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  • Aug 15, 2013, 07:38 AM
    freeman4
    Thanks, We can all agree to this agree, but in a good manner.

    Thanks again.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 07:55 AM
    dwashbur
    freeman4, you say you post "information." But you clearly have a different definition of that than the rest of us do. We ask for biblical evidence for your unsupported statements, and you just give more unsupported statements. If you were backing things up with actual, good biblical exegesis, we might be able to have a conversation. But you brush everybody off by saying "you wouldn't understand anyway" and then complain about being insulted? I call shenanigans on that one. And all it would have taken was a little proofreading to realize you had written "commit" instead of "comment." As the sentence stood, it was confusing. Most people weren't making fun, they were genuinely puzzled. I'm a figure-outer by nature so I caught what you meant right away, but I'm a bit of an anomaly in my ability to do that.

    We can indeed have a conversation, but it's going to require a lot more effort on your part to back up your statements. Anybody can assert something: I could assert that Jesus came back to earth riding on the back of one of the Perseid meteors this past weekend, but that wouldn't make it true, and people would (I hope) naturally ask me to back that up with some biblical evidence. That's all we've asked of you, but you have consistently refused to support your statements. That's why some of us have trouble taking your material seriously.

    I hope this helps.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 08:14 AM
    freeman4
    I have posted responses and Articles that show why I believe what I do but evidently it is not to others satisfaction so they come back with, show me proof. I do not know how much more I can show that would be OK to some here because it does not fall within their realm of belief or understanding. Like, Hell, I posted showing that it would not be an eternal punishing, but would be a eternal punishment. There is a difference. That is the way that I understand it, I am not saying for everyone else to believe that .
  • Aug 15, 2013, 10:34 AM
    classyT
    Freeman,

    I don't get the difference? Can you explain it to me ?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 10:57 AM
    freeman4
    "HELL" - IS THE GRAVE

    HELL IS THE GRAVE

    "HELL" - IS THE GRAVE

    Hell is the grave
    A place where we sleep
    In Hebrew - called "Sheol"
    In the ground, very deep

    Job asked - could he rest there
    When his troubles were sore
    When life gave him problems
    Which he heavily bore

    Christ also went there
    For three silent days
    While he waited for Jehovah
    His memory to raise

    The Greeks called it "Hades"
    A place they could hide
    When death overtook them
    And buried inside

    All those forgotten
    At deaths poignant door
    Will lie in repose there
    For many years more

    Soon Christ will call out
    And raise all the dead
    From the slumber of hades
    And the tears we all shed

    ~ ~ ~ ~

    "Much confusion and misunderstanding has been caused
    through the early translators of the Bible
    persistently rendering the Hebrew 'Sheol'
    and the Greek 'Hades' and 'Gehenna' by the word 'hell'.
    The simple transliteration of these words
    by the translators of the revised editions of the Bible
    has not sufficed to appreciably clear up this confusion
    and misconception."
    -The Encyclopedia Americana (1942), Vol. XIV, p. 81.

    Surprisingly, fire is NOT mentioned in 78% of the
    Verses where the word Hell appears in the King James
    Version (KJV) bible. In the few remaining verses
    Where fire and sinners are associated, it is clearly
    NOT torture, but ANNIHILATION, which results.

    The traditional concept of Hell does NOT come from
    The inspired Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. It is a
    Pagan myth adopted as Christian doctrine in the third
    Century by church fathers. Yet, then as now, innocent
    People are taught the traditional concept of Hell by
    Trusted authority figures. That trust deters questions,
    So for hundreds of years the myth has perpetuated.

