Saturday, November 14, 2009

Who is MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT?


Who is ...THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH?

God's Church is a chaste Woman, a virgin awaiting her Bridegroom Jesus Christ.
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The Bible mentions another Woman which is the opposite of His Church; It's a pompous, persecuting church that has since its beginning attempted to replace the Church of God. This church is an unfaithful Woman that has denied the Lord's authority by imposing her will above His will. She has fornicated (formed alliances) with the kings of the world to impose her supremacy disregarding the Lord's divine sovereignty.
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The Whore of Babylon, the Harlot, the Woman that rides the Scarlet Beast are different names for the same counterfeit religious system: The Babylonian religion. Babylon was known to borrow customs from the cultures that it conquered in order to bring them under her influence; It was a hybrid religion with elements of all types of doctrines and rituals. Here lies the reason why the Bible calls her a Harlot, a adulteress Woman. This system in its modern form is exemplified by the Church of Rome, and her daughters (those churches that have broken away from her, yet, keep her doctrines of Sunday worship and immortality of the soul) the Apostate Christian Churches.
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Here are a few Bible verses that describe this Babylonish whore or harlot, and how she leads to eternal destruction. She is a ditch or pit connected to the pits of hell. Brethren, be ye not blind, and allow yourselves to fall into, or allow others to drag you into this pit of perdition.
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Can the blind lead the blind?

Flee her side immediately, your soul depends on it.

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Finally, read what John the Revelator was lead by the Holy Spirit to write (to prepare us for her deceptions) about this impostor that claims piety while brutally persecuting the saints.
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And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.

Ezekiel 23:17

For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

Proverbs 23:27

The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

Proverbs 22:14

And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Luke 6:39


Revelation 17


1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

7And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.



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9Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

11For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

12To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

13But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.



Isaiah 28:9-13.


Arsenio.

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Thanksgiving unto the Lord


4Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

5Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.


7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.



Philippians 4:4-7.
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Friday, November 13, 2009

Atheist Soros Funds Catholic Groups



AIM Column By Cliff Kincaid November 12, 2009

The critical role of the Catholic Church in passing national health care reform legislation is coming under serious media scrutiny. But the story has taken a strange turn. It has now been revealed that George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund operator and well-known atheist, has been pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into "progressive" Catholic groups that are significant players in the national debates over health care and immigration.

On the surface, it would appear that Soros would be opposed to many positions of the Catholic Church. A major financial backer of the ACLU, Soros supports such causes as drug legalization, the rights of "sex workers" and felons, euthanasia, radical feminism, abortion rights, and homosexual rights. He does all of this in the name of promoting an "open society."

But a review of the records of his Open Society Institute finds that a group calling itself Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) has received $200,000 from them over the last several years.

James Todd of Pewsitter.com, which represents traditional Catholics, calls such groups "CINOs," or Catholics In Name Only. He explains, "This group and several others have sprung up recently-I suspect purposely organized and funded-to counterbalance the growing influence of the faithful Catholics AND to try to deceive and mislead the middle of the road Catholics that have determined the last 13 Presidential elections."

An AIM investigation also finds, however, that Soros money has gone into the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), an organization established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops back in 1988. It has received at least $530,000 from the Open Society Institute.
The two issues merge in the fact that the Catholic Bishops are demanding that national health care legislation cover illegal aliens.

In a story headlined, "Religious Leaders Seek Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants," the Los Angeles Times recently quoted Kathy Saile, director of domestic social development with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as saying that illegal immigrants should be included in any healthcare reform plan. Father Richard Estrada of Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Los Angeles was described as being part of a religious service and phone bank "to urge congressional leaders to include illegal immigrants in any healthcare reform plan." His church has in the past offered sanctuary to illegal immigrants.

CACG played a role in House passage of H.R. 3962, the bill known as Pelosicare and boasts that it had joined with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Health Association, and "dozens of other Catholic and faith-based groups in celebrating this historic vote."

The group's blog even offered a "Health Care Reform Prayer," asking for God's help in passing federal legislation.

John Gehring, CACG media director, told AIM that "We have been primarily focused on highlighting the moral dimensions of this issue and articulating how Catholic social teaching addresses health care as a human right central to a just society. Along with other faith-based groups like PICO National Network, Faith in Public Life, Sojourners and others we brought citizens and faith leaders to Capitol Hill several weeks ago to meet with representatives and they emphasized the urgency for reform and specifically the critical issue of affordability. For example, Fr. Joseph Shad, S.J., a hospital chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine, came to Capitol Hill and met with representatives. He shared stories we have collected from citizens across the country as part of our project, Voices for Health Reform."

On the passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, CACG said, "As Catholics, we applaud the efforts of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Bart Stupak, and others who helped extend current restrictions on federal funding of abortion to health plans participating in the public [health] exchanges."

But Judie Brown of the American Life League says the provision doesn't go far enough and accuses the Bishops who lobbied for passage of wanting "mandatory, government-run health care for one and all more than it desires the protection of all vulnerable human beings' right to life."
The anti-abortion restrictions, Brown points out, still permit federal funding of abortions in some circumstances. What's more, she says the bill:
Expands access to and funding of abortifacient contraception (section 1714).
Promotes federal funding of Planned Parenthood-style permissive sex education programs (section 2526).

Allows euthanasia through withholding or withdrawing "medical treatment or medical care" and withholding or withdrawing of "nutrition or hydration" (section 240).

Has only vaguely worded references to conscience rights and only partial protection of the same (section 258 and 259).

Contains language that forces a "participating health benefits plan" to not "discriminate" against any facilities that provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions (section 304).
Meanwhile, Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute says that "Catholics should be outraged at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops" because while they succeeded in getting a pro-abortion provision dropped from the bill, they "abandoned the Church's doctrine of subsidiarity by endorsing the rest of the Democrats' plan to centralize power in Washington." Cannon says his grandfather served as counsel to the Bishops.

But the Soros-funded Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has high-level connections of its own. The Treasurer-Secretary is Francis Xavier Doyle, a former top official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Executive director is Victoria Kovari, a former organizer for the Gamaliel Foundation, the same group that helped launch Barack Obama's career as a community organizer in Chicago. The chairman is Alfred M. Rotondaro, a senior fellow at another Soros-funded group, the Center for American Progress.

Although CACG describes itself as "a lay Catholic organization that works to promote the common good and the broad spectrum of Catholic social teaching," Frank Walker of the conservative Pewsitter website labels it a religious and political Trojan Horse designed to mislead Catholics and produce votes for the Democratic Party.

One purpose of the Soros money, Walker says, is to play down the importance of the abortion issue to Catholics and even make abortion rights a "respectable" Catholic position.

Walker notes that "The CACG is run and advised by powerful Democrats. Their board, staff, and advisory committee include top fundraisers and strategists as well as major labor union representation." He adds, "Catholic Church Leadership from the Sisters of Mercy, the Jesuit order, the government-funded Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services are also represented at CACG. Catholic academia has a strong presence."

Indeed, the CACG advisory council includes figures from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, and Boston College.

In addition to health care reform, other big issues for CACG are "immigration reform" and "worker justice." The latter links to a group promoting a bill, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for unions to gain members.

The SEIU representative on the CACG board is Tom Chabolla, who serves as assistant to SEIU President Andy Stern. Before joining SEIU, he was associate director of programs for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the agency of the Bishops that funded ACORN to the tune of $7.3 million over the last decade. Funding of ACORN-but not of groups like Gamaliel-has been suspended by the Bishops.

