"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" (Hebrews 1:3 KJV)
"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together." (Colossians 1:15-17 NLT)
Now, about that issue of whether or not Jesus is God; I really don't know how it is that anyone who might study the Scriptures can actually overlook what the Bible says; except for the fact that they are not given the opportunity to actually read the Bible, without their Study Books!
Yes, you heard it correctly: they are told that they must read the Study Books primarily, and the Bible is used to as a supplement to what they learn from their Study Books. As a matter of fact, they are told that they can do the Study Books for two years and then they will be in the light; but if the set the Scripture Studies aside, and just read the Bible alone, in six months they will be in darkness.
Talk about being deceived! It has been said, if you were stranded on a deserted island, all alone, and all that you had to read was the Bible, you would know the truth of what the Bible says, all on your own. We need to be saved, first and foremost! Once we have been born again, we can actually see and understand what we are reading, having the Holy Spirit to show us what is being said!
Yesterday I heard something said, that caused me to say out loud, "That's not the Truth!" I don't want to say names, but the topic was dealing with Saul and Samson, as to whether or not they were in heaven or hell. I really don't know how we can honestly say that someone messed up, and by what they did here on this earth is enough to condemn them to hell, because everyone has the opportunity to ask for forgiveness!
When Saul went to the woman to conjure up Samuel, Samuel told Saul that he would soon be with him. I am pretty sure that Samuel wasn't in hell, and I do believe that Saul had the opportunity to ask God for forgiveness, even if he did fall on his own sword! And last I knew, Samson is listed in the Hall of Faith; even though he messed up, he still called out to God in the end, asking for strength to take down that colosseum. It says that he killed more Philistines at his death, than he did while alive.
By the way, when the story is told about, "The Rich Young Ruler," for some reason there is such hate or anger brought out towards him, as if there was no hope, because he walked away from Jesus. We can only be thankful that God has not cut us off, instantly, after we had rejected His offer of salvation. How many times I have seen those who I truly believed were ready to accept the Lord, only to watch them walk away, saying, "Not today!"
Have you ever been there? Have you ever heard someone say, "Don't walk away, you don't know if you will ever have a chance again; you could be killed tonight, and you would be going to hell!" I'm sorry if that makes things seem wrong, but we really do have a loving Father, who doesn't give up easily...
"Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!" This amazed them. But Jesus said again, "Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God."" (Mark 10:23-27 NLT)
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