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I thought it was relevant to this conversation, so i decided to post it in this thread as well ...
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Originally Posted by sciotamicks Don't sweat it brother, we may all be wrong, let alone the creation story that has been perplexing me for some time, I don't even know why I debate prophecy when I should be debating that to sharpen my understanding of it.
About the mark.....remember I was a dispy once, and I will always have those interpretations in the back of my head, so I am not sweating that.
But to further that understanding...charagma in Rev 13- is symbolized with the Hebrew equivalent of the inkhorn, which is a spiritual marker used in Ezekiel to seal those for God.
There is always an answer in the Word of God, and if we search it diligently, without any preconceived ideas and teachings from our past, and open our hearts and minds to the completion of the work Christ had finished, it begins to speak to us in ways we have never known before.
I understand how hard it is to wipe that slate of mind clean, but it must be done, in order to fully grasp the spirit of Prophecy.
We are all still learning. Thanks for the discussion, I have learned alot, not really from your interpretation (as I have already believed that once before), but from my studying in refuting it.
Indeed, Iron sharpens Iron ... I dont pretend to know for certain that what i believe is true on any level. Heck, what Aleister Crowley and Anton Lavey believed might be the actual truth and we are all actually fools believing a lie created by the powers that be and have been in order to be easily controlled ... I believe the way i do because of my conviction and desire that it is true and because that is what makes sense to me. I love all humanity, and i desire all creation to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth and and finally truly serve God and each other in love and peace throughout the universe, including Satan and his fallen angels. I dont want anyone to be lost forever, the thought of that makes me sick more than anything i have ever imagined. I see evidence that this is what God will do in the scriptures and so i believe it. Or maybe i believe because I desire it and that is why i see it in the scriptures ... Or maybe both are true at the same time.
My belief concerning prophecy is the same, i want evil to be completely destroyed for ever in heaven and earth. I desire that Christ return literally and cause the the nations to turn their weapons into plaowshares and learn war no more literally ... I want what God says he is going to do in the scriptures where prophecy is concerned to happen literally, so i believe it will.
All we can do is wait and see ... If god chooses to damn me because of this there is nothing i can do about it, because this is who I am, this is what is in my heart.
I hope whatever happens that everything works out for the best for every one, and i will confess what I believe in my heart.
I know you will do the same, or at least i Hope that is what you are doing.
God bless ...
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Originally Posted by Romulus0 Okay. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Stating that the mark of the beast might be taken by a Christian divides believers. We are all saved through the work of Christ. We are all in agreement with the foundation of Christ, just because we disagree doesn't automatically mean that we are on the wrong side.
Mark of the Beast whether past or future is the forever marking of ones soul with the enemy. This cannot be tricked into. If it was a trick and the one taking it had no idea what it was they cannot be condemned because God is a caring God and would never condemn anyone who loves Him.
It must be an outright rejection of Christ in whatever form it takes because only an outright rejection of Christ can ones soul be condemned. We are all believers here in Jesus the Son of the living God. Your soul cannot be tricked, either it loves Christ or it hates Him. We who agree in Christ are brothers and sisters together and belong to Christ.
Let us keep that in mind when we speak words to another Bible believing brother/sister.
You are right, that is why i said "likely" ...
If i'm deceived i am deceiving others, If you guys are deceived you are deceiving others ... If we are all deceived ... We are all deceiving everyone else and each other ...
What ever the truth may be i do love you guys, and everyone else ... And i hope that god will have mercy on us for however we may be deceived ... One thing is for certain he isn't trying to make it easy for us that's for sure, and he isn't making anything clear either, that is obviously why their are over 30,000 denominations in Christianity alone, forget about all the other world religions and Philosophies.
Sometimes i wonder if God is sitting up there laughing at us all scrounging around trying to make sense of all these things that he has always known were a riddle with no true solution. I get angry all the time because everything seems to senseless sometimes.
So all i can do is profess what makes sense for me and hope for the best. Forgive me for getting frustrated and aggravated ... The truth is I'm aggravated with god and myself most of the time, not you guys or anyone else. I realize everyone else is just as confused as i am if not more, so i cant blame them.
Anyway, god bless and thank you as well, because i am learning in the process as well even if i do disagree with you guys and other full preterists concerning these things ...
Sorry I have to disagree with you. We may have difference of opinion on interpretation but that does not make you a Christan over her. She could very well be on the narrow pathway. We could look at your posts which (for some) may eliminate you from being a True Christian.
You clearly misunderstand me. Christy says she is NOT a fundamentalist Christian to which I agreed and acknowledge because of what she posts here and because of her previous admissions in the past. I pointed out that because of her admission that she is NOT a bible literalist (a.k.a fundamentalist) other Christians on here would NOT consider her a True Christian.