Gamaliel says on its website that "Barack H. Obama, former Gamaliel organizer, is the 44th president of the United States," and that this makes the organizing community proud. It also has a story about Obama friend and White House adviser Valerie Jarrett speaking to a Gamaliel event in Washington, D.C. of 2,500 activists. Jarrett is the official who said that "we" had recruited communist Van Jones to the White House. Another speaker was Melody Barnes, Obama's Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Before coming to the White House, Barnes was the executive vice president for Policy at the Soros-funded Center for American Progress (CAP). Van Jones also worked at CAP before going to the White House. CAP CEO and President John Podesta, who served as President Clinton's chief of staff, is a major "progressive Catholic" and member of the ACORN advisory council, and served as a professor at Georgetown University.

Interestingly, Tom Chabolla of the SEIU and formerly of the CCHD was on the dinner committee for the 33rd Annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner, which was held on May 7, 2009 in Washington, D.C. One of the award winners was none other than Van Jones.

On Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, Catholics across the country will be asked to support the CCHD with their financial offerings. Gamaliel is appealing for support, saying that it is "under attack from those with a partisan agenda to de-fund groups committed to organizing for social justice." It says: "Many Gamaliel Foundation affiliates rely on funding from CCHD to serve their communities."

But Gamaliel also relies on George Soros. His Open Society Institute provided $300,000 to the organization in 2008.
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P.S. Highlights added for emphasis.
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"It matters not what you do; live as you please, heaven is your home."


Spiritualism asserts that men are unfallen demigods; that "each mind will judge itself;" that "true knowledge places men above all law;" that "all sins committed are innocent;" for "whatever is, is right," and "God doth not condemn." The basest of human beings it represents as in heaven, and highly exalted there. Thus it declares to all men, "It matters not what you do; live as you please, heaven is your home." Multitudes are thus led to believe that desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself.

With such teaching given at the very outset of life, when impulse is strongest, and the demand for self-restraint and purity is most urgent, where are the safeguards of virtue? what is to prevent the world from becoming a second Sodom?

At the same time anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution--all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.



Education, E. G. White, pp.227-228.

SHOULD WE MOVE OUT OF THE CITIES?



We have at times made the statement before that there are some things we are supposed to be doing, but we are not, and that this neglect is going to cause us more trouble and perplexity than we can imagine. What are we supposed to be doing? Well one part has already been revealed. We are actually supposed to be doing three basic things. Here is the SUM-TOTAL of what must be done aside from everything else that we are normally expected to do.

1. We must tell the world about the Jesuit infiltration.

We HAVE to do this! In the process, we must not be too elaborate, going into many deep studies or controversial themes. Those who can show what is going on with the least technicality, and can reveal the signs of what is happening around us by alerting the people to strange things taking place that they can see and confirm for themselves every day will be the most successful. This MUST be done in conjunction with Net 98, 99, etc. It must be shown that much more has been done than any change of the Sabbath by Rome. We have to do this because it will explain calamities that will suddenly hit, and from which no logical explanation will be found in the near future except against Seventh-day Adventists and their message. If this is not done, all that will be left will be circumstantial evidence pointing to Adventists as the cause of these calamities.

2. Fight against the concept of DIVERSITY which has brought in all the confusion. Explain what is the true meaning of, "DIVERSITY is the secret of OUR strength!" Explain why debating was a prerequisite for the destruction of our society. Show that the bible does not support this and raise up inquiry why our national and religious leaders called for this. This is a major secret to the destruction and transformation of our society.

3. WE MUST PREPARE TO MOVE OUT OF THE CITIES, OR AWAY FROM PLACES WHERE THERE IS HEAVY POPULATION. In other words, WE MUST PREPARE FOR A CRISIS, and we must do this VISIBLY so that others can see.

That is the sum-total of what we are trying to show. Beyond this and aside from what you normally do, there is nothing else. There is no new doctrine. There is nothing that you have to join or remove your membership from, or anything of the like. You should prevent people from tinkering to change your church structure-especially those who pretended that they were too timid to deal with controversial issues in the church, but that is automatically assumed.

Yet the issue at hand must be dealt with. We are supposed to prepare dwellings outside the cities for ourselves. This is not supposed to be done covertly nor rashly. We are supposed to do it with MUCH NOISE. We are to do it with urgency, BUT NOT WITH PANIC. We are supposed to do it orderly, with a measure of patience, actually mirroring Noah as he constructed the ark. It was said that Noah invested all that he had in building the ark. Every blow struck upon the ark by Noah and those who helped him was a witness to the people. They saw that what Noah and his helpers were doing was no frivolous project. It made the people to know and understand quite visually that something cataclysmic was about to happen. We are supposed to do what we are able to do, and we are to do it in such a way that our neighbors see us and understand what we are doing and why. We are supposed to do it in such a way where it is portrayed as actually what it is: FUN!! THIS IS A MISSION OF LOVE!!

But there is a great deal of argument about this very topic, about the third point. Many tell us that we should not move out of the cities. They portray some seemingly good reasons for staying also. They tell us that we are supposed to stay here, but we are to make sure that our hearts are not here. They tell us that we have much work to do in the cities. That is a true statement. They tell us that just so long as our hearts are right with Christ, there is no need to do any or all of these things.

Part of what we are trying to show is that great trouble and distress is coming. We are trying to show that it does not matter how holy or close to Christ you are. The situation that is coming is going to make you wish you were never born, because the circumstances will come in an angle you most probably had not anticipated. Why say that you just have to be right with Christ? You think that you will merely be filled with peace while these things will be taking place? Historically that has happened where Christians rode the waves of terror around them with a peace shining forth! THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN THIS TIME when the real brunt of the calamities hit! You think that persecution and death is the main or only issue and that is all we are concerned about? You do not understand! It doesn't matter how holy you are or how close to Christ you are! The distress that is coming upon you can be depicted as the Titanic resting upon your little heart the size of a man's fist! We do not believe that we are exaggerating either! It is not a matter of mere death and persecution. Death and persecution will be welcomed in comparison to the distress that is coming. NO ONE WILL ESCAPE THIS DISTRESS NO MATTER HOW HOLY YOU ARE! It is yet not all bad news! Some good times and great moments of victory will come. If you understand what is coming and take action, you will minimize the effects and possibly make the difference for yourselves between mere distress and eternal despair! Much sorrow will be spared you if you understand and move!

The arguments against leaving do have some weight, don't they? Yet even for the very reasons stated about the necessity of doing work in the cities and all, by refusing to undergo the process of moving out, we are doing harm that we scarcely realize. In time, those who do not make motions to leave will ultimately view that they have committed a great crime against humanity.

Some time in late 1999 while we were at work, we met up with a lady who brought up the subject of Y2K and what she plans to do about it. What we are telling you is no lie. Why did she bring it up? She told us that one day recently this year as she was walking down one of the streets of her city where she lived, she stumbled upon a synagogue. She began to explain to us that she went inside the synagogue. She said that she could not understand why she did that. She felt as if the Lord actually guided her in there. Some Jews inside saw her, but did not stop her. She then, as if guided, stumbled upon a door on the inside, and opened it. She then laid out a yell of surprise.

