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The Delicate Balance Between Church And State BY AMIREH AL-HADDAD Last year was quite the year for religious liberty issues. It was a sample of how the issues affecting religious freedom for Americans today is far more than just Sabbath accommodation issues. Church members are starting to take notice of how fragile religious liberty really is. http://www.southernunion.com/article/634/news-events/when-civil-rights-fight-the-delicate-balance-between-church-and-state

One nice thing I've found is that the IRS really isn't out to get the taxpayers. At least, not the IRS people I've been working with. They've even assigned me a taxpayer advocate who's working with me as a liason between me and the IRS. She's employed by the Federal Government and NOT the IRS. I should have last year's issues resolved by the end of this month. Whew.

Right on, CoA! A prime example of one of those stories in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In the story, Lazarus is lying in the bosum of Abraham listening to the rich man burning in hell across a chasm. I have to conclude that this is fiction rather than truth because: 1. The rest of the Bible says people don't suffer forever in hell, they burn up and perish. 2. Abraham's bosum can't POSSIBLY be that big. A fictional story to illustrate Biblical Truth! Sounds like there is Godly precedent for telling stories.

I like this topic too. The wife of our minister Branca, was told by the automobile driver behind her that when Branca was in a disastrous accident that she saw three angels flying over her car as it rolled and tumbled down a ravine. That experience affected not only her but those of us who heard about it. I will never forget it as long as I live.

