Summary of the gospel of grace from preterist-universalist and mystical perspectives

Here is a summary of the preterist-universalist view of the gospel of grace that I have been learning about the past couple of years, though my mindset has continued to evolve from this view some time last year to embrace a more metaphysical view, that includes gnostic or mystical aspects (such as interpreting God as our highest self, rather than a separate entity).

"Hell" can mean grave (Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek), which also has a metaphorical meaning of "hidden". So hell/hades can symbolise ignorance or amnesia (of our oneness with God, and of our true divine identity).

"Gehenna" - Jesus was referring to the garbage dump in Jerusalem (Ge - valley; henna - Hinnom; the Valley of Hinnom). Metaphorically, it symbolises the condemnation that the Jews experienced in their conscience during the tribulation, because they (mistakenly) thought their "god" was punishing them when the Roman army attacked their city.

The "Last Days", as I understand it, was referring to the end of the Old Covenant Age - the end of the Jewish religious system, the end of the law system. It also symbolises the end of the law mindset (doing in order to become), thereby the end of the separation mindset.

The ministry of reconciliation, as I understand it, is about God (our highest self) reconciling to ourselves through our true identity - Christ Jesus. To me, to be reconciled with God is to be reconciled with our true divine self, with the Universe - there is no more enmity or inner battles or condemnation in our own mind or consciousness - so we are completely at peace with ourselves.

There is no so-called future hell or lake of fire to be saved from. The lake of fire has already happened in AD70. The old identity in Adam (that was attached to external circumstances or performance) has already been done away, and it signified the end of condemnation. The only thing for people today is to awaken to their true identity (in Christ), or as spiritual beings on a human journey.

So that's my view in a nutshell in this stage of my journey. I think even the word "Christ" is not necessary for awakening - it is probably just specific to the Judeo-christian culture in the Middle East. Buddha or Krishna etc will do just fine as well - as long as it is about awakening to our true divine nature of Unconditional Love and Light in every one of us. :)

"10 Reasons to Smile" by The Social Butterfly

~ 10 Reasons to Smile ~

1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in.

2. Smiling Changes Our Mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.

3. Smiling Is Contagious
When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.

4. Smiling Relieves Stress
Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you'll be better able to take action.

5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.

6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?

7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.

8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger
The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day -- you'll look younger and feel better.

9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful
Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.

10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.

Did you Smile? Click the SHARE button & make someone else SMILE too!

♥ღ♥ Peace & Butterfly Blessings Always ~ The Social Butterfly ♥ღ♥

Be Someone - Ralph Marston

Be Someone

Be someone who listens, and you will be heard.
Be someone who cares, and you will be loved.
Be someone who gives, and you will be blessed.
... Be someone who comforts, and you will know peace.

Be someone who genuinely seeks to understand, and you will be wise.
Be someone kind, someone considerate, and you will be admired.
Be someone who values truth, and you will be respected.
Be someone who takes action, and you will move life forward.

Be someone who lifts others higher, and your life will be rich.
Be someone filled with gratitude, and there will be no end to the things for which
you'll be thankful.

Be someone who lives with joy, with purpose, as your own light brightly shines.
Be in every moment, the special someone you are truly meant to be.

-- Ralph Marston

My soul finds rest in God alone (Psalm 62)

Nuggets of encouragement (September 2010)

 
Jesus (our true identity) is the radiance of God's glory, the perfect expression of His grace, truth and love.

Marriage is about we, us and ourselves and Jesus (our true self and origin) in our midst. :)

It is the goodness and kindness of God (our highest self) that leads us to repentance (changing and renewing of mindset) - He (the divine) is ever blessing us. Keep expecting His goodness and grace!

Believe the best in people - don't focus on faults. Let God (the divine universal love) change us as we focus on loving and building up with grace.

Every step of the way, whatever we are doing, we praise the Lord (our true self), for He is GOOD and His love endures forever.

Preach the Word - Jesus and His finished work (ascension with all of us in higher consciousness of love and unity) - in season and out of season.

