How inspiration works

[JawgeFromJawja]

So Jawge, since I sincerely believe that ALL people who call themselves a Christian who believe and follow the words of Paul and believe that the whole bible is the words of God, ARE practicing blasphemy, does that ruffle your feathers too?

Gracious, no! My feathers usually get ruffled only by mean spirited personal attacks. Were you trying to ruffle my plumage?

If so, I can laugh at that.

However, sometimes we on the forum do get our feathers ruffled too easily, certainly including me.

I propose that we all prayerfully commit to better control of ugly or negative displays of emotion. It's okay to be angry for a good reason; Jesus himself decried anger without reason. But he also said that if you have anything against your brother, don't even worship before you get right with him. Which is a good recommendation for positive, good-willed assertiveness.

Basically, your statements about Saint Paul are flabbergasting to most of us Christians. Do you accept that he was personally chosen by Jesus, and is therefore an apostle? Finally, are you a Seventh Day Adventist? Your theology does not sound like the simple and gentle theology my wife espouses.

Agape, the guttural pronunciation

JawgeFromJawja

[ClubV12]

Jawge, your interesting take on how the bible supports reincarnation makes me more thankful than ever for Ellen Whites inspired writings to help bring light to bible interpretation. :)

[JawgeFromJawja]

Jawge, your interesting take on how the bible supports reincarnation makes me more thankful than ever for Ellen Whites inspired writings to help bring light to bible interpretation.

I did not pull the idea of reincarnation as a teaching of first century Jews out of the air. Apparently that concept was prevalent among religious leaders of Jesus time:

Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

One persistent theory among the Jews of that time was that the prophets repeatedly reappeared among the living. The underlined verse above demonstrates that belief. Note again, Jesus did not rebuke the idea, even though he knew that in his case he was not a reincarnation of a Jewish prophet.

It is a known fact that reincarnation was, and to some extent, remains a teaching of Kaballah. Evidence of teachings of esoteric Judaism can be found even before the first century. (Note Miz3 and others - Kaballah can be spelled dozens of ways: capital C or K, single or double "L", single or double "B", and with or without a terminal "H") .

Agape

JawgeFromJawja

[Dr. Rich]

Dr. Rich you and musicman1228 believe that God is not the ruler of anything in this world. You believe that satan rules and God is limited in what He can do.

Here is an eyewitness text for you that says different."Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26.

I think that means God can and does anything God please anywhere and anytime God pleases. NO LIMITS ON GOD!

Well duh? Of course all things are possible with God! What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Study Daniel two for a clue.

[Dr. Rich]

Jawge, Jesus spoke in a language that only those with ears could understand. Matt. 13:10-13. Jesus clearly told the apostles that were with Him, that the first Elijah had come and he was the one that was seen that came down from heaven. He also told them that the second Elijah, (John the Baptist) was the one that no one recognized as the second 'Elijah'. He also told them that a final third Elijah type will come in the last days and this is the one found in Matthew 24:45 who will be ONE person pointing to the words of Jesus Christ as the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, and this ONE person will be doing that when Jesus comes like a thief, which is not the same event at coming in the clouds.

By the way, that ONE person is right now active and feeding (teaching) the real truth to the few who are right now the bondservants for Jesus Christ. Problem is, just like John the Baptist was not recognized, neither is/will this ONE person be recognized by the majority of the SDA church before it's too late for them to do anything about it. (See Rev. 3:4-5)

[Dr. Rich]

Jawge, Yes I am an old codger too and have been a SDA all my life. I did not jump ship after discovering errors with the present day doctrines as I have also discovered that the Adventists fit the description of Matthew 25 Ten Virgin prophecy and the ONE kingdom of Heaven that all seven of the messages to the KOH are given as found in Rev. 2 and 3.

I have rubbed shoulders with any of the leaders, teachers and preachers and see their errors, but also see that most have invested their life into the 'system' and it now is a money thing with them as they don't know what else to do. It is my prayer that they will come to their senses before it is too late. And that is why I write the things that I do. So far, NO ONE has been able to show me that the words of Jesus are wrong by using His words given to us by His eyewitnesses. Come check us out:

http://web.mac.com/spiritoftruth/STM/Welcome.html

[Musicman1228]

Dr. Rich you and musicman1228 believe that God is not the ruler of anything in this world. You believe that satan rules and God is limited in what He can do.

Here is an eyewitness text for you that says different.

"Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”"

Matthew 19:26.

I think that means God can and does anything God please anywhere and anytime God pleases. NO LIMITS ON GOD!

