Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Coming Capitalist Consensus

Walden Bello December 24, 2008

Editor: John Feffer


Foreign Policy In Focus http://www.fpif.org/

Not surprisingly, the swift unraveling of the global economy combined with the ascent to the U.S. presidency of an African-American liberal has left millions anticipating that the world is on the threshold of a new era. Some of President-elect Barack Obama’s new appointees – in particular ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to lead the National Economic Council, New York Federal Reserve Board chief Tim Geithner to head Treasury, and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to serve as trade representative – have certainly elicited some skepticism. But the sense that the old neoliberal formulas are thoroughly discredited have convinced many that the new Democratic leadership in the world’s biggest economy will break with the market fundamentalist policies that have reigned since the early 1980s.


Among the key propositions advanced by partisans of GSD are the following:

  • Globalization is essentially beneficial for the world; the neoliberals have simply botched the job of managing it and selling it to the public;


  • It is urgent to save globalization from the neoliberals because globalization is reversible and may, in fact, already be in the process of being reversed;


  • Growth and equity may come into conflict, in which case one must prioritize equity;


  • Free trade may not, in fact, be beneficial in the long run and may leave the majority poor, so it is important for trade arrangements to be subject to social and environmental conditions;


  • Unilateralism must be avoided while fundamental reform of the multilateral institutions and agreements must be undertaken – a process that might involve dumping or neutralizing some of them, like the WTO’s Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs);


  • Global social integration, or reducing inequalities both within and across countries, must accompany global market integration;


  • The global debt of developing countries must be cancelled or radically reduced, so the resulting savings can be used to stimulate the local economy, thus contributing to global reflation;


  • Poverty and environmental degradation are so severe that a massive aid program or “Marshall Plan” from the North to the South must be mounted within the framework of the “Millennium Development Goals”;


  • A “Second Green Revolution” must be put into motion, especially in Africa, through the widespread adoption of genetically engineered seeds.


  • Huge investments must be devoted to push the global economy along more environmentally sustainable paths, with government taking a leading role (“Green Keynesianism” or “Green Capitalism”);


  • Military action to solve problems must be deemphasized in favor of diplomacy and “soft power,” although humanitarian military intervention in situations involving genocide must be undertaken.

The Limits of Global Social Democracy

Global Social Democracy has not received much critical attention, perhaps because many progressives are still fighting the last war, that is, against neoliberalism. A critique is urgent, and not only because GSD is neoliberalism’s most likely successor. More important, although GSD has some positive elements, it has, like the old Social Democratic Keynesian paradigm, a number of problematic features.

A critique might begin by highlighting problems with four central elements in the GSD perspective.

First, GSD shares neoliberalism’s bias for globalization, differentiating itself mainly by promising to promote globalization better than the neoliberals. This amounts to saying, however, that simply by adding the dimension of “global social integration,” an inherently socially and ecologically destructive and disruptive process can be made palatable and acceptable. GSD assumes that people really want to be part of a functionally integrated global economy where the barriers between the national and the international have disappeared. But would they not in fact prefer to be part of economies that are subject to local control and are buffered from the vagaries of the international economy? Indeed, today’s swift downward trajectory of interconnected economies underscores the validity of one of anti-globalization movement’s key criticisms of the globalization process..

Second, GSD shares neoliberalism’s preference for the market as the principal mechanism for production, distribution, and consumption, differentiating itself mainly by advocating state action to address market failures. The kind of globalization the world needs, according to Jeffrey Sachs in The End of Poverty, would entail “harnessing…the remarkable power of trade and investment while acknowledging and addressing limitations through compensatory collective action.” This is very different from saying that the citizenry and civil society must make the key economic decisions and the market, like the state bureaucracy, is only one mechanism of implementation of democratic decision-making.

Third, GSD is a technocratic project, with experts hatching and pushing reforms on society from above, instead of being a participatory project where initiatives percolate from the ground up.



READ THE REST AT: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5765 . .


Source: http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html
.

"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel"


22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.


Matthew 15: 22-28.
.
.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Changing Leaders

CHANGING LEADERS

Has the Seventh-day Adventist Church changed leaders? Ellen White told us that the SDA Church would change Gods at the time of the end. The following quotes will demonstrate this.

"Multitudes of deceptions that will prevail in these last days will encircle you, and you will CHANGE LEADERS and not know that you have done so." Review & Herald, Dec. 16, 1890.

"They will not recognize him (Satan) as their enemy, that old serpent, but they will consider him a friend, one who is doing a good work." 5 T 394

"Let none suppose that because they have been used as the Lord's instrumentalities, they are all-sufficient. The Lord uses men and honors them by giving them His wisdom, as long as they are true to Him, and do not gather glory to themselves. Those who take themselves out of the Lord's hands, and think themselves capable of managing the work, are not led by His Spirit, but by 'another spirit.' SATAN steps in, and they CHANGE LEADERS. Then comes the crookedness and subtlety of the serpent's guile." Upward Look 135

"Men in positions of responsibility are in danger of CHANGING LEADERS. This I know, for it has been plainly revealed to me. . ." Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, 48. The evidence that the SDA Church has changed leaders can be seen in the lack of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Also in the signs and symbols of Babylon that are showing up on many of their documents. Ezekiel 8 and 9 was written for the endtime Laodicean Church. They would turn their backs toward the true God, and face the east and worship the sun-god Lucifer. With all the sun signs showing up hidden in many documents, including the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, North American Division letterhead. This is hard evidence that they no longer worship the true God of Jacob, our Creator and the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2) Jesus Christ.



Above is the North American Division letterhead, from a May 21, 1996 letter.



Below is a picture of "Worshiping the Sun Toward the East" - Ezekiel 8:16.


Source: http://www.shasta.com/tempest/seventhunders/changingleaders.htm

.

.

The Ordinances of the Temple


Ezekiel 44

1Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.

2Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.

3It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

4Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.

5And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

6And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

7In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

8And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

9Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

10And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

11Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

12Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.

13And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

14But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:

16They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.

17And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

18They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

19And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

21Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

22Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

24And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

25And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

26And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

27And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD.

28And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

29They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

31The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
.
.
.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

ACORN drops tarnished name and moves to silence critics



ACORN drops tarnished name and moves to silence critics
By: Kevin Mooney
Examiner Investigative Reporter
06/21/09 5:07 PM EDT

Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) leaders are using the threat of a law suit to silence and intimidate critics, according to current and former members of the liberal activist group.

In a letter dated June 11 an attorney for ACORN advised top whistleblowers that their unauthorized use of the organization’s name could make them liable for monetary damages and injunctive relief.

ACORN executives have also changed their organization’s name, which was tarnished by investigations in at least 14 states of allegations of voter registration fraud during the 2008 presidential campaign, and charges by current and former members of financial mismanagement and misrepresentation.

The new name will let ACORN leaders continue their operations without worrying about prior bad publicity, according to Marcel Reid of ACORN 8, a group of present and former members.
“We’ve known for many months now that the name ACORN is going to be retired,” Reid said. “The name has been so damaged to the point where the leadership knows it simply can’t go on as it has with the ACORN label out front and center, especially after all of the reporting.”

In fact, the process has already begun, she noted. Wade Rathke, who founded the organization, announced on his blog that ACORN International has officially changed its name to “Community Organizations International.”

Reid also said ACORN is in the process of dismantling Citizen’s Consulting Inc. (CCI), a New-Orleans based non-profit, which has been used to maintain centralized financial control, ACORN 8 activists claim. Tax records show that CCI is interlinked with several ACORN affiliates.
Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, embezzled almost $1 million from the organization in 1999 and 2000, while he was employed as the organization’s chief financial officer with the CCI affiliate. For almost a decade Wade Rathke and other staff members concealed the embezzlement from ACORN’s board of trustees, according to the criminal complaint ACORN 8 members filed against the organization.

ACORN’s national leaders withdrew a lawsuit Reid filed with fellow board member Karen Inman last October seeking access to internal financial records. Reid and Inman were also expelled from their board positions; a move they say was illegal. Reid and Inman then came together with six other colleagues to form ACORN 8.

“ACORN has to be decapitated,” Reid said. “The senior staff and current national board should be dismantled. The only way to have reform is for the current leadership to be removed completely. We also need a forensic audit.”

Arthur Schwartz, the general counsel for ACORN, has sent a “cease and desist” letter to Reid and Inman instructing them to discontinue using the name ACORN in a connection with their activities. This same letter threatens legal action if the ACORN 8 members do not provide written assurances that they will comply with this demand by the end of June.

“It is a violation of federal and state law for you to use the ACORN name and mark without the written permission of ACORN,” the letter states. “Should you continue to do so, you will be liable for monetary and injunctive relief.”

Reid told The Examiner that ACORN 8 will not comply.

“We have no intention of not using the name ACORN 8, it is not a trademark infringement,” she said. “This get tough attitude is part of larger attempt to silence people and shut them down. We are not going to be silenced.”

Meanwhile, ACORN’s Project Vote affiliate has filed suit against Anita MonCrief, a former employee, who has testified under oath on voter registration allegations. ACORN is currently under investigation in at least 14 states for electoral irregularities. The Project Vote suit claims that Anita MonCrief and an unidentified accomplice gained access into private e-mails from group executives and stole the group’s name without permission. It also accuses Moncrief of using a company credit card for her own purposes.

“ACORN is attempting to silence me, and the allegations in the lawsuit are false,” MonCrief said in statement emailed to The Examiner.

