Why Is It Incredible?

 When people hear that I believe that the Bible is true, and that I also believe that one day everyone God created will be with Him in heaven, they are often surprised. But, what is most surprising to me is that many of these people, along with many, many others, are not interested in even looking into the issue . . . even though we’re talking about the eternal destinies of many of the people they actually know and love. 

So, at the beginning of this New Year, I thought I would post 5 reasons that have helped convince me that God will ultimately restore all of His creation to its intended perfection.

1.  God has specifically said that it is His desire that ALL people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.  Why?  Because God is love . . . and love never fails! 

God didn’t abandon Adam & Eve when they sinned in the garden.  He didn’t abandon Israel when they turned away from Him to follow other gods.  God didn’t abandon mankind when they sinned.  He pursued us even in death. 

In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “Men are not cast off by the Lord forever.  Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.”    

2.  Historically, the dominant view of the Christian Church during the first 500 years of its existence was that God would ultimately RESTORE all of creation.  Hell was real, but it didn’t last forever.  Its purpose was to restore, not just to punish.

This was the time when the church was closest to Jesus and the Apostles . . . when the New Testament was read in its native language . . . and when the church had the greatest impact on the surrounding culture it has ever had. 

In the words of Gregory of Nyssa, who was designated Father of the Fathers at the Seventh General Council of the Church in AD 787, “In due course evil will pass over into non-existence; it will disappear utterly from the realm of existence.  Divine and uncompounded goodness will encompass within itself every rational nature; no single being created by God will fail to achieve the kingdom of God.”

3.  What endless punishment and the total annihilation of the wicked really mean is that God is ultimately creation’s greatest LOSER!

But the Scriptures are quite clear: “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD . . . The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths . . . Nothing is impossible with God.”

Sin is not more powerful than grace.  Darkness is not more powerful than light.  Evil is not more powerful than good.  Jesus Christ succeeded in His mission to seek and save what was lost.

4.  When the Scriptures usually cited in support of Endless Punishment are looked at carefully and in context, they DON’T MEAN what people usually think they mean. 

- The word usually translated “eternal, everlasting” does not mean never-ending.  It means the end is not known.

- The verses referring to entering through the narrow gate are not addressing the afterlife.  They are talking about pursuing a meaningful, productive life in the here and now.

- The Lake of Fire is a refiner’s fire, not a place of unending torture or complete destruction.  Its purpose is to purify and cleanse from evil.

5.  The Greatest Story Ever Told – the story of the Creation, Fall and Redemption of mankind – is not a tragedy.  It really is the GREATEST NEWS EVER ANNOUNCED!

The Angel at Jesus’ birth said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Paul told the people in Corinth, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

John explained in his first epistle that Christ “is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

When the Apostle Paul was questioned by the civic and religious authorities as he stood on trial in Caesarea, he asked, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?"

Similarly, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that the all-wise, all-powerful, all-loving God who is good will restore all of His creation to the perfection He originally intended?

It’s not incredible to BELIEVE that God will accomplish all that He intends.  What is incredible is that He actually will!

For More Information Please Visit

GeorgeWSarris.com

The Miracle of Squanto’s Path to Plymouth

On this Thanksgiving Day 2025, I thought I would share an article about God's miraculous provision for the Pilgrims written by my friend, Eric Metaxas. It's titled, "The Miracle of Squanto’s Path to Plymouth - The Thanksgiving tale of the Pilgrims and the Indian has an astonishing, less well-known back story."

"The story of how the Pilgrims arrived at our shores on the Mayflower—and how a friendly Patuxet native named Squanto showed them how to plant corn, using fish as fertilizer—is well-known. But Squanto’s full story is not, as National Geographic’s new Thanksgiving miniseries, “Saints & Strangers,” shows. That might be because some details of Squanto’s life are in dispute. The important ones are not, however. His story is astonishing, even raising profound questions about God’s role in American history.

