Some definitions are in order.
Strong’s concordance:
G25
ἀγαπάω = agapaō = ag-ap-ah’-o
Perhaps from ἄγαν agan (much; or compare [H5689]); to love (in a social or moral sense): – (be-) love (-ed). Compare G5368.

G26
ἀγάπη = agapē = ag-ah’-pay
From G25; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: – (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.

Contrasted with “phileo”
G5368
φιλέω = phileō = fil-eh’-o
From G5384; to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), that is, have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; while G25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as G2309 and G1014, or as G2372 and G3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head); specifically to kiss (as a mark of tenderness): – kiss, love.

There are at least 6 places in the Bible showing that “agape” can have meanings different than a “God-like” love. It can even mean a bad love!
agape:

Luke 6:32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

Here we see that sinners “agape” each other.

Luke 11:43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

Jesus condemns the Pharisees for having “agape”!

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus condemns men for having “agape”!!

2Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Paul rebukes Demas for having “agape”.

2Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Peter shows that Balaam’s “agape” was bad.

1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

If any man has this “agape”, the “agape” of the Father is not in him.

So we clearly see that there are times in the Bible when “agape” refers to a love of something definitely not of God. How about the “phileo” kind of love? Is it just a “human” love, or “brotherly” love as often stated? While it is true that “Philadelphia” means “brotherly love”, there is nothing inherent in the word to signify that it has the meaning of a somehow less than “Godly” type of love.
phileo:

John 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

The Father “phileo”s the Son, showing conclusively that “phileo” can also refer to the love of God.

John 11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

Jesus had “phileo” for Lazarus.

John 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

The Father “phileo”s us because we “phileo” the Father. Isn’t this perfect love?

John 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Jesus “phileo”s John.

1Corinthians 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

If we don’t have “phileo” for Jesus, we are anathema!!!

Titus 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

God our Saviour has “phileo” towards us 🙂

Titus 3:15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Paul says to his brethren in Christ to greet those who have “phileo” for him and his companions.

Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Jesus rebukes and chastens all those he “phileo”s.

With all this evidence, why do we still hear of “agape” being some kind of super-human “God-like” perfect love, and “phileo” being some kind of sub-perfect “human” love? I’m not sure, but guess that someone was studying to get a doctorate of divinity (above Jesus?!) and had to come up with something new and clever to catch the attention of those critiquing his thesis, and in reading something original into the text in John 21, got his doctorate, and the result is a confused remnant church today.

All thru the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment.

We should not make ourselves so weary that we cannot enjoy the Sabbath.

Friday is to be the special preparation day.

All should have special Sabbath clothes, to be worn on Sabbath in God’s house.

Before the setting of the sun on Friday, let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight.

On the preparation day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away.

Before the setting of the sun, let the members of the family assemble to read God’s word, to sing, and to pray.

Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning, the family should be astir early.

The food should be more simple and less should be eaten, in order that the mind may be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual things.

While cooking upon the Sabbath should be avoided, it is not necessary to eat cold food.

Provide some kind of food that will be regarded as a treat, something the family do not have every day.

In pleasant weather let parents walk with their children in the fields and groves.

Thus parents can make the Sabbath as it should be, the most joyful day of the week.

*********************************************
db: 2RH
pt: Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
dt: 05-08-1883
at: Practical Thoughts for the Campmeetings
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And let us not come to the campmeeting to break the Sabbath by cooking on that day. The instructions which God gave to Israel should not be disregarded: “Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe;” for “tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” God meant what he said; and shall we who are presenting to the people the claims of the divine law, break that law ourselves, merely to please the appetite? God forbid! I know that frequently the Lord has withheld his blessing because we have failed to honor him by keeping the Sabbath according to the commandment. There has sometimes been nearly as much cooking done on the Sabbath as on other days. I would prefer to eat bread and water only, rather than to run any risk of breaking the fourth commandment. All needful preparation for the Sabbath should be made on Friday. On Sabbath morning, if the weather is cool, let hot gruel be provided. Further than this, all cooking should be avoided as a violation of the Sabbath.
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enjoy the sabbath by not cooking on it 🙂Read More »

Deuteronomy 23:24 When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.

