I have enjoyed this thread...but I have an itsy bitsy question.....
Ahem...Can God actually be in the unseen w/ us? Why would He be if our spirit goes back to Him?
Or can half a verse be literal and half a verse be spiritual?
I agree that is a beautifully worded passage....I just would like to answer intelligently when my friend will certainly use this scripture "against" the dead being dead!
What does one have to do with the other, every place where Scripture is quoted, that Scripture is Truth. Are we going to pick and choose which Scripture to believe now.Psa 119:160 (KJV) Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Psa 119:160 (CLV)The sum of Your word is truth, And all of Your righteous ordinances are eonian."
Psa 119: 156-168 (CLV)165 Much peace is for those loving Your law, And there is no stumbling block for them."
166 I look forward to Your salvation, O Yahweh, And I perform Your instructions."
167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly."
168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, For all my ways are in front of You."
These verses in 2nd Timothy are very important to read now, in connection with so much idle speculation going on. There is so much in Scripture that has been laboriously explained by Ray; and members have agreed to at least read and learn the basics of Rays teaching.
Recognize that no one is here by their own freewill; so then we are her by The Grace Of GOD And Our Lord Jesus Christ. Come on people there is serious learning to do here and time draws ever nearer when this Age will be past.
At that time everyone of us will either be in The First Resurrection or waiting for Judgment in The LOF.
Sorry if this sounds harsh, it is meant to remind us of what we are about here.2Tim 2: 5-19 (GNB)5 An athlete who runs in a race cannot win the prize unless he obeys the rules.
6 The farmer who has done the hard work should have the first share of the harvest.
7 Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will enable you to understand it all.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, who was raised from death, who was a descendant of David, as is taught in the Good News I preach.
9 Because I preach the Good News, I suffer and I am even chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not in chains,
10 and so I endure everything for the sake of God's chosen people, in order that they too may obtain the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus and brings eternal glory.
11
This is a true saying: "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. 12
If we continue to endure, we shall also rule with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. 13 If we are not faithful, he remains faithful, because he cannot be false to himself."
14 Remind your people of this, and give them a solemn warning in God's presence not to fight over words. It does no good, but only ruins the people who listen.
15 Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth.
16
Keep away from profane and foolish discussions, which only drive people farther away from God. 17 Such teaching is like an open sore that eats away the flesh. Two men who have taught such things are Hymenaeus and Philetus.
18 They have left the way of truth and are upsetting the faith of some believers by saying that our resurrection has already taken place.
19
But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: "The Lord knows those who are his" and "Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing." george.