Prophecy-Future-Whats gonna happen?

Plain_insane,

If you're still here, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you feel that way. I would assume you know the meaning of the word "discussion" and you accept that when you post here. Conversation is a two-way street and no one here has all the answers. But we do all have ideas, and just maybe we each hold a tiny piece of the puzzle that when put together will reveal one big picture. None of us can see what the big picture is just by looking at our own little piece, so maybe we should share our thoughts with each other - what do you think?

At any rate, not having everyone agree with you is no reason to take your toys and go home! That's just plain poor sportsmanship!

 

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Truestory--

I may be spinning this whole thing too far off topic but ....

Somewhere in Leviticus (I think), God reminds His people that He will punish sin to the fourth and fifth generations. In practice, I tend to find that scandal descends like bloodlines, and I can accept this interpretation. But I've also heard and read interpretations that say the people found various "irregularities" as manifestations of God's will, indirectly motivating the Leviticus 21 passage. (If the "deformed"--as one version puts it--are on God's bad side, they should not bring that ill sentiment into the Holiest of Holies.)

That one's hard to reconcile, logically. I'm interested in this point in your take on this. And also the following, which I consider the most apt demonstration of God punishing the descendant generations:

* Writer H.P. Lovecraft is best known as the 20th century's macabre king. Socialist, thinker, and obsessive, many of his stories are childhood nightmares retold. His education was unique because as a child he was always ill, dysfunctionally so. His father had apparently contracted syphillis froma prostitute in Chicago and returned home to bestow that gift to his young wife and, eventually, their yet-unconceived son. Lovecraft grew up twisted, alienated, and embittered, dying young and alone inside his visions, of stomach cancer, symptomatic of his chronic syphillis and other, resultant congenital health problems. He was the last male Lovecraft ... there are no more. The first time I read the story I thought of that idea ... that God had punished the wickedness right out of the world.

Twisted, eh?

thx,
Tiassa



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"Let us not launch the boat until the ground is wet." (Khaavren of Castlerock)

 

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There's a difference between wanting the end of the world to come, and wanting Christ to return. Be careful not to jump at cute little conclusions about what I say. If you want clarification, just ask. I'm saved so don't fret. Aren't you familiar with the bevy of verses that speak of the joy of Christ's return and how we should be waiting and looking and keeping watch? I am. Though I don't have them memorized, I know what I'm doing and I know what's in my heart, and I'm not sure if I see the need for you to judge that. Can you explain? I mean, I would have to be crazy to look forward to the devastation and the loss that will come. Let me ask you....why do you think I've been out here telling people that aliens are of Satan, and to give their lives to Christ before they are deceived by them for a year and a half or so?

Actually Searcher, when I read that scripture, I tend to think of Jim and Tammy Baker, and all of the "holier than thou" money grubbers out there who just looooooove to judge others. Some people use religion for money, others for power, or for fame, or for inclusion, or so they can feed their egos and rationalize their judgement of others. Do you think they may be missing the point?

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God loves you and so do I!

[This message has been edited by Lori (edited October 18, 1999).]

 

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Lori,

Well, Lori, according to your own standards, you must be crazy! For your convenience, I've pasted one of your statements below, which was posted May 26, 1999 11:06 PM:

I guess that as long as it changes your life for the better, everything's okay.

I believe I've had a glimpse or two of what's in your heart, Lori, and I'm not sure it's what anyone would define as being Christlike. Case in point (a message to generalhurrss, posted on May 29, 1999):

Well now, isn't that special? You don't think I should judge you? You mean like you were judging me earlier in this thread? I can't imagine you doing unto others what you wouldn't want them to do unto you! But then, I suppose the golden rule doesn't apply to you - you're saved, after all.

But do you know the thing I like best about your posts, Lori? It's that cute little signature at the end, "God loves you and so do I!"

 

Searcher & Lori ... I'm feeling the need to stick my nose into this one.

I find it interesting how humanity, regardless of faith or self-perceived lack thereof, consistently manage to act in a manner that directly contradicts what seems to be society's stated desire. In order to reduce crime, we pass dumb laws that make a million people criminals overnight. In order to secure peace, we bomb each other senseless.

Thus we hit several apparent paradoxes. Consider guns ... regardless of the 2nd Amendment, I think we can all agree that the bullet is no way to govern or advance a society. Yet who rules? In the end, it's the people who have guns. And if they don't have them when they come to power, they get them once they're installed.

