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If and when I change my mind about any of the views I’ve published in my book or on this blog, I’ll add a link straight to the discussion where I explain my new position and my reasoning behind the change. This list is presented in reverse chronological order, so my newest retractions will appear at the top of the page.
November 16, 2025
When I published my post “Alex O’Connor On Animal Suffering: Ironically Reassuring” on May 17, 2025, I wrote shortly before the conclusion:
Will there ever be a time when such sacrifices will cease? As far as I’m aware, the Bible doesn’t explicitly teach that those who are converted during the Millennium will be perfected at the end of it (thereby rendering such sacrifices unnecessary for the rest of eternity after the Millennium, since no sins will be happening at all anymore); but it doesn’t rule out the possibility, either. We’ll have to wait for additional divine revelation to pin down whether or not this will happen for sure, but Morris’ (and Alex’s) idea about God capping land animals’ reproductive abilities to fix their populations at values that would be optimal for the ecosystem as a whole would certainly be feasible if that does come to pass.
In the course of my study of the “Day of the Lord” passages, I came across Jeremiah 31:40, which seems to refer to Gehenna/Topheth/the Lake of Fire: “And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.” (KJV, boldface added) This implies that a more graphic deterrent to sinning (the burning and decaying bodies of the wicked) will no longer be necessary at some point (presumably once the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 has finished; note that Revelation 20:10 (“and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night — to the ages of the ages.” — YLT) doesn’t contradict this if the word “they” in “they shall be tormented day and night — to the ages of the ages” refers to the beast (the Antichrist) and the false prophet, but not the Devil, since their dead bodies will be in Gehenna throughout the Millennium, but Satan will be destroyed at the Great White Throne Judgment, before Topheth becomes “holy unto the LORD”). This would in turn imply that nobody remaining will be inclined to sin anymore, having received glorified bodies; this would imply that sacrificial offerings as reminders of sin (Hebrews 10:3) will no longer be necessary after that. However, I also failed to consider that some Biblical passages mention sacrifices being offered for reasons that have more to do with gratitude toward God than acknowledging sins (e.g., Genesis 8:20, Leviticus 3, Jeremiah 33:18, etc.); sacrifices in this category could also be offered after Topheth becomes “holy unto the LORD”. Therefore, I’ve revised that paragraph to read as follows:
Will there ever be a time when such sacrifices will cease? As far as I’m aware, the Bible doesn’t explicitly say that those who are converted during the Millennium will be perfected at the end of it; but it doesn’t rule out the possibility, either. Indeed, this is strongly hinted at by the implication of Jeremiah 31:40 that the land on which the Lake of Fire will sit will eventually become “holy unto the LORD” (KJV), meaning that the decaying and burning bodies of the wicked that will serve as a more graphic deterrent to sinning throughout the Millennium (Isaiah 66:24) will no longer be required as a deterrent–because nobody will be sinning anymore, presumably because everyone left will be in glorified bodies. In that case, Morris’ (and Alex’s) idea about God capping land animals’ reproductive abilities to fix their populations at values that would be optimal for the ecosystem as a whole would certainly be feasible. However, while sacrifices as reminders for sins will be unnecessary for the rest of eternity after the Millennium (since no sins will be happening at all anymore), the Bible also records examples of sacrifices that could be voluntarily offered to express gratitude toward God (Genesis 8:20, Leviticus 3, Jeremiah 33:18, etc.). Jeremiah 33:18 in particular implies that such sacrifices will continue being offered into eternity future. So for animals that are offered for this category of sacrifices, that would be an additional restraint to prevent their population growth from reaching detrimental levels.