David1701

Bill Gates wants to pump vast quantities of calcium carbonate into the atmosphere, to reduce heat from the sun. I've found a great shortage of antacid tablets recently...

I suspect that you're not a Christian, which doesn't mean that I'm any more right about that than you are about your opinions.

Appeal to ridicule is a logical fallacy. Yes. Have you?

That probably varies, from country to country, and region to region. Speaking for where I live, the answer would be, "Not very much.".

I know very well that there are numerous denominations; but there shouldn't be. Denominations are not God's will; however, the vast majority of denominations are in agreement as to the essentials of Christianity. It is in some of the details that they differ. And you have provided precisely zero evidence for any of this unbelief.

The OT canon is the same one that was accepted by the Jews. There were some fake books that pretended to be written by apostles, in the NT, but the congregations saw through those and rejected them. The Bible does not come from the Council of Nicea, but from the general usage of the congregations. There were heretics then, just as there are now, but it is the worldwide Assembly of Christians (real ones) that keeps out the errors, not a council convened by a pagan Roman emperor, who pretended to be Christian, and tried to amalgamate paganism and Christianity. The pagan festival of Easter was used to replace the celebration of the Passover, which is at roughly the same time of year. This was done by Roman Catholicism, which is a counterfeit of Christianity. There are many translations of the Bible (not only into English), some better, some worse; but, the majority of Greek and Hebrew manuscripts are the foundation, and that remains fully reliable.

The preaching of the gospel is supposed to be accompanied by "signs following". Mark 16:15-18 (Webster) 15 And he said to them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak in new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. The followers of Jesus, in general, are supposed to have these signs in their lives as well (some will have more and some less). John 14:12 (Webster) Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father. There should also be such things in congregational meetings, as the Lord leads. 1 Cor 12:1-11 (Webster) Chapters 12-14 are largely about this, including the way things should be done and with what heart. 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts , brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Therefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. {accursed: or, anathema} 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of administrations, but the same Lord. {administrations: or, ministries} 6 And there are varieties of operations, but it is the same God who worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man for profit of all. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the very same Spirit, dividing to every man individually as he will.

Please explain what this "agenda" was; and what, specifically, you refer to, when you say "final release", thanks.

Unbelieving archeologists doubt the Bible - nothing new there. It has been happening more or less since archeology started, until new evidence turns up, supporting what the Bible says, which has also happened often.

Overcomers are those who have been born again. 1 John 5:4 (ESV) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Perhaps you could quote two or three of these alleged inaccuracies in the Bible.

I'm a watchman, so I fulfil my calling (albeit imperfectly). One of the things that I hate (because it dishonours the Lord and can damage his people), is to see people twist what God's word says, to suit their opinions. I make no apology for being strong about that; it's from my heart, and to water it down would be to quench the Spirit.

Never mind.

Och, Slibhin, I know you can leave whenever you like; but it does make it easier if you make it look as if it's because the other person is a rogue, doesn't it? The Messiah IS the centre. He is the focus of the Tanakh, albeit not always obviously. I believe that the Talmud is a Jewish commentary on the Tanakh. It will have good and not so good parts, just like Christian commentaries. I was not attacking the Talmud; however, it should not be placed on a par with the inspired word of God in the Tanakh.

We certainly need one!

What??? Mark 16:9-20 is contained in the VAST MAJORITY of Greek manuscripts that contain Mark 16. There are only three Greek manuscripts that contain Mark 16 that do not have verses 16-20; whereas, there are at least several hundred that do, with slight variations. The two main manuscripts that omit verses 9-20 are Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, which disagree with each other, in the gospels alone, over 3,000 times; and they are of very dubious provenance.

Ezekiel 18 is in the Tanakh. I'm sure that the Talmud has commentary on it, but that is a separate issue. There is no need to be insulting. I have not, at any time, claimed, or thought, that I know everything. I suspect that you are using this as an excuse to leave the conversation.

The Brethren, in the UK, do this, which is unintentionally ironic, when you have competing Brethren assemblies (e.g. Open Brethren and Closed Brethren), in the same town. Having said that, the principle is correct; it's just that its implementation needs the grace of God.

When the Lord returns...

Yes; although, there should also be repentance for the division caused by having denominations.

It's probably because of tradition and common usage, which is not a valid excuse. There is another issue, and that is that, by using "church", instead of congregation, the idea of a national, or international, denomination is not quashed, which it would be, if the word were translated correctly. It's interesting that "ekklesia" (congregation) is never used in the plural in a town; but, it is always used in the plural in a region. The implication is that there should only be one "ekklesia" in any given town or village, but regions could have many.

