God appearing to non-believers
Upvote:1
It's not an exact fit, but you may be thinking about the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. It's found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16.
In the parable, the Rich Man dies unbelieving and goes to Hell (Hades). He asks that Lazarus (who is also dead) be sent to warn his family so that they will not suffer the same fate, since they will believe if someone returns from the dead. He is told that if his family do not believe the prophets, then they will also not believe even if someone returns from the dead.
Most Christians would take the parable as a symbolic story rather than a historical occurrence, but it does describe a supernatural appearance which is not believed.
Upvote:1
God is a spirit, says Jesus, John 4:24. He has no visible form, of himself. Therefore if he 'appears' to a person on earth, it is to faith that he is appearing.
If a person is an unbeliever, or, as you say a 'non-believer', there is no faith there to which God may appear.
God has appeared, in manifestation, in the Person of the Son, Jesus Christ. Multitudes saw him - and many did not believe that he was whom he truly was. But some did believe. They believed that Jesus Christ - in manifest form - was the Son of God.
But many, though they saw miracles and were impressed, did not believe in Him.
God himself, the Father and the Son (who are one, for Jesus said "I and my Father are One, John 10:30) are seen by faith, not natural sight.
In Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 we read of men accompanying Saul of Tarsus when he was overwhelmed by a light and he heard a voice. The men also are reported to have seen the light (but were not, like Saul, blinded by it) and to have been aware of a voice but were not able to report the speech of the voice.
Only Saul, later Paul, believed in Jesus Christ because of this incident.
Perhaps this is the text in the memory of the OP.
Upvote:3
Here is a text - Rom 1:18-25 that describes people who know God but refuse to obey him and thus become depraved. V21, 22 summarises this:
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools
Here are three more (radical) suggestions that answer the question but may not satisfy the question(!?!)
- Judas Iscariot met and knew Jesus (while on earth but who was still God, John 1:18, 5:17, 18, 20:28, etc) but later, betrayed Jesus and then went out and hanged himself.
- The rich young ruler, Matt 18:18-25, who went away very sad because he loved his riches more than Jesus.
- There is also the instance in Rev 6:15-17 where the wicked see Jesus (the "Lamb" on the throne) and ask to be destroyed because they do not want to be in His presence.
In all these cases, the people know and recognise God but refuse to have Him as their God.
More post
- 📝 According to the Trinity doctrine was the Son created by the Father?
- 📝 Can you renounce part of the bible, and still be a Christian?
- 📝 John 1:47-49 understanding Nathaniel
- 📝 Old Testament verse on how money gives one stability/security?
- 📝 How can incorrect information on a Catholic baptismal record be corrected?
- 📝 Why do the Gospel accounts not specify what crimes the two men crucified next to Jesus were guilty of?
- 📝 Where did Catholics and Catholicism come from?
- 📝 Does the Bible say for sure that Daniel was a eunuch?
- 📝 Has any reputable Christian claimed to have been physically visited by Jesus Christ Himself after Paul's conversion?
- 📝 Are there other Christian authors besides WLC who believe that all Christians have access to a direct, self-authenticating experience of God?
- 📝 How much did the Cross of Jesus weigh?
- 📝 What are the general categories of benefits of being part of a denomination?
- 📝 Are there one or two covenants in Exodus? Clarifying the role of the first set of laws compared to the second set
- 📝 What was the Early Church's position on Purgatory?
- 📝 Reiterating John 3:16, as in its whole meaning…
- 📝 Why were the golden plates necessary if Joseph Smith received his translation of the Book of Mormon by viewing a stone in his hat?
- 📝 Is there a significant difference between salvation by faith with works and salvation by faith and works?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what does "mystical" mean?
- 📝 Why do Catholic people not partake of Mass every single day?
- 📝 Can people in Heaven communicate with each other?
- 📝 What did John Wycliffe teach about the fate of infants who die?
- 📝 Does the pope get paid for being the pope?
- 📝 Why does it appear that judeo-christian sects avoid referring to the god they worship by his name?
- 📝 What are the main beliefs/themes of the Prosperity Gospel and which are the current prominent groups and their pastors?
- 📝 Are there any Trinitarian denominations that do not view belief in the Trinity as a "salvation issue"?
- 📝 Why would Sapphira have had a say in disposition of property?
- 📝 I feel really guilty killing insects, even though it isn’t a sin
- 📝 In light of the fact that Donatism is heresy, why do most churches require a priest to bless the elements?
- 📝 Which Episcopal Conferences set alternatives for abstinence on Fridays?
- 📝 How do different denominations explain the apparent silence or hiddenness of God in our time?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why is God asking questions or appearing uncertain in the Bible if He's omniscient?
- 📝 According to believers in the inexorable damnation of the unreached, how is God not unfair for letting someone be born in unreachable conditions?
- 📝 How would believers in Jesus' deity paraphrase 1 Clement 59:4, "Let all the Gentiles know that Thou art the God alone, and Jesus Christ is Thy Son"?
- 📝 Do mainstream believers believe there was a large interval of time that elapsed between the fall of angels and God speaking creating the universe?
- 📝 God appearing to non-believers
- 📝 Why do non believers hate being confronted with the truth?
- 📝 Atheism is the default position. Isn't the burden of proof on the Christian to assert that God exists?
- 📝 Does God have a sense of humor? Does he laugh?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Jesus being God incarnate?
- 📝 How do Christians understand the omniscience of God in relation to the Uncertainty Principle?
- 📝 Why has God punished every human for one person's sin?
- 📝 Did God change from a wrathful God to a loving God between Old Testament and New Testament?
- 📝 Is murder allowed if God tells you to do it?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholic doctrine, why does Mary refer to God as her Savior if she was born without sin?
- 📝 What are the different names of God in the Bible and what do they mean?
- 📝 What was it about the death of Jesus that allows God to forgive us?
- 📝 Does God create some people Heterosexual and others Homosexual?
- 📝 Can man judge whether God is fair?
- 📝 How could Jacob wrestle with God if no one can see God and live?
- 📝 What is God waiting for before He ends the world?
- 📝 Why did God wrestle with Jacob?
- 📝 If God set the maximum age to 120, then how could Jacob be 130 years old?
- 📝 Why was God so upset with Moses for striking the rock the second time in the desert?
- 📝 If God controls our decisions, does this mean we don't have free will?
- 📝 Does the triune God have will by nature, or by persons?
- 📝 Was Onan really struck dead by God for masturbating?
- 📝 How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?
- 📝 Why did God kill a man for picking up sticks on the Sabbath?
- 📝 How can a Wholly Good God Deliberately Create Evil?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for "Love God and do whatever you please"?