Six Days of Work First Then God's Rest

HISVineFreeSDAChurch

Published on Sep 16, 2015


First Six Days of Work Then God's Rest — By Pastor Charles Mills — Port St Lucie FL At HIS Vine Free Seventh-day Adventist Church

Seventh-day Adventists have failed miserably doing the six days of work God has given making it impossible to Rest on God's Sabbath and truely enter into HIS rest now and will NEVER enter in the heavenly rest, without doing this work!

It is our Prayer that all who want to hear Present Truth will watch our sermons here online. We post presently every week here on our Church Pastor's YouTube Channel the Sabbath Worship Service.

HIS Vine Free Seventh-day Adventist Church is preaching the Historic Message given by God to His people to proclaim to the world for a witness.

We are a Self-Supporting Seventh-day Adventist Church as a member of the International Association of Free Seventh-day Adventists.

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Uganda's president pledges support for unfinished Adventist church

The unfinished Kikandwa Seventh-day Adventist Church in Uganda. [photo courtesy of the Uganda Union]

YOWERI MUSEVENI CONTRIBUTES RESOURCES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CHURCH IN CENTRAL UGANDA.

June 17, 2015 | Kampla, Uganda | Samuel Mwebaza, Uganda Union Communication Director

President Yoweri K. Museveni has pledged to support the unfinished Kikandwa Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Central Uganda Conference. The president’s pledge came when he made a stopover to the church in Kikandwa to pay his respects to the late Babumba Luttamaguzi Edidian who was brutally killed in 1981. The president was on his way to Dwaniro in Kiboga district to commemorate the Heroes Day, which honors the struggle to liberate Uganda.

President Museveni pledged to contribute 200 bags of cement and 200 pieces of iron sheets towards the completion Kikandwa Adventist Church. Pastor Moses Kalibbala, who was on the ground when the president visited, expressed his appreciation of behalf of the church and also offered a prayer for him. While speaking to Kalibbala on phone, he has confirmed that all the 200 bags of cement promised were delivered on June 11, and the that the iron sheets were on their way. Kalibbala said the church is working tirelessly to complete the plastering and roofing work for the church.

The land for the Kikandwa Adventist church was donated by the family of the late Babumba Luttamaguzi, a former Seventh-day Adventist prominent church member, who together with several other church members and close friends were killed by government forces in 1981 their homes, which were in the neighborhood of the Kikandwa Adventist church.

It is believed that during this time, president Museveni was hiding in one of the aforementioned home and wouldn’t have survived if the people in the home didn’t hide him.

This is not the first time President Museveni has extended similar help to the Kikandwa church. Last year 2014 in the month of July, he also made a similar stopover and also donated 200 bags of cement together with 200 iron sheets. So when he come over this time and found work was not yet completed, he then directed that more help be offered to have the Church fully completed.

Source: "Adventist News Network"

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Toublers of Israel

TROUBLERS OF ISRAEL

DATE OF PUBLICATION: MAY 2002 

I did not want to write about the ____ situation. I still don't. Some things you do not want to touch, for even getting near them makes you feel unclean.

We live in a time when everything is right. Anything goes, especially standards. Do anything you want. The only thing wrong is to say that something is. There are no rules, no standards. Eat, drink, and be merry; for tomorrow well do it again, and there's no one to stop us. At least, they better not try. Besides, nearly everyone's doing it anyway. Don't risk being different; and, above all, don't say that something might not be right.

Kill the babies and protest if the government tries to eliminate the wanton murderers. Be sure to reelect the politicians and protect the big corporations. States should guard the rights of the homosexuals and accept payoffs from the pornographers and gambling industry. Congress had better remember on which side its bread is buttered. Money and friendships count; morality no longer does. That, in a nutshell, is life today in our secular world.

The churches—including our own are not doing much better. Think not that the Catholic bishops are the only ones moving problem pastors instead of firing them. We have been doing it for years.

In the 1980s, the late John Adam (a finance attorney based in Memphis who was the first to uncover the Davenport scandal before the bankruptcy occurred in our Davenport Syndrome;see our Financial Tractbook) learned that, after a church officer in the Alabama-Mississippi Conference had led a young Adventist girl into sin, the conference was planning to transfer him out-of-state so he could carry on his practices elsewhere. When Adam threatened them with full exposure, the conference buckled and discharged the vile minister.

There was the Adventist minister in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California who led his associate pastor, a woman, into sin. In order to hold onto her job, for a time she felt she dared not refuse him. But eventually, under pressure from her own conscience and her husband who knew what was happening, she went to the conference office in the hope of getting the senior pastor fired.

The conference president listened to what she had to say and then fired her!

She went to court over the matter. We have the complete papers here. Fully backing him, the Central California Conference paid all the adulterous senior pastors legal expenses, which included a costly, but persuasive attorney.

The judge ruled that, because both sides acknowledged that the adulterous relation had continued for a time, she could not collect damages for being fired because of what her supervising pastor did.

But that ruling meant that the conference fully acknowledged that he was a practicing adulterer, with a track record of over a year!

As soon as the trial ended, the man was transferred to the Southern California Conference, where he is today senior pastor of a major church, the one with the largest number of (active) homosexuals. They do well together, and the conference is happy because the cozy arrangement increases the number of offerings brought into church coffers.


And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel (1 Kings 18:17)?

Who was the troubler? The one who blew the whistle or the one actively involved in the sordid lowering of standards? Which one was destroying the nation of Israels moral fabric? Which one was trying to save it?

When I started typesetting tracts in the late summer of 1979, as explained in my autobiography (Story of My Life), I only intended to print missionary tracts. But after typesetting sixteen Great Controversy extracts as tracts, five summary ones (now in our Shelter in the Storm, Mark of the Beast, and Final Crisis Foretold) and several other tracts (Out of the Cities, You Can Overcome, etc.), I learned about the Desmond Ford crisis. Aside from discharging him, church leaders were careful to say little in refutation of his errors or in defense of our historic positions. They feared to rock the boat, lest the liberals among us become uncomfortable.

So, five years before Firm Foundation magazine was established, I prepared and sent out over thirty tracts in, what I called, my Firm Foundation Series; all of it was against Fordite errors (see our 320-page New Theology Tractbook).

As the years passed, there were other matters to be discussed, including:

Our college administrators were protecting new theology teachers. And, in October 1984, the General Conference got the Annual Council to pass an academic freedom ruling, permitting our teachers to do pretty much as they pleased (Theological Freedom, WM110).

Our conferences were protecting the new theology pastors who were graduating from our colleges while the North American Division was busy, hailing faithful believers into court in order to destroy their small congregations (see our various Trademark books).

Our General Conference was busily sending personal representatives to the World Council of Churches headquarters, in Geneva (see our Seventh-day Adventist/Vatican Ecumenical Involvement: Book 1: History, 80-pages, and Book 2: Documents), and working out secret agreements.

The notorious secret agreement over keeping quiet about the Sabbath proclamation, which occurred in the late 1990s, was one of the worst (Secret Interchurch Planning Agreement [WM906] and Update on the Secret Interchurch Planning Agreement [WM914]). We are now living with it, and are only beginning to feel the full brunt of its effects. That agreement was one of the causes of the current revolt among our laity in South America (see our explosion tracts). Leadership had carried out so many compromises with Catholicismthat our laymen decided to begin the open evangelism and proclaiming our historic beliefs to the world, teachings which church leaders wanted hidden.

All levels of our denomination have changed because our mores have changed. The Word of God is no longer the authority in the church. We had entered an era of no rules, no morals, no standards. Anything can be done as long as nothing negative is said about leadership. (See pages 3 and 4 for recent examples.)

