What do you think Jesus meant by saying a rich man has less chance of getting into heaven than a camel going?

Question

through the eye of a needle? Do you think the eye of the needle is a gate in Jerusalem? This web site states the truth about this story.http://www.debunker.com/texts/needleye.html
Does that bother you?

Answer 1

I think it means that guys like Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart are screwed. And not in a fun way.

Answer 2

Regardless of what was said, even if the "eye of the needle" was a narrow pasage or not, the meaning still remains the same. With great sums of money, comes inevitable pwer. Sometimes it is the power to change one's surroundings from a shack to a mansion, or the power to get more knowledge by having the ability to go to get an education that many others don' have the money to recieve. But it can also mean that you may choose to use your riches to have power over someone else; you may use your money to exploit another human soul. It all becomes easier to do these things and to delve off into darker pleasures rather than stay near the light when you are rich. You are definatley more prone to making those kind of mistakes when you are rich. Doors are opened to you and unfortunately souls are open to you tha have need for your money and are willing to allow themselves to be used for a taste of your "power". That is why it is said that it is harder for a rich man to make it into the gates of heaven; Disclaimer; not all rich people are like this, so if you are rich, please do not get upset. Blessings.....

Answer 3

What Jesus meant was that when people have a lot of money they start to worship money instead of God, thinking that money can make them happy. You have seen it happen over and over again. I do not want to point any one out, but some of those people are famous right now. They started out declaring their love for God, but the more money they got, the less they declared their love for God and the more they bought and bought and bought. That is why Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to get into heaven. And He used the illustration of a camel going through the eye of a needle just to give people a picture of how hard it is.

Answer 4

No, the gate idea is just smoke and mirrors. Jesus is actually telling us that the deceitfullness of riches make it hard to get into heaven. It does not mean it is impossible just very difficult. King David was rich and he made it. I believe King Soloman the richest man to ever live made it too. Riches can easily become an idol and if we put our money before God we can not get to heaven . Simple as that. Jesus himself said nothing is impossible with God.


And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible Matt. 19:24-26

Answer 5

He means it is impossible unless God works a miracle.

Problem is we are all rich. Rich in this world. Rich in spirit. Rich in what we think we are. Rich in our church and it's ways. Rich in our knowledge. Rich in self. Rich in our corruption. Rich in our sins.

None of us escape.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

We need to buy from Christ the gold tried in the fire, be clothed in His white raiment and have our eyes anointed with His eye salve that we may see.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.


That it is a needle used for sewing is correct as the Greek makes clear.
Plus those gates were not in existence in Christ's time, not until hundreds of years later.
Plus, it is no good stripping myself of my baggage and thinking that I can squeeze into the Kingdom of God since it is my heart that needs to be changed and I must live after the spirit. The spirit quickens, the flesh profits nothing. I cannot squeeze in if it is the same old me.

It relieves me for now I can labour to cease from my own works and rely upon God's working, accept what He says about me and receive what He brings and provides.

Answer 6

No, because Jesus would never have said this. Most of what you read in the bible is "rewritten" by the Roman Catholic Church to instill fear upon people and benefit from their guilt. Jesus was pure in spirit and OF the Lord in heaven. Alot of the characterizations they gave him in attitude and behaviors pretty much tells that MEN not Jesus are to blame for how he was portrayed. To be truthful, not much of what exists in the Judeo-Christian faith is of the truths of Jesus and here are the conflicting teachings he taught which were not even Jewish.

1. He taught of baptism being essential to receiving the holy spirit. (Baptism even amongst the Jews came from the Egyptian practices in faith)
2. Taught of the flesh and blood sacrifice ( Not a Jewish practice but an ancient Egyptian practice by the Pharaohs of Egypt)
3. Taught of respecting women, also not Jewish.
4. Taught of eternal life, an Egyptian belief.
5. Taught we were the temples of the Lord and not some building which is a teaching of Egyptian faith.
6. Said there are mansions in his house which comes from the Book of the Dead written by the 18th dynasty priest, Ani.

More but this is enough to make my point.

Answer 7

To enter in the kingdom of heaven one must know how simple it 's first. Like water that flows or the wind blown through an eye of an needle.

Heaven is all around you just look around. The simplest form of it is form by spirtual contact and not a physical contact.

Life after death is real to learn the origin of this spectacular essence of God and how it became known to Man!

Answer 8

Sorry, didn't read you link. No the eye of the needle has nothing to do with a gate. Jesus said the rich would find it hard to go to heaven because they value their money more than anything. Haven't you learned that you can't believe every website on the net.

Answer 9

People make an argument over anything. Consider this - there is the exact words of Jesus and the exact voice (ipsissima verba and ipsissima vox) of Jesus. We can argue all day about words and origins, but His voice is what remains.

The deal is, any of us must divest ourselves of that which prevents us from entering His Kingdom and/or walking fully in His grace. Many wealthy are a prime example, as they do not want to let go of what they feel is theirs or what they feel they cannot lose.

No, this does not bother me, one bit.

Answer 10

The rich man puts his hand into his wallet to find a god, but in his error finds error, or false trusts and false beliefs. The more you trust anything other than God, the more distance you put between you and Truth, and eventually this sin will be corrected as well (sin of false trusts).