Thursday, April 18, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
SERMON 2:THE WOUNDED BEAST.
THE WOUNDED BEAST
OUTLINE
John Adams
"My History of the Jesuits is in four volumes... This society has been a greater calamity to mankind than the French Revolution, or Napoleon's despotism or ideology. It has obstructed progress of reformation and the improvement of the human mind in society much longer and more fatally." - Letter to Thomas Jefferson, November 4, 1816
"My History of the Jesuits is in four volumes... This society has been a greater calamity to mankind than the French Revolution, or Napoleon's despotism or ideology. It has obstructed progress of reformation and the improvement of the human mind in society much longer and more fatally." - Letter to Thomas Jefferson, November 4, 1816
Turning to the 13th Chapter of the Apocalypses(Revelations) is like taking a surreal trip into bizarre word of special effects.
Chapter 13:1-2
“And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns of horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”
What are the internal evidences of the prophesy? What do we know about this beast power? Working strictly from the internal evidences of the prophesy,what do we know about this beast power?
1. IT IS BLESPHAMOUS: Verse 1 says, “And on his heads a blasphemous name.” And what is ‘blasphemy?
Dictionary definition: “The act of claiming the attributes of God.”
Biblical definition: Mark 2:7 “Why does this fellow talks like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
The Wounded Beast claims the attributes and prerogatives of God.
2. IT HAS A WAST DOMINION: Revelation 13:7
Plus, did you catch the length of its dominion? V.5 forty-two months. Which calculates into three and a half years, or 1260 days, or 1260 years as Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14;34 suggest should be done with prophetic calculations. A day-for-a-year principle.
3. IT IS RELIGIOUS:
“One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Menworshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” Revelation 13:4
So, what John is being shown here in this dripping wet, amalgamated beast is the symbol of a power that would hold sway during the history of the Christian church.
4. IT IS POLITICAL: For only a political power has a throne and crowns and a global dominion (Revelation 13:1-2)
5. IT HOLDS GLOBAL SWAY: Revelation 13:7 “And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.”
So it is a fair to consider this beast power a GEO-RELIGIO-POLITICAL INSTITUTION.
6. IT WAS MORTALLY WOUNDED:
V.3 “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.”
7. IT’S WOUND IS HEALED:
V.3 “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.”
8. IT ATTRACTS WORLD-WIDE ATTENTION:
“The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the best and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”
But amazingly, that wound heals. Then, after the healing, this power reasserts its global dominance. We are to witness the resurgence of this GEO-RELIGIO-POLITICAL POWER right before our eyes!
9. IT IS AT WAR WITH GOD’S PEOPLE:
”He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.” Revelation 13:4
So what do we have?
So, the very minimum this Wounded Beast represents is:
1. Geo-religio-poitical power
2. That has been dominant for over 1260 years in the history of Christianity
3. That assumed what belongs only to God i.e. worship, forgiveness of sins, etc.
4. Was unexpectedly and mysteriously wounded,
5. But that wound was eventually healed of its wound and
6. Finally will hold global sway
7. And play a leading role in persecuting/making a war with God’s people…
If you look carefully, you will discover that WOUNDED BEAST is actually very ‘similar’ to the WOUNDED LAMB! Apocalypses 5:5 “a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes.” Apocalypses 5:9: “You are worthy..for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and language tongue and people and nation.”
It is obvious that The Wounded Lamb is the apocalyptic symbol for our crucified, resurrected, and ascended Lord Jesus.
Notice now the startling parallels between the Wounded Lamb and Wounded Beast:
1. Both the Lamb and the Beast arise out of water as their beginning of their influence on Earth—one out of the Jordan River at His baptism; the other out of apocalyptic sea.
2. Both the Lamb and the beast exercise power for three and half years; Jesus for three and a half literal years during His ministry on Earth; and Beast for three and a half prophetic years—1,260 years of his unrestricted dominion over the world’s affairs.
3. Both the Lamb and the Beast are mortally wounded; in fact, the Greek word describing the beast’s ‘deadly wound’ in Revelation 13:3 is identical to the word for the Lamb’s being ‘slain’ in Revelation 5:6 and 13:8
4. Both the Lamb and the Beast come back to life. (Revelation 1:8 and 13:3).
5. Both the Lamb and the Beast have horns: the Lamb has seven horns (Revelation 5:6); the Beast has ten (Revelation 13:1).
