If i would have to summarize my life i would say; lonely stranger.

I have been fighting on the frontlines with evil since i was born. I grew up protected by God and my parents and so i didn t knew other people were not like me. I hated jealousy, anger etc. Unfortunately as i got older i noticed people were definitely not like me. People like to boast about themselves and there is always competition. People like to use other people as a tool to bully sadistically. People like to lie about things so they can achieve things they otherwise would never achieve. People are hypocrites to da bone.

So this is what has always made me a lonely guy. I am lonely because i didn t grew up between people with good intentions. So since i was small i had to fight to maintain my integrity. However as a young adult i almost lost the fight. Because i grew up protected by God and my parents, i unconsciously accepted al authorities as being always right. So i struggled with evolution and i couldn t win that fight back then, because i had no proper information. I only had discoverychannel and school telling me the earth was billions of years old. Desparately i was searching for a way out of this world, i would grasp everything to escape. Then i discovered New Age and i started seeing things change in my life. I started experiencing occultism and was surprise that there was at least some kind of supernatural world. Unfortunately i didn t realise these fallen angels had no good intentions. So i started using drugs, alcohol, became violent and i almost dropped out of school. I wasted 2 school years because of all this bullsh.t. Anyway one time during a lucid out of body experience i asked Jesus for help and i was awake and the fear was gone. Since then i didn t want to be a New Ager anymore.

So how did this fight continue? Well sit back and relax... I started working very hard so i could graduate from school. I went to a university. I discovered the adventist truths but i had, and still have, some diabolical thoughts about this church. On the one hand there is a lot of consistent theological truths within this church, on the other hand the interpretation of the gospel by Ellen White seems so harsh to me that it scares me. I mean can we be perfect???i think not in our own strengths, so maybe if we are overshadowed by the holy Ghost, i don t know.

Anyway, i have always been a lonely guy chasing shattered dreams, wanting to make myself usefull, but i ve got nothing to do. Who am i?i wish i knew who i was, for now all i know is that i am a lonely stranger...

Hey long time no see.

But it IS so good to see you today.

Happy Sabbath.

Hey Red, how you and your dog doing?

In Europe sabbath has just ended. Anyway you have a nice sabbath!

hi truthseeker, nice to see you again. :) i think of you often.yeah, been there, done that!! the bible wasnt much better, new or old testaments!!

but thankfully God brought certain people and certain texts and quotes into my life that helped considerably change my perspective. i havent arrived but while i see the bible and ellen white are quite serious about the battle we are in, there is hope.not on our own, and unfortunately there are too many who harp on the perfection needed to the neglect of how we get there.

Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. what God has promised, God is able to deliver.

2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Hey Teresa nice to see u again. Didn t i know you already from another Forum? Anyway thanks for your encouragement. Maybe with the help of God i am able to resist temptation and sin.

Anyway maybe you could do me a favor because i don t think my prayers mean anything in the sight of God. There is a girl who has been in different institutions and even a youth prison (because there was not enough room in shelter houses), since she was 4 and who is now willingly siding with satan. She is not even an adult yet, and she is already very busy doing Voodoo and stuff like that. I told her the things that i know that satan has no good intentions etc. but still she won t change her mind. Maybe if you pray for her she will be alright...

Anywayz nice to see u again. I have been away for quite some time...

TS, why do you get yourself involved with women/girls who aren't good for you?

Your prayers to God mean just as much as anyone else's! Keep on praying....maybe you will see results later on.

Happy to see you back here!

TRUTHSEEKER007

WELL hello again to you and HAPPY SABBATH

welcome back

dgrimm60

Hey Rudywoofs nice to see u again. The girl i am talking about is not involved in my life, i barely know her. Still i feel sorry for her. I mean she had a very tough life, and although that is no excuse, maybe she just is not able to understand the situation in which she is in.

Anyway how are u doing?

Dgrimm60 nice to see u again..

It s so cold here, i am going to sleep now,

U all have a nice sabbath!

Good to see that you are well and alive TS. Hope your here to stay for awhile. Hope you had a good Sabbath TS. And don't be a stranger. Your not a lonely fighter.

pk

well all be happy to pray for her.

as you should know, :) something doesnt click til it clicks. so dont be discouraged that your words didnt get through to her.

we are all glad to know when we have been of the slightest help. God has you, my brother. its hard to believe many times, but when i look back i cant see when He wasnt there helping and protecting me, but today, in spite of all that, im not sure. :)

Hey PKrause how you doing? i noticed that i don t have the possibility to start a new thread in some of the other sub-boards so maybe i can pose my question here. Yesterday i was reading the bible and i came across these verses;

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels. And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." --- Mark 8:31 - 9:1, parallel passage in Matt 16:28 and Lk 9:27"

My question is about the last sentence. I believe there are two possibilities here; either Jesus is referring to his transfiguration, or Jesus is referring to the second death. I think Jesus is referring to the second death because of the context of these verses. First Jesus tells us that we should follow him and that we have to stay away from sin. I believe he stresses this warning with an extrapolation. If you don t follow Jesus and continue to live in sin you will have to face the consequences of sin at your ressurection. At that time you will not be allowed to taste the final death untill you have paid the price for sin...

