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Here is a link to show exactly where the Space Station is over earth right now: Click Here
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04/25/25 03:05 PM
The way of the worldly governments:
Matt.20:25-26 Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
The battle for dominion over others is an on going theme in scripture: Even Christ's disciples fought over that! The verse above is actually in context of the disciples wanting positions of authority over others. James and John presented, through their mother, a petition requesting that they might be permitted to occupy the highest positions of honor and power in Christ's kingdom, Jesus understood the motive that prompted the request and thus reproved the pride and ambition of the two disciples.
We can ask questions? The Israelites asking (and receiving) a king, was, in a very real sense considered "Wrong". It was NOT the answer to their problems. God was to be their King, but now a mere sinful human sat on the throne in Jerusalem. While there were a few kings that were fairly "good", most were evil and even the "good" ones had problems.
But, looking through the book of Judges, it seems obvious Israel needed good, solid leaders. By human reasoning, they needed a king. Everyone was doing what they considered right in their own eyes and things just weren't going "right". So won't a king be the right answer?
The problem was they (the majority, there were always some who remained faithful) but the majority had "forsaken" God long before they asked for a king. Indeed they were not depending upon God or seeking His presence in their lives.
God chose Israel as the depositary of priceless treasure of truth for all nations, and He gave them His law as the standard of the character they were to develop before the world, before angels, and before the unfallen worlds. They were to do this in His power, and strength. They were to seek His counsel and He would visibly answer them through the Urim and Thummim. These were special stones on the priests breast plate for divine guidance. Their names mean "lights" and "perfections", indicating their role in illuminating the will of God and ensuring perfect truth. They were consulted in times of uncertainty, allowing the high priest to receive direct guidance from God for the welfare of the people. God had set before His chosen people a visible demonstration of the plan of salvation by giving them the sanctuary and it's services, all of which were illustrations of His plan and promise, His love and intercession, to save them from their sins.
Yet Satan had counterfeited even this in a huge way. Satan had inspired the surrounding nations to have temples and sacrifices as well, but the emphases there was not focused on God who would supply HIMSELF the Lamb to rescue mankind from sin. The focus became one of appeasing God by man giving a sacrifice to earn favor for himself. Thus sin was excused and even glorified and favors were bought by how many "gods" were given tokens to enlist their favor.
When people place the God of heaven on the same level as created "gods" governed by man's own reason, there is no power against sin. Sin works its chaos and evil. Then people start looking for kings and authority figures in legislative halls to put restraints on the growing tide of evil.
When the power of God on the heart and mind is not the focus of life, when His law is not cherished as the great standard of truth, and people look to the state as the controller of morality, it has been demonstrated over and over again, that the laws of man were inadequate to hold in check the powerful tides of human passion, (they cannot hold in check societies passions nor the passions of the governing authorities) and the results were NOT the good they had envisioned.
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04/25/25 02:28 AM
Soon after the world was divided into many nations, God called Abraham to leave his homeland and family and travel to an unknown land that God would show him. God promised to bless Abraham, make him a great nation, and that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him.
In stark contrast to the rebellious nature of the supporters of Babel, stands Abraham.
When God called him to leave his homeland and journey to an unknown place, Abraham obeyed, he left all the comforts of relatives and home and the way of life he was accustomed to, and headed out not even knowing where he was going, or what lay before him. (Hebrews 11:8).
God?s purpose in calling Abraham was : 1. To keep alive the truth of God's plan of salvation 2. To be the path through which God would work out His covenant plan to redeem mankind. 3. To have a nation that could be a light to world.
We should carefully consider the items included in the calling of Abraham and the kind of things brought about through such a calling.
God wants to gain a group of people on earth who long to be part of His kingdom and to be His people. This means that God wants a people who will demonstrate His authority and His will being done on earth as it is done in heaven. This was God's goal in calling Abraham. The goal to have a nation that was different from the rebellious nations around them. It is also His goal in calling us to be His people.
Abraham's faith in God's promise, even when human reasoning could not understand, demonstrates what faith actually looks like. It's more than intellectual ascent. It is believing and stepping out in faith to obey simply because God said it and we trust His Word.
Through Abraham's seed would come the Messiah. The Jewish nation had been preserved as a witness that Christ was to be born of the seed of Abraham and of David's line; yet when Jesus was born in the little village of Bethlehem, they had lost all comprehension of what their whole economy was pointing forward to, they misinterpreted the promises and didn't recognize Him.
But God doesn't give up -- Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that the fact might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Prophecy has traced the rise and progress of the world's great empires--Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with the nations of less power, history has repeated itself. Each has had its period of test; each has failed, its glory faded, its power departed. (See Education p. 177}
But when the world makes void the law of God, what will be the effect upon the truly obedient and righteous? Will they be carried away by the strong current of evil?
Israel too often forgot her calling. Yet the Lord did not give Israel up without first doing all that could be done to lead them back to their allegiance to Him. Through long, dark years when ruler after ruler stood up in bold defiance of Heaven and led Israel deeper and still deeper into idolatry, God sent message after message to His backslidden people. Through His prophets He gave them every opportunity to return to Him. Elijah and Elisha lived and labored to point the people back to God, and the tender appeals of Hosea and Amos and Obadiah were to be heard in the land. Never was the kingdom of Israel to be left without noble witnesses to the mighty power of God to save from sin. Even in the darkest hours there were always some who remained true to their divine Ruler in the midst of idolatry. These faithful ones were numbered among the goodly remnant through whom the eternal purpose of Jehovah was finally to be fulfilled. { See PK page 108} When rebellion against God seems to be gaining control of the world, the faithful ones will with greater earnestness hold aloft God's distinguishing truths. We are not left to our own direction. . . . We should consult His Word with humble hearts, ask His counsel, and give up our will to His. We can do nothing without God. {see also Maranatha 28}
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04/23/25 07:14 PM
LESSON 4 THE NATIONS PART ONE The lesson this week begins with Nimrod and his rebellion. Nimrod is the founder of Babylon. Gen 10:10) The modern Bible translations which favor the idea that Nimrod "founded" Nineveh is debatable. The older translations seem much more probably that Asshur (descendant of Shem 10:22) had fled to the land of Assyria. (10:11) Assyria was named after him as he and his family first settled there to escape the corruption building in the land of Shinar under Nimrod's influence. But Asshur's territory was later conquered by Nimrod's armies who took over the city and made it another center of his empire. (Micah 5:6)
I lean to the latter interpretation as it fits the very spirit of Nimrod's rebellion. The spirit of domination, with force and war attempting to stamp out righteousness and bring all under the control of the ambitious self seeking tyrant.
We need to go back further to see where that spirit of rebellion came from and how it revealed itself even before Nimrod came along.
