What the correspondent wrote is printed in color.

At 07:48 PM 01/12/99 -0500, you wrote:
Dear Harold,
    I have read your page of questions and most of the answers are very good.
However, I am enraged at the confusion and misunderstandings about Heaven.
God created the world from the way I understand it. But yet you say he didn't
bring evil into the world so he can't remove it. How is that so? He created
Satan and, if he really wanted a perfect good world with perfect human beings
why did he not create us that way?

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your inquiry.  Sorry for the delay in answering you

He created Lucifer and Adam sinless, but with a free will to sin, if they chose. He didn't make robots.  They did sin, and they brought sin into the world, not God.

If your child grows up to murder somebody it is not your fault and you are not guilty of the murder.

He has control over everything on this planet. If he gave us free will he could have given us the will not to sin.

That would not be a free will.

I read  an answer that you wrote to someone when they said it is hard to be a Christian and you replied that it's not. I don't know what you have been through but yes it is hard to be a Christian.

The Bible say Prov. 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

Jesus said,  Matt 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

If you try to live a Christian life without being born again it is not only hard, but impossible. If you are saved then it is not hard.  You have to have the life, before you can live it.
 

When you have been sinful all your life and you know God exists and you know he has blessed you but, you can't seem to free yourself from it enough to even say the prayer of salvation...that is very hard. It is said that we have free will..well the way I see it not really.

Jesus died to FORGIVE you and DELIVER you from this present evil world

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

You have two choices in the end Heaven or Hell...not much of a selection if you ask me.

How come?  Heaven is a wonderful place, and hell is horrible. It doesn't take much effort to make the right choice.

Jesus said, Jn 14: 6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me

You have people on this planet who have good hearts...who may have sex with their boyfriends because they love them with all their heart...

This is not love, it is lust.

God is love can he not understand how a woman and man may want to give themselves to each other...he must have put the desire there wrong or right because he created us and it exists.

He did and he says that it is to be used within the marriage bond.

 Heb. 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge

I am the first to say that I am blessed, and I do believe in God but when most of us are raised to love something or someone that is in front of us that we can have a "tangible" relationship with...how easy is it to say " I love God" ? I am thankful for all he has given me and maybe the devil has a hold of my tongue when I say this but I just don't get it...he wants perfect qualities but created less than perfect beings who are constantly stressed about making the right choices to please him but aren't sure if there is enough will to do it or believe he can do it.

We cannot please God because we have a sinful nature, this is why "Ye must be born again." John 3:7  In this birth God gives you a new nature whereby you can be free from the shackles of sin.

John 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. V. 36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

This is something that I ask you to keep in mind when you respond to your readers. People are scared and, they do pray on it ( I do) and still don't feel like they are getting answers. Revelations talks about how only 144,000 , I guess significant of the 12 tribes of Judah will go to Heaven.

You have been listening to the J.Witnesses.  There are no Christians anywhere that believe that.  All God's people that make up the true church will go to heaven. 1 Thes 4:16,17.  Read it.

The 144,000 are Israelites and they are said to be "firstfruits to the Lamb" Rev. 14:  They are the first one of Israel, like the 12 apostles were the firstfruits of the church.  James 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

How disheartening that is. There are billions of us on the planet. Yet no one can give me a straight answer to whether or not that number is accurate or a metaphor for many are "called but few are chosen. "

The Lord spoke these words when on earth. There were many called (over five hundred, at least) and saved, but only a few chosen apostles (12)  This has nothing to do with God selecting people to be saved.  The call of God is: Rev. 22:17 And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Maybe you can provide me with feedback of some sort..this has been bottled up in me for a while and I am appreciative of the chance to vent about it. I eagerly await your reply. Thank you for listening.

I do hope this helps, if not feel free to write at any time.

Harold

His Reply:

At 02:55 AM 11/12/99 -0500, you wrote:
Dear Harold,
    Thank you very much for writing me back. A lot more makes sense to me
now..I appreciate the clarification...Maybe I will get to where you are one
day....