What does it mean when bad things happen?

1stcenturylady

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It doesn't have to be, that is the point. Perhaps you should be asking, 'why did Jesus have to take our punishment?' or 'why is God so loving that He offers eternal life as a Free Gift on account of His Son?'
Purgatory? That is a man made concept. Maybe you should ask that to those who started the concept. Purgatory is not an option in God's revealed plan.

I'm not sure where the belief in purgatory came from, but I seem to recall the concept was out of one of the books of Maccabees. It's been years since I read them.
 
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I'm not sure where the belief in purgatory came from, but I seem to recall the concept was out of one of the books of Maccabees. It's been years since I read them.
That's true, part of the Apocrypha, man made, not inspired by God.
 
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Pilgrim Heir

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I'd hardly call hell "steadfast love". It's like having a gun held to your head and the would-be shooter says that they won't shoot you if you love them.

Job and Joseph did not go to hell. Nowhere does this person state that God loves those who are in hell. I tend to agree with you, God loves those in heaven, like Job and Joseph, which is what the person you quoted wrote.
 
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Pilgrim Heir

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We are all sinners and the only reason God does not send us all to the lake of fire this very instant is because He is merciful. We deserve hell for eternity, but thanks be to God Christ has rescued us from that misery. Let me second what somebody else already wrote; read Job for a better understanding of God´s sovereignty.
 
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Your Alli

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Since reaching out to christianity, my life has gotten better. The problem is i cant help by link every good and bad thing that happens to me, to God.

For example things are finally going great with school, grades and relationships. However, on my way to school my exhaust broke off, dragged it in to student parking, and now im stressing getting to school. Luckily spring break starts saturday, so i have some time to figure it out. One problem is the money i know this fix will cost me. I tell myself im wrong, but i cant help but to feel like this has to mean something. Why things always go bad once they go good?

Are there any bible passages to help me with these thoughts?


Bible passages ..?

Sorry, yes ... You should link everything to God. He knows your now, your entire timeline and He was there at the very beginning.

As to scriptures,

All those who cling to Christ which you should, frustration must be overcomed, therefore happenings occur.

To take strength,
Remember Joseph, great things was in his future, yet he did go through a few ordeals.

David ... The promised King of God's people, had to preserve his life in battle and against other unforeseen happenings.

And last,
Christ ... What occurred to Him, no one will ever have to endure, although His eternal prize is ruler of all humanity.

So finish school and finish strong.

Your Alli
 
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1stcenturylady

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That's true, part of the Apocrypha, man made, not inspired by God.

I agree, but Catholics believe them to be inspired. Just pointing out where the belief in purgatory began. To Catholics I would just warn them to always compare any beliefs to the Bible (and not just Catholics but any denomination). Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. He also said, it is appointed unto man once to die, and then comes the judgment. There is nothing to be earned after we die by serving time in purgatory. There is no coming back to try to be better the next time around either, for those who believe in reincarnation. That doctrine of demons started about 400 years after Noah by Semiramis, the first Satanic High Priestess, the widow of Nimrod, who got pregnant and claimed it was not by man, but that her son, Tammuz, was Nimrod reborn. Since that time, every pagan nation has had mother and son goddesses, such as Venus and Cupid to name one pair.
 
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CrystalDragon

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We are all sinners and the only reason God does not send us all to the lake of fire this very instant is because He is merciful. We deserve hell for eternity, but thanks be to God Christ has rescued us from that misery. Let me second what somebody else already wrote; read Job for a better understanding of God´s sovereignty.


Question though: WHY? WHY do we all deserve to be tortured just for existing?
 
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1stcenturylady

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Question though: WHY? WHY do we all deserve to be tortured just for existing?

Personally, I believe that hell was made for Satan and his angels. They have immortal spirits, thus they will suffer forever. But humans put on immortality when we are saved, but that is to live forever with God. I don't believe unbelievers will suffer in hell. We will be destroyed like the chaff is burned up and no longer exist. I do believe until the lake of fire, the unsaved dead are in what is called outer darkness and alone.
 
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mike c

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Personally, I believe that hell was made for Satan and his angels. They have immortal spirits, thus they will suffer forever. But humans put on immortality when we are saved, but that is to live forever with God. I don't believe unbelievers will suffer in hell. We will be destroyed like the chaff is burned up and no longer exist. I do believe until the lake of fire, the unsaved dead are in what is called outer darkness and alone.
 
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littlebopeek

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Why would our punishment have to be eternal hell in the first place, rather than a purgatory-ish prison? Hell wouldn't be an option if God hadn't created it.

