Revelations Chapter 17 explained

[ReverendDaveULC]

[cuchulain]

5 hours ago, ReverendDaveULC said:

VonNoble, it is not offensive if you truely seek the truth and understanding of God's word. The answer to your question about why Jesus spoke in parables can be found in Mattew chapter 13 starting at verse 10 Bare with me as I recite scripture and then I will explain it.

        Matthew 13:10 

¹⁰ And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

¹¹ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

¹² For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

¹³ Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

¹⁴ And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

¹⁵ For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

           

           God gave mankind free will to do and to believe what we want. God loves us very much, so much that he sent his only Son to us to die for our sins so that we may be forgiven. We were created by God in His image and just as we love our children and try to teach and guide them they utimatley choose their own path and when they do we scold or punish them. God is no different. He gives us instruction. 66 books penned by over 40 writers inspired by 1 author; God himself. It's called the Holy Bible. To just anybody picking up this book and reading it seems like gibberish. Only when we se to know God our Father on a spiritual level is His word explained to us. You do not need an interpreter to understand the Bible. If you pray to God from your heart and ask for u derstanding of his word he will grant you unsterading. This what Jesus was speaking of when he said they have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear. They did not seek to understand His word, therefore they did not. Yes, Pastors, Reverends, Priests, Elders help to interpret the message but if you don't seek understanding then it still won't make sense. Many people go to church not because they seek God but because that's what they think they are suppose to do and it's more of a show than an act of faith. Every single person is a sinner, no matter how perfect they may seem to be on the outside.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:9-20 

⁹ What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

¹¹ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

¹² They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

¹³ Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

¹⁴ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood:

¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their ways:

¹⁷ And the way of peace have they not known:

¹⁸ There is no fear of God before their eyes.

¹⁹ Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

         This is the reason God no longer conversates with us in the traditional sense of verbal conversation. In the begining God walked and talked with man in the Garden of Eden. When man sinned for the 1st time by disobeying God's commandment of not eating from the tree of knowledge he separated himself from God. God is without sin and can't be anywhere near it so when man sinned he removed Himself from our presence. He now talks to us by other means; conviction of the heart (our conscience) by his angels guiding us, by our fellow man who bring us his word and plant the seed in our hearts. By you asking questions as you have shows you want to know more. That is the first step my friend. That is were your walk begins. God doesnt want to condemn us but rather give us eternal life with him in paradise. He longs for us to believe in Him. This is achieved by having faith

       Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

This means that salvation and eternal life is not granted by good works but by faith alone. You could do good works all your life and still not recieve salvation because you never had faith.

       John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This means having faith and believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was sent here to die on a cross for us, to pay a price that we never could, that the shedding of his blood would wash our sins away. This is the belief and faith God wants us to have. 

           I hope this answered some of your questions. please feel free to ask anything you want. As I said, I do not find it offensive, God called me to teach and preach his word and I serve him happily. May God grant you understanding of the message He has given you today. This does not come from me but is inspired by God alone. I am nothing but a vessel used by Him to bring His word to the world.  

         

i thought it was history you were interested in...this sounds more like preaching and teaching TO ME.  do you find my suggestion annoying because I'm an atheist or do you seriously not see this as preaching?  keep in mind i hold no hostility and was merely expressing an opinion.

[ReverendDaveULC]

I was answering a question for VonNoble. If you had read a little further you would have seen that. Instead you insist on trying to provoc me into an argument. I won't argue with you. That is not why I am here. Should i not answer questions when people ask them for fear of offending you? This is an open forum. I do not care that you are an atheist. That is of course your choice. It's not one i would make but I'm not you. I will continue to answer questions and teach the truth whether it offends you or not because that is my right just as being an atheist is your right. Peace be to you brother.

[cuchulain]

18 hours ago, ReverendDaveULC said:

I was answering a question for VonNoble. If you had read a little further you would have seen that. Instead you insist on trying to provoc me into an argument. I won't argue with you. That is not why I am here. Should i not answer questions when people ask them for fear of offending you? This is an open forum. I do not care that you are an atheist. That is of course your choice. It's not one i would make but I'm not you. I will continue to answer questions and teach the truth whether it offends you or not because that is my right just as being an atheist is your right. Peace be to you brother.

i am not trying to provoke you.  i honestly express my opinion that the topic sounds more suited to a different section, the same as you express your opinion.  it just seems to me like you are holding some hostility for my honest opinion, so i asked.  its sometimes easy to misinterpret online communications.  i didnt say your opinion offended me, merely that claiming an entire branch of Christianity...you know what?  not bothering.

