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CANADIAN THANKSGIVING 2008 Oct 11, 2008 2:32 pm
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Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. The origin and history of Thanksgiving Day in Canada is different from the American Thanksgiving. Whereas the American tradition talks about remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The geographical location of Canada is further north as compared to the United States therefore the harvest season falls earlier in Canada.

In Canada Thanksgiving 2008 will be celebrated on second Monday in October 13th October 2008.
History and Origin of Canadian Thanksgiving

There are three traditions behind Canadian Thanksgiving Day:
1. The farmers in Europe held celebrations at the time of harvesting to give thanks for their good fortune of a bountiful harvest and abundance of food. The farmers would fill a goat's curved horn with fruits and grains. This curved horn was known as a cornucopia or the horn of plenty. It is believed that when the European farmers came to Canada they brought this tradition of Thanksgiving with them.

2. The history of Thanksgiving in Canada is related to Martin Frobisher, who was an English navigator. He made a lot of efforts to find a northern passage to the Orient. Though he did not succeed in his efforts but he was able to establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now known as Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Martin Frobisher was later knighted and an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada was named as ' Frobisher Bay' after him. When other settlers arrived here they continued this ceremony of giving thanks.

3. The third influence occurred in 1621 in what is now the United States. Here the pilgrims, who were the English colonists, celebrated their first harvest in the New World at Plymouth Massachusetts. By the 1750s this celebration of harvest was brought to Nova Scotia by American settlers from the south.

In the 1600s, another navigator Samuel de Champlain crossed the ocean and arrived to Canada. Other French Settlers also came with him and their group held huge feasts of thanks for the harvests. On this event they shared their food with the Native American neighbors and thus involved them in their celebrations. Then they formed ' The Order of Good Cheer' which marked the harvests and other events as well.

After the Seven Year's War ended in 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving.

During the American Revolution the Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada. They brought with themselves the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada.

In 1879, the Parliament declared 6th day of November as the day of Thanksgiving and also declared it a national holiday. Over the years different dates were used for celebrating the Thanksgiving Day in Canada but the most popular date was the 3rd Monday of October.

After World War I, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving Day were celebrated on a common day that was Monday of the week in which fell the 11th day of November. Ten years later, in 1931, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving Day became separate holidays and Armistice Day was renamed as the 'Remembrance Day'.

Finally, on January 31st, 1957, the Parliament issued a proclamation to fix permanently the 2nd Monday in October as the Thanksgiving Day. The Proclamation goes as...

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed ... to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October…"

Happy thanksging to my Canadian and American brethren. I am having family over and will see you all later! Blessings from your blogger friend, Sweethoney!
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IS SEVENTHDAY ADVENTISM IS A CULT? DECIDE FOR YOURSELF. Oct 9, 2008 7:31 am
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Seventh-Day Adventism (SDA) arose from the aftermath of the Adventist movement of the mid-1800s. "Seventh-day" refers to the focus on sabbath, or Saturday worship. "Adventist" refers to the SDA belief that they are the fulfillment of prophecies pertaining to the latter days remnant and the coming of Christ. The world was predicted to end in 1844 with the Second Coming of Christ, by William Miller, a New England Baptist itinerant preacher. Miller's followers condemned all the churches of the day as apostate and "Babylon," and warned Christians to come out of them. A great many did, and the "adventist" movement was born and grew rapidly (Melton, J. Gordon, Encyclopedia of American Religions, Vol. 2, pp. 21–22).

Christ did not appear in 1844. After this "Great Disappointment," one "little flock" still insisted the date of their original predictions had been correct. They decided the event marked by 1844 was not the Second Coming, but the entrance of Christ into the Holy of Holies in the Heavenly Sanctuary. There, they said, He began the "Investigative Judgment." (See #6 below.) This doctrine was received and endorsed by Ellen G. White (Ibid., p. 680).

From 1844 to 1851, the group taught the "shut door" doctrine, based on Jesus' parable of the ten virgins. Anyone who had not accepted the Adventist message by the time Jesus entered the Holy of Holies was to be shut out permanently, as were the five foolish virgins. Cut off from the Bridegroom, they could not join the Adventists or have any hope of eternal life. Ellen White not only approved and taught this doctrine, but her first vision experience (she claimed over 2,000 visions) was largely responsible for its being received by the Adventist group (Brinsmead, Robert, D., Judged by the Gospel: A Review of Adventism, pp. 130–133).

By 1846, the group had adopted the Seventh-Day Baptists' view that the Saturday Sabbath must be observed by Christians. A highly elevated form of this doctrine, together with the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment, became the hallmarks of Seventh-Day Adventism. In 1850, James and Ellen White began publishing a magazine, The Review & Herald, to disseminate Adventist and Sabbatarian doctrines. This helped many of the remaining "Millerites" to coalesce into a distinctive body, which adopted the name of Seventh-Day Adventist Church in 1860, and formally incorporated in 1863, with approximately 3,500 members in 125 congregations (Encyclopedia of American Religion, Vol. 2, p. 681).

