It's about a relationship, not a merging; locust-like helicopters

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Nov 12, 2015 at 04:21

Hi, Moh

Here are some ways in which we differ. You said,

"'God' is everywhere, right? Which means inside us as well. By 'merging' - it means uniting with a limitless source, returning to one's true nature, whatever label you want to give it."

First of all, I wouldn't put "God" in quotation marks: He has a definite, well-defined personality. Also, He is ubiquitous but not literally "everywhere". For instance,

Pss.138:
[6] Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Our "true nature"? The Bible says,

Jer.17:
[9] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

and,

2 Cor.5:
[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
[18] And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
[19] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
[20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
[21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Our "true" nature, until redeemed, is worthy of hell. When we accept redemption through faith in Messiah, we are given a new nature. You went on,

"It means becoming progressively more conscious as one realises one was never truly separated from that which always exists. Put another way, if you're feeling separated from 'God' you are feeling separated from your self."

There is definitely a separation between a man and God, until they are reconciled:

Eph.2:
[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
[12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Paul says that the Jews have an advantage over the Gentiles ("Nations"), in that the former actually know Who God is, through Torah, and can be confident of a sort of relationship with Him through the covenants. They, of course, have their own unique set of problems. The Gentiles, however, are milling about in darknes, clueless about the One God except for a knowledge, from observing Nature, of His eternal power and "Godness"

There's no "merging" here. God is a unique individual; and we relate to Him (or not) as individuals. It is more like a romance, than a "fusion" of sorts: God is like a handsome man. A woman sees him and can see that he's a hunk; but knows nothing more about him. His Jewish wife knows much more about him, and has a marriage relationship with him; but she might have an affair on the side and be unfaithful to him. If he reaches out to the strange woman, though, offering his hand in marriage, she will come to know him intimately; and if she remains faithful, that relationship will last forever. If not, she will be in no better position than the Jewish wife. Even so, if the first wife repents of her adultery and returns to him, he will gladly receive her back; because she is the bride of his youth. That's the New Testament narrative, in paraphrase.

I think many Jews acknowledge that their faithfulness and relationship with God have had their ups and down. They object to a generally-held Christian belief that their way back is to become Christians -- and at that, like Christians who themselves have no active relationship with God. It's all about relationship.

In the other matter,

Turkish attack helicopters? ...What was the 'breakthrough' - nano tube airframe, power train, engine, weaponry?

The helicopter is produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) / and AgustaWestland, an Anglo-Italian consortium. It is adapted for the hot and high environment over Anatolia. It's light and fast, and has adequate weaponry for counterinsurgency use. I imagine the Americans and Russians have some better armed, better armored and heavier hauling models; and in terms of the prophecy, the Russian Hinds also look amazingly locust-like.

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