The Gospel of The Restoration of All Things. Tim Hodge

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СКАЧАТЬ we not only have all families but ‘all nations’ being blessed in him. In whom? In the one coming from Abraham, the messiah Jesus Christ.

      In Genesis 28 v 14 it says:

       ‘And in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

      Paul tells us in Galatians 3 v 16 that the seed of Abraham is Christ, so we not only have ‘all families’ and ‘all nations’ but we now know that they will be blessed ‘in Christ’. Now to be ‘in Christ’ is to be saved! Here it clearly teaches that all families and all nations will be blessed in Christ - in other words, ‘saved’!

      Eph 1 v 7 says:

       ‘In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.’

      So part of being blessed in him is having redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.

      But the passage is expanded again, the NIV says:

       ‘All people on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’

      (Gen 28 v 14)

      We not only now have ‘all nations’ and ‘all families’ but we also have ‘all people’ being blessed in Christ. In other words, every individual who has ever lived will one day be blessed (in other words saved) in the seed of Abraham, who is Christ.

      This Gospel went out into the ancient world but was quickly thwarted, firstly by the Jews, who said that not all nations, families and people would be saved, only Jewish people, just as the Church says only Christians will be saved! This message of universal salvation was repeated in the New Testament when quoting these verses:

       ‘And the entire world will be blessed because of you.’

      (Acts 3 v 25 Living Bible)

      ‘As God said to Abraham, “through your descendants I will bless all people on Earth.”’

      (Acts 3 v 25 Good News Bible)

      And so the scripture announced the good news to Abraham:

       ‘Through you God will bless all mankind.’

      (Gal 3 v 8 Good News Bible)

      This was the original Gospel preached to Abraham and through Abraham to the people.

      Now of course Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, including Genesis, and understood fully that one day God would bless all mankind in Christ. He also gave the children of Israel the law, but as Paul says in Galatians 3 v 17 that the law covenant cannot annul the universal promise made to Abraham, that one day ‘In Christ’ all the families, nations and people of the world would be blessed.

      For Moses says in Numbers:

       ‘The Lord said ‘I have pardoned them according to your word, but indeed as I live, all the earth will be filled with the Glory of the Lord.’

      (Num 14 v 20)

      ‘All the earth’ means everyone who has ever lived on earth will one day be filled with the glory of the Lord’.

      The prophet Samuel understood God’s universal gospel when he said:

       ‘God does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished ones may not be cast out from him.’

      (2 Sam 14 v 14)

      God has a plan so that anyone who has been banished from him, either ‘on earth’ or ‘under the earth’, can be saved, and this plan is called ‘the Gospel of the Restoration of all Things’.

      But King David is probably the Old Testament’s biggest exponent of universal salvation and was a man after God’s own heart, for he said in Psalm 22:

       ‘All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you for the kingdom is the Lords and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who cannot keep himself alive.’

      (Psalm 22 v 27-29)

      The phrase ‘all the ends of the earth’ means ‘all mankind’ (from both ends of history), again echoing the gospel spoken to Abraham. We have ‘all families’ and ‘all nations’ and this also applies to all those who have died ‘all those who go down to the dust’, will what? Will ‘remember and turn to the Lord’ and will ‘bow before him’!

      In Psalm 65 David makes this simple declaration:

      ‘Oh you who hear prayer to you all flesh will come.’

      (Psalm 65 v 2)

      ‘You who hear prayer’ is God himself, and ‘all flesh’ is all mankind. Many in the church today believe that when every knee bows to God and confesses ‘Jesus is Lord’, God is somehow forcing his enemies to submit to him and it will be too late to be saved, but David says this:

      ‘Through the greatness of your power your enemies shall submit themselves to you. All the earth shall worship you and sing praises to you. They shall sing praises to your name.’

      (Psalm 66 v 3-4)

      So rather than being forced to submit they shall submit themselves to God. Not only that, but ‘all the earth shall worship God’ means all people and all people will become believers, for when are unbelievers going to worship God or sing praises to his name?

      ‘All the ends of the earth shall fear him.’

      (Psalm 67 v 7)

      ‘All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.’

      (Psalm 98 v 3)

      The phrase ‘all the ends of the earth’ means all mankind (again from both ends of history) and all will fear (or show reverence) to him and all will see the salvation that God has planned for everyone.

      In Psalm 145, David again declares that the day will come when all people will worship God.

      ‘The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works, all your works shall praise you and all flesh shall bless his holy name forever and ever.’

      (Psalm 145)

      The Prophet Isaiah understood and proclaimed the Universalist Gospel when he said:

       ‘For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’

      (Isaiah 11 v 9)

      It is difficult to see how ‘all flesh’ and ‘all God’s works’ shall praise him and bless his Holy name forever and ever if most of mankind are lost and writhing in agony in hell. Isaiah continues:

      ‘And in this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for СКАЧАТЬ