How boring it would be if we all think the same? It never hurts to look at things from a different angle.

If you read the history of the "Holy Roman Empire" it fits. the Roman Empire is the beast the Harlot rides.

The dead have to be resurrected. Christ is the only one resurrected so far. There will be two resurrections. The first one is when Christ returns. He has not returned yet.

1 corinthians 15
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we[g] bear the image of the heavenly man.

Jesusmyall,

Can you find anywhere in the Bible that says anyone goes to heaven when they die?

26. John 3:13
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

The Lake of fire is the end, nothing comes out of the Lake of fire. People thrown in will be ashes, death and hell are finished. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, with God's government running things.
Revelation 20-22New International Version (NIV)

The Thousand Years

20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

The Judgment of Satan

7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The Judgment of the Dead

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.


21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

I don't think people can change anything God decides to do. The greatest nation is no more than a piece of dust to God. It is true there is more fake Christianity than real. We are warned to test all things to see if they are true. It would be nice to be able to walk right up to God and see with our own eyes. That is not his plan. we have to accept that his plan is much better that anything we could devise. Our job is to follow his will, not our own.

Everyone who dies is dead, until resurrected by God. There are two resurrections. The first, those who keep the commandments of God, resurrected immortal, will rule with Christ for 1,000 years. At the end of the 1,000 yrs the rest of the dead are resurrected and will be judged.
Nobody goes to heaven or a hell fire as soon as they die. They are like asleep, until the time of the resurrection.
John 3:13 “No one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven, that is, the son of man who is in heaven”.

THE WORD HELL HAS THREE DIFFERENT MEANINGS
#1 Hell = The Grave
#2 Hell = Gehenna = garbage dump outside Jerusalem
#3 Hell = Lake of fire = end time destruction of all who will not keep the commandments of god

Ecclesiastes 9:10
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest”.
Ecclesiastes 9:5
“ For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten”
Daniel 12:2
“ And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”.
1 corinthians 15;20
“ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming”.
Revelation 20: 6
“ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years”.
After 1,000 years , the rest of the dead are resurrected and judged according to their works. Those cast into the lake of fire are burned up and nothing is left of them.

Revelation 20:5
“ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”
Revelation 20:15
“ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Mathew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell”.
Malachi 4:1
“ For behold the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”
Malachi 4;3
“ And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts”

Does the Bible Speak of
Hellfire That Lasts Forever?

Two verses that many assume prove the
wicked are to be eternally tortured in
hellfire are Matthew 25:41 and 25:46. But
do they? Let’s take a closer look.
First, notice the setting to which they refer—
when Jesus “comes in His glory” (verses
31-32). We are told that He separates the
sheep from the goats. The sheep represent the
righteous (verses 34-40). At His return He sets
the sheep at His right hand. The goats in this
instance represent sinners. They are appointed
to assemble on Jesus’ left hand. He then consigns
the goats to “the everlasting fire prepared
for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
The word everlasting is translated from the
Greek word aionios. The key to understanding
this verse is knowing what will occur everlastingly.
Does it refer to a fire that tortures without
end, or does it have another meaning?
In Matthew 25:46 Jesus spoke in a single
sentence of everlasting (aionios) punishment
and of life eternal (aionios). Since the righteous
will be given eternal, or everlasting, life,
many theologians believe the punishing of the
wicked must last as long as the life given to the
righteous. But this cannot be reconciled with
the statement that those cast into the lake of
fire perish—they are killed. As explained elsewhere,
they suffer death—the second death
(Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8).
A plain and simple meaning of Matthew
25:46 that fits with the rest of the Bible is
that the wicked are cast into a fire that annihilates
them—renders them forever extinct.
The resulting punishment of being cast into the
aionios fire is a one-time event. It is a permanent
punishment, the results of which will remain
forever—that is, eternal death. It is not ongoing
punishing that continues forever without end.
This is the only explanation that agrees with
the rest of the Scriptures.
An additional point needs to be made regarding
the meaning of aionios. Genesis 19 describes
God’s destruction of two cities, Sodom and
Gomorrah, for their wickedness: “Then the
Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and
Gomorrah” (Genesis 19:24). They were utterly
destroyed—consumed by fire.
In the New Testament, the book of Jude
describes these cities as “suffering the vengeance
of eternal [aionios] fire” (verse 7). Yet
it is obvious that the fires that destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah are not still burning. In the case
of these cities and in the case of the wicked,
who are consigned to aionios fire, the fire burns
and completely destroys. But the eternal aspect
of the fire is its everlasting effect, not how long
it actually burns.

There will not be anybody suffering in hell, or anywhere else, in the new kingdom.

Revelation 21:4
“ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away".

The concept of a loving god torturing something forever is ridiculous. How could the rest be happy knowing some of their loved ones were being tortured in Hell. When God rules there will be no pain.
Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Pentecost : Count Fifty, a biblical holy day observed this sunday by a few people around the world.

Count fifty from what? From the day after the Sabbath following the first day of unleavened bread.
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Acts 20:16
Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
1 Corinthians 16:8
But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost,

Why did the Apostles and later Paul celebrate this and what does it mean to you?

For me it foretells a future event. When you look at a shadow long enough, you can get an idea what the object looks like. Pentecost reminds us of the first resurrection, a future event.

Colossians 2:16-17
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Hebrews 10
1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.

I meant being there a fraction of a second before. In other words, it is the same situation. It would be like replaying a tape of the same situation almost instantaneous.

Sounds like a whaat !!!!

You lost me there! Why would we have to believe in reincarnation?

You are bad! Go to my room!

The most likely explanation I have heard is that you have been there before. A fraction of a second before. It's like your brain does a retake on the situation. Like a little hiccup.

Yes, it never hurts to look at what other people believe. I enjoy "free thinkers", even if they don't see thinks the same as I do.

John 19:31
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.

Jesus was crucified on the Passover. The next day is the first day of unleavened bread, which is an annual holy day. It was not the weekly Sabbath.

He was crucified Wednesday. Wed evening to thurs evening one day. thurs to fri two days. fri to sat three days.
He was raised after sunset saturday and before sunrise sunday.

Three days and three nights in the grave.

Here booty, booty!! Dang what did I do with that shoe?

At least you figured it out. A lot of people get so confused they walk away. They figure it is all a bunch of crap. I guess you can't blame them. Anybody who goes to a church without studying for themselves is in danger of getting brainwashed. Especially if they are going through trauma in their lives.

Leo
You got it! Mary and Joseph must have been righteous people or they would not have been chosen. Jesus did not give his mother any special status. Mary is not to be esteemed, other than being a righteous woman.

Luke 8:20-22
20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

Luke 11:27-29
27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”