Results 21 - 40 of 79
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Zsuzsi Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | ye are gods? ps 82:6 | Ezek 28:9 | Zsuzsi | 122561 | ||
Hi Ray, Thank you for your message. I think I agree with you! We are actually 'gods' in the sense that we do have power over most creatures on earth (Gen 1:26-29), and we also have much dignity since we ARE indeed the children of God, and heirs of Him, even co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:16-17). This is really something we should know and live up to! We have our new 'birthrights', to put it that way: we can call God our Father (Rom 8:15), we are His personal concern (1Pet 5:7), we are not under the law any more (Gal 5:18), we are told that we will even judge angels (1Cor 6:3)! But with this comes much responsibility: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children."(Eph 5:1) We must follow the Spirit of God living in us, because we are only His children if we are led by Him (Rom 8:14); we must be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit in us (Eph 4:30). We also must know that we never deserved this privilege; we should be very thankful for salvation and instead of boasting, exercise humility. Phil 2:5-14 is one of my favorite passages: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Amen! Even though we are 'gods' in some sense, I think we must be aware of the great dangers of calling ourselves 'gods'; in the body we are still limited, and it is only by God's grace that we can be called His children! Our good self-awareness must not develop into pride... Jesus died so that we might become part of His family, which we are, and He is not ashamed to call us His brothers (Heb 2:11) - but also we have to remember: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Heb 2:6) ...The thought of His Grace never ceases to touch me... Psalm 30:4: Sing to the LORD , you saints of his; praise his holy name! God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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22 | howshould start a bible study ? | Jonah | Zsuzsi | 122571 | ||
Hi reese67, This is my general 'procedure' for Bible study, which usually works: 1) Pray that God may open your eyes and help you understand what He is trying to communicate to you. 2) Read the passage you are studying carefully and consider everything exactly as it is written. Even research the original language if you are uncertain. Ask: what is being said in this passage? 3) Maybe research the history in which the passage was written. When was it written, where, who wrote it, and to whom, etc. This may give you an idea about the purposes of the author and God. 4) Look at the passage in its context - the other parts of the actual chapter, book, and the historical background. Ask: what was the purpose of God and the author with this AT THE TIME? 5) Then go further and ask: what is God's message to me and to others TODAY with this passage? What does it mean to ME and how can I apply it to my life? 6) Once you have arrived at a conclusion, check for supporting or opposing Bible passages, to make sure that you are not mistaken. But if you really listen to the teaching of the Holy Spirit I doubt that you ever will be. It is also interesting to research others' interpretations once you are in this stage, but personally I prefer not to do that before I have studied it myself. 7) And remember to thank God for teaching you... :-) For the book of Jonah specifically, hope this will help in your study: Its author is unknown, the book was possibly written in the 4th or 3rd century BC. This is the era in which Israel increasingly met peoples of different religions and started thinking about what it really meant to be chosen by God.(from my Hungarian Bible) It is actually a very thought-provoking book - but I will not share my own conclusions about it with you until you have arrived at your own. :-) Come back to us about it if you wish... God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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23 | Was tarshish in spain? | Jon 1:3 | Zsuzsi | 122600 | ||
We do not know. Some claim it was Sri Lanka, others say it was Troy, or somewhere in southern Turkey, or as you say, Spain. But maybe that is beside the point: it was a trading place very far from where Jonah lived, and it was definitely opposite to Ninive ;-) Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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24 | Matt 11:11/Luke 7:28 | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 119831 | ||
Personally I believe Jesus is referring to Himself in the second part of His statement. I have looked at the original Greek and the context and also other supporting Bible verses. It seems to work - here are a few things of what I found: Firstly, the Greek translation does NOT contain "prophet", as for example KJV or the Catholic Douay version. "mikroterov', i.e. "least" is used in a positive sense -while Jesus prefers to use 'elaxistov' for 'least [in the kingdom]' in a negative sense (eg. Matt 5:19). It fits well into the context of both Luke 7 and Matthew 11, into Jesus comparing Himself to John, and it is also supported by other Bible passages (e.g. Phil 2:6-11). Yet, as I see, many have interpreted it in a different way... |
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25 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122613 | ||
Do you think that Jesus could have been referring to Himself by "the least in the kingdom of God" in Luke 7:28/Matt 11:11? Personally do I believe He was, although I read many other interpretations which are not even similar to mine... Cv. Phil 2:6-11... God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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26 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122640 | ||