    "The Western religious from Roman times through
    the Middle Ages borrowed the doctrine of eternal
    torture from the Pagan Philosophers. Certain writers
    of the Middle Ages had such tremendous influence
    on the Christian-professing world, that their writings
    and teachings came to be generally accepted and
    believed, until it became the doctrine of the
    Christian-professing world. Among these influential
    writers were Augustine and Dante Alighieri."
    -The Encyclopedia Americana

    "Hell - any place, or some place covered over.
    The word was first applied to the grave by our
    German and English ancestors, and as superstition
    came to regard the grave as an entrance to a world
    of torment, Hell at length became the word used
    to denote an imaginary realm of fiery woe."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    "the word Hell comes from the
    Anglo-Saxon helan, to cover..."
    -Dr. Adam Clarke

    "SHEOL AND HADEES- neither of these words is ever
    used in the Bible to signify punishment after death."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    "the words Sheol, and Hadees primarily signify
    only the place, or state of the dead."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    "In every instance in the Old Testament,
    the word "grave" might be substituted for the
    term hell, either in a literal or figurative sense."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    "Hell - all the materialism of the heathen mythology
    is suggested to the mind, and when rendered Hell,
    the medieval monstrosities of a Christianity corrupted
    by heathen adulterations is suggested. Had the word
    been permitted to travel untranslated, no one would
    give to it the meaning now so often applied to it.
    Sheol or hades, primarily, and literally, the grave,
    or death, is the precise force of the term, wherever
    found."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    "Hades and Sheol signifies the state of the dead
    in general, without regard to the goodness or badness
    of the persons, or their happiness or misery."
    -Dr. George Campbell

    "The punishment expressed in this passage
    is cutting off from life, destroying from the earth
    by some special judgment, and removing to the invisible
    state of the dead."
    -Dr. Allen, of Bowdoin College

    "It must not be forgotten that contact with the
    heathen had corrupted the opinions of the Jews,
    at the time of our Savior. By receiving the traditions
    and fables of paganism, they had made void the
    word of God. They had accepted Hadees as the best
    Greek word to convey their idea of Sheol, but without
    investing it at first with the heathen notions of
    the classic Hadees, as they afterwards did."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    "[Christians] were in daily contact with Egyptians
    And Greeks, and gradually began to adopt their
    Philosophical and religious opinions, or to modify
    Their own in harmony with them."
    -Dr. Thayer in his "Origin and History"

    "Pagans held Hadees to be a place of torment
    After death, to endure forever."
    - THE BIBLE HELL; by J.W. Hanson, D.D.
    Fourth Edition; Boston; 1888

    HELL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

    SOME BIBLE TRANSLATIONS RENDER "SHEOL" AS - HELL

    OTHERS - RENDER 'SHEOL' AS 'THE GRAVE'

    'Hell' is not a translation. It is a word that has been
    inserted by translators into the Bible because of their
    preconceived ideas about a place of eternal torment.
    This idea is fast losing ground today as modern translators
    realise that Hebrew words like 'sheol', simply meant -
    the grave to the original inspired writers of the Scriptures
    and "NOT" a place of torment.

    'Hell' is an Anglo-Saxon word for grave
    ( a 'hell-grond' was a graveyard) and in the Old Testament
    is usually translated from an original Hebrew word 'Sheol'
    meaning pit or grave.

    The word 'hell' is "derived from the Saxon helan, to cover;
    Hence the covered or the invisible place."
    -(Revised Easton's Bible Dictionary)

    The prevailing pagan idea, at the time of the translation
    Of the King James Version, about hell being a place
    Where the wicked are being tormented, had influenced
    The translators' interpretation of the Hebrew word "
    -(Revised Easton's Bible Dictionary)

    The prevailing pagan idea, at the time of the translation
    of the King James Version, about hell being a place
    where the wicked are being tormented, had influenced
    the translators' interpretation of the Hebrew word ".

    With the idea that hell is a place where the wicked
    Are being tormented, the translators could not use
    The word 'hell' to translate 'Sheol' in every instance,
    For to do so would have put some of the most faithful
    Servants of God in a place of torment.

    For example, the first time the Hebrew word 'Sheol' is used
    Is in Genesis 37:35 concerning Jacob - who was a faithful
    Servant of God. It reads :
    "And all his [Jacob's] sons and all his daughters
    Rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted;
    And he said, For I will go down into the grave [Sheol]
    Unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.".

    With the idea that hell is a place where the wicked
    are being tormented, the translators could not use
    the word 'hell' to translate 'Sheol' in every instance,
    for to do so would have put some of the most faithful
    servants of God in a place of torment.