I did not ask for the job I now have, but I was willing to accept it. Am I now to be quiet? Does not the world need more whistle-blowers rather than less?

There is no one in our nation able to stop the gambling interests. The moral foundations are gone. As far as the legislators are concerned, it is just a matter of who offers the biggest bribe. Nothing can stop the homos. They have the money on their side.

Ellen White predicted that the civilized world would be brought to its knees because Protestantism had thrown out the Ten Commandments. And so it has happened. A terrible condition of things has set in.

There are no longer moral standards, and whistle-blowers are treated like dirt. A similar condition exists in our own denomination. Those of you who have dared to speak up about the growing liberalism in your local church well-know what I am talking about.

If you are a church worker, do as you want; well protect you. And woe be to those who protest. We have a word for them: They are troublemakers and will be dealt with.

Every organization knows that whistle-blowers are a danger to their security and authority. And no organization will blow the whistle on another one. They want to live together in peace. Don't tell what I'm doing wrong, and I wont tell what you're doing wrong.

Yet it is the whistle-blowers who alone are able to slow the crumbling state of affairs in our nation and in our denomination. And even if they do not succeed, at least they did what they should do. It is better to do right and suffer and die for it than to go down to the grave in self-preserving silence.

In our culture today, it takes a crazy man to cry standards when things are sliding downward. Yet that is exactly what is needed. In past ages, people were burned at the stake for doing it. Do not expect roses and back-patting today for telling the truth about what is going on.

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy fathers house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim (1 Kings 18:18).

Who are the troublers in our church? Those who are keeping the commandments or those who are forsaking them? Those who obey the standards laid down in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy or those who flaunt them and, by their example, lead still others into sin?

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Christian university shuts down bake sale benefiting homeless LGBT youth

DAVID FERGUSON

10 MAR 2015 AT 14:03 ET




Pastries for sale (Shutterstock.com)



A Christian university in Michigan has told students that they are forbidden from raising money for a group that benefits homeless LGBT youth because to do so would “conflict” with the university’s “mission and practices.”

According to Blue Nation Review, students at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan wanted to hold a bake sale to benefit Fierce Chicago, a relief group dedicated to providing services to LGBT homeless youth, who make up an estimated 40 percent of kids under 18 in the U.S. who have no place to live.

The bake sale was planned by AULL4One, Andrews University’s unofficial gay-straight alliance, which boasts around 80 members, but is not allowed to advertise on campus because of the school’s affiliation with the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

AULL4One’s Eliel Cruz told Blue Nation, “Administration knows we exist, they allow us to exist, and some administrators even champion the group’s existence. But unfortunately, we are unable to advertise our meetings and events on campus.”

In an email to Cruz, AU Dean of Student Life Steve Yeagley said that the university would not allow AULL4One to hold the sale, explaining, “I think the most helpful thing I can do is to draw your attention to the fundraising policy found in the Student Handbook. It simply states that funds may be raised for non-profit organizations ‘whose mission and practices do not conflict with those of the University.’ I think the judgment in this case is that there may be a perceived conflict between the mission and practices of Andrews University and those of Fierce Chicago — certainly not in their efforts to aid homeless youth, but in their approach to the LGBT issue, at large.”

Yeagley closed by saying, “I hope this will be helpful. If a way can be found to serve LGBT homeless youth through an organization that more fully reflects the University’s mission and the stance of our denomination (which clearly calls for exhibiting compassion toward LGBT persons), let’s explore that.”

In other words, the university would be happy to raise money for homeless youth, just so long as they’re straight or being served by an organization that is trying to turn them straight.

Blue Nation’s John Paul Brammer contacted AU to determine whether this, in fact, is the case.

They responded that their issue with Fierce Chicago is the organization’s “perceived advocacy stance” toward LGBT orientations.

“As a result, we can and will support LGBT homeless youth through organizations whose mission and purpose clearly align with the religious mission and purpose of our university and its sponsoring church. We invite our student clubs to find the appropriate organizations and opportunities to do just that,” wrote school officials.


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Ben Carson Launches Presidential Exploratory Committee

The Huffington Post | By Igor Bobic


Posted: 03/03/2015 9:57 am EST Updated: 03/03/2015 10:00 am EST



Neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced Tuesday that he is formally exploring a run for president in 2016.

Terry Giles, Carson's likely campaign chief, announced the formation of an exploratory committee that will allow the conservative darling to raise funds ahead of a likely bid for the White House.

"In every aspect of Dr. Carson's life, he has exemplified true leadership. Overcoming dire poverty in his youth to become head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Carson is uniquely situated to understand the needs and hopes of all Americans," Giles said. "His undeniable abilities and extraordinary life experiences drive his passion to ensure that, through hard work and perseverance, the American dream remains attainable to all. For the next few months, Dr. Carson looks forward to listening to the American people to gauge support for a presidential candidacy."

Carson is known for making controversial statements about President Barack Obama and Nazi Germany. He finished fourth in last week's straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering of activists and party leaders outside Washington, D.C., and received a warm reception at the Iowa Freedom Summit in January.

Check out Carson's GQ-esque committee website here.


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P.S. 
Question:

Is the world ready for a Seventh-day Adventist President?

Follow up:

Does Ben Carson think he can ever win such a race?

CD Brooks Goes On Record

It's High Time!

Published on Feb 12, 2015


Elder CD Brooks weighs in on the Sunday services at First SDA Church in Huntsville, AL.

Follow It's High Time!: Web - http://hightime1311.com Facebook - https://facebook.com/hightime1311Twitter - http://twitter.com/hightime1311

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SDA - The Great Hope or The Great Deception - A Falling Away!

Posted by
TheClosingOfTime

Published on
November 10, 2014

Adventist Crime Scenes Part 1-6

1. The Great Hope Scam
2. A Corrupted Hymnal
3. The Antichrist - Gone!
4. Ted Wilson - Up Against Devils
5. The Duty of the Watchman
6. The Tithe -  A Weapon of Protest

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Former Seventh-day Adventist pastor takes a yearlong timeout from God

“Uh, I’m not exactly sure about all this,” Ryan Bell said as he scanned the scene inside a darkened Las Vegas convention hall.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

JAN 4, 2015

A stripper whirled her hips. A rock band pumped out a song about cannibalism. A man’s shouting hung briefly over the packed crowd: “God is dead!”

For nearly two decades, Bell had been pastor of congregations of Seventh-day Adventists, among the most conservative denominations in Christianity. How had he ended up at a gathering of atheists and skeptics in Sin City?

It had been a long time coming. For years now, it felt as if his prayers weren’t being answered. He secretly wondered whether a higher power existed at all.

So, last Dec. 31, he published a blog post that went viral.

“For the next 12 months I will live as if there is no God,” he wrote. “I will not pray, read the Bible for inspiration, refer to God as the cause of things or hope that God might intervene and change my own or someone else’s circumstances. (I trust that if there really is a God that God will not be too flummoxed by my foolish experiment and allow others to suffer as a result).”

Now it was July, just over midway in his journey. Bell had spent as much time as he could reading about science and philosophy, interviewing agnostics and atheists, working to decide what he would believe when the year was done.

He’d come to Las Vegas to attend the convention of skeptics — an ardent subculture devoted to lambasting everything from believers in Bigfoot to claims that Jesus Christ was anything more than a charismatic human being.
The band, the stripper, the boisterous crowd? All were part of a night of reverie hosted by magician and atheist Penn Jillette. But shortly after the show began, Bell left, shaking his head, feeling caught between worlds.

“Not so long ago I was pastoring a church, and here I am, surrounded by all these atheists singing for shock value about how terrible God is,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like these are my people. Then again, most of this year, it’s been hard to say who exactly my people are.”