6. Both of them receive honor and worship, to which only ONE of them is ENTITLED. Interestingly, the language of global worship for the Beast in Revelation 13:4 is the SAME language ascribed to divine worship in Exodus 15:11 and Psalm 35:10!
7. And finally, both, the Lamb and the beast seek to reach every nation, kindred, tongue and people (Revelation 14:6; and 13:7).
IMPRESSIVE? Somebody is trying very hard to be ‘like the Lamb’—to look ‘like the Lamb,’ to talk ‘like the Lamb’! Somebody is trying desperately to take Christ’s place. In fact, in Greek, word ‘ANTI’ means “INSTEAD OF.” SO ‘ANTICHRIST’ means “instead of Christ.” Somebody is covertly trying to take the place of Christ Jesus.
READ an article below and see if you are not getting an impression that somebody is trying very hard to look ‘like the Wounded Lamb’. And also remember the words of Jesus: “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Lesson Study 3 April 13-19
Lesson 3*April 13-19
A Holy and Just God (Joel)
Memory Text: “The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11, NIV).
Key Thought: God can use crises to make His people sensitive to both their dependence on Him and their need for spiritual renewal and reformation.
On the massive locust plague and severe drought that were devastating the southern kingdom of Judah, the prophet Joel—a contemporary of Amos and Hosea—sees a sign of a “great and dreadful” day of judgment (Joel 2:31). Confronted with a crisis of such intensity and proportion, he calls all people in Judah to renounce sin and return to God. He describes the locusts as the Lord’s army and sees in their coming God’s punishment upon unfaithful Israel.
Joel prophesies that God’s future judgments will make the locust plague pale by comparison. But that same judgment will bring unparalleled blessings to those who are faithful to the Lord and who obey His teachings; that is, no matter how severe, judgment can lead to salvation and redemption for those whose hearts are open to the leading of the Lord.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 20.
A National Disaster
Read Joel 1:1-12. What is happening to the land of Judah?
The prophet, who lived in an agricultural society, calls upon the farmers to be dismayed at the loss of their grain and fruit harvests. The ecological destruction could cripple the nation’s economy for years. In addition to the loss of food, shade, and wood, there is a threat of topsoil erosion. Some fruit trees in Palestine take 20 years to grow before they become productive. In fact, agricultural devastation and deforestation were typical tactics of invading armies seeking to punish those they conquered by making impossible any prospect of a short-term recovery.
Read Deuteronomy 28:38. How does that help us to understand what is happening to Judah?
Joel uses four different terms for the locusts (Joel 1:4) in order to express the intensity and the totality of the plague. The destruction caused by the locusts was made even worse by drought. All of the crops that the farmers had expected have withered, and the farmers despair because they have nothing to eat or sell; they do not even have seed for replanting. A calamity of such proportions was unheard of by their ancestors and was something to tell future generations about. The fact that a similar disaster had never happened before heightens the importance of the situation.
The prophet also announces the destruction of the dietary staples in the land of Israel, such as grapes, grain and oil (Deut. 14:23, 18:4). Wheat and barley are the most important grains in Palestine. Vines and fig trees in the Bible symbolize peaceful living with abundance of God’s blessings in the Promised Land (1 Kings 4:25, Mic. 4:4, Zech. 3:10). The idyllic image of peace and prosperity is to be able to sit under one’s own vine and fig tree. All this now is threatened by divine judgment brought about because of their sins.
Harvest was a time of rejoicing (Ps. 4:7, Isa. 9:3). Although the land in Israel was a gift from the Lord, it still belonged to God. Israel was expected to be a faithful steward of the land. Above all, the people were expected to worship and obey God, because He was the One who had given them the land in the first place.
Blow the Trumpet!
When natural disasters occur, they provoke many questions, such as, “Why did God allow this to happen?” “Why have some people lived, while others have died?” “Is there a lesson here that we could learn?” Joel had no doubt that the locust plague could lead to a deeper insight into God’s universal plan. In chapter 1, under divine inspiration, the prophet relates the national crisis to the spiritual situation in the land. The locusts have left nothing that could be offered as sacrifice to the Lord. The grain offering and the drink offering were part of the daily offering in the temple, in accordance with the instructions recorded in Exodus 29:40 and Numbers 28:58. The cutting off of the sacrifices was severe, but it should have served as a warning to the people of their grave condition. The loss of opportunity even to offer the sacrifices symbolized the breaking of the covenant between God and Israel. But, unlike many of the other prophets, Joel did not spend much time making an analysis of people’s failings. He was interested far more in dwelling on the cure as prescribed by Israel’s divine Physician.
