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The One Purpose of God: An Answer to the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment
Throughout the centuries the church has taught that the vast majority of humankind will suffer eternal punishment. But is this teaching truly biblical? In this book Jan Bonds scrutinizes church tradition and Scripture - especially Paul's letter to the Romans - and concludes that neither Paul nor the prophets to whom he appeals show any trace of supporting the doctrine of eternal damnation. On the contrary, they tell us that God wants to save all people and that he will not rest until that goal has been achieved.
- GenresReligionNonfiction
Paperback
First published March 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 8, 2013
Every tongue shall praise God! God had a purpose when he created man and it wasn't to send the majority to eternal torture cutoff forever from His love. This book opens up new was to understand those hard verses that didn't seem to match up with the love, grace and mercy we see in Jesus. You will want to reread the Bible through new eyes and especially Paul. One of the highlights for me though was chapter VII, The a prophets Speak about Judgment and Hope, especially when he deals with Revelations. "The Spirit and the bride say, "Come". And let everyone who hears say, "Come". And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
September 12, 2016
Helpful, but more thematic than exegetical. His handling of the 'judgment' texts isn't particularly helpful and much of his material can be found done better by Robin Parry and Tom Talbott. Helpful on some level, but there are better books.
November 8, 2025
A REFORMED PASTOR ARGUES A "HOPE FOR SALVATION OF ALL"
Jan Bonda (1918-1997) was a Dutch Reformed pastor who served several churches in the Netherlands. He wrote in the Preface to this 1993 book, "Throughout my life the gloomy doctrine of eternal punishment ... has bothered me. After my retirement from the active ministry I at last had the opportunity to make an in-depth study of what the Bible has to say about this topic. I knew that many others had written about this subject, and I took the time to read their writings. What they wrote about the hope of salvation for all again and again strengthened my convictions. I decided, however, to take a different approach---a more systematic, biblical study that would also deal with the 'difficult texts' that are invariably cited against the hope of salvation for the millions. That is what I have done in this book..." (Pg. xxiv)
He notes, "We are told that there is forgiveness for all sin and blasphemy except blasphemy against the Spirit (Matt 12:31)... it is clear that the sins Jesus lists in this passage do not constitute the blasphemy against the Spirit... we must accept that the sins mentioned in this passage will eventually be forgiven. This means... that this statement of Jesus about eternal punishment is not the final word for those who are condemned." (Pg. 70)
He argues, "The teaching that Israel has been replaced by the church as the people of God has, from the beginning, dominated---and derailed---Christendom. For when the church no longer anticipated the salvation of all Israel, she changed her thinking about God. This was inevitable: The God who drops his own people because of its disobedience and chooses another people is not the kind of God who will save a disobedient world. He becomes a God who wants to save only a few from the mass of humanity." (Pg. 171)
He admits that Isaiah 66:24 and Daniel 12:2 are "Two Disturbing Texts"; he comments, "But what does this word [abhorrence/contempt] mean in Isaiah 66:24? Does this final passage of the book crush the hope for all people that is proclaimed in the book of Isaiah? The great feast for all nations, the annihilation of death and the wiping away of all tears... that every knee shall bow before God and praise him (45:23)---will all this be cancelled? It that were so, these words would not have been included in this book!" (Pg. 217)
About the concept of "eternal," he suggests, "It is punishment that fully accomplishes God's purpose in punishing; no other punishment will follow or be needed. When Jesus refers to this punishment as eternal, he simply underlines, as the prophets had done, the total seriousness---the eternal seriousness---of God in pursuing his one and only purpose." (Pg. 219)
He concludes, "God has given each human being the free choice to say No to him. But even if someone would persist in this refusal, this would not mean endless punishment. God's punishment is always directed toward God's single purpose: salvation. As long as the punishment is being administered, there is hope. Could this No result in nothingness---annihilation? Surely, that is POSSIBLE. God is free to accept this 'No' of that particular person as his final choice. Scripture does not allow us to affirm that this will not happen. We do not know everything! Nor does Scripture... allow us to affirm that this will indeed happen... Rather, it focuses our attention on our task as laborers in God's harvest. God wants to save the harvest in its entirety since Christ died for all people. This calls us to hope for the salvation of all people." (Pg. 259)
This book---whether one agrees with it 100% or not---will be of great interest to anyone studying the doctrines of Hell, Conditional Immortality, etc.
Jan Bonda (1918-1997) was a Dutch Reformed pastor who served several churches in the Netherlands. He wrote in the Preface to this 1993 book, "Throughout my life the gloomy doctrine of eternal punishment ... has bothered me. After my retirement from the active ministry I at last had the opportunity to make an in-depth study of what the Bible has to say about this topic. I knew that many others had written about this subject, and I took the time to read their writings. What they wrote about the hope of salvation for all again and again strengthened my convictions. I decided, however, to take a different approach---a more systematic, biblical study that would also deal with the 'difficult texts' that are invariably cited against the hope of salvation for the millions. That is what I have done in this book..." (Pg. xxiv)
He notes, "We are told that there is forgiveness for all sin and blasphemy except blasphemy against the Spirit (Matt 12:31)... it is clear that the sins Jesus lists in this passage do not constitute the blasphemy against the Spirit... we must accept that the sins mentioned in this passage will eventually be forgiven. This means... that this statement of Jesus about eternal punishment is not the final word for those who are condemned." (Pg. 70)
He argues, "The teaching that Israel has been replaced by the church as the people of God has, from the beginning, dominated---and derailed---Christendom. For when the church no longer anticipated the salvation of all Israel, she changed her thinking about God. This was inevitable: The God who drops his own people because of its disobedience and chooses another people is not the kind of God who will save a disobedient world. He becomes a God who wants to save only a few from the mass of humanity." (Pg. 171)
He admits that Isaiah 66:24 and Daniel 12:2 are "Two Disturbing Texts"; he comments, "But what does this word [abhorrence/contempt] mean in Isaiah 66:24? Does this final passage of the book crush the hope for all people that is proclaimed in the book of Isaiah? The great feast for all nations, the annihilation of death and the wiping away of all tears... that every knee shall bow before God and praise him (45:23)---will all this be cancelled? It that were so, these words would not have been included in this book!" (Pg. 217)
About the concept of "eternal," he suggests, "It is punishment that fully accomplishes God's purpose in punishing; no other punishment will follow or be needed. When Jesus refers to this punishment as eternal, he simply underlines, as the prophets had done, the total seriousness---the eternal seriousness---of God in pursuing his one and only purpose." (Pg. 219)
He concludes, "God has given each human being the free choice to say No to him. But even if someone would persist in this refusal, this would not mean endless punishment. God's punishment is always directed toward God's single purpose: salvation. As long as the punishment is being administered, there is hope. Could this No result in nothingness---annihilation? Surely, that is POSSIBLE. God is free to accept this 'No' of that particular person as his final choice. Scripture does not allow us to affirm that this will not happen. We do not know everything! Nor does Scripture... allow us to affirm that this will indeed happen... Rather, it focuses our attention on our task as laborers in God's harvest. God wants to save the harvest in its entirety since Christ died for all people. This calls us to hope for the salvation of all people." (Pg. 259)
This book---whether one agrees with it 100% or not---will be of great interest to anyone studying the doctrines of Hell, Conditional Immortality, etc.
July 1, 2014
Very good! One of the highlights is his handling of 'election'
May 8, 2015
When I started this book I didn't believe in eternal punishment, and I still don't.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews