Forums

Even when Hamas not only hides but fights from within these Hospitals and has for decades.  They store weapons and even shoot rockets from the parking lot of these hospitals.   These in Gaza are no longer hospitals, but military bases where they take people for health care.   And they must be destroyed if Israel is to be safe.  You can blame Hamas for the problem, for the military is not supposed to operate out of hospitals. Hamas has no dignity or morals when it comes to their enemy, or their own people, and deserves none from any of the rest of us.  The people killed in those hospitals according to their beliefs go directly to heaven and unlike other who have to lay in their graves till the end of the word so to speak.   And remember that the citizens in Gaza voted to make Hamas their government, so there are very few if any that are truly innocent. Throughout history, the people there that are trying to be considered Palestinians are really just several tribes of people who have fought amongst themselves for so many years we don't even know.  If it wasn't for Israel, they would still be killing each other. The people in Gaza didn't want to be governed by the Palestinian Authority, so separated themselves from the West Bank folks.  They will be fighting amongst themselves if Israel is destroyed.   You might also be concerned by the documents found during the investigation of the Holyland Foundation in the early 2000s, where documents were found laying out a ten-year plan to overthrow the USA government.  And though the top five people were sent to prison, no one in power has done anything to stop the plan from being carried out by the many Islamic organizations here in the US.  It is well on its way, just a few years postponed.  Hamas is a global terrorist group and needs to be destroyed globally. I've interfaced with them on the dark web several years ago and still get occasional death threats from them.  I took them serious enough to go to our local sheriff's department and was suggested to always carry a weapon away from home. My feeling about them are kind of on the personal side.

Yes.  It's that old question: "Is it me doing it or His Spirit/life in me doing it?"   Again, yes.  As Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working."   So we must cooperate, that is, we let His life operate through us to do the works.  But surely something of a mystery . . .

If a word is good --- if it encourages and edifies --- then from whence those words come doesn't matter. I understand that it does matter to some but when we weigh this properly, how we are encouraged in Jesus Christ is no importance. If our hearts and minds are pointed toward the Lord, then it is good. As far as prophecy is concerned, I can only write from my own experience. The Lord has declared events before they started as it pertains to my engagement in them which is to say, His words equipped me according to His purpose. As for who benefits from the events in question, it is always about those whom I serve or support. For a point of reference, something similar is recorded in Acts 9:10-19. When Ananias went to Paul as instructed by the Lord, this is an example of pprophecy. Prophecy is forth-telling or, speaking those words which the Lord gives is to say and doing those things that He instructs us to do.  As for visions of things to come that affect the world and us all, these were recorded in scripture a long time ago. 

Yep, there are more than several gray areas in the Bible I am unsettled about. One of the top questions I hear on Christian programs is whether I can commit an unpardonable sin. The standard response is that you probably have not if you are asking and concerned. I appreciate the conversation and your opinions. Scholars and theologians seem more divided on this and every other topic than on WCF.

Prophets and prophecy for today and in the past has to be defined or explained in context of the scripture verses quoted from, I think.   For lack of able to write or put in my own words as of now, I would use the following for a simple explanation of the prophet in the OT.  Marathoner , I think explained this in his reply earlier. I also think that when believers hear of the those two words, they mostly think of the OT means of conveying God messages, and applying it to today NT meaning or method or conveying a discern or insightful message. Is it from God, or how are they receiving those messages.  OT prophets, clearly got their message directly or from other servants of God. So, I guess what I am trying to understand, is how are modern day prophets receiving their message from God.   I have to get a grasp of this or I will be troubled for a while.  The full article of the link below can be read, I just quoted a paragraph.  From gotquestion.org https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecy-prophesy.html  According to Deuteronomy 13, there are two signs of a true prophet. First, he must not direct people to follow other gods. Second, whenever the prophet says something about future events, those events must come to pass. If the prophet promotes the worship of false gods, or if his predictions fail to come to pass, then he is a false prophet.