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I think we've often misunderstood the purpose of this book. In Ellen White's own words: “It is not so much the object of this book to present new truths concerning the struggles of former times, as to bring out facts and principles which have a bearing on coming events. Yet viewed as a part of the controversy between the forces of light and darkness, all these records of the past are seen to have a new significance; and through them a light is cast upon the future, illumining the pathway of those who, like the reformers of past ages, will be called, even at the peril of all earthly good, to witness “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” {GC xii.1} This book is first and foremost about spiritual principles. Here she states that the historical section is meant to be understood as an illustration of the final conflict. I realize that the following might be an unpopular opinion, but I think her theological beliefs about the eschatological role of the papacy should be understood in the same way, as an illustration of what will actually happen. In other words, bigotry and religious persecution can come under many different forms and guises. I think it's near-sighted to assume that the spirit of the Antichrist is something that by definition originates in the Vatican. When the principles behind the medieval papacy eventually are resurrected it can be manifested in a form that would surprise us Adventists. Remember that the devil has prepared an end-time deception that would, if possible, deceive the very elect. Don't you think the devil has read the “Great Controversy”?

'Temper tantrum'....? Really? Just because they decided to stop a man made function?

Yes, our awesome God has made concessions, BUT - ESV | ‎Ac 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

For all practical purposes, what difference is it whether I lose my place in the Lamb's book if Life as a result of going after strange flesh or of neglecting to serve the homeless and the poor? 7and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,...2 Peter 2 Lot's wife had no part in any licentious living so far as an open declaration found in the Scripture. She lost her eternal reward as a result of having a heart disobedient to direct spiritual counsel. …31"On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. 32"Remember Lot's wife. 33"Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.…Luke 17 God is Love! Jesus saves!

1. Right. You have chosen one text among many. I said 'primarily'. Look at *all* the texts, and see what predominates. 2. You have interpreted 'strange flesh', based in your own set of assumptions, to mean 'of the same sex', rather than - as seems more likely in the OT context (of the story, not this NT commentary on the story) - 'foreign'. Is there a Greek scholar in the house who can clarify the meaning of the word(s) used?

David lost 4 sons as a result of what he did. Probably they were lost eternally. Plus his daughter was miserable. At least one son David would have rather died himself. It says so in the Scripture. The way of the transgressor is hard. If you think it is easier to lose 4 kids than die yourself, ask a parent. David repented so he will be in heaven but one of the biggest problems with what he did inspiration tells us it would make others have a wrong idea of God. And the Bible says not to break up a marriage to go back to an ex but heart repentance is vital. God judges the hearts. It is true we cannot do this but God can so we should not take these or other sins lightly in our own hearts minds or behavior. Repentance and forgiveness is different than saying the past lifestyle was fine with the Lord.

What does EGW say? Many see much to admire in the life of Christ. But true love for him can never dwell in the heart of the self-righteous. Not to see our own deformity is not to see the beauty of Christ’s character. When we are fully awake to our own sinfulness, we shall appreciate Christ. The more humble are our views of ourselves, the more clearly we shall see the spotless character of Jesus. He who says, “I am holy, I am sinless,” is self-deceived. Some have said this, and some even dare to say, “I am Christ.” To entertain such a thought is blasphemy. Not to see the marked contrast between Christ and ourselves is not to know ourselves. He who does not abhor himself can not understand the meaning of redemption

I liked your post Jackson. But I have a question concerning the one sentence I highlighted in red. Are you saying that Christ cannot return UNTIL every one of his sheep, have "fit" characters? And exactly what IS a "fit" character? Does it mean that these people have stopped sinning - even by a thought? Or does it mean, that they long - with heart, mind, and strength - to belong to Christ forever? According to prophecy, Jesus will return at "the time appointed", which means that DAY is already known to God. I don't believe that Jesus is watching His sheep, waiting for perfection, so He can come to rescue them.

Powerful post Unchained!!! Mrs. White is looking at the past and principles that will come around again, and being aware of what happened and what could have happened will help us to recognize it when it comes around again. But sadly Satan has tidied up religion. He has given us traditions that has it all figured out. He has God set in cement. He has blinded us to the fact that the Lord could have come hense this and that the Bible and Mrs. White tells us what could have happened. From seeing what could have happened we can see the same principles when it comes around again. But sadly since this is not tidy enough, we don't want to get into the nit and gritty of Bible study. While making the Pope the Whole beast we are thus open to accepting other aspects of the beast. While looking for a return to the 5th head many of us will embrace the 7th head. While waiting for the strict Sunday Laws, there will be something with Sunday but does not peter out as we expect so we move on and embrace the larger issues of the mark of the beast (Mrs. White says that Sunday laws are a test for the Christian world and implies that the issue is larger than Sunday keeping and that there will be other manifestations to other parts of the world.) We know it all and warnings that we don't know it all and need to study deeper are excused as liberal unbelief and we embrace and put faith in our traditions. And as the Bible proves to not fit the standard of the Fundamentalist, Christians will face the same issues we faced with Walter Rea. Only why trust in this dry untrustworthy book when we have "Jesus" "Paul" and "Mrs. White" and" your loving Grandma" and other dear ones back from the dead and willing to share with us what is correct.

And what does this little 'temper tantrum" gain them?? Nuff Sed......

