Origen — Blog — Dr. Tim White

Question eight deals with apocatastasis which is the view of universal salvation held to by Origen. One of the texts on which Origen based his view of apocatastasis was 1 Corinthians 15:28.

“The Son’s submission to the Father means perfect reintegration of all creation, so the sub-mission of his enemies to the Son means salvation of his subjects and reintegration of the lost....this submission will take place in certain ways and times and according to precise rules: the entire world will submit to the Father, not as a result of violence, nor by necessity that compels subjection, but thanks to words, reason, teaching, emulation of the best, good norms, and also threats, when deserved and apt . . . Providence operates in of each one, safeguarding the rational creatures’ free will”[1]

Word of Faith Rod Parsley is pastor of World Harvest Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He said, “Forget Paul’s Thorn! We know God has the power to heal…It is His absolute and perfect will to heal you. We do not have to sift through Paul’s thorn, Job’s boils, or Timothy’s sick stomach to try to understand the perfect will of God. You must realize Paul’s infirmity was not in his flesh; it was his soulish man-his mind, his will, and emotions. We know this because he told us the thorn was a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him…. It is time preachers stop trying to make excuses for their lack of faith and understanding of the Word of God” (Repairers of the Breach, page 267, 268).