My question is, how come Adam lived to 930 years when God told him he will die the day he eat of the tree? Please don't say Adam died spiritually because we should know the spirit don't die.
You may be right about the "day". But here is something to think about: Jesus said John 3:7 "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." of the Spirit of God, notice the capital "S". Born again implies that you had been born once in the past. So the "died Spiritually" idea seems logical.
Again, the spirit can not die, born again is to be filled with the Holy Spirit which was not there before and it's done by the act of God. Nothing we can do to earn it but God in His mercy and grace choose to give it to people from all nations and toughs of the world. These are people of the past, present and future. Imagine, God already choose people in the future! God is truly amazing. God bless you.
Simple logic: If the Spirit can not die, Why did Jesus say Ye must be born again of the Spirit of God. John 3:3-7 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." The capitol "S" is the spirit of God.
Born again is an act of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said you can feel the wind blow but you can't tell where it's from and where it goes. This means we have no part in receiving the Holy Spirit in order to be born again. It's all the act of God for those He choose before the world was created. God bless!
We must believe the Gospel for this age, (the age of Grace) to be born again is the Spirit of God. The New Testament say 241 times that you must believe to be saved. Jesus sent the Apostle Paul to the Gentiles; and gave him the Gospel to preach, and that is what you must believe to be born again of the Spirit of God.
HERE IS THAT GOSPEL: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" Question: Do you believe it?
Born again signifies you are like Jesus, a brother, void of sin. You can tell me you are born again, but you are still a sinner. That is self-evident. Does a leopard change its spots?
Besides, only 3 spirits are set in the lake of fire, not people. Spirits. I'm more inclined to believe that everyone gets everlasting life. Even bogey men like Stalin, Hitler, Judas etc, who did God's will by fulfilling prophesy, get in. Who standing at the great white throne, while trembling, will defy God? God is love, and God heals by changing our hearts and minds.
No, born again means your spirit was dead, and you were born again of the Spirit of God. and you won't be like Christ until after the Rapture when you will have become incorruptible, and put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Then, Philippians 3:21 "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Then we shall be like Jesus Christ the Lord.
I noticed you referenced a "rapture". What rapture, and when? Most every ill conceived Christians think they're getting an easy ticket out. Just a brief explanation, please.
This is the Rapture: 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
No, the spirit can not die. Born again with God's spirit means a person now has an added spirit and both spirits will fight within that person's soul. Paul explained it very well when he said the things he would do he do not and the things he would not do he do (Paraphrasing)
To have only the spirit of God, then one can not sin 100% because it's God's spirit. But, since we still sin after being born again, that shows our old spirit is still alive and well. God bless you
Feeling to reply to your post. I'm not sure what you mean in the first paragraph.
I am replying to your second paragraph. Now, believing "everyone gets everlasting life" is a nice thought and I myself do not want anyone to go to eternal damnation. Just as God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked and wants all to repent from the sins of this world and turn to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. I pray every night for everyone. Even the wicked people in this world just as the good. This does not mean "everyone gets everlasting life" or "no one gets cast into the lake of fire". God is Love but God is also just, pure, holy, righteous and hates sin. Full of everlasting mercy and lovingkindness for you and me. There is only One Judge and we will all be repaid, and held accountable, for our deeds here in this life. What will exactly happen after death I can not tell you. Though I will do my best to live a holy life, separate myself from the sins of this world, produce good fruit of the Spirit, and live for the Will of God to make Him happy. There is a difference of what is good and what is bad. Doing my best to follow in the footsteps of Christ so that I can be sure my name will be in the Book of Life. And not just guess. This is not just me saying this it is over and over in Scripture.
Here are a couple Scriptures that states the lake of fire is for more than just "3 spirits" as you assumed. Also that not everyone shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. If you have problems with these Scriptures I pray the Lord shall Bless you with understanding and truth.
Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 25:31-46
Revelation 20:11-15
Maybe read the book of Jude. Read through all the Holy Scriptures for wisdom. That your soul shall be saved.
The Bible warns of a second death, but no one is said to be in the lake of fire but the 3 evil Spirits. Eradicating these 3 Spirits, with the grace of God, will end sin forever.
