Appendix E
Plain-English Definitions for Quick Reference
This book argues over texts, words, and ideas. Some of those words are technical. Some come from Greek or Hebrew. Some belong to long-running debates in Christian theology. This glossary gathers them in one place, in alphabetical order, so you can look up any term you meet in the chapters and find a plain definition.
Each entry runs one to three sentences. Where a term is developed fully in a chapter, I point you there. For the original-language word studies, see Appendix C. For the boundary between the universalism this book defends and the versions it refuses, see Appendix B.
How to Use This Glossary
Terms are listed in alphabetical order. Greek and Hebrew words are given in English first, then transliterated and glossed. Where a term has a chapter that treats it in full, the chapter number is linked. Cross-references point you to related entries and to Appendix C (the word-study reference) or Appendix B (the boundary reference).
A
Aiōn / Aiōnios (Greek, "age" / "of the age, age-long"). Aiōn is the Greek noun usually translated "age" or "world." Its adjective aiōnios is most often translated "eternal" or "everlasting" in English Bibles, but its root meaning is "pertaining to an age." Whether it means "endless" in any given verse is one of the most debated questions in this book. See Chapter 18 and Appendix C.1
Annihilationism. The view that those who finally reject God are not kept alive in endless torment but are destroyed, ceasing to exist. It is closely related to conditional immortality (see below). This book treats annihilationism as a serious and partly allied position, though it argues that Scripture points beyond destruction to restoration. See Chapter 27.
Antinomianism. The belief that Christians are freed from the moral law and can sin without consequence. An antinomian universalism would say, "Everyone is saved, so it does not matter how you live." This book firmly refuses that version. God's grace does not cancel the call to holiness. See Chapter 1 and Appendix B.
Apōleia (Greek, "destruction, loss, ruin"). One of the New Testament's words for destruction, often translated "perdition" or "destruction." Judas is called "the son of apōleia" (John 17:12). The word does not by itself settle whether destruction is final or can be reversed. See Olethros / Apōleia / Apollumi below and Chapter 27.
Apokatastasis (Greek, "restoration, return to a former or better state"). The word appears in Acts 3:21, where Peter says that heaven must hold Jesus "until the time for restoring all things." The early church fathers used this term for the hope that God will, in the end, restore all creation and all people to Himself. It is the Greek name for the hope this book defends. See Chapter 13.2
Apollumi (Greek, "to destroy, to lose, to perish"). The verb behind many New Testament warnings about being "destroyed" or "perishing" (e.g., Matt 10:28; John 3:16). It can mean to ruin or to lose, not only to annihilate. Jesus uses the same word when he says he came to seek and save "the lost" (Luke 19:10), where the "lost" are the apollumi. See Chapter 27 and Appendix C.
Arminianism. A tradition in Protestant theology named after the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). It stresses that human beings have real freedom to accept or reject God's saving grace, in contrast to Calvinism's emphasis on God's unconditional election. See also Calvinism, Libertarian Free Will, and Molinism.
Atonement. The work of Christ on the cross to deal with sin and restore the relationship between God and humanity. This book holds that the atonement is real, costly, and effective for the whole world (1 John 2:2). The scope of the atonement is a key piece of the case for universal reconciliation. See Chapter 6 and Chapter 11.
C
Calvinism. A tradition in Protestant theology named after the French Reformer John Calvin (1509–1564). It stresses God's absolute sovereignty in salvation, including unconditional election, limited atonement, and irresistible grace. Its soteriology is often summarized by the acronym TULIP (see below). See also Arminianism and Molinism.
Christian Universalism (also called Universal Reconciliation). The belief that God will, in the end, bring every person to free, saving faith in Jesus Christ, so that all are reconciled to Him. This is the position this book defends. It is not the claim that all religions save, or that faith in Christ is unnecessary, or that sin and judgment are unreal. It is the claim that the biblical gospel, taken to its end, saves all. For the full boundary statement, see Chapter 1 and Appendix B.3
Conditional Immortality. The view that human beings are not naturally immortal. Those who come to faith in Christ receive eternal life; those who finally reject God are not tormented forever but cease to exist. This book treats conditional immortality as an honest and partly allied view. The author holds it as the only fallback if the free-will question were ever to cut the other way. See Chapter 27.