At Atlantic Union College every semester we were required to read and do an essay on "The Role of Israel In Old Testament Prophecy" in the SDA BC and a similar article written by Mrs. White (sadly I've forgotten the reference. having confused it with another Mrs. White passage we had to read frequently "Destroyed for lack of Knowledge"), and Deuteronomy 4 which gives 2 possible paths for the Hebrews. Either they were to be faithful and be blessed and the world join them, or they are unfaithful and get curses and if nothing worked they would go to exile. In exile they were to tell about their God's faithfulness and their unfaithfulness. If they did this the exile would have been the last days ending with a second grand exodus back home. (of course there are other texts that helps to fill in some details). The Bible classes would take 3 approaches in our study of the Bible. First we would study it in it's local setting and how the Lord could have come err this. Then we would look at the historisist reapplication to see how the principles were applied over history. And we would also learn spiritual lessons from the text. From this the exegesis is that Hezekiah had his reformation. Got sick and prayed for healing. We think the message of the text was that he should have just accepted it and died. But God wanted him to pray for healing and wanted to bring the healing to bring the visitors from Babylon so that they could carry the gospel back to Babylon and have his reformation spread throughout the world. (an interesting note here: about 10 years ago I heard on audio the book "Lies my Teacher Told Me" and in talking about pre-Columbus coming to America, there is evidence that there were some visits from the Phoenicians, Israel's neighbors around the time of Hezekiah: The ships were too small for much commerce, but if this was true they could have carried over missionaries to this continent.) Sadly instead of sharing the Gospel. Hezekiah showed his stuff. And instead of it leading to the setting up of the kingdom of God, Judah got wicked king Manasseh, and the Hebrews went into exile to Babylon. Ever since then there have been someone else besides a son of David (the Christ) who ruled over the majority of God's people : 1.) Babylon, 2.) Medio-Persia, 3.) Greece 4.) Rome [The Roman Emperors up to the time of Revelation sounded a lot like the beast with the Flavian family sounded like the little horn in Daniel; and the theme of Revelation was that the church lost it's first love but to preach again and God could have wrapped things up then, but he was dependent not on world events but wants to work through his people to spread the gospel. We find that soon after Revelation the gap that the church did not fill was filled by Buddhism. People were hungry]. 5.) The Holy Roman Empire (with Papal supremacy). 6.) The deadly wound: Independent nations. Some [based on the American Revolution] offering freedom and others [based on the French Revolution] being more oppressive. then we are told that the deadly wound will be healed; but in contrast to that prophecy is the prophecy of Daniel 2 that they shall not cleave one to another. Also this 7th head will be different. The other heads were more political and conquest or revolution. We find the dragon chasing the pure woman into the wilderness, and we find the corrupt woman riding out of the wilderness on the beast and when John saw HER he was absolutely flabbergasted. (guess why). See it again: Revelation 17 starting with verse 1: One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” 3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw HER was greatly astonished. [emphases mine] 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come. 9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. Here we find that the beast is and is not and is yet to come after 5 had been This has mystified commentators for centuries; but is simply the deadly wound. something is there but yet it's dead the crowns are on the horns not the head. In Revelation 18 we find more information on the one that is to come, and actually it starts with Daniel's prophecy that they shall not cleave one to another: 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. 20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. Tell me, do these verses sound like Islam? And if it was possible would Islam deceive the very elect? This is a 7th and also an 8th in that it is not a conquered world like Alexander's kingdom. It is the "independent" nations joining together in economic cooperation and having the great banking, multinational corporations, entertainment complex ruling over them with the church (the woman) riding the beast. People are interested in what they can buy and sell and being entertained. Daniel 2 does not say that the toes will not appear to join together, only that it will not succeed. There will be a short period of world unification it with a time of peace as prosperity as never before. Expensive goods sold from all over the world. Free trade without wars interrupting. Great entertainment, musicians. The church will support this. Satan and demons will appear as Christ and the saints. Your beloved Grandma. Peter, Paul, Moses, Mohammad, Buddha, Mrs. White and others. The counterfeit will be perfect. Too many people base their faith in fundamentalism. In Seventh-day Adventism we had a few crisis with fundamentalism. Elder Canright had no reason for leaving and attacking the church except that he was a fundamentalist and saw that Mrs. White and Adventism did not meet the fundamentalist presuppositions. Even though Elder Haskell and Elders such as Washburn and Wilkinson argued that it did. Mrs. White and Elder Haskell were good friends. But they had many letters of discussion over this issue. Elder Haskell trying to convince Mrs. White that the fundamentalists explain her inspiration and Mrs. White trying to talk him out of fundamentalism. Both were disappointed that they could not talk the other into their view. A few years ago we had the Walter Rea issue. Once again he was simply a fundamentalist who saw that Mrs. White does not fit the fundamentalist standard. What we saw in the Walter Rea issue with Mrs. White, we are going to find the exact same thing with the Bible. People who put their faith in Fundamentalism will reject the Bible just as there were Adventists rejecting Mrs. White with Walter Rea. And why would we need this undependable book with all it's plagiarism and cultural influences when we have Moses, Paul and Even Jesus here with us to lead us and explain away the texts. There will be a spiritual high as never before. Meanwhile those of us who hold on to the Bible despite it not being what the Fundamentalists say it should be, who is going through the time of Jacobs trouble will feel that we are rejecting Christ and eternal life by being faithful to the Bible. It will be painful for us when we say "I'm sorry but Jesus is really Satan" when he says to us with tears in his eyes "Can Satan cast out Satan?" But it is not Satan casting out Satan but only the illusion of it, and the result is as Daniel 2 says they will not cleave one to another. This is only going to be for a short time and end in chaos and the 7 LAST plagues, the 7 last steps of earth no longer able to support life. In a system where people are on a religious high, doing well financially, well entertained and needing everyone to cooperate; and you have a group who is going through Jacob's time of trouble, holding to that unreliable book, saying that "Jesus" is Satan and "Grandma" is a demon and not going along with the system, they get blamed for the fall of Babylon and that the good times will return when you kill off these miserable people. We have the death decree and before the natural events of the 7 last plagues kills life on earth the 7th plague happens, as there appears in the east a small black cloud about half the side of a man's hand.... And the world will for the first time since the captivity to Babylon have the son of David as it's king. The term "Anti Christ" means in place of Christ. These 7 heads have all been reining in place of Christ until the second coming. We can see this 7th head developing. There were 2 dreams of what America could be. Jefferson's seeing us as a more agricultural nation with people having their own land and freedom. And the views of the industrial Revolution seeing cities and the kings of industry and common people as their workers. Labor unions were designed to fight this evil but Mrs. White predicted that they would join in with the evil that they were designed to fight. William Jennings Bryan wanted to curb the kings of industry. They then supported McKinley to be president as he was going to let them do as they pleased. He was killed and his vice president Teddy Roosevelt took over and tried to limit the superrich. They wanted to avoid getting another Roosevelt, and have been working on politics ever since starting with Nelson Aldrich and the setting up of the Federal Reserve and Council of foreign relations. We see this setting up the 7th head.

