christian study

Lazarus and the rich man explained as a parable

Jesus used the parable of Lazarus and the rich man to explain an important Bible truth – that the poor in this life may go to heaven, while the rich may not be there. We need to keep the injunction to “Do unto others as you want them to do unto you” if you want to go to heaven.

Many people try to bring up Jesus’ parable about Lazarus and the rich man, saying that this proves people live fairly normal lives in hell forever. Let’s explore that parable a little here.

Is hell just a few hundred meters away from heaven?

Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

If this is to be taken literally, hell and heaven (where Abraham is) are so close together than even in hell you can see those in heaven. So at most it can be perhaps 500 meters separated from each other?

Does the rich man want real help to get out?

Luke 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

The man in hell doesn’t ask for real help with his thirst, but just a tip of finger in water, meaning that Lazarus can run over to hell and enter hell and put his finger in the man’s mouth. So people can run back and forth between hell and heaven, which makes sense if they are only 400 meters at the most separated from each other.

Hell and heaven have a great gulf between them

Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luke 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence.

Abraham’s “great gulf” may be very deep, but only about 400 meters wide. It seems there are no helicopters or airplanes available for transport either, making one wonder how they ever got to their respective places in the first place.

Hell must be a very quiet place

Luke 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Somehow the men talking can make their voices heard over this “great gulf”. That suggests that hell is a quiet place. Also, it suggests that people in hell aren’t in too much pain or suffering, and actually not doing too bad if they can converse naturally with people in heaven.

Lazarus is dead

Both the man in hell, and Abraham are referring to Lazarus as “dead”. This is very telling, and the key to understanding the entire parable.

Jesus turned familiar parable on its head

Jesus used this parable that the Jews knew, and turned it on its head, because they thot that rich people were especially favored of God, and that poor people were not. By the content of the parable itself, it is quite easy to determine that Jesus is not telling his hearers exactly what happens after death, as that has nothing to do with the discussion at hand.

David is still dead

According to Acts 2:29, even David is dead, still in 31AD.

Acts 2:29 Men [and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

He is awaiting the resurrection, just like all others who have lived and died, except for the very few that either never died, or were resurrected by Jesus.

For further study

Pastor Doug Batchelor explains Lazarus and the rich man well in this sermon:

Let’s be good Bereans, and not fall for Satan’s lie that one can sin and still live forever in misery in hell.

Is Jesus’ teaching only for the Jews?! Did he teach faith plus works?

Many Christians today, to avoid keeping God’s 7th day Sabbath holy from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday like Jesus did, are coming up with unbelieveable excuses for not following Jesus’ perfect example. Jesus kept the 7th day Sabbath, so did he teach faith plus works?

This video explores what one person wrote me recently saying that Jesus taught only for the nation of Israel, and that he taught faith plus works!!!

Let’s follow Jesus’ perfect example and “Remember” to keep holy what he wrote with his own finger in stone.

Did Jesus teach faith plus works video.

“Abortion is Murder” – Adventist pastor Devron Thomas preaches the Word!

Today, I uploaded a new video to Youtube:

Devron Thomas is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in Turks and Caicos Islands. Recently he gave an impassioned sermon showing how the US Supreme Court overturning Roe vs Wade was a godly act, and that abortion is a terrible sin. He asks the provocative question: “What if Mary had aborted Jesus?”

What if Mary had aborted Jesus?

His full sermon can be seen at this link, and he gets into the focus of his sermon around the 34:30 mark:

We praise God for this godly decision by the US Supreme Court, and vow to work more and pray more to overturn the support of abortion in our own SDA Church. Would that we had 1000 SDA pastors blasting this truth out of their pulpits, but most are addicted to worldly praise and honor and paychecks, so they forbear.

God bless you pastor Thomas!

Secrets Unsealed Summit 2022 breaking the Sabbath yet again!

So sorry to see that Pr. Stephen Bohr, of Secrets Unsealed, continues to break the Sabbath each year at his annual summit. I’ve remonstrated with him before, but he decided that evangelism is better than to obey God. If you want more detail, check out what I wrote on this subject last year: 2021 Secrets Unsealed Summit breaking the Sabbath

Secrets Unsealed Summit 2022 Behold I Send You Elijah - Repent!

Secrets Unsealed Summit should follow Elijah’s teaching

The theme for this year is: “Behold, I Send You Elijah”. It will be held at Tenaya Lodge again, from October 26 to the 30th, forcing the workers to serve them food on the Sabbath. I call on you to heed Elijah’s words and obey the commandments of the Lord. Repent of your breaking the holy Seventh-day Sabbath!

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1Kings 18:21

“The Lord does not require them (our restaurant workers) to furnish meals for the public on the Sabbath. If those who come to our restaurants choose to take away with them on Friday, health foods sufficient to last over the Sabbath, let them do this. But our restaurant workers should not be asked to work on the Sabbath.” Ellen White Letter 45, 1902.