    For example, the first time the Hebrew word 'Sheol' is used
    is in Genesis 37:35 concerning Jacob - who was a faithful
    servant of God. It reads :
    "sheol"
    - (Genesis 37:35)

    Jacob believed that his son Joseph had been killed
    by a wild beast and said that he would go down
    into Sheol unto his son.

    In this verse the translators used the word 'grave'
    for "O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave [Sheol],
    That thou wouldest keep me secret,
    Until thy wrath be past,
    That thou wouldest appoint me a set time,
    And remember me!"

    Job was experiencing much suffering while he was alive,
    Which finally caused him to ask God to let him go to 'Sheol'
    Where he knew he would have rest.

    There is much more information I can provide if you want.

    Leo:
  • Aug 15, 2013, 11:26 AM
    Wondergirl
    What's the difference between an "eternal punishing" and an "eternal punishment"?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 12:50 PM
    freeman4
    Punishing is a continual thing, last and last, it doesn't stop.

    Punishment is like one that has been punished and it is finished, does not continue.

    Scripture says Eternal punishment. Lets say you Set a piece of paper on fire it would eventually burn up, not burn forever. The same with a person because they will be resurrected to a physical state if they are not in Christ for judgment.

    "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." —2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9

    Everlasting destruction means to not exist any longer.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 12:57 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by freeman4 View Post
    Punishing is a continual thing, last and last, it doesn't stop.

    Punishment is like one that has been punished and it is finished, does not continue.

    But you used the adjective "eternal" to describe both. Eternal means forever with no end.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 01:36 PM
    hauntinghelper
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Wondergirl View Post
    But you used the adjective "eternal" to describe both. Eternal means forever with no end.

    Exactly what I was going to say. That's like saying an infinite minute.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 02:03 PM
    freeman4
    Eternal death means death forever, does it not. Not life eternal in a burning torment. I thing God is a more loving God that to have some see their love one burn in hell forever while they watched from Heaven, don't you?

    Why do individuals want people to be tormented forever so much? I would have more love for people that that.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 02:31 PM
    hauntinghelper
    You're looking at this from a human perspective.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 02:41 PM
    Wondergirl
    Do you think there is a Hell? With fire? Or does Hell mean something else?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 04:19 PM
    freeman4
    Yes I do. Gods Kingdom will be established for 1000 years on this Earth.

    Rev 20:3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

    The abyss is outer darkness. A place of bondage. This is Satan and his Demons.

    Following is the time of the Return of Christ.

    Rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They [fn] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

    Next are those who have not accepted Christ and will not be resurrected until after the 1000 years have finished.

    Rev 20:5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

    Rev 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison

    Satan will be released for awhile.

    Rev 20:8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

    Rev 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

    Go and read a few verses further and you will see that those who did not accept Jesus Christ will burn up in hell fire.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 04:24 PM
    N0help4u
    I agree with hauntinghelper. We look at things from Human perspective. God is not about do and don't. It's a spiritual relationship with God.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 04:28 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by freeman4 View Post
    Yes I do. Gods Kingdom will be established for 1000 years on this Earth.

    You've referenced only the Book of Revelation which I believe is over and done with, has seen its prophecy already fulfilled, from back in Nero's time.

    Is there any other evidence in the Bible for a 1000-year reign?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 04:43 PM
    N0help4u
    How ciuld Revelation be done and over in Nero's time whenever the 1,000 year peace happens after and much of Revelation has never happened yet?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 04:45 PM
    N0help4u
    Revelation is end times
  • Aug 15, 2013, 05:15 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by N0help4u View Post
    How ciuld Revelation be done and over in Nero's time whenever the 1,000 year peace happens after and much of Revelation has never happened yet?

    Revelation's prophecies are over and done with.

    For instance, regarding Nero, Dwashbur's answer in the now-closed 666 thread was this: "In Hebrew, the name NRWN KSR numerically adds up to six hundred sixty-six. Thing is, a lot of manuscripts of Revelation read six hundred sixteen Why? Because there's an alternate spelling of the above name, based on Latin pronunciation rather than Greek or Hebrew. It comes out NRW KSR. That adds up to six hundred sixteen. So we know where that variant reading came from. When we fill in the vowels we get:

    NERO CAESAR.

