Sunday, January 22, 2012

Bible prophecy is not about paganism, false prophets or America


On November 30, 2011

People who study Bible prophecy usually want to know about things to come. Even so, there is only so much that God revealed to us in the scriptures about the future. When people go outside of inspired texts to find more truth or information they are going to be misled. Also, those people claiming direct revelation from God about the future should know that speaking lies and their own presumptions in the name of God puts them in grave danger. Those with itching ears might believe these false prophets but what they learn from them will not lead them into doing anything productive for Christ.

There is one thing certain. Bible prophecy will not conform to theories in Islam, paganism, presumptions of self anointed false prophets, or conjectures about America’s future.

It is one thing to meditate on and correlate inspired scripture to try to dig out obscure truths, and it is quite another to try to find truth within pagan teachings and false prophets in order to interpret God’s inspired texts.

I cannot make anything more than an educated guess about what is going to happen next in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. I do not think there is anyone on earth that knows how things on earth will play out other than what is written in the Bible.

I am sure that it will not play out the way the 12th Imam Islamist sect believes it will, or the way Christian teachers that like to quote Islam prophecy think it will. What would a false belief system know about the things of God? Yet, that does not stop some Christians from teaching Bible prophecy scenarios based on Islamic expectations.

Some Christians actually believe that God is scheduling end time events based on the pagan Mayan long calendar, or that prophecy is waiting for the return of the Reptilians or Planet X. These speculations might make for good theater but it has nothing to do with Bible prophecy.

Some Christians believe that God is now telling self anointed prophets what will happen next. If God is, where is the fruit from these people? Jesus said you would know prophets by their fruit (Mt 7: 15-20). These modern “prophets” produce nothing but false presumptions and speculations and money in their own pockets. The prophecies either always fail or they are so vague that anyone could have made them. When the two true prophets of God appear in Jerusalem in the last days they will have real signs and wonders and they will have the words of life or death.

The self-appointed anointed prophets of today might talk about signs and wonders occurring in their meetings but Fox News and I are not buying into such claims. You have to be a brain-dead gullible Christian to believe that people like Pat Robertson, Todd Bentley, Rick Joyner etc., are actually hearing from God.

Some Christians think they should be trying to figure out the timing of end time events by working out hidden Bible codes and numerical formulas. I see no instruction or reason to try to do that within the Bible. It is an unproductive waste of time, but it sells books.

Should Christians spend their life on Rapture forums trying to convince each other why the Rapture will happen within the next year? I do not think God ever had that in mind for Christians.

So what should Christians do?

Work for the Lord like Jesus is coming back today but realize that He might not come until the day that you die. After all, every prior generation that ever lived died off without seeing end time scriptures fulfilled. This generation may indeed be the exception, but God does not promise us that the Rapture or the second coming will occur in our lifetime no matter how much some people try to convince us that it will happen. We could still die tomorrow even if the Lord were actually to come in a few years.

If there is one thing that I am trying to emphasis on this Blog, it is that what happens in America in the near future could actually have little or nothing to do with biblical end time events. The US could disintegrate as a nation and Bible prophecy will still play out the way God said it would and Bible prophecy will still take place in God’s own timing. Nations have risen and fallen throughout history. The fulfillment of Bible prophecy is not dependent on America.

America is not a Christian nation; America is not Babylon in the Bible; America is not new Israel like the Mormon’s think; America does not have to exist as a nation until the Rapture. If America dishonors God she cannot expect to remain as a world power until some future Rapture. God can pull the plug on America in one minute. One solar storm or a nuclear EMP could mean the end of the United States as a viable nation.

Well then what about the Christians that live in America? They will live or die like all Christians that lived before them did in other nations. God does not have to Rapture the Church because there are Christians in America – in spite of what some think. There were also Christians in other nations that are now no longer nations of any importance. Bible prophecy is not all about us, or about America, we all need to keep that in mind.


Don Koenig founded www.thepropheticyears.com website in 1999 after almost thirty years of independent study on the Bible and learning from many astute teachers within Christendom. Don created his website to write about Bible prophecy, biblical discernment and his Christian worldviews. Don wrote a free Revelation commentary ebook in 2004 named "The Revelation of Jesus Christ Through The Ages". This World and Church and Bible Prophecy Blog was started in 2007. This Blog now has over 1000 articles written by Don and contains almost 10,000 comments mostly related to the post topic.


