Universal Restoration
“We’re Shadrach, Meshach
& Abed-nego!”
Going on two years ago I had the good privilege to be traveling with a young man who was full of wisdom. Being only 17 he was well beyond his years. We had a ten-hour drive ahead of us and as we drove I shared some of my pet doctrines with him. I almost felt sorry for Harry, he had nowhere to run, he was a captive audience and I backed my dump truck up and unloaded on him!
I have to hand it to him, he took it all in stride and listened politely, if not intently. Harry is different; he’s hungry! I’ve truly never met anyone quite like him.
I finally got around to my belief that ‘all mankind will be saved’. This is one of my favorite subjects to talk about and once I get on it it’s hard to shut me up! I waxed on at length about YHWH being endlessly merciful and the consummate good parent whose judgments are all remedial and never retributive, that all of YHWH’s judgments are ultimately purposed for restoring His children to righteous behavior.
I spoke of the many reasons why I didn’t think ‘a present day place of fiery eternal torment called hell’ had any place in today’s bibles. I went through the many different words that have been mistranslated or have become archaic in their definition. Harry continued to listen.
Then I finally got around to talking about my beliefs regarding The Lake of Fire. I reminded Harry that nowhere in Scripture is The Lake of Fire ever referred to as hell. Rather it is referred to as ‘The Second Death’! But what is The Second Death? I continued to share all that I thought I knew about The Second Death. It’s a spiritual death I told him, it’s where I die to myself, it’s repentance! I shared with Harry my belief that those cast into The Lake of Fire are actually being cast into the presence of Messiah Yeshua and in His presence the people who have taken the mark of the beast will be refined into righteous sons and daughters of The Most High. Yeshua comes as a consuming fire and as such He will consume the rebellion in each and every one of us until the words of Isaiah 45:22-23 are literally fulfilled. In Malachi 3:2 Yeshua is referred to as a launderer’s soap and as a refiner’s fire, I told Harry, the launderer’s soap doesn’t destroy the clothes, it cleanses them, the refiner’s fire doesn’t destroy the metal, it purifies it! I continued on by breaking down Revelation 14:9-20. I made the case for this being a great harvest of human souls from The Lake of Fire. It is through The Lake of Fire that ‘ALL MANKIND WILL BE SAVED’! Then I turned the corner and brought it all home to those of us living today who are striving to be obedient to His will here today.
I began to tell Harry if we believe we are living our lives in His presence today then we have willingly taken Yeshua’s hand and walked into The Lake of Fire and no harm will come to us. The refiner’s fire is purifying us here and now…
With that... Harry interrupts and says, “We’re Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego!”
"YES…! Oh HalleluYAH...! Yes Harry, we’re Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego!"
What an incredible moment that was for me for I knew… Harry Got It!