Dig Deeper: July 2018

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

MOON Archives PAGE

MOON Archives PAGE

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which thou hast ordained;
Psalm 8:3

God is NOT a Racist

https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2017/02/god-is-not-racist.html

Our Moon = DESIGNER

Lunar Rock Problem for Evolutionary Cosmology

http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2021/06/creation-moment-6262021-lunar-rock.html

{Tides} "precious things put forth by the moon"....

https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2022/04/creation-moment-4152022-tides-precious.html

Lesser Light MADE for our Planet

https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2022/09/creation-moment-912022-lesser-light.html

NASA Clickbait

https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2022/10/creation-moment-1082022-nasa-clickbait.html

Moon's Conundrum

https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2023/02/creation-moment-282023-moons-conundrum.html

Moon Theories

Dig Deeper: Creation Moment 10/25/2023 - Moon Theories (master1844-dc.blogspot.com)

---The Moon in Religion---

Easter Chained to Moon
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/04/easter-chained-to-moon.html
IN the NEWS - Chang'e 3

https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2017/12/in-news-change-3.html
On the Streets of Babylon: Blue Blood Moon Astrology?
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2017/12/on-streets-of-babylon-blue-blood-moon.html
On the Streets Of Babylon: Not Again?
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2018/07/on-streets-of-babylon-not-again.html
On the Streets of Babylon: This one takes the cake
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2017/08/on-streets-of-babylon-this-one-takes.html
Response to Catholics & Eclipse
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2017/08/response-to-catholics-eclipse.html
Lunar Sabbath" Heresy
https://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2017/03/lunar-sabbath-heresy.html

Psalm 93: Majesty of Christ's Kingdom

Psalm 93:

"This second psalm of the divine kingdom, speaks prophetically of the time when the Lord will rule on the earth in the person of the Messiah.

The Lord’s kingship is described (verses 1-2),
revealed in nature (verses 3-4),
and present in His house, the temple (verse 5).

Nothing is more powerful than the Lord; nothing is more steadfast than His reign, nothing is more sure than His revelation.

I. The Lord’s Universal Kingdom (93:1-4).

Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. vs.2

A. Over the Earth (93:1-2);

...the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. vs.1

B. Over the Sea (93:3-4).

The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. vs.4

II. The Lord’s Authoritative Revelation (93:5).
Thy testimonies are very sure: vs.5

The majesty,

power,

and holiness

of Christ's kingdom.

The floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. These repetitions are needed for the sake both of the poetry and the music, but they also suggest the frequency and the violence of wicked assaults upon the government of God.

Lastly, let me note in the Psalm these three things:
--In creation and nature: preestablished law along with continuous, personal government, --not as opposed to, but as presupposing one another.
--In Providence: "The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters" --which would otherwise strike terror, even as their swelling would threaten constant danger.
--And in grace: "His testimonies are very sure." I can rest on them.
*** The conclusion and inference from the whole matter is that "holiness" --not fear nor man serving, but separation unto the Lord."
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon/Alfred Edersheim

Puritan Corner - But Shadows.....

"God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends.
--These are but shadows;
but the enjoyment of God is the substance.
--These are but scattered beams;
but God is the sun.
--These are but streams;
but God is the fountain.
--These are but drops,
but God is the ocean."
by Jonathon Edwards (1703-1758)
The LORD is good... Nahum 1:7

Creation Moment 7/31/2018 - More of God's Building Blocks

Scutoid:
Scientists Discover an Entirely New Shape—
and It's Been Hiding Inside Your Skin Cells

And though I ...understand all mysteries,

and all knowledge; and ...and have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:2

"The word scutoid hasn't quite reached everyday lexicon as a shape yet because it is a really, really new shape. As described by a publication in Nature Communications entitled "Scutoids are a

geometrical solution to three-dimensional packing of epithelia", a team from the Universidad de Sevilla, Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide, and Lehigh University discovered and named a new shape.

Where can you find this shape? Many very very small parts called epithelial cells, the cells that help form the outer surface of your skin and line the insides of your organs such as your intestines.

Epithelial cells form protective barriers and thus must stay tightly packed together to not allow gaps and to communicate with each other. Traditional three-dimensional shapes such as columns or cubes may not permit the cells to remain tightly beside each other when an epithelial layer is curved, because, as you know, your skin and your organs are not completely flat unless you are a cartoon character......."We then discovered that this shape didn’t even have a name in math."

