Would you like to help expand our Scripture list in “Hope Beyond Hell” Appendix One? I would appreciate receiving any passages that have encouraged you in God’s unfailing, ending love for all. Feel free to include a brief commentary if you like. Leave comments below or email me at: hopebeyondhell@yahoo.com
Thank you so much!
HOPE BEYOND HELL APPENDIX I:
Proclamations of Hope (186 texts)
Genesis
• 1:31 God [Who declares the end from the beginning – Is. 46:10.] saw everything He had made as indeed very good!
• 12:3 “All the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14)
• 18:25 “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
• 26:3-4 He makes an oath to bless all nations.
1Samuel
• 2:6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave [Sheol, rendered “hell” 31 times in the KJV] and brings up.”
2Samuel
• 14:14 “God does not take away life; instead, He devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from Him.”
1Chronicles
• 16:34 “He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
• 16:41 “His mercy endures forever.” Repeated 41 times in the O.T.
Job
• 5:17-18 “Do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”
• 23:13 “Whatever His soul desires, that He does.”
• 42:2 “You can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.” NIV
Psalms
• 2:8 He receives the nations for an inheritance.
• 13:5 “I trust in your unfailing love.” NIV
• 22:27 “All the ends of the world shall…turn to the Lord. And all the families of the nations shall worship before You.”
• 22:29 “All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him…who cannot keep himself alive.”
• 30:5 “His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
• 33:5 “He loves righteousness and justice [“judgment”—KJV]; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”
• 49:15 “God will redeem my soul from the power of [Sheol] the grave for He shall receive me.” Sheol is rendered “hell” 31 times in the KJV.
• 62:12 “To You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work.”
• 65:2-3 “To You all flesh will come…You will provide atonement.”
• 66:3-4 “Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You.”
• 66:11-12 “You laid affliction on our backs…We went through fire…but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.”
• 67:1-4 “God…cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations…let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously.”
• 72:11 “All kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.”
• 72:17 “All nations shall call Him blessed.”
• 82:8 “O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.”
• 86:9 All nations shall come, worship, and glorify Him.
• 86:10 “You are great, and do wondrous things.”
• 86:13 “Great is Your mercy…You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” Sheol is rendered “hell” 31 times in the KJV.
• 89:30-34 God will visit His son’s transgressions with the rod and stripes. “Nevertheless, My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.”
• 90:3 “You turn man to destruction, and say, “return…”
• 98:6-9 “Shout joyfully…for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world…the peoples with equity.”
• 102:19-20 “The Lord looked down…he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” NIV
• 103:8-9 He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor keep his anger forever.
• 107:1 “He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
• 135:6 “Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth.”
• 136:1-26 “His mercy endures forever.” Repeated in each verse!
• 138:4 “All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth.”
• 139:8 “If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”
• 145:7-10 “They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord.”
• 145:14-16 “The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You… You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Proverbs
• 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”
• 19:21 “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel- [“purpose”—RSV] that will stand.”
• 20:24 “A man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way?” NAS
Isaiah
• 2:2 In the last days His house shall be established and all nations shall flow into it.
• 14:24 “The Lord… has sworn, saying, ‘surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.’”
• 14:27 “The Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?”
• 25:6-8 He will make a feast for all people and destroy the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death [“in victory”—KJV] forever, and will wipe away tears from all faces.
• 26:9 “When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”
• 26:10 “Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness.”
• 40:5 His glory shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it.
• 45:21-25 “There is no other God beside Me, a just God and a Savior…Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth!…I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.”
• 46:10-11 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my plea-sure’… Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”
• 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you…tested you in the furnace of affliction.”
• 49:6 “I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
• 50: 2 “Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?”
• 52:10 “All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”
• 53:10-11 “The pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor [“travail”—KJV] of his soul, and be satisfied.”
• 54:8 “With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.”
• 55:7b-8 He will “abundantly pardon. For” His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways.
• 55:11 “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
• 57:16 “I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would fail before Me, and the souls which I have made.”
Jeremiah
• 3:17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it… No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.”
• 10:23 “I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
• 23:20 “The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly. “ NIV
• 31:33-34 “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.… They all shall know Me.…For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
• 32:17 “There is nothing too hard for You.”
• 32:40 “I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”
Lamentations
• 3:31-33 “The Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve…men.”