Hi Angel, No-no, of course I am not denying or even questioning the full and absolute Deity of Jesus!!! On the contrary, actually! But my answer to your question, "How can God be the least in heaven?", is this: that's what I call Grace... Every soul in heaven has actually been bought at the price of the blood of the Most High - it's a bit like the slave-stories we only read about today, with people bought and sold for one another... But something infinitely greater happened here: the Almighty Lord of heaven and earth willingly chose to free the slaves of sin by He Himself becoming a slave for them in submitting to human suffering and death! Phil 2:6-11 (you referred to it as well) probably sums up my point in the most beautiful way: "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but MADE HIMSELF NOTHING, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The Almighty made Himself nothing, He became the very least - yet He is our Lord and God, and He is truly a marvelous Lord! At His Name every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, forever and ever, Amen! Hope this clarifies the way I look at it a bit more. God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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27 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122643 | ||
Hi VictorA, Hmm, your opinion is very interesting...! Your starting point is the same as mine but I think have to disagree with your conclusion: maybe that is what you call 'justice' but to me it certainly isn't! Did Moses, or John the Baptist, or you or me decide for ourselves whether we wanted to be born BC or AC? I doubt... Does God then privilige some people by causing them to be born AC? Ezekiel 33:20 "Yet, O house of Israel, you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to his own ways." So He will judge according to our own ways ('ways' is not the same as 'works'), not whether He chose us to be born BC or AC... Personally I think it cannot 'fully rewarding' for faithful servants of God like John the Baptist or David that they would become 'earthly subjects' to 'co-heirs' with Christ, simply because of the date of their birth... I believe Jesus died to save the whole world, not just the people who come after Him; I do not like the idea of 'limiting' God to our earthly way of looking at time. Also, please see Luke 13:28 and Matt 8:11: Jesus did say that the old prophets would enter the Kingdom: Luke 13:28 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out." Matthew 8:11: "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." I have found no direct Biblical reference stating that the people born before Christ would not enter the Kingdom or that they would be subject to the people who have lived after Christ - and forming additional assumptions is usually not the best idea. This is one of the reasons why I think that this interpretation is maybe mistaken altogether... God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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28 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122648 | ||
Hi Emmaus, Thanks for your replies... Yes, this is the interpretation that I have found most often. But I must admit that this is very hard for me to accept! Here are my reasons: 1) VictorA was actually faster with making this point, but let me repeat it: did John get to the kingdom? If he did, then Jesus' statement does not make sense; if he didn't, what about Lk 13:28 and Mt 8:11 where He states that all the great prophets would enter the Kingdom? (See my reply to Victor A) 2) Do you distinguish between the kingdom of the New Covenant and the kingdom of the Old Covenant? Are born AC people really more priviliged or blessed than born BC people in this sense? (How is that in agreement with God's justice?) 3) To me that interpretation does not seem to fit well into the contexts of Luke 7 and Matt 11, into Jesus comparing Himself with John. John notes in Luke 7:29-30 that "...even the tax collectors.. acknowledged God's justice... But the Pharisees ... rejected God's purpose for themselves" According to this interpretation, how does God's justice come in here, and what is God's purpose for the Pharisees and experts in the law? Also, In Matt 11:12, Jesus states: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." What exactly does He mean by this? 4) Fourthly, the Greek 'mikroterov', i.e. 'smallest/least' is interpreted in a negative way, but it actually carries a positive meaning ('humble')... Jesus uses the same word (its noun form) for the little ones He loves so much, for example in Mt 18:6, and He prefers to use 'elaxistov' with its definitely negative sense for 'the least in the kingdom of heaven' in Mt 5:19... If we take that Jesus was referring to Himself, the rest of these two chapters is also more easily understood: first He confirms that He is the Messiah, then confirms the greatness of John, even telling that John is greater than a prophet; but He explains that John is only a forerunner of the Messiah! Although John is the greatest human ever born, the Son of Man is greater than him, even if He has now 'made Himself nothing' (Phil 2:17), becoming the least in heaven and came to earth as a fully human person to suffer and die for sinners. This is why the Kingdom 'suffers' (c.v. "The kingdom of God is within/among you" Lk 17:21).. John's disciples testified of God's Truth, for John himself had told them long ago: "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all." (Jn 3:31), but the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, which was to believe that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. (This is usually the very thing in Jesus' teachings that the Pharisees did not want to accept!) It took the utmost, ultimate sacrifce and supreme humility of Jesus to become a human like us and submit to suffering and death! Remember how He humbled Himself when He was baptized by John (Matt 3:13-15)? And that He even washed the feet of His disciples? "Do you understand what I have done for you?" (John 13:12) - His question is the same to us! Please read Phil 2:6-11 (I have quoted it to Angel as well), I believe it summarizes my viewpoint very well. Hope this explains my thoughts about this... God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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29 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122658 | ||
