Why does it seem to be human nature to resist warnings?

In this case we have God giving King Nebuchadnezzar a clear warning.  Why doesn't he heed it?

Daniel 4:19-27(NKJV)

        Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.”              Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies!

        “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, 

whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home—

it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

        “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; 

this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 

They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.

        “And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules. 

Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Doesn't get much clearer than that does it?  Realize that your prosperity comes from God and stop sinning. 

Does King Nebuchadnezzar listen?  Nope.  He has to go through all of the crap God warned him about just to end up right where God said Nebuchadnezzar would end up to begin with.   

Wouldn't it have been easier to simply listen and do it right the first time?

Here is the way I look at it.  If God is kind enough to give you a warning ahead of time I think it is pretty dumb to ignore it. 

Let me give you an example.  I like to work on cars and other stuff out in my garage.  I'm quite often drilling, cutting, and welding metal.  Whenever I am getting ready to do something and God whispers in my ear, "hey you better put on your safety glasses, or gloves, or whatever"; I immediately take the warning to heart, stop what I am doing and do what God suggested.

It's just another example of how God will guide your life and take care of you if you will let Him! 

Season of Renewal

Isn't it wonderful how God made life a circle or cycle if you prefer?  What I mean by that is that there are seasons which give us the opportunity to start over each year.  A season of renewal if you will.

As we close out 2015 and plan for 2016 please keep one thing in mind.  God can do amazing things through each and every one of us…….if we will simply let Him!

What does it mean to "overcome"?

What do you think it means here when Scripture talks about overcoming?

Revelation 21:6-7(NKJV)

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 

Here is how the dictionary defines overcome.

overcome

1. to get the better of in a struggle or conflict; conquer; defeat:

to overcome the enemy.

2. to prevail over (opposition, a debility, temptations, etc.); surmount:

to overcome one's weaknesses.

3. to overpower or overwhelm in body or mind, as does liquor, a drug, exertion, or emotion:

I was overcome with grief.

4. Archaic. to overspread or overrun.

verb (used without object), overcame, overcome, overcoming.

5. to gain the victory; win; conquer:

a plan to overcome by any means possible.

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/overcome>

I think maybe definition number 1 comes closest to what I think this verse means. 

Maybe I am reading more into this than what is really there but I think when you take the Bible as a whole, the most reasonable interpretation is that in this case "overcome" means to accept Jesus.

How is that overcoming?  I think that for many people when they are called to accept Jesus experience a certain amount of trepidation or fear.  They have to overcome that inertia or fear and make a deliberate effort to accept Jesus.  I think that is the overcoming that this verse is talking about. 

The Duality of the Trinity

That sure is a mouthful isn't it? Kind of intellectual sounding.  :)

It's really just something that I noticed for the first time and I'll point it out in a minute. 

But first a thought on these passages.  Notice that it says that Satan is going to be locked up for a thousand years but then will be released so that he can come back and deceive the world some more and prepare for the final battle.  Take a look.

Revelation 20:1-3(NKJV)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 

and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Revelation 20:7- 8(NKJV)

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 

and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 

The thought that occurs to me is how gullible people will be after 1000 years of no Satan and no deceit in the world.  Wow!  Good thing God will be fighting on their side!

OK, back to the duality of the trinity. 

Revelation 20:9-10(NKJV)

They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The first Trinity of course is the God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost.  I had never noticed that the other side was a trinity as well.  I had just always thought of it as God vs. Satan; you know, sort of one on one. 

But the trinity on the other side is the devil, the beast, and the false prophet.

Doesn't really matter.  Whether it is one on one or three on three, we already know we are on the winning side.

Pretty cool!

Not sure what to make of this.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

Revelation 19:19-21(NKJV)

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 

And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

I think most of us believe that the Lake of Fire is Hell.  The part I find interesting or confusing is that Scripture specifies that the Beast and the False Prophet will both be sent to Hell while alive.  It then goes on to say that all of the rest who served them will be killed and the birds of the air will feed on their flesh.

Does that mean that they don't go to hell or does it mean that they go to hell after they die like all those who aren't saved?  I guess I wonder at the significance of the Beast and the False Prophet going to hell without dying first.   

How Will Christ Rule?

Reading Ezekiel and Revelation at the same time sure has been interesting.  This passage caught my eye and once again goes against the popular Kumbaya Jesus view in my opinion. 

Revelation 12:5(NKJV)

She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 

Did you catch that?  He will rule with an iron rod.  Interesting!

War Broke Out In Heaven?

This just seems odd.  War….in Heaven?  Heaven is supposed to be peaceful and safe.  For those who think Christians should be pacifists I would point out that God didn't tell Michael and his angels not to fight back did he?  :) 

Revelation 12:7-9(NKJV)

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 

but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.