ACORN 8 has released its own statement on “whistleblower retaliation” through its national spokesman Michael McCray that expresses support for new protective legislation.

“On behalf of the national board of ACORN 8, we are all saddened by and express great concern due to ACORN’s court action filed against whistleblower Anita MonCrief,” the statement reads. “While we do not express an opinion on the merits of ACORN’s complaint; we as reform advocates decry the tactic of suing whistleblowers – especially, low to moderate income people who do not have the financial means to effectively fight back in courts of law. Moreover, this is yet another example of why congress must enact strong corporate, government and tax-payer funded whistleblower protection laws.”

ACORN 8 has endorsed H.R. 1507, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009.
.
.
Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/ACORN-drops-tarnished-name-and-moves-to-silence-critics-48730537.html
.
.

The eucharistic liturgy of Lima


The eucharistic liturgy of Lima


Introduction
Celebration and celebrants
Sources and meanings
Possible simplifications
The eucharist at the centre of the community and its mission
Notes
THE EUCHARIST

The Lima Liturgy is a Eucharistic (Holy Communion) service expressing, in one possible liturgical form, the ecclesiological convergence on the eucharist reached in the Faith and Order text Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM). It is so named because it was first used at the Faith and Order Plenary Commission meeting in Lima, Peru in 1982 - the meeting which approved BEM for transmission to the churches for official response.

The Lima Liturgy is well known from its use at world ecumenical gatherings, most notably at the WCC Assemblies in Vancouver (1983) and Canberra (1991). But it has also been used widely nationally and locally; as one prominent German ecumenist put it, more Christians have learned what they know about BEM through participating in the Lima Liturgy than through reading BEM itself.

Though written by Faith and Order commissioners and staff, the Lima Liturgy - unlike BEM itself - has never been officially "adopted" by Faith and Order. Nor does it claim to solve the ecclesiological problems (especially concerning ordained ministry) which prevent all Christians from joining together at the Lord's Table.

As an illustrative text it is expansive and complex (two epikleses!), and usually needs to be shortened and simplified for actual use. Suggestions for this are given in Max Thurian's introduction to the text.

A seminar/workshop at the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey in 1995 brought together liturgists, theologians, pastors and church musicians to reflect on the origins of the Lima Liturgy and on the experience - of now almost 25 years - of those able to use it (see Eucharistic Worship in Ecumenical Contexts: The Lima Liturgy - and Beyond, ed. Thomas F. Best and Dagmar Heller, Geneva, WCC Publications, 1998).

The English text published here is taken from Ecumenical Perspectives on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Faith and Order Paper No. 116, ed. by Max Thurian, Appendix II © 1983 WCC, Geneva; and has been translated into French, German and Spanish. Max Thurian's introduction can be found on pp. 225-236; for his suggestions for shortening and simplifying the service, see pp. 233-236.


Introduction


This liturgy was prepared for the plenary session of the Faith and Order Commission in Lima and was used for the first time there on 15 January 1982. It was also used in the Ecumenical Centre Chapel in Geneva on 28 July 1982 during the meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, with Dr Philip Potter, the General Secretary, as the presiding minister. It will also be used at the Sixth Assembly of the World Couneil of Churches in Vancouver in 1983.

In composing this liturgy for the Lima Conference, the aim was to illustrate the solid theological achievements of the Faith and Order document, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (cited henceforth as BEM). The Lima liturgy is not the only possibility: the convergences registered in BEM could be expressed in other liturgical forms, ac-cording to other traditions, spiritualities or cultures. No "authority" attaches to this particular liturgy, save that accruing to it from the fact of its having been used on certain significant ecumenical occasions.

The Lima liturgy is characterized by its fullness and is perhaps more suitable for a particularly solemn celebration. It has already been used in a simplified form by a number of groups. Some ex-amples of possible simplification will be given at the end of this introduction.

Celebration and celebrants


According to the indications given in the BEM document, the Christian liturgy should be regularly celebrated, at least every Lord's Day and on feast days. This eucharistic celebration will include the proclamation of the Word of God and the communion of the members of the Body of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit (E31). The eucharistic liturgy thus consists of three parts. The introductory part unites the people of God in confession, supplication and praise (confession of sins, litany of the Kyrie, and the Gloria). The second part, the liturgy of the Word, begins with a prayer of preparation. It includes the three proclamations: of a prophet (first lesson), an apos-tle (second lesson), and Christ (the Gospel). Then the voice of the Church is heard in the sermon, making the eternal word contem-porary and living. The sermon is followed by silent meditation. The faith of the Church is then summarized in the Creed and all human needs presented to God in the intercession. The third part, the liturgy of the eucharist, consists essentially of the great eucharistic prayer, preceded by a short preparation and followed by the Lord's Prayer, the sign of peace, and communion. We shall return to these elements in more detail. (They are listed in E27.)

The liturgy is an act of the community. This is even indicated in the etymology of the term "liturgy" - leitourgia - service of the people. It is not a clerical solo performance but a concert of the whole Christian community, in which certain of its members play a special part, in accordance with their different charisms and mandates. At ecumenical meetings, the liturgy of the Word will be shared by wor-ship leaders (officiants) of several traditions, while the liturgy of the eucharist will associate as assistants of the principal celebrant those authorized by their own church to concelebrate on such occasions.

Normally the presiding pastor at the liturgy (bishop or presbyter, M29-30) gives the salutation, the absolution and the prayer; the pastor leads the liturgy of the Eucharist by praying the great eucharistic prayer: the preface, the epiclesis (I and II), the institu-tion, the anamnesis and the conclusion; the pastor also offers the prayer of thanksgiving and gives the benediction. The congregation sings or says all the responses and the Amens; it recites together the confession, the Gloria (or it alternates with an officiant, unless it is sung), the Creed (said or sung) and the Lord' s Prayer (said or sung). The biddings in the litany of the Kyrie and in the intercessions, the verses of the Gloria, the preparation and the mementos, the in-troduction to the Lord's Prayer and the prayer of peace, may be shared among other officiants. Three readers are assigned to read the lessons (the Gospel is read or sung by a deacon in the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions); a preacher is assigned to deliver the sermon.

Sources and meanings


The entry hymn which accompanies the procession of the offi-ciants, or even of the entire community, should preferably be a psalm, appropriate to the liturgical season or the festival being celebrated, punctuated by a suitable antiphon, simple enough for all to join in between the verses sung by the choir. On the first Sunday in Advent, for example, the entry hymn is Psalm 25, with the antiphon:

To you, Lord, I lift my heart;
They whose hope is in you will not be disappointed.

The psalm may, however, be replaced by a chorale or a hymn whose liturgical use is well-attested. In the Lutheran tradition, for ex-ample, the chorales mark certain Sundays. When the procession ends, the Gloria is sung ("Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ...") and the antiphon is repeated a last time.

The principal celebrant then gives the salutation, a custom which probably goes back to primitive liturgical usage, and the text for which is provided for us by St Paul (2 Cor. 13:13). It was restored to favour in the revised post-conciliar Roman Catholic liturgy, and it often forms part of Reformed and Lutheran celebrations.

The confession, said by the whole congregation, is followed by the ab-solution pronounced by the principal celebrant. Both have been taken from the Lutheran Book of Worship published by the Joint Lutheran Liturgical Commission for the churches in the United States and Canada. [1]

Slight alterations have been made in the English text to employ more inclusive language.

The litany of the Kyrie is a brief initial supplication. This litany derives traditionally from the Byzantine Liturgy which always begins with it. Here, however, it is shorter, containing only three petitions on the themes of baptism, eucharist and ministry, which take their cue from three New Testament passages: Eph. 4:3-5, 1 Cor. 10:16-17 and 2 Cor. 5:18-20. These petitions may be altered to suit the circumstances. Provision could also be made for penitential peti-tions in place of the confession, and these would then come im-mediately after the salutation.

The form used in the revised Roman Catholic liturgy is familiar:

Lord Jesus, sent by the Father
to heal and save us all,
have mercy on us.
- Kyrie eleison.

O Christ, who came into the world
to call all sinners,
have mercy on us.
- Kyrie eleison.

Lord, lifted up into the glory of the Father
where Thou dost intercede for us,
have mercy on us.
- Kyrie eleision.

May the almighty God
have mercy on us all;
may He pardon our sins
and bring us to eternal life.
- Amen.

The opening litany of the Orthodox Liturgy of St John Chrysostom could also be used.

This litany of supplication is followed by the hymn of praise: "Glory to God in the highest ..." From the beginning of the liturgy, therefore, place is provided for the three fundamental attitudes of Christian prayer: penitence, supplication and praise.

The liturgy of the Word opens with prayer. In contemplation, preparation is made for hearing the Word of God. This prayer varies according to seasons, festivals and circumstances. Here it is based on the themes of the BEM document. It evokes Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan, the messianic anointing of Christ who is consecrated prophet, priest and king. It asks for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit upon the baptized, the deepening of desire for communion with Christ in the eucharist, and consecration to the service of the poor and those in special need of Christian love.

The first reading is taken either from the Old Testament, or from the Acts of the Apostles or the Book of Revelation. At Lima, the passage chosen was Ezekiel 47:1-9, on the water flowing from the source in the Temple, recalling the baptismal immersion which purifies, cleanses and gives life. The meditative hymn which follows is usually the fragment of a psalm, sung responsively. Appropriate verses to follow this Ezekiel passage about the life-giving water would be Psalm 42:2-3, 8-9, with the antiphon taken from Ezekiel 36:25:

I will sprinkle clean water upon you
and will cleanse you from all your uncleannesses.

