Your Date With Destiny: Meeting the Real Jesus

Misunderstanding Jesus' expectations of His followers is one of the biggest tragedies of all. Mistakenly assuming that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so we can now do whatever we want, many have a mental picture of Jesus as a quiet, docile, loving Being handing out eternal life to anyone who will simply acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. Many believe there are many roads to God and a Joyful afterlife.

The Bible reveals that we each have a date with destiny whwn we will face Jesus and give account of our actions. Similar to the confusion surrounding Jesus' first coming, misunderstanding is rampant regarding His return.

Jesus is pictured in the book of Revelation as the resurrected Savior, the Messiah who is preparing to return to earth a second time. "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore." (Rev. 1:18)

But how is He coming and why? In Matthew 24 He gives us the sobering answer. Responding to the disciples' question, about the time of His return and the end of this age of man. Jesus laid out a frightening scenario that that includes widespread religious deception, warfare, famines anford devastating natural disasters. "All these," He told them, "are the forof birth pains" that will usher in this new age to begin at His return. (Matthew 24:8)

Why must Jesus Christ return? Conditions will have grown so terrible, so life threatening, that human life will be in danger of exinction. He came to earth the first time to save us from our sins. He will come a second time to save usText from ourselves.

From the prophecies it becomes clear that Jesus didn't die for us to have our own way. "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:8-10).

Source: Your Date With Destiny: Meeting the Real Jesus


Peace to all,
Grandma
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[edit on 7/12/2009 by ArMaP]

[edit on 8/12/2009 by ArMaP]

I'll believe it when I see it. Until then the bible is meaningless and nothing but a good story. Everyone is free to practice what they want... however I believe we as mankind would be better off without religion influencing many matters.

reply to post by bigshow


For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:29


Peace,
Grandma

reply to post by Grandma


I don't often broach the subject of religion but I appreciate your thoughtful post; surely your intention is good?

Before I address the details of your post I would like to address a few issues that may detract from your reasoning. They're worth examining.

1. We first need to establish that there was a Jesus Christ.

Of course, you cite the Holy Bible as proof. That's understandable. So then:

2. Is the account of Jesus Christ from the Holy Bible accurate?

Very similar stories of the son of God sent to save humanity (and many other striking symmetries) exist in many other (and older) documents.

3. Is the truth of reality such that any of what is claimed in the Holy Bible is even possible?

Now those are questions I think everyone should answer for themselves, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Beyond the need for faith. For your sake I hope that you have.

With respect to your main point, I must respectfully disagree. I consider that the belief that salvation will come from outside has led to man's lack of responsibility for his own condition. A planet armed to the brink of insanity and the starvation of billions is the obvious result.

The problem is, what if you, along with 1 billion other people, are wrong? [I won't address the likelihood]. It seems that man has always been waiting for someone to come save us from ourselves, yet few have thought to take responsibility and solve the barbarism that afflicts us.

We live in a critical time. The means of destruction have become such that they can extinguish virtually all life on Earth. Yet we wait for salvation.

Maybe we need a new game plan.

-Shane

reply to post by Grandma


Do you consider copy/pasting from another site and presenting it as your own work to be a "Christian" thing to do?

If you are going to use another person's work, word for word, at least have the decency to give attribution.

www.ucg.org...

Luke 18:19
"Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

Will Santa Clause be there? If so...

Seadoo

Biohazard

Treasure Island Marina

Heaven on Earth

Seriously...all you get is what you got between now and dead. Enjoy it before its gone. Your in heaven now...the only one we will ever get.

Superstitions are wasting so many people's lives.

I hope to score two of the above before the worms feast on me!

I'd say that if I met Jesus, it'd be my date with density!