Every Thanksgiving we remember that, to escape religious persecution, the Pilgrims sailed to the New World, landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620. But numerous trading ships had visited the area earlier. Around 1608 an English ship dropped anchor off the coast of what is today Plymouth, Mass., ostensibly to trade metal goods for the natives’ beads and pelts. The friendly Patuxets received the crew but soon discovered their dark intentions. A number of the braves were brutally captured, taken to Spain and sold into slavery.

One of them, a young man named Tisquantum, or Squanto, was bought by a group of Catholic friars, who evidently treated him well and freed him, even allowing him to dream of somehow returning to the New World, an almost unimaginable thought at the time. Around 1612, Squanto made his way to London, where he stayed with a man named John Slany and learned his ways and language. In 1618, a ship was found, and in return for serving as an interpreter, Squanto would be given one-way passage back to the New World.

After spending a winter in Newfoundland, the ship made its way down the coast of Maine and Cape Cod, where Squanto at last reached his own shore. After 10 years, Squanto returned to the village where he had been born. But when he arrived, to his unfathomable disappointment, there was no one to greet him. What had happened?

It seems that since he had been away, nearly every member of the Patuxets had perished from disease, perhaps smallpox, brought by European ships. Had Squanto not been kidnapped, he would almost surely have died. But perhaps he didn’t feel lucky to have been spared. Surely, he must have wondered how his extraordinary efforts could amount to this. At first he wandered to another Wampanoag tribe, but they weren’t his people. He was a man without a family or tribe, and eventually lived alone in the woods.

But his story didn’t end there. In the bleak November of 1620, the Mayflower passengers, unable to navigate south to the warmer land of Virginia, decided to settle at Plymouth, the very spot where Squanto had grown up. They had come in search of religious freedom, hoping to found a colony based on Christian principles.

Their journey was very difficult, and their celebrated landing on the frigid shores of Plymouth proved even more so. Forced to sleep in miserably wet and cold conditions, many of them fell gravely ill. Half of them died during that terrible winter. One can imagine how they must have wept and wondered how the God they trusted and followed could lead them to this agonizing pass. They seriously considered returning to Europe.

But one day during that spring of 1621, a Wampanoag walked out of the woods to greet them. Somehow he spoke perfect English. In fact, he had lived in London more recently than they had. And if that weren’t strange enough, he had grown up on the exact land where they had settled.

Because of this, he knew everything about how to survive there; not only how to plant corn and squash, but how to find fish and lobsters and eels and much else. The lone Patuxet survivor had nowhere to go, so the Pilgrims adopted him as one of their own and he lived with them on the land of his childhood.

No one disputes that Squanto’s advent among the Pilgrims changed everything, making it possible for them to stay and thrive. Squanto even helped broker a peace with the local tribes, one that lasted 50 years, a staggering accomplishment considering the troubles settlers would face later.

So the question is: Can all of this have been sheer happenstance, as most versions of the story would have us believe? The Pilgrims hardly thought so. To them, Squanto was a living answer to their tearful prayers, an outrageous miracle of God. Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford declared in his journal that Squanto “became a special instrument sent of God” who didn’t leave them “till he died.”

Indeed, when Squanto died from a mysterious disease in 1622, Bradford wrote that he wanted “the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen’s God in heaven.” And Squanto bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims “as remembrances of his love.”

These are historical facts. May we be forgiven for interpreting them as the answered prayers of a suffering people, and a warm touch at the cold dawn of our history of an Almighty Hand?"

Eric Metaxas is the author of “Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life” (Dutton Adult, 2014).

 

How Narrow is the Narrow Door?

 

When I was writing my book, Heaven's Doors, I asked a random sample of people in front of the New York City Public Library to take a six-question survey about their thoughts on heaven and hell. I wanted to get an idea of what real people really thought about the afterlife, since what people are supposed to think and what they actually think are often completely different.

I was especially interested in their answers to the last two questions:

Do you believe misery in hell is never-ending?

__ Yes __ No __ Not Sure

At the end of time, what percentage of the total population of the earth most closely represents the number of those you believe will be in heaven?

__ 0% __ 10% __ 25% __ 50% __ 75% __ 100%

I was encouraged to find a broad sample of willing participants - male and female of various ages, White, Black, Asian, Latin, Atheist, Buddhist, Christian and Jewish.