Bell, 43, was born in Ohio but grew up mostly near Loma Linda, a Southern California suburb populated largely by Seventh-day Adventists.

In his teens, he didn’t drink, smoke or swear. Eating meat was forbidden. “I didn’t believe in evolution because my grandparents didn’t believe,” he said.

He would come to develop a guilty pleasure: listening to the Beatles, Bob Dylan and U2. But when he headed off to the church’s deeply observant Pacific Union College, in Northern California, he left behind his music and vowed to live an even stricter life.

“He was unusually conservative, even for this school,” remembered one of his English professors, Nancy Lecourt. She recalled asking her class to read 18th century philosopher Voltaire — and a young Bell refusing on the grounds that writing such as Voltaire’s defiles the soul.

It was hardly surprising when, after graduation, Bell became a pastor, assigned to a clutch of churches in the suburbs of Philadelphia. His new parishioners, though still conservative, didn’t fit the mold he’d known before. Some wore makeup and jewelry. A few smoked, cursed or spent money on Saturdays, the Adventist day of worship.

“It all hit me at once,” Bell said. “I mean, the messiness of the journeys of my congregants. I was meeting people who were living with a goodness I’d always hoped for, yet they did things that the church didn’t approve of.”

In 2005, he moved with his wife and two young daughters to California, taking over the ministry at the Adventist church in Hollywood.

“People who had been at the fringes of the church, who were not sure they wanted to go back to organized religion, he gave them space to feel they were part of this,” said Leslie Foster, a filmmaker who was part of a swell of new members flocking to the church once Bell arrived. “He created a home.”

This new version of Pastor Bell focused less on individual salvation than social justice. It wasn’t long before he was speaking out against Bank of America for what he considered predatory lending practices. Or demonstrating during the Occupy takeover of the lawns at City Hall. Or advocating for gay rights and marriage equality.

All along, his doubts grew. The more he prayed, the more prayer felt useless. The more he tried to reconcile the Bible with science, the more it seemed he was putting together a puzzle with parts that didn’t fit. The more he thought about the unceasing suffering in the world, the more he doubted God’s existence.

By early last year, pressure was mounting. Part of it was personal. After 17 years of marriage, he and his wife were headed for a divorce. Part of it was his calling. In March, after a long battle with regional Adventist officials on almost every major point of theology, he agreed to resign.

Without a church, living alone, Bell felt dazed.

Recalled Randall Frederick, a close friend and theology student at Fuller Seminary: “He’d just lost so much faith, he did not know what to believe in.”

On a rain-swept afternoon at a Pasadena restaurant, Bell and Frederick met for lunch. They joked about a popular book by an evangelical author who had vowed to live biblically for 12 months. An idea came. Maybe, to give his life focus again, Bell should take his doubts to their full conclusion, at least for a while.

The storm of attention after he turned his back on God took Bell by surprise. Within a week, he was explaining himself on CNN, NPR and the BBC.

His blog posts were jammed with hundreds of comments, then thousands. There were supportive notes. And plenty calling him a charlatan, an opportunist, a fraud who was courting hellfire while influencing others to follow along the way.

Soon Bell spun into depression, and not just because of the criticism.

He was jobless. The announcement had cost him teaching positions at Fuller Seminary and the evangelical Azusa Pacific University, because he could no longer adhere to rules stipulating that faculty members believe in Christ.

In his old life, he would have prayed. He beat back the temptation.

“I just have to weather the storm,” he said, sitting in a Los Angeles cafe. It was March. His shoulders slumped. Bags sat heavy under his eyes. “Just make it through all this.”

By April, his views on faith were starting to become clearer. “I could very easily say there is no God,” he said. “I feel that way a lot of the time.”

There was a hesitancy in his voice. Yes, great beauty and meaning could be found if one focused solely on the material world. But seeing things that way posed problems.

“It takes this beautiful world and reduces it to atoms and electrons. Where did it all come from? Are we just the sum of our parts?”

Such questions kept him up at night, reading in the small Pasadena apartment he’d rented, surrounded by his books. He’d searched for answers before, but never with this intensity, or from the starting place that there was no God.

He felt ostracized by those in organized religion. But nonbelievers were thrilled to have him at their events or speaking on their panels, and an advocate for atheists had started an online fund to help pay his bills.

“It feels like I am now a pastor to the irreligious,” he said, walking through the Las Vegas hotel at the convention. “Not that I want that role, but the way people are responding to me, it’s pretty revealing. It feels like I’ve touched some sort of cultural nerve. There’s just a lot of people questioning everything these days.”

Life started to feel good again. He’d gotten a job teaching life skills at PATH, a nonprofit helping the homeless. He’d also started dating Rebecca Pratt, a devoted Christian— open-minded and unafraid to stop him when he’d lapse into negative generalizations about religion.

The year pushed on. He became more and more comfortable in this new, questioning life.

He described himself, temporarily at least, as a “weak atheist.” Fine with not having all the answers about life’s origins, its meaning, its end.

“Either God has responsibility or he does not,” Bell said. He recalled the South Korean ferry that sank in April, killing 304 people, most of them students. “If he does, it seems like he is doing a pretty bad job. If he does not, if he just wound the thing up and walked away, I don’t see any point in worshiping a God like that.”
Bell grimaced. A moment passed. Then he smiled. He was finally free to speak such thoughts.

The journey will be over Jan. 1.

Skeptics and nonbelievers are ready to officially welcome him to the fold. Bell has heard from Christians who pray he’ll return to their side. “I am hoping he will come around, back to some form of Christianity, hopefully to Adventism,” said Lecourt, his college English teacher.

There will be an announcement on where he stands, most likely on his blog.

It’s hard to imagine him going back to the God of organized faith. It’s also hard to imagine him joining the crowd contending that God is imaginary and that belief is the source of most of the world’s ills.

“I do think I’ve now seen both sides of the coin,” he said recently. “Being with the atheists, they can have the same sort of obnoxious certainty that some Christians have, and I don’t want to be a part of that. It feels like I’m stuck in the middle. I want to be for something good, but I don’t want boundaries, and religion just feels like a very bounded thing.

“The question I am asking right now: Why do I need religion to love?”

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©2014 Los Angeles Times

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Seventh-Day Adventists cry foul after Calgary child’s death linked to religious diet

9:16 am, December 15th, 2014







Credits: FOTOLIA


BRYAN PASSIFIUME | QMI AGENCY


CALGARY - The "strict dietary regimen" police allege led to the death of a child is not a tenet of the faith the child's parents claimed to follow, the minister of Calgary's largest Seventh-Day Adventist congregation said.

Randy Barber, pastor of the Calgary Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church, says while the religion makes diet and health a priority, members are taught to live a healthy lifestyle, rather than enforce strict dietary doctrine.

"That certainly does not include being vegan," he said. "We teach that if a person chooses to eat meat, that they should eat clean meats and make sure they get a well-balanced diet."

"That's pretty much where we leave it," he added.

Police allege the 2013 deadly staph infection that claimed the life of 14-month-old John Clark was exacerbated by an extreme vegan diet administered by his parents, Jeromie Clark, 34, and his wife Jennifer, 38, both of whom proclaim to be Seventh-Day Adventists.

Adventism, a Protestant denomination of Christianity, teaches that health and diet are a part of a person's overall spiritual well-being.

More than 60% of adherents are vegetarian, which Barber says is a personal choice among church members.

Barber, who baptised Jeromie into Adventism in 2002, described the man as a paranoid isolationist with unorthodox views.

"I very soon began to realize that he was very radical in this thinking," he said. "He was more like a survivalist in his thinking."

Barber recalled an incident at Clark's baptism when a church member attempted to take a photo of the ceremony.