Reading this reminds me of those little comics that fundamentalists give you at the bus station. I usually color them in and rewrite the text so that it's a little funnier. (much like the many translators of the real Bible).

i just think its awesome how so many can ignore the prophecy thats been fulfilled in the last 100 years alone.

ezekiel 38 & 39
keep an eye posted in the middle east, russia is in alliance with iran, heavily.
it'll be interesting what people will post when it happens. might wake a few of you up even

reply to post by randolrs1


Shane, the bigger question is "What if you are wrong?" You have every right to question things you have no knowledge of but have you given careful thought, to what excuse/s you will give to your maker if/when asked why you failed to believe in him?

You seem to have no problem with witnessing that people are starving to death on the planet but you have a problem, accepting witness from people who have personally experienced Jesus?

When did mans word become so worthless with you?

I don't think that Grandma was trying to fool anyone into thinking that the work presented was her own. The formatting for quotes is very obvious. I believe that it was a simple mistake in not including attribution.

I'm not sure where the conspiracy lies though.

This is the CiR subforum and it is getting harder and harder to find threads about actual Conspiracies.

I would prefer that the mods become more draconian and move anything that is not conspiracy related to Faith and Spirituality in BTS. That most likely won't be happening, so maybe just a change of the title here to 'Religion and anti-Religion Catch-All' would be fitting.

Eric

Originally posted by randolrs1
1. We first need to establish that there was a Jesus Christ.

Actually, no you don't. In the end, it does not even matter if he was real or not.

The "truth" of Jesus can be found in his words and what he says and does. It is only by understanding of what he says that you will know 1 way or another. So, instead of focusing on if "Jesus is real" or not, focus on "Is what he says true and right". Then you will start to understand.

The smartest thing I ever did was remove god from religion and religious people. Then I started to understand.

I think of it like the Matrix movie. Is Neo and the Machines literally real? No. But the "Truth" of that movie is not found in the literal, it's found in what it expresses - for those who can understand it. If you understand the philosophy in the matrix, then it was a movie that said alot of truth about things. If you do not understand, then you got a movie with cool CGI.

To argue over if the matrix is literally real is to miss the entire point, and the same is true with Jesus.

I have no trouble believing such a person did exist. But that is not the real point of it. It's the understanding that he speaks of and lives that is the real truth. Jesus is the "truth" because he lives it, not the other way around. It isn't the truth because Jesus did it.

The majority of Christians are on the same level as arguing over if the matrix is literally real or not. Which is why I don't consider myself one.

2. Is the account of Jesus Christ from the Holy Bible accurate?

Very similar stories of the son of God sent to save humanity (and many other striking symmetries) exist in many other (and older) documents.

If you have understanding, then to know these answers should be no different than taking a math test. You should know NOT because you memorized the words, or memorized 1+1=2, but instead because you understand. When you have understanding, then you will know if something is a true expression or not.

This is what Jesus means by let those with ears hear. Not that people were all walking around with no ears, but those who could understand him.

True understanding is universal, just like math is. So that other cultures have the same understandings in general is not a bad/wrong thing at all. Just different expressions of the same understanding. A rose by any other name still smells the same. Christians says 1+1=2, another may say 2+2=4.

Only those without understanding would find it odd. Why? Because they only memorized. So just like a math test, when something doesn't match your memorization then you may think it wrong. And it becomes the devil, and then they start doing evil things etc. But, if they have understanding, then they know both 1+1=2 and 2+2=4 are expressions of the same understanding.

If an American Indian says "Great Spirit". I know what they are talking about. I don't express that understanding with the same words, but it's actually no different than 2 languages having 2 words to describe "tree". And the fact that this understanding is universal among so many cultures should be clue there is truth in it. It is by that which you know.

I recommend checking out proverbs 8 and 9. It says directly - "knowledge of the holy is understanding". It says forsake the foolish(those who only memorize) and go in the way of understanding.

Like Einstein said - Any fool can know, the point is to understand. And he was talking about more things than just what the bible says.

Don't think for a minute Christianity represents Jesus. It is the opposite of Jesus. If it represented and did as Jesus, what would be the need in him coming back?