Thanks for your reply, I agree with every word you said! But exactly for this reason, Christ spoke in the present tense of 'the least in the kingdom of God' ('is' - as far as I know, the Greek 'estin' can not be understood as 'will be' - but maybe we'll need to ask someone more knowledgeable about this)... At the time He was speaking, while on earth, He was the least in the kingdom of God, wasn't He...? I mean, He ate, and drank, and slept, and wept, suffered and died, even prayed as a fully human person... Of course He was fully God as well, but becoming a human at all was just far beneath His dignity to say the least! (Please read also my replies to Emmaus.) In His resurrection, He was glorified, and now He is the greatest in all of heaven and earth... Of course. He sits on the right hand of God and He will come back to judge all the earth... :-) If He hadn't been the Greatest, He wouldn't have been able to defeat satan (who, thanks to Jesus, doesn't even deserve the capital letter any more). This passage really touched me some time ago and since then I appreciate the sacrifice He made for us more than ever. And I am ever so glad to have such a wonderfully loving Lord. :-) Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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30 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122662 | ||
Emmaus, We are not diverging... :-) I agree with what you said about identifying with Jesus or Moses, and also that John the Baptist was the greatest of all the OT saints. I find your comments about being born of the Spirit very important as well. There are Biblical references that the same Holy Spirit was given to people BC and AC as well: (I will only mention NT examples since the OT was written mostly in Hebrew) -David spoke of the Messiah by the Holy Spirit (Mk 12:36) -The Holy Spirit ascended to Mary at His conception (Matt 1:18,20) -The Holy Spirit ascended onto His shoulders when He was baptized (John 1:32) -The Holy Spirit filled Zecchariah (Luke 1:67) -The Holy Spirit would give the words to the believers' mouth in times of tribulation (Mk 13:11) The Greek word is 'pneuma' in all of these cases - so the Holy Spirit, the very same Spirit Whom Jesus also had, was given to people BC, while Jesus was on earth and also AC. That makes me arrive at the conclusion that the OT saints who trusted in the salvation of the Messiah, were saved in the same way as we are... They also received the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth - the prophets prophesied about Jesus, and they actually desired to see the coming of the Messiah (Matt 13:17)! They did not see Him, just like we do not see Him now, but they had the chance to believe in Him and be reborn, just as we have the chance to believe in Him and be reborn... Jesus was, is and always will be the Rock of all ages.. That is the Gospel! But that was only possible in the New Covenant, through the blood of the Lamb, in which He, the Greatest, did become the least in the Kingdom for the time He was on earth... Although John was the greatest person ever born of women, Jesus, even if at the time He was the least (i.e. most humbled) in heaven, was/is/will be greater than him. Therefore I still think He was referring to Himself... As I see we basically agree, even though we do start from two completely different interpretations of the passage - now that's not bad at all. :-) As I have told Angel, I was really touched by this passage some time ago and since then I appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for us more than ever. And I am ever so glad to have such a wonderfully loving Lord! Have a blessed Pentecost. Zsuzsi |
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31 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122664 | ||
Thanks.. While waiting for (more), I just wanted to tell for your first question: the point about which we agree is that we both have problems with the natural logic of Jesus' statement: if any man is the least in the kingdom, the only way His sentence can make sense is if John never gets there. But unlike you, I found that to be a dead-end, so to speak. ;-) Later, Zsuzsi |
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32 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122667 | ||