The yell that she gave out alerted a rabbi who was near by. He confronted the woman and asked her what she was doing there. What the lady saw was canned and other goods of food and supplies stocked high up in that room. She humbly apologized and told the rabbi that she could not understand how she just wandered in there. She then quickly interrupted the thought and got to the question at hand. She asked, "Why do you have all this stocked up in here." The rabbi then pulled her to the side and began to speak. She told me that he told her to the tenor of:

"We are stocking up on food because we know that the government is going to betray the people. Soon great trouble will be everywhere."

The rabbi therefore continued:

"When you go to the supermarket, make sure that when you buy one bottle of water, buy two. Use one bottle to drink and use the other bottle to store up for yourself."

Understand that MANY are catching the WAVE! It was predominantly Adventists who were supposed to report these things to the people. Instead of that, other Christians and even some who are not, are either warning the people of what is going on, or are physically preparing for themselves. Their warnings are not reaching everyone by far!

Beyond that, the lady told me that the rabbi told her that they had been alerted to do these things, because God's children (the Jews) are special, and have been given special information. The lady told me that since that day, she has been preparing to stock up on food and she told me that she is going to acquire a gun and ammunition in order to protect her babies when the time comes. The lady has children, and her highest ambition is to make sure that they are safe and well fed during times of emergency.

We quickly told her that both she and the rabbi are making a terrible mistake. We have to say it plainly:

ANYONE WHO ENDEAVORS TO MERELY STOCK UP ON FOOD OR SUPPLIES WHILE REMAINING IN PLACES OF POPULATION WILL FACE THE MUSIC!! They will probably face the music MORESO THAN THOSE WHO DID NOT STOCK UP!!

When we told her that, she gave me her phone number determined to know what we knew. She is telling me that we MUST tell her what we know about this. She then stated again, "I have to do whatever it takes to protect my babies!"

What we are telling you is not a matter of debate. The statement we had made about those who endeavor to stock up and remain in centers of population is commonsense truth and fact! This statement is confirmed through prophecy, history, sociology, a knowledge of current events, and even military and law-enforcement knowledge. If you stock up and stay in the great centers of population, you will face the music moreso than those who do not! And the reason why we make this catastrophic statement can be acquired through the subject header of this email: CONTAINMENT! There will be containment. This is confirmed not only through prophecy, but through what courageous military and law enforcement officials are even revealing to us now underground!

Most every prophecy that relates to the terrors of the end time gives us not the slightest picture that we are supposed to stay in populated places or in places where the judgments of God are about to fall.

Matthew 24: 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Luke 18: 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

In both cases we see and notice that all who chose to remain where the judgments were to fall, perished themselves. In the example of Lot, we realize that they HAD to actually leave the city of Sodom. If there was no necessity for this, the Lord would not have told them. If the Lord doesn't say anything, then we can stay realizing that God will work miracles in our behalf and make us even float in the air above all the trouble if He has to. If He tells us to prepare and to leave, then we must not expect that we can stay and that we would be protected. Yet we can see through these scriptures that they are telling us that the conditions that existed back then will be repeated just before the Lord returns.

Yet the prime example used to illustrate what is about to take place, and which speaks to us is Matthew 24. In that chapter it says:

Matt. 24: 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your FLIGHT be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Look closely at the advice given. It tells all to FLEE OUT! Nowhere is anyone given the comfort or assurance that they are to stay within. It tells us to pray that our FLIGHT shall not be in the Winter, neither upon the Sabbath day. This is not talking about a commercial round trip flight to Hawaii. It is talking about a crucial exodus in order to save lives, especially YOUR OWN!

This prophecy was most specifically referring to the destruction of Jerusalem which took place some forty years after Jesus spoke. Yet Ellen White, in conjunction with MANY theologians and commentators have correctly predicted that these words also refer to our day.

The first chapter of The Great Controversy, by Ellen White expounds upon Matthew 24 where Jesus prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem. That crucial chapter is pointed out as also referring to what will take place globally in the near future. It is an immense chapter that goes graphically into details in order to, in a conservative way, explain what will happen to most of our neighbors and friends, and maybe even ourselves if we do not heed what has been revealed to us. That chapter starts out by saying:

"If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." Luke 19:42-44. - GC pg. 17.

Already the chapter starts dealing with what we are talking about: CONTAINMENT. It states that our enemies will "compass thee round" or surround us. It also tells us that we do not realize the time when these things will take place.

From this statement to page 23, Ellen White deals with the condition of the Jewish people and why judgments were about to fall upon them. She deals with the fact that although great trouble was pronounced upon them, there was nothing they saw taking place around them which revealed this. They even believed that God would always protect them. They didn't see any sign of danger.

On page 18 it shows that while the Jews were waving palm branches before Jesus and crying Hosannas before Him as they anticipated making Him king, instead of receiving these praises, Jesus suddenly broke down in tears and terrible agony. It is described that this happened because Christ saw the future. On page 21 was shown that He, while in tears, saw the soldiers and people taking the city apart as partly described by the direct statement:

"From the ridge of Olivet, the very spot afterward occupied by Titus and his army, He looked across the valley upon the sacred courts and porticoes, and with tear-dimmed eyes He saw, in awful perspective, the walls surrounded by alien hosts. He heard the tread of armies marshaling for war. He heard the voice of mothers and children crying for bread in the besieged city. He saw her holy and beautiful house, her palaces and towers, given to the flames, and where once they stood, only a heap of smoldering ruins."

Here now we constantly see the words, "surrounded," "beseiged" and all. This relates heavily upon the question as to whether or not we are supposed to stay or live in the cities. Should we live or stay in the cities and then even think to stock up on food? Will stocking up on food or supplies while living in the city help us? The answer is no!

We have read that crucial first chapter of The Great Controversy and understood how it expounded upon Matthew 24. That chapter revealed the starvation that resulted from the siege. No one was allowed either to go in or come out of the city. The supplies that were inside were destroyed. The narration showed how even mothers and fathers cooked and ate their own children to survive, and how children would steal food which belonged to their aging parents. It stated that the pangs of hunger were so fierce that men would gnaw the leather of their belts. It showed how they fought each other in order to steal what they had.

It was thence remarkable that we received information from patriotic people who were and are involved in the military and law enforcement that expounded on what was going on today behind the scenes through the workings of treacherous people. The military is also heavily infiltrated. Law enforcement is infiltrated. In their literature they did everything they could to reveal the seriousness of the situation that America and the rest of the world finds themselves in today. The only real physical and visible reason for why the system has not capsized yet today is because there are so many good people still in the military, still in law enforcement and still in church whose influence holds everything back. Yet we were absolutely surprised to find that much of what these patriotic people were saying in their literature was coinciding exactly with what Ellen White said in The Great Controversy, to the point that we wondered whether or not they were Adventists.

A not so known radio show host named Steven Quayle has interviewed many people who do not reveal their identities for their own protection to show us what is taking place in government, law enforcement and the military out of our view. One such person is a Southern California police officer whose name is "George." That is all he has left for us to identify him.

In an interview with "George" in 1995, Steven Quayle was able to extract some very shocking words. The general theme of what officer "George" was trying to portray can be more forcefully stated by his interviewer, Steven Quayle:

"If you're undecided about the reality of the coming tribulations, A Cop from Southern California gives You a Cold Hard Slap in the Face: Do Something Now, or Kiss Your "Buts" Goodbye."