Ellen G. White (1827-1915) never held official title as the head of the SDA church, but was one of its founders and acknowledged spiritual leader. She rather disingenuously declined to claim the title of "prophet," calling herself a "messenger" instead (P.G. Damsteegt, et al., Seventh-day Adventists Believe … A Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrines, 1988, p. 224). But she claimed to have the "spirit of prophecy," and that her messages were direct from God for the guidance and instruction of the church. With her knowledge and consent, others called her a prophet and an inspired commentator of Scripture1, and even "the Spirit of Prophecy" (Maurice Barnett, Ellen G. White & Inspiration, pp. 5–17). Having only a third grade education, Ellen White said for years she was unable to read, bolstering the claim that her beautiful prose was inspired by God. However, it has been discovered that she not only read, but plagiarized other Christian authors throughout virtually all her writings. The sad facts of this matter have been thoroughly and indisputably established in several books. (e.g., see Walter Rea, The White Lie; and Judged by the Gospel, pp. 361–383).

As of year-end 1999, the SDA church claimed more than 10.9 million members worldwide in 46,700 churches; there are more than 900,000 Adventists in the U.S. and Canada (making the SDA one of the fastest growing "churches" in the world -- membership up over 10% in 1999). While headquartered in Washington, D.C., SDA employment worldwide totals nearly 166,000, not including 13,815 ordained ministers. (Contributions in 1999 totaled $1.6 billion.) SDAs claim to be working in 725 languages and over 1,000 dialects. They have a large investment in publishing and education -- they operate 56 publishing houses and support 549 medical units (696 including 117 nursing homes and retirement centers and 30 orphanages); and 5,846 primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities (with total enrollment of over a million students). They also broadcast over Adventist World Radio more than 1,000 hours per week of programming in more than 40 languages from 18 transmitters in seven international locations, and have almost 13 million students enrolled in its more than 110,000 "Sabbath Schools" (The SDA church also publishes two of their own Bible "translations": The Study Bible and The Clear Word Bible.)

SDA is organized as a representative democracy. Lower echelons elect representatives to higher units; determination and administration of policy and enforcement of doctrinal orthodoxy is imposed from the top down. President and Executive Committee of General Conference are standing chief administrative offices. Lower administrative units are the General Conference, Divisions (over continents), Union Conferences, local Conferences, and congregations.

In the late 1950s, cult expert Walter Martin, founder of the Christian Research Institute, in collaboration with neo-evangelical Donald Barnhouse, made an extensive investigation of the teachings (doctrines) of Seventh-Day Adventism. Their purpose was to determine whether to classify SDA as part of the evangelical community, or to go along with the majority of evangelicals and treat SDAs as cult members (thereby requiring evangelicals to exercise Biblical separation). (In the 1955 edition of The Kingdom of the Cults, Martin originally did classify SDA as cultic.) Martin and Barnhouse concluded that SDA was within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. Walter Martin, in his article in the 12/19/60 Christianity Today, said: "That Adventists should be recognized as Christians and that fellowship should be extended to them we do not deny" (p. 15).

Among those adamantly opposing that conclusion was Biblical scholar Dr. John Whitcomb, Jr., then of Grace Theological Seminary. Detailed below is Whitcomb's reasoning* for his classification of SDA as a [anti-assurance, Sabbath-keeping, Law-enslaving] cult:2

1. Source of Authority. Ellen G. White claimed to be, "a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light." The official SDA Questions on Doctrine (Q.D.) states that, "the Holy Spirit opened to her mind important events and called her to give certain instructions for these last days, and inasmuch as these instructions, in our understanding, are in harmony with the Word of God, which Word alone is able to make us wise unto salvation, we as a denomination accept them as inspired counsels from the Lord" (Q.D., p. 93). (Emphasis added.) Mrs. White claimed to have received more than 3,000 "inspired counsels from the Lord" (i.e., visions) between 1844 and 1868. (From these "visions," she produced over 100,000 handwritten manuscript pages from which were published 54 books!) Therefore, SDAs have a new source of authority in their lives -- according to SDA's dogma, if an SDA does not accept Mrs. White as infallible, they have no salvation!

2. Mankind. Seventh-Day Adventists do not believe that the whole man or any part of him is inherently "immortal" (Q.D., p. 51. SDAs believe in "soul sleep" for the saved (i.e., no conscious existence from the time of death until the resurrection), and annihilation for the wicked (i.e., the body and soul are destroyed at death rather than experiencing everlasting torment). How, then, can one get to heaven?: SDAs believe that one can have immortality only on the condition that he comes to Christ through Ellen G. White; i.e., a works program, following salvation by grace with light of revelation through Ellen G. White as the infallible guide to Holy Scripture, apart from which one cannot have immortality.3 Then, at resurrection day, the body will be re-created (necessary because of soul sleep) for all those who believe in White's guidance and teachings (while non-SDAs will remain in "soul sleep" forever; i.e., will cease to exist [annihilated] and will not suffer everlasting torment).

3. Christ. Mrs. White: "Christ took upon His sinless nature our sinful nature ... Christ took human nature and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He took our nature and its deteriorating condition" (Q.D., pp. 654-656) (cf. Jn. 14:30). According to SDA, then, Christ acquired a sinful nature! Of course, if this could have been so, there could have been no sinless sacrifice, no hope for sinners, and no Savior.

