Why would a god select only the few?

[Trailblazer]

I find God promised father Abraham that His promise to Abraham is intended to be universal, for all humanity.
Please notice at Genesis 12:3 that ALL families of Earth will be blessed
Please notice at Genesis 22:18 that ALL nations of Earth will be blessed
Blessed with the benefit of HEALING for earth's nations according to Revelation 22:2
Earth-wide HEALING as described at Isaiah 35th chapter.

I believe in the promises of Abraham, but our beliefs differ as to how it will come about.
I do not believe that God or Jesus are going to bring the Kingdom of God to earth; I believe that humans are going to build it brick by brick with God's assistance, and I believe the building is already underway. The old world order is crumbling and a new world order is rising in its stead. That is what Jesus referred ti as the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

“This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. Happy are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to remember, and blessed are those men whose names, by virtue of Our inscrutable decree, We have preferred to conceal.

Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 6-7

Even ' enemy death ' will be No more on Earth - 1 Corinthians 15:26; Isaiah 25:8

I believe that physical death will always exist but spiritual death will be no more because the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God.

Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

I do find Jesus to be a particular Messenger to a particular people ( Jewish people )

This I agree with. But now the universal Messenger, sent for all people, I believe to be Muhammad (pbuh).

 

[Trailblazer]

This I agree with. But now the universal Messenger, sent for all people, I believe to be Muhammad (pbuh).

Did Muhammad claim to be a universal Messenger, or do Muslims believe that for some other reason?

 

[URAVIP2ME]

No that was Saul or Paul who expanded it out to the gentiles and it was the Roman army which helped its real expansion to the world. There is no record of Jesus deliberately going out to other people outside of the Jewish faith. So if Jesus is god then Jesus is reaffirming he is the god of the Jews. So up to that point we have a god isolated to only one group of people with no interaction with the rest of the world.

I am surprised that you never read about Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well _________
( Alphonse Mucha's famous art work about her )
I am wondering what your thoughts are about John 4:5-26 and please note John 4:28-30 because the Samaritan woman brought the Samaritan men of the city to Jesus according to verse 30.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

I believe in the promises of Abraham, but our beliefs differ as to how it will come about.
I do not believe that God or Jesus are going to bring the Kingdom of God to earth; I believe that humans are going to build it brick by brick with God's assistance, and I believe the building is already underway. The old world order is crumbling and a new world order is rising in its stead. That is what Jesus referred ti as the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven............................................
I believe that physical death will always exist but spiritual death will be no more because the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God.
Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

I find you are Not alone in your thinking, even that some religious people (including one Pope) thinks humans ( through the United Nations ) will establish God's kingdom government on Earth.

Yes, ' as it is in heaven.... ' and according to Scripture there is No war in Heaven, No pollution, No crime, No violence and No death in Heaven, so by praying for God's will (His purpose) to be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven, then we are asking for those same good heavenly conditions that exist in Heaven to come exist on Earth.
This is a reason why 1 Corinthians 15:26 says ' death ' will be No more..... - Isaiah 25:8

Yes, when ' sin is remembered No more ' then ' death ' will be No more because sin causes: death.
No more sin =equals= No more death.
Isaiah 11:9 will come about because of what Isaiah 11:3-4 says.
The ' sword-like executional words from Jesus' mouth ' and angelic armies will rid the Earth of the wicked
- Psalms 92:7; Psalms 104:35; Proverbs 2:21-22; Revelation 19:14-15

 

[URAVIP2ME]

This I agree with. But now the universal Messenger, sent for all people, I believe to be Muhammad (pbuh).

Thank you for your reply.
Perhaps you can give me more insight about Not only the Messenger but the Message.
Perhaps we can compare:
Jesus universal message, the theme of his teaching, was about God's kingdom of a thousand years.
That Jesus ,as King of God's Kingdom will establish international Peace on Earth among persons of goodwill.
This is why we are 'all invited to pray the invitation' of Revelation 22:20 for Jesus to come !

 

[Trailblazer]

This is a reason why 1 Corinthians 15:26 says ' death ' will be No more..... - Isaiah 25:8

Yes, when ' sin is remembered No more ' then ' death ' will be No more because sin causes: death.
No more sin =equals= No more death.

Sin causes spiritual death, being mortal causes physical death.
No more sin means no more spiritual death.