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The Real Face of The European Union (EU)



The Real Face of The European Union (EU)
43:09 - 5 years ago
Most see the European Union of today as an inefficient conglomeration of states run by self-serving career politicians anxious to guarantee their survival by safely nesting in the EU's cocoon of endless bureaucracies. Many don't really see a threat at the moment. They believe that an integrated Europe makes sense; that it would prevent any chance of a third European war; that it is the modern, forward-thinking way to go. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH The European Economic Community (EEC) began as a free-trade agreement in 1972. Today's European Union is well on its way to becoming a federal superstate, complete with one currency, one legal system, one military, one police force - even its own national anthem. In this shocking new documentary featuring EU insiders and commentators, independent author Phillip Day covers the history and goals of the European Union, as well as the disturbing, irrevocable implications this new government has for every citizen. Whether the viewer is for or against participation, this film asks the troubling questions the mainstream media has refused to confront. Former Soviet Dissident Warns For EU Dictatorship: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/865«

Jan 21, 1793: King Louis XVI executed


One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris.

Louis ascended to the French throne in 1774 and from the start was unsuited to deal with the severe financial problems that he had inherited from his grandfather, King Louis XV. In 1789, in a last-ditch attempt to resolve his country's financial crisis, Louis assembled the States-General, a national assembly that represented the three "estates" of the French people--the nobles, the clergy, and the commons. The States-General had not been assembled since 1614, and the third estate--the commons--used the opportunity to declare itself the National Assembly, igniting the French Revolution. On July 14, 1789, violence erupted when Parisians stormed the Bastille--a state prison where they believed ammunition was stored.

Although outwardly accepting the revolution, Louis resisted the advice of constitutional monarchists who sought to reform the monarchy in order to save it; he also permitted the reactionary plotting of his unpopular queen, Marie Antoinette. In October 1789, a mob marched on Versailles and forced the royal couple to move to Tuileries; in June 1791, opposition to the royal pair had become so fierce that the two were forced to flee to Austria. During their trip, Marie and Louis were apprehended at Varennes, France, and carried back to Paris. There, Louis was forced to accept the constitution of 1791, which reduced him to a mere figurehead.

In August 1792, the royal couple was arrested by the sans-cullottes and imprisoned, and in September the monarchy was abolished by the National Convention (which had replaced the National Assembly). In November, evidence of Louis XVI's counterrevolutionary intrigues with Austria and other foreign nations was discovered, and he was put on trial for treason by the National Convention.

The next January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine.


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Behind the Ban on Sunday Sales of Alcohol


The history of Connecticut’s blue state laws and how they influenced the sale of alcohol

Saturday. It’s a day off of work, a day full of household chores, the last day of the weekend to buy alcohol.

I can’t say Connecticut’s ban on Sunday sales of alcohol has ever affected me much. But then I grew up in Connecticut with the understanding that you buy your alcohol before 9 p.m. that the package stores closed on Sundays, and that for some inexplicable reason you can’t buy wine in the supermarkets.

It was years before I realized those norms were actually strange. The ban on Sunday sales of alcohol still seems to confuse many of my non-Connecticut native friends now living in the nutmeg state, even if they have lived here for years.

But why, they repeatedly ask.

Is it really that big of a deal if you know you can’t buy it beforehand, I repeatedly respond.

Apparently, though, it is a big deal, and my friends aren’t the only ones who think so. When Governor Dannel Malloy called for Sunday alcohol sales last week, it immediately caused the resumption of the debate on Sunday sales of alcohol, and called into question if our state is really ready to leave its Puritanical roots behind.

The Sunday ban on sales of alcohol dates back not to prohibition, but even further, to our Puritan heritage. According to state Senator Kevin Witkos of the 17th Assembly District, Connecticut has prohibited Sunday alcohol sales since about 1882.

But the idea really came about from when the state’s first government based in New Haven created the Blue Laws in the 1600s. Under the direction of Theophilus Eaton and Reverend John Cotton the blue laws, established in 1655, addressed public morality, and according toNetstate.com and The True Blue Laws of Connecticut and New Haven helped give our state it’s Blue Law State nickname.

While the ban on Sunday sales of alcohol was never really a blue law per se it prevented businesses up until the late 1970s from being open at all on Sundays. In fact, according to Witkos some business owners in the Olde Mistick Village were even arrested for violating the law.

But even though those blues laws were slowly challenged and repealed the ban on the Sunday sales of alcohol remained.

Today, Connecticut is one of only 13 states to prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia are the other states. Only Connecticut and Indiana, however, however completely ban beer, wine and liquor sales on Sundays, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in a press release.

Interestingly, the original blue state laws tried to regulate Sunday as a day of rest. Many of the package store owners I spoke with this week said they liked not being able to open on Sunday. The ban gives them time to spend with their families.


