christianbear144

What if I choose to ENJOY this dream?

Just kidding about the Islamic Hell. Too many Christians, and terribly hot. But here is something to think about: What would you do if you ended up there? Not too much chance of that happening. But.......what if? Better to be glad that we have Jesus as our blessed Savior.

No one on this thread has spoken "vile words" about Jesus Christ. And even if they had, what could you do about it, except repudiate their remarks? This forum is obviously a Christian forum, but non-Christians should be welcomed as honored guests. We should not be fearful of anything which they might bring to the discussion. Our faith should be strong enough to encounter a little opposition, so long as it is couched in amiable debate. We should even be willing to grant that our opponents may be correct about certain things. If Islam should not be tolerated here, then what becomes of the several million Muslims who live here? Are we not the land of the free anymore?

Tolerance for another person's viewpoint is a cardinal virtue. It is showing respect for others, simply because they are fellow human beings. None of us can be so sure of our own ideas that we cannot concede that the other person may be right, at least in part. I want to learn about other views for two reasons: 1) I am better able to understand my own beliefs by comparing them with alternative beliefs, and 2) I may someday change my beliefs to something quite different. Oliver Cromwell once remarked to an opponent: I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, to think it possible that you may be mistaken. Any person can be wrong about something, even Biblical interpretation. We know what happens when tolerance is abandoned by society. Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia are good examples. When people believe that they have the knowledge and power of God, they act like beasts to their fellow man. If tolerance of Muslims is bad, then what should become of the several million Muslims who are citizens or resident aliens in the U.S.? Are they to be driven out of our country? Many of them are here as refugees from their homelands.

Reverend Turmoil states that Islam should be banned from this country. The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Period. The last poster insinuates that Christians are too tolerant. Maybe so, but it would be better than being too intolerant. Tolerance says that I will not harm you even if I disagree with you. Exactly what is wrong with that principle?

Wouldn't it be terrible if we ALL ended up going there? Something to think about. Praise Jesus that we are NOT going there. I don't think that I would handle it very well.

Who knows: maybe I WILL end up in the Islamic Hell. Just kidding!

It would still be nice if Jamal could have stayed around on this forum. He seemed to be an earnest and articulate young man. I admired him for his moral courage and his personal integrity, even though I could not endorse his religious beliefs. We should welcome alternative ideas from time to time, if for no other reason than to see how other people view things. Otherwise, Christians end up preaching to the choir (so to speak), instead of seeking out people and claiming this lost world for the Kingdom of God. They will know us by our love, and one way to show genuine love to other people is to allow them to tell their stories.

One item that might have been overlooked in your dreams is the fact that bears are extremely hairy animals. According to legend (not in the Bible), Satan himself is very hirsute, and the grizzly bears in your dreams may be symbolic of Satan. My username "christianbear144" comes from the nickname "bear", which my friends have called me ever since one of them remarked that I am hairier than a bear. The 144 comes from a number in the Book of Revelation (12 tribes of Israel times 12 disciples of Jesus). This "bear" certainly wants to serve Christ and do battle with Satan. Let Satan enjoy the everlasting fire: I will be worshiping the Lamb forever in Paradise!

I would welcome any comments from other persons who might help me interpret the dream which I posted earlier. I am pretty sure that Idi Amin represents Satan, the enemy of God and mankind. I am also sure that the furnace represents hell, since I strongly believe that the fire of hell is a literal and raging fire. I am not saying that I LIKE the idea of a literal fire of hell, but I am obligated to believe it because the Bible seems to leave very little room for any other explanation. I wonder if maybe (just maybe) I have some kind of "hell wish". I know that this sounds crazy, but I do not always think straight! Regardless, I am thankful that Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the flames of hell. I am also thankful that the Christian faith is the correct one, else we might end up going to a different hell! While I am not exactly overjoyed by the fact of hell period, I am glad that the real hell is the Christian hell (to where I am NOT going) rather than the Islamic hell (to where I would go if it DID exist).

I would like to thank all persons who have had the courage to post their dreams. I have had many strange dreams (see my topic by this name) which may have important implications for my own Christian life. I really don't think that any of my dreams have objective and eschatological interpretations, except perhaps by inference. Would anyone like to comment on the dream which I described yesterday? I am trying to analyze it as best I can. Seems like Idi Amin represents Satan. Why this dream came to me in such full force, I cannot say, but perhaps the Lord is trying to bring something to my attention.

