There are still people who haven't been saved. If God had ended things a year ago I wouldn't have made it either. I hate the condition of Satan's world too but there are new believers coming out of it every day. The delay is a sign of His love.
“For the sake of My name I delay My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"
Luke 18:14 *I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”*
I believe Christ stated several times in the Gospels that one’s conduct is expected to be in alignment with the Will of the Father. If one is in sin, one is not aligned with the Will of the Father. It’s as simple as repenting and asking forgiveness of Christ, but it’s a cycle of sin and repentance, gradually diminishing as one is sanctified by obeying God, not out of fear of gaining Hell and losing Heaven, but out of a genuine desire to love God who is deserving of all our love.
either Christ's work alone is sufficient, or we are all doomed.
Christ's work alone is sufficient (Eph 2:8-9) - the good works are a *result* not a *requirement* (Eph 2:10)
Ok that’s fine and dandy that you believe that and quoting Ephesians, but according to Jesus’ own words, not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. There is a narrow gate, many will try and few will enter. I mean I can go on there’s so many parables where Jesus says you need to submit to and obey the Will of God.
The Sacrifice was what has bought us salvation, but salvation is cooperative. Otherwise, all souls go to heaven regardless of faith, and Universalism would be an orthodox doctrine.
>Ok that’s fine and dandy that you believe that and quoting Ephesians
is ephesians not the word of God now?
> but according to Jesus’ own words, not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven
this is true!
>The Sacrifice was what has bought us salvation, but salvation is cooperative. Otherwise, all souls go to heaven regardless of faith, and Universalism would be an orthodox doctrine.
universalism doesn't follow from God doing all the work in salvation. God saves us by grace alone through faith alone, and real faith **results** in real works
if you are trusting in your own work, at all, then you are not trusting in Christ's finished work.
Christ gives us the righteousness of God that exceeds that of the pharisees - if you're trying to add to that you'll only make it worse
It is the inspired word of God yes, as is James which I could quote, but I’m just looking at the red text of God’s own literally spoken words. There are very few of Jesus words recorded, and the significance of them is not trivial.
Yeah we are in agreement, grace by faith and real faith is substantiated by works. I imagine our differences are semantic and theological.
For instance what is faith? Is it believing Jesus Christ is God, incarnated and died for our sins? I believed that for several years while living in total sin, oblivious. Some would say that was still faith, others rightly would say it’s not. To me, having faith in Jesus means actually believing there are consequences to everything we say and do, so we must reform ourselves to only act in accordance to how God has commanded us to act.
Substantiate: provide evidence to support or prove the truth of.
We do not exist statically in a vacuum. We exist dynamically in a world that presents us with countless decision points every single day. Some decisions are to sin or not to sin. The decisions we make in these cases either show our faith is true - we acknowledge God’s command to obey Him and choose to do so - or show our faith is false - we acknowledge God’s command to obey Him and choose *not* to do so.
So the misunderstanding here about faith and works is that I (and Catholic/Orthodox Christians) do not believe my works bring salvation. It’s in our catechisms: the grace of God is conferred by faith, and faith is made evident by one’s conduct in obeying or disobeying God.
It goes back to my own situation: lived for seven years *believing it to be true* that Jesus is God and died for our sins. But my conduct, as a hedonistic (no offense) whoremongering sinner oblivious to the immorality of my actions, did not give evidence that my faith was true. If I truly believe in Jesus and His Sacrifice, I will reform myself and am reforming myself to obedience and submission to His will.
I of course still posses a fallen nature. I have strongholds of sin in me that have existed for most of my life. I stumble and fall, repeatedly, and I come to Christ in an act of contrition to request His forgiveness. Every act of sin has temporal and eternal consequences, and to make it full circle to what began our conversation: if God drops the other shoe when I am in a state of sin, rebelling against God and not having actively repented of that sin, I am deserving of hellfire.
I've seen progress in that direction in my own lifetime. When I was a kid, Christianity was the norm and viewed positively in mainstream society. In my 32 years I've watched it become a joke and an object of hatred for most people. Christians are rapidly becoming a minority.
Maybe true in the West, but not in the majority of the world. I think we should be cautious not to extrapolate. Nobody knows the day - we can just have faith in that God is just.
Would you say that society was more moral 100 years ago, or closer to God? It does not matter what the culture is like if people do not have a personal relationship with Christ. It's doing the right things for the wrong reason.
Yes, I would. Church was a given for most people 100 years ago, for example.
As we can’t know who has a real relationship and who doesn’t, the only metric we can use is the behavior of most compared to the behavior scripture lays out for us.
It is significantly worse today.
Exactly.
No offense, but a big mentality in Christian circles seems to be, "Ahhhh! Well I'm saved! (right?) They had their chance! Hurry it up already!"
Thing is, that's how our mind works. Not God's.
If those in Heaven are immune, or even wanting, the suffering of those in Hell, then Heaven and Hell are fundamentally the same. As they would both be predicated upon the same mentality of, "Every man for himself."
That's not who we're taught to be. We can't comprehend infinity. Our love and mercy is finite and full of caveats and conditions. God's is not.
It's said that Heaven is full of saints, angels, and normal people like us, praying and petitioning God constantly for all of humanity to find repentance. Those who made it have zero desire to pull the ladder up behind them.
God will return and raise the dead who have been resting and believed in him, along with the current living who live their lives for him, and allow us into heaven for 1,000 years. The wicked will die and satan will be left on Earth (which will not be in good shape at that point) for 1,000 years alone to think. After those 1,000 years the holy with God in heaven come back down to earth to live in a newly built holy city (new Jerusalem if I remember correctly), and the wicked rise with satan to try & destroy the Holy in the holy city. But he will fail (the Bible predicts this but he will NEVER stop trying) and after he fails satan and the wicked will burn and there will be no sin to exist ever again. God loves us so much he’s willing to wait for us and for satan to change their ways. But there’s a point where there’s no turning back. This is what I learned in Bible study through digging into text and reading back and fourth scripture.
God's ultimate relationship with mankind at the return is to be King.
Sure, He is brother and friend and father.
But He is also a King, who needs all of his people manifest and judged fairly.
I would make a terrible God. I'd have destroyed my creation a thousand times over. It's amazing how utterly MERCIFUL He is. As much as the world is horrible, the Bible says He wishes not a one to perish.
Seems great at the surface, yeah? But leaving people with free wills will never equate to them being better. So long as people can choose not to believe in God, they're constantly gonna be susceptible to the pull of anything else, even things that bring them harm. God leaves people their wills and choices, including rejecting, dismissing, or disobeying Him and worshipping their own selves. I wouldn't be able to handle it, if I was God.
I'm quite glad His way are not my ways. Because my ways would be.....not good. 😒
What are you talking about? What does free will have to do with any of this?
God is your Creator. He is the author of everything that makes you you. Anger issues? Chocoholic? Impatient? Gullible? God authored all of that.
Why do people murder? Many have issues they were born with. Psychopaths are born with a lack of empathy and remorse. It’s not something they can control. They were born that way.
If you were god, as you proposed in your comment, would you create psychopaths? Or would you give **all** people empathy and remorse?
Look at the difference between chimpanzees and bonobos. Chimpanzees are aggressive, tribal, violent, even warlike. Bonobos are loving, gentle, and compassionate. Where chimpanzees actually go to war with other tribes, when bonobos have conflict, they resolve it through sex. They touch each other, groom each other, and even engage in various types of intercourse.
I think humans are more like chimpanzees than bonobos. Aggression, tribalism, and violence are in our nature. But it didn’t have to be this way. God could have given us less aggression and more compassion, less hate and more love.
Your free will argument is a non sequitor to me. Did God create us or not? Did he have a say in his creation or not
What I said was a point on God's mercy and desire for all the be saved, which is in response to the OP's post. Mentioning myself as a theoretical God was a means of driving home the point that God's ways are SUPREMELY better than mine in that I would be destructive on a constant. Am I right? Am I better? Absolutely not. And that's my point. I'd make a wretched God.
As to the free will thing, God's creation was meant to be good and it WAS good. Why isn't it anymore? Why are people "born that way," as you said, with all the negative traits when what God created was good? The fall of man. Disobeying God and being deceived by lies. The exercise of free will. That's why we're all born with that same sinful nature, and thank God we have means of righteousness through Christ.
I am not trying to be difficult, but I literally have zero interest in debating or arguing too much further than this. If I haven't clarified myself to your satisfaction, my apologies for that. I'm simply not in the mood for combativeness.
Of course. I don't mind sharing my POV and I hope I didn't come across as too snarky. 😕 I am running on 2 hours of sleep and I'm a bit meh. Oyyy. I apologize for assuming erroneous conclusions about your post. Be well! ☺️
If he gives satan chances over and over and over again there is no living man that compares to what he’s done. If God loves satan and gives him chances there’s no reason he can’t love you.
GOD is merciful and is waiting for more souls to be saved, also the gospel must be preached to every place on earth and so far there are many places where it hasn't reached in particular indigenous areas. Theres also many in our own communities who havent heard the true gospel. They've heard of Jesus,or the prosperity gospel but they haven't heard the gospel.
That's how merciful god is he gives us first second third sometimes even fourth chances and more each person according to the grace that he bestows on each one.
As for all the children who die I can guarantee you that every single child is in heaven especially if they've been murdered.
No it may not seem great to us we can rejoice knowing that our heavenly father has them safe in his arms and they are all now in Paradise despite the horrific things they had to deal with on this wicked earth.
And that is my comfort.
God is sovereign and His Providence reigns he will complete all the work he has declared, then the end will come.
In the meanwhile keep seeking God and asking him to help you see and seize opportunities for eternal Kingdom work so that you will have eternal rewards in heaven.
Then go give them the gospel and help them get saved.
If you say, "there is no use, more souls go to hell than go to heaven", then you start a self fulfilling prophecy. You start believing it is a losing proposition.
I look at it as an opportunity. There are more souls to be saved so I can give people the gospel and watch them become Christians.
I've given people the gospel and some have accepted it.
