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Hey Rachel, Welcome back! To say you have been sorely missed would be an understatement.

Everyone quotes John 15 and 16 and the third person pronouns. John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” There are simple answers that do not involve a third divine being. I believe that Christ was speaking of His own glorified self, restored to omnipresence. When describing His glorious, He also referred to the Himself in third person, describing the one sitting on "the throne of His glory". "The last Adam was made a life-giving spirit." 1Cor. 15:45. The "last Adam" is Jesus Christ. If Jesus has been made "spirit", is He not with us and in us - as Spirit? Here is the link to my study on the Spirit. I went through the NT and listed every passage that mentions the Spirit. My commentary follows the verses. https://prophecyviewpoint.com/htdocs/47m-HS-TheHolySpirit-ANTReview.htm

I do not believe the Holy Spirit is a third divine being. God our Father is spirit. He is above, and through everything. That makes God the Father the great Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:6 “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” He was "in" Christ. Jesus said, "the Father who dwells in me, does the works" (John 14:10). John 17:21 [Jesus last prayer to His Father] “ ... that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” God the Father has "sent forth the spirit of His Son" (Gal 4:6). This is the comforting spirit - the presence of Jesus with us always. We have both the Father and His Son - with us, and in us (if we want them). “Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son” (1John 1:3, 1John 2:24). John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (NKJ) I don't see a third divine being mentioned.

I searched through Mrs White's writings for 4 years, looking at everything she said about the nature of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Never once did I find anything about the Father ever existing in a state with "flesh, bone, blood and organs". In her writings, the glory of the Father did appear above His throne, but no created being could enter that "unapproachable light" - except the Son of God. In Mrs White's writings, God's Son (prior to His incarnation on the earth) had taken the form of an angel. Exactly what "form" that might be, we don't know. Angels are spirit beings - not flesh beings. Angels do not marry, so presumably they do not engage in the human version of procreation. God the Father has done everything through His Son. He created - through His Son. Ephesians 3:9 “ ... and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;” He communicates - through His Son. He judges - through His Son. He heals and restores - through His Son. He will also execute His wrath - through His Son. His Son is the commander of the angels of heaven, who protect and minister to "those who shall be heirs of salvation".

5 Things You Didn't Know About Betty Ford On July 8, 2011, former First Lady Betty Ford died. She was 93 and had spent much of the past decades helping people overcome addiction. Outside of being a first lady, she is probably best known for starting the Betty Ford Clinic. Here are five things you didn't know about Betty Ford... Ford's Alcohol Use Was a Reaction to Painkiller Use Betty Ford is now well-known for starting her center after seeking treatment herself for alcoholism, but that's a simplified version of her story. Ford turned to alcohol after she had to start taking several painkillers each day for a pinched nerve. She began to take more and more pills and use the alcohol to soothe herself. When she went into rehab, she admitted only to drug addiction at first. It wasn't until another person in rehab refused to admit to alcoholism that Ford suddenly admitted her own battles with alcohol. She Kept Tabs on Who Was Leaving the Betty Ford Clinic Early and Would Personally Intervene It wasn't unusual for people seeking treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic to try to leave early. They could have decided they didn't have a problem, that the treatment was somehow beneath them, and so on. Regardless of the reason, Ford would personally intervene and try to convince those people to return to complete treatment. One of these people was Mary Tyler Moore, who did return and who credits Ford's intervention with essentially saving her life. She's an Example of Why Having a Famous Name on a Clinic Can Be a Good Thing Ford didn't want the clinic to have her name on it, not out of shame, but because she felt that it took the focus off the rehab purpose of the center. However, her husband and several other people convinced her to keep her name on the clinic because having that famous name made it easier for people to admit to having problems. The idea was that, if a former First Lady could publicly own her problems, then everyone else could, too. Ford Originally Had a Chance to Be a Professional Dancer Ford nearly had a very different life, and she likely would have continued down another path had it not been for her mother's worry about her not being married. Ford used to study dance with the esteemed Martha Graham and actually performed in shows. However, her mother pressured her to return home and get married. Ford chose her mother's route; Graham's strict regimens clashed with Ford's desire to socialize more, though how much of this clash played a role in Ford's decision to leave is unknown. She Was Ahead of Her Time in More Ways Than One Ford was not only an independent young woman who nearly chose dance over marriage, and she was not only one of the few public figures in the 1970s to push so publicly for rehab. She was also a divorcee. That sounds mundane now, but her divorce took place in the 1940s, when it was not as accepted as it is now for a woman to divorce her husband. After returning home from her dance days, Ford married a high school friend -- but he didn't pay much attention to her after they got married, and the fact that they had to move around a lot wore on her. She filed for divorce later, and then met Gerald Ford, who didn't seem fazed that he was her second husband.

