[IGotTheCottons]

This is going to be pretty long... Sorry, I haven't been around for a while, so I've got a lot to say.

Originally Posted by da420

I still dont think you fully answered stoned_soldiers question cotton. I believe what i believe I read everything and still don't believe in a god or that these prophecies are true. I am undecided if there is a maker(just not an almighty one). All these prophecies have been made before, its not hard to say that there will be war and hard time, etc, i mean its a given its expected. There are many books that have prophecies that have come true, so why not believe the word in the other books, why is the bible the only thing you believe, i mean come on its a book, not written by god it was written by man, whos stories were handed down thousand\s of years, then translated, then interpeted. lots have stuff has been scewed and lost in all this. shit if someone told me they saw a burning talking bush i would laugh then ask them if they ate some moldy rye bread...

wtf you think weed is gonna send you to hell or what? didnt god want us to use all the herb of the earth as said in Genesis?

Ok, to answer Stoned_Soldier's question a little better... Jesus actually called himself the Jehovah of the Old Testament. This is why the Jews wanted to kill him. They thought he was speaking blasphemy. However, they didn't recall the prophecies about how he'd heal the sick, and die for our sins... They were expecting Jesus to set up his kingdom on earth when He came... not heal the sick, raise the dead, teach that the leaders were hypocrites, and that salvation came by faith, not works. Below are some of the verses that show Jesus claimed to be the Jehovah from the Old Testament.

John 8:58, 59 says: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Bewfore Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."

Compare this with Exodus 3:14, which says: "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

Jesus was claiming to be the I AM of the Old Testament. This is why the Jews wanted to stone him... He was claiming to be God.

A couple more verses where Jesus claims to be the I am:

Revelation 1:17, 18 says: "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for ever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

And John 18:6: "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."

This is when they were arresting Jesus in the garden of Gethsemany (sp?). When he said "I am he" those who were taking him captive fell to the ground... Why would they do this unless he were claiming to be Jehovah?

John 17:5 says: "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."

Compare this with Isaiah 42:8, which says: "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

If Jehovah will not share his glory with another, then why does Jesus say "glorify thou me with thine own self <i>with the glory which I had with thee before the world was</i>.

John 10:11 says: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

Compare with Psalms 23:1, which says: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Self explanitory.

John 5:27 says: "And hath given authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." (Referring to Jesus).

Compare with Joel 3:12, which says: "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about."

If Jesus was given the authority to judge, and Jehovah of the Old Testament says that he is the one who will Judge the heathen, this shows they are one and the same.

John 8:12 says: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Compare with Psalms 27:1, which says: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Jesus claims to be the light of the world, in the OT, Jehovah is known as the light of the world.

Also, Jesus claims to be the Son of God... You have to understand the Jewish culture a little to find out that this doesn't mean Jesus was inferior to God. It rather shows that Jesus was claiming equality with God. A couple of verses...

John 5:25 - "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live."

John 3:16 - "For God so lived the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I know you've all heard Jn 3:16 quoted, but do you ever stop to think that it's being said by Jesus, and He's calling himself God's only begotten (or born) Son?

So does that answer Stoned_Soldier's question better? He asked me why Jesus didn't just outright tell people He was God... well... He did.

Now, on to the next part of your post... about stuff supposedly being lost over time... When scripture was copied back in ancient times, it was recognized as scripture. These originals were copied word for word, letter for letter, but the Jewish scribes. They believed the scriptures so Holy that they had special pens, and rituals just for when they'd copy the name Jehovah. This wasn't some fairy tale that people just told eachother. The events were eye-witnessed, written down, and copied word for word so others could know about them. It's hard to argue this to someone who doesn't believe the Bible to be the word of God, so I'm not really going to go into it... But one example of not having an original, but yet knowing every word that was on it would be the Emancipation Proclemation. The original was destroyed in the Chicago fire, but we still know every letter, of every word, that was in that entire document. Why? Because copies were made.