I fully agree that this forum is designed for the education and enlightenment of Christian believers. Even so, I would hope that Jamal would feel free to use this esteemed forum to express his views and to enter into dialogue with us. I truly believe that we Christians can learn much from non-Christians, since they are human beings just like us. I believe it was the Roman historian Terence who wrote: "I am a man, and nothing human is alien to me." And did not the apostle Paul say that he became all things to reach all men and women with the Gospel? We Christians should be strong enough in our faith that we can understand where others are coming from, and can enter into fruitful discussion with them. I am very interested in comparative religion, and I see much good in all of the world's faiths, despite my complete adherence to Christian theology. So I can see much to criticise in Islam, while still showing appreciation for much good that exists in that faith. The same idea applies to other religions as well. Tolerance of others is a cardinal virtue. John Stuart Mill wrote (and I paraphrase) that we should tolerate different views for two excellent reasons. First, the other side might be correct. Second, if the other side is wrong, we have an opportunity to see a new perspective of why our side is indeed right.

Ted: Of course it should be allowed to continue. Jamal has every right to post his beliefs on this forum. We, as Christians, will most likely disagree strongly with those beliefs. But we should extend a sense of decency and courtesy to those with whom we disagree. Let us show Jamal why and where he may be honestly mistaken. But we must let him explain his side of the argument also. It is only fair and right to do so.

The ninth chapter of the Book of Revelation has always had a deep fascination with me, and I am interested in hearing what other members might say about it. What are the scorpions here? In keeping with my general interpretation of Revelation, I believe that the scorpions represent the immense Islamic armies which conquered the Middle East from about A.D. 630 to A.D. 780. These two years are end-points for a 150-year period, and 150 years could be regarded as "five months" = 150 days. The Muslim conquest was already going strong when Muhammad died (in 632), and continued until the start of the reign of Hauroun al-Rashid in Baghdad in 784. Locust plagues are prevalent in the desert and semi-arid climates of the Middle East and northern Africa. The demonic locusts in Revelation chapter nine are similar in some respects to terrestrial locusts, but they are endowed with the stinging capability of scorpions. Not only that, these scorpions are expressly commanded to torment only those persons who do NOT have the seal of God's grace on them. It remains to be seen how this feature should be connected with the Islamic armies of the seventh and eighth centuries of our era. It should be pointed out that the Islamic concept of hell includes punishment with scorpions in addition to punishment with fire. It is possible that the support for this Islamic concept came indirectly from the ninth chapter of Revelation.

I recently had a very strange dream, which came to me after deep meditation on the incident of the fiery furnace in the Book of Daniel (chapter 3). I dreamed that I was enjoying the steam room of a men's athletic club. While I dozed off, everyone else left, and then the electrical power was shut off. Upon awakening, I found myself locked inside the pitch-dark and extremely hot room. Suddenly the door opened, and a strange person entered the room. As he did so, the power came on just enough that I could see the person who was there with me. I was terrified to see that this person was none other than Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda. He was dressed in his finest military uniform, which was covered with medals and decorations. While Amin was fully clothed, I was totally naked. He said nothing, but beckoned me to come out with him. Although I was frightened out of my wits, I obeyed his command, but my heart felt like it would burst from my chest. He grabbed me by the shoulder and escorted me outside. The power had now gone out again, and we were plunged in total darkness. While I could not see anything, Amin informed me that he could see perfectly well in the complete absence of light, since he had that power from his sorcery. I knew by instinct that the surroundings were not those of the athletic club, and that I had somehow been transported to another location. He told me that his power of sorcery also extended over the element of fire, and that he would demonstrate that fact to my satisfaction. We turned a corner and stood in front of an immense furnace. I could feel the intense heat of the furnace on my body, even while we were in total darkness. Amin informed me that the power of his sorcery had made me able to withstand the heat of the fire inside the furnace. He opened the door, and we entered into the fire. The lurid glow of the flames made it possible for me to see once again. We sat down on a stone platform while the roaring fire engulfed us all around. I was astonished that we could both live and breathe in the fire. I was fully alert while inside the furnace, and I managed to speak to Amin with halting sentences. I noticed that neither of us seemed to really suffer in the fire, despite the terrible heat which registered on every part of my body. My skin remained intact, and I noticed that my moustache and body hair were not singed. Amin's uniform was not at all scorched. While Amin did not seem to sweat in the heat, my body was drenched with perspiration. While I had enjoyed my unique situation at first, I soon felt uneasy, and I asked Amin to let me go. He laughed with satanic glee, and informed me that I was in Hell! He then procured shackles to bind my hands and feet to the stone platform on which I had been seated, but on which I was now lying on my back. I writhed and screamed in terrible agony as my body began to sense more acutely the heat of the fire. I pleaded to let me have my clothes back, but he told me that I would be kept naked. He mocked me and my Christian faith, and he jeered that God would never be able to deliver me from his power. Then a deep calm came over me, when I realized that it WAS a dream, and that God, not Idi Amin, was in control over events. I regarded Amin as Satan himself, and I commanded him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to release me from his evil power. Just then the dream ended, and I awoke in my own bed and beside my loving wife. I was sweating profusely and my heart was racing, but there was a smile on my face, since I knew that I had been rescued from the Devil's power, even if only in a dream. My wife asked me what kind of dream I had had, but I found it impossible to put into words, although she could tell that it was a pretty intense one.