Often I overanalyze Bible verses and it makes me anxious. I'm constant worried about sinning and going to hell cause of this what do I do?

I want to take a moment to list out some of my most challenging problems with Protestantism according to what Scripture says, in no particular order. It is not a comprehensive list of all of the problems that I have with it, but having these answered would go a long way to me taking Protestantism seriously from a theological viewpoint.
We should rely on our own personal interpretation of Scripture
And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Here, Peter is saying PAY ATTENTION TO THE CHURCH!!! Listen to what the apostles are teaching and allow that to form your reading of Scripture. If you read the rest of this chapter, He says that "we" (the apostles) have had given to them, "all things that pertain to life and godliness" through knowledge of Jesus Christ. When we read Scripture, we should not read it solely with our own understanding, but allow ourselves to be taught by the apostles (or those appointed by them as successors).
When it comes to Sola Scriptura, I do not see how it is not relying on one's own personal interpretation. How do I know that I am understanding Scripture correctly? How do I know that I do not have an interpretation that is horribly off base? I have never really gotten an answer to this from Protestants.
If I am debating Scripture, according to Protestants, I am debating the sole highest authority. So if I test my interpretation against something else, I am testing against a lesser authority and thus it can still be challenged and I have not sufficiently solved the problem.
We only need to declare Jesus as Lord to get to Heaven
“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Here Jesus flatly says professing that Jesus is Lord is not enough to get you into Heaven, but doing the will of the Father. Yes, we are saved by faith through grace. If you get baptized and are shot dead the moment you walk out of the church, you will go to Heaven having done nothing except making that "leap of faith." If you are in a car crash and have a minute to live and all you can do is place your trust in Jesus, yes, you will be saved. But for 99.99999% of people, this is not the case. We have our entire lives to live after baptism. So the question is "Do we live according to what we profess with our mouth?"
If I say "I am an Orioles fan." but only ever go to/watch Yankees games and only ever root for the Yankees, would you say that I am actually an Orioles fan? Do I not call into question that statement that I made by my actions? What if I grow up as an Orioles fan, regularly attending games and watching them daily. But then later, my favorite player gets traded to the Yankees and I convert to a Yankees fan. Was I never an Orioles fan to begin with? No. That would be silly. I was an Orioles fan, but then became a Yankees fan.
Likewise, if I say "I am a Christian and believe that Jesus rose from the dead." But I never attend Church, I am not loving others, I am worshipping other gods, etc. Am I really a Christian? Maybe I was at one point, but I certainly am not now based on what I have done.
As such, yes, it is true that works do not save us, but if we act contrary to what we believe, we cannot have assurance of our salvation. Hopefully God still finds a way to bring us to Heaven. I would rather someone spend 1000 years after death having their soul purified knowing that they will go to Heaven then know for a fact that they are in Hell. Even so, we must recognize that Hell is real, it is a real possibility.
Baptism does not save
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
I have ZERO idea where some Protestants get this idea from. The idea that Baptism is not salvific is not at all Scriptural. This really ties into the "Sola Fide" bit of this post.
The Eucharist is merely symbolic
I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread^\)^c\) which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
⁵² The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”^\)^d\) ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; ⁵⁴ he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” ⁵⁹ This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper′na-um.
Jesus flat out says "This bread that I am talking about here is my flesh." So the disciples challenge Him saying "You mean this figuratively right?... RIGHT?
So Jesus responds repeating himself over and over in verses 53 through 58. How many times does Jesus need to say something for you to believe it? You will latch on to a singular verse that teaches something you agree with (or seems to) for dear life at the exclusion of literally any other verse on the topic, but something else is taught multiple times and you don't believe it? I am confused about how Protestants read the Bible. It does not seem to be in any kind of coherent exegesis.
You are allowed to get divorced and remarried... at all.
“Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,^\)^a\) ⁸ and the two shall become one.’^\)^b\) So they are no longer two but one.^\)^c\) ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity,^\)^c\) and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
Marriage is "until death do us part." The teachings on divorce from the Gospels is trying to set a trap for Jesus to see which rabbinical school he agrees with. Jesus comes out and says. "Neither." He says "Yeah. Moses allowed for divorce. But this is not how it was from the beginning. What about that "except for unchastity" phrase in Matthew (and only Matthew)?
There Matthew is talking about unions that God did not join together. He is talking about invalid marriages that his primarily Jewish readers would have been thinking about. The gentile converts to Christianity would not have thought about these weird situations, so this is excluded from the other gospels.
You can get re-baptized
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Some that want to say that you can get rebaptized jump to Acts 19. Reading this passage, it would seem that what is going on here is that the Baptism by John was not in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Paul is essentially saying that the "baptism" that they had received was not valid. He does not say that he "baptized them again into Christ." Rather it says that Paul "baptized them in the name Jesus Christ." As in they were not baptized into Christ, so Paul baptized them "for real this time."
You can only be cleansed from Original Sin once. After that, you can confess your sins and have them forgiven. Baptism is what makes into a child of God. That can only happen once. To do otherwise is a grave sin because you are saying that God was not powerful enough to save you the first time. Again, if a baptism is deemed to be invalid, this is a different story. This is why Paul asks "Into what were you baptized?"
The Church is simply the collection of believers
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Here it is clear that the "Church" is something more than a collection of believers. Jesus teaches here that first, you deal with disagreement 1 on 1. If that does not work, you go and get other believers to help show that they are wrong. If that does not work, then take to the Church. If even that does not work, they are to be treated as an unbeliever (excommunicated).
Certainly, all believers are a part of the Church - which is the body of Christ. The Church is not a parish or a singular building. The Church is universal, but there is a clear structure to it. There are priests, bishops, elders, etc. There is real authority in that structure. This article goes over in Scripture and towards the bottom the Church Fathers what the Church is meant to look like: https://www.scripturecatholic.com/the-biblical-church/
Many Protestant ideas sound nice, but I do not want to believe something merely because it sounds nice. Dessert for dinner sounds nice but it is not good for my body. Likewise, we should not judge something on "does it sound nice." We should judge something on whether it is good for our souls.
I look at many Protestant theological views and note how they seem to not be based in Scripture or based on a misunderstanding of Scripture. I would love to see if Protestants can properly answer these. Simply quoting verses that seem to back you up is not enough here. You need to show that these other verses are not problematic.
I do not only want to trust in Jesus, I want to trust that I am following everything that he taught. Jesus commanded the apostles to teach all that He has commanded, not just the important stuff. If you get the main stuff right but other things wrong, you still got it wrong. If a teacher gave a 10 question quiz and said, "You got questions 1, 2, 5, and 7 right, but everything else wrong. It is ok though those questions were the most important." I still get a failing grade. So, if you want me to convert to Protestantism you need to show that you actually follow all of Scripture, because I want to strive to get a 100% on the "test" of salvation. After all Jesus told us to "Be perfect as Your Heavenly Father is perfect" Not "Be kind of perfect as Your Heavenly Father is perfect."

The Holy Spirit as your intercessor
There are conversations about you that you will never have the pleasure of being part of. Meetings in the Spiritual realm you will never attend. The Lord intercedes for you through His Holy Spirit.
Do you remember in one verse the Holy Spirit was called your Advocate? This means when you face accusations He defends you in heavenly courts. In another verse the Holy Spirit was called your Comforter, your Counselor and now your intercessor.
God saw that you needed all these things. But for this to happen you have to draw near to God through Him. Read here; Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Relationships take work, compromise and effort. This is also the same thing with your relationship with the Holy Spirit. You commit to calling your loved one, visiting and being there all the time and you think it will take less effort with God? It will take even more effort. The Holy Spirit does not just intercede for you, He does so according to the will of God.
Read here; Romans 8:27 “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” When we pray we are often guided by our earthly needs and problems, such prayers do not attract answers. But with the Holy Spirit we can now pray according to the will of God.
Minister T.D Mkana Godly Thoughts Ministries Prayerline: +263773572786

bible#bibleverse #jesuschrist #bible #bibleverse

The Holy Spirit as your intercessor
There are conversations about you that you will never have the pleasure of being part of. Meetings in the Spiritual realm you will never attend. The Lord intercedes for you through His Holy Spirit.
Do you remember in one verse the Holy Spirit was called your Advocate? This means when you face accusations He defends you in heavenly courts. In another verse the Holy Spirit was called your Comforter, your Counselor and now your intercessor.
God saw that you needed all these things. But for this to happen you have to draw near to God through Him. Read here; Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Relationships take work, compromise and effort. This is also the same thing with your relationship with the Holy Spirit. You commit to calling your loved one, visiting and being there all the time and you think it will take less effort with God? It will take even more effort. The Holy Spirit does not just intercede for you, He does so according to the will of God.
Read here; Romans 8:27 “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” When we pray we are often guided by our earthly needs and problems, such prayers do not attract answers. But with the Holy Spirit we can now pray according to the will of God.
Minister T.D Mkana Godly Thoughts Ministries Prayerline: +263773572786

bible#bibleverse #jesuschrist #bible #bibleverse

The Holy Spirit as your intercessor
There are conversations about you that you will never have the pleasure of being part of. Meetings in the Spiritual realm you will never attend. The Lord intercedes for you through His Holy Spirit.
Do you remember in one verse the Holy Spirit was called your Advocate? This means when you face accusations He defends you in heavenly courts. In another verse the Holy Spirit was called your Comforter, your Counselor and now your intercessor.
God saw that you needed all these things. But for this to happen you have to draw near to God through Him. Read here; Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Relationships take work, compromise and effort. This is also the same thing with your relationship with the Holy Spirit. You commit to calling your loved one, visiting and being there all the time and you think it will take less effort with God? It will take even more effort. The Holy Spirit does not just intercede for you, He does so according to the will of God.
Read here; Romans 8:27 “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” When we pray we are often guided by our earthly needs and problems, such prayers do not attract answers. But with the Holy Spirit we can now pray according to the will of God.
Minister T.D Mkana Godly Thoughts Ministries Prayerline: +263773572786