God (our highest self) has chosen the weak (as appeared in the natural) to confound the mighty (seeming illusion).

Keep appreciating what we do have because we have everything we need - we are complete and powerful. :)

Every step of the way, our heavenly Father (Unconditional Love) loves us and thinks good thoughts towards us.

Every breath we take, God's lovingkindness and tender mercies surround us and embrace us.

We are whole, complete, blessed!

Take time to meditate and feed on the love of Christ (our true identity and origin) who reconciles the universe (You-niverse) to our true self.

In Christ (Love), we live and move and have our being.

Keep expecting good things to happen because we are one with Christ and co-heirs with Him.

Our God (highest self, Unconditional Love, Universe) shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (our true identity).

Rest in the consciousness of his closeness - FDT

Rest in the consciousness of his closeness! Separation is an illusion! Oneness was God's idea all along! He desires to express himself thru your touch, your voice, your presence; he is so happy to dwell in you! There is no place in the universe he would rather be!" - Francois Du Toit

Love is the most powerful force

"Love is the most powerful force.....It can move mountains.....Bring a grown man to his knees....As it saves the smallest baby.....Love conquers all......Bring your light into this world; it's so important......You may not know how very important you are how big a role you are to play in this world...But I am here to tell you...You matter far more then you can imagine.....You light and love will guide many...Through your kind heart you will light the way for many.....Your smile will warm the coldest of days"
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=326852667345744&set=a.293358634028481.76532.100000630405049&type=1&theater

Nuggets of encouragement (August 2010)

We are not just a face in the crowd. We are favoured children of God. We are a precious blessing wherever we go, bringing refreshing and peace and joy and acceptance.

Jesus is meek and lowly, noble and honourable, gracious and compassionate and full of mercy - and so are we in this world!

Prioritise rest as rest is our greatest responsibility.

Expect the favour of God to work in our life, health, relationships, finances, work today because God treats all of us as Jesus.

Speak blessings because our tongue is like the rudder of the ship, setting the course of our destiny. :)

Keep sowing, keep blessing, and God will bring a harvest in people's lives.

The more we talk about and meditate on the truth of "Christ in us, the hope of glory". the more it becomes a living tangible reality in our lives because what we are conscious of will ultimately manifest. :)

"Rest in the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will make your ways come to pass."

Appreciate what we have because God (our highest self) has blessed us with so much, with the best for us. Thank You, Abba!

When God (our highest self) makes it happen, it's beautiful and effortless. "Commit your ways to Him and He will bring it to pass."

Build our consciousness on Christ by spending time to behold His glory and grace. Children are naturally righteousness-conscious.

God (our highest self) is pleased with us all the time because He sees us in the perfection of His Son (our true identity).

Heaven (our highest consciousness) is where Jesus (our true self) is - His love makes a difference.

Jesus is our perfect representative, and since His thoughts are holiness to the Lord, we are accepted before God (our highest self).

The more we rest, the more we see God's grace in our lives. :)

Jesus is our perfect representative, and we are a reflection of His glory and goodness.

Knowing we are God's beloved gives us dominion in life (over death and condemnation and fear).

God favours us and has crowned and encircled us with glory and honour.

Small acts of kindness are powerful seeds of God's love to help others succeed in life.

"I stand, I stand in awe of You (our highest self). You are marvellous beyond description, too wonderful for words."

God has made us sufficient to be a minister of the new covenant, ministering grace and peace, life and righteousness and no condemnation to people.

Be ourselves, for God has made us unique and complete in Christ.

Jesus (our true identity) is lion and lamb, majesty and meekness, mighty to save yet lowly to serve.

Jesus (our true self) came not to be served but to serve (willingly, out of revelation of kingship and sonship), and give His life as a ransom for many (to redeem ourselves from the illusion of separation and fear).

Jesus is our joy; we don't have to do anything to become joyful.

The gospel and our consciousness (Video transcript)

The following is a transcript of my video "The gospel and our consciousness" which I posted online on 4 July 2011.