3. Is the truth of reality such that any of what is claimed in the Holy Bible is even possible?

Yes, but only by understanding. You are not supposed to accept things, you are supposed to understand them. It is by understanding that people are able to keep the commandments(and when you understand them, you have no problem with why to keep them).

Also, the bible contains both sides. But only those with understanding will be able to see that. If you don't have understanding, then you accept it all even the contradictions and you are blind and can be lead astray. If you have understanding, then right and wrong in the bible will be as clear as if 1 part said 1+1=2, and another part said 4+2=2.

Now those are questions I think everyone should answer for themselves, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Beyond the need for faith. For your sake I hope that you have.

You just need to understand what Jesus represents is all. Will a literal being named "Jesus" come to earth? Beats me, I'd be pretty skeptical honestly. The father is found within and so forth. But if such an event does happen, then it will only be based on understanding and what that being does that the truth will be known of them.

But what that really represents is a time when the truth rules the earth, where people follow the way and keep the commandments. A time when men are no longer manipulated and so forth. And when this will happen, I do not know. But it HAS to eventually happen. No question about it. Evil will rule this world until the entire world knows and understands the truth, the way and what is life and what is dead(it's not what you think).

So will it happen? It has too eventually.

With respect to your main point, I must respectfully disagree. I consider that the belief that salvation will come from outside has led to man's lack of responsibility for his own condition. A planet armed to the brink of insanity and the starvation of billions is the obvious result.

It doesn't come from the outside. Ultimately, the father is within and all understanding comes from the father. The events of this world today when it gets soo bad are exactly the events that wake people up and brings about the understanding and so forth.

You put your finger on a stove eye. It is going to burn you. If you refuse to remove your finger, it will continue to burn you. But the moment you remove your finger, the burning starts to stop. You will still feel the effects of that for some time(reaping what you sowed), but you've learned your lesson and so the healing begins.

If it does not happen and people do not wake up, then it will be no different than people who keep their finger on the stove eye. Now according to the bible, these would be those who reject the truth after the return of Jesus(return of truth). Like if someone came along and said - hey man, if you take your finger off the stove eye, it will quit burning you. And you said - ahh whatever, and kept doing it anyway.

Why do I think it will happen? Because it happened to me. I use to be an atheist, and I didn't learn or accept any religion. Jesus and the bible were the furthest things on my mind at the time, but I can not deny that after I read Jesus - I knew without a doubt he was telling the truth.

But don't confuse that with Christianity please. The blood sacrifice is a lie and a satanic ritual IMO. It is to say that the truth must die in order for these people to live. If the truth must die in order for you to live, then what does that say of you? What really happened is the truth was murdered by those who live in the lie in order to keep their lie going, and thus their power.

The problem is, what if you, along with 1 billion other people, are wrong? [I won't address the likelihood]. It seems that man has always been waiting for someone to come save us from ourselves, yet few have thought to take responsibility and solve the barbarism that afflicts us.

It's not about accepting a religion. If you read Jesus, then you will see that he actually scolds the Pharisees for doing nothing more than getting religious converts, by making them accept instead of understand and then turning them into a "child of hell".

What is being said is much deeper than what is on the surface. Always remember that we as humans are reduced to only being able to express understandings. We can not give each other understanding directly. There is no way for me to just transport the understanding of math to you. All I can do is express that math as 1+1=2, and hope that based on that expression you will know the understanding that is being expressed. In that case it is deeper than the 1+1=2, it's the understanding I am speaking that I am really trying to convey. And these things are not any different than that.

We live in a critical time. The means of destruction have become such that they can extinguish virtually all life on Earth. Yet we wait for salvation.

Maybe we need a new game plan.

