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I have published a new book, this time a novel (parable). I decided to publish it as an E-book through Amazon. You can obtain it and have it downloaded to an area reserved for you in an Internet "Cloud," then read it on a Kindle device, or on your computer (using a free downloadable app from Amazon). Here is the link for the book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q7COXT4 Angel In the End of Time: A Parable of the End Times (Kindle Edition) Ronald R. Lambert (Author) Kindle Price: $4.99 Book Description: Many people seem to have gotten the idea that the interpretation of Bible prophecy is something like a competitive sport, and vie with each other to see who can come up with the most fabulously fanciful version. But 2 Peter 1:20, 21 strictly forbids fanciful interpretations: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” This leads us to recognize what must be the one and only reasonable way to avoid a private interpretation of Bible prophecy. That is to follow these three basic rules of interpretation: (1) Allow only the Bible itself to define all its prophetic symbols. (2) Allow context to indicate when in history to apply the prophecies. (3) Use common sense literary analysis—especially noting how the phrases involved are used elsewhere in Scripture—to determine whether a given passage should be taken literally or symbolically. The fact that these simple rules do work, and provide consistent results with symbolic prophecies written many centuries apart in three different languages, is one of the strongest evidences for the divine inspiration of Scripture. It shows that all the prophecies did come from One Divine Mind. Jesus Christ did much of His preaching employing stories that helped his listeners understand what He was trying to get across. This story is told from the viewpoint of a former guardian angel, Laron. We meet him as he chooses to address the family and friends of the young lady who had been his charge, who was killed. Then he proceeds to Atlanta, Georgia, where terrorists detonate a small nuclear bomb. Next he must hasten to the White House, and try to resist the efforts of the enemy (fallen angels) to persuade the president to authorize use of a much more powerful nuclear bomb to prevent any contagious diseases that may have escaped from Level Four containment in the Centers for Disease Control from spreading throughout the countryside. After that, we follow Laron through the key events outlined in Bible prophecy for the time of the end, including the final organized conspiracy to place the whole world under the control of one religious authority, that unfortunately is not on God’s side. There is no “Secret Rapture.” All living on earth face a final judgment based on the choice they must make, whether to put their faith in the righteousness of God the Creator and Redeemer, or in the supposed righteousness of the creature--humans and human institutions. The Mark of the Beast is the Mark of creature worship. A note about E-publishing: authors typically get 70% royalties, so can afford to charge much less for books, allowing more people to be able to afford to read them. While the E-publisher does not get as large a percentage as a print publisher, the E-publisher has negligible actual publication costs. Amazon currently has about 60% of the E-book market. Next to Amazon is Barnes & Noble, with 30%. More and more public libraries are offering rental of E-books. Also, I discovered that going to the Amazon Kindle library, I find a lot of short stories available by themselves, some of them by well-known writers. For example, there are a couple of short works by Lee Child, that feature his popular character, Jack Reacher, that are available no where else, at prices of $1.99 or lower. In the past, to get a short story published, I had to get some magazine editor to like it enough to publish it in his magazine (such as Analog Science Fiction, where I have been published several times). Or someone compiling an anthology of short fiction might solicit short stories already published, and occasionally some that are new, to include in his anthology. The market for short fiction thus has always been very tight--until now. Now it is easy to get a short story or novelette published. I would hate to see the demise of printed books, but clearly E-books are the way of the future. They allow much greater freedom, and make literature much more readily available.

Again, Eve had no sinful propensity. She had no sin nature. She knew only agape....Therefore her fall into sin is inexpiable. "Sin is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for its existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it, and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a thing that was shown to be inexcusable and exceeding sinful. The reason of its inception or development was never explained and never can be..." (The Signs of the Times, April 28, 1890)

But that would infer Eve was tempted. Eve was made in the image of God; therefore the only desire Eve had within her was based on God's agape love. Eve fell because Satan deceived her. She was deceived into sin.

"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" Amos 3:3

Perception is reality. When the church, its leaders or its pastors take a position on issues, percieved by the masses as political, (except in cases of religious liberty) it serves to polarize the church and thus reduces our influence in reaching the lost with the gospel message. Our members, as individuals, are free to dedicate themselves to saving the whales, fighting for gay marriage, pushing to ban abortion or whatever cherished political cause they choose to embrace is. However the church, as an organization, and those representing it, should stay focused on the sole cause of spreading the message of eternal life to the lost. Time is short. Jesus is coming soon. That is the message God has given to His end-time church.

carey, I don't know what your quote of Matt. 1:17 has to do with ecumenism; but I understand your question about Israel being the chosen people. IMO God designated them as "the chosen people" to demonstrate to the world the blessings that would be available to those who followed the God of Israel. By being "grafted into the same vine " as Paul would say, all could become the children of God. They failed miserably. The mantle of "chosen people" then fell to the apostolic Christian church; which eventually devolved in the the state religion of Roman Catholicism over the course of a few centuries. They failed miserably. In due time, the mantle fell to the Protestant Revolution. Over the centuries, they also focused on earthly power rather than Holy Spirit power; and failed miserably. According to carey's quote, that mantle eventually passed to SDA's. Are we doing any better than our predecessors? From my perspective, no. It will take the interdenominational body of Christ as a group of "true believers" - not members of a "true denomination" - to demonstrate to the world the goodness and power of God's grace. Denominational competition for the title of "World's Only True Religion" won't get us anywhere.

Or, the fundamental sin was not in what she ate, but in her rebellion against God.

http://www.boysonthebus.com/2013/04/14/game-notes-oilersflames-apr-13/burning-house/ No other choice.

In my thinking, we build homes for more than shelter and protection. We build them to have a place that we can call home, a place where we can rest and relax, where I can visit with friends, a place where we can spend time to read and study the world in which we live. The future live as I see it has all of that. .