SolaDude wrote:
Yeah, like Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus in the Transfiguration. Where had they been since their deaths? Walking the earth? Heaven?
Elijah was taken up into heaven. Both have been given resurrection bodies.
Jesus has one. We are not told this in detail but it lives for ever. Jesus is nearly 2000 years old. He can look differently as he does in Revelation. You will be given a ressurrection body if you are saved.
SolaDude wrote:
We just don't know the destination and fate of anyone because it's between God and the heart of that person, which no one can know because we do not have that "ESP" power to know the hearts of others.
Jesus judges. We are told that in Revelation. You can know how he judges because it is recorded in the Gospels. No human is good enough on their own. Even Moses was not perfect but was selected because He had his heart right for the function of bringing the Children of Israel out of Egypt. He did this at risk of his life. The people he saved nearly rebelled and killed him. They said, "Have you brought us out in the wilderness to kill us." God supplied what was needed. Mana from heaven with a double portion on Friday so they had enough for Shabbat. The stone that God cracked poured water in in the desert is still there. The crack is vertical. There was enough water to pool into a lake so they could water themselves and animals. Today it is called the Rock at Horeb.
SolaDude wrote:
If God can do anything he wants (as opposed to the God of the CofC who lives in a box), then he can save anyone he wants to at anytime he wants to or do ANYTHING else he wants to, heal others, stop violent onslaughts, put evil people to death, and on and on....
I found God out in the world away from the CoC. I do not belong to the CoC and want no part of it!!!!!! God can make robots. He clearly wants people to chose to serve him because he did not make robots. You are free to chose. If you want to be a robot then join the Calvinists. This world will degrade into a real mess. It gets so bad that the Lord returns to save Israel which is being attacked at the end of the tribulation by many countries. This is part of future things that the CoC has no idea about.
SolaDude wrote:
Don't we all remember all those dreadfully tearful "it's too late" sermons, talking about all those who didn't make it because they didn't have the chance to go through the 5 steps before they found themselves in their death bed? Well, it's never too late, even on one's deathbed one still has their inner heart and what they decide to do with it before they die with respect to God is between themselves and Him. What kind of God would refuse one calling on His name on their deathbed? Well, obviously the god of the CofC would.
The CoC was guilt oriented. You bear your own guilt for your sins. Everyone does. The God of the CoC is a misrepresentation. The five finger exercise is gathered from scripture heavily misinterpreted in meaning. Jesus inspects the heart.
Matthew 7 kjv
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
You can do wonderful things and still miss. What is important is the state of your heart. I don't like the CoC because they focus on the wrong thing. They do not really teach the gospel. They twist it into a mess. When something is wrong you will find lies. When you find lies you find Satan. I found lies. There are reasons why it is not inerrant. Matthew was written in Aramaic. It is a Hebrew derivative so you might hear Hebrew. Other books as well. This is current research and cutting edge. So things are still developing. The problem is that you cannot guarantee an inerrant translation. So Matthew was translated from Aramaic to Greek and then from Greek to English. So do we have an inerrant English Bible. I have noted previously that the first chapter of Matthew has several errors in it. One is that Matthew says that there are 3 lists of 14 generations in the Geneology of Jesus. I noticed that it was one name too short. Even Bart Ehrman noticed it. The Hebrew version of Matthew that was found says that Joseph was Mary's father not her husband. It was mistranslated by the Greek translator. It is not uncommon for Hebrew genealogies to leave out some generations because they get very long. Much of this genealogy is in the Old Testament and 4 names are missing. There is also a generation that has different names. The names in English are transliterated Hebrew. Does it matter? Not much except to those that claim inerrancy. Keep looking for the truth and you will find it. I do not know everything but answers do appear eventually. What is the fruit of the Church of Christ? That should give the answer your are looking for. The CoC is like a spiritual desert. They cannot destroy your spirit. They will wound it. You have to let it out from the jail that it has been shoved in. It is worse for kids that have been raised in it. To explain it you have to study brain development. I consider it downright evil.