Results 1 - 2 of 2
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | "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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2 | "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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