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STRATFOR - The hacking incident & annual forecast 2012




Friday - 1/20/2012, 11:10pm ET


January 20, 2012 -- Host Derrick Dortch talks to Fred Burton, vice president for Intelligence at STRATFOR, and Roger Baker, vice president for Strategic Intelligence, about the hacking incident that compromised STRATFOR's servers.

They will discuss what they have done to secure data moving forward and their annual report on what geopolitical issues need monitoring in 2012.


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Fred Burton and Roger Baker, STRATFOR

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If unable to listen to program on the podcast above; Go to link below to listen to this informative audio.



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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Mexico's Ex-President Vicente Fox: Legalize Drugs



Former Mexican President Vicente Fox in La Quinta, Calif., in 2009
Omar Ornelas / The Desert Sun / AP


Source: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2040882,00.html#ixzz1k8kRyi3s


As Mexico drowns in drug-related bloodshed — suffering almost 12,000 murders in 2010 — it is perhaps unsurprising that government critics have turned up their screaming that the war on drugs isn't working. But it was a bit of a bombshell when former President Vicente Fox added his voice to the chorus. The cowboy-boot-wearing leader, who ruled Mexico from 2000 to 2006, once declared the "mother of all battles" against crime and rounded up drug kingpins. But before he left office, he witnessed the first big spike in violence as the narcos retaliated. Last August, evidence surfaced that his vision had changed when he wrote on his blog that prohibition wasn't working. Now, in an interview with TIME in his hometown in central Mexico, he says his views have indeed moved toward the other end of the spectrum: favoring full-on legalization of the production, transit and sale of prohibited drugs. Fox is most explicit about marijuana but says the principle applies to all illegal drugs.


"Prohibition didn't work in the Garden of Eden. Adam ate the apple," says Fox, 68, looking relaxed in a polo shirt — in contrast to his stressful last days in office. "We have to take all the production chain out of the hands of criminals and into the hands of producers — so there are farmers that produce marijuana and manufacturers that process it and distributors that distribute it and shops that sell it ... I don't want to say that legalizing means that drugs are good. They are not good but bad for your health, and you shouldn't take them. But ultimately, this responsibility is with citizens."


(See "Mexico's Lost Youth: Generation Narco.")

Taking such a step would go beyond policies pursued anywhere in the world. While nations including Portugal, Holland and Mexico itself have decriminalized the personal possession of many narcotics, traffic and the billions of drug dollars remain firmly in the hands of criminal gangs. Governments have been held back from going the distance to legalize and regulate the trade by rigid U.N. treaties, which oblige all signatories to combat trafficking. Fox, however, argues that nations should not wait for the whole world but plow ahead with reform.


(See how California's pot proposition agitated Latin America.)

"It is not necessary that there is a global change," he says. "Always, in every human action, there are leaders. There are people that go ahead, that see problems before the rest, that take decisions before the rest." As an example, he goes on, California's Proposition 19 to legalize cannabis would have been a gigantic step forward. (Prop 19 missed being passed in November, with 46.5% in favor and 53.5% against.) "It is a shame that the proposal to legalize did not prosper," Fox says. "It would have been a great thing, a benefit to California, the United States and for Mexico. It would have been a first step." Mexican cartels make billions exporting marijuana to the U.S., as well as trafficking cocaine, heroin and crystal meth.


(See a video on narcocorridos, the songs of drug gangs and violence.)

Fox is the latest in a series of former Latin American Presidents to question the war on drugs. In 2009, former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, former Colombian President César Gaviria (who oversaw the killing of cocaine cowboy Pablo Escobar) and former Brazilian head Fernando Cardoso all released a statement saying the war on drugs had failed. However, typical of the drug debate, the politicians all made the statement after they had left office, with drug legalization seen as a toxic vote loser. Fox says his position has changed because the situation itself has changed and because prohibition has become far more costly for Mexico.


"Every idea has its time," Fox says. "When I was in government, things were not as bad as they are now. There is a growing cost in not resolving this problem, in not finding a form of truce, a way to avoid the brutal violence that is hurting Mexico. The cost is growing exponentially ... I see important businessmen leaving and going to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas. We are losing in many things: tourism is stagnant, trade on the border, nightclubs, hotels are all stuck. We don't deserve to pay this price."


Fox's position has put him at loggerheads with Mexico's current President, Felipe Calderón, who is firmly against drug legalization. In response to Fox's statement that the war isn't working, Calderón has accused former Mexican Presidents for not taking on the drug gangs during their terms in office and letting the organizations grow into monsters. Fox himself is criticized for the 2001 prison escape of trafficker Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, who has since become the most high-profile drug lord in Mexico.


