Israel, the time has come. You will get what you deserve, and you will know it. "Prophets are fools," you say. "And God's messengers are crazy." Your terrible guilt has filled you with hatred. Israel, the Lord sent me to look after you. But you trap his prophets and flood his temple with your hatred.
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It wasn't that deep. The river they were crossing could barely be called that. At the point the fell, the water only went up to his hip. But it was deep enough.
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Everything Fredrick did, he did for himself. Even his becoming the Emperor of Germany is questionable. The former emperor, Conrad, supposedly told him on his deathbed that he wanted Fredrick, not his son, to rule in his place. How convenient that only two people, (including Freddy) were there to hear it. Upon ascending to the throne he chose to slight the Pope by merely notifying Adrian of his coronation rather than requesting his blessing and approval as tradition dictated.
This was the first in a string of insults aimed at the church. In his first (of six) expeditions attempting to bring Italy under his rule, he demanded (with a very big army to back him) that Adrian crown him emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He also assumed the right to chose his own priests and bishops in German towns. These he filled with his cronies who would do accomplish his will and build his power. Through political maneuvering that threatened the life and power of a later pope, he weaseled his way out of being excommunicated. One after another he lined up a string of false popes that allowed him the excuse of ignoring the wishes of the catholic church. In short, he did what he wanted and lived his life with no care for God or his ambassadors.
But that all came to a very quick end. As he and his army were crossing the Saleph River during the third crusade Fredrick was thrown from his horse and fell into the river. At this crossing the river was not more than a few feet deep, but it was deep enough. The combination of his panic and the weight of his armor did him in. The most powerful man in all of Europe, a military and political genius, on June 10'th was defeated by a skittish horse and a little water.
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Now I am not saying that his untimely death was necessarily a result of his defying the pope. Considering the depravity of the clerical leaders of the time, he had plenty of cause for hating the church. Corrupt men had driven him to despise both God and his church. But that is no justification.
Time and again we see and hear and read about another supposed man of God who has muddied God's bride. It seems every year some new crackpot , to boost his book sales, is trying claim a date for when Christ will return. But lets not throw away the baby with the bathwater. Some prophets are false. But that does not mean we should discard the whole prophetic ministry. Some of men God has put in leadership positions have done some crazy things. But there are still far more faithful and godly messengers in the trenches who are giving their time and energy to build His kingdom. The church is imperfect, but it is still Christ's bride.
That's what Frederick gets for messin' with Italians!
I agree, God's messengers do seem crazy. There's this guy who walks around outside the base holding a bible in the air and screaming as he walks around. He does this everyday.
I don't know why people bother setting a date for judgement day. Doesn't Jesus tell people that some of them will still be alive when it happens? How do people exaplain that if the bible is inerrant. Paul certainly felt that Judgement day was happening... tomorrow or something. I don't believe in an apocalypse.
I personally believe strongly in a day of judgment, and I believe that God does not contradict himself. Now, whether we can understand his thoughts is quite another thing. And think about it--if God was the kind of individual who was predictable and easy to figure out, wouldn't he NOT be God? No, I prefer to remember that he's not under our control--and he doesn't have to answer to us. I like her original point, but I think you veered away from it entirely.
Hey Stephanie, you are in good company because many Americans also believe in Judgment Day. I think that people see the problems going on: climate change, the war, nuclear weapons, avian flue, and think that the time is near. I read revelations and think it's ambiguous enough that it could apply to any time in history, which is probably why people have thought the time is near for the past 2k years. But that's just my opinion.
So, you're basically saying that because humans have been wrong about the time frame, that makes God a liar. Well, think back to all the lies going around school during your teen years. If every lie told about us was used to judge how trustworthy we were, I don't know about you, but I'd still be considered someone no one should talk to.
No, God is not wrong. He is completely and entirely trustworthy. His people fail, but why should that suprise us? They are, after all, just people.
The highschool analogy doesn't work for me. It sounds like you're saying that God isn't wrong, but people's interpretation of him/her/it/them is. Well, I agree with that.
I'm always sceptical of people who proclaim themselves as "prophets" sent by God Himself. If one is sent by God, then the Holy Spirit will let it be known. The man anointed by the Holy Spirit as His prophet will not have the need to advertise. After all, God doesn't need any help. Many are led astray because they focus too much on the man speaking from the pulpit instead of the Son of Man sitting in the Throne. Christ Himself has warned us about false prophets, yet many fall victim because their relationship is focused too much on the "Bride" instead of the "Groom" hence trowing the balance way off. Yes, let us build God's Kingdom but let us not neglect our personal relationship with the King we are building it for. There's my two cents.