The study could have implications for a variety of fields, ranging from mathematics to biomedicine. Specifically, it could help scientists better understand how organs are formed during their development and, consequently, how certain diseases develop when this process is disrupted..... a new shape that they ended naming the scutoid, pronounced SCOO-Toid.
Forbes/Newsweek

Monday, July 30, 2018

Nehemiah's Ending Prayer Request

Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah 13:31

How do you want GOD to Remember you?

SDA Issues- Study, Study, Study

Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

"Every position of our faith will be searched into, and if we are not thorough Bible students, established, strengthened, settled, the wisdom of the world's great men will be too much for us.

The world is busy, anxious, and devoted.

All are in pursuit of some course that God has no part in.

Evil is eagerly followed as though it were righteousness, error as

though it were truth, and sin as though it were holiness. Darkness is thickening, covering the earth, and gross darkness the people, and shall God's peculiar people at such a time as this be asleep ? Shall those who hold the truth be silent, as if paralyzed ?"
Ellen G. White Letter 63, 1886

SDA News - Cook Island Election

"In the Cook Islands, two church members were elected to the nation’s parliament.
Elected to Cook Islands Parliament
Two Seventh-day Adventists are new members of the Cook Islands

parliament after the country recently held its general election.
Kitai Manuela Teinakore and Tereapii Maki-Kavana, both from the island of Aitutaki, are newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs). They join re-elected MP Toka Hagai, also an Adventist church member, who represents Rakahanga. Cook Islands prime minister Henry Puna, who comes from a strong Adventist family, was also re-elected." AR
And all the people said, Amen,... 1 Chronicles 16:36

IN the NEWS - Shinrin-yoku? What?

"The increasing popularity of Forest Bathing (Shinrin-yoku), particularly in California, echoes the adoption of other east-to-west health trends, such as yoga and meditation.

Those that practice Shinrin-yoku explain that it differs from hiking or informative nature excursions because it centers on the therapeutic aspects of forest bathing. It's where mindfulness meets nature.
Numerous US parks and resorts now offer guided forest-bathing activities, including hikes, meditation, and yoga under the canopy. “You walk out of the forest with your shoulders lower and more space and silence in your mind,” says Hope Parks, Wellhouse supervisor.

What these individuals fail to ask is why Nature has such a calming and stimulating effect. Failure to answer this underlying question undermines the value of the temporary relief we derive from such an activity. A stress-relieving moment with nature needs an ultimate, rewarding explanation of Nature’s source and meaning.
Self-generated matter that may accidentally became “personal” is an irrational and dissatisfying explanation of reality. We never observe a log becoming a person. It is always a log. In considering the world around us, we can come to only one of two possible conclusions: either matter creates itself or a personal transcendent Creator is at the source of reality. These are the only two options, as the Apostle Paul shows in Romans 1:25.

“They exchanged the truth about God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ..." (Romans 1:25)." Fulcrum7

Creation Moment 7/30/2018 - Neptune & Uranus by DESIGN

They are different - because they are unique - made that way by a DESIGNER. (Planetary uniqueness undermines evolutionary cosmology in our solar system).

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,..

Hebrews 11:3

"Neptune and Uranus are not the most distant objects in the solar system. They aren’t the biggest or

the smallest. They don’t have the brightest colors. But they do hold the greatest mysteries.

We have roved across Mars, we have orbited Jupiter, we have even landed on Venus. But our only close look at the ice giants Neptune and Uranus came more than 30 years ago when the Voyager 2 spacecraft hurtled past on its way out of the solar system. It snapped a few pictures, then the planets faded from view. “Everything we know up close about these planets and their moons is based on that single fly-by,” says NASA scientist Amy Simon.

Now impetus is building to go back. The little we do know about these frigid planets suggests they are extremely weird.
--They have crooked magnetic fields,
--they’re colder than they should be and
--we don’t know why they spin in odd ways.

Understanding all this is important, because in the past two decades our sky surveys have started spotting planets around other stars, and worlds about the size of Uranus and Neptune are the most common type. That tells us mid-sized gassy planets are a basic ingredient of the universe." NewScientest

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Contemplatives Abuse of Psalm 46:10

But What Does Psalm 46:10 Really Mean?

