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I am 27 years old and I have been suffering with Depression & Anxiety issues since my childhood days back in Primary school, I was putting up with bullying from other kids both in Primary & High school. It was mostly verbal & emotional bullying but I don't think many people realise that verbal & emotional bullying is just as bad as physical bullying, at the end of the day bullying is bullying whether it is physical, verbal or emotional bullying it doesn't make words hurt any less. I have also experienced bullying both in real life & online, I have experienced online bullying just recently as well. At school & even online I have been called ugly and called me names like big nose, someone at school even said to me "You're so ugly that no one would want to marry you." And to this day I have never been in a relationship ever, it just makes me think are they right or is it God's purpose for me to be single? If so then what's his purpose for me staying single? and will I ever find someone & get married and start a family with that person. I worry that i'm going to spend the rest of my life alone and will probably die alone. The neglect I have experienced from my biological parents, plus all the bullying I have suffered from a child up until now and the verbal & emotional abuse from my Mum which has been going on for 15-16 years has really taken it's toll on my mental health. Plus my Depression & Anxiety tends to get worse in the Winter which is not too far away, we've already started getting the cold weather here in Australia and my mental health is not stable at all. I honestly don't know what to do, I have already tried getting professional help by a phyciatrist and a phycologist but it didn't really help me. I am taking antidepressants but they don't always seem to work , especially in the Winter. I don't know what else to do.

We do not know any of this for sure as prophesy is mostly only recognized in hindsight. However, those of us that can remain awake and are not too taken with our own opinions might wake up one day and see stuff happening... Then we may say, UH-OH, now I understand what it meant. Wow!

PAPAL INFALLIBILITY (declared in 1870 AD). Definition: When a pope is speaking in his official position on any issue of faith or morals, he is speaking infallibly, meaning without error. Answer: The apostles never regarded any man to be infallible. Only the Word of God is regarded as without error. If Peter was pope, which the Bible says he was not, then he made mistakes as in Galatians 2:11-14 when he was deceived by Judaizers. "But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." The following events from history show the error of papal infallibility. 1. Pope John XII, in the "Liber Pontificalis," the Catholic publication discussing the lives of the popes, states that "He spent his entire life in adultery." 2. Popes Innocent III, Gregory XI, Clement IV, Hadrian VI, and Paul IV all disagreed with papal infallibility. 3. Pope Stephen VI (896) had the dead pope Formosus (891-6) tried, questioned, fingers hacked off, dragged through Rome and thrown into the Tiber river. 4. Pope Hadrian II (867) declared civil marriage to be valid, but Pope Pius VII (1800-23) declared it to be invalid. 5. Pope Eugene IV (1431) had Joan of Arc burned alive as a witch, but later Pope Benedict IV in 1919 declared her to be a saint. 6. Pope Pius XI in 1929 endorsed Fascism and called Mussolini "a man sent by God." However, before World War II, he warned people against Mussolini. 7. The Vatican advised the German Catholic Party to vote for Nazi candidates. In 1933, the Vatican and Hitler signed a concordat, where the Catholic church swore allegiance to the Nazi government. Later on Pope Pius XI condemned Hitler. How can a supposedly infallible man make so many errors of judgment, and even contradict other so-called infallible popes? Surely this disproves papal infallibility to any honest, open minded person.

I have a serious question I would like to ask; Why does God allow pain & suffering in the world? I'm not just talking about in general like war, terrorism, racism etc but in each of our lives as an individual. I was a victim of child molestation as a baby, I have suffered from neglect, childhood bullying, in fact I have been bullied all my life, both in real life & online. I am going through financial issues and currently putting up with verbal & emotional abuse from my Mum who is actually my Great Aunty which she got custody of me when I was 10 months old because of the neglect by my biological parents and was diagnosed by my pediatrition with an intellectual learning disability since being a child. I am on a disability support pension which is why I am struggling with financial problems and my Mum is on the Seniors pension. Because of the verbal & emotional abuse I am dealing with from my Mum, I feel I really need to move out and get my own place but because I am on a disability support pension I don't think I could even afford to pay rent. What I want to know is why did God allow all this to happen? Is he punishing me for something I did or maybe because of what my biological parents did? Is God trying to tell me something through my pain & suffering? Is their a purpose for my pain and suffering? If so then why?

