Yet, Some More Questions

[Foofy]

Hello guys! Just a few more questions.

*How was going to hell for all the people that died before Jesus came fair for those? I'm assuming even those who were actually truly faithful and did sacrifices often went to hell as well, because Jesus could not make them "whole".

*This one I could be 100% wrong on, but I'll ask it anyways. In the bible, it talks about 1/3 of people in heaven leaving for hell. However though, I don't THINK exactly 1/3 did, because of how high the number of spirits in heaven was, but God is always right. Once again, it could be exactly 1/3, but..

*How does something spiritual like Adam and Eve sinning have anything to do with the physical body? My pastor told all of us (doesn't mean it's true though, so i don't know) that all of that is the reason why death, and disease and why sin came about. But that doesn't make sense, because their two different things. AND ALSO, if it is a reason for "death" and "disease", then that means that the first 8ish billion people on this earth would live forever, which means none of us would be here. There are totally studies for reasons behind diseases and stuff.

*This is totally me, but I don't feel any more fulfilled when Jesus came into my life, except for the first 1-2 days. I've been highly stressed ever since trying to be the best Christian that I can.

 

[Midst]

Hello guys! Just a few more questions.

*How was going to hell for all the people that died before Jesus came fair for those? I'm assuming even those who were actually truly faithful and did sacrifices often went to hell as well, because Jesus could not make them "whole".

This is one major reason why I strongly advocate people sticking to the Bible, because so much of "what people say is in the Bible" is injected into their ears instead.

All of this which you are talking about comes from people's interpretation of the Bible. It is tradition, in many cases, and it spreads like a virus.

So, it ends up as a strawman, as people love to rely on.

*This one I could be 100% wrong on, but I'll ask it anyways. In the bible, it talks about 1/3 of people in heaven leaving for hell. However though, I don't THINK exactly 1/3 did, because of how high the number of spirits in heaven was, but God is always right. Once again, it could be exactly 1/3, but..

No, it really does not. I take it you are trying to excise some part of the highly metaphorical and deeply mysterious Book of Revelation and make some kind of doctrine of Hell out of it. This should not be done.

I also take it someone did this first and taught you "this is what it says". Only, it isn't. Clearly.

Problem with interpretations is people can end up swearing by them, "It says this" once they have heard them. Even if it totally does not say anything of the kind.


All I will say about hell - though open for questions - is that Jesus offers eternal life. No one else does, nothing else does. There is punishment, called "hell" or "hell fire" or other such things. But deducing the meaning of that punishment is impossible for human beings and there is no reason to do so.

There clearly is punishment by God with the capacity of "burning" people in this world. But, even starting to talk about these things confuses people.

Consider also people are generally savage, merciless, and unforgiving. God is not. So, they believe what they want to believe. And they come up with systems of belief that involves horrific torture.

Not at all necessary.

The Bible also speaks of God relenting. Time and time again.

The Book of Jonah is a great case example there. The message Jonah had for Nineveh? No chance for repentance. Simply, "in forty days this city will be destroyed". Yet they repented, and the city was not destroyed.

If you want to be a friend of God, you want to move away from merciless fiction people insist on putting in Scripture. Don't be like Jonah who was so angry Nineveh was not destroyed he sat in anger for forty days.

*How does something spiritual like Adam and Eve sinning have anything to do with the physical body? My pastor told all of us (doesn't mean it's true though, so i don't know) that all of that is the reason why death, and disease and why sin came about. But that doesn't make sense, because their two different things. AND ALSO, if it is a reason for "death" and "disease", then that means that the first 8ish billion people on this earth would live forever, which means none of us would be here. There are totally studies for reasons behind diseases and stuff.

*This is totally me, but I don't feel any more fulfilled when Jesus came into my life, except for the first 1-2 days. I've been highly stressed ever since trying to be the best Christian that I can.

There is evidence that the world became corrupted in the beginning. However, the full reasons for that are not known. Consider that Adam and Eve were without knowledge beforehand, and were banned from the Garden lest they eat from the Tree of Life also and become like God.

So, the story is a little bit more strange then what your pastor was trying to explain.

Consider also spiritual ramifications of evil. The world is not a clock that works without tie ins to anything else. If anything, it is more like a clock in a dream.

As for fulfillment in Christ, that is your more serious problem. I would strongly suggest changing churches and having a personal, private religious searching. Not subjecting yourself to the shennagins of some huckster.