"Be still, and know that I am God . . . (Ps. 46:10). Those promoting contemplative or "listening" prayer point to this Scripture for endorsement.

Psalm 46 deals with the choices we have before us in times of difficulty. It is not a call for a contemplative life, but a challenge to depend entirely on God, His sovereignty, His power, His love, and His care.

Psalm 46:10 can be misunderstood and misinterpreted. The Hebrew term translated 'be still' in many modern English translations means to 'abandon, relax, stop striving.' It pictures a soldier who puts down his weapons, stops fighting, and lets down his defenses, because the danger has passed.

Verse 10 is not calling on us to live a contemplative, passive life, but to take a very active step of faith!

God is so dependable that it is as though the danger we still see has already passed, because He has already solved the problem. The verse doesn't just tell us to cease striving. It also tells us to know that He is God. That includes the ideas of acknowledging that He is God: that He is great above my understanding; that He is sovereign and perfect in how He deals with me; that nothing escapes His notice and nothing is beyond His ability."
LighthouseTrails

Microcosim of Great Controversy in Nehemiah 2?

Is there a Microcosim of the Great Controversy played out in Nehemiah 2?.....

Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart......And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?...And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
Nehemiah 2:2,3,5
* Christ pleading with the Father to come unto His people of spiritual "Judah"...to their "sepulchers" (graves) in this lost world, and rebuild His city and Sanctuary spiritually.

And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
Nehemiah 2:6
* Is the set time here the fullness of time Paul refers to? The mention of the "queen" sitting next to the king could be the Holy Spirit of the Godhead (NO-NOT that the Holy Spirit is a female--but rather since another, in this literal context, can't be a male, for that would make the king "gay", they use a "queen" here). One could argue that the one sharing the throne could be a "son", but the role of the "son" was being played here by Nehemiah, who could be symbolized in the Great Controversy's Plan of Redemption was made subservient and obedient to the Father unto the Cross as Paul tells us.

Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
Nehemiah 2:7
* Laws (Moral, Ceremonial, Statues of Moses) & Prophecies given announcing His coming? Both the 1st and 2nd time...?

When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel....
Nehemiah 2:10
* Is Sanballat a Type for satan?

So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
Nehemiah 2:11
* 3 "days" in the grave?

And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
Nehemiah 2:12
* The night in Gethsemane, the "few men" Peter, John & James who were with Him that night?...Is the beast referenced that He rode on into Jerusalem the donkey at the beginning of Passion week that He entered Jerusalem on?...would that be one of the many things in those "letters" (this case the prediction in Zechariah) which were to be given to the people?

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
Nehemiah 2:13
* Interesting, the "dragon well" (He drank of that "well" of the dragon/Lucifer to the last dregs for us) and compares this world ("port") of satan as "dung".

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
Nehemiah 2:16
* Remember the people-both followers and opponents-did not fully understand until after His resurrection

....and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Nehemiah 2:17
* Elsewhere in Scripture the wall be breached is the Law of God. Repair the Breach so as to not be a Reproach unto God.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
Nehemiah 2:19
* The counterfeit trinity who oppose God's people in the end who are repairing the breach in the walls of His Law?....Sanballat/Dragon/Lucifer- Tobiah/Beast- Geshem/False Prophet?

Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 2:20
* Those of spiritual Babylon (btw, where many of these returning Jews had once lived in) who will have no portion in the New Jerusalem?

----Just some thoughts---who knows if this is what the underlying meaning of Neh. 2 is---

The "Really" File - (Amazonian Eco-Drag Queens)

(Pray for Munduruku)

For although they knew God,

they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him,

but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:21 ESV

"Bare chested, wearing an ankle-length dress, painted yellow, green and red, with flowers or leaves in

his hair, it takes Brazil's Emerson Munduruku two hours to transform into Uyra Sodoma, his drag queen alter ego.

Munduruku's creation Uyra, often submerged up to the waist in water, is a colorful extension of the earth and nature.

His mission: to travel around Amazon villages, teaching conservation through performance art.

"Uyra has given me a new lease on life. She makes me happy. She makes me more comfortable in my skin and with other people, as well as with my

From the "Really" File

desires and concerns."

Munduruku says he doesn't believe in different genders: "They're the same, female, male. All I need is that people treat me with respect."