The second reading is a short passage from one of the Epistles. At Lima it was 1 Peter 5:1-11, on the theme of ministry. The Alleluia then sounds out as an acclamation of welcome to the Gospel. For example:

Alleluia! Alleluia!
The disciples of Emmaus
recognized the Risen Lord
in the breaking of the bread. Alleluia!

The Gospel is then read by a deacon or a third reader. At Lima the Emmaus passage from Lk. 24:25-32 was read, on the theme of the eucharistic meal preceded by Christ's exposition of the Scriptures.

The sermon applies the message of the Word of God to our life to-day. It is the voice of the Church, echoing that of the prophets, apostles and Christ. A moment of silent recollection gives time for each to meditate on the Word received.

The Creed is then said or sung as a résumé of the history of salva-tion. Either the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan (Nicene) Creed or the Apostles' Creed may be used. In an ecumenical spirit of fidelity to the original text of the Nicene Creed, we use here that form approved at the Council of Constantinople in 381, as was done at the Lima Conference and at the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva. The 1600th commemoration of this Council in 1981 by and large restored this primitive text to its rightful place of honour, reconciling East and West in the expression of fundamental faith.

The prayer of intercession unites the believing community, now nourished by the Word of God, in prayer for the needs of the Church and the world. The pattern and style adopted here are those of the litany of Pope Gelasius († 496) which reflects the Kyrie in use in Rome at the end of the fifth century.[2] The themes of the six inten-tions include the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church; the leaders of the nations, justice and peace; the oppressed and all the victims of violence; then (following the BEM themes) the unity of the churches in baptism; the communion of the churches around the one table; the mutual recognition of ministries by the churches.

The liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the presentation of the bread and wine, accompanied by two benedictions from the Jewish liturgy (also used in the revised Roman Catholic liturgy), and by a prayer inspired by the Didache. This preparation is completed by the very ancient eucharistic acclamation "Maranatha" ("Come, Lord!" or "The Lord is coming", 1 Cor. 16:22).

The great eucharistic prayer begins with a composite preface, which also take its themes from the BEM document. First of all, thanksgiving for creation is focused on the life-giving Word, giving life in particular to the human being who reflects the glory of God. In the fullness of time Christ was given as the way, the truth and the life. In the account of Jesus' life, the preface recalls the consecration of the Servant by baptism, the last supper of the eucharist, the memorial of the death and resurrection, and the presence of the Risen Saviour in the breaking of the bread. Finally, the preface refers to the gift of the royal priesthood to all Christians, from among whom God chooses ministers who are charged to feed the Church by the Word and sacraments and thereby to give it life.

In conformity with the Alexandrian and Roman traditions, the in-vocation of the Holy Spirit (the epiclesis) precedes the words of the institution of the Holy Supper.[3] The reminder of the work of the Ho-ly Spirit in the history of our salvation is inspired by the liturgy of St James, (4th century). This is also used in the liturgy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (1977, alternative VIII). The epiclesis asks for the Holy Spirit to be poured out, as on Moses and the prophets, on the Virgin Mary, on Jesus at the River Jordan, and on the apostles at Pentecost, to transfigure the thanksgiving meal, so that the bread and the wine become for us the Body and the Blood of Christ. The idea of transfiguration by the Spirit of life and fire is in-tended to point to the consecration of the bread and wine in a sacramental and mystical manner transcending all our understanding and all our explanation (E14-15). The congregation punctuates this epiclesis with the sung response: "Veni Creator Spiritus - Come, Creator Spirit!"

Just as the beginning of the epiclesis took up the themes of the preceding Sanctus (O God, Lord of the universe, you are holy and your glory is beyond measure), so too the beginning of the institution links up with the epiclesis and to its response, by referring to the Ho-ly Spirit. This indicates the unity of the action of the Spirit and of Christ in the eucharistic mystery. The Holy Spirit accomplishes the words of the Son who, "on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread ..." By the Holy Spirit, these historical words of Jesus become alive and contemporary: bread and wine become the Body and the Blood of Christ. "The Holy Spirit makes the crucified and risen Christ really present to us in the eucharistic meal, fulfilling the pro-mise contained in the words of institution" (E14). The Holy Spirit "makes the historical words of Jesus present and alive" (E14). The blessing of the bread and the cup is accompanied, as in the Jewish liturgy, the passover meal in particular, by thanksgiving. The rendering of "Do this for the remembrance of me" is preferred in order to avoid the subjective idea of a mere souvenir. The eucharist is a memorial, an anamnesis, i.e. making present and alive the saving event of the cross and the presentation of Christ's unique sacrifice to the Father as an urgent prayer of the Church. The acclamation which concludes the institution has been adopted in many recent liturgical revisions: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Swedish, American Lutheran. It associates the congregation with the proclamation of the memorial. The anamnesis is the celebration of the "memorial of our redemption". The sacrifice of the cross and resurrection, made present and active for us today in the eucharist, is central in the anamnesis. But, as the BEM document says, what is recalled in thanksgiving in the eucharist is the whole existence of Christ (E6).

In the present liturgy, certain events are emphasized because they correspond to the BEM themes: the baptism of Jesus, his last meal with the apostles, his ministry as High Priest who makes intercession for us all. In the eucharist the whole people of God are united with Christ's unique priesthood, each member in accordance with the charism and ministry received. We present the memorial of Christ, i.e. we show forth to the Father the unique sacrifice of the Son as the urgent supplication of the Church and we say to God: "Do you remember the sacrifice of the cross and, in virtue of this unique sacrifice, source of all blessings, grant us and all human beings the abundance of blessings obtained for us in the work of salvation and liberation accomplished by Jesus Christ." This is the anamnesis or memorial, the making of the unique sacrifice livingly present and the intercession that the Father may remember Christ's work on our behalf. The eschatological acclamation is uttered as an act of faith affirming the coming of the Lord: "Maranatha"!

The eucharist, given in the Spirit to the church as a precious gift, is received by the Father as an intercession and a thanksgiving, one with the very offering of the Son which reestablishes us in the cove-nant with God.

In a very beautiful text of 1520, Luther showed how the interces-sion of Christ and the offering of the Church are intimately united in the eucharist:

It is not we who offer Christ, but Christ who offers us (to the Father). In this way, it is permissible, indeed helpful, to call the ceremony a sacrifice; not in itself, but because in it we offer ourselves in sacrifice with Christ. In other words, we lean on Christ with a firm faith in his covenant, and we present ourselves before God with our prayer, thanksgiving and sacrifice, only in the name of Christ and by his mediation ... without doubting that He is our Priest in heaven before the face of God. Christ welcomes us, he presents us, ourselves, our prayers and our praise (to God); he also offers himself in heaven for us ... He offers himself for us in heaven and with himself, he offers us. [4]

A second epiclesis then invokes the Holy Spirit on the congrega-tion, a fresh outpouring consequent on communion in the Body and Blood of Christ. This effusion of the Spirit rallies together the Body of Christ, the Church, and inspires it to spiritual unity; it makes the congregation a living offering to the glory of God; it anticipates the coming Kingdom. Here, once again, the eucharistic prayer is punc-tuated by an acclamation: either the response "Veni Creator Spiritus", echoing the second epiclesis, or, once again, the eschatological "Maranatha".

According to the Western tradition, this is where we mention all those for whom we wish especially to pray, remember those who preceded us in the faith, and all the cloud of witnesses by whom we are compassed about. These mementos make explicit our concern for the whole Christian community on which the Holy Spirit has just been invoked, which explains their location here after the second epiclesis. In a shorter liturgy they could be omitted and their content transferred to the moment of intercession (No 16). The wording of the mementos is inspired by the Eucharistic Prayer III in the draft text "Word, Bread and Cup". [5] After a final "Maranatha", the eucharistic prayer is rounded off by a trinitarian conclusion, tradi-tional in Western liturgies.

The introduction to the Lord's Prayer recalls the unity of all Chris-tians in baptism, which incorporates them into the Body of Christ and gives them life by the one Spirit. This unity of Christians permits them to say together the prayer of the children of God, the Lord's Prayer. It also permits them to renew among themselves the peace of Christ and they give each other a sign of reconciliation and friendship.

The breaking of the bread during the Agnus Dei hymn is announced in the manner of the Reformed tradition: "The bread which we break is the communion in the body of Christ ..." (1 Cor. 10:16).

In the prayer of thanksgiving we give thanks to God for the unity of baptism and the joy of the eucharist; we pray for full visible unity and for recognition of the signs of reconciliation already given; final-ly, we pray in hope that those who have already tasted of the meal of the Kingdom may also share the heritage of the saints in light (Col. 1:12). After the final hymn before the benediction, the presiding minister may give a brief message of dispatch on mission, for exam-ple, by repeating the central biblical text on which the sermon was preached.

Possible simplifications


This eucharistic liturgy may also be shortened in order to adapt it to different circumstances.

The introductory part may consist only of the hymn, the saluta-tion, the litany of the Kyrie and the Gloria (1-2, 5-6), omitting the confession. It may even consist simply of a hymn - a psalm or Gloria - and then go straight into the prayer (1 or 6, then 7).

