2nd to last Pope?

You're quite welcome. You know me -- any chance to run my mouth, and I'm game.

I was quite serious about that only being one interpretation, though, even by Biblical standards. There are some events that are pretty solid (most of the judgments, the return of Christ, the defeat of Satan and the antichrist), but others are hotly debated among Christian scholars. For example, some say the rapture of the church will happen in the middle of the Tribulation. Some say it will happen at the end, just before Christ judges the people who are left. Some say it won't happen at all. I've seen the arguments for all three, and they're not without some merit.

Of course, Judaism has a very different version of the appearance of the Messiah (which is why they're still waiting for Him). Islam has a different set of beliefs regarding the final judgment of Earth, as does Hinduism.

 

Sly, you've made my point. The "judgmental and stereotypical Christians" I referred to are the ones Fred has heard all his life -- who have spawned his statement:

You and I both know enough about the Bible to know that what Fred said isn't Biblical. Yet, that's what he continually hears. They are no better than the "whitewashed tombs" of ancient Jerusalem, and Jesus spoke out against them, showing love to those whom the Pharisees had deemed unworthy.

I couldn't agree more. And only Christ gets to decide who will be there and who won't be. The only guarantee I have is my faith borne from my own conscience, and that's hardly etched in stone. It's all up to Him, not me. I've done, and am doing the best I know how to keep up my end of the bargain, but I'm far from 100%. In fact, I find myself leaning on His grace more and more.

Did I say at any point I'm better than they are? No. I would not and will not say that about anyone. If I gave that impression, I apologize wholeheartedly. I know myself, and I know enough through my own relationship with God that I have no business comparing myself to what I perceive others to be. It's pointless, and nothing good can come from it. If I wind up in hell it will be because I deserve to be there, and only Christ knows my heart well enough to know if my devotion to Him is sincere.

 

Eric, it certainly seems in your quote when you italicized "I'm" that you were saying you should be set apart from them and that you were judging them. If that was not your intention then I apologize.

To me judgemental is one of two things: assuming something like say wearing lipstick is a sin when nothing in the Bible says that, or assuming someone is going to hell when you don't know if they believe in Jesus. However, assuming that what they do is wrong is not judgemental. We have been told it is wrong and it will always be wrong, Jesus or not. Thankfully God gave us Jesus though and there is a means for forgiveness.

Telling someone their action is wrong isn't judgemental and to me it can be right or wrong depending on the motivation of the person. Are they truly interested in saving the soul of the person or do they want to hurt the person.

In my limited experience it seems a lot of homosexuals equate telling them their action is wrong and telling them they are going to Hell. It also seems they forget about the qualifier and hear only "You are going to burn in Hell" instead of "You are going to Hell if you don't accept Jesus".

Either way, to me witnessing should be more about helping the person find Jesus than helping them stop wrongful habits although in many cases the two go hand in hand.

 

Set apart, yes -- better, no. Dang skippy I want to be set apart from people who call themselves believers but who put out filth like godhatesfags.com.

But then again, perhaps you're right. In reading my own words, I'm putting the spread of hate above other sins, and that's not right either. See what I mean? This is another instance where I have to lean on the grace of Christ.

Could not agree with you more. There is a fine line between discernment and judgment, and obviously I'm not always on the right side of that line.

Exactly.

I'll concede that does happen, but not across the board. Probably not even most of the time, I'd wager. But that's probably something I'm not qualified to debate with any kind of integrity. I simply haven't done the research.

Absolutely! One without the other is, well, incomplete. And being out of balance on either side is not the ideal.

 

Eric, I honestly don't know if I believe in 'God' anymore or not. The older I get and the more my eyes are opened, the more doubt has overcome faith.

 

Sounds like you're eyes are being opened to things that are not God. Hard to verify the existence of anything by focusing on what it's not.

 

actually my eyes are being opened to a lot of things.

 

Care to share?

 

Are we 1 pope away from the start of the Tribulation/Appearence of the Antichrist



Jack & Rexella Van Impe: Breaking Down the Tribulation/Antichrist/Return of Jesus and the 1000 Year Reign and all that Good End Time Stuff :thumbup: :thumbup: !!!!!

Last week there was an article on Yahoo! (and on Jack Van Impe's TV show; You know, the preacher who is always talking about the Rapture/appearence of the Antichrist being just a few weeks away) about how an Irish (?) Bishop 'way back in the day' (i.e. 1100's) had visions on who the next 119 (? or is it 111 ? ? ) Popes were going to be (I think he wrote them down and the book has been published in Catholic press). Pope Gregory IX was named Pope #118 and the final pope will be Pope Peter II; he will be the one who will open the door to the ANtiChrist to appear on the world scene (supposedly, he will denounce/play down the fact that Christ is the Son of God). The liberal wing of the Catholic Church will have the power/votes at the next election to get this guy on board as head of the church.



Jack Van Impe Website


St. Malachy: Pope Predictor ? ?