Why is the Bible the only book I believe? Because it was written over a span of 1,600 years, on 3 continents, and by 40 different people, but yet it doesn't contradict itself a single time. Also, it has SPECIFIC prophecy that has come true. Jesus' birth and life alone fulfilled over 100 prophecies made in the Old Testament... the youngest of which was made about 400 years before Jesus' birth (many of them being much, much older though). When most people see evidence like that, it's kind of hard not to believe... Unless they're just wilfully blind and don't want to hear the truth.

There are many books that have prophecies that have come true

Really? Show me...

And also i bet even i could make up some prophecy and at some point in time it would come true. I mean there could be thousands of thousands of years left for earth and the chances of something that i say coming true if they consist of like earthquakes, and famine, and war (things that happen all the time) even if somewhat specific are prolly pretty good chance at coming true like i said at some point in time.

Really JaneInMyBrain? So you mean to tell me that you could predict a war that would engulph the whole world, famines, earthquakes, and pestilence that are the strongest in history, and the revival of Israel and the Jewish people, all happening at the same time, then have it happen nearly 2,000 years later, and still think it's a coinsodence? And what about all the other prophecy that was made about the end times that are coming true? The apostate church, the ecumenical movement, the reuniting of Israel into one kingdom after thousands of years of being divided into two kingdoms?

it doesn't REALLY say "this all happens around the same time". just that they're all signs of the same thing. just wanted to point that out cause it seems presumptuous to say "this really means this" when lookin at things like this..

Mr_Criminal... The scriptures are clear that they all will happen at the same time. "All these (the war, the earthquakes, the famines, the pestilence) are the beginning of sorrows" - Matthew 24:8... You're thinkin, 'So what? that still doesn't mean they all have to happen at the same time.' Right? Well, lets go on a little further then... Here's where things get a little complicated, and hard to explain... I hope I can do it without confusing anyone...

in Verse 32 it speaks of a fig tree... "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is night: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." - Matthew 24:23, 33.

The fig tree is Israel (one could come to this conclusion, because Israel is often referred to as a fig tree in the OT). So now, the criteria is being added to. The "all these things" in verse 33 is the same term used in verse 8, therefore they are referring to the same thing - the sign of the end. So when we see the things spoken of in verse 7, and 32, we are to know that it (the end) "is near, even at the doors." How long is it from when these things happen, til the end? Verse 34 says: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." This generation is the generation that's alive to see "all these things" (again, it's the same term found in verses 8 and 33, therefore it's referring to the same thing).

Also, if you'll go back to verse 7 real quick, notice it's all one sentence. "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: <b>and</b> there shall be famines, <b>and</b> pestilences, <b>and</b> earthquakes, in diverse places. So there's the global war, then there's a colon [:], then there's the famine, AND the pestilences, AND the earthquakes, which will be occuring in diverse (many) places. Then after this there's going to be a regathering/revival in the land of Palestine according to this passage.

Now, if you go and check your history books, you'll find that WWI engulphed the whole world, and within 2 years the worst famines, pestilences, and earthquakes to ever strike the globe did so, and in diverse places... Then shortly after this the Jews begin returning to Palestine, they're made a nation once again, their nation is reunited into 1 nation (Predicted in Ezekiel 37, fulfilled in the 6 day war), and there they await the signing of a peace treaty between them, and their arab neighbors (this is being pushed for heavily in today's society, but won't occur until after the rapture when Antichrist signs the peace treaty with Israel and her neighbors, which begins the Tribulation Period).

There's more prophecies that I am going to get into, but for now, I'll leave you with this. And I'm sorry, these things are NOT just a little specific. They are VERY specific. A global war, followed by the worst famines, earthquakes, and pestilence in the history of man, followed by a regathering in Israel, followed by a reuniting of Israel into one nation again... how is that vague? how is that only a little specific? It's not. It gives specific signs to watch for, and they've all happened.