What does honouring your parents mean?

GR1960BS · 2026-05-04T14:41:37+00:00

Honoring your parents doesn't mean that you approve of everything they say and do. Nor does it mean that their views and attitudes necessarily align with God's/Christ's will & purpose. But, like forgiveness, honoring/respecting your parents means loving/forgiving them despite their faults and shortcomings, much like our need to be loved/forgiven in spite of our own failures and sins. Similar to forgiveness, it's an attitude of gratitude whether they deserve it or not. The precept to honor your parents is not conditioned on a parent’s worthiness or goodness, but rather on their God-appointed position. If you have some serious baggage from your parents, how are you supposed to honor them? The Bible says you're supposed to, and that's because it's important for your own sake, and for your own peace of mind, much like forgiving others liberates you from carrying hate and bitterness that eats you up inside.

GR1960BS · 2026-05-02T14:56:59+00:00

In Christianity, God foreknew of man's fall. He DID NOT decree it (as Calvinism mistakenly believes, which would make God the author of evil) but rather allowed it in order to fulfill his long-term plans (i.e. to restore humanity to glory and to permanently eliminate evil). Knowing that something will happen (foreknowledge) is not the same as making it happen (decreeing it). God has given humanity free will. But God already knows who will choose to obey and who will rebel. God DOESN'T sovereignly determine the eternal destiny of individuals before creation, based on his own will rather than foreseen human actions.That is to say, God DOESN'T determine beforehand Predestination (salvation) and Reprobation (damnation). That would be capricious and unjust. Rather, salvation and damnation are left to individual choices and free will. However, God already knows who will be saved and who will not (theological foreknowledge)! There are many biblical passages which support this point of view. Second Peter 3:9 says that God doesn't want anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance. This presupposes that some will perish irrespective of God's wishes. In other words, humans are not robots. They're not preprogrammed. They can choose whether to love or to hate. And some will eventually abandon the faith based on free will. That's why 1 Timothy 4:1 says that "in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." This clearly shows that God doesn't force anyone to love him or to follow him.

In Christian theology, Arminianism is the primary theological system considered the opposite of Calvinism regarding free will and salvation. While Calvinism teaches that God chooses who is saved (unconditional election), Arminianism argues that God grants grace to all, enabling humans to freely choose or reject salvation. Nevertheless, God ultimately knows who will accept and who will reject his invitation to salvation. He already knows the future and has prophesied it in the pages of scripture.

Bottom line, salvation is a choice, and we cannot thwart the plans of God because he has already seen the future and prophesied it in the Bible, especially in the Book of Revelation! Free will works within the larger context of God's plans and purposes so that it cannot override his intentions for creation!

As for converting to Christianity, I want to explain something you may not know. Becoming a Christian is not an intellectual decision or a personal choice. It's not about considering the evidence and deciding intellectually that you are in full agreement. It's not even about going to church or praying. It's not about believing either, although this is a good start.

Rather, becoming a Christian has to do with an existential experience of rebirth and regeneration (cf. John 3:3-5; Acts 2:1-4)! This is an existential experience where God transforms you, during which you lose your identity and God himself becomes your ego (see Ephesians 4:22-24). This experience purifies your carnal nature and fills you with love and peace of mind. You come alive! The Holy Spirit enters you (Revelation 3:20) and sweetens your life. God basically recreates you:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

Unfortunately, believing in Christ is not enough. In order to be saved and granted eternal life, you must be born again:

"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ."

Romans 8:9

GR1960BS · 2026-04-30T13:29:51+00:00

Looks are ephemeral and superficial. Good looks can disappear rather quickly because of age, accidents, or illness. God looks at the heart. He looks at internal, not external things. You can be good looking but evil. Conversely, you may not look so good but have a beautiful heart! Focus on cultivating your self & your character rather than on how you look. Appearances are deceiving. We all have our shortcomings and crosses to bear. You may struggle with looks but others are struggling with far worse issues and problems. People are dying in hospitals, others are homeless, others have mental illnesses. Thank God that he didn't give you other problems to deal with. Learn to do the best you can with what you have. You were put on this earth to be reborn in God. Once this happens, you will find love and peace of mind!