Emmaus... :-) This is so Catholic... :-) I was brought up in an environment which encouraged me to 'mortify' myself... The Lord took pains to teach me that the point in sacrifice is not to cause great suffering to ourselves (that would be masochism, not Christianity) or to try to 'save' ourselves (or anyone else) instead of humbly and thankfully accepting what Jesus has already labored for, but to unite ourselves with the Savior in all ways, including suffering. Their love for Jesus kept even the most dedicated Catholic saints going, not any commandment they received or any desire they had to suffer... Too many people teach today that you need to say 'NO' to yourself in order to say 'YES' to God - I believe that by being reborn, our whole inner nature changes: in our inner being we actually delight in God's law (Romans 7:22) - what we need to struggle with is our yet unredeemed flesh. If we give way to our sinful fleshly desires, we grieve the Holy Spirit within us, i.e. we grieve our own inner selves. Yes, I do not deny the need for personal discipline. Through sacrifices we also learn to appreciate what Jesus went through for us. But that does not mean unnecessary morbidity... We do fast, to let ourselves know, from time to time, that the Giver is more satisfying than the gift - but we don't do it constantly, that would be anorexia; we do stay up late at night in prayer, because we love spending time with Jesus more than we love sleeping - but we don't do it constantly, that would be suicide... I cannot imagine it is pleasing to God to keep life in a person who tortures his/herself for no reason: Jesus has already died for all of our sins! I had to be reminded that 'Do not kill' is a commandment: even we ourselves are those whom we are trying to kill. As for 2), Jesus said we should not fear those who kill the body, for only Satan can destroy the spirit and the body (Luke 12:4-5); and I do not identify Herod or any Jew with Satan.. But these are intriguing interpretations indeed, thanks for sharing them with me. Zsuzsi |
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33 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122669 | ||
Hello VictorA, Yes, WOW... It is a really deep topic! And I do not mean to offend you in any way, but I think I have to respectfully disagree with you about many of the points you make... "Some humans have the special priviledge of ruling in heaven over the earth, but the vast majority will fulfill God’s purpose for the earth by populating it forever in perfection." Do you have any Biblical reference for this? 1Cor 6:2: says, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" "Saint" is most often used for 'godly people', both in the OT and the NT... "Again, God’s reward of living on earth will fulfill man’s every desire, since man was made to live on the earth God’s original purpose for creating man. God created angels to live in heaven." Agreed about the creation part. But immortality and freedom from suffering and complete liberation from sin and temptation are also part of all men's desires (at least part of mine, lol) - only heaven promises those to people. I call the 'perfect world' which is to come 'heaven'. Also, please note that Jesus said that people who get to heaven will be like angels (Matt 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:36). So I doubt that they will reproduce etc... "King David, had not ascended to heaven and so was not in any kingdom of the heavens or kingdom of God in Acts 2:34, “Actually David did not ascend to the heavens,”" NO! I believe 'ascended to heaven' here means the physical ascension of Jesus, which David obviously did not do. (The Greek "anabaino" means: 'ascend, to go up to, rise, mount, be borne up, spring up') Reading the whole verse and the exact wording of Acts 2:34 in the NASB, "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND," - to me this means that Jesus was more than David, not that David was not going to get to heaven at all! "...in Matthew 8:11 Jesus referred to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob figuratively..." Well, Isaac didn't actually die... Jesus did. But anyway, even if I do accept your argument about this, I still have doubts about Luke 13:28, where He does clearly mention 'all the prophets' - however we look at it! Also see Rev 18:20, about 'saints' and 'prophets' getting to heaven. Please read my replies to Angel (JCrichton) and Emmaus to see what I believe this passage really means. Your viewpoint is a completely new one for me, actually; I have seen many different interpretations of this passage and of the Kingdom in general, but among all those there is none like yours! I think I'll read Revelations again tonight, or at least parts of it, and pray about this... I encourage you also to do so. Will get back to you tomorrow. Sincerely yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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34 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122688 | ||
Hi VictorA, I suggested a reading into Revelations because that is one of the most obvious things to read when we want to learn about the kingdom of God and the end of the times... :-) I read the entire book last night, actually, and also prayed; I honestly did my best to see things from your point of view but I am still arriving at paradoxical questions. I think we need a very intimate relationship with the Lord before we can understand these prophecies as they were meant to be understood, just like in the case of the OT books of the prophets. It is really "solid food", to put it that way: no wonder why He fed the people milk instead in His parables! But I do hope He comes soon. Come, Lord Jesus... (Rev 22:20) And yes, sure, we can discuss many things about Revelations if you have questions - I love this book too: it's scary yet beautiful. To start with, I'll post my thoughts about the very first verse, as you asked; look up Rev 1:1. Yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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35 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122698 | ||
