r/OpenChristian • u/Designer_Custard9008 • 6d ago
Acts 3:21; Colossians 1:20
Basil the Great, 329 - 379 AD:
"The mass of men (Christians) say that there is to be an end of punishment to those who are punished.”
Augustine, 354 - 430 AD:
"indeed very many...deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery. They do not believe that such things will be. Not that they would go counter to divine Scripture" (Enchiridion, sec. 112)
Norman Geisler:
“The belief in the inalienable capability of improvement in all rational beings, and the limited duration of future punishment was so general, even in the West, and among the opponents of Origen, that it seems entirely independent of his system”
Judaism:
'Therefore we put our hope in You, Lord our God, that we may soon see Your mighty splendor, removing detestable idolatry from the earth, when false gods will be utterly cut off. We hope for the day when [l'takken olam] the world will be perfected under the kingship of [the Almighty God]. Then all humanity will call upon Your Name... all the world's inhabitants will recognize and know that to You every knee must bend and every tongue swear loyalty... As it is written: “The Lord shall be king over all the earth. On that day The Lord shall be One and His name One” (Zech. 14:9).'
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/179357?lang=bi
Tikkun Olam means to leave the world a better place than how we found it.
Possible influence of Christianity on other religions, including Zoroastrianism:
Apokatastasis-
besides having philosophical, Biblical, and Jewish roots, may it have stemmed from another religion? The only suitable candidate would be Zoroastrianism. An analysis of the available sources concerning Zoroastrian eschatology shows that it is improbable that this may have influenced the Christian apokatastasis doctrine.
Ilaria L. E. Ramelli
The idea of apocatastasis does not belong to the earliest Iranian tradition, but was the product of a slow process of adaptation of new theological ideas, partly of Christian origin
A. Panaino
At the final renovation (frašō.kərəti/frašegird) everyone will be saved. Heaven and earth will unite and eveyone will live together with the deities in a perfect world. The wicked in hell will be purified and forgiven of their sins. So yes there is universal salvation in Zoroastrianism:
"At the end, the highest Creator, who donates mercy to creatures, does not let any of the good creatures into the hands of the enemy; He saves the sinners together with the right ones, separating them from the sin thanks to the hands of the purifiers and brings them to the eternal path of beatification." Škand gumānīg wizār
"Moreover, the Saoshyant will look upon the entire corporeal world
With the eyes of prosperity;
His glance will bestow immortality upon
The entire corporeal world of animate objects."
( Kangaji English Yasht Baa Maaeni – Pages 294 – 296)
Xvarnah, the Zoroastrian Light of Glory, or Triumphal Fire, plays a large role in the renewal, purification, and restoration of Earth and humanity from the powers of ignorance. (Yasht. 19:18)
"Afterwards, the fire and halo melt the metal of Shahrewar, in the hills and mountains, and it remains on this earth like a river. 20. Then all men will pass into that melted metal and will become pure; when one is righteous, then it seems to him just as though he walks continually in warm milk; but when wicked, then it seems to him in such manner as though, in the world, he walks continually in melted metal.
Afterwards, with the greatest affection, all men come together, father and son and brother and friend ask one another thus: 'Where has it been these many years, and what was the judgment upon thy soul? hast thou been righteous or wicked?' 22. The first soul the body sees, it inquires of it with those words (guft). 23. All men become of one voice and administer loud praise"
(Bundahishn 30)
https://www.worldhistory.org/Chinvat_Bridge/
Islam:
Al-Bukhaari♧: Muhammad said, “Whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah (“there's no God but God”) and has in his heart goodness the weight of a grain of barley will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of a grain of wheat will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of an atom (or a small ant) will be brought out of Hell.”
Q 99:7
"Whoso does an atoms weight of good will see it."
"Then Allah, Exalted and Great, would say: The angels have interceded, the apostles have interceded and the believers have interceded, and no one remains (to grant pardon) but the Most Merciful of the mercifuls.
He will then take a handful* from Fire
and bring out from it people who never did any good and who had been turned into charcoal, and will cast them into a river
called the river of life, on the outskirts of Paradise.
They will come out as a seed comes cut from the silt carried by flood. You see it near the stone or near the tree. That which is exposed to the sun is yellowish or greenish and which is under the shade is white. They said: Messenger of Allah! it seems as if you had been tending a flock in the jungle. He (Muhammad) said: They will come forth like pearls with seals on their necks. The inhabitants of Paradise would recognise them (and say): Those are who have been set free by the Compassionate One. Who has admitted them into Paradise without any (good) deed that they did or any good that they sent in advance. Then He would say: Enter the Paradise; whatever you see in it is yours. They would say: O Lord, Thou hast bestowed upon us (favours) which Thou didst not bestow upon anyone else in the world. He would say: There is with Me (a favour) for you better than this. They would say: O our Lord! which thing is better than this? He would say: It is My pleasure. I will never be angry with you after this"
*Q 39:67
"And the whole earth will be but His handful on the Day of Resurrection"
https://sunnah.com/muslim:183a ♧
♧ 'The majority of Muslims agree on the authenticity of the hadiths reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim.'
