If the doomsayers are correct and we are going to get wiped off planet earth, then Kevin may have the last laugh as there will be no people left, therefore the earth will be perfect and Christ will return. Expect to see Kevin back on Spectrum in 3018.
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Damascus is an ancient city in perpetuity until Isaiah 17:1 says âit will cease from being a city and it will be a ruinous heapâ. Checking the news that could be any day now even after being somewhat decimated already. And if it is totally decimated do Adventists look at their bibles any differently? Thoughts/application?
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Itâs late, but a first thought: politically, Trump had to announce pulling out of Syria with âno plansâ so as not to be seen as instrumental in starting the war, while, ironically, the resulting vacuum will probably spark the war. (So much for âno plans.)
After the American Embassy Consecration in Jerusalem, ending in shouted hallelujahs, there is little doubt that the US will support Israel.
In addition, the economy is going to tank, and war is always the way to âfixâ that. (So much for âno plans.â)
Damascus is already well on the way to being a heap of rubble.
Weâve got the Evangelicals salivating over triggering The Rapture, and the Muslims just as avidly yearning for the 12th Madhi.
'12th Imam,' Key Facet Of Islamic Prophecy, Fuels Middle East TurmoilâBoth Islam and Christianity have a very well-defined eschatology, or period of the last days; both of them cannot be correct âŚ,â said William Wagner, senior professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and author of the book, âHow Islam Plans to Change the World.â
A majority of Shiite Muslims traditionally believe that the â12th Imamâ (Islamic religious leader), born in 868 A.D., was placed by God into hiding (known as occultation) until the day of judgment. Southern Baptist author and evangelist Anis Shorrosh explained that many Shiites also refer to the 12th Imam as the Mahdi, an Arabic word that generally references a messiah, or a guide.
The Evangelicals have itchy trigger fingers because the 70th anniversary of Israeli statehood has passed, and they believe that âthis generation shall not pass until all be fulfilled.â
National Catholic Reporter: Celebrate Israel's 70th anniversary without reluctanceLiberal Catholics, both as liberals and as Catholics, should abhor this anti-Israeli attitude. As liberals, because Israeli society is itself liberal, and as Catholics because our relationship to Jews is unique, they alone are to us as elder brothers, they alone first recognized the God we worship and produced the savior we confess.
And, the evil treatment of Jews by Christians through the centuries makes it an obligation to acknowledge there is a moral authority to Zionism.
We have the ingredients brewing for a perfect storm, probably with some weather warfare thrown in to intensify matters.
And The Remnant is completely hamstrung, having been maneuvered into NOT being â The Commandment-keeping Peopleâ decades ago.
We have dumb dogs that will not bark.
Therefore, Adventism has no vision, no message, no raison dâetre, and is engaging in intractable internecine warfare to distract itself from facing having sold its birthright for a mess of authoritarian pottage.
Contrary to what Ted Wilson assures us about what isnât in the pipeline, there is plenty in the pipeline.
Adventism has such a burden of buried, unresolved issues, and people who are actively sabotaging it, in addition to a population trained to passivity through various manipulations that it cannot be agile in the crisis that is coming, and which will descend with breathtaking speed.
The status of Jerusalem as an international city is important, and the role of the Pope as peace broker will probably come into play.
The building of the Third Temple is a huge issue.
Much will pivot on environmental concerns, and restoration of the social order through obedience to God. Separation of church and state is already much maligned among Christians.
We will probably be hearing much more about extraterrestrial aliens in a religious context.
It will not take much to kindle a crisis.
But I still believe The Great Controversy is individually intrapsychic, and history only outpictures our collective consciousness.
Righteousness by faith is the Third Angelâs Message in verity, according to EGW.
We donât understand that yet.
Here, The Fourth Angel comes into focus.
The Good News is infinitely better than we presently imagine.
Heaven is cheap enough.
Just off the top of my head.
Could be wrong.
Iâll think about it some more.
What do you guys think?
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And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.â
âIsaiah 6
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Much more to be said.
Just depends on how soon I choose to pull the plug and be banned for a thousand years.
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Lynne, thatâs what The One Project, that was so heavily criticized, is about. That folks would gain and keep that joyful loving connection with Jesus lest they easily fall into a salvation by works program; âPutting the cart before the horseâ so to speak. Iâm pretty sure thatâs why EGW encouraged us to take time âa thoughtful hour each dayâ, to comtemplate the closing hours of Christâs life. âThere is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness.â DOA 172
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As Abbas was leaving the library, he told the pope: âWe are counting on youâ. It was not clear what he was referring to.
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âTo his Holiness Pope Franciscus, a great shepherd of our common heritage,â the Israeli leader wrote on the inside cover of the book..
Francis thanked him and presented Netanyahu with a small bronze plaque of St. Paul.
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Representatives from the Conference of European Rabbis, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Rabbinical Council of America joined together to present the document âBetween Jerusalem and Rome: Reflections on 50 Years of Nostra Aetateâ to the pope..
