A Few Random Questions

[Shalah]

Wow, it's been a while. And thanks again for everyone's help. It really means a lot to me.
So obviously I have another question. If one of God's commandments is that we shall not murder, was there some kind of exception for Him when He decided to wipe out nearly everyone on the face of the earth with a flood? How is that not murder?

And another thing: at our church's Vacation Bible School this year (we were with the 7yr-9yr age group), one of the VBS leaders was telling the kids that there cannot be any sin in Heaven and anyone who sins in Heaven is sent somewhere else. Where is this somewhere else, and if that was really the case, how could anyone possibly last in Heaven if sin is in our nature and happens so frequently?

Last one for tonight, I promise! It's more of a minor question. If Adam and Eve were the first people that God created and they were living in a perfect world, where did Satan come from? From what I've heard, Satan started off as an angel but was more caught up in himself than he was with God, and was basically turned into the devil as punishment. But if this is the case, I must be misunderstanding something. I thought that angels had to first be humans who lived on the earth at some point in time and went to Heaven after they died. When and how did Satan come in to this perfect world with these perfect people and a perfect God?  

[Fushigi na Butterfly]

There is a huge difference between murder and killing. Murder is wrongful killing, whereas killing is ending a living creature's life. We kill our pets all the time when we have to put them down if they're suffering (we just use nicer words); it is not murder (okay, I agree, it's hard to use animals in this example, because no one thinks of "murdering" an animal- though people do go to jail for it I assure you). God doesn't murder; when He ordered people to annihilate other nations in war, or when He destroyed the world with a flood, it was in the name of justice. In the case of Noah and the flood, there was no one left that was innocent, that was righteous in God's eyes. It was a just cleansing of the earth.

There is no sin in Heaven. It's the reason Jesus came- to wash us with His blood and allow us entry into God's presence.

Please take a look at the following threads for previous/current discussions on Satan:

Angels and Demons
Satan
*EDIT*(shorter)Can someone answer this for me?

Hopefully those will answer your questions. 3nodding  

[Atreadia Allaani]

Shalah

I was just reading my Bible yesterday and decided to jot down questions that I have had in the past/as I was reading. So... (And I may add more with time).

1. How will we know when Jesus comes back to earth (if he does in our lifetime)? Couldn't any skilled practitioner of magic claim to be Jesus and perform acts that would make them appear to be Jesus?

2. How can I share God's word with some of my non-Christian (and Pagan, etc) friends, and what kind of conversation would be appropriate to discuss this? For instance, I know this one would be kind of bad (I wouldn't actually say this. It's just a dramatic example):
Them: "The math homework wasn't too bad today".
Me: "Yeah. You know what? God loves you more then you will ever know."
Them: "Huh?"

3. Is anything expected of you before/after you are baptized (except believing that Jesus is the son of God and he died for our sins etc)? What does it mean (spiritually) to be baptized?

4. God states that Christians should both be there for "evildoers" and stay away from them so you don't become like them, but which one would be the wiser choice? I guess that it would depend on who the "evildoer" is and what they are like, huh?

Here are some of the answers I have either tried myself, or was given by my elders

1. There are clues throughout the Bible as to the time of Christ's return. Part of being ready is reading the Scriptures and keeping tally of those things prophesied that have come to pass in our generations.

2. The best way to share Christ with our friends and family is by living Christ. I don't know what you have been taught, but when I became a Christian I changed from the person I was before, and my family and friends noticed it.

Prayer for your friends and family is also another way to share the love of Christ. In our church we have what we call intercessory prayer. In this time we pray for those that we know and love, not just for healing or safety, but for their soul. We pray that God will lay a desire upon their hearts to know Him better. And I can say for myself that it works. (My granny prayed for me this way for 16 years)

3. I believe that repentance is partially necessary before baptism, and certainly necessary after baptism. Belief is important to baptism. Some will say that if you believe, then you are saved, but I don't get where they come up with that since the Scriptures say differently.