5 Facts About The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators On July 7, 1865, four people were hanged after being found guilty of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. While most of those hung on this date had no doubt been involved, one person's role remains controversial to this day. Here are 5 things you didn't know about the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators... The Conspiracy Ring Was Larger Than History Books Often Let On Much of the historical educational material surrounding Lincoln's death focuses mainly on Booth, and then on five conspirators: Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell (also known as Lewis Payne), George Atzerodt, David Herold, and John Surratt, Jr. Yet the total number of people tried by that military commission included four others who were eventually imprisoned. After Lincoln's assassination, officials went after anyone who might have been involved, eventually rounding up a fairly large group whose involvement may or may not have been real. Edman Spangler, for example, faced testimony from witnesses who said he made derogatory remarks about Lincoln before the president arrived at the theater, but then cheered the president when he arrived; Spangler was also accused of preventing a witness from following Booth after the shooting. Dr. Samuel Mudd set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg when Booth was on the run shortly after the assassination and was convicted of conspiracy because he had met Booth before -- once. Mary Surratt Was the First Woman Executed by the United States Government Much of the attention during and after the trial of the conspirators focused on Mary Surratt, the owner of the boarding house where Booth and his co-conspirators lived. Surratt and Booth were close, and witnesses talked about how Surratt had mentioned keeping rifles ready for the group. She was found guilty along with the others in the trial and sentenced to death, which was unheard of; in fact, Surratt was the first woman executed by the federal government. Many people went to bat for her, asking that she be imprisoned instead, with a number of members of the military commission who had heard the testimony during the trial sending a recommendation to the president that she not be executed. Then-President Johnson claimed he did not get that recommendation. There is speculation that Surratt's sentence and death were really being used as bait to get her son, who was also accused and who was in hiding, to give himself up. Surratt's Role Is Still a Subject of Debate The extent of Surratt's role is still the subject of debate. She was close to Booth, and Booth and his co-conspirators lived at her boarding house for a long time. It's not known if she knew only about the initial kidnapping plots but not the assassination plans, or if she knew about everything. And how much of her trial was based on that attempt to get at her son is also unknown. Given Surratt's personal support of the South in the Civil War, much of the action against her could also have been driven by anti-South sentiment (and in fact, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a couple of years later that her trial -- and her execution -- were illegal). Yet at the same time, there is speculation that surely she must have known something was up given how long this particular group was at her boarding house. Despite a Confession, Her Son Was Not Convicted Mary Surratt’s son, John, was a Confederate agent and surely the conspirator closest to the ringleader-actor. But Surratt was in New York the night of April 14, and after news of the assassination reached him, he fled first for Canada, where a Catholic priest gave him refuge. Eventually identified and captured by American authorities, he was returned to the United States for a civilian trial in Washington, D.C. The jury deadlocked, and Surratt was set free in November 1868. Two years later, he embarked on a public lecture tour, detailing his role in Booth’s early scheme to kidnap Lincoln while denying knowledge of the assassination plot. Public uproar caused Surratt to cancel a second lecture, and he never spoke publicly again about his association with Booth. Surratt died in 1916 at the age of seventy-two. The $100,000 Reward for the Capture of Booth and his Co-Conspirators was Divided Among 34 Men Five days after the assassination, Secretary of War Stanton oversaw the creation of a unprecedented wanted poster offering $50,000 for the capture of Booth, and $25,000 each for the apprehension of John Surratt and David Herold. Hundreds of people filed claims for the reward money, however, and there was much acrimony about how to divide up the reward. In the end, Congress awarded $15,000 to detective Everton Conger, $5,250 to Lieutenant Edward Doherty, $3,750 to investigator Lafayette Baker, $3,000 to Baker’s cousin, detective Luther Byron Baker, and $1,654 to each of the twenty-six cavalrymen. The remaining $5,000 was split among four other investigators.