Read the bible on your own, in private. Later, find a church, when you have actually read it for your own self and can decide between fake hucksters or ignorant people and those who know better and treat the material seriously.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Foofy. God is Love and Jesus is Love, neither of them would send people to hell, without good cause. We have free will, and why would anyone choose to go to hell? Jesus told us what God wants from us, and it certainly is not too hard. In Matthew 22: 35-40: we are told: " the first and great Commandment is: Love God with all your hearts, with all your souls, and with all your minds. The second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself." What does God want from us? Jesus also gave two Commandments, on which hang all the Law and the Prophets: Love God and love our neighbour, God with all our being, and our neighbour as we love ourselves. Our neighbour are all around us: friends and enemies, treat all as we would love to be treated.
The Bible tells us: " Repent and be Born Again," shed all our selfish wishes and wants, and become loving and caring. God will approve and bless us,
God is our Heavenly Father, and God wants loving sons and daughters. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on Loving and Caring.
The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will help us on our way: JESUS IS THE WAY. God wants us all saved, and none in Hell.
In Luke 10: 25-28: Jesus is asked: " Master, what must I do, to inherit Eternal
Life?" Jesus answered: " You know the two Commandments: Love God and love your neighbour," do this and you will LIVE. God wants our love, freely given and NO tags attached. All we say and do, MUST BE FROM LOVE AND COMPASSION. Love is very catching, and before long, we will become the men and women which God wants. I say this with love Foofy. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[parsley]

Jesus died "once, for all" -- which should include those who came before.

He told a story ( Luke 16 ) of deceased: a poor neglected man resting with Abraham, and a wealthy man who had denied him help, enduring Hades.

"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.'"

That shows people already welcomed to a better place, if they had good intents. The basis for judgment was similar to standards we hold in our society.

There are also traditions of all people resting with their forefathers underground, in Sheol.


2 Samuel 22:6
The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

Proverbs 15:11
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of men!


What Christians tell you now are what they have gathered, to the best of their knowledge. But we cannot fairly give you expert advice on something we don't know for certain and haven't experienced.

It's not something I'd want to roll the dice with, though.

 

[Bobinator]

Good questions.

According to Paul the Apostle, God judged the Gentiles according to their own laws, and how they follow the Laws of God even though it’s not written in their own laws.

Romans 2:[12]- “ For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;” [13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.[14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Rev. 20:13- “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

Keep in mind that the Bible doesn’t say exactly who went to Heaven and Hell in the Old Testament. In fact, Paradise didn’t exist before Jesus ascended. We learn from scripture, particularly in 1Samuel28 and Luke 16:22 that there was a place under the earth called Abraham’s bosom, where God’s people were guarded in death, until Paradise was formed under the new covenant.

Jesus also descended below the earth in Ephesians 4:9 and 1Peter 3:[18], which says, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:[19] By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;[20] Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

Granted, there are many things God hasn’t told us yet through scripture. But to sum it up, God’s judgments are righteous and we are to trust in Him.


Regarding the 1/3 that fall from Heaven, you must be referring to Revelations 12:4 where the Dragon’s tail drew 1/3rd of the stars from Heaven. You are correct to refer to them as saints losing their salvation. 2Thess.2:3 says, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

Many will be deceived in the last days by the anti-Christ spirit, and by different gospels being preached in the world. Revelations hasn’t been fulfilled yet, but we are certainly entering the last days.

Concerning Adam and Eve, they were created with a spirits, souls and bodies. When they yielded to the flesh and sinned, their spirit dominance died and they realized for the first time they were naked. Imagine that! Up until that point in time, their flesh didn’t hold much relevance. Since the, we have been held captive by the flesh and its carnal desires. Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus came to set us free and to teach us to follow after the Spirit to lead us back to the Garden of Eden.

 

[aiki]

Hello guys! Just a few more questions.

*How was going to hell for all the people that died before Jesus came fair for those? I'm assuming even those who were actually truly faithful and did sacrifices often went to hell as well, because Jesus could not make them "whole".

On what basis do you assume that all those who died before Jesus' redemption of humanity was accomplished went to hell? Do you think Abraham, and Moses, and King David are all in hell?

*This one I could be 100% wrong on, but I'll ask it anyways. In the bible, it talks about 1/3 of people in heaven leaving for hell. However though, I don't THINK exactly 1/3 did, because of how high the number of spirits in heaven was, but God is always right. Once again, it could be exactly 1/3, but..

This, I think, you should put on the back burner for a while - maybe a long while - and focus upon more useful and necessary spiritual truths, principles and practices.

*How does something spiritual like Adam and Eve sinning have anything to do with the physical body?

