Can anyone know the outcome of a choice 100% absolutely with the chances or possibilities or that choice being anything other than absolutely zero, or absolutely 100%?

This is for any theoretical being who supposedly knows absolutely everything, etc?

Can "it" know absolutely everything absolutely, without the possibilities being anything other than absolutely zero, or absolutely 100% absolutely, etc?

Discussion?

God Bless.

By Thomas Brooks 1608-1680

"Observe what particular sin that is that doth most hinder thee in holy duties and services, and that doth most interrupt thee in thy communion with God. Inquire what particular sin that is that thy heart is most apt to run after when thou art on the mount of holy duties (Eze 33:31). Whilst the disciples were healing diseases and casting devils out of other men’s bodies, the proud white devil (a) was stirring in their own souls, as is evident by that gentle rebuke that our Savior gives them: “In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luk 10:20). There is no duty that a Christian performs but one white devil or another, one lust or another, will be still dogging and following of him to that duty. There is no public duty, there is no family duty, there is no private duty that a Christian performs, but either that white devil pride, or that white devil hypocrisy, or that white devil vainglory, (b) or else some one or another white devil will follow the soul, hard at heel to it. Now, mark what that particular sin is that most haunts thy soul when thou art in religious duties and services; and it may be that is the very sin that God would have subdued by the rod."

(a) white devil – Martin Luther used this term to mean that the devil often deceives the world under the external appearance of goodness: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2Co 11:14): Lectures on Galatians, Luther’s Works, Vol. 26: ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 41. In 1612, John Webster (c.1580-c.1625) wrote a play entitled The White Devil (1612), using a similar theme about people who are “pure” (white) on the outside but devils on the inside; Brooks seems to use it here for Christians discovering sins in themselves when they would do good.

(b)vainglory – unwarranted pride in one’s accomplishments or character.

Full Message Here:

(I found the particular paragraph I posted to be convicting, and in fact a similar message was preached in church yesterday and emphasis on spiritual pride and vanity that needs cut off. Oft times things like this, those "white devils" beset a Christian whom has victory over the more obvious sins, and outward sins. these inner sins tend to be the bane of those maturing in the faith, but must be cut out as well, or else dealt with by the rod.)

It’s too personal and discouraging for me to go into details so I’ll just say it’s an unspoken request.

Perhaps someone can help. Search engines have become basically useless in the last couple of years. I am looking for a site to place a book to which I now own the copyright of, but would like to put online for free reading. Looking for a place that will not delete it after a period of time and where I don't have to pay yearly fees for the privilege. Is there such as place? Is there a place a book can be placed for perpetuity? Amazon will let me give it away as long as I pay them but it would disappear if something happened to me.

As a young man I was one of many who did not know what he believed as a Catholic. And I was humiliated by being taught, of the head theories, and catechism contrary to what I later found out was meant to believe, after I became a Protestant.

Ideas like, how dare you want to prosper, and have millions? You should only have moderate wealth and work for it, five days a week.

You should wait for marriage, when you get married, you and your wife can do anything you want.

Most mental illness are rooted in the fall of Adam, things we inherit within. They are not caused by spirits.

When you die, God will build you a new material body in Heaven.

Unless you have done something really bad, when you die, you'll go to Heaven.

I can explain why these are not Catholic teachings now.

Pope Benedict, wrote a letter to the church, on love, but could not get all the officials, maybe the holy see, and all the trained apologists to agree. So he retired. Then came Pope Francis.

As a young man, my parish priest practiced prosperity with his parish assistant and owned a country house. He did not take vows of poverty and could explain his actions as an ordained PP. He would heal the sick with the Spirit's power and had more church attendance than many other priests. His confessional was very good. I was relieved from trembling with Jesus' blood there. He could explain why the prayers to Mary, were not worship... Sometimes his Bible based answers were short, and he prayed for me, and told me to read the Bible, several times.

He advised me not to place weight on the sayings of a nun nearby, and yes she was a bit odd. Mercy ministries, you can always melt people's hearts, by showing them mercy.