Oh, and for the record, I am NOT a a false or true Christian.
Last edited by InsaneInDaMembrane; 01-06-2010 at 01:55 AM..
Aha, C.S. Lewis! I loved "The Screwtape Letters" .
I shall take a look at the resources you mentioned. Thank you DreamingSpires.
Read "the problem of pain", "the great divorce", and "the four loves" ... If you haven't already ... Especially "the problem of pain" as it deals in detail with some of the issues you brought up in the OP ...
Aha, C.S. Lewis! I loved "The Screwtape Letters" .
I shall take a look at the resources you mentioned. Thank you DreamingSpires.
By the way, they are in the process of making "the screwtape letters" into a movie as we speak, it should be released later this year ...
Here is the IMDB link ...
The Screwtape Letters (2010) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0956039/ - broken link)
It will be interesting to see how they bring this to the silver screen ...
Also in case anyone is interested, "the screwtape letters" was released in October of last year(2009) as an audio book/dramatization. Andy Serkis who played the voice of Gollum in the lord of the rings series of movies is the voice actor who plays the diabolical uncle screwtape. The audio book/dramatization was produced by "focus on the family radio theater" ... Below is a link to Christianbook.com where you can order a copy if you so desire ...
I know you're not (as I have watched your posts on here) which (for some) eliminates you from being a True Christianâ„¢.
You're right, in that, some would consider me not a Christian. But you know what? Who gives a darn what they think.
My priority is living for GOD and ONLY GOD...it is Him that I live to please and whether or not I am considered a Christian by some mere human is irrelevant to me. GOD knows my heart, soul and mind are all HIS because I have a very close relationship with Him. HE has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life because I trusted HIM to see me through it and I know that what happens in my life, happens for a good darn reason....so obviously, I am on the narrow road that leads to him and that is where I intend to stay regardless of what others think or say. Whether I am labeled a Christian, Heretic, or whatever by mere humans will not matter in the least as I stand before HIM when I die because I know that my life is lived for HIM and while I still stumble sometimes, HE is always there with me, guiding back onto the right path.
How does one have a "very close relationship" with someone or something that doesn't communicate or interact with you?
If "they" do communicate/interact, how do you differentiate this relationship from mental illness, delusion, confirmation bias, group thought or wishful thinking?
(1) I don’t trust Him any more. When I press myself to do so, I get angry. (I trusted Him blindly for many years, and things turned out very, very badly.)
(2) I don’t love Him. (I don’t hate Him; rather, there is an absence of love.)
(3) I don’t think He cares about me (ie, He is ambivalent. He is far off and distant, pre-occupied with other things).
did you just unknowingly just describe your father? maybe you might want to start with forgiveness. that is always a good place to start when you hit a brick wall.
I forgot all about this thread. I was mucking about on my laptop, and found a file titled "Anger toward God". I mentally rolled my eyes at the self-absorption and foolishness of the emotion. After opening the file and reading it, I realized it was the topic of my thread. Heh heh.
Well, as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts: I used the wrong title for this thread. I do not feel anger toward God. This thread was about how to deal with a faith crisis.
The faith crisis that I referred to in the OP was due to me stepping out in faith to perform a ministry. After four years of working on the ministry project, it crashed and burned. I went through a difficult time thereafter as I sought to re-establish myself. The issue wasn't that the ministry failed -- unfortunately, sometimes we don't hear God's guidance perfectly, and so we do things that we believe are His will, but turn out not to be. Other than the normal disappointment that one would feel in such circumstances, I had no problem with accepting the failure and moving on. I ended up, however, in a very difficult situation thereafter. When you step out in faith, you expect God to look after you regardless of the outcome of the work. I did not expect to be all alone and afraid. It has been eight years since I created this thread, and eleven or so years since the failure, and I still haven't fully recovered. Some things cannot ever be "recovered".
Anyway, long story short. Where are things at today?
- I "let God be God", and go about my day to day business as best I can.
- I read the Psalms, but not the other books of the Bible. (I believe all of the messages. But they are remote, cerebral facts; I can't relate. Just like I believe that Iceland exists, but I would not be able to describe its black beaches to you because I have never been.)
- I don't go to church.
With regards to God:
- It was hard to imagine Him concerned in any way about me. But I know that He is because I recently had a firsthand experience of it. God performed not just one miracle, but a whole string of miracles. One after the other. He provided me with manna in the middle of my desert. I realized then that He knows every single thing that is going on in my life.
- He is righteous, merciful, and gracious. Not because of my recent experience with Him. I have always known this; see the opening post of this thread.
I'm still struggling (I am tired and depressed). But such is life. Onward and forward.
Note: All of the above is my perspective only; my (flawed) human thoughts and emotions.
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