Now he spends his time travelling around small riverside villages to teach about environmental conservation through art. It's through this that Uyra emerges in her full splendor and glory."

Yahoo

REALLY?

SDA History: Early Views on Abortion

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16 NIV

"June 25, 1867, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald contained what apparently was the first statement on abortion to appear in Adventist literature. In an article titled "Fashionable Murder," the author, John Todd, praised the work of the Physicians' Crusade—a late nineteenth-century movement against abortion, which had been widely practiced in America during the early part of that century.

The abortion question was again addressed in the November 30, 1869, issue of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. Under the title "A Few Words Concerning a Great Sin" the Review said, "One of the most shocking and yet one of the most prevalent sins of this generation is the murder of unborn infants. Let those who think this a small sin read Psalm 139:16. They will see that even the unborn child is written in God's book. And they may be well assured that God will not pass unnoticed the murder of such children."

A Solemn Appeal contained the Adventist press's next reference to abortion. James White edited this book in 1870, while he was president of the General Conference. White excerpted a statement from Dr. E. P. Miller's Exhausted Vitality for inclusion in the book. The quotation he used reflects the strong sentiments of those physicians involved in the crusade against abortion. Miller castigated abortion as a "nefarious business," a "worse than devilish practice," and a "terrible sin."

Ellen G. White did not directly ad dress the issue of abortion, but she did make a number of strong statements regarding the sanctity of human life. For example, she wrote: "Life is mysterious and sacred. It is the manifestation of God Himself, the source of all life. . . .
"God looks into the tiny seed that He Himself has formed, and sees wrapped within it the beautiful flower, the shrub, or the lofty, wide-spreading tree. So does He see the possibilities in every human being."
And in another place she spoke even more directly to the point of protecting innocent human life when she wrote, "Human life, which God alone could give, must be sacredly guarded."
George B. Gainer

Creation Moment 7/29/2018 - Evolutionary Storytelling

"First snake found in amber is a baby from the age of the dinosaurs (New Scientist).

Amber fossils are always exciting; this one especially so, since it contains remains of a baby snake dated 100 million Darwin Years ago. Another piece of Burmese amber was found with pieces of skin that may be from a larger snake or a lizard. Michael LePage says that snake fossils are very rare. Only 15 snake fossils are known from this period, and none of them had ever been found in amber. Unfortunately the skull did not get preserved, but judging from the artwork, it looks like it was 100% snake. LePage obviously did not do eyewitness reporting for his opening story:

Around ~~100 million years~~ ago, a baby snake hatched on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. The tiny snake, just 10 centimetres long, got stuck in resin oozing from a tree.
That chunk of resin remained buried as the island drifted north and became part of what is now Myanmar." CEH

More Evolutionary storytelling....
The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright:
but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
Proverbs 15:2

Saturday, July 28, 2018

IN the NEWS - Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland political leader attacked for attending soccer game on a Sunday

Yet ancient Irish Christians worshiped on the seventh-day Sabbath

"Because Northern Ireland is divided in so many ways, it's difficult for the various factions to find common ground on any level. This has been especially highlighted in the religious censure aimed at Foster.

But religious division goes back a long way on the Emerald Island. Research indicates that the Celts were first evangelized in the region of Galatia in Asia Minor by the apostle Paul and later the apostle John. These first-century Christians shared their new faith with Celts in Gaul (modern France) and then carried the light of the gospel to their fellow clansmen in the isles of Briton and Ireland.

While Patrick, the famous saint of Ireland, was not the first to bring God’s Word to the ancient Celts, he was one of the early leaders in building a system of schools in Ireland. Taken as a slave from Briton, he learned the Celtic language and later returned to bring the light of the gospel to his former persecutors. He found other believers on the island and worked with them to evangelize the country. His beliefs were strictly based on the Scriptures; for instance, the schools he founded followed the example of Christ in observing the seventh-day Sabbath.

Subsequent war and political intrigue with the Papacy resulted in the transition of the Christian day of worship from the seventh day to the first day. Nearly five hundred years later, Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scotland, was still attempting to bring Scotland into line with Sunday worship. However, the island maintained “the traditional usage of the ancient Irish Church, which observed Saturday instead of Sunday as the day of rest” (Barnett, Margaret of Scotland: Queen and Saint, p. 97).