This document celebrated 1965âs Nostra Aetate, which was drafted by the Church to unite Catholicism with other religions, including Judaism, and to begin the difficult work of erasing the antisemitism that had been rampant for centuries in Christian religious life.
This new document, drafted by the three Jewish organizations, also called on the Vatican to join us in our quest to combat Islamic extremism and the threat it poses.
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Mr. Netanyahu is the toast of the new wave of right-wing, populist and autocrat-like (if not outright autocratic) leaders..
They see in him a kindred spirit, even a mentor. He is the leader of a small country who has taken on American presidents and outlasted them.He has successfully defied the Western liberal human rights agenda, focusing instead on trade and security.
Israelâs success as a regional economic and military power is proof in their eyes that the illiberal approach can prevail.
He has spent more time than any of them on the geopolitical stage, winning election after election. In many ways, Mr. Netanyahu is the precursor to this new age of âstrongmenâ who have come to power in different parts of the world.
Now, this question comes strongly to my mind:
We know that the papacy traces its ecclesiastical authority via Petrine Succession.
But Iâm curious about whether Catholicism also traces its civil authority as an extension of the Roman Empire.
Some say absolutely not.
But I looked up âHoly See,â and found that it predates, and is distinct from, the âVatican City State.â
Moreover, the Holy See, an ecclesiastical authority, not the Vatican City State, maintains diplomatic relations with 172 sovereign states.
And Catholics trace the Holy See to Peter in first century Rome.
There had historically been discussion that the Vatican holds the Temple Menorah, and other Temple artifacts, seized by Titus and taken to Rome, and supposedly inherited by the Holy See from the Roman Empire via a temporal kind of translatio imperii.
A contemporary Jewish group intent on rebuilding the Temple regularly contends with the Vatican (or should I say the Holy See?) for the return of the Temple Menorah.
Itâs a curious impasse, and especially given Pope Francisâ seemingly proprietary interest in keeping Jerusalem an international city.
Ending on that curious bit of irony. 
Perhaps the GYC youth will find it interesting that a large proportion of the sovereign countries in this world have diplomatic ties to an ecclesiastical authority, rather than to the small city state in Rome that answers to it.
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U.S. AND VATICAN RESTORE FULL TIES AFTER 117 YEARSSPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES JAN. 11, 1984
President Reagan announced that he would nominate William A. Wilson, a California industrialist and real estate developer, to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See. Mr. Wilson, a longtime friend of the President, has been serving as the Presidentâs personal representative to the Vatican since 1981.
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/11/world/us-and-vatican-restore-full-ties-after-117-years.html
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Interesting, isnât it? 
Above all when we consider that the SDA church has been saying for a long time that the Catholic church would regain her supremacy and influence in the world.
People have the tendency to forget that when EGW wrote the Great Controversy, the anti Catholic sentiment was high in the US.
In that time, if you had told American citizens that their country would have diplomatic ties with the Vatican, they would have laughed to your face.
If you had told the people in the US that the big majority of the Supreme Court Justices would be Catholic, they would have said that you were a lunatic.
If you had told them that several US presidents would, one day, kneel down before the body of a dead pope, they would have driven you out of town, tarred and feathered.
If you had told them that, one day, a pope would come to the US, address Congress, and that relics would be travelling throughout the country, they would have told you that the end of the world was nigh.
Things are happening in the world in general, and in the US in particular, and some people are awakening and discerning the signs of the times.
Maybe it is not a surprise that young people want to be involved.
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Affirmative. 
Be there or be square. 
Hereâs a strange, as Paul Harvey used to say:
Both these articles came out in January of 1984:
(Is that a Catholic Priest grinning on the cover of Ministry Magazine above?)
Just a coincidence, of course, but I tend to notice stuff like that.
But, let me ask you this: if someone wanted to separate Adventists out from the herd of other conservative Christians, for whatever murky reasons, and with whatever plans for the future, wouldnât they like to see Adventists breaking the Sixth Commandment, and thereby making their whole message a laughing stock, or worse?
Just a thoughtâŚ
Yes.
And letâs not leave out the sitting Vice President, Mike Pence, self-described âEvangelical Catholic.â
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And letâs not leave out the Attorney General nominee, William Barr:
The interim Attorney General believes in âbiblical justice,â in the United States (google his interesting views on various other things).
This is not about being âCatholic haters,â to use David Larsonâs phrase.
This is about the self-same issue that is tearing Adventism asunder at this moment: hierarchical authoritarianism.
Is God an authoritarian?
OR
Is God relational?
If we donât pay attention, weâll wish we had.
Just my opinion.
GYC youth: you are the hope of the future. Pray for your elders today. We pray for you.
What does the Bible say about shedding innocent blood?
David Larson letter: Roy Branson Sabbath School Class at LLUC to discuss abortion today:
https://conversation.spectrummagazine.org/t/lounge-open-thread/11538/6476?u=cassie
May the Fatherâs will be done on earth as it is in heaven, as Jesus prayed.
