And, and isolated area of the Oregon coast? I must confess, I'm jealous! I have a real soft spot for isolated coastal areas.
I was in Port Orford. One day was spectacular weather, none of the days were bad. I don’t understand how someone can go to a place like that, and there are many such beautiful places on this earth, and not see the work of a creator.
I am going to continue working on the S. Oregon coast for the rest of the month.
Gods judgment falls upon the wicked, it is not a good thing.
I disagree. It is the wicked who most need God's judgement! ...
You are confusing judgment with chastisement. God chastises His children. If there is a sin that we don’t seem to want to give up or we can’t get victory over God chastises us.
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
He loves His children, parents chastise their children when they misbehave.
The unsaved have a different father, their father is the devil.
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
For those that God intends to save and for those He has saved chastisement is used to bring repentance. It hurts.
There is no pain in the slaying in the spirit concept, unless no one catches you and you hit your head. It is a non-lethal substitute for the total inhalation of Gods fire coming down from heaven.
God uses many words to show judgment.
Stoning, flood, fire, and falling backward all refer to judgment. They are not designed to change behavior they are usually fatal.
Falling backward can be fatal as in 1 Samuel 4:18. It is also used as a non-fatal substitute. It is a way to show the wickedness of the people with out totally destroying them.
John 18:3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Here is a similar situation in the OT
2 Kings 1:9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
A band of men came to take Jesus. A band of men came to take Elijah.
They had no right in either case. Elijah responded by calling down fire from heaven.
2 Kings 1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
The fire consumed them. I am not sure why you think being under Gods judgment would be good.
Jesus had every right to do the exact same thing. Earlier the disciples had even suggested he call down fire from heaven.
Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
If Jesus had called down fire He never would have gone to the cross.
Luke 9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
It was necessary to show Gods judgment on those men that came to take Jesus but fire from heaven would have been counterproductive. Jesus invoked a substitute judgment, that did not have to be lethal.
It is still a judgment and not a chastisement.
By Jesus causing them to fall back he was saying:
You have just been consumed by fire.
Satan was not able to call down fire from heaven.
1 Kings 18:24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
1 Kings 18:29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
Satan as Baal failed to bring fire down from heaven.
Then Elijah went to work.
1 Kings 18:37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
1 Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
The bible says Satan will call down fire from heaven.
Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
He looks like a lamb, it seems to be the gospel. He does great wonders, the signs and wonders churches. He makes fire come down from heaven---he is able to perform the substitute.
And he does it in the sight of men.
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
When you see this happening are you going to be like the second captain that came for Elijah?
2 Kings 1:12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
Or are you going to be like the third captain?
2 Kings 1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
Regardless of what Revelation 22:18-19 refers to, I would certainly agree. Note that I'm not talking about adding material to the bible; what I am saying is that far above and beyond the bible, I need God.
If something I have said suggested we don’t need God I apologize.
The bible is God breathed. It warns us that many that think they are worshipping God are not.
Many that called Jesus Lord, and felt they were working for Him, were not.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Bibliolatry? Is that in the bible?
Not as such. But "idolatry" is; I'm just being a tad more specific.
I do not worship the bible but I do trust the bible. I understand the translators are less than perfect as are the translations. I understand I am not perfect as are my understandings. When we seek truth diligently in the bible God can reveal it to us.
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Shylynne quoted an “expert” ...
How do you know? And again, what does physically seeing God have to do with it, and what difference would it make in judging the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the experience?
This could quickly grow into a huge topic, which I don‘t have time for. I do not believe God has continued to physically appear to man since the bible was finished, this ties in with Rev. 22.
I believe the bible warns that the nature of the end times is the emergence of signs and wonders churches. I touched on this slightly above. I have not heard anyone say they fell backward because they physically saw God. I believe I have given strong scriptural support that falling back is a substitute for fire coming down from heaven and burning them to ash.
I have met many people that seem to be wise and mature Christian teachers. …
All can’t be saved.
This, too, is up for God to decide. Does any denomination or group consist exclusively of the saved? I don't think so. Neither would I assume that any group of people consists exclusively of the unsaved; with God, anything is possible.
Your answer is good.
Just because someone appears to be a wise and mature Christian teacher it does not mean they are or teach truth. That’s why I go to the bible for truth.
And given this fact, we should all beware of believing that because a scholar disagrees with us, they are wrong.
I am sorry I don’t understand this statement.
Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
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