The good man that turned bad out of necessity

[Matthias]

Do you not worry that if his return is not imminent and the world carries on as it is, we could easily nuke the planet into a man made oblivion?

No.

What is the reason for God's delay?

God wants all men to be saved. When the positions in the government that are being prepared by the Messiah are filled, then there will be no further delay.

How bad do things have to get?

It’s not about how bad things have got to get. Things are going to get much worse before the Messiah returns. What it‘s about is the making of disciples.

I worry for future generations, no lessons seemed to have been learnt from the past, I'm thinking about the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the needless loss of life and the displaced people.

The followers of Jesus are not to worry. We have a job to do -> preaching the gospel of peace; the mechanism for making disciples from all nations.

Does the fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the west worry you at all?

No. That is part of the mission field for the followers of Jesus.

The Nones as they're called are not taking up their traditional Christian religion, this is quite rare in the Muslim population. Why do you think that this quiet revolution is happening?

I’m not sure that I understand your question. If you’re referring to the Nones, I think it’s because they aren’t being fed the messianic program in the church.

I know that there's a few questions there but I'm interested in your thoughts.

Are you a pastor by any chance?

Among other things, I’m a retired pastor.

 

[Matthias]

I dip in and out from time to time.

You have a desire to read scripture in times of trouble. I want to encourage you to dip in more frequently. Jesus has the words of life and he will give that life to all who come to him.

It's mostly when I have things going on in my life, I've attended church recently too just to be nosey really and see if anything has changed with the general feeling I get in a place of worship.

Has anything changed in the Church of England for the better? What I read about it leads me to think that it hasn’t, but you are experiencing it firsthand.

 

[Riven]

Jesus was supposed to return when his disciples were still alive. One by one, they all died, and no return of the messiah.

And here we are today asking the same question: where is he? If we apply occam's razor, he hasn't returned because he was a first century Jew, a human, that was executed by the Romans.

You have to ignore occam's razor in order to make excuses for why he hasn't returned. In fact, Jesus was supposed to return while his disciples were still alive. He didn't. So did the schedule change or something?

All of this confusion is instantly cleared up by looking for the most natural explanation: Jesus was a human being living in the first century, who genuinely believed that the world was coming to an end very soon, and based his beliefs and his teachings on this mindset.

Even Christians today have adopted this apocalyptic mindset. Which is why, from the time of Jesus until now, preachers, pastors, and everyday folk, have and continue to go on about us living in the end times.

And yet, the end never comes. This naturally has the effect of making people skeptical of these claims. And it puts Christians in an awkward position because they're forced to have to try to explain to everyday people, why they're waiting for a train to arrive that hasn't been seen on these tracks for 2,000 years.

 

[Matthias]

Jesus was supposed to return when his disciples were still alive.

They anticipated a soon return, but scripture doesn’t say that Jesus would return before his original disciples died. They were given a commission to preach the gospel to the whole world. That is still going on, conducted by his disciples in the 21st century.

The church grew tired of waiting for him. That’s a huge problem.

One by one, they all died, and no return of the messiah.

His disciples are still here. I’m a 1st century disciple, living in the 21st century.

And here we are today asking the same question: where is he? If we apply occam's razor, he hasn't returned because he was a first century Jew, a human, that was executed by the Romans.

We know exactly where he is -> sitting at the right hand of God in heaven.

You have to ignore occam's razor in order to make excuses for why he has to return. In fact, Jesus was supposed to return while his disciples were still alive. He didn't. So did the schedule change or something?

The schedule hasn’t changed. The date of his return has always been know by his God and Father.

All of this confusion is instantly cleared up by looking for the most natural explanation: Jesus was a human being living in the first century, who genuinely believed that the world was coming to an end very soon, and based his beliefs and his teachings on this mindset.

Jesus said plainly that only his Father knew when he would return. He didn’t know when it would be.

Even Christians today have adopted this apocalyptic mindset.

Few have. All should.

Which is why, from the time of Jesus until now, preachers, pastors, and everyday folk, have and continue to go on about us living in the end times.

Do you know what Amillennialism is?

And yet, the end never comes.

The end comes every day for millions of people.

This naturally has the effect of making people skeptical of these claims.

The world is filled with unbelievers. That’s the mission field for Christians. No Christian should be skeptical about Jesus returning. It is certain that he will.

And it puts Christians in an awkward position because they're forced to have to try to explain to everyday people, why they're waiting for a train to arrive that hasn't been seen on these tracks for 2,000 years.

When you mature as a Christian you’ll able to confidently answer the skeptics.

 

[Mancunian]

You have a desire to read scripture in times of trouble. I want to encourage you to dip in more frequently. Jesus has the words of life and he will give that life to all who come to him.



Has anything changed in the Church of England for the better? What I read about it leads me to think that it hasn’t, but you are experiencing it firsthand.

They have contactless payment capability now.
I always preferred to get rid of shrapnel (or as you might call it "loose change") into a collection dish.

Other than that nothing much has changed. I always find it gloomy and not at all upbeat. I've seen some American church services on TV that look much less stuffy and a lot more joyful.

 

[Matthias]

They have contactless payment capability now.
I always preferred to get rid of shrapnel (or as you might call it "loose change") into a collection dish.

Other than that nothing much has changed.

Thanks. The Church of England isn’t giving the people what they need.

always find it gloomy and not at all upbeat. I've seen some American church services on TV that look much less stuffy and a lot more joyful.

Looks can be deceiving. The gospel of the kingdom, as Jesus and the apostles preached it, is what we should look for.

 

[Matthias]

Does the fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the west worry you at all?

I would be worried if I wasn’t a follower of Jesus.