The liturgy of the Word always begins with a prayer, suited to the season, the festival or circumstances. There may be only two lessons instead of three: the first lesson or the Epistle, and always the Gospel. Between the two readings a psalm and alleluia, or simply the alleluia, may be sung. The sermon should always focus on some aspect of the message of the Word of God. The Creed has not always formed part of the eucharistic liturgy and it may be reserved for Sun-days and feast days. A choice may be made between the intercession (16) and the mementos (25), using only one or the other. This would then give the simplified pattern: sermon, silence, preparation for the eucharist (13, 14, 17).

The liturgy of the Eucharist always begins with preparation (17). It necessarily includes the following elements: the preface (19) adapted to the season, festival or circumstances, and permissibly in a shorter version; the first and second epiclesis (21 and 24); the institution (22); the anamnesis (23) and the conclusion (26). The mementos may be omitted if already integrated in the intercession (16). The prayer of peace after the Lord's Prayer can be omitted, retaining only the announcement: "The peace of the Lord be with you always ... " (28).

The prayer of thanksgiving may be a free prayer, provided it is always brief and well-structured. The liturgy ends with a final hymn, if possible, by a brief word of dispatch on mission, according to the occasion, and by the benediction.

The eucharist at the centre of the community and its mission


The life of the first Christian community is described in the Acts of the Apostles as follows: "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and prayers ... And day by day, attending the temple together and break-ing the bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were be-ing saved" (2:42-47).

These verses epitomize the whole life of the Church through the ages. The Church will assume different faces through the centuries but only if these fundamental elements are found within it will it tru-ly be the Church of Christ. We have here the model by which it will be able to measure this fidelity in the course of history. All periods of renewal in the Church will be due to the return to these original springs.

In this description of the primitive Christian community, seven elements may be discerned which must always be respected by the Church if it is to remain faithful to its origins and keep within the succession of Christ's purpose and of the apostolic founda-tion: the hearing of the Word of God, the celebration of the breaking of the bread, the offering of prayers, concern for com-munion as brothers and sisters, the sharing of material blessings, the unity of praising God and witnessing in the world, and the mission accomplished by the Lord who builds the church and in-creases it.

The Christian community is born of the hearing of the Word of God: the reading of the Bible and the preaching of the Word. Thanks to the meditation on this living Word, it is gradually built up and strengthened. The Holy Scriptures, read, preached and meditated on, distinguish the Christian community radically from every other human society or religious group. The increasing assimilation of the main themes of the Word transforms the com-munity; it becomes a place of liberation, peace, joy, celebration, friendship, influence and hope ... The Church cannot live unless it constantly returns to this life-giving source, the Word of God. This is why its worship is focused on the reading of the prophets and apostles, on the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, on the preaching of and reverent reflection on the Truth in the Spirit. This Word of God feeds the Christian community and makes it grow; it makes it a centre of attraction and it sends it out into the world to announce the glad tidings.

On Easter evening, the Risen Lord, joining his disciples on their way to Emmaus, interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. His Word prepared their hearts to recognize him. But it was when he sat at table with them, when he took the bread, blessed it and gave thanks, that their eyes were opened and their hearts, set on fire by his Word, recognized him in the breaking of the bread (Lk. 24:27-32).

This is why, when the Church celebrates the presence of the Risen Lord in its midst, chiefly on the Lord's Day, it proclaims his Word and is fed in the thanksgiving Meal: it recognizes him in the Scriptures and in the Breaking of the bread. Thus the complete Christian liturgy includes the proclamation of the Word of God and the celebration of the Eucharist.

This proclamation and this celebration are surrounded by the prayers of the Church. The first Christians "devoted themselves to ... the prayers" and "they attended the temple day by day". The primitive Church continued the discipline of Jewish prayers. It wished to observe day by day, with regularity, "the prayers of the hours", in the Temple in Jerusalem, which would be at the origin of the liturgy of the daily office. This liturgy included the singing of psalms, the reading of the Word, and intercessions. This regular offering of prayers by the Christian community seals the communion of the Church and constitutes a sacrifice of praise and intercession in which its communion with God is constantly renewed.

Brotherly and sisterly communion and concord are the conse-quences of this relationship between the community and its Lord by means of the Word, Eucharist, and Prayer. They are the marks of an authentic ecclesial life. They are expressed concretely in such actions as the agape meals when Christians take food together and share their material possessions with those in need. Joy and simplicity are the distinctive marks of this communion of solidarity among brothers and sisters. There is no contradiction between the praise, of God and presence in the world; the one does not detach us from the other. The community whose primary work is the celebration of the praise of God is welcomed by the people around it, because it is one of brotherhood and sisterhood, simple and joyous.

The Eucharist is at the very heart of the Church's life. With the Word and the prayers, it creates the communion of brothers and sisters, their sharing with one another, and makes the community present for the world and radiant with Christ. The eucharist builds up the Church, in unity and for the world, and makes it the missionary Church.

MAX THURIAN

Notes


[1] Lutheran Book of Worship, Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, Minister's Edition, 1978, p.195.

[2] B. Capelle, "Le Kyrie de la messe et le pape Gélase", Revue Bénédictine, 1934, pp.136-138. A. Hamman, Prières des premiers chrétiens, Paris, Fayard, 1952, pp.349-352.

[3] Fragment of Der-Balyzeh (sixth century), attesting the liturgy of St Mark; Quam oblationem of the Roman Canon and epiclesis of the new liturgical prayers. See my book, Le mystère eucharistique, Paris, Centurion-Taizé, 1981, pp.89-99, to be published by Mowbray, Oxford, 1983.

[4] WA VI, 369.

[5] Consultation on Church Union, USA.



(Excerpt of Article)






P.S. 1.Omitted section titled THE EUCHARIST.
........2.Bolds added for Emphasis.
.

THE SDA CHURCH SIGNS THE B.E.M. DOCUMENT–1982




The SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
and the 1982 BEM DOCUMENT

PART ONE
The following will give a brief introduction to this important document. It is from a report on the BEM document given by a representative of the Papacy.

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY
REPORT BY MSGR. JOHN A. RADANO
ON THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (WCC)

The year 2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the publication in 1982 of the Faith and Order convergence text Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM). An important anniversary provides an occasion to look at the significance of an event, to recall what it has achieved, and to look forward to paths it may still help to shape.
The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) is the most widely representative theological Commission in the world, comprising Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and (since 1968) Catholic theologians.

An ecumenical milestone

BEM is an ecumenical milestone. The result of more than 50 years of Faith and Order study, it is recognized as one of the most influential achievements of multilateral dialogue.
It presents the highest level of ecumenical convergence and, in some aspects, consensus on three basic themes over which Christians have been divided since the 16th century. It has been widely distributed, having been translated into more than 30 languages, with more than 500,000 copies in circulation.
Various Member Churches of the WCC, and also non-members including the Catholic Church, responded to it, giving BEM the widest formal response and reception of any Faith and Order text up till then, and since. The Faith and Order Commission received approximately 200 official responses to BEM, subsequently published in six volumes. (The Churches Respond to BEM, Vol. I-VI, edited by Max Thurian, Geneva, 1986-1988). Volume VI included the response of the Catholic Church.
The lengthy Catholic response was largely affirmative, while also making important specific critiques for each of the three themes…”

(Our note: One other non-member that would sign the BEM document was the Seventh-day Adventist Church).

PART TWO

The next section contains words taken from Spiritism in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, pp. 86-88, by Colin and Russell Standish, Hartland Pub., 1995; and “Capitulation to the Ecumenical Movement,” by Colin Standish:

Every effort is being made to de-emphasize the great pillars of the Christian faith. We cannot forget the congress that convened in Lima, Peru, in 1981, in which almost all of the Christian communions of the world met, including a representative from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The representation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church surely hit an all-time low in January of 1982 when the theological representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church signed what today has become know as the BEM document, sometimes also referred to as the Lima Text, with which readers will probably be unfamiliar. BEM stands for Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry. This document of the World Council of Churches is the centerpiece of their determination to bring in a one-world religion around the planet.

The synopsis of the purposes of the document are these:

1. Baptism: To encourage all churches to make no issue of the mode of or the age at baptism. If adult consent and decision baptism is practiced by immersion, that is acceptable, as equally is infant sprinkling.

(No authentic Seventh-day Adventist could accept such a proposition. In past ages myriads of God’s faithful people died because they believed in adult believers’ baptism by complete immersion, following in the footsteps of their Saviour, and because they held infant baptism to be wholly unscriptural. How could Seventh-day Adventists ever agree to the equality of one form of baptism, which is predicated upon the words and example of Jesus, and the other one, which has no foundation within the Word of God?)

2. Eucharist: To encourage all to accept equally the various concepts, whether they be trans-substantiation, con-substantiation, or the fact that the bread and wine are symbols of the broken body and spilled blood of Jesus Christ.

(The term Eucharist is certainly not a Protestant term, yet at least in one church in Auckland, New Zealand, and one church in Sydney, Australia, the communion has been referred to in their church bulletin as the Eucharist. This Catholicizing of the Adventist Church is not by accident. It is a deliberate effort to bring us under the banner of the Papacy controlled by Satan.

(When we recognize the absolutely blasphemous claims of the Roman Catholic Church, which claims that the priest is the creator of his Creator, that in the wafer he creates Christ in reality; when one considers the claims that the priest can move Christ here and there, backward and forward, once again no earnest Seventh-day Adventist could ever accept such an abominable compromise. Also myriads of God’s people in the past lost their lives because they refused to accept such blasphemous claims of the Papacy.)