Creedal. Holding to the historic Christian creeds: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed (325/381), and the Chalcedonian Definition (451). These creeds affirm the Trinity, the full deity and humanity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, and the coming judgment. This book defends a universalism that stays entirely within these creedal boundaries.
D
Divine-Presence Model (of Hell). The view that hell is not the absence of God but the unshielded presence of God, experienced as torment by those who refuse His love. The same fire that is warmth and light to the redeemed is agony to the rebellious. This model draws on Eastern Orthodox theology and has been developed by R. Zachary Manis. See Chapter 17 and Chapter 25.4
E
Eschatology. The study of "last things": death, judgment, heaven, hell, the return of Christ, and the final state. The questions this book treats are, at their heart, questions of eschatology.
Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT). The traditional view that those who die without faith in Christ will suffer consciously in hell for all eternity, with no end and no hope of release. This book rejects ECT and argues that Scripture, read whole, teaches the final salvation of all. See Chapters 18–26.
Exegesis. The careful study of a biblical text to draw out its meaning, paying attention to the original language, the grammar, the literary context, the historical setting, and the rest of Scripture. This book is built on exegesis. The method is laid out in Chapter 3.
Expiation. See Propitiation / Expiation below.
G
Gehenna (Greek, from the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom, "Valley of Hinnom"). The word most often translated "hell" in the Gospels. It refers to a valley south of Jerusalem where, according to the Old Testament, children were once sacrificed to the god Molech (2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 7:31). By Jesus' day it had become a picture of God's fiery judgment. Gehenna is not the same as Hades or Sheol. See Chapter 18 and Appendix C.5
Great White Throne Judgment. The final judgment described in Revelation 20:11–15, where the dead stand before God and are judged. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire. On the reading this book defends, this judgment is real and severe, but it is the place where the last holdouts are finally won and the restoration is completed. See Chapter 26.
H
Hades (Greek, "the unseen place"). The Greek word for the realm of the dead, roughly matching the Hebrew Sheol (see below). In the New Testament it is the place where the dead wait before the final judgment, not the permanent "hell" of popular imagination. See Chapter 18 and Appendix C.
Helkō (Greek, "to draw, to drag"). The verb Jesus uses in John 12:32: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." The word carries a strong pull, not a polite invitation. See Chapter 8 and Appendix C.
Hilasmos (Greek, "propitiation, atoning sacrifice"). The word used in 1 John 2:2, where Christ is called the propitiation "not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world." See Propitiation / Expiation below and Chapter 11.
I
Intermediate State. The condition of human beings between physical death and the final resurrection and judgment. This book holds that the soul is conscious in the intermediate state, not asleep, and that God's saving work does not stop at the moment of death. See Chapter 24.
Irenic. Aiming at peace, seeking to resolve disagreements without hostility. This book takes an irenic approach to its critics, treating opposing views with respect even while answering them.
K
Kolasis (Greek, "punishment, correction, pruning"). The word Jesus uses in Matthew 25:46 for the punishment of the goats. In classical Greek, kolasis carried a corrective sense, as distinct from timōria, which was punishment for the sake of the punisher's satisfaction. The distinction matters because a corrective punishment has a purpose and, therefore, a possible end. See Timōria below and Chapter 19.6
L
Lake of Fire. The image in Revelation 20:10–15 and 21:8 where death, Hades, the devil, and the lost are thrown. Traditionally read as the place of eternal torment, it is read in this book as the final, purifying judgment of God, and as the "second death" (see below). See Chapter 26.