For you to say this after I have made myself as clear as I can shows a rank distain for honestly believing that what I wrote is what I meant.

I never said that God does not rule ANYTHING in this world: I said He does not rule the kingdoms of this world, those are ruled by Satan. God does rule the Kingdom of Heaven that is in the world but not OF the world. I don't know how many times I have said that but it has been a lot. And for you to ignore it means you just don't care what others say, you only care for your beliefs and opinions. How sad.

And you are completely incorrect when you say "God can do anything He pleases anywhere and anytime". If this were the case then why doesn't God simple stop all of the bad things that happen to innocent people in this world? Why didn't He stop genocide in Darfur, or Stalin killing 20,000,000 of his own people, or the Twin Towers crashing to the ground. Surely if God is love He would have stopped those things if He could have done so?

God has a set of Laws that govern the operation of His universes. In our universe the laws of gravitation and the physical operation of the planets, the sciences, and free will (to name but a few) have all been put in place by God to organize and structure how His universe operates and how the beings in His universe relate to Him and to others. God has made himself subject to the same laws to which all beings are subject. He plays by the rules He designed for everyone.

So yes, God has the power and the capability to do anything He wants, anytime and anywhere, and anyWHEN. He just chooses not to operate outside of His own Laws, because His Laws are HIM.

[miz3]

For you to say this after I have made myself as clear as I can shows a rank distain for honestly believing that what I wrote is what I meant.

I never said that God does not rule ANYTHING in this world: I said He does not rule the kingdoms of this world, those are ruled by Satan. God does rule the Kingdom of Heaven that is in the world but not OF the world. I don't know how many times I have said that but it has been a lot. And for you to ignore it means you just don't care what others say, you only care for your beliefs and opinions. How sad.

And you are completely incorrect when you say "God can do anything He pleases anywhere and anytime". If this were the case then why doesn't God simple stop all of the bad things that happen to innocent people in this world? Why didn't He stop genocide in Darfur, or Stalin killing 20,000,000 of his own people, or the Twin Towers crashing to the ground. Surely if God is love He would have stopped those things if He could have done so?

God has a set of Laws that govern the operation of His universes. In our universe the laws of gravitation and the physical operation of the planets, the sciences, and free will (to name but a few) have all been put in place by God to organize and structure how His universe operates and how the beings in His universe relate to Him and to others. God has made himself subject to the same laws to which all beings are subject. He plays by the rules He designed for everyone.

So yes, God has the power and the capability to do anything He wants, anytime and anywhere, and anyWHEN. He just chooses not to operate outside of His own Laws, because His Laws are HIM.

1. I guess you don't believe God's own Words. Here they are!

"Although the whole earth is mine"

Exodus 19:5.

If God owns the whole world that means "lock, stock, and barrel". Satan cannot then own anything! (includes your so-called "kingdoms of this world".

What is it about the Bible you don't understand?

2. It is not a matter of "listening to what you say or anybody says".

IT IS A MATTER OF LISTENING TO WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!

You keep ignoring what the Bible says in its clear and unambiguous statements.

3. Where in the Bible does it say that God is "subject to His Laws"?

The Bible says:

"Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”"

Matthew 19:26.

Sounds to me like you and I are bound by Law but God can and does do anything He likes. God is not subject to the Law because then the Law would be "god". Duh!

No! God has not "made himself subject to Law"! God is NOT LIMITED BY ANY LAW!

The miracles of Jesus Christ demonstrate that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are constantly operating outside the Laws that govern the Universe!

The lame man lowered down the roof was healed because God went against the natural Laws of cause and effect when we sin. You know the story in Mark chapter two?

"Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”"

Mark 2:6-12.

I would say that reverses the Law!

All of Jesus Miracles were acts of breaking the Law that was in place!

God does choose to operate outside His own Laws!

[Tom Wetmore]

And I believe that same Spirit of inspiration is continually at work now as it was in times past. Like a gentle rain, it falls from above. Some people pay attention and get it. Some don't. And then some put on their rain coat and put up their umbrellas so as not to get wet. But it is the water of life and those who search for it will find it is all around them and in them. Some get it from others. Some give it to others. Some find it working together with others.

We all have this gift...

Just read this term on Facebook and it clicked finally for me. It aptly describes what I have been thinking and trying to express for a long time about this topic.

"Whole-person inspiration"

This seems to be what EGW described. God inspired men to write Scripture.

It is different from verbal inspiration. It is different from thought inspiration.

[Woody]

Quote:

We all have this gift...

[olger]

"Rubbish" as Grandma would say.