bible#bibleverse #jesuschrist #bible #bibleverse

It is a man, old and scraggy. He wears a jacket that lays over the red plaid button shirt and blue jeans. He wears an old baseball cap and a pair of glasses. He yelled something to Dad, holding his hands up like he was pleading, although we couldn’t hear it over the truck engine. They talked, but we couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Hey, what are they saying”, I asked, while petting Matt’s hair, calming him. The old man then put his hands down and came close to Dad in a cautious way. They seem to start having some kind of conversation.
“I don’t really know, hopefully, something good”, Mom answered. They talked for a little while, with daylight beginning to disappear, giving us a sense of dread, and making me more worried about what weird creature was going to show up. Eventually, the old man turned and pointed toward what I think is the northeast. They then shook hands and walked back to their respective vehicles. “What’s going on”, Mom asked as Dad got into the truck.
“Well, our new friend here invited us to dinner at his farm”, Dad replied.
“Does he have supplies?”
“Well, he says has supplies for us to make the journey.”
“Should we even trust him? We just met h-”
“Relax, he’s just an old man, living alone at his farm, feeding his cows. What could go wrong”, Dad countered. The old man then entered the truck that was running and drove slowly, expecting us to follow him.
“Alrighty then, but we have to be cautious”, Mom said, with her suspicions of the old man. We then followed the old truck along the dark, frozen road. It just feels like something is going to show up along the road, but nothing happened. Matt did eventually stop crying, but he is still upset about the Joe escape thing.
“Where are we going”, Matt lamented, with the prior series of events in mind.
“I guess somebody is offering us dinner”, I answered.
“Why can’t we just go home?”
“It’s only going to be a stop, like a hotel. After that, we go to our new home, I guess”, I said, taking another look at Matt and cradling to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay.” I stared out into the darkness. I looked to the sky from the window and I faintly saw something in the clear, dark sky, lit up by the waning moon. They were brilliant, green auroras that defy the bright moon, dancing across the sky like ribbons in the wind. The truck eventually took a right-hand turn into another road, with us following suit. I can see a bright, orange light emerging from a patch of tree. When we passed by, it seemed it was a house, at a farm, burning in a massive flame.
“I guess those people aren’t so, uh, lucky”, Dad said, taking a quick look at it before looking at the road. Passing by, we went on and continued to follow the old man’s truck. We passed onto another intersection until he turned into a driveway to what I believe to be his farm. Going into the driveway, I can see an old house, along with a dilapidated farm further away, barely visible by the headlights. The old man parked by the house, where there were a few other trucks there. We parked alongside the truck and we got out into the cold, near-silent night.
“Welcome to sanctuary, where all are welcome”, the old man bellowed. This is the first time I’ve heard his voice. Matt was the last to get out of the truck, slowly and clumsily climbing out of the truck.
“What’s your name”, my Mom politely asked the old man.
“Oh, I guess your husband didn’t tell ya. My name is Steven, but you can call me Steve”, the old man said, with some crackling in his voice. “I am very proud to host a dinner for you and your family”, he continued. “What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Oh, my name is Janice”, Mom replied, quite pleased at his politeness.
“Hello, Janice, and what are their names”, Steven asked, pointing to me and Matt.
“That’s my daughter Kate and my son Matt”, Dad said to Mom.
“Oh, what wonderful names for a couple of beautiful children you have”, Steve grinned. “Come, it is dangerous out here.” We followed him to the house, which looked like it had seen better days. He entered through the double-set door, the first a solid door and a screen door behind. Entering the house, it smelled like what you’d expect, old man. Looking onto the floor is made of glossy wood and walls with cracks, likely caused by the earthquake. It is dark in there, lit by candlelight from many candles, yet it’s fairly warm here. I don’t know why we went into the house, but Dad was right, Steve is just a lonely, old man. Matter of fact, there seems to be nothing wrong here, other than the cracks in the walls. “Sorry, the power went out. Had to resort to the candles. I knew my wife would come in handy”, Steve explained as he took his coat off. “Oh, supper will be ready right away. Had to use the fireplace to cook. Also, can you take your boots off?” We took our boots and set them aside. We went into what seemed to be a living room, with dusty old-style furniture.
“So, where do we sit”, Mom asked.
“Oh, well, follow me”, Steve commanded, leading us to the dining room, with a long, wooden table and six wooden chairs, along with their corresponding old-fashioned plates, glasses and cutlery, lit up in the candlelight. We noticed that everything on the table was covered in a thin veil of dust. “My apologies, the recent shocks dropped a bit of dust on the table”, he explained as he noticed us looking at the plates and moved into another room nearby. “Take your seats if you like.” We all settled onto the chairs, and blew off our plates of the dust settled there.
“When will we eat”, Matt impatiently said.
“Once Steve comes out with the food”, Mom answered. Matt sat there with a tired look on his face. Dad seemed to be in a better mood than before and it looked like he wanted to start a conversation.
“Hey, should we talk about something”, Dad asked. I then see Steve with a bowl and a silver plate.
“Here we go, may not be much, but at least it’ll fulfil the soul”, Steve said, smiling when he served us mashed potatoes and meatloaf. “So, shall we pray?” That came unexpectedly, as we are not too religious, but we were in his house and gave us shelter and food.
“Sure, we can do that”, Mom said and we all bowed our heads and put our hands together. Steve cleared his throat
“Thank you, Lord, for this good food to feed the soul in these hard times. I shall pray, in the name of the Lord and Jesus Christ, that these hard times shall be over, so we can get on with our lives. Amen.” We raised our heads and grabbed whatever food there was onto our plates. “Oh, there’s no gravy, so we have to deal with bare potaters and meatloaf.”
“Oh, not to worry. Thank you for the food”, Dad thanked Steve. We began to eat the food once we got it sorted.
“So, what brings you here”, Steve asked.
“Well, there is an evacuation order in effect for this area, so we had to go to Regina”, Dad explained, with Steve taking in every word. “So, we came from Strasbourg, we tried going south towards Regina, but we hit an obstacle in the way and we had to take another route, leading us here.”
“And we encountered a few odd things along the way”, Mom added.
“Huh, interesting. What do you guys think is going on”, Steve inquired.
“By the things we saw, we have no idea. Dinosaurs, devil dogs, hell pigs, the whole deal. I shouldn’t forget the earthquake. They told us a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake”, Dad clarified to Steve.
“Hmm… is that so”, Steve wondered. “Wonder what I think is happening? The Rapture is happening. Do you know how the Bible tells us of the end times? Good people sent to be with God and his kingdom, the rest here to suffer the Hell unleashed by Satan.” By this point, he was beginning to rant, but we couldn't stop it as we all began to feel tired and powerless. “So, the Devil will send his demons in the form of these illusions so that they can torment the sinners. It is happening, it is-” Steve manically continued as I drew towards blackness and his voice becoming less coherent. My vision is now all black.
I saw those same lights, but more rapidly than before. I then emerged onto the same clear sky, but something felt different. I can smell something in the air. I can smell what seems to be chemicals in the air. Looking down, I was terrified. Dark, grey rock in the shape of ropes and folds, similar to those I saw of lava flows on a volcano in pictures. This went on as far as the eye could see. I can see no tree this time, just the cooled lava everywhere. I then walked, feeling every bump and crag. I thought I walked forever until I heard a rumbling sound and woke up.
I am in total darkness. It is cold and it smells like cow manure. I tried to move my hand, but it seemed to be bonded behind my back by a rope. I tried to move my feet, but they were also bound by rope to the legs I tried to speak, only to realise my mouth was agape by a cloth in my mouth. I heard shuffling nearby but I could not see. It was then shone in light when Steve entered the door, holding a candle, revealing all of us in the same situation. I then can see what we are in. We are in that same wooden dilapidated barn we saw earlier and seems to be more damaged than the house, wood creaking can be heard.
“These sedatives are more effective than I thought. Maybe I should use them more often”, Steve smoothly explained, like he’s some kind of agent and began pacing. “Wonder why you are here? Well, I wondered the same thing to myself, why didn’t God take me to his heaven? When I first heard of the government telling us of those evacuation plans, I thought it was that, a leaking pipe. I began to notice things I couldn’t believe myself, at least at first. Earthquakes, weird creatures showing up, people disappearing, the whole spiel. I connected the dots. The Rapture is happening, for sure, but why me? Why was I the one left here on this Earth”, Steve calmly ranted, pacing around the barn, but it seemed to sound crazier and angrier the more he paced. “I thought I had lost my way. I’ve been unfaithful to God and his son. But, I realised that God always has a plan and he left me on this Earth to serve a purpose. I wondered what my purpose was until I had a moment.” He then stopped in place and calmed down. He turned to look at Mom with accusing yet crazed eyes.
“I’m supposed to keep the sinners here in line, to earn a place in God’s kingdom, or suffer in Hell. I know you are a sweet woman, Janice, but your treachery with Satan is over and I am going to do what’s right.” Mom then looked at all of us, with assuring eyes like that of an innocent yet caring mother we all know knew. I began crying and trying to speak through the cloth, but I was helpless to watch by. “Forgive me, Father, for what I am going to do.” He then pulled a knife from his pocket and plunged it into Mom’s neck with no mercy. I looked away once he did that, trembling, with tears pouring out and my vision glazed and I fell limp. I could see my brother tearing up, but he did not look away. I can hear Dad behind me, with his screams of agony and anger covered by the cloth. It felt like I was in slow motion, taking in every moment.
I then heard the chair, screeching as Steve dragged the chair containing Mom’s lifeless body towards the door, leaving behind a trail of blood. I couldn’t bear to see my mother like this. I shut my eyes very hard and hoped it would go away. The door then shut, leaving us alone with a candle, fearing what would come next. I stared at the candle, seeing it dance in the flames like a woman dancing in the darkness. Is this how it’ll end, I thought. End up dying to this sick man? My Mom was killed in front of me. I sobbed with that thought, then I began to think about the inevitable death of me. I hope there’s something after I die. Maybe I’ll see Mom again.
It was silent for a while, nearly no sound other than our moans. Dad seems to be fidgeting at the back of his chair, rocking it slowly. Looking past him, I shuddered at the glistening pool of blood, where Mom was last alive, could be my fate. I then see Dad release his arms from the back of the chair and remove the cloth from his mouth. He silently stood up and bent down to untie his legs from the chair legs. He then went to me and removed my cloth.
“H-h-how did you do that”, I silently wept, fearing that Steve would show up at the door and kill us all.
“My binding is loose. The old man probably took a liking to me”, Dad whispered. “I should remove your binds.” He untied them, releasing me, doing the same for Matt. “Now, we need to be quiet.” We then walked, quietly, along the painfully creaking wood in the near dark, following the blood trail, glistening in the candlelight. We cringed and dreaded each sound we made and watched the door in case it began to creak open. A few silent steps later, we made it to the door and we slowly opened it so as not to make any noise. What was revealed to us is nothing new, other than the blood trail continuing in the snow directing towards the back of the barn. “Okay, Kate, Matt, you guys run to the truck.”
“What about you”, I sobbed.
“Don’t worry about me”, Dad responded, giving me his keys and forcing them into my hand. “If I’m not back in a few minutes, leave. Don’t look back, take care of your brother, okay? I love you, no matter what happens.” He then kissed me on the head and ran to follow the blood trail. We quickly walked towards the black truck, stranded there for maybe hours. Getting closer, freedom is getting closer. When we got to a fair distance to the truck, I heard footsteps behind me and, the next thing I knew, I was knocked over to the ground into the hard snow on my face. A hand turned me over to give me a glimpse of a crazed Steve, his eyes wilder than before.
“Oh, yes, trying to escape”, he bragged. I looked at him, frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights and he caressed my face with his bloodied blade. “You do have a pretty face, but I’m afraid you are just one of Satan's creations, made to pull me to lust.” He then raised his knife in the air when a familiar side emerged, out of the blue.