Hello, I am feeling frustrated with God (even though I know it's not his fault) to the point where I am struggling picking up my bible. I still am praying and reading a verse or two a day, but just feel SO angry. I attended a church who's leaders all have a strong footing in Calvinism and I didn't realize this until almost two years in. We were very involved in the church and reached a decision that it affected our ability to stay there, also we happened to be moving so it just worked out that it was time to move on. There were other issues too, but will try to keep it short Before that it was a fundamentalist church Before that and so on... I have had many unpleasant experiences in the church, the first one starting when I was a kid and had to leave the church I dearly loved because my father left after he was deeply hurt by the pastor ( we helped build the church and my father was a deacon) I feel disillusioned by the church. I understand that the church is where one or more believers in Christ are gathered in God's name and that nobody is perfect, that we all fall short of the glory of God. That being said, if a churches footing is on something other than a direct relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit won't let me stay. I am crushed because all I want is for my daughter to have constancy and a childhood with Christian friends and happy memories and I thought I had finally found that after all these years..but now just feel disillusioned. I was involved in so many different areas and really loved it and now that's over and I feel sad. I am not a devisive person nor is my husband and we left in peace, but I have been mourning for so long now. I know it's not about the church as much as it is my frustration with God. I feel like I'm reliving my childhood. Also, on top of it all, as I study the gospels and read Jesus words (both on my own and in theology) I feel so disillusioned by my place in the church and in the world. I feel like Jesus asks A LOT and it seems like a lot of the time people just choose to focus on the feel good verses. If we are supposed to give everything to Jesus and follow him, how come it feels like the image of the church today doesn't align with these words? I take what Jesus says so seriously, and I feel like I'm sitting alone with the gospels just freaking out. Like to the point that I haven't looked at them in 3 months. They are intense! I feel so alone with this intensity, and I'm finding it hard to pray because I'm pretty sure I'm frustrated with God about it. I know Jesus died on the cross so that our sins would be cleansed. But he said and did so much and I truly want to love and follow him, but it's just too much to take in! Definitely alone.

PETER - Christ`s Life within Endures Suffering & is our Strength. Peter wrote his epistles to the believing Jews who were scattered beyond Israel. They were undergoing many persecutions and thus Peter desired to help them live a godly life among evil men. `...though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.` (1 Peter 1: 6 & 7) Peter then gives good advice on how we ought to live, even amid persecution. He then points the believers away from the trials to the future glory which awaited them, and the example of Christ and the reward which would follow. `...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ`s sufferings, that when his glory is revealed you may be glad with exceeding joy.` (1 Peter 4: 13) In these writings, which are later in Peter`s life, we see that the Holy Spirit has worked in him, developing patience, with a restful and loving spirit. Peter reveals how we can work with the Holy Spirit to develop this Christ-like nature. `...giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,..... knowledge, ....self control,....... perseverance, ......godliness,.....brotherly kindness, ....love. For if these things are yours, and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.` (2 Peter 1: 5 - 8) In Peter`s second letter, he is concerned about the danger amongst the believers themselves. `But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.` (2 Peter 2: 1) Peter then warns them and encourages the believers to stand up for the truth. `For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty.....We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed ..`(2 Peter 1: 16 & 19) Finally the elderly Peter points to the Lord Himself, as the believers focus. `..grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ` (2 Peter 3: 18)

