Chapter 39

Salvation

Have we not found that every man was condemned to death before he was born, and that all the world lies guilty before God? Rom. 3:19; 9:11, 12.

Does not this condemnation assure us that a saviour, and a mighty saviour, is essential? For who can redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom? Psa. 49:7.

Did not God foreknow the condemnation of all before the world was? — and was not Christ our Lord foreordained from before the foundation of the world to be our redeemer? Acts 15:18; I Pet. 1:19, 20.

Did not our Lord give up the glory he had with the Father before the world was, and permit himself to be made flesh and blood (man), that he, by the grace of God, might taste [not eternal torment, but] death for every man? John 17:5; Heb. 2:9-17.

Did not our Lord become the Saviour of the whole world by tasting death for EVERY man? — and will not every man receive a benefit therefrom? I John 2:2.

Did not our Lord give “himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in DUE TIME”? I Tim. 2:6.

Did not our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, come to do the will of the Father? (Heb. 10:7, 9), and is it not the Father’s will that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth”? I Tim. 2:4.

If this is the Father’s will, and the Son came to do the Father’s will, what can hinder? Isa. 55:10, 11; John 1:1.

After the will of God has been done, after all have been saved from the Adamic or first death, brought to a full knowledge of the truth and blessed with a just and equitable OPPORTUNITY for eternal salvation, if they sin again, shall they inherit eternal life? Do not the scrip- tures teach that they shall die again—die the second death, from which there is no redemption? Rev. 20:6, 14.

Did not our Lord come “to save men’ s lives and not to destroy them”? And will he not save them? Luke 9:56; Rom. 11:26; I Tim. 4:10.

Did not our Lord come to “seek and to save THAT which was lost”? And will he not do so? Luke 19:10; Matt. 18:11; Isa. 55:10, 11.

Was it not LIFE, and a paradise, that was lost? Gen.

2:7, 17.

Did not our Lord come to save ALL men, and especially those [the church] that believe”? I Tim. 4:10.

Is not our Lord “the propitiation [satisfaction] for our [the church’s] sin: and not for ours [the church] only, but ALSO FOR the sins of the WHOLE WORLD”? I John 2:2.

Did not God make a promise to Abraham, and confirm it by an oath to Isaac and to Jacob, that through his seed ALL families of the EARTH should be blessed? Gen. 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Deut. 29:12, 13; Heb. 11:17,18; Acts 3:25; 13:23; Gal. 3:8.

Does not the apostle SAY that “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”? Gal. 3:29.

Does this not teach that our Lord is the Saviour of the WORLD (from the Adamic death) as well as the church? (I John 2:2). And does it not teach a SPECIAL SALVA- TION for the church, the predestinated little flock, which is the promised seed of Abraham? (I Tim. 4:10; Luke 12:32). Is not this a special salvation from all future judgment as well as the Adamic death? (Rev. 20:6). And does it not teach the saving of all the (world) families of the earth from the Adamic death, to be blessed by the promised Seed (those who gain the special salvation, the church) with eternal salvation, if they will, according to the oath-bound promise of God? Gen. 22:17; Acts 3:25; Rom. 4:13; 9:7, 8; Gal. 3:16, 19, 29; Heb. 2:16.

Did not our Lord come to destroy DEATH and he who hath the power of death, that is, the Devil? Heb. 2:14.

Did not our Lord come to destroy sin and death, which are the works of the devil? I John 3:8.

Do not the scriptures declare that DEATH will be the last enemy that will be destroyed by the Lord? I Cor. 15:26.

Do you know that this death the Lord is going to destroy is the ENEMY death (becoming such by redemption), and not the second (servant) death?

Can death be destroyed and all men be saved any other way but by the putting in of life? And would this not necessitate all the dead, both the just and the unjust, being made alive (egeiro)? And will not every man be made alive in his own order: “Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming”? [during his presence]. I Cor. 15:22, 23.

Does this not prove that our Lord is the Saviour of ALL people from the death penalty which God imposed upon them; and will he not do God’s will by saving all and bringing all to a full “knowledge of the truth”? (I Tim. 2:4) And would not this necessitate a future probation?

After saving all from the Adamic, or first death, and bringing them to a full “knowledge OF the truth,” will it not then be that who-so-ever will may drink of the water and eat of the Tree of Life freely and live forever? (Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14) And who-so-ever will not avail themselves of this blessed privilege, shall they not die again, and would not this be the second death? Acts 3:19-25.

Do not these scriptural quotations and references teach a universal salvation from the first, or Adamic, death, and a universal OPPORTUNITY for salvation from the second, or eternal, death (annihilation)?