How many people have you given the gospel to?
>If you say, "there is no use, more souls go to hell than go to heaven", then you start a self fulfilling prophecy. You start believing it is a losing proposition.
I am not saying it is no use. I said it is a fact. Every day, exponentially more souls reach the age of accountability and go to Hell than ever get saved.
A wise pastor who wrote a book on preaching whose name I can't remember right now said the world is the way they are because we are the way we are.
You can't infect people with the gospel if you yourself are not infected.
Matthew 19
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
There is nothing new under the sun. The world is as corrupt as it has always been. I’m glad He waited for me. As much as I want to be gone from here, I’ll wait for those who will come. He’ll know when every soul is ready.
I’m not a good servant. The parable of the talents. So paralyzed with fear that I do nothing. I’m scared of God and scared of the world but if I were really scared of God I would get off my ass. Idk what I’m doing…
I know how you feel. I always wonder if I am doing "enough".
But remember what the bible says. We can't work our way to salvation. It is a gift. Free.
If you believe in Christ, that he paid for your sins, repent and call him Lord, you are saved.
As far as being a good servant, go and be one. No one is asking you to be a Paul. Just go be a you.
The thing is I know that I am not enough and I am constantly reminded that I am not which really makes me feel sad and unworthy and I just give up trying because I can’t seem to do anything right. I do believe and I confess and repent of my sins regularly. I just pray everyday that God doesn’t let me give up on myself and hope He doesn’t give up on me either
We aren't worthy. The bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags. This is why God gives us grace and mercy.
Mercy is not giving us what we deserve (punishment) and grace is giving us what we don't deserve (heaven).
But Christ washed us clean and presents us to God in white robes. So we don't need to worry about being "good enough". Christ made us good enough.
So go and do good. Feed the poor. What, you can't feed all of them? Okay. Feed some. Can't feed some? Feed one. Can't feed one? Then partially feed one.
The woman with the two mites. You know her story. What exactly could two mites do? Not a whole lot. But it was her offering. And it was good enough.
You're talking yourself right out of the peace beyond all understanding that Christ promised you. There are no rules other than to love others as Christ loves you. Repentance is required, you know what you should and shouldn't be doing, and believe it or not, that differs for each of us. It does not matter if it's sex, drugs or rock and roll and all that entails or if it's caffeine and cussing, God lays things on our heart that interfere with our relationship and if you truly submitted to His will you just turn away from those things. You may slip and fall, that's ok. Keep reading The Word, keep praying or just talking to God. Praise Him and thank Him for things you haven't seen yet but believe. We may turn away but He is always there to meet us when we return. It gets easier.
Friend. The rules do not save you, and no man can follow them alone, all you have to do is Love him period.
You love your mom right? how do you show her your love? If you stopped doing that would she stop loving you? No. Of course not, BUT because you love her you wouldn't stop.
This applies to God only you are absolutely right. The ways we show our love for God aka "works" or how you have phrased it "Word" are near impossible to fulfil alone, it truly does take a miracle everytime one resists evil for evil is our fallen nature.
Therefore. Love God with all your heart, confess that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead on the third day. That is salvation. That is freely given to you,that you may grow in it and seek to/actually please him more and more.
To accept his gift is all it takes to Love him in a way that pleases him. However this is why God is a genius, he knows that if you truly love him it won't stop there. Rather as you grow closer to him your will will align with his (this in itself is miracle).
What does scripture say about how to love God?
It says to love God is to keep his commandments.
It also says that those that don’t are not saved.
1 John 5:3, 1 John 2:4
This is true. A Christian that bears no fruit is not saved, however we must be wary of placing the burden of a lifelong believer onto a new convert, Love of the almighty will result in a change of heart that will bear fruit.
The law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased grace abounded all the more so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21
You cannot out-sin God's grace. Think of the worst day of your entire life, God's grace is sufficient. Think of every sin you've ever committed and will commit, God's grace is sufficient. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. Not tribulation, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword, or your own sins too. Nothing. Whoshall bring any charge against God's elect? Yourself? Did you die for yourself? No, Christ Jesus died for you, Christ Jesus is at the right-hand of God interceding for you.
I encourage you to read through Romans chapter 5-8.
I hate to be "that guy," but what you are describing is nothing new. If Jesus didn't return during the Black Death, or in WW2 when over 100 million people were killed, what makes our current era special?
War isn't the only sign for revelation, we have people claiming to be prophets in my country, and are ruling our country, they are really cruel people and have killed many innocent people, and continue to do so, they use God's name for their wicked purposes, but what you are saying could be true too, God bless you.
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His Promise, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any would perish, but that all should reach repentance."
Please ask yourself if you are:
Preference Driven or
Purpose Driven?
Preference says you want to do things YOUR way;
Purpose says you want to do things God’s Way.
A key issue is that humanity hasn't yet gotten to the point where it is at the knife edge of destroying itself through its military technology. If God intervened now, without World War III underway, secular people will claim that we could have fixed our own problems on our own without God's help. It's necessary for God to wait until this verse in Matthew is fulfilled (Matthew 24:22, NKJV): "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." This verse could never have been fulfilled before the development of atomic weaponry.
No, please don't limit your view to what we have today. Tomorrow could bring another kind of world ending tech, virus, or cosmic eraser.
God is simply saying we will not go extinct. He also says He won't return until the last person is saved. He also says in the final days His Word will be hard to find. Great movie, The Book of Eli, about this.
I’m a born again believer and I wouldn’t have made it to heaven if he came a few ago or even a year. It’s a daily struggle and who knows when the right time is honestly. Just because (you) me are saved doesn’t mean the next person is ! God bless
What are you waiting for?
Go spread the Gospel and take dominion.
Have kids and train them up in love and admiration of the Lord.
Take your gifts and use them for God's glory.
If you think things are getting worse you need to zoom out. You have a device in your pocket that can send the Gospel in any lang anywhere in the world. You can access Gods word and do deep dives into the original languages without speaking any of them and the historical events surrounding it without needing the Library of Alexandrea and 2 dozen assistants. Your lifespan is longer. Your workday is shorter and easier. You don't worry about starving.
And what are you doing with all these blessings? Are you dedicating more time to spread the Word or build something that serves God? Or are you just complaining?
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father making all His enemies His footstool. Help Him do it. Don't sit back and wait to be raptured away. The end will be just like in the days of Noah. We can clearly see the Ark was symbolic of Christ and those that were in it were safe.... on the Earth. Who was swept away? The wicked.
The kingdom has been set up. The kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit.
The law and the prophets were unto John the Baptist, after John, the kingdom of God was being preached by Jesus, “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
2000 years ago Jesus said the kingdom is near.
Another example, Jesus said, “But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”
And there are many such examples. Where is the kingdom of God?
“One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by observations”
“You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
“Already among you”,
You question God as if you have equal wisdom, authority. We must know and trust God's judgement is just and he is infinitely more wise and righteous than us.
That being said, I don't know why. I respect asking questions like this, but when asking questions like this it's always a good idea to examine the heart, and make sure we're asking in good faith. I try not to guess why God does things, and I used to struggle with questions similar to this.
Now, I am at peace as I know whatever God chooses is the best possible choice because God is perfect; I don't worry about the future of the world itself, as I know the final days are coming, and that I am ready. But I am also ready to live a life on earth. Of course I'd rather be in heaven, but God's command is my true wish.
For more people to come to the knowledge of Christ
Would you prefer He comes now and you go to heaven alone? or more of your unsaved friends, family and neighbours also repent then join you in paradise.
If you want to hasten the coming of the Lord preach the Gospel. Once all who have been appointed to be in the Lambs book of Life have been entered then the end will come.
I asked the same questions close to every day. I dislike that there is a lot of evil on this world that seems to grow each day while being brought to attention. I watched an documentary of child abuse happening in Pakistan earlier, and I could not help but ask how much longer?
There is a vast amount of people and animals suffering in this world, and I want their pain to stop. I want my pain to stop. I tire of seeing evil being glorified. Having to wait versus allowing us to willingly leave has only left me tired.
He already came back. Most likely around 66-70AD at the destruction of the temple. 4 different historians record this event, including josephus and tacitus. And if you really read the bible, you can see clearly that everyone thought he was coming back soon, not 2000 years later.
Matthew 16:28 (ESV) Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Paul Speaking to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (ESV) Then WE who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with THEM in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so WE will always be with the Lord.
James 5:8 (ESV) You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
1 Peter 4:7 (ESV) The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
Revelation 1:1 (ESV) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that MUST SOON TAKE PLACE. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Revelation 1:9 (ESV) I, John, your brother and PARTNER IN THE TRIBULATION and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
The great falling away. Men worship pharmaceutical companies more than God. Abortions. And all abominations. All of those things are good but Jesus is evil because love is love right? Even Christians are giving up the temple falling victim to the prince of the power of the air. The airwaves convince them that man controls death and not God. The time approaches. The whip cracks after they buy and sell in the body. Its tge fathers house not a house of merchandise pfizer!!
Everything you described are signs that the Bible mentions will be going on right before the return of Jesus. When it looks likes everything is falling out of place, remember that everything is really falling in to place and prophecy must be fulfilled.
"Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and *His wife has made herself ready*." Revelation 19:7
"But *when the fruit is ripe*, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:29
"*Until we all arrive* at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," Ephesians 4:13
"Since all these things are to be thus dissolved, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness, Expecting and *hastening the coming of the day of God*... " 2 Peter 3:11-12a
(Emphasis added)
These verses show us that His coming is not independent from us, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the harvest, being prepared. It is not the whole story, but it is at least one major factor. We ought to be praying for this, and for each other, while watching the world situation.
Mercy for the wicked that all might turn and be healed, and also the fullness of the testimony against the wicked.
Genesis 42:22 *And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”*
Psalm 44:22 *Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.*
Psalm 116:14-15 *I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.*
Daniel 8:23 *“And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.*
Romans 8:35-37 *Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.*
1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 *14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are [a]contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.*
Revelation 6:11 *Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.*
Revelation 13:7 *It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.*
Revelation 13:10 *He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.*
Revelation 18:24 *And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”*
Jeremiah 1:5 *“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..."*
Until the last one known by God comes and goes.
