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If you would like to participate in a Zoom meeting on Biblical Archaeology on November 20 at 3PM, Eastern Time, click on the following URL For more information. https://spectrummagazine.org/news/2021/asheville-adventist-forum-event-dr-larry-herr

This is the Second Coming 1 Thess 4:16-18 "16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." And Rev 20:1-4 20 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. So here is the judgement in Heaven taking place for that 1000 years. Then Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Zech 14:5 says Christ returns with His saints. So they must have gone up before as it says in 1 Thess 4. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Ron, There can be a lot of things which make it difficult for SDA to make "new friends" which is an important part of church. If you find yourself making more enemies than friends, it is probably time for a change. While you may be open minded, a lot of other people are not. Not drinking alcohol, not eating meat, Sabbath keeping, avoiding lies, brothels, and various other activities make you the "other" to people of the world. Now some "SDA" might not have a problem with any number of those items. Being a vegetarian has impaired more than one potential friendship. It has also contributed to other good friendships. Thanks for bringing my attention to Mars Hill. It reminded me of a similar chain of events, probably not as extreme, at the ICOC under the leadership of Kip McKean. Kip was a charismatic visionary. I heard him preach once or twice. I still remember parts of one of his sermons, which is unusual for me. People who want to get things done sometimes come across as "abusive" to people who get in their way. I've seen it happen in Adventism, replete with financial irregularities or suggestions thereof. One cure for denominational burn out is winning a soul for Jesus, or trying to.

Precious promises ? 2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

One of my wild horse pictures in the mountains...(down near Sundre). When I saw this pregnant Mare foraging in the frigid winter weather, the thought struck me that very few of us have to work like that, against so many odds just to eat. They live and move in these wild barren wilderness areas, and they NEVER leave one of their little ones alone. Not even for a minute. Everyone is surrounded, protected, all the time in this herd. By each other. I loved to see these wild ones roaming the wilderness, they acted free. They were content, the whole herd moved "as one," (Judges 20:11), and everyone was safe, because everyone was "one." In all things UBUNTU this would mean "I am because we are." God has given us directions for facing the tough times. The wild horses I photograph tell many of these lessons. I am reminded of the following scripture: If the smallest evils to which you are exposed cause you to make so many bitter complaints now, how will you feel when, in the course of your life now, when a time comes where you will be exposed to much greater, from enemies much more powerful? Footmen may here be the symbol of common evil events; horsemen, of evils much more terrible. If you have sunk under small difficulties, what wilt thou do when big ones come? Like these horses who survive the coldest winter deep freezes in the mountains; there is a lesson here for us all. To "run with the horses, visit many good books often, but live in the Bible." We are living in a time where God's Word has never been more important. Wont you live there, and be "as one" with everybody around the world who is doing the same? Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalms 119:105) Thy word is a lamp - This is illustrated thus by Solomon, Pro 6:23 : “The commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” God’s word is a candle which may be held in the hand to give us light in every dark place and chamber; and it is a general light shining upon all his works, and upon all our ways. This is THE Light that got me out of some pretty rough stuff the last couple of years or so.

Ron: Some years back I went through a time when I asked myself if it was time for me to leave the Seventh-day Adventist Chruch. That was a time of personal stress for me and I am not going to go into the details, other than to say that I sought professional help. In working through my issues, I came to the following conclusions: * I was going to be exactly what I was in all aspects of my spiritual life and ministry. * I was not going to allow others to define the meaning of Seventh-day Adventist. * I would not leave the SDA Denomination. If at some time the SDA Church decided that I was not fit to be a Seventh-day Adventist, so be it. The Church had the right to do that. I would accept it. But, I was not going to make such a decision as to my relationship to the SDA Chruch. * I do not consider the SDA denomination to be perfect. No one who knows me would think that I do. * I publish comments in which I tell the denomination how I think that it should change. In recent times the Adventist Review has published some 200 of my comments on SDA life, ministry and its teachings. * I have no idea as to whether or not any of my published comments have effected any change. But, that is not my concern. I am who I am. It is up to people reading what I publish as to whether or not my thoughts have an effect on them. * In being myself, I have reached the status where I am content to remain a Seventh-day Adventist. * I would wish that you could be free to be yourself and to remain associated with the SDAs. If you cannot do so, I wish you well, God's blessing on you, and success in your spiritual journey. * In any case, you can remain a member of this forum.

English words can have more than one meaning. The word "adventist," spelled with an "a" does mean one who is looking for the 2nd Advent. The word "Adventist," Spelled with an "A,' may mean one who is a member of a specific denomination.

Adventists and Catholics dissolve their joint relationship: https://atoday.org/experts-speculate-that-disagreement-at-heart-of-adventist-and-catholic-healthcare-system-split/ and https://www.amitahealth.org/news/ascension-adventhealth-to-unwind-amita-health-partnership