Good question.. I'm niether Roman Catholic, Protestant, or EO.. or any other denomiation..
I'm not sure of "what" I am or what I appear to be..
The Messiah came to make ALL religions obsolete, AND DID..
According to the New Testament that is..
i.e. "You MUST be born again"- Jesus..
The Body of Christ, the called out ones(church), or the flock(sheep).. are metaphors about "the family of God".. Which is a "family" and not an organization.. or club.. i.e. like a current church..
I believe every human ever born is a spirit in a body suit.. That they were spirits before incarnation and will be after incarnation.. And are NOW spirits and that is what the metaphor of being born again means.. Realizing you are basically a spirit and not flesh at all.. and should start conducting yourself as an eternal being NOW..
Who is the messiah?.. God coming to this planet personally to encode this message in his parables which are metaphors.. To lead those that are willing into reality.. What reality?.. That they are spirits that will live eternally and much is at stake in this human test for future task to be performed.. What tasks?.. I dunno..
The reason for his doing this is I think to shut the mouth of any that would say(at some time) why didn't you openly.. approach me face to face..
Thats a primer about what I believe about the messiah.. not all but a start to tell it all would not work in this venue.. I skipped over so much.. but you asked..
The only thing that was rendered obsolete was the Old Covenant(cf Heb 8), and that was beforereligion, i.e. organized faith, and never said He came to change that.
The Body of Christ, the called out ones(church), or the flock(sheep).. are metaphors about "the family of God".. Which is a "family"
Sounds like something the LDS would come up with...that's not Christianity either.
an organization.. or club.. i.e. like a current church..
The Church is not a club or an organization; it calls itself an Organism, with a Head and a Body.
I believe every human ever born is a spirit in a body suit.. That they were spirits before incarnation and will be after incarnation..
I respect your belief. But I do want to make it clear that the pre-existence of the souls is (a) pagan (b) Jewish and (c) Gnostic belief.
And are NOW spirits and that is what the metaphor of being born again means.. Realizing you are basically a spirit and not flesh at all.. and should start conducting yourself as an eternal being NOW..
And what is the basis for your belief that we are spirits and not flesh? And how should an eternal being conduct itself and how do you know?
Who is the messiah?.. God coming to this planet personally to encode this message in his parables which are metaphors..
Why parables and metaphors?
To lead those that are willing into reality..
Okay.
What reality?.. That they are spirits that will live eternally
Did the spirits also exist "eternally?"
The reason for his doing this is I think to shut the mouth of any that would say(at some time) why didn't you openly.. approach me face to face..
And why doesn't he?
Thats a primer about what I believe about the messiah.. not all but a start to tell it all would not work in this venue.. I skipped over so much.. but you asked..
Is this your own belief or are there others? And what do you base your belief on? Inspiration? Bible? Visions? Messages? What methods do you use to authenticate these answers?