Joe came and bit him in the arm that was holding the knife. Steve screamed in agony the moment he realised what happened. He shook Joe off and stood up to stand his ground. I stood up as Joe hissed and walked around the crazed being he wounded, not in fear but in aggressiveness. “Is this one of your pets, demon”, Steve screamed as Joe came in for another attack, but Steve countered that with a slash to the snout. Joe then ran away, whining, into the darkness. This sequence of events gave me the chance to enter the truck on the driver’s side. I had some trouble starting it, besides this is my first time driving a truck.
Steve menacelily walked towards the when Dad came barreling and tackled him to the ground. Dad was on top when he went limp. I finally put the keys in the engine turned it on and backed out, with memory serving me the instructions on such a vehicle. Steve pushed Dad’s body and stood up, but by that time, we left the farm.
“Turn back, we have to get Dad”, Matt cried, but I was very emotional, accepting what happened. I felt that, without my parents, I feel… useless.
“Dad’s dead”, I screamed at Matt and he began gagging uncontrollably in tears. I began to feel sorry for him. “Sorry, I, I don’t know.”
“It’s okay”, Matt sniffled. “I guess Mom and Dad are dead anyways.” It was silence for a few more minutes, tears welling in our eyes.
“Hey, our parents are in a better place”, I said, trying to make the situation positive.
“But we are stuck here, without them? Don’t we deserve to go to a better place?”
“Don’t say that”, I huffed and I paused for a bit. “I know we are in the, uh, right place now. Let me tell you something, once we get to Regina, I will take care of you, no matter what life throws at us.”
“What about Joe”, Matt asked.
“He’ll be fine. He probably found his girlfriend already.”
“Hey, don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I, uh, I don’t have one. That I know of”, I spoke, bringing me back to Sam, remembering that she’s the only friend that I ever knew, and I left her. Without her, I felt alone, no one would ever relate. I began to tear up. “I don’t have any friends. I am alone,” I sobbed.
“What do you mean? I’m your brother!” I looked at Matt, and smiled, happy that he acknowledged that we were in this together.
“Thank you”, I thanked him. I slowly stopped on the road, just to hug Matt hard, crying my eyes out. We then heard what sounded like an elephant in front of us. We looked up to see a walking snow-covered brown fur wall with four pillar-like legs in front of us. Its curved tusks gleaned in the light and the eyes reflected in the light. The furry trunk waved around like a searching snake from a tree. We both knew what it was.
“Hey, look at that, a woolly mammoth”, Matt said, excitement running through him. At this point, we weren’t surprised.
“Yep, that is a woolly mammoth”, I added. The mammoth turned to us on the road, seemingly confused about where it was. It looked at our truck and seemed to growl, like an elephant. We are starting to realise this thing is becoming aggressive.
“Uh, should we move”, Matt asked. I remembered hearing something about standing your ground in case of an encounter with an elephant. I hoped it would work for a bigger, furrier version of one.
“No, we have to stand our ground.”
“But, it’ll attack u-”
“Trust me!” I then honked my horn and it backed up. It then rushed, then stopped, a mock charge. Eventually, it moved out of the road, disappearing into the darkness. We sighed in relief.
“That was close”, Matt sighed. I then continued to drive in the night, headlights leading the way. The road is bumpy, as noticed by every ditch and peak we hit, but surprisingly, Matt was fast asleep. I began to get comfortable driving and used to the road by that point. It was silent for a while until we hit a smaller intersection. That is when the truck shut down, completely and stopped. I tried the gas many times but with no effect. There is no light, nothing. It is near-darkness here, shone only by the moonlight.
“Shit”, I yelled, desperate to turn the truck on without much success. Matt woke up, confused.
“What happened”, he yawned.
“The truck turned itself off. I can’t get it back on”, I fretted and at that moment, Matt was just as panicked as I am.
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know. One moment, we were driving, another it just-”, I quavered, when I heard something rustle in the distance. We stood still, hoping whatever it was didn’t find us. I looked around, hoping to see something in the moonlight. I then see a long, walking animal. It looked like some sort of alligator at first, except for a dinosaur-like head. Once I strained my eyes to the darkness, my fear levels rose as I could see it walk on its hind limbs, with its forelimbs dangling nearly touching the ground.
It was wandering around on the road when I heard a near-crocodilian growl at Matt’s side of the truck. Another of those creatures appeared, seemingly looking into the window like a hungry bear, giving us a chance to see its scaly head. Its exposed alligator teeth gleaned in the light like knives, but more terrifying was the eye. Its serpentine pupil shone brilliantly in the light like eyes in the dark. It then ducked down, gave a hiss, and moved towards the other one. A few more showed up and formed a group.
“What should we do”, Matt asked. “Should we stay?” I looked around, hoping for another way to escape them without them noticing. I further strained my eyes and mentally mapped out the area. There is a cemetery on my right-hand side, a grain bin storage yard on my left and a series of trailers on the other side of the highway, which is ahead of us, from the storage area. There, I see a series of white, storage buildings, something we can go to and wait it out inside.
“Okay, so slowly open the door”, I instructed Matt. The click of the doors opening cringed us. We looked at the group, but there was no response from them. We then, as slowly as we could, opened the door and stepped out. Still no response. Matt then quietly ran to the other side, towards me. “Okay, we are going into the storage yard and go to the other entrance”, I said, pointing to the other right-hand corner. I wanted to get as far away from these things as possible before making a safe crossing. “Then, we cross the highway on the other side, run into the buildings and stay there for the night. Are you ready?”
“I guess”, he whispered, looking at me in fearful doubt.
“We are going to do this”, I whispered back. We then silently ran over, having to rely on our night-adapted eyes, to the corner, walking past the bins. We made it and nothing behind us so far. “We’re good so far.” We then crossed the road and noticed nothing. We noticed a tanker truck, leaking some sort of fluid across the road. I easily recognized it as fuel, based on its distinctive, sickly smell. I wouldn’t be worried about it if it weren’t for a collapsed light pole that is somehow still flickering with electricity near the area where the fuel would be flowing. We quickly avoided the fluid when I froze to see the group of the walking alligators, running towards us. “Run!” Matt tried to run, but one of those things appeared and clamped its jaws at the back of his neck. He yelped in pain and it took him down to the ground. “Matt”, I yelled, helplessly watching as the creature tore into him.
Matt reached out his arm before the others came to him, then a flash of fire came. At this point, I knew what happened, but I couldn’t even think before it exploded. It blew me towards the building, far away. I was knocked out for a few seconds before I regained consciousness, groaning in pain on the ice. I noticed something especially painful just below my chest. I reached towards the area with my hand. I pressed on it, more painful than ever and raised my hand, only to see blood, brightened by the fire. I realised I was wounded, maybe by shrapnel made by the explosion.
I looked toward where the truck was and all I saw was a blaze. Those things weren’t there, at least. I also noticed something else, too, there’s no Matt. I tried to look around for something, some sort of sign of my brother within the fire, but I saw none. I then wept, realising I had failed. I have failed to keep him safe. I have failed to give him a better life. I failed him as a sister. I could’ve done better. The thoughts poured in as tears glazed my eyes. At that moment, I failed to look around me.
I noticed a dark thing beside the blaze. I thought it was Matt, preparing to greet him back, even though I knew he couldn’t survive the explosion. The image became clearer and clearer as I noticed it was one of the walking crocs that, glazed by the fire, was coming towards me.
“Just kill me”, I screamed, preparing to painfully die to meet my maker. The creature was about to attack me when something large, silent as the wind, came charging and clamped down its massive jaws, filled with conical teeth on the hapless creature and raised it. The crocodile struggled before going limp with a crunch within its strong jaws. The big, dark and scaly monster that it is towered over me and is as long as a bus, possibly longer. Its large legs are a contradiction to its small arms that hide beneath its scarred, bulky body.
It turned to look at me with an oddly bird-like expression, revealing in the firelight numerous scars from battles I could never know and looked at me with its beady bird-like eyes, breathing out wisps from its nostrils like a dragon in the cool air. I recognized it as a creature I know too well, a T. Rex. I breathed heavily and sickly, looking at the thing, nearly expecting me to drop the body and go after me. Instead, it simply walked away, carrying its bloody prize with it, and steadily retreated into the darkness.
I then lay down in agonizing exhaustion on my back, thinking of the next step of action like I'm on a suicide mission I would never come back from. I looked in the direction of the graveyard and had one thought. I guess I am dying. a graveyard will do. I struggled to stand up, noticing my blood-soaked clothes and felt a broken left leg. I grasped my wound, limping step by step and enduring the sharp pain while shaking in the cold. Every step I took, I remembered all the memories, good or bad, that I had with my parents. My brother. My friends. My family. I eventually reached the cemetery and slouched at a tree.
“Guess I’m joining you, guys”, I said, speaking to the snow-covered gravestones, only to hear something. A familiar sound of chirping emerged and, lit by the blaze, it was a sight I can hope for. “Joe, what are you doing here”, I depressingly cheered as Joe went to me and curled up in my lap as if he were a cat. I noticed the new-found scar he had on his little snout, but I paid no mind as I petted him. “I guess you came back. Thank you so much for what you did”, I thanked him, not expecting such a loyal creature would be with me, comforting me, to the end, like what my mother used to do when I was a newborn. I heard another noise, this time a deep rumble.
I thought it was another earthquake coming, but it got louder the closer it got to me, becoming more animalistic only felt small vibrations I barely felt. Joe stayed put, oddly enough, as T. Rex, different from the first one, came. It walked towards us until it stopped short of us. It began to produce a low-pitched, bird-like purring, attracting Joe. I realised something, that this T. Rex is Joe’s parent. He joined the rest like him, whom they showed up and all chirped around.
The grown Rex then brought its snout closer to me, not to kill me, but to look at me. It did not reveal its teeth and was still purring. I put my hand out and its nose came close to it. It rubbed it against my hand and started to pet its cold, scaly skin as it breathed through its nose and put it on my chest. I rested my head on it before it pulled away. It gave out a hiss, but I knew it wasn’t that of a threat, but more of a thank you for bringing its small, sometimes immature, child home.
That gave me relief, as it felt like I at least did something for once. They walked away, along with Joe, towards the darkness amongst the gravestones in the cemetery. I glimpsed one last desperate look at Joe before walking beside his parent. I looked up at the sky and I could see all the stars, twinkling, and the dancing green auroras. I began to feel limp and felt the cold embrace of death coming over me, tears pouring out of my eyes. The sky then grew brighter and brighter, the stars faded into the light and I could see my family welcoming me to a new home. It then slowly went black, darker than a cave.
You would think this is the end of me. It wasn’t, or else I wouldn’t be writing this right now. I eventually woke up in a hospital in Regina. I was told I was rescued by a team that transported me while I was in a coma. The doctors said I was very lucky to be alive, as the shrapnel narrowly avoided my vital organs. After that, I was adopted into a new family, but I was only with them for a couple of years before finding a new job and moving out.
As for Sam, I don’t know what happened to her. I would like to think she is safe, somewhere else. As for my family, I think of them all the time. I was in a depressive period right after that. Eventually, over the years, I accepted that they were gone and went to a better place. For Joe, I would like to think he is all grown up, like his parents, and becoming the king of the jungle. I hope we meet again.
As for the evacuated area, it wasn’t some pipeline rupture that caused an evaluation, but an anomaly, with the exact reason not known. There are excuses for the claims of weird stuff going on in there, from disease to chemicals, to eventually a previously unknown geological event, but I saw through it all.
You may ask how, it's because I've been there. Take it or leave it, this is the story I have. As the decade came by, cover-ups were made to hide it, even walls were put around it. Since the incident, the exclusion zone grew from a mere 80 kilometers in diameter to 460 kilometers in diameter, emptying entire cities of the likes of Regina and Saskatoon. I had to move to North Battleford, by the recommendation from the same government covering it up, making me think that time will tell before the floodgates of truth open.
The anomaly didn’t have a name initially, however, over the years, everyone agreed on one name in particular: The Saskatchewan Anomaly.