It began in an environment of perfect peace and happiness. The mystery of rebellion started in Lucifer's heart. Though the highest honored created being, dissatisfaction began to grow in his heart, he wanted to be like God, not in holiness, but in power, with everyone bowing before him. (See Isaiah 14:12-14) The spirit of rebellion is self exaltation, even to the point of exalting self and it's wishes above the Creator of all things. Self exaltation does not easily tolerate opposition.
Next we see Cain and Abel. (Genesis 4) Cain brings an offering of his own choosing, an offering that basically said, "Lord, I don't need You to come and shed your blood for me, I can produce my own fruits. The spirit of rebellion was in him. He felt resentment against God for locking them out of the Garden of Eden and the tree of life. He did not see the horror of sin. But the "horror of sin" soon displayed itself. Cain was very angry when God accepted the offering of Abel. Even when God, Himself pleaded with him (Gen. 4:6,7) his anger only increased. He invites Abel to go for a walk with him in the field. Abel did not try to force Cain to obey God?s command. It was Cain, inspired by Satan and filled with wrath, who used force. Furious because he could not compel Abel to disobey God and because God had accepted Abel's offering and refused his, which did not recognize the Saviour, Cain killed his brother.
Next we see two different nations forming. Cain goes out and starts building cities. (4:17) A third son of Adam and Eve, Seth, leads out in the worship of God. (4:26) The worshippers of God are pushed back into the hilly country, while Cain's descendants continue building their cities and empire.
Soon the Bible presents a very sad state of affairs. The worshippers of God have almost vanished, while the empire of Cain is strong and powerful.
Why? 1. Evil has it's allurements. Deceptive allurements. The young people from Seth's nation, see more excitment and pleasures in Cain's kingdom, and start to participate and mingle. Slowly they are drawn deeper and deeper into Cain's kingdom. The descendants of Seth might have preserved their integrity before God, and they might have exerted a saving influence upon the inhabitants of the Noachic world. But instead they "adapted" being more tolerant and affirming and accepting of the wickedness of Cain's empire. 2. The violence -- there were wars. Wars between Cain's empire, and Seth's nation. Cain's descendants despised everything that reminded them of God's commandments and plan. They were a powerful, intelligent, resourceful race, they felt no need or desire for God. And like their father, Cain, they hated those who were true to God.
After the flood, memory as to what things were like before the flood was still vividly remembered by the sons of Noah, who could recite their memories to their descendants for several centuries and many generations. Ham seems to have been the one most resentful that the sophisticated (though evil) culture had been destroyed by the flood. It was Ham's descendants who were the most prominent with an aim to re-establish the old culture in defiance to God's commands. It didn't take long for the world to form into two main nations -- the followers of God, and the followers of Nimrod (grandson of Ham). The aim was to hold all the people under one government. The tower was to maintain this unity. The tower was built in direct challenge against God's promises and commands.(11:4)
The Bible says Asshur (Son of Shem) went to the land which received his name (Assyria) but it also indicates that Nimrod took control of that area to further his kingdom. The aim was to conquer the world and subjugate all people under his rule.
Splitting the groups into many nations was actually God's way of stopping evil from once again taking over the whole world. By giving them many languages, He dispersed them over the world. Though the nations fought each other, being divided their power over the whole earth was limited.
That's how the world was divided into many nations.
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04/23/25 03:25 PM
NATIONS
The study of history is filled with one group of people, be they tribes, communities, kingdoms, empires or nations, or even families fighting and seeking dominance over the others. Indeed, as we ponder the course of human history we are confronted with very disturbing realities. The unbearable cruelty of human power against humanity: the strong crushing the weak, the ruthless overcoming the gentle, the powerful oppressing and treading down those who cannot defend themselves. Human history is full of wars, abuse, torture, deception, violated trust, fear and violent death. The inhumanity of mankind against humanity is an awful reality of life upon this planet.
Why?
God's plan is based on genuine love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor. Why is this not the norm?
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04/20/25 04:49 AM
Ryan's departure is sad and since he was a fairly high profile person in Adventist Media, it is receiving quite a bit of publicity. However, he is not the first, nor will he be the last. And yes, so often those who turn against Ellen White, will use her statements urging people to study and understand from scripture what we believe, to excuse their turning against Adventist beliefs.
The methods they use to discredit EGW, if they turned them on the Bible, would soon have them discrediting the Bible as well. Atheists have their pages of "proof" that the Bible contradicts itself, just like the Anti-EGW crowd have their pages of supposed contradictions. It's the picking a sentence or two from it's context, not stopping to first consider how the topic is actually viewed as a whole, then finding something else that "seems" to contradict, and making a big deal out of it.
Ryan's "meat" post is an example: Scripture does allow the eating of "clean" flesh food. So why does EGW urge people not to eat it? Does the questioner take into consideration that animal products have changed over the centuries. Disease has spread among the animal world, they've also been injected with hormones, and vaccines, exposed to herbicides . The commercial meat industry has some pretty mega problems. Even health advisors who have never heard of EGW have raised cautions, and thousands of people have turned vegan who also never heard of EGW. So are the critics so sure God, in His wisdom for our wellbeing, has not given counsel to leave meat off the menu in the last days?
BUT a bigger question for me -- why are young adults leaving the church? We have received lots of "methods" to try and keep them. 1. Get them involved early in the church programs 2. Make the program more relevant to living in the post-modern world. 3. Modernize the service. 4, Older members can't be hypocrites and need to be more loving. Yet the young adults are still outside, they aren't staying.
The thing that is missing, is leading the young people to Jesus, to get to know Him, really know Him, not just about Him. All our doctrines are fully based on righteousness by faith, but too often we take for granted that people will see this. That was the problem in 1888, as the tendency was to focus on arguing the doctrine and not empathizing the foundation and very substance of the doctrine is rooted in Christ's work of salvation for mankind.
"There is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures--that is Christ and Him crucified. Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme. . . . The soul palsied by sin can be endowed with life only through the work wrought out upon the cross by the Author of our salvation. {FLB 50.2}
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04/19/25 11:48 AM
It was rather a shook to hear about this. Ryan had some pretty good sermons on 3ABN, How could this happen? Not only does he claim he can't believe certain Adventist beliefs,(like 1844 and the sanctuary doctrine) but he has started a whole "ministry" of his own against Adventist doctrines. Yes, he says he's not attacking, only "re-thinking" Adventism, only asking questions. But by the crowd I see supporting him, it will be "attacking".
The questions are not new, they've been around for many years. I haven't seen one question yet, that would change my conviction that 1844 and preAdvent judgment are solidly Biblical.
This past week I was reviewing Revelation 10 again. For me it's so clear. As the sixth trumpet was coming to it's end. The 1260 years having just ended (Rev. 11:3), Christ Himself announces the emergence of the Advent Movement.