Hello, here am I again. I am going to talk about the gospel. The gospel is the power of God to save those who believe the good news, and what is the good news? It’s simply that we are righteous, or another word for “righteous” is “innocent”, that we are, before the beginning of time, we are already seen as innocent and righteous, holy, blameless before God, and that is the good news.

God does not want us to be afraid of Him

There is no bad news in the good news, and that is why there is much concern, especially in the “Christian” world about the mixed gospel because there seems to be some bad news in the good news, the so-called “good news”. But we know that God does not give any kind of fear or condemnation because 2 Timothy says that “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”, and also we learn that Jesus always said “Do not be afraid.” 

He doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him at all, and He is the same as God, and there is a misquotation (or rather misinterpretation) about “Do not fear those who can kill the body and can do no further, but fear him who has the power to destroy both body and soul.” But that is actually not referring to God. That is actually referring to the enemy. The enemy is not God; He is always our Friend; He is our Father in heaven. 

The enemy is actually that part of our conscience, our human psychology, that caused us to feel condemned, and that is actually a symbolic representation that is simply called Satan or the devil or the accuser of the brethren in the Bible. Now, for every interpretation of the Bible, I think a safe guideline to go by is: Whenever it ministers peace to us, that is a safe bet to say that it is “scriptural” because we know God always wants us to be at peace with ourselves and with Him. 

If there is any interpretation of the Bible that seems to generate some fear or condemnation or guilt or shame, then it’s probably, most definitely actually, not from God. If you disagree, that is ok because I think we all have the freedom to discover for ourselves what the Bible says or what any other holy scripture that we deem to be “scriptural” to ourselves, because after all, we are made to have our own freedom to pursue the path that we think what God is like. 

One person’s understanding may differ from another person’s understanding of God, and I don’t claim… and I don’t think other people also would have the same… would have the full understanding of what God is really like, and I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I can only share what I have studied so far in my journey of faith because I believe that I am a spiritual being on a human journey, and vice versa. I am a human being on a spiritual journey as well.

How does the good news affect our consciousness?

So, what I am going to talk about, as I mentioned, is the gospel. I think the power of the gospel is when we believe the good news. The good news is simply that God is love and He sees us in His image, and it is because the first Adam partook from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he felt alienated from God, but God has never alienated Himself from us down through the centuries. So that is the reason Jesus came to show us that God is all the while with us. He is one with us, as He said in the prayer of John 17.

How can we apply this practically because theoretically and theologically we can go into a lot of details to explain the gospel and the salvation story? But, practically I would say, in my life, when I believe God is good and only good – He is love – His love endures forever, somehow good things also happen to me in my life, practically, realistically.

I think there is something to do with the – maybe you can call that – vibrations. New age and… ya, this might raise some alarm bells from some of the more conservative Christians, but actually new age thinkers and new paradigm thinkers, or we call that new thought philosophers, they are actually… they have something that is quite close to what we so-called know as the truth or the reality – whatever you call it – or quantum physics or quantum science.

We actually live in a matrix kind of world, and I am sure some of you would actually be able to tell the parallel between "The Matrix" and the gospel story, that we actually live in a world that is something like a holographic universe. So, how we perceive the world to be actually will play out in real life. So, it is very important what we believe in our consciousness because the battlefield is in the mind. 

And I’m going to just talk about one passage from the Bible before I go long-winded and go into other rabbit trails. It’s 2 Chronicles chapter 20 where King Jehoshaphat and his army were facing a huge dilemma because they seemed to be outnumbered by the enemies from Moab, Ammon and some other countries. 

I would say there is a spiritual significance to this story because in our lives, there seem also to be some instances where in our mind or our consciousness, we may imagine that some things are overwhelming us. They are overwhelming to us especially when we go through some challenges, but even if there are no challenges, our mind sometimes can still sabotage us and think that “Hey, something’s bad going to happen.” Maybe we’ve done something wrong. Or even if we have done nothing wrong, somehow there is a voice that seems to tell us that “Hey, don’t expect too much. Sometimes bad things do happen.”