"He got violently angry," he said. "He would not allow a picture to be taken because he said the government would get a hold of it."

Jeromie was a common sight at Saturday church services until his marriage to Jennifer, a popular schoolteacher, nine years ago.

"After they got married, he got her to quit her job and they disappeared off the face of the Earth," Barber said.

"We didn't know where they went, they hadn't attended church - they isolated themselves completely."

Barber wasn't even aware the couple had children until news of the Clark's arrest earlier this week.

This is the first time he's seen a situation like this in Barber's 35 years in the ministry.

"That's not to say I haven't had church members in the past that I thought were unhealthy or were not following good health practices," he said.

"You'll find those kind of people in every organization - religious or not, there are radical people in every movement."

His faith, he says, teaches a holistic approach to health and guides its members towards making sensible choices - evidenced in numerous secular studies lauding the health of Seventh-Day Adventists.

"We instruct, and we leave it between them and God," he said.

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The Foundation of Our Faith

The Lord will put new, vital force into His work as human agencies obey the command to go forth and proclaim the truth. He who declared that His truth would shine forever will proclaim this truth through faithful messengers, who will give the trumpet a certain sound. The truth will be criticized, scorned, and derided; but the closer it is examined and tested, the brighter it will shine.

As a people, we are to stand firm on the platform of eternal truth that has withstood test and trial. We are to hold to the sure pillars of our faith. The principles of truth that God has revealed to us are our only true foundation. They have made us what we are. The lapse of time has not lessened their value. It is the constant effort of the enemy to remove these truths from their setting, and to put in their place spurious theories. He will bring in everything that he possibly can to carry out his deceptive designs. But the Lord will raise up men of keen perception, who will give these truths their proper place in the plan of God.

I have been instructed by the heavenly messenger that some of the reasoning in the book Living Temple is unsound, and that this reasoning would lead astray the minds of those who are not thoroughly established on the foundation principles of present truth. It introduces that which is nought but speculation in regard to the personality of God and where His presence is. No one on this earth has a right to speculate on this question. The more fanciful theories are discussed, the less men will know of God and of the truth that sanctifies the soul.

One and another come to me, asking me to explain the positions taken in Living Temple . I reply, "They are unexplainable." The sentiments expressed do not give a true knowledge of God. All through the book are passages of Scripture. These scriptures are brought in in such a way that error is made to appear as truth. Erroneous theories are presented in so pleasing a way that unless care is taken, many will be misled.

We need not the mysticism that is in this book. Those who entertain these sophistries will soon find themselves in a position where the enemy can talk with them, and lead them away from God. It is represented to me that the writer of this book is on a false track. He has lost sight of the distinguishing truths for this time. He knows not whither his steps are tending. The track of truth lies close beside the track of error, and both tracks may seem to be one to minds which are not worked by the Holy Spirit, and which, therefore, are not quick to discern the difference between truth and error.

About the time that Living Temple was published, there passed before me in the night season, representations indicating that some danger was approaching, and that I must prepare for it by writing out the things God had revealed to me regarding the foundation principles of our faith. A copy of Living Temple was sent me, but it remained in my library, unread. From the light given me by the Lord, I knew that some of the sentiments advocated in the book did not bear the endorsement of God, and that they were a snare that the enemy had prepared for the last days. I thought that this would surely be discerned, and that it would not be necessary for me to say anything about it.

In the controversy that arose among our brethren regarding the teachings of this book, those in favor of giving it a wide circulation declared: "It contains the very sentiments that Sister White has been teaching." This assertion struck right to my heart. I felt heartbroken; for I knew that this representation of the matter was not true.

Finally my son said to me, "Mother, you ought to read at least some parts of the book, that you may see whether they are in harmony with the light that God has given you." He sat down beside me, and together we read the preface, and most of the first chapter, and also paragraphs in other chapters. As we read, I recognized the very sentiments against which I had been bidden to speak in warning during the early days of my public labors. When I first left the State of Maine, it was to go through Vermont and Massachusetts, to bear a testimony against these sentiments. Living Temple contains the alpha of these theories. I knew that the omega would follow in a little while; and I trembled for our people. I knew that I must warn our brethren and sisters not to enter into controversy over the presence and personality of God. The statements made in Living Temple in regard to this point are incorrect. The scripture used to substantiate the doctrine there set forth, is scripture misapplied.

I am compelled to speak in denial of the claim that the teachings of Living Temple can be sustained by statements from my writings. There may be in this book expressions and sentiments that are in harmony with my writings. And there may be in my writings many statements which, taken from their connection, and interpreted according to the mind of the writer of Living Temple, would seem to be in harmony with the teachings of this book. This may give apparent support to the assertion that the sentiments in Living Temple are in harmony with my writings. But God forbid that this sentiment should prevail.

Few can discern the result of entertaining the sophistries advocated by some at this time. But the Lord has lifted the curtain, and has shown me the result that would follow. The spiritualistic theories regarding the personality of God, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John to give to His people. They teach that the scenes just before us are not of sufficient importance to be given special attention. They make of no effect the truth of heavenly origin, and rob the people of God of their past experience, giving them instead a false science.

In a vision of the night I was shown distinctly that these sentiments have been looked upon by some as the grand truths that are to be brought in and made prominent at the present time. I was shown a platform, braced by solid timbers--the truths of the Word of God. Some one high in responsibility in the medical work was directing this man and that man to loosen the timbers supporting this platform. Then I heard a voice saying, "Where are the watchmen that ought to be standing on the walls of Zion? Are they asleep? This foundation was built by the Master Worker, and will stand storm and tempest. Will they permit this man to present doctrines that deny the past experience of the people of God? The time has come to take decided action."

The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. 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.

Who has authority to begin such a movement? We have our Bibles. We have our experience, attested to by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit. We have a truth that admits of no compromise. Shall we not repudiate everything that is not in harmony with this truth?

I hesitated and delayed about the sending out of that which the Spirit of the Lord impelled me to write. I did not want to be compelled to present the misleading influence of these sophistries. But in the providence of God, the errors that have been coming in must be met .

An Iceberg! "Meet It"

Shortly before I sent out the testimonies regarding the efforts of the enemy to undermine the foundation of our faith through the dissemination of seductive theories, I had read an incident about a ship in a fog meeting an iceberg. For several nights I slept but little. I seemed to be bowed down as a cart beneath sheaves. One night a scene was clearly presented before me. A vessel was upon the waters, in a heavy fog. Suddenly the lookout cried, "Iceberg just ahead!" There, towering high above the ship, was a gigantic iceberg. An authoritative voice cried out, "Meet it!" There was not a moment's hesitation. It was a time for instant action. The engineer put on full steam, and the man at the wheel steered the ship straight into the iceberg. With a crash she struck the ice. There was a fearful shock, and the iceberg broke into many pieces, falling with a noise like thunder to the deck. The passengers were violently shaken by the force of the collisions, but no lives were lost. The vessel was injured, but not beyond repair. She rebounded from the contact, trembling from stem to stern, like a living creature. Then she moved forward on her way.

Well I knew the meaning of this representation. I had my orders. I had heard the words, like a voice from our Captain, "Meet it!" I knew what my duty was, and that there was not a moment to lose. The time for decided action had come. I must without delay obey the command, "Meet it!".

That night I was up at one o'clock, writing as fast as my hand could pass over the paper. For the next few days I worked early and late, preparing for our people the instruction given me regarding the errors that were coming in among us.

I have been hoping that there would be a thorough reformation, and that the principles for which we fought in the early days, and which were brought out in the power of the Holy Spirit, would be maintained.

Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid. My husband, Elder Joseph Bates, Father Pierce,[* OLDER BRETHREN AMONG THE PIONEERS ARE HERE THUS REMINISCENTLY REFERRED TO. "FATHER PIERCE" WAS STEPHEN PIERCE, WHO SERVED IN MINISTERIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE WORK IN THE EARLY DAYS. "FATHER ANDREWS" WAS EDWARD ANDREWS, THE FATHER OF J. N. ANDREWS.--COMPILERS.] Elder {Hiram} Edson, and others who were keen, noble, and true, were among those who, after the passing of the time in 1844, searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with them, and we studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together until late at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the Word. Again and again these brethren came together to study the Bible, in order that they might know its meaning, and be prepared to teach it with power. When they came to the point in their study where they said, "We can do nothing more," the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me, I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and teach effectively. Thus light was given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, His mission, and His priesthood. A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others the instruction that the Lord had given me.

During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This was one of the greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition of mind until all the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God. The brethren knew that when not in vision, I could not understand these matters, and they accepted as light direct from heaven the revelations given.

For two or three years my mind continued to be locked to an understanding of the Scriptures. In the course of our labors, my husband and I visited Father Andrews,[* SEE NOTE ON PAGE 206.] who was suffering intensely with inflammatory rheumatism. We prayed for him. I laid my hands on his head, and said, "Father Andrews, the Lord Jesus maketh thee whole." He was healed instantly. He got up, and walked about the room, praising God, and saying, "I never saw it on this wise before. Angels of God are in this room." The glory of the Lord was revealed. Light seemed to shine all through the house, and an angel's hand was laid upon my head. From that time to this I have been able to understand the Word of God.

What influence is it would lead men at this stage of our history to work in an underhand, powerful way to tear down the foundation of our faith--the foundation that was laid at the beginning of our work by prayerful study of the Word and by revelation? Upon this foundation we have been building for the past fifty years. Do you wonder that when I see the beginning of a work that would remove some of the pillars of our faith, I have something to say? I must obey the command, "Meet it!" . . .

I must bear the messages of warning that God gives me to bear, and then leave with the Lord the results. I must now present the matter in all its bearings; for the people of God must not be despoiled.

We are God's commandment-keeping people. For the past fifty years every phase of heresy has been brought to bear upon us, to becloud our minds regarding the teaching of the Word--especially concerning the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and the message of Heaven for these last days, as given by the angels of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation. Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord. But the waymarks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has signified through His Word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.

Selected Messages Book 1, pp.201-210.

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Religious Liberty and the Trademark Law - Trademarking the name Seventh Day Adventist

Religious Liberty and the Trademark Law

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States declares:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” If I understand this clause correctly, the Constitution of the United States of America does not support a church’s use of federal law either to establish itself or to deny others the free exercise of religion, and the framers never intended for a religious denomination to pursue and prosecute, under U.S law, members that denomination considers being heretic. The overall purpose of this amendment was to establish morality in regards to matters of religion in a secular society, and to keep civil authority from meddling with the minds and consciences of men regarding their duty and loyalty to God as they believed. Sadly, this amendment has been abrogated through crafty and persistent manipulation.

In 1981, the Seventh-day Adventist Church General Conference Corporation acting for the church and as head of the church obtained a trademark registration for the name “Seventh-day Adventist” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, becoming the very first Protestant church denomination in America to appeal to the state for protection of her name. Previous to this action, certain former pastors and members that had seen what they deemed apostasy from her original doctrine had separated from the church and formed other groups bearing the same name, while not tithing to, or supporting the General Conference (GC). Some of these new groups began to speak out against this apostasy and teach a message that reflected more closely the beliefs of the church’s founders. Fearing that the “good name” would be misrepresented and tarnished by these “off shoot” movements, and jealous for the money that went to support their work, the GC obtained legal rights to the name, and began to plan legal prosecution. Beginning with the church’s first prosecution in 1986 with the case of former conference Pastor John Marik and the Kona, Hawaii Seventh-day Adventist Congregational Church, the GC proceeded to seek out and take to court other “rogue” bodies, and still continues her conquest today (Chandler, “Tiny Church”).

The GC’s latest attention is focused upon the Creation Seventh-day Adventist church located at Guys, TN. “A small church in Guys has defied a federal court order to stop using the Seventh Day Adventist name and has repainted the sign on their church this week. Lucan Chartier, acting pastor of the church, said the members of Creation Seventh Day Adventists would be willing to go to jail for their beliefs. ‘We believe God gave us the name to use,’ said Chartier. ‘We do not want to be arrested, but we would do that for our convictions.’ A federal judge ordered removal of the name from the Guys church because of a violation of the trademark of the Seventh Day Adventist church. The church sign was painted over on Feb. 15. The church in Guys did try for a short time using the name A Creation Seventh Day & Adventist Church to avoid problems with the international Seventh Day Adventist church… ‘We tried to satisfy them with a different name and that did not work.’ Chartier said. ‘When the change did not satisfy them, we went back to using our original name’” (York, “Church Defies”).

The founder of the Creation SDA (CSDA) church, Walter O. “Chick” McGill III has been dancing on the nerves of the GC since he published his first paper, “Crucified Afresh”, in 1991, condemning them over the trademark issue; by 1994, he was moving onto the worldwide web in order to facilitate getting his message out; by ’96, he had begun establishing internet domains under the name Seventh-day Adventist. McGill was quicker to understand the effectiveness of the internet to spread his message than the GC was to spread theirs, and when the Corporation got wind of this, they moved to confiscate the sites from him. “On May 23, 2006, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center received notice from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists regarding several domain names operated by the church. The defendant (McGill) claimed that such a confiscation of web domains would be a violation of religious freedom.

“In the decision rendered on July 21, 2006, WIPO concluded that although ‘Respondent alleges that he is involved in the free dissemination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and not in commercial activity [...]’ and disclaimers were posted on the domains in question, ‘persons interested in finding religious information are Internet users and consumers within the meaning of the Policy.’ They further concluded several of the church's domain names to be infringing on the trademark held by the General Conference, and based on these conclusions, WIPO ordered ‘that the Domain Names be transferred to Complainant’” (Wikipedia).

In 2004, McGill began to establish a church mission in Rwanda, Africa, and is now over there to avoid prosecution. Allegedly, if he returns to the U.S., he will be arrested and transported to jail. “The intention of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is to confine me in prison until I agree to abide by the Permanent Injunction ordered against me. At the same time, they seek a monetary sanction of over $35,000, which amounts to a stiff fine as punishment for my contempt of court” (McGill, “My Incarceration”). In late May, 2010, Lucan Chartier posted on his Facebook wall that he was being summoned to court for a contempt of court hearing having to do with repainting the church signs and for not showing up for a deposition to “help shut down the church.” Since Chartier had been fairly active on Facebook, it is possible that he could be incarcerated at this time, as there have been no other posts on his wall since late May.

It is evident that nothing good has come of these litigations. Since the GC first exercised her right, other denominations have followed suit in similar cases. Many members within her walls are increasingly curious about the rumors they hear, which is causing agitation and unease. Instead of causing unity, there has been much division in her ranks. She has become totally invested in securing to herself a worldly kingdom, much to the dismay of those members who recognize that the church was founded on the principle that God’s kingdom is “not of this world.” John 18:36. While the GC has commandeered federal authority to promote its own agenda and has, thereby, abrogated the first amendment of the Constitution, it remains legal under the Trademark anti-dilution law for the Corporation to prove the distinctiveness of its name so that it cannot be used by any other organization in a situation where there would be a “likelihood of confusion”, thereby protecting the mark from the use or adoption of marks used for completely unrelated goods or services. Although the GC commits no illegal criminal act by taking advantage of this provision, there are much weightier matters to be considered.
As a religious entity first, the Seventh-day Adventist Corporation’s primary concern should be proper moral behavior toward God and her fellow men, yet she moves swiftly away from moral accountability, proceeding as if she answered primarily to the secular courts of this land. She ignores both the counsel and instruction of both the Bible that she claims to uphold, and that of the pioneers of the church. Let us take a look at what these have to say.