Did EGW had anything to say about this?what are your opinions?

Thkz in advance

If you don't mind, I'll answer it. It was the transfiguration. The kingdom of God cannot be the second death,as it is nothing, the cessation of life. The wages of sin is death.

Chap. 46 - He Was Transfigured

Evening is drawing on as Jesus calls to His side three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, and leads them across the fields, and far up a rugged path, to a lonely mountainside. The Saviour and His disciples have spent the day in traveling and teaching, and the mountain climb adds to their weariness. Christ has lifted burdens from mind and body of many sufferers; He has sent the thrill of life through their enfeebled frames; but He also is compassed with humanity, and with His disciples He is wearied with the ascent. {DA 419.1}


The light of the setting sun still lingers on the mountain top, and gilds with its fading glory the path they are traveling. But soon the light dies out from hill as well as valley, the sun disappears behind the western horizon, and the solitary travelers are wrapped in the darkness of night. The gloom of their surroundings seems in harmony with their sorrowful lives, around which the clouds are gathering and thickening. {DA 419.2}


The disciples do not venture to ask Christ whither He is going, or for what purpose. He has often spent entire nights in the mountains in prayer. He whose hand formed mountain and valley is at home with nature, and enjoys its quietude. The disciples follow where Christ leads the way; yet they wonder why their Master should lead them up this toilsome ascent when they are weary, and when He too is in need of rest. {DA 419.3}


Presently Christ tells them that they are now to go no farther. Stepping a little aside from them, the Man of Sorrows pours out His
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supplications with strong crying and tears. He prays for strength to endure the test in behalf of humanity. He must Himself gain a fresh hold on Omnipotence, for only thus can He contemplate the future. And He pours out His heart longings for His disciples, that in the hour of the power of darkness their faith may not fail. The dew is heavy upon His bowed form, but He heeds it not. The shadows of night gather thickly about Him, but He regards not their gloom. So the hours pass slowly by. At first the disciples unite their prayers with His in sincere devotion; but after a time they are overcome with weariness, and, even while trying to retain their interest in the scene, they fall asleep.


Jesus has told them of His sufferings; He has taken them with Him that they might unite with Him in prayer; even now He is praying for them. The Saviour has seen the gloom of His disciples, and has longed to lighten their grief by an assurance that their faith has not been in vain. Not all, even of the twelve, can receive the revelation He desires to give. Only the three who are to witness His anguish in Gethsemane have been chosen to be with Him on the mount. Now the burden of His prayer is that they may be given a manifestation
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of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, that His kingdom may be revealed to human eyes, and that His disciples may be strengthened to behold it. He pleads that they may witness a manifestation of His divinity that will comfort them in the hour of His supreme agony with the knowledge that He is of a surety the Son of God and that His shameful death is a part of the plan of redemption. {DA 419.4}


His prayer is heard. While He is bowed in lowliness upon the stony ground, suddenly the heavens open, the golden gates of the city of God are thrown wide, and holy radiance descends upon the mount, enshrouding the Saviour's form. Divinity from within flashes through humanity, and meets the glory coming from above. Arising from His prostrate position, Christ stands in godlike majesty. The soul agony is gone. His countenance now shines "as the sun," and His garments are "white as the light." {DA 421.1}


The disciples, awaking, behold the flood of glory that illuminates the mount. In fear and amazement they gaze upon the radiant form of their Master. As they become able to endure the wondrous light, they see that Jesus is not alone. Beside Him are two heavenly beings, in close converse with Him. They are Moses, who upon Sinai had talked with God; and Elijah, to whom the high privilege was given--granted to but one other of the sons of Adam--never to come under the power of death. {DA 421.2}



Upon Mount Pisgah fifteen centuries before, Moses had stood gazing upon the Land of Promise. But because of his sin at Meribah, it was not for him to enter there. Not for him was the joy of leading the host of Israel into the inheritance of their fathers. His agonized entreaty, "I pray Thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon" (Deuteronomy 3:25), was refused. The hope that for forty years had lighted up the darkness of the desert wanderings must be denied.


