neil 's poporri

[Neil D]

I have just been thru a seminar where I have seen a different...well.,..maybe a better word is more indepth look at God....and Jesus....and us....and our relationship with each other....

I have been confronted with a couple of questions....and some of them are compelling....at least to me....

Concider the following questions-

Except for the second death, does God really kill......? The implicccation is that NO, He doesn't....

Does God do imposition when it comes to sin, or does God let sin run it's course? IOWs, does God reward/punish adventists for behaving and does Jesus come between you and God and take the punishment?....Or does warn and let the consequences take thier toll?

Does God have some sort of power that causes our natures to bring up so much guilt, anguish, when ever we really come close to God? Does God's truth and love cause the wicked to die from anguish ?

Ok, the source of these thoughts come from Herb Montogomery....if you know who he is...

[Neil D]

I think that the 1st and 2nd questions can be

solved by the same answer... GOD does not impose HIS

will on up so HE lets sin run its course...

and by doing this sin kills us

"the wages of sin is death"....

[Stewart (SDA)]

In my view, the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were very similar to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu in the Old Testament.

Nadab and Abihu entered into the direct presence of God in an unsanctified state, and they could not, did not, survive it.

Ananias and Sapphira made their pledge to give that money from the sale of their land, under a tremendous weight of conviction. That this couple "knew" that it was the right thing to do, is, in my view, a serious understating of the matter.

This couple "had been present with other believers when, after the apostles had prayed, "the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." ... Deep conviction had rested upon all present, and under the direct influence of the Spirit of God, Ananias and Sapphira had made a pledge to give to the Lord the proceeds from the sale of certain property." (AA 71)

I believe that such "weight" of conviction is not seen in our day, and that it will not be seen again until the time of the latter rain.

I can make only a brief comment here, but I do take the view that such deaths are ALWAYS an "intrinsic" result, rather than an "imposed", arbitrary, punishment on God's part.

Regards,

Stewart.