Read Joel 1:13-20. What is Joel saying to the people? However unique the circumstances, in what ways is that which is being said here a plea that is commonly seen throughout the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments?
The prophet urges the spiritual leaders to call a nationwide day of prayer and fasting so that the people can search deep within their hearts, renounce their sins, and return to their God. In this way they will come out of the experience with a renewed trust in God’s love and justice. In the end, this disaster might lead the believers into a deeper relationship with their Lord.
Throughout the Scripture, God is described as the Lord of nature, the One who created it, sustains it, and also uses it for His divine purposes. In this natural disaster, instead of rending their garments, the prophet Joel says that the people should rend their hearts and make them open to God’s grace and compassion.
Disasters may strike us in many forms. When they do, regardless of our understanding of them and their causes, what Bible promises can we cling to for hope and the strength to endure? What promises are especially meaningful to you?
The Gift of God’s Spirit
On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter announced that the Lord had fulfilled His promise, as given through Joel, regarding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Accompanying the outpouring of the Spirit, and as a visible sign of God’s supernatural intervention in the history of humankind, God will cause extraordinary phenomena to be seen in nature, both on earth and in the sky.
“In immediate connection with the scenes of the great day of God, the Lord by the prophet Joel has promised a special manifestation of His Spirit. Joel 2:28. This prophecy received a partial fulfillment in the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost; but it will reach its full accomplishment in the manifestation of divine grace which will attend the closing work of the gospel.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. ix.
In the immediate context of Joel, repentance will be followed by a great outpouring of God’s Spirit. This will bring a wonderful renewal. Instead of destruction, God’s gift of blessings will follow. The Lord reassures His people that His creation will be restored and the nation delivered from oppressors.
The Spirit is poured out upon God’s people, just as the anointing oil was poured upon the heads of those who were elected by God for a special ministry. The Spirit is also a gift of power bestowed on the recipients so that they might do a particular work for God (Exod. 31:2-5, Judg. 6:34). Only this time the Spirit’s manifestation assumes wide proportions. At that great point in history, salvation will be available to all who seek God. God’s Spirit will fall on all the faithful—irrespective of age, gender, or social status—in a fulfillment of Moses’ wish that all the Lord’s people become prophets and that the Lord put His Spirit upon them (Num. 11:29).
What are things you can do in your own life that can make you more receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Proclaiming God’s Name
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls” (Joel 2:31-32, NKJV).
The darkening of the sun and the changing of the moon to blood should not be understood as natural disasters, but as supernatural signs of the approaching day of the Lord. In Bible times, many pagan nations worshiped heavenly bodies as their gods, something that Moses said the Israelites should never do (Deut. 4:19). In this sense, Joel’s prophecy is predicting that the idols of the nations will begin to fade away when the Lord comes in judgment. Joel 3:15 adds that even the starry host will lose its power and will no longer give its light, because the presence of the Lord’s glory will outshine everything.
While Christ’s appearance will terrify the unrepentant, how will the righteous welcome their Lord? What is the crucial difference? See Isa. 25:9, Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Rom. 10:13.
In the Scriptures, the expression to “call on the name of the Lord” does not only mean to call oneself a follower of the Lord and to claim His promises. It also can mean to proclaim God’s name; that is, to be a witness to others about the Lord and what He has done for the world. Abraham built altars and proclaimed God’s name in the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:8). To Moses on Mount Sinai, God proclaimed His goodness and grace (Exod. 33:19, 34:5). The psalmist calls on the faithful to give thanks to God and call on His name by making known to the nations what He has done (Ps. 105:1). The same words are found in a song of salvation composed by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 12:4).
Thus, to proclaim the Lord’s name means both to be messengers of the glad tidings that God still rules the world, and also to call on the people of the world to view everything in the context of God’s deeds and character. It also means to tell everyone about God’s generous gift of salvation that is offered to every human being.
What does it mean to you to “call upon the name of the Lord”? How do you do it, and what happens when you do?
The Refuge in Times of Trouble (Joel 3)
Biblical prophets compare the coming judgment from God to the roaring of a lion, a sound that makes everyone tremble (Joel 3:16, Amos 1:2, 3:8). In the Bible, Zion designates the location of God’s earthly throne in Jerusalem. From this place God will punish the enemy, but at the same time He will vindicate His people who patiently await His victory. They will share in His triumph when He renews creation.
To some people the Scripture’s portrayals of God’s final judgment are difficult to comprehend. It is good to keep in mind that evil and sin are very real, and that their forces are strong in trying to oppose God and to destroy every form of life. God is an enemy of evil. That is why Joel’s words invite us to examine our lives in order to be sure that we are on God’s side so that we can be sheltered on the day of judgment.
Read Matthew 10:28-31. How do these texts help us to understand, even during calamitous times, what we have been given in Jesus?
The Lord sustains those persons who persevere in faith. He may bring desolations upon the earth (Joel 3:1-15); yet, His people should not fear His acts of sovereign judgments because He has promised to protect them (verse 16). He has given them His word of assurance. His sovereign and gracious acts demonstrate that He is a faithful covenant God who never again will allow the righteous to be put to shame (Joel 2:27).
Joel’s book ends with a vision of a transformed world where a river flows in the midst of the New Jerusalem, the very presence of the eternal God among a forgiven people (Joel 3:18-21).
This prophetic message challenges us to walk in the Spirit, to pursue Christian living wholeheartedly, and to reach out to all who yet have not called on the name of Christ. As we do, we claim the divine promise of Christ’s abiding presence through the Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of His faithful people.
“We must know our real condition, or we shall not feel our need of Christ’s help. We must understand our danger, or we shall not flee to the refuge. We must feel the pain of our wounds, or we should not desire healing.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 158. What is your understanding of your own “real condition”? What pains are you suffering? How have you experienced the “refuge” promised to us in Christ?
Further Study: The prophet’s name, Joel, was common in Bible times, and it means “The Lord is God.” This name is appropriate to the overall theme of the book: only God is completely holy and just, and His work is sovereign on earth. The history of His people, as well as that of the nations, is in His hands. The same holds true for the life of every human being.
“The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion, a religion of words and forms, where truth is kept in the outer court. God calls for a revival and a reformation. The words of the Bible, and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit. But the Bible has been robbed of its power, and the result is seen in a lowering of the tone of spiritual life. In many sermons of today there is not that divine manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul. The hearers cannot say, ‘Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?’ Luke 24:32. There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine presence. Let the word of God speak to the heart. Let those who have heard only tradition and human theories and maxims, hear the voice of Him who can renew the soul unto eternal life.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 626.
Discussion Questions:
- What are the ways in which Joel’s message is especially important to us, living as we are at the end of time when serious and sobering events undoubtedly await us?
- Read the whole book of Joel in one sitting and answer the following question: To what extent did Joel’s message apply to his generation and to what extent did it have a future application?
- Joel’s book describes various types of divine blessings poured upon God’s people. Does this prophecy make a distinction between material and spiritual blessings? If so, how?
- How does our understanding of the great controversy help us to understand the terrible trials and calamities that the world faces?
- The Ellen G. White quote in Friday’s study discusses an “imaginary religion.” What might that mean? How can we know if our religion is real or imaginary?
Light in the Jungle, part 1
The teenager stepped off the bus and looked around. He had never been in a city before. But he had no time to gaze at the tall buildings and busy streets, for he was on a mission. But where should he go? He prayed, “God, direct me to the people who keep Your Sabbath.” Then he started walking.
He found himself in front of a theater and watched as people entered. He felt led to follow them inside, though he didn’t know what he would find. Someone welcomed him to the large hall filling with people. He sat down and waited.
Juan lives in a small village in the jungle of southeastern Ecuador. His people knew little about God. Juan had received a New Testament while attending a high school in a nearby town and read it eagerly. He’d discovered truths about God that fed a hunger in his heart. He asked God to teach him how to follow Jesus.
On a trip to another town to buy supplies, Juan had found a tattered book and began reading it. The book confirmed what he had been reading in his Bible and explained the meaning of keeping the Sabbath.
Juan was determined to find the people who kept the Sabbath! He set out on a three-day hike through the jungle to the nearest large town to search for Sabbath keepers. But no one knew of any Sabbath keepers there. “Go to Ambato” [ahm-BAH-toh], someone had said. So Juan spent his few pesos on a bus ticket to Ambato. He arrived late in the afternoon and started walking in search of God’s people. Then he found the theater.