There in Revelation 10, we see the formerly sealed book containing messages about "time" (Daniel), was open. 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open:
The messenger announces there would be no more definite time after this. 10:6 that there should be time no longer:
The longest timeline was the 2300 years Daniel 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
It was time for the seventh last trumpet to start sounding and bring in the closing events. 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,
So what happens? The people were to eat (study) the messages concerning time. They ate, devouring the prophetic timelines, and how sweet it all sounded -- all the time lines were reaching their end point! The longest one, the 2300 day/years was about to reach it's end. The people were sure Christ would come 1843, but with more careful calculation, in 1844. It was very sweet! But oh the bitterness and disappointment that followed. 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
It's all there outlined in Revelation 10. 10:11 Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. They had more prophecy to learn and share. Go and prophecy again? There was more that needed to be learnt and shared. And that "more" included the sanctuary message. The 2300 days took history to the point when the sanctuary would begin to be cleansed, not to the second coming. The very next verse tells us what needed to be proclaimed:
They were to measure the temple, the altar and the worshippers in the temple. 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. This is judgment language, day of atonement language.
MEASURE WHAT? measure the temple the altar, the worshippers therein
Look back at what was done on the day of atonement:
The temple Lev.16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy [tabernacle], because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation
The altar Lev 6:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that [is] before the LORD, and make an atonement for it
The people: Lev 16:30 For on that day shall [the priest] make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, [that] ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
And notice all three: temple, altar and people are mentioned again -- cleansed on the day of atonement. 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
The beginning of the seventh trumpet sounding announces "the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, We had a similar thing happen in one of our churchs, the person in charge of music was just concerned on getting the 'presentation' or 'acoustics' of the praise team, and then we found out he was being paid a good sum to head the music and they were starting to bring in rock and roll with electric guitars and gyrating to the beat of the rhythm, and then the leaders in the church decided to 'take out' anything with Ellen White and began to change and bring in 'Max Lucado' to replace the Sabbath School lesson. We resigned our positions and quietly left as we didnt want to begin a conflict then.... 'Rethinking', reevalusting, whatever he wants to call it, he is only starting what one can see is a attack on fellow Adventist and beliefs. Now 3ABN has to bear some of the blame as Ryan admits his long standing doubt of key Adventist doctrines, like 1844. and talks about the connection to the views and actions of Allen Davis who also had issues and had to leave another ministry, Amazing Facts. He was allowed to stay as long as he didnt publically bring out what he was saying privately, but it came out in a online post. He replied to a social media post someone made quoting White on the subject of eating meat with, ?Are you aware that [this] contradicts the Bible, and therefore we are not to consider those statements inspired nor authoritative?? Now we see the video and his claim that it was a quote from Ellen White saying the truth loses nothing under close investigation that allowed him to 'rethink' basically SOP and Adventist beliefs. We are seeing the shaking, and we will see more bright' lights' fall down before we get to the end.
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04/19/25 05:23 AM
It was rather a shook to hear about this. Ryan had some pretty good sermons on 3ABN, How could this happen? Not only does he claim he can't believe certain Adventist beliefs,(like 1844 and the sanctuary doctrine) but he has started a whole "ministry" of his own against Adventist doctrines. Yes, he says he's not attacking, only "re-thinking" Adventism, only asking questions. But by the crowd I see supporting him, it will be "attacking".
The questions are not new, they've been around for many years. I haven't seen one question yet, that would change my conviction that 1844 and preAdvent judgment are solidly Biblical.
This past week I was reviewing Revelation 10 again. For me it's so clear. As the sixth trumpet was coming to it's end. The 1260 years having just ended (Rev. 11:3), Christ Himself announces the emergence of the Advent Movement.
There in Revelation 10, we see the formerly sealed book containing messages about "time" (Daniel), was open. 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open:
The messenger announces there would be no more definite time after this. 10:6 that there should be time no longer:
The longest timeline was the 2300 years Daniel 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
It was time for the seventh last trumpet to start sounding and bring in the closing events. 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,
So what happens? The people were to eat (study) the messages concerning time. They ate, devouring the prophetic timelines, and how sweet it all sounded -- all the time lines were reaching their end point! The longest one, the 2300 day/years was about to reach it's end. The people were sure Christ would come 1843, but with more careful calculation, in 1844. It was very sweet! But oh the bitterness and disappointment that followed. 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
It's all there outlined in Revelation 10. 10:11 Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. They had more prophecy to learn and share. Go and prophecy again? There was more that needed to be learnt and shared. And that "more" included the sanctuary message. The 2300 days took history to the point when the sanctuary would begin to be cleansed, not to the second coming. The very next verse tells us what needed to be proclaimed:
They were to measure the temple, the altar and the worshippers in the temple. 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. This is judgment language, day of atonement language.
MEASURE WHAT? measure the temple the altar, the worshippers therein
Look back at what was done on the day of atonement:
The temple Lev.16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy [tabernacle], because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation
The altar Lev 6:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that [is] before the LORD, and make an atonement for it
The people: Lev 16:30 For on that day shall [the priest] make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, [that] ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
And notice all three: temple, altar and people are mentioned again -- cleansed on the day of atonement. 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
The beginning of the seventh trumpet sounding announces "the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints,
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04/18/25 05:49 PM