Libertarian Free Will. The view that a free choice is one that the agent could genuinely have made otherwise. It is not determined in advance by God's decree, by the laws of nature, or by prior causes. This book holds libertarian free will because it is essential to the claim that people will freely choose to trust Christ, not be forced. See Chapter 2 and Chapter 29. Compare Compatibilism.7
M
Molinism / Middle Knowledge. A framework named after the sixteenth-century Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina (1535–1600). It holds that God possesses "middle knowledge" (Latin scientia media): the knowledge of what every free creature would freely choose in any situation God might place them in. If God has this knowledge, He can arrange each person's life, and each person's encounter with the gospel (in this life or beyond), so that every free creature receives the most persuasive appeal possible, without ever forcing the choice. This book uses middle knowledge to answer the charge that universal salvation must override freedom. See Chapter 12 and Chapter 29.8
N
Necessitarianism. In the context of this book, the philosophical claim that universal salvation is metaphysically necessary, that a rational will simply cannot finally refuse the Good. Its most brilliant recent proponent is David Bentley Hart. This book parts company with necessitarianism because it holds libertarian free will: a real "yes" requires a possible "no." Hart is a source this book uses gratefully, not a counterfeit (see Chapter 1 and Appendix B).
New Jerusalem. The holy city described in Revelation 21–22, descending from heaven as the dwelling of God with His people. Its gates are never shut (Rev 21:25), and the leaves of the tree of life are for "the healing of the nations" (Rev 22:2). This book reads the open gates and the healing as signs that the city is not closed to those still outside. See Chapter 14.
O
Olam (Hebrew, "age, long duration, antiquity"). The Hebrew word behind the Septuagint's aiōn. Like aiōn, it refers to a long but not necessarily endless stretch of time. Jonah spent three days in the fish as an olam (Jonah 2:6). See Chapter 18 and Appendix C.
Olethros / Apōleia / Apollumi (Greek, "destruction / loss / to destroy or to lose"). The family of Greek words behind the New Testament's language of "destruction" and "perishing." These words can describe ruin, waste, and loss rather than annihilation. The same root (apollumi) describes both the lost sheep (Luke 15:4) and the "perishing" of the wicked (John 3:16). See Chapter 27 and Appendix C.
Optimal Grace. The idea that God gives each person the best possible measure of grace, perfectly suited to their situation, in order to bring them to a free and genuine response of faith. The term is drawn from the work of Jerry Walls (who is not himself a universalist). In this book, optimal grace, combined with middle knowledge, explains how God can save all without overriding anyone's freedom. See Chapter 29.9
P
Pas (Greek, "all, every, the whole"). One of the most common words in the New Testament and one of the most debated. When Paul writes "as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor 15:22), does "all" mean every human being without exception? The scope of "all" in the hope texts is a load-bearing question for this book. See Chapter 4 and Appendix C.
Patristic. Relating to the early church fathers (Latin patres, "fathers"), the Christian theologians and writers from roughly the second through the eighth centuries. Patristic universalism refers to the strand of early church teaching, represented by figures such as Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Clement of Alexandria, that held to the final restoration of all. See Chapter 1.10
Pluralism (Religious). The belief that all major religions are equally valid paths to God and that no one religion, including Christianity, is uniquely true. Its best-known modern representative is the philosopher John Hick. This book firmly refuses pluralism. The universalism defended here holds that salvation comes only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Every person is saved, but every person is saved by being brought to Christ. See Chapter 1 and Appendix B.11
Postmortem Opportunity. The belief that God offers the chance to hear and respond to the gospel after physical death, so that those who never had a genuine opportunity in this life are not lost. This book holds that God's saving work does not stop at the grave. James Beilby and others have made the biblical and theological case for this position, though not all who hold it are universalists. See Chapter 24.12
Premillennialism. The eschatological view that Christ will return before a literal thousand-year reign (the millennium) described in Revelation 20. The author holds to premillennialism. The final judgment (the Great White Throne) comes at the end of the millennium. See also Eschatology.