3. Ministry: To encourage all churches to work for the unchurched, but never to proselytize from other churches.

(The acceptance of this agreement would lead to a total capitulation from the final message which we are commissioned by our God to give to the world—the loud cry of Revelation 18:4, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” They are to be called out because of God’s great love for them. They must be called out so that they will not continue in the sins of Babylon, and so that they will be protected from the plagues that will come after the close of probation.
Yet today we are hearing voices in the Adventist Church, ministers calling for the same ministry as these ecumenical forces in our world. “Let us work for the unchurched.”)

While we cannot, of course, ignore the unchurched—we must work for them—such statements deny the critical call to work for those who have been trapped in the churches of Catholicism and fallen Protestantism. The back of the BEM document reveals a most startling statement:
“The statement published here marks a major advance in the ecumenical journey. The result of a fifty-year process of study and consultation, this text on Baptism, Eucharist, and Minstry represents a theological convergence that has been achieved thorough decades of dialogue, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“Over 100 theologians met in Lima, Peru in January 1982, and recommended unanimously to transmit this agreed statement—the Lima Text—for the common study and official response of the churches. They represented virtually all the major church traditions: Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, Methodist, United, Disciples, Baptists, Adventists, and Pentecostal.

“The churches’ response to this agreed statement will be a vital step of the ecumenical process of “reception.” (Lima Test, emphasis ours).

Dr. Raoul Dederen, professor at the Seminary at Andrews University, was the Seventh-day Adventist representative at this meeting.

PART THREE
What was the Seventh-day Adventist response to the BEM document? Concerning the Eucharist are these astounding words:

“Recent research clearly reveals that there is no consensus among scholars on some of the most critical issues pertaining to the eucharist….this central celebration of the Christian church….The purpose of this essay is primarily to show how Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the eucharist or the Lord’s supper…[and] to highlight Adventist understanding and practice of the eucharist…
“On occasion Seventh-day Adventists refer to the eucharist as a sacrament….Being conscious of the sacredness of the celebration of the eucharist, Adventists engage in a personal preparation that includes self-examination…In preparation for the celebration of the eucharist Seventh-day Adventists practice the washing of feet…”

(Written response of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Council on Inter-Church Relations, November, 1985, published in Churches Respond to BEM (Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry), vol 2, p 341-343, published by the World Council of Churches in 1986).

Three years later…

In 1985, the new SDA church Hymnal was published. In it is Hymn No. 402 (By Christ Redeemed): There is a major Catholic error in this hymn as verse two upholds the blasphemous doctrine of transubstantiation in the eucharist: “His broken body in our stead Is here, in this memorial bread.”

This is the false Catholic doctrine that the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, even though the external appearance remains the same. We, as Protestants believe that the communion bread and unfermented grape juice are symbols of Christ flesh and blood. George Rawson, the author of this hymn, did NOT write, Is here, but shown. Who changed the words? Unless there is a public repentance, we can only conclude that the changes reflect current SDA theology.

In 1988, the General Conference published Seventh-day Adventists Believe—27 Fundamental Doctrines. In Statement #16 concerning the Lord’s Supper, it says,

“Among Protestants the most common name for the Communion service is the ‘Lord’s Supper’ (1 Cor. 11:20). Other names are ‘the table of the Lord’ (1 Cor. 10:21, RSV), ‘the breaking of bread’ (cf. Acts 20:7; 2:42), and the Eucharist—a reference to the thanksgiving and blessing aspect of the service (Matt. 26:26,27; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:24). The Lord’s Supper is to be a joyful season, not a time for sorrow. …What marks those who are qualified to participate in the Communion service, then, is the condition of the heart—a full commitment to Christ and faith in His sacrifice, not membership in any particular church. Consequently, believing Christians of all churches can take part in the Lord’s Supper.” Pp. 198,203.

Here two terms are set side by side as if they were the same—the Lord’s Supper, and the Eucharist. One is true, the other false. The Eucharist is a blasphemy against God, and is as much different from the Lord’s Supper, as black is different from white. But the authors of this book alerted the reader that every time the term “the Lord’s Supper” is used, it could also mean the Eucharist. And probably does. It’s an ecumenical ploy. Two terms are laid side by side, as if they are equal. And when that is allowed, the error always will win out.

May 2, 1991: No wonder in this issue of the Adventist Review, Roy Adams could declare:
“And we could go on if space permitted – to mention the WCC’s… accentuation of the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist. All of these emphases fit into the ambit of the three angels’ messages.”

(The Third Angel’s Message warns that if anyone worships the beast, he will receive the wrath of God poured out without mixture in the seven last plagues. What is the center piece of Catholic worship?–it is the Eucharist. The Eucharist doctrine declares that Christ’s actual body and blood are in the round wafer and fermented wine. Roy Adams must have been drunk on Babylonian wine to make the statement he did.)


TODAY: The following is from a recent local SDA church bulletin:

Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church
Where God’s Spirit Is Given Space To Change Lives

COMMUNION SABBATH

This Sabbath our community celebrates what we call Communion. We hope you’ll join us for this sacred celebration. For our congregation, Communion is made up of the Ordinance of Humility (or, Footwashing - see John 13:1-17) and Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper.
The scripture for this Sabbath is Mark 12:28-34. Why not spend some time with this text this week before coming to church.



PART FOUR: A CALL TO REPENT

We call on the General Conference of S.D.A. to repent of the ecumenical apostasy, which is leading the Seventh-day Adventist church to Rome.

If it does not repent, individual Seventh-day Adventists must stay with the truth of the Three Angels’ Messages of Rev. 14:6-12, and separate from this corporate sin. 2 Cor. 6:14-18.





.

Another Sunday Holly Day


1Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

3But he answered and said unto them,
Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

6And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Matthew 15:1-9.


1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

3Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.


1 Timothy 4:1-3.


Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Colossians 2:8.
.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Slippery Slope of Washington D. C.




Joe Biden's Historic Ash Wednesday Smudge


Joe Biden's Historic Ash Wednesday Smudge
Thursday February 26, 2009

We've seen many historic Presidential "firsts" in this administration, what with the first African American President taking leadership.

Yesterday we had another: the site of the Vice President of the United States leading a White House meeting with a smudge of ash on his forehead. The only other Catholic to hold one of the highest offices was John F. Kennedy and, as far as I've been able to tell, was never photgraphed at a public event with the marks of Ash Wednesday.

This is worth spending a moment to ponder and celebrate. Opposition to, and persecution of, Catholics was common through much of our history. Indeed, while researching my book Founding Faith, one of the things that surprised me most was the ways that some anti-Catholic sentiment fueld the Revolutionary War.

And yet here we are with the Vice President not only being Catholic (as John Kennedy was) but appearing Catholic. Another milestone for religious freedom and pluralism.

One thing I suspected but could never prove about the politics of all this was that Biden would help pull more Catholics than John Kerry, a Catholic, did. Though theologically they're both similarly in the doghouse with the Church (over abortion), Biden was a full-blown cultural Catholic, and Kerry wasn't.

A new study of the religious patterns of the election doesn't touch on a possible Biden role (which I suspect was minimal in the way vice presidential picks always are), but it does show something stunning: the ticket improved dramatically among traditional Catholics -- the ones who go to mass most, pray most, believe in most Catholic doctrine. Obama-Biden improved on Kerry's performance by a staggering 17 points according to a new survey by Prof. John Green of University of Akron.
.
.
.
.
./

God's Law Made Void in America


God's Law Made Void in America



It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Ps. 119:126.

A time is coming when the law of God is, in a special sense, to be made void in our land [the United States]. The rulers of our nation will, by legislative enactments, enforce the Sunday law, and thus God's people will be brought into great peril. When our nation, in its legislative councils, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of men in regard to their religious privileges, enforcing Sunday observance, and bringing oppressive power to bear against those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in our land. {Mar 179.1}
When the land which the Lord provided as an asylum for His people, that they might worship Him according to the dictates of their own consciences, the land over which for long years the shield of Omnipotence has been spread, the land which God has favored by making it the depository of the pure religion of Christ--when that land shall, through its legislators, abjure the principles of Protestantism, and give countenance to Romish apostasy in tampering with God's law--it is then that the final work of the man of sin will be revealed. Protestants will throw their whole influence and strength on the side of the Papacy; by a national act enforcing the false sabbath, they will give life and vigor to the corrupt faith of Rome, reviving her tyranny and oppression of conscience. Then it will be time for God to work in mighty power for the vindication of His truth. {Mar 179.2}
The prophet says: "I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. . . . And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." When do her sins reach unto heaven? When the law of God is finally made void by legislation. Then the extremity of God's people is His opportunity to show who is the governor of heaven and earth. As a Satanic power is stirring up the elements from beneath, God will send light and power to His people, that the message of truth may be proclaimed to all the world. {Mar 179.3}
.

One Holy Catholic and Apostolic (Ecumenical Reflections on the Church)


One Holy Catholic and Apostolic

Ecumenical Reflections on the Church


ISBN: 2825414409

Issue date: 2005-01-01

pages: 280

series title: Faith & Order Paper, subject: Faith & Order


This book stands in continuity with such ecumenical documents as Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM) in examining aspects of ecclesiology, the theological understanding of the church. The chapters consist of contributions by authors from many Christian traditions to the study process culminating in the report of the dialogue, The Nature and Mission of the Church. Drawing on more than 75 years of Faith and Order conversations, especially on the principles of convergence discerned in the BEM process, the book identifies areas of agreement and challenges posed for churches as they seek common ground, traces the next steps in dialogue, and provides a resource to aid reception of the results as Christian communities frame their own discussions of what it means to be the church.