A wilderness grave was the goal of those years of toil and heart-burdening care. But He who is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20), had in this measure answered His servant's prayer. Moses passed under the dominion of death, but he was not to remain in the tomb. Christ Himself called him forth to life. Satan the tempter had claimed the body of Moses because of his sin; but Christ the Saviour brought him forth from the grave. Jude 9. {DA 421.3}


Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ's victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth
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from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ's second coming, and who will be "changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;" when "this mortal must put on immortality," and "this corruptible must put on incorruption." 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.


Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come "the second time without sin unto salvation." For He will come "in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Saviour's promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature,--Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen saints, and Elijah of the translated ones. {DA 421.4

}
The disciples do not yet comprehend the scene; but they rejoice that the patient Teacher, the meek and lowly One, who has wandered to and fro a helpless stranger, is honored by the favored ones of heaven. They believe that Elijah has come to announce the Messiah's reign, and that the kingdom of Christ is about to be set up on the earth. The memory of their fear and disappointment they would banish forever. Here, where the glory of God is revealed, they long to tarry. Peter exclaims, "Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." The disciples are confident that Moses and Elijah have been sent to protect their Master, and to establish His authority as king. {DA 422.1}


But before the crown must come the cross. Not the inauguration of Christ as king, but the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem, is the subject of their conference with Jesus. Bearing the weakness of humanity, and burdened with its sorrow and sin, Jesus walked alone in the midst of men. As the darkness of the coming trial pressed upon Him, He was in loneliness of spirit, in a world that knew Him not. Even His loved disciples, absorbed in their own doubt and sorrow and ambitious hopes, had not comprehended the mystery of His mission. He had dwelt amid the love and fellowship of heaven; but in the world that He had created,


He was in solitude. Now heaven had sent its messengers to Jesus; not angels, but men who had endured suffering and sorrow, and who could sympathize with the Saviour in the trial of His earthly life. Moses and Elijah had been colaborers with Christ. They had shared His longing for the salvation of men. Moses had pleaded for Israel: "Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written." Exodus 32:32. Elijah
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had known loneliness of spirit, as for three years and a half of famine he had borne the burden of the nation's hatred and its woe. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Alone he had fled to the desert in anguish and despair. These men, chosen above every angel around the throne, had come to commune with Jesus concerning the scenes of His suffering, and to comfort Him with the assurance of the sympathy of heaven. The hope of the world, the salvation of every human being, was the burden of their interview. {DA 422.2}


Through being overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers. Failing to watch and pray, they had not received that which God desired to give them,--a knowledge of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. They lost the blessing that might have been theirs through sharing His self-sacrifice. Slow of heart to believe were these disciples, little appreciative of the treasure with which Heaven sought to enrich them. {DA 425.1}


Yet they received great light. They were assured that all heaven knew of the sin of the Jewish nation in rejecting Christ. They were given a clearer insight into the work of the Redeemer. They saw with their eyes and heard with their ears things that were beyond the comprehension of man. They were "eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16), and they realized that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, to whom patriarchs and prophets had witnessed, and that He was recognized as such by the heavenly universe. {DA 425.2

}
While they were still gazing on the scene upon the mount, "a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." As they beheld the cloud of glory, brighter than that which went before the tribes of Israel in the wilderness; as they heard the voice of God speak in awful majesty that caused the mountain to tremble, the disciples fell smitten to the earth.

They remained prostrate, their faces hidden, till Jesus came near, and touched them, dispelling their fears with His well-known voice, "Arise, and be not afraid." Venturing to lift up their eyes, they saw that the heavenly glory had passed away, the forms of Moses and Elijah had disappeared. They were upon the mount, alone with Jesus. {DA 425.3}

Hey Steve thanks for your answer. I think you are right that Jesus was talking about his configuration. However the direct context of the verses involved seem to suggest a warning. It is like Jesus is saying, 'you can better be on my side or else you will have to face the consequences of sin when i come back at the second coming when the kingdom of God is ascending to earth, and then you ll have a problem because you won t taste death before the penalty is over'.

But i think your explanation is even more probable. I think God is much more intelligent than we are ever able to comprehend so maybe God used these verses in a diabolical way, i don t know. I believe in the transfiguration scenario for about 73 percent and the warning scenario 27 percent...

You are welcome. These preceding verses are warnings:

Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mat 16:25 For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

truthseeker, do you see God as quite threatening? or do you believe this?

Jer 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Well I do like what Steve had to say. I've always thought that it meant that it was anticapated that Jesus would return soon after this. But obviously that never happen.

pk

Hi truthseeker.

I like your name. All of us should be seeking the truth. I'm praying that your prayers will help you on your journey.

Alex