A man stood to speak. Juan listened with growing excitement as the man talked about the Sabbath and other truths Juan had found in his Bible. God had guided Juan’s footsteps from his jungle home to this theater so he could find the people who kept His commandments!
After the meeting Juan found a pastor and told him, “I want to be baptized!” The surprised pastor met with Juan the next day and realized that the boy knew God’s Word. He agreed to baptize him that Sabbath. Juan had never been inside an Adventist church until the day he was baptized. The pastor wanted Juan to stay in town, but the boy refused. He had to return to share his faith with his fellow villagers.
[Continued next week.)
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. email: info@adventistmission.org website: www.adventistmission.org
Thursday, April 11, 2013
How Should I approach Easter,Christmas as an Evangelist Tool.
EASTER/CHRISTMAS/ETC. EVANGELISM
Dr. Victor Dyman
It seems that almost every year around this time Easter and Christmas, the same question arises: what should we do with these major biblical events? Ignore? ‘Celebrate’ as the rest of the world? Or use them as an opportunity to speak to the hearts that are more open than usually during these times?
One thing we have always to remember that every decision we make MUST be BIBLICAL and not man-made tradition. Most often there are two objections in the cases like this: Christmas and Easter are of pagan origin; and any preaching on Sunday is the ‘mark of the beast.’
1. 1 Corinthians 15:3, 14. The birth of the Savior, His death and His resurrection are the foundations of our FAITH, and have nothing to do with pagan origin of the dates.
Well before Son of God came first time on earth Satan counterfeited His Plan of Salvation. Through the Babylonian counterfeit religions Satan staged the so-called ‘incarnation,’ ‘death,’ and ‘resurrection’ of the Babylonian deities. Purpose? To undermine the Plan of God that was to come. How? Simply by pointing that Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection are not ORIGINAL. But it was borrowed from the earlier myths. Thus, effectively rendering God’s Plan of Salvation suspicious to any seeker of truth in the following centuries.
Seventh-day Adventist do not celebrate popular Easter. Seventh-day Adventists from the beginning knew and early on have discovered popular understanding and popular Easter practices as having exceedingly unfavorable ORIGIN. Many symbols such as the Easter bunny and eggs as well as the very word itself have extremely pagan roots. Most people who don't know the origin of Easter paraphernalia are usually horrified when they learn what the Easter bunny and eggs were created to symbolize. Seventh-day Adventists do not celebrate anything of this kind of Easter. It is OUR JOB to educate people and separate the TRUTH from FALSEHOOD THE resurrection of Jesus Christ is TRUTH and pagan rituals and attributes are FALSEHOOD.
Bible calls the event of Resurrection—as “of first importance.” 1 Corinthians 15:3 (NIV). According to the Gospel Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Gospel. “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” 1 Corinthians 15:14 (NIV).
2. Hebrew 4:9-11. Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the SUNDAY does not cancel the Holiness of the Sabbath DAY!
Resurrected Savior confirmed the holiness of the Sabbath day and in NO place of the Scripture does not institutes the holiness of the Sunday! Jesus was raised from the dead and Apostles long after that KEPT the Sabbath HOLY!
There are about 70 plus Scriptures about worshiping and teaching on Sabbath and there only 8 Scriptures about Sunday, the first day of the week and NONE of them makes Sunday HOLY!
3. Acts 12:4 (KJV). The WORD Easter (as a resurrection) is a legitimate Biblical word. It was used by the Apostles and is mentioned in the Bible as an early part of the Sunday following Passover. SO the word is Biblical to the CORE. And has nothing to do with pagan rituals or pagan worship. SO the Word Easter is in the Bible. The word Resurrection is in the Bible. Should we stop using a word if someone abused that word? Not at all! Think if someone will abuse Sabbath, should we abandon it on account of that? Of course, not!
4. Bible speaks of only one Holy Day to be REMEMBERED as the Holy Day.
It is the Holy Sabbath of the Lord. Exodus 20:8-14. It is to be distinguished RESTING, by NOT doing ANY regular work, business, pleasures, etc. (ISAIAH 58). All other days are the same. Just work days. Days in which evangelism should be DONE.
5. Acts 2:46. Christians are called to worship God EVERY DAY of the WEEK.
“Every day they (disciples) continued to meet together in the temple courts…” Acts 2:46. How often? EVERY DAY! Including Sunday, the first day of the week.
6. Isaiah 58. Sabbath worship vs. Sabbath keeping. NOT EVERY Sabbath Worshiper is Sabbath Keeper. But Every Sabbath Keeper is Sabbath Worshiper.