Since the church claims that the Bible is her standard, then it follows good reason that her actions should be examined according to those instructions laid out therein. In 1Corinthians 6:1, Paul asks a serious question to the church saying, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?” He follows this question in verse 7 by stating that, “There is utterly a fault among you, because you go to law with one another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded” ( Apostle)? The GC’s behavior does not follow this counsel. Instead, they are building and protecting a worldly empire and cannot stand to trust in God for their protection, but seek the temporal arm of civil law to keep from being defrauded. This is hardly a reflection of the sentiments put forth in the first amendment by those whose motto was “In God We Trust.” One wonders how such plain counsel could be ignored.

If there is any doubt as to the clarity of scripture regarding these things concerning the church, let’s take a look at what various Adventist pioneers had to say about the union of church and state. Ellen G. White, a cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist church and the author to whom this church ascribes for much direction states: “The union of the church with the state, be the degree never so slight, while it may appear to bring the world nearer to the church, does in reality but bring the church nearer to the world” (White, 297). “When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel, and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the people she sought the support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the State, and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of ‘heresy.’ In order for the United States to form an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the State will also be employed by the church to accomplish her own ends.

“Whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines. Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming alliance with worldly powers have manifested a similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience” (White, 443).

“Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured” (White, 581).

Another writes: “I need not take to give a definition in detail of what the image of the beast is; we all know well that it is the church power using the government, the civil power, for church purposes. … Now I want to state a little further upon the principle that no Christian, being a citizen of the kingdom of God, can of right start any procedure in connection with the civil government. After it is started by the government itself, that is another question… I repeat therefore, that upon the principles which govern kingdoms and governments, the very principle of the law in heaven, or law in earth, a Christian cannot start any procedure in connection with civil government. And of all Christians, Seventh-day Adventists cannot do it. The very keeping of the Sabbath forbids it” (Jones, 28).

One more Adventist witness writes: “The true church is a chaste virgin. (2 Cor. 11:2). The church that is joined with the world in friendship is a harlot. It is this unlawful connection with the kings of the earth that constitutes her the great harlot of the Apocalypse. (Rev.17). Thus, the Jewish Church, at first espoused to the Lord (Jer. 2:3; 31:32), became a harlot (Eze.16)… The unlawful union with the world of which Babylon is guilty, is positive that it (Babylon) is the civil power… For these reasons, it is very evident that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is the professed church united with the world” (Smith, 648).

It is plain to see that according to the Seventh-day Adventist pioneer’s beliefs, the church for which they labored so earnestly in the 1800s has today committed adultery against her Maker by joining hands with civil power to enforce her decrees and protect her name. The church pioneers and national forefathers always warned against this union of church and state, but now they are gone, and a new era has been ushered in; one of force and tyranny. This nation was established upon principles that protected freedom of conscience. The forefathers fought to escape the tyranny and religious oppression that they once endured from their motherland. God set up this country to be a haven from religious persecution, but times are changing, and we are on the cusp of a greater persecution of those who would follow their consciences in opposition of the General Conference Corporation’s dictates.

“When a religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself; and when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support it, so that it’s professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil power, it is a sign, I say, of its being a bad one.” – Benjamin Franklin to Richard Price, 9 Oct. 1780 Writings 8:153--54


[(York)(Wikipedia)(McGill)(Apostle)(White)(Jones)(Smith) Works Cited: Apostle, Paul the King James Study Bible/1 Corinthians 6:1,7. Loma Linda, CA: Pacificrim Press, 1997.; Chandler, Russell. Tiny Church in Hawaii Battles Adventists Over Trademark Use. Newspaper Article. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Times, 1988.; Jones, A.T. "General Conference Bulletin." (1895): 28. McGill, "Chick". "My Incarceration." 5 12 2009. 14 11 2010 http://www.whypastorwaltermcgillisnotaffiliatedwithgcsdaadventistchurch.net/PDF/MyIncarceration.pdf/ Smith, Uriah. Daniel and the Revelation. Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1972. White, Ellen G. The Great Controversy. Nampa,Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2005.Wikipedia. Wikipedia/Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church 14 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_Seventh_Day_Adventist_Church#WIPO_ruling_on_disputed_domain_names/ York, Jeff. Church defies court order. Local news. Corinth, Mississippi: Daily Corinthian, March 13, 2010.]
  

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The Dubious Sources of Some Supreme Court ‘Facts’

Politics
 
Seeking Facts, Justices Settle for What Briefs Tell Them


SEPT. 1, 2014



Justice Antonin Scalia has criticized the court's acceptance of data found in amicus briefs. Credit Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press


By ADAM LIPTAK


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court received more than 80 friend-of-the-court briefs in the Hobby Lobby case. Most of these filings, also called amicus briefs, were dull and repetitive recitations of familiar legal arguments.

Others stood out. They presented fresh, factual information that put the case in a broader context.

The justices are hungry for such data. Their opinions are increasingly studded with citations of facts they learned from amicus briefs.

But this is a perilous trend, said Allison Orr Larsen, a law professor at the College of William and Mary.

“The court is inundated with 11th-hour, untested, advocacy-motivated claims of factual expertise,” she wrote in an article to be published in The Virginia Law Review.

Some of the factual assertions in recent amicus briefs would not pass muster in a high school research paper. But that has not stopped the Supreme Court from relying on them. Recent opinions have cited “facts” from amicus briefs that were backed up by blog posts, emails or nothing at all.

Some amicus briefs are careful and valuable, of course, citing peer-reviewed studies and noting contrary evidence. Others cite more questionable materials.

Some “studies” presented in amicus briefs were paid for or conducted by the group that submitted the brief and published only on the Internet. Some studies seem to have been created for the purpose of influencing the Supreme Court.

Yet the justices are quite receptive to this dodgy data. Over the five terms from 2008 to 2013, the court’s opinions cited factual assertions from amicus briefs 124 times, Professor Larsen found.

The phenomenon is novel. “The U.S. Supreme Court is the only American judicial entity that depends so heavily on amicus briefs to educate itself on factual matters,” Professor Larsen wrote.

The trend is at odds with the ordinary role of appellate courts, which are not supposed to be in the business of determining facts. That is the job of the trial court, where evidence is submitted, sifted and subjected to the adversary process.

Appellate courts traditionally take those facts, fixed in the trial court record, as a given. Their job is to identify and apply legal principles to those facts.

Justice Antonin Scalia made this point in a 2011 dissent chastising the majority for its blithe acceptance of “government-funded studies” that “did not make an appearance in this litigation until the government’s merits brief to this court.”

But “Supreme Court briefs are an inappropriate place to develop the key facts in a case,” Justice Scalia wrote. “An adversarial process in the trial courts can identify flaws in the methodology of the studies that the parties put forward; here, we accept the studies’ findings on faith, without examining their methodology at all.”

The net result, he said, is “untested judicial fact-finding masquerading as statutory interpretation.”

At least the studies that Justice Scalia complained about were submitted by a party to the case and thus were likely to be closely examined by the other side.

Most of the information from the amicus briefs recently cited by the justices was not subjected to even that level of adversary scrutiny. Only 28 percent of the cited materials drew a response from one of the parties in the case.

In the Hobby Lobby case, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. pushed back against the recent trend, refusing to consider “an intensely empirical argument” in an amicus brief. “We do not generally entertain arguments that were not raised below and are not advanced in this court by any party,” he wrote.