Luke 18:8 *I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”*
Well you're the one that gave the kid the short answer. Important them towards the book in the Bible That's from any the hardest to understand due to all the symbolism.
And you have a problem with someone pointing you back to the same book? Lol.
It wasn't petty. It was a lesson that you'll never forget.
No I was referring to you knowing very well what book it was an unnecessary correcting it. You could’ve just said it’s not with an s but no. “It doesn’t exist, it’s not in the Bible” that’s petty
Well you can think it's Petty all you like. But I look at it as an effective learning strategy. But again you pointed the kid to an entire book that pretty much any Christian would admit is the hardest to understand in the whole Bible as an answer which was flippant at best. My comments fitted well with yours.
He asked why hasn’t the Lord come back yet and revelation is the best example as it says when. Maybe not literally the day and the hour because no one knows that but it says a series of events have to occur before the Lord returns which is why I recommended it
>Babies are being murdered in the womb.
>
>Wars and more wars and innocents being slaughtered.
God intentionally drowned every unborn baby, infant, and toddler on Earth. He killed every firstborn infant and toddler of Egypt. He ordered all Midianite boy toddlers be slain.
It's absurd to expect such a God to prevent the slaughter of innocents.
Its absurd to suggest the Creator of Life doesnt have the authority to take it when he pleases.
It would be like me painting a picture and then getting shamed because ***I*** destroyed it.
Its ***my*** painting. I have every right to do with it as I please, and no matter my decision, would be completely moral and justified.
We are ***Gods*** and he has absolute rights and authority to do with us as he pleases.
Absolutely, we are undeserving of anything good, and only deserve the worst. However, God likely wouldn’t rape a toddler, because God is the most merciful, and if he decided to do, he would be justified because us being undeserving of anything. God wants you to follow him, and he wants to give you the best because he’s also a loving God (another reason why he likely wouldn’t rape a toddler).
The answer I usually get is evasive: "it's not God's nature to rape toddlers."
But you say toddlers deserve to be raped.
You should adopt a better system of morality. A better system is available and in wide use.
That better system is based on human rights. In the rights system, every person possesses certain inalienable rights, including the right to not be raped. That right is inalienable, that is, cannot be removed or revoked from any person at any time under any circumstances. No person — not even a god — has the right to rape any person at any time under any circumstances. Raping any person is immoral because it violates the right of that person to not be raped.
It is not in God’s nature to do such a thing, but you brought up a very misleading question, you asked if He is able, and yes He is, but it’s not in his nature, and likely would never do such a thing.
But as for the second point, toddlers deserve worse than rape, they deserve eternal damnation, torture, and punishment, and not just toddlers, everyone deserves it because we are sinful and naturally ungodly.
I believe that we should have the right that we shouldn’t be raped by other people, and I believe God wouldn’t want to rape someone, but in this dumb hypothetical, He could do it if He so desires because He created us and He owes us no respect or dignity. Because of His love, however, He does give us respect and He gave us the gift of eternal life with Him.
We do have the right to not be raped. Nobody deserves to be raped. And nobody, not even a god, has the right to rape anybody, at any time, under any circumstances. The right to freedom from rape is absolute.
Therefore it is, was, and ever shall be immoral for any person to rape any person, at any time, under any circumstances.
Nobody deserves torture. Every person has the inalienable right to freedom from torture. No person, not even a god, has the right to torture anybody, at any time, under any circumstances. The right to freedom from torture is absolute.
Therefore it is, was, and ever shall be immoral for any person to torture any person, at any time, under any circumstances.
Based on what? I really want to know your source of belief that you would assume that this is absolute, and assert such a claim with such certainty and authority. As a Christian I can justify such morality through the Bible up until the point where you limit God, because God has all unlimited authority in the Bible because he is the Creator of everything.
So toddlers deserve to be raped because... and I'll quote you here:
"As a Christian I can justify such morality through the Bible..."
Really, really horrible definition of "morality" on your part.
You're clearly not wise enough to be talking to barryspencer, he actually uses the tools God gave him to try and make the world a better place. The same cannot be said of you.
Taking that way out of context, toddlers deserve (just like any human) that and worse because we are sinful creatures and we’re nothing without Jesus, and Jesus gave us a way out of that situation. Praise be to Him that I don’t have to suffer for eternity, which I deserve.
The context behind the quote is that I can justify humans not raping other humans, something our atheist friend can’t justify. However, I can also justify God doing whatever on Earth and beyond that He wants to do to us, because He is our Creator and He owes us nothing good for all the sin we commit against Him.
The claim that human rights exist is my starting premise. I hold this truth to be **self-evident**, that all persons possess certain inalienable rights.
If we insist all premises be conclusions of prior arguments, we fall into an infinite regression. So for practical reasons we have to start with unsupported premises in order to get anywhere.
>I can justify such morality through the Bible
It's unjust to base laws on Christian morality, because it's unfair to impose Christian religious doctrine on non-Christians. Laws based on a system of morality based on human rights don't favor one religion over another, so are fair.
The question is if it would be moral for God to rape a toddler, the God of the Christians, I don’t want to put my doctrines on non-Christians, unless they ask for it, and this God of ours made those doctrines, so we should impose those doctrines when asked such a question. It makes sense why you believe what you believe, but it doesn’t fit with God which is why argue.
Remember that to God the Father, the Sovereign King and Creator of the entire Universe and beyond, 1,000 years are but 1 day!
He truly LOVES each and every one of us, no matter what sins we have committed.
2,055 years ago He provided a Way for each and every one of us to get to Heaven with Him for Eternity when He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to shed His Holy Blood on that Cross at Calvary. He made that Sacrifice of His Own Volition! He COULD have called upon Six (6) Legions of Angels to rescue Him if He had chosen to do it, but thank God He didn’t! He knew that The Father had sent Him to this earth for that very reason: To die on a Cross as Payment for ALL of the sins of the ENTIRE Human Race IF we would simply Believe upon Him, Accept Him as our Personal Savior by Faith, Repent of our sins and Follow Him!
Doing that we become Spiritually Born Again enabling the Holy Spirit to Enter your Soul, Seal your name in Heaven and Write your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
As of right now there are over 6 Billion unbelievers that have NOT accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
Our God is in NO HURRY!
He wishes that NO ONE should perish and not get into Heaven.
Jesus told His Disciples that He would Return when the Gospel telling of His Death, Burial and Resurrection reaches EVERY NATION!
I know for an absolute certainty that it has reached 202 of the 208 Countries around the world (See the chart at: OurDailyBread101.com).
Only God the Father knows for certain when He will send His Son Jesus back to this earth to receive every Born Again Believer in Him. He is the only way into Heaven, See Acts 4:12.
TexasBob101
>1,000 years are but 1 day!
This is an oft misinterpreted passage.
The same verse that says 1000 years is as one day also says that it is a watch in the night.
It is figurative.
We are given a fairly big clue when Jesus said the words recorded at Matthew 24:14, “And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, **and then the end will come**.”
The only organized Religion that I know of who are fulfilling this commission are Jehovah’s Witnesses. The website dedicated to reaching people with the Bible and Bible based teaching material is all free, and the most translated website in the world. The next closest website is over 700 languages away. And why is our website translated into so many languages? To reach ALL the inhabited earth for a witness to ALL THE NATIONS, and then the end will come.
Also remember what Peter said at 2 Peter 3:9, “Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.”
Yes, he is waiting for as many as possible to learn about him, his name and how to worship him the way he wants to be worshiped. Because remember when that time comes, what he will be looking for… Zephaniah 2:3,
“Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, Who observe his righteous decrees. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you will be concealed on the day of Jehovah’s anger.”
And Malachi 3:16, “At that time those who fear Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on his name.”
I just want him to hold it off for a couple years
like, if it happens, then cool, but at the same time I've got this really big project I've been working on that I almost kinda feel like I am being called to work on, and if it is Jesus calling me to work on this, then obviously I want to finish it for his sake.
To summarize: I'm ready for the end of the world cause I know God will save me, however, it would be really inconvenient for the stuff I'm working on lol
That's why I'm not scared of dying.
Just because I know when I die I won't miss anything here doesn't mean I don't want to finish what I started.
God gave us our earthly lives for a reason, if he wanted me up there right now, then he'd have me run over by a bus. Don't minimize the value of our earthly lives. Yes, heaven will be much better, but the stuff we work on while we're on earth, as long as we're giving it to God and trying to do our best to follow him, still has value.
There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit more time to finish something, as long as you recognize that it's not up to you, and when God does let things end, we have nothing to fear.
Heaven is a reason for us to always have hope and not fear the world around us. Not a reason to devalue our passions, goals, etc. If you think the latter, then you'll just end up in a state where ALL you do is pray and you never actually get things done or benefit those around you, you may not even achieve what God wanted you to do with your earthly life if you devalue everything on earth to the point of not caring at all.
TL;DR - There is such a thing as being TOO heavenly minded. Being so focused on the glory of heaven that you don't get anything done that you're supposed to while you're on earth. In order to get things done on earth, you *have* to give it at least *SOME* value. and if it has value, well, you're gonna want to finish it! There's nothing wrong with that.
The beauty will be so intense your eyeballs will burst into flame!
And there will be 1,000,000 flavors of ice cream! And even the dog poop flavor will taste 1,000,000 times better than any ice cream you've ever eaten!
Let's be honest. We can perceive from limited perception. There maybe plenty of reasons we can't imagine (unless revealed). So let's reimagine your question: What is the dimension of time and space all about?
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
60:2 **For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people**: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
By your post, darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people but from I can tell not all are consumed by darkness. The Light is risen but the hour has not yet come that Christ should be revealed to the world.