4. Atonement. "Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ" (E.G. White, The Great Controversy [TGC], 1911, p. 623; TGC has since been retitled and published as America in Prophecy, 198. SDA teaches that, though saved by grace, we are kept by the Law (i.e., "partial atonement"). Therefore, one must keep Old Testament dietary and ceremonial laws, paying particular attention to keep the Saturday Sabbath and the Ten Commandments, and most importantly, making sure to faithfully pay the tithe.

Even when speaking of being saved by the righteousness of Christ, Adventist writers refer to imparted righteousness, seldom to the Biblical concept of imputed righteousness. Calling it "Christ's righteousness," while insisting on the believer's perfection of character as a prerequisite to salvation, is at worst a thinly veiled works salvation, or at best an attempt to mix grace and works, something the Bible says is impossible to do (Rom. 11:6).

Mrs. White's words are crystal clear -- one will not be forgiven until all sins are eradicated from one's life and one's character is perfected. Precisely the same heresy is found (besides many others) in Mormonism. It is not the salvation by grace alone through faith alone offered in the Bible.

5. Baptism. "… Christ made it clear that He required baptism of those who wished to become part of His church, His spiritual kingdom"; "In baptism believers enter into the passion experience of our Lord"; "… aptism also marks [a] person's entrance into Christ's spiritual kingdom. … it unites the new believer to Christ.… Through baptism the Lord adds the new disciples to the body of believers -- His body, the church.… Then they are members of God's family" (SDAs Believe …, pp. 182, 184, 187).

6. The Investigative Judgment. According to SDA theology, beginning on October 22, 1844, Christ entered upon the "judgment phase" of His ministry, whereby He blots out sin: [The SDA doctrine of the "Investigative Judgment" rests on Ellen G. White's claimed revelation that Christ entered the heavenly Holy of Holies, not at His ascension, but in 1844, wherein He then began to investigate the records of human works (TGC, pp. 362-373) (cf. Heb. 9).] "When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty" (TGC, p. 422). Satan, thereby, becomes the scapegoat of Leviticus 16. This lack of clear distinction between the forgiveness of sins and the blotting out of sins, makes it impossible for anyone to know, even in the hour of his death, whether he is saved or not. (SDAs are not "allowed" to experience assurance of salvation, because then there would be no pressure on them to keep the Old Testament law, as interpreted by Ellen G. White, and especially no pressure to pay the tithe.) Moreover, the concept that the sins of all men are to be laid on Satan, assigns to Satan an indispensable role in the blotting out of sin, thus nullifying the all-sufficiency of the finished work of Christ. [When Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished," i.e. completed, paid in full, it cannot be that there is yet another salvation event more than 1,800 years later, just as essential to salvation as Christ's death on the cross, in which one must believe in order to be saved. This is clearly "another gospel" (Gal. 1:6–9).]4

The "Investigative Judgment" and the "Scapegoat Theory of the Atonement" are, by themselves, so non-Biblical as to contradict Galatians 1:8-9. It is "another gospel," about which the Apostle Paul wrote, "let such be anathema" (i.e., cursed/condemned). Yet according to Ellen White, one must believe this doctrine to be saved:

"Those who would share the benefits of the Savior's mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God … The subject of the sanctuary and the Investigative Judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position [in the Holy of Holies] and work [Investigative Judgment] of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs for them to fill.

Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God … All who have received the light on these subjects are to bear testimony of the great truths which God has committed to them. The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ's work in behalf of men … It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects

The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon a cross. By His death He began that work which after his resurrection He ascended to complete in Heaven" (TGC, pp. 488–89; emphasis added).

7. The Sabbath. "In the last days, the Sabbath test will be made plain. When this time comes, anyone who does not keep the Sabbath will receive the mark of the beast and will be kept from heaven" (TGC, p. 449); "… [T]he divine institution of the Sabbath is to be restored … The delivering of this message will precipitate a conflict that will involve the whole world. The central issue will be obedience to God's law and the observance of the Sabbath. … Those who reject it will eventually receive the mark of the beast" (TGC, pp. 262–63). In one of her most revered works, Ellen White wrote that Sabbath observance would be the "line of distinction" in the "final test" that will separate God's end-time people who "receive the seal of God" and are saved, from those who "receive the mark of the beast" (The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, p. 605). Describing a supposed vision direct from God, Ellen White wrote, "I saw that the Holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers" (Early Writings, p. 33; emphasis added). She also wrote of some Adventists failing to understand that "Sabbath … observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers" (Ibid., p. 85).

SDAs have, thereby, made Sabbath-keeping a criterion for a personal relationship with the Lord -- even to the extent of one's salvation! Why? Because, according to SDAs, we are all to be under strict adherence to Old Testament Law, including the Ten Commandments, of which the fourth one says, "keep the Sabbath." (This Sabbath-keeping requirement was supposedly confirmed in a vision received by Ellen G. White, rather than by study of the Bible.) SDAs believe that "Sunday-keeping" will be the mark of the beast in the future.