 

[Bird123]

If one claims as the Abrahamic religions do that god is the one and only creator, why would that god only present himself to just a few isolated people in this world? Were they the only humans he cared about? Did he not like the rest of the humans that occupied the Earth? Did he not even think to present himself to other people of the Earth? For those that follow this god and feel comfortable with him fine, but to claim him the one and only true god when he only presented to an extremely small group of people in only one location of the world seems cruel to ignore everyone else. That would imply that this perfect one god ignored most of the world of humans. On the other hand if this is just one god of many then fine but that is not the claim.

Yes, it is honorable to give everyone the great opportunity to be Trustworthy, however claims and beliefs are not always true.

If one is starting a religion, speaking for God is a good way to manipulate, coerce, intimidate and control others.

Actions speak louder than words. I know they never had a conversation with God simply because they do not understand God. Their actions do not reflect God. Religions reflect mankind more than anything else.

Can one really interact with God? I think everyone is capable. Remember, God's level of intelligence is far beyond ours. The experience is going to be a mental Stretch!!

God doesn't give answers. God doesn't want to intimidate your free choices. Answers must be Discovered. One must have a certain level of understanding God, God's system along with what's all about.

Since God doesn't give answers, if you do not understand, what is there to talk about? So often people see what they want to see so how would the conversation go?

God doesn't visit more people because, in reality, most would just be confused by the experience. On the other hand, all the knowledge and the path surrounds us all. All the secrets of the universe stare us all in the face. Perhaps, if we open our eyes and widen our view we would not be so blind to it all.

That's what I see. It's very clear!!

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Sin causes spiritual death, being mortal causes physical death. No more sin means no more spiritual death.

I can agree with No more spiritual death, but since sin causes physical death then No more sin would also equal both Not more spiritual death and No more physical death.
The dead will be ' delivered up ' ( meaning resurrected back to life again ) according to Revelation 20:13-14.
Then, the emptied-out grave ( biblical hell KJV) is cast vacant into that symbolic ' second death ' for the vacated grave/hell.

Please notice the 'physical healing' to come as described in Isaiah 35th chapter. That would have to include spiritual healing.
Jesus, as King of God's Kingdom government, will bring ' healing ' to earth's nations - Revelation 22:2
Earth's nations are here on Earth and that means God's promise to father Abraham will be fulfilled:
- Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18
ALL families of Earth will be blessed, ALL nations of Earth will be blessed.
Blessed with the benefit of both spiritual and physical heath.
Blessed and happy to be part of the humble meek people who will inherit the Earth - Matthew 5:5; Psalms 37:9-11

 

[URAVIP2ME]

.......................
God doesn't visit more people because, in reality, most would just be confused by the experience. On the other hand, all the knowledge and the path surrounds us all. All the secrets of the universe stare us all in the face. Perhaps, if we open our eyes and widen our view we would not be so blind to it all. That's what I see. It's very clear!!

I am wondering who do you know who has never heard of the Bible ____________________
So, ' God is visiting more people each day ' thus widening the path surrounding us all globally.
Remote translation offices located right where people live gives those remote people the opportunity to have Scripture in their own mother tongue or native languages.
No other book (in whole or in part) has been translated into as many languages as the Bible has been translated.

 

[Trailblazer]

The dead will be ' delivered up ' ( meaning resurrected back to life again ) according to Revelation 20:13-14.

13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

I see nothing in those verses that says that the dead will be ' delivered up ' (meaning resurrected back to life again).
The verses mean whatever meaning you assign to them. All people do not assign the same meanings and that is why not all people agree what they mean.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
I see nothing in those verses that says that the dead will be ' delivered up ' (meaning resurrected back to life again).
The verses mean whatever meaning you assign to them. All people do not assign the same meanings and that is why not all people agree what they mean.

Thank you for bringing the ^ above ^ to my attention.
Just to have common ground, so to speak, I usually refer to KJV wording.
So, death and hades (grave) ' gave up the dead... in them ', KJV uses ' delivered up ' in verse 13.
When someone ' gives up ' something we think that they No longer have what they gave up.
In Bible speak, so to speak, to ' give up the dead ' would mean the dead are No longer dead.
No longer dead, but brought back to life again which is often referred to as Resurrection.
In other words, after everyone in biblical hell/grave is No more in death/grave, then the emptied-out grave/death is done away with. No longer will exist. This is why 1 Corinthians 15:26 can say ' death ' will be No more.....
ALL death will cease on Earth and be just as God's will is for Heaven. No tombs, No death in Heaven.