    This is the "beast" of Revelation whose number was 666. As WG said, this stuff already happened. There is no future "antichrist" with this number coming in the future, he's already been here and done his thing and passed off the scene. Nero slaughtered Christians, was responsible for the execution of Paul and probably also of Peter, and nobody knows how many other innocent believers. From John's perspective, he was truly the raging beast described so symbolically in chapter 13."
  • Aug 15, 2013, 05:43 PM
    classyT
    WG,

    That is strickly your opinion and dwashbur... I strongly disagree. I don't think the Revelation prophecies are done with by any means. I think Nero was a type of the antichrist by but in NO way is he the one John saw. I am NOT the only one that thinks this either. MANY people do... yes I a am dirty rotten dispensationalist. LOTS of people agree with me. :)

    One of the things that baffles me the most is what you all do with Israel.. she is back in the land a nation built in a day. Just a silly coincidence I suppose. It happens all the time! Well maybe some of the time... ok well, maybe never. I don't believe in coincidence... not to God's chosen people.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 05:46 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by classyT View Post
    LOTS of people agree with me. :)

    LOTS and LOTS of people agree with Dave and me. :D
  • Aug 15, 2013, 05:49 PM
    freeman4
    Interpretation.

    The Old Testament is replete with prophecies that predict the future millennial reign of Christ on Earth. Before we proceed with our study here, it would be profitable for us to look at a few from an Old Testament prophet that had a great deal to say about Christ’s millennial reign … the prophet Isaiah. He said,

    There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek him, and his resting place shall be glorious. It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together they shall plunder the people of the East; they shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them. The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; with his mighty wind he will shake his fist over the River, and strike it in the seven streams, and make men cross over dry-shod. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt. Isaiah 11

    I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:18-20

    For the LORD will comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51:3

    Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 55:13

    Zechariah 14:3­4,

    Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and the half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

    It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his elders, gloriously. Isaiah 24:21-23

    Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? First Corinthians 6:2

    I am sorry If you do not understand this, Like I said I just present what I do but God is the one who has to open the mind to understand.

    I have given much scriptural information, I can do more.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 05:57 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by freeman4 View Post
    Interpretation.

    The Old Testament is replete with prophecies that predict the future millennial reign of Christ on Earth. Before we proceed with our study here

    Instead of all these copies-and-pastes, I would really appreciate it if you wrote from your own knowledge and heart like the rest of us do. I will not read long paragraphs of copied stuff, but will avidly read the honest and well-thought-out musings and questions and beliefs of the members on this site.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 06:01 PM
    classyT
    WG,

    I agree. Freeman just talk to us.

    I actually do believe the Lord will rule and reign for 1000 years. I believe Satan will be thrown in the abyss. And he will be let out towards the end, there will be many that follow him. Are we on the same page on this part?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 06:03 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by classyT View Post
    Are we on the same page on this part?

    I'm on a different page. Are we choosing up teams? ;)
  • Aug 15, 2013, 06:07 PM
    classyT
    WG...
    LOL... well I get to pick who is on my team. Freeman, sorry dude you haven't made the cut. I know you feel the same. It's all good.

    But I am curious Freeman, how long have you been interested in Jesus, end times...
  • Aug 15, 2013, 06:22 PM
    N0help4u
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Wondergirl View Post
    Revelation's prophecies are over and done with.

    For instance, regarding Nero, Dwashbur's answer in the now-closed 666 thread was this: "In Hebrew, the name NRWN KSR numerically adds up to six hundred sixty-six. Thing is, a lot of manuscripts of Revelation read six hundred sixteen Why? Because there's an alternate spelling of the above name, based on Latin pronunciation rather than Greek or Hebrew. It comes out NRW KSR. That adds up to six hundred sixteen. So we know where that variant reading came from. When we fill in the vowels we get:

    NERO CAESAR.

    This is the "beast" of Revelation whose number was 666. As WG said, this stuff already happened. There is no future "antichrist" with this number coming in the future, he's already been here and done his thing and passed off the scene. Nero slaughtered Christians, was responsible for the execution of Paul and probably also of Peter, and nobody knows how many other innocent believers. From John's perspective, he was truly the raging beast described so symbolically in chapter 13."