Does God allow divorce for lust in the heart?

Does Jesus allow divorce for lust in the heart?

divorce for lust?

Recently I was asked to give advice on this very question. My answer, supported by the Bible and Ellen White’s writings (shown at the end of this blog post), is that we humans are only given authority from God to judge for actions, never for thoughts. This seems very logical, but some of my dear SDA brethren have demurred, quoting the following text: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28).

Let’s explore the context:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:21-30)

This makes it much clearer than taking out one verse and trying to apply an application to it. Jesus is obviously saying that what is in the heart, will come out in the actions.

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6:43-45)

If we are angry at someone without cause, or call them a “fool” in our hearts, it is equated to killing them. So, in order to be consistent, if we are freed from our marriage vows to God by what our spouse is thinking, then we must present ourselves to the police whenever we hate someone. And we must inform the police if we see someone we assume is thinking hateful thoughts. If we don’t, we are hypocrites, and God is not fond of hypocrites.

Did God kick Satan out of heaven for thinking prideful thoughts? Or did he kick him out after he had talked out his thoughts to others, encouraging them to join him in his rebellion?

Did God tell Adam and Eve that they would die if they thought about the fruit of the Forbidden Tree? Or was it that they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree?

Did God destroy the antediluvians for thinking evil thoughts continually, or for actually doing wicked things all the time? Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Did the Israelites bring a man to Moses for thinking about picking up firewood on the Sabbath, or for actually picking up firewood on the Sabbath?

Do any of the Commandments, Statutes, or Judgments ever even hint about us humans being commanded or allowed to judge someone based on what they are thinking?

Did God divorce the nation of Israel for thinking about wanting to kill his Son, or when they actually did it?

1Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

So if God wants to judge the heart, that is his prerogative, as he created it and us. However, if we created beings start judging what others are thinking, we are on Satan’s ground. This idea that we can judge other’s motives is rampant in the world today, for example, a young man in Wisconsin two years ago tried to defend some property with a gun. The current president* of the United States judged him as a “White Supremacist” at the time. A jury later found him entirely innocent.

Breaking your vows to God: “until death do us part” because of what your spouse is thinking, is evil, pleasing Satan.

So what is Jesus telling us in Matthew 5? He is obviously saying, as repeated consistently throughout the Bible, is that what is in our hearts will come out in the actions. So we should be careful what we see, what we hear, and what we think.

—— Writings of Bible and Ellen White on this subject ——

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Lt50 1895 “Walter Harper did not put his wife away. She left him, and put him away, and married another man. I see nothing in the Scripture that forbids him to marry again in the Lord. He has a right to the affection of a woman, who knowing his physical defect, shall choose to give him her love. ”

” It is a serious matter to part a man and his wife. There is no Scriptural ground upon which to take such a step in this case. He did not leave her, she left him. He did not marry again until she had obtained a divorce. When Laura divorced herself from Walter, he suffered most keenly, and it was not until Laura had married another man, that Walter married again. The one he has chosen I feel certain will be a help to him, and he can be a help to her.”

Lt1 1896
” I feel deeply over another matter, and that is your visiting Fannie in her tent. I have already decided that you two cannot work together. You are a married man, father of two children. If your wife has obtained a divorce from you, that does not leave you free to marry again, as I read my Bible.” ( I understand this to mean that because the married man gave an appearance of impropriety, he forfeited the right to remarry even if his wife divorced him).

Lt6 1888
” Those who enlisted themselves in this work to separate the two and make of no account the marriage vow had better been reading their Bibles or engaged in praying that the Lord would give them wisdom and pure hearts and clean hands.”

“Brother Harper, if he has done an unwise thing in suffering his body to be mutilated, has not committed a sin for which there is no pardon,”

“Be it understood, I do not advise or sanction the same process that Brother Harper has gone through to arrive at the results that he was desirous to secure, but this action on his part is not a sin which God marks against him.”
(Seems Mr. Harper castrated himself, and some church members told his wife to divorce him. Ellen White wrote strongly that they were mistaken, and themselves in a worse condition than he was).

Lt8 1888
“Your ideas in regard to the marriage relation have been erroneous. Nothing but the violation of the marriage bed can either break or annul the marriage vow. ”

“God gave only one cause why a wife should leave her husband or the husband leave his wife, which was adultery.”

“Then let this, God’s institution of marriage, stand before you as firm as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.”

Lt14 1895
“I see not a particle of leniency in the Scriptures given either of you to contract marriage, although his wife is divorced. From the provocation he has given her, it was largely his own course of action that has brought this result” (So even if your spouse divorces you, if you were the cause, you cannot remarry).

Lt106a 1896
“You say you did not commit adultery. God charges adultery against everyone who doeth these things, and all who will communicate these vile practices to another are polluting that soul with vile imaginations. Can you not see, can you not understand by your own experience, that you are leading youth into this habit of self – abuse? ”

” You allow a girl to make her body common property for a man to handle, and you break down all reserve, and she will have lustful desires planted in her heart” (SDA minister was exposing himself to kids and handling their privates. Note: while this was a grievous sin, nothing is said about divorce).