Why do you think Adam and Eve's sin was solely a spiritual event? They both had physical bodies with which they enacted their disobedience in Eden. And the consequences of their sin had a very distinct physical aspect.

My pastor told all of us (doesn't mean it's true though, so i don't know) that all of that is the reason why death, and disease and why sin came about. But that doesn't make sense, because their two different things.

Does it make sense that a person's thought and desire to plant an apple tree could result in the existence and growth of an apple tree in their yard? A thought (to plant an apple tree) is utterly different in substance from an actual physical thing (like an apple tree), yet it is the thought that gives rise to the tree coming to exist in the yard. It doesn't correspond to reality, then, to disconnect the immaterial from the material simply because they are not of the same stuff. The immaterial profoundly affects the material all the time (and vice versa).

AND ALSO, if it is a reason for "death" and "disease", then that means that the first 8ish billion people on this earth would live forever, which means none of us would be here. There are totally studies for reasons behind diseases and stuff.

It sounds like you're implying that the first 8 billion people on the planet did not sin. Is this right? If so, why would you think this?

We know that various toxins can produce cancer in us, and bad eating habits can cause a variety of health issues, and that simply getting older results in a breakdown of the human body. But why should this be the case? Why are we susceptible at all to disease and death? The Bible doesn't explain how diseases work; it explains why, in a universe created by a good and loving God, there is disease and death in the first place. That explanation points to our sin, our rebellion against God, our exertion of our self-will, as the fundamental reason why we get sick and die. So, then, explaining how diseases work does not explain why there is disease to begin with. Science and medicine make the former explanation and the Bible makes the latter one.

*This is totally me, but I don't feel any more fulfilled when Jesus came into my life, except for the first 1-2 days. I've been highly stressed ever since trying to be the best Christian that I can.

Your sense of being fulfilled will increase as your relationship with Christ deepens and matures. The two things go hand-in-hand. There is no fast-food spiritual living, though. You cannot have spiritual maturity and the joy and fulfillment that goes with it instantly.

Selah.

 

[Mediaeval]

Using the example of Abraham, Romans 4 shows how people were justified before Christ's coming.

Have you read the book of Proverbs yet? There is a lot of practical wisdom there for daily living in Christ.

 

[jannikitty]

You need a good youth pastor and group to join, fellowship in a bible believing church, guidance in the scriptures, and to start praying on a regular basis no matter how you feel. Becoming a Christian involves following Jesus. You need help in understanding what that means for you and you will be blessed in a good church and youth ministry atmosphere. Hopefully, you are finding Christian friends not just online but in your non-cyber space world.

prayers.

 

[parsley]

Revelation 12:4

NAS – And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

This is a very symbolic passage, and its interpretation is not made clear -- so we can't say for sure that stars are not literal, or solidly mean something. When a prophecy is unclear, we reflect on it, research, apply it to situations... but we are not required to consider it doctrine or law. It's helpful information.

ἀστήρ astar -- "star as strown over the sky"

1 Cor 15 uses the word again with literal moon and sun -- "star differs from star in brightness."

The word ουρανου used in Revelation for heaven refers to the visible place surrounding Earth where stars are found.

So it could be a meteor shower, a cataclysmic event, another dinosaur extinction.

People have presented research showing constellations for the woman and the dragon, that implies a space event indicates to us the arrival of upcoming events on earth.

Signs Of Heaven » Blog Archive » The Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation (one example.. just search for others)

I don't THINK exactly 1/3 did... but God is always right.

John wrote down what was revealed to him through an unusual supernatural experience. This writing was passed around and later put into the compilation we now call the New Testament. I don't think 1/3 was ever meant to be a measured, precise number.

*This is totally me, but I don't feel any more fulfilled when Jesus came into my life, except for the first 1-2 days. I've been highly stressed ever since trying to be the best Christian that I can.

I have found that when I've involved in a group of people who are invigorated over getting something meaningful done, that feeling is there. I can be more comfortable by myself, working on what I want to do... but the energizing comes with human contact or new challenges.

Be careful that you are not striving too much on following rules -- that is not what our life in Christ is supposed to be about. Sure, there are things we need to correct in ourselves... but much of that is done with His Spirit's help.

When a toddler is playing with a knife, an adult might race over to grab it out of their hands... but that effort to do things right can be dangerous. Instead they will distract by waving a toy or juice cup that will cause the child to reach out and drop the knife.

Distract yourself. Instead of scowling no, no, no... give yourself meaningful things to do. Help people out, teach people what you know, do some heavy lifting.