When asked about the notorious breakout, Fox concedes that it was a serious setback but argues that it was not emblematic of his administration. "One swallow does not make a summer. It is an important case, but it is not the hallmark of my government." The Fox era also saw major drug seizures, arrests of 74,000 suspects on drug charges and major extraditions to the U.S.


Under Calderón, Mexican forces have made even more arrests, bigger seizures and record extraditions — winning praise and $1.4 billion in support from the U.S. But each kingpin who goes down only appears to provoke more bloodshed, as lieutenants war with one another to take over turfs. In total, there have been more than 30,000 drug-related killings in the four years since Calderón took office, compared with some 7,000 in the last four years of Fox's tenure. Such relentless murder, Fox argues, shows that the drug war cannot be won through strength of arms.


"I believe that violence against violence doesn't work. It only unleashes more violence and a conflict of the size we have in Mexico," Fox says. "And it is not only in people's income, in investment, but also in the collective psychology. There is fear in the country. And when you have an environment where there is no harmony, no peace and tranquility, then no human being can make the best of themselves."




Fear Not Their Fear

From 2001



Uploaded by on May 2, 2011



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South Carolina Jewish voters torn on primary candidates

Alina Dain Sharon/JointMedia News Service, Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The flag of South Carolina

Henry Goldberg loves his country. The businessman’s Polish-Jewish parents escaped Nazi Germany and made their home in South Carolina. His father began work as a janitor and eventually became a business owner. These were the opportunities that America offered, and not a moment went by when the elder Goldberg wasn’t thankful for his survival.

This is the background that shaped Goldberg’s Republican views. As the years went by, he and his brother expanded their father’s company, Palmetto Tile Distributors, in Columbia. In the 1950s and ’60s, this was a truly wonderful country, Goldberg told JointMedia News Service. Doors were left open at night, keys were left in the car, the country was strong militarily, and it wasn’t in debt. Since then, he’s seen the country decline into what he views as a welfare state that gives too much of its dollars to agencies like Medicare and Medicaid.

“I want my country back … My children do not live currently as good as I did, nor will they, and I strongly believe my grandchildren will not,” he said.

As South Carolina prepares to hold its Republican primary on Jan. 21, Goldberg’s views represent just some of the political opinions held by the members of the Jewish community in the state. These opinions vary between fiscally and socially conservative views and generally liberal beliefs, yet all of them tend to coincide on the support of uniquely Jewish issues (such as Israel).

These views also reflect how Jews in the state may ultimately vote, although that vote may not mean much. The Jewish population of the state is small, just under 13,000 in 2011 according to the Jewish Virtual Library. While their own political views vary, South Carolina Jews are also encapsulated within a traditionally conservative-voting general population. The state even made the list of the top Republican states in a 2009 Gallup poll.

“To a large degree South Carolina is a very critical state for the Republican nomination because it is voting along Republican lines almost every single time. I am sure pollsters are watching South Carolina very closely,” said Rabbi Jonathan Case of the Beth Shalom Synagogue in Columbia.

Nonetheless, South Carolina Jews still have impact and have managed to send several Jewish officials to public office, including Democratic Sen. Joel Lourie and Inez Tenenbaum, currently head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington, D.C.

Despite his conservative views, as the son of Holocaust survivors Goldberg was naturally irked when Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Republican Primary candidate Ron Paul on his show in December 2011 if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier, and Paul responded, “They’re just defending themselves.”

“You’re a crazy person if you believe that,” Goldberg said, adding that how the candidates feel about Israel is very important, and noting what he views as Obama’s poor treatment of Netanyahu and Israel. Other than Paul, “generally the Republicans stand up so much stronger for Israel.” Romney, who narrowly leads over the other candidates since the New Hampshire primary, is the most electable candidate, but ultimately it would be hard for any of the contenders to beat Obama, Goldberg said.

South Carolina residents may vote in the upcoming primary even if they are not Republican. For instance, a Democrat might vote for the more progressive GOP candidate in order to skew the election towards the center, said Stanley Dubinsky, the Director of Jewish Studies at the University of South Carolina, who classifies himself as an independent. “I’m neither an Occupy-Wall-Streeter nor a Tea-Partier,” he said.

Rabbi Case tells a similar story. While he typically views himself as Democrat, he could also vote Republican depending on the stance of the individuals running for the office and how closely they align with his views. Within Case’s congregation and community, some favor Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich for their ardent support of Israel, while others consider Gingrich a bit volatile and fear Perry’s religiously conservative views. While people tend to like Rick Santorum, few express support for Ron Paul.