Some Catholic apologists teach prosperity is a sin for sure, but not all agree. From the Canon Lawyer Fr John Flader, "Prosperity is a good thing, it creates, products and services, and creates jobs." That is the simple, at first basis.

Can Catholics overcome controversy and be of one mind?

I have heard so many Christian women say this throughout my twenties as a Christian man I thinking it was Biblical command almost for years. Until recently I decided to do some research myself. Why is this saying still getting spreaded like wildfire?

Please pray that a problem in my life gets resolved. The devil is pulling up ancient history to try and get me back to harming myself….
He sure knew exactly what to do to get me crawling…

I am also in the process of getting my own home… so please pray everything goes smoothly. I can’t wait to get away from home and my neighbors!

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. - Psalm 9:17

The Almighty God, who is self existent and eternal, Yahweh, the Great I AM THAT I AM, AHAYAH Asher AHAYAH, is Holy, and because of His holiness He cannot allow a nation that has so great a light to continue unchecked if her sins are piled up, reaching unto heaven. Judgment must fall, and judgment will fall, because the righteous justice of God demands it be so. Thus it was with Israel, whom it may seem was judged more often than heathen nations that prospered in their wickedness for a time, but that's because Israel had the Light of Law and the Prophets, culminating in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God Himself. So too does the United States have great light, by having more Gospel light and freedom than any other nation.

It's bad enough any nation would legalize Sodomy, but even worse when Churches sporting the name of Christ, embrace it and endorse it with propaganda like "We are an open and affirming church," complete with rainbow flags, and photos of same sex couples, and smiling children dressed in rainbow clothing.
Matthew 18:5-7, "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!"
And does it not say in Revelation 18:21 of the wicked last days Babylon, "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."
I'm not gonna debate whether this Babylon is Rome, the Vatican, America, NYC, Europe, the World Economic Forum, or Iraq. The truth is if ANY of these entities fulfill the prophetic description of this MYSTERY BABYLON, they are a part of it, and thus shall be destroyed. It's no wonder a millstone being cast into the sea is used by Jesus both in reference to offending little children, and to Babylon.
USA has murdered close to 64 million babies by abortion in 51 years. USA has legalized Sodomy since 2015, and codified it as Federal law in 2022. Now let's look at what the LORD says about a nation that commits such atrocities:

Ezekiel 14:13-20
Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.
If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness."

Here God is telling the people even if some of the most righteous men were in the land, giving the examples of Noah, Daniel, and Job, that only they would be delivered, but the rest would fall under judgment. This is akin to when Israel was in Egypt and the p[lagues were falling: a time came when the plagues fell only upon the Egyptians, but did not touch the Israelites.
Now look at Ezekiel 20:30-31, "Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you."
Here it's specifically talking about the sacrifice of children. making them pass through the fire is the term used for a baby sacrifice to Molech, where the baby was burned in a fire at the idol of this false god. Strangely, the old practice of saline abortion burned the baby alive in the womb.

Jeremiah 7:4-9, "Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.
Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

Oh, absolutely the vengeance of the LORD will be manifest! It's not just the abominations of Sodomy and baby sacrifice by abortion, it's a combination of many evils: Jeremiah speaks of lying, and today most people think nothing of lying, even in some churches! Violence as in the days of Noah. People are obsessed with Gladiator type fighting, and many movies depict multiple killings in graphic gory detail. Witchcraft and sorcery is committed; that is both the occult and drugs. The complete breakdown of morality is so bad it is considered normal. people are desensitized to it. It is portrayed as normal in advertising and in all media and music.
Adultery is not normal! Having sex with a girl you're not married to is not normal! The glorification of alcohol as a good time is not normal! Drunkenness is not normal! It is SIN: It is ALL sin! None of this was ever meant for us to partake in, as we were made in the image of God, and God is holy and pure! It's a wonder God has not unleashed His full fury of mighty wrath on America already! What patience and longsuffering the LORD has! At any moment He could completely remove any barrier or hedge of protection and any number of calamities fall upon the nation: a plague far worse than Covid, a financial crash far worse than the Great Depression, a war far worse than World War 2. Destruction far worse than 9/11. Nuclear destruction could befall our cities and military bases in a moment, and in one hour she shall be burning in furious poisonous radioactive fire.