What happens to the 5.6 billion people of the 7.6 billion total population who are not Christ followers, to include 2 billion Muslims, Jews and others that didn't know Jesus. Are they sent away, killed, or abandoned by God? No, the ones that didn't die in Christ are part of the second resurrection. God is the God of everyone, not just Christians. This is why everyone is forgiven of their sin, thanks to Jesus.
There are two pits, one pit is the same as hell these two are the grave, Job.17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit when our rest together is in the dust. Psalms 30:9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? Psalms16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. We see in Revelation death and hell are cast into the lake of fire there is no more need of the grave (hell), for there will be no more death. Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
The other is the bottomless pit, this is where the angels that left their first estate are and where Satan will be chained and sealed. This is where the beast will ascend from. Jude.1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Rev.17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Many think of heaven and hell as a place people go after this fleshly death the first death. Heaven for the saved and hell for the damned. This has crept in from the Pagan religions starting from the Hellenistic times Christianity started and continued in traditions. I believe the lake of fire is not on this earth because people are still on earth when the beast and the false prophet were cast in. I believe the Bible teaches the saved and damned sleep in the dust until the resurrection when this mortal puts on immortality. I hope this does not offend anyone but I feel this is what the scriptures say.
Well, the pit as referenced in the Bible relates to the grave and/or hell. Remember after God created the earth He said there is no man to till the ground? Now think, why would God need a man to till the ground? Well this goes to show that this creation was not meant to be paradise forever. By this I mean, there are 3 reasons why we till the ground. 1: to lay a foundation to build a house to live in. 2: to plant a garden for food to live and 3: so our offspring can bury us when we die.
This pit the Bible refers to is the latter. The LORD said "you shall surely die " referring to the finality of the knowledge of evil for the entire creation. Those who God choose from the foundation of the world will not remain in the grave for the dead in Christ shall rise first. Hope this helps. God bless you
So when Satan is thrown into the pit to burn forever along with his angles and sinners you think this will be "on" the earth? What about deut. 32:22 "unto the lowest hell", Job 11:8 "deeper than hell", Psalm 55:15 "let them go DOWN quick", hell is not a fire on earth!
Remember the writers of Deuteronomy and Psalms, Moses and King David respectively. Their concept of hell at the time of being inspired by God could only go as for as their knowledge level at that time will allow. We today understand much more about hell because of the New Testament's revelation as recorded by the disciples and apostles.
And in spite of our understanding, people still think hell will be somewhere out there from earth. God said you shall surely die, speaking to the entire creation including mankind and that's why everything lives and dies. God also was speaking to the evil spirit that He created when He said the word evil. Yes Richard, this is where hell will be and it will not be burning for ever and for ever. There is no way merciful God will keep people burning for ever. Only life in paradise with God Almighty will be for ever. If the earth will take 100 days to burn up, that's it. When the 100 days expires, the earth and all things in it will cease to exist. That's one of God's great mercy for sinners that we are and the opposite for those He choose who are also sinners because all have sinned even the unborn.
The Pit, from eternity's standpoint, is Satan's prison. It is the place of the dead. It is the entry place into eternal suffering apart from God, for those who so desired to be apart from Him.
If everyone is forgiven of their sins then hell will be empty or just for the devil and his angels. The second death mentioned in the Bible is for those who are not saved by God not choosing to save them for what ever reason only God knows. We all should pray and hope that God's chosen grace will be on us on the day of judgment. The way of that hope is through obedience, not that it's our obedience that saved us, but because we desire salvation from God.
I know it sounds complicated but actually it's not. The reason why it sounds complicated is because many out in the world are teaching that it's all up to us to get saved whenever we are ready. This is why young people say things like " I am going to wait until I'm old before I give my life to Jesus." Or they might say "I have to party some more before making a commitment to God." I repeat, God has choose His beloved from before the foundation of the world. God bless you
As I remember, I think I made that statement in reply to what Daren was commenting on. I was explaining that Jesus' death did not pay for all, the payment is only for those who God choose, past, present and future, and gives them to Jesus who said, "those that the Father gives to me I will in no wise cast out ." God bless you
Jesus did pay it all at Calvary, he completed his work, all the work. The hearers and the thirsty are invited into his righteousness, rest and peace by faith and repentance. The same, staying faithful, will know the presence of Holy Ghost while time remains.