I don't know how much y'all are familiar with house visitation from church, but I'm going to share my story here about it.
A little background info: I (19F) grew up in a strict, conservative, Calvinist, Reformed church (NRC https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Reformed_Congregations)
A few months ago, after months of struggling, realized that I lost my faith. I told my mom and dad (pastor) about it and it has been tense at home since then. My parents had house visitation from church about two months ago. I didn't participate because I was going to have a talk with them on my own. I have a little brother and sister who yet don't know about my loss of faith. It would be a bad timing to let them know through the house visitation.
So yesterday I had my own house visitation, with an elder and a deacon. After we had talked a little about my daily life (studies, friends, etc.) they asked about my faith. I told them that I don't really believe anymore, and explained them a little why. They were asking me questions, but really not in a negative way. They were interested in my process. Of course they were sad about it and they wished I turned back to God, but they didn't push anything. They told me something about their personal life, but not too much. They appreciated my respectful, open way of talking with them. And I'm positive about how they reacted.
It was actually totally different than I expected. I expected them to throw bible verses at me, but they barely did that. They just kinda seem to accept it. I feel like they didn't really know what to say, because I was pretty confident about it. I think it worked that I didn't attack them, but just explained to them that it was a personal thing.
When I got home I told my parents how it went. They were happy for me that I had a positive experience. Although my dad was kinda of frustrated that the elder and deacon didn't ask for a follow-up meeting. I guess that's because he just doesn't understand how people can accept this about me, because he never will.
I'll probably still go to church with my parents till I move out. I don't think my parents will allow me to live at home while I don't go to church.
Sorry for this rant. I'm curious how y'all's experiences were with telling the church council about your loss of faith! How did that go for you?

I don't know how much y'all are familiar with house visitation from church, but I'm going to share my story here about it.
A little background info: I (19F) grew up in a strict, conservative, Calvinist, Reformed church (NRC https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Reformed_Congregations)
A few months ago, after months of struggling, realized that I lost my faith. I told my mom and dad (pastor) about it and it has been tense at home since then. My parents had house visitation from church about two months ago. I didn't participate because I was going to have a talk with them on my own. I have a little brother and sister who yet don't know about my loss of faith. It would be a bad timing to let them know through the house visitation.
So yesterday I had my own house visitation, with an elder and a deacon. After we had talked a little about my daily life (studies, friends, etc.) they asked about my faith. I told them that I don't really believe anymore, and explained them a little why. They were asking me questions, but really not in a negative way. They were interested in my process. Of course they were sad about it and they wished I turned back to God, but they didn't push anything. They told me something about their personal life, but not too much. They appreciated my respectful, open way of talking with them. And I'm positive about how they reacted.
It was actually totally different than I expected. I expected them to throw bible verses at me, but they barely did that. They just kinda seem to accept it. I feel like they didn't really know what to say, because I was pretty confident about it. I think it worked that I didn't attack them, but just explained to them that it was a personal thing.
When I got home I told my parents how it went. They were happy for me that I had a positive experience. Although my dad was kinda of frustrated that the elder and deacon didn't ask for a follow-up meeting. I guess that's because he just doesn't understand how people can accept this about me, because he never will.
I'll probably still go to church with my parents till I move out. I don't think my parents will allow me to live at home while I don't go to church.
Sorry for this rant. I'm curious how y'all's experiences were with telling the church council about your loss of faith! How did that go for you?

I have read all of the arguments supporting the legitimacy of Christianity and Islam. I am not here to deny these arguments nor claim that I'm certain Islam/Christianity are false, however the bottom line is when putting all of the supporting evidence together we still need to go back and ask the simple question:
"Is all of this evidence enough for me to confidently say that Judaism was indeed succeeded by Islam/Christianity - so much so that I am willing to alter my entire life because I believe so strongly about that it succeeded Judaism"
Personally, I cannot logically understand how any believers in Christianity/Islam can say this so confidently. The bottom line is that before these religions came about there seems to be no indication amongst Jews that they were expecting Judaism to be succeeded by another religion. If this was the case then they wouldn't have had any issue with Christianity and Islam since it was part of Gods plan, and they are followers of God at their core.
And I will reiterate, I understand that Christians/Muslims often point to certain verses in the Bible/Scriptures supporting their claim of succession (e.g. Isaiah 53, Deuteronomy 18, etc.), but the bottom line is that there are multiple ways to understand these verses and in particular the Jewish interpretation in defense is also just as logical as the Christian and Muslim interpretation.
If so then how can you as a Muslim or Christian be so confident about the legitimacy of your religion?
NOTE: In anticipation of people answering me that there was such and such miracle that occurred and this is overwhelming evidence for the legitimacy of Christianity/Islam I am providing below the reasons why they don't hold much weight in my eyes when attempting to answer my core question above:
1) Perfectness of Quran - I can take a children's book and explain it in a way that logically sounds like its a perfect text straight from Gods mouth. (anything in this world can be flipped on its head to sound logical)
2) Miracles Performed - Personally I assign a believability score to information based on the number people claiming to have seen something firsthand (e.g. I often don't assign a high believability score to news events even if many people are echoing/repeating the news, so long that the source of the initial news was from a single reportejournalist). There is basis to claim that the source of the news for some of the miracles was a single source. Putting that aside though, even if Jesus/Mohammed did perform miracles I still think its a fairly big jump to say that they can now be believed in their claims of a successor religion given that the Torah outlines very clearly that performing miracles does not give one the credibility to change the Torah. Although one can argue the text should be interpreted differently nevertheless going back to what I mentioned earlier, the Jewish interpretation is also logical.