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db: 1ST
pt: The Signs of the Times
dt: 11-30-1876
at: The Sabbath
The grain was ready for the sickle when Jesus and his disciples passed through the corn fields on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry, for their Master had extended his work of teaching and healing to a late hour, and they had been without food for a long time. They accordingly began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat, rubbing them in their hands, in accordance with the law of Moses, which provides that:
“When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing corn.”
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db: 5RH
pt: Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
dt: 08-03-1897
at: Did Christ Break the Sabbath?
Jesus had lessons which he desired to give to his disciples, that when he was no longer with them, they might not be misled by the wily misrepresentations of the priests and rulers in regard to the correct observance of the Sabbath. He would remove from the Sabbath the traditions and exactions with which the priests and rulers had burdened it. In passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath day, he and his disciples, being hungry, began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat. “But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.” To answer their accusation, he referred them to the action of David and others, saying: “Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.”

If excessive hunger excused David from violating even the holiness of the sanctuary, and made his act guiltless, how much more excusable was the simple act of the disciples in plucking grain and eating it upon the Sabbath day! Jesus would teach his disciples and his enemies that the service of God was first of all; and if fatigue and hunger attended the work, it was right to satisfy the wants of humanity even upon the Sabbath day.

Through Moses, Christ had declared: “And on the Sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: this is the burnt offering, of every Sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.” The work of the priests in connection with the sacrificial offerings was increased upon the Sabbath, yet in their holy work in the service of God, they did not violate the fourth commandment of the decalogue. Works of mercy and of necessity are no transgression of the law. God does not condemn these things. The act of mercy and necessity in passing through a grain field, of plucking the heads of wheat, of rubbing them in their hands, and of eating to satisfy their hunger, he declared to be in accordance with the law which he himself had proclaimed from Sinai. Thus he declared himself guiltless before scribes, rulers, and priests, before the heavenly universe, before fallen angels and fallen men.

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

There are many things in this text, nearly all of them “politically incorrect”. Oh yes, one more i saw a couple of days previous to this one:

Jer 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

Wouldn’t this apply to our not learning the Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu etc literature and customs and ways in order to be “culturally sensitive”? Sure, i understand very well, for example, that it is required in some societies to take off your shoes before entering the house, or for women and men to sit on opposite sides of the church – that is not what i’m talking about. I’m talking about the deliberate formation by our Seventh-day Adventist church of “Buddhist Study Center”s (since renamed) and “Adventist/Muslim Relations” people advocating studying the Qur’an.

Jon Paulien has blogged a bit about the event:
Conference on Ellen White

They are planning to make an “authoratative” book on her life. Why they held part of the meetings on the Sabbath hours, i don’t know, but hope that they end result is good. I did learn one thing from it already: “Jon Paulien note: Calvin Stowe was the source of Ellen White’s wording on biblical hermeneutics in Selected Messages, vol. 1: “It is not the words of the Bible that were inspired, but the men that were inspired.”). ”

Here is the chapter in their book, sent to me by email:

The Sealing
By Colin and Russell Standish

One of the most dramatic and significant events in the history of this sin-cursed earth is the sealing of God’s end-time saints. It is the culmination of Christ’s high-priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. It includes the vindication of God’s people, the conclusion of the investigative judgment, the completion of the atonement and the blotting out of the forgiven sins of God’s remnant. It settles the eternal destiny of the very elect. None who are sealed will be “unsealed.” They have proven to the all-wise God of the universe that their loyalty to Him has no reservations. Quintillions of years will not erode their loyalty to Christ. The fiercest persecution, the most pressing temptations, the craftiest deceptions cannot seduce them away from the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ. However, before we proceed further, we need to clarify that the Bible reveals two sealings. It is essential that this distinction be clearly delineated. First, when we are fully converted we are sealed. Paul wrote:

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

Plainly, this is not the final sealing, for Paul would not need to warn these individuals against later grieving the Holy Spirit, subsequent to this preliminary sealing.

Further, this sealing certainly is not the end-time sealing, for it would force us into the false Augustinian doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” That belief is not sustained by Scripture. Here are two examples of this sealing.

Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 1:21–22)

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1:13)
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the sealing is future according to colin and russell standishRead More »