Sorry to hear that Aubrey. I pray to God every day that this never happens to me. I know this is not a comfort to those that its happen too. Not sure why some and not others!

Rick H wrote; "If Hezekiah shared the gospel with the visitors from Babylon, instead of his stuff, his reformation could have spread into the whole world and prepare for the rule of Good King Joshua." Excellent point. I agree completely. Could you explain more about the seven periods of antichrist? What constitutes these periods and basically when these periods start and end?

Thanks for posting this. I agree with Sequeira more than BRI, by a lot.

I have had my debit card compromised twice but in each case the bank called me to let me know and I had to go in to be issued a new card. I don't believe I have ever had a credit card raped (cause that is what it feels like). I wouldn't know where to begin trying to reclaim my identity if it was stolen! My brain is thinking, NIGHTMARE

Just a thought about income tax refunds. My accountant usually has any refund which is due me applied toward the next year's taxes. That way, no money changes hands, and it saves me from worrying about how much I'll have to pay next year. Also it avoids having the money "out there" and subject to being stolen.

This is a good question. I started to answer this, and "poof" what I was writing went away, so I'll try again. I think the whole framework starts off on the wrong foot, as it is not focusing on the actualy problem. The actualy problem has to do with God's character having been misrepresented. This is what led to rebellion in the first place, amongst both men and angels. The solution must be to demonstrate that the lies of the enemy are false. Rebellion happens when lies about God are believed. Reconciliation happens when the truth about God revealed in and through Jesus Christ is received in the heart. This was the work of Jesus Christ, thoughout His life, and on the cross. For example: So when we read things like this, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3:18), the above is what Peter had in mind. If we look at the problem as a legal one, and penal substitution as the answer, that does not present God in a particularly favorable light. Also, the approach you are taking leads to untenable positions, such as that the word of Christ don't matter, only the words of Paul. On the other hand, if we take the position outlined above, then *everything* Christ did and said was important, and involved in solving the problem.

Aubery I am sorry that has happened to you. I realize it would create much inconvenience. As for myself, I have and still do much of my personal business on-line.....when one travels a great deal it is a God-send. A couple of times the Fraud Prevention dept of one of my credit cards have called to verify a purchase charged to my account. In both cases the charges were legitimate. I appreciate their overseeing of my cards. I do not give personal information with places that I may feel are questionable and try to use pay pal as much as possible.

sometimes the stories in the Bible can only be understood if the culture of the times is known... For example, if a non-Christian who has no knowledge of ancient times was to read about Ruth going in to Boaz and laying at his feet, what might that person conclude? That women should lie at the feet of men? Stories with spiritual meanings need to be applicable to the target audience and understood by the same.

the only thing that ever happened to me was the theft of a credit card #... I found out about it when I checked my account online and saw a purchase of over $200 in the Ukraine for cigarettes. I've never been in the Ukraine, nor have I ever bought cigarettes..

They do have form but they travel faster than the speed of light which gives me second thought on the need or use for wings. Truly interdimensional beings.

A man named Anthony who volunteers to entertain patients in nursing homes and hospitals went to one local hospital in Brooklyn that services Jewish patients and took his portable keyboard along. Anthony found an old Jew named Saul who looked like he could use some cheering up and he went by his bedside, told some jokes and sang some funny songs. When he finished Anthony said, in farewell, "I hope you get better." Saul replied, "I hope you get better, too."

@dgrimm60 thanks for responding, the issue is this, if you post almost identical posts time and time again, it is viewed as spam. Please do not get me wrong, we are happy to have you like and post unique posts, your friendliness is valued a lot.

This the sinner would do by unbelief, correct? Why should the sinner be able to undo what Christ did by unbelief? That is, if God accomplished reconciliation/salvation/justification for every individual, and God changes the character of believers when they are resurrected, so they will be happy in heaven, why doesn't God just go ahead and do this for everybody?

Have you noticed that sometimes that people will get upset about others' responses to their posts here on C/A (or on Facebook, or other social media)? Maybe it's happened to you. I know it's happened to me. So, what's the reason behind the feeling of "ruffled feathers"? What inside "button" is getting pushed that's eliciting your irritation, or starts the wheel of self-recrimination, or makes you lash out? Sometimes, it can be fear that the comment might be right. Sometimes, the person writing the response is just a jackass. Ignore the jackasses, and learn from those whose comments have merit...