Are you implying that Jesus did His part of the work of salvation and the rest is up to us in order to complete God's salvation plan? This is a common theme amongst church going people, but as I have explained earlier, God's salvation plan is God's and God's alone, no human being as no part to play or contribute to his or her salvation. None deserves His mercy and grace. Salvation is of 3 parts, 1- CHOSEN, 2- PAYMENT FOR SIN and 3- RESURRECTION. 1 has been accomplished from before the foundation of the world( CHOSEN). 2 Jesus PAID for the chosen over 2000 years ago and 3 is the final part to complete God's salvation plan; the RESURRECTION from death.
Man agree that they can not pay for their sins and they also agree they can not resurrect themselves, but they think they can at least choose to be saved. If that's the basis of being saved, then only the very, very few who have the chance to hear the gospel will have faith which cometh by hearing. This topic is a very long one therefore I'm writing about this very issue in my book. I hope you will get a copy so you can agree with God's plan. God bless you
As I have posted a couple times in this thread. I apologize again as the comment I made to you was because I thought you pertained to me when you stated "Richard" in a reply. It seems it was the other Richard.
Following the posts being made in this thread it seems you and I have the same interpretation of these things in the Holy Bible.
Replying to some that may think it's all up to them which path to take. Which is true to a certain point. We have been blessed with free will and choice. It seems to be that some may not keep in mind that God knows everything past, present, and future. He knew the end before the beginning. He knows exactly who His chosen ones are as you stated. As Jesus stated "I know my sheep, they know me and follow me"(paraphrasing).
One other thing is how many times the Lord made parables about the saved and unsaved. So unless they do not agree with the teachings of Jesus in the four Gospels one might say "everyone is saved". Like I stated in another post it is a nice and loving thought but this is not what is taught in the Holy Bible. As I know of six different parables, teachings, from Christ that differentiate there will be the saved and unsaved. And weather any one person knows it or not yet they have been chosen before we took our first breadth.
There are several places in the Bible that states "ALL" have the option of accepting or rejecting the gospel, all of us also have the truth of the knowledge of God built into us at production, it's on me if I choose to fly or deny!!!
You accept and obey, you will be blessed. You reject and disobey, you will be cursed. To be saved though, it's all the act of God and God alone. God did not do His part and then leave the rest for whoever can and whoever will. Salvation is not God did His now you do yours if you want to be saved. God bless you
Thanks for your reply. I read your post and see where you mentioned free will. We all have free will for everything that's available and convenient to us depending on our desire at that time. The only free will mankind don't have is the free will for heaven. We have all been placed to face God's wrath of death which is, heading for hell, but Almighty God foreknew the ones He choose to be with Him eternally. He choose them before the world began by His great mercy and grace. Just like we had no choice in being born in this world, same with being born again in God's Kingdom, the choice is and must be God's.
If that choice is left to you and me, how then will the millions of souls that perished in the womb from Adam till now and more to go the same way today and in the future, choose to be saved?
How will and how have the autistic members of the societies around the entire world be able to know what they are doing in choosing to be saved?
How will God judge the other nations of people who have no way of getting the gospel of the LORD JESUS due to their cultural up bringing and destain of other cultures?
How about those who lived and died before Jesus was even born?
And finally, what will happen to children who died very young before they could even understand reading and writing much less spell Jesus' name?
The answer is simple, God has chosen His own out of all these groups of souls including the rest of us who are not in these categories. For us to choose to be saved, then all will have to have equality in terms of hearing the word, accessible to the word and freedom to practice the word. I hope you see. God bless you
All things are possible with God. To choose who to be saved is one of God's great powers. Man don't and man can not possess such a power. I know this is hard to comprehend now because of all the years of being taught that salvation is up to you and me " us", whenever we're ready. If this is the case, then explain how those groups I mentioned, will be saved.