I have read all of the arguments supporting the legitimacy of Christianity and Islam. I am not here to deny these arguments nor claim that I'm certain Islam/Christianity are false, however the bottom line is when putting all of the supporting evidence together we still need to go back and ask the simple question:
"Is all of this evidence enough for me to confidently say that Judaism was indeed succeeded by Islam/Christianity - so much so that I am willing to alter my entire life because I believe so strongly about that it succeeded Judaism"
Personally, I cannot logically understand how any believers in Christianity/Islam can say this so confidently. The bottom line is that before these religions came about there seems to be no indication amongst Jews that they were expecting Judaism to be succeeded by another religion. If this was the case then they wouldn't have had any issue with Christianity and Islam since it was part of Gods plan, and they are followers of God at their core.
And I will reiterate, I understand that Christians/Muslims often point to certain verses in the Bible/Scriptures supporting their claim of succession (e.g. Isaiah 53, Deuteronomy 18, etc.), but the bottom line is that there are multiple ways to understand these verses and in particular the Jewish interpretation in defense is also just as logical as the Christian and Muslim interpretation.
If so then how can you as a Muslim or Christian be so confident about the legitimacy of your religion?
NOTE: In anticipation of people answering me that there was such and such miracle that occurred and this is overwhelming evidence for the legitimacy of Christianity/Islam I am providing below the reasons why they don't hold much weight in my eyes when attempting to answer my core question above:
1) Perfectness of Quran - I can take a children's book and explain it in a way that logically sounds like its a perfect text straight from Gods mouth. (anything in this world can be flipped on its head to sound logical)
2) Miracles Performed - Personally I assign a believability score to information based on the number people claiming to have seen something firsthand (e.g. I often don't assign a high believability score to news events even if many people are echoing/repeating the news, so long that the source of the initial news was from a single reportejournalist). There is basis to claim that the source of the news for some of the miracles was a single source. Putting that aside though, even if Jesus/Mohammed did perform miracles I still think its a fairly big jump to say that they can now be believed in their claims of a successor religion given that the Torah outlines very clearly that performing miracles does not give one the credibility to change the Torah. Although one can argue the text should be interpreted differently nevertheless going back to what I mentioned earlier, the Jewish interpretation is also logical.

I have read all of the arguments supporting the legitimacy of Christianity and Islam. I am not here to deny these arguments nor claim that I'm certain Islam/Christianity are false, however the bottom line is when putting all of the supporting evidence together we still need to go back and ask the simple question:
"Is all of this evidence enough for me to confidently say that Judaism was indeed succeeded by Islam/Christianity - so much so that I am willing to alter my entire life because I believe so strongly about that it succeeded Judaism"
Personally, I cannot logically understand how any believers in Christianity/Islam can say this so confidently. The bottom line is that before these religions came about there seems to be no indication amongst Jews that they were expecting Judaism to be succeeded by another religion. If this was the case then they wouldn't have had any issue with Christianity and Islam since it was part of Gods plan, and they are followers of God at their core.
And I will reiterate, I understand that Christians/Muslims often point to certain verses in the Bible/Scriptures supporting their claim of succession (e.g. Isaiah 53, Deuteronomy 18, etc.), but the bottom line is that there are multiple ways to understand these verses and in particular the Jewish interpretation in defense is also just as logical as the Christian and Muslim interpretation.
If so then how can you as a Muslim or Christian be so confident about the legitimacy of your religion?
NOTE: In anticipation of people answering me that there was such and such miracle that occurred and this is overwhelming evidence for the legitimacy of Christianity/Islam I am providing below the reasons why they don't hold much weight in my eyes when attempting to answer my core question above:
1) Perfectness of Quran - I can take a children's book and explain it in a way that logically sounds like its a perfect text straight from Gods mouth. (anything in this world can be flipped on its head to sound logical)
2) Miracles Performed - Personally I assign a believability score to information based on the number people claiming to have seen something firsthand (e.g. I often don't assign a high believability score to news events even if many people are echoing/repeating the news, so long that the source of the initial news was from a single reportejournalist). There is basis to claim that the source of the news for some of the miracles was a single source. Putting that aside though, even if Jesus/Mohammed did perform miracles I still think its a fairly big jump to say that they can now be believed in their claims of a successor religion given that the Torah outlines very clearly that performing miracles does not give one the credibility to change the Torah. Although one can argue the text should be interpreted differently nevertheless going back to what I mentioned earlier, the Jewish interpretation is also logical.

,, The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him, to show His servants what will soon be, and showed by sending an angel to His servant John, Who testifies the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and whatever they see. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep what is written therein; for the time is near"
Rev. 1:1-3
John received the Revelation from an angel sent by the Lord Jesus because angels are official spirits who help people:
"Are not all ministering spirits sent to minister to those who will inherit salvation?"
Hebrews 1:14
and we read about it in the first verse, and in the second verse we see what John testified about:
"Who bear witness to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and whatever they see."
Rev. 1:2
Here we first notice that John is a witness, but immediately afterwards we also see what he testified to. He did not testify to some of his thoughts or ideas or some teaching of some "wise teacher", but it is clearly written that he testified to "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and whatever they see.". Jesus sent him a revelation and John is now testifying and this is the characteristic of born-again people who are sent by God to testify to what God has revealed and shown them.
"For whom God sends, he speaks the word of God: for God does not give the Spirit by measure."
John 3:34
As a rule, this testimony of theirs does not have to be aesthetically beautiful, the witness does not have to be a trained preacher or a super eloquent speaker, it is important that he conveys what God wants, "the Word of God". There are examples of this in the Bible and we can read about it, for example for this are: Moses, who was slow to speak, even complained to God:
"And Moses said to the Lord: I pray to You, Lord, I am not a eloquent man, neither was I before nor have I been since you spoke to your servant, but I am slow of mouth and slow of tongue."
Gen. 4:10
the prophet Jeremiah was young:
,, And I said: Oh, Lord, Lord! Here, I don't know how to speak, because I'm a child."
Jer. 1:6
Well, both Peter and John were uneducated, but they were exceptional witnesses of God who were born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, faith and the science they preached, and that science is "the word of God".
Here is what Peter said to Timothy:
,,I adjure you, therefore, before God and our Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, at His coming and His kingdom: Preach the word, strive in good times and in bad times, rebuke, threaten, plead with all bearing and teaching; Because the time will come when they will not listen to sound teachings, but according to their desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, as their ears itch, And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and will turn to soothsayers."
2 Tim. 4:1-4
He advises him to preach the "Word" even though he knows that the vast majority of people will not listen to him or will not understand what he is saying. People will always find some more popular topics to listen to, and they will ignore the word of God or find some common sense answer and justification to justify themselves and disobey. And it's no wonder because the Word of God is the truth:
"Avenge them with your truth: your word is your truth."
John 17:17
and Satan fights against the truth and tries to present a lie as the truth and now he markets his truth nicely packaged and many are inclined to believe him and ignore God's truth. ignores.
"As born again, not from the seed that rots, but from the one that does not rot, by the word of the Living God, which remains forever."
1 Peter 1:23
God's servants listen to the Word of God, believe what God said and practice the word, and for those who listen to Satan, it is written that they are not God's.
"He who is of God listens to the words of God; therefore you do not listen, because you are not of God."
John 8:47
and this is what will happen to them one day as they persistently reject the Word of God:
"And that's why God will send them the force of deception, to believe lies; Let all those who did not believe the truth, but loved unrighteousness, receive judgment."
2 Thess. 2:11-12
John proclaimed the word of God but also the "testimony of Jesus Christ" and that is why John was thrown on Patmos.
"I, John, who am both your brother and friend in trouble, and in the kingdom and suffering of Jesus Christ, was on the island called Patam, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Rev. 1:9
John was announcing what would be, so he had the spirit of prophecy with which he announced Jesus in the glory in which he will come and the events that will take place:
,, And falling at his feet I worshiped him; and he said to me: Look, do not, I am a servant like you and your brothers who have the testimony of Jesus. Bow down to God; for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.""
Rev. 19:10
Therefore, the Holy Spirit announces future events to us through John, and about these promises, the Lord Jesus said:
"And when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to every truth; for he will not speak of himself, but will speak what he hears, and will tell you beforehand what will happen."
John 16:13
The central person of this prophecy is in fact the Lord Jesus who is the "Spirit of Prophecy" i.e. the "Testimony of Jesus" about whom John testified because of which he ended up on the island of Patmos. John was transferred to the future and an angel showed him future events because it says,,And whatever they see". And this implies a very large number of events that John saw, about which the Revelation writes to show us what will happen until the very end of the world and the beginning of the new heaven and the new earth until eternity.
"Blessed is he who reads and those who listen to the words of the prophecy, and keep what is written in it; for the time is near"
Rev. 1:3
The continuation begins with bliss because it says "blessed" and that means happy, blessed is the one who listens to what the Lord Jesus Christ says. Here is what the Lord Jesus said:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kindom of heaven; Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted; Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled; Blessed are the merciful, for they will be pardoned; Blessed those who are pure in heart, because they will see God; Blessed are those who build peace, because they will be called sons of God; Blessed are those exiled for the sake of justice, because their kingdom is heavenly. Blessed are you if they embarrass you and ostracize you and say all sorts of bad things about you while lying, for my sake"
Mtt. 5:3-11
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on..."
Rev. 14:13
"Blessed is he who is awake and keeps his clothes, so that he does not walk and his shame is not seen."
Rev. 16:15
"Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. And he said to me: These are the true words of God."
Rev. 19:9
"Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection; over them the second death has no domain, but they will be priests of God and Christ, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years."
Rev. 20:6
"Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book"
Rev. 22:7
"Blessed is he who does His commandments, that they may have authority over the tree of life, and that they may enter the gate into the city."
Rev. 22:14
From this verse we see "Blessed is he who reads" and that is God's promise intended for all those who read Revelation and the other books that God sent us and the next thing we notice is that it says "Blessed is he who reads" so he reads constantly and does not read once and thinks he has learned everything. This book is read, studied and analyzed because that is how God gives us information every time we do this.
In addition to reading about this book and the publication that was written, it can also be listened to, and we read for the listeners. Blessed are those who listen to the words of prophecy. This was written in a time when many people were illiterate and did not know how to read, so it is the only the way to find out what is revealed in the Revelation is listening to what people who knew how to read interpreted or read the original text. So from these verses we see that it does not matter whether someone reads or listens to the revelation the blessings are the same.
At the end of the verse, it says "blessings for those who keep what is written in it"; because the time is near" and here is a normal sequence of events because the one who reads or listens is vindicated by the announcement:
"Whoever wants to do His will will understand whether this teaching is from God or I am speaking from myself."
John 7:17
and they will try to keep and want to practice what God expects of them. because they recognized Jesus as the savior:
"Kind! Now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we will be; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
1 John 3:2-3
And we have reached the end of the verse where it says that "the time is near" which means that we should read, listen and practice science because the time described in the Revelation is very close especially for us because we can clearly see based on the signs of the times that it is the last the time is very close so close that we can see the signs being fulfilled before our eyes in real time, for us it is no longer a prophecy but events that are happening and confirm the truth of what was published in the last book of the Bible Revelation.
The events that are taking place and the warning "that the time is near" should only strengthen us in faith and we should practice what is written in the second epistle of Peter.
"And we have the most reliable prophetic word, and you do well to pay attention to it, like a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the dawn is born in your hearts."
2 Peter 1:19

The Purpose of Life for Man

One of the most direct verses on the subject of "the meaning (or purpose) of (human) life" in the Bible can be found in Revelation:

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."-Revelation 4:11

This, of course, should prompt us to ask what exactly does God take pleasure in?
Conversely, what doesn't He take pleasure in?