But I digress. When a person desires to be baptized, I advocate a period of fasting and prayer. Why? Because then that person is not getting baptized because their friends are getting baptized and it looks cool. Secondly, I advocate searching the Scriptures on the Plan of Salvation. (I know each church has a different idea as to what that plan looks like...)

Baptism (spiritully) is an acknowledgement that there is a God, that Jesus died for our sins. It is being burried with Christ, being plunged under the blood of the Lamb. When we emerge we are exhorted to live as new creatures, for our old (sinful nature) man has died and we are living in the newness of life.

4. What God is saying when we are exhorted to keep ourselves separate from the world is not that we should block ourselves in secret compounds, but that we should not be driven by the world or its desires. We should keep ourselves out of places that will cause us to be tempted to follow after sin. This is how the Christian exists in two worlds, the Godly world, and the natural world. We are here to be lights in the darkness of sin. We are not here to sin ourselves, but to pull those who are mired in sin into God's perfect light. That is why Paul admonishes the church to abstain from those things that even look like sin, so that we can help those who are living in a sinful world see God.  

[Tirissana]

Fushigi na Butterfly

There is a huge difference between murder and killing. Murder is wrongful killing, whereas killing is ending a living creature's life. We kill our pets all the time when we have to put them down if they're suffering (we just use nicer words); it is not murder (okay, I agree, it's hard to use animals in this example, because no one thinks of "murdering" an animal- though people do go to jail for it I assure you). God doesn't murder; when He ordered people to annihilate other nations in war, or when He destroyed the world with a flood, it was in the name of justice. In the case of Noah and the flood, there was no one left that was innocent, that was righteous in God's eyes. It was a just cleansing of the earth.

There is no sin in Heaven. It's the reason Jesus came- to wash us with His blood and allow us entry into God's presence.

Please take a look at the following threads for previous/current discussions on Satan:

Angels and Demons
Satan
*EDIT*(shorter)Can someone answer this for me?

Hopefully those will answer your questions. 3nodding

Actually, murder is the act of unlawful killing. Killing someone is looked as unlawful in a modern industrialized democratic culture. (will add more much later)  

[Atreadia Allaani]

-Tsukiyo-Moon Maiden

Fushigi na Butterfly

There is a huge difference between murder and killing. Murder is wrongful killing, whereas killing is ending a living creature's life. We kill our pets all the time when we have to put them down if they're suffering (we just use nicer words); it is not murder (okay, I agree, it's hard to use animals in this example, because no one thinks of "murdering" an animal- though people do go to jail for it I assure you). God doesn't murder; when He ordered people to annihilate other nations in war, or when He destroyed the world with a flood, it was in the name of justice. In the case of Noah and the flood, there was no one left that was innocent, that was righteous in God's eyes. It was a just cleansing of the earth.

There is no sin in Heaven. It's the reason Jesus came- to wash us with His blood and allow us entry into God's presence.

Please take a look at the following threads for previous/current discussions on Satan:

Angels and Demons
Satan
*EDIT*(shorter)Can someone answer this for me?

Hopefully those will answer your questions. 3nodding

Actually, murder is the act of unlawful killing. Killing someone is looked as unlawful in a modern industrialized democratic culture. (will add more much later)

The commandment :Thou shalt not kill, is more aptly translated "You shall not Murder"

Murder is unlawful killing of another human being.
Killing in self defense is not murder.  

[Tirissana]

Atreadia Allaani

-Tsukiyo-Moon Maiden

Fushigi na Butterfly

There is a huge difference between murder and killing. Murder is wrongful killing, whereas killing is ending a living creature's life. We kill our pets all the time when we have to put them down if they're suffering (we just use nicer words); it is not murder (okay, I agree, it's hard to use animals in this example, because no one thinks of "murdering" an animal- though people do go to jail for it I assure you). God doesn't murder; when He ordered people to annihilate other nations in war, or when He destroyed the world with a flood, it was in the name of justice. In the case of Noah and the flood, there was no one left that was innocent, that was righteous in God's eyes. It was a just cleansing of the earth.