Look what Jeremiah 7:16 - 20 says, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched."
First, the LORD commands Jeremiah not even to pray for this people! Then He points out what they are doing, which is occultic worship and paganism. Then He says it's all gonna burn!

Now before anyone says "wait, that's all Old Testament, and Gods dealing with Israel. It has nothing to do with us," look at 2 Peter 2:6, "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;" - Sodom was destroyed at least 61 years before Jacob was born, and Jacob is Israel. From Jacob came the 12 tribes. Sodom is used as an example also in Jude 7. Deuteronomy 29:23 uses the overthrow of Sodom as an example for Israel, Isaiah 13:19, Babylon shall be as when God overthrew Sodom, Jeremiah 49:18, Edom shall be "As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof.." Jeremiah 50:40 again Babylons judgment compared to Sodom, Zephaniah 3:9, Moab shall be like Sodom.
Look at Isaiah 3:9, "The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves." Oh, how this is happening everywhere today in America, and America is promoting this wickedness around the world.
And the churches in the name of Christ, with things like this on their websites: "believes that God encourages us to question, think, learn, and evolve in the spirit of the loving God, rather than accepting the Bible as literal history. "
"welcomes young and old, gay and straight, cisgender and transgender, singles and families, spirited children and questioning adults." and "Embracing All Faiths"
Now back to Peter. Before he mentions Sodom as an example, he talks of the flood upon the old world as a judgment upon the evil and wickedness of that age. 1 Corinthians 10:6 & 11, especially verse 11 says the things of the Old Testament are for our examples, and this is written to a Gentile Church. As for Peter, his second letter doesn't specify exactly his audience, but does say "to them that have obtained like precious faith with us" in the first verse. 1 Peter however was written " to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," (1 Pet. 1:1)
We can be assured these examples apply to us, if we do the same things that were done in the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the pre-flood world. And, we ARE! Collectively as a nation we are fallen, as the angel proclaimed, "cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (Revelation 18:2) But look at the next 2 verses closely, "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
God's people are there, but are called out from the world system, the evils and iniquities that abound in the land, to "come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." (2 Corinthians 6:17) Dare to surrender completely to God and be as a Noah, Daniel, and Job! He calls you to come, take up your cross and follow Him!

As for the false prophets of peace and prosperity, listen to the word of Jeremiah here: "Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." (Jer 14:11-14)
And look at Jeremiah 15:1, "Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth."
How dreadful if this is pronounced upon your nation, yet it is pronounced upon America, and the wakeup calls have gone unheeded.
Take a look finally at Micah 3:1-8 and just let the Word of God speak here. remember these things are written for our examples. Yes, they happened to Israel, and Jerusalem, and to ancient Babylon, Edom, and Moab. Egypt, Nineveh, and Assyria were also judged mightily. But we must look to Israel as an example of a nation that has Gods Word and provclaims it to the world, which is what America has and does. Except now they are exporting a false gospel along with the true Gospel, and the export of Sodomy and baby killing will surely bring the terrible wrath of the fury of God down upon this sinful land!
Michah 3: "And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin."
Amen

This is my first post here. My “starter” if you will….
My husband of 47 years passed last September so I am a new “widow.” I really detest that term, but it is what it is.
Are there any other widows here??

Raised in the church, but born again about age 40, I attend church services regularly and especially enjoy Bible studies. Eschatology has always been highly favored.

I am a retired educator—high school English. My husband, who was a FL state certified General Residential Contractor & Home Inspector and I operated business for about 20 years. I performed all office operations.

When we retired in 2019, we relocated from South FL to Central FL to be near our daughter and her family.