"George" was revealing the foreign troops he noticed coming upon the shores of America. He revealed the Soviet military machines he saw entering cities in Southern California by rail transport. He remarked that he understood what they were, but that the general public, once viewing these things would not have a clue about what they were nor what was their purpose. He ultimately remarked about places he had witnessed where the government is concentrating military supplies. He remarked about the fact that the American military and those of many other nations have gone into training for "civilian" or "urban" combat. They are being trained not to deal with other soldiers, but how to deal with the common people in order to put down disorder and riots. He remarked about the fact that law enforcement was becoming more militarized, and that they were more and more being outfitted with clothes and gear designed to withstand shrapnel and bullets instead of what law enforcement currently and commonly wears. He therefore asked the question of what was going on.

One thing he remarked about was what he called, "sticky strips." His exact words about these were:

"We have seen warehouses stacked with M-60s, hand grenades, MP-5s, M-16s, .40 caliber sidearms, pepper foam and sticky strips all designated for local law enforcement. (Sticky strips are something that the military uses; you lay out about a twenty foot strip across the street, and anyone that runs across it sticks to it. You had better untie your shoes, because nothing comes off of it. It's a form of epoxy.)"

What he is saying is that sticky strips are a means of containment to prevent people from either going in a area or leaving it. He is therefore revealing that the military and law-enforcement possess as part of their agenda, measures and means to make sure that no one either leaves or enters any populated area when the full brunt of the calamities hit. The big and absorbing question therefore to us is the following: What good will stocking up on supplies do if you happen to live in a place which is under siege?

Police officer "George" in dialogue with Steven Quayle continues with where he left off about the sticky strips by saying:

"When you see all this stuff coming into law enforcement, you had better question why they need this kind of parity for the criminal element--and you better wonder what they're going to use o you."

Steven Quayle: What's your gut feeling as to the increasing activity and frequency of all this? Obviously, they are building up for a confrontation.

GEORGE: Yes. We're hearing that there will be massive civil unrest, due to either economic collapse, racial issues or food riots. Any of those things would set something off. However, racial issues generally don't generate enough hatred long enough to cause the kind of destruction that these people are preparing for. The kind of destruction, carnage and confrontation that is being planned for by the powers-that-be would be on a NATIONWIDE SCALE FOR MANY MONTHS. This will not be something that will happen for ten minutes and then go away. Most police departments are now mini-forts. Janet Reno did quite an exercise back in August, and increased the security of all federal buildings 180%. This has got to tell you something, people: If you don't wake up, you're going to get run over by the Bradleys because you're too stupid to see it.

The "Bradleys" that officer George is talking about is heavy military equipment. Yet he is trying to tell us that many of our major cities will be placed under siege. Jerusalem was placed under seige in A.D. 70. The seige did not go away in one day, nor three, nor thirty. People were literally starving. You cannot starve a person in a day, in three days or even a week. He may be extremely hungry and all, but he would not look like a skeleton by then. How is it then that people can think that they can store food or supplies while living inside a place that will ultimately be placed under siege?

You can predict what will happen to that rabbi and that lady who are thinking of stocking up without relocating. They may be able to survive after a time. Immediately when calamity strikes, people will go out to take what they cannot receive otherwise. They will not care how they are to acquire what they need. If anyone is seen even trying to defend a dwelling with gunfire, it will be automatically assumed that they have some supplies to protect. If you have food or supplies being stored through more prudent aforethought, it would not help you, because you will not be able to conceal that fact for very long. People will notice all the people around you becoming thinner and thinner while you and your children remain normal. That will be a dead giveaway. Your house or dwelling will then awaken attention and you will soon find yourselves surrounded. People will even go pillaging houses and dwellings just to check to see if they would find food. Those who stock up with food will be made examples of. They will be cleaned out fast and furiously, and they will be lucky to retain their lives.

There is far more information that was given in that interview and discourse. It took place in 1995, after it was already predicted that everything should have fallen through by 1997. The efforts of these people have contributed to the fact that these events have again and again been delayed. The patriotic network in America today, though immense, is nothing in comparison to the forces determined to shut down our system and erect a new global and papal order.

We must stop dreaming to think that all we are supposed to do is to merely take our hearts out of the cities. All prophecy tells us we are supposed to move our bodies as well. Ellen White said:

"If we place ourselves under objectionable influences, can we expect God to work a miracle to undo the results of our wrong course? --No indeed. Get out of the cities as soon as possible, and purchase a little piece of land, where you can have a garden, where your children can watch the flowers growing, and learn from them lessons of simplicity and purity." -- GC Bulletin, March 30, 1903.

At the time those warnings were written, Ellen White thought that the predicted calamities would take place in her day. Delay after delay after delay has conditioned us into meshing with the story of the boy who cried wolf. Will these prophecies be delayed forever? Not one HUNDREDTH of the things that are happening now were happening in Ellen White's day! These warnings were meant for our day. In that, Ellen White stated:

"There are reasons why we should not build in the cities. On these cities, God's judgments are soon to fall." --Letter 158, 902.

"The time is near when large cities will be swept away, and all should be warned of these coming judgments."--Evangleism, p. 29. (1910)

"Our restaurants must be in the cities, for otherwise the workers in these restaurants could not reach the people and teach them the principles of right living. And for the present we shall have to occupy meetinghouses in the cities. But erelong there will be such strife and confusion in the cities, THAT THOSE WHO WISH TO LEAVE THEM WILL NOT BE ABLE. We must be preparing for these issues. This is the light that is given me."--GC Bulletin, April, 6, 1903.

"In harmony with the light given me, I am urging people to come out from the great centers of population. Our cities are increasing in wickedness, and it is becoming more and more evident that those who remain in them unnecessarily DO SO AT THE PERIL OF THEIR SOUL'S SALVATION."--Manuscript 115, 1907.

This must be done prudently. The further out you go will be the least frequently you can travel to and from where you live into the cities. It is not wise to merely stay out there all the time. You have to work in the cities, but we are told that we are to have places prepared at the very least beyond the outskirts of cities. They will likely ultimately be cordoned off. You will have to plan and work to be safely away from your neighbors and also from law enforcement. Though many good people are still in law enforcement, THEY WILL OBEY ORDERS when that day arrives. They will be given commands by those in the higher echelons, many of whom, unknowing to you, believe in depopulation!

If we do not listen to the warnings given to alert the people about Jesuit Infiltration and to systematically tell them that they need to make the preparations to move out by precept and example, we will soon not only find ourselves in similar danger, but will find ourselves under titanic sorrow and eternal despair! As we see the conflagration taking place around us and see the carnage, our hearts will sink within us. If we are not involved in the carnage ourselves, we will notice our friends whom we have related to perishing because we didn't move by example and worked to tell them that terrible calamities are coming by voice and by physical preparation.
5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. -- Jeremiah 30:5-7

These are the Saints in anguish and terror. Why? Why doesn't it matter that they are holy? Because they are also smarting because of much neglect.

In the example of Jacob, he was fleeing from his brother Esau. He was already in anguish because of his sins, when, in the night, a strange visitor confronted him, and then ensued the struggle and battle of his life. He wrestled with this strange person all night in terrible anguish. He used all his strength and cried in terror as he fought on without stopping. Why? Because it was understood to him at the time that he was not merely fighting for his physical life, but for his eternity. He felt that if the attacker he was wrestling with killed him, that would be it. He would die in his sins and he would be eternally cut off from God. Jacob was not just in physical pain and struggle then at that time, but was in terrible mental agony.

