prophetic cartoon?

It appears that the point that I am attempting to make is being sorely missed.

On several occasions Jesus told his disciples of future events and explained to them that they would not understand what He meant until the time of the fulfillment of the event. When the foretold event has been fulfilled, then they would know that He was who He said He was and that what He had said was Truth.

Jesus gave us prophecy, not so that we would know the future, but so that as the prophecied event takes place,(and we recognize its fulfillment) we would then know that He is truly the Son of God.

The SDA Church has placed its faith in EGW and other founding fathers, who have stated that they understand how the future will unfold. For 100+ years we have waited for just one of these interpretations to be fulfilled and not one of them has been fulfilled.

And yet.......

Prophecy is being fulfilled and the SDA church does not recognize its fulfillment.

History is repeating itself.

The Jews thought that they knew exactly how the Messianic prophecies would be fulfilled and yet when the True Messiah walked amongst them they crucified Him.

It is time to place our faith squarely where it belongs. We must allow the Holy Spirit to be our sole guide in the understanding of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies.

It is of the utmost importance that we be aware of these Biblical prophecies and that we continually compare these prophecies to current events in order to discern whether they are being fulfilled. As Jesus said, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

My friends....The Fig Tree is putting forth leaves......But no one is noticing, because they are looking elsewhere.

Bob

Bob, your view of Sister White's interpretation of unfulfilled prophecy is not new or unique. Personally I'm not interested in what you don't believe. Such information is useless to me. I am more interested in learning what you do believe. It is more rewarding as a student searching for truth learn what is right rather than only what is wrong.

So, please tell us what you do believe about prophecy. Looking back over the past 100 years which prophecy do you think has been fulfilled. Thank you for sharing.

Bob, what exactly is it that no one is noticing?

This discussion seems to be centered around the prophecies found in Revelation 13 regarding the "Image to the Beast" and the "Mark of the Beast", so I will restrict my remarks to this chapter only.

I will also try to be brief.

First of all the First Beast is representative of the Pagan Roman Empire. This empire was unique in that it was the greatest empire that ever existed. Most of all, it established a government that was the "first of its kind". This government was called a "Democratic Republic". What made this government unique was that it was a representative form of government. The people chose who would be their leaders and who would establish/enforce their laws. (Note: Compare this form of government to the previous monarchy governments of the past.)

The guiding principle of a Democratic Republic is that each human being has certain rights that must be protected/upheld. Human Rights.

Now compare this form of government with a Theocracy, which was the form of government that God attempted to establish here on this earth....first with Adam and Eve, then with the Israelites.

Compare a Theocracy with a Democracy and see if you can see opportunity for conflict and controversy.

In a Theocracy...God establishes and enforces the Laws......God chooses the leaders, political and spiritual......God is sovereign and He alone receives worship.

In a Democracy....Man establishes and enforces the Laws.....Man chooses the leaders, political and spiritual.....Man is sovereign and He can worship whoever/whatever he pleases.

Now comes along the second beast.....the United States. When the United States was founded the principles of government established by the Roman Empire were closely emulated. The separation of powers was established. The principle of human rights was established. The one man...one vote principle was practiced.

The Image of the Beast is created.

Now let us look at past and current events......

The United States has set out on a mission to introduce Democracy into all of the world. They have fought and are currently fighting wars with the purpose of convincing the world that Democracy is the only form of government that should be practiced. The United States is willing to kill those who do not agree with this principle.

The only thing that remains to be fulfilled is the "Mark of the Beast".

One thing for certain, it is not the "Sunday Law".

In order for a Universal Sunday Law to be established in this world a fundamental principal of Democracy must be done away with. The inalienable right to "worship as one pleases" must be voided. If this were to happen, it would not only threaten the SDA church, but also all Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, etc.

It will never happen.

The SDA Church is looking in the wrong direction.

Bob, if you're right, then Ellen White was a false prophet, all of the pioneers of this movement were wrong, the three angels' messages as given by this movement are bogus, and there's really no reason to be an SDA. We're just another religious country club.

But I don't think you're right, for many reasons easily demonstrated.

Thomas,

William Miller wasn't a prophet of God. A godly man, mightily led of God, yes. Inspired prophet, no.

Ellen White was an inspired prophet. There's a big difference.

John,

It is only fair that you demonstrate to us the numerous reasons why the interpretation that I have shared is wrong.

I will leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions concerning the validity of EGW, her messages, and the doctrines of the SDA Church.

Thomas,

You are correct in stating that the term Democracy did not originate with the Romans. It was first practiced by the Greeks, in a limited fashion, but the Romans incorporated it and expanded upon it in the formation of their government.

I seem to recall a period in America's history where slaves and women did not have the right to vote. Today it is possible for all citizens of the USA to be able to vote.

The apostle Paul was a Jew and yet a Roman citizen. Did he not have the same rights as a Roman by birth?

To call the Roman Empire the "greatest empire of all" is, of course, a matter of perspective. There are many things(i.e. government, judicial, engineering, etc.) in this world that can trace their origin to the time of the Roman Empire. There are many other empires/dynasty that can claim greatness, but the Roman Empire had the greatest impact upon this world.

The primary point that I have attempted to make is that the United States Government has "imaged" its government structure after that of the Roman Empire.

This topic has been moved into the Prophetic Studies forum.