There has been a lot of ‘lively’ debate here lately on the forum as to whether or not a man can be ‘kept from sinning’. I use those words specifically because I believe there has been a misunderstanding about what I have been asked to share. I am the first in line to say that no man can stop sinning, no matter how hard he tries, no matter how long he tries, no matter how much he wants to stop dishonoring God with his actions. It is simply impossible. The truth is, however, that the scriptures are clear that what is impossible with man is possible with our God. God has promised us shields of faith that will not fail us in protecting us from the power of darkness. In the near future, if not today, each one of us will face the question of whether God can do, in us, what we ourselves are powerless to do.... deliver us from evil. We know He forgives us, delivering us from the penalty to our sins, but as to delivering us from the power of darkness, unbelief pretty much rules the roost right now. But that is not what this post is about. It is about the need for each one of us to honestly examine the state of our hearts. Through both the old and new testaments, we read story after story, verse after verse, parable after parable, about the deep evil of sin and God’s plan to rid the universe o its grip. Think about it. Hidden in that one sin in the garden, a simple disobedience to the will of the Father, were seeds that spawned every war, every rape, every child being abused throughout history. That one sin spawned every addiction and perversion, selfishness, abortion, and every evil act committed by men since the day Eve heard the first words of doubt from our enemy ..... “Hath God said...”? All that spewed forth was simply unsprouted seed hidden in that one “small sin”. Listen, I pray we all understand. There is no small sin. As long as this is our thought process, sin will never become exceedingly sinful to us. We must understand this truth. All sin is exceedingly sinful to our God. Do we believe that? And we are told that we are to have the mind of Christ... God’s mind. When Paul was trapped in the prison cell of Romans 7, he wanted to cease from sin, but he simply could not. He longed to love his God with ALL of his heart. He did not. A part of him loved him. He wanted to cease from evil. He did not. A part of him still loved darkness, rather than the light. And in this prison cell, Paul did not ever once settle down and ‘make the best of his human condition’, accepting his fate as a tainted vessel. No, he hated his imprisonment. And eventually, he came to the point he hated the source of his problem.... his old carnal nature. And that, dear friends, was the purpose of this place called Romans 7 that God made him .... and us.... pass through. Do we see? We too have found ourselves imprisoned in the same prison Paul found himself long ago. The prison of our old fallen nature. There is a purpose for this prison we find ourselves. It is that we as God’s children strive to enter the rest of God, where the power of sin has been defeated in our lives. And in our earnest attempts to obey Him in all things, to please God with our lives, our actions, our thoughts, we will find two truths must rise to the forefront of our hearts. 1) Sin... all sin..... is exceedingly sinful. It is to God and it must become so to us. 2) No matter how hard we try, and we MUST try, we cannot extricate the darkness in us, for it is the US that is the problem. Our old carnal nature cannot be improved. It cannot grow from bearing bad fruit to bearing good fruit by our attempts, no matter how sincere we are, or how hard we try. Satan has laid a huge trap in Romans 7 for us. It is to give up our desire fro freedom from the power of darkness and t o get us to stop at “It is impossible for man”, so that we never cry out to our Father in Heaven, telling Him that nothing is too hard for Him. Guys, here is the point. Where is our heart on the matter? Lay aside the question of IF it is possible to be kept from falling to sin’s power. If our heart is not God’s heart on the matter, either way, we will be walking in disobedience, displeasing our God. If what some say is correct, that the limit of grace’s power is forgiveness alone, should we not still want to please the one who died for us to give us that forgiveness? If, for the sake of argument, Romans 7 is to be our home until the return of Jesus, and only then will we walk in victory over sin, then our hearts, should they not match Paul’s in his hatred of the darkness that still reigned over him? Should we not see ourselves as wretched men in our failing to walk pleasing to our God? Does it bring any honor to Him that we continue to sin? Do we think our continued disobedience somehow magnifies grace? It does not. It cheapens it. Though many may now doubt it, God is about to awaken all who love the light found in His Son, Jesus Christ. “To what?” you ask? To what it means “to be saved to the uttermost”! To the full meaning of “the glorious liberty of the children of God”! Glory to God, it is coming! However, if we remain content to dwell in shadowland, where we walk as double minded children, with one foot in the world and its pleasures and one foot ready for our mansion in Heaven, our God loves us enough to do whatever it takes to rescue us from this dangerous mentality and to make sure we do not miss what He has for us. Whatever it takes. A decision day is approaching for each one of us as the darkness and the light separate ever increasingly in these final days. We will find ourselves pulled hard towards the light so God can plant our feet on the highway of holiness. Likewise, Satan will try to blind our minds and harden our hearts through our continued ‘little sins’ that seem relatively innocent to us. If ever there was a time to yield ourselves fully to our God, to let His will become our will, this is it. Our God is Holy, and He wants holy children, ‘free indeed’ children, so we can walk hand in hand. Let all know this. In the coming days, we are going to not only witness, but be an integral part of, our God rolling up HIS sleeves and displaying His power IN US to keep us from falling and to cause us to walk in full and complete victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. The question of the hour is not “Is such a walk possible?”. The question each one of us needs to answer right now is... “Do we even want that?” If the answer is yes, God will move mountains to make sure you are transformed into an overcomer, mounting up with eagle’s wings, staring down the enemy of your soul and shining brightly for all to see before His return. Blessings, Gideon