Additional info

.

Commission on Faith and Order



Commission on Faith and Order


The Faith and Order movement is integral to the World Council of Churches. Its aim has always been, and still is, "to proclaim the oneness of the church of Jesus Christ and to call the churches to the goal of visible unity". The chief means of achieving this goal is through study programmes dealing with theological questions that divide the churches.

Structure


The Faith and Order plenary commission has 120 members. These are men and women from around the world - pastors, laypersons, academics, church leaders - each nominated by his or her church. (Faith and Order enjoys the full membership and participation of several other churches who are not members of the World Council of Churches, among them the Roman Catholic Church.) Thirty members of this Commission constitute the Faith and Order standing commission, who meet at least every 18 months and guide the study programmes of Faith and Order.


Download the list of members (pdf) {See Seventh Day Adventist membership}


Methods


Faith and Order's chief method of approaching and studying questions related to Christian division is through consultations organized around the world. Members of the Faith and Order Commission, together with other invited church members, meet in groups which can vary in size from ten to a hundred people. Whatever the size, the groups continue the dialogue process and produce texts and study documents which, while having no authority of their own over any church, are of significance and use by virtue of having been composed by a widely representative group of people from various Christian traditions. Most of these texts are sent to the churches for study and comment. The administration of these meetings and the publication of their results is the responsibility of the Faith and Order secretariat at the World Council of Churches' headquarters in Geneva.


Faith and Order meetings are characterized by the strong commitment of each member to his or her own tradition, together with a deep enthusiasm and dedication to the vision and task of the unity of the church. Participants not only seek to work out the many problems that they face in trying to overcome Christian divisions, they also uncover the many opportunities that exist to further Christian unity. The process of dialogue is supported by common prayer and worship.



Gerald A. Klingbeil


Gerald A. Klingbeil

Top Headlines



Date: May 27, 2009Contact: pr@andrews.edu

Website:

Phone:


Gerald A. Klingbeil, associate editor of Adventist Review and Adventist World magazines, is the new research professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. He brings more than 15 years of teaching and ministry experience in diverse international contexts to the position.


Born in Berlin, Germany, Klingbeil completed a BA in Theology at an Andrews University affiliate campus, Helderberg College, South Africa, in 1990. The next year, he attended the University of Stellenbosch, where he received his BA Honors in Semitic Languages & Cultures and an MA and DLitt in Ancient Near Eastern Studies.


Klingbeil’s professional experience spans educational institutions around the world. He has held academic positions in departments of theology at institutions in South Africa, Peru, Argentina and the Philippines. A member of several prestigious review boards in the past and present, Klingbeil recently held the position of editor of Journal of Asia Adventist Seminary as part of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, Philippines. He has also received many significant awards, honors and research grants from institutions such as the Adventist Theological Society, La Sierra University, Stellenbosch University and River Plate Adventist University, among others.


Klingbeil is also a member of a handful of academic societies including the Adventist Theological Society and a named fellow of the Institute for Biblical Research. He co-chairs the Ritual in the Biblical World consultation at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature.


An avid writer, Klingbeil has published eight books, over 25 book chapters, several dictionary/lexicon entries, a countless number of book reviews and academic journal articles, and numerous essays. His most recent work, Shadow Figures: Background Characters of the Bible, an adult Sabbath School Bible study guide, is scheduled for release in 2010.


Andrews University is honored to welcome Gerald A. Klingbeil, his wife, Chantal, and their three daughters into the University family.

.

.
.

Commission on Faith and Order (WCC)


Title in English First name Surname Church affiliation Capacity

Bishop McKinley Young African Methodist Episcopal Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Canon Dr Douglas Pratt Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Richard Treloar Anglican Church of Australia/Uniting Church in Australia Standing Commission member
Ms Natasha Klukach Anglican Church of Canada Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Lisa Wang Anglican Church of Canada Plenary Commission member
Rev. Shahe Ananyan Armenian Apostolic Church Plenary Commission member
V. Rev. Fr Anoushavan Tanielian Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia) Plenary Commission member
Rt Rev. Nathan (Samvel) Hovhannissian (Ohanisyan) Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church (Holy See of Etchmiadzin) Standing Commission member
(Rev. Dr) Cecil M. Robeck Assemblies of God Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Ruth Gouldbourne Baptist Plenary Commission member
Pastor Sia Siew Chin Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled of Chinese Annual
Conference of Methodist Church in Malaysia
Plenary Commission member
Rev. Baoping Kan China Christian Council Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Richard Harlin Lowery Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US Standing Commission member
Rt Rev. Kumara Illangasinghe Church of Ceylon Plenary Commission member
Metropolitan Dr Vasilios Karayiannis Church of Cyprus Standing Commission member
Rev. Canon Peter Fisher Church of England Plenary Commission member
Rt Rev. John William Hind Church of England Standing Commission member
Prof. Constantine Scouteris Church of Greece Plenary Commission member
V. Rev. Archmandrite Chrysostomos Savvatos Church of Greece Plenary Commission member
Ms Amal Pepple Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Plenary Commission member
Dr (Mrs) Mabel Charudatta Athavale Church of North India Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit Church of Norway (Lutheran) Plenary Commission member
Ms Evelyn Bhajjan Church of Pakistan Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Peter Donald Church of Scotland Plenary Commission member
Dr Pauline Sathiamurthy Church of South India Plenary Commission member
Mr Fredrik Hollertz Church of Sweden Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Anne-Louise Eriksson Church of Sweden Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr David Abiodun Adesanya Church of the Lord (Aladura) Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Otele Perelini Congregational Christian Church in Samoa Plenary Commission member
Metropolitan Bishoy of Damietta Nicola Coptic Church Standing Commission member
Dr Wedad Abbas Tawfik Coptic Orthodox Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Atenjenba Wati Longchar Council of Baptist Churches in N.E. India Plenary Commission member
Mgr Věra Vanickova Czechoslvak Hussite Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Ekey'Enjali Disciples of Christ in Congo Plenary Commission member
Dr Dimitra Koukoura Ecumenical Patriarchate Standing Commission member
Metropolitan Dr Gennadios of Sassima Limouris Ecumenical Patriarchate Standing Commission member
Ms Xanthi Morfi Ecumenical Patriarchate Plenary Commission member
Prof. Konstantinos Delikonstantis Ecumenical Patriarchate Plenary Commission member
V. Rev. Archimandrite Elpidophoros Lambriniadis Ecumenical Patriarchate Plenary Commission member
Rev. José Tonoussé L. Kinsou Eglise Protestante Methodist du Bénin Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Marianela de la Paz Cot Episcopal Church in Cuba Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Katherine Anne Grieb Episcopal Church in USA Plenary Commission member
Rev. Megersa Guta Gemba Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus Plenary Commission member
Archbishop Abune Nathanael Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Christoph Schwoebel Evangelical Church in Germany Plenary Commission member
Dr Valburga Schmiedt Streck Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil Standing Commission member
Rev. Iára Muller Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil Plenary Commission member
Ms Sara Faulhafer Evangelical Lutheran Church Plenary Commission member
Prof. Dr R. Guy Erwin Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Plenary Commission member
Ms Minna Hietamäki Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Plenary Commission member
Rev. Modesto Achata Mamani Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia Plenary Commission member

Rev. Fr Frans Bouwen Roman Catholic Church Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Viorel Ionita Romanian Orthodox Church Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Michael Tita Romanian Orthodox Church Plenary Commission member
Most Rev. Dr Hilarion Alfeyev Russian Orthodox Church Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Andrey Kordochkin Russian Orthodox Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Prof. Gerald A. Klingbeil Seventh-day Adventist Church Plenary Commission member
Mr Joel Halldorf Swedish Pentecostal Movement Plenary Commission member
Rev. Kitiona Tausi Tuvalu Christian Church Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Cyril Hovorun Ukrainian Orthodox Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd United Church of Canada Plenary Commission member
Rev. Dr Masami Kojiro United Church of Christ in Japan Plenary Commission member
Rev. Jason Donnelly United Church of Christ in USA Plenary Commission member
Mrs Sarah S. Kaulule United Church of Zambia Standing Commission member
Rev Dr Sarah Lancaster United Methodist Church Standing Commission member
Rev. Molly Vetter United Methodist Church Plenary Commission member
Rev. Richard Mortimer United Reformed Church Standing Commission member
Rev. Dr Susan Durber United Reformed Church Standing Commission member
Prof. Maake J.S. Masango Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa Plenary Commission member






P.S. My Bible states that we shouldn't unite with unbelievers:

6Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

9(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

12For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Ephesians 5:6-12.
.

The Most Important Message For Humanity Today


The Third Angel's Message
Revelation 14:9-12 (Hebrew)

.
.

9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

12Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ...Revelation 14:9-12 (King James Version)


To The Rest of the World: n

Apocalipsis 14:9-12 (Reina-Valera Antigua)
9Y el tercer ángel los siguió, diciendo en alta voz: Si alguno adora á la bestia y á su imagen, y toma la señal en su frente, ó en su mano,

10Este también beberá del vino de la ira de Dios, el cual está echado puro en el cáliz de su ira; y será atormentado con fuego y azufre delante de los santos ángeles, y delante del Cordero:

11Y el humo del tormento de ellos sube para siempre jamás. Y los que adoran á la bestia y á su imagen, no tienen reposo día ni noche, ni cualquiera que tomare la señal de su nombre.

