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Raphel: Anointing with oil is used in the SDA Church. When it is used it is most commonly used in a local congregational setting where the pastors and/or Elders are anointing congregational members who are known by them. In such a setting, probably little to no publicity is given to such a service. IOW, only the individual, family, friends and those participating may know that it has been done. I will suggest that there are multiple reasons for this: 1) Some who practice anointing seem to make a public spectacle of the event. Many of us reject this as not being Biblical and prefer to be much more private. 2) Some of us believe that people should establish a congregational relationship and therefore do not provide what some would call a sacramental service to people who walk through our doors on a one-time basis with no intent to ever appear again. E.G> Baptism is a Biblical service. I do not baptize people with whom I have not established a congregational relationship and intend to become a part of my congregation. 3) As Pam referenced, I have clearly met people who looked upon the anointing as a form of magic. I Do not consider this to be Biblical and under such circumstances I would not anoint. IOW, If I am asked to anoint, I want the person to have a Biblical understanding of the event. E.G. I would not baptize a person who clearly misunderstood what baptism is all about, just as I would not marry a coupe who misunderstood the Biblical meaning of marriage. 4) We live in a time when people expect privacy as to their medical condition, and in many cases that privacy is backed up by the law. Public knowledge of an anointing is considered by many to be a violation of that privacy. Yes, I am serious. I need to respect that view. 5) Anointing is a Biblical practice. But, there is not Biblical requirement to call fo anointing for every medical condition. I cut my hand yesterday and it bled. My wife pout an antiseptic on the cut and bandaged it. To me, to have asked the elders to come in and anoint me would cheapen the service. I believe that the use of an antiseptic and a bandage was in accord with the Bible as it is God who has given us modern medical knowledge. 6) Personally, I believe that the Biblical concept of anointing is more in line with grave conditions when one is near death. 7) But, I Believe that the Biblical understanding of anointing is more than a demand for healing. Rather I see it as a service in which one is saying: God you can heal me. Do so if it is in accord with your will. But, if it is not your will, I submit to your decision and I trust you to do for me what is for my best.. Personally, I do not anoint people who that demand that God honor their wish and are unwilling to accept any other. 8) Raphel: The bottom line is that death is a part of our life. Every one of us can expect to die and be prepared to personally meet our own death. Except for a few who will be alive at the 2nd Advent, everyone of us will eventually die. [NOTE: I do not understand your question(s) in the 2nd paragraph of the post above. So I have not responded to them..]

Donald Trump is not t he Republican whom I am most concerned about.

Hi again! Reflecting Jesus .. meaning to look upon others as our own. Sorry for miscommunication on my part. May the Joy of the Lord be your strength!

When you pet him it's like rubbing velvet, and it's hard to stop. Lol Actually it's smoother and softer than velvet. He is a very sweet dog, and loves people. But enough of bragging on my dog...i'm just glad I found him.

If the whole human race was justified at the cross, then do I understand the author to mean that all who have not had opportunity to reject the gospel are/will be saved?

Thank you Liz, hope you are doing well. : )

Thomas, You must read a million words a minute; and type equally as fast. I continue to be astounded by the depth of your research and the eloquence of your presentation. I really hope people are taking the time to read through your posts. They exquisitely document just about everything that I simply ramble on about. You referred at leat once to Montifiore's "Jerusalem - The Biography" - one of the most fascinating and educational books I have ever read on the history of the Middle East. I can't confirm it, but it seems to me that you may be spiritually gifted in the area of research and discernment. I feel the same way about a few other posters on here. Blessings to you, Brother!

Awesome looking dog. Thanks for sharing. I pray he gives you the same joy of your previous one did!! Sorry I already forgot his name. Mr is all I can recall!

