kenny2212

Hosea 6:6 (NKJV) - For I desire mercy and not sacrifice...

Thanks Rosie1jack2pauline3! Tell heartwashed3.

So are you saying if I'm not water-baptized I don't have eternal life? Romans 10:8 (NKJV) - But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): I would say we wait until the Lord Jesus comes to see who makes heaven...

Yes, I would say so.

Nothing much. I just wrote what I felt God told me. I could be wrong. What does it matter if I'm wrong? I'm just human and have a beginning, God doesn't. Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV) - God said - I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

Yes.

It is my belief that there's an undisclosed period of time between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis Chapter 1. Genesis 1:1-5 (NKJV) - 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. God doesn't have need of an outside light source for God himself is light. 1 John 1:5 (NKJV) - This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. So what's the darkness referred to in Genesis 1:2? The darkness is Evil. Evil energies. This Light that God calls forth dispels these evil energies. Luke 11:34 (KJV) - The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is EVIL, thy body also is full of DARKNESS. Genesis 1:5 (NKJV) - God called the light Day, and the DARKNESS He called NIGHT. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Matthew 13:25 (NLT) - But that NIGHT as the workers slept, his ENEMY came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. Evil works mostly at night.

You guys won't budge. I rest my case.

Water washes only the outside of the body, what has that got to do with salvation? "Water" in John 3:5 is figurative.

Correct!

Ephesians 2:8-9

John 3:5 (NKJV) - Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The water here is not the water of baptism nor is it the amniotic fluid. It is REPENTANCE. Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) - I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Nicodemus whom Jesus was talking to understood what Jesus meant when he talked about being born of water and of the Spirit. Jesus' cousin John the Baptist baptized people who had REPENTED in water. But why water? Because water signifies a new beginning. 2 Peter 3:5 (NIV) - But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. So John the Baptist baptized in water just to signify on the behalf of those being baptized, REPENTANCE (a change of mind). A new beginning so to speak (this is where water comes in). Sort of saying I've been doing A, now I want to be doing B (a change of mind). So the act of baptism itself is not the most important thing, it's just an outward expression of a decision. So if you're not baptized in water but still believe in Jesus by faith, you're saved. Eph. 2:8-9 (NKJV) - 8 For by grace you've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. So do not let anyone persuade you into believing that if you're not water baptized you're not saved. Salvation is much more than flimsy water! Thanks for reading. Any questions or comments?

John 3:5 (NKJV) - Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The water here is not the water of baptism nor is it the amniotic fluid. It is REPENTANCE. Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) - I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Nicodemus whom Jesus was talking to understood what Jesus meant when he talked about being born of water and the Spirit. Jesus' cousin John the Baptist baptized people who had REPENTED in water. But why water? Because water signifies a new beginning. 2 Peter 3:5 (NIV) - But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. So John the Baptist baptized in water just to signify on the behalf of those being baptized, REPENTANCE (a change of mind). A new beginning so to speak (this is where water comes in). Sort of saying I've been doing A, now I want to be doing B (a change of mind). So the act of baptism itself is not the most important thing, it's just an outward expression of a decision. So if you're not baptized in water but still believe in Jesus by faith, you're saved. Eph. 2:8-9 (NKJV) - 8 For by grace you've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. So do not let anyone persuade you into believing that if you're not water baptized you're not saved. Salvation is much more than flimsy water! Thanks for reading. Any questions or comments?

Thanks AdHoc.

I think the "final 7 years" (for lack of a better phrase) should be called something other than the "tribulation". Tribulation? For whom? Believers won't be here by that time. May be it should be called the "time of Jacob's trouble". I don't think those who convert during the "final 7 years" could be called "tribulation saints" because their eternal destiny hinges solely and very majorly on a "non-salvation event" - refusing the mark of the beast. Rev. 14: 9 - 11 (NKJV) - 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Tribulation ends when God steps in. Even if God steps in with wrath.

How could God say a person would "live again" if that person is already alive in heaven?

Believers who die during the tribulation period soul sleep. Rev.20:4-6 (NKJV) - 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not LIVE AGAIN until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (emphasis mine) Please take note of the phrase "live again".

Rev. 4:1 (NKJV) - After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show YOU things which must take place after this.” (emphasis mine) You is a singular pronoun; used to refer to ONE (a single) entity. Only John was having (and about to have) the vision; who else could the voice in Rev. 4:1 be speaking to?

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) - 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Okay. Honest is great!

Thank you missmuffet for the savage reply to truth7t7.

Stephen wasn't beheaded; he was stoned to death! We are not told how Abel was killed. Only believers who die during the tribulation period rule and reign with Christ during the millennium. Believers who die before the tribulation period go in the resurrection/rapture. The rapture/resurrection signals the beginning of the tribulation period.

Rev. 6: 9-11 (NKJV) - 9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. Well I believe they are killed before the tribulation (not only because of Rev. 6:12-17 which I believe is the rapture), but also because of 1 Thess. 4: 13-18 (NKJV) - 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will BRING WITH HIM those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (emphasis mine). Please note that the "bring with him" in verse 14 means that the spirits of believers who die before the rapture go to be with Jesus in heaven (hence in Rev. 6:9 the souls of the martyred believers ARE IN HEAVEN). Their souls are not sleeping like some say. Only their bodies are. Rev. 20:4-6 (NKJV) - 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Believers who die after the rapture (during the tribulation period) do soul sleep. If most of what I've written is correct, then the rider of the white horse of the first seal can't be the antichrist (who is revealed after the rapture). Thanks for reading. Any questions or comments?

Okay. Where do children who die before the age of accountability (in this pre-trib dispensation) go? Christians who die during the tribulation period have to wait till they're resurrected in Rev. 20 to have an opportunity to live.