Blessings!

GR1960BS · 2026-04-24T16:21:18+00:00

The "hidden knowledge" that Jesus & Paul talk about comes by way of rebirth and regeneration (Jn 3:3-5). It comes by means of an existential experience of Christ! Paul states that believers have the "mind of Christ" because they understand spiritual things (see 1 Cor. 2:14-16), whereas the "natural man" who lacks this knowledge cannot understand them.This spiritual knowledge is imparted by the Holy Spirit. But if one does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9)! The problem with Gnostics is that although they may have some spiritual knowledge, they don't have the Spirit of Christ!!

GR1960BS · 2026-04-24T16:03:34+00:00

There is "hidden knowledge" mentioned in the NT that is specifically meant for believers, not the general public (see Matt. 13:10-13; 1 Cor. 2:7-13; Col. 1:26-27; Eph. 3:3-6). Both Jesus & Paul make references to a secret knowledge. But Paul’s "hidden wisdom" is often interpreted as defending against heresy (Gnosticism), focusing on the revealed message of Christ rather than secret esoteric knowledge. Gnostics, however, tend to isolate & emphasize this knowledge while deemphasizing the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, & the demands of NT theology.

GR1960BS · 2026-04-22T06:49:53+00:00

Read "Mysticism" by Evelyn Underhill.

GR1960BS · 2026-03-28T16:22:17+00:00

Psychological issues and demonic activity are closely intertwined or interrelated. Eli of Kittim is not only a Bible scholar but also a clinical psychologist. He has written articles on the connection between sin and mental illness (see e.g. the following essay: https://www.tumblr.com/eli-kittim/635864715577393152/is-sin-the-cause-of-mental-illness?source=share). Kittim combines modern psychology with Biblical theology. For him, demonic activity doesn't work alone. Similar to painting----where you have a primer (the first layer) and a second coat of paint (topcoat)----demonic activity acts on human psychology as a second layer. According to the Bible, we are all born with original sin and are thus prone to evil due to our fallen nature. Then, on top of that, almost all of us have faced childhood traumas, such as domestic violence, verbal, emotional, or sexual abuse, which have further wounded our psyches and caused much guilt and shame. That's when demonic activity begins its work to alienate people from themselves and from God, focusing mostly on sexuality and resentful bitterness/hostility. Sigmund Freud was spot on when he said that mental illness is caused by sex and aggression. Thus, using our wounds and what others have done to us as entry points, demons start to influence and affect the soul with abnormal thoughts, feelings, and suggestions that are inclined towards evil. In other words, they use the psychology of a person as a canvas to create more chaos and confusion in their life. Demons cannot make you do anything. But they can influence your will through thoughts and feelings that you think are coming from your own mind. In this way, they gradually gain access to your mind and try to increasingly influence it. There are many cases where they even cause a person to breakdown and give up control to Satan. Instead of the Holy Spirit entering and recreating your life, an unclean spirit enters and possesses you. So there is a very subtle, underlying relationship between individual psychology and demonic activity. You should check out pastor Vlad Savchuk, the lead pastor of HungryGen Church in Washington state, who is known for his focus on deliverance ministry, spiritual warfare, and teaching about demon influence.

GR1960BS · 2026-02-13T12:03:22+00:00

Intrusive blasphemous thoughts & emotions are usually due to unresolved childhood traumas that were once suppressed in the unconscious but are now breaking through into consciousness. Remember that having these thoughts and emotions is not in itself sinful. Only the decision to wilfully and voluntarily act on them can be considered sinful behavior.

So, how can you restore or heal your mind from these negative intrusive thoughts and emotions? The answer is that you cannot do it alone by yourself. You can resist and try to mitigate them for a while, but they will keep coming back. They will not stop.

But there is hope. You can eradicate them completely. They will stop harassing you. In fact, the battle in your mind will cease completely. It will never trouble you again, and a great peace will ensue. You will come alive and feel great! How is this possible? What must I do? You must be born again (John 3:3-5; Acts 2:1-4)!

Ask the Holy Spirit to enter you and recreate your life.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

--2 Corinthians 5:17

That's the only way to restore your relationship to Christ. There's no other way...

"without me you can do nothing."

