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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Actual bodies in heaven? | 1 John 3:2 | CDBJ | 213999 | ||
Greetings friend, I would “assume” that you believe in what is referred to as the Trinity? “Here is a good and fun challenge,” Find one place in the Bible, just one, where it says the word Trinity. This reference must say Trinity; if this is the true teaching of scripture then the Bible should have a number of references that say Trinity. Can you find any? I hope you realize that I am being facetious! That being the case: 2 Cor. 5:5-8 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Where is the Lord Jesus Christ at this present time? I hope you say heaven? In 2 Cor. 5:8 The words “present with” the Lord in the original Greek of the New Testament is, “PROS ENDEMESAI” which is in the accusative case, which is causative, and could be translated, face to face with the Lord. Now since Jesus is in heaven where would it place the one who is face to face with Him? This is what is known as pedagogy by deductive reasoning. 2 Tim. 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: Psalm 119:160 The sum of Thy word is truth, And every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting. Have a great day, CDBJ |
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2 | Actual bodies in heaven? | 1 John 3:2 | bill0624 | 214007 | ||
Fellow seekers, my point is that even in Paul’s discourse, his point is that to be absent from the body is not about “going somewhere”, it is about “being somewhere.” He doesn’t say, “To be absent from the body is for our spirit to rise through the atmosphere, go past the planets and stars, and go to a place where God is, far removed from this earth.” He says that to be absent from the body is to BE PRESENT with the Lord. It’s not about going, it’s about being. The problem is, we need to discuss how language works. As some of you have demonstrated, yes, there are Bible verses that say that God is not here with us, that he is somewhere else. I concede that point. But I also counter with the fact that there are Bible verses that say that God is everywhere present, that he is here with us, that Jesus promised to never leave us, that nothing can separate us from God. The problem with the language is that it grew out of superstitious beliefs about “where” God was. First, he was envisioned to be just beyond the clouds. When mankind couldn’t locate him there, we then moved him to outer space. When we got to outer space and couldn’t locate God there, now we have moved him so far away that, for all intents and purposes, he has abandoned us here until we die. Is this what Jesus taught? Why did Jesus teach that the kingdom of heaven is within us if it is really out past Alpha Centauri? Why did Jesus say that he would never leave us if he is really “not here” and sitting on a throne in Ursa Minor? Why did David say, “Where can I go from your presence?” if he knew good and well that God was in Andromeda? Christianity sometimes works so hard to assert the literal understandings of anthropomorphic language about God that it asserts, as has been said in these threads, that God is NOT here and that the only way to be with him is to die! Is this what Jesus taught? Is this the “whole counsel of God’s word” or is it just picking out the few verses that back only ONE view. As Christians, we should be able to discuss ALL the different views presented in the Bible and then leave it to our own God-given consciences to decide what we think. |
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