Or a Simpson's episode of recent memory: When the mayor abandoned the town, a council of "learned citizens" replaces him as municipal authority. They pass laws to give people what they, the learned citizens, believe people want, yet the public don't want the laws. In the end, it seems, the people would rather have been governed by the stupid ... it's easier to work out logic based on preconceived notions. Is this idea that far off from reality?

So in the end, the peaceful, intelligent people (the adjectives do NOT go hand-in-hand), who might (MIGHT) have the tools to determine the sum of the public desire and enact it properly, don't. The best ideas get dragged down in irrelevant greed. What has this to do with anything? Everything.

There is a point when you have to yell, "Enough." Consider the Parental Music Resource Center. What else but an organization devoted to censorship could get Twisted Sister's frontman, Dee Snider, cussing and railing in front of Congress? While the conservatives said, "Your profanity does nothing to help your cause," the expressionists might retort, "At least we now have your attention."

But what happens when you are obliged to be peaceful? What happens when the act of yelling "Enough" diminishes your credibility in the eyes of the audience you hope to affect?

Modern Christians seem bound by this idea that God says they can't be angry, can't aggressively drive a point to its conclusion. In a sense, it's unfair. To the other, it's the Christian's choice to abide by that apect of their faith.

So what happens when one Christian feels, as a conscience issue, that another allegedly Christian viewpoint is wrong? It's easy if you're pushing for the ideas that are considered conservative ... you have two-thousand years of political bullying to reenforce your position. But if you're trying to change the system to reflect an idea that you feel is closer to the core philosophy ... what then? To use an example ....

(w/necessary apologies to Lori)

If ... if, if, if .... If a Christian (say, Lori) reads/hears/sees another person pushing an allegedly Christian idea that she finds corrupt, that's her credibility as a human being and as a Christian that's going down the drain as well. Non-Christians, myself included, have a nasty habit of flinging Christian principle back in the face of Christians as hypocrisy fodder. Some of us don't have that conflict with our own philosophies, since they often espouse comparatively little as definitive. But if, in this case, Lori is to see a post which purports to reflect Christianity, but which she feels does a disservice to the sum of her faith and to the evangelical potential of her church (evangelism is vital here) ... what is she to do? If she remains silent, she is misrepresented. If she speaks out, she's a hypocrite. The situation kind of sucks.

I'm watching this kind of fight carry out daily in this forum. I can't speak for other of Lori's quotes included in Searcher's posts; but I do know that the one beginning with, "See why I don't go to church, tiassa?" came up during an exchange on the issues reflected above.

Maybe I don't get along with various Christian viewpoints, and as long as logic is a standard in resolving philosophical dichotomies, it seems that atheists have Christians against the wall. But how long before they fight fire with fire? As long as it's not Dresden, Hiroshima, or Mrs O'Leary's cow all over again, how can I deny them that tool?

Perhaps we might turn that other cheek, but if armed, stupid people are really running the show, all that philosophy will get you is a bunch of Christians with their heads beaten in.

thx,
Tiassa

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"Let us not launch the boat until the ground is wet." (Khaavren of Castlerock)

[This message has been edited by tiassa (edited October 18, 1999).]

 

I am going to speak on the matter of the subject;

I don't want to sound pesimistic, but humanity is increasing its technology at 100 fold more than previous generations. By 2050 I predict that humanity will no longer exist. I know most of you disagree with me, and you have every right to. Population, destruction of enviroment, 3rd world nuke threats, terrorism, the list goes on and on. The odds of survival are very low.

Of course we have been lucky in the past. Cold war tensions almost brought modern civilization to an end. Our next major threats similar to this, is terrorism (which is MUCH worse). This is a "religous" forum, so I will give my opinion:

If god wanted to really "save" us, he would have let the great flood kill all humanity

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Our human nature can never be "fixed", we will never be able to stop our inovated thinking from destroying us. (we may be blown back into the farming village stage of civilazation, but not extinct) This may be the reason why we can't seem to find extraterrestrials (they are all trying to surpass the technological lump)

For those of you who believe god will help us through this mess ahead of humanity, I have one think to say to you:

Where is god?

Surely if god wanted to save humanity, wouldn't he want a head start?


