Hi Longhorn,
Wow, great thread. I love reading everybody's stories of how they got here. It's so fascinating how God can just pluck you out of whatever point you are in your life and say "Okay, it's time for some truth now!" Very Cool.
Having come from a background in the SDA church I didn't believe in eternal hell fire but rather anihillation. However, I had not been going to church for some time (about a year) as I was going through what I thought to be a real spiritual dry spell. No interest. Zippo. Then one day, almost suddenly, things changed and I started doing research on the internet on various topics. It started with wanting to understand Daniel and Revelation (there is a lot of end-time prophecy in the SDA). From there I spent several months getting into all sorts of bizarre studies and information, from the Serpent Seedline to the Reptillian Conspiracy to the Pauline Conspiracy theories....I mean some really crazy stuff. I was just all over the place to the point that I really didn't know what in the world the truth was. Some groups out there can "seemingly" back up their theories with scripture etc. and it can make your head spin.
Anyways, I really got the sense that God was pulling the rug out from under me but I had no idea yet what he really had in store for me. I realized I didn't understand the bible at all and started thinking that it was really impossible to know any truth, since so many people could take scripture and make it mean whatever they wanted! I was exasperated.
Somehow though I just knew that God would not have made some torture chamber of fire, and I clung to that. I also firmly believed that the dead aren't floating around in heaven or roasting in hell. I started begging God to show me HIS TRUTH no matter what the cost. At the time, I started returning to SDA doctrine and studying it out. I figured this is how He led me to be a Christian in the first place, maybe he wanted me to get back to Church! I also determined to do as much research as possible to show my hell-believing sister-in-law that hell didn't actually exist. I knew about Hades, Sheol, Gehenna etc and i was doing research on that so I think I must have typed in one of those words. And that's what finally led me to bibletruths.
Oh boy, I remember physically shaking and trembling at times and like many of you I just could not stop reading until I had the whole site read (I think it took me about six months). I was speed reading. And I wonder how I missed so much when I go back for re-reads!! haha There really is just a feeling in the depth of your soul that this is different, that you really are on to something, and that God has answered your prayer. It's amazing how much I keep learning. You think you understand something and then God takes you to a deeper level of understanding. Awesome!
God Bless Ray and God Bless this Forum, peace,
Diana