8. Ellen G. White, the Prophet. Many rank-and-file SDA members deny that their organization any longer decrees Ellen G. White a God-inspired prophet. Yet in SDA official publications, the SDA church continues to defend Ellen White legends, and maintain there was no difference in the degree of inspiration she received from that received by Bible writers (Review & Herald, 4 October 1928, p. 11; "Source of Final Appeal," Adventist Review, 3 June 1971, pp. 4–6; G. A. Irwin, Mark of the Beast, p. 1; "The Inspiration and Authority of the Ellen G. White Writings," Adventist Review, 15 July 1982, p. 3; Ministry, October 1981, p. 8 (5); see also, Judged by the Gospel, pp. 125–130). And in the SDA June 2000, General Conference, the church voted to more aggressively affirm and support the "Spirit of Prophecy through the ministry of Ellen White" (Adventist Today,

Besides relying heavily on the work of Dr. Whitcomb (1988 Syllabus notes), some of the material in this report has also been excerpted and or adapted from: "Seventh-day Adventist Church Profile," Timothy Oliver (Watchman Fellowship Profile, 1996).

Endnotes

1 The Bible lists six identifying marks of false prophets, any one of which is sufficient for identification: (1) through signs and wonders they lead astray after false gods (Dt. 13:1-4); (2) their prophecies don't come to pass (Dt. 18:20-22); (3) they contradict God's Word (Isa. 8:20); (4) they bear bad fruit (Mt. 7:18-20); (5) men speak well of them (Lk. 6:26); and (6) they deny that Jesus, the one and only Christ, has come once and for all in the flesh (1 Jn. 4:3), thereby denying His sufficiency in all matters of life and godliness (2 Pe. 1:3). Most cults are founded upon false prophecies, which, if pointed out, offer an effective way to open blind eyes and rescue cultists. SDA originated with similar false prophesies about Christ's coming. It began with William Miller's prediction that Christ would return in 1843 (revised to October 22, 1844). Miller admitted his error. However, SDA prophetess Ellen G. White (EGW), who had repeatedly endorsed Miller's prophecy, insisted that Christ had indeed come, but not to earth. Instead, He had entered "the holy of holies" in heaven "to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits" (The Great Controversy, p. 480).

Number 17 of the "Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-Day Adventists" states: "The Gift of Prophecy: One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction." Yet EGW made numerous false prophecies: that "Old Jerusalem never would be built up" (Early Writings, p. 75), that she would be alive at the Rapture (Early Writings, pp. 15-16), that Christ would return before slavery was abolished (Early Writings, pp. 35, 276), that Adventists living in 1856 would be alive at the Rapture (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, pp. 131-132), and many more. Nevertheless, SDAs revere this false prophet's writings as if they were Scripture.

2 Nevertheless, SDAs are continuing their efforts to be identified as "evangelical Christians." wolves in sheeps clothing. As an illustration of this effort, SDAs were very prominent at the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) held in San Francisco, November 19-21, 1992. They presented themselves in the printed program as the Adventist Theological Society (ATS). During the meetings, they conducted at least eight workshops/seminars open to all the members of the ETS, as well as a general meeting of their own ATS on Saturday morning, November 21st. Likewise, at the 1/97 National Religious Broadcasters Convention, the SDA's "Voice of Prophecy" booth provided books and tapes of their programs, but there was no indication that this was an SDA organization. Christians need to be aware that cult groups like SDA often use the same Christian-sounding terminology, but the meanings of the words have been redefined.

3 Many quotes could be given to prove that EGW taught salvation by works. Here are a few:

(a) "Our acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny ... though ... forgotten by us, they [our works] will bear their testimony to justify or condemn" (TGC, pp. 486-490).

(b) "When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life ..." (TGC, p. 483).

(c) "Each one of you needs to ... [be] working with your might to redeem the failures of your past life. God has placed you in a world of suffering to prove you, to see if you will be found worthy of the gift of eternal life" (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 530).

4 This teaching of the "Investigative Judgment" is the foundational doctrine and major heresy of Seventh-Day Adventism: that the atonement was not complete on the cross, but was begun in heaven in 1844 and depends upon our works. According to Ellen G. White (EGW), the blood of Christ, instead of making "an atonement for the soul" (Lv. 17:11) and "cleans[ing] us from all sin" (l Jn. 1), brought sin into heaven: "[O]ur sins are, in fact, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ" (Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 266). Thus, Christ had to begin the work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary (of sins His blood had brought there!) through the "Investigative Judgment." EGW declared that "Ministers who would not accept this saving message" were hindering God's work and "The blood of souls is upon them" (Early Writings, p. 234). Millerites who adopted this delusion became Seventh-Day Adventists. The whole concept of the Investigative Judgment is antithetical to the Gospel. Jesus did not wait until 1844 to enter the Holy of Holies in heaven (Heb. 1:3; 6:19–20; 8:1; 9:6–12, 24; 12:2). Neither is He still making an atonement in heaven (Heb. 9:25–26; 10:11–14). The Investigative Judgment proposes to "vindicate the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus," by showing they were "loyal," "penitent," and "faithful" commandment keepers. This is an outrage. God's justice in saving sinners is vindicated by Christ's death on the cross, period (Rom. 3:24–26). [Return to Text]

5 The SDA Church made this statement in their Ministry magazine of October 1981, and have never retracted it -- "We believe the revelation and inspiration of both the Bible and Ellen White's writings to be of equal quality. The superintendence of the Holy Spirit was just as careful and thorough in one case as in the other" (June 1997, The Baptist Challenge). (Bold added.) This sounds like SDAs also believe that Mrs. White is inerrant.