I had a visitation partner named Paul. We would go to peoples' houses to them about the Lord. Many of these folks would be reluctant to discuss their own need of Christ and would attempt to redirect the conversation to the Christian that they knew who had done bad things. You have heard the list before; preachers who ran off with the piano player, deacons who lie, cheat, and curse prolifically, family members who are horrible people in private, etc. etc. etc. My friend had an excellent reply. He would say, "All that you say might be true, but what wrong has Jesus ever done to you?" It is expected that the lost person would surround himself with a wall of real and imagined examples of failed Christianity. But the believer has his own cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1 and we can look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith as true examples. Hebrews 12:2 I am all about listening and responding to the views of other believers, but I have watched with dismay as posts with very interesting topics degenerate into totally different topics due to being sidetracked by certain hot and unresolved issues. Listen when I tell you that I have some very rigid doctrinal beliefs that I have studied and do follow. That being said, I want to know what others believe and why. That's why I joined this forum in the first place. Therefore, I refuse to be offended by those posting here, although I may take issue. Please don't take it personally when I state an opposing position. This forum could be a wonderful place for friendly debate. Remember that believers and non-believers read this posts. Galatians 5:13-16 ¶ For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

They will not be sheltered except the Lord watches over us. Only a small portion of the last week is Gods wrath. This we will never see, but the disasters and bloodshed? This is our moment to overcome, to battle and win the day. If we are in Christ we cannot lose.

I believe that a person who is saved is born again of the spirit...he is a new creation in Christ...he has been given a new heart....it is the heart that God judges....the flesh does not get born again, the spirit does....so now we are reborn with the spirit of Christ in a fleshly body....the spirit wars against the flesh at this point continually....we are to crucify the flesh daily....do we mess up? yes....but the Holy Spirit convicts us of our error and we take it to our Father in prayer and ask for forgiveness...repenting with a sorrowful heart of our wrongdoing.

Righteousness, Love and being a peace maker. If our actions don’t fall into one of these areas we are sinning. All sin keeps us away from God. It is a heart that seeks and hungers after the purity of Holiness, that God draws close to. Sin of any type, degree, or manner He hides His face from. Righteousness for it’s own sake, love, for its own sake and being a peace maker for its own sake. For this are the things God loves. For we read “blessed are the peace makers for they shall see God.” Let our hearts cry after Him “that He might perfect that which He started.” As we sanctify Jesus as Lord in our heart. Doing all things in the fear of God. That we might put a smile on Gods face by our pursuit after righteousness in all things, by our pursuit after Love in all things. And our pursuit after being a peace maker in all things. That people could see and say “yes” there is something different about that person, and “taste” Christ written in our hearts. Blessed be all that love the Lord Jesus from a pure heart. Much love in Christ, Not me

Your more than welcome, an increase in Christ in our innermost being(s) is what as believers we’re after. To have more of Him and less of us. Blessing to you my brother in Christ. Much love in Christ, Not me

Back in the 80's and 90's I used to study this stuff a lot and do a lot of arguing. Your post nails, precisely, how I look at it now.

Several things in this I don't agree with but one in particular is just off. Psalm 90:4, "A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." This is a simile, not an equivalency. It's speaking to God's immortality and existence outside of time. Notice the dual simile. A 1000 years is like a day OR a nights watch. What's a night's watch? Two hours? Four? This has been falsely interpreted many times by many people and it really irks me. It's just sad you think the Jews are Gog.

'Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him, “Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said unto them, “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, .. and the lame walk, .... the lepers are cleansed, ...... and the deaf hear, ........ the dead are raised up, .......... and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ............ And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.’ (Mat 11:2-6) * These miraculous healings bore witness to the person of Christ: being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy such as Isaiah 34:5,6; they also echo the words read by the Lord from, Isaiah 61:1-2a, in the Synagogue at Nazareth in Luke 4:17:21. Praise God! * Thank you for your input, @Retrobyter, it is appreciated. In Christ Jesus Our risen and glorified Saviour, Lord and Head Chris

It's pure conjecture, but if you think about it, it fits into the "failed Messiah" narrative that the current Pope and others subscribe to. And who better to "set the record straight" than someone who can "verify" that he was there 2000 years ago? The purpose, of course, is to render the NT null and void and support the man of sin's claim to deity. Again, pure conjecture, but those days will come with all the deception of wickedness so expect outlandish "revelations."