God does not have 2 salvation plans. The Bible says all have sinned including people in the future. The in the book of Revelation, God showed the prophet John all the people who will be in heaven and God gave them each a stone with a new name. Who then would God wait to see who will choose to be saved? God bless you
People can ask all kinds of 'what if' questions, but it doesn't imply anything. There's a lot we don't know and never will. But what we know is that God is loving and fair and He will judge everyone fairly. He knows who has and hasn't heard the gospel. Obviously babies/children who die young, or natives on remove islands who never heard about Jesus aren't going to be punished for something they never heard or understood. But He knows who has heard the truth, but rejected it. He knows the ones who call themselves Christians, but still reject obeying Him and instead follow evil while claiming to be 'saved'. God is fair. He knows all. The Bible already says most people will go to hell- wide is the gate leading there and narrow is the gate leading to heaven with God. God loves us enough to give total freedom of choice and freewill. He won't force anyone to spend eternity with Him if they don't want to.
Again, the spirit can not die, born again is to be filled with the Holy Spirit which was not there before and it's done by the act of God. Nothing we can do to earn it but God in His mercy and grace choose to give it to people from all nations and toughs of the world. These are people of the past, present and future. Imagine, God already choose people in the future! God is truly amazing. God bless you.
HERE IS THAT GOSPEL: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" Question: Do you believe it?
Besides, only 3 spirits are set in the lake of fire, not people. Spirits. I'm more inclined to believe that everyone gets everlasting life. Even bogey men like Stalin, Hitler, Judas etc, who did God's will by fulfilling prophesy, get in. Who standing at the great white throne, while trembling, will defy God? God is love, and God heals by changing our hearts and minds.
To have only the spirit of God, then one can not sin 100% because it's God's spirit. But, since we still sin after being born again, that shows our old spirit is still alive and well. God bless you
Feeling to reply to your post. I'm not sure what you mean in the first paragraph.
I am replying to your second paragraph. Now, believing "everyone gets everlasting life" is a nice thought and I myself do not want anyone to go to eternal damnation. Just as God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked and wants all to repent from the sins of this world and turn to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. I pray every night for everyone. Even the wicked people in this world just as the good. This does not mean "everyone gets everlasting life" or "no one gets cast into the lake of fire". God is Love but God is also just, pure, holy, righteous and hates sin. Full of everlasting mercy and lovingkindness for you and me. There is only One Judge and we will all be repaid, and held accountable, for our deeds here in this life. What will exactly happen after death I can not tell you. Though I will do my best to live a holy life, separate myself from the sins of this world, produce good fruit of the Spirit, and live for the Will of God to make Him happy. There is a difference of what is good and what is bad. Doing my best to follow in the footsteps of Christ so that I can be sure my name will be in the Book of Life. And not just guess. This is not just me saying this it is over and over in Scripture.
Here are a couple Scriptures that states the lake of fire is for more than just "3 spirits" as you assumed. Also that not everyone shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. If you have problems with these Scriptures I pray the Lord shall Bless you with understanding and truth.
Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 25:31-46
Revelation 20:11-15
Maybe read the book of Jude. Read through all the Holy Scriptures for wisdom. That your soul shall be saved.
God Bless.
The Bible warns of a second death, but no one is said to be in the lake of fire but the 3 evil Spirits. Eradicating these 3 Spirits, with the grace of God, will end sin forever.
What happens to the 5.6 billion people of the 7.6 billion total population who are not Christ followers, to include 2 billion Muslims, Jews and others that didn't know Jesus. Are they sent away, killed, or abandoned by God? No, the ones that didn't die in Christ are part of the second resurrection. God is the God of everyone, not just Christians. This is why everyone is forgiven of their sin, thanks to Jesus.
Those 3 creatures are the ones prophesied to appear at the onset of Tribulation.
There are two pits, one pit is the same as hell these two are the grave, Job.17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit when our rest together is in the dust. Psalms 30:9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? Psalms16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. We see in Revelation death and hell are cast into the lake of fire there is no more need of the grave (hell), for there will be no more death. Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
The other is the bottomless pit, this is where the angels that left their first estate are and where Satan will be chained and sealed. This is where the beast will ascend from. Jude.1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Rev.17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Many think of heaven and hell as a place people go after this fleshly death the first death. Heaven for the saved and hell for the damned. This has crept in from the Pagan religions starting from the Hellenistic times Christianity started and continued in traditions. I believe the lake of fire is not on this earth because people are still on earth when the beast and the false prophet were cast in. I believe the Bible teaches the saved and damned sleep in the dust until the resurrection when this mortal puts on immortality. I hope this does not offend anyone but I feel this is what the scriptures say.