It is my hopes to have some interesting conversations with like minded people here.

In my previous post, Monastic Folk Song, I added a link to a second version of the song that has a section that is sung in Greek. Is someone able (and willing ) to translate the words to English?

Here is the video again cued at the Greek parts 1:57-2:42:

Login to view embedded media

Another volley in Biden's war on snack food companies, and the Americans who make them.

No word yet whether the administration will retaliate with nukes and F-15's

I bought a bag of fun size Snickers today, in their honor.

What sort of facts could disprove it?

Does anyone have any?

What do you think of the series?

I like that it has both entertainment value, and some survival/bushcraft education value as well, etc, and so for those reasons, I like to watch it.

YouTube videos about the same subject are probably more educational, and I like and watch those as well, but Alone has more entertainment value, and is a good mix of both I think.

TikTok has long been accused of ruining attention spans — now but the app is under fire for destroying marriages, too.

A distraught wife has taken to Reddit to reveal that the social media app completely changed her husband’s character, causing the end of the 12-year union.

The anonymous woman, aged 37, said she and her hubby were seemingly happy together before he became hooked on TikTok’s “tradwife” videos.

A “tradwife” — short for a “traditional wife” — refers to a woman who has proudly eschewed a career in favor of domestic duties, such as cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing. A tradwife typically believes a working woman hurts the nuclear family, and aims to cater to her husband’s every whim.

On TikTok, the “tradwife” hashtag has clocked up a whopping 296.5M views and has made unexpected stars out of several woman who show off their happy home lives.

In her Reddit post, the divorcing woman explained that her husband happened upon the videos earlier this year.

Continued below.

Im curious about the phrase "spiritual accountability" that I have heard in some pentecostal churches but not not others. I wonder if it's a reasonably normal pentecostal phrase to use, or if it's unique to a particular types of churches pentecostal or not. Or is it actually not common at all? I know that the US (for example) is sometimes culturally different in terms of pentecostalism.

I tend to hear it in the context of leaders talking about Christians who are not listening to what they are told by the leaders. (As in its an accountability to rules or commands from a leader as opposed to rules or commands in the Bible more generally), it is also seemingly typically implied that there is a spiritual blessing of some type for people who "remain accountable" to these leaders.

What in your opinion are the barebone minimum requirements for salvation? I will share mine and open mine for discussion although a vast majority of Christians here are probably going to agree with these 4 "requirements".


1. Belief in Christ's Death, Burial, & Resurrection. This virtually all who carry the label of Christianity will agree on. You cannot be saved without belief in Christ's Burial, Death, and Resurrection because it is written everywhere in the New Testament that this particular belief is required for Salvation and it is the very heart of the Christian Gospel. If you deny Christ's resurrection than you cannot be Christian and cannot be saved.

2. Repentance. Every true follower of God will recognize in their lives that not only have they sinned against God but that they fall SO far short of God's perfect standard that their ONLY hope is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. One big sign of the believer is not that have repented once but rather that they keep on repenting and they keep on believing to the very end of their lives. EVERY sheep of God will recognize the masters voice and will seek to follow him and his commands which are clearly listed in the Bible. Not out of duty but rather because it is something that every Child of God naturally does as the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin daily and as we live out the lives that God prepared for us. This also a vast majority of Christians believe across all denominations. This isn't so much a requirement of salvation but rather evidence of Regeneration. No repentance = no regeneration and no regeneration = no salvation.

3. Belief in the Trinity and Christ's divinity. This is also important to salvation because the Apostles died for this very belief despite bring under constant torture. The church as a whole has carried belief in Christ's divinity and every child of God believes in Christ's divinity because not only did Jesus claim to be the very God of the universe, he WAS the God of the universe.

4. Fruit. Jesus said that all of his followers will bear fruit and that those who do not bear fruit will be "thrown into the fire and burned" . If there is a lack of fruit in a professing Christians life than that is evidence that said Christian does not have a relationship with Jesus at all because God has said that all of his sheep will bear fruit. Fruit bearing is a part of sanctification that happens immediately after a child of God has been regenerated and will not show up in a later time. If it shows up at a later time than that merely means that regeneration started after they claimed Christ as savior and not before.