FALSE PROPHET'S INFLUENCE GROWS In the early 1900's interest in Biblical prophecy dropped into low key. But then the World Wars frightened some people who thought the tribulation had begun, and the end was upon them. But the Bible says; "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, BUT THE END IS NOT YET. JEWISH NATION REBORN The wars did set in motion conditions that helped to move and enable the establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine in 1948. For many this was a fulfilment of prophecy. May 14th, 1948, the world witnessed the BIGGEST Biblical Prophecy FULFILLED since Jesus Christ came to earth ? the REBIRTH of God?s Chosen Nation. The LORD prophesied, over 3,000 years ago, that the Israelite Jews would be exiled from their Holy Land for around 2,500 Years. After that period of separation, He promised to RETURN them to their Biblical Homeland. In 606 BC, the Jewish exile began. In the EXACT number of Biblically-prophesied years later, in 1948, God fulfilled His promise. He gathered the Jews from all of the nations of the world where they had been scattered, brought them BACK to their Ancient Promised Land, and the Nation of Israel was REBORN. The LORD faithfully kept His 3,000 year old Promise, to the EXACT YEAR. Here is the mathematical Prophecy which is found in the Holy Bible?s Book of Ezekiel 4:4-6 (Biblical Signs. com) FUTURIST PROPHETIC INTERPETION SOARS The next 20 years saw a real upsurge of excitement in further developing and promoting the futuristic, Jesuit originated, paradigm of prophetic interpretation. In 1970 Hal Lindsey, published his "The Late Great Planet Earth". The book flooded book shops and millions got excited. Others wrote more books, films were being produced depicting the fictional outplay of prophecy. According to Lindsey "the single most important key to prophecies yet to be fulfilled involves rebuilding the Temple. ...It is this Temple Mount that will serve as the center stage for the final countdown to Armageddon." (Lindsey, "2000 A.D.Will Mankind Survive", p.6) WHAT ARE THE FAR REACHING IMPLICATION IN ALL THIS ?1. Christians are being taught that the solution for the world is placed on an earthly kingdom to which Christ will come to reign. The truth of Christ's Second Coming is counterfeited, to make it possible for a majestic, supernatural being to deceive the world to believe he is the Christ. The raptured faithful will supposedly spend a brief three and a half years in heaven while those left behind will face tribulation and given a second chance to repent. Then Jesus with those already in heaven, will return to earth, to set up His earthly kingdom. But who is this, and who are the supposed "faithful" that returned as his helpers in this kingdom? What if the definition of "faithful" is defined differently than expected when this majestic supernatural being claims he is Christ setting up His earthly rule and forces everyone to come in line to His rule? This is a perfect set up for Satan to appear personating Christ. We've been warned that Spiritualism will abound before the REAL Christ appears. Satan has legions of fallen angels to personate former people who claim they have come to "straighten out" people's perception of truth. And remember the Muslim world (which includes a large percentage of earth's inhabitants) believe Jesus, the son of Mary, the great prophet who was taken to heaven, will come again, He will defeat the antiChrist, and he will teach the world that he is not God, that the Christian world made a big mistake in thinking he is God, and he has now come to turn the world to worship God the Father the only true God, and set up God's kingdom in the world. it is also a glorious conclusion of the history-long confrontation between tawheed (monotheism) of all genuine prophets on the one hand, and the multitude of polytheist deviations (deifying Jesus, etc.) that corrupted the teachings of Jesus after his departure....?Who is he?? They replied, ?Al-Masih [the Messiah] son of Mary?. About Islam Thus we may very well see the Muslim and Christian world uniting (as well as Hinduism and other such religions) under this supposed return of the Messiah. The most far reaching implication is that these views miss the important messages for this time. In many ways it is opposite to the last warning call of Rev. 14's angels. 2. Unity of religionThe second angel, cries "Babylon is fallen" and urges us to disconnect from Babylon. But according to writers (evangelicals, and Catholic and even Muslim) we need to unite the faith groups into one happy system of worship. and put away our dividing doctrines. We hear many calling for religious unity. An example is in ANN news October 2024. "Unity of All Religion's A Path to Global Harmony": "In a World where technology has bridged the physical gaps between people, but divisions based on religion, culture and politics persist, the call for religious unity has never been more urgent." It then goes on to list that the Christian Bible commands us to love one another, love your neighbor as yourself, do good..... All religious groups have this core belief that transcends all the differences, the idea we are all one family, under one God. No one truly believes unless they love, thus put aside the differences and unite in harmony and love. But what happens to truth? Indeed love is a key principle, but what is love? Is love against truth? We need to have the love of truth in our hearts, truth as it is in Jesus, then we can estimate the value of a soul for whom Christ has died, in the light reflected from the cross of Calvary, rather than in the light of compliance with human reason. 3, RETURNING TO THE PAPACY The overturning of the reformation, the destruction of true Protestantism. Returning to, and lifting up, the prophesized "beast". March 29, 1994 the joint declaration titled "Evangelicals and Catholics Together. A key step in the "daughters' to once again acknowledge the papal church as their "mother". The Christian Mission in the 3rd Millennium is to complete healing and reinstate the papacy as the great spiritual leader of religion. The move back to Rome has been underway for many years. Even the powerful preacher Billy Graham visited the pope several times and declared, "their theology differences are not important as far as personal salvation is concerned." 2015, Pope Francis addressed a joint meeting in the American Congress, as well as at the White House, urging Americans to come together to make the world a better place. The papacy is acknowledged not only as the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics worldwide, and over religious matters, influencing religious doctrine, but he is also very much engaged in pressing global issues, from social justice to environmental stewardship. 4. Another serious trap is the desire to enlist government to enforce church based morals and standards upon the world.We've been hearing and reading that America has never advocated a separation of church and state. Yet Republicanism (freedom from religious enforcement) and Protestantism (which protests pope like oppression and advocates freedom of conscience for individual worship), represented the fundamental principles of the USA. It was to find freedom of religion and worship, that many of the first colonies were formed. Also notice, America as a nation, being part of Revelation 13's prophecies, the second earth beast, seems NOT to be a part of any of the interpretations of prophecy (except in Adventist literature). Who else believes America will be foremost in uniting state and religion and "speak as a dragon" enforcing religious mandates with economic and death threats and laws? Yes, atheists do tend to see the danger of churches getting involved with government, but their reason is that they don't want any religion, they want freedom FROM religion not freedom OF religion. In the end those who see the danger of church and state and the role of America in Revelation 13 will be classified as atheists and accused of fighting against God. Unfortunately, without this knowledge that apostate religion itself will be speaking against God, most totally fail to see the far reaching implications and future significance of blending church and state. This past election in the USA has a huge component of "hope" that government would step over the "wall" knock it down, and start uniting church and state -- allowing the church to use government to enforce their mandates. Yet once they succeed (whether now or later) it will only result in ruin and trouble. " God's Word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. {FLB 329.5}"
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04/18/25 12:41 PM
I was sent some videos from a close Adventist friend on one of the teachers of the Sabbath School lesson on 3ABN, Ryan Day. From what I have seen from what he says in the video, as there is much, is that he feels Ellen White is just another Christian who really has no place in being listened to other than good counsel, and he is shocked to find out 3ABN wanted him out. He seems either naive or no true understanding of what his words say, especially when he says he doesnt think we need to be changed before the end and ready to come perfect before God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lK2Hs2YPcwAnd there are more.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_94UB_hnFchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt04xXN82tgLook at these videos and see what you think...