12Aquí está la paciencia de los santos; aquí están los que guardan los mandamientos de Dios, y la fe de Jesús.


Apocalypse 14:9-12 (Louis Segond)
9Et un autre, un troisième ange les suivit, en disant d'une voix forte: Si quelqu'un adore la bête et son image, et reçoit une marque sur son front ou sur sa main,

10il boira, lui aussi, du vin de la fureur de Dieu, versé sans mélange dans la coupe de sa colère, et il sera tourmenté dans le feu et le soufre, devant les saints anges et devant l'agneau.

11Et la fumée de leur tourment monte aux siècles des siècles; et ils n'ont de repos ni jour ni nuit, ceux qui adorent la bête et son image, et quiconque reçoit la marque de son nom.

12C'est ici la persévérance des saints, qui gardent les commandements de Dieu et la foi de Jésus.


ﻳﻮﺣﻨﺎ ﺭﺅﻳﺎ 14:9-12 (Arabic Life Application Bible)

9 ثُمَّ تَبِعَهُمَا مَلاَكٌ ثَالِثٌ يُنَادِي بِصَوْتٍ عَالٍ: «جَمِيعُ الَّذِينَ سَجَدُوا لِلْوَحْشِ وَلِتِمْثَالِهِ، وَقَبِلُوا عَلاَمَتَهُ عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ أَوْ عَلَى جِبَاهِهِمْ،

10 فَلاَبُدَّ لَهُمْ، فِي حَضْرَةِ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ الْقِدِّيسِينَ وَفِي حَضْرَةِ الْحَمَلِ، مِنْ أَنْ يَشْرَبُوا مِنْ خَمْرِ الْغَضَبِ غَيْرِ الْمُخَفَّفَةِ، الْمَسْكُوبَةِ فِي كَأْسِ غَضَبِ اللهِ، فَيُكَابِدُوا عَذَابَ النَّارِ وَالْكِبْرِيتِ الْمُتَّقِدِ،

11 وَيَتَصَاعَدُ دُخَانُ عَذَابِهِمْ إِلَى أَبَدِ الآبِدِينَ. لاَ رَاحَةَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَلاَ فِي اللَّيْلِ لِلَّذِينَ عَبَدُوا الْوَحْشَ وَسَجَدُوا لِتِمْثَالِهِ وَقَبِلُوا عَلاَمَةَ اسْمِهِ.

12 وَهُنَا يَظْهَرُ صَبْرُ الْقِدِّيسِينَ الَّذِينَ يُحَافِظُونَ عَلَى وَصَايَا اللهِ وَالإِيمَانِ بِيَسُوعَ!»



启 示 录 14:9-12 (Chinese Union Version (Traditional))

9 又 有 第 三 位 天 使 接 著 他 們 , 大 聲 說 : 若 有 人 拜 獸 和 獸 像 , 在 額 上 或 在 手 上 受 了 印 記 ,

10 這 人 也 必 喝 神 大 怒 的 酒 ; 此 酒 斟 在 神 忿 怒 的 杯 中 純 一 不 雜 。 他 要 在 聖 天 使 和 羔 羊 面 前 , 在 火 與 硫 磺 之 中 受 痛 苦 。

11 他 受 痛 苦 的 煙 往 上 冒 , 直 到 永 永 遠 遠 。 那 些 拜 獸 和 獸 像 , 受 他 名 之 印 記 的 , 晝 夜 不 得 安 寧 。

12 聖 徒 的 忍 耐 就 在 此 ; 他 們 是 守 神 誡 命 和 耶 穌 真 道 的 。


Apocalipse 14:9-12 (João Ferreira de Almeida Atualizada)
9Seguiu-os ainda um terceiro anjo, dizendo com grande voz: Se alguém adorar a besta, e a sua imagem, e receber o sinal na fronte, ou na mão,

10também o tal beberá do vinho da ira de Deus, que se acha preparado sem mistura, no cálice da sua ira; e será atormentado com fogo e enxofre diante dos santos anjos e diante do Cordeiro.

11A fumaça do seu tormento sobe para todo o sempre; e não têm repouso nem de dia nem de noite os que adoram a besta e a sua imagem, nem aquele que recebe o sinal do seu nome.

12Aqui está a perseverança dos santos, daqueles que guardam os mandamentos de Deus e a fé em Jesus.


Ufunua wa Yohana 14:9-12 (Swahili New Testament)

9Malaika wa tatu aliwafuata hao wawili akisema kwa sauti kuu, ``Kama mtu ye yote anamwabudu yule mnyama na sanamu yake na kukubali kutiwa alama yake kwenye kipaji cha uso wake au kwenye mkono wake, 10yeye naye atakunywa divai ya ghadhabu ya Mungu ambayo imemiminiwa katika kikombe cha ghadhabu yake bila kuchan ganywa na maji. Naye atateswa kwa moto na kiberiti mbele ya mal aika watakatifu na mbele za Mwana-Kondoo. 11Moshi wa mateso yao hupanda juu milele na milele; wala hakuna nafuu, mchana au usiku, kwa wale wamwabuduo huyo mnyama na sanamu yake au kwa ye yote anayepokea alama ya jina lake.'' 12Jambo hili linahitaji watu wa Mungu, wale ambao wanazishika amri zake, wawe wavumilivu na kumwamini Yesu.


요한계시록 14:9-12 (Korean Bible)

9또 다른 천사 곧 세째가 그 뒤를 따라 큰 음성으로 가로되 만일 누구든지 짐승과 그의 우상에게 경배하고 이마에나 손에 표를 받으면

10그도 하나님의 진노의 포도주를 마시리니 그 진노의 잔에 섞인 것이 없이 부은 포도주라 거룩한 천사들 앞과 어린 양 앞에서 불과 유황으로 고난을 받으리니

11그 고난의 연기가 세세토록 올라가리로다 짐승과 그의 우상에게 경배하고 그 이름의 표를 받는 자는 누구든지 밤낮 쉼을 얻지 못하리라 하더라

12성도들의 인내가 여기 있나니 저희는 하나님의 계명과 예수 믿음을 지키는 자니라

ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ 14:9-12 (1550 Stephanus New Testament)
9και τριτος αγγελος ηκολουθησεν αυτοις λεγων εν φωνη μεγαλη ει τις το θηριον προσκυνει και την εικονα αυτου και λαμβανει χαραγμα επι του μετωπου αυτου η επι την χειρα αυτου

10και αυτος πιεται εκ του οινου του θυμου του θεου του κεκερασμενου ακρατου εν τω ποτηριω της οργης αυτου και βασανισθησεται εν πυρι και θειω ενωπιον των αγιων αγγελων και ενωπιον του αρνιου

11και ο καπνος του βασανισμου αυτων αναβαινει εις αιωνας αιωνων και ουκ εχουσιν αναπαυσιν ημερας και νυκτος οι προσκυνουντες το θηριον και την εικονα αυτου και ει τις λαμβανει το χαραγμα του ονοματος αυτου

12ωδε υπομονη των αγιων εστιν ωδε οι τηρουντες τας εντολας του θεου και την πιστιν ιησου

Openbaring 14:9-12 (Het Boek)

9Een derde engel volgde hen en riep: "Wie het beest en zijn beeld aanbidt en het teken op zijn voorhoofd of hand laat zetten, zal de wijn van Gods toorn drinken, die onvermengd in Zijn wraakbeker is gegoten.

10Die zal door vuur en zwavel gepijnigd worden, voor de ogen van de heilige engelen en het Lam.

11De rook van dit folterende vuur stijgt voor altijd en eeuwig op. De mensen die het beest en zijn beeld aanbidden en die het nummer van zijn naam dragen, zullen geen moment rust meer hebben.

12Het is nu wel duidelijk waarom Gods volk niet mag ophouden Gods geboden te gehoorzamen en in Jezus te geloven."

Откровение 14:9-12 (Russian Synodal Version)
9И третий Ангел последовал за ними, говоря громким голосом: кто поклоняется зверю и образу его и принимает начертание на чело свое, или на руку свою,

10тот будет пить вино ярости Божией, вино цельное, приготовленное в чаше гнева Его, и будет мучим в огне и сере пред святыми Ангелами и пред Агнцем;

11и дым мучения их будет восходить во веки веков, и не будут иметь покоя ни днем, ни ночью поклоняющиеся зверю и образу его и принимающие начертание имени его.

12Здесь терпение святых, соблюдающих заповеди Божии и веру в Иисуса.

Apocalisse 14:9-12 (La Parola è Vita)

9 Seguì poi un terzo angelo che gridava: "Chiunque adora la bestia venuta dal mare e la sua immagine, ed accetta il suo marchio sulla fronte e sulla mano,

10 berrà il vino dell'ira di Dio versato puro nel calice della sua collera. Sarà tormentato nel fuoco e nello zolfo incandescente alla presenza dei santi angeli e dell'Agnello.

11 Il fumo del tormento di quelli che adorano la bestia e la sua immagine e accettano il marchio del suo nome, sale in eterno. Non hanno riposo né giorno, né notte!

12 Che questo incoraggi i santi, cioè coloro che osservano i comandamenti di Dio e hanno fede in Gesù ad essere costanti, anche nella sofferenza.