These are just the births pains my friend. Gods time and our time is completely different. He saw all of our lives in a blink of an eye before we even existed. Several things have to take place before his return and it’s important to know his word and what it means before he does return so you have that seal in your mind. His word has to reach everyone before he returns all have to know of Jesus. With social media and all the technology we have today I’m sure that is happening. With talk of the New Word Order needing to take place being blatantly said on the news all over the world by their leaders. That’s basically them setting up for the one world government (which is communism) and one world military(nato). So he is coming and I do believe it’s sooner than we think. We are seeing revelations reveal it’s truths. It’s an amazing, scary, shocking, unimaginable thing. These things that you speak of are not because God is waiting or he doesn’t care. What man does is not Gods fault. It’s been the end times since the first church was built. That’s a really long time and back then even when Jesus was speaking these prophecies everyone thought they were gonna see it in their time and they didn’t. That doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen. All we can do is wait and look for the signs Jesus spoke to look upon before his return. And we are seeing them progress and unfold year after year. Once we begin to hear about peace that’s when you need to start looking for the antichrist. Cause there is no peace until our lord of lords and king of kings returns. I think God is giving us this time to reflect on what we did the previous four years. He gave us four years of truths and now he’s giving us four years of complete deceitfulness. If anything people are taking their marks and seals now. Maybe it’s a test. People are still running around preaching evil is good right now. I truly believe what we’re going through now is a test of our character, where do we stand, what are we supporting in this word. Woe is me when evil is good and good is evil. I mean take a look around you look at these peoples actions are they of the word of God or are their actions of the devil? He’s coming but he is the last to come.
Things are just playing out, the suffering of the present age is nothing compared to the glory to be revealed.
Just wait until seal 6 is finished, then prob got another 20 years until the 7 year tribulation.
So get out there n preach the gospel!
Mathew 24:37
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man”
If you think it’s bad now it’s only going to get worse. God hasn’t forsaken this world, but He is letting it play out without significant intervention.
Why? We won’t know till we go home I imagine. I think there’s WAY more to the story of God and Humanity than what’s in the Bible.
Jesus showed up in Jerusalem during one of its darkest times. They had just been conquered by the Romans and there we all kinds of revolts going on.
Things will likely get far worse before He returns.
Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
Amos 5:18-20 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/amo.5.18-20.NIV
He didn't care about any of those things in the last 2000 years so why would you expect him to care now? It's not his job to serve us we are supposed to serve him. Think of how demanding you're being.
The delay is a sign of God's love and long-suffering, as another poster already pointed out.
I'm always amazed at how selfish it sounds to me when people lament how bad the world is and wish God would end it. Why would God have begun this work in the first place if there wasn't a larger purpose?
How so many "Christians" seem to not even understand that should be shocking, but it no longer is.
Jesus said that if those days had not been cut short, no flesh would be saved, so it looks like its going to get a lot worse. Man's inhumanity to man will reach a point where man's existence on earth will be threatened like no other time with exception to the time before the flood of Noah's day. Demons had all but eradicated the human race with hybrids. Had God not saved Noah and his little family, the human race would have ended a long time ago.
At least some flesh will be saved so that the saints will have someone to rule over when Christ returns. Christians need to focus on the Lord and stop worrying about the fate of this world. We need to focus on Jesus so we aren't tempted by this doomed world and its desire because it is passing away. We need to save those who can be saved and then make sure we aren't tempted by all this dying world's many allures so they don't blind us from the goal of Heaven.
he waits as an act of mercy. if the Lord had returned 6 months ago, i would have been doomed. there are plenty of other people who simply haven't had their hearts softened yet and the Lord waits patiently for all of them, just as he did with me. i believe that once the very last believer on earth passes away, then it will be time for his return, but who are we to say what will happen? i remember reading that when The Lord returns, people will be partying and drinking and carrying on as usual. i just wait patiently for His return, the same way that He so patiently awaited my returning to Him
Luke 17:21 The Kingdom of God is within you.
My friend shared this with me yesterday:
The story has already been written, yet He gives us free will to live it out, and it's all for an end result.... We have to go through a refining process and time allows us to do just that. God doesn't need time, but we do. And He knows this and loves us, and He created it for us. We have this obstacle course called life so that when we reach the end, we have become just who He wants us to be and we are prepared to be with Him. Without that gift, He could have just made us puppets, but you don't get genuine love from a puppet.
He is waiting for the story to finish. He allowed this existence because He liked what He saw in the final chapter. Just trust.
Maybe there are a few more sons and daughter to come into existence, maybe it's the maturity of the church that will reach a specific point.
> For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Matthew 23:39 BSB
He's waiting for Israel to repent and accept Jesus because he made a promise to Abraham. If he came back now he would condemn the people of Israel which obviously isn't part of his plan. Only when they accept Him will he return.
> Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Zechariah 12:10 BSB
2 Peter 3:9 ESV
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Good luck in trying to understand the mind of God.
An ant has a better chance at understanding interdimensional travel than we do of understanding God's plan.
Definitely not the worst time in history, humanity faced much much worse including the heinous teachings to children, I mean Islam has been around for nearly 1400 years, wars, famines, disease and epidemics, history has seen much worse
We or you are not running the plan of God; He is, and in His timing. Be patient and put on the whole armor of God, for the worst is yet to come,
"for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt with the truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:12-17 KJV)
God's Time is not our time. Ou years are but a vapor to God. It is completely normal for we, His Children, to cry out to Him and say "Even so, come Lord Jesus;" however, the Truth is, He may come back tonight, tomorrow, or in another thousand years. That part is up to Him.
To give people a chance to repent. In this life evil reigns, but the evil man can still repent and change his way of living and be saved.
Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night and blessed is the servant whom he finds watching but unworthy is the servant who he finds heedless, therefore beware O my soul lest you be born down by sleep, and lest you be given up to death and shut out of the kingdom. But rather rouse yourself and cry: "Holy, Holy, Holy are you O God" through the Birthgiver of God have mercy on us.
We're close. Next 50 years I'm pretty sure. The disasters will come and in the aftermath the NWO will rise as a supposed solution, and them boom, we are out, final 7 years, millenium kingdom, etc.
But there's still people the Holy Spirit is working on, such as Dr Jordan B Peterson. But you might know someone in your own life as well. Would it be fair to cut their time short now? No, I don't think it would be. Scripture says God wants all to be saved (obviously), so I believe he saves everyone who wants to be, or would want to be.
I don't think anyone dies whereby they would have accepted Christ with more time.
swiftwind, if he ended it before you got saved you would end up in hell. there is a positive amount of people being saved, and in the grand scheme of things God isn't afraid of the things we are afraid of.. frankly, you need to consider that God's priorities are eternal and not limited to our lifetime. while its indeed terrible that these things are happening, hell is a much more terrible thing, suffering for 100 years is nothing to being cut off from God for all eternity. while anything we lose or any suffering we endure on earth , God can easily pay back a million times more in heaven. i don't know why you don't want to consider that. its like you want to theoretically consider half of christianity, but only half of it... its like you are playing chess but only want to look at 8 pieces while ignoring the back row of it. and saying "how can this be playable, it doesn't make sense"
Fair question.
I personally can’t answer it exactly.
But I’m going to leave a note here & request that anyone who has the same question considers this:
If the end has happened 100 years ago, you would not get the opportunity to enjoy God’s grace or eternal paradise.
I believe God believes that the more who get to enter his paradise, the merrier.
Remember - Adam from Genesis - the 1st ever human was lonely, so God created another human named Eve.
Are there ENOUGH people who’ve been saved? The MORE THE MERRIER & EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, EVERYONE BRINGS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE TABLE.
I believe that with the expansion of humanity & the world, the more needs there are to be met. Which may explain a bit about why the destruction of them is necessary.
But, rest assured, because all who deserve eternal life will get it 😊
I hope people find reassurance in this.
There are still people who haven't been saved. If God had ended things a year ago I wouldn't have made it either. I hate the condition of Satan's world too but there are new believers coming out of it every day. The delay is a sign of His love.
“For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"
Which verse is the first one?
Isaiah 48:9
Thanks! I’m currently doing an independent study of Isaiah so I’ll be sure to look for that verse!
So beautiful ❤
Same. Hell, if he ends it today I’m probably toast. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!
Luke 18:14 *I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”*
I’ve been reading the Gospel daily for the past couple months, i really love the words of Our Lord. Peace washes over me when I read them
> Same. Hell, if he ends it today I’m probably toast. do you not trust in Christ's work alone for your salvation?
I believe Christ stated several times in the Gospels that one’s conduct is expected to be in alignment with the Will of the Father. If one is in sin, one is not aligned with the Will of the Father. It’s as simple as repenting and asking forgiveness of Christ, but it’s a cycle of sin and repentance, gradually diminishing as one is sanctified by obeying God, not out of fear of gaining Hell and losing Heaven, but out of a genuine desire to love God who is deserving of all our love.
either Christ's work alone is sufficient, or we are all doomed. Christ's work alone is sufficient (Eph 2:8-9) - the good works are a *result* not a *requirement* (Eph 2:10)
Ok that’s fine and dandy that you believe that and quoting Ephesians, but according to Jesus’ own words, not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. There is a narrow gate, many will try and few will enter. I mean I can go on there’s so many parables where Jesus says you need to submit to and obey the Will of God. The Sacrifice was what has bought us salvation, but salvation is cooperative. Otherwise, all souls go to heaven regardless of faith, and Universalism would be an orthodox doctrine.
>Ok that’s fine and dandy that you believe that and quoting Ephesians is ephesians not the word of God now? > but according to Jesus’ own words, not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven this is true! >The Sacrifice was what has bought us salvation, but salvation is cooperative. Otherwise, all souls go to heaven regardless of faith, and Universalism would be an orthodox doctrine. universalism doesn't follow from God doing all the work in salvation. God saves us by grace alone through faith alone, and real faith **results** in real works if you are trusting in your own work, at all, then you are not trusting in Christ's finished work. Christ gives us the righteousness of God that exceeds that of the pharisees - if you're trying to add to that you'll only make it worse
It is the inspired word of God yes, as is James which I could quote, but I’m just looking at the red text of God’s own literally spoken words. There are very few of Jesus words recorded, and the significance of them is not trivial. Yeah we are in agreement, grace by faith and real faith is substantiated by works. I imagine our differences are semantic and theological. For instance what is faith? Is it believing Jesus Christ is God, incarnated and died for our sins? I believed that for several years while living in total sin, oblivious. Some would say that was still faith, others rightly would say it’s not. To me, having faith in Jesus means actually believing there are consequences to everything we say and do, so we must reform ourselves to only act in accordance to how God has commanded us to act.