Biblical Discernment Ministries
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BEWARE OF SDA DECEPTION...The Truth about "soul-sleep" Oct 9, 2008 6:12 am
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Seventh Day Adventists teach soul sleep (as do the Jehovah's Witnesses). They say that when a person dies he is reduced to unconsciousness and inactivity and stays asleep in the grave until the final resurrection. But is this biblical? NO IT IS NOT!

A saved person goes to be with Christ, 2 Cor. 5:8 says, "We are CONFIDENT I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be PRESENT WITH THE LORD."

"For me to live is Christ, and TO DIE IS GAIN…For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to DEPART AND TO BE WITH CHRIST: WHICH IS FAR BETTER." (Phil. 1:21-23).

Revelation 6:9-11 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying. How long, O Lord, holy and true, cost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

Now, coming into the second half of the Tribulation down on earth, John sees under the fifth seal "an altar", and under this "altar" the "souls" who have been slain for the word of God, for the "testimony that they held."

These martyred people, who have been killed, are pictured as "souls." Notice that they have voices, memories, and a body which can wear a white robe.

The passage reveals that a "soul" is not like a croquet ball, or a tennis ball, or a baseball, stuck away in your body somewhere. A SOUL IS A BODILY SHAPE WHICH IS SHAPED EXACTLY LIKE THE "BODY OF FLESH." The soul, being the seat of the emotions, is a bodily-shaped, invisible type of "ghost."

In Luke 16, the rich man in hell had a tongue, eyes, voice, and yet his physical body was buried in the grave. There is no argument at all about "the grave". The Bible clearly teaches that the physical body goes to the grave and rots. Hell is not the grave, and the grave is not hell. In Luke 16 the body is not in hell, the body is in the grave. The soul is in hell. (Every cult in the world, denies that Luke 16 is literal.) But even if a person rejects Luke 16 there are still numerous other passages that disprove soul sleep.

The "soul", in the Bible, has a bodily shape, and IT LEAVES THE BODY AT DEATH. (You'll find this reference in Genesis 35:18 when Rachel died; her soul "was in departing.")

(Gen 35:1 "And it came to pass, AS HER SOUL WAS IN DEPARTING, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin."

We have a case in the Old Testament of a soul leaving, and then coming back again into a child. The child was actually declared dead, and then he returned, as we find it in "modern science." (1 Ki 17:21-22). "And he (Elijah) stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, LET THIS CHILD'S SOUL COME INTO HIM AGAIN. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; AND THE SOUL OF THE CHILD CAME INTO HIM AGAIN. AND HE REVIVED."

(The case in the Old Testament is several thousand years ahead of the best medical science.) The Bible then reveals something unknown to the physical scientists, and there is nothing in psychology that could come anywhere near the correct truth of the matter.

The truth of the matter is that every man is built like a football. He has an outside leather cover (his body), he has an inside rubber innnertube (his soul–the same shape as the body), and if he is saved he is filled with air (the Spirit). He is like a "flat tire" if he is unsaved. He is not a complete man until he is "born of the Spirit."

(1 Thess 5:23) "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Look at Genesis 2- "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground (body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul (soul)."

THE SOUL (spirit man) THEN IS A SPIRITUAL BODY–A SPIRITUAL BODY WITHIN A PHYSICAL BODY. (If you threw a sheet over it, it would appear as a "ghost".

That is why when you are told of the death of someone in the Bible and their soul departs that they are said to have "GIVEN UP THE GHOST."

(Gen 25: "Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people."

(Gen 25:17) "And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people."

(Gen 35:29) "And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him."

The Adventists and Jehovah Witnesses are wrong. There is no such thing as "soul sleep." (That is they teach the soul and body stay in the grave until the final resurrection.)

The Bible says, (Rev 20:6) "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
The problem is that the Adventists deal with the FINAL resurrection and not the FIRST resurrection. All true born again believers in the church age will have their part in the FIRST resurrection.
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THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT HELL IS ETERNAL Oct 9, 2008 5:54 am
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The teaching that there is an eternal hell in which hordes of mankind will suffer eternal punishment can be a difficult doctrine to accept. However, those who develop their theologies based upon the "gentle" side of God do so with an incomplete picture. Not only is God loving (1 John 4:8-10), gracious (Exo. 33:19; 1 Pet. 2:3), and merciful (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 67:1; James 5:11), but He is also holy (Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 4:, just ( Neh. 9:32-33; 2 Thess. 1:6), and hates sin (Psalm 5:5-6; Hab. 1:13). God punishes the sinner (Jer. 50:31; Ez. 44:12; Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9; 2 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 10:29).

The Bible teaches that there is a fiery hell, a place that Jesus warned people about.

"And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire," (Matt. 18:.

Eternal fire is real. Jesus said it was. In fact,Jesus spoke a great deal about hell. It is what Jesus came here to save us from. oF COURSE sda WILL TWIST SCRIPTURES TO TELL YOU A LIE THAT THERE IS NO HELL TO SHUN BUT THEY ARE WRONG. HELL IS VERY REAL! GODS WORD IS TRUTH AND sEVENTH dAY aDVENBTISM IS A LIE.