Well, what happened in the story in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 is that King Jehoshaphat and his army, they actually learnt to sing “Praise the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever”, and I believe they sang this over and over again. They were actually building in their mindset or their consciousness how good God is, who is all the while with us, who is our heavenly Father, who loves to bless us, who is already blessing us actually all the while. So, the more we are aware of that, the more we actually become conscious of God’s goodness and love that endures not just for a moment but forever. We can also believe that at every moment, we can expect good things to happen to us.

Yes, it has nothing to do with our performance because the moment we think it has something to do with our performance, we are actually going back to the law mindset, to the tree of knowledge of good and evil where Adam used to eat, and that’s how he felt alienated from God. But Jesus came to bridge the gap, not in terms of the actual separation but in our mind, to show us that God is all the while with us, to show us that He is our true identity – “as He is, so are we in this world” – accepted, beloved, favoured, prosperous, completely healed, whole, healthy, peaceful – that is shalom. 

Jesus is our Shalom. And I would say the battle is in our mind. The only way to overcome, to fight this battle is to actually be at rest. “Be still and know that I am God.” We are actually gods, according to Psalm 82,  which Jesus actually quoted to say that we have the divine nature in us because we are all made in His image, which has never changed and will never change. So this is the battle that we continue to fight, not by struggling, but by resting.

Rest is the greatest work that we can do in order to stay victorious. This is spiritual warfare, and probably it’s not like what some of the traditional Christianity has taught. So, this is basically the gospel, the aspect of the gospel which I want to focus on in this message. And keep on fighting the good fight of faith, believing that we are righteous, we are innocent, we are holy, we are blameless. 

Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. We are redeemed from the sense of alienation because by one man’s disobedience – Adam’s – he made all sinners. “Sin” is not a moral thing; “sin” is simply ignorance about our true identity, ignorance of the love of our God. But by one Man’s obedience – Jesus’ obedience – all were made righteous. The word “many” there means “multitudes”. So, it actually means “all” – the multitudes of everybody. We are ALL made righteous, in our mind, and God has all the while seen us righteous because we are all wrapped up in Him – the new Man, Jesus Christ, the second Adam or the last Adam.

This is the gospel, as I believe it, and I’m still on a journey. If you are blessed, I am glad to know that because I am also blessed by knowing the gospel, and it is my privilege and pleasure to share this with you. God bless you. Know that we are loved by God always unconditionally, universally, individually, personally forevermore. Amen.

Taichi and the gospel of grace

I think taichi is the art of converting any opposing force into the energy of love. The practice seeks to understand that the other is attacking from the place of feeling wounded because people who are hurting tend to hurt others. Similarly, Jesus is the taichi master who sees all our hurts and wounds, and transforms the ashes into beauty. He willingly laid down His life so that our old, wounded and fragmented self can be buried with Him, and we are raised with Him in our new, resurrected and glorious self.

The Pharisees sought to kill Jesus because they were hurting inside. They knew not what they were doing when they wanted to crucify Him and mocked at Him. Instead of seeking to placate them or take revenge on them, Jesus sought their highest good and prayed for the Father - the God in them - to forgive them so that they would not suffer from guilt and condemnation later on.

Jesus is said to be a lucid representation of our true identity, who came to reconcile us to ourselves, or rather, our highest self, also known as God our heavenly Father. The heavenly places is not so such a physical location as it is our highest consciousness. Jesus came down from heaven - from our highest consciousness - to where we were in our blindness - and opened the eyes of our heart and see with our inner vision the reality of our identity.

My response to the video "What happens after I die?"

The following notes are written in response to the video on "What happens after I die?"

When we die, our body returns to the ground and our spirit goes back to be with God. (Eccleciastes 12:7)

Heaven and hell are metaphorical, because Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is in each of us.

The word “hell” is actually not in the original languages of the Bible. The Hebrew word is “sheol”, meaning “grave”.
The Greek words are “Gehenna”, “tartarus” or “hades”.
These words are used in the context of the end of the Jewish old covenant age in AD70.
Neither of them refers to the afterlife.