God bless us, Ron
This pit the Bible refers to is the latter. The LORD said "you shall surely die " referring to the finality of the knowledge of evil for the entire creation. Those who God choose from the foundation of the world will not remain in the grave for the dead in Christ shall rise first. Hope this helps. God bless you
Remember the writers of Deuteronomy and Psalms, Moses and King David respectively. Their concept of hell at the time of being inspired by God could only go as for as their knowledge level at that time will allow. We today understand much more about hell because of the New Testament's revelation as recorded by the disciples and apostles.
And in spite of our understanding, people still think hell will be somewhere out there from earth. God said you shall surely die, speaking to the entire creation including mankind and that's why everything lives and dies. God also was speaking to the evil spirit that He created when He said the word evil. Yes Richard, this is where hell will be and it will not be burning for ever and for ever. There is no way merciful God will keep people burning for ever. Only life in paradise with God Almighty will be for ever. If the earth will take 100 days to burn up, that's it. When the 100 days expires, the earth and all things in it will cease to exist. That's one of God's great mercy for sinners that we are and the opposite for those He choose who are also sinners because all have sinned even the unborn.
I know it sounds complicated but actually it's not. The reason why it sounds complicated is because many out in the world are teaching that it's all up to us to get saved whenever we are ready. This is why young people say things like " I am going to wait until I'm old before I give my life to Jesus." Or they might say "I have to party some more before making a commitment to God." I repeat, God has choose His beloved from before the foundation of the world. God bless you
Man agree that they can not pay for their sins and they also agree they can not resurrect themselves, but they think they can at least choose to be saved. If that's the basis of being saved, then only the very, very few who have the chance to hear the gospel will have faith which cometh by hearing. This topic is a very long one therefore I'm writing about this very issue in my book. I hope you will get a copy so you can agree with God's plan. God bless you
As I have posted a couple times in this thread. I apologize again as the comment I made to you was because I thought you pertained to me when you stated "Richard" in a reply. It seems it was the other Richard.
Following the posts being made in this thread it seems you and I have the same interpretation of these things in the Holy Bible.
Replying to some that may think it's all up to them which path to take. Which is true to a certain point. We have been blessed with free will and choice. It seems to be that some may not keep in mind that God knows everything past, present, and future. He knew the end before the beginning. He knows exactly who His chosen ones are as you stated. As Jesus stated "I know my sheep, they know me and follow me"(paraphrasing).
One other thing is how many times the Lord made parables about the saved and unsaved. So unless they do not agree with the teachings of Jesus in the four Gospels one might say "everyone is saved". Like I stated in another post it is a nice and loving thought but this is not what is taught in the Holy Bible. As I know of six different parables, teachings, from Christ that differentiate there will be the saved and unsaved. And weather any one person knows it or not yet they have been chosen before we took our first breadth.
God Bless you brother.
:)
Thanks for your reply. I read your post and see where you mentioned free will. We all have free will for everything that's available and convenient to us depending on our desire at that time. The only free will mankind don't have is the free will for heaven. We have all been placed to face God's wrath of death which is, heading for hell, but Almighty God foreknew the ones He choose to be with Him eternally. He choose them before the world began by His great mercy and grace. Just like we had no choice in being born in this world, same with being born again in God's Kingdom, the choice is and must be God's.
If that choice is left to you and me, how then will the millions of souls that perished in the womb from Adam till now and more to go the same way today and in the future, choose to be saved?
How will and how have the autistic members of the societies around the entire world be able to know what they are doing in choosing to be saved?
How will God judge the other nations of people who have no way of getting the gospel of the LORD JESUS due to their cultural up bringing and destain of other cultures?
How about those who lived and died before Jesus was even born?
And finally, what will happen to children who died very young before they could even understand reading and writing much less spell Jesus' name?
The answer is simple, God has chosen His own out of all these groups of souls including the rest of us who are not in these categories. For us to choose to be saved, then all will have to have equality in terms of hearing the word, accessible to the word and freedom to practice the word. I hope you see. God bless you
God does not have 2 salvation plans. The Bible says all have sinned including people in the future. The in the book of Revelation, God showed the prophet John all the people who will be in heaven and God gave them each a stone with a new name. Who then would God wait to see who will choose to be saved? God bless you