Not so, Professor Larsen wrote in a recent blog post. “This descriptive statement by Justice Alito about Supreme Court practice is simply incorrect,” she wrote.

Consider these examples.

In a 2011 decision about the privacy rights of scientists who worked on government space programs, Justice Alito cited an amicus brief to show that more than 88 percent of American companies perform background checks on their workers.

“Where this number comes from is a mystery,” Professor Larsen wrote. “It is asserted in the brief without citation.”

In a 2012 decision allowing strip searches of people arrested for even minor offenses as they are admitted to jail, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy cited an amicus brief to show that there are an “increasing number of gang members” entering the nation’s prisons and jails. The brief itself did little more than assert that “there is no doubt” this was so.

And in a 2013 decision, Justice Stephen G. Breyer cited an amicus brief to establish that American libraries hold 200 million books that were published abroad, a point of some significance in the copyright dispute before the court. The figure in the brief came from a blog post. The blog has been discontinued.

In an interview, Professor Larsen said she was struck by how often justices cited the amicus briefs themselves as sources of authority, as opposed to the materials collected in the briefs. “It really makes you wonder how much digging the justices are doing,” she said.

Kannon K. Shanmugam, a lawyer with Williams & Connolly who argues frequently before the court, said the justices’ quandary was a common one.

“The Supreme Court has the same problem that the rest of us do: figuring out how to distinguish between real facts and Internet facts,” he said. “Amicus briefs from unreliable sources can contribute to that problem.”


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Related

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Adventist Church files amicus brief for workplace religious freedom case at top U.S. court

Church hopes Supreme Court will take case of Muslim girl who was denied job

August 27, 2014 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ansel Oliver/ANN

The Seventh-day Adventist Church filed an amicus brief today urging the United States’ top court to accept the case of a Muslim girl who was denied a job because her hijab—a head-covering—violated a company’s policy.

The Adventist Church’s “friend-of-the-court” brief is joined by seven other faith groups for the case Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vs. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide in October whether to accept the case.

The Church’s move follows a decision last year by a federal appeals court that ruled against the girl and created additional statutes that violate protections of the U.S. Civil Rights Act. That ruling, by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, said the religious observance or practice in question must be mandatory, not just encouraged by the employee’s religious beliefs.

The brief claims last year’s ruling also mandates undue responsibility on applicants to raise concerns over religious observance. Applicants might not always know the employer’s requirements.

Church legal counselors said the ruling then allows an employer’s ignorance to eliminate protections for religious-observant applicants, which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.



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P.S. 
The real fact about the honorable U.S. Supreme Court in 2014, is that 6 out of the 9 "justices" are Roman Catholic.

There is nothing 'DUBIOUS' about that!

It's blatantly overt for anyone with half a brain to notice that tangible fact. It's peculiar, it's prophetic...
The rest of the faux-facts are gibberish.

Arsenio
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Jerusalem, The Captured Citadel - Gary Wedemeyer

Has the Seventh-day Adventist Church Been Taken Captive by Babylon? By Gary Wedemeyer

MrPioneerlight2011

Published on Jul 2, 2013

PRESENTED BY GARY WEDEMEYER....

HAS THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH BEEN TAKEN OVER BY BABYLON? ARE THE PEOPLE GRADUALLY BEING PREPARED FOR SUNDAY WORSHIP?

ELLEN G. WHITE SAID THIS WOULD HAPPEN........AND APOSTASY FROM THE TRUTH WOULD INCREASE UNTIL THE COMING OF JESUS!!!

SEE THE QUOTATIONS AND THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE FOR YOURSELF....

PLEASE DEAR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST MEMBER...........IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP AND REPENT!

TURN BACK TO THE GOD OF OUR FATHERS.........SUNDAY IS COMING!

CLOSE OF PROBATION IS COMING...........ARE WE READY?

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE:
www.Exposingdeceptions.org

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DeVon Franklin Talks New Company; 'Heaven is For Real' Producer Aims to Touch Lives at Box Office

BY CHRISTINE THOMASOS , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER

August 7, 2014|3:11 pm

(

PHOTO: DEVON FRANKLIN)

DeVon Franklin, senior vice president of Columbia Tristar Pictures and author of "Produced by Faith."


DeVon Franklin, a Hollywood executive and Seventh-day Adventist minister, is launching his own production company called Franklin Entertainment and is speaking about how it will contribute to the world of film.

Franklin, the 36-year-old husband of popular Christian actress Meagan Good, is no stranger to the Hollywood scene where he formerly served as senior vice president of production for Columbia Pictures. Now, with his Franklin Entertainment production company, the preacher is working with Sony to change people's lives one film at a time.

"It's about finding great content with mass appeal that still has an uplifting quality about it," Franklin recently told Millennial Magazine. "I want people's hearts to be touched, their lives to be touched, and I want the evidence of that to show up at the box office."

Franklin is no stranger to box office success with films like "Heaven Is for Real," "The Karate Kid" and "The Pursuit of Happyness" under his belt. Doug Belgrad, the president of Columbia Pictures previously spoke about why he believes Franklin's production company will work in both film and television.

"This is a plan tailor-made for DeVon's specific skill set and interests," Belgrad previously told Variety. "It's clear that his ambition was to get closer to the product and maintain his speaking and writing career."

By being focused on the faith-based and urban community markets, he is able to remain unphased by any outside distractions.

"You can't worry about external forces, you have to focus on – this is what I'm here to do, this is what motivates me, this is how I'm called to live," Franklin told Millennial Magazine.

Franklin previously explained how he is able to merge his Christian faith and career.

"The more I started embracing the ministry side, the more it actually added to my career in Hollywood," Franklin told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. "Knowing what challenges people are facing and then working on movies that can address those real-life issues gave me a path in this business."


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(Article)



Introduction

Seventh-day Adventists believe in the soon second coming of Jesus Christ. This second coming is Christ’s return to this earth to end its history—its history of sin, suffering, misery, and death. While waiting for His coming, God’s people have a work to do and also to watch for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In particular we are to watch for the close of earthly probation when there will be no more pardon for sins committed.

This article is based on Testimonies, vol. 2, pages 183-199.



1. Close of General Probation

“Jesus has left us word: ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ We are waiting and watching for the return of the Master, who is to bring the morning, lest coming suddenly He find us sleeping. What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep. No; but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when He lays off His priestly attire and clothes Himself with garments of vengeance, and when the mandate goes forth: ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.’

“When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with His servants. To those who have neglected the preparation of purity and holiness, which fits them to be waiting ones to welcome their Lord, the sun sets in gloom and darkness, and rises not again. Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping. They became weary of waiting and watching; they became indifferent in regard to the coming of their Master. They longed not for His appearing, and thought there was no need of such continued, persevering watching. They had been disappointed in their expectations and might be again. They concluded that there was time enough yet to arouse. They would be sure not to lose the opportunity of securing an earthly treasure. It would be safe to get all of this world they could. And in securing this object, they lost all anxiety and interest in the appearing of the Master. They became indifferent and careless, as though His coming were yet in the distance. But while their interest was buried up in their worldly gains, the work closed in the heavenly sanctuary, and they were unprepared.

“If such had only known that the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary would close so soon, how differently would they have conducted themselves, how earnestly would they have watched! The Master, anticipating all this, gives them timely warning in the command to watch. He distinctly states the suddenness of His coming. He does not measure the time, lest we shall neglect a momentary preparation, and in our indolence look ahead to the time when we think He will come, and defer the preparation. ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not.’ Yet this foretold uncertainty, and suddenness at last, fails to rouse us from stupidity to earnest wakefulness, and to quicken our watchfulness for our expected Master. Those found not waiting and watching are finally surprised in their unfaithfulness. The Master comes, and instead of their being ready to open to Him immediately, they are locked in worldly slumber, and are lost at last.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, pages 190-192.