Emmaus, You might be right. Yet, seeking the Truth I normally attempt to consider all points of view, and take all uncertain issues directly to the Lord in prayer. His answers are usually fast and clear enough - just as in this case. A young person like me, in such a media- and money-centered society, can only hold onto the teaching that comes directly from Him. So He has the last word. :-) Psalm 119 is one of my favorites: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees." Psalm 119:9-12 Thanks for the comment, though. :-) God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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36 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122708 | ||
Hi Angel, I am glad to see we are now almost in complete agreement. "but still, I am cautious because He also made it clear that He was above those who He served:" Of course. This is actually His point in Luke 7:28 and Matthew 11:11: "...yet who is least in the kingdom of heaven IS GREATER THAN HE." John was only the greatest of the human forerunners of the Messiah. Jesus Himself was God. God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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37 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 123193 | ||
Ralph, I wish you had filled out your profile so I'd know whom I am addressing. For now: I would first encourage you to re-consider your attitude towards other people's opinion on this forum, and especially to try to refrain from such disrespectful comments aimed at anybody in particular, please. Emmaus and I have discussed this issue peacefully and in Christian love; he is my brother in Christ whom I have much respect for. His posts reflect consideration for my opinion as well. Nevertheless he has the right to disagree with me, or anyone, just as well as you do. It is not a sign of any "religious bigotry" to be a Catholic. I offer you reading into Romans 14: "Do not let what you consider good to be spoken of as evil." (Rom 14:16) Thank you for your exceptional concern about my spiritual walk, but as for me, the Lord is my Shepherd; He loves me so much that He gave His life for me, and He has already defeated even the powers of hell. So I do not question whether He is able or willing to protect me from going astray: He leads me on the paths of His righteousness for His Name's sake. "Just a comment on Acts 2:34. See Matt 22:43,44 for further clarification. David calls "my Lord" Jesus, that is not to say "my LORD" (the first lord) that refers to Yahweh, but rather the latter "lord." " This I understand. But David uses 'Adonay' in the original passage (Psalm 110:1), and the Hebrew word was indeed spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence. The Deity of Jesus cannot be questioned: I could quote thousands of passages but I'll only give you two now: Isa 9:6: "For to us a child is born.. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, AlMIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, Prince of Peace"; Phil 2:5-6: "...Christ Jesus: Who, being IN VERY NATURE GOD..." "I have to agree with VictorA on this one. 1Cor 15: 23, in defending the resurrection hope, Paul refers to the Christ as the firstfruits, and to those who belong to him.... These are the "sons of God" whose revealing "creation" (the rest of humanity) eagerly awaits in order to be set free from God's enemy death. (1 Cor 15:24-26)" If I correctly understand the passage, it talks about only two "groups": one is Jesus ALONE, and the next is the ones who believe in Him. See Col 1:18, Acts 26:23, or Rev 1:5. Where exactly does the Bible say that some people will become rulers over the world while others will be placed on earth to fulfill their creation? Jesus said He would (alone) separate the 'good people' from the 'bad ones'; the 'good' -'those who belong to Him'- will get to His kingdom (share in His glory, etc), while the 'bad' will be cast out into the darkness. ("He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." Matt 25:33) The term 'sons of God' usually refers to godly people in general. "If humans will not live forever on earth, then God's purpose for the earth has been prevented by Satan. I refuse to believe that, and I encourage all to rethink this fundamental truth as they study the Bible! (Isaiah 55:11)" I never said that humans will not live forever on earth. I just say that the ones who belong to Him will be like Him, for they will see Him as He is (1John 3:2)... And that He will create new heavens and a new earth, so the old things will not be remembered (Isaiah 65:17). Personally I prefer to keep things simple, especially when it gets to Scripture-study. The Word of God is not to be overcomplicated, it speaks for itself. But you are of course allowed to disagree. Greetings, Zsuzsi |
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38 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 123275 | ||
Greetings Ralph, "Did you notice that no one sent Emmaus a note to back off the JW rhetoric?" Yes, I did. But did you notice that his note was a simple, objective statement about the viewpoint what VictorA's posts reflected? He did not say, either directly or indirectly, "Don't be deceived by him", or "he is a religious bigot", or anything alike. Hence the no replies... My answers to your questions: 1) If Adam did not sin, how long would he have lived? Forever. 2) What would the earth look like if sin had not entered the world? It would be the Garden of Eden, or Paradise. 