In my last post, I wrote that I had studied different religions and that I had left my church, which was the Seventh-Day-Adventist Church. I still believe in the teachings of the SDA Church. I believe they follow the teachings of the Bible more closely than any other church.
The reason I left was because the church I was going to was... well, it was a very personal reason and perhaps wouldn't be nice of me to write about here. It was not because of what they believe.
I thought it would be nice to cite a few of the main differences between the SDA Church and other churches.
1. They do not believe in a hell that goes on forever and ever. Jesus said those who have done little evil will receive few "stripes" but those who caused great evil will suffer many "stripes." Some people will suffer longer than others, but their suffering will stop. God is not a monster who makes people suffer forever and ever.
In the Old Testament God said,
"For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head." He will punish people according to what they have done to others. Obadiah 1:15
"The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy." Psalm 145:20 Destroy means obliterate.
"And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts." Malachi 4:3
"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire." Rev. 20:13,14
"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41,42
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. John 5:28,29
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
"And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them." Revelation 20:9 If people are alive in hell, they are not devoured.
"For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6
"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." 1Thessalonians 4:16,17 The dead in Christ are in their graves now and so are the wicked. There will be two resurrections.
If you want to study this or any other belief of the Seventh-Day-Adventists, you can go to www.amazingfacts.com Click on Bible Study and then Bible Study Guides. I'll write about some other different beliefs next time.
Showing posts with label beliefs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beliefs. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Who is the Anti-Christ?
I was reading about the beliefs of ISIS. One thing surprised me; they believe they are to fight until an Anti-Christ comes who will kill a lot of the Caliphate's soldiers. Next, Jesus will return, kill the Anti-Christ, and take the real Muslims to heaven.
I've read a lot of theories on the second-coming of Christ but I did not know Islam also has one. Some say that is why these ISIS Muslims want war - to bring about the end of the world.
Now, I have heard something similar to that about some Christians. They want war in the Middle East in order to bring in the end of the world and Christ's second coming. Although, some Christians would say the third coming since they also believe in the "Rapture."
To me there is something sick about "wanting" war. You would have to be very cold-hearted to want something that causes the death of thousands, if not millions of people. To say that is okay because it would bring Jesus back is heresy. Jesus would never approve of that attitude.
But who is the Anti-Christ who will come before the end of the world? The Bible says this:
"He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men; and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666."
Revelation 13:13-18 and 14:1
Before Jesus comes there will be an evil religious power rise up. It is a power that wants to force people to obey them and will persecute those who will not. This power will pass laws to, "Make an image..." of something that represents them. They will allow no one to buy or sell unless they receive a "mark" on their head or hand. This would be an easy thing to do in this digital age. Everyone would have to use a special card to buy or sell anything. Not hard for a government to do that.
As God puts a "seal" on his people, the wicked receive a mark which shows they either agree with the law in their minds or carry out the law with their hands while not agreeing.
What are some national laws the far-right Christian community want to force on us? Banning abortion, prayer in schools, censorship, and Sunday keeping. I think those are the main ones. Which one might be the "image" of the beast?
It wouldn't be abortion, because that only affects pregnant women. Censorship is not tied to worship, and they want us to worship the image. Prayer in school is a form of worship but only affects students. The Sabbath is the logical answer and I believe is the "image" of the beast. The far-right (and I mean far...) will pass a Sunday keeping law and will force everyone in the nation to worship on that day and every place of business be closed. (except for hospitals etc.)
This is what the Anti-Christ will do near the end of time. They have been working towards this for years and will one day accomplish it. They believe the nation is heading for ruin and God's punishment and are frightened. But fear is never a good reason to do anything. In fact, they are afraid of the wrong people; they should be afraid of themselves and what they are doing and in what Spirit.
Would Jesus force others to believe as he did? Did he try to force the Romans or the Jews to believe? Never. God is not tyrant. God loves free-will worship and will recognize no other kind. Force of conscience is repugnant to God.