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04/18/25 12:21 PM
dedication, I think your question can be answered by a better understanding of what happens at the latter rain, during which time the loud cry happens. Ellen White had this to say: At the loud cry of the angel from heaven who joins the third angel, thousands will awake from the stupor that has held the world for ages, and will see the beauty and value of the truth" The Review and Herald December 15, 1885, Art. A paragraph 15 (Ellen G. White, https://egwwritings.org/?ref=en_RH.December.15.1885.Art.A.par.15¶=821.6914) At that time the ?latter rain,? or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.?Early Writings, 86 (1854). {LDE 186.4, https://legacy.egwwritings.org/?ref=en_LDE.186.4¶=39.1194 } I have no specific time of which to speak when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will take place?when the mighty angel will come down from heaven and unite with the third angel in closing up the work for this world. My message is that our only safety is in being ready for the heavenly refreshing, having our lamps trimmed and burning.?{Selected Messages 1:192 (1892), https://legacy.egwwritings.org/?ref=en_1SM.192.1¶=98.1178, So, to summarize what she says, The fourth angel, the angel from Rev. 18:1-3, when it comes, it will unite with the third angel's message and will cause the loud cry. Further, the Holy Spirit will come with it to give the combined message great power. Now, in regard to the glory, she says this: At the transfiguration, Jesus was glorified by his Father. From his lips came these words: ?Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.? Before his betrayal and crucifixion he was strengthened for his last dreadful sufferings. As the members of Christ's body approach the period of their final conflict they will grow up into him, and will possess symmetrical characters. As the message of the third angel swells to a loud cry, great power and glory will attend the closing work. It is the latter rain, which revives and strengthens the people of God to pass through the time of Jacob's trouble referred to by the prophets. The glory of that light which attends the third angel will be reflected upon them. God will preserve his people through that time of peril. (ST November 27, 1879, par. 10, https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p820.1956&index=0, underlining by author) She also says this: Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel's message, and I have answered, " it is the third angel's message in verity." The prophet declares, "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory." Brightness, glory, and power are to be connected with the third angel's message, and con- 194 viction will follow wherever it is preached in demonstration of the Spirit. How will any of our brethren know when this light shall come to the people of God? As yet, we certainly have not seen the light that answers to this description. God has light for his people, and all who will accept it will see the sinfulness of remaining in a lukewarm condition ; they will heed the counsel of the True Witness when he says, "Be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Now, she says they had not seen the brightness, glory and power that comes with the fourth angel (the one that is yet to come down from heaven). Why did she say this? They had Revelation 18 right in front of them, so how could they miss it? Why was not the power, glory and brightness there with them? I know that the reason is because they did not understand it as much as they thought they did. When it is properly understood, and the things it predicts happen, then the power, brightness and glory will come and attend it - and not before. Revelation 18 is summarized in Rev. 1716-17 and to have the power, glory and brightness, Rev. 17 must be correctly understood and then Rev. 18's warning embedded within it and taught. Then that power, brightness and glory will come. Here is from my notes for my sermon,,, Lets turn now to James 5:7 which tells us something important on this: James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. You see what it says, it puts together the 'latter rain' and the 'early rain' that is poured out as we wait. Now its important to understand that we need to experience the early rain to awaken us and spiritually grow to be prepared for the latter rain which prepares Christians for the final crisis and Christ?s return. And this is where we are today, and there is no reason to hold back and not ask now for the Holy Spirit even in its early rain stage for us, because there are some in the church that wrongly feel that they must wait for the latter rain of the Spirit in order to change spiritually and truly overcome. Is that what we should do, as Paul says, 'God forbid', we have the signs of the time showing up daily. If we hesitate and hold back now, it can take you down a wrong path if allowed, as the early rain of the Spirit, brings us to the level we need to be at, in order to receive and grow from the latter rain. We see more on this from SOP: ?The latter rain, ripening earth?s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection? (The Faith I Live By, p. 333). Those who do not heed it, will be like those on the day of Pentecost who did not receive the initial outpouring of the early rain, and wondered what it is. They will not understand what is happening and will be confused or even try to hold back those who are experiencing the fullness of God?s power at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They have not prepared, and we dont want to be in this state at the end, we want to be ready, so there is work to be done now. We cant come on Sabbath and just warm the seat and say I will just wait for the signs, to what we know will be the time such as never was, where the image to Beast will rise up and more, and then decided to ask for the outpouring. We cannot wait but ask for the Holy Spirit with much prayer, allow its power, and we put on the whole armor of God, for the time such as never was of the end. Lets look at Ephesians 6:13-18: Ephesians 6:13-18 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Notice how it says to pray, "with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit". We put on the whole armor and as the Holy Spirit is imparted, it gives strength to not only the proclamation of the Gospel but what is the loud cry of the third angel and its message. The effect of the loud cry on the world will cause a reaction, and much as the High Priest and religious leaders at the words of Peter, we will see a strong rejection and they will seek ways to stop it or do away with those giving it rather than listen to the truth. And one of things that will happen is Sunday laws will come into effect. Whether the leaders of the world, spurred on by the Image or the Beast itself or even the false Christ, declaring this needs to be done, and people will think it is for the 'common good' or from God. So we see how the latter rain, the loud cry, and the Sunday laws, all come into play. As they do, God?s people who have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with with power and conviction, spread the truth and proclaim the Sabbath with great power. We see what the SOP tells us on this: "And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God?s chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us. I saw the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the land." {EW 33.2} Now its here as we see in the events unfolding in front of us, and we see what Christ says about just before His second coming when people need to be alert. Lets turn to Matthew 24:45-49: Matthew 24:45-49 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed [is] that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite [his] fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, There is the faithful servant who under the outpouring of the Holy Spirit prepares, but there are other servants who say to themselves, "My Lord delayeth His coming." Do you think this servant is ready, I think not, and worse they fight with the faithful ones doing them harm. We find more on what we will face in John 16:2. John 16:2 "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." So we see they will try to wipe out Gods people thinking they are doing what God wants, and the "world shall rejoice". But lets look at Gods promise to His faithful. Lets turn to John 16:20: John 16:20 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. " It is out of this little time of trouble that God?s remnant people will emerge, who give the loud cry and call out the last people out of Babylon, and speak fully of what God made for man at Creation, the Sabbath. We are there my brothers and sisters, we are there. Lets not hesitate to ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and be ready for the effects of the Holy Spirit as we come to the last days.
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04/17/25 07:55 PM
Revelation 16:13 speaks of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet all issuing forth unclean spirits .