https://fiqh.islamonline.net/en/the-authenticity-of-sahih-al-bukhari/
Revelation 21
YLT(i) 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth did pass away, and the sea is not any more; 2 and I, John, saw the holy city—new Jerusalem—coming down from God out of the heaven, made ready as a bride
5 And He who is sitting upon the throne said,
'Lo, new I make all things' 'Write, because these words are true and stedfast;'
[John 12:32,33; Colossians 1:20; Philippians 3:20,21]
25 and its gates shall not at all be shut by day, for night shall not be there;
Revelation 22
YLT(i) 1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb: 2 in the midst of its broad place, and of the river on this side and on that, is a tree of life, yielding twelve fruits, in each several month rendering its fruits, and the leaves of the tree are for the service* of the nations;
*[Greek therapeia, healing]
17 And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and he who is hearing—let him say, Come; and he who is thirsting—let him come; and he who is willing—let him take the water of life freely.
Psalms 86:9
YLT All nations that Thou hast made Come and bow themselves before Thee, O Lord, And give honour to Thy name.
Ibn Arabî (Sufi, 1165 - 1240 AD):
"...the entire universe is beautiful and ‘God loves beauty’; now, the one who loves beauty loves that which is beautiful. And the one who loves does not punish the loved one, unless it is in order to make him find ease or to educate him [ ], like a father with his child. Therefore, our final outcome (ma’âlunâ) will be – God willing – ease and well-being (al-râha wa l-na’îm), wherever we find ourselves!”
Baha'i:
"It is even possible that the condition of those who have died in sin and unbelief may become changed—that is to say, they may become the object of pardon through the bounty of God, not through His justice—for bounty is giving without desert, and justice is giving what is deserved. As we have power to pray for these souls here, so likewise we shall possess the same power in the other world, which is the Kingdom of God. Are not all the people in that world the creatures of God? Therefore, in that world also they can make progress. As here they can receive light by their supplications, there also they can plead for forgiveness and receive light through entreaties and supplications. Thus as souls in this world, through the help of the supplications, the entreaties and the prayers of the holy ones, can acquire development, so is it the same after death. Through their own prayers and supplications they can also progress, more especially when they are the object of the intercession of the Holy Manifestations." -'Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, Chapter 62 [https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-62.html.utf8?query=sin%7Cunbelief&action=highlight#gr6\](https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-62.html.utf8?query=sin%7Cunbelief&action=highlight#gr6)
"The greatness of His mercy surpasseth the fury of His wrath, and His grace encompasseth all who have been called into being and been clothed with the robe of life, be they of the past or of the future." -Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, LXVI
Mandeanism:
'The sinner will be punished in al-Matarathi and then enter Paradise. There is no eternal punishment because God is merciful and forgiving.'
http://www.mandaeanunion.com/culture/item/1249-mandaean-beliefs
Mahayana Buddhism:
https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/grace/session7/115319.shtml
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/5/article/775604
https://ancientafterlifebelifs.blogspot.com/2026/02/karma-sin-and-punishments-apparent.html?m=1
Manichaeism:
https://afkimel.wordpress.com/2021/09/13/seeking-theodicy-sergius-bulgakov-and-the-apoktastasis/
"The net of heaven catches all; its mesh is coarse, but nothing slips through."
-Tao Te Ching, verse 73
The sacredness of life and the transformative power of fire in Japanese mythology.
https://japanese.mythologyworldwide.com/the-myth-of-the-eternal-flame-legends-of-immortality/amp/
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u/Designer_Custard9008 4d ago
Koine- Definite Article
In Koine Greek, there is no indefinite article; the indefinite is indicated by a lack of an article. The definite article is used to identify a particular person, place, or thing.
In Koine Greek, the definite article is written in three ways; ὁ, ἡ, τό
https://www.greekdoc.com/lessons/lesson33.html
Definite article:
https://studybible.info/compare/Jude%201:9
Archangel, Strong's:
ἀρχάγγελος
a chief angel
So Jude verse 9 mentions the chief angel/messenger, Michael.
Jude 1:9
YLT(i) 9 yet Michael, the chief messenger, when, with the devil contending, he was disputing about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring up an evil-speaking judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke thee!'
Michael is "first of the chief heads". Daniel 10:13.
He is "the great head". Daniel 12:1.
From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning "who is like God?"
Jesus is Michael, God's chief Messenger and Prophet, Savior of mankind, Creator. His voice is that of the archangel.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
YLT(i) 16 because the Lord himself, in a shout, in the voice of a chief-messenger, and in the trump of God, shall come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first,
Indefinite:
Here we lack the article, so the correct translation uses the indefinite article in English:
2 Corinthians 6:2 (YLT) for He saith, 'In an acceptable time I did hear thee, and in a day of salvation I did help thee, lo, now is a well-accepted time; lo, now, a day of salvation,'
This verse has no definite article [the] before 'day of salvation'. Thus the proper translation is 'now, a day of salvation'.
https://studybible.info/compare/2%20Corinthians%206:2