Would it be okay for us to obey this law and go to church where and when they tell us? What if we do believe in worshiping on Sunday? Do we think, "Well, that's not so bad is it?"
God says he will "think" to change times and laws. But no one can change the laws of God. They are eternal as He is eternal.
It is bad because it is using religion as a sword or hammer to force people; it is also bad because many people worship on Saturday instead of Sunday. The Catholic Church changed the day of worship. They changed two of the Ten Commandments. They changed the one that said to not make graven images and they changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day. They changed "times and laws" as it says in Daniel 7:25,
"He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time."
God says he will "think" to change times and laws. But no one can change the laws of God. They are eternal as He is eternal. The ceremonial laws that pointed forward to Jesus were abolished, but not the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath commandment did not point forward to Jesus but backward to the creation of the world.
I've read a lot of theories on the second-coming of Christ but I did not know Islam also has one. Some say that is why these ISIS Muslims want war - to bring about the end of the world.
Now, I have heard something similar to that about some Christians. They want war in the Middle East in order to bring in the end of the world and Christ's second coming. Although, some Christians would say the third coming since they also believe in the "Rapture."
To me there is something sick about "wanting" war. You would have to be very cold-hearted to want something that causes the death of thousands, if not millions of people. To say that is okay because it would bring Jesus back is heresy. Jesus would never approve of that attitude.
But who is the Anti-Christ who will come before the end of the world? The Bible says this:
"He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men; and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666."
Revelation 13:13-18 and 14:1
Before Jesus comes there will be an evil religious power rise up. It is a power that wants to force people to obey them and will persecute those who will not. This power will pass laws to, "Make an image..." of something that represents them. They will allow no one to buy or sell unless they receive a "mark" on their head or hand. This would be an easy thing to do in this digital age. Everyone would have to use a special card to buy or sell anything. Not hard for a government to do that.
As God puts a "seal" on his people, the wicked receive a mark which shows they either agree with the law in their minds or carry out the law with their hands while not agreeing.
What are some national laws the far-right Christian community want to force on us? Banning abortion, prayer in schools, censorship, and Sunday keeping. I think those are the main ones. Which one might be the "image" of the beast?
It wouldn't be abortion, because that only affects pregnant women. Censorship is not tied to worship, and they want us to worship the image. Prayer in school is a form of worship but only affects students. The Sabbath is the logical answer and I believe is the "image" of the beast. The far-right (and I mean far...) will pass a Sunday keeping law and will force everyone in the nation to worship on that day and every place of business be closed. (except for hospitals etc.)
This is what the Anti-Christ will do near the end of time. They have been working towards this for years and will one day accomplish it. They believe the nation is heading for ruin and God's punishment and are frightened. But fear is never a good reason to do anything. In fact, they are afraid of the wrong people; they should be afraid of themselves and what they are doing and in what Spirit.
Would Jesus force others to believe as he did? Did he try to force the Romans or the Jews to believe? Never. God is not tyrant. God loves free-will worship and will recognize no other kind. Force of conscience is repugnant to God.
Would it be okay for us to obey this law and go to church where and when they tell us? What if we do believe in worshiping on Sunday? Do we think, "Well, that's not so bad is it?"
God says he will "think" to change times and laws. But no one can change the laws of God. They are eternal as He is eternal.
It is bad because it is using religion as a sword or hammer to force people; it is also bad because many people worship on Saturday instead of Sunday. The Catholic Church changed the day of worship. They changed two of the Ten Commandments. They changed the one that said to not make graven images and they changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day. They changed "times and laws" as it says in Daniel 7:25,
"He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time."
God says he will "think" to change times and laws. But no one can change the laws of God. They are eternal as He is eternal. The ceremonial laws that pointed forward to Jesus were abolished, but not the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath commandment did not point forward to Jesus but backward to the creation of the world.
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