Interestingly, about 65% of those taking my survey who professed to be Christians either did not believe, or were not sure they believed hell was never-ending. And almost 75% of the Christians taking the survey thought that more than half of the total population of the world would eventually be in heaven. 

What Did Jesus Think?

In Luke 13:23, Jesus was asked a similar question.

“Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He answered with a parable to encourage His listeners to make every effort to enter through the narrow door. Once the door is closed, many will try to enter but will be unable. They will knock and plead, but won’t be let in. The result will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” when they see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets sitting at a feast in the kingdom of God, but they themselves are thrown out.

Doesn’t Jesus’ response clearly indicate that only a few will ultimately go to heaven?

Unfortunately, the question phrased in most English versions of the Bible gives a completely different sense from the question that was actually asked. The wording in the original Greek is,

“Lord, are they few in number, those who are being saved?”

It’s a question about the number of people at that time who were accepting the message that Jesus brought. It wasn’t a question about how many people would ultimately be saved, but how many people were then being saved.

Similarly, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encouraged those in His audience to

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

As with many places where Jesus talks about life, He was not addressing the issue of the afterlife in this passage. Jesus was telling His followers that the way to find the truly meaningful life that God desires us to have is actually found by comparatively few people. By contrast, there are many unproductive avenues in life that are broad, easy to follow and well traveled.

You simply need to look around at all the trivial things people pursue – the biggest house, newest car, whitest teeth, most Facebook friends, latest iPhone – to see the truth of that statement.

The kingdom of God is not only a future reality. It’s a kingdom that Jesus was beginning to establish while He was here on earth, and will continue to establish in the ages to come until it encompases all those created in God's image.

Adapted from Heaven's Doors . . . Wider Than You Ever Believed!

Available in paperback, eBook and Audiobook formats

For more information, visit GeorgeWSarris.com

What Did The Early Church Really Believe About Hell?

 

What the Early Church believed and taught is important because the early Christians were closest to Jesus and the Apostles.  They read the New Testament in their native tongue.  They had the greatest impact on the surrounding culture of any time in history.  And they established the Faith that we now profess. 

They were the ones who wrote the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed to explain clearly what true Christians believed.  They were the ones who formulated the doctrines of the Divinity of Christ and the Trinity.  And they were the ones who assembled the 27 books we now call the New Testament.

During the first 500 years after Christ, a prominent view, and according to some scholars, the dominant view within the leadership and laity of the Church was that God will ultimately restore all of His creation to the perfection He initially intended. 

Clement of Alexandria

For example, that was the view of Clement of Alexandria.  Clement was born around AD 150, within a couple of generations of Jesus and the apostles.  For him, to believe that God is powerless to save all was unthinkable, because that would mean God is weak.  To believe that God does not want to save all was also unthinkable, because that would mean that God is not good.  For Clement, God’s ultimate plan is the salvation of the universe.

“For either the Lord does not care for all men; and this is the case either because He is unable, which is not to be thought for it would be a proof of weakness, or because He is unwilling, which is not the attribute of a good being . . . Or He does care for all, which is befitting for Him who has become Lord of all.  He is Savior; not of some, and of others not ... For all things are arranged with a view to the salvation of the universe by the Lord of the universe . . .” 

In response to those who thought that God takes vengeance on the wicked, Clement said, “No.”  That could not be the case because that would be returning evil for evil.  Clement saw God as One who always acts for the good of those He created. 

“But as children are chastised by their teacher, or their father, so are we by Providence. But God does not punish, for punishment is retaliation for evil. He chastises, however, for good to those who are chastised, collectively and individually.”

Gregory of Nyssa

Another leader in the Early Church who believed in the ultimate restoration of all was Gregory of Nyssa.  Gregory added the phrase, “I believe in the life of the world to come,” to the Nicene Creed.  He died around AD 395 and is still revered as one of the greatest of the Eastern Church fathers.   In AD 787, the Seventh General Council of the Church honored Gregory by naming him, Father of the Fathers.