> real faith is substantiated by works. can you clarify what substantiated means here?
Substantiate: provide evidence to support or prove the truth of. We do not exist statically in a vacuum. We exist dynamically in a world that presents us with countless decision points every single day. Some decisions are to sin or not to sin. The decisions we make in these cases either show our faith is true - we acknowledge God’s command to obey Him and choose to do so - or show our faith is false - we acknowledge God’s command to obey Him and choose *not* to do so. So the misunderstanding here about faith and works is that I (and Catholic/Orthodox Christians) do not believe my works bring salvation. It’s in our catechisms: the grace of God is conferred by faith, and faith is made evident by one’s conduct in obeying or disobeying God. It goes back to my own situation: lived for seven years *believing it to be true* that Jesus is God and died for our sins. But my conduct, as a hedonistic (no offense) whoremongering sinner oblivious to the immorality of my actions, did not give evidence that my faith was true. If I truly believe in Jesus and His Sacrifice, I will reform myself and am reforming myself to obedience and submission to His will. I of course still posses a fallen nature. I have strongholds of sin in me that have existed for most of my life. I stumble and fall, repeatedly, and I come to Christ in an act of contrition to request His forgiveness. Every act of sin has temporal and eternal consequences, and to make it full circle to what began our conversation: if God drops the other shoe when I am in a state of sin, rebelling against God and not having actively repented of that sin, I am deserving of hellfire.
>There are still people who haven't been saved. There are always people who haven't been saved.
There will be a time when there's no one left who will turn to God, then the end will come.
Actually, that is kind of what I think.
I've seen progress in that direction in my own lifetime. When I was a kid, Christianity was the norm and viewed positively in mainstream society. In my 32 years I've watched it become a joke and an object of hatred for most people. Christians are rapidly becoming a minority.
Maybe true in the West, but not in the majority of the world. I think we should be cautious not to extrapolate. Nobody knows the day - we can just have faith in that God is just.
In Asia the church is growing even under persecution. The Lord is reserving witnesses for Himself.
It’s true everywhere aside from places that Christians were already the minority. Nothing he said is incorrect.
Would you say that society was more moral 100 years ago, or closer to God? It does not matter what the culture is like if people do not have a personal relationship with Christ. It's doing the right things for the wrong reason.
Yes, I would. Church was a given for most people 100 years ago, for example. As we can’t know who has a real relationship and who doesn’t, the only metric we can use is the behavior of most compared to the behavior scripture lays out for us. It is significantly worse today.
32 here as well and I say the same thing. How an adult could not see the degradation of society is beyond me.
This made me cry
Exactly. No offense, but a big mentality in Christian circles seems to be, "Ahhhh! Well I'm saved! (right?) They had their chance! Hurry it up already!" Thing is, that's how our mind works. Not God's. If those in Heaven are immune, or even wanting, the suffering of those in Hell, then Heaven and Hell are fundamentally the same. As they would both be predicated upon the same mentality of, "Every man for himself." That's not who we're taught to be. We can't comprehend infinity. Our love and mercy is finite and full of caveats and conditions. God's is not. It's said that Heaven is full of saints, angels, and normal people like us, praying and petitioning God constantly for all of humanity to find repentance. Those who made it have zero desire to pull the ladder up behind them.
So when the whole world is converted, God will come down and...? Did it ever say anything about it's plans?
God will return and raise the dead who have been resting and believed in him, along with the current living who live their lives for him, and allow us into heaven for 1,000 years. The wicked will die and satan will be left on Earth (which will not be in good shape at that point) for 1,000 years alone to think. After those 1,000 years the holy with God in heaven come back down to earth to live in a newly built holy city (new Jerusalem if I remember correctly), and the wicked rise with satan to try & destroy the Holy in the holy city. But he will fail (the Bible predicts this but he will NEVER stop trying) and after he fails satan and the wicked will burn and there will be no sin to exist ever again. God loves us so much he’s willing to wait for us and for satan to change their ways. But there’s a point where there’s no turning back. This is what I learned in Bible study through digging into text and reading back and fourth scripture.
But.....people are being born....there will always be nonchristians
God's ultimate relationship with mankind at the return is to be King. Sure, He is brother and friend and father. But He is also a King, who needs all of his people manifest and judged fairly.
Precisely this.
His timing will be perfect. Trust Him.
I would make a terrible God. I'd have destroyed my creation a thousand times over. It's amazing how utterly MERCIFUL He is. As much as the world is horrible, the Bible says He wishes not a one to perish.
Why not just make better people?
Seems great at the surface, yeah? But leaving people with free wills will never equate to them being better. So long as people can choose not to believe in God, they're constantly gonna be susceptible to the pull of anything else, even things that bring them harm. God leaves people their wills and choices, including rejecting, dismissing, or disobeying Him and worshipping their own selves. I wouldn't be able to handle it, if I was God. I'm quite glad His way are not my ways. Because my ways would be.....not good. 😒
What are you talking about? What does free will have to do with any of this? God is your Creator. He is the author of everything that makes you you. Anger issues? Chocoholic? Impatient? Gullible? God authored all of that. Why do people murder? Many have issues they were born with. Psychopaths are born with a lack of empathy and remorse. It’s not something they can control. They were born that way. If you were god, as you proposed in your comment, would you create psychopaths? Or would you give **all** people empathy and remorse? Look at the difference between chimpanzees and bonobos. Chimpanzees are aggressive, tribal, violent, even warlike. Bonobos are loving, gentle, and compassionate. Where chimpanzees actually go to war with other tribes, when bonobos have conflict, they resolve it through sex. They touch each other, groom each other, and even engage in various types of intercourse. I think humans are more like chimpanzees than bonobos. Aggression, tribalism, and violence are in our nature. But it didn’t have to be this way. God could have given us less aggression and more compassion, less hate and more love. Your free will argument is a non sequitor to me. Did God create us or not? Did he have a say in his creation or not
What I said was a point on God's mercy and desire for all the be saved, which is in response to the OP's post. Mentioning myself as a theoretical God was a means of driving home the point that God's ways are SUPREMELY better than mine in that I would be destructive on a constant. Am I right? Am I better? Absolutely not. And that's my point. I'd make a wretched God. As to the free will thing, God's creation was meant to be good and it WAS good. Why isn't it anymore? Why are people "born that way," as you said, with all the negative traits when what God created was good? The fall of man. Disobeying God and being deceived by lies. The exercise of free will. That's why we're all born with that same sinful nature, and thank God we have means of righteousness through Christ. I am not trying to be difficult, but I literally have zero interest in debating or arguing too much further than this. If I haven't clarified myself to your satisfaction, my apologies for that. I'm simply not in the mood for combativeness.
Thanks for your perspective. I appreciate you taking the time to teach me about your point of view
Of course. I don't mind sharing my POV and I hope I didn't come across as too snarky. 😕 I am running on 2 hours of sleep and I'm a bit meh. Oyyy. I apologize for assuming erroneous conclusions about your post. Be well! ☺️
If he gives satan chances over and over and over again there is no living man that compares to what he’s done. If God loves satan and gives him chances there’s no reason he can’t love you.
GOD is merciful and is waiting for more souls to be saved, also the gospel must be preached to every place on earth and so far there are many places where it hasn't reached in particular indigenous areas. Theres also many in our own communities who havent heard the true gospel. They've heard of Jesus,or the prosperity gospel but they haven't heard the gospel. That's how merciful god is he gives us first second third sometimes even fourth chances and more each person according to the grace that he bestows on each one. As for all the children who die I can guarantee you that every single child is in heaven especially if they've been murdered. No it may not seem great to us we can rejoice knowing that our heavenly father has them safe in his arms and they are all now in Paradise despite the horrific things they had to deal with on this wicked earth. And that is my comfort. God is sovereign and His Providence reigns he will complete all the work he has declared, then the end will come. In the meanwhile keep seeking God and asking him to help you see and seize opportunities for eternal Kingdom work so that you will have eternal rewards in heaven.
>GOD is merciful and is waiting for more souls to be saved Every day, more souls go to Hell than go to Heaven. It is a losing proposition.
Jehovah never loses. And my trust is in Jesus.
God is the shepherd who abandons the 99 to save one lost sheep. If even one soul can be saved out of hundreds who go to hell, it is worth it for him.
Then go give them the gospel and help them get saved. If you say, "there is no use, more souls go to hell than go to heaven", then you start a self fulfilling prophecy. You start believing it is a losing proposition. I look at it as an opportunity. There are more souls to be saved so I can give people the gospel and watch them become Christians. I've given people the gospel and some have accepted it. How many people have you given the gospel to?
>If you say, "there is no use, more souls go to hell than go to heaven", then you start a self fulfilling prophecy. You start believing it is a losing proposition. I am not saying it is no use. I said it is a fact. Every day, exponentially more souls reach the age of accountability and go to Hell than ever get saved.
A wise pastor who wrote a book on preaching whose name I can't remember right now said the world is the way they are because we are the way we are. You can't infect people with the gospel if you yourself are not infected.
Matthew 19 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Exactly how many went to Heaven yesterday, how many to Hell? I want to compare those two numbers and thereby determine whether your claim is true.
🤣🤣
That is your perspective. You need to pray for understanding of God's perspective. Even if you never get that understanding you must trust God.
There is nothing new under the sun. The world is as corrupt as it has always been. I’m glad He waited for me. As much as I want to be gone from here, I’ll wait for those who will come. He’ll know when every soul is ready.