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Copyright 1999 "My Opinions"

Blizzard Domain - http://go.to/blizzdomain

 

Searcher,

Oh man. I just read this whole post over. I've laughed. I've cried. I laughed so hard, I cried! I wonder why you're out here trying to "bust" me, but since ya did I'll offer up some explanation...I'm sorry dude, but the homo thing with the rapture verse just kills me! BAH! It's just hilarious, I can't help it. And I know that I can get pretty lippy sometimes too. Have you ever heard what Jehovah's Witnesses believe???? It's crazy. They think that they are the only ones going to heaven. Because they travel door to door and preach to people. That's taking scripture out of context in order to support the ego (which is of the flesh). Don't get me wrong, I'm all for preachin' the Word, but there is such a thing as taking scripture out of context to support something that is false. Like racists do, or like some preachers do with the scripture regarding "riches". That organized stuff can really put me on edge. I was really turned off by organized religion for some of those same reasons and others when I was young. I suffered alot because of that. Once I did finally get religion the hard way, I realized how detrimental organized religion can be SOME times. I thank God for the ministers of the Word out there. It particularly angers me though, especially as a Christian when people use the Word for something other than it's purpose. I'm sorry, I'm sorry if my choice of language offends you or anyone else. It's not intended to. In your case, I don't think it does really, I just think you like pointing out when I do something that the Bible says is wrong, because I say I'm a Christian. I am a Christian, and I'm a sinner, and I'm forgiven. I'll try to be nicer. And about the end....here's what I'm sayin'....you're right. No one should look forward to the end, to the loss, to the devastation, to the end of the chance for others. I have honestly prayed many times for mercy and for time and for the Holy Spirit to flood this earth and in the hearts of men so that they can see the truth. I pray every day for the salvation of others. Those who post on this board as a matter of fact. Who knows, maybe even you. *wink* As a matter of fact, I'm struggling right now in my own life because of my faith. Having faith, and following guidance from the Holy Spirit is not an easy thing for a girl like me to do. The more I pray and hear the Word, the easier it gets, but it is a fight. Really standing up for what's right, and giving your life to God is not easy in a world like ours; like mine. So yes, I look forward to the Millenium. I look forward to being with Jesus. But not at the expense of one single soul, and I trust in God to know the EXACT time. There's nothing any of us can do about that. We can just pray and spread the good news of Jesus. That's why I post here, ironically enough. I never said I was a good preacher, just a preacher.

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To All,

Brokaw reports tonight:

We're losing the east coast. The floods are continuing, there's pig poop everywhere. Like thousands and thousands of miles of rancid pig poop. Insurance companies are being blown out of the water; city planners and developers alike. Almost a direct quote "we calculate actuarial results based on a catastrophic occurance happening every 100 years or so, and now they're happening once a month." Or something along those lines. Then straight to the fires out west. Then to the renewed interest in nuclear defense due to increased threats. Nuclear war...what a concept. If you can't see God in a nuclear warhead, then I don't know if anything's gonna do it. Think about it. Don't you have to ask yourself the question WHY??? How did it possibly get this bad? That's when people get religion.

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God loves you and so do I!

 

Tiassa,

I'm not certain if you saw my response to Lori's "See why I don't go to church, Tiassa" message, which I posted October 12, 1999 at 8:11 PM (on my computer, it shows up as the last post on page 2). As I stated in that post, she completely missed the point of my message, and so her response had nothing to do with anything I actually said. Nor did it have anything to do with the intent of my post. Nor did she ask for clarification of my post before launching her missiles at me. And she really didn't refute what I had said about the social structure that would be in place in the end times (at least, according to the scriptures I had quoted), except to tell me I was weird and to warn everyone that this wasn't Christianity. I don't mind an argument, but I do prefer it to be a rational one, sans name-calling and swearing.

 

God is with us. You can recognize God after you allow yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God does not want to "save us" in the temporary physical sense which is alluded to... God wants to share with us spiritually, for all eternity, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit IF that is what we want. THEN it is up to us. We must use our free will to decide whether or not that is what we want. We were all saved through the gift of the life of Jesus Christ... Whether or not we accept the gift is another matter entirely. In a way, God gave us the tools and the information we need to save ourselves. God is and always has been very much "with us." The real question is "Where are we?" Spiritually, are we with God or against God?

 

Lori,

Okay - if you promise to play nicely then so will I. But that doesn't mean I won't post my ideas, however bizarre they may seem to you or anyone else. You are also free to post your ideas, as bizarre as they might seem to me or anyone else. If you don't agree with my ideas, you are free to refute them and offer whatever proofs you might have. I will do the same. I think that's what a debate is all about, hence the name of this forum. Agreed?

Oh, and by the way - I'm not a "dude".

 

I read the above exchange and asked the Holy Spirit to guide me to a helpful answer. I opened the Bible and this is the passage which I was led to immediately:

POWER OF THE TONGUE

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot's inclination wishes. In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.
Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh."


[This message has been edited by truestory (edited October 18, 1999).]

 

Double Overdrive,

This really belongs in World Affairs but...

