False Prophets

[GaryAnderson]

All right thanks @TLHKAJ for your thoughts on Mary that it should be honored. We agree on this.
Regarding icons however, in any Orthodox Church the icons themselves are not to be worshipped and everyone knows this. It’s basically like holding a photograph of your child and you’re not loving the actual piece of paper but the emotion that the photograph brings to your heart.

Orbs are a sign of demonic activity.

Can you explain this a little more? Why would orbs in a church be demonic? Also have you experienced anything in your life that isn’t demonic?

GaryAnderson, can you clarify your post because I think it has been taken to say ‘ This thread is open to any ‘ but ‘ TLHKAJ ……( implying you don’t want her to take part ) ..but from a later post actually think you are saying, this topic is open to anyone, but TLHKAJ can I get your thoughts……meaning you actually want to hear her thoughts.

I’m sorry for the confusion the initial post has created in terms of participation but I essentially want everyone here and I especially want TLHKAJ but if TLHKAJ didn’t feel comfortable to discuss anything here I mentioned to chat one on one in private.

Which is, I think, how it should be. A wise man should learn from another's mistakes, not make another's mistakes. IMO

I see. You could say I’m learning a lot from you guys. :)

 

[TLHKAJ]

That was my first impression.

I saw the Holy Spirit once, and only once. (Now don't go making a statue of me, lol). He came down on the congregation like clear shimmering waves of heat at the end of a long road on a hot summer afternoon. I've always heard of orbs in relation to demonic activity, not God's activity.

Yes, and what you share is very similar to the way Scripture has described Holy Spirit. I and a friend saw similar one night as we were having a sleepover. (I was about 13 yrs old.) We stayed up all night praying. We were both praying and worshiping God when all the sudden we saw His presence and we both got quiet ......AWE!!!

 

[Ferris Bueller]

you all seem very sure about your own personal experiences but not the experiences of others.

Sure, we are.
...When they line up with our experiences, lol!

 

[GaryAnderson]

Sure, we are.
...When they line up with our experiences, lol!

Lol. This made me laugh.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

It’s basically like holding a photograph of your child and you’re not loving the actual piece of paper but the emotion that the photograph brings to your heart.

...But not as a God.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Can you explain this a little more? Why would orbs in a church be demonic? Also have you experienced anything in your life that isn’t demonic?

I have experienced many powerful times in prayer with the presence and power of God.
But you're asking about orbs. If you saw orbs in a church ...beware. It indicates satanic and demonic activity. Yes, I've seen enough demonic activity to know.

 

[GaryAnderson]

...But not as a God.

Correct. The icons in any Orthodox Church are not confused with literal worshipping of a painting and everyone knows and understand this.

 

[GaryAnderson]

I have experienced many powerful times in prayer with the presence and power of God.
But you're asking about orbs. If you saw orbs in a church ...beware. It indicates satanic and demonic activity. Yes, I've seen enough demonic activity to know.

Do you care to share a little more about this personal experience? What have you experienced that was God and what did you experience that wasn’t God? How do you know Orbs are bad for example?

 

[Ferris Bueller]

Yes, and what yiu share is very similar to the way Scripture has described Holy Spirit.

You know it took me some 15 or 20 years before I realized that!
That spoke to me the authenticity of the experience. IOW, I wasn't having the experience in accordance with what I already understood and expected about the appearing of the Holy Spirit. The experience confirmed the scriptures many years later.

And as an aside, God gave me the experience because I didn't, and couldn't, talk in tongues but so many other Christians in the church did. And I had begun to think the gift was not real and they were faking it (my experience didn't match theirs's, so theirs's had to be wrong, lol). The moment the Holy Spirit got to the top of their heads they all exploded in unison in their personal prayer language. God set me straight about tongues from that moment forward, lol. Oh, and by the way, I still don't have the gift of tongues. That's okay, I get it. Some are given it, some aren't. I'm good with that. My wife received the gift of tongues. And if you knew my wife you'd know that she wouldn't fake that.

 

[Rita]

@GaryAnderson , many thanks for the clarification x

 

[GaryAnderson]

So if I understand you both correctly @TLHKAJ and @Ferris Bueller is that PRAYING is the Key word here when distinguishing evil from good?

I was also praying in church when I saw the orbs and the spirit. I mean why else would you go in church if you don’t at least pray?