"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"-Micah 6:6-8

God does not take pleasure in mere outward religiosity and ritual, but rather finds honest acts of love towards Him and others as more important when pertaining to our fulfillment of what God expects from us as His creation. God takes great pleasure in us doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with Him. This is what He requires of us. In other words...

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."-Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

The Book of Ecclesiastes is an existential treatise on the futility of finding any meaning or fulfillment in life apart from God. In it, "the Preacher" (or "Teacher" in some translations) explores the limits of human experiences which may provide meaning or fulfillment in this life before the author of the book inevitably concludes that the only thing we can do that has any kind of meaning or permanence in the end is fearing God and keeping His commandments. The reason for this is because the march of time and our own mortality effectively make most human endeavors hevel. The Hebrew word "hevel" is translated as vanity in the King James.
The following is taken from BibleProject:

In Hebrew, hevel literally refers to “vapor” or “smoke.” The teacher uses this word 38 times throughout the book of Ecclesiastes as a metaphor to describe how life is temporary and fleeting, like a wisp of smoke, but also how life is an enigma or paradox. Smoke appears solid, but when you try to grab it, it’s like nothing is there.

[...]

The author’s basic goal is to target all of the ways we try to build meaning and purpose in life apart from God and then let the teacher deconstruct them. The author thinks that people spend most of their time investing energy and emotion in things that ultimately have no lasting meaning or significance. And so he allows the teacher to give us a reality check.

The Preacher gives us a "reality check" by demonstrating how time and death effectively make things like scientific and artistic discovery (1:10-11), mirth (2:1), alcohol (2:3), architecture (2:4), amassing property (2:7-8), and luxury (2:8) all hevel. Materialism and hedonism fail to fulfill, and though wisdom and righteousness are acknowledged by the preacher to be advantageous, the righteous and wise are still often victims of injustice and unfairness in the world while the wicked get to prosper and have longevity at times (1:13-18). Generally, your life will probably be better by living in the wisdom given in Proverbs (Ecc. 7:11-12; 9:13-18), but it's no guarantee that you will have a good life as bad things still happen to good people, and good things still happen to bad people. This isn't entirely "hevel" but it's confusing and disorienting because things don't always work out the way we think they should in this life.
Again, from BibleProject:

So what’s the way forward in the midst of all this hevel? Paradoxically, the teacher discovers that the key to truly enjoying life is accepting hevel, acknowledging that everything in your life is totally out of your control. About six different times, at the bleakest moments in his dialogue, the teacher suddenly talks about “the gift of God,” which is the enjoyment of the simple, good things in life such as friendship, family, a good meal, or a sunny day.
You and I can’t control the most important things in our lives. Nothing is guaranteed, and, strangely, that’s the beauty of it. When I adopt a posture of complete trust in God, it frees me to simply enjoy life as I actually experience it and not as I think it ought to be. In the end, even my expectations about life, my hopes and dreams, are all “hevel, hevel. Everything under the sun is hevel.”
The teacher’s words come to an end, and the author takes over, bringing the book to a close. He says that it is very important to hear what the teacher has to say. He likens the teacher’s words to a shepherd’s staff with a goad, a pointy end that will hurt when it pokes you. But that pain can ultimately steer you in the right direction towards greater wisdom.
The author warns us not to take the teacher’s words too far. You can spend your entire life buried in books trying to answer the existential puzzles of human life. Don’t exhaust yourself, he says. You’ll never get there. Instead, the author offers his own conclusion that we should “fear God and keep his commands; this is the whole duty of humans. For God will bring every deed into judgment, every hidden thing, whether good or evil” (Ec. 12:13-14).

Fearing the Lord doesn’t guarantee success in this life, but it is the right thing to do, and ultimately God will clear the "hevel" and bring His justice on all we have done. Therefore, we ought to keep God's commandments.
Through Jesus, we see the Bible clearing the confusion many have, and still have, about God's commandments and what exactly they are (in essence, at least):

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."-Matthew 22:37-40

The apostle Paul puts it like this:

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."-Galatians 5:14

The apostle John, like this:

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."-1 John 4:16

In other words, the first and second greatest commandments can be seen as inextricably intertwined, as one cannot truly love God without loving their fellow man, and vice versa.
So, to put it bluntly, the meaning, or purpose, of (human) life according to the Bible is simply love.

"What Does It Mean to Love Biblically?"

But, what exactly is love anyway? We know that, according to the apostle John, God is love. But, what does that mean exactly?
The ancient Greeks had anywhere between four and eight different words for love (depending on the source):

• Storge: affection
  
• Philia or Phileo: friendship
  
• Eros: sexual, erotic
  
• Agape: unconditional, divine, selfless
  
• Ludus: flirtatious, playful, casual, uncommitted
  
• Pragma: committed, long-standing
  
• Philautia: self-love
  
• Mania: obsessive, possessive, addictive, dependent
  

The word translated as "charity" in the KJV's rendering of 1st Corinthians 13 is agape. A more accurate translation of the word would be "love," more specifically, the love of God. In this passage, Paul talks about the importance of having this kind of love for others compared to all the things we might typically obsess over concerning the things of God. Even things like charity to the poor itself, if not motivated by agape, does not impress God! Our motivations and heart matter to God just as much, if not more, than our actions themselves.
This is what the Bible defines as true love, or at least, is the kind of love it's most concerned about.
In order to demonstrate to another that we love them, we sacrifice something. For God, He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). For Jesus, he sacrificed himself to save us from our sins:

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."-John 15:13

In essence, true love is self-sacrifice. Putting others before ourselves is the greatest kind of sacrifice.
God didn't have to send His Son, but He did. Jesus didn't have to accept the mission, but he did.
God loves you, and Jesus loves you.
We demonstrate to others that we love them by sacrificing our wants and desires for them. These sacrifices can range from really small, to really big. Loving others is a daily practice of making greater and greater sacrifices.

“You can will to love people. Love is not a feeling. Love is a willing, and the Lord says to love people. He did not mean [to merely] feel love for them” — A.W. Tozer

A stumbling block for many in their walk with God is the inability to love one's enemies and to love unlovable people as Jesus did. It’s difficult for us to show love to people we don’t feel love for; to people we despise or dislike. We also tend to struggle with extending grace and mercy to those who’ve hurt us. I myself often wonder whether I am even capable of loving everyone the way Jesus does.
As I grow in my faith, I realize it’s not that I’m incapable of loving like Jesus; I’m just not always willing to. My unwillingness to love indicates that I am unwittingly adopting the worldly view of love, which is based on feelings and merit. I am choosing not to love people I feel are underserving of my love. The more I study Scripture, though, the more I realize Biblical love is not a feeling or an emotion; it’s a decision. It is an action, and it’s sacrificial. It’s not something you feel; it is, again, something you practice.

“Biblical love is a choice to do good for another person regardless of what we feel. It is a decision to compassionately and righteously pursue the betterment of another person. This is why you can even love your enemies according to Christ’s command.” — Tony Evans

Jesus commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). He also said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). Since the Lord commands us to love, that means it is within our power to do so; therefore, love is a decision we make. Although feelings will accompany love, it’s not an emotion; it’s the decision to love regardless of how we feel.
As believers, we’re taught to love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us, and if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, "turn to him the other also" (Matt. 5:39). It’s not easy to do; hating our enemies comes naturally to us because of our evil nature. It is impossible to love our enemies on our own strength; we need the help of the Spirit of God.
The decision to love your enemies arises from the decision to obey the will of God and the desire to be Christlike. We choose to love our enemies because God said so and loved us first. Jesus said we are to love as he loved us.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8

So Biblical love is sacrificial love. It is not a feeling but an act of will; the desire to put the welfare of others above your own. This type of love is not a love based on affection or emotion. Instead, it’s agape love, a love that is not concerned with self but is concerned more with the good of others.
We are not going to like everyone, nor are we called to; we are called to love everyone regardless of how we feel about them. It’s possible to love someone without feeling love for them when we decide to love everyone the way God loves us. The more we love through our actions, the decision to love will become a choice the heart is more willing to make.
Again, this doesn’t mean you will like or feel love for everyone, but when you put your trust in the Lord and pursue wisdom and holiness through prayer and Scripture, you will naturally develop a love for others.
To put it succinctly: Biblical love seeks the best interests of others, even our enemies, often to the detriment of ourselves. "Best interests" here doesn't necessarily mean what the other person thinks are their own best interests. It just means we do for them what we know or believe is best for them, and what we know or believe is best for them should be informed by an active participation with the Spirit of God and by His Word (the Bible) itself. Feelings may or may not accompany this, but how we feel towards the other is not what determines whether or not we're exhibiting the love of God, in the view of Jesus and the apostles. In their view, it's about whether or not we can still decide to seek the best interests of those who might harm us, or who we might not even like.

