Post by neural on Feb 10, 2020 15:58:22 GMT -6
Salvation is the primary topic of this response, and since the comment system on the blog is either broken or closed, I will put it here.
(a side note: I think the comments section should simply be removed from the blog posts, as they have become a platform for the spread of false teachings. Debate should be done here in the forum and encouraged to be done with supportive scripture, etc.)
"Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"
While that is the KJV, it is not the only one that doesn't use the word "force". "Causing" people to do something does not inherently imply force. Advertisements and media hype "caused" a lot of people to waste money on fidget spinners. No one was "forced" to get them.
There is also the problem of Grace. You CAN NOT claim Salvation by Grace alone, and also believe that salvation can be lost by taking a physical mark and choosing to worship the beast. Unless you mean to completely redefine what is generally accepted as "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" to mean something other than simply never choosing to accept Grace in the first place.
God's Grace is overwhelming, and it is given freely to those who believe that Jesus died for them and was raised again. Jesus died once for All, and covered All sins. Past, present, and future.
Our church and society in general is rife with pastors and individuals who take some sort of sick personal pride in terrorizing their brothers and sisters with claims that salvation can be lost, or phrases like "well, maybe you never really believed in the first place." It is an ABOMINATION to stand in a pulpit and preach grace, then turn around and hold peoples salvation hostage because the church needs to hit it's monthly budget.
Yet here we are again, people arguing about things like the "mark of the beast" and the loss of salvation. Oh how we chide others about how we should be open hearted and be like Christ who, like the Father, is long suffering, that none should be lost, then turn around with a laundry list of ways in which one can lose their salvation. Is God only long suffering for the lost? "Well, you know the truth now, so the law I just set you free from now applied 1000%, so you'd better watch your step!". Yeah, that's not the God of Grace and Love.
On and on people preach about how God will protect us from this or that, but somehow He is unable to protect us from His wrath *during* the tribulation?
Look, I'm a non-committed viewpoint. We will see what happens when it happens, but this heinous act of stripping God's Grace out of the tribulation needs to stop.
Be honest (I know several reading this won't), if taking the mark of the beast via force invalidates salvation, do you live with the delusion that satan doesn't know this? Do you think that the global governemnt, run by satan, during the tribulation won't focus all it's resources on hunting down Christians and forcing the mark on them before killing them? Do you think people are basically good at heart or something? Please.
My position on the mark of the beast is quite clear. It is not likely to be a physical mark, as much as a characteristic of an individual in thought and in deed (forehead and hand). I say it is a physical thing that can invalidate salvation goes directly against Grace, and is to say that what Jesus went through on the cross was not enough.
God's Grace is either all encompassing, or there are only going to be a few thousand people in all of history that don't stand before the great white throne.
You're not as holy as you believe you are, and you need Grace just as much as the people you think need the most outreach."
(a side note: I think the comments section should simply be removed from the blog posts, as they have become a platform for the spread of false teachings. Debate should be done here in the forum and encouraged to be done with supportive scripture, etc.)
"Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"
While that is the KJV, it is not the only one that doesn't use the word "force". "Causing" people to do something does not inherently imply force. Advertisements and media hype "caused" a lot of people to waste money on fidget spinners. No one was "forced" to get them.
There is also the problem of Grace. You CAN NOT claim Salvation by Grace alone, and also believe that salvation can be lost by taking a physical mark and choosing to worship the beast. Unless you mean to completely redefine what is generally accepted as "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" to mean something other than simply never choosing to accept Grace in the first place.
God's Grace is overwhelming, and it is given freely to those who believe that Jesus died for them and was raised again. Jesus died once for All, and covered All sins. Past, present, and future.
Our church and society in general is rife with pastors and individuals who take some sort of sick personal pride in terrorizing their brothers and sisters with claims that salvation can be lost, or phrases like "well, maybe you never really believed in the first place." It is an ABOMINATION to stand in a pulpit and preach grace, then turn around and hold peoples salvation hostage because the church needs to hit it's monthly budget.
Yet here we are again, people arguing about things like the "mark of the beast" and the loss of salvation. Oh how we chide others about how we should be open hearted and be like Christ who, like the Father, is long suffering, that none should be lost, then turn around with a laundry list of ways in which one can lose their salvation. Is God only long suffering for the lost? "Well, you know the truth now, so the law I just set you free from now applied 1000%, so you'd better watch your step!". Yeah, that's not the God of Grace and Love.
On and on people preach about how God will protect us from this or that, but somehow He is unable to protect us from His wrath *during* the tribulation?
Look, I'm a non-committed viewpoint. We will see what happens when it happens, but this heinous act of stripping God's Grace out of the tribulation needs to stop.
Be honest (I know several reading this won't), if taking the mark of the beast via force invalidates salvation, do you live with the delusion that satan doesn't know this? Do you think that the global governemnt, run by satan, during the tribulation won't focus all it's resources on hunting down Christians and forcing the mark on them before killing them? Do you think people are basically good at heart or something? Please.
My position on the mark of the beast is quite clear. It is not likely to be a physical mark, as much as a characteristic of an individual in thought and in deed (forehead and hand). I say it is a physical thing that can invalidate salvation goes directly against Grace, and is to say that what Jesus went through on the cross was not enough.
God's Grace is either all encompassing, or there are only going to be a few thousand people in all of history that don't stand before the great white throne.
You're not as holy as you believe you are, and you need Grace just as much as the people you think need the most outreach."