Adventist shepherds: you have a grave responsibility for these young people. I fear for you all.
I was wondering the same thing⌠
This is a very good thought.
History showed us how the rejection of one principle can bring the rejection of the whole edifice.
It is because Protestants rejected the sabbath and kept the unbiblical Sunday tradition that the Catholic church at the Council of Trent rejected the arguments of Protestantism showing that even Protestants put traditions above Scripture.
The Adventist church is in the same situation: if we say that the Ten Commandments are essential but we discard even one in practice then we should not be surprised if people tell us that we are showing that the Ten Commandments are, in fact, not binding.
And he is not the only oneâŚ
No, God is not authoritarian⌠but He has authority.
And, yes, God is relational.
Exactly!
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Itâs a good thing to see youth involved in outreach and helping. I donât see cherry-picking everyoneâs personal beliefs as helpful. I would hope there would be a range of ideas. The only red flag would be if they were intolerant of other outreach groups. hopefully they give the Gospel their first priority.
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March 21 Messiah?
Netanhahu hand keys to Jewish Messiah?
Rabbi David Nachsh, a close friend of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who witnessed the dialogue, related that the Rebbe was confident that some great good would come out of Netanyahuâs political trials.âIt really pains me, as a friend, as a brother, as a close friend, to see how people constantly spill Netanyahuâs blood,â Rabbi Schneerson confided to Nachshon. âBut I have a surprise for you, heâs going to come out of it, and heâll stand tall, on G-dâs side.
He has a promise from the Rebbe, and heâs going to make it through this. Weâve seen it happen up to now, and thatâs how itâs going to be now as well.
He will make it through this, and he will continue, and I hope heâll be able to hand his keys over to Moshiach (the Messiah), and weâll have the complete and true Redemption.â
The Lubavitch Rebbe was not the only prominent tzaddik (righteous man) with high expectations for Netanyahu. Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri, one of the most influential Sephardic spiritual leaders of the century who passed away in 2006 at the age of 106, met with Netanyahu in 1997 during his first term as prime minister.
Rabbi Kaduri whispered a long message into the politicians ear. Rabbi Shmuel Shmueli, a follower of Rabbi Kaduri, revealed that Kaduri had always maintained that Netanyahu would serve a very long time and after his term in office, the Messiah would arrive.
Before his death, Kaduri had said that he expected the the Jewish Messiah, to arrive soon, and that he had met him a year earlier.
In May, Breaking Israel News reported the opinion of Rabbi Levi Sudri, noted the many parallels between the current prime minister and Jonathan, the son of Biblical King Saul. Sudri suggested that Netanyahu is serving the function of Moshiach ben Yosef (Messiah from the house of Joseph) the first half of the two stage Messianic process.
Moshiach ben Yosef is a practical, mundane process that includes the ingathering of the exiles and building up of the Land of Israel. The second stage, Moshiach Ben David (Messiah from the house of David) is a miraculous process which includes the reestablishment of the Davidic Dynasty and the completion of the Third Temple.
Rabbi Sudri explained that as the reincarnation of Jonathan and the manifestation of Moshiach ben Yosef, Netanyahu is paving the way for the more transcendent Moshiach ben David who will immediately follow.
âIt is very clear that we see in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is fulfilling his destiny as Moshiach ben Yosef , that is to say, the reincarnation of Jonathan,â Rabbi Sudri told Breaking Israel News at the time. âThe name âNetanyahuâ (× ×Ş× ×××) is composed of the same letters as the name, âJonathan (×××× ×Ş×).â
This sentiment was repeated by Rabbi Moshe Ben Tov, known for his ability to perceive the past and present of people by gazing at the mezuzah on their door. After attaching a mezuzah in the prime ministerâs office, Rabbi Ben Tov made a remarkable statement to the prime minister.
âIt is very important that your love of Israel continue until the Moshiach comes because you are going stay in office and are going to meet him,â Rabbi Ben Tov said to Netanyahu. âYou are the one who will give him the keys to this office.â
Temple will be rebuilt?
Nymous, the RCC when writing Trent in the areas regarding Justification rejected the Protestant view for 1 simple reason.
They hold JBF means âmake righteousâ rather than âreckon rightousâ just like all false religions and various spiritualities.
Interesting Spring coming up.
Weâll see if the mystical Jewsâ portrayal of Netanyahu as reincarnation of Jonathan, the forerunner of Davidic Messiah (paralleling John the Baptist as reincarnation of Elijah), will hand the Keys to Messiah.
The plot thickens as Netanyahu indictment could precede April 9 elections.
âJust as Jonathan fought the Amalekites before David, in the end-of-days it will be the function of *Moshiach ben Yosef* or the reincarnation of Jonathan, to battle Amalek before Moshiach ben David, Rabbi Sudri said..
âNetanyahu is fulfilling this role by battling the enemies of Israel.âWhen this battle is complete, he will pass the scepter to Moshiach ben David.â
Have to wonder if a war will intervene hereâŚjust guessingâŚ