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SearchWhat about the teachings in the Bible about hell, atonement, free will, Jesus returning for his elect, etc?
Question:
When I read your writings I feel love and joy but then I don't understand many things about what ACIM and the Bible are saying.
The Bible says heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will not pass away. What about the Gospel being preached for every nation? If Heaven is now and we can live in a heavenly state now why does it say God will return for his elect?
The Bible makes it clear not everyone will receive salvation. God does not force us to worship him. I know it’s not God's will that any man should perish. Are we not accountable for our actions and reap what we sow? From what I read on your site I'm questioning everything.
So when I wake up and see the clouds and see my family and go outside that is not real. Everything I see I know is temporal and fleeting.
And you said there is no time. God created time, did He not, for us? I know He exists in eternity. Does not God communicate with us through his Holy Spirit according to our understanding?
Sin is not real, there is atonement for it. Are we not the Light of the world and we are to carry salvation to others who have not awakened to the Truth?
Please can you clarify Brother. Everything is being shaken in me. God Is. Period. But what I'm reading rocks everything. Please, what I have written is honest and I know you will answer from Truth and your heart.
Answer:
Thanks for your heartfelt and sincere questions. The Bible can be a very helpful tool for accepting Atonement or Salvation. The Inspiration you speak of is the Word of God or the Spirit of God and the Word is ever available to the soul that is open and willing and ready. Scripture is intended to offer a way to accept Atonement or complete forgiveness and thus to remember our Eternal Union with God. The Holy Spirit interprets Scripture for this Purpose: Awakening to the Truth. This was expressed in the Gospels as "I and my Father are One" and "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Heaven is the State of our Eternal Union, the Truth of our Being, and the closest approximation of Heaven with regard to earth is Now. This is the Meaning of: "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Heaven is not a place or a location, but Heaven is a State of Mind (Being in Perfect Peace & Happiness). Heaven is Eternal and God's Word (Spirit) is Eternal and shall never pass away. The cosmos of planets and stars, earth, time, space, etc. are temporal and shall pass away.
"Satan" and "hell" and "sin" describe the condition of the belief in separation from God - the so-called "fall" from Grace. God is Love and in Truth Love has no opposite. This was expressed in the Bible as: "Perfect Love casts out fear." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis represents the belief in duality, and taking a bite from this tree is symbolic of attempting the impossible. For God is Pure Love and Oneness and duality is literally impossible. The world perceived through the five senses is a dream that the separation from God actually happened, and the Bible says that Adam fell asleep. At no point in the Bible is it written that Adam (representing human beings) woke up, yet the Gospels clearly reveal that Jesus Awoke to the Truth of Reality: "The Kingdom of Heaven is within" and "My Kingdom is not of this world" and "Before Abraham was, I am." Christ is Mind Awake, the I Am Presence, the Identity Which God creates forever in the Mind of God.
Atonement is the Correction to the seeming error of separation from God, and as you have written: "universal Atonement & forgiveness is for everyone." The idea of "Jesus returning for his Elect" needs a slight modification to be meaningful. The mind which elected to accept the Correction "returned for Christ Elect" or remembered ItSelf as the Christ, the Eternal Child of God. Jesus demonstrated this decision for everyone, voluntarily electing to accept the Correction and remember Christ's Origin in God. This decision is truly the only decision that can be shared, for in Truth it is impossible to turn away from or be separate from God. This is why there is no "eternal hell,” for mistaken identity has been Corrected by the Holy Spirit and Awakening is simply a matter of accepting this Atonement. God Wills Spirit in Heaven forever, and so Spirit Is. God does communicate with you through the Holy Spirit according to your understanding. Since you perceive your brothers and sisters in form in your awareness it will be meaningful to say to you that everyone will accept this Correction in due time for it is a decision that is literally impossible to reject. The Love of God is All-inclusive and has nothing to do with the ego concept of rejection. Love is Total Inclusion and error has no meaning to Love. God did not create time, and so Awakening in Christ requires seeing the impossibility of linear time. In the Holy Instant there is no time, for the Present Moment is the Gateway to Eternity.
The Bible says: "As you sow, so shall you reap." This scripture is with reference to thoughts, and it is thoughts which motivate actions. "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God" refers to purity of thought. "Judge not, lest you be judged" means that the mind can elect a state of forgiveness or non judgment and reminds that any judgment the mind makes is made on itself. The incentive for freedom and peace of mind is therefore to be without judgment. This is the simple approach to Awakening in Christ. To teach is to demonstrate, so "the Gospel being preached to every nation" is meaningfully Interpreted as demonstrating the Unconditional Love of God to everyone by example in thought, word, action, and attitude. This is also what it means to be the Light of the world.
The temporal shall pass away, yet the Eternal shall last forever. This is the meaning of Awakening in Christ. Beloved Child of God, there is another web site that will help deepen your understanding of the ideas I speak about as you allow the Holy Spirit to Interpret the Bible's Scriptures in the Great Awakening. You will be Guided to many verses of Biblical Scripture and Given the stepping stones to the Kingdom of Heaven within. I will meet You there, for our Identity is the same in Christ and Christ abides in Eternity.
Be blessed with every seeming step you take, for the Holy Spirit's Guidance is sure. I am with you always, even unto the end of time. Amen.
Forever in Love,
David