I need some quick, wise and biblical advice

[Emli]

God may have used numbers to direct your path in the past but it would be wrong to assume that he will continue use this approach. The Lord leads us primarily by his spirit and through the scriptures and the sooner you say goodbye to those numbers the better.
The bible tells us in Thessalonians; he who will not work let him not eat. God has given you a job; stay there, earn money, pay your bills, pay your debts and bless people with your resources. This is how you are going to be salt and light.

Leave Revelation alone for now. You need to be grounded in foundational scripture first, until you do you are better of staying away from Revelation and the like as they will only make you superstitious.

Thank you for your response. I've been asking God a lot about this for the past few days, and lots of times earlier. He has been very clear that it has been Him in the past. I'm going to need a definite answer from Him if He wants to stop. I want to be led only by the Holy Spirit, but the fears and anxiety that I'm struggling with keeps me from it today. My situation is not easy, and probably difficult to understand.

I know that the Bible says to work, and I want to work, I love working, but I have to be very picky of where I work. I've had jobs that I have had to quit from because I had to sin, and I've had to turn job offers down for the same reason. That's why I'm so careful today. I don't want to end up in that situation again, only because I'm stressed and can't wait for the Lord. I'm not giving up my morals for money. That is what Judas did. I did it before, but never again! I'd rather have nowhere to to lay my head.

I don't think reading Revelation will get me more superstitious though. Everytime I study it, I understand it more and more. I get further away from all the conspiracy theories, and more based on the actual meaning of the scriptures, and more focused on Christ. I think that it's probably important for all Christians to study it, and the OT prophecies, because it increases our understanding of false religion and the world system. God has absolutely been telling me to study it, so that I will understand it, and won't be scared and stressed and fall for all the false theories, American anti-Christs, date settings etc. that are circulating. I need to know the Truth.

Edit: I am grounded in foundational Scripture. I have been walking with Christ and studying the Bible for two years now. Not only have I read the Word, but I've done the Word. I've been through trials, I've been persecuted, lost friends, committed some really bad sins and been chastened and rebuked by the Lord, and I've learned from it. I am very close to Jesus. I may be going through a lot right now. My situation is hard. That doesn't mean that I don't know Scripture.

 

[ToBeLoved]

I don't think reading Revelation will get me more superstitious though. Everytime I study it, I understand it more and more. I get further away from all the conspiracy theories, and more based on the actual meaning of the scriptures, and more focused on Christ. I think that it's probably important for all Christians to study it, and the OT prophecies, because it increases our understanding of false religion and the world system. God has absolutely been telling me to study it, so that I will understand it, and won't be scared and stressed and fall for all the false theories, American anti-Christs, date settings etc. that are circulating. I need to know the Truth.

Revelation is the most confusing book of the Bible.

Do not build your faith on the least understood book in the Bible.

Study the four gospels, Romans, Corinthians any New Testament book EXCEPT Revelation.

Trust me.

 

[Emli]

Revelation is the most confusing book of the Bible.

Do not build your faith on the least understood book in the Bible.

Study the four gospels, Romans, Corinthians any New Testament book EXCEPT Revelation.

Trust me.

But I love Revelation.

I know that it's confusing, but that's why I love it. I love puzzles and riddles. And it's actually not that confusing, when you compare it to the rest of the Bible. Symbolism is something my brain understands. I don't really study it though, it's just something that is in the back of my mind. And I absolutely love the imagery of Jesus in it. It gives me joy, comfort and hope, and it makes me long for the future, instead of being afraid of the Anti-christ like a lot of other people. I'm not really building my faith on it, my faith is built on Jesus, but it is foundational for me. We are supposed to look forward to that day, and also be able to understand how the world works. And I don't think that we can truly understand the Gospel without reading it, or really know the divinity of Jesus. I was afraid of it for a long time, when I didn't know any better, but not today. Actually, my views of it, or rather my feelings, changed radically in the last few days. Something changed in my mind even today. The more I understand it, the less fearful I become. But don't worry. I've read, and continue to read, the rest of the New Testament as well. And hopefully, I'll soon have the time to finish the Old Testament.

 

[ToBeLoved]

But I love Revelation.

