AlexanderJ

The key word here is "dead". The dead are judged according to their works. If you read earlier in the chapter, you will see the believers have already been ressurected at the first ressurection and are alive, spiritually and physically. The "dead" in verse 12 are those who had no part in the first ressurection - they are the ones from the "second death". If you are a believer, you will be judged through Christ's work on the cross, not by your merit or works (Romans 3:24-28) and you will be made alive in the first ressurection: Revelation 20:4 This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.... If you are a believer, this next part of chapter 20 is not relevant to your destiny. Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

i have the gift of prophesy. God has told me what is to come, He has revealed to me the Mysteries of the Bible, opened up my understanding of them. One will know they have the gift of prophesy when God reveals to them what is to come. ^i^ So what, pray tell, is to come?

Just because a certain behaviour is found in nature does not necesarilly make it morally right. It may be "natural" or "normal" but that doesn't make it right either. We live in a fallen world and both animals and men exhibit "fallen" behaviour. To give an example, observe the behaviour of a mother rabbit when she feels that her offspring is threatened. She often will eat her own young. Is it normal for a frightened mother rabbit to act this way? Yes. Is it natural? Well, it occurs in nature, so, yes. But, is this right? Is this the way it should be? Of course not.

I am not ignorant. Far from it. I am not twisting anything either. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

Lasting happiness can come only through holiness.

Will that happen in this life or in the next?

Aren't we all "broke" as far as having our own righteousness goes? But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6

Jesus said: ...my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30 However, many Christians seem to live their lives as if they are under a very heavy load. Why is that? I think that the burden comes when we try to make ourselves into "good people"--to try to make ourselves worthy of our other Christian friends and above all, our calling. We forget that we in of ourselves are as filthy garments, that our best is not good enough. We will never, in of ourselves, be worthy of our calling. Our righteousness and worthiness is in Christ and in Christ alone. When we stop trying to make ourselves worthy and realize that we can do nothing for our own justification, we have crossed the line from bondage into freedom. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith... Philippians 3:9 I am in no way implying that we should go and "live like the devil"; I'm simply saying that we must realize that our righteousness is in Christ and not in ourselves before we are able to attain any level of holiness. What do you think?

You're missing the point. Obamacare is part of the whole framework to alleviate you of your Freedom. Freedom is such a burden...right?

Your head is in the clouds... People go to jail for not having other mandated insurance, and health care insurance will be no different.

...and, for someone who claims to possess such great knowledge, you have enlightened us precious little on the topic of shepherding.

I would wager that you, Sograteful, have no experience in shepherding, you probably just read a book about it. ...or am I mistaken?

I guess that we all go through times when it seems that God is silent. Even David, the "man after God's own heart" said: Psalms 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. I find it interesting that this Psalm is right before Psalm 23: Psalms 23:1 ¶<<A Psalm of David.>> The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

I'm not trying to question God in a disrespectful way, I just find these things troubling. Two hundred years ago few people denied the existence of the supernatural, but with the advent of evolution, this has drastically changed. I have met many people who seem to want to believe, but cannot because they don't see evidence for God's existence. I find it hard to believe that most of these people unequivocally would reject God if they were presented with more concrete evidence. After all, isn't it true that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof"?

Should the Supreme Court strike down the healthcare law? After all, mandating individual citizens to buy a product/service is hardly constitutional.

Why is God silent in this age? There are few (if any) supernatural events that occur today, even though the need for such seems greater than before because of modern scientists and their never-ending quest to discredit God and the supernatural. I know that we have the Bible, God's Word to us, but sometimes it just doesn't seem like enough.

The word "baptisms" in Hebrews is not refering to Christian baptism. As Constable says: "Washings" evidently refers to the doctrine of spiritual cleansing. The Greek word translated "washings" is baptismos that refers to Jewish ceremonial washings whenever it occurs in the New Testament (Mark 7:4,8 & Hebrews 9:10) baptism. A different Greek word (baptisma) describes Christian baptism. This means the writer here referred not to baptism but to spiritual cleansing.

How could there be more than one baptism when Paul affirms that there is but one?

SoGrateful, you are gravely mistaken. God's Word says: Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism... There is only one baptism!

Could you give the Article link on what you base that information about "MOST" American's, and how the study was conducted. Thank you. Most Americans are not shepherds AND/OR they have not studied the subject. Mostly AND. Are you a shepherd? I was a shepherd for several years, though I am not sure why you seem to maintain one would have to be a shepherd to understand Jesus' relationship towards us. Anyone can understand our relationship to God symbolized by sheep and their shepherd by reading the following Psalm: Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

That is a load of crap. Islam wishes to destroy us; the brave members of our military defend us. You should be grateful.

Sometimes war is necessary. There is a time for every purpose under the sun. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven....A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up... A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I'm not sure that I follow that line of reasoning. If I murder, I am a murderer; if I sin, I am a sinner. Whether I repent of my sin or not has nothing to do with it. If I have worked evil, I am an evildoer. We are counted as righteous before God, not because we repent, but because God counts us as righteous. We don't have our own righteousness, so God counted Jesus' righteousness as our own. We are not intrinsically righteous in of ourselves, we are intrinsically evil. The reason that God will allow us into heaven is not because of our perfection in this life, it is because of Christ's perfection. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith... Philippians 3:9 When we die, we will at last be free from the sinful that plagues our flesh. We will become as Christ is--incorruptible and uncorrupted. However, incoruption is not something that can be practically attained on this earth. 1 Corinthians 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.... Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.