Lt153 1901
“The daily papers are full of notices of divorce and marriage after divorce – the marriage condemned in the words of the Saviour”

Ms7 1904
“Because of the degeneracy of the people, a divorce law which was not in God’s original plan was permitted. ”

The Valera 1602 Purified is the best Spanish Bible

I was looking for a faithful, good version of the Spanish Bible recently in order to subtitle the Revelation video I want to make. It was difficult searching it out, as there are several versions, each with their own supporters and detractors.

Short history of the Spanish Bible

This is by no means an exhaustive list of Spanish Bibles, but will give an idea of what is available. The Alfonso Bible (1240 OT only) was commissioned by a king, but was prohibited to be used, so was locked up and unavailable to most people. The Ferrara Bible (1553 OT only) was made by two Jews in exile. The Reina Bible (1569 first entire Bible in Spanish) was THE Protestant Bible in Spanish. The Valera Bible (1602) was a revision of the Reina Bible. This line became known as the Reina-Valera Bible, and is still seen by Protestants as the most faithful line of Bibles in Spanish today. 1865 Revision by American Bible Society which has itself been revised many times since, most notably in 1909 and 1960. The Gomez Reina-Valera Bible (2004/2010) is seen by many Protestants to be the best revision of the Reina-Valera line. The Valera 1602 Purified Bible (2007) has worked to be the most faithful to not only the Textus Receptus manuscripts, but also to the original, Castilian Spanish found in the original, 1569 Reina and 1602 Valera versions.

Example

In reading thru the various explanations, it is my belief that the Purified Bible is the best version of the Spanish Bible available today. One example will suffice: Many Spanish Bibles, including the Gomez version, have John 1:1 as “verbos” instead of “palabar”.
1960 Reina-Viera and Gomez: “En el principio era el Verbo, y el Verbo era con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios.”
Purified Bible: “EN el principio era la Palabra, y la Palabra era con Dios, y la Palabra era Dios.”
This makes it very clear that Jesus is not a “Verb” (yes, there are other meanings for this word, but “verb” is the most common one), but “Word”.

For more information on this subject, check out this website: http://www.rrb3.com/mypub/books/spn_bible_inception_men_translation.htm

To read the Valera 1602 Purified Bible online, go to this link: https://valera1602.org/

¡Que Dios bendiga a todos los lectores españoles de la Biblia!

The Two Witnesses cannot be the Old and New Testaments

Last week I downloaded an interesting-sounding audio sermon from the net by a SDA pastor titled “Learning From Egypt, Babylon, and France”. Obviously this is going into Revelation 11 and 13 territory, and there were several interesting things mentioned in it, However, the same, standard, unbiblical SDA position that the Two Witnesses are the Old and New Testaments was preached, startling me to hear again such unbiblical preaching glossed over in a veneer of biblical study.

We Seventh-day Adventists better get to studying deeply soon. As Revelation 11, 12 and 13 start unfolding around us, how are we going to support a belief that is so contrary to the plain reading of the Scriptures?

Revelation 11:1-14

Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Rev 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

Let’s break it down verse by verse.

1. “temple of God” definitely means the true church that is following God, and possibly also a physical temple somewhere sometime.
2. “holy city” may mean God’s true people, but in the Bible, it always refers to “Jerusalem” the city in Israel.
3. Was the Bible only given power “1260 days/years”? No. Possibly they were in “sackcloth” during the Dark Ages.
4. “Two olive trees”. Not sure, might be OT and NT, or maybe something else.
5. This is one of the 2 strongest verses showing that the two witnesses cannot be the Old and New Testaments. Did fire come out of the OT and NT during the Dark Ages and kill anyone? No.
6. This is power the 2 witnesses have. Yes, the Bible talks about these supernatural things.
7. Have the OT and NT ever “finished their testimony”? No. Have they ever been “overcome”? No.
8. “Our Lord was crucified” in Jerusalem in Israel. Only there. This is super-clear.
9. How many people of China, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, India etc. even heard of the French Revolution in 1798 when it was happening? Basically zero. And nobody tried to put them in graves either, so no one could have tried to prevent them from being put in graves!
10. No one except maybe inside France sent presents to each other when France officially abolished the Bible in 1798 or so.
11. The “Spirit of God” left the Bible for 3 1/2 years around 1798? Really?! How can any Seventh-day Adventist who professes to believe the Bible believe this?
12. The Bible did not suddenly go from being persecuted to being greatly exalted around 1798. Yes, the Bible Societies were very strong in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but there was nothing special at that time to be specially noticed by the Bible’s enemies.
13. There was no earthquake of any note in France around the 1798 time frame. There is absolutely nothing in history to point to showing that people who hated the Bible in France got really scared about seeing the Bible being exalted by God.
14. No “woe” has come quickly at all since 1798. It hasn’t. (To be honest, none of the woes or Trumpets have had their final fulfillment yet here July, 2021.