TO worship on Sunday/Monday doesn't make person a Sunday/Monday Keeper. It doesn't take any holiness of the Sabbath Day as some worry. TO the contrary, it ADDS to it. How? We worship God EVERY day of OUR life and every minute of OUR lives, but THEN THERE IS A HOLY SABBATH—HIS DAY, a Holy MEMORIAL of creation and redemption—the day of complete REST, 1/7 of OUR time that serves as a SIGN of our allegiance and faithfulness to God! It is not just Sabbath vs. Sunday; it is Sabbath vs. ANY OTHER DAY OF THE WEEK! It’s that special.
· Bible clearly states, that Jesus’ disciples were preaching, teaching, conducting their worship/evangelistic meetings ON Saturdays and on any day of the including SUNDAYS TOO. And they were not concerned that somebody will be confused by it. For example:
· The very first gospel sermon preached by an apostles on the death and resurrection of Jesus was by Peter and it was preached on the first day of the week (Acts 2:14). The Holy Spirit came down and the three thousand accepted Jesus as their personal Savior on the first day of the week (Acts 2:41).
· At Troas Paul preached to the assembled Christians on the early morning of the first day of the week and throughout the whole day. And the Lord’s Supper was given on that Sunday (by the way this is the only mention of the Lord’s Supper to be given on Sunday, see Acts 20:6).
· We should not be afraid that Sunday-keepers use these texts to prove Sunday as the ‘new Sabbath.’ If someone misuse the text, it is even more imperative for us to restore the true meaning of it.
· REMEMBER again, preaching on Sunday that DOES NOT MAKE SUNDAY HOLY! Telling people about Jesus teaching them to obey God’s Laws CAN and SHOULD be DONE on EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, including Sunday.
· Seventh-day Adventist had ALWAYS (from the beginning) had their evangelistic meetings on the weekdays and on Sundays.
· If Apostles conducted their meetings and worshiped the Lord on any day of the week and on Sunday too (BUT NOT always, as Sunday keepers falsely claim)—it sets a Biblical precedent, a legitimate example to follow. This is not one of the ‘vague’ teachings that require lots of intellectual gymnastics. NT passages are clear examples of Apostolic preaching on Saturdays, Sundays, and days and weeks in a row.
7. WE have to GUARD the Sound teaching of the Bible and not the ideas of men. Men’s ideas are unreliable. GOD’S IDEAS recorded in His Word IS.
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;… for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NIV).
1 Corinthians 11:19 (NIV) “No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.”
Bible says that there will be people who will descent. There will always be panicking alarmists and attention seekers. Even in the God’s Remnant Church, which we believe is Seventh-day Adventist Church. There will always be some SINCERE BUT MISINFORMED people who try to ‘distinguish’ themselves for whatever reason by making unverifiable claims and agitating God’s people. You can’t reason with some of them. They are set in their traditions.
Of course, the problem with these people is that they do not read Bible as Bible should be red: they should. They never learned to reason for themselves. All they do is give‘lessons’ prepared by someone else. When confronted with verse of the Scripture they have never read they are lost and afraid. They are afraid because they DO NOT KNOW how to reconcile these Scriptures about Sundays with the Scriptures about the Sabbath! And as a result they are in denial of these Scriptures and as best as they could (being in that condition) come up with their own man-made ‘myths.’ (2Peter 1:18; 2Timothy 4:4). There only argument I ever heard from them is, “I have not been brought up like this.” But is it a good argument? If you would use that, what you would be? Can we do evangelism with that slogan? Seventh-day Adventist ARE people of the SOUND DOCTRINE, people of the Book and solidly stand on Biblical evidence.
Predictable enough, those who turn away from the Word became critical, judgmental, anti-authority, subversive and quarreling. “Having the form of godliness but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:5 (NIV).
Bible’s advice is clear: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” 2 Timothy 2:23-24 (NIV)
Lasting Principles form the Spirit of Prophesy and General Conference Biblical Research Institute:
1. Festal days (like Christmas, Pentecost, and Resurrection) should be used to faithfully represent Christ and to shed the light on the pathways of others.