There will be a Day of Judgment when all people will face God. Those who are not covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross will be cast out into hell where they will undergo eternal punishment. "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt. 25:46). In this verse, the same word "eternal" is used to describe the punishment of the wicked as well as the eternal life of the believer. The punishment is endless as is the eternal life of the believer. That is why the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) is so important, because it saves people from eternal damnation:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life, (John 5:24).

Following are a few verses that show the eternality of the hell and punishment. God uses different phrases to describe the same thing.

"And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power," (2 Thess. 1:9).

"Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 7).

These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever," (Jude12-13).

Is "forever and ever" without end?

The phrase "forever and ever" is used both of describing God's eternal worth and the duration of eternal damnation. The exact same Greek phrase is used in each of the verses in the table below.

forever and ever

aionas ton aionon

"ages of the ages"

Eternal - without end Eternal Damnation
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen," (1 Tim. 1:17).

". . . To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev. 5:13).

"And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever" (Rev. 19:3).

"And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever," (Rev. 20:10).

The Greek phrase "aionas ton aionon," which is translated "forever and ever," occurs 18 times in the Greek New Testament. In 17 of them, the phrase means without end, extending into infinity.

In Rev. 19:3, the phrase is used to describe the destruction of the great whore of Babylon (Rev. 17:1,4) whose smoke ascends forever and ever. It too is eternal and it signifies the beginning of the eternal judgment that comes upon her.
Also worth examining is Rev. 14:11: "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

The Greek in Rev. 14:11 is only slightly different. In the table above, "forever and ever" is translated from the Greek, "aionas ton aionon," which is literally "ages of the of ages."

In Rev. 14:11, the Greek is "aionas aionon" which is literally, "ages of ages." In the latter, the single Greek word "of the" is missing. But it is not necessary and does not change the meaning of the text. Therefore, the scripture teaches the smoke of their torment goes up forever, without end.

Unquenchable Fire

SDA AND OTHER CULTS believe that the fires of hell are symbolic and/or temporal. But the following verses show that they are not.

Matt. 3:12 says, "And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (See also Luke 3:17.)

Mark 9:43 says, "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire."

The word "unquenchable" is "asbestos" in the Greek. According to the enhanced Strong's lexicon, it means "unquenchable, the eternal hell fire to punish the damned."

The following citations are from Greek dictionaries and Lexicons. They show that the word "unquenchable," which is "asbestos" in the Greek, (which occurs only in Matt. 3:12, Luke 3:17, and Mark 9:43) means unquenchable, without end.

"unquenchable, inextinguishable" - Liddell, H. G., and Scott, Abridged Greek-English Lexicon, (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 1992, [Online] Available: Logos Library System.

"not quenched" - Vine, W. E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell) 1981, [Online] Available: Logos Library System.

"pertaining to a fire that cannot be put out" - "unquenchable." - Louw, Johannes P. and Nida, Eugene A., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, (New York: United Bible Societies) 1988, 1989, [Online] Available: Logos Library System

"unquenched, unquenchable" - Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1995, [Online] Available: Logos Library System.

"that cannot be put out" - Wigram-Green, The New Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon, (Peabody Mass: Hendrikson Publishers, 1982, p. 771.

"inextinguishable" - William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 2nd ed. (Chicago, Ill: The University of Chicago Press), 1979, p. 114.

Is hell eternal? Yes it is. Are its fires without end? Yes they are. Hell is real. This is all the more reason to preach the gospel. Jesus said,
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS AND RESEARCH MINISTRY _____________
0 Comments
THE THREE TREES.....A WONDERFUL STORY Oct 8, 2008 12:48 pm
349 Views
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said,

'Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.'

Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the Hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, 'and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the Woodsmen said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the Storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.




















4 Comments
The Divine Justice of God was Satisfied by Jesus Christ who Fulfilled the law of God Oct 7, 2008 9:02 am
398 Views
The covenant of grace is guaranteed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is by His blood that all our sins are forgiven and blotted out. The divine justice of God was satisfied by Jesus Christ who fulfilled the law of God. The blood of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Man cannot keep Gods law and so we owed a debt to the law giver. A debt we could never pay. Because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the sinner’s behalf, God made a new covenant of grace and mercy to all who are redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

Jesus’ death on the cross is the divine seal of the new covenant. This is the grace of God. Undeserved and unmerited mercy and forgiveness.

This covenant does not consist of works, but is a covenant of free grace that was made between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ represented mankind and established Gods covenant before the foundation of the world and it was put into force in the fullness of time at Calvary by the death of Jesus Christ and sealed to the hearts of God’s elect by the Holy Spirit. This is achieved by faith in Christs atonment that is imparted through revelation (revealed knowlege) to Gods elect (those chosen and drawn to Jesus Christ) by the Father.

Gods covenant is everlasting. The work of grace in the elect begins when they are born again by the quickening operation of the Holy Spirit and is continued daily in the lives of Gods people. We are sanctified and set apart as holy by the new birth and are continually made to be holy from one degree of holiness into another from grace to grace throughout our lives. For it is God who works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure and has created us in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has ordained for us to walk in.

The gifts and the callings of God are without repentance, so if you are a child of God born of his holy Spirit you can never be lost because God is able to keep you from falling and present you spotless and blameless before him at his coming. Those who put their trust in God will NEVER be disappointed.