Two Witnesses

The two witnesses cannot be the Old and New Testaments for many reasons

So we see that if we believe what the Bible says, the two witnesses cannot be the Old and New Testaments.

I call on all my fellow Seventh-day Adventists to study what you believe, to show yourself approved unto God. Please let me know in the comments what you believe the Two Witnesses to be.

Secrets Unsealed Summit 2021 with Pr. Stephen Bohr breaking Sabbath again

Secrets Unsealed, an organization run by pastor Stephen Bohr, will be breaking the Sabbath again in 2021 by having their annual summit at Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite, forcing lodge workers to serve them meals on the Sabbath.
secrets unsealed summit 2021 pr. Bohr break Sabbath

Why does Secrets Unsealed break the Sabbath?

This isn’t the first time I’ve asked them to repent for doing this. Four years ago I contacted them, asking them to please repent and refrain from doing this in the future. First, I got an angry reply, then I got a very detailed reply showing how they carried this question to their board, and decided it was OK. Their reasoning was that they are doing a good thing by giving Ellen White books to the Lodge workers, and some of those workers are deeply impressed by the truth contained in those books.

So should we break the Sabbath to evangelize?

If God is fine with breaking his 7th day Sabbath in order to evangelize, then why not go shopping on Sabbath and drop some tracts? Why not go to a sporting event and tell the people sitting around you about Jesus? Or why not break any of the other commandments, but make up for it by spreading some gems of truth while you’re doing it?

Information on Secrets Unsealed “Rightly Dividing The Word” Summit 2021

UPDATE: This summit will be held online only, due to the corona virus.
Dates: October 27-31, 2021 (Wednesday-Sunday)
Location: Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite
1122 Highway 41, Fish Camp, CA 93623
Summit speakers: Pastor Stephen Bohr, Milton Teske MD, Pastor CA Murray, Pastor Wes Peppers
Complete information is available on their site: Secrets Unsealed Summit 2021

Let’s call on them to keep God’s 7th day Sabbath holy.

Stephen Bohr disbelieves Ellen White statement about amalgamation

Many Seventh-day Adventists have a hard time believing in what Ellen White wrote. For example, the following quote regarding “amalgamation” is thrown under the bus by nearly all Adventist scholars and leaders and today I found out that even Secrets Unsealed Pastor Stephen Bohr disbelieves Ellen White when she writes about “amalgamation”. Here is the quote from

“Important Facts of Faith in Connection with the History of Holy Men of Old” (Spiritual Gifts v.3):

Instead of doing justice to their neighbors, they carried out their own unlawful wishes. They had a plurality of wives, which was contrary to God’s wise arrangement. In the beginning God gave to Adam one wife–showing to all who should live upon the earth, his order and law in that respect. The transgression and fall of Adam and Eve brought sin and wretchedness upon the human race, and man followed his own carnal desires, and changed God’s order. The more men multiplied wives to themselves, the more they increased in wickedness and unhappiness. If one chose to take the wives, or cattle, or anything belonging to his neighbor, he did not regard justice or right, but if he could prevail over his neighbor by reason of strength, or by putting him to death, he did so, and exulted in his deeds of violence. They loved to destroy the lives of animals. They used them for food, and this increased their ferocity and violence, and caused them to look upon the blood of human beings with astonishing indifference.

But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere. God purposed to destroy by a flood that powerful, long-lived race that had corrupted their ways before him. He would not suffer them to live out the days of their natural life, which would be hundreds of years. It was only a few generations back when Adam had access to that tree which was to prolong life. After his disobedience he was not suffered to eat of the tree of life and perpetuate a life of sin. In order for man to possess an endless life he must continue to eat of the fruit of the tree of life. Deprived of that tree, his life would gradually wear out.


Here Pr. Bohr shows his disbelief:

https://secretsunsealed.org/content/Newsletters/newsletter1Q12web.pdf
The Ellen G. White Estate’s Francis Nichol shows his disbelief: https://whiteestate.org/legacy/issues-amalg-html/
David Read, while showing his disbelief, gives very detailed insight into the brouhaha this quote has caused among Adventists, and covers the history of a special debate called by the G.C. just on this subject in San Francisco in 1947: https://www.fulcrum7.com/apologetics/2021/3/24/the-meaning-of-amalgamation-part-1

“Amalgamation of man and beast” was a “base crime”.
It is not possible for animals to commit crimes.
Humans and animals interbred.
Any other explanation is showing disbelief in God’s messenger.

Pastor stephen Bohr disbelieves Ellen White and should repent for his unbelief in the Lord’s messenger.

