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Here is a blog thought that is written by a Catholic, Richard Rohr. See if you resonate with this pondering:

I was doing a word search the other day and ran across the text where the Bible says when Absalom shaved his head once a year the hair he shaved off weighed 220 shekels. Well, it made me curious so I did a little research into how much 200 shekels actually weighs in measurements that are familiar to us. From a combination of Bible dictionaries I found the the following. 1. 20 gerahs = 1 shekel 2. 13.7 grains = 1 gerah 3. 1 grain = .0648 grams. 4. 28 grams = 1 ounce 5 16 ounces = 1 lb Thus. 13.7x20 = 274 grains per shekel 200 shekels at 274 grains per shekel = 54,800 grains 54,800 grains x .0648 = 3,551.04 grams 3,551.04 divided by 28 (28 grams per ounce) = 126.822857143 ounces 126.822857143 ounces divided by 16 (16 ounces per lb.) = 7.926428571 lbs. Absalom grew almost 8lbs of hair per year. I find that an astounding number and that is one huge pile of hair. It's no wonder he got caught by his hair in a tree.

Picking and choosing Bible texts, with out context, is always a tricky thing, tis a pitfall!

LOL. There are a whole lot of SDA's that not only believe in the 2nd Amendment, but support it whole-heartedly. This idea that Adventism, in general, is against self-defense is a complete fallacy. The Bible doesn't say self-defense is a bad thing, in fact, we see the children of Isreal defending themselves, and God whole-heartedly supporting those actions. God, time after time, led the Israelites in their battles for self-defense.

Its a nonsense! Look at the Old Testament history of Israelites. They fought against their enemies! One of Jesus's disciples was armed with a knife. Many missionaries had guns in their house.

Rape, theft and genocide are not products of a particular time. They have been seen in every age. These kinds of evil acts are a part of the quest for riches and power. Unfortunately, people still celebrate evil men. I think the Russians still celebrate Stalin's birthday, right?

Look at Ps 23 for an example of the goodness of God towards sheep who are relatively stupid. I have spent half an hour around sheep in my life, and that time was spent running away from a sheep which was trying its best to butt me. Terrifying So I am not in a real good position to relate to Ps 23. But I do have a cat, so I relate to being a cat-owner. Cats are a bit like sheep, just harder to herd. The point is that the cat owner/shepherd loves and cares for his animals because of his own goodness, not because of any intrinsic goodness on the animal's part. My current cat has issues. He was obtained from an animal shelter - a rescue cat. I went to the shelter looking for a black and white cat. They did not have one. So less than ideal, I next looked for a black cat. R chose me, I did not choose him. He was the friendliest cat in a huge cage filled with cats. I had brought a cage, but they insisted I take a stronger one. I wanted to pick him up, but they insisted on doing that. On getting R home, I discovered why. He would not allow one to pick him up, and he was quite wild and may have escaped from my cage. R obviously had not been properly socialised as a kitten. In retrospect, I think he was in a cage where they kept all the wilder cats. Like a maximum security prison. The first few days he spent hiding away, even though he was trying to be friendly. To this day he does not take being disrespected and has spilt a lot of my families blood by scratching us when we tease or move him against his will. Also, he is not black, but in sunlight a dark browny-black. And his front and back claws do not retract like normal cats. They permanently stick out, so you hear a tick-tick as he walks on a hard floor, just like one hears with dogs. And his canines are longer than normal cats, giving him a sabre-toothed tiger look in that they protrude from his upper jaw. He is very spoilt and will only eat fresh fish - no pellets. This cat has very little going for him intrinsically and objectively. But we love him. We have loved most of the bad personality traits out of him. The family are forever asking "Where is R?" if we have not seen him for a while. My family occasionally point out R's flaws, but I am blind to these. Here then is my point. We love this cat possibly more because he had/has so many issues. I think God loves us so much because we had/have so little going for us intrinsically. And we all are rescue creatures. My cat has long forgotten what I saved him from, including possible death. At night he will even poke his wet nose into my sleeping face and demand that I feed him. What a cheek. But I get up, switch on the light, microwave him some frozen fish, and stagger back to bed. The LORD truly is my Shepherd. He loves me in exactly the same way. And He loves all of you in exactly the same way.

Why would I think the plagues ARE universal. 1. The trumpets ARE plagues. And they are limited in scope to 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. Jesus comes at the 7th - or "last trump". Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." (NKJ) At the 7th trumpet - the kingdoms of this world HAVE BECOME Christs. It is TIME TO "reward Your servants" and TIME TO "destroy those who destroy the earth". WHEN are God's servants rewarded? At His coming. John sees them "stand on the sea of glass" signing a victory song (Rev. 15:1-4). Where is the sea of glass? Answer: before the throne of God in Heaven. THEN the wrath plagues - the vial plagues are poured out on the earth. 1. a loathsome sore came upon those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. Who will worship the Beast or his image? Answer: Rev. 13:7-8 "And authority was given him (the Beast) over EVERY tribe, tongue and nation. And ALL who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb." "If ANYONE worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark . . he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation". Rev 14:9-10 If everyone worships the Beast and his image (except those sealed of God) THEN the vial plagues would be universal. The REASON why they do not harm those sealed of God is because the redeemed were called up to Heaven by the voice of God, when the last trumpet sounds.