Does God punish forever with terrifying pain?  Gregory explained that those who are immature think this and fear it.  They are thus motivated to flee from wickedness.  However, those with more maturity understand the true purpose of after-death punishment.  It’s a remedial process instituted by God to ultimately restore to health those who are sick.  Like a skilled surgeon who doesn’t stop until his work is finished, God does not give up on those He created.

“If, however, the soul remains unhealed, the remedy is dispensed in the life that follows this  . . .  and this to the thoughtless sort is held out as the threat of a terrible correction, in order that through fear of this painful retribution they may gain the wisdom of fleeing from wickedness: while by those of more intelligence it is believed to be a remedial process ordered by God to bring back man, His peculiar creature, to the grace of his primal condition.”

Gregory explained,

“In due course evil will pass over into non-existence; it will disappear utterly from the realm of existence.  Divine and uncompounded goodness will encompass within itself every rational nature; no single being created by God will fail to achieve the kingdom of God.” 

Other well-known leaders within the Early Church who believed in the ultimate restoration of all, include Origen, Didymus, St. Anthony, St. Pamphilus Martyr, Methodius, St. Macrina, St. Evagrius Ponticus, Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. John of Jerusalem, Rufinus, Cassian, St. Isaac of Nineveh, St. John of Dalyatha, Ps. Dionysius the Areopagite, St. Maximus the Confessor, and John the Scot Eriugena. 

Even St. Augustine, the most influential supporter of endless punishment in the Early Church, acknowledged that in his day

“. . . some – indeed very many – deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery.”

From How Wide Are Heavens's Doors?

Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook Formats

For more information, visit GeorgeWSarris.com

What About Forfeiting Your Soul?

 

One of the best known tales in English literature is The Tragic History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.  

It’s based on the German legend of a successful scholar who was dissatisfied with his life and decides to make a deal with the devil.  He sells his soul in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasure. 

For a period of time, Dr. Faustus experiences power and earthly delights beyond his wildest dreams.  But in the end, his time runs out and the exchange takes place.  He’s damned forever.  He gained for a moment what was valuable in this world, but lost for eternity what was valuable in the world to come.  The story is definitely tragic. 

Is that the kind of exchange Jesus is talking about when he asks, 

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” 

Doesn’t Jesus’ comment here indicate that some people will forfeit their immortal souls and experience endless torment in hell because of it?  Aren’t they in essence making the same deal that Dr. Faustus made? 

No, they’re not. 

Jesus made this statement in Matthew 16:26 while talking to His disciples immediately after predicting His upcoming death and resurrection.  

In the verse just before this one, Matthew 16:25, He tells them that anyone who wants to be His disciple must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him.  He then says that whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake will find it.  

The Greek word that’s translated as life in that sentence is the same word that’s translated as soul in the verse we’re looking at.  Translating the word differently in the two connected sentences gives the mistaken impression that Jesus is talking about two different things – one’s life on earth on one hand, and one’s eternal soul on the other.   But He’s not. 

Jesus is not speaking about gaining or losing one’s eternal soul in this passage.  He’s talking about the cost of being one of His followers here and now.  Those who pursue their own agendas instead of following Him may gain earthly riches and honor, but they will lose the truly meaningful and purposeful life for which they were created. 

Just after writing that paragraph for my book, I saw this sign in the subway in New York City. 

“Sometimes when people get what they want, they realize how limited their goals are.”

 

That phrase actually captures the essence of what Jesus is saying in Matthew 16:26.  Those who pursue worldly power and delights in this life instead of indentifying with Christ are short-sighted, not realizing that in the end they’ve wasted their lives on things that are trivial.

From Heaven's Doors . . . Wider Than You Ever Believed!

Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook Formats

For more information, visit GeorgeWSarris.com

Will The Unpardonable Sin . . . Ever Be Pardoned?

 

One of the greatest fears of Christians down through the centuries is that they’ve somehow committed the unpardonable sin, a sin so serious that it could never be forgiven.  It’s led some people to depression and despair, and caused others to give up.  It’s been the reason behind some people abandoning faith and morality because there’s nothing left to lose. 