Propitiation / Expiation. Two related ideas in the doctrine of the atonement. Propitiation is the turning away of God's righteous wrath against sin. Expiation is the cleansing or removal of sin itself. The Greek word hilasmos (1 John 2:2) carries both ideas. This book holds that Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, not for a select group only. See Chapter 11 and Appendix C.
Purgatory / Purgatorial. In Roman Catholic theology, purgatory is a state after death where souls are purified before entering heaven. More broadly, a "purgatorial" view of hell sees the suffering of the lost as purifying rather than merely punitive. This book does not adopt the full Catholic doctrine of purgatory, but it does hold that God's post-death judgment is restorative and purifying, not endless torment. See Chapter 17.
R
Reconciliation. The restoration of a broken relationship. When Paul writes that God was "reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19) and "reconciling all things" to himself through the cross (Col 1:20), he uses the language of relationship healed and peace made. This book argues that the scope of reconciliation is genuinely universal. See Chapter 6.
Restoration. The act of bringing something back to its right condition. In this book, "the restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21) is the biblical name for the hope that God will, in the end, heal all that the fall broke, including every human being. It is the English translation of the Greek apokatastasis (see above). See Chapter 13.
S
Second Death. A phrase from the book of Revelation (Rev 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8) referring to the lake of fire. Traditionally read as eternal separation from God. This book reads it as the final purifying death to the old, rebellious self, not the extinction of the person. See Chapter 26.
Sheol (Hebrew, "the grave, the place of the dead"). The Old Testament's general term for the realm of the dead, where all go at death, righteous and wicked alike. It is not the "hell" of eternal punishment. The Greek equivalent in the Septuagint and the New Testament is Hadēs (see above). See Chapter 18 and Appendix C.
Soteriology. The branch of Christian theology that studies salvation: how it is accomplished, to whom it extends, and when it takes effect. The questions at the heart of this book are soteriological questions.
T
Tartarus (Greek, Tartaros). Used once in the New Testament (2 Pet 2:4), where God cast the sinning angels into Tartaros to be kept until judgment. It comes from Greek mythology, where Tartarus was the deepest pit beneath Hades. It is not the same word as Gehenna or Hades. See Chapter 18 and Appendix C.
Timōria (Greek, "punishment, vengeance, retribution"). In classical Greek, timōria described punishment inflicted for the sake of the one offended, as opposed to kolasis, which was corrective punishment for the sake of the one punished. The New Testament writers used kolasis, not timōria, when speaking of the punishment of the wicked. See Kolasis above and Chapter 19.13
TULIP. An acronym summarizing the five points of Calvinism: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. This book interacts with these doctrines, especially unconditional election and limited atonement, and argues that a Molinist framework can reconcile God's sovereignty with universal salvation. See Chapter 12 and Chapter 28.
The Two Streams. A phrase used in this book for the two currents of teaching that run through Scripture side by side: the stream of judgment (the warnings, the fire, the separation) and the stream of hope (the "all" texts, the reconciliation of all things, the restoration). Responsible interpretation holds both streams together rather than silencing one to amplify the other. This book's method for holding them together is laid out in Chapter 3, and the resolution is reached in Chapter 30.
U
Unitarian Universalism. A modern religious denomination, abbreviated UU, that has abandoned the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and in most forms the authority of Scripture. Despite sharing the word "universalism," it has almost nothing in common with the Christian universalism this book defends. Christian universalism is Trinitarian, creedal, and Christ-centered. Unitarian Universalism is a post-Christian movement. This book reclaims the word "universalism" from this confusion. See Chapter 1 and Appendix B.14
Universal Reconciliation. See Christian Universalism above.
The Boundary in Three Lines
Three terms in this glossary carry the boundary that runs through the whole book. Christian universalism is the hope this book defends: all saved through Christ, through faith, through the cross. Pluralism is the counterfeit that says all religions save. Unitarian Universalism is the denomination that dropped the Trinity. This book holds the first and refuses the other two. For the full statement, see Appendix B.