Ezekiel 18 is about Israel, under law. The covenant of law (works) was all about "Do this and I will bless you; do that and I will curse you.". The problem with this is that no-one keeps the law perfectly, which means that we are all guilty before God. God made a temporary solution, in the form of the shedding of blood, by animal sacrifices; however, as I mentioned, these sacrifices had to be repeated, again and again, because they were only a temporary covering for sin and could not take it away. These sacrifices ceased, many centuries ago, soon after the Messiah shed his blood and died on the cross, as the perfect Lamb of God. A fallen man cannot take upon himself the sins of another; but, the perfect, sinless Son of God could and did. Any of us carrying out a human sacrifice would be an abomination; but God is not man; and the Man sacrificed was the sinless Son of God. Isaiah 53 is largely about this substitution. The two sacrificed goats symbolised this substitution as well. One had its blood shed and was killed, while the other (the scapegoat) was driven outside the camp, to bear the reproach of the sins of God's people. Jesus was crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem (outside the camp), where he shed his blood and died for the sins of God's people. I'm not threatening you; I'm warning you, because I don't want you to go to hell, to be tormented along with the devil. Both are real, whether you believe in them or not. You believe the Tanakh, and so do we. We also believe the New Testament; but, almost all the NT teachings are also found in the Tanakh, albeit sometimes not so developed and not so clear. I'm not interested in debate as such, I just want to get the message of the New Covenant to you, so that you might believe and be saved. Not one of the Messianic prophecies originates in the Talmud. They all come from the Tanakh; and there are many of them, sometimes very specific. Psalm 110:1 (Jewish Translation of the Tanakh) The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. You believe that the Messiah is a descendant of King David (as do we); well, since this is true, why does David here call him "Lord", since he is his descendant? Here is big clue: Isaiah 7:14 (Jewish Translation of the Tanakh) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Immanuel (an alternate spelling of Emmanuel) means "God with us". Here is a link to the Jewish translation I used, in case you think that it's a Gentile translation. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/yeshayahu-isaiah-chapter-7

Is He? 1 John 2:22,23 (KJV) 22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Idolatry is putting anything in your heart before God. God has sent the Messiah and you are rejecting Him, putting your traditions before God. That is idolatry. Yes, you have. Every time you claim that God's one-of-a-kind Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is not the Messiah, nor God manifest in the flesh, not the Son of God, you are taking God's name in vain. The fulfilment of the fourth commandment, is resting from our own works, in the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith in Him. He is our Sabbath rest. The physical type is a picture; and we need a day of rest from work, to focus on the Lord; but, the spiritual reality that the Sabbath day points to, is far more important. That's good; however, these commandments all point to spiritual truths, above and beyond the literal. Our heavenly Father has commanded all men everwhere to repent, which necessarily includes trusting in the only Saviour - the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Honouring our heavenly Father means doing this; and not doing it greatly dishonours him. Most people haven't; however, the heart that calls Jesus a liar, claiming that it is blasphemy for him to say that He is I AM, is a heart that hates him (this does not have to mean grinding teeth and shaking fists) and a heart of hatred is just one step from murder. Good; although, the thought of wickedness is sin, so many people have committed this sin, without doing anything physical. Also, there is the matter of spiritual adultery, to which this law points. Faithfulness to HaShem, includes faithfulness to his Son - Yeshua HaMeshiach, who is God manifest in the flesh, the great I AM, Emmanuel - God with us. Again, that's good; however, you are stealing from the glory that belongs to the Messiah, by rejecting the only one who shed his blood and died on the cross, then rose from the dead, to save sinners. What about bearing false witness against the Messiah, who is the Son of God and Son of Man? You can covet, without taking steps to acquire the object of the craving; although, I'm not saying that you have done this. You will, if you end up there, by which time it will be too late. Luke 16:19-31 (KJV) 19 ¶ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, thatwould comefrom thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. God being good and just, along with man's sin, is man's greatest problem! The Tanakh says that, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. The Old Covenant animal sacrifices covered people's sins temporarily (which is why they had to keep being repeated, over and over again), but they could never take away sin. Those sacrifices ceased long ago. That is why a Man had to shed his blood and die (a sinless, perfect Man) for the sins of mankind, to take away those sins, not merely cover them temporarily. Man is not allowed to sacrifice man; but God is, and he did. Only this was no ordinary man; this was God-and-man, in one Person. God took upon himself, in the form of perfect man, the sins that we committed, and the punishments we deserved, so that he could be just, and the justifier of the one who trusts in the Lord Yeshua HaMashiach.

I notice that very few people are responding to these posts, and that's a very good thing. James 3:1 (WEB) Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgement.

Yes, exactly. Just as the VW Beetle and the Porsche were designed by the same man, and have design similarities.