Mitt Romney on the other hand is more palatable for many because he’s more moderate and very pro-Israel, Case said. On the other hand, Dubinsky said he finds most of the Republican candidates to be a little too extreme—with the exception of Jon Huntsman, who recently dropped out of the race. He opined that some of the candidates go too far by dictating morality to the public “as if God spoke to them personally.” It’s not a Jewish thing to “tell people they’re going to hell,” he said.

However, Dubinsky believes President Obama has shown himself to be an incompetent leader who has also backpedaled on Israel. “As a Jew who is committed to Israel and doesn’t want to see the U.S. let Israel be harmed,” he said he would be satisfied with any of the GOP contenders except Ron Paul.

Some concern could arise regarding the ability of South Carolina Jews to vote in the primary since this year the election will be held on the Sabbath, as it also was for the 2008 Republican primary. However, not all Jews are observant enough to be hindered by this, and the state does allow absentee voting. Results also depend on where Jews and non-Jews actually go to vote, as districts in the state tend to be monochromatic, either Democrat or Republican.

While Jewish opinion in South Carolina varies, it seems that a candidate’s views on Jewish issues trumps all else. Due to their small numbers, this may not have much of an impact on the South Carolina primary, but Florida’s primary may prove another matter.

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A Sabbath Reform Needed





In the days of Nehemiah, when the children of Israel had brought upon themselves humiliation and distress by their departure from God in disregarding his law, they sometimes felt that God had forgotten them. The Lord showed his rebellious people that they were dependent upon him for prosperity and safety, yet his eye was upon them. They were feeble, exposed to the ravages of their enemies; yet they were the guardians of the worship of the true God, and were to preserve a knowledge of his law until the Prince of peace should come. Nehemiah was God's chosen instrument to effect a reformation among his people, and to deliver them from the oppression of their enemies. The circumstances were discouraging, but Nehemiah was a man of courage and fidelity. He caused the people to be instructed in the law they had broken. Precept by precept it was carefully explained, that all might fully understand the will of God.

One of the principal ways in which the people had departed from God was in the desecration of the Sabbath. Heathen merchants, who came to Jerusalem to sell their wares, lodged outside the gates, and when they were opened in the morning, offered their goods for sale. Many of the Jews traded with them on the Sabbath; these not only broke the Sabbath themselves, but tried to remove the scruples of their more conscientious countrymen. Thus to a great extent the sacredness of the Sabbath was destroyed.

The Jews acknowledged that their deplorable condition was the result of their transgressions; and in a general assembly, the Levites, as the representatives of the people, confessed God's goodness in his dealings with them, and their ingratitude and sins as a nation, and pleaded before God: "Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people; since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it; and it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins; also they have dominion over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress."

Having suffered punishment for their sins, and acknowledged the justice of God in his dealings with them, they covenanted to obey his law. And that it might be a sure covenant, and preserved in a permanent form, it was written out, and the priests, Levites, and princes "sealed unto it." They had a clear knowledge of the claims of God and of the character of sin; and with those who had real principle, to see and understand was to act.

We need Nehemiahs in 1884, who shall arouse the people to see how far they are from God through their transgressions. It is time for the whole Christian world to search the Scriptures for themselves; for in the pulpits all through our land the law of God is made void by precept and example. The papal power has thought to change the law of God by instituting a Sabbath for the world and the Christian church; and this spurious Sabbath is exalted and revered, while the Sabbath of Jehovah is trampled beneath unholy feet. But will the Lord degrade his law to meet the standard of men? Will he accept a man-made institution in place of the Sabbath which he has sanctified and blessed? No; the convenience or profit of men is not to supersede the claims of God; for he is a jealous God. He does not alter his precepts to gratify the desires of the ambitious or the covetous. "Thus saith the Lord" should be sufficient to settle all controversy.

He who instituted the Sabbath has never changed it to a common day. He rested on a definite day, and blessed and sanctified a definite day, and he requires the human family to observe that definite day. Every part of God's plan will be perfectly executed. Satan has interfered, and attempted to thwart it; but there is no change in the law of God. The position that God blessed and sanctified a seventh part of time, and no day in particular, is one of Satan's devices. By this means he has so confused the minds of many that they regard God's holy restday as possessing no special sacredness; and because the world do so, they feel at liberty to set it aside, and select a Sabbath that suits their own convenience. And professed ministers of the gospel assure their congregations that this course is right. Those who are conscientiously observing the original Sabbath are styled heretics, deluded fanatics. But who are thus regarded in God's sight? Whom will he rebuke and punish―those who have kept the day that he blessed and sanctified; or those who, trampling upon the holy commandment, have accepted the institution of the papacy?