Stephen Bohr disbelieves Ellen White and ancient artifacts

I have seen historical artifacts on the internet clearly showing such base crimes as amalgamation of man and beast. Here is a site with pics of some to get you started on the subject: https://www.el-libertario.com/en/reptilian-gods/

Let’s believe God, instead of throwing doubt on God’s words.

Sabbath truth for Ray Comfort, Living Waters, and yes, SDAs too!

I put up a new video on Youtube yesterday showing Ray Comfort and Living Waters and all Sunday Keepers that they need to keep the Sabbath (and SDAs too). Sabbath video for Ray Comfort and Living Waters

I’ve been a fan of Ray Comfort and Living Waters for many years. I really believe that Ray Comfort is probably the best I’ve seen ever at street evangelism.

Response to Ray Comfort’s Sabbath video

This video is a response video to his recent video where he was doing street evangelism, and one of the guys kept asking him about the 7th day Sabbath. Ray was obviously flustered, and a bit testy when the man showed Ray that he was interested in Ray’s salvation, just as Ray is interested in using 9 of the 10 commandments to bring people to Christ.

Strangely, Living Waters turned off comments for this video. They allow comments for abortion videos, evolution videos, atheist videos, and just about everything else, but not for this video talking about the Sabbath. That alone tells us that something is unusual about this subject.

Using 10 Commandments to bring people to Christ

Ray rightly uses the Commandments as a tool to bring people to Jesus Christ. He shows that they have lied, committed adultery (or fornication), blasphemed God’s name, and stolen something. Then he introduces the solution to their sin problem, the only way to get it taken care of – by believing on Jesus. But not only does he not keep the Sabbath himself, he gets upset when people point out to him that it isn’t “The Nine Commandments”, it is “The Ten Commandments”.

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy.
For six days you may labor and do all your work,
But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Did Jesus keep the Sabbath?

Of course he did:
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

The first day of the week is mentioned only 8 times in the New Testament, and it is never mentioned as being a day of worship.

Does “breaking bread” equal “worship”?

In his quick response to the man in the video who pointed out the need to keep the Sabbath, Ray says in the video that the early Christian church was “breaking bread” on Sunday right after the cross, showing clearly that the day of worship had been changed. Hmmmm, does “breaking bread” = “worship”?

Breaking bread is mentioned only 7 times, and it is never mentioned as being an act of worship, altho it is spoken of in connection with a worship service once.

Breaking bread is part of the story where Jesus went to Emmaus:
Luke 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

Nothing there except a statement that they ate bread.

How about Paul on a sinking ship?:
Acts 27:35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

He thanked God for his food, and then ate. No worship service here either. There is one time where they had a worship service and they broke bread, as Paul’s preaching lasted all night, and a young man was brought back to life.

Doesn’t Colossians 2 say to not judge about keeping the Sabbath?

Many Sunday-keepers say that Colossians 2 says to be cool with not keeping the Sabbath. But is that what it really says? Reading carefully, it doesn’t do away with any of God’s commands, it only tells the Christians to not be worried about what unbelievers think of them for keeping God’s laws. (look for phrase “no man” or “any man”, there are 4 times, and they refer to unbelievers).

Paul either kept the Sabbath, or else he lied when he told Festus that he hadn’t broken the law of the Jews:
Acts 25:8 While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.

Justified by the free gift of the blood of the Son of God

No, Seventh-day Adventists don’t believe we are justified by keeping the law. Salvation is a free gift of the precious blood of Christ shed for us while we were still sinners. After being justified (which means made right), we don’t continue in our sins. Just as Ray Comfort correctly shows, we turn from sin and follow Jesus.

i call on fellow SDAs to consider how to give a good witness for Jesus regarding the Sabbath, and also consider keeping all of God’s Sabbaths, just as Matthew 26:18 shows that Jesus did.

And I call on Ray Comfort and everyone at Living Waters and all Sunday keepers to consider what the Bible says about the Sabbath, and resolve to follow and obey the holy words of God.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Where should Adventists send our tithes?

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:8-11. This text has a direct connection to where Adventists should send tithes.

Personal study of where SDAs should send our tithes to

I have studied out where should Adventists send our tithes fairly deeply twice in my life. The result of my first investigation was that the Bible and Ellen White’s writings both agree that tithe is only for the physical support of the ministers of the truth – Levites in Israel’s time, and pastors/evangelists/Bible teachers in the Christian era.

But in my second investigation, several things were found that I had either not seen earlier, or had not considered deeply. There is one place in the Bible where the tithe can be used to have a big party (Deuteronomy 14:23-29)!!! The only way I can understand that currently, is that this is a special tithe, and not the 10% that God commands. Any insights into this would be very appreciated in the comments.

Probably around 95% of Ellen White’s writings regarding use of tithes are clear that they are to be used for the above named people, but there are a few instances where she says they can be used for printing truth-filled literature, helping support the upkeep of poor churches, paying pastor’s wives, and even one place, that is quoted at length below, where she talks about sending her own tithe, and others’, directly to poor ministers, and not to the SDA Church.