These are the four main required beliefs of Christianity. Without these four beliefs I argue that one cannot be a Christian and one cannot possibly be regenerated. I argue that it's possible for a non child of God to have the first requirement but the last three are what separate a sheep of God from a goat.

Hello everyone, my name is hayden. I'm a greek orthodox christian man. I'm an american. I'm joining to have some civil discussion and im excites to give my opinions.
God bless you all

Me and dad were plinking at my gong last week and between his M9A1 and my taurus 856 using brass plated tips in my chamber; We walked home, and I decided to inspect the shrapnel zone and found a sliver of what appeared to be a casing seeing it was brass on both sides. I would think that either the hull of one of my .38spl slugs or a poorly chambered 9mm in the baretta may have sliced down the barrel when fired. The brass was right under the plate and both sides were yellow, no copper.

Do I need to inspect his gun for damage from this or is this a normal occurrence?

Pounded at an event in Kansas.

Joe Biden effigy hit and kicked at Republican event

A karate school decided that would be appropriate.

Former Kansas gop head said it was shameful to occur at an official event (difficult to say who put it on; leads line says no state involvement t but thr Twitter post said it was joint with the county.

I just find it weird because Biden is about the most bland vanilla president you could paper mache together. The fact that he elicits that reaction from people reflects more on them than on him.

Do you think that any of your religious beliefs are provable?
Is any religious idea "objectively true"?

How are we to talk online to others we don't know?

I can fall into the trap of skimming for fault and play offensive two moves ahead. It's not a very congenial way of discussion but it's good at winning - at least in it's own mind.

The above is more than common all across the internet and it's easy to do.

Since I've been saved almost a decade ago, I've been convinced I have to change the way I debate and discuss online to a more humble and God fearing speech when talking online.

But I don't always know how to accurately communicate my thinking.

Am I being too emphatic to the point of rudeness or am I understating the issues. I don't always know the answer to these questions.

I'm coming to this thinking and this thread once more because this is an election season and we are facing dangers in the world. We want to share our thoughts as part of the national discussion - or determine what those thoughts are - but we want also to help, or be leaders in, changing the temperature of the room so to speak.

To be able to stand saying we controlled our tongues yet spoke the truth in humility.

It's part self control, and part knowledge, and part humility and love of others.

I have a hard time truly opening up and when I do I am more easily hurt when insulted by others, therefore for me being Christian and talking about topics I am in some way passionate about is almost oil and water at times.

What are everyone's thoughts?

How do we communicate best with one another?

How do people think I do as a communicator?

What improvements could I make? What tricks do you have?

Now this is Old Covenant teaching, but yet so much of it is New Covenant teaching, too. But let’s begin with the Old Covenant. God’s people at that time were the Israelites, the Jews, the physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah. They were God’s chosen people, his holy nation by physical birth. God had made a covenant with Abraham and with his offspring that he would give them the land of Canaan (the Promised Land) for an everlasting possession. But with all of God’s promises there was a requirement that they had to meet. They had to keep (obey) the Lord’s covenant throughout their generations (Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19).

Now, many people today are still claiming that covenant for the Jewish nation of Israel, but it is not theirs to claim unless they are now believing in Jesus Christ, for Jesus is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And he is the promised seed of Abraham from whom now all God’s holy people are spiritual descendants if they trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives and if they obey the Lord and his commandments (New Covenant). We are now the children of the promise, for if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

[Romans 2:28-29; Romans 9:4-8; Romans 11:1-36; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; 1 John 2:22; John 8:18-19,38-47; Jude 1:5; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

So, that was then but this is now. And today God’s holy people are believers in Jesus Christ who have been crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are God’s holy people, his holy nation, Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. We are God’s possession. We are his temple in whom God dwells by his Spirit. God is now our God, and we are his chosen people. For in Jesus’ death he destroyed that dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile and he made us both one in Christ by genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ.