There is need of a Sabbath reform among us, who profess to observe God's holy restday. Some discuss their business matters and lay plans on the Sabbath, and God looks upon this in the same light as though they engaged in the actual transaction of business. Others who are well acquainted with the Bible evidences that the seventh day is the Sabbath, enter into partnership with men who have no respect for God's holy day. A Sabbathkeeper cannot allow men in his employ, paid by his money, to work on the Sabbath. If, for the sake of gain, he allows the business in which he has an interest to be carried on on the Sabbath by his unbelieving partner, he is equally guilty with the unbeliever; and it is his duty to dissolve the relation, however much he may lose by so doing. Men may think they cannot afford to obey God, but they cannot afford to disobey him. Those who are careless in their observance of the Sabbath will suffer great loss.

The Lord has a controversy with his professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition. In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week. There are calamities on sea and land: and these calamities will increase, one disaster following close upon another; and the little band of conscientious Sabbathkeepers will be pointed out as the ones who are bringing the wrath of God upon the world by their disregard of Sunday.

Satan urges this falsehood that he may take the world captive. It is his plan to compel men to accept errors. He takes an active part in the promulgation of all false religions, and will stop at nothing in his efforts to enforce erroneous doctrines. Under a cloak of religious zeal, men, influenced by his spirit, have invented the most cruel tortures for their fellowmen, and have inflicted the most awful sufferings upon them. Satan and his agents have the same spirit still; and the history of the past will be repeated in our day.

There are men who have set their minds and will to accomplish evil; in the dark recesses of their hearts they have resolved what crimes they will commit. These men are self-deceived. They have rejected God's great rule of right, and in its stead have erected a standard of their own, and comparing themselves with this standard they pronounce themselves holy. The Lord will permit them to reveal what is in their hearts, to act out the spirit of the master that controls them. He will let them show their hatred of his law in their treatment of those who are loyal to its requirements. They will be actuated by the same spirit of religious frenzy that goaded on the mob that crucified Christ; church and State will be united in the same corrupt harmony.

The church of today has followed in the steps of the Jews of old, who set aside the commandments of God for their own traditions. She has changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, and now, as then, pride, unbelief, and infidelity are the result. Her true condition is set forth in these words from the song of Moses: "They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?"

When Nehemiah moved out as a reformer and deliverer in Israel, he was actuated by love to God and anxiety for the prosperity of his people. His heart was in the work he had undertaken; his hope, his energy his enthusiasm, his determination of character, were contagious, and inspired others with the same courage and lofty purpose. Each man became a Nehemiah in his own sphere, and helped to make stronger the hand and heart of his neighbor; and soon feebleness was succeeded by strength and courage.

Here is a lesson for ministers and others who are laboring for the salvation of souls. Those who believe that we have the truth, that God has made us the depositaries of his law, should manifest the same earnestness and zeal that characterized Nehemiah. If ministers are inactive and irresolute, destitute of godly zeal, what can be expected of those to whom they minister? In some instances they may rise above the moral level of their teachers, but not often. But when ministers broaden their plans, and show that they are in earnest, the people will respond to their efforts; and disunited, dispirited workers will become united, strong, hopeful, and eager.

It is a sin to be heedless, purposeless, and indifferent in any work in which we may engage, but especially in the work of God. Every enterprise connected with his cause should be carried forward with order, forethought, and earnest prayer. Faithful standard bearers for God and his truth are wanted, and many are ready to respond to the call. As these see the iniquity and violence that exist in consequence of making void the law of God, they will see greater reason than ever to reverence that law, and will greatly prize its righteous, restraining influences. Contempt and reviling increases their love for the precepts of Jehovah. With David they will say, "It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." ― Advent Review and Sabbath Herald,March 18, 1884, (Vol. 61, #12).
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Nehemiah's Sabbath Reform


15In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.

16There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

17Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

18Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

19And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

20So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.

21Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.

22And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.

Nehemiah 13

Friday, January 20, 2012

There have drifted into our ranks some who appear sound,


In the absence of persecution, there have drifted into our ranks some who appear sound, and their Christianity unquestionable, but who, if persecution should arise, would go out from us. In the crisis, they would see force in specious reasoning that has had an influence on their minds.

Maranatha, p.28

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The ramifications of criticizing homosexuality



Bob Kellogg - OneNewsNow - 1/20/2012 3:30:00 AM

A New Jersey school board has taken a first step toward firing a Christian teacher who came under attack last fall for posting comments on her private Facebook page that were critical of the homosexual lifestyle.


Last October, when Union Township school teacher Viki Knox posted her objections to homosexuality on her Facebook page, a firestorm erupted and she was put on administrative leave (see earlier story). Now the school has filed tenure charges against her, which could lead to her permanent dismissal. Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) warns that this situation could pave the way for the left to silence Christians.

