Glossary of Key Terms

Aiōn / Aiōnios

Greek words usually translated “age” and “eternal.” An aiōn is a span of time, an era, an age. It may be very long, but the word itself does not mean “endless.” Aiōnios is the adjective form. It means “pertaining to an age” or “age-long.” In the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), it renders the Hebrew ‘olam. In Matthew 25:46, the word aiōnios modifies both “life” and “punishment.” This book argues that the adjective tells us both belong to the coming age. It does not force both to last forever. The duration of each is set by what it describes: life with God is unending because God is unending; corrective punishment lasts until its purpose is done. See Chapter 10.

Apokatastasis

A Greek word (pronounced ah-poh-kah-TAH-stah-sis) meaning “restoration, setting right again.” It comes from the verb apokathistemi, “I restore, I return to the original state.” In Acts 3:21, Peter speaks of Christ, “whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Early church fathers used this word for the hope that God will bring every person back into right relationship with himself. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Gregory of Nyssa all taught some form of this hope. In this book, apokatastasis is the final restoration of all things: every person reconciled to God through Christ. See Chapter 7 and Chapter 15.

Apōleia / Olethros (Destruction)

Two Greek words translated “destruction” in the New Testament. Apōleia (ah-POH-lay-ah) means ruin, loss, or being undone. Olethros (OH-leth-ros) means a destroying or wasting away. Both appear in passages about God’s judgment. The traditional reading takes them as proof that the lost are ruined forever. This book argues that the destruction language fits a purifying destruction of the old, sinful self far better than it fits unending conscious agony. Ruin and loss can be the doorway to a new beginning. Paul uses olethros in 1 Corinthians 5:5 for delivering a man to Satan “for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved.” See Chapter 18.

Atonement

The work Christ accomplished on the cross to reconcile sinful humanity to God. The word itself comes from the idea of being “at one” with God. In this book, the cross is a real, costly, objective act: Christ truly bore sin, conquered death, and opened the way for every person to come home to God. The universal hope rests on the cross, not in spite of it. Without the atonement, there is no salvation for anyone. With it, the question is whether its reach is wide enough to include all. This book says it is. See Chapter 4.

Beatific Vision / The Unveiled Presence

The direct, face-to-face encounter with God in his full glory. The phrase “beatific vision” comes from the Latin for “a seeing that makes blessed.” In this book, the unveiled presence of God plays a key role. It is what every person meets at the final judgment. For those who love God, his presence is heaven itself. For those still in rebellion, that same holy presence is experienced as burning fire. They cling to what God’s love will not leave uncleansed. The vision is not mere information about God; it is God himself, seen without a veil. Paul writes, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). See Chapter 11 and Chapter 14.

Conditional Immortality (CI)

The view that human beings are not naturally immortal. Those who trust Christ receive eternal life; those who finally refuse him cease to exist. On this reading, the “second death” is a real, permanent end, not an unending punishment. CI rejects eternal conscious torment and reads the fire of judgment as something that consumes rather than preserves in agony. The author of this book arrived at universalism from CI, and the two share most of their working parts. Both reject endless torment. The single difference is the ending: CI says some may finally refuse God and perish; universalism says God’s love wins every heart. If the free-will question (see Chapter 23) were ever to cut the other way, CI is this book’s honest fallback, never eternal conscious torment. See Chapter 2.

Descent of Christ (The Harrowing of Hades)

The ancient Christian belief that Christ went to the realm of the dead between his crucifixion and resurrection. The Apostles’ Creed states it plainly: “He descended into hell.” The New Testament basis includes several passages. In 1 Peter 3:18–20, Christ “proclaimed to the spirits in prison.” In 1 Peter 4:6, “the gospel was preached even to those who are dead.” In Ephesians 4:8–10, he “descended into the lower regions.” The traditional name for this event is “the Harrowing of Hades.” In this book, the descent matters because it shows Christ carrying the gospel to the dead. If the gospel reached those already dead, then death is not a wall that stops God’s offer. See Chapter 13 and Appendix F.