-Shane

You accept the same authorities those Christians do, no matter if you realize it or not. Because you allow those same authorities to be the ones to define these topics for you. To those who crave power, they do not care if you "believe" or not. Just so long as you have allowed them to define "God" for you, to define "Jesus" for you. Because no matter what you opinion is on it either way, you've accepted what they've said as the authority on the topic, and your opinion is based only on that acceptance.

But it's not all doom and gloom like some Christians make it out to be. You only need to decieve good people, bad ones would do it knowing the truth. So once people come to understanding, then they will accept it and remove the finger from the stove eye.


I can go into more detail on these things if you would like. You have no idea how badly mindscrewed people are. But such is the price of learning good and evil.

Originally posted by bigshow
I'll believe it when I see it. Until then the bible is meaningless and nothing but a good story. Everyone is free to practice what they want... however I believe we as mankind would be better off without religion influencing many matters.

Although I am a christian, I believe that most of religion can easily be summarised as: be good to each other.

So why aren't we?

And besides, the bible is not a terribly good story. It is confusing, poorly written and conflicting.

Put down that bible, it is blocking your view of god.

Forget all that you think you know, seek and ye shall find.



If you talk to ten christians, you'll get ten different interpetations of the bible and end times.

They have their own personal belief system's in place, ... and just like us, are making it up as they go along.

The only difference is they all have a basic " mold" to work from.

[edit on 8-12-2009 by IntastellaBurst]

If you were to meet Jesus (or god), how could you determine if it were really him, and not just some other supernatural thing that was pretending to be him?

[edit on 8-12-2009 by Tearman]

reply to post by randolrs1

1. We first need to establish that there was a Jesus Christ.

Did you ever hear of Josephus? He was a Jewish historian(non Christian) who did make references to Jesus.

2. Is the account of Jesus Christ from the Holy Bible accurate?

So far yes, No one has been able to successfully dispute the facts.

Very similar stories of the son of God sent to save humanity (and many other striking symmetries) exist in many other (and older) documents.

True, did you ever here the term prophecy

3. Is the truth of reality such that any of what is claimed in the Holy Bible is even possible?

Thats what makes it so miraculous!! If it was a common occurrence no one would make such a big deal, now would they?

Now those are questions I think everyone should answer for themselves, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Beyond the need for faith. For your sake I hope that you have.

You have just reinforced my faith. Thank you.

Originally posted by Tearman
If you were to meet Jesus (or god), how could you determine if it were really him, and not just some other supernatural thing that was pretending to be him?

[edit on 8-12-2009 by Tearman]

you would know

he emanates love to a degree that is both overwhelming and unmistakable
you can't fake that kind of love
it GLOWS

Originally posted by oliveoil
reply to post by randolrs1

 

1. We first need to establish that there was a Jesus Christ.

Did you ever hear of Josephus? He was a Jewish historian(non Christian) who did make references to Jesus.

i hate to burst your bubble
(and i'm not trying to take away from your argument because i think we're basically on the same page, you and i, more or less)
BUT...it is pretty much proven that Josephus' references to Jesus were later additions to the text by early Christians...i can find some links if you are interested.

reply to post by queenannie38

pretty much proven that Josephus' references to Jesus were later additions to the text by early Christians.

I was not aware of this. Are you sure? What about his reference to the brother of Jesus, are they too additions? In any event, there has to be some connection somewhere concerning Jesus besides the gospels.

reply to post by badmedia

Actually, no you don't. In the end, it does not even matter if he was real or not.

Woe! I'm dumb founded. Where did that come from? That is one of the best posts I've read on ATS. If I could only applaued you. I wish I would have said that cause now I don't even have anything to say. i only quoted this much but I'm talking about the whole thing.

What he said!
Good job Bad

Stella

Put down that bible, it is blocking your view of god.

Just a heads up, this new line your using is already old
(you know your description of God whom you claim not to believe in, but
still have a stereotyped description of) and really wasn't even worth repeating even once.
Just sayin

[edit on 8-12-2009 by randyvs]