There is no sin in Heaven. It's the reason Jesus came- to wash us with His blood and allow us entry into God's presence.

Please take a look at the following threads for previous/current discussions on Satan:

Angels and Demons
Satan
*EDIT*(shorter)Can someone answer this for me?

Hopefully those will answer your questions. 3nodding

Actually, murder is the act of unlawful killing. Killing someone is looked as unlawful in a modern industrialized democratic culture. (will add more much later)

The commandment :Thou shalt not kill, is more aptly translated "You shall not Murder"

Murder is unlawful killing of another human being.
Killing in self defense is not murder.

Actually that is hard to prove in a homicide case. People view taking the life of another regardless of the fact it was self-defense or not is still murder.  

[ferret658]

Shalah

Wow, it's been a while. And thanks again for everyone's help. It really means a lot to me.
So obviously I have another question. If one of God's commandments is that we shall not murder, was there some kind of exception for Him when He decided to wipe out nearly everyone on the face of the earth with a flood? How is that not murder?

And another thing: at our church's Vacation Bible School this year (we were with the 7yr-9yr age group), one of the VBS leaders was telling the kids that there cannot be any sin in Heaven and anyone who sins in Heaven is sent somewhere else. Where is this somewhere else, and if that was really the case, how could anyone possibly last in Heaven if sin is in our nature and happens so frequently?

Last one for tonight, I promise! It's more of a minor question. If Adam and Eve were the first people that God created and they were living in a perfect world, where did Satan come from? From what I've heard, Satan started off as an angel but was more caught up in himself than he was with God, and was basically turned into the devil as punishment. But if this is the case, I must be misunderstanding something. I thought that angels had to first be humans who lived on the earth at some point in time and went to Heaven after they died. When and how did Satan come in to this perfect world with these perfect people and a perfect God?

Okay. There's a distinct difference between killing and murder. Murder is killing with malice behind it. If God was not perfect, He would have just murdered Lucifer when he got big headed and thrown out. God does not do something and then command us not to do it. That would contradict His nature.
I'm guessing that this other place is the only other place mentioned in the Bible. Hell.
Nope...Totally wrong. Angels were spoken into being just like the universe and the earth and animals. Man is the only creature in existence that God made with His own two hands. See the difference? And in the Bible it says that when we get to Heaven, we will be like the angels. That doesn't mean that we will be angels.
Satan came into being as Lucifer. God's right hand man so to speak. Lucifer one day got it in his head that he could be like the Most High and that he could ascend higher than God Himself. God cast Lucifer and his followers out of heaven. When they were cast out, I'm assuming that their names changed because their very essence changed. (In the Bible, names were used to identify what the individual was like)  

[Shalah]

Thanks everyone!
That actually cleared up a lot for me. I didn't really realize that there was a difference between murder and killing.
So when we become like the angels, does that cause us to lose our sinful nature and have a pure nature by default?  

[ferret658]

Shalah

Thanks everyone!
That actually cleared up a lot for me. I didn't really realize that there was a difference between murder and killing.
So when we become like the angels, does that cause us to lose our sinful nature and have a pure nature by default?

eek .....Let me ask my pastor about that one....I'm actually guessing that when we get to Heaven, everything is going to be like it was supposed to be. Perfection physically, mentally, emotionally; praises being thrown at God like wierd groupies throwing undies at some awesome band....
My idea of Heaven is weird, I'll admit, but it can't be anything like anybody imagines. What if God has story time or "Random joke in nature that you guys didn't catch" time, ya know? It's going to be amazing. mrgreen  

[Shalah]

ferret658

Shalah

Thanks everyone!
That actually cleared up a lot for me. I didn't really realize that there was a difference between murder and killing.
So when we become like the angels, does that cause us to lose our sinful nature and have a pure nature by default?

eek .....Let me ask my pastor about that one....I'm actually guessing that when we get to Heaven, everything is going to be like it was supposed to be. Perfection physically, mentally, emotionally; praises being thrown at God like wierd groupies throwing undies at some awesome band....
My idea of Heaven is weird, I'll admit, but it can't be anything like anybody imagines. What if God has story time or "Random joke in nature that you guys didn't catch" time, ya know? It's going to be amazing. mrgreen

Hey, it could be anything. =D
I imagine Heaven to be bright neon rainbows everywhere (even better than Crayola commercials), lots of dogs, endless singing... I wouldn't object to a good story time either.  