Ezekiel
• 36:23 “The nations shall know that I am the Lord…when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.”
• 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone…and give you a heart of flesh.”
• 36:27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
• 36:36 “Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I…will do it.”
• 16:55 “When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state.”
• 18:4 “All souls are Mine.” Thus, will not God provide for all His creation? See 1Ti. 5:8. Absolutely!
Daniel
• 4:35 “He does according to His will…No one can restrain His hand.”
• 7:14 “To Him was given dominion…that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.”
• 9:24 “Seventy weeks are determined…to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.” All in due time!
Hosea
• 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave [Sheol]…O death, I will be your plagues! O grave [Sheol], I will be your destruction!” Sheol is rendered “hell” in the KJV 31 times!
Joel
• 2:28 “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.”
Jonah
• 4:2 “You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.”
Micah
• 7:18-19 “He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.… and will subdue our iniquities.”
Habakkuk
• 1:12 “You have appointed them for judgment…marked them for correction.”
• 2:14 “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
Malachi
• 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?”
• 3:6 “I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
Matthew
• 5:26 “Assuredly….you will by no means get out of there [Gehenna prison] till you have paid the last penny.” Mt. 18: 34-35; Lu. 12: 59
• 5:44 “Love your enemies…that you may be sons of your Father.”
Will God do less?
• 7:2 “With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
• 9:36-38 “When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered [“distressed and dispirited”—NAS], like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said… ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord…to send out laborers into His harvest.’” Note: His concern for them was not their impending doom in hell.
• 12:20-21 “Till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.” KJV
• 18:11 “The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” How many of the lost are included in the word “that”?
• 18:14 “It is not the will of your Father…that one of these little ones should perish.”
• 23:1, 9 “Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples.…One is your Father.”
Mark
• 9:49 “Everyone will be purified with fire” (GNT). Everyone!
• 10:26-27 “Who then can be saved?…With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
Luke
• 2:10 “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”
• 3:6 “All flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
• 3:38 “Adam, the son of God.” This makes God the Father of all humanity.
• 4:18 “He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Also, “ To comfort all who mourn… give them beauty for ashes…oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Is. 61:2-3. See also Mt. 9:36-38.
• 4:22 All marveled at His gracious words.
• 9:56 “The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
• 12:57 “Why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?” NAS “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” 1 Th. 5:21.
• 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine…and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” Would the Good Shepherd do differently?
• 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
John
• 1:7-9 “This man came…to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe…the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”
• 1:13 “Born, not…of the will of man, but of God.”
• 1:29 “Behold! The Lamb …who takes away the sin of the world!”
• 3:17 “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” See #5 Appendix V concerning “might.”
• 4:42 “We know that this is indeed the …Savior of the world.”
• 6:33 “He…comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
• 6:51 “I shall give My flesh…for the life of the world.”
• 8:12 “I am the light of the world.”
• 8:56 “Abraham rejoiced to see My day…and was glad.” Only a triumphant Savior would bring Abraham joy.
• 12:32 “I…will draw [drag] all peoples to Myself.”
• 12:47 “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”
• 17:4 I have “accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do.” RSV
Acts
• 3:21 “Heaven must receive [Jesus Christ] until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
• 3:25-26 “In your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. To you first, God…sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
• 10:34 “God shows no partiality.” See “His Love Is Not Partial” chapter 2.
• 17: 28-29 “As even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Being then the children of God…” (NAS) Speaking to unbelievers.
Romans
• 2:4 “Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Not terror).
• 3:3-4 “Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not!”
• 4:21 “What He had promised He was also able to perform.”
• 5:8 “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” “Receive” is passive, not active. See “Last Adam” chapter 6.
• 5:18 “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” Read the whole context from verses 12-21.
• 5:20 “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”
• 8:21 “The creation [includes all people] itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
• 11:15-16 “If their [Israel] being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the first-fruit is holy, the lump [of humanity] is also holy.”
• 11:26 “All Israel will be saved…He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”
• 11:29 “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
• 11:32 “God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.”
• 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”
• 11:36 “Of Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”
• 12:21 “Overcome evil with good.” God is our model.
• 14:11 “Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” See Appendix II.
1Corinthians
• 3:15 “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
• 13:8 “Love never fails [“ends” RSV].” “God is love.” 1Jn. 4:8, 16.