Matthew 26:28

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins
2 Comments
WHATS IN A FACE? Oct 7, 2008 8:23 am
632 Views
EVER NOTICE THAT ON THE BLOGS ITS MOSTLY THE FACELESS FOLK WHO HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH CHRISTIANITY, HAVE WEIRD DOCTRINE, AND TERRIBLE ATTITUDES? EVER WONDER WHY THEY NEVER SHOW THEIR FACES WHEN THEY BRING THEIR ARGUMENTS? WHATS IN A FACE? PSYCHOLOGICALLY A FACE SAYS QUITE ALOT. IT ACTUALLY IDENTIFIES OUR INNER STATE. GLOOMY GUS NEVER SMILES, HAPPY GO LUCKY ALWAYS SMILES, ETC. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FACELESS MESSAGE IS TRYING TO TELL US BLOGGERS? GOT ONE OF YOUR OWN ANSWERS?
Hey Im in your face because I have no face!
Im sneaky, coniving, and deceptive and I want to trip you up!
Im paranoid of being found out because those crazy Christians may track me down and linch me!
Im the same guy who has been pestering you all for the last 10 years and I change my handle 24-7
The phantom of blogland.
You can read their mind in their face. A complete blank.
WHIMP
A disgrunteled person trying to get even
If we see their face we would want to feed it a banana.
oh, well we are all nuts any way so lets just deal with it.
23 Comments, 9 votes
Do you dares to question the authority of Ellen White? YES BECAUSE JESUS IS A HIGHER ATHOURITY. Oct 6, 2008 12:28 pm
448 Views
Because of the exclusive nature of the SDA Church, and because they are the faithful and true "remnant", when one leaves the church, they are leaving the "truth" and choosing to be "apostates". When I left the SDA Church in 1998, I was met with all sorts of comments, such as I was "lost", an "apostate", following "Satan", an "enemy of the truth", and so forth. This is unique to cultic religions. When a person changes from the Methodist Church to the Baptist Church, he is not derided as "lost" or a "heretic". However, when a person leaves the SDA Church for the Baptist Church, it is a whole different story. He is going "back to Babylon" or returning to "Apostate Protestantism".

If someone dares to question the authority of Ellen White, they are told they are fulfilling Ellen White's prophecy that in the last days some Adventists would be part of the final deception of Satan, which is to destroy confidence in the "spirit of prophecy." This puts a lot of pressure on a person, because after all, who wants to be a part of Satan's final deception?

Leaving the SDA Church is often a very difficult proposition for an SDA because it could easily involve the loss of friends, loved ones, and perhaps even family. In some cases it could mean the loss of a job or career with an Adventist institution. When an Adventist is contemplating leaving the church, he may be pressured by other Adventists to "stay in the fold" and keep his objections to himself.

When I told one SDA professor of my findings regarding how Ellen White failed the Biblical tests of a prophet, that man recommended I stay quiet and "do not rock the boat." In other words, I was being pressured to live a double-life, pretending on the surface that I agreed with what the SDA Church taught, while keeping my real feelings to myself.

It is spiritually unhealthy to be put in the position of having to pretend to be something you are not in order to hold onto your job, your family, or your friends

The attributes and tactics of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that we discussed above are not the ways or methods of Christ. Before you join the SDA Church, please think long and hard about the ramifications that decision may have upon your long-term spiritual health.

If you are already a member of the SDA Church, you need to consider if this is truly God's highest will for your life. Over the last 10 years I have often had people ask me, Should I leave the SDA Church? The answer is not simple, but let me share with you four cases where you should stay in the SDA Church:

If you were to leave the SDA Church and stop attending any Christian church. It is better for you to stay in the SDA Church than to leave and have no Christian fellowship whatsoever.

If you were to leave the SDA Church and end up in a worse church. If you are ever tempted to join another group that is outside the mainstream of Christianity, such as Scientology, Jehovah's Witness, or Mormonism, please investigate them thoroughly before making your decision. Yes, it is possible to end up in a worse church!

If your leaving the SDA Church would destroy the Christian faith of others. If your act of leaving would be so damaging as to unsettle the Christian faith of some weaker brethren, then it may be best for you to wait for the right time and circumstances to leave. You may need to spend some time working to establish those weaker in the faith in the true gospel message before you make your move.

If God wants you in the SDA Church in order to advance reforms from within. Some strong souls are needed on the inside of the movement to agitate for reform and corporate repentance. If that is you, then stay where you are.

For the rest of you, if you can find another Christian Church where you can grow spiritually and serve and honor God, then you should take the matter to the Lord in prayer and follow His leading. I cannot tell you which church is the "true" church. There are different "flavors" of Christianity, but I strongly encourage you to join an evangelical church that is in the mainstream of Christianity. ( Andrew NONSDA....EX ADVENTISTS)

Sweethoneys advice.....GET OUT OF THERE!!!!
10 Comments
SDA PERFECTIONISM..THE LAW, THE LAW, THE LAW...LEGALISM GALORE Oct 6, 2008 12:22 pm
368 Views
There is an emphasis in Adventism on character perfection. While not all of Ellen White's writings stress perfection, at times she made very strong statements regarding perfection:

"Those only who through faith in Christ obey all of God's commandments will reach the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived before his transgression."
"Everyone who surrenders fully to God is given the privilege of living without sin."

"We need not retain one sinful propensity."