Bottomline: Jesus did not die to save us from a so-called “hell” and go to “heaven”. He came to save us from the illusion of separation and show us we are already one with God.

God is love, and love keeps no records of wrongs, and love never fails. This is the foundation of our gospel (good news) of grace and peace.

"Be still and know I am God"

God is Love and we are God.

Love is who we are.

The true beauty of revelation

The word "revelation" means "unveiling".

Many of us know that the book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible. But what many of us tend to forget or overlook is that it is a book of signs or symbols. (Revelation 1:1) The book is about the end of the old era and the beginning of the new age.

The Bible began with Genesis about the beginning of light and darkness.

The Bible ended with Revelation about our return to light.

I believe the Bible is all about our inner journey of how we all came to resurface from the darkness of ignorance to the light of our union with God and with one another as one united humanity. It is the light of our true identity of love and innocence.

Even today, we are the living trees bearing fruit unceasingly and our leaves are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2)

We are living in the new heavens and new earth, where all things have been made new. God is dwelling with us, in us, as us, around us. (Revelation 21)

Christ is unveiled in each of us, showing our divinity within our humanity. There is no more illusion of separation.

"We are here to awaken from the illusion of separation." - Thich Nhat Hanh

So that is the prelude to an important topic I am going to discuss today, which is "eschatology".

What is eschatology?

Eschatology, as I have been learning over the past year or so, is a biblical study of the "end times". In the context of the first century in which Jesus ministered to Israel on earth, the end times is actually referring to the end of the Jewish old covenant age, not the end of the physical earth.

In my journey of faith, I was taught in institutional church that we are living in the "end times", and one day Jesus will come back and judge the world. According to them, the "christians" will be "raptured" or taken up into outer space, sorry, I mean heaven, and be with Jesus, and they live happily ever after.

I learnt that this view of eschatology is called "dispensationalism" or "futurism", which is popularly held by many people in the evangelical christian circles. They believe that the physical nation of Israel we have today is the place where there would be an Armageddon taking place in future, which would herald "the second coming of Christ" who would slay all the nations attacking Israel. The belief system is widely known as "Christian Zionism".

Sounds like a futuristic action and adventure movie, eh? Maybe Hollywood and the like know many people are drawn to such dramatic stories, and decided to make movies like "2012", "The Apocalypse" and the "Left Behind" series. It is big money business for both organised religion and the film industry.

About a couple of years ago, I came to know about another view of eschatology, known as "preterism", which means "past".

Before I continue to talk about preterism, some people at this point may question "Why bother about eschatology? Does it really matter? After all, we are here to spread the gospel and leave it to God to call the shots about when His Son will return to earth. Jesus said no one knows the day and hour, except His Father, right?"

My reply is that it does matter what you believe about eschatology because it will affect the decisions you make in your life. Besides, if you believe Jesus is coming back physically soon, you will probably live in fear for those people whom you think are not "saved". Some people may even secretly hope that other people (whom they call "the people of the world" or "anti-Christ") who disagree with their belief system will suffer the "tribulation" as part of their "retribution" when Jesus comes back.

What is preterism?

As mentioned earlier, preterism means "past". So, a preterist would look back into the past and investigate whether a biblical prophecy has already been fulfilled. Many preterists believe that the time of Jesus' second coming ("parousia" in the Greek) was AD70 when the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army. This signified the end of the Jewish old covenant age and the beginning of the new covenant age.

"In that He says, 'A new covenant', He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Hebrews 8:13, commonly thought to be written around AD64)

Andrew Corbett, the author of the book "The Most Embarrassing Book in the Bible", wrote "Preterists argue that the contents of Revelation need to be viewed from the context of the original recipients with consideration then given to how it can be applied to readers of any era." This is what we call "audience relevance". Was Revelation written to the people in the first century or to people living some 2,000 years later?