What the Real Heavenly Treasure Is

Now, this all brings us to an important question that needs to be answered: Is it wrong to love God and others while making a reward the objective for doing so?
We must ask this question, because all throughout Scripture we are told that the faithful followers of God will be "rewarded" some day for everything they've done to merit this. Giving an exhaustive list of passages that proves this point would be endless, but here are some examples of just a few:

"Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."-Luke 14:12-14
"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."-Acts 20:35
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."-Luke 6:35

The answer to this question depends on what we define as "rewards." Most will typically adopt some vague idea of material possesions that await the believer when they get to heaven as one's reward for faithfulness towards God, or that the reward is simply an escape from punishment for one's own sins, or perhaps even some combination of these things both.
However, none of these are the "rewards" the Lord is promising to those who obey the first and second commandments. If they were, our motivation to love God and others would ultimately be selfish. Think about it. Our motivation for rewards would inherently be me-centered, and not other-centered.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ gives the following command:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."-Matthew 6:19-21

We know there are heavenly treasures, because Jesus says so, but what are they? The issue of heavenly treasures or eternal rewards is riddled with question marks. It’s a subject that has been abused by some (“Store up treasure by giving to my ministry”) and left in the too-hard basket by others.
But the answer here is simple, and two-fold. One of our rewards are God Himself:

"After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."-Genesis 15:1
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."-Hevrews 11:6

What is the reward of the seeker but to find that which is sought? If you are searching for God, you will find Him and He will be your very great reward.
Now, if you are the newest believer or the eleventh-hour worker, you will be as richly blessed as the oldest, most faithful saint. Eternity will not be divided into the haves and have-nots, for we are all one in the New Jerusalem.
But we can distinguish God our reward from the heavenly treasure that Jesus said can be stored up. You cannot "store up" more of God, after all.
So what are heavenly treasures? The answer may surprise you, but it’s people.

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."-Psalm 127:3

What is the only thing you can take with you? People, a.k.a. eternal friends, a.k.a. spiritual offspring. This Psalm is not just talking about biological children. God has bigger plans for you and they involve spiritual children. Lots of them. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Don’t limit God.
So much time and effort is spent debating heavenly treasures as though they were some great mystery. What are they? Jesus makes it plain: it's people.

• Just as Abraham was called to be the father of many nations, so are you.
  
• Jesus said those who followed him would be fishers of men. What is a fisherman’s reward? It’s fish, or people in this case.
  
• What is the reward of the one who sows and waters the good seed? It’s a harvest of people.
  
• What is treasure that never wears out and cannot be stolen? It’s people.
  

God's heart cries, “I treasure children. The more, the better!” In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus introduces God as our heavenly Father. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says God is a Father who rewards us. And what is a father’s reward?
It is children.
“Sounds great, but I am no evangelist.” You don’t need to be an evangelist to win eternal friends. Believers can live such godly lives that unbelievers will be won to the kingdom (1 Pet. 2:12; Matt. 5:16).
God's desire is to grow the world’s largest family and He treats people like treasure. This is obvious once you see it. Indeed, it’s a theme that runs throughout Scripture:

"For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth."-Deuteronomy 7:6
"For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth."-Deuteronomy 14:2
"And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;"-Deuteronomy 26:18
"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;"-1 Peter 2:4-9

Like Jesus, Paul eagerly gave to the poor (Gal. 2:10). He did not give out of religious duty or to put a shine on his reputation. He did it because he loved people and wanted to share the love of God with as many as possible (1 Cor. 13:3).
Life is a gift that is easily wasted. We can waste it running after inferior rewards that rust, or we can do what Jesus and Paul did and invest ourselves in the only reward that lasts: people.

God Is Faithful

Someone once asked me, "Why would God be concerned as to whether or not we 'have trust and confidence in him' when He's judging us and when He determines what our fate will be?"
Having trust and confidence in God, according to the Biblical authors, is required for us to fulfill His commandment that we love Him, and thus also love others. (See Hebrews 11.)
As with a spouse, you cannot truly love them if you do not have some level of trust or confidence in them, and vice versa. All relationships require trust, from both parties. God wants us to trust Him that He will keep His promises towards those of us who love and follow Him. He also wants to trust us that we will enter the kingdom of heaven with a righteous and loving character. He doesn't want another rebellion in paradise, so He's trying to see if we truly love righteousness for righteousness' sake. A truly righteous person wouldn't want to rebel against Him when the time comes that they enter the kingdom of God themselves, because a person with a righteous character wouldn't ever do such a thing.
As Open Theists, we believe we're being consistent in our belief that God, at times, puts trials before us to test whether or not we will remain trustworthy enough in our character to be deemed worthy of entrance into His kingdom. The Classical Theist doesn't have the luxury of being consistent if they have this same belief.
In the Book of Job, Satan makes an accusation towards someone God has deemed as truly righteous: Job.
Satan assails God’s wisdom and character in running the world by alleging that people only serve Him because of what they get out of it. God protects them from disaster and blesses them in other ways. Their obedience, he is suggesting, isn’t really a free choice. "There is no genuine virtue in the world," Satan is claiming. "There are only self-serving bargains, and obedience for the sake of being protected and blessed is one of them. Hence, true holiness and virtuous obedience are an illusion." "Take away a person’s protection," Satan insists, "and let me have my way with people, and they will stop living for God" (Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5).
God has so much faith in Job that he will not succumb to proving the false accusations being levied towards him and God's way of running things in general that He ends up accepting the challenge. For God, this is as much a test of His faith towards His servant as it is for Job for his Lord. The adversary, we see, was assailing God’s integrity and wisdom in overseeing the creation. Satan was, in effect, accusing God of being a Machiavellian ruler. In the context of this narrative, it was an assault that could only be refuted by being put to the test.
Had God simply forced Satan into silence, without proving him wrong, it would have simply confirmed the accuracy of Satan’s charge. It would have shown that there is no integrity or wisdom in how God runs the world after all. "There is only the exercise of power, used to manipulate beings into obeying Him. People serve God only as a bargain, not out of genuine love."
No, the challenge had to be answered by having it put to the test. The most righteous man on the earth was thus chosen to be tested. If Job failed, the narrative suggests, then Satan will have made his point. If he succeeded, however, then God’s wisdom and integrity in running the cosmos will have been vindicated. Hence, the protective fence around Job is removed and Satan is allowed to afflict him.
In the end, Job proves faithful to God and is even referenced in the New Testament as an example of the kind of faithfulness He expected of first century believers facing persecution and trials:

"Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."-James 5:11

While most of us aren't dealing with the life-threatening kind of persecution that believers faced in the first century, for the very fact that the eschatological end of physical Israel and the Old Covenant system was fastly approaching for them (and already has approached), we still each face our own trials that God puts in our lives as individuals to see if we truly love Him. Job is simply the ultimate example of one who loved God because they chose to, not because God forced them to.
After all, you never know if your love is pure if it isn't tested...

Dear Coloring Book lovers, I've just released my first Coloring book and need honest opinions about what you think of it. It's called "Bible Verse Coloring Book for Adults and Teens". You don't need to buy it, just tell me if you'd buy it by just looking at the listing and the example pages. And if not, why. Thank you for your help in advance. ;) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3Z9PNWG

Dear Coloring Book lovers, I've just released my first Coloring book and need honest opinions about what you think of it. It's called "Bible Verse Coloring Book for Adults and Teens". You don't need to buy it, just tell me if you'd buy it by just looking at the listing and the example pages. And if not, why. Thank you for your help in advance. ;) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3Z9PNWG