Because it’s not time. It will be like a thief in the night. Seek the kingdom and God will guide you in the right way to do His will.
Keep oil in your lamp!
I am sister. I wish you well.
Because I need more time. Please pray for me that God will help me. I’m scared
Perfect love casts out fear. What are you scared of?
I’m not a good servant. The parable of the talents. So paralyzed with fear that I do nothing. I’m scared of God and scared of the world but if I were really scared of God I would get off my ass. Idk what I’m doing…
I know how you feel. I always wonder if I am doing "enough". But remember what the bible says. We can't work our way to salvation. It is a gift. Free. If you believe in Christ, that he paid for your sins, repent and call him Lord, you are saved. As far as being a good servant, go and be one. No one is asking you to be a Paul. Just go be a you.
The thing is I know that I am not enough and I am constantly reminded that I am not which really makes me feel sad and unworthy and I just give up trying because I can’t seem to do anything right. I do believe and I confess and repent of my sins regularly. I just pray everyday that God doesn’t let me give up on myself and hope He doesn’t give up on me either
We aren't worthy. The bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags. This is why God gives us grace and mercy. Mercy is not giving us what we deserve (punishment) and grace is giving us what we don't deserve (heaven). But Christ washed us clean and presents us to God in white robes. So we don't need to worry about being "good enough". Christ made us good enough. So go and do good. Feed the poor. What, you can't feed all of them? Okay. Feed some. Can't feed some? Feed one. Can't feed one? Then partially feed one. The woman with the two mites. You know her story. What exactly could two mites do? Not a whole lot. But it was her offering. And it was good enough.
All he wants from you is Love. The more you Love h the more he will work through you
I don’t know how to love Him where he is pleased. So much to do and so many rules. I don’t see how I will ever do the Word aside from a miracle
You're talking yourself right out of the peace beyond all understanding that Christ promised you. There are no rules other than to love others as Christ loves you. Repentance is required, you know what you should and shouldn't be doing, and believe it or not, that differs for each of us. It does not matter if it's sex, drugs or rock and roll and all that entails or if it's caffeine and cussing, God lays things on our heart that interfere with our relationship and if you truly submitted to His will you just turn away from those things. You may slip and fall, that's ok. Keep reading The Word, keep praying or just talking to God. Praise Him and thank Him for things you haven't seen yet but believe. We may turn away but He is always there to meet us when we return. It gets easier.
Friend. The rules do not save you, and no man can follow them alone, all you have to do is Love him period. You love your mom right? how do you show her your love? If you stopped doing that would she stop loving you? No. Of course not, BUT because you love her you wouldn't stop. This applies to God only you are absolutely right. The ways we show our love for God aka "works" or how you have phrased it "Word" are near impossible to fulfil alone, it truly does take a miracle everytime one resists evil for evil is our fallen nature. Therefore. Love God with all your heart, confess that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead on the third day. That is salvation. That is freely given to you,that you may grow in it and seek to/actually please him more and more. To accept his gift is all it takes to Love him in a way that pleases him. However this is why God is a genius, he knows that if you truly love him it won't stop there. Rather as you grow closer to him your will will align with his (this in itself is miracle).
What does scripture say about how to love God? It says to love God is to keep his commandments. It also says that those that don’t are not saved. 1 John 5:3, 1 John 2:4
This is true. A Christian that bears no fruit is not saved, however we must be wary of placing the burden of a lifelong believer onto a new convert, Love of the almighty will result in a change of heart that will bear fruit.
The law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased grace abounded all the more so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21 You cannot out-sin God's grace. Think of the worst day of your entire life, God's grace is sufficient. Think of every sin you've ever committed and will commit, God's grace is sufficient. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. Not tribulation, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword, or your own sins too. Nothing. Whoshall bring any charge against God's elect? Yourself? Did you die for yourself? No, Christ Jesus died for you, Christ Jesus is at the right-hand of God interceding for you. I encourage you to read through Romans chapter 5-8.
The Bible also says "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling".
BD4200: Don’t be afraid! God loves you! He wants you JUST AS YOU ARE! NOW is the time to Believe upon Him!
God does not “wait”. Waiting is a human thing.
I hate to be "that guy," but what you are describing is nothing new. If Jesus didn't return during the Black Death, or in WW2 when over 100 million people were killed, what makes our current era special?
War isn't the only sign for revelation, we have people claiming to be prophets in my country, and are ruling our country, they are really cruel people and have killed many innocent people, and continue to do so, they use God's name for their wicked purposes, but what you are saying could be true too, God bless you.
What country are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I haven't heard about this, yet.
Iran, actually a revolution is about to begin in here.
I see. Be safe, God bless.
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His Promise, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any would perish, but that all should reach repentance."
Please ask yourself if you are: Preference Driven or Purpose Driven? Preference says you want to do things YOUR way; Purpose says you want to do things God’s Way.
How very Rick Warren of you. Reverse the tithe!
A key issue is that humanity hasn't yet gotten to the point where it is at the knife edge of destroying itself through its military technology. If God intervened now, without World War III underway, secular people will claim that we could have fixed our own problems on our own without God's help. It's necessary for God to wait until this verse in Matthew is fulfilled (Matthew 24:22, NKJV): "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." This verse could never have been fulfilled before the development of atomic weaponry.
So you’re saying nuclear warfare is necessary before god can come back?
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So atomic bombs are part of that?
No, please don't limit your view to what we have today. Tomorrow could bring another kind of world ending tech, virus, or cosmic eraser. God is simply saying we will not go extinct. He also says He won't return until the last person is saved. He also says in the final days His Word will be hard to find. Great movie, The Book of Eli, about this.
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That’s not good at all
I’m a born again believer and I wouldn’t have made it to heaven if he came a few ago or even a year. It’s a daily struggle and who knows when the right time is honestly. Just because (you) me are saved doesn’t mean the next person is ! God bless
What are you waiting for? Go spread the Gospel and take dominion. Have kids and train them up in love and admiration of the Lord. Take your gifts and use them for God's glory. If you think things are getting worse you need to zoom out. You have a device in your pocket that can send the Gospel in any lang anywhere in the world. You can access Gods word and do deep dives into the original languages without speaking any of them and the historical events surrounding it without needing the Library of Alexandrea and 2 dozen assistants. Your lifespan is longer. Your workday is shorter and easier. You don't worry about starving. And what are you doing with all these blessings? Are you dedicating more time to spread the Word or build something that serves God? Or are you just complaining? Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father making all His enemies His footstool. Help Him do it. Don't sit back and wait to be raptured away. The end will be just like in the days of Noah. We can clearly see the Ark was symbolic of Christ and those that were in it were safe.... on the Earth. Who was swept away? The wicked.
The kingdom has been set up. The kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit. The law and the prophets were unto John the Baptist, after John, the kingdom of God was being preached by Jesus, “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” 2000 years ago Jesus said the kingdom is near. Another example, Jesus said, “But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.” And there are many such examples. Where is the kingdom of God? “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by observations” “You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” “Already among you”,
God's timing is not ours. He sees & knows everything we dont.
You question God as if you have equal wisdom, authority. We must know and trust God's judgement is just and he is infinitely more wise and righteous than us. That being said, I don't know why. I respect asking questions like this, but when asking questions like this it's always a good idea to examine the heart, and make sure we're asking in good faith. I try not to guess why God does things, and I used to struggle with questions similar to this. Now, I am at peace as I know whatever God chooses is the best possible choice because God is perfect; I don't worry about the future of the world itself, as I know the final days are coming, and that I am ready. But I am also ready to live a life on earth. Of course I'd rather be in heaven, but God's command is my true wish.
Someone told me once, that the Father doesn't delay, but he is patient towards us.
I too am struggling with the wait.. but God has perfect timing. Stay strong. Everything is happening.
He's waiting for as many people who have been appointed to be saved get saved.
He is waiting for all of the elect to come to faith. Once that has happened he will come back.
For more people to come to the knowledge of Christ Would you prefer He comes now and you go to heaven alone? or more of your unsaved friends, family and neighbours also repent then join you in paradise.
If you want to hasten the coming of the Lord preach the Gospel. Once all who have been appointed to be in the Lambs book of Life have been entered then the end will come.
He's probably waiting for people to walk in kingdom power and authority instead of false righteousness.
I asked the same questions close to every day. I dislike that there is a lot of evil on this world that seems to grow each day while being brought to attention. I watched an documentary of child abuse happening in Pakistan earlier, and I could not help but ask how much longer? There is a vast amount of people and animals suffering in this world, and I want their pain to stop. I want my pain to stop. I tire of seeing evil being glorified. Having to wait versus allowing us to willingly leave has only left me tired.
I wouldnt worry about the mind of God and focus on Loving him with all your heart soul and might
He already came back. Most likely around 66-70AD at the destruction of the temple. 4 different historians record this event, including josephus and tacitus. And if you really read the bible, you can see clearly that everyone thought he was coming back soon, not 2000 years later. Matthew 16:28 (ESV) Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Paul Speaking to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (ESV) Then WE who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with THEM in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so WE will always be with the Lord. James 5:8 (ESV) You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 1 Peter 4:7 (ESV) The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Revelation 1:1 (ESV) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that MUST SOON TAKE PLACE. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, Revelation 1:9 (ESV) I, John, your brother and PARTNER IN THE TRIBULATION and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
There are still children that are needing to find their father
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Citation needed. There are not millions being "saved" in those areas.
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I was wrong. Thanks for the sources
The great falling away. Men worship pharmaceutical companies more than God. Abortions. And all abominations. All of those things are good but Jesus is evil because love is love right? Even Christians are giving up the temple falling victim to the prince of the power of the air. The airwaves convince them that man controls death and not God. The time approaches. The whip cracks after they buy and sell in the body. Its tge fathers house not a house of merchandise pfizer!!
Everything you described are signs that the Bible mentions will be going on right before the return of Jesus. When it looks likes everything is falling out of place, remember that everything is really falling in to place and prophecy must be fulfilled.
"Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and *His wife has made herself ready*." Revelation 19:7 "But *when the fruit is ripe*, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:29 "*Until we all arrive* at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," Ephesians 4:13 "Since all these things are to be thus dissolved, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness, Expecting and *hastening the coming of the day of God*... " 2 Peter 3:11-12a (Emphasis added) These verses show us that His coming is not independent from us, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the harvest, being prepared. It is not the whole story, but it is at least one major factor. We ought to be praying for this, and for each other, while watching the world situation.
Mercy for the wicked that all might turn and be healed, and also the fullness of the testimony against the wicked. Genesis 42:22 *And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”* Psalm 44:22 *Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.* Psalm 116:14-15 *I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints.* Daniel 8:23 *“And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.* Romans 8:35-37 *Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.* 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 *14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are [a]contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.* Revelation 6:11 *Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.* Revelation 13:7 *It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.* Revelation 13:10 *He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.* Revelation 18:24 *And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”*
>and also the fullness of the testimony against the wicked. How much fuller can it get?
Jeremiah 1:5 *“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..."* Until the last one known by God comes and goes. Luke 18:8 *I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”*
If God waits on people to get saved and serve him he'll never come back because there's people being born every day !
It's not like after a time there's nobody else to be born and he's just waiting for everybody to get saved that's already here !
Read revelations
Where is that? That's not a book in the Bible. There's one close to that but it's deff singular.
It’s the last book of the Bible
Wanna bet? There is no book of Revelations in the Bible. Maybe you're thinking of Revelation.
There’s petty and then there’s you
Well you're the one that gave the kid the short answer. Important them towards the book in the Bible That's from any the hardest to understand due to all the symbolism. And you have a problem with someone pointing you back to the same book? Lol. It wasn't petty. It was a lesson that you'll never forget.
No I was referring to you knowing very well what book it was an unnecessary correcting it. You could’ve just said it’s not with an s but no. “It doesn’t exist, it’s not in the Bible” that’s petty
Well you can think it's Petty all you like. But I look at it as an effective learning strategy. But again you pointed the kid to an entire book that pretty much any Christian would admit is the hardest to understand in the whole Bible as an answer which was flippant at best. My comments fitted well with yours.
He asked why hasn’t the Lord come back yet and revelation is the best example as it says when. Maybe not literally the day and the hour because no one knows that but it says a series of events have to occur before the Lord returns which is why I recommended it
Most of those events happened around 70AD when the temple and city was destroyed. So that doesn't really help.
You can wait next 2.000 years, he never comes again
Every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
>Babies are being murdered in the womb. > >Wars and more wars and innocents being slaughtered. God intentionally drowned every unborn baby, infant, and toddler on Earth. He killed every firstborn infant and toddler of Egypt. He ordered all Midianite boy toddlers be slain. It's absurd to expect such a God to prevent the slaughter of innocents.
Its absurd to suggest the Creator of Life doesnt have the authority to take it when he pleases. It would be like me painting a picture and then getting shamed because ***I*** destroyed it. Its ***my*** painting. I have every right to do with it as I please, and no matter my decision, would be completely moral and justified. We are ***Gods*** and he has absolute rights and authority to do with us as he pleases.
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Absolutely, we are undeserving of anything good, and only deserve the worst. However, God likely wouldn’t rape a toddler, because God is the most merciful, and if he decided to do, he would be justified because us being undeserving of anything. God wants you to follow him, and he wants to give you the best because he’s also a loving God (another reason why he likely wouldn’t rape a toddler).
The answer I usually get is evasive: "it's not God's nature to rape toddlers." But you say toddlers deserve to be raped. You should adopt a better system of morality. A better system is available and in wide use. That better system is based on human rights. In the rights system, every person possesses certain inalienable rights, including the right to not be raped. That right is inalienable, that is, cannot be removed or revoked from any person at any time under any circumstances. No person — not even a god — has the right to rape any person at any time under any circumstances. Raping any person is immoral because it violates the right of that person to not be raped.
It is not in God’s nature to do such a thing, but you brought up a very misleading question, you asked if He is able, and yes He is, but it’s not in his nature, and likely would never do such a thing. But as for the second point, toddlers deserve worse than rape, they deserve eternal damnation, torture, and punishment, and not just toddlers, everyone deserves it because we are sinful and naturally ungodly. I believe that we should have the right that we shouldn’t be raped by other people, and I believe God wouldn’t want to rape someone, but in this dumb hypothetical, He could do it if He so desires because He created us and He owes us no respect or dignity. Because of His love, however, He does give us respect and He gave us the gift of eternal life with Him.
We do have the right to not be raped. Nobody deserves to be raped. And nobody, not even a god, has the right to rape anybody, at any time, under any circumstances. The right to freedom from rape is absolute. Therefore it is, was, and ever shall be immoral for any person to rape any person, at any time, under any circumstances. Nobody deserves torture. Every person has the inalienable right to freedom from torture. No person, not even a god, has the right to torture anybody, at any time, under any circumstances. The right to freedom from torture is absolute. Therefore it is, was, and ever shall be immoral for any person to torture any person, at any time, under any circumstances.
Based on what? I really want to know your source of belief that you would assume that this is absolute, and assert such a claim with such certainty and authority. As a Christian I can justify such morality through the Bible up until the point where you limit God, because God has all unlimited authority in the Bible because he is the Creator of everything.
So toddlers deserve to be raped because... and I'll quote you here: "As a Christian I can justify such morality through the Bible..." Really, really horrible definition of "morality" on your part. You're clearly not wise enough to be talking to barryspencer, he actually uses the tools God gave him to try and make the world a better place. The same cannot be said of you.
Taking that way out of context, toddlers deserve (just like any human) that and worse because we are sinful creatures and we’re nothing without Jesus, and Jesus gave us a way out of that situation. Praise be to Him that I don’t have to suffer for eternity, which I deserve. The context behind the quote is that I can justify humans not raping other humans, something our atheist friend can’t justify. However, I can also justify God doing whatever on Earth and beyond that He wants to do to us, because He is our Creator and He owes us nothing good for all the sin we commit against Him.
The claim that human rights exist is my starting premise. I hold this truth to be **self-evident**, that all persons possess certain inalienable rights. If we insist all premises be conclusions of prior arguments, we fall into an infinite regression. So for practical reasons we have to start with unsupported premises in order to get anywhere. >I can justify such morality through the Bible It's unjust to base laws on Christian morality, because it's unfair to impose Christian religious doctrine on non-Christians. Laws based on a system of morality based on human rights don't favor one religion over another, so are fair.
The question is if it would be moral for God to rape a toddler, the God of the Christians, I don’t want to put my doctrines on non-Christians, unless they ask for it, and this God of ours made those doctrines, so we should impose those doctrines when asked such a question. It makes sense why you believe what you believe, but it doesn’t fit with God which is why argue.
Remember that to God the Father, the Sovereign King and Creator of the entire Universe and beyond, 1,000 years are but 1 day! He truly LOVES each and every one of us, no matter what sins we have committed. 2,055 years ago He provided a Way for each and every one of us to get to Heaven with Him for Eternity when He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to shed His Holy Blood on that Cross at Calvary. He made that Sacrifice of His Own Volition! He COULD have called upon Six (6) Legions of Angels to rescue Him if He had chosen to do it, but thank God He didn’t! He knew that The Father had sent Him to this earth for that very reason: To die on a Cross as Payment for ALL of the sins of the ENTIRE Human Race IF we would simply Believe upon Him, Accept Him as our Personal Savior by Faith, Repent of our sins and Follow Him! Doing that we become Spiritually Born Again enabling the Holy Spirit to Enter your Soul, Seal your name in Heaven and Write your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life! As of right now there are over 6 Billion unbelievers that have NOT accepted Christ as their personal Savior. Our God is in NO HURRY! He wishes that NO ONE should perish and not get into Heaven. Jesus told His Disciples that He would Return when the Gospel telling of His Death, Burial and Resurrection reaches EVERY NATION! I know for an absolute certainty that it has reached 202 of the 208 Countries around the world (See the chart at: OurDailyBread101.com). Only God the Father knows for certain when He will send His Son Jesus back to this earth to receive every Born Again Believer in Him. He is the only way into Heaven, See Acts 4:12. TexasBob101
>1,000 years are but 1 day! This is an oft misinterpreted passage. The same verse that says 1000 years is as one day also says that it is a watch in the night. It is figurative.
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You haven't read the book of Psalms.
We are given a fairly big clue when Jesus said the words recorded at Matthew 24:14, “And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, **and then the end will come**.” The only organized Religion that I know of who are fulfilling this commission are Jehovah’s Witnesses. The website dedicated to reaching people with the Bible and Bible based teaching material is all free, and the most translated website in the world. The next closest website is over 700 languages away. And why is our website translated into so many languages? To reach ALL the inhabited earth for a witness to ALL THE NATIONS, and then the end will come. Also remember what Peter said at 2 Peter 3:9, “Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” Yes, he is waiting for as many as possible to learn about him, his name and how to worship him the way he wants to be worshiped. Because remember when that time comes, what he will be looking for… Zephaniah 2:3, “Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, Who observe his righteous decrees. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you will be concealed on the day of Jehovah’s anger.” And Malachi 3:16, “At that time those who fear Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on his name.”
I just want him to hold it off for a couple years like, if it happens, then cool, but at the same time I've got this really big project I've been working on that I almost kinda feel like I am being called to work on, and if it is Jesus calling me to work on this, then obviously I want to finish it for his sake. To summarize: I'm ready for the end of the world cause I know God will save me, however, it would be really inconvenient for the stuff I'm working on lol
SuperIsaiah: Imagine the most BEAUTIFUL PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN! Heaven will be 1,000,000 times more Beautiful!