This same threesome is identified in the Great Controversy. "The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power: and under the influence of this threefold union this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience"
So the dragon = spiritualism The beast is = Roman power The false prophet = Protestantism. Protestant Roots in ProphecyProtestantism was born with the historicist interpretation of prophecy. In many ways it's wrong to say "Protestantism is the false prophet" for true Protestantism, in the early years, based it's very strength on correctly understanding the methods of prophetic interpretation. But Protestantism has lost it's protestant qualities. The ecumenical movement has done it's work " the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common" send the more devisive doctrines unto the back burner, to be largely ignored. It's "apostate" Protestantism that becomes the "false prophet: Work of Counter ReformationBack in the early 1500's the protestant movement was rising with considerable power and influence. Thus the papacy initiated the Counter Reformation for the purpose of bringing some reforms into the Catholic church, but also to counter the protest and eventually bring all the "wandering children" back to the "mother" church. Most far reaching of Rome's responses to Protestantism was Pope Paul III's approval for Ignatius Loyola to found the Jesuit order. (1540) The use of the newly invented printing press had greatly helped Protestantism to spread over Europe, but now, scholarly Jesuits provided literary works to counter the influence of Protestantism. Alternate interpretations of Prophecy introduced We've probably heard of Jesuit Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) who wrote a very different interpretation of prophecy, than that held by Protestants. He rejected the day for a year principle, maintained the "antiChrist" would be a man, a single individual in the end time, who would be a terror to Christianity, deny the true identity of Jesus, rebuild the Jewish temple, gain favor with the Jews, pretend to be "God", blaspheming, and attempt to conquer the world. This would neatly skip the whole Christian era and clear the papacy of any prophetic negative role. This was basically the form of "futurism" which others after him built upon. It's a form of futurism that proposes that only the introductory chapters of Revelation refers to historical events and to ancient Rome, but the remainder refers to a literal three and half years (1260 days) at the end of time. There were others like: Jesuit Luis De Alcazar (1554-1613) who wrote a commentary of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse in which he proposed that all of Revelation applied to the era of pagan Rome and the first few centuries of Christianity. He gave the framework of what we know as Preterist interpretation. The main objective in both these alternate interpretations was to take the focus away from the Protestant understanding of the papacy as the "beast" and "antichrist". Protestant Response to these alternate interpretive methodsFor more than two hundred years Protestants in general disregarded these alternate methods, and continued to follow the historicist method which clearly pointed out the fall of the medieval church and the papacy as the "man of sin" the "beast" and the anti-Christ. But by 1826 we start to see a shift taking place. Groups, like the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church in England, began to form with a more "favorable" view of the papacy, and they began looking more seriously at the futuristic view of prophecy. There was a Samuel Maitland, John Henry Newman John Darby; they also felt the antichrist was a future single individual, not the papacy. The "Gap" theory was developed at the Albury Park Conferences (1825-1830) in which Daniel 9's last "week" of seven years was cut off from the 70 week prophecy and placed in the future. (Interestingly they kept the day for a year theory for this, though they discarded it for most of the other timelines). In 1830 Edward Irving was the key person to bring in the "rapture" theory" in which the "saints are supposedly "secretly caught up" with the Lord before the final 3 1/2 years of tribulation takes place. It's reported that Irving derived his teaching of the rapture from "utterances" of "unknown tongues". Futurism in the United StatesHistoricism was still pretty strong in the United States in the early 1800's, but what started in England soon filtered into the United States. Beginning in 1878 evangelical and fundamentalist Bible institutes focused on "literalism". A literal 1260 days, a literal restoration of the Jewish nation, 144,000 literal Jews, a literal rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, a literal sacrificial system to be restored. Through interdenominational prophetic conferences these doctrines were widely propagated among the Evangelical churches. This Jesuit initiated futuristic prophetic interpretation was further disseminated over large areas, through the wide distribution of the "Scofield Reference Bible" with it's systematic notes accompanying the text. He even introduced theistic evolution into the mix.
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04/16/25 10:58 PM
Revelation chapters 10 and 11 mark the transition period ending the sixth trumpet and leading into the seventh. 1798 The papacy lost it's power (revolution in chapter 11) European kings lost their power to a more representative government style. The Ottoman empire lost it's power in 1840 at the end of the 391 years. But something else of great Biblical importance also happened at the end of the sixth trumpet, leading into the main message of the seventh trumpet. We find this in Revelation 10. Rev. 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow upon his head, and his face as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: | A mighty heavenly Messenger. He is surrounded by symbols of the covenant. | This is obviously an important heavenly Being, many believe it is Christ Himself, coming to reveal a very important message. | 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left [foot] on the earth, | The message according to vs 6 is about "time". The book containing time prophecies, which was sealed until "the time of the end," was the book of Daniel. In Revelation 10 those time lines are open for study and we find they all end by 1844. There are no more definite time lines ahead. What is still ahead? The judgement hour message -- the message of the three angels in Rev. 14. | The time has come for the seventh trumpet to sound: (Rev,11:15) And the seventh angel sounded (Rev.11:18) the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, when (Dan. 7:9-10) the Ancient of days did sit, before him thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.(7:13) the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days. Jesus said, 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. | 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices | The lion of the tribe of Judah will win over the lion that's prowling all over this earth seeking whom he can devour. A lion is symbolic of kingship, power, a ruler, law giver. | As the sixth trumpet ends and the seventh is about to sound, Christ is about to embark on the final work in preparation for His second coming. In the PreAdvent Judgment, confessing all the names of the "overcomers" before the Ancient of Days, finalizing the list of God's redeemed in the book of Life. | Rev. 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. | "The special light given to John which was expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events which would transpire under the first and second angels' messages. It was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed. {1MR 99.3} | The thunders are placed between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets. EGW tells us it has something to do with Rev, 14's,1st and 2nd angels messages (both of which were proclaimed before 1844, but not fully understood) Understanding would increase "In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery will be finished." They thought Christ would come in 1844, they understood the time, but they misunderstood the event. Thunders are also linked God's law. There is still a third angel's message, and the seventh trumpet both having to do with God's law needing to be restored. The 2300 days did NOT point to Christ's second coming to earth, they pointed to the sanctuary being cleansed, God's law restored, and Christ being brought before the Ancient of days and the heavenly court to present the names of all the saved. | Rev. 10:7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets." | The seventh trumpet will take earth's history through the last events and on into the great final climax, final victory over sin and into eternal redemption for all who have made their destiny secure in Christ. Though the people taking hold of the little book will suffer great disappointment, they are not to despair, for that final day of victory will come. | The mystery, Eph. 1:9,10: "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." | Rev.10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. | The voice of the 1st Angel of Rev. 14 is heard in this declaration. 14:6-7 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel... Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. | In the closing work of God in the earth, the standard of His law will be again exalted. Prior to 1844 there was well-nigh universal disregard of the Sabbath commandment in the Christian world. That part of the 1st angel's message was not yet understood. Also the 2nd angel's message: Babylon is fallen is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication" was only partially understood prior to 1844. Thunders are connected with God's broken commandments. The loudest thunder roars in the 3rd angel's message. In 1844 God did not yet have a people who kept His commandments while they honored the beasts' day and disregarded the sanctified day. | Rev. 10:8-10 Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth....Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey...So I ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. | Study the timelines, they will show we are at the "time of the end", you will find the message sweet, but you will misunderstand and be bitterly disappointed, | That's what happened in 1844. How sweet the thought that Christ was coming to cleanse the earth and take them home to heaven that October in 1844. But they failed to realize there were more prophecies that needed to be fulfilled in the "time of the end" in preparation for the second coming. | Rev. 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. | God had more to teach them. The three angel's messages still had to be fully understood and shared with the world. | And the seventh trumpet pointed them to heaven and the sanctuary there where they saw the ark of the testament. (11:19) | 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. | The hour of His judgment has come. The work is going on in the heavenly court. In vision on the Isle of Patmos John said: ", Arise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." | This solemn work also needs to be done upon the earth. Surrender your life fully to Him, and the Lord will empower you that you may daily gain new victories, His righteousness will fill your life when you chose to follow Him, and you will finally enter the city of God, as those who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.
