I am very tortured by something.  I learned of it from the History Channel special on Armageddon.  I looked into it, and it is in the Scriptures.  I asked Jesus to come into my life months ago.  And after, I felt His light shine into my heart.  My question: the thing that has been torturing me is that the Scriptures say those with the mark of the beast are those with a mark on their right hand or forehead.  Something will happen to them.  I’m unclear on what.  I think I know, but it tortures me.  I have both these marks, one on my right hand, from a burn, and one on my forehead, a scar.  I fear that my soul is already lost.  I WANT TO BE WITH GOD!  I asked and begged for His forgiveness and to have mercy upon my soul.  I don’t want to go to hell.  I WANT TO BE WITH JESUS!  And it tortures me to think my path has already been decided.  I have been tortured by this.  I WANT TO BE IN GOD’S LIGHT!  I WANT TO HUG JESUS!  Please help me. Give me advice.  Anything.  I am very troubled and in need of guidance. Thank you.

Sincerely,
A Marked Man

Dear A Marked Man,

The verse you are referring to is Rev 14:9.  However, take comfort – it isn’t referring to you.  The book of Revelation is dealing with the struggle between christians and the idolatrous nation of Rome; therefore, it can’t be referring to the burn on your hand and the scar on your head; you weren’t alive back then!  Don’t worry; they get a lot of stuff wrong on television.

It is important to remember that the book of Revelation is a book written with symbolic and figurative language (Rev 1:1).  It is a vision the apostle John received on the island of Patmos that uses apocalyptic dream-like visions to teach on a real-life subject that was “soon to come to pass” and “at hand” (Rev 1:1 and Rev 1:3).  Considering John wrote the book somewhere between 65 A.D. and 100 A.D. – we are about two thousand years too late for the vision to specifically apply to us.  Today, you need to obey the Gospel in order to be in God’s light (1 Jn 1:5-6).  We recommend that you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”, so that you can feel confident about what will save your soul.  There is more to it than simply asking Jesus into your life.  After reading that, we would love to help you find a faithful congregation in your area to help you learn and grow in God’s Word.  Please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will help you find a congregation.

Job 5:9-14 – explain to me what these verses really mean.

Sincerely,
One More Verse Please

Dear One More Verse Please,

Job 5:9-14 is an excerpt from Eliphaz’s rebuke of Job.  Eliphaz’s argument with Job was that all suffering is some sort of correction from God.  Eliphaz was wrong.  Job wasn’t suffering because he had done something wicked.  Job was suffering because he was righteous, and God was using him as an example of righteousness (Job 1:8-12).  Job 5:9-14 is a list of the great and mighty deeds of God – which are all true.  The only problem is Eliphaz was using them to try and prove his point that Job was wicked.

I do not believe people are born “gay”.  Am I correct to conclude that because man was created in God’s image (with free will to make choices in our lives), it wouldn’t make sense that He would create some of us to live a lifestyle specifically condemned in the Bible?  Or is there a better answer given in the Bible to support this argument that people are not born homosexuals?

Sincerely,
Ain’t Talking About Being Happy

Dear Ain’t Talking About Being Happy,

Nobody is forced to have a sinful homosexual relationship.  The argument of the homosexual community is that they are born desiring people of the same sex and that they have no choice.  That simply cannot be true.  God makes it clear that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able (1 Cor 10:13).  Even if someone is born with a predisposition toward homosexuality – they aren’t forced to act upon it.  We always have a choice.  There is always a way of escape from sin.  We often use 1 Cor 10:13 as a proof text that no one is born “gay”.

Homosexuality is like all other sins; we sin when we act upon the lust.  God does not tempt us to sin (Jas 1:13).  It is our own lusts that entice us to do the wrong thing (Jas 1:14-16).  One person has a tendency toward anger, another has a tendency toward alcoholism, and some may in fact have a tendency toward homosexuality – but that tendency does not force them to sin.  We need to put away all filthiness of the flesh and be doers of God’s Word (Jas 1:21-22).

I was reading the question posted by the author, Reveling in Revelation, and became confused by your answer:

“After the time period of peace, the devil will once again be loosed for a short time to do much harm and severely persecute christians by deceiving the nations (Rev 20:7-8).  Most theologians do not believe that time of severe persecution has begun yet.”

I thought I had somewhat of a clear picture of the book of Revelation.  I agree with everything you say, but I was under the belief that since the time of Rome during which Christians were persecuted HORIFFICALLY, NEVER AGAIN will Christians be persecuted to that “extent”.  I thought Christians were now, at this present time, at a place in history where we are simply waiting for Christ’s return.

Of course, “persecution of Christians” has always been and continues to be seen in our modern day history, but I never imagined that we could experience persecution like the first century Christians did.

Have I misunderstood your words?  Obviously, as a Christian, this can be a scary thought!  It’s one thing to be “discriminated against” for being a Christian and another when those early Christians back in history were burned at the stake, fed to the lions, and beheaded, etc!

Sincerely,
Tired of Terror

Dear Tired of Terror,

No, you didn’t misunderstand us.  At the end of the great period of peace, which we are most likely enjoying right now, there will be a short time that Satan will be loosed out of his prison to deceive the nations once more (Rev 20:7-8).  At the end of that short period of time, the devil will be finally and permanently cast down into eternal fire (Rev 20:10).  In fact, those verses are a great example of how the pre-millenial doctrine cannot be correct.  If the pre-millenialist is right about Jesus having a thousand year reign upon earth… that reign ends in disaster!

To be fair, this is only one view on the book of Revelation, and good and faithful brethren do disagree on the details of this particular book.  We would be careful about being too dogmatic on any of the specifics within the book of Revelation.

Why and who was the person who walked on water with Jesus?

Sincerely,
Can’t Swim

Dear Can’t Swim,

The name of the person was Peter; he was one of the apostles (Matt 10:2).  Peter was on the boat as Jesus approached, walking upon the water (Matt 14:24-26).  When Peter realized that it was Jesus, he asked to come out to Him on the water.  He wanted proof that it was really Jesus (Matt 14:28).  Peter is only the second man in all of history to walk on water.  Unfortunately, when he got scared and stopped having faith, he became the first man to walk on water and sink (Matt 14:29-31)… proving once again that faith is a decision, not just a feeling (Jas 2:18).

While having a discussion, someone said that if you ask for forgiveness for your sins and transgressions, God will only forgive you one time.  My belief is that even if you live your whole life sinning – and at the end, if you ask and believe, God will forgive you, and you will go to heaven.  Who’s right?

Sincerely,
Limitless Forgiveness

Dear Limitless Forgiveness,

God will forgive you more than one time.  John says that as we walk in the light, we have fellowship with Jesus, and He cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn 1:7).  The apostle John also said that if we confess our sins, we will be forgiven (1 Jn 1:9).  The number of times a christian will do that in their lifetime is without number.  Of course, these verses apply to those who already have become christians.  If you have not yet become a christian, there is more to it than simply confessing your sins.

In the book of Acts, we see what it takes to become a christian.  When Peter was asked by the Jews what they needed to do to be saved (Acts 2:37), Peter told them they needed to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38).  Everyone who wants to become a christian must be baptized to be saved (Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21).  After repenting of your sins (‘repent’ means ‘change your mind’), the lost person is fully immersed in water and buried with Christ through baptism (Rom 6:4).  Once someone is baptized for forgiveness of their sins, they are a christian.  Then the continual cleansing described in First John would apply.