[ReverendDaveULC]

Cuchulain  I hold no hostility to anyone and nothing offends me. It just seems to me by reviewing your comments to others who have posted you seem to only antagonize people and start trouble but have no topics to start of your own. Why is this? Do you feel the need to try and justify your atheist believe by making it seem that the rest of us have a problem with it when we infact do not. We hold no hostility toward your belief, you are free to believe what you want. Just stop trying to make it seem like everybody has a problem with it. Right in the ULC manual and rules of this forum state freedom of religion or in your case freedom to believe in no religion at all. To continue to cause problems where there are none does nothing for your cause but promote foolishness. Peace be to you brother. 

[cuchulain]

1 hour ago, ReverendDaveULC said:

Cuchulain  I hold no hostility to anyone and nothing offends me. It just seems to me by reviewing your comments to others who have posted you seem to only antagonize people and start trouble but have no topics to start of your own. Why is this? Do you feel the need to try and justify your atheist believe by making it seem that the rest of us have a problem with it when we infact do not. We hold no hostility toward your belief, you are free to believe what you want. Just stop trying to make it seem like everybody has a problem with it. Right in the ULC manual and rules of this forum state freedom of religion or in your case freedom to believe in no religion at all. To continue to cause problems where there are none does nothing for your cause but promote foolishness. Peace be to you brother. 

agreed. in the manual it states not to disparage others...like catholics.

[ReverendDaveULC]

That would be church history which is truth. You just like to start problems which i am done with.Respond back all you want but you will get no further response from me. Enjoy trying to agrravate others because that is what you live for. You must have a really lonely existence and you have my pity.

[VonNoble]

ReverendDaveULC,

 

if you will will allow me to step into your private conversation for just a moment....I have enjoyed many topics intoduced by cuchulain over the years.....also I have been assisted and supported  by cuchulain often.    Based on those many years of experience... I would suggest your conclusions may not be accurate entirely.

You are certainly free to have them and hold them... I respect your opinion might differ from mine.

 

Over a number of years of experience... I would have to say that cuchulain is quite the opposite of much of your observations.

 

I thank you for not taking offense as surely neither of us would intentionally offer hostilities.

 

Again  I thank you for your responses.

 

You have taught both direct and indirect lessons.    ULC , in general, appreciated all manner of lessons and teachers more often than not.

 

To my friend cuchulain- Please do not ever change.... you are quite valuable AS IS...

 

von

[ReverendDaveULC]

From the posts that i have read with his comments that is the conclusion that I drew. If I am wrong then I do apologize but for any newcomer such as myself viewing just a handful of his previous comments adding to the comments on my post most would probably come to the same conclusion. He seems to continue to believe that I am hostile toward the fact that he is an atheist. He could not be further from the truth. I could really care less. My mission is to bring truth to the world. What the people do with that truth is their own buisness. If people do not agree with or like what I have to say then don't read it and move on to something else but it is out there for those that do want to hear it and may get something out of what I have to say. If I dont like something that I read or hear i move on or change the station/channel ect.. I don't try to accuse people of being hostile or anything of that nature because I disagree with what they believe or say. I only ask for that same right, especially when what I originally had wrote about fell into the catagory of this forum(philosophy and theory) but now somehow turned into a circus that nobody will follow. With that, I am done with this topic

[VonNoble]

I look forward to your next thread.... new ideas help us be better 

 

von

[ReverendDaveULC]

Just posted a new one. unfortunatly I can not post in the Pulpit section. Im not sure why but it wont highlight as well as sevberal other sections

[VonNoble]

29 minutes ago, ReverendDaveULC said:

Just posted a new one. unfortunatly I can not post in the Pulpit section. Im not sure why but it wont highlight as well as sevberal other sections

I am technologically challenged.... so I M useless in this regard..... however the FORUM ADMIN TEAM IS AMAZING....contact any of them and they will help...... cannot praise them enough.

[mdtaylor]

On 3/14/2018 at 6:46 PM, ReverendDaveULC said:

Just posted a new one. unfortunatly I can not post in the Pulpit section. Im not sure why but it wont highlight as well as sevberal other sections

We will definitely fix that. It appears that the majority of your posts belong there. I think you have to have a minimum number of posts prior to gaining access to the pulpit. 

 

 

[ReverendDaveULC]

1 hour ago, mdtaylor said:

We will definitely fix that. It appears that the majority of your posts belong there. I think you have to have a minimum number of posts prior to gaining access to the pulpit. 

 

 

I appreciate that kind sir

[cuchulain]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 9:30 AM, ReverendDaveULC said:

 Do you want to believe God's word, or the words of many conceited, power hungry sin filled Popes. Do your history. It is not my opinion of the Catholic religion, it is historical and biblical fact. I am teaching truth not opinion. You have made your opinion of me and that's fine. You have that right, just as I have the right to teach and preach the truth. May the LORD bless you RabbiO and peace be to you.