• 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
• 15:23 “But each one [Christ, elect, all men] in his own order.” In God’s appointed time. See “Due Time” chapter 5.
• 15:26 “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death [second death].”
• 15:28 “When all “things” are made subject to Him, then…that God may be all in all.” In God’s due time!
• 15:54 “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
• 15:55 Where is death’s sting or Hades’ [hell’s] victory? Only time Paul used Hades!
2 Corinthians
• 5:14 “If One died for all, then all died.” All die to sin in Christ!
• 5:19 “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.”
Galatians
• 3:8 “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’”
Ephesians
• 1:9-11 “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him…who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Wow!
• 2:7 “In the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Show to whom, and for what purpose?
• 3:6 The Gentiles are fellow heirs with Israel. What a glorious truth knowing all Israel will be saved – Ro. 11:26! See also Ep. 2:14.
• 4:8-10 “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. Now this, ‘He ascended’ – what does it mean but that He also first des-cended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” See 1 Pe. 3:19 below.
Philippians
• 2:10-11 “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” NAS
• 3:21 “He is able even to subdue all “things” to Himself.”
Colossians
• 1:19-20 “It pleased the Father…by Him to reconcile all “things” to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
1Timothy
• 1:19-20 “Concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
• 2:3-4, 6 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth…Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” KJV
• 4:9-11 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially [not exclusively] of those who believe. These things command and teach.”
• 5:8 “If anyone [God included?]does not provide for his own [All souls are His.—Eze 18:4], and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Does God abandon His own forever in torment?
2Timothy
• 1:9 “God…saved us and called us…not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
• 1:10 “Our Savior Jesus Christ…has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
Titus
• 2:11 “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” NAS
Hebrews
• 2:2 “Every transgression and disobedience received a just reward.”
• 2:9 “Jesus…tasting death for… everyone.” CLT
• 2:14-15 “Through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those [all people] who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
• 7:25 “He is…able to save to the uttermost.”
• 8:10-11 “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…and they shall be My people…for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.”
• 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, & forever.” Always a Savior!
James
• 1:18 “Of His own will He brought us forth…that we might be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.” See Ro. 8:20-23.
• 2:13 “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Does this not apply to God?
• 5:11 “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” When is God not in full control?
1Peter
• 1:8 “You greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” NAS
• 2:12 The Gentiles will glorify God in the day of visitation because they observed our good works.
• 3:19-20; 4:6 “He…went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient.…the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
2Peter
• 3:8 “With the Lord…a thousand years [is] as one day.”
• 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise…but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
• 3:15 “The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” Since a 1000 years are as a day to God, when does His longsuffering for the lost end? Will He seek His lost sheep “until” He finds them? Lu. 15:4.
1John
• 2:2 “He…is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
• 3:8 “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” NAS Did He really succeed?
• 4:8, 16 “God is love.”
• 4:14 “The Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” Also Jn. 4:42.
Revelation
• 1:17-18 “Fear not; I…have the keys of hell and of death.” KJV
• 5:13 “Every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth…I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne.”
• 15:4 “Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?…For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested.” Wow!
• 20:13 “Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.”
• 21:5 “Behold, I make all things new.…these words are true and faithful.”
• 22:3 “There shall be no more curse.”
NOTE:
I am fully aware that a passage which might support the Blessed Hope in my view may not at all support it in your view and vice versa. It all depends on our underlying paradigms. The views we have inherited about ultimate reality, in particular, how God deals in judgment with human beings in the life to come, will undoubtedly affect how we interpret the entirety of the Scriptures, and needless to say, especially those relative to God’s judgment.
The above list is far from exhaustive. In fact, if you consider those which include additional references which are noted only in parentheses, you can imagine how long this list could be. I am presenting these numerous passages to show that my hope is solidly anchored in the Scriptures. Lord willing, and as time allows, I hope to add additional passages in the future on our website.
Along with the Scriptures, there other factors that have convinced me of the truth these texts allude to. Those factors consist of reason, conscience, and experience which are elaborated on elsewhere. These are all valid reasons when combined with the Biblical evidence.
May God guide you into all His truth as you seek Him with your whole heart.
Blessed Hope Big God Small Devil God Wins All Saved
Augustine Tradition Small God Big Devil God Looses Very few Saved
