Do you recognize the word of God when you read it...

[ERice2nd]

I don't know because Acts is considered to be written by Luke who was not an eyewitness to the events but inspired by the Holy Spirit. I also generally consider heaven to not be an actual physical place but something greater that is beyond or current physical comprehension (hence the need symbolic understanding) so when i see mention of it being up in the clouds, it throws up the symbolism flag in my mind.

No where is it written where heaven actually is. It only says that God, or Jesus is/has been covered by a cloud

 

[ERice2nd]

This probably deserves its own thread, but I respectfully beg to differ. Among non-Christian, I have found none that differs more from Christianity than Judaism.

they are still the same God just diferent traditions and rituals as Trevor says:

Yet, as a Christian, you know for a fact that Judaism came from God. The differences are simply man-made traditions and not wanting to let go of them.

Thats right.

 

[TrevorKamal]

No where is it written where heaven actually is. It only says that God, or Jesus is/has been covered by a cloud

I was refering to the "taken up" and the "into the sky".

 

[TricksterWolf]

I was refering to the "taken up" and the "into the sky".

Back in the day, people believed the Earth was flat, Hell was below the Earth, and Heaven above the sky. So of course it says that.

Trickster

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Back in the day, people believed the Earth was flat, Hell was below the Earth, and Heaven above the sky. So of course it says that.

Trickster

Well, in the Bible, some things may not appear the way we assume them to be.

For example, the Valley of the Bones. They are not "buried" but laying on the ground and when Jesus came to Israel, it was symbolically a "graveyard" of the living dead.

4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones [Whole House of Israel], hear the word of the LORD! 5 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. .........10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Reve 11:11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

 

[ERice2nd]

I was refering to the "taken up" and the "into the sky".

Thats how God let it appear to those who witnessed it. It symbolizes that God is higher then we are, greater, full of glory. also the reason he stays hidden behind the cloud is so his glory doesnt kill us with the sin it destroys

 

[tocis]

What initially spoke to you in your religious texts that made you think that it alone was the truth and that the others were fakes?

Nothing specific. It was an overwhelming, hardly describable feeling of being "home at last" when reading the Poetic Edda that made me leave christianity and join Asatru.

And as for other faiths, I don't assert that they are all false. Religion, after all, is always a matter of personal conviction, and what looks false to you may well look true to another person.

Now for some specific claims within a given religion it may well be reasonable to say "that's wrong".

 

[Snowbunny]

...or are you just following the religion you were born into without question and blocking all others from any real investigation? The reason I ask this is because I feel at odds with most of the civilized world in this regard. When I read the New Testament, or the Qur'an, or the Old Testament, or the Gita, or the writings of Baha'u'llah they are all equally impressive and i can't help but come to the conclusion that these came from something higher than normal men are capable of. If I were to believe in one only and shun all the others then I might as well give up on organized religion completely since there is no single one that shines any brighter than the others in my eyes. I seriously don't understand how some people can read the Bible and believe that it is the word of God but then say the Qur'an is not or believe the Qur'an and then call Baha'u'llah an imposter.

What initially spoke to you in your religious texts that made you think that it alone was the truth and that the others were fakes?

that is a really good question... i dont know...

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Originally Posted by TrevorKamal
I was refering to the "taken up" and the "into the sky".

Thats how God let it appear to those who witnessed it. It symbolizes that God is higher then we are, greater, full of glory. also the reason he stays hidden behind the cloud is so his glory doesnt kill us with the sin it destroys

Thanks for that post as it goes well with the Glory Cloud in the OT/OC.

For those that want to interpret Revelation they will have to go back to the OT/OC.

Here is what "clouds" symblize and in my view, that is what Christians in Christ are today:

Jeremiah 4:13 "Behold, He shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!"

Reve 1: 7 Behold, He is coming with Clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who "pierced/exekenthsan <1574> (5656)" Him. And all the Tribes of the Land will mourn/wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Reve 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on White Horses.