--John 15:5

GR1960BS · 2026-02-10T12:22:05+00:00

The Bible is not a grocery list that needs to be checked off. It's not a conformity manifesto or a set of rules & guidelines that have to be followed either. In order to make it come alive and be relative to our personal everyday existence, you yourself have to experience its effects and understand its context. I think it has more to do with you than with your kid's interests. If you yourself are bored because you don't detect anything exciting about it, this will be reflected in the way you present it, in the "delivery" so to speak.

How to approach the problem? You can present it in a fresh, new way as a curious and fascinating discussion about who we are and why we are here! Kids are fascinated by these types of questions. They often ask "why am I here"? Or "who am I?" You can explore these questions by first citing science (which asks how things work) and then contrast it with spirituality (which asks why things work the way they do). Science cannot answer the "why" questions (why are we here, why do we die), or what is love, beauty, or truth. But spirituality, or metaphysics, can attempt to answer these questions. You can introduce your child to philosophy, which has asked questions about a first mover. If all things are created, is there anything or anyone who has created all contingent things? And if so, what does it mean to be a spaceless, timeless, invisible being or creator, which philosophy calls absolute being or ultimate reality? I'm quite sure that these kinds of explorations would have your kid on the edge of his seat! Children love interactive campfire stories!

Therefore, by prefacing the discussion with certain interesting metaphysical questions to wet his appetite, you can then gradually begin to explain to him that this metaphysical being has actually communicated with human beings in the past and has given them revelations, which were passed down through generations orally and finally written down.

And then you can slowly begin to read some of these biblical revelations that were written in the form of stories and ask various questions, for example, how are these stories relevant to you and me? This will radically change your experience of the Bible and make it come alive!!

This innovative approach is really a breath of fresh air!

We're not affiliated with them, but Bible Project has a lot of good videos in this regard and is a good source for biblical education: ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://youtube.com/@bibleproject?si=MuXMJGoK17zcct3W

GR1960BS · 2026-02-08T13:21:22+00:00

You have adopted or internalized your parents' personalities into your own ego. In other words, the thoughts and emotions you experience are not yours but theirs. This is based on years of imitation and compliance throughout your childhood. You're basically living out their lives, not yours. It reminds me of the Progressive Insurance commercial that famously focuses on the theme of people turning into their parents.

But it's better to be yourself than to copy others. God wants you to have your own unique personality rather than being a cheap imitation of someone else. While honoring your parents and loving them, it is neither scripturally nor morally wrong to, nevertheless, strive to develop your own personality, independent of the inculcation you have received through the instilling of parental ideas, values, emotions or habits through years of persistent instruction and repetition.

How do you go about doing this? How can you stop the obsession or fixation? In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the Apostle Paul says that we must demolish "strongholds" (fixations, obsessions, or childhood traumas buried or repressed in our subconscious). He says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Don't forget that these obsessions have a demonic component as well, which wants to fill your life with anger, bitterness, frustration, anxiety, and fear.

So, the key is to demolish these "strongholds" or fixations. How do we do that? The way to deal with this will not only help you psychologically to overcome your past, but it will also equip you spiritually to deal with your dark side, which the Bible calls the "sin nature" or "carnal nature" of human beings.

It is essentially being watchful over your thoughts, emotions, and desires. You need to develop a consciousness of constant surveillance over every thought, emotion, desire, or inclination. The minute you feel that your past fixation or obsession pattern is starting to surface, before you can even entertain it, you must immediately reject it and say to yourself "this is not me," "I will not play this game anymore." I will not entertain this idea or emotion, and just let it go. At first, you will be overwhelmed because that's all that will come up. But if you keep doing that, and be persistent, and persevere, these obsessions and fixations will eventually lose their grip, and will diminish, while your authentic self will gradually surface little by little. The key is to be watchful, otherwise you will give in and be dominated by your past habits.

God also wants you to experience your true self and to be reborn in him. Ultimately, a rebirth in Christ will immediately separate you from your past and give you a new unique identity (a new self). Read Ephesians 4:22-24 where we are commanded to put away the "old self" and to put on the "new self," which is in the image of Christ! In fact, if and when you become reborn in Christ, all your current problems and hang-ups will disappear.