↑ 1. The standard Greek lexicon BDAG (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed.) lists the primary meaning of aiōn as "a long period of time, age" and notes that aiōnios can mean "pertaining to a period of time" or, in certain contexts, "without end." The question of which meaning applies in any given passage is central to the debate. See the full word study in Appendix C.
↑ 2. The word apokatastasis appears in the New Testament only in Acts 3:21. Its use by the church fathers, especially Origen of Alexandria (c. 185–c. 253) and Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–c. 395), gave the doctrine its traditional theological name. For the patristic witness, see David Burnfield, Patristic Universalism, 2nd ed.
↑ 3. The full boundary between the Christian universalism this book defends and the versions it refuses is stated in Chapter 1 and developed as a reference document in Appendix B. See also the master statement of what is affirmed and what is refused, which runs through every chapter's Boundary callout.
↑ 4. R. Zachary Manis, Sinners in the Presence of a Loving God: An Essay on the Problem of Hell (Oxford: Oxford University Press). The title deliberately inverts Jonathan Edwards's famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
↑ 5. The English word "hell" is used to translate four different words in the original languages: Sheol (Hebrew), Hadēs (Greek), Gehenna (Greek, from Hebrew Ge-Hinnom), and Tartaros (Greek). Collapsing them all into one English word hides important distinctions. Each word has a different background and a different range of meaning.
↑ 6. The distinction between kolasis and timōria is drawn from Aristotle, Rhetoric 1.10.17: "Punishment [kolasis] is inflicted for the sake of the one punished; vengeance [timōria] for the sake of the one inflicting it." Clement of Alexandria and several other early church fathers preserved and applied this distinction to the question of God's punishment.
↑ 7. Compatibilism, by contrast, holds that a choice can be both free and determined, that "free" simply means doing what one wants to do, even if one could not have wanted otherwise. Calvinists often hold compatibilist freedom; this book sides with the libertarian view because the hope it defends requires that faith be genuinely unforced. See Timothy A. Stratton, Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism, for the philosophical defense of libertarian free will within a Molinist framework.
↑ 8. The foundational work is Luis de Molina, Concordia liberi arbitrii cum gratiae donis (1588). Modern treatments include Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010); Kirk R. MacGregor, Molinist Philosophical and Theological Ventures; and Timothy A. Stratton, Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism.
↑ 9. Jerry L. Walls, Hell: The Logic of Damnation (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992); and Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012). Walls uses the concept of "optimal grace" to argue that God gives each person the best chance, though Walls himself allows for the possibility of final loss. He is not a universalist.
↑ 10. For the patristic universalist tradition, see Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena (Leiden: Brill, 2013); and David Burnfield, Patristic Universalism: An Alternative to the Traditional View of Divine Judgment, 2nd ed.
↑ 11. John Hick, An Interpretation of Religion: Human Responses to the Transcendent, 2nd ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004). McClymond rightly identifies pluralism as one of the counterfeits that discredits the name "universalism." The universalism this book defends is the opposite of pluralism: it insists that Christ is the only way and that every person must come to faith in Him.
↑ 12. James Beilby, Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2021). Beilby argues that the Bible does not close the door on a saving offer after death, though he does not commit to universal salvation. See also Stephen Jonathan, Grace Beyond the Grave: Is Salvation Possible in the Afterlife? (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014).
↑ 13. Aristotle, Rhetoric 1.10.17. The Liddell-Scott-Jones (LSJ) lexicon confirms this classical-era distinction. Whether the distinction held fully in first-century koine Greek is debated; Chapter 19 addresses the question honestly.
↑ 14. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) traces its roots to two separate movements: American Unitarianism (which rejected the Trinity) and American Universalism (which originally affirmed the Trinity and the final salvation of all in Christ). When the two merged in 1961, the resulting denomination moved steadily away from Christian orthodoxy. The UUA today is a pluralistic, non-creedal body with no requirement of belief in the deity of Christ or the authority of Scripture.