The reason for the length of the posts is for your benefit, so you can understand the points being made. If you understand the points being made, and disagree with that, that's one thing, but if you don't even understand what's being said, then there needs to be an explanation. For example, in a recent post you made a presentation of what you called the sequence of events according to me which left me scratching my head. It is so different than what I actually wrote, I cannot conceive of how you could get it so wrong. I wrote down what I believed the sequence was. You could have just copied and pasted that, but instead wrote something completely different which I disagree with completely. It's actions like these which lead me to believe there is a disconnect of understanding. I understand that English is not your first language, so that may explain it, but it is my hope when we disagree with each other, that we are actually disagreeing with what the other persont thinks. I agree that there are some scriptures which speak of the "faith of Jesus" as opposed to our faith, but this would be the basis of our being justified by faith, not our being justified by faith ourselves. There are Scripture which speak of our faith, and our exercising our faith, and in so doing being justified by faith. For example, consider the following text: This is talking about us, not Christ.

I've looked at this and think this is a somewhat dishonest attack on Fiorina. That she says the SEC cleared HP of any wrongdoing is maybe an overstatement but in no way is a deliberate lie. I can see how she would take the SEC not following up on the charges as a clearing herself and HP of any suspicion. As to the claims of these sales being a large percentage of HP's overall sales that's a complete fabrication. It's more along the lines of 1 or 2% of total sales. In a company as large as HP 1 or 2% of sales is something I can see easily slipping in unnoticed. The manufactured indigination of this is kind of hilarious when you compare this to what Hillary Clinton has done and there is complete silence from the left about it. She violated law after law. She placed no priority upon national security in using a private email server. And her lies about not sending any marked emails is ludicrous. As Secretary of State she was one of only 20 people in the administration authorised to classify documents. So, the simple fact is when she read an email she would know immediately if it was classified whether or not it was marked. All this junk about ignorance is simply that. Junk. It's all lies. You care about honesty? Then care about honesty all the time. If you're not, then the simple fact is that you don't really give a rip about dishonesty. You only use your manufactured indignation as a political weapon. Read the book Clinton Cash. It thoroughly exposes the dishonesty and hypocrisy of the Clintons. It shows how thoroughly unfit they are to be leaders of anything.

??? I explained what this means according to the Scriptures. You deleted my explanation of what the Scriptures say. Why did you do this? Again, your idea of what Scripture is saying would be impossible, for the reason I pointed out. If you are going to engate in a discussion, please respond to the points the other person is making; don't just repeat what you said before as if the other person didn't respond. To repeat my point, if what you are asserting were true, how could Abraham have been righteous? Please answer this question! What Paul argues is that Abraham was justified by faith; that's how he became righteous. What is your thought? The fact that Abraham was justified during his lifetime is proof that his sins were forgiven during his lifetime. David also was forgiven of his sin, which Paul explicitly states in Romans 4. 5 hours ago, pnattmbtc said: And the point in the first place didn't have to go with God, but with the one who committed sin. The point is, the person who sinned has estranged himself from God, . . . And the person is back to square one, separated from God again, which is not true, because NONE can separate us from the love of God, according to Scriptures (Rom 8:38, 39). Believing your proposition, one is in an off-on condition: commit sin, separated from God; repent and forgiven, attached to Him again. Sin again, separated from God again; repent and forgiven again, attached to God again. And this cycles all through out his lifetime. You've mispresented what I said, but I'll leave that aside for now. It seems that you are saying that noone can be separated from God? How do you understand the story of the prodgical son? Please answer this question. There are two questions in particular I would like you to answer. 1.How do you understand that justification by faith works (Please consider especially Romans 10:10 in your answer). 2.How do you understand the story of the prodigal son? (especially in regards to the concepts of separation from the father and being restored).

Given that eclipses are very regular events on a well understood entirely natural cycle, and have been happening at the same rate since creation, and given that Jewish holidays are timed based on phases of the moon, then this is only a 'sign of the end' if it's been the end since the beginning, because this has been happening with the same frequency at least as long as there have been Jewish holidays.

I was probably 12 yo when it became popular in my village to tease our hair to make it look curly. After doing this repeatedly, it occurred to me to pray to God to make it permanent! And it didn't!

Have ANY of the popes renounced any of these claims?

. One of Aesop’s fables tells how a herdsman who had lost a calf out of his grounds sent to seek it everywhere, but not finding it resorted himself to prayer. "Great Jupiter," said he, "if thou wilt show me the thief that has stolen my calf I will sacrifice a kid to thee." The prayer was scarcely uttered when the thief stood before him — it was a lion. The poor herdsman was terrified, and his discovery drove him again to prayer. "I have not forgotten my vow, O Jupiter," he said, "but now that thou hast shown me the thief, I will make the kid a bull if thou wilt take him away again." The moral of the fable is that the fulfilment of our wishes might often prove our ruin. Our ignorance often betrays us into errors which would be fatal if our prayers were granted. It is in kindness to us that they are refused.

exactly... After the last debate, I thought Fiorina was maybe someone I could support. But then I read up on her background (including statements from her first husband who doesn't have an axe to grind). I would vote for Bernie Sanders and a host of Democrats before I'd vote Republican for Fiorina.

Nope, sorry, the old 'the other guys do it too' defense won't work on Judgement Day, and it won't work here. Each candidate must stand or fall on her own merits and her own character. Fiorina has been guilty of at least two straight up lies to the American people in just the past couple of weeks.

Malachi 3:8 Will one rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, "How are we robbing you?" In your tithes and offerings! Bring the full tithe into the store house ........ NSRV

The problem is not the Catholic people, but the leadership, i.e., the Papacy.

a lot of wisdom from a 6-year-old... Her parents had gotten a divorce, and when the dad had come over to help with something, he and the ex-wife began to argue. Here's what Tiana, their little daughter, had to say....

People won't pay any attention to the Word so something more obvious is needed to draw their attention to what time it is..... 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;....Luke 21 Shabbat Shalom! God is Love! Jesus saves!