As for the "Purposes of This Room", apologies, I didn't know—I usually just come to threads by the New Posts and come to ones with a title that interests me and I don't always pay attention to what section they're in, sorry about that!
That's a great question...why - WHY would a loving God create a place of eternal torment...AND - give the keys to that place to SATAN and let HIM rule over all those who were lost and mislead by him???? Maybe because Hell is an invention of imperfect humans and pagan ideology that was adopted by the church. Here is an excerpt from a very well researched article, which you can find online by searching "Eternal Punishment NOT found in the Greek New Testament" and "what the hell is hell". This quote is from the first title:

"The entire concept of eternal or everlasting punishment hinges primarily on a single verse of Scripture-- Matthew 25:46. This is the only place in the entire Bible where we find these two words together AND only in some Bibles. There are over a dozen English translations which do NOT contain the concept of "eternal punishment" on ANY of their pages, NOR the pagan concept of Hell. The Greek form for "everlasting punishment" in Matthew 25:46 is ”kolasin aionion." Kolasin is a noun in the accusative form, singular voice, feminine gender and means "punishment, chastening, correction, to cut-off as in pruning a tree to bare more fruit." "Aionion" is the adjective form of "aion," in the singular form and means "pertaining to an eon or age, an indeterminate period of time."

Ghenenna and Sheol were paganized as well - they went from meaning an actual pit of fire destruction that people used for their TRASH, to an entire WORLD with levels and it's own KING?????????? What happens when you burn up your trash? It's gone. It doesn't exist anymore. Just like being eternally CUT OFF from God, as the accurate translation of the Greek words at Matthew 25:46 also says. If God Almighty was not LOVING and CONSISTENT and RIGHTEOUS, with PERFECT wisdom and justice - then sure, maybe he would come up with the idea of tormenting those who rejected Him just to spite them, but that would be contrary to His perfect nature. Which - yes, will REMOVE those who choose not to follow His principles, principles that are there for OUR benefit - not His, as He is already perfect....but - here are a couple things to consider:

If God created hell, would He have said THIS at Jeremiah 19:5: "They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!" NLT

If YOUR parent put you in a burning OVEN when you made a mistake, would you want to draw close to them??? Would you consider them a loving parent, with consistent rules that made SENSE???? If God told us in Genesis that Adam's sin for condemning the ENTIRE human race was to return to the dust...why would He later create a an even WORSE punishment for those of us who were born into sin THROUGH Adam??? So then, when you READ this scripture at Jeremiah, and you reflect that even God himself say that this NEVER came into his mind, what is more consistent and unchanging? That God will eliminate unbelievers (including Satan) - take them out of existence, return them to the dust as He did with Adam....? Or - decide to adopt the PAGAN custom and concept of an eternal place of torment RULED by the one who tempted them all? REALLY??? Isn't that kind of REWARDING Satan??? Let's give SATAN a whole WORLD to rule, with all the loyal subjects he was able to convince to follow him................:confused:

This is the God of the Bible we are talking about - the one who REPEATEDLY and without fail, condemned any and ALL pagan rituals, idols and customs. The God who showed us through His Son what REAL LOVE is. This is a God you think would hold a gun to your head.....? :( Are you SURE you are directing your frustration at the correct entity? Maybe, just maybe, we should reflect on who might benefit from portraying God as an erratic, petulant egomaniac. Who is trying to lead people away from God. Who might RELISH and REJOICE at the prospect of not only turning all the people of the nations against God, but even managing to create a false and fearful worship of a perfect and loving Creator. Even going so far as to insert pagan concepts into His Holy Word...and even if you want to debate the actual doctrine of a place of eternal torment, the very real fact that the Greek word HADES was used in place of the GRAVE multiple times in the New Testament isn't debatable. HADES is NOT a Christian concept AT ALL and to use it interchangeably is not only the very definition of adopting pagan customs, it is defiling the sacred word of God Himself. Revelation 6:8 - freaking biblehub cross reference that verse if you are so inclined. DANG - at least give the Aramaic Bible credit, along with a few others for NOT defiling God's Holy Scriptures with that. But - think about that for a moment. No one even NOTICES that kind of subtle stuff, it's part of what we accept as normal, even in sincere Christian circles attempting to adhere to Christ's teachings. Why not just use the original word GRAVE??? Why - maybe because that wouldn't scare people away from God............:oops: Gee, I wonder who would like THAT...........? :(
 
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mike c

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I don't have an answer to why bad things happen. I've had a nasty jaw pain for several weeks. I've asked God to reveal why this is going on, but maybe this is something I'm not meant to understand. To me, being
a Christian is about following Jesus and that's what i need to focus on.
In my Bible study we've been focusing on Galatians 5:22-23-the fruits of the spirit -being like Jesus- growing in love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness,faithfulness,gentleness,and self-control. It can be hard to focus on Jesus in the midst of trouble
 
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littlebopeek

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Since reaching out to christianity, my life has gotten better. The problem is i cant help by link every good and bad thing that happens to me, to God.

For example things are finally going great with school, grades and relationships. However, on my way to school my exhaust broke off, dragged it in to student parking, and now im stressing getting to school. Luckily spring break starts saturday, so i have some time to figure it out. One problem is the money i know this fix will cost me. I tell myself im wrong, but i cant help but to feel like this has to mean something. Why things always go bad once they go good?