I know that it's confusing, but that's why I love it. I love puzzles and riddles. And it's actually not that confusing, when you compare it to the rest of the Bible. Symbolism is something my brain understands. I don't really study it though, it's just something that is in the back of my mind. And I absolutely love the imagery of Jesus in it. It gives me joy, comfort and hope, and it makes me long for the future, instead of being afraid of the Anti-christ like a lot of other people. I'm not really building my faith on it, my faith is built on Jesus, but it is foundational for me. We are supposed to look forward to that day, and also be able to understand how the world works. And I don't think that we can truly understand the Gospel without reading it, or really know the divinity of Jesus. I was afraid of it for a long time, when I didn't know any better, but not today. Actually, my views of it, or rather my feelings, changed radically in the last few days. Something changed in my mind even today. The more I understand it, the less fearful I become. But don't worry. I've read, and continue to read, the rest of the New Testament as well. And hopefully, I'll soon have the time to finish the Old Testament.

Well in the late 1990's some thought that God would end the world by year 2000 and there were a lot of books published with every theory of what different aspects and things in Revelation mean. It was crazy and people that have been studying the Bible there entire life had vastly different theories and timelines.

Well to make a long story short, now it is 2017 and the world is still going and there are just as many crazy and vast end-times theories and guesses.

It to me is not a good use of time for a Christian as we are called to love of both God and mankind. Spreading the gospel, helping the poor and widows, but not once has that ever mentioned trying to figure out how the world will end and who will be here with the tribulation and if there will be a rapture.

I have been down this road myself and it is interesting, but not very edifying, nor is it doing what Christ told us is most important.

With that said, the choice is obviously your own but I have been there, done that and it goes no where Christ has called me to be.

Be blessed.

 

[Emli]

Well in the late 1990's some thought that God would end the world by year 2000 and there were a lot of books published with every theory of what different aspects and things in Revelation mean. It was crazy and people that have been studying the Bible there entire life had vastly different theories and timelines.

Well to make a long story short, now it is 2017 and the world is still going and there are just as many crazy and vast end-times theories and guesses.

It to me is not a good use of time for a Christian as we are called to love of both God and mankind. Spreading the gospel, helping the poor and widows, but not once has that ever mentioned trying to figure out how the world will end and who will be here with the tribulation and if there will be a rapture.

I have been down this road myself and it is interesting, but not very edifying, nor is it doing what Christ told us is most important.

With that said, the choice is obviously your own but I have been there, done that and it goes no where Christ has called me to be.

Be blessed.

I agree with you on this. But I'm not studying to figure out when or how the world will end. Jesus clearly told us not to do that. There is so much more to learn from Revelation. I was blind about how the world works before I understood the meaning of the Beast and Babylon. And I've learned to discern the true from the false church a lot better. It just removes a lot of the traps and pitfalls that we face today.

Most of all, once I started reading and hearing about all of the false ideas about the Anti-Christ, rapture etc, I knew better than to believe in them. It saved me from a lot of trouble. I have a belief about the rapture, but it doesn't matter. I'll either die or be raptured before the tribulation, or be here to face it. No matter when and what will happen, we can know that God will make it happen, and it will be the absolute most wonderful event in our history! It's the finish line, when all of the chaos of this world will go away forever and we will be free. Revelation is the only book in the Bible that allows us to understand this fully, and take comfort in it through times of tribulation. We can know that the more sinful the world becomes, the more closer we get to enjoy absolute freedom with God. This produces perseverance.

 

[ToBeLoved]

I agree with you on this. But I'm not studying to figure out when or how the world will end. Jesus clearly told us not to do that. There is so much more to learn from Revelation. I was blind about how the world works before I understood the meaning of the Beast and Babylon. And I've learned to discern the true from the false church a lot better. It just removes a lot of the traps and pitfalls that we face today.

Most of all, once I started reading and hearing about all of the false ideas about the Anti-Christ, rapture etc, I knew better than to believe in them. It saved me from a lot of trouble. I have a belief about the rapture, but it doesn't matter. I'll either die or be raptured before the tribulation, or be here to face it. No matter when and what will happen, we can know that God will make it happen, and it will be the absolute most wonderful event in our history! It's the finish line, when all of the chaos of this world will go away forever and we will be free. Revelation is the only book in the Bible that allows us to understand this fully, and take comfort in it through times of tribulation. We can know that the more sinful the world becomes, the more closer we get to enjoy absolute freedom with God. This produces perseverance.

