(Lam 3 v 31-33)
Evangelical Christians teach that the Lord will cast people off forever and will not show them compassion. Jeremiah thought differently because he knew the ‘Gospel of restoration of all things.’
Daniel knew this principle too when he prophesied:
‘I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, he came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him, then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages should serve him’.
(Dan 7 v 13-14)
Daniel knew that one day all people would serve God.
The Prophet Joel knew the day was coming when the Messiah would return to earth, raise the dead and pour out the Holy Spirit on all flesh when he wrote:
‘And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions and also on my menservants and on my maid servants I will pour out my spirit in those days.’
(Joel 2 v 28-29)
Again, ‘all flesh’ means all people.
Like many of the Old Testament prophets, the prophet Zephaniah speaks of God’s judgement of all nations and the ultimate restoration of all people when he writes:
‘Therefore wait for me says the Lord until the day I rise up for plunder, my determination is to gather the nations to my assembly of kingdoms to pour on them my indignation, all my fierce anger, all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy, for then I will restore to the people a pure language that they all may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one accord.’
(Zeph 3 v 8-9)
Again, we have the judgement of God preceding the ultimate restoration of all things.
We can see from all these scriptures that the Gospel of the restoration of all things was proclaimed by all God’s holy prophets since the world began. The problem came when the Jewish people limited salvation to only the Jewish people and forgot that God had promised that all families, nations and people of the earth would be blessed in the seed of Abraham who is Jesus Christ.
The Church has done exactly the same thing, teaching that only Christians will be saved instead of everyone for whom Christ died, which is the whole world!
We now come onto the New Testament, John the Baptist, Jesus himself and the Apostles, to see that they also taught and believed that ultimately all will be saved and restored back to perfect union with God.
Firstly, in John chapter 1, Jesus is described as:
‘The true light that lights every man that comes into the world’
(John 1 v 9)
In other words, Jesus will light every man with the light of the gospel and the light of regeneration. Every man will be born again and will receive of his light.
In Matthew chapter 1, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying:
‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.’
(Math 1 v 20-21)
So the question is, who is meant by ‘his people’? The question is answered in Psalm 24 v 1 which says:
‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof the world and all who dwell in.’
(Psalm 24 v 1)
So every person who has ever lived, is living or will live in the future belongs to God and are included as ‘his people’, so the angel promises that Jesus will one day save all people from their sins!
The same phrase ‘his people’ is also used in Luke 1 verses 68 and 77, where it says that God has redeemed his people and will give knowledge of salvation to ‘his people’ by the remission of sins. Again, ‘his people’ means ‘the world and all who dwell therein’!
An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds at the time of the birth of Christ and said:
‘Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great Joy which will be to all people.’
(Luke 2 v 10)
Simeon, in the temple, when Jesus was presented there by his parents, said:
‘For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people.’
(Luke 2 v 30)
So God is not just giving good news to all people but is preparing salvation for all people.
John the Baptist then appears on the scene and starts preaching. He announces himself as:
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’
(Luke 3 v 4)
This is his message:
‘Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth and all flesh shall see the salvation of God!’
(Luke 3 v 5-6)
In other words, nothing shall be a hindrance to God’s universal salvation plan until:
‘All flesh shall see the salvation of God!’
Most have not yet seen the salvation of God, but they will, for:
‘All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.’
(Psalm 22 v 27)
And to ‘turn to the lord’ is to be saved.
John the Baptist then announces Jesus and says:
‘Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’
(John 1 v 29)
Notice, he doesn’t take away the sin of the church or the sin of the ‘elect’ or just ‘born again believers’, but the sin of the entire world.
And how does Jesus take away the sin of the world? Firstly, by dying on the cross for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2 v 2), and secondly by taking away the one sin that keeps people away from God - ‘unbelief’. In fact, ‘unbelief’ is the sin of the world.
‘For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God.’
(Eph 2 v 8)
Jesus as God is the one who gives faith to every man and in that way takes away their sin.
‘For God has dealt to every man the measure of faith’
(Romans 12 v 3 KJV)
Remember as we saw earlier that Jesus said:
‘All things have been delivered to me by my Father’.
(Matthew 11 v 27)
And:
‘The Father loves the son and has given all things into his hands’
(John 3 v 35)
And we saw that ‘things’ means people and ‘all things’ means ‘all people’ and all people have been given by God the Father to God the Son and Jesus makes this remarkable promise:
‘All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to