Originally posted by JohnR7
[BI think that it can all be broken down into three different possible outcomes for those who do not accept God's grace.
1) The view of eternal torment.
2) Punishment and then reconcilaton.
3) Total destruction, annihilation for the unfaithful.
Those are the only three views I have heard from people who believe in God's plan of salvation. [/B]
I think you have captured it in a nutshell JohnR7.
So what I have been reading about lately is option (2) Punishment and then reconciliation, which touches on (1) eternal torment as well.
Here is some of what I have read in a Savior of the World series
by J. Preston Eby:
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If our Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator and Sustainer of ALL things and ALL people than he either does or allows everything that is done in heaven or on earth.
If one hundred billion helpless human beings are being tortured, then Jesus is doing it. Satan has brought suffering and death to the whole human race. However, if eternal torment IS TRUE, then Jesus Christ will torture forever the whole human race, except the small handful who will be saved.
In one hour, in a hot searing hell, our Lord will inflict more pain and agony on each person than Satan inflicted on that person during his entire life.
The position is stated that NO ONE really believes in an eternal burning hell if we are to judge by their actions.
If they saw a person in a burning building, they would put forth every effort to save them; they would cry and scream for help; they would be late for work; they would not rest until the victims were rescued.
Yet, those who teach eternal torment can spend their hours relaxing in front of the television screen, visiting and feasting upon rich dainties with their friends, and whole days in camping, vacationing, fishing, and playing, and then lay their heads upon a pillow every night and sleep soundly, while, according to their own teaching, countless millions are going to a place a million times worse than a burning building!
It is estimated that about one hundred and sixty billion (160,000,000,000)human beings have lived on the earth in the six thousand years since Adam departed from Eden.
Of these, the very broadest estimate that could be made with reason would be that less than five billion were saints of God. This broad estimate would leave the immense aggregate of one hundred and fifty-five billion (155,000,000,000) who went down into death without faith and hope in the only name given under heaven or among men whereby we must be saved.
Indeed, the vast majority of these never knew or heard of Jesus, and could not believe in Him of whom they had not heard.
Would it not seem that if God truly loved the world so much He might have made provision, not only that believers might be saved, but that ALL MIGHT HEAR IN ORDER TO BELIEVE?
Again, when we read, "That was the true light that lights every man that comes into the world" (Jn. 1:9), our observation says, Not so; every man has not been enlightened; we cannot see that our Lord has lighted more than a few of earth's billions.
Even in this comparatively enlightened day, millions of heathen give no evidence of such enlightenment; neither do many now living on our street; neither did the Sodomites, nor multitudes of others in past generations and ages.
We read that Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death "for every man" (Heb. 2:9). But if He tasted death for the one hundred and sixty billions, and from any cause that sacrifice becomes efficacious to only five billion, was not the redemption comparatively a failure?
And in that case, is not the apostle's statement too broad? When again we read, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Lk. 2:10), and looking about us, see that it is only to a "little flock" that it has been good tidings, and not to all people, we would be compelled to wonder whether the angels had not over-stated the goodness and breadth of their message, and overrated the importance of the work to be accomplished by the Christ whom they announced.
Another statement is, "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all" (I Tim. 2:5-6).
A ransom for ALL? Then why should not all involved have some benefit, from Christ's death? Why should not ALL come to a knowledge of the truth, that they may believe?
Without the KEY, how dark, how inconsistent these statements appear; but when we find the KEY to God's plan, these texts all declare with one voice, "God is love."
This key is found in the latter part of the text last quoted - "Who gave Himself a ransom for all, TO BE TESTIFIED IN DUE TIME."
Ah, God has a "due time" for everything! He could have testified it to these in their past lifetime; but since He did not, it proves that their "due time" must be the future. For those who will be of the Church, the body of Christ, the firstfruits of His redemption, the present is the "due time" to hear and receive; and whosoever now has an ear to hear, let him hear and heed, and he will be blessed accordingly.
Though Jesus paid our ransom before we were born, it was not our "due time" to hear of it for long years afterward, and only the appreciation of it, quickened by the Holy Spirit, brought responsibility; and this, only to the extent of our ability and appreciation.
The same principle applies to all: in God's due time it will be testified to all, and all will then have the glorious opportunity to believe and be blessed by it.
The prevailing opinion is that death ends all opportunity; but there is no Scripture which so teaches; and all the above, and many more Scriptures, would be meaningless, or worse, if death ends all hope for the ignorant masses of the world.
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Jack