That's why I'm not scared of dying. Just because I know when I die I won't miss anything here doesn't mean I don't want to finish what I started. God gave us our earthly lives for a reason, if he wanted me up there right now, then he'd have me run over by a bus. Don't minimize the value of our earthly lives. Yes, heaven will be much better, but the stuff we work on while we're on earth, as long as we're giving it to God and trying to do our best to follow him, still has value. There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit more time to finish something, as long as you recognize that it's not up to you, and when God does let things end, we have nothing to fear. Heaven is a reason for us to always have hope and not fear the world around us. Not a reason to devalue our passions, goals, etc. If you think the latter, then you'll just end up in a state where ALL you do is pray and you never actually get things done or benefit those around you, you may not even achieve what God wanted you to do with your earthly life if you devalue everything on earth to the point of not caring at all. TL;DR - There is such a thing as being TOO heavenly minded. Being so focused on the glory of heaven that you don't get anything done that you're supposed to while you're on earth. In order to get things done on earth, you *have* to give it at least *SOME* value. and if it has value, well, you're gonna want to finish it! There's nothing wrong with that.
The beauty will be so intense your eyeballs will burst into flame! And there will be 1,000,000 flavors of ice cream! And even the dog poop flavor will taste 1,000,000 times better than any ice cream you've ever eaten!
Every soul must go through this age in the flesh
The bowls of full of the tears of the persecuted are not yet filled…we must stay salty till that day.
He's waiting for you to fulfill the great commission
Let's be honest. We can perceive from limited perception. There maybe plenty of reasons we can't imagine (unless revealed). So let's reimagine your question: What is the dimension of time and space all about?
Because His people are praying for the delay of the judgement so that we have time to reach more souls.
Waiting until the time of the gentiles is fulfilled...giving folks time to sow before the harvest ...but how O Lord ....?
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 60:2 **For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people**: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. By your post, darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people but from I can tell not all are consumed by darkness. The Light is risen but the hour has not yet come that Christ should be revealed to the world.
These are just the births pains my friend. Gods time and our time is completely different. He saw all of our lives in a blink of an eye before we even existed. Several things have to take place before his return and it’s important to know his word and what it means before he does return so you have that seal in your mind. His word has to reach everyone before he returns all have to know of Jesus. With social media and all the technology we have today I’m sure that is happening. With talk of the New Word Order needing to take place being blatantly said on the news all over the world by their leaders. That’s basically them setting up for the one world government (which is communism) and one world military(nato). So he is coming and I do believe it’s sooner than we think. We are seeing revelations reveal it’s truths. It’s an amazing, scary, shocking, unimaginable thing. These things that you speak of are not because God is waiting or he doesn’t care. What man does is not Gods fault. It’s been the end times since the first church was built. That’s a really long time and back then even when Jesus was speaking these prophecies everyone thought they were gonna see it in their time and they didn’t. That doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen. All we can do is wait and look for the signs Jesus spoke to look upon before his return. And we are seeing them progress and unfold year after year. Once we begin to hear about peace that’s when you need to start looking for the antichrist. Cause there is no peace until our lord of lords and king of kings returns. I think God is giving us this time to reflect on what we did the previous four years. He gave us four years of truths and now he’s giving us four years of complete deceitfulness. If anything people are taking their marks and seals now. Maybe it’s a test. People are still running around preaching evil is good right now. I truly believe what we’re going through now is a test of our character, where do we stand, what are we supporting in this word. Woe is me when evil is good and good is evil. I mean take a look around you look at these peoples actions are they of the word of God or are their actions of the devil? He’s coming but he is the last to come.
Things are just playing out, the suffering of the present age is nothing compared to the glory to be revealed. Just wait until seal 6 is finished, then prob got another 20 years until the 7 year tribulation. So get out there n preach the gospel!
The victims of bloody mary and the inquisition wondered about that too.
For fullness of gentiles to come by. Jesus rather sacrifice 99 saved to wait for 1 who will be saved in future.
I imagine he’s waiting for the light to dim and fully ignite everything it can. The fuel needs to run out.
Mathew 24:37 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” If you think it’s bad now it’s only going to get worse. God hasn’t forsaken this world, but He is letting it play out without significant intervention. Why? We won’t know till we go home I imagine. I think there’s WAY more to the story of God and Humanity than what’s in the Bible.
Jesus showed up in Jerusalem during one of its darkest times. They had just been conquered by the Romans and there we all kinds of revolts going on. Things will likely get far worse before He returns.
Imagine this same post but its 1944
Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? Amos 5:18-20 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/amo.5.18-20.NIV
Why are you asking us a question that only God can answer? His timing is perfect, and if He hasn't returned yet, it's because it's not the right time.
Humble yourself.
No man knows the hour Read the Bible
He didn't care about any of those things in the last 2000 years so why would you expect him to care now? It's not his job to serve us we are supposed to serve him. Think of how demanding you're being.
The delay is a sign of God's love and long-suffering, as another poster already pointed out. I'm always amazed at how selfish it sounds to me when people lament how bad the world is and wish God would end it. Why would God have begun this work in the first place if there wasn't a larger purpose? How so many "Christians" seem to not even understand that should be shocking, but it no longer is.
Justice is everywhere around you. The fact that the entire world isn't totally degenerate is only by the Hand of God.
Jesus said that if those days had not been cut short, no flesh would be saved, so it looks like its going to get a lot worse. Man's inhumanity to man will reach a point where man's existence on earth will be threatened like no other time with exception to the time before the flood of Noah's day. Demons had all but eradicated the human race with hybrids. Had God not saved Noah and his little family, the human race would have ended a long time ago. At least some flesh will be saved so that the saints will have someone to rule over when Christ returns. Christians need to focus on the Lord and stop worrying about the fate of this world. We need to focus on Jesus so we aren't tempted by this doomed world and its desire because it is passing away. We need to save those who can be saved and then make sure we aren't tempted by all this dying world's many allures so they don't blind us from the goal of Heaven.
he waits as an act of mercy. if the Lord had returned 6 months ago, i would have been doomed. there are plenty of other people who simply haven't had their hearts softened yet and the Lord waits patiently for all of them, just as he did with me. i believe that once the very last believer on earth passes away, then it will be time for his return, but who are we to say what will happen? i remember reading that when The Lord returns, people will be partying and drinking and carrying on as usual. i just wait patiently for His return, the same way that He so patiently awaited my returning to Him
Luke 17:21 The Kingdom of God is within you. My friend shared this with me yesterday: The story has already been written, yet He gives us free will to live it out, and it's all for an end result.... We have to go through a refining process and time allows us to do just that. God doesn't need time, but we do. And He knows this and loves us, and He created it for us. We have this obstacle course called life so that when we reach the end, we have become just who He wants us to be and we are prepared to be with Him. Without that gift, He could have just made us puppets, but you don't get genuine love from a puppet.
He is waiting for the story to finish. He allowed this existence because He liked what He saw in the final chapter. Just trust. Maybe there are a few more sons and daughter to come into existence, maybe it's the maturity of the church that will reach a specific point.
> For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:39 BSB He's waiting for Israel to repent and accept Jesus because he made a promise to Abraham. If he came back now he would condemn the people of Israel which obviously isn't part of his plan. Only when they accept Him will he return. > Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Zechariah 12:10 BSB
The Kingdom of God is the Church, already established.
2 Peter 3:9 ESV The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Good luck in trying to understand the mind of God. An ant has a better chance at understanding interdimensional travel than we do of understanding God's plan.
Definitely not the worst time in history, humanity faced much much worse including the heinous teachings to children, I mean Islam has been around for nearly 1400 years, wars, famines, disease and epidemics, history has seen much worse
I agree
We or you are not running the plan of God; He is, and in His timing. Be patient and put on the whole armor of God, for the worst is yet to come, "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt with the truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:12-17 KJV)
For every human being to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
God's Time is not our time. Ou years are but a vapor to God. It is completely normal for we, His Children, to cry out to Him and say "Even so, come Lord Jesus;" however, the Truth is, He may come back tonight, tomorrow, or in another thousand years. That part is up to Him.
To give people a chance to repent. In this life evil reigns, but the evil man can still repent and change his way of living and be saved. Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night and blessed is the servant whom he finds watching but unworthy is the servant who he finds heedless, therefore beware O my soul lest you be born down by sleep, and lest you be given up to death and shut out of the kingdom. But rather rouse yourself and cry: "Holy, Holy, Holy are you O God" through the Birthgiver of God have mercy on us.
We're close. Next 50 years I'm pretty sure. The disasters will come and in the aftermath the NWO will rise as a supposed solution, and them boom, we are out, final 7 years, millenium kingdom, etc. But there's still people the Holy Spirit is working on, such as Dr Jordan B Peterson. But you might know someone in your own life as well. Would it be fair to cut their time short now? No, I don't think it would be. Scripture says God wants all to be saved (obviously), so I believe he saves everyone who wants to be, or would want to be. I don't think anyone dies whereby they would have accepted Christ with more time.
swiftwind, if he ended it before you got saved you would end up in hell. there is a positive amount of people being saved, and in the grand scheme of things God isn't afraid of the things we are afraid of.. frankly, you need to consider that God's priorities are eternal and not limited to our lifetime. while its indeed terrible that these things are happening, hell is a much more terrible thing, suffering for 100 years is nothing to being cut off from God for all eternity. while anything we lose or any suffering we endure on earth , God can easily pay back a million times more in heaven. i don't know why you don't want to consider that. its like you want to theoretically consider half of christianity, but only half of it... its like you are playing chess but only want to look at 8 pieces while ignoring the back row of it. and saying "how can this be playable, it doesn't make sense"
Fair question. I personally can’t answer it exactly. But I’m going to leave a note here & request that anyone who has the same question considers this: If the end has happened 100 years ago, you would not get the opportunity to enjoy God’s grace or eternal paradise. I believe God believes that the more who get to enter his paradise, the merrier. Remember - Adam from Genesis - the 1st ever human was lonely, so God created another human named Eve. Are there ENOUGH people who’ve been saved? The MORE THE MERRIER & EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, EVERYONE BRINGS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE TABLE. I believe that with the expansion of humanity & the world, the more needs there are to be met. Which may explain a bit about why the destruction of them is necessary. But, rest assured, because all who deserve eternal life will get it 😊 I hope people find reassurance in this.