King David & King Saul compared to Trump & Biden election 2020

While this is admittedly not a perfect fit, and some liberties have been taken with the figures involved, there are some interesting similarities to explore. Also, when I refer to “King Saul”, I’m basically referring to the bad kings of Judah, while “King David” refers to the good kings.

King Saul started out humble, but got lifted up, was rash, couldn’t wait, and spoke foolish things. (1Samuel 13-14). He was told to utterly destroy the accursed enemy, but he saved the king. (1Samuel 15). Then he lied about following God’s command, when really he had broken it. He made God’s people scared (1Samuel 16). An evil spirit entered him (1Samuel 16). He himself was scared of the enemy (1Samuel 17). He tried to kill God’s people (1Samuel 18). Saul didn’t care much for his soldiers, and sent them to fight foreign peoples specifically so that they would die (1Samuel 18). He made a death decree to kill God’s people (1Samuel 19). He used a foreigner to slay the priests of the Lord (1Samuel 22). Saul went to see a spirit medium (1Samuel 28).

David got rid of the big enemy of Israel (1Samuel 17). He used unconventional means to obtain the victory, and ascribed the victory to God. David moved wisely, in the best interests of the people, so they loved him (1Samuel 18). He fought the foreign enemy bravely (1Samuel 18). He was under a death decree (1Samuel 19). To escape, he ran to be with the man of God – Samuel (1Samuel 19). David sought out the priest of God for help (1Samuel 21). He acted crazy to avoid being killed by the enemy (1Samuel 21). David did good and helped many people, but when he got angry, he could really fight (1Samuel 25). David helped a needy foreigner, and was very fair with his soldiers (1Samuel 30).

No doubt Saul was seen as “loving” and “inclusive” for not killing who God said to kill. He used doublespeak, and went back on his word, flip-flopping around. One minute he was all smiles, the next he was throwing javelins at you.

Later, Rehoboam’s young advisers would influence the king to take extreme positions, increasing taxes etc., causing the people to rebel. The evil kings often burned their own children to Moloch. They had open borders and brought in their foreign gods. They were life-long “politicians”.

David loved his soldiers, and treated them with respect. He worked to make Israel first. He loved the Lord. He would not deliver his children to be burned to Moloch, his counselors were wise. He adhered to God’s laws mostly, but made huge mistakes in having a trusted soldier murdered, committing adultery, and numbering his people. He saw his sins and repented from them. He never forgot his humble roots.
—–
I hope this comparison has been helpful mostly to those who are not planning to vote at all. If you don’t vote, you are as guilty of the sins of the person who takes office, as if you actually voted for them. And if that person supports delivering up babies to Moloch, then you can look forward to the Day of Judgment where their little souls will rise up and condemn you for not doing what you could to save their lives.

May we do our God given duty, and help uplift the morals of society by voting for President of America in 2020.

Anti-Trinity doctrine is false, and Trinity doctrine is false

Christ is God

The “Godhead” doctrine, however is true, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each one, is called “God”.

The following is a letter I sent to the man who translated the Polish version of the 1858 Great Controversy. That was in 2002, and he was the first one to introduce me to the error of the “Anti-Trinity” doctrine. In my experience, everyone who believes this error not only says the Holy Spirit is not a separate person, but they all ultimately put down Jesus Christ to something less than “God”. I call on everyone to turn from this deadly error, and leave this worse than useless wrangling over exactly what the Holy Spirit is, alone, just as Ellen White has told us.
——————-
I appreciate your prayers on my behalf. Surely we must all press together and show love for each other on the platform of truth.

It seems like the concept of what “Trinity” means is not very clear. Was my drawing understandable? I tried to show that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are all God, with the Father superior to the other two. Each member of the Godhead is a separate entity, separate person/being, but each one is also God. The position of the Trinity that teaches that each member of the Godhead is exactly like the other, one and the same, is erroneous, and as our Adventist forefathers did – should be rejected. I personally know of no one who teaches this view of the Trinity now, altho this view was popular 200 years ago. If this is the view you are concerned about, you are right in opposing it. But the view of the Trinity that shows each of the 3 beings as being separate, yet each one being God, is truth, and is one of the pillars of the Christian’s platform of truth. No, it’s not a pillar that is peculiar to Adventists, but it is a pillar nonetheless.

We must be humble, and keep this advice in mind when studying this subject, 1PH Testimonies and Experiences Connected with the Loma Linda Sanitarium: “Those who seek to define God are on forbidden ground. We are to enter into no controversy regarding God,–what He is and what He is not. He, the Omniscient One, is above discussion. Those who express such sentiments regarding Him show that they are departing from the faith.”

God is above us. We will ever be learning all thru eternity, and still never realizing 100% of what God is. So any discussion we have on this is by it’s very nature – limited. We see thru a glass darkly.

