I am frequently asked on what biblical basis I have become convinced of the ultimate redemption of all people. My answer has been distilled to this: because the New Testament repeatedly foresees it. I need to adjust my response to the Scriptures repeatedly foresee it.
It should be enough that Jesus Christ declared in John 12:32-33,
“And I, when I am lifted up[a] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”
In this keystone text, Jesus tells us what he will do. He will draw (as in a dragnet) ALL people to himself.
He is not in doubt. What he will do does not seem contingent on response, but as we shall see, it is actually the effective means of the universal response that he foresees, foretells, and creates.
But it’s not as though my growing confidence in Christ’s unfailing purpose to sum up all things in himself (Ephesians 1:7-10) is founded on this one divine and infallible promise. Nor is it restricted to the New Testament. In this brief blog, I will explore this divine intention through John’s expansive reading of Zechariah 12:10 in both his Gospel and the Apocalypse.
I’ll lay out the text in interlinear format so that whether or not readers know the principal languages, they’ll be able to follow the words in translation. Since my language training is in Greek, I’ll only include one line from the Hebrew MT to make a particular (and striking) point. First, the Greek LXX of Zechariah 12:10:
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