|
I do not claim to have correct answers, only what makes sense from a biblical point of view and what
I believe from the research I have done or the scriptures I have found relating to a certain question/topic.
Throughout the years, naturally, one of my greatest teachers in life has been my mother. When I was
a child she knew a lot of bible verses, however, she never claimed to know what they meant. She used to tell me something
to the effect of "Many will be called but few will be chosen" interpreting that to mean that only a few people would get into
heaven. So the question is "Will only few actually get into heaven?"
Answer: When the apostle John saw his revelation of heaven, he said, "After these things I looked,
and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands" (Rev. 7:9).
This put my mind at ease quite a bit. I read on someone elses website a reasonable explanation to
the biblical verses that refer to that saying that only a few will be chosen, saying that compared to the population of the
earth, the number verses the population will be few because many many people will choose against Christ. However, the reference
to a great multitude which "noone could count" reassured me in scripture!
There are some bible verses in the New Testament when Jesus spoke that says if your eye offends you,
pluck it out. Is that to be taken literally? Here is what I found from a bible study website, which I will add the link to
at the end of this answer:Jesus did not mean to literally cut off your hand or pluck out your eye if they cause you to sin
(Matt. 18:9-10). Our hands and eyes don't actually cause us to stumble, but our hearts cause us to sin. Jesus said,
"I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart"
(Matt. 5:28)
Hands and eyes are merely instruments of the heart. Jesus said, "For from within, out of the heart
of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries . . ." (Mark 7:21). Christ often shocked His
listeners by using extreme examples to illustrate the seriousness of sin. When we get our hearts right, then they way we use
our eyes and hands will also be right.
Click here for the bible study site I found this explanation from
Jesus said "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
heaven." I always thought that meant literally and that it is impossible for a rich man to enter heaven because they love
their money and put their riches before God.
Answer:I was discussing this with my dad and he said there is another definition for "eye of a needle"
and explained to me that it can also refer to a small gate entrance to a city. I don't know which eye of a needle Jesus was
talking about but remember with God all things are possible!
As much as I hate to admit it, when I was a teenager I played with a "Ouija" board where one supposedly
contacts the dead. Another girlfriend and I asked it questions and I was shocked when it gave me answers that I knew my friend
could not have known and I knew I wasn't moving the planchette myself. Some people will explain it as my subsconcious but
here is what the bible has to say, and the question is "Can we really contact the dead through the occult?"
Answer:This comes from the same site referred and linked to earlier in this page of questions.Some
ghost are demons which impersonate dead people. These demons are called "deceitful spirits" because of their ability
to convince people that they are disembodied spirits of dead people, rather than what they really are-fallen angels. First
Timothy 4:1 says some people will fall away from the faith because they have been listening to deceitful spirits. They are
trying to lead people away from the truth, who is Jesus Christ.These demons that imitate dead people are also called "familiar
spirits" in the Bible, probably because they were familiar with the deceased person and can imitate his or her voice. Spirit
mediums claim they can channel the deceased person's voice to give messages from the "other side." In most cases, the medium
fakes the person's voice. However in a few rare cases, it is a demon and not the deceased person who is speaking through the
medium.For example, a demon that was familiar with a person living in the 1800's can give accurate information about the deceased
individual. It will pretend to be the deceased person's spirit, but it is actually a demon. The Bible warns us about trying
to contact the dead because it opens the door to demons.Leviticus 20:6 says, "And the soul that turns after such as have familiar
spirits…I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people."Isaiah 8:19 "And
when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter:
should not a people seek unto their God?"
This question is one of the most confusing to me and I have yet to find an answer. If I go to heaven
and my husband does not, will I mourn for him in heaven? Or how about my children or my parents? If we are missing loved ones
in heaven with us, will we remember them? The logical answer seems to be no, because in heaven we are supposed to be in eternal
happiness. But I have spent lots of time worrying whether or not my loved ones are saved and will be in heaven with me. In
one of the Left Behind books, it says that God will wipe away all our tears, and I think that that in scripture surely refers
to any sadness we would have had before entering heaven concerning our loved ones not being with us. If anyone who reads this
question has an opinion to share and has more scriptural reference to add, please email me and let me know, I will definitely
put up any opinion that makes sense. I have heard a few on this subject that didn't make any sense, but I will add the opinion
of my brother on the husband/wife issue. He believes that God sees a husband and wife as only one person therefore meaning
that both the husband and wife go to heaven. But I don't think I believe that. I stay confused on this subject and propably
dwell on it too much, but I can think of nothing worse in this entire world than for my loved ones to not know Jesus and go
to hell.
I have recently found out an answer to a question that I have wondered about for a long time, although I am ashamed to
admit it, because in a way it is questioning God. I always wondered if God's will is perfect, why did he create Satan? If
God is all-knowing, why did he created Satan knowing that he would turn evil and why did sin have to exist? Well, this may
sound like a complicated answer, but it gave me a lot of peace of mind and made me stop wondering about this. God loves us
so much that he gave us our own free will to choose. If we were forced to worship and love him, then it is not true devotion
without the choice.
|