That the three eternal beings are not all equal is evident as Christ calls his Father greater than himself (John 14:28). Also, since the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, is sent by the Father and by Jesus (John 14:26, 15:26), it stands to reason that the Holy Ghost is subject to them since the sender is greater than the sent.

Many, many places in the Old Testament when it uses the term ‘Lord’, or ‘God’, it is referring to Jesus Christ. When we read of the Lord leading the children of Israel etc., we must remember that it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ who led them. Thus, when it mentions ‘Lord’, it is referring to the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.

2RH 1881-9-27: “It was Christ who spoke the law from Sinai. It was Christ who gave the law to Moses, engraven on tables of stone. It was his Father’s law; and Christ says, “I and my Father are one.” 2RH 1881-03-01: “The Father and the Son spoke to Moses from the rocks.”

“Seventh-day Adventist pioneers and their protest against systemic racism” by Kevin Burton is rank error

This is a rebuttal of Kevin Burton’s article in the Adventist Review, which claims that basically everything the early SDA pioneers stood for, was intertwined with a stance against American “systemic racism”.

The original article can be found here:
https://www.adventistreview.org/seventh-day-adventist-pioneers-and-their-protest-against- systemic-racism

Kevin Burton is a Ph.D. Candidate (Florida State University), who teaches in the History and Political Studies Department at Southern Adventist University and is writing his doctoral dissertation on Millerite and Seventh-day Adventist involvement in the abolition movement.

So it should be obvious that he is trying to tie the core of SDA beliefs to his specialty. And it is no wonder that right now his thoughts on the matter of race in the SDA Church are in high demand.

It appears that he is very well read in early Adventist history, as may be imagined. And while he doesn’t appear to be quite as far removed from true SDA belief like George Knight is, he seems to have some similar biases, as he has reviewed a book titled “Adventist Maverick: Celebrating the work of George R. Knight” in which he writes: “Eve sinned before eating the forbidden fruit” and says of this book about Knight that one: “can now drink in the wisdom of Adventism’s most influential author within the last 35 years”.

After George Knight had disparaged Bible writers by calling them “goat herders” at a meeting of his I attended at Southern Adventist University in 2010, I told him directly that all the words in the Bible were from God. He laughed at me. With “wisdom” like that, you can get a pretty good idea whose side Kevin Burton is on.

Anyway, regarding his most recent article in the Adventist Review. He makes quite a bold statement in the first paragraph: “The second advent movement was inseparable from the abolitionist call for the immediate and total destruction of slavery and the demand for equal rights for the oppressed.” Well, it’s odd that no one had that idea until over 160 years after it happened! It is true that many of the early pioneers were abolitionists, but they were first and foremost Seventh-day Adventists who grew out of the Millerite Movement of 1844.

“they made protest against racial injustice inseparable from their Adventist faith.” No they didn’t. This is revisionist history. Mr. Burton seems to have forgotten that not all Adventists were Americans, and that this is not true even of all American Adventists. Some, like Joseph Bates, did so. Many did not. Some Adventists were even Southern sympathizers.

“Adventists were inspired by their Christian faith to fight against systemic racism in America.” Now this term “systemic racism” was not even used back in the 19th century. It has a very specific construct in 2020, as it means police brutality against blacks. Never, ever did “racism” mean that among the Adventists of 160 years ago. Some black Adventists were NOT involved in “black protest”. Painting broad brushstrokes is, in fact, being racist himself.

He speaks favorably of the Bates’ family working against the law prohibiting interracial marriage in Massachusetts, but fails to mention the times that Ellen White, inspired, wrote that “there should be no intermarriage between the white and the colored race.” –Manuscript 7, 1896.

Then Mr. Burton gets in earnest about trying to twist the facts to support his political views: “in the 1850s and 1860s, Sabbath-keeping Adventists petitioned against more issues, like the death penalty (believing that both slavery and capital punishment “represented systems of brutality that coerced individuals””. Well, it’s very possible that a few did write against the death penalty, but, as in the example above of interracial marriages, that certainly was not God’s position! God mandated the death penalty, and to attempt to make us SDA believe in 2020 that our spiritual Adventist forefathers were against what God instituted, is reprehensible.

“The second angel warned that Babylon was fallen, and Millerites came out of the Protestant churches (Babylon) because those churches supported slavery. Ellen White specified that any Seventh-day Adventist holding pro-slavery sympathies must be immediately disfellowshipped.” Now he is just making up history as he goes along. This is completely in error. I’ve read plenty of Ellen White material, and unless he has access to some secret vault articles that the public has no access to, he is not being truthful here. Tellingly, he has not given a reference for this bald- faced untruth. Ellen White makes it clear that the Adventists left the fallen churches because those churches rejected William Miller’s message, showing to all that they weren’t interested in seeing Jesus come back at all. That’s why the Millerites left the fallen churches.
*Reference Advent Movement Illustrated

“Finally, Seventh-day Adventists connected the third angel’s message against worshipping the beast with the antislavery cause. Revelation 13:1-18 reveals that the two-horned beast enforces idolatry, and Adventists identified America as this beast because it professed to uphold religious and civil liberty (the two horns) but, in reality, denied those privileges to religious and racial minorities.6” I have checked out his Ellen White references supposedly supporting this statement. They do nothing of the kind. Check Testimonies Vol. 1 p. 259, 358, & 360. His other reference is to a sermon by Charles Fitch, who died just before October 22, 1844, so never could have even known what the Third Angel’s Message was, as no one understood it until AFTER October 22, 1844.

