Originally Posted by
jamesmusslewhite
I'm not offended. I have engaged on this subject many times. I have not problem with God destroying the old to create the rebirth of all. I have no problem with your definition of "Destroy" in context with scripture, and as part of the process there will be a type of destruction required as matter is manipulated and rearranged into the rebirth of the universe; not unlike the process of making Glass or steel when the required elements are fuzzed together making a new creation. In science the atomic structure is manipulated but the matter of each element is still there, it has just been rearranged.
I only have a different interpretation if the word Omega as used in reference to God and Christ, and your claim as meaning destruction or destroy. It is the Hebrew language and it's exacting interpretations and word usage. If God meant I am the "Alpha and Omega", "Beginning and End." Than these words are then imperfect because what he is really saying by your interpretation is. I am in the beginning of the creation of the universe(Alpha), I destroy all creation(Omega), then recreate the whole of the universe, give man a new body, and then will be with man forever(this can not then be Omega). He would have and should have said so. I am the Alpha and the Omega and Omega again; or I am the Alpha and Omega, and then we all just hangout together and chill on my New Earth enjoying my New Creation, until some unspecified time frame.
It has to mean "I was before Man and I will be after Man." or the term is imperfect in reference to man, as it was told in reference of man.
You can choose that interpretation if you wish. I see it as flawed. You are right in that the Bible is a complex interpretation, and even those with Doctorates sometimes fail to fully understand. I trust my teacher because he is who many of those Doctorates came to have their questions answered. As I said before there are more text and writings than just that of the Bible text. You have to be able to go to the source text Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic so you can find the flaws with the Latin and English translations. It was nice to study with a teacher that could actually read Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, and Latin; each to college level. Do you read and understand any of these languages?
Here is a prime example:
"Do not let a witch live among you." (WRONG INTERPRETATION)
"Do not let a poisoner live among you" (Proper interpretation). So those that burned witches committed murder, the church that demanded this action were all accessories to murder. Misinterpretations are a dangerous thing; they can damn both those that speak them and those that hear them, and hurt a lot of innocent people in the process.