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Colossians 1:20 --and by Him to reconcile ALL THINGS  to himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
 There is a certain phrase in the New Testament that has been abused by Greek scholars for years, and could be called HERESY.

 The Greek word involved is the Greek word PAS, means , all or every.

 1) PANTA - neuter plural , referring to ( all things )

 2) TA PANTA- neuter plural , with the  article TA , also translated " all things " in our Bible, but actually referring to something else, which is why it contains the article TA.
  A Manuel Greek Grammer  by DANA and Mantey is a recognized and accepted authority dealing with the Greek.  This is what they say on p137 , The function of the article is to point out an object or to draw attention to it . Its use with a word makes the word stand out DISTINCTLY.
 A proper understanding of " all things will help us all from falling into heresy of the false doctrine of Universal Reconciliation, believed by many people, who use Col 1:20 to proof this teaching.

 But Col 1:20 does not teach this . All things  ( PANTA ) IS NOT IN THE Greek TEXT!!!!!.   Rather  it is TA PANTA, " the all things " which means specific things, that is in the Greek text. It is these things that are going to be reconciled to the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross , He died for everyone in the world. That is true. But has everyone believed this ?  NO. !!

 So then it is the Body of Christ that is meant by " the all things " those members who have died and are in heaven, as well as those who are alive on earth . God  DID NOT have a plan of salvation for the fallen angels or for the devil , so that they are not in view here.

The Nation of Israel is not in view here either. God has a prophetic plan for that Nation according to the Abrahamic Covenant that is still future. By the way, there are about 45 places in the New Testament where " THE ALL THINGS " is used. Mark4:11 , Acts 17:25 , Rom 8:32 , Rom 11:36 , 1 Cor 8:6 , 1 Cor 9:22 , 1 Cor 11:12 , 1 Cor 12:6 , 1 Cor 12:19 , etc.