“Let us seek to faithfully represent Christ on the coming festal days by imitating His example as He went about doing good....As Christians who profess a living faith in the near coming of the Son of man, keeping all of God's commandments, let us make earnest efforts to draw near to God through Jesus Christ and make a covenant with Him by sacrifice. In our principles of action we must be elevated above the customs and fashions of the world. Christ came to our world to elevate the minds of men to the divine level, and to bring them into sympathy with the mind of God…Christmas day, (or Easter, for the same manner! comment is mine, V.D.) precious reminder of the sacrifice made in man's behalf, should not be devoted to gluttony and self-indulgence, thus exalting the creature above the Creator. Let us who are partakers of this great salvation show that we have some appreciation of the gift by rendering to God our thank offerings. If we would indulge less in feasting and merriment upon these occasions, and instead make them the means of benefiting humanity, we should better meet the mind of God. It is a pleasure and gratification to exchange gifts with our friends, but are there not nobler and more glorious objects for which we may give our means, and thus do good by shedding light upon the pathway of others?
A word to the wise is sufficient.--Review and Herald, December 11, 1879.
2. Christians are responsible to fill the holiday with the ‘meaning’ which is opposite to the worldly and pagan.
“We are now nearing the close of another year, and shall we not make these festal days opportunities in which to bring to God our offerings? I cannot say sacrifices, for we shall only be rendering to God that which is His already, and which He has only entrusted to us till He shall call for it. God would be well pleased if on Christmas each church would have a Christmas tree (note, Christmas tree has an extremely unfavorable pagan origin, very similar but no better than Easter! Note is mine, V.D) on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship. Letters of inquiry have come to us asking, Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, You can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. There is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen and placing it in our churches; but the sin lies in the motive which prompts the actions and the use which is made of the gifts placed upon the tree. The tree may be as tall and its branches as wide as shall best suit the occasion; but let its boughs be laden with the golden and silver fruit of your beneficence, and present this to Him as your Christmas gift.”A word to the wise is sufficient.--Review and Herald, December 11, 1879.
3. Make the coming holidays an occasion to honor God.
“We are rapidly approaching the season of the holidays, and many conscientious ones are now questioning what course they may pursue that will be pleasing in the sight of God... But it is our privilege to depart from the customs and practices of this degenerate age, and instead of expending means merely for the gratification of the appetite, or for needless ornaments or articles of clothing, we may make the coming holidays (note: plural noun, she is not talking just about Christmas ONLY, but ANY other Biblical event, NOTE is Mine, V.D.) an occasion in which to honor and glorify God. We advise all our brethren and sisters to make a decided reform in regard to these festal days.” A word to the wise is sufficient.--Review and Herald, December 11, 1879.
4. Festal Days are designed by God to remind us various ways and aspects of our REDEMPTION.
“Well would it be for the people of God at the present time to have a Feast of Tabernacles--a joyous commemoration of the blessings of God to them. As the children of Israel celebrated the deliverance that God had wrought for their fathers, and His miraculous preservation of them during their journeying from Egypt, so should we gratefully call to mind the various ways He has devised for bringing us out from the world, and from the darkness of error, into the precious light of His grace and truth” (Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 540, 541)
5. NO issue should be made with the respect of the time of the Resurrections of Jesus since the actual day is unknown.
“Toward the conclusion of this [the second] century, Victor, Bishop of Rome, endeavored to force the Asiatic Christians, by the pretended authority of his laws and decrees, to follow the rule which was observed by the Western churches in this point. Accordingly ... He wrote an imperious letter to the Asiatic prelates, commanding them to imitate the example of the Western Christians with respect to the time of celebrating the festival of Easter. The Asiatics answered this lordly requisition ... With great spirit and resolution, that they would by no means depart, in this manner, from the custom handed down to them by their ancestors. Upon this the thunder of excommunication began to roar. Victor, exasperated by this resolute answer of the Asiatic bishops, broke communion with them, pronounced them unworthy of the name of his brethren, and excluded them from all fellowship with the church of Rome.” [Mosheim, Eccl. Hist., cent. 2, part 2, chap. 4., para. 9, 11.] This, says Bower, was “the first essay of papal usurpation.”
The Great Controversy 1888, p. 686
6. Holidays are the opportunity to reach public with the fuller message of Christ.
“Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. Unquestionably the resurrection was of enormous importance to the apostolic church, for it figures prominently in the evangelistic messages from the apostles as recorded in the book of Acts. No issue is made about the date when it occurred, however, other than to note in a factual manner that the resurrection occurred on the first day of the week. There is no suggestion that the resurrection made a new day holy. In the Bible is to be found only one holy day of the week, the Sabbath, formed as a part of the creation process by God Himself, and never suspended. For that reason we observe only the Sabbath as sacred or holy time….