 

[Trailblazer]

Thank you for bringing the ^ above ^ to my attention.
Just to have common ground, so to speak, I usually refer to KJV wording.
So, death and hades (grave) ' gave up the dead... in them ', KJV uses ' delivered up ' in verse 13.
When someone ' gives up ' something we think that they No longer have what they gave up.
In Bible speak, so to speak, to ' give up the dead ' would mean the dead are No longer dead.
No longer dead, but brought back to life again which is often referred to as Resurrection.
In other words, after everyone in biblical hell/grave is No more in death/grave, then the emptied-out grave/death is done away with. No longer will exist. This is why 1 Corinthians 15:26 can say ' death ' will be No more.....
ALL death will cease on Earth and be just as God's will is for Heaven. No tombs, No death in Heaven.

Thank you for your interpretation of the verses but I do not interpret them that way.

I do not believe that references to rising from the dead or rising from the grave in the Bible mean coming back to physical life or rising from a physical grave. I believe they refer to being brought back from spiritual death and arising to spiritual life, and rising from the grave means arising from and the grave of ignorance of God. I do not believe that the Resurrection refers to being physically resurrected, I believe it refers to being spiritually resurrected, being brought back to spiritual life.

I do not believe death will ever cease on Earth, because humans were created to be mortal and live a limited life span on Earth and then die and go to heaven.

 

[1213]

The ' gods ' of Psalms 82 is speaking about human Judges ( Exodus 4:16; Exodus 7:1-2).
They were ' gods' in the sense that they were to use God's Judgement as to what was right or wrong.
So, they were in the capacity of being representatives or spokesmen for God.

I agree with that. And I think it is possible that the same is with the beliefs other nations have had, but they may have wrongly thought they are really something more. In any case, I think that can be a source for the belief of many gods.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I do not believe death will ever cease on Earth, because humans were created to be mortal and live a limited life span on Earth and then die and go to heaven.

Do Bahais believe in heaven and hell? And do we go somewhere after death? Is there no hell? How does Bahai Allah punish the recalcitrants?

 

[Trailblazer]

Do Bahais believe in heaven and hell? And do we go somewhere after death? Is there no hell? How does Bahai Allah punish the recalcitrants?

Baha'is do not believe that heaven and hell are geographical locations, or places that we go when we die.
We believe that the soul leaves the body when we die and it passes into the spiritual world where it takes on another form, a spiritual body. I do not know if or how God punishes the recalcitrants but nevertheless they will experience their own punishment when they realize what they had done wrong in this world.

This short video depicts the journey of the soul and what Baha'is mean by heaven and hell.

 

[Link]

Did Muhammad claim to be a universal Messenger, or do Muslims believe that for some other reason?

The Quran claims that in chapter 7 and other chapters as well. With peace dear sister.

 

[Bird123]

I am wondering who do you know who has never heard of the Bible ____________________
So, ' God is visiting more people each day ' thus widening the path surrounding us all globally.
Remote translation offices located right where people live gives those remote people the opportunity to have Scripture in their own mother tongue or native languages.
No other book (in whole or in part) has been translated into as many languages as the Bible has been translated.

Is the criteria for determining it comes from God really the number of books or the number of translations? How little you really understand God at all.

That's what I see. It's very clear!!

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Did Muhammad claim to be a universal Messenger, or do Muslims believe that for some other reason?

Allah in the Qur'an says that Muhammad (pbuh) was a Messenger for all people.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Thank you for your reply.
Perhaps you can give me more insight about Not only the Messenger but the Message.
Perhaps we can compare:
Jesus universal message, the theme of his teaching, was about God's kingdom of a thousand years.
That Jesus ,as King of God's Kingdom will establish international Peace on Earth among persons of goodwill.
This is why we are 'all invited to pray the invitation' of Revelation 22:20 for Jesus to come !

The Message that Muhammad (pbuh) brought at its heart was very simple - to believe in, worship, and submit oneself wholeheartedly to One God - Allah - and not associate anyone or anything in worship with that One God; to accept the Messengership of Muhammad (pbuh) as the last and Seal of all Messengers, as well as all previous Messengers; to believe in that which Muhammad (pbuh) was sent with (the Qur'an) confirming that which previous Messengers were sent with; to believe in the Day of Judgment; and to do righteous good deeds.