In that story, the major emphasis was the fact that THE TROUBLE JACOB WAS IN WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY HIS OWN ACTIONS. Is the situation the same with us? Will a terrible situation be brought about by our actions, or by our INACTION? Will there be something similar in just the near future? How will it be in the near future called, "the time of Jacob's trouble?" (Jer. 30:7). The reference is showing that they (we) were asleep while the enemy was advancing. They are then experiencing a rude awakening by viewing the results of their neglect: destruction EVERYWHERE: Men, women, children dying like flies! They are also hated and are being pursued, and they are wondering how they stand in the judgment and can possibly be saved after witnessing the results of not heeding God's instructions for so long.

"The deadly lethargy of the world is paralyzing your senses. Sin no longer appears repulsive because you are blinded by Satan. The judgments of God are soon to be poured out upon the earth. "Escape for thy life" is the warning from the angels of God. Other voices are heard saying: "Do not become excited; there is no cause for special alarm." Those who are at ease in Zion cry "Peace and safety," while heaven declares that swift destruction is about to come upon the transgressor. The young, the frivolous, the pleasure loving, consider these warnings as idle tales and turn from them with a jest. Parents are inclined to think their children about right in the matter, and all sleep on at ease. Thus it was at the destruction of the old world and when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire. On the night prior to their destruction the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure. Lot was derided for his fears and warnings. But it was these scoffers that perished in the flames. That very night the door of mercy was forever closed to the wicked, careless inhabitants of Sodom.

It is God who holds in His hands the destiny of souls. He will not always be mocked; He will not always be trifled with. Already His judgments are in the land. Fierce and awful tempests leave destruction and death in their wake. The devouring fire lays low the desolate forest and the crowded city. Storm and shipwreck await those who journey upon the deep. Accident and calamity threaten all who travel upon the land. Hurricanes, earthquakes, sword and famine, follow in quick succession. Yet the hearts of men are hardened. They recognize not the warning voice of God. They will not flee to the only refuge from the gathering storm.

Many who have been placed upon the walls of Zion, to watch with eagle eye for the approach of danger and lift the voice of warning, are themselves asleep. The very ones who should be most active and vigilant in this hour of peril are neglecting their duty and bringing upon themselves the blood of souls.

My brethren, beware of the evil heart of unbelief. The word of God is plain and close in its restrictions; it interferes with your selfish indulgence; therefore you do not obey it. The testimonies of His Spirit call your attention to the Scriptures, point out your defects of character, and rebuke your sins; therefore you do not heed them. And to justify your carnal, ease-loving course you begin to doubt whether the testimonies are from God. If you would obey their teachings you would be assured of their divine origin. Remember, your unbelief does not affect their truthfulness. If they are from God they will stand. Those who seek to lessen the faith of God's people in these testimonies, which have been in the church for the last thirty-six years, are fighting against God.

It is not the instrument whom you slight and insult, but God, who has spoken to you in these warnings and reproofs. In the instruction given by our Saviour to His disciples are words of admonition especially applicable to us: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." Watch, pray, work--this is the true life of faith. "Pray always;" that is, be ever in the spirit of prayer, and then you will be in readiness for your Lord's coming." - 5T p. 233

When the force of responsibility and eternal despair hits, these following last words will become very keen and cutting:

"In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be pronounced the sentence: "Found wanting." By the light bestowed, the opportunities given, will she be judged." -- 8T 247.

"Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, SHE WILL EAT OF THE FRUIT OF HER OWN DOING,

UNTIL SHE SHALL ABHOR HERSELF."

-- 8T 250.
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Billionaire Bill Gates says Wall St pay too high


Billionaire Bill Gates says Wall St pay too high
Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:16pm EST


* Bill Gates warns limits on Wall St pay could backfire

* Gates says government ownership of AIG "unnatural"

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Bill Gates said on Wednesday he believes Wall Street pay is "often too high" and that U.S. government ownership of American International Group Inc (AIG.N) worries him because it has devalued the giant insurer.

The billionaire Microsoft (MSFT.O) founder, who retired in 2008 to concentrate on philanthropy, blamed a 1993 U.S. law that capped executive salaries at $1 million and warned that further bids to try limit Wall Street pay could also backfire.

"It was a bad milestone in controlling executive salaries when that $1 million cap went on," Gates told a discussion on philanthropy at the 92nd Street Y cultural and community center in New York City.

"The compensation problem is a very interesting problem. I do think compensation is often too high, but it's a very tough problem to solve," said Gates, who was also ranked by Forbes on Wednesday as the 10th most powerful person in the world.

The $1 million limit on salaries encouraged companies to instead give executives lucrative stock options, sending pay to vast new heights.

U.S. officials are again pushing for Wall Street pay practices to be reformed to curb the excessive risk-taking that fueled the crisis and pushed the financial system to the brink of collapse last year.

Huge pay packages for banks and other financial firms have ignited public anger at a time the U.S. unemployment rate is at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent.

"What happened was a surprise to people and it comes from everybody being so optimistic and over ebullient and having a view of risk and price appreciation that was completely out of kilter," Gates said of the financial crisis.

The U.S. government spent hundreds of billions of dollars during the crisis bailing out several Wall Street firms, including Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N) and AIG which is now 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers.

"I do worry that when the government owns an entity like AIG that you can greatly devalue that entity by having it essentially have to behave as though it part of the government," Gates said.

"It's an unnatural situation when the government owns a lot of a private company. Unfortunately there is a view that that should exist for a long term. There's some devaluation of what that asset would have been worth if it hadn't had to go through that kind of management structure. It's unavoidable," he said. (Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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P.S. Isn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
I believe that Bill Gates really has lost touch with reality.
He believes that nobody else should achieve the indecent wealth that he has attained.
How ironic that a man that converted his $46 Billion assets into Euros a few years ago should now call for a limit on the amount of dollars that American financial entrepreneurs should earn?
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Bill Gates is calling for a control on how much Wall Street traders should earn. Several weeks ago, President Obama stressed that CEO's of major corporations (ones that received bail-outs?) should have a salary cap. My response to these nouveaux riches idealists is: Why stop at salary limits on Wall Street movers and shakers, or Executives of America's major corporations? Why not also limit the salaries of government (public servants) employees, especially politicians and administrative officials (cabinet members)? I believe it's a crime for most of the citizens to suffice with a supply of ever dwindling crumbs while the elected officials, and those appointed to represent them gallivant around on multiple Hundreds of thousands of dollars stipends (and get $10 -20,000 increases regularly); Living a separate reality from that of the average constituent who barely breaks even after job cuts, rising prices, diminishing dollar value, etc.
.....
Hypocrisy is my response to all those caviar eating jet-set amnesiacs that have forgotten what it's like to have to work all week for peanuts; Here in the land of the Constitution; Not, Tajikistan!
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Freedom begins at home; Or, has is it now changed to Democracy everywhere else, and tyranny for the natives in the USA?
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Arsenio.
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What Day Is The Sabbath? Does It Matter Which Day We Worship On?


These are the questions that we are about to answer. Many today go to " Church " every Sunday believing that it's God's Sabbath day! Do you go to chuch on Sunday? Do you believe that Sunday is the " Sabbath " ordained by God? If you answered yes, why? It's probably what you've been taught as part of worldly programming, or you've simply been going along with the " crowd " since childhood, without thinking, " Why do I go to church on Sunday? " The shocking truth of the matter, in which we will prove in this study, is that Saturday, not Sunday, is God's true Sabbath!