As time went on, the Catholic Church eventually claimed Patrick as one of its own, despite the fact that he stood against many of its key doctrines. ...Today, Patrick is honored as the patron saint of Ireland, but few realize that he worshiped faithfully on the seventh-day Sabbath.

The Sabbath has been a key identifier of God’s faithful people for thousands of years, and the recent attention of Christian writers and news outlets on this issue is evidence that Bible prophecy is fast fulfilling. Scripture foretold the attempt to change the day of the Sabbath. The prophet Daniel wrote, “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25). This apostate power would appear to be successful in trampling upon God’s law—for a time.
The book of Revelation expands on these exciting events as the prophet identifies the distinguishing characteristics of God’s people at the end of time. “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14)."
SabbathTruth

IN the NEWS - DuPéré: the 6,500 vs. $9,000

"A Toronto plastic surgeon who calls himself a “leader in the LGBT community” says he has performed mastectomies on girls as young as 14 who identity as boys.

Marc DuPéré

.....the doctor, Marc DuPéré, who said he performed surgeries to remove the breasts of two 14-year-old girls in the past five years who considered themselves transgender. He has conducted mastectomies on girls ages 15 and 16, too. The surgery costs around $9,000.
“Parents should encourage questioning with their children to understand ‘their story,’” he told the website.
In an online forum with a patient, DuPéré was asked the youngest age he would perform a mastectomy. He responded “14 and older” and said it’s helpful if the child is 16-18 or older.
“As long as it is clear your child is firm about the decision to transition and with my consultation with him and yourself, I would be happy to help,” the post read.
One controversy –– is that a child may grow to regret the decision to have surgery. Michelle Cretella, president of the American College of Pediatricians, says it’s not uncommon for children who experience gender confusion to stop having those feelings.
“There are at least 6,500 genetic differences between men and women,” Cretella says .... “Hormones and surgery cannot, and do not, change this.”
BCN

For the love of money is the root of all evil:

1 Timothy 6:10

Gibberish Tongues Debunked

If therefore the whole church be come together into one place,

and all speak with tongues,

and there come in those that are unlearned,

or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

1 Corinthians 14:23

"In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul continues the discussion of spiritual gifts by focusing on speaking in tongues versus prophecy.

However, the real issues are:
(1) who is to benefit in a worship context; and
(2) disorder creates problems in the worship service.

The discussion of tongues must be understood against this background.
Who is going to benefit from the exercise of this spiritual gift—the gifted person only or others also (14:2–6, 9)?
Paul is clear: The goal must be to edify the church (vss. 4, 5, 12, 17, 26).
Furthermore, for outsiders the impression must be avoided that church members are out of their mind (vs. 23). Verses 27 to 40 discuss the problem of disorder in the worship service in Corinth.

Paul points out that since spiritual gifts can be controlled by the recipients, only two or three persons should speak in turn and that an interpretation should be provided. If these rules are not maintained, speaking in tongues has no place in the worship service of the Corinthian church. The same is also true for prophecy (vss. 29–32). Thus, the context makes it clear that the issue is the abuse of spiritual gifts."
EkkehardtMueller/PD

* Tongues was speaking a foreign language. Not the Gibberish of the modern charismatics.

Parable of the Sower SERIES PAGE

Parable of the Sower SERIES PAGE

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

Mark 4:3

The Service Of The Sod performed by MICHAEL CARD

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9NNYtsWwzGU?list=PLT70zxsi10M91rusCIUsvMeC1G7oGvtcf

Creation Moment 7/28/2018 - HGT vs. foreign genes

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God created he him;
Genesis 1:27

A Big Problem for Common Descent:

Hundreds of "Active ‘Foreign’ Genes"

Don’t Fit the Standard Evolutionary Phylogeny

"A new paper in Genome Biology, “Expression of multiple horizontally acquired genes is a hallmark of both vertebrate and invertebrate genomes,” reports the discovery of many genes that do not fit the standard evolutionary phylogeny. Science Daily states:

Many animals, including humans, acquired essential ‘foreign’ genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times, according to research published in the open access journal Genome Biology. The study challenges conventional views that animal evolution relies solely on genes passed down through ancestral lines, suggesting that, at least in some lineages, the process is still ongoing.
The transfer of genes between organisms living in the same environment is known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT). It is well known in single-celled organisms and thought to be an important process that explains how quickly bacteria evolve, for example, resistance to antibiotics.

