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'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy'(MERRY CHRISTMAS!)
The Washington Times ^ | December 24, 2005 | staff

Posted on 12/25/2005 7:17:46 AM PST by kellynla

The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.

And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: christmas; goodnews; wt
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
1 posted on 12/25/2005 7:17:48 AM PST by kellynla
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To: kellynla; All
Amen!!!.........................God Has a SON!.......love that MANGER SCENE!.....1st Timothy 3:16

/OFF 'narnia'.....1st Peter 5:8

ON....Revelation 6:16.......

Maranatha!

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah....same 25th of Kislev,....same Jesus!

Titus 1:2

2 posted on 12/25/2005 7:22:28 AM PST by maestro
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To: kellynla

Off the subject, I was thinking about hell, and I'm pretty sure I know what it is. The Bible mentions God "stretching out the Heavens"- (adding energy to space to make it stretch out to fill the hole universe, from a point), so, when God judges those that want nothing to do with him, I think God will simply confine the prisoners to earth, and block them from entering Heaven. The Bible talks about "throwing them down to earth", and then He'll simply pull Himself out of the universe, causing it to collapse in on itself. Space will collapse instantaneously (space was stretched out on the first day, so it's safe to assume that it can also collapse instantaneously, as there may be no temporal component to space- it may be dimensionless), and the universe will crush down into a point singularity- a black hole. A supermassive hole. Notice, hell is described as a "bottomless pit", of heat, but no light (photons are ripped apart by the supermassive gravity of the hole), and nothing can escape it. A spirit can be defined as living information, and no information or energy can pass the event horizon of a black hole. The event horizon being the point beyond which no information from any event in the hole can pass. So, it may be a prison for spirits as well.

Hell is called also, the "storm of darkness", in 2nd Peter- a perfect symbol for a black hole. A swirling hurricane like storm of darkness. Also, and here's the funky part, the Bible in Genesis calls Satan's judgement a "crushing". Satan will be "crushed" under your feet- Paul also says. And in a vision about the death of the antichrist- he is said to be "crushed". Jesus said that there is a valley separating hell from heaven- the event horizon? A valley no one can cross.

The "Lake of fire", may be a portal into the event horizon. Notice, death is said to be "swallowed up". Imagine the universe crushing to a point. Swallowing everything.

Time inside a black hole may continue as normal, eternally, but from our perspective, it would appear to stop. Also, with space destroyed, time would go with it, as might memory of this universe- which may be why God says He will "wipe every tear from our eyes". Our memories of this place may be wiped. Also, the old will "not be remembered nor brought to mind". Which is great, because I'm still carrying things around from the 4th grade-- ha ha

Merry Christmas


3 posted on 12/25/2005 7:33:30 AM PST by emiller
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To: emiller

mark


4 posted on 12/25/2005 7:35:54 AM PST by don-o (Don't be a Freeploader. Do the right thing. Become a Monthly Donor!)
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To: emiller
An Orthodox Christian perspective on hell. Long, but the best I have ever read and reaally helped me with this troubling doctrine.

You see, the devil managed to make men believe that God does not really love us, that He really only loves Himself, and that He accepts us only if we behave as He wants us to behave; that He hates us if we do not behave as He ordered us to behave, and is offended by our insubordination to such a degree that we must pay for it by eternal tortures, created by Him for that purpose.

Who can love a torturer? Even those who try hard to save themselves from the wrath of God cannot really love Him. They love only themselves, trying to escape God's vengeance and to achieve eternal bliss by managing to please this fearsome and extremely dangerous Creator.

Do you perceive the devil's slander of our all loving, all kind, and absolutely good God? That is why in Greek the devil was given the name , "the slanderer".

River of Fire.

5 posted on 12/25/2005 7:41:36 AM PST by don-o (Don't be a Freeploader. Do the right thing. Become a Monthly Donor!)
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To: emiller

You are probably spending too much time worrying about what is basically an act of Faith.

Heaven and Hell do not have to be explainable.


6 posted on 12/25/2005 7:52:13 AM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: kellynla


7 posted on 12/25/2005 8:04:18 AM PST by starfish923 ( Socrates: It's never right to do wrong.)
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To: kellynla
<

I add this photo of Pope Benedict (humbly kneeling, with all his first-Christmas-as-Pope finery) because he is our earthly Shepherd who really needs our prayers.

8 posted on 12/25/2005 8:06:28 AM PST by starfish923 ( Socrates: It's never right to do wrong.)
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To: emiller
Time inside a black hole may continue as normal, eternally, but from our perspective, it would appear to stop. Also, with space destroyed, time would go with it, as might memory of this universe- which may be why God says He will "wipe every tear from our eyes". Our memories of this place may be wiped. Also, the old will "not be remembered nor brought to mind". Which is great, because I'm still carrying things around from the 4th grade-- ha ha
Merry Christmas

Don't we all? Especially at this time of year.
In my 9th year of life I had a very, very large and loving family and we spent WONDERFUL Christmases at our home. The very, very large family is almost all gone. Makes me sad except that I know they really are in a better place.
Christmas has become more meaningful to me in a spiritual sense and I enjoy it now as much as I ever did.
Snerf, I have my own tear to have wiped away.
Merry Christmas, emiller.

9 posted on 12/25/2005 8:12:24 AM PST by starfish923 ( Socrates: It's never right to do wrong.)
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To: kellynla; All

.


Merry Christmas Everybody...

http://www.lzxray.com/Ronnie3.jpg
(Picture)

.


10 posted on 12/25/2005 8:35:33 AM PST by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com)
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To: kellynla

some things are beyond the understanding of Man.
Merry Christmas!


11 posted on 12/25/2005 8:56:15 AM PST by upcountryhorseman (An old fashioned conservative)
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To: emiller; JLO; All

.

What if HELL...

...was not a place,

...but a feeling?


The feeling that comes from having the burning fire of LOVE just burning away in your heart for the LOVE Itself,

...after your having seen Him directly after your own death,

...and not having that same LOVE returned by the LOVE Itself for all eternity ...in your seperateness.

...This comes from your not having acted lovingly towards others & yourself while on the Earth, as commanded.

For when you finally see the LOVE Itself,

...you also see your own heart...

...filled with LOVE,

...or absent It.

.


12 posted on 12/25/2005 9:02:07 AM PST by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com)
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To: NYer

.


See -ALOHA RONNIE- Post No. 12...

.


13 posted on 12/25/2005 9:18:24 AM PST by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com)
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To: emiller

There are more than a few reputable theologians who think that hell is eternal separation from God. That, in itself, knowing for all eternity that you chose wrong and can never "fix it," is more than enough to cause "wailing and gnashing of teeth."


14 posted on 12/25/2005 10:01:51 AM PST by LS
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To: kellynla

Thanks for posting God's Word for all to read and take to heart.


15 posted on 12/25/2005 12:41:44 PM PST by Cedar
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To: emiller

Hmm... interesting thought...


16 posted on 12/25/2005 6:03:21 PM PST by pigsmith
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