Some of you will say, " It doesn't really matter what day we go to church on! " If this were a true statement, then why is the Seventh day of the week the only day God blessed and made Holy? Remember, our study titled " Who Is Satan " shows that from the very beginning, Satan wanted to be worshipped as God! How does he get that worship you may ask? Why, by setting up his own day of worship ( Sunday! ). Realizing the true Sabbath can be very simple. Let's start by getting out our calendar, shall we? O.k, great! Take a look at the 1st day of the week on your calendar. What is it? Wow, we see that the 1st day of the week is not Monday, but Sunday! What a shocker! Now let's take a look at the 7th day of the week. What is the 7th day? You are correct! The 7th day of the week and the ONLY DAY that God BLESSED AND MADE HOLY, IS SATURDAY! Sunday is Satans counterfeit to Jehovah's TRUE SABBATH! Praise Jehovah for revealing this astonishing truth to you and opening your eyes to see the TRUTH! Can I get an amen?

This study reminds myself of a " Christian " business owner I had spoken to about doing some hauling work for me on a Sunday. Do you know what his reply was? O.K., do you give up? Alright, I'll go ahead and tell you! His shocking reply to me was, " I don't do any work on the Sabbath ". From his comment, I realized that many are still following Satans counterfeit Sabbath ( Sunday ). The majority of Christendom still gather on a " Sunday ". This is another error of the Clergy! Please refer to our study titled " The Clergy " for more on that matter! This study will prove from the Holy Scriptures what day is the 7th day Sabbath of God! Before you begin this study, pray to Jehovah that you will receive eyes to see and ears to hear this amazing TRUTH and be able to receive it! Pray that God's Holy Spirit will give you understanding! Invite Jesus to come and walk with you through this study! Amen!


Genesis 2:2-3 vs.2 " And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day for all his work which he had made. "

3. " And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. " ( The seventh day of the week ( Saturday ) is the only day God blessed and made Holy. It is the day of the week in which he rested. Shouldn't the 7th day be special, especially since it is a Holy Day? )

Exodus 20:8 8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ( We are commanded to remember the sabbath day ( Saturday ) to keep it holy. Is the sabbath day ( Saturday ) being kept holy in your household, or do you rest on the first day of the week, Sunday? )

Exodus 20:10-11
10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ( The sabbath was given for a day of rest. We all need a day of rest to relax from our busy lives in this hustle and bustle world to reflect upon our creator Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ! Jehovah rested on the seventh day also. )

Exodus 31:13 13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. ( The sabbath is a sign between Jehovah and his children. True Christians know and keep the seventh day sabbath of Father Jehovah and understand that it is a sign to those who believe. It's what seperates us from those who keep Sunday as their sabbath day! )

Isaiah 56:1-2 1Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

2Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. ( We receive blessings when we keep from polluting the sabbath. )

Isaiah 58:13-14 13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.



( We need to look upon the sabbath as a delight and keep ourselves from the pleasures of the world. We should honour our Heavenly Father on the sabbath. )

Isaiah 66:22-23 22For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

23And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. ( There will be a new heaven and a new earth which will remain. All flesh will come and worship before the Lord on his holy sabbath day. )

Matthew 28:1-6 1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ( Even in death, Jesus was obedient and kept the sabbath! He rested in the grave on the 7th day, Saturday! Shouldn't we walk as Jesus walked? Here we see that he rose from the grave on the 1st day of the week, Sunday! )

Mark 1:21 21And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. ( Jesus went to church on the Saturday Sabbath, shouldn't we? Notice that he entered the synagogue right away and taught the people! )

Mark 6:2 2And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? ( Jesus consistently taught on the sabbath day, Saturday! Why don't the churches of today teach on the sabbath, Saturday? )

Mark 2:27
27And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: ( The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. The sabbath is God's special day of rest and is the only day that he made Holy! Oil is made for cars, cars are not made for oil! )

Luke 23:54-56 54And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

55And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

56And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. ( After Jesus was laid to rest, the women rested the sabbath day " according to the commandment. " You see, the seventh day sabbath has not been done away with, that is a worldly teaching. Many today are still worshipping on the first day of the week, Sunday, which is Satans day! This is why there is so much confusion in the churches of today, God is not the author of confusion, Satan is! )

Acts 17:2
2And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures. ( Paul knew the importance of teaching the church on the sabbath days, Saturdays, not Sunday! )


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The affairs of this world


No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

2 Timothy 2:4
(King James Version)
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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Expert: U.N. Resolutions Would Create 'Global Blasphemy Law'


Thu, Oct. 22 2009 07:48 PM EDT

By Michelle A. VuChristian Post Reporter

The so-called “defamation of religions” U.N. resolutions, proposed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, would create a “global blasphemy law,” the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom warned on Wednesday.

Leonard A. Leo testified to Members of Congress on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that though the resolutions sounded “tolerant and progressive,” in reality they would “exacerbate” religious persecution and discrimination around the world.

“Although the ‘defamation’ resolutions purport to protect religions generally, the only religion and religious adherents that are specifically mentioned are Islam and Muslims,” pointed out Leo, who noted USCIRF has been closely monitoring the resolutions for several years. “Aside from Islam, the resolutions do not specify which religions are deserving of protection, or explain how or by whom this would be determined.”

Out of concern that the resolutions would be abused to oppress religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries, Christian as well as secular human rights groups had launched several campaigns this year to alert U.N. members on the danger of such proposals.

Open Doors, a ministry that works with persecuted Christians, launched an advocacy campaign earlier this month aimed at preventing the resolutions from passing at the United Nations. The ministry is lobbying key countries, which will vote on the resolutions, and organizing a petition drive against the proposal.

And back in March, more than 180 non-government organizations from around the world signed a petition urging the U.N. Human Rights Council to not adopt the resolutions. Despite their efforts, however, the resolutions passed. The NGOs participating in the petition voiced concern that the resolutions would be manipulated to justify anti-blasphemy laws and intimidate human rights activists and religious dissenters.

Since 1999, the Organization of the Islamic Conference has annually sponsored the "defamation of religions" resolutions in the U.N. Human Rights Council, its predecessor, and, since 2005, in the General Assembly.

The resolutions are currently non-binding, but OIC has publicly stated that its goal is for the U.N. to adopt a binding international covenant against the “defamation of religions.”

USCIRF Chair Leonard Leo denounced the resolutions as a “poorly veiled attempt to export the repressive blasphemy laws found in some OIC countries to the international level.”

“Under these laws, criminal charges can be levied against individuals for defaming, denigrating, insulting, offending, disparaging, and blaspheming Islam, often resulting in gross human rights violations,” said the religious freedom expert.


USCIRF is among the many groups that have spoken against the resolutions. Other groups include The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Freedom House, U.N. Watch, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and Open Doors USA.


The “defamation of religions” resolutions are expected to be formally proposed for renewal by OIC next month or later this year.




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The fight over the future of food

A worker collects rice at a plantation in Belcreda Gambolo, 30 km (20 miles) southwest of Milan in northern Italy November 6, 2009.
REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo



By Claudia Parsons, Russell Blinch and Svetlana Kovalyova

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON/MILAN (Reuters) - At first glance, Giuseppe Oglio's farm near Milan looks like it's suffering from neglect. Weeds run rampant amid the rice fields and clover grows unchecked around his millet crop.

