Final redemption for the wicked?

Is There a Final Redemption of the Wicked?¹
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Dr. Paul Manuel—2006

Some Christians, who have difficulty reconciling God's love with His justice, believe that God will give those who rejected His grace in life an opportunity to accept that grace after death, immediately or following a period of punishment. At some point, most or all of the dead will turn to Him and be saved, a view known as universalism. Proponents of this view appeal to passages that allegedly support the notion that Jesus gave Old Testament sinners, those who had never heard the gospel, a second chance to repent.

The first passages to which advocates of universalism appeal are in Peter's first epistle where the apostle allegedly sets forth the idea that those who believed in Jesus after death, the savior then brought with him to heaven.

1 Pet 3:18b He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20a who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.

1 Pet 4:6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

Does Peter teach a final redemption of the wicked after death? This interpretation reads more into the apostle's statements than is there and does not have the strong, unambiguous support necessary for such an unorthodox doctrine. It fails to convince on several counts.

1. In the first passage...

a. Jesus targets only antediluvians (from "the days of Noah"). Apparently those who died after the flood did not have the same opportunity to hear him, a limited offer (if it was that) which hardly seems fair.

b. Peter does not identify "the spirits in prison." As other passages suggest, those "spirits" could have been errant angels rather than sinful men.

Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

2 Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment

c. Peter does not say what Jesus preached, let alone that he offered anyone a second chance.

1) If Jesus spoke to errant angels, it would have been to proclaim his victory not to offer them salvation.

Heb 2:16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.

2) If Jesus spoke to men, it could have been to saints (in Paradise) rather than to sinners (in hell), declaring to them the benefits of his atoning work.

2. In the second passage...

• However much it seems—out of context—to develop the first passage, it has a different setting and refers to those who died after accepting the gospel. Although the living may regard the dead as forever separated from them, God will eventually reverse that situation.

Such issues in these passages make their support for universalism untenable, especially in the light of biblical teaching elsewhere to the contrary.

Another passage to which advocates of universalism appeal is in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, where the apostle refers to Jesus' post-crucifixion experience. They hold that Jesus descended into Sheol or Hades (the general realm of the dead) upon his death and relocated its residents, to heaven at his ascension.

Eph 4:8 This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." [= Ps 68:18] 9 (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

Does Paul teach a final redemption of the wicked after death? As with the texts from Peter's letter, there are several problems with understanding the passage from Paul's letter this way.

1. The Old Testament psalm Paul quotes is not a messianic prophecy. It depicts God (the Father) as a warrior who defeats His enemies, returns triumphantly with captured prisoners, and receives tribute from those He conquered as well as tokens of appreciation from his own subjects.

Ps 68:18 When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious—that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.

The New Testament version is slightly different ("he...gave gifts to men"), perhaps from an Aramaic translation, but the variant does not necessarily indicate a prison break.

2. Paul quotes this verse to draw an analogy between God's past activity and Jesus' recent activity. The common element is that both descended to earth to help man and then ascended to heaven upon completing the task.

a. The KJV "the lower parts of the earth" (v. 9) is not under the earth (i.e., to Sheol) but "the earth below" or, as the NIV renders it, "the lower, earthly regions." Reference to this traversing back and forth appears several times in the New Testament.

John 3:13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

John 8:23 ...You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

John 16:28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.

Acts 2:19a I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below....

b. The "captives" are not Old Testament saints in paradise, who are hardly being kept there against their will. Rather, it is an allusion to the defeat and humiliation of enemy forces. Although that may be incidental to Paul's point, several New Testament passages attest to Jesus' victory over his opponents.

Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

John 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

Heb 2:14 ...he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.

3. The primary difference in the New Testament citation (i.e., the conqueror's giving versus accepting gifts) points to the purpose of Paul's selection. His intention is not to teach about an excursion to the nether world, even if there were some hint of that here. Rather, Paul is indicating that, as a result of Jesus' ascension, the church has received a series of spiritual gifts.

Eph 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

The notion of Jesus' descent to the realm of the dead, where he supposedly interacted with residents there and even transferred some of them to a different location, is a post-New Testament addition to Christian doctrine (from the Apostles Creed, c. 700, which states that Jesus "descended to hell"). The simplest and most likely way to understand this New Testament passage is that Jesus came to earth, conquered the forces of evil, and returned to heaven.

In addition to these passages offering no clear support for universalism, such a notion contradicts the teaching of scripture:

• Death closes the door on man's decision for or against God.²

Luke 16:26 a great chasm has been fixed...nor can anyone cross over from there to us.

John 5:29 ...those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

Heb 9:27 ...man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

• Although advocates of universalism attempt to mitigate the suffering of the wicked by reducing its duration, God has determined that the punishment of the wicked, like the reward of the righteous, is permanent.

Dan 12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Matt 25:46 ...they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

• Moreover, the final judgment permits no appeals and issues no reprieves (no parole and no pardon). Those who rejected God will stand before Him to receive their sentence.

Rev 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

As John closes his description of man's final state, he says "only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" will have access to the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:27). It is an entry God makes in this life that excludes the wicked.³

What to remember: Contrary to the claim of universalists, the teaching of scripture is clear—there is no opportunity after death to alter one's eternal destiny. That is a decision everyone settles, for better or worse, in this life. Hence, there is no final redemption of the wicked.

Bibliography

Manuel, Paul, http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com

2009, "The Fate of the Unevangelized" Soteriology Excursus 4 in A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology.

2013, A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology.

1995, "When does God write a person's name in the Book of Life?" Soteriology Excursus 5 in A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology.

Endnotes

¹This study is Eschatology Excursus 6 in Manuel 2013 A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology.
²God gives ample opportunity in life (see Manuel 2009 "The Fate of the Unevangelized").
³See Manuel, 1995 "When does God write a person's name in the Book of Life?"

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.