Divine-Presence Model of Hell

A way of understanding hell developed in the Eastern Orthodox tradition and given a modern defense by philosopher R. Zachary Manis. On this model, hell is not a place far from God. It is the experience of being in God’s full, unveiled presence while still in rebellion against him. The same holy love that is heaven for the reconciled is torment for those who refuse it. Think of it this way: a person who hates the light will find standing in brilliant sunlight agonizing, even though the sun is not trying to hurt anyone. The Psalmist wrote, “If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:8). There is no corner of reality outside God’s presence. On the universalist reading, this model means the fire eventually does its healing work in every soul. The evil is burned away. The person is made whole. And the rebel becomes a worshiper. See Chapter 11.

Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT)

The traditional view of hell held by many Christians. On this reading, those who die without faith in Christ are punished consciously, forever, with no end and no hope of release. The punishment is retributive: it exists to satisfy justice, not to heal the sinner. ECT is the position this book argues against. The author rejects it on three grounds. First, it is inconsistent with the character of the God revealed in Christ, who is love. Second, it depends on a translation of aiōnios (see above) that overreads the word. Third, it treats the fire of judgment as a preserving agent rather than a consuming and purifying one. Both universalism and conditional immortality reject ECT. See Chapter 2 and Chapter 12.

Gehenna

A Greek word (geenna) borrowed from the Hebrew ge-hinnom, “the Valley of Hinnom.” This was an actual valley south of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, it was the site where children were sacrificed to the pagan god Molech (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31). By Jesus’s day, it had become an image for God’s severe judgment. Jesus used the word in his warnings (Matthew 5:22, 29–30; 10:28). The key point: Gehenna is not the same as Hades or Sheol (see below). In New Testament usage, Gehenna points to the fire of final judgment. This book reads that fire as purifying, not as a torture chamber that lasts forever. See Chapter 11.

Hades

The Greek word for the realm of the dead. In the Septuagint it translates the Hebrew Sheol (see below). Hades is the waiting place where the dead exist between death and the final resurrection. It is not the final hell. Jesus told a story about a rich man in Hades who could speak, feel, and remember his brothers (Luke 16:19–31). In the book of Revelation, “Death and Hades” are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14), showing that Hades is temporary. On this book’s reading, Hades is a realm of conscious waiting where God’s offer of Christ can still reach the dead, especially after Christ’s own descent there. See Chapter 11 and Chapter 13.

Intermediate State

The condition of the dead between physical death and the final resurrection. This book affirms that the soul survives the body’s death and remains conscious and aware in the intermediate state. The intermediate state is what the Bible calls Hades or Sheol. It is a waiting place, not the final destination. Because the dead remain conscious, they can still respond to God. This matters deeply for the book’s argument: if the soul is awake and aware after death, then God’s offer of grace can still reach it. The intermediate state is not a sealed prison; it is a realm where Christ is present and his invitation still stands. See Chapter 11 and Chapter 13.

Kolasis / Timōria

Two Greek words for punishment, and the difference between them matters enormously. Kolasis (koh-LAH-sis) is corrective punishment, aimed at the good of the person being punished. The word originally meant the pruning of a tree. Aristotle drew the distinction clearly: kolasis is for the benefit of the sufferer; timōria (tee-moh-REE-ah) is retributive, for the satisfaction of the one who punishes. In Matthew 25:46, the New Testament uses kolasis, the corrective word. It does not use timōria. This book argues that the choice of word is a clue: the punishment of the age to come is meant to heal, not to torture. See Chapter 10.

Libertarian Free Will

The view that a person’s choices are genuinely free when they could have chosen otherwise under the same conditions. A real “yes” requires a possible “no.” This book holds libertarian free will firmly: God never overrides the human will. He draws, woos, persuades, and purifies, but he does not coerce. Saving faith must be genuine. This commitment creates the book’s one honest open question: if freedom is real, could some creature refuse God forever? The author believes the answer is no, because God’s love and wisdom can win every heart freely. But he admits the bare logical possibility cannot be ruled out by force. See Chapter 23.