"If these homosexual activists get their way, then anyone who is open about their Christian faith [is] fair game for being treated like this -- to be fired and labeled as a hate monger," he says.


Attorney and former councilman John Paragano recognizes that Knox is entitled to her public comments against homosexuality, but he argues that she is not entitled to keep her job after making those opinions known. Dacus, however, says that is un-American.

"Every American in this country, in a free society, should have the ability to express their moral beliefs or moral convictions without having to have the fear of being fired and losing their job, especially when that conviction is expressed on a private off-time social chat forum," the PJI president contends.

An administrative law judge assigned to the case will deliberate the matter, then recommend the action New Jersey's acting education commissioner should take.


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US military chief in Israel talks amid Iran tensions


(AFP) – 5 hours ago




US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey speaks to the press (AFP, Gali Tibbon)




JERUSALEM — US military chief General Martin Dempsey on Friday urged Israel to keep the channels of communication open amid concerns the Jewish state could launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Speaking after talks with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on what was his first visit to Israel since taking office last October, Dempsey said both sides would benefit from greater engagement over regional issues, in an apparent reference to the Iranian nuclear standoff.

"We have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we'll all be," he said, in remarks communicated by Barak's office.

Israel fears a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state and has refused to rule out a resort to military action to pre-empt it, although earlier this week Barak said any such decision remained "very far away."

Reports suggest Washington is against such a strike, and the US administration is understood to be putting pressure on Israel to hold off.

In the morning, Dempsey said Israel and Washington shared a "common challenge" and stressed US backing for the Jewish state in remarks addressed to Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz.

"Your characterisation of the common challenge we face and the sacred trust we have to protect those values of freedom -- I couldn't agree with you more," said Dempsey, whose comments were carried on Israel's public radio.

"And I assure you that America is your partner in that regard."

Dempsey arrived late on Thursday for a flying visit, his first to Israel since taking up the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October, which was expected to focus on Iran.

He had an early morning meeting with Gantz before meeting Barak, after which he travelled to Jerusalem with the chief of staff to meet President Shimon Peres and pay a brief visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.

He was to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the day before leaving in the early evening, officials said.

Peres's office said that at the meeting with Dempsey and Gantz, they had "discussed the political-security developments in the Middle East and the world."

"I am sure that we shall win this battle," Peres said in remarks carried by public radio, apparently alluding to the Islamic republic.

"It is not only for the United States of America, not only for Israel. It is really a struggle to make the world a free place, a safe place for people."

Israeli press reports said the visit was to focus on Western sanctions against Tehran, which Netanyahu said earlier this week did not go far enough, as well as on the possibility of a pre-emptive Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

"The main disagreement pertains to the possibility of a strike on the Iranian nuclear sites," the Maariv daily said.

"While an increasing number of voices can be heard in Israel supporting such a move, US officials are trying to calm the atmosphere, and fear that Israel could act without informing them or only provide a warning shortly in advance."

Quoting officials engaged in preparatory talks ahead of Dempsey's visit, Maariv said they "would try to reach an understanding with the Americans and set a kind of red line based on various criteria, including timetables and actions on Iran?s part."

Israel and its US ally, like many other Western governments, suspect Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability under cover of its civil programme, an ambition Tehran strongly denies.

Washington has been pushing for tougher sanctions against Iran, a policy that President Barack Obama defended against his Republican critics on Thursday, saying that additional measures adopted in recent months had reduced Iran's economy to a "shambles."



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In traditional Democratic stronghold Harlem, barrage of protesters greets Obama

In a shift, Harlemites, unenchanted with his rhetoric, protested Obama’s policies on a cold night on 125th Street.


By Shayna Orens

Spectator Staff Writer

Published January 20, 2012

HOME TURF President Obama was met by protests Thursday in Harlem, traditionally a Democratic stronghold.
David Brann / Staff Photographer


Barack Obama, CC ’83, became the first sitting president to visit Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater Thursday night. But in his second visit to Harlem since taking office, Obama was met by fierce protests.

The fundraising event was closed to press, but 125th Street was overflowing with supporters of the Occupy movement, members of political action committees, and local residents hoping to catch a glimpse of the president. Hundreds of people turned out, but the majority of them were there to protest—a potentially troubling sign for Obama, for whom Harlem should be a stronghold of support.

“I’m protesting Obama’s policies,” Gilbert Rosa said. “He’s just as crooked as anyone. They voted for him because he had pretty rhetoric. At the end of the day, you can have different players. But if you don’t change the game nothing is gonna happen.”