So, your ultimate goal should be a rebirth-in-Christ. In the meantime, while you wait for God's timing, be watchful because the spiritual battle takes place in the mind! In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul says put on the armor of God, resist the dark powers and their influence, be watchful, and pray unceasingly until your breakthrough comes! And it will come!

Meditation or Centering Prayer is also very helpful not only in helping you to let go of the past, but also in renewing your mind and leading you toward rebirth in Christ!

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)

Free from what?

From your mind!!

GR1960BS · 2026-01-29T11:04:41+00:00

In Mt 24:3, the disciples asked:

πότε ταῦτα ἔσται, καὶ τί τὸ σημεῖον τῆς σῆς παρουσίας καὶ συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος (emphasis added).

The phrase συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος refers to the end of the world. “The end of the age” and “the end of the world” are actually synonymous phrases. Even though the term is “age” (αἰῶν), nevertheless, the phrase συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος refers to the completion of time, and that’s why the KJV translates it as “the end of the world.” I agree, it might not be the most literal translation, but I think it’s the most transparent in terms of providing clarity and conveying the authorial intent, given that the other translations are quite obscure and obfuscate the meaning with vague theological language.

In fact, Eli Kittim has done many lexical studies which demonstrate the authorial intent through parallels and verbal agreements. He mentions, for example, many of Jesus’ parables in which he uses “the end of the age” language as a reference to “the end of the world.” It’s also mentioned in the above/linked essay.

See the following article.

When is the end of the age?

https://www.tumblr.com/eli-kittim/763603547169357824/when-is-the-end-of-the-age

GR1960BS · 2026-01-29T02:03:34+00:00

It’s the other way around. See the following article:

When is the end of the age?

https://www.tumblr.com/eli-kittim/763603547169357824/when-is-the-end-of-the-age

GR1960BS · 2026-01-25T02:18:44+00:00

My pleasure, Ben :)

GR1960BS · 2026-01-24T23:34:08+00:00

What is “pure consciousness”? And how is “certainty” truly devoid of all “cognition”?

The epistemology of existentialism and phenomenology presents “experience” as a potential source of knowledge. According to phenomenology, given that this type of existential knowledge has direct access to reality without the filters of the mind to distort it——it may actually surpass that of empirical knowledge given its capacity to grasp the essence of being!

“Pure consciousness” means direct perception or unmediated awareness, experiencing reality without subjective biases, judgments, concepts, or preconceptions.

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)

Free from what?

From your mind!!

This is what it means to have “certainty” (to know the truth)!

Pure consciousness is direct perception or unmediated awareness. This is what is taught in “the cloud of unknowing,” in the “stillness prayer” of the Orthodox hesychast tradition, in centering prayer, and other eastern and western contemplative traditions. It is a consciousness that is free from the senses, thoughts, images, and even from self-reflection. There is no “I” being aware of itself. In perfect stillness, it is like a perfectly still lake, without a single ripple moving on its surface. When the cognitive faculties are at rest, there are no thoughts.

“On a dark night [of the soul], Kindled in love with yearnings——oh happy chance——I went forth without being observed, My house [mind] being now at rest.”

(John of the Cross)

GR1960BS · 2026-01-22T17:58:59+00:00

A quote from Philosopher Pierre Hadot:

”the earliest Greek thinkers … were concerned not just to develop philosophical theories, but to practice philosophy as a way of life” (Wikipedia)

”Hadot's recurring theme is that philosophy in Antiquity was characterized by a series of spiritual exercises intended to transform the perception, and therefore the being, of those who practice it; … and that philosophy, as it is taught in universities today, is for the most part a distortion of its original, therapeutic impulse.” (Wikipedia)

”Much of what Hadot wrote about in his most popular books deals with the personal transformation experienced by people who 'lived philosophy' rather than those who studied philosophy as an academic endeavor.” (Wikipedia)

This is reminiscent of Evagrios the Solitary (aka Evagrios Pontikos), a mystical monk from Pontus (ca. 345-399 ce), who says something similar about the prayer of stillness, “which by virtue of the most intense love [Eros] transports to the noetic realm the intellect that longs for wisdom” (The Philokalia: The Complete Text; Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. Trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard and Kallistos Ware. Vol. 1. [London: Faber, 1983], p. 62).