Audience relevance and historical context

It is interesting to note the following phrases from the book of Revelations that imply immediacy and imminence, evoking a sense of urgency and expectancy of things to happen within the lifetime of the writer and his audience:

"things which must shortly take place" (Revelations 1:1)
"for the time is near" (Revelation 1:3)
"I will come to you quickly" (Revelation 2:5)
"Behold, I am coming quickly" (Revelation 3:11)
"he knows that he has a short time" (Revelation 12:12)
"show His servants the things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 22:6)
"Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand" (Revelation 22:10)
"Surely I am coming quickly" (Revelation 22:20)

So, what do the phrases "shortly", "time is near", "quickly" and "at hand" mean in the context of the writing of the book of Revelation? Does it mean 2,000 years later after the writer John had died long ago? Or does it mean those things would happen within his lifetime in the first century AD? Let's apply some intellectual honesty here, shall we?

 Jewish symbolism in the book of Revelation

It is interesting to note that some people are willing to point out that the "lamb with seven horns and seven eyes" is symbolic, but at the same time claim that the "lake of fire" is literal. Why not be consistent in applying the same kind of interpretation?

While I don't claim to understand all the signs and symbols in the book of Revelation, I choose to abide with the understanding that these are signs and symbols that pertain to the Jewish audience in the first century AD context. Those who have studied the book of Revelation and researched the history of Jewish war have written books to share their findings. Andrew Corbett, for example, pointed out that the "hail and fire... thrown to the earth" (Revelation 8:7) is actually referring to the fiery bombs that the Romans used to hurl at the sieged city of Jerusalem with the help of catapults, which took place in 66-70AD.

Who is the beast?

This is a popular question among today's evangelical christians. Speculations about the identity of the beast tend to revolve around contemporary people such as Adolf Hitler and some US or Soviet presidents. Many people also came up with theories about microchips as "the mark of the beast". But if we were to stick to the first century context, we see that the "beast" was referring to the Roman Emperor Caesar Nero.

"the cryptic number 666 (Revelation 13:18) designates Nero. The number involves the use of gemetria (assigning numerical values to letters of the alphabet and this determining the numerical value of words). Nero Caesar written in Hebrew letters has the numerical value of 666." - J. Steward Russell , author of "The Parousia"

 What about the harlot and the beast?

Is the harlot the "Roman catholic church", as suggested by some evangelical christians? Again, let us apply audience relevance and historical context. Corbett wrote "Jerusalem, the Harlot, is shown to be guilty of the unjust deaths of Christ's witnesses, and even to be in league with Rome in its attempts to eradicate Christians." (Revelation 17:6)

Ok, tell me about the devil and the lake of fire then. I want him dead, burnt and fried in the lake of fire because he is responsible for all the evils!

This seems to be a common sentiment held by many mainstream christians. They feel that the devil should get his just desserts because preachers have been telling them the same thing. I used to think so, until I learn to see both the devil and the lake of fire as symbolic too. After all, let's be consistent and recognise the Book of Revelations is all about signs or symbols.

Bottomline: Is God a tyrant to assign "hell" for people such as sinners and unbelievers? Or was God destroying the false identity of Adam in order to create the new identity in Christ in everyone?

Recently, someone wrote a note, which goes something like: "If you find that you are more compassionate than the God you believe in, it is time to check your own doctrine."

I think that makes sense. How is it possible that mere human beings who are imperfect can be more loving, more compassionate, more merciful and more gracious than God who is supposed to be perfect? Something is certainly terribly wrong with the hell doctrine that says God reserves eternal punishment for those who don't know or don't believe in Him. It doesn't add up to the concept of God as a perfect Father who is all loving and who tells people to forgive their enemies.

To me, only a metaphysical view of God would answer questions satisfactorily for me, to see certain religious concepts as pertaining to Jewish symbolism and historical context. Terms such as sin, Satan, judgment, lake of fire are all outdated terms that only applied to the Jewish religious mindset before their religious system came to an end in AD70. To me,  God is already all and is in all, right here and now, and we are all divine beings on a human journey, expressing love and healing to one another.

The book of Revelation and eschatology is such a deep subject that I think I have only covered the tip of the iceberg. There seems so much to study and share, and so little time. I have to be selective in what I share in this post. More to come in future, hopefully. :)