Whenever you hear “horizontal gene transfer” invoked in a context like this, what that really means is that biologists have uncovered genetic data sharply at variance with the standard evolutionary phylogenetic tree. So just how prevalent is “horizontal gene transfer” are genes that don’t fit the standard evolutionary phylogeny? According to the Science Daily piece, they’re very prevalent:

Lead author Alastair Crisp from the University of Cambridge, UK, said: “This is the first study to show how widely horizontal gene transfer (HGT) occurs in animals, including humans, giving rise to tens or hundreds of active ‘foreign’ genes. Surprisingly, far from being a rare occurrence, it appears that HGT has contributed to the evolution of many, perhaps all, animals and that the process is ongoing, meaning that we may need to re-evaluate how we think about evolution.”

Essentially, they take a gene, sequence it, and then try to match the gene to other species thought to be closely related. If the gene doesn’t align with genes from closely related species, they assume it’s of “foreign origin.” They presume that this means there was horizontal gene transfer. However, in reality all the raw data really shows is a gene that appears in a location entirely incongruent with what we’d expect from common descent.

Science Daily again:

The researchers studied the genomes of 12 species of Drosophila or fruit fly, four species of nematode worm, and 10 species of primate, including humans. They calculated how well each of their genes aligns to similar genes in other species to estimate how likely they were to be foreign in origin. By comparing with other groups of species, they were able to estimate how long ago the genes were likely to have been acquired.

Indeed, using these methods “they confirmed 17 previously reported genes acquired from HGT, and identified 128 additional foreign genes in the human genome that have not previously been reported.” These “foreign genes in the human genome” had all kinds of functions:

Some of those genes were involved in lipid metabolism, including the breakdown of fatty acids and the formation of glycolipids. Others were involved in immune responses, including the inflammatory response, immune cell signalling, and antimicrobial responses, while further gene categories include amino-acid metabolism, protein modification and antioxidant activities.

The technical paper tries to explain this data through HGT:

The acquisition of genes from an organism other than a direct ancestor (that is, horizontal gene transfer (HGT) also called lateral gene transfer) is well known in bacteria and unicellular eukaryotes, where it plays an important role in evolution, with recent estimates suggesting that on average 81% of prokaryotic genes have been involved in HGT at some point. However, relatively few cases have been documented in multicellular organisms.
(Alastair Crisp, Chiara Boschetti, Malcolm Perry, Alan Tunnacliffe, Gos Micklem, “Expression of multiple horizontally acquired genes is a hallmark of both vertebrate and invertebrate genomes,” Genome Biology, 16 (1) (2015).)

But what does it mean to “document” HGT in a multicellular organism? For them, again, it simply means finding a gene that contradicts the phylogeny. They don’t actually demonstrate that the gene arose by HGT. They just find a gene that seems more similar to one in another very different type of organism (like bacteria, protists, or fungi) than to more closely related organisms. Then they assume it got there by HGT.

UC Davis microbiologist and molecular systematist Jonathan Eisen critiqued this paper, noting:

Many researchers show evidence that is consistent with the occurence of HGT (which they did here) but few actually explicitly test alternative hypotheses such as gene loss, bad alignments, convergence, divergence, contamination, random noise, and more. I think their work is certainly interesting, but they just have not tested all of these alternatives.

In addition to the options Eisen lists, another possible alternative hypothesis is that this evidence simply reflects the fact that common descent is not correct. In any case, as Prof. Eisen correctly points out, the authors of the study just assume that phylogenetically incongruent data reflects HGT, not considering other possible alternative explanations.
The Genome Biology paper concludes:

Although observed rates of acquisition of horizontally transferred genes in eukaryotes are generally lower than in prokaryotes, it appears that, far from being a rare occurrence, HGT has contributed to the evolution of many, perhaps all, animals and that the process is ongoing in most lineages. Between tens and hundreds of foreign genes are expressed in all the animals we surveyed, including humans.

Certainly the authors mean what they say, but this statement can also be understood in a very different manner. They say “HGT” or “foreign genes,” but at base all that really means is “genes that conflict with the phylogeny.”
EN&V

Thursday, July 26, 2018

On the Streets of Babylon: Homoerotic Dancing in Church?

Babylon is fallen, is fallen,...