Obama carried 95 percent of the African-American vote in 2008, according to CNN exit polls. But the heavily black community which W. E. B. Du Bois and Hubert Harrison called home hardly seemed well-disposed to Obama Thursday night.

Laurie Wen, a Morningside Heights resident and activist for Healthcare For The 99%—an Occupy Wall Street working group—said that Obama’s visit felt like a stab in the back.

“I worked 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for several months on Obama’s campaign,” Wen said. “I never thought he was a messiah, but he has really disappointed his supporters.”

Protesters broadcast their anger with signs and jeers, including Bob Nash, who came to protest from Cold Spring Harbor with a sign criticizing Obama for his relationship with Wall Street.

“Wall Street has been bailed out and the American people have been sold out because of Obama,” he said.

Others sang, “Obama is a Nazi.”

Passersby said they were angered by the protesters’ presence. One group of four encouraged protesters with signs to “use that shit for toilet paper.”

“They have a right to protest, but not to classify him as a Hitler,” Harlem resident Wesley Ward said. “He came in when the seat was hot. He ain’t kill nobody like Hitler did.”

Obama last came to Harlem in March for a $30,800-per-person dinner at the Red Rooster. Thursday night, for a sold-out fundraiser featuring the singers Al Green and India.Arie, tickets ranged from $100 to $25,000.

Some Harlem residents passing by the Apollo, who hadn’t known Obama was visiting, were taken aback by what they saw.

“I never saw protests in Harlem before,” resident Benjamin Carl said. “There weren’t protests when Bush was in office. Why now? Why in Harlem?”

Diane Sare, a Congressional candidate in New Jersey’s 5th District from the fringe LaRouche Democrats group, used the event to campaign against Obama. She insisted that his policies violate the Constitution.

“Sadly, Obama is the worst president we’ve ever had,” she said. “He bombed Libya without going through Congress, he signed NDAA [the National Defense Authorization Act] on New Year’s Eve when everyone was drunk, and he’s allowing U.S. citizens to be detained without a trial.”

A much smaller group welcomed Obama’s visit. Guy A. Surpris held up a sign thanking Obama for his actions following the earthquake in Haiti two years ago.

“I’m here because I want to thank the president for his help in Haiti following the earthquake. He provided help immediately and asked former President Bush to go help,” Surpris said. “On behalf of the Haitian people, and on behalf of those who passed away, I’m saying thank you.”

Harlem resident Gregory Gabson said it was “excellent” that Obama came to Harlem to campaign.

“Because he’s running, he needs to be in here letting people know he needs four more years,” Gabson said.

shayna.orens@columbiaspectator.com

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Challenge: Keep Church Relevant

Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/10507/-1/140/

Rising criminal activity and youth-on- youth violence in Anguilla question the effectiveness and relevance of the church in influencing the moral direction of its community.


Dr. Peters in discussion with church members in community service
Dr. Peters in discussion with church members in community service
Where is the power with which Jesus invested the founding members of the Christian church? Has the Holy Ghost power dissipated across the centuries and across cultures? Has the command to go out into the world and make disciples of all men been rendered less binding in this post-modern era of moral relativity and political correctness? Are we bored by the sameness of the gospel in the face of instant and constant Blackberry text messaging? Or have the Christians simply forgotten their mission?

Such questions were challenged by Dr. Henry Peters, Community Services Director, Personal Ministries Director and Executive Secretary for the North Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, in his mini-seminar The Church and its Mission on Saturday, 7th January to the Seventh-day Adventist church.

The seminar highlighted that the church was organised for mission in partnership with God to go; to make disciples; to baptise and to teach men to observe all things as commanded by Jesus. Therefore, "The first assignment of the Christian is as a missionary," explained Dr. Peters. He continued, "Wherever a Christian goes into the world; the church goes. When a Christian goes to work, the church goes also. What do people think of the church? What is the church buying? What is the church selling? What is the church drinking? If we are doing the same thing as the world, then the church is losing its distinctiveness."

How can the church effectively fulfill its mission in 2012 and beyond? The answer as proposed by Dr. Peters: "Move our thinking from membership to discipleship... We must be conscious of who we are, so that it influences what we do."

One of the supporting quotations to this seminar was taken from Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White:
In the commission to His disciples, Christ not only outlined their work, but gave them their message...The gospel is to be presented, not as a lifeless theory, but as a living force to change the life. God desires that the receivers of His grace shall be witnesses to His power.

Dr. Peters noted that "the relevance of the church has not been kept in the forefront of its members' minds... Members are not spectators... There is the need for members to see themselves as disciples - we are in this for the long haul."

Dr. Henry Peters served as district pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Anguilla from 1987 to 1993.


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