2. Mrs. White’s Vision of a Watching Company

“A company was presented before me in contrast to the one described. They were waiting and watching. Their eyes were directed heavenward, and the words of their Master were upon their lips: ‘What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.’ The Lord intimates a delay before the morning finally dawns. But He would not have them give way to weariness, nor relax their earnest watchfulness, because the morning does not open upon them as soon as they expected. The waiting ones were represented to me as looking upward. They were encouraging one another by repeating these words: ‘The first and second watches are past. We are in the third watch, waiting and watching for the Master’s return. There remains but a little period of watching now.’ I saw some becoming weary; their eyes were directed downward, and they were engrossed with earthly things, and were unfaithful in watching. They were saying: ‘In the first watch we expected our Master, but were disappointed. We thought surely He would come in the second watch, but that passed, and He came not. We may be again disappointed. We need not be so particular. He may not come in the following watch. We are in the third watch, and now we think it best to lay up our treasure on the earth, that we may be secure against want.’ Many were sleeping, stupefied with the cares of this life and allured by the deceitfulness of riches from their waiting, watching position.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, page 192.



3. Importance of Continuing Faithfulness in Watching

“I saw that it was impossible to have the affections and interests engrossed in worldly cares, to be increasing earthly possessions, and yet be in a waiting, watching position, as our Saviour has commanded. Said the angel: ‘They can secure but one world. In order to acquire the heavenly treasure, they must sacrifice the earthly. They cannot have both worlds.’ I saw how necessary a continuance of faithfulness in watching was in order to escape the delusive snares of Satan. He leads those who should be waiting and watching, to take an advance step toward the world; they have no intention of going further, but that one step removed them that much further from Jesus, and made it easier to take the next; and thus step after step is taken toward the world, until all the difference between them and the world is a profession, a name only. They have lost their peculiar, holy character, and there is nothing except their profession to distinguish them from the lovers of the world around them.

“I saw that watch after watch was in the past. Because of this, should there be a lack of vigilance? Oh, no! There is the greater necessity of unceasing watchfulness, for now the moments are fewer than before the passing of the first watch. Now the period of waiting is necessarily shorter than at first. If we watched with unabated vigilance then, how much more need of double watchfulness in the second watch. The passing of the second watch has brought us to the third, and now it is inexcusable to abate our watchfulness. The third watch calls for threefold earnestness. To become impatient now would be to lose all our earnest, persevering watching heretofore. The long night of gloom is trying; but the morning is deferred in mercy, because if the Master should come, so many would be found unready. God’s unwillingness to have His people perish has been the reason for so long delay. But the coming of the morning to the faithful, and of the night to the unfaithful, is right upon us. By waiting and watching, God’s people are to manifest their peculiar character, their separation from the world. By our watching position we are to show that we are truly strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. The difference between those who love the world and those who love Christ is so plain as to be unmistakable. While worldlings are all earnestness and ambition to secure the earthly treasure, God’s people are not conformed to the world, but show by their earnest, watching, waiting position that they are transformed; that their home is not in this world, but that they are seeking a better country, even a heavenly.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, pages 193-194.



4. God Desires Us to Watch

“God designs that His people shall fix their eyes heavenward, looking for the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. While the attention of worldlings is turned to various enterprises, ours should be to the heavens; our faith should reach further and further into the glorious mysteries of the heavenly treasure, drawing the precious, divine rays of light from the heavenly sanctuary to shine in our hearts, as they shine upon the face of Jesus. The scoffers mock the waiting, watching ones, and inquire: ‘Where is the promise of His coming? You have been disappointed. Engage now with us, and you will prosper in worldly things. Get gain, get money, and be honored of the world.’ The waiting ones look upward and answer: ‘We are watching.’ And by turning from earthly pleasure and worldly fame, and from the deceitfulness of riches, they show themselves to be in that position. By watching they become strong; they overcome the sloth and selfishness and love of ease. Affliction’s fire kindles upon them, and the waiting time seems long. They sometimes grieve, and faith falters; but they rally again, overcome their fears and doubts, and while their eyes are directed heavenward, say to their adversaries: ‘I am watching, I am waiting the return of my Lord. I will glory in tribulation, in affliction, in necessities.’

“The desire of our Lord is that we should be watching, so that when He cometh and knocketh we may open to Him immediately. A blessing is pronounced upon those servants whom He finds watching. ‘He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.’ Who among us in these last days will be thus specially honored by the Master of assemblies? Are we prepared without delay to open to Him immediately and welcome Him in? Watch, watch, watch. Nearly all have ceased their watching and waiting; we are not ready to open to Him immediately. The love of the world has so occupied our thoughts that our eyes are not turned upward, but downward to the earth. We are hurrying about, engaging with zeal and earnestness in different enterprises, but God is forgotten, and the heavenly treasure is not valued. We are not in a waiting, watching position. The love of the world and the deceitfulness of riches eclipse our faith, and we do not long for, and love, the appearing of our Saviour. We try too hard to take care of self ourselves. We are uneasy and greatly lack a firm trust in God. Many worry and work, contrive and plan, fearing they may suffer need. They cannot afford time to pray or to attend religious meetings and, in their care for themselves, leave no chance for God to care for them. And the Lord does not do much for them, for they give Him no opportunity. They do too much for themselves, and believe and trust in God too little.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, pages 194-196.



Conclusion

The prophecies in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy writings indicate that we are already “out of time”, meaning to say, that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ could have come even before this. As we can see, mercy still pleads on man’s behalf. But we are clearly warned to watch faithfully for the close of human probation.

Do our thoughts and our actions show that we are in a watching position? Or, perhaps just the opposite? Are we doing our part to conform to the will and requirements of God? Or, are we doing just the opposite?

Again, time may soon run out and human probation close, when Christ returns from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when He lays off His priestly attire and clothes Himself with garments of vengeance, and the mandate goes forth: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11.

Prayer: “Our Father in heaven, thank You so much for admonishing us to watch. Please help us to increase our watchfulness as we near the close of probation. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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Church Overhauls Publishing Operations

CHURCH OVERHAULS PUBLISHING OPERATIONS

June 19, 2014 · by Michelle Bernard · in Columbia Union News



Story by Adventist Review staff and Beth Michaels

At joint constituency meetings this week at the world headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., the Review and Herald and the Pacific Press publishing houses voted 153-66 (Review) and 42-1 (Pacific Press) in favor of the biggest restructuring in Seventh-day Adventist publishing’s 153-year history.

As a result, the Review will unwind operations at its facility in Hagerstown, Md., during the next several months, and will transfer some employees and assets to the Pacific Press facility in Nampa, Idaho. Pacific Press will become a North American Division (NAD) institution.

Dave Weigley, Columbia Union Conference president, responded to the closure, saying, “It’s the right thing for the NAD to own their own printing houses as determined in the voting; however, as we go forward with these assets, I hope we continually evaluate which asset is most effective in efficiently supporting the mission.”

Others noted challenges. “For East Coast ABCs, closure of the Review will raise costs due to shipping, create inventory challenges and result in fewer new titles each year,” says Lisa Myaing, general manager at the Potomac Adventist Book & Health Food Store in Silver Spring, Md.

Read more in the Adventist Review/Adventist News Network’s full story here.

Related Articles:
Hagerstown Church Members Pray for Review and Herald’s Future
Two Adventist Publishing Houses Recommend Restructuring Proposal
Is the End Near for Brick and Mortar ABCs?
RHPA Board Votes Smaller, Leaner Profile for Publishing House

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