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04/15/25 10:33 PM
Marriage
Part of Creation
Genesis 2:20 for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 2:18 And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one .
Symbolic of Christ's relationship with His people.
In the Old Testament: Isaiah 54:5 For your husband is your Maker?the LORD of Hosts is His name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth"
His people, sadly, tend to be unfaithful to Him. But He works to win her back. Hosea 2:16 "In that day," declares the LORD, "you will call Me 'my husband,' and no longer call Me 'my master'"
The New Testament is full of this symbolic union of Christ and His people.
Matthew 9:15 While the bridegroom is present the disciples didn't fast and mourn.
John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the bridegroom, saying, "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom?s voice" (John 3:29).
Paul elaborates on this relationship in his epistles, particularly in Ephesians 5:25-27 : "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless."
Revelation proclaims the final union -- the wedding!
The marriage supper of the Lamb is the ultimate celebration of this union between Christ and His redeemed people: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7).
Revelation 21 further describes the New Jerusalem as "a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2), symbolizing the perfected and eternal home of Christ with His people.
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04/15/25 08:31 PM
The Genesis Revelation Connection
Revelation relies heavily on Genesis for correct understanding.
The LAMB Promised in Genesis 3:15 And the fallen couple clothed in "skins" of the slain animal to cover their shame in Genesis 3:18 Then there's the gripping highly symbolic history of Abraham and His son Isaac, "God will provide Himself a Lamb Gen. 22:7 Where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering? 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:
Then in the New Testament John the Baptist announces that "The lamb of God" had come! John 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 1:36 Behold the Lamb of God
Peter tells us the Lamb was sacrificed for our sins: 1 Peter 1:18 ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
And then Revelation Rev. 5:6 In the throne room is the LAMB with the marks of His slaying upon Him entering His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" The redeemed have " washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Rev. 7:14 and 12:11 And they overcame him (dragon) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and Rev. 14 they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Rev, 17 The beast (and his allies) 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.
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04/11/25 05:38 PM
What is the underlying message of the Bible
"The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption--the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers.--Gospel Workers, p. 315. (1915) {Ev 190.1}
". From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.?? Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 678.
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04/11/25 12:15 AM
Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
Jesus was not born condemned by a law that He had broken, so what does the above text mean?
I believe it meant that Jesus had no Savior, He had no one standing as His surety, should He fail. . For Jesus it was -- live perfectly according to the Divine moral law, or if he should falter and commit just one sin, He would have lost and would not rise from the dead. His mission to save sinners would have been a failure.
But He did not fail! He lived a life in perfect obedience to the Father's will and law.
But what about us, without Christ, we are all under the law. Condemned. For all have sinned and come short.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law say, it say to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
That means everyone, for all are under the law, it stops every mouth -- for all are guilty, all have sinned. No matter if they are high level religious leaders, or back street sinners. They are all guilty -- under the law, headed for eternal death.
We all need a Savior, an intercessor, or we are without hope. BUT Christ came and lived the perfect life, and bore our sins suffering our death upon the cross. That all who believe in Him need not perish but have everlasting life! Thus WE HAVE THIS HOPE!!!
Thank-you Jesus!
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04/10/25 10:06 PM
What happened April 2 and Trump's supposed "liberation day"? According to CNN China?s reciprocal tariff rate will be levied on top of the 20% tariff Trump already imposed, bringing its total tariff rate to a whopping 54%. The United States imported $439 billion worth of goods from China last year, the second top source of imports behind Mexico.
And starting on May 2, the 54% tariff rate will also be applied to packages worth less than $800 coming to the US from China and Hong Kong. This means Americans who order goods from Chinese-based companies like AliExpress, Temu and Shein will have to pay 54% more.
Goods subject to sector-wide tariffs, such as steel and aluminum and, soon, autos, won?t be subjected to additional country-specific reciprocal rates. However, in the case of China, sector tariffs will land on top of the 20% tariff in place before Wednesday?s announcement.
In most cases, Trump said the rates are ?half? the tariff rate that the other countries and trading blocs charge the US when factoring in currency manipulation and other trade barriers. It?s unclear precisely how the administration arrived at those numbers.
Perhaps the source of relief from Wednesday?s tariff announcement was that Trump didn?t go even further than he did. For instance, CNN reported that Trump administration officials were considering imposing a baseline 20% tariff rate for all imports. Trump had also previously said he?d impose 25% tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals on April 2 on top of reciprocal tariffs. For the time being, the only exception to tariffs will be goods coming from Canada and Mexico that comply with the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement signed under Trump?s first term. Didn't see too much specifically aimed at Canada. There seemed more concern with China.
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04/10/25 09:24 PM
It is interesting that we find the first step of the false prophet is to speak like a dragon/spiritualism/existentialsim/secularism, but ends up forming an image to the beast. All three Dragon - beast - false prophet are "one" in their opposition to God's Word, they are the false trinity, held together in their own self exaltation. they work together using much strife and conflict to develop and enforce an "ultimate solution". The true trinity or Godhead, has true (oneness) working together in perfect unity of love and righteousness to bring salvation to all who willingly accept and follow.
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04/10/25 08:10 AM
LESSON TWO: THE GENESIS FOUNDATION
4. CREATION
Where do we come from? God created all things, including us! This is actually the Bible's first foundational truth.
In the beginning God created-- Genesis 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, which later became flesh and dwelt amoung us John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: Genesis 1:6.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. Gen 1:32
This foundational statement establishes God as the ultimate source of all that exists, deserving of worship and reverence. From the vastness of the universe to the tiniest cell within our bodies, all exists only because God, the Creator, has made it and everything in it.
Psalm 95:6-7 invites believers, "Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care."
The great call is for people to turn back to their Maker Worship the Creator!
Rev. 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, ... worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Psalms 139:14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Revelation 4:11 declares, "Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and came to be."
Eccles,12:1 Remember now thy Creator
5. THE SABBATH Given as a memorial to help us remember our Creator!
Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 20:10 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: 20:11 For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
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04/09/25 02:19 PM
Here's something for consideration. History of the Trinity Trinity or Godhead: The Origin of the Heathen Trinity | Brandtley GreenlawBe sure to read some of the comments. I think some make very good points that need to be dealt with. And some sound just like what I've said about John 14. Such as @seekertruth3577 "...In other words, the Holy Spirit was said to be the Spirit of both God and Christ...."