Just be careful it doesn't prevent you from reading the more important books.

 

[Emli]

Just be careful it doesn't prevent you from reading the more important books.

Of course I will. The Bible tells us to focus on Jesus always, especially when we see the signs of the end times. Luke 21:28 He told me last year to wake up, be a faithful servant and put oil in my lamp. I thought I was awake, because I was praying and reading the Bible, but I wasn't. So I will focus solely on the Lord now, and stay away from all worldliness, and that's what we all need to do.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hi,

I just joined this forum, and I hope that someone might be able to help me out. I need wise answers. I'm in a tough and weird situation. I live in Sweden, and since there aren't a lot of true Christians over here, I don't have anybody to talk to about this.

I just got a new part-time job, as a conductor for a train company. It seems like a great job. The company has good values and seem to treat both the staff and the passengers really well. I'm on day four of the training program, and next week I'll have to start working as a trainee.

This is the problem: The train is cashless, which makes a lot of sense, because of robberies, but the card I will have to use to login to the ticket machine has the number 666 on it, in my personal serial number. Also, when we practiced using the machine, the total sum of purchases after the first exercise was 6660 SEK (Swedish money). This freaks me out, which it should! Yet, I don't feel as alarmed as I think I should be.

God has previously used numbers to talk to me, and to warn me away from situations, especially when I was a new Christian. No numerology or anything, I don't touch anything occult. But He has, and it has always been biblical (like pointing me to the specific Bible verse in a specific circumstance). I know that He is in control of everything. This is obviously not a coincidence. Do you think that God wants me to quit? Or is He just warning me about something? I know I'm not accepting the mark of the beast if I use this card (I've studied Revelation and the old testament prophecies, so I'm not confused about what it means), but it feels waaaaay to close for comfort. I feel like I would be a part of the culture that is leading towards the beast system. And betraying God for money!

The number 42 appears everywhere at work too. I'm NOT looking for signs. And today, my teacher randomly said "train number 1317" right after I had wondered about Rev 13:17.

I became a Christian two years ago, and since, I've lost four jobs because of my faith, for different reasons. (This is NOT a Christian-friendly country). I've been unemployed for six months now, and I'm living off welfare. I get less then I need, and I'm in a lot of debt. If I quit my job or cause them to fire me, I will get no more welfare and no way to pay my bills, at all. I have no one to turn to for money...

I don't mind quitting another job for Christ, and I'm not afraid, not even if it meant I would end up homeless. It would be okay with me, even if it does feel irresponsible. But I don't feel convicted to leave. It might just be my survival instincts taking over, rationalizing, and somehow calming me, because I really need the money, or the enemy is trying to confuse me. I've been under a lot of oppression lately.

I really want to pay off my debts, because it's what the Bible says to do. So quitting a well-paid job seems like sinning. I always trust God will provide though. And it feels really wrong being paid for the days I've been there, without having worked at all.

There are other factors as well. I would indirectly be working for the Swedish government, which is probably one of the most anti-christian governments in the world. And I would have to work both late and early hours, which does go against Psalm 127:2 (I'm not legalistic, but it seems important somehow).
I would also have to wear a really fancy uniform, which I'm not sure is okay, and totally goes against my personality.
It seems really stressful, but I love stressful situations, because I have to rely on God so much (I absolutely cannot handle it on my own, but it always works out).

What should I do? I'm so stressed and confused right now, I've kind of stopped being able to think at all. I feel one thing, yet the signs say the opposite. I need a lot of help. And please pray for me.

Emelie

I would not be too worried. I used to work at a place where the serial number on one of the crates was 666. It used to make me worry, but looking back it was really not a problem. I think some people just do those things out of a twisted sense of humour.

The bible says that God will never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. Meaning he will not put us in any situation we can not handle. There would in my opinion be no danger in your job.

 

[GeorgeJ]

There is such a thing as being so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good.