I find it interesting that Judas is referred to as the son of perdition, not a son of perdition. The coming man of sin is also referred to as the son of perdition. The definite article points to one specific son of perdition with two different appearances in time. Maybe Judas is brought back to life? Or maybe it's a reference to Satan who entered Judas and will enter the man of sin (pretending to be Judas?) Interesting possibilities.

What is the new covenant temple of God? Something to keep in mind when reading prophecy.

Guys, I hate to sound contrarian here; there are certainly a number of similarities. But it's actually a reference to a city, not a nation. That city is Rome, which will become the head of denominational Christianity during the end-times, and return to killing the saints and prophets just as she did during the inquisition. The oath Jesuits take still contains wording to the effect that, if called upon, they must be willing and able to kill those who preach "heresy." I do believe America will soon turn in a darker direction spiritually. But I don't think America is Mystery Babylon.

What I have noticed is not so much that words like holiness , love , freedom, unity , liberty , are used big time today, perhaps the word love is used more than anything and at anytime in world church history. The PROBLEM is that the ones teaching it , DONT EVEN KNOW what THEY MEAN . they teaching it as SENSUAL as the world understands them to be. AND not compatible with A HOLY GOD at all.

Yeah... I looked him up. I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt initially, and at first I thought this "innovative" approach to expressing worship wouldn't be so bad in and of itself if it were packaged together with powerful exposition of the written word of God and genuine manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But after watching a couple of videos of this guy, he's part of this new breed of "apostle" who defines the term as someone who branches out or is "sent" into new territory. But anyone who founds a church in one area and then starts another one somewhere else is just expanding, not becoming "an apostle." He comes off as about 3 parts hype, 3 parts hip, 3 parts self-styled "revelation," and 1 part "innovations" (i.e. aerialists)... I hate to be critical, but he just strikes me as someone who is building his church on the foundation of his own personal charisma, and when you do that it often ends up being pretty much anything goes. Your post reminds me of a book I read a while back called Quitting Church, and how many who came to Christ during the Jesus Movement days can no longer tolerate what they see happening in churches today. A "circus" is sort of the impression they get. Everything appears to be mostly for entertainment purposes. At first glance, the hype of that sort of thing can make you want to believe in it, but it doesn't take long before you are sitting there experiencing no real spiritual growth and wondering, "What on earth is really happening here?" The younger generation have nothing to compare it to, so they don't know what an aberration it is, but for older Christians it's just not something they recognize as having much to do with Christianity anymore. I wish I could take a more positive position on this guy, but any movement not founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and not led by the Spirit of God is destined to end badly. As the scripture says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." One of the best men to build this kind of a ministry was Pastor Zachary Tims, who built up an extremely large following in a very short time. But he ended up dead of a drug overdose in his hotel room one night. It's sad, but I think this type of "church" is the result of merging Christianity with the entertainment culture. They become stars, and instead of becoming a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ it becomes the opposite: the glorification of a man... very sad what usually happens in the end.

Dont forget that even though they might not come back there are others that might have same issue and read the replys.So not a waste if that happens.Agape

I believe the Ethiopia mentioned in the Bible is modern day Sudan. Yes, Russian now has a defense pact and allegiances with Sudan, Libya, Turkey and Iran, the major players of the Gog - Magog invasion. Turkey's radical Islamic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fast turning the once NATO ally into a radical Islamic state, and wants to turn the country back to the Ottoman Empire (it's a long interesting history and story). One fact that's not well know, is Russia's military is comprised of about 40% Muslims, and Islam is the second largest religion in Russia. What do all these countries that's going to invade Israel have in common? I have no idea, but I have a gut idea the Rapture "may" occur just shortly before or shortly after the Gog - Magog invasion. Everything, and I mean everything is in place for that invasion to occur at any time. The rhetoric and threats of war and rumors of war are escalating. The discovery of Israel's Goliath oil and natural gas fields are probably the 'hook in the jaw' of Russia, among its fertile food production and unmatched technology. I hazard a guess that this will happen first: Isa 17:1 ¶ The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. Israel has been conducting many sorties into Syria destroying potential threats to the security of Israel that is seldom reported here in the U.S. They are striking closer and closer to Damascus. I suspect something is going to occur that concerns Israel so much, that they drop a 'big boy' on Damascus. Time will tell and we will watch and see while we look up for the Lord's return. What's your thoughts??