3) What does this tell you about God's original purpose for the earth? The earth was to provide people with food and everything they needed in their lives. :-) If in your question you rather mean 'people' instead of 'the earth', His original purpose for man was to rule over all His creation, to His good pleasure, according to Genesis 1. But God's original purpose for man has changed; as He revealed through Jesus and His prophets, He will first destroy all the earth, then rebuild it and allow only His own to enter His kingdom. See, for example, the book of Micah. I could have chosen the book of any other prophet but I like Micah because it is very concise: "Therefore, the LORD says: 'I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.'" Micah 2:3 "In that day," declares the LORD, I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever." Micah 4:6-7 Jesus is the same LORD who will rule over all the earth: "He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace." Micah 5:4-5 (Read Micah 5:1-5; Jesus is the Promised Ruler, coming from Bethlehem..) This does NOT mean that Satan has destroyed God's plan; but personally I would think we have to give God the right to change His Mind any time He wishes! (There have been examples that He was grieved about what He had done, and did something which was not part of His 'original' plan; again, because of the iniquity of men. See Gen 6, the story of Noah.) We, sinners, humans, all of us, should have been cast to eternal damnation; but what is waiting for the reborn is actually better than what He originally planned for mankind, and that is because He is extraordinarily Gracious, to say the least. If we are born of the Spirit, we are not merely animal-like, instint-led humans any more; we are one with Him, and heirs of the eternal Kingdom. God's purpose for us is no longer to eat and drink and reproduce but to be completely united with Him! And that makes much sense to me. I do not know about you, but my wish for eternity is not to have my own planet to rule over, I can hardly keep my 10sqm room tidy and organized.. Neither do I dream about lying around and bearing children one after the other, or butchering animals for myself - by the way, would they just get cooked and ready for dinner all by themselves in your ideal picture of heaven? Personally I am rather looking forward to resting forever in a tiny corner of the Merciful Heart of my Lord Jesus; in peace, comfort and security, nourished by His Warmth and His Love - the Everlasting Water He promised to fill our thirst with. And I will be happy and satisfied - that is my hope, faith and driving force. :-) You are fully entitled to prefer the butchery, though. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." Micah 7:18 This is indeed fundamental, uncomplicated and beautiful to ponder for humans... :-) (To be continued) |
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39 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 123276 | ||
"As for as Isaiah 9:6, I am not familiar with the questionable translation that includes "Almighty" rather than the correct "mighty."" I do apologize, to both God and to you: you are right: I just checked and it is actually 'mighty' instead of 'almighty', in all the translations I have found. I am sincerely sorry. But I do not see what difference it makes with respect to the following "God" and "Everlasting Father"... "Phillipians 2:5,6 speaks for itself in that Paul encourages us to have Jesus' humble attitude - not to grasp at something that does not belong to us, but to submit ourselves to the only true, invisible God, and He will exalt us." Yes, Paul is encouraging us to be humble. But where did '...that does not belong to us' come from? Paul is stating that Christ Jesus WAS in very nature God, and equal with God, but He did not consider His status 'anything to be grasped', but humbled Himself and came to earth to suffer and die as a man. The Almighty Himself suffered and died for us.. I consider my sins and the sins of all humanity worse than what could be recompensed by the offering of any animal or an ordinary (even sinless) human person's life to God. Only He Himself could save the world by bearing the punishment and letting His own Self become what He hated the most in the world: sin (2Cor 5:21). "Friendship with the world is enmity with God, yet many popular "Christian" ministers consult with world rulers... Find the people that "are no part of the world" and its divisive political wars, and you will find those 'sanctified (set apart for sacred service) by the truth.' That is, you will find the truth and it will set you free from the slavitude of false religion." It is a truly a great pain to see the name "Christian" being abused so many times - but I suggest that we do not judge the belief itself by those who claim to hold it yet do not live by it. I could also mention a few embarrassing facts about Jehovah's Witnesses but I will resist the temptation to do so; I do not condemn you for the faults of others whom you share your faith with. Just a comment: 'sanctified by the truth' does not seem to be the same as "set apart for sacred service" to me. But that is again, my personal opinion. I am interested to know what you think about these issues. I honestly wish you were as free in your faith as I am in mine... I'll pray for you tonight. Yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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40 | Revealing error is persecution? :-) | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 123290 | ||
Hi Stephanie, Welcome to the forum; I am glad to see another person so devoted to the Truth of the Lord! Originally I started this discussion considering whom Jesus was referring to in Matthew 11:11/Luke 7:28 by "the least in the kingdom of God", but it seems to be ending up in a debate with Jehovah's Witnesses about the nature of God and the Kingdom in general. By his questions, Tim was trying to prove that Jesus is actually fully God. I pray that this forum will be a blessing to you. Your sister in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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