Reading through your well referenced documentation Thomas, and Joe's review of Obama's support of the Islamic agenda, was GREAT!! I can see Islam as the 7th "head". I'm just not sure THAT head will also be the 8th head. Gabriel told the prophet Daniel that the vision of the Ram and Goat was for the "time of the end". "for the vision belongeth to the time of the end" (Dan 8:17 ASV) "the vision refers to the time of the end" (Dan 8:17 CJB) "at the time of the end shall be the vision" (Dan 8:17 KJV) "the vision pertains to the time of the end" (Dan 8:17 NAU) "the vision concerns the time of the end" (Dan 8:17 NIV) "the vision is for the time of the end" (Dan 8:17 NRS) I'm thinking the ENTIRE vision is describing events to take place at the "time of the end". Traditional Christian explanation has been to put most of it back in ancient history. Daniel 8:19 He said, "Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. (NAU) The events described in this vision will BRING the END of this age! NOW - the RAM, pushing North, South, and West - but not East towards China. Daniel is told the "two horns--they are the kings of Media and Persia". WHO are these "kings" at the "time of the end". Islam is made up of Sunni and Shia. I believe these are the "two horns". Persia IS Iran. Iran is Shiite. The center of the Median empire was Northern Irac, Southern Syria. The Kurds claim to be descendants of the Medes. This is where ISIS is. ISIS is Sunni. This RAM is going to do something so terrible that the WEST (the Western powers - the goat) will finally react with great force. The Western powers - led by the "notable horn" = the United States, will come at the Islamic forces with great fury. And they WILL soundly defeat them!! Could it be the Iranians finally land a bomb, and destroy the Old City of Jerusalem? What happens at this battle? Daniel 8:7 "And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand. (NKJ) So there's the END of the 7th head - the end time Muslim empire. But what comes AFTER the Ram is stomped on? Answer: The little horn In the WEST, the "notable horn" is "broken without hand". A financial collapse??? In it's place 4 horns grow. And out of one of the 4 comes a little horn, that subdues the other 3 horns. This little horn "grew exceedingly great" and "(v.11) "exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host" and "by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down". The trampling of the sanctuary and the host will last for 2300 evening/morning. Then the sanctuary will be "cleansed" (set right). This definitely involves Jerusalem. The "little horn" ON the "terrible beast" takes over the Temple Mount, and exalts himself. I believe he will demand that all men serve him. The little horn has all the earmarks of the Antichrist!! Now - just exactly WHO this will be - pope or other - we don't see yet. THIS IS ALL END TIME!!!! I personally believe the "notable horn" represents the USA. Who else could lead and power a war against Islamic nations? After the war, our economy is broken and the nations of the world don't need us any longer, to fight their battles. The 4 horns come up IN PLACE OF the big notable horn. The four horns are the SAME AS the "four beasts" of Daniel 7. Lion, bear, leopard, and terrible beast. The little horn comes out of the "terrible beast" in the Daniel 7 vision. It comes out of one of the 4 horns in the Daniel 8 vision. This is the rise of the 8th "head". This is WHEN it comes to power. After war between the West and the Ram. Personally - I see this war coming like a freight train.

Yes but more intense study might show us God didn't really mean what it says in Romans. Makes sense something vital to our salvation would be left a mystery for thousands of years Romans 1:20-32 Rom 1:20-32 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. (21) For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. (22) Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools (23) and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. (24) Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. (25) They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (26) For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, (27) and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. (28) And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. (29) They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, (30) slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, (31) senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. (32) Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.

It doesn't take much study time to properly discern the value of avoiding that which the Word defines as an abomination to God. …22And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh....Jude 1 20O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge "-- 21which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.....1 Timothy 6 These two messages of just a few minutes say more than I could in an hours discourse of the Word. God is Love! ~Jesus saves!

In Jesus' day the different Jewish groups would have different ways of figuring out what day Passover would be. The evidence is that Jesus had the last supper at an Essene monastery. The Essenes would have had Passover on the Tuesday night of that week when the temple would have Passover Friday night. Jesus would have had Passover with the Disciples on Tuesday night. Get arrested, have a short inquiry, then be taken across the courtyard to the holding cell as Peter denies him. Spend the rest of Wednesday in the cell. Then Thursday would be the trials, Thursday night Pilates wife have the dream to have nothing to do with him and Friday morning on the cross and Jesus died when the temple was to sacrifice the Passover lamb.

It is your opinion that Thomas' and/or my opinion is faulty. It is my opinion that they are not faulty; and that the measurability and veracity of our view of prophecy is measurable and verifiable. It is circular logic to say your point is scripturally verifiable because scripture the way you view it agrees with you and scripture as you view it is God's word. I can't say those things either. Prophecy will unfold the way it unfolds; and neither of us will "know" with any certainty how it unfolds until it does unfold. Until then, all any of us has is an informed opinion. I won't change your mind; and you won't change mine - that's my CA experience. So from my perspective, this discussion serves no further purpose than to hijack this thread.

Herein lies one of the fruitless points (pointless fruits) of religion (yes, I mean Christianity also). It is the jump in human logic that perceives that 'our people are special recipients of god's protection and grace, therefore what we believe is especially blessed by god'. Then god allowed satan to use the earthquake to bring calamity only to the 'pagans' and 'apostate Christians'? To wake up Nepal? When are the religious going to realize that natural disasters just happen because they are of nature - the pressure of tectonic plates that just give way? That the reason people may survive could be because of earthquake preparedness smarts and building structural conditions?

A former (very popular) pastor, was a Baptist is SDA clothing. I prayed for him. Then one Sabbath he preached a most anti SDA sermon. In my seat, I silently prayed "How long Lord must your people be subjected to this messenger? Lord remove him from this pulpit." Then the man paused his sermon and resigned on the spot. The church elders chose his successor (a man with a similar mindset.) I prayed for him for a while and then moved my membership. Eventually, the woman's Tuesday prayer group prayed for him too. On the fateful day, they prayed "Lord he's a great pastor for some folks, but not what the majority of us need. Please remove him and send another man who will meet the needs of the church." Before that prayer group disbanded that morning, the news of his sudden death arrived. Those women are still struggling with it several years later.