Does This Mean.........

[ayeess]

Colossian 1:20 NASB

20and through Him to (AX)reconcile all things to Himself, having made (AY)peace through (AZ)the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, (BA)whether things on earth or things in heaven

I know that sometimes when the word heaven is used it can mean the spiritual world, and im guessing the Heaven where God abides is already reconciled to him so that part wouldn't really need reconciliation....So I'm gathering that its speaking of a spiritual domain that was not previously reconcilled to God so I am wondering whether he is speaking about the darker places and wondering if the devil and his demons can go back to Heaven if they would repent...

 

[wayseer]

... and wondering if the devil and his demons can go back to Heaven if they would repent...

Relax - there is no demon, there are no devils.

 

[ayeess]

Relax - there is no demon, there are no devils.

thE biggest lie the DEVIL ever told was that he didn't exist. HE is the father of lies you know that.

 

[gfletcherd]

I know that sometimes when the word heaven is used it can mean the spiritual world, and im guessing the Heaven where God abides is already reconciled to him so that part wouldn't really need reconciliation....So I'm gathering that its speaking of a spiritual domain that was not previously reconcilled to God so I am wondering whether he is speaking about the darker places and wondering if the devil and his demons can go back to Heaven if they would repent...[/quote]


Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It removed the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with the creator. This does not mean that everyone has been saved, but that the way has been cleared for anyone who will trust Christ to be saved. We can have peace with God and be reconciled to him by accepting Christ.

 

[Jpark]

Never mind.

 

[wayseer]

Do you deny the reality of the spiritual realm? Jesus accepted the reality of angels and demons you know. Do you deny Jesus?

I deny what others tell me Jesus is suppose to have said or meant.

 

[ittarter]

The question isn't whether Jesus believed or didn't believe in angelic and demonic entities. If we're trying to understand this verse, the question is whether Paul (err, the writer of the letter to the Colossian church) did or didn't. Clearly Col. 1:20 presupposes the existence of some unreconciled being or "thing" beyond the earthly realm.

And as far as I can tell, NO ONE in the thread has suggested anything, besides demons and the devil, that might qualify.

Unless we can find another candidate, we may conclude the thread by saying that Paul (err, the writer of the letter to the Colossian church) believed demonic beings capable of reconciliation to God. At this point this is certainly the most satisfying answer.

 

[Jpark]

Never mind.

 

[ittarter]

I'm afraid I can present nothing to validate my claim. Here is what John Calvin says regarding Colossians 1:20:

Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians | Christian Classics Ethereal Library

While I have the highest respect for Calvin's exegesis, he was writing at a time when it was impossible to consider a multivocalic scripture, and thus he was prevented from considering that perhaps Paul truly believed in a universal reconciliation. Scholarship from the twentieth century has certainly found some merit in that theory.

He himself (frankly, as usual) admits that the interpretation "reconciliation between angels and humanity" is forced. Likewise it seems to me that his "reconciliation between angels and God" is possible, but less likely than the other, if we are open to a Pauline theology of universal reconciliation.

Thanks for providing the link.

 

[Duckybill]

Relax - there is no demon, there are no devils.

The Bible talks a LOT about the devil and demons as real and VERY evil beings.

 

[Duckybill]

thE biggest lie the DEVIL ever told was that he didn't exist. HE is the father of lies you know that.

Amen to that!

 

[Jpark]

Never mind.