I agree with your statement about the prophecy in Isaiah; but the prophecy in question is in Daniel. Daniel 8 specifically states that the vision of the 2,300 days is in the distant future. Daniel 10 thru 12 is all the same vision; and the Angel tells Daniel at the end of Chapter 12 that the vision is sealed up until the time of the end. (Dan. 12:9) Daniel deals with the impact of the end times on the Jews specifically. Revelation expands on it; and addresses the end times on a global scale. If reading the Bible literally (hopefully "thinking as on OT Middle Easterner), makes me a fundamentalist, so be it. I feel safer taking the Bible literally than trying to spiritualize or allegorize every passage; which can lead to multiple rabbit trails with dead ends. That being said, I don't totally reject what you have stated. You are a very scholarly and well-studied Christian.

Hi Kevin, Thank you for taking the time to explain your position to me. However, your explanation seems to place the fulfillment of the 2,300 days in Daniel's time. However, the angel explaining the vision to Daniel said twice that the vision concerns the time of the end. "He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end."(Dan. 8:19) “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”(Dan. 8:26) If the vision of the "evenings and mornings" was to be sealed up until the distant future, could it be that these 2,300 (or 1,150) days have not yet occurred; nor has this part of the vision been unsealed yet?

Really bad article. Thought it was written by a college freshman. "Witnessing" has never been, for me, as described in the article. Best times of my life were spent witnessing e.g., doing prison ministry, passing out tracts in interesting places such as rock concerts and other public venues. I'd much prefer an article by someone who actually knows what they are talking about such as John Carter or Pastor Doug. Most companies have goals employees are expected to meet. When Ross Perot worked at IBM, he met his annual goals in a week. SDA clergy continue drawing their salaries for doing what? Baptizing a few children of members every year? A professional degree such as an M.Div or D.Min isn't required for that. As one SDA pastor said, the best way to grow a church is through membership transfers i.e., moving peas under a walnut shell around, riding the coattails of others. I personally baptized 8 people in a ~ year as part of a team with one paid ministerial professional, whose salary did not come from the sweat of church members. Granted, most SDA clergy are failures at evangelism or witnessing. Most simply don't know how to do it, although that's what they should be paid to do. Like what the Bible says "Those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel." Instead of writing books, the author should have been out knocking on doors to discover how he might serve his community. That's how Willow Creek started, a young pastor and his wife visiting their community to discover what the people though they needed. The ICOC attracted thousands of young people through friendship evangelism, including medical students, young lawyers, navy pilots. One young physician mentioned that another physician he worked with was an Adventist and spiritually was one of the most bitter and messed up people he had ever met. This same young doctor was part of a team evangelizing L.A. for the ICOC. He was discipling another medical doctor when I met him. The ICOC, the Mormons, the JW's have few professional clergy in their ranks but do a fair job of growing their churches. If I remember correctly, in parts of N.A., it costs about $100,000 for every new member who joins the SDA church. Get that? The cost of one new member exceeds the salary of a pastor. Those eight new members, many of whom are not even working, in a church with 2 or three pastors, cost nearly a million bucks. Most SDA clergy are being underwritten by the labors of other individuals. I'm not a CPA so it's hard for me to understand how any entity can continue under those circumstances.