“By incorporating antislavery arguments into their presentation of the three angels’ messages, Seventh-day Adventists made a protest against systemic racism an important part of their fundamental beliefs. They challenged their spiritual descendants to carry on this faith.” Since we’ve already debunked his claim regarding this earlier, there is no need to do it again. He is just reiterating his falsehood in order to make it stay in your brain, make you feel guilty, and to make you leave the firm platform of truth that God has founded for His renmant church.

Of course we should be against racism. At the same time, we shouldn’t jump on the media’s bandwagon just because this is a hot topic now.

Why do I feel deja-vu all over again, just like what happened after 9/11, and our Adventist “scholars” and “leaders” fell all over themselves trying to make us feel bad for having supposedly anti-Islamic views? When are we SDAs going to wake up, and throw off the chains of Sadducees and Pharisees who are working together to destroy Jesus in the person of his saints?

Let’s be good Bereans, and follow our perfect example, the one altogether pure and lovely – Jesus Christ.

Seventh-day Adventists and George Floyd protests (Black Lives Matter)

Seventh-day Adventist leaders – George Floyd is not about racism, it’s about Marxists forcing their anti-Christian lawlessness on everyone.

My SDA Church leaders have been bending over backwards this month in order to show that they are in-step with the Progressive agenda. Ostensibly it is about anti-racism. But looking at the evidence, it is not about racism as much as it is about Progressives trying to create a crisis in order to get people to come over to their side. And their side is not only racist, but anti-Christian Communism, and pro-lawlessness.

George Floyd had the police called on him by a store owner because he tried to pass a fake $20 bill. When the police arrived, he decided to not obey them, so they used force in order to make him comply. A video captured the scene where he says “I can’t breathe”. He died in the vehicle on the way to the hospital. He was found to have fentanyl in his bloodstream and was Corona virus positive.

The video makes it look like the officer is intentionally trying to kill Mr. Floyd, so many people got angry. This is when professionally trained Marxists jumped up and started marching, rioting, looting and burning. Of course many others just joined in for the thrill of it, and many more stayed away from it. A large portion, if not most of the buildings that were destroyed and shops that were looted were owned by black people. And they killed several black people, including a retired police officer, who were trying to protect their property. This is how we can know positively that the George Floyd riots are not about racism.

Black Lives Matter is a brilliant name for a group, as anyone saying that they don’t agree with them is automatically labelled “racist”, and can get kicked off of websites, or even lose their jobs. Saying the obviously correct thing as a Christian, that “All Lives Matter” brings the same results. So what do they believe?

“We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege”

“We engage comrades”

“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”

“We foster a queer-affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).”

The pictures you’ve just seen all show Seventh-day Adventists marching in SUPPORT of what this anti-Christian group believes. I know some of those marching don’t KNOW that they support that, but that is because they are being played by an organization to achieve devilish goals, without even realizing it.

We SDAs should be vocal in denouncing such an organization, but instead, we are publicly applauding them! For what? To have the applause of men/women/queers etc. One SDA university has even made a scholarship in George Floyd’s name, showing that they want our young people to emulate a man who was in jail several times, pointed a gun at a pregnant woman, tried to pass counterfeit money, resisted arrest etc.

Where was the outcry when our churches were shut down? There were zero marches then, so by marching now, we are showing that following what the world thinks is important is more important than our churches. We are known by our actions.

God will judge for these things, and I don’t want to be anywhere near any of these Judases in God’s remnant church when the slaughtering angel goes forth to do his work – IN Jerusalem.

Satan is getting his ducks in a row, and sadly, many in our Church are obliging him by lining up without him even using any force at all! What will we do when all that hatred (and yes, there is hatred on the Conservative side too), is directed at us SDAs for keeping the Sabbath of the Lord? Instead of marching for our rights to attend church on Sabbath, here we are breaking the Sabbath by marching with the world, supporting we know not what! If we think we can follow the world in its ungodly ways now in order to be praised, and then suddenly turn and follow Jesus when they start coming for us, we are going to have a big reality check.

I believe Ellen White was shown the time we are entering into, and wrote about what our SDA Church would do:
“Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.” SPTB02 p.54.

I’m calling on our SDA leaders – please repent and turn back to following the lowly God-man from Galilee – Jesus Christ, the one who never marched in any political event, and who always stood up for the oppressed in the proper manner.