Oglio, a third generation farmer eschews modern farming techniques -- chemicals, fertilizers, heavy machinery -- in favor of a purely natural approach. It is not just ecological, he says, but profitable, and he believes his system can be replicated in starving regions of the globe.

Nearly 5,000 miles away, in laboratories in St. Louis, Missouri, hundreds of scientists at the world's biggest seed company, Monsanto, also want to feed the world, only their tools of choice are laser beams and petri dishes.

Monsanto, a leader in agricultural biotechnology, spends about $2 million a day on scientific research that aims to improve on Mother Nature, and is positioning itself as a key player in the fight against hunger.

The Italian farmer and the U.S. multinational represent the two extremes in an increasingly acrimonious debate over the future of food.

Everybody wants to end hunger, but just how to do so is a divisive question that pits environmentalists against anti-poverty campaigners, big business against consumers and rich countries against poor.

The food fight takes place at a time when experts on both sides agree on one thing -- the number of empty bellies around the world will only grow unless there is major intervention now.

A combination of the food crisis and the global economic downturn has catapulted the number of hungry people in the world to more than 1 billion. The United Nations says world food output must grow by 70 percent over the next four decades to feed a projected extra 2.3 billion people by 2050.

International leaders are gathering in Rome next week for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's World Summit on Food Security and will hear competing arguments over how best to tackle the problem. One of the fiercest disputes will be over the relative importance of science versus social and economic reforms to empower small farmers to grow more with existing technology.

"LISTEN TO NATURE"

Much of Europe has moved away from an agricultural system of small farms to mass commercial farming, but Italy still retains a base of family farmers who produce everything from olives to mozzarella cheese.

Oglio is one of them. A charismatic 40-year-old, he dropped out of an agricultural school after growing disillusioned with the farming methods being taught there. Today, he lets nature run its course as he grows cereals and legumes on his small family farm in Belcreda di Gambolo, about 20 miles southwest of Milan.

He does not use any chemical, or even natural fertilizers or pesticides. He does not weed his fields. "All you need to do is observe nature, listen to it, do what nature suggests and it will take care of everything," he said.

His fields, in a low-lying plain that has a long history of growing rice used for risotto, replicate patterns found in nature. For example, clover and millet grow together, feeding each other with necessary minerals.

Oglio said his farm is eco-sustainable. He has slashed operating costs by eliminating expensive commercial products like herbicides and by reducing the use of agricultural machinery to a minimum. Such cheap and low-maintenance farming could be adopted in Africa and other regions hit by poverty and hunger, he said.

"Natural farming will not save the world. But it can feed poor families," he said.

But it's unlikely it can do so on the scale that most experts believe is necessary. And therein lies the rub. Affluent consumers may prefer the Oglios of the world to the Monsantos, but their skittishness about high-tech agriculture is making it more difficult to grapple with the mounting crisis over the lack of food.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

The last time the world faced such dire predictions of famine was before the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, when countries like India and China transformed their agricultural systems to become self-sufficient in food. They did so by harnessing plant-breeding technology to raise yields on rice, wheat and other staple crops.

Through massive state investment in hybrid rice, China, the world's most populous country, raised its yields from two tons per hectare in the 1960s to more than 10 tons per hectare by 2004. Chinese scientists seek further gains -- 13.5 tons per hectare by 2015, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which cites China's rice program as one of the true success stories in agricultural development in a study out this week (November 12) called "Millions Fed."

To be sure, the Green Revolution had its downsides -- environmental damage, to name one. In India, for example, water tables are drying up and the soil has been degraded by pesticide and fertilizers. The movement also contributed to the rise of big commercial farms at the expense of small holders, fueling resentment from its early days at what critics see as the "corporatization" of food.

But millions of people were saved from starvation, and the movement's architect, Norman Borlaug, received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.

With their populations soaring, however, India and China -- not to mention most of Africa -- still face challenges, especially as climate change exacerbates environmental problems that have already slowed growth in food production.

IFPRI, part of a global network of agricultural research centers, said last month lower yields due to climate change would cut "calorie availability" for the average consumer in a developing country in 2050 by 7 percent, compared with 2000.

Higher temperatures reduce crop yields while encouraging pests and plant diseases. For almost all crops, South Asia would experience the largest declines in yields. IFPRI said rice output in the region would be 14 percent lower than if there were no climate change.

"India sorely needs another Green Revolution," said Kushagra Nayan Bajaj, joint managing director of Bajaj Hinduthan, India's top sugar producer, which is importing raw sugar after a drought hit the domestic cane crop.

But a second green revolution would face a strong counterinsurgency, even in a place like India that benefited so profoundly from the first one.

"The point is that chemicals destroy the sustainability of productivity in the long run ... Yes, a second green revolution is indeed very essential -- the very need of the hour. But it should not be the same kind of green revolution that the first was," said P.C. Kesavan, a fellow at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, set up by the father of India's Green Revolution.

Economists and scientists in India are demanding a raft of policy initiatives, including allowing genetic engineering, which its proponents argue does the same job as traditional plant hybridization, only quicker and more efficiently.

India has so far allowed GM seeds only for cotton, which has boosted productivity, but suggestions of allowing such seeds for edible crops have always evoked strong protests.

CRADLE OF CORN

It's a similar story in Mexico, where Borlaug started his pioneering research in the 1940s at the Cooperative Wheat Research and Production Program. Mexico issued permits last month for the first time for farmers to grow genetically modified corn.

Considered by many the cradle of corn, Mexico is home to more than 10,000 varieties, used to make the classic tortilla, a staple of the Mexican diet. Corn was first planted in Mexico as many as 9,000 years ago and the grain was adapted by Spanish conquerors in the early 1500s and eventually spread to the rest of the world.

Mexico faces the same dilemmas over GM corn as do many developing countries -- balancing consumer fears with the need to grow more food.

"We see corn as our cultural heritage, our legacy. For us it's not just a question of food, but about conserving our traditions," said Celerino Tlacotempa, who works for an organization of native Nahuatl farmers in the southern mountains of Guerrero state.

"With genetically modified seeds we will lose our varieties of colored corn. There will be no more purple corn, black corn, white corn," Tlacotempa said. "Above all, we will be condemned to buy seeds from companies like Monsanto. It's not sustainable. It's a real risk for the wellbeing of these communities."

At the same time, other Mexican farmers in the north of the country have been cultivating GM seeds smuggled over the border from the United States for some time, attracted by the crops' greater resilience to drought and pests and higher yields.

Tomas Lumpkin, director of CIMMYT, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center that Borlaug started in Mexico, said the country now imports about half of the corn it consumes. With climate change and other pressures, he said, it was vital to raise production using all tools available.

"It is a much more complex and difficult world than Borlaug faced, but we have much more powerful tools than he had, and we need to start testing those and deploying those," he said.

"GMOs are just another set of tools in the toolbox, but we need to be able to use those tools," Lumpkin said. "If we could deploy those varieties so that the farmer in the developing world has the same powerful seed as the farmer in Iowa, why should they be handicapped?"

RICH CONSUMERS RESIST GM

Monsanto launched the world's first genetically modified crop in 1996 and GM crops are now grown in countries ranging from Australia to South Africa, the Philippines and Brazil.