Actually, gusto ko lang talaga mag rant kasi masama loob ko. My Family is very including yung Family side ng father ko. So ngayon, nakatira ako sa tita ko ngayon and ilang weeks palang ako dito. I actually don't like the vibe nung nagstart na siya magsalita nung unang apak ko rito. She's mocking other people, she's preaching bible verse, kinukwento niya pati yung manugang niya na napaka gastos daw niya ganyan tas hindi raw niya siya marunong makisama kasi hindi raw ini-include yung asawa niya kapag kakain sila, kinuwento niya pa yung pinaalis niya yung ano kasama niya sa bahay kasi inuubo like wtf. So the more na nagk-kwento siya, the more na na-off ako sa vibe niya. Syempre ako go with the flow kasi gusto ko mag aral. Yes, sumama ako sakanya kasi gusto ko mag aral.
For the background story saakin, tatlong beses akong nag stop na mag aral and may reason naman ako. Yung una, kasi nagkaroon kami ng alitan nung kaibigan ko sa pera kasi nagpapaliwagan kami noon and ako na yung magsasahod kaso hindi niya binigay yung pera ko na nasa 3k+ sana (Actually may utang pa siya saakin na around 1.5k and hindi niya pa binabayaran hanggang ngayon). Malaki laki na iyon for me kasi hindi naman mayaman yung family ko and nangangailangan din ako during that time. Nung 2017 pa iyon nangyare and nasa Junior High palang ako. Ayun nga nag away kami and pinagbantaan niya buhay ko noon. Natatakot ako syempre kasi kasali siya sa mga frat no'n and hina-hire yung gang nila nung government to delete people. Kaya nag drop out ako haha. Gusto ko pa sanang ipagpatuloy noon kaso sobrang natatakot ako sa buhay ko kahit pinipilit ako ng teachers no'n na pumasok. Hindi alam ng side ng Family ko na nangyari eto pero alam ng Lola ko. Kaya kung ano anong kinukwento nila sa ibang relatives namin. Yung pangalawa naman, pandemic na eto and sobrang depress ko that time. Like, 3 years akong depress noon. So nag stop ulit ako kasi hindi ko gusto yung mga classmates and teachers ko noon kasi sobrang toxic nila and mostly pa nung mga naging kaklase ko noon sila yung mga nang bully saakin nung Junior high (nag aral ulit ako and bumalik ako sa old school ko). Actually, pinilit lang ako ng Mama ko na mag aral doon and kapag di raw ako nag enroll d'on sa school na iyon hindi raw niya ako papaaralin. Syempre natakot ako and kahit ayoko, nag enroll ako ron haha. Kaso nag drop out din kasi sobrang na depress ako. And yung pangatlo is nag drop out ako dahil sinunog nung brother ko yung mga modules, project and work sheets ko. Umiyak ako ng malala noon kasi ipapasa ko na iyon ng friday and nawala lahat. Around 2021 to 2022 nung nangyare iyon. Sinunog niya dahil lang maingay yung volume ng pinapanood kong tiktok noon and naiirita siya dahil don. Ayun lang yung reason niya kaya niya nagawa. Sobrang na discourage akong mag aral ulit kaya nag work nalang ako ng ilang years kahit depress ako. Wala akong Senior High diploma kaya nahihirapan akong pumasok sa ibang trabaho. Yes, ayan yung reason kaya sumama ako sa tita ko dito sa Manila kasi gusto kong mag aral and mag work.
Ilang weeks palang ako sa bahay niya pero pinapalitaw na niya yung totoong ugali niya. Nung unang kita ko sakanya napaka nice niya and approachable. Akala ko nga hindi siya strict e kasi sabi niya nung nag video call sila ng mama ko hayaan daw ako matulog. Pero nung nandito na ako nagrereklamo kapag nasosobrahan tulog ko sa hapon. Tapos ang dami niyang bawal. Gumagawa naman ako ng gawaing bahay and dinidiligan naman yung mga halaman niya. Sumusunod naman ako kapag may inuutos siya. Oo, hindi siya madamot sa pagkain pero napaka damot niya sa mga gamit. Like, example, bawal manood ng TV kasi sayang sa kuryente, bawal mag electricfan kapag di siya kasama kasi sayang sa kuryente, bawal gamitin yung basong ganito ganyan kasi ginagamit nila, pati halaman may bawal diligan kasi raw baka lumambot yung stem niya e di naman niya sinabi anong halaman yung bawal diligan and etc. So ayun nga, kahapon medyo di kami nagkasundo and hindi kami nagpapansinan now. Nagstart uminit ulo ko nung tinago niya yung towel na sana gagamitin ko kasi marumi na yung towel ko and nagkaka breakouts ako dahil don. Di ko pa malabhan kasi kakalaba lang namin nung last week e hindi ko siya nasama kasi malinis naman siya noon. So ayun i have no choice but to use that dirty towel. Tapos ayun nga after ko maligo eh di tumambay ako sa sala kasi gusto kong mapag isa para mawala init ng ulo ko. Kaso pinipilit niya ako na sa kwarto nalang kami kasi para iisa nalang electricfan na gagamitin namin, kaso ako parang bingi bingian. Yes oo, binuksan ko yung electricfan kasi mainit. Tas ayon nagalit siya biglang lumipat ng sala and nagsabi sabi tas inagaw yung buong electricfan, hindi nalang ako nagsasalita pero masama loob ko that time kasi inagaw niya yung electricfan and ako sobrang pinagpawisan that time. Pawisin kasi ako kaya gusto ko naka electricfan tsaka siya naman mismo nagsabi saakin nung nag video call sila ni mama na pwede ko naman gamitin electricfan niya buong magdamag. So ayon, kinausap ko mga kaibigan ko na help ako kasi gusto ko ng lumayas. Ayoko rin ugali ng tita ko since napaka homophobic niya, insecure and pinapalo niya yung mga pusa rito tas once a day lang pinapakain. And nagpapatulong ako sakanya na mag apply ng work around QC kasi wala pa akong alam sa place dito and need ko help niya, ayaw naman niya kasi malayo raw. Sinabi niya rin na tutulungan niya ako magtanong sa Munisipyo about sa ALS, kaso di rin natuloy kasi tinatamad siya. So ano pang gagawin ko dito diba? Tapos ngayon nanonood siya ng TV and naka electricfan pa, tas ako bawal gumamit ng electricfan kasi sayang daw sa kuryente ahahhah. Sinabi ko eto sa Mama ko pero sabi lang niya dun daw ako sa may electricfan hayp. Hinahanap ko nga mga pamaypay, tinago rin niya. Hindi ako mamatay sa sama ng loob dito, kung hindi sa heatstroke.
So ayun, balak kong umalis dito and bumalik nalang sa province ko. Kasi andoon mga friends ko and maraming hiring na work sa province. Alam ko namang maraming hiring sa Manila, pero hindi ko naman alam yung mga sasakyan and pupuntahan lalo na lagi lang kaming nakakulong ng bahay tapos bawal pa akong lumabas, kaya babalik nalang akong province. I hope matuloy yung balak ko bukas na lumayas kasi nauumay narin ako sa kaka preach niya ng Bible verse pati sa Religion namin e hindi naman niya ina apply sa sarili niya. Hindi ako religious na tao, kaya nauumay lang ako sa sinasabi nila. Makikituloy muna ako sa kaibigan ko ng isang month lang hanggang makahanap ako ng work. Hindi narin ako uuwi saamin kasi pagod na ako sa ka toxic-an ng pamilya ko. If want niyo ng background story pwede ko namang i-kwento.
Wish me luck, i hope makahanap agad ako ng work and makapag aral ulit ako :>>

Hi! What should I do if my dad wants my boyfriend to convert?
My bf was a sacristan during his high school days and is really against the teachings of INC. I always tell him about the weekly WS topics, hence his hate towards the cult got stronger, I guess. He shows me lots of evidences– from Catholic vs INC debates, to the true meaning behind the bible verses that ministers always handpick, so he (aside from this sub 😆) opened my eyes more about what’s really happening inside the church. He has always told me that he’d never join INC, and I don’t even encourage him to, lol.
Then there’s my fanatic dad who wants my bf to convert. He already asked me multiple times if I have plans on getting my bf attend the doctrine. I said that his work schedule is really tight and that I’m not planning on making him convert, he answered “tigilan mo na yan kung wala ka naman palang plano, matiwalag ka pa riyan” (“stop your relationship if you have no plans on leading him to the church, you’ll just get excommunicated”)
Some of my relatives also talked to me about my bf, but I said I really don’t want to. They’re always scolding me about how my dad would beat me if I get excommunicated or that he’ll kick me out of our house. I’ve always been told that having a relationship with a nonmember is a sin. I said if it’s a sin then I’d gladly be a sinner, rather than staying in a relationship with a church member and get revenge with their infidelity by cheating— I was talking about my parents who has cheated on each other numerous times haha— and then I got called “walang kwentang anak” (“useless daugher”)
What do you think should I do because I really don’t want to force him join the cult and I’m planning to leave once I graduate from college (I’m still in my 2nd year), but I still somehow fear my dad. I wanna do the transfer method, as I’ve read in some of the comments in this sub, but what if they find out?

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Title: Finding Perseverance in Your Spiritual Journey: Illuminated by Galatians 6:9

Introduction

Feeling weary in your walk of faith is not uncommon. The journey can often feel long, and the rewards distant. But the Bible, a timeless source of wisdom and encouragement, offers us a beacon of hope amidst our trials. Galatians 6:9 stands out as a powerful reminder to persevere, promising that our efforts are not in vain. Let this exploration reignite your spiritual passion and remind you that persistence bears a bountiful harvest.

The Heartening Call of Galatians 6:9

In the midst of our fast-moving, often challenging lives, Galatians 6:9 stands as a gentle but firm reminder: “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” This verse isn’t just a call to keep going; it’s a promise of the rewards that await those who do. Whether you’re volunteering at your local community center, lending an ear to a friend in need, or simply practicing kindness in your daily actions, this Scripture encourages us not to lose sight of the bigger picture.

Sowing Seeds of Goodness

• Every Act Counts: Remember, no act of goodness is too small in God’s eyes. Every time you choose kindness, patience, or love, you’re scattering seeds that will one day blossom.
• Patience Is Key: Just like a seed takes time to grow, the fruits of our spiritual endeavors may not be immediately visible. But with time and care, they will emerge.
• Community Impact: Your perseverance not only nurtures your spiritual growth but also inspires and uplifts those around you, creating a ripple effect of goodwill.

Staying the Course

Galatians 6:9 is not just about personal perseverance; it’s a call to communal support in the face of weariness. It reminds us to lean on each other, share burdens, and build a community that uplifts everyone. Whether you’re feeling disheartened by personal setbacks, societal injustices, or the simple everyday fatigue that comes from trying to do right, know that your efforts are seen, valued, and will bear fruit in time.

Reaping the Harvest

The harvest promised in Galatians 6:9 isn’t just a future reward; it’s the peace, satisfaction, and joy we experience in the present moment when we know we’re living in alignment with our values. The journey might be arduous, and the path long, but the outcome is a life rich with purpose and meaning. Every step taken in faith and goodness is a stride towards a brighter, more hopeful future.

Conclusion

In the hustle and bustle of life, Galatians 6:9 shines as a guiding light, encouraging us to persevere in doing good, reminding us of the bountiful harvest that awaits our steadfast spirit. Let this message fill you with renewed strength and hope. As you continue to sow seeds of kindness, patience, and love, remember, your labor is not in vain. The journey of faith is a marathon, not a sprint, and every step you take enriches not just your life but the lives of those around you.
Inviting Reflection and Action: How can you incorporate the wisdom of Galatians 6:9 into your daily life? Reflect on the areas in which you can continue to sow goodness, even when the harvest seems far off. Keep pushing forward, knowing that your efforts will be rewarded, and encourage others to do the same. Share this message of perseverance and hope with those in your circle who might need a word of encouragement today.
If you want to want to research more Bible Answers on your own, please try our Bible Answers GPT. It’s easy to get lost in the interesting responses you’ll find… every search is like a new treasure hunt 🙂
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That I can’t change? I’m tiered of living in sin I know it’s impossible to live a sinless life like Jesus but I just want to feel and know that even though I sin that I am in fact moving in the right direction with God. My faith is very low but I want to change that, does any one have any verses about purpose, acceptance of self, self love etc and idk how to get in the right mindset to read the Bible I rarely try but when I do I don’t understand it and I get discouraged to keep reading. I just want to feel like my life is worth something but not from other people telling me so but I want to hear that from myself and TRUELY with no doubt believe it idk I’m just tiered of myself and want to change and turn away from porn, self hatred, suicide temptation, asking for death, thinking I’m not worth anything and distractions from God. I know this takes effort but I’m willing to try. Thx for reading this. Idk if I’ll change but I hope I do. May God bless you.

"For I tell you, that unless your justice abound; more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."
And then the next couple of verses are Jesus talking to the Disciples about how thou shall not kill, swear at someone, or have beef with someone on your deathbed.
I'm confused as to what he's trying to say by that...
(I'm a Cradle Catholic trying to rekindle and connect to my faith by sitting down and studying the Bible deeply)