This is the specific post I responded to initially.  And you took offense at my response?  Look at what you said about Catholics.  YOU said they(Catholics) was to believe the words of many conceited, power hungry sin filled popes, which is opinion by the way, not fact.  All because Rabbi O(and how did you miss from his name that he is NOT Catholic?????) asked a question of your comment...

 

 

But no, by all means, you are not being combative or defensive in any manner...right?

[cuchulain]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 12:55 PM, cuchulain said:

RabbiO is Jewish, to my understanding...please correct me if I am in error, Rabbi.

 

That said, there very well might be Catholic members of this forum.  I would find what you posted offensive, and would consider that perhaps what you have to say better posted in the area called preaching rather than philosophy.  OF course, I am one of those dreaded atheists...

This was my very first response to you that you took such offense at...what you said was bashing you.  What you claimed was an attack.  

[cuchulain]

On ‎3‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 3:13 PM, ReverendDaveULC said:

That would be church history which is truth. You just like to start problems which i am done with.Respond back all you want but you will get no further response from me. Enjoy trying to agrravate others because that is what you live for. You must have a really lonely existence and you have my pity.

This is what I reference when I say you act offended.  The part where you say I enjoy trying to aggravate others because its what I live for and must have a really lonely existence and have your pity.  Surely...you can see where a person might thing, after you attack them like that...that you are offended in some manner?

 

But if you aren't offended, I apologize.  It just seemed that way to me, and I must have misread or misinterpreted.

[ReverendDaveULC]

6 minutes ago, cuchulain said:

This is the specific post I responded to initially.  And you took offense at my response?  Look at what you said about Catholics.  YOU said they(Catholics) was to believe the words of many conceited, power hungry sin filled popes, which is opinion by the way, not fact.  All because Rabbi O(and how did you miss from his name that he is NOT Catholic?????) asked a question of your comment...

 

 

But no, by all means, you are not being combative or defensive in any manner...right?

No, its not an opinion. It is fact. Do you think the leader of "the Holy Church" should run a house of prostitution. Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 did(historical fact) Pope Alexander VI from 1492-1503 held orgies in his palace and kept mistresses who who married woman.(historical  fact) Pope John XXIII 1410-15 made his brothers wife his mistress. The Catholic encyclopedia says "He was utterly worldlyminded, ambitious, crafty, unscrupulous, and immoral" Catholic Encyclopedia's words, not mine. He was convicted by the Council of Constance of some 55 crimes including the murder of his predecessor; Pope Alexander V, rape, sodomy, and incest. That covers sin filled. Rome gathered to itself increasing power and by the beginning of the 2nd millennium, it controlled practically all of Europe, religiously and politcally. "In the tenth century the dominion of the Roman Pope had exceedingly obscure, and taken possesion of, nearly all the churches in Europe, so that everything had to be done according to his pleasure, both in spiritual and secular governments; hence, great darkness prevailed at this time." (Quoted from Martyrs Mirror page 248) again, not my opinion but written fact about concietment and power. I have many many more example if youd like, all backed up fact, not my opinion.

[cuchulain]

As an aside, sorry for the multiple posts to respond, I am not the most tech savvy person and don't know how to multiquote or whatever it's called.

[cuchulain]

1 minute ago, ReverendDaveULC said:

No, its not an opinion. It is fact. Do you think the leader of "the Holy Church" should run a house of prostitution. Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 did(historical fact) Pope Alexander VI from 1492-1503 held orgies in his palace and kept mistresses who who married woman.(historical  fact) Pope John XXIII 1410-15 made his brothers wife his mistress. The Catholic encyclopedia says "He was utterly worldlyminded, ambitious, crafty, unscrupulous, and immoral" Catholic Encyclopedia's words, not mine. He was convicted by the Council of Constance of some 55 crimes including the murder of his predecessor; Pope Alexander V, rape, sodomy, and incest. That covers sin filled. Rome gathered to itself increasing power and by the beginning of the 2nd millennium, it controlled practically all of Europe, religiously and politcally. "In the tenth century the dominion of the Roman Pope had exceedingly obscure, and taken possesion of, nearly all the churches in Europe, so that everything had to be done according to his pleasure, both in spiritual and secular governments; hence, great darkness prevailed at this time." (Quoted from Martyrs Mirror page 248) again, not my opinion but written fact about concietment and power. I have many many more example if youd like, all backed up fact, not my opinion.

I think when you call someone power hungry, it's an opinion.  That's because its a subjective thing.  Power hungry to one person is something else to someone else, yes?  I tend to believe that things that are subjective are opinion.  "That color is green"..."Oh no, you can't call that green, it's celery"..."Oh that isn't celery at all, more a sea foam".  All of them are green to me, but hey...other people have different definitions, you know?