[Atreadia Allaani]

Shalah

ferret658

Shalah

Thanks everyone!
That actually cleared up a lot for me. I didn't really realize that there was a difference between murder and killing.
So when we become like the angels, does that cause us to lose our sinful nature and have a pure nature by default?

eek .....Let me ask my pastor about that one....I'm actually guessing that when we get to Heaven, everything is going to be like it was supposed to be. Perfection physically, mentally, emotionally; praises being thrown at God like wierd groupies throwing undies at some awesome band....
My idea of Heaven is weird, I'll admit, but it can't be anything like anybody imagines. What if God has story time or "Random joke in nature that you guys didn't catch" time, ya know? It's going to be amazing. mrgreen

Hey, it could be anything. =D
I imagine Heaven to be bright neon rainbows everywhere (even better than Crayola commercials), lots of dogs, endless singing... I wouldn't object to a good story time either.

Whatever heaven is like, we are only given a snippet.  

[ferret658]

Atreadia Allaani

Shalah

ferret658

Shalah

Thanks everyone!
That actually cleared up a lot for me. I didn't really realize that there was a difference between murder and killing.
So when we become like the angels, does that cause us to lose our sinful nature and have a pure nature by default?

eek .....Let me ask my pastor about that one....I'm actually guessing that when we get to Heaven, everything is going to be like it was supposed to be. Perfection physically, mentally, emotionally; praises being thrown at God like wierd groupies throwing undies at some awesome band....
My idea of Heaven is weird, I'll admit, but it can't be anything like anybody imagines. What if God has story time or "Random joke in nature that you guys didn't catch" time, ya know? It's going to be amazing. mrgreen

Hey, it could be anything. =D
I imagine Heaven to be bright neon rainbows everywhere (even better than Crayola commercials), lots of dogs, endless singing... I wouldn't object to a good story time either.

Whatever heaven is like, we are only given a snippet.

To Shalah: Don't forget the river that won't give us diarrhea rofl

To Atreadia: And that little snippet doesn't even do it justice...  

[Shalah]

Oh! I just thought of something else.
I know that in our youth group, the youth pastor tells us to treat a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship as if the other person was our brother...but how is anyone supposed to enjoy that kind of a relationship when you see your significant other as your sibling? That seems kinda weird to me, but I'm also guessing that I interpreted the message wrong. confused  

[Tirissana]

Shalah

Oh! I just thought of something else.
I know that in our youth group, the youth pastor tells us to treat a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship as if the other person was our brother...but how is anyone supposed to enjoy that kind of a relationship when you see your significant other as your sibling? That seems kinda weird to me, but I'm also guessing that I interpreted the message wrong. confused

That does very weird. I get the weird vibe that he might be promoting incest in a sense. I mean a boyfriend/girlfriend when you're dating means you are very much in love with someone and you could possibly marry them in the future. Whereas boyfriend/girlfriend in the normal friend sense means you're friends and treat each other like siblings. Try asking him to clarify.

In the north, women call their friends who are girls, girlfriends. It's not used in the first example I posted as one might think.  

[YeLlOwS]

Shalah

Thanks everyone!
That actually cleared up a lot for me. I didn't really realize that there was a difference between murder and killing.
So when we become like the angels, does that cause us to lose our sinful nature and have a pure nature by default?

we dont become angels, but become rulers with Christ, higher than angels smile

Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?
(1Co 6:1-4)
there are more verses