 

[Truman]

All right thanks @TLHKAJ for your thoughts on Mary that it should be honored. We agree on this.
Regarding icons however, in any Orthodox Church the icons themselves are not to be worshipped and everyone knows this. It’s basically like holding a photograph of your child and you’re not loving the actual piece of paper but the emotion that the photograph brings to your heart.



Can you explain this a little more? Why would orbs in a church be demonic? Also have you experienced anything in your life that isn’t demonic?




I’m sorry for the confusion the initial post has created in terms of participation but I essentially want everyone here and I especially want TLHKAJ but if TLHKAJ didn’t feel comfortable to discuss anything here I mentioned to chat one on one in private.



I see. You could say I’m learning a lot from you guys. :)

That's very encouraging...thanks for sharing that! :)

 

[TLHKAJ]

I’m sorry for the confusion the initial post has created in terms of participation but I essentially want everyone here and I especially want TLHKAJ but if TLHKAJ didn’t feel comfortable to discuss anything here I mentioned to chat one on one in private.

That's not what you said. lol
It's okay to admit the truth. :) It's okay. :) I have shared my experiences all over the forum. Idk why I would not do so in this thread.

As far as trusting experiences, it is Biblical to share our testimonies. But we must weigh it against the Word of God. We should question anything in our experience and beliefs that are contrary to God's Word.

Example: my experiences taught me that God hated me, and that He was the one who authorized my sufferings and torture, even that He was one of my abusers. Was that true?? No, it was not. Those things were taught to me by my abusers. They were not God's truth.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

Thank you for sharing that Truman. The only thing I’d like to share for my encounters with the spiritual world is that in one church I saw white orbs and what looked like a spirit to me (with human shape), who passed really fast from my right side to the left. What do you all think about this? Were these orbs and spirit Satanic and false or were they from God?

If you did not get some kind of godly message or meaning out of it it was probably not of God.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

my experiences taught me that God hated me, and that He was the one who authorized my sufferings and torture, even that He was one of my abusers. Was that true?? No, it was not. Those things were taught to me by my abusers. They were not God's truth.

I still think it's an absolute miracle that you could still receive the truth about God after that kind of horrific abuse.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

That's not what you said. lol
It's okay to admit the truth. :) It's okay. :) I have shared my experiences all over the forum. Idk why I would not do so in this thread.

It really does look like it was the simple omission of the comma that made it look like he did not want you to participate in this thread. Which I don't mind saying is how satan exploits situations and causes division and mistrust between people (that's 39 years of marriage talking there, lol). But which can be easily diffused through patience and understanding until the truth comes out (that's the last five years of marriage talking there, lol).

 

[GaryAnderson]

That's not what you said. lol
It's okay to admit the truth. :) It's okay. :) I have shared my experiences all over the forum. Idk why I would not do so in this thread.

As far as trusting experiences, it is Biblical to share our testimonies. But we must weigh it against the Word of God. We should question anything in our experience and beliefs that are contrary to God's Word.

Example: my experiences taught me that God hated me, and that He was the one who authorized my sufferings and torture, even that He was one of my abusers. Was that true?? No, it was not. Those things were taught to me by my abusers. They were not God's truth.

You know what’s amazing here? How written words can have different meanings for different people. Written words. Imagine spiritual experiences!
Thank you for sharing that and I’m so sorry to hear about your difficult past, and yes I agree 100% with you that those were not God’s truths.
I’m just trying to figure out your process on filtering out lies from truth because you seem to speak with absolute certainty.

 

[TLHKAJ]

It really does look like it was the simple omission of the comma that made it look like he did not want you to participate in this thread. Which I don't mind saying is how satan exploits situations and causes division and mistrust between ourselves (that's 39 years of marriage talking there, lol).

I disagree. It was quite plain. It's okay to admit the truth and I'm not holding grudges. :)

 

[TLHKAJ]

just trying to figure out your process on filtering out lies from truth because you seem to speak with absolute certainty.

I am certain about God's Word. That's how I can speak with absolute certainty.

 

[GaryAnderson]

I am certain about God's Word. That's how I can speak with absolute certainty.

Think about the following for a moment.

The Church despite all its faults has a combined generational experience. Our lives are short. The experiences of people like you, me or others through the ages, have established some foundational truths. To single handedly say that ALL Catholics or Orthodox are wrong about something …. Seems a bit extraordinary to me. Don’t you think?