Although there exists no clear biblical reason for observing Easter as a religious festival, in parts of the world the public is so oriented to Easter observance that it is a time of year when they become open to special studies in the Bible. An opportunity opens to reach out to the public with the fuller message of Christ, often with good response. Under such circumstances Easter and its surrounding events can lend themselves to evangelistic outreach without, however, assigning any special religious meaning to the day itself. Wherever there is opportunity to advance the message of Christ without compromising biblical truth, the "wise as serpents, harmless as doves" counsel of Christ is appropriate.”
Copyright © Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®
A Note About Easter, Ed Reid
Monday, April 8, 2013
ISRAEL CONNECTION SERMON . APRIL 6 2013.
PREPARING FOR TOMORROW: ISRAEL CONNECTION
Prophetic Clue #1 “You can/must become an Israelite.”
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the savants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.”
Revelation 7:1-4 (NIV)
Revelation 14:1-4 (NIV)
· Prophesy says, that at the END, God is going to give His special protection to His people.
· HE is going to send Angels to prevent any wind or calamities to be blowing ON them, He is going to’ seal’ them (INSURE/guarantee that they will be saved!) every imaginable harm is BANNED and BARRED!
· And they are from the every tribe of Israel!
· Special people. Special protection. Nothing to worry.
· excitement vanishes when the last line is read, 144,000 from all tribes of Israel…
IMPORTANCE OF ISRAEL:
· tiny nation with a population of less than 6 million become the geopolitical center of the world
· country smaller than New Jersey mentioned in the nightly news more than any other nation except may be the United States
Abrahamic Covenant
“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3
1. First, God promised to bless Abraham.
That promise has been lavishly kept. For thousands of years, the very name of Abraham has been revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.
# Mark Twain
“Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of a star dust in the blaze of a Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of. HE is as prominent on this planet as any other people. His commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contribution to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also together out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in the world in all ages and he has done it with his hands tied behind him.”
· From 1901 to 2007, a total of 777 Nobel Prizes have been given to individuals in recognition of significant contributions to mankind.
· Of that total, 176 have been awarded to Jews.
· Of the 6 billion inhabitants of the world, only slightly more than 13 million are Jewish—less than two-thirds of 1 percent of the total population.
· Jews got 22,6 percent of all the Nobel Prizes awarded up to 2007.
2. Second, God promised to make out of Abraham a great nation.
5.4 mln. Jews in Israel. 5 mln. Live in US. 5 mln in the rest of the world
3. Third, God promised to make Abraham a blessing to many.
· Without the Jews, we would have no Bible.
· Without the Jews, there would have been no Jesus.
· Without the Jewish Jesus, there would be no Christianity.
· Without the Jews, there would be no Ten Commandments, the Law
4. Fourth, God promised to bless Israel’s friends (those who blessed Israel).
America has been blessed for becoming a homeland for Jewish people.
judgments of God have fallen heavily upon Israel’s oppressors—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and in modern times, Spain, Germany, Russia.
Build Up of the Prophetic Understanding of Israel:
Choosing the Israel
WHY WOULD GOD CHOSE JEWS?
Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.”
· more numerous
· was more sensitive to God
· more righteous (Deuteronomy 9:7-6)
Scattering of Israel
“And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in numbers among the nations where the Lord will drive you.” Deuteronomy 4:27
Suffering of Israel
“And among the nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole you your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.” Deuteronomy 28:65
· In 1933, 9 million Jews lived in 21 European countries. By 1945, two out of three European Jews had been murdered.
· The Holocaust brought about the extermination of 1/3 of the Jewish population at the time. Seeking more efficient and organized methods of killing huge numbers of Jewish civilians, extermination centers were established in Poland.
· Of the 6 million Jews murdered during the Second World War, more than half were exterminated in the Nazi death camps such as Treblinka, Auschwitz, and Dachau.
The Gathering of Israel
“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land… Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances… you will be My people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:24-28
THe Salvation of Israel
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances… you will be My people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:24-28
“Your name shall no longer called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:28
“COME! And let him who hears, say, “COME!” whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Revelation 22;17 (NIV)
Revelation 14:1-4
“Then I looked, and before me was the Lamb, standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him 1444,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths, they are blameless.” Revelation 14:1-5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)