint Steven said:
Annihilationists have biblical support for their position, which certainly contradicts Damnationism. And both of those views are in contradiction with UR. (universal redemption) So yes, contradictions are not a huge problem, for me personally anyway. I shouldn't speak for the others.

How do you feel about the OT misquotes in the NT? Contradictions, or no?

In my experience, those who claim no contradictions cook up some reasoning to explain away contradictions. Thus sweeping the problems under the rug.

You'll have to be more specific about what misquotes you believe are contradictions. Because I find no contradictions in the Word of God. That you have no problem with God contradicting Himself is troubling.

FineLinen · Sep 26, 2022

rwb said:
Those who died in unbelief (disobedient) are separated from men who died in faith (grave - hades/hell; Abraham's bosom). The disobedient are said to be imprisoned by death because they died in unbelief. Christ preaching to the unrighteous imprisoned in death does not save them. It condemns them because in life they refused to believe even though righteous Noah had been sent by God to repeatedly warn them of the judgment that was coming for them through disobedience (refusing to believe).

The fact is the Christ ministered zao life to the disobedient dead of Noah's day. When the Christ ministers life there are dramatic results!

rwb · Sep 26, 2022

white gardenia said:
And then- several sentences later-
1st Peter 4:6- "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."

It seems clear to me that Peter is talking about souls who once were alive (in the time of Noah) and were disobedient.....They physically died in the Flood because they were disobedient...and they had been in Hell that entire time.

1Pe 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
1Pe 4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Peter is not here speaking of Christ preaching to spirits already imprisoned in physical death. Because those who have died in unbelief cannot live according to God in the spirit. They never had the life giving Spirit from God to give them spiritual life after death. In death the spirit in unbelief knows nothing but darkness and silence. And is only given physical life to stand in Judgment before God on the last day.

Psalm 115:17 (KJV) The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

1 Samuel 2:9 (KJV) He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

Psalm 31:17 (KJV) Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

Peter is speaking of preaching the Gospel to men who are physically alive but spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. If upon hearing the Gospel man is convicted of the sin of his/her flesh and in repentance turns to Christ by grace through faith, being filled with the life giving Spirit of God he/she will live according to God in the spirit.

Ephesians 2:4-7 (KJV) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Lazarus Short · Sep 26, 2022

Laz's perspective:

To settle the question/trilemma about the fate of the dead (damnation, annihilation, redemption) I decided to look at an ordinary King James Bible. While I studied it, cover to cover, I avoided other sources, not wanting to be biased. My message for this thread is that I confirmed UR in that same King James Bible.

FineLinen · Sep 26, 2022

rwb said:
1Pe 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
1Pe 4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Peter is not here speaking of Christ preaching to spirits already imprisoned in physical death. Because those who have died in unbelief cannot live according to God in the spirit.

Never say never when speaking of our Lord whose power causes the dead to live. These disobedient dead were not persuaded, and refused to believe. Enter the Christ of unlimited who preached zao life to them with dramatic results.

rwb · Sep 26, 2022

FineLinen said:
Never say never when speaking of our Lord whose power causes the dead to live. These disobedient dead were not persuaded, and refused to believe. Enter the Christ of unlimited who preached zao life to them with dramatic results.

If one physically dies in this age without possessing the Spirit who gives life, they will not be resurrected to live again, but resurrected to condemnation.

John 6:63 (KJV) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Man must receive the Spirit while physically alive to continue to have spiritual life after physical death.

John 3:6-8 (KJV) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Universalism- Why a literal reading of the King James Bible may imply that everyone will be saved

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