"Christ died to make it possible for you to cease to sin."

"To be redeemed means to cease from sin."

"...Those who are living on the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil..."

Ellen White's teachings about perfectionism and the importance of our own "dilligent efforts" are contrary to Scripture:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. (Isa. 53:6)
All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one. (Rom. 3:12 NLT)

Perfectionism is a one-way road to spiritual derailment. Either a person will realize he is failing miserably in his attainment of perfection and give up his faith in utter despair, or else he will delude himself into thinking he is spiritually better than others and develop a hypocritical attitude.

Adventists place a lot of emphasis on obeying the Ten Commandments, particularly the fourth commandment. Their whole end-time eschatology is built upon a great, cosmic conflict that is being played out before the entire universe, and the battle lines have been drawn over the Sabbath Commandment. The conflict over the Sabbath is the final conflict between good and evil, and it is the separating wall that divides "loyal" Christians from "disloyal" Christians. With all this emphasis being placed upon the law, it is no wonder that Adventists have a tendency to get bogged down in legalism.

Mrs. White adds to the problem with some of her legalistic statements such as these:

"...The terms of salvation for every son and daughter of Adam are here outlined. It is plainly stated that the condition of gaining eternal life is obedience to the commandments of God".
"To obey the commandments of God is the only way to obtain His favor."

"He [man] must be reconciled to God through obedience to His law."6

Scripture teaches that our "dilligent efforts" have no part in earning God's favor or His reconciliation:
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. ...for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Gal. 2:16,21)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8,9)

There is a danger in any religious philosophy that depends in any degree, even one percent, on the dilligent efforts of the believer to obtain or earn their salvation.

The Adventist religion adds a whole host of rules and regulations that make life tedious and burdensome. I remember as a child being told it was okay to wade in the water on hot Sabbath afternoons, but I could not swim. Most of the rules followed by Adventists come from the pen of Ellen White. Here are a few of them:

Forbade use of cheese, butter, and eggs
Forbade eating of meat
Recommended deserts not be eaten
Salad dressing should be made without vinegar
Coffee and Tea are forbidden
Mustard, pepper, pickles, and cinnamon are forbidden
Card-playing, chess, and checkers are banned
Football, Tennis, Cricket, Baseball, and bike-riding are banned
Picnics and social parties are not a good idea
Secular music concerts are not the best use of time
Fictional writings (or TV shows?) should be avoided
The theater is off limits
Billiard halls and bowling alleys are not places for Christians
The Circus is off limits
Dance halls are the enemy's territory
Jewelry is forbidden
College students cannot date
Food cannot be prepared upon the Sabbath
Dishes cannot be washed on the Sabbath
You should not live in a city

Believe it or not, there are Adventists who actually endeavor to keep these rules and regulations of Ellen White. For a while, I attempted to follow all the various health teachings of Ellen White, but instead of attaining a feeling of greater spiritual perfection, I lost weight down to 130 pounds and felt weak.
The danger in adding a multitude of needless restrictions to a religion is that it makes religion seem tiring and burdensome, especially for the youth. This over-bearing and overly restrictive environment drives the youth out of the church, which is perhaps one of the reasons that it has been reported that 70% of Seventh-day Adventist youth leave the church.
3 Comments
SDA end-time Scenario Oct 6, 2008 12:17 pm
356 Views
The entire philosophy of Adventist teachings regarding end-time prophecy is that the wicked are going to join forces to persecute Seventh-day Adventists. Catholicism is supposedly going to join hands with apostate Protestantism and Spiritualism, and this three-fold union is going to pass laws restricting the liberty of Adventists to worship on Saturday. Eventually, a death penalty will be passed for all who do not honor Sunday.

This frightening end-time scenario has no basis in the Bible or in fact, but it is taught to children and new converts as if it were "gospel truth." As a result, Adventists operate in a constant state of mistrust and suspicion of other religions. Any positive statement made by a Sunday-keeping church leader regarding worship on Sunday is regarded as a "sign" of the end.

This delusional end-time scenario is referred to as the National Sunday Law. I remember vividly when SDA minister Jan Marcussen, author of a book on the subject, came to our church with a pile of newspaper clippings purporting to show the imminence of a national Sunday law. He solemnly held up his hand and declared to the congregation that it would happen so soon that a child could count the number of months. That was 17 years ago. Over 200 months, and still counting. I have now been a Christian for over 40 years, and have met thousands of people from a multitude of denominations. To this day, I have yet to meet a single person who is even the least bit interested in persecuting Seventh-day Adventists for not honoring Sunday.

The primary danger of this delusional end-time scenario is that it will cause Adventists to mis-read the true signs of the end. It dupes Adventists into thinking that certain events must transpire prior to the return of Christ. For example, an Adventist would expect Sunday laws to be passed prior to Christ's return. Therefore, an Adventist may delay getting his heart ready for the return of Christ because he thinks he has plenty of time to make that decision because there are not yet any signs of imminent Sunday laws. Secondly, it feeds the "exclusive" mindset discussed above by creating an "us" versus "them" scenario. Finally, this impending conflict generates feelings of stress, and perhaps fear, in some people. The purpose and intent of Christianity is not to coerce people to join a religion out of fear. It is to share love, joy, and peace with people. (nonsda ex adventists)
2 Comments
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