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04/08/25 07:25 PM
3. THE PROMISED LAMB the plan of redemption, devised in Heaven, transferred the sentence of death from the [believer], to a substitute. There must be the shedding of blood, for death was the consequence of man's sin. In the slain victim, man was to see for the time being the fulfillment of God's word: "Ye shall surely die." The flowing blood also signified an atonement, and pointed forward to a Redeemer who would one day come to the world and die for the sins of man, thus fully vindicating his Father's law. {2SP 85.3} THE LAMB IN Genesis 22 That chapter tells the gripping story of Abraham and Isaac. A type pointing forward to God the Father giving His only Son to die as the sacrifice, but Isaac's sacrificial death could atone for no one, it was not required, for God Himself would provide Himself the Lamb. THE LAMB IMPLIED IN GENESIS 3 But the concept of the coming Lamb appears even earlier than Abraham's story, in the book of Genesis. Genesis 3:15 promised a coming victor over Satan. Then three verses later, we see in 3:18, Adam and Eve were clothed by God, with garments of skin, not just wool, but skin. To make garments of skin, required a death to the animal that bore that skin, it required the shedding of blood. God did not accept their self made garments of leaves, which could never cover their guilt and shame. The first shedding of animal blood to make garments of skin for Adam and Eve as well as the Jewish sacrificial system were both foreshadows of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. For only thus could we be forgiven and receive a garment which could cover our guilt and shame. CAIN AND ABEL AND THE LAMB Genesis chapter four Abel was a keeper of sheep... Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock...the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: Cain was a tiller of the ground...Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD....but God had not respect for Cain's offering. The story of Cain and Abel is rich in symbolism Abel looked forward by faith, to a Saviour to come. The Lord accepted the offering of Abel, presented in humility, and faith in the coming Lamb of God. His obedience was counted to him for righteousness. Cain offered God his own works. Cain and Abel represent two classes of men that have existed from generation to generation, and will continue to exist to the close of time. One availed himself of the promised sacrifice for sin; the other ventured to depend upon his own merits. His was the sacrifice of a sinner without the virtue of divine mediation, which is alone able to bring him into favor with God. It is only through the merits of Jesus that our transgressions of the law can be pardoned. Those who feel no need of the blood of Christ, are betrayed into grievous sins. If they do not gladly, gratefully, accept the cleansing blood, they are under condemnation. There is no other provision made whereby they can be released from sin's terrible thralldom. {ST, September 11, 1884 par. 4}
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04/08/25 05:56 PM
2. DEATH
Why is death and suffering the expected norm for everyone in this world? The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12 For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away: 1 peter 1:24
Sin (doubting God and believing Satan, disregarding God's Word and following Satan's lies) results in death -- it's the result for having been disconnected from the Creator: the only Source of life in the universe.
The first human death, is recorded in Genesis. The rebellious Cain kills his righteous brother in Genesis 4. But this was not the last, Cain's rebellious nature is active in his descendants and before long the whole earth is filled with violence. (Gen. 6:11)
Death is the opposite of life. Death is the natural result of sin. It is being separate from the only source of life.
The Bible tells the story of the deadly trap the human race fell into due to believing Satan's lies, and God's matchless loving plan to restore and connect mankind with LIFE!
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04/08/25 06:45 AM
LESSON TWO: THE GENESIS FOUNDATION According to the lesson: "Genesis, lays out the path by which our world descended into sinful chaos. Nearly every key concept mentioned in Revelation appears?in some form?in the opening chapters of the Bible. Genesis can yield important lessons about the nature of humanity, of God, and of the conflict being waged in our universe and in us.
So what are some of these concepts in Genesis?
1. TRUTH The Bible clearly defines who is the author of truth and who is the author of lies. John 17:7 God's word is truth. Isaiah 40:8 The Word of our God stands forever John 8:44 the devil, ... from the beginning, abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The conflict between God's Word of truth and the devil's lies are at the very foundation of mankind's plunge into sin. Truth and Falsehoods clashed already Genesis. God's truth-- Gen. 2:16,17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. The devil's lie Gen. 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
When God establishes truth, He does not change His mind. We can count on the fact that truth does not change. No matter how many lies and how much disbelief is manifested against truth, truth still remains the truth.
Genesis chapters six and seven God revealed truth to Noah, Gen. 6:13-14 "behold, I will destroy them with the earth....Make thee an ark of gopher wood;...I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh." People and animals that come into the ark will be kept alive.
Satan's lies: They ridiculed the idea of building a great boat on dry land. {CTr 55.2} They caricatured him and criticized him. They laughed at him for his peculiar earnestness and intense feeling in regard to the judgments which he declared God would surely fulfill. They talked of science and of the laws controlling nature. Then they held a carnival over the words of Noah, calling him a crazy fanatic. (MS 29, 1890). {1BC 1090.7}
In the days of Noah all who refused to believe the truth perished.
Truth has always been attacked by the forces of evil, for evil is built on the foundation of lies. To love God's truth is extremely important.
Stan works with all power, signs and lying wonder, with all unrighteous deception so that we will perish. We need to have the love of the truth so we will not be swept away with strong delusion and believe the lie and perish. (see 2Thess. 2:9-12)
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04/07/25 01:30 AM
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04/06/25 10:21 AM
The study of Prophecy
When looking at commentaries on Daniel and Revelation, one will quickly discover that there is a mind-boggling assortment of views and interpretations, not just from different denominations but even in a church that claims to have the prophetic message for the last days.
In the first lesson we read: " For the first eighteen centuries of Christian history, most Christians were very comfortable with biblical prophecy, and there was a surprising level of agreement on what the key messages of the prophecies were."
How is it that there used to be a "surprising level of agreement on the key messages" and now there is such a huge, often contradicting assortment of interpretations?
Even in our church, there was a sense of unity and urgency to get the prophetic message proclaimed to the world, whereas now there is often more controversy and interpretations confusing the issues then ever before?
A question was raised -- could it be that people back then were more biblically literate, with greater knowledge and a better grasp of Bible as a whole?
Could it be that people today, with little exposure to most of the rest of the Bible, take a few verses and try to interpret them quite apart from the rest of scripture and the overarching story of redemption portrayed in throughout the Bible.
Could it be that people today think of prophecy more like a fortune teller, simply giving a precise detailed future prediction of events, rather than being a warning of general evil and the saving power and work of Jesus. People seeking to satisfy their curiosity of just how and when events will all pan out in the future. Rather than seeing the prophecies as giving the gospel call, revealing Jesus and His rescue plan from the evil.
Yes, there is always more "depth" to find in the prophecies, and more relevance to Christ's saving work and the sanctuary message. There is always more meaning to discover. That kind of study is needed, yet, too often that isn't really the focus of the many different views , the divergence too often seeks wholly new and different, outlines, times, and purposes.
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Here is the link to this week's Sabbath School Lesson Study and Discussion Material: Click Here
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