Oppenboa 14:9-12 (Reimer 2001)
9 Don kjeem en aundra dredde Enjel dee aundre hinjaraun, en saed met ne lude Stem: "Wan irjentwaea daut Tia en sien Bilt aunbaet, en sien Teakjen opp siene Haunt oda aun sien Stearn aunnemt,

10 dee saul uk daen Wien fonn Gott sien Oajakuffel, daut nich fedempelt es, drinkje; en woat met Fia en Schwaewel jekjwaelt woare fer dee heilje Enjel, en fer daut Laum."

11 En daut Ruak fonn aea Kwol woat fa emma en emma nehecht gone, en dee ha kjeene Ru Dach oda Nacht, dee daut Tia en sien Bilt aunbaede, oda waeaemma sien Teakjen jenome haft.

12 Hia es dee Heilje aea Jedullt, dee Gott siene Jeboote en Jesus sien Gloowe hoole.



Pahayag 14:9-12 (Ang Salita ng Diyos)

9Sumunod sa kanila ang pangatlong anghel. Sinabi niya sa isang malakas na tinig: Ito ang mangyayari sa sinumang sasamba sa mabangis na hayop at sa kaniyang larawan. Ito ay mangyayari sa sinumang tumanggap ng tatak sa kaniyang noo o sa kaniyang kamay. 10Siya ay iinom ng alak ng poot ng Diyos, na ibinuhos niya na walang halo sa saro ng kaniyang poot. Pahihirapan siya sa apoy at nagniningas na asupre sa harapan ng mga banal na anghel at sa harapan ng Kordero. 11Ang usok ng kanilang paghihirap ay pumailanlang magpakailan pa man. Ang mga sumamba sa mabangis na hayop at kaniyang larawan ay walang kapahingahan araw at gabi. Gayundin ang mga tumanggap ng tatak ng pangalan nito ay walang kapahingahan. 12Narito ang pagtitiis ng mga banal na tumutupad sa mga utos ng Diyos at nananampalataya kay Jesus.


Откровение 14:9-12 (Ukrainian Bible)
9А інший, третій Ангол летів услід за ним, гучним голосом кажучи: Коли хто вклоняється звірині та образу її, і приймає знамено на чолі своїм чи на руці своїй,

10то той питиме з вина Божого гніву, вина незмішаного в чаші гніву Його, і буде мучений в огні й сірці перед Анголами святими та перед Агнцем.

11А дим їхніх мук підійматиметься вічні віки. І не мають спокою день і ніч усі ті, хто вклоняється звірині та образу її, і приймає знамено ймення його.

12Тут терпеливість святих, що додержують заповіді Божі та Ісусову віру!



Revelation 14:9-12 (Maori Bible)
9I aru mai ano te toru o nga anahera i a raua, nui atu tona reo ki te mea mai, Ki te koropiko tetahi ki te kararehe, ki tona whakapakoko hoki, ka tango hoki i te tohu ki tona rae, ki tona ringaringa ranei,

10E inu ano ia i te waina o te riri o te Atua, e ringihia nei, he mea kahore i whakananua, ki roto ki te kapu o tona riri; e whakamamaetia hoki ia i roto i te kapura, i te whanariki i te aroaro o nga anahera tapu, i te aroaro hoki o te Reme:

11A kake ana te paoa o to ratou whakamamaetanga ake ake: kahore hoki he okiokinga i te ao, i te po, mo te hunga e koropiko ana ki te kararehe, ki tona whakapakoko hoki, mo te tangata hoki e tango ana i te tohu o tona ingoa.

12Tenei te manawanui o te hunga tapu, o te hunga e pupuri ana i nga ture a te Atua, i te whakapono hoki o Ihu.


Apocalipsa 14:9-12 (Romanian)
9Apoi a urmat un alt înger, al treilea, şi a zis cu glas tare: ,,Dacă se închină cineva fiarei şi icoanei ei, şi primeşte semnul ei pe frunte sau pe mînă,

10va bea şi el din vinul mîniei lui Dumnezeu, turnat neamestecat în paharul mîniei Lui; şi va fi chinuit în foc şi în pucioasă, înaintea sfinţilor îngeri şi înaintea Mielului.

11Şi fumul chinului lor se suie în sus în vecii vecilor. Şi nici ziua, nici noaptea n'au odihnă cei ce se închină fiarei şi icoanei ei, şi oricine primeşte semnul numelui ei!

12Aici este răbdarea sfinţilor, cari păzesc poruncile lui Dumnezeu şi credinţa lui Isus.

Khaûi-huyeàn 14:9-12 (1934 Vietnamese Bible)
9 Lại một vị thiên sứ khác, là vị thứ ba, theo sau, nói lớn tiếng mà rằng: Nếu ai thờ phượng con thú cũng tượng nó, và chịu dấu nó ghi trên trán hay trên tay,

10 thì người ấy cũng vậy, sẽ uống rượu thạnh nộ không pha của Đức Chúa Trời rót trong chén thạnh nộ Ngài; và sẽ chịu đau đớn trong lửa và diêm ở trước mặt các thiên sứ thánh và trước mặt Chiên Con.

11 Khói của sự đau đớn chúng nó bay lên đời đời. Những kẻ thờ lạy con thú và tượng nó, cũng những kẻ chịu dấu của tên nó ghi, thì cả ngày lẫn đêm không lúc nào được yên nghỉ.

12 Đây tỏ ra sự nhịn nhục của các thánh đồ: chúng giữ điều răn của Đức Chúa Trời và giữ lòng tin Đức Chúa Jêsus.


Bugna 14:9-12 (Hiligaynon Bible)
9 Ang ikatatlo nga anghel nagsunod sa duha ka nahauna nga anghel. Nagasiling siya sa mabaskog nga tingog, "Ang tanan nga nagasimba sa sapat kag sa iya rebulto kag nagabaton sang marka sang sapat sa ila agtang ukon sa ila kamot

10 makatilaw gid sang kaakig sang Dios. Kag silutan gid sila sa nagadabadaba nga asupre samtang nagatan-aw ang mga anghel sang Dios kag ang Karnero.

11 Ang aso sang kalayo nga magasilot sa ila magapaibabaw sa wala sing katapusan. Adlaw gab-i wala gid sing pahuway ang pag-antos sadtong mga nagasimba sa sapat kag sa iya rebulto, sila nga nagpamarka sang ngalan sang sapat."

12 Gani kamo nga mga katawhan sang Dios, nga nagatuman sang iya mga sugo kag nagatuo kay Jesus, kinahanglan magmainantuson kamo.


Jelenések 14:9-12 (Hungarian Károli)
9 És harmadik angyal [is] követé azokat, mondván nagy szóval: Ha valaki imádja a fenevadat és annak képét, és bélyegét felveszi vagy homlokára vagy kezére,

10 Az is iszik az Isten haragjának borából, a mely elegyítetlenül töltetett az õ haragjának poharába: és kínoztatik tûzzel és kénkõvel a szent angyalok elõtt és a Bárány elõtt;

11 És az õ kínlódásuknak füstje felmegy örökkön örökké; és nem lesz nyugalmuk éjjel és nappal, a kik imádják a fenevadat és annak képét, és ha valaki az õ nevének bélyegét felveszi.

12 Itt van a szenteknek békességes tûrése, itt a kik megtartják az Isten parancsolatait és a Jézus hitét!



The above Bible verses were retrieved from Bible Gateway Web site:


http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/


------------------------------------------------------------------


(Apokalipsa (Objawienie) 14:9-12)

(9) A inny anio�, trzeci, przyszed� w �lad za nimi, m�wi�c dono�nym g�osem: Je�li kto wielbi Besti�, i obraz jej, i bierze sobie jej znami� na czo�o lub r�k�, (10) ten r�wnie� b�dzie pi� wino zapalczywo�ci Boga przygotowane, nie rozcie�czone, w kielichu Jego gniewu; i b�dzie katowany ogniem i siark� wobec �wi�tych anio��w i wobec Baranka. (11) A dym ich katuszy na wieki wiek�w si� wznosi i nie maj� spoczynku we dnie i w nocy czciciele Bestii i jej obrazu, i ten, kto bierze znami� jej imienia. (12) Tu si� okazuje wytrwa�o�� �wi�tych, tych, kt�rzy strzeg� przykaza� Boga i wiary Jezusa.

Source: http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/polish/Ap14.1-20.html


Wahyu 14:9-12 Indonesian (Terjemahan Baru)

14:9 Dan seorang malaikat lain, malaikat ketiga, menyusul mereka, dan berkata dengan suara nyaring: "Jikalau seorang menyembah binatang dan patungnya itu, dan menerima tanda pada dahinya atau pada tangannya,

14:10 maka ia akan minum dari anggur murka Allah, yang disediakan tanpa campuran dalam cawan murka-Nya; dan ia akan disiksa dengan api dan belerang di depan mata malaikat-malaikat kudus dan di depan mata Anak Domba.

14:11 Maka asap api yang menyiksa mereka itu naik ke atas sampai selama-lamanya, dan siang malam mereka tidak henti-hentinya disiksa, yaitu mereka yang menyembah binatang serta patungnya itu, dan barangsiapa yang telah menerima tanda namanya."

14:12 Yang penting di sini ialah ketekunan orang-orang kudus, yang menuruti perintah Allah dan iman kepada Yesus.


Source: http://www.bibledbdata.org/onlinebibles/indonesian_tb/index.htm

78

Note: Could not get the Hindi version of the Third Angel's Message; It's good that most Indians can read English!

I also had great difficulty in getting the verses in Japanese, Urdu and Farsi (Persian). We will continue to find the means to ensure that this solemn warning reaches everyone on earth.