Mike
If God can chose elect the few and save them from the second death why not just save everyone now and not even have a lake of fire.  It “seems” that God is just prolonging the very fact that we are going to be saved anyway. And if the case of me scratching my head is the obsolute will of God, then all my sin is of God.  It all seems like if God is working against himself in this whole thing.
This is still dealing with universalism, are you telling me that those who flew planes into the twin towers are saved or going to be saved by some purging of fire (judgement) in the after life!  In that case I can do what ever I want to do.

Hi M____
I am afraid you missed the point.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

If it is God who “prepares your heart”, then there is nothing you can do of yourself.

Pro 20:24  Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye [ are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The entire Bible declares God’s sovereignty over man’s will:

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things

The Hebrew word translated ‘evil’ here is ‘ra.’ It is the same word translated evil in this verse:

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil [ Hebrew – ra].

So don’t allow some Babylonian minister who hates these verses of God’s Word to tell you that the word ‘evil’ in Isaiah should have been translated as ‘calamity.’ It was not the tree of the knowledge of good and calamity.
Why did God create a tree of knowledge of good and evil? Was He working against Himself? I don’t thinks so. My guess is that He knows exactly what He is doing:

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I hope these verses help you to see that God is sovereign even over the men who flew those planes into the world trade centers and yes, even over your sins. As hard as it is for our flesh to accept, this is the Truth of God’s Word:

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen [ by the hand of the Potter] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

There just happens to be a scripture that deals with what happened in the city that day:

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

I am not telling you anything. About all I do is quote scripture. I hope you aren’t upset with me for that.
You ask:
“If the case of me scratching my head is the absolute will of God, then all my sin is of God.  It all seems like if God is working against himself in this whole thing.”
How God’s way “seems” to you is beyond my ability to change. I have no desire to try to change anyone. Changing hearts is the work of the holy spirit of God. My commission is to point to God’s Word and contrast His words with all the thorns and thistles of orthodox Christian doctrine:

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

If there were any truth to the doctrine of eternal torment, then your assumption would be right on, God would be “working against Himself. But if God is in the process of saving all mankind then He is “working all things after the counsel of His own will.” Why is He doing it the way He is?

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [ even] in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Those who are faithful to God’s Word have always been a minority:

Luk 6:26  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Being popular is not a good sign of good spiritual health. No one in orthodox Christianity really believes that God is sovereign. Not one orthodox Christian minister believes this verse:

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [ things].

Billy Graham, in the National Cathedral immediately after the attacks on the world trade centers, proclaimed to the whole world that this verse is not true. ‘God does not create evil,’ proclaimed Dr. Graham. Who will you believe?

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

God does things as He does because He has “purposed [ to do so] in Himself.” He doesn’t consult us first. But He does tell us that “in the dispensation of the fulness of times He will gather all things in Christ.” He also tells us that we are but the firstfruits of His efforts. We are “predestined according to His purpose to be those who first trusted in Him.”

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [ being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

As any farmer can tell you, ‘firstfruits’ are few but the best of the crop. But first fruits are not the only fruits. The fall harvest is by far the greatest in number:

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ not exclusively] of those that believe.
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [ the sins of] the whole world.

I hope these words of God’s Word help you to better understand His mind in this matter. You may wonder why God is working His work as a process, but no one can scripturally deny that such is the case.

I ABSOLUTELY AM GREATFUL THAT YOU ARE TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE. THANKS, this is how i am looking at it [ after your letters to me]
God created man God instructs man not to sin God cause man to sin (God created evil) God cause man to reject him – no man can come unto the father……. God chooses man God tells man(the one he chose) to witness to the other men to bring them out of sin or to cast judgment God still send men into lake of fire after witnessing trying to get them saved through the chosen man God still at the end both saves the believer and the unbeliever (after the lake of fire) HELP ME!!!
M____

Wow, M___,
You really are a ‘quick study.’  I hope you do not take offense at any of the letters I have already answered. To be honest I wondered how you could appreciate what I have written if you still believed in eternal hell fire.
I am overjoyed that God has opened your eyes to see the love in His Word. Your words below are right on target. I’m not sure what ‘cast judgment’ means but other than that you are right on target.
Mike>