    The Bible says, there will be many antichrists but in the end THE antichrist. The Bible says that in the end times knowledge will increase, knowledge is increasing in the past century more than it ever did. Revelation also says there will be a one world government and many other things that have not happened. There is no way Revelation was fulfilled in Nero's day. Many antichrists before THE antichrist ----Hitlers name adds up to 666 as well as many other rulers.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 06:25 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by N0help4u View Post
    The Bible says, there will be many antichrists but in the end THE antichrist. The Bible says that in the end times knowledge will increase

    Where in the Bible?
  • Aug 15, 2013, 06:39 PM
    N0help4u
    SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST
  • Aug 15, 2013, 07:30 PM
    freeman4
    Yes, we are on the same page. I am not really understanding what some want. I give my intake on something, that is not good enough, then I do what they want and give scripture and they do not want that. I am confused as to what some do want. I could and do explain it in my own words and that is not good enough. I give up.

    But you are seeing what I am talking about.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 08:00 PM
    classyT
    Freeman,

    My man! Yes.. just speak from what you believe. I am not sure anyone is reading the copy and paste stuff.

    Well, so far we are on the same page. I am a Christian, probably accepted Jesus before I was 4. I don't know when I did. I was young. I don't know that we believe exactly the same but at least we are on common ground.

    So... if I were to ask you... what must I do to be saved from hell? What would be your answer? In your own words from your own heart without trying to patronize.
  • Aug 15, 2013, 08:53 PM
    dwashbur
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ;
    The Bible says, there will be many antichrists but in the end THE antichrist.

    Show me where. John's letters talk about many antichrists, but why did he mention it?

    "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour."

    They had heard that "THE antichrist" was coming; John corrects this misperception by telling them that there are many antichrists, not just one. There is no "THE antichrist." John wrote this verse specifically to counter that notion.

    Also, I would love for anyone to show me a single place where the 666 character is called "antichrist."

    And for those who think the whole thousand year thing is literal: a thousand years as measured by what? 365 day years? What about leap years? Suppose it turned out to be 999 years and 364 days; does that mean the Bible was wrong? Is it measured by the Gregorian calendar or the Jewish calendar? Or maybe the Julian?

    Anyone who thinks anything in Revelation was meant to be interpreted literally knows zilch about actual biblical interpretation. And that includes the hacks who write books and make movies to tickle people's ears while separating them from their money.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 04:17 AM
    N0help4u
    My only point is HOW can anybody believe that the Book Of
    Revelation WAS already fulfilled IN Neros day?
  • Aug 16, 2013, 05:49 AM
    freeman4
    I am 74 years old and have been a Christian for 40 years. I was a devout church goer from a protestant Church for some time. I was electrocuted with 7, 200 Volt of Electricity will I was working in the oil field.

    God saved me from this with no physical injuries at all. I started searching the Bible for answers. If God was God I wanted to know. I searched and I searched and I begin to see some things which God was revealing to me and found that some others had the same insight as I.

    You can not just look at something and say, boy, that is too much to read, I am satisfied with what I have and go on. God expects one to search Him out, not to just say I accept you God and that is it.

    You see, I know who I am and what God has in store for me. And that is to help in giving out what I have and I will continue even through death if I have to.

    God will not verbally give His warnings, he has some who will do that for Him. He said if those who know do not give warning they would be in danger from Him.

    What danger our Nation is heading for is not being given and will surprise many very soon. I will continue to do what I do.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 08:20 AM
    dwashbur
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ;
    My only point is HOW can anybody believe that the Book Of
    Revelation WAS already fulfilled IN Neros day?

    We get that by reading it the way it was intended to be read. The biggest problem with people reading Revelation today is, they keep making the mistake of trying to read it literally. This type of book was never meant to be read that way. It's symbolic from the first word to the last. We know this for an established fact, because we have other writings from the same period that are just as symbolic, use fantastic imagery, and basically read like a bad mushroom trip.