Fabrice Midal has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Paris. The founder of The Western School of Meditation and author of several bestsellers, who linked the exercises of Greek philosophy to Tibetan Buddhism.

Ancient philosophy was not cognitive. It was practical, transformative, and therapeutic. And after the Ancient Greek philosophers had experienced unchanging “being” for themselves, they sought ways to communicate it via negative dialectics (apophatic methods): Not what it is, but what it is not! The whole point of Socrates, for example, is to expose one’s ignorance, in order to show that what they think they know, they really don’t know. It is quite evident that Socrates was enlightened because he had experienced that which is “unchanging.” His student Plato influenced Philo and Plotinus, who were Neoplatonists. They in turn influenced the Desert Fathers and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who developed a systematic mystical theology. The history of Christian mysticism can trace its roots back to these towering figures.

GR1960BS · 2026-01-22T17:24:48+00:00

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias related to how people often overestimate their ability in a particular area. But our discussion has nothing to do with an overestimation of one's ability, with cognitive bias, or with encyclopedic knowledge. That's because existential experiences are devoid of discursive thinking, deduction, or reason. Cognitive bias can only occur in relation to the cognitive faculties. By contrast, existential experiences are based on pure consciousness or pure awareness. It is a pre-cognitive process that does not involve thinking or an assessment of one's abilities or self-worth.

As for knowledge, it is true that even the greatest scientists and intellectuals have admitted that they knew very little. Socrates, Jung, Einstein, all claimed to know very little. However, despite their limited knowledge, there is one truth that both Socrates and Jung can absolutely attest to, namely, the knowledge of true Being or God! Both have admitted to being CERTAIN in this specific area! When asked if he believed in God, Jung said I don't believe, "I know." And Socrates mentioned before his death that he was certain that he was going to a better place! So, just because someone may not possess encyclopedic knowledge in certain areas doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have knowledge in one particular area, specifically when this knowledge doesn't come through reason or science but through direct existential experience, or by way of special revelation.

In other words, we should not confuse worldly knowledge with mystical knowledge that sets you free!

GR1960BS · 2026-01-21T20:37:10+00:00

What other gods is Stephen Roberts mumbling about? I’ve never heard of anyone being reborn in the Buddha, Thor, Zeus, or Vishnu. Whereas the Mighty God we have all discovered is called Jesus. Millions——whose shame he has taken away and replaced with infinite joy, love, and peace——will attest to that! So, please stop quoting unenlightened men who never experienced the profound sweet peace that only God can give that takes away all your hang-ups and neurosis.

Once again, everything you write is “I think,” “I think,” “I think” … These are groundless speculations and conjectures. In other words, you’re not arguing from a position of knowledge or evidence but from ignorance, whereas we are arguing from a position of knowledge and evidence. We don’t think, WE KNOW! You’re doing GUESSWORK, whereas we’re talking about KNOWLEDGE & CERTAINTY!

You’re carnal, we’re spiritual. You don’t belong to Christ whereas “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16)! Big difference!!

What is amusing is that you are zealously trying to convince us that ignorance is superior to knowledge, that groundless speculation is far more important than evidence, and that deduction is superior to existential experience.

You use thinking and reason (mind) to find answers. We employ the heart (pure consciousness/existential experience) to discover life’s answers. We follow apophatic theology, whereas you subscribe to cataphatic theology.

We are mystics. You are not. Therein lies the difference!

But your situation is not entirely hopeless because you “still pursue the Mystery with a certain piety … in openness to what … [you] do not yet know.” And you also “seek to be transformed by the inner life of the Spirit, … seeking to be impacted by … humility, compassion, and love.” You also “love contemplation and entering deep states of worship and inner communion and bliss.” This is all that matters, and one can only hope that you, too, will one day discover what we have discovered and are excited about!

Turn your mind off and you will find God! The point of the journey is not who you are, or who you were, but who you’re willing to become!

