God of Isrelites

[Gregory Matthews]

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The view I have of my Papa is that He will want everyone who ever lived to have an equally fair chance of experiencing who He really is - not who others say He is - before deciding on their ultimate destiny.

The idea that every person will/must have an equally fair chance experiencing God is a fair idea.

One might say that such is impossible. I will suggest that the possibility lies in the idea that God's judgment/decision as to their eternal destiny is modified by His knowledge as to the depth of their experience of Him.

AS I understand your position, you suggest that at/after the 2nd Advent, God will give those who rejected Him a chance to change their mind. While this might seem to be a method by which all have an equally fair chance, I do think it is without Biblical support.

I prefer another possibility. Picture with me the idea expressed in Revelation 20:7 ff: Those who have chosen to spend eternity with Christ have spent the past 1,000 years with the Lord. During this time those humans who have chosen not to spend eternity with God have been dead. Now they are raised to life and they are looking upon the New Jerusalem.

As they look upon the NJ, Satan seeks to unite them in attacking the city (Verse 9). At that time, I will suggest that they have one last chance. I will suggest that if any person, at that time, changes their mind as to spending eternity with Christ, God will accept that decision.

However, I do not believe such will happen. As I think about things, I understand that during the preceding 1,000 years those who have been living with God will have had the opportunity to say to God: I note that Jim is not with us. I do not understand why. I think that he may not have had a good opportunity to chose eternal life with you. And God will say to such a person: Let us look in the record. We will see that Jim made a fully informed decision not to spend eternity with me. There is nothing more I could have done for Jim.

Now you may say that my thinking is not fully supported by the Bible. O.K. It probably is based on somewhat the same Biblical support as it your thesis. But, in my personal opinion, I think it is a better one.

It stems, in part, from my idea that the plan of salvation involves a Great Controversy theme: That is to say that every living, intelligent, being in the Universe and on the earth must be convinced, by the evidence, that every person has an equal opportunity for salvation and that God did everything possible to persuade them to chose life with Him without violating their free will.

[JoeMo]

Thanks for your thoughtful (and thought-provoking) response, Gregory. There are likely other scenarios as well where God gives all people an equal chance for salvation. Regardless of the scenario, reading eschatology in context with a world-view of a loving and merciful God, I am confident that God has already done everything He can to give us the gift of eternal life by sacrificing His Son in order to reconcile us to Himself; and He will continue to offer us His grace and mercy until the last possible moment. That being said, I don't think He's gonna resort to dragging people through the pearly gates kicking and screaming...

[joeb]

I

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s that not a misapprehension of reality

I can only speak of my own reality, LHC. That reality is that for more than half of my life, I struggled with fear of God - actually being afraid of Him - because I didn't and couldn't measure up. I saw the immense power of God in nature, but I never saw the love until recently. The view I have of my Papa is that He will want everyone who ever lived to have an equally fair chance of experiencing who He really is - not who others say He is - before deciding on their ultimate destiny.

[JoeMo]

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namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

Notice that some of His other attributes - His love, mercy, forgiveness, Jesus' sacrifice, etc. are not mentioned here.

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Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Paul seems to be talking about idolatry here; and the rest of the chapter talks about the results of falling into idolatry. In fact, the first 3 chapters of Romans - read in context - seems to be leading the reader into a path of how futile leaning on their own judgement can be; and how desperately we need a Savior. Then it leads us into finding that Savior; and how we are saved by faith and grace available only through Him.

Taken as a whole, Romans is one of the most revealing books on who God really is. I can't look at the short text you provided and make any "informed" decisions of who God is; I have to look at the whole book of Romans (indeed - the entirety of God's word; plus the revelation of the Holy Spirit to my heart)to know who God is.

[Aliensanctuary]

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A second chance?

For most of us, it will be our first chance to understand the Kingdom of YHVH. Our religions cannot adequately prepare us for this event, only the study of the teachings of the Son of Man can prepare us somewhat.

As I understand the Scriptures, there will be a 1st Resurrection composed of the 144K, while the later 2nd Resurrection is comprised of everyone else who has ever lived, hence, the 4 Beasts rising from the sea of people. The 4 Beasts rise to rule the ocean of resurrected people during a relatively short time. The 144K have already been tried by fire and are no longer subject to the 2nd death.

During this time period the Three Angels Messages are presented to the world, along with the testimony of the Two Witnesses. Everyone must choose whom they will serve, YHVH, or Satan. Those who receive the Mark of YHVH will ultimately be persecuted and killed by the servants of Satan. Following that time is Judgment Day, much longer than a day, of course, where the life records of all will be examined by the court, and passed or failed as worthy slaves of YHVH. All of those chosen to join YHVH's Kingdom will have their life records purged of all transgressions against the laws of the Kingdom. These life records are stored in the Temple and managed by the 144K "priests", or rather, technicians.

No one can earn their ticket to the Kingdom: they are all chosen.

Sadly, those who have been inscribed with the Mark of the Beast, indicating that they have chosen to become slaves of Satan, will not be allowed to join the Kingdom of YHVH. They will be destroyed, along with their life records, making it impossible for them to ever live again.