Not so. Human nature can be fixed. It's the attitude that our behavior can't be changed and our lack of taking action that creates this paradox. The trouble is, taking action, whatever that may be(large or small) is too much burden for most people. They would rather lead their lives over-consuming, polluting, spreading hate and discrimination, and not thinking of or even being aware of the negative impact for society and the future of which they carry. I see this everywhere--it's called humanity. Fun, isn't it?

 

Isn't there a scripture that says something
to the effect not to be so quick to point
out what wrong a brother might be doing
when you have a plank in your own eye
Truestory?

 

Flash,

I guess if someone wants to focus their prayers and preaching to correcting the "serious issues" regarding profanity, then that may be a worthy cause. I personally don't see it, but none the less. I have bigger fish to fry. So pass the tartar sauce.

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God loves you and so do I!

 

Lori,
Yeah, I guess so. LOL
I guess to some that is more important than
intentions of the heart

 

Lori,

I'm not certain that Truestory was necessarily referring to your habitual use of profanity in your postings when she posted her message regarding the power of the tongue. It was my impression that she was gently reminding the both of us to mind our tongues lest we poison the entire body - which is a valid point. Truestory, can you please either confirm this interpretation or explain what you meant?

Or perhaps I am the one misinterpreting your post, Lori, as it was rather vague in its intent? Perhaps I could ask you to provide clarification, as you previously suggested?

 

Flash, Lori, Searcher:

I asked the Holy Spirit to guide me to a helpful answer to the above exchange. I closed my eyes, opened the Bible, put my right hand over a portion of the page, opened my eyes and forwarded the full passage along in the above post. The message came from the Holy Spirit (I was only used to deliver the message).

If it seemed gentle, or unfair, I cannot claim credit or responsibility. It was not my message. The message was sent by the Holy Spirit.

 

Yea, I can clarify. I mean that the whole reason that I post here is because there are people on this board and lots of them that are being abducted by aliens. They are spreading the end times deception. They are the end times deception. The new age religion that they are perpetuating is the one in the same one world religion of the Antichrist in the end times. THIS IS URGENT! I want to help. I want to argue this. I want to try to at the very least plant a seed of truth in these people's heads, so that they will remember what I've said after the rapture. And you know, I seriously doubt if they will remember the vurnacular of the message, but the message itself. My intentions are pure and of the Holy Spirit. My point is that one can cuss like a sailor, and if their heart is filled with the Holy Spirit, and their intentions are good, then only good messages will come. In a way, I've always talked this way, as I said, lots of people do, and I got into the habit from hanging around redneck guys and being a waitress. It has nothing to do with my message or with my intent. And let me add something that I haven't quite decided how to say. Hmmmm....if you wanted to preach the Word to someone who speaks Spanish, would you preach in Spanish or in English? I don't want to be the "special" girl, the "good" girl, the "holy" girl. I want to be the "real" girl, and I'm just laying it all out as real as I can. My intentions are only the very best, coming directly from the Holy Spirit. You'll witness my figs after I'm gone probably, but I have been told that at least some of you will be martyrs for Christ. That makes me so happy, though I wish that you didn't have to go through all of that. I wish that you could come with me in the rapture. Does that help any?

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God loves you and so do I!

 

Lori,

Lori - you're communicating with computer users here, which means we're not entirely illiterate. From what I see here, most of us seem to have a pretty fair grasp of the English language. It has nothing to do with being "special", "good" or "holy" - I see no need to speak "ghetto". It seems to me from reading many of your posts, you are quite capable of intelligent communication when you want to be, and no one here that I can see would benefit by the use of foul language. I suppose if you were raised in the ghetto, it would be easier to understand why you would speak that way. Is this the case with you, Lori? Is that what makes the ghetto approach more "real" to you?

Maybe you don't realize how arrogant this sounds, so I'll forgive you for assuming that you will be included in the few who are taken up in the Rapture, while the rest of us poor slobs will be left behind. Lori, this is the very attitude that turns people off when talking to Christians! Every single Christian I've ever spoken to has said the same exact things regarding the rapture, although they can't all agree whether it is all "born-again" Christians who will be included in that phenomenon, or only 144,000 of them, or whatever. Regardless, they all believe they will be among the raptured saints! And without exception (in my experience, at least), they assume that whoever they are talking to will be left behind! Seriously, if I didn't have the capacity to be amused by such human foibles, I would really be very annoyed by it!

 

Truestory,
Hmmm...know what..I prayed one time..opened
the bible and it said..Judas Iscariot went
out and hung himself.. Go figure...