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:6-7; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-29; Rom 11:1-36; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 1:9; 1 Co 3:16-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; 2 Co 6:14-18; Gal 5:13-21; Eph 1:3-4; Eph 2:11-22; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12-15; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:21; Heb 8:8-10; Heb 10:30; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-10,24; 2 Pet 1:3; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 2:3-6]

So we who believe in Jesus today, with God-persuaded faith in him, are a people holy to the Lord. We are his chosen people, regardless of whether we are Jew or Gentile by physical birth. We are his treasured possession. And he has redeemed us not from physical slavery to a physical nation, but out from our slavery to sin so that we can now honor the Lord Jesus with our lives. And just like his covenant with the Israelites of old, the New Covenant relationship we have with Jesus Christ is conditional upon us loving God and keeping (obeying) our Lord’s commandments (New Covenant). But those who do not obey his commandments will be cast off (Matthew 7:21-23).

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, don’t take your salvation from sin and eternal life lightly, thinking that you can just pray a prayer or make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but that you can continue living in sin against the Lord as a matter of habit. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23). So, please take all of this to heart, and please follow Jesus in obedience to his will.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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What are the best novels and on screen stories, old and new, stories, characters, prose...? I never read but watched the LOTR in one evening and was impressed. Character development and history around the rings were interesting, suspense around the ending was great.

I also still love the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The original. Such amazing character and places, situations and imagination.

I liked of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. A fair read long ago, along with Animal Farm.

At the time I was very impressed by That was then this is Now. But in retrospect the characters were too violent.

I think Rebel Without a Cause was interesting, yet the characters were unrealistic. But others prefer that.

I am a Star Wars fan and the accidental development of Luke was amazing. Remarkable range of characters. And the developed over time, reminiscent of Paul the apostle and the Spirit. Also Hitler and WW2.

I watched and I am reading through The Shack and it is interesting.

I found the story of the Exodus hard to read, God seemed distant and hard on them, prompting explanations!

Howard Storm's NDE was interesting, his own character change and the places.

I'd like to know others impressions...

Hello everyone. Been hitting the books a lot, and still getting at it.

I think I am changing my opinion on who Babylon is. For the longest time, I looked at it as Rome, Istanbul, or some other Gentile Empire. I am now under the opinion it is Jerusalem. I did not come to this interpretation easily and it took a great deal of debate before changing my position.

The beast she rides are all the kingdoms that ruled over Babylon after the LORD departed the temple in the days of Ezekiel. According to Zechariah 5:5-11, the house built for wickedness was among the exiles in Babylon. So that makes Babylon the first head of the beast, conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. Cyrus of Persia conquered it from the Babylonians. Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalen from the Persians but it passed to Ptolemy I of Egypt before he could formally rule it. Antiochus III of Seleucia conquered Jerusalem from the Egyptians. Judah Maccabees conquered Jerusalem from the Seleucids and ruled over a Jewish Empire until Augustus Caesar of the Romans conquered it. The Romans (Ottomans included) held onto control of Jerusalem from 37 BC to 1923, when the Mandate passed to George V of Great Britain. They held onto it until 1948, when the nation of Israel was created.

Those are the seven heads. The ten horns, I believe, are the nation of Israel. Israel was a name for the Northern Kingdom in the Old Testament, also called Ephraim. This kingdom consisted of the ten tribes of Israel while the Southern Kingdom of Judah, with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin ruled over Jerusalem. Rev 17 says these will give their power and authority over to the beast. This beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived is a Jewish Empire. We are on the cusp of this as Israel has determined to exterminate Hamas, refuse Palestine to be ruled by Palestinian authorities, and has threatened to end negotiations with Hezbollah in Lebanon by March 15th.

Perhaps we are at the eve of the events of Daniel 11:40-45 and haven’t realized it yet. Jesus said He would come as a thief in an hour He’s least expected…