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Originally Posted by lovemaine
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Very good, but of course there are ways around that.
For example, the stuff about keeping the Law (Mosaic procedures) only means that you keep the laws that Jesus specifically endorsed. The others can be kept merely by loving Jesus who 'fulfilled' the rest of the law, which is to say replaced them with himself.
The stuff about wealth being a bar to entry is no problem either. Everyone knows that being comfortably off or even wealthy or stinking rich is really nor seriously a bar to salvation. remember everything can be put right by repenting of whatever you have done - or not - at the appropriate time.
Deathbed will do.
Remember, all those televangelists and owners of websites spreading the good news that Evolution theory is about to collapse are rolling in it, even if they have paid their tax, and they are for sure going to heaven. The sense must be that it is ok to be rich in the Lord, in actuality as well as figuratively. What will make heavenly entry difficult is those who were wealthy for themselves. But since that doesn't apply to anyone who truly believes in Jesus (thereby making their expensive possessions, stuffed bank accounts and extravagant lifestyle dedicated to God's glory and therefore no bar to the narrow gate) they can be confident of entry to the company of saints, so long as they paid their tithes to the church, or better still,. ran a church and collected them for God's glory.
The clear message is that one should not ever be too literal in reading the Bible (except for indisputably accurate history such as walking snakes, talking donkeys and shekel -eating fishes, of course). Numbers of people earmarked for heaven has to be Interpreted. And since Daniel's prophecy only worked after changing weeks into weeks of years (not to mention a day or so into billion years, if needed) then of course 144 thousand must be interpreted as thousand thousands, or millions, if need be.
The remark about the 12 tribes of Israel is of course quite amusing. Anyone who really understood their Bible (illuminated with true interpretation by direct contact with God) would know that the 12 tribes through the authority of the disciples :-
Matthew 20 28 and Luke 22.30, (and Matthew 18.18, should any be labouring under the idea that authority was given only to Peter as the first in a line of 'Vicars of Christ') and in case any think I am talking idly, and at random.
passes on the belonging and membership of the '12 tribes' to anyone who follows Jesus, whether they be Gentile or Jew.
There is indeed, only one rather insoluble problem, and that is keeping the Sabbath. The Gospels make it pretty clear that keeping the sabbath and doing no work, trade or business was one of those Jewish things, like clean food laws and circumcision that were a positive barrier to the kingdom of heaven. So, provided that you have not only taken Jesus as your Lord and saviour but have never made a public display of prayer on a weekly Holy day as a sabbath, then you are pretty much assured of a place in the Kingdom of heaven.
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