Are there any bible passages to help me with these thoughts?
To answer your question directly, here are some bible passages that help me to understand more both why bad things happen and how God feels about it. I hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

Ecclesiastes 9:11 "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all." AJKV Even in the bible, we learn - S*** happens :p

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." ESV So we all have to endure difficult times in life and THAT is when we need to lean on God, when He can help us shoulder our burden, our normal life's burdens :sparklingheart:

2 Corinthians 4:4 "Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God." NLT More the "A" part of this scripture - acknowledging who has their hands in the pie down here...:(

1 John 5:19 "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." ESV Same as above. And - even though it doesn't really seem like Satan actively does stuff like make an exhaust break off, he CAN use your frustration with the situation to try to break your healthy relationship with God. So it is how we RESPOND to the normal trials of life that can be affected because of Satan's influence in this world.

James 1:13 "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. " ESV

Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." God wants us to lean on Him when bad things happen, to sincerely seek His comfort.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all of you who labor and are forced to bear burdens, and I shall give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am peaceful and meek in my heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light.” Aramaic Bible in Plain English. Again, Christ WANTS us to lean on him when bad things happen, but He is not the cause of those bad things...

While these all aren't necessarily "encouraging", they do help to keep me from blaming God or asking God "why???" when bad things happen:twohearts:
 
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That's a great question...why - WHY would a loving God create a place of eternal torment...AND - give the keys to that place to SATAN and let HIM rule over all those who were lost and mislead by him????
You have questions because you are not reading the Bible but rather are listening to fables about the bible.
God did not give one key to satan, neither will satan rule over anyone in hell. If you think so, please give us the reference.
 
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toLiJC

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Since reaching out to christianity, my life has gotten better. The problem is i cant help by link every good and bad thing that happens to me, to God.

For example things are finally going great with school, grades and relationships. However, on my way to school my exhaust broke off, dragged it in to student parking, and now im stressing getting to school. Luckily spring break starts saturday, so i have some time to figure it out. One problem is the money i know this fix will cost me. I tell myself im wrong, but i cant help but to feel like this has to mean something. Why things always go bad once they go good?

Are there any bible passages to help me with these thoughts?

if there is evil in the world, then this means there is great enough spiritual wickedness therein, which is done especially in the form of ostensibly holy religion(s), because the spiritual unrighteousness/lawlessness/wickedness is the one that is the cause and (the) source of all other evils, just remember that the first four of the ten commandments are entirely spiritual - the worshipers must not have other gods besides the true One (Exodus 20:3), they must not create any spiritual theory("graven image") or spiritual practice("likeness") in connection/conjunction with any thing that is either in the "heaven", in the "earth" or in the "sea/water", they must not revere such things, nor serve them (even if not they but someone else created them) (Exodus 20:4-6), they must not use the faith for unclean/self-interested/bad purpose(s) (Exodus 20:7), they should keep in mind and take into account the fact that God has against His Will/of necessity fallen into a centuries-long state of incomplete wakefulness since the seventh day after He created all the universal creation in six days so that they can sanctify the creature(humankind), in principle they are free to do every thing with which they don't cause harm or suffering to their neighbor(cohabitant), but while practicing the faith they must be careful lest they defile the creature, because God did not-in-vain bless and hallow the time during which He will be in a state of incomplete wakefulness (Exodus 20:8-11), because the first human listened to the other god, the wicked one, and began to practice the faith according to the spiritual theory and practice that the wicked one provided for them, and thus used the faith for unclean purpose(s), and defiled the creature... (Genesis 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-14), and all this is a witness to the fact that the spiritual unrighteousness/lawlessness/wickedness is the one that is the original sin and the very sin...

Blessings
 
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JackRT

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I don't have an answer to why bad things happen. I've had a nasty jaw pain for several weeks. I've asked God to reveal why this is going on, but maybe this is something I'm not meant to understand.

A prudent course of action would be to say a prayer and then see a doctor or dentist. Your body is telling you something. Listen to it.
 
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littlebopeek

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You have questions because you are not reading the Bible but rather are listening to fables about the bible.
God did not give one key to satan, neither will satan rule over anyone in hell. If you think so, please give us the reference.
errrr...is sarcasm not allowed on the forums? :eek: It never occurred to me that someone wouldn't know that i was pointing out how ludicrous that sounds but yeah, it changes the context entirely :p But - i DID go into extensive detail in the remainder of my post and included scriptural references, not sure if you read that far so you could reply in kind, but it would help ME understand more where you are coming from if you did ;)
 
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outlawState

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what exactly/specifically haven't you understood?!

Blessings
The whole post. From the first sentence to the last sentence.

"If there is evil in the world, then this means there is great enough spiritual wickedness therein, which is done especially in the form of ostensibly holy religion(s), because the spiritual unrighteousness/lawlessness/wickedness is the one that is the cause and (the) source of all other evils,"

What are you talking about? There is not one evil that is the source of other evils. Evil comes from the sinfulness (i.e. proclivity to sin) of the human heart and listening to the devil; and because sin is in the world as the result of the fall. You cite no authority for what you say, and your words are so imprecise as to render whatever you're trying to say unintelligible.
 
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