Two judgments - universal resurrection VS universal salvation

[Gup20]

No, only those transferred into Christ are made righteous, and perfect and blameless. Christ's reconcilation covers everything God holds against us, past present and future.

To repeat, only those transferred into Christ receive the reconciliation.

Van, I agree with you that only those people who have transferred into Christ receive reconciliation. We are in agreement there. Where I would like you to comment is what about the animals, plants, and ground which was cursed by God in The Fall? How do these all become reconciled? What is the mechanism? Does someone other than Jesus redeem the plants, animals, ground, universe, or did Jesus' work have a redemptive or reconciliation effect on them as well?

Here is what I'm getting at - the work of Christ, be it in A) living a righteous life free from sin, or B) dying on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice, produced not just a single effect insomuch that those in Christ obtain eternal life, but also produced a universal effect on the whole of creation.

So in the mind-numbing debate of Calvin vs Arminius (where both can be shown to be wrong on most points - which is why the debate never ends) rages on with Calvinists insisting that Christ's atonement (or as you put, reconciliation) is limited and only offered to the elect, and Arminians insisting it's universally offered.

However, I think the truth is neither of these. I think that there are two judgments. The first judgment was a corporate judgment of Adam in which a universal sentence was passed on Adam Eve, all of the animals, the plants, the ground itself, and the whole of creation. Though the animals, plants, and ground didn't "sin" (they didn't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), yet they still experienced the death that resulted from Adam's sin. Additionally, all of the people who lived between Adam and Moses - though they also didn't sin by taking the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the only Law in existence) - all died... having all experienced the death that came as Adam's judgment.

I believe that Adam's judgment will be repealed. Because Christ lived a righteous life, and was judged by The Law to be righteous, Adam's universal judgment is no longer just. As long as no righteous persons existed, Adam's universal judgment would have remained just. But now that Christ has come, you have to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were. I believe scripture points to Adam's judgment being repealed, and in it's place we'll have the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20. This will be an individual judgment, rather than a universal judgment where each man's own deeds are considered, rather than the one deed of one man (Adam). I believe the repeal of Adam's universal judgment will have a universal resurrecting effect on all people, and a lifting of the curse from the animals, plants, and ground.

This is why the scriptures talk about universal resurrection, not just the resurrection of the elect.

Acts 24:15
having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

John 5:28
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Revelation 21:8
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Daniel 12:1
Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.​

So it is demonstrable, then, that Christ's reconciliation has a universal effect on both the elect and non-elect alike - resurrection. So those who say Christ's atonement is limited are clearly missing a massive aspect of the picture. Who else, if not Christ, is responsible for the universal resurrection the scriptures describe?

1Co 15:21-22 NASB 21 For since by a man [came] death, by a man also [came] the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

Rom 5:18 NASB 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.​

Under the model of Adam's universal judgment being repealed in lieu of the individual great white throne judgments, these two scriptures have no more issues being applied to ALL as they indicate. They apply to ALL mankind without any entanglement with Universalism. Under this model, universal resurrection does not equal universal salvation.

Rom 8:15-22 NASB 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.] 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.​

 

[Van]

I read this (Genesis 3:14-21) as saying because Adam sinned and was therefore removed from the garden, He had to grow his food in non-garden soil, which produced besides thorns and thistles, herbs and grains for bread, and other nourishing plants. So the curse seems to be that Adam and descendants had to work the ground. I see no evidence the ground outside the garden was altered, rather the ground available to Adam was altered, he was put out of the garden.

Note this is minimalist view, not an expansionist view. People will have to work and toil to obtain food from the ground.

Gen 8:21
The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.

Heb 6:7
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;

Heb 6:8
but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

Genesis 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field;

Here the curse is of the serpent, and not animals in general. You can infer the animals were cursed less, but their curse, too, seems to be they would have to work for their nourishment, with the snake working much harder than the grazing cattle.

Genesis 3:17 b, Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.

Here again the curse seems to be that Adam (and thus mankind) would have to work and toil to provide nourishment.

Yes the ground outside the garden grows thorns and thistles but scripture does not say that is the result of a curse, only that the product is close to a curse.