Middle Knowledge / Molinism

Middle knowledge is God’s knowledge of what every person would freely choose in any situation God might place them in. The idea comes from the sixteenth-century Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina, so it is also called Molinism. Think of it this way: God does not merely know what will happen. He knows what would happen under every possible set of circumstances. Say a different pastor had knocked on your door, or you had heard the gospel at a different moment in your life. God knows what you would have freely done. This matters for the universal hope. It means God can arrange each person’s encounter with Christ in the form most likely to win a free “yes,” without ever forcing the choice. See Chapter 14 and Chapter 23.

Necessitarian Universalism

The view that universal salvation is not merely hoped for but necessary: the rational will, properly understood, cannot finally reject the good. Its most brilliant recent defender is David Bentley Hart in That All Shall Be Saved. Hart argues that a will set permanently against the Good would be a will damaged beyond recognition, not a free one. This book respects Hart’s argument and draws on his exegetical and patristic work throughout. But it parts company with him on this one point. The author keeps libertarian free will (a real “yes” requires a possible “no”). So he holds universal salvation as an overwhelming conviction, not a metaphysical necessity. Hart is a valuable source, not a counterfeit; the divergence is on the philosophy of freedom, not on the creeds. See Chapter 2 and Chapter 23.

‘Olam

The Hebrew word that lies behind the Greek aiōn. It means a long duration, the far horizon, the vanishing point. It can describe something very long-lasting, but it does not by itself mean “endless.” In the Old Testament, many things called ‘olam have plainly ended. The Passover was to be kept “forever” (‘olam), yet Christians hold that it ended with the cross. The Aaronic priesthood was an ‘olam ordinance, yet it has ceased. Even Jonah described his three days in the fish as ‘olam (Jonah 2:6). The Hebrew background confirms the “age” sense. The word points to a duration defined by its context, not to a timeless forever. See Chapter 10.

Optimal Grace

A concept developed by philosopher Jerry Walls. Optimal grace is the idea that God offers each person grace that is “deeply personal and individual,” fitted exactly to that heart. It is the best possible opportunity to respond to God. Walls argues that damnation results only from the persistent rejection of optimal grace. Combine this with middle knowledge (see above), and the picture grows stronger. A God who knows what every person would freely choose can design the single most fitting appeal for each soul. He can do so across the whole span of the offer: at the threshold of death, in the intermediate state, and at the final judgment. This is how the universal hope avoids coercion. God gets everyone home not by forcing the door but by knowing exactly how to knock. See Chapter 14.

Perimortem Offer

The encounter with Christ that this book argues takes place at the threshold of death. The word “perimortem” means “around the time of dying.” Drawing on the work of Ladislaus Boros, this book holds that the moment of death may be the first fully personal act of the soul. Freed from the body’s distractions, the dying person meets Christ clearly. He or she makes a genuine, fully informed response. The perimortem offer is the first of three stages at which grace reaches every soul (the intermediate state and the final judgment follow). It is Christ-centered, not a vague “light at the end of the tunnel.” See Chapter 13 and Appendix E.

Pluralism (Religious)

The view that all religions are equally valid paths to God and that Christ is not the unique Savior. Its clearest modern representative is John Hick. This book rejects religious pluralism firmly and completely. It is the deepest of the counterfeits, because it makes the cross unnecessary. Biblical universalism says every person will be saved, but every person will be saved through Christ, through the cross, through personal faith in him. That is the opposite of the pluralist claim that any road will do. When critics say universalism means “all roads lead to God,” they are describing pluralism, not the hope this book defends. See Chapter 2.

Postmortem Offer

The continued offer of Christ after death, in the intermediate state and at the final judgment. The word “postmortem” means “after death.” This book argues that Hades is not a sealed waiting room where grace cannot reach. Christ descended to the dead (1 Peter 3:18–20; 4:6). The gospel was “preached even to those who are dead.” The intermediate state is where the offer of Christ continues. The final judgment is where it reaches its most intense form: every remaining soul stands face to face with God in his full glory. The postmortem offer is the second and third stages of how grace reaches every person (the perimortem offer is the first). See Chapter 13, Chapter 14, and Appendix F.

Restorative vs. Retributive Justice

Two ways of understanding the purpose of punishment. Retributive justice punishes for the sake of punishing: the offender “deserves” suffering as payback, and the suffering satisfies an abstract demand for balance. Restorative justice punishes for the sake of healing: the goal is to repair the damage, restore the relationship, and bring the offender back to wholeness. This book reads the fire of God’s judgment as restorative. The punishment is real, severe, and painful, but it is aimed at the good of the one being punished. Think of a surgeon’s knife: the cutting hurts, but the cutting heals. The cross itself is the supreme act of restorative justice, God bearing the cost of sin to reconcile sinners to himself. See Chapter 12.

Second Death

A phrase from the book of Revelation. “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). On the traditional reading, the second death is the final, irreversible destruction of the wicked. On the reading defended in this book, the second death is the destruction of death itself, the end of everything that separates creatures from God. The “lake of fire” is the full, unveiled presence of the holy God (see divine-presence model, above). Death and Hades are thrown into it because they are abolished. For those still in rebellion, the lake of fire is the last, most intense encounter with the love of God. This book reads it as purifying, not as an endless torture. See Chapter 20.

Sheol

The Hebrew word for the realm of the dead. It is the Old Testament equivalent of the Greek Hades (see above). In the earliest Hebrew texts, Sheol is simply where everyone goes when they die, righteous and wicked alike. It is dark, quiet, a shadowy place of waiting. The Psalmist wrote, “If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:8). By the time of Jesus, Jewish thought had developed a more detailed picture of the afterlife, with Sheol/Hades divided into regions for the righteous and the unrighteous. What matters for this book is that Sheol is not the final hell, and that God’s presence reaches even there. See Chapter 11.

The Two Universalisms (Biblical vs. Counterfeit)

This book’s signature distinction. Not all universalisms are the same. Biblical universalism (the hope this book defends) holds that every person will be saved through personal faith in Jesus Christ, through the cross, within the boundaries of historic Christian orthodoxy. It keeps the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the reality of judgment, and the exclusivity of Christ as the one Savior. It says the gospel, taken to its end, saves all. The counterfeits abandon one or more of these commitments. Religious pluralism (John Hick) says all roads lead to God. Unitarian Universalism has left the Trinity and the deity of Christ behind. The “gospel of inclusion” (Carlton Pearson) dissolves the need for the cross. Sentimental universalism assumes “everyone is basically fine” without a real doctrine of sin. Necessitarian universalism (David Bentley Hart) holds universal salvation by metaphysical necessity. Hart is orthodox in his creeds and a valuable source; the book parts with him only on the philosophy of freedom, not on the gospel itself. See Chapter 2.

Universalism (The Biblical Kind)

The conviction that God will, in the end, bring every person he has made to free, saving faith in Jesus Christ. “That God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). This is not wishful thinking but the deep logic of the gospel itself. It rests on several pillars: the character of God (who is love, who wills all to be saved), the scope of the cross (which reconciles the world), and the universal-scope passages of Scripture (Romans 5:18; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Philippians 2:10–11; Colossians 1:20). It also rests on the mechanism by which the offer reaches every soul: at the threshold of death, in the intermediate state, and at the final judgment. Every person is saved through Christ, through faith, through the cross. No one is saved apart from him. The author holds this with settled conviction, not as a bare hope, while admitting the one open question: whether a free creature might finally refuse (see Chapter 23). The full case is built across the whole book, from Chapter 3 through Chapter 24.