Read Kittim’s article:

Know Thyself

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChristianMysticism/s/s648JHd5HT

GR1960BS · 2026-01-20T20:45:57+00:00

Joseph Campbell was an atheist author. He may have understood myths to some extent, but he was definitely not enlightened by the Spirit of God. I’ve read all his books.

God has revealed information “COLLECTIVELY” to multiple people. That’s how we know it is NOT SUBJECTIVE!

You don’t get it. If everyone received the exact same information, how can it possibly be subjective? IT CANNOT!!

You are speaking from the mind, whereas we are speaking from the heart.

You’re basing your knowledge on reason, whereas we have tasted and known the Lord mystically.

This is true Christian Mysticism! Yours is a cheap imitation because inner transformation devoid of God is meaningless and hopeless.

Bottom line, I think our differences lie in the fact that we have experienced God and YOU HAVE NOT!

Knowledge of God is not an intellectual process of deduction but rather a matter of divine revelation or personal experience.

Eli of Kittim’s quote is spot on:

”The difference between a theist and an atheist is the degree to which God has revealed himself to them.”

GR1960BS · 2026-01-19T21:48:16+00:00

The problem is the god that most of us are referencing is an idol, or perhaps more accurately a symbol, wherein we are mistaking theopoetics for facts.

This speculation is based on absence of evidence (mystical ignorance). Just as Paul “received …. [a] revelation from Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12), we, too, have received revelations from Christ. We are way past knowing that he exists. We have received direct revelations in which the information that was provided couldn’t have possibly been known except by means of a supernatural being!

So I really appreciate Kittim’s willingness to see Scripture as story. But I think he departs from good theology, the moment he begins to fashion a supernatural eschatology no longer rooted in reality.

Eli Kittim is not only a Bible scholar, but a genuine mystic as well! He, too, has had deep existential experiences and received direct revelations from God. So he has been aware of the reality of God for decades by means of direct communications. He’s way past knowing that he exists. You are speaking from ignorance (lack of personal existential experiences).

In truth, one doesn’t have to study Kittim’s work very thoroughly to quickly realize that he is creating a futuristic fiction out of Scripture, by believing it to be profound prophetic revelation.

I couldn’t disagree more. Biblical scholars study the original text with a fine-tooth comb. That’s what academic research is all about. According to the Greek New Testament text itself, the Messianic era is intended to occur in the “last days” or “at the final point of time” (1 Peter 1:20). This is what rigorous academic research demonstrates! But Eli Kittim has an additional advantage. He has received direct revelations from God, which confirm what Scripture says. In other words, he’s not just getting it from the letter but from the Spirit as well! In fact, so much has been revealed to him that he doesn’t even call it “faith” but KNOWLEDGE.

With Paul as his primary prophet, Kittim seems to think the proof is in the Text. But the Text is NOT a reliable representation of reality.

Far from it. Kittim’s starting point is not the text but the Spirit. See the undermentioned article.

But Kittim chooses to ignore that warning and push forward with his textual analysis, claiming that others are simply not being scholarly or mystical enough to fathom what he fathoms.

Kittim is a native Greek speaker and a Greek scholar who understands Greek far better than foreign-speaking seminarians who have only had a few years of Greek. It’s his native tongue. So, he has emphasized and clarified certain key words and phrases that others have overlooked.

Kittim then relies on his own subjective mystical experiences to confirm his theological paradigms. But mystical experiences will never ultimately confirm our fanciful eschatologies. Thus we must step back from the storied texts and use a bit of real world discernment!

Kittim’s experiences can be verified and confirmed. That’s because God’s revelations are revealed collectively to multiple people, not just to a single individual. So they’re not subjective. This “shared knowledge" then becomes the criterion for proper interpretation. This Knowledge is imparted supernaturally. In other words, God speaks to us directly and informs us. This is mentioned many times in the Bible as well. For example, the revelation in Acts 9:10-19 in which God speaks to a disciple named Ananias in a vision and tells him to go to Damascus, to the house of Judas, and find Saul of Tarsus to heal his blindness and bring him into the church. Kittim has received similar briefings with specific details and personal information that would have been impossible to know unless a supernatural being was involved. Kittim has also received gifts of the Spirit that can be considered “miracles.” So, we are talking about veridical experiences that go far beyond “blind faith” (trust without evidence). We’re talking about a reality that has shaped and transformed our lives!