Up to 85 percent of the massive U.S. corn crop is genetically engineered, as well as up 91 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of cotton, according to U.S. data.

As ingrained as GM crops may seem, a backlash against the technology appears to be growing.

Opposition to genetic modification of seeds has long been strongest in Europe. The European Union severely restricts use of GM seeds on its territory, as well as imports of products containing GM-derived food. Individual countries including Germany ban even GM seeds that are authorized, such as an insect-resistant maize type, MON 810, developed by Monsanto.

Now consumer resistance to what British tabloids long ago dubbed "Frankenfood" is taking root in the United States too.

With North America's industrial farming system, consumers who buy packaged goods from grocery stores are likely eating GM products without even knowing it, according to environmental group the Center for Food Safety. The group, which was involved in a successful court battle to stop introduction of Monsanto's genetically engineered alfalfa seed, also contends that up to 70 percent of soda, soup, crackers and other processed goods sold under major household brands are GM derived.

"There really is no human health analysis of GM crops," said William Freese, science policy analyst for the center. "It's a real result of the policy that our government has put in place, which is basically a presumption of innocence."

A banner issue for U.S. anti-GM crusaders is genetically engineered growth hormones for dairy cows, known as rBGH. Introduced in the United States in 1994, rBGH is a drug to extend milk production after a cow gives birth. It was developed by Monsanto but recently sold to Eli Lilly and Co.

Health Care Without Harm, a global coalition of hospitals and other health groups, believes the drug is dangerous because it increases the likelihood of infection in the cow's udder, which leads to greater antibiotic use in the animals. That contributes to antibiotic-resistance in humans, they argue.

Other critics say it may be linked to cancer in humans, despite U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals.

Proponents have won over a string of big names to reject the drug, including the big yogurt makers Yoplait and Dannon, and have also lobbied coffee chain Starbucks to oppose rBGH.

A Starbucks spokesman said the firm's entire core dairy supply comes from suppliers that do not use the hormone.

"Our core products, coffee and tea, are not genetically modified," the spokesman said in a statement. "We have no plans to purchase coffee or tea that is derived from GM sources, now or in the future."

The industry notes that GM research is supported by a number of august groups, including the Royal Society of Britain and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Keywords: FOOD/

"IDEOLOGICAL WEDGE"

For those seeking to end global hunger, rather than just satisfy rich consumers' craving for cappuccino, Africa presents the greatest challenges.

Monsanto, together with corporate rivals, is working with poor countries and charitable groups such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, set up by Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife.

At the annual World Food Prize forum last month, Gates warned that the fight to end hunger was being hurt by environmentalists who insist that genetically modified crops should not be used in Africa. He said it was vital to help small farmers there boost production by all means, including GM crops, fertilizer and chemicals.

"This global effort to help small farmers is endangered by an ideological wedge that threatens to split the movement in two," Gates said at the forum for the prize, which was created by Borlaug, who died in September at the age of 95.

"Some people insist on an ideal vision of the environment," Gates said. "They have tried to restrict the spread of biotechnology into sub-Saharan Africa without regard to how much hunger and poverty might be reduced by it."

Rajul Pandya-Lorch, who has worked for the IFPRI thinktank on food for 22 years, summed it up like this: "I'm a Kenyan. I resent very much people telling us in Africa 'OK, this biotechnology is not good for you.' Well, we have different problems than you do, and if it helps us to solve a problem, we should try it."

Yet, even in Africa, there is suspicion of GM technology. Many countries there, such as Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania, do not allow GM seeds.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a Kenya-based group set up in 2006 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Gates Foundation, targets its programs specifically at small-scale farmers.

Three-quarters of the world's poorest billion people live in rural areas, dependent on farming for their livelihoods.

AGRA's Program for Africa's Seed Systems uses conventional breeding to develop new varieties of maize, cassava, beans, rice, sorghum, and other crops resistant to diseases and pests. The goal is to develop and release more than 1,000 improved crop varieties over the next 10 years.

"We've adopted a small grant mechanism that gets money out to plant breeders on the ground, so that they can, over a period of years, and selections and lots of consultations with local farmers, and access to the world's gene banks, come up with something that's truly novel, much higher yielding and resistant to local diseases and with the taste and texture that local people want," said Joseph DeVries, director of PASS.

"To leap to the GM model at this stage, just seems like it's ignoring a lot of the things that make sense locally, that people can do locally without it," he said.

Kostas Stamoulis, director of the FAO's Agricultural Development Economics Division, said only a few food crops are in wide use in genetically modified forms, and most are not well adapted to the varied and often extreme environmental conditions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa has eight or more staple crops that are grown in a wide variety of climates and conditions, making it far more of a challenge than in Asia, where single staple crops, such as rice, are grown in relatively homogenous conditions over wide areas. Stamoulis emphasized the need for all kinds of technology, including traditional plant breeding.

He said there should be a balance between "people that, in my view, make the extraordinarily dangerous proposition that you can feed the world with organics, which is absolutely crazy, and those who are fanatic about GMOs without looking at the full balance of options."

WHERE'S THE MONEY?

The FAO said last month the world needs to invest $83 billion a year in agriculture in developing countries to feed a predicted population of 9.1 billion people in 2050.

To achieve that, both public and private investment on a grand scale is needed, but the trend on the public side has been discouraging. Official development assistance to agriculture plunged 58 percent in real terms from 1980 to 2005, dropping from 17 percent of total aid to 3.8 percent over that period. It now stands at about 5 percent, the FAO said.

Yet, the payoff from agricultural investment, particularly by governments, can be seen in Brazil, a case study in how the Green Revolution transformed a developing country.

Within a few decades it developed from a producer of a handful of cash crops into one of the world's largest producers of food stuffs, with an agriculture business worth nearly 300 billion reais ($172 billion) in annual sales.

Brazil began its Green Revolution in the mid-1970s, with the creation of the government farm research firm Embrapa, which resulted in increased diversification and productivity of crops as well as the expansion of cropland.

Each year Embrapa measures the return to society from research in agriculture. Latest figures show that each dollar spent on agriculture research generates a return of $13.50.

Last year's food crisis, when fears of food shortages gripped grain markets -- sending wheat and rice prices soaring to record highs and sparking hoarding and riots -- was a wake-up call, one that experts hope will translate into sustained investment.

The unrest was a powerful reminder of the risks of food insecurity and helped spur the world's richest nations to promise to spend $20 billion over three years to help small, subsistence farmers improve their productivity.

U.S. President Barack Obama has launched a $3.5 billion hunger and food security initiative focused on agriculture.

Back on the farm in Italy, Oglio said an operation like his can be run on a shoe-string budget, without the sort of subsidies that prop up agriculture, even in the wealthy European Union.

The 87-acre (35-hectare) farm that his parents used to run in a conventional way was on the edge of bankruptcy 20 years ago, burdened by high operating costs and competition in the changing economy of Europe.

With his back-to-nature methods, Oglio turned the farm around and now makes profits.

But that is a very European story. His customers, he admits, are willing to pay more for his healthful products because many of them are environmentalists.

The world's poorest people -- 1 billion of them -- may not have the luxury of making that choice.


For graphics to illustrate this report see: here here (Additional reporting by Carey Gillam, Himangshu Watts, Raymond Colitt, Mica Rosenberg and Ed Cropley; editing by Jim Impoco and Walter Bagley)




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