 While Bible teachers might agree that most people who express this concern have probably not committed such a sin, it’s possible that some have.  And if a sin is unpardonable, how can it be pardoned?

The fear actually stems from the words of Jesus Himself.  He says that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin that will not be forgiven.

Jesus made His comment when He healed a demon-possessed man who could neither see nor speak.  The common people were amazed and wondered if Jesus could be the promised Son of David.  But instead of seeing what Jesus did as a true miracle of God, some of the religious leaders accused Him of being possessed by the devil, having an unclean spirit, and driving out demons by using the power of the devil himself.

The book of Mark records Jesus’ response with these words,

“I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” 

Those are strong words.  And they definitely give the impression that whoever commits this sin is in very great danger.

In order to get a better idea of what He meant when He said this, it’s important to note that the word never in this passage is not in the Greek text.  Jesus did not say the person will never be forgiven.  He actually said that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven to the age.  Or as it reads in Matthew, “either in this age or in the age to come.”

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is refusing to acknowledge that what God is doing is really from God.  It’s resisting His work in our lives.  It’s saying no to Him.  As long as that continues, nothing can be done.  It’s impossible for someone to experience God’s forgiving grace when that person doesn’t want it, whether it takes place in this age, the age to come, or in one of the ages to come. 

However, if after-death punishment is a place for healing sinners, when that is accomplished and they stop resisting God in their lives, then God’s forgiveness is granted and heaven’s doors are opened. 

George MacDonald addressed this situation in his Unspoken Sermon on Light:

“For the man who in this world resists to the full, there may be, perhaps, a whole age or era in the history of the universe during which his sin shall not be forgiven  . . . How can they who will not repent be forgiven, save in the sense that God does and will do all he can to make them repent? Who knows but such sin may need for its cure the continuous punishment of an æon?” 

God doesn’t act graciously toward His creatures only in this age or in the age to come.  According to the Apostle Paul, the incomparable riches of God’s grace will be shown in the ages to come.

God doesn’t give up!

From Heaven's Doors . . . Wider Than You Ever Believed!

Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook Formats

For more information, visit GeorgeWSarris.com

Who Is God. . . Really?

St. Anselm defined God as "that Being than which none greater can be conceived."

I think that is a pretty good definition, and as I think about it . . . 

I can conceive of a God who is all-powerful, all-wise and good.

I can conceive of a God whose power is irresistible, whose love is unconditional and who never gives up on any of those He created in His image.

I can conceive of a God before whom every knee will one day freely and joyfully bow, and every tongue will one day freely and joyfully confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

I can conceive of a God who will one day restore all of His creaton to the perfection He intended, so that at the end of time He will once again look out on all that He has made and declare that it is very good!

One of the most common responses I receive from those who hear that I believe in this ultimate restoration of all things is, "I sure wish that were true, but . . . " and then they quickly bring up the subject of hell.

Although they would never admit it, what they are actually saying is,

"Deep down inside, I wish God were different.  I wish He were more loving, or wiser, or more powerful than He is."

Although they would never admit it, what they are actually saying is,

"I can conceive of a God who is greater than the one I worship.  One who would be able to save everyone He created.  But I am forced to believe in this lesser God because of what I've been told the Bible teaches about hell."

What most people don't realize, howevr, is that the belief that God will one day restore all of His creation to the perfection He initially intended was a prominent, and according to some scholars, the dominant view within the Early Christian Church leadership and laity during its first 500 years of existence.  

Unfortunately, much of what people have been told that the Bible teaches about the nature and duration of hell has been misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented, and is not true.  The view that God will one day restore all is strongly supported by the teaching of Scripture! 

I'll be sharing some of that information in the weeks months to come.  In the meantime, be encouraged that the God of the Bible really is that Being than which none greater can be conceived!

Adapted from How Wide Are Heaven's Doors?  The Biblical Case for Ultimate Restoration

Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook formats

For more information, visit GeorgeWSarris.com