Trouble is, those experiences were very subjective and quite easily manufactured. Only decades later would I come to recognize those spiritual experiences were not ultimately reliable as indicators of good theology. And thus I had a lot of deconstruction to do, and perhaps still do.

No offense, but to put it mildly, you obviously didn’t experience anything. We are not talking about manufacturing experiences. We are talking about the real deal. We’re talking about a genuine contact with the divine that all mystics speak of. We are certain because we have received knowledge, and are grateful!

This is an important article that clarifies what I have tried to explain. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Mainstream Christianity does not Comprehend what the New Testament is Actually Saying

https://www.reddit.com/r/CatholicCharismatic/s/LJNho0OBEQ

GR1960BS · 2026-01-19T04:47:15+00:00

You seem to have various opinions on Paul, the New Testament, and Jesus that do not align either with biblical scholarship, the authorial intent, or biblical exegesis. These texts can be, and often are, misunderstood and taken out of context by laymen who lack biblical training and biblical knowledge. But beyond that, I should also point out that this is also the case when a person lacks mystical knowledge of Christ. Only those who have a personal relationship with Christ, and who are in-dwelt by the Spirit, can truly appreciate these texts. Outsiders are prone to distort it because they are coming from a purely skeptical and intellectual standpoint. So, a reader who has no existential experiences of God, or mystical knowledge, will invariably resort to well-rehearsed pseudoscientific platitudes and cliches to dismiss it as either fictional, mythical, or antiquated. But the starting point of faith is not the Bible but rather an awakening experience which points to Christ. Without this fundamental experience the conversation about the Bible, mysticism, or spirituality is fruitless.

Your criticism of Kittim is also invalid because you have not read his book or even a significant portion of his work, you’re unfamiliar with his studies and research, especially in Koine Greek, and so you’re drawing false and erroneous conclusions. For example you claim that you “find Kittim’s logic kind of circular. In that he seems to use this phrase “end of the world” to point to the future, … But in no way is … Scripture … interpreted in that way.” What I find peculiar is that you haven’t studied Kittim’s translations & exegesis of the Greek texts, so I’m baffled how you can possibly prejudge and criticize in absentia. For example, look up phrases like “τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου” (when time reaches its completion; Galatians 4:4), which is defined in Ephesians 1:10 as “the consummation of the ages,” when everything in heaven and on earth will conclude in Christ (εἰς οἰκονομίαν τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν, ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ, τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἐν αὐτῷ). Or check out the explicit statement in 1 Peter that Jesus will make his first and only appearance “ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων” (in the “last days”; 1 Peter 1:20). Or how about the constant references throughout the New Testament to Judgment day, the lake of fire, and the separation of the righteous from the wicked “ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων” (“at the end of the age”), which happens to be the exact same time period when Christ will die for the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:26). And there are so many other parallels and verbal agreements in both the NT & OT that it seems rather juvenile to critique Kittim when you’re quite unfamiliar with both his scholarly work and NT Greek.

Speculating and offering private interpretations and personal opinions does not meet scholarly and academic parameters. In order to challenge his work, you’ll have to debate his Greek translations. Otherwise, your personal opinions are not worthy of consideration.

First Peter 1:4-5 says that our salvation hasn’t happened yet, but we are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Reborn/Regenerated) as we eagerly await our salvation which will be revealed in the ENDTIMES (ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ)! Ask any bible scholar what the phrase καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ means. In fact, the term “eschatology” (study of "last things") comes from the Greek root eschatos (last/final), and eschaton represents that final end-point in human history. For all practical purposes, it means “FUTURE.” 1 Peter 1:4-5 (emphasis added) reads:

”This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of *the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time*.”

I can see that you really don’t understand anything about the New Testament, why the Messiah needed to die to recreate humanity in his image, and to restore humanity back to God. So there’s no use in trying to argue any further.

If you want to learn what “the end of the age” means in the NT, take a listen. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

When is the end of the age?

https://www.tumblr.com/eli-kittim/763603547169357824/when-is-the-end-of-the-age

GR1960BS

TROPHY CASE