    Why would they write like this? To protect themselves. You encode the empire's despotic activities in mythical language with symbols like different colored horses, monsters like frogs, multi-eyed creatures rising from the sea, images of them being overthrown by an invasion from the sky, and a nice round figure - a thousand years - to illustrate that the good guys will win in the end. About the only thing that's really literal in that book is the word "John." And since in chapter 4 he goes into a trance, even that might not be literal.

    When we read it with a view to decoding the symbolism and what it would have meant to John and his listeners, we can see where the images fit with historical personages such as Nero. The 666 thing was a common device for saying "This guy is a major jerk, but if I say it out loud he'll have me beheaded, so I'm going to encode it. You guys all know what I mean." We know beyond any doubt that this was how they did such things in John's day. There is no reason, not a single one, to suspect that John was doing something different when he wrote Revelation.

    That's how we understand that it was fulfilled around John's time. John saw the beast, Nero, rise and persecute the church, including the execution of Paul. He also saw Nero's downfall and the introduction of more moderate emperors, and a lot of other stuff that we can match up with the imagery in Revelation. It's right there it you throw off the phony chains of literalism and read it the way he wrote it.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 08:33 AM
    freeman4
    I am going to be like others on here, where do you get such foolish information? You must believe in fairy tails. I know you do not believe this but what is happening in Egypt will spread to our Nation and soon. And it will be real, not symbolism.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 10:47 AM
    dwashbur
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ;
    I am going to be like others on here, where do you get such foolish information? You must believe in fairy tails.

    Actually, I wasn't aware that fairies had tails. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I think you mean "tales.") Where did I get it? History. The earliest Christians interpreted it this way, and there is really an unbroken line of interpretation that sees the book just this way. Confusion over all the absurd symbolism is one of the reasons that Revelation almost didn't make it into the canon. So-called literal interpretation, with all of its concomitant speculation about "current events" in every generation since the idea arose, is a relatively new idea. And once again, if we go with the style that John used, and what we already know about apocalyptic literature of the time, interpreting it literally is WRONG. That's basic historic fact. You are welcome to call it "fairy tails" if you wish, but you just undermine your own position by appealing to unfounded literalism.

    Everybody wants to believe their generation is the one where all the big stuff will happen. It might be, or it might not. The symbols and all, as well as Jesus' own forecasts, are vague enough that any generation can find parallels in the imagery. That doesn't make any of it correct; in fact, one could argue that the note of desperation in the dispensationalists' and other literalists' arguments suggest that they are stretching the evidence as much as they dare in order to find parallels. The problem is, pretty much in every case, the parallels are more imagined than real.

    I don't care about end-times speculation. I have my hands full trying to live my Christianity in the here and now. Idle speculation about the future has a way of elbowing out the more important matters of the faith, and I've had enough of that.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 04:13 PM
    freeman4
    I am glad for you.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 06:25 PM
    classyT
    WG and Dave,

    Come ON! Quit giving Nohelp a hard time. NO. John never said there would be many antichrist in revelation... JESUS said there would be many who claimed to be the Christ. I believe THAT is what she refers to. I don't know for sure... but I assume. JESUS warns against people who say they ARE the Christ... they aren't.
    John talks about in his first epistle of anti-Christ and the spirit of anti Christ.
    And the spirit is here and now... it always has been here since Christ but it is worse. Jesus was a rejected man on earth.. he still is. You can say God but say the name of Jesus and people are offended. Thus the spirit of antichrist.

    HOWEVER.. there is coming and probably he lives today ONE that claims to BE God. He will cause everyone to take the mark of the beast on his left hand or his forehead. Without this mark no man can buy or sell. If a person will not bow to him as God his head will be cut off. Are you telling me that NERO fulfilled this prophecy? Please. I don't THINK so.
  • Aug 16, 2013, 06:30 PM
    Wondergirl
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by classyT View Post
    WG and Dave,

    Come ON! quit giving Nohelp a hard time.

    I'm not giving N0 a hard time. I simply asked a question 24 hours ago, and it still hasn't been answered. Where does the Bible say there is going to be ONE anti-Christ in our time?
  • Aug 16, 2013, 06:37 PM
    classyT
    WG..

    Oooh oooh let me answer.. it doesn't.

    I just like nohelp.. she is sweet.

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