Come out of her, my people,

Revelation 14:8/18:4

There seems to be some "Homoerotic" Dancing on the Streets of Babylon....

"A service in Germany celebrating a Catholic priest’s recent ordination featured a homoerotic dance.

The newly ordained Fr. Fabian Ploneczka, 33, of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese, celebrated his first Mass on Sunday, July 15 at his home church of St. Moritz in Augsburg. The Mass was preceded by

three evening services, dubbed a “Triduum,” in the church, focusing on subjects of interest to the new priest. The events included a Saturday evening service dedicated to the theme of eroticism in the Christian faith.

According to the Augsburger Allgemeine, the worship service included the premiere of a ballet entitled “Jeremiah: Passion of the Prophet”, featuring ballet dancer Clemens Fröhlich of Munich and a narrated libretto written by Ploneczka himself. Observers told the German “Katholische Nachrichten”(kath.net) news site that the dancer performed dressed only in tight, skin-colored underpants.

“The whole church became a dance floor, even the altar area,” kath.net reported. “There the dancer took the Gospel in his hand, stepped almost naked to the ambo, and lolled suggestively in front of the altar.”

Afterwards Fr. Thomas Steiger of Tübingen, a pastor and radio personality, gave a talk on the “eroticism of the faith,” speaking of “a sensual love for Jesus.”
According to kath.net, a young man interrupted the service by shouting that everyone should undress and began to follow his own advice, standing up to display his naked torso. Some of the attendees, among whom were children, left early.
“Worshipers told kath.net that there was a clearly homophile, yes, homoerotic event in a consecrated church,” the news site reported."
Lifesite

What We BELIEVE

* And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE. 1 Corinthians 13:13

* Genesis 1-11 is actual HISTORY

* The 10 Commandments WAS - IS - & WILL BE the LAW of GOD

* REVELATION is written in symbols for actual end time events

* The SANCTUARY lays out the Plan of Salvation (Justification / Outer Court + Sanctification / Inner Court = preparation for your Judgment / Most Holy Place)

* The solemnity of the 7th day SABBATH (Saturday) was NEVER transferred to the 1st day of the week (Sunday) by God

* The modern charismatic movement is a counterfeit Latter Rain

* The Mark-of-the-beast will involve some sort of counterfeit Sabbath

* "Soul Sleep" for the State of the Dead (dead until the resurrection)

* The Godhead (Trinity) are 3 separate beings who work together in unity

* The GODHEAD's Existence is ETERNAL (in other words-The arrow of time stretching for Infinity in both directions)

* The GREEN RELIGION (modern environmental movement) is a cleverly cloaked spiritualism for the "sophisticated" modern world

* The Little Horn of Daniel & the Beast of Revelation (a.k.a. the anti-christ to some) is one & the same institution - the same institution the Reformers declared it to be during the Reformation

* Marriage is between ONE man & ONE woman

* The Emerging Church movement -- & spiritual formation are modern day GNOSTICISM & have NO place within Christendom

* Women Ordination is an ASSAULT on the foundation of the Godhead (as God is the head of Christ in an ecclesiastical setting - so too was the man placed as the head of the woman in an ecclesiastical setting -- outside this setting they are equal as Christ is with the Father)

* Baptism is by Immersion at an age of consent

* Justification + Sanctification = TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH....(Justification) Neither do I condemn thee: (Sanctification) go, and sin no more. John 8:11

* God is NOT homophobic -- rather He is sexual immorality phobic (HE places adultery, fornication, rape, bestiality, cross dressing AND homosexuality ALL in the same category)

* "HELL" is NOT an eternally burning place -- rather it is the Lake of Fire where the wicked will be destroyed together once & for all when this Great Controversy between God & His opponent comes to an end....God does NOT torment people for eternity

* The "Great Controversy" theme is the prism to make sense of this universal conflict between God & His opponent, of which we play a part on this space fabric of time as a "spectacle" (as Paul calls it) before all watching

* Biblical "speaking in tongues" was a GIFT of known foreign languages for Evangelization (not the gibberish "tongues" uttered in churches today)

* Historicism is the way to interpret eschatology from the view of the prophetic porch (NOT preterism, futurism or idealisim)

* The 3 Angel's Message (of Rev.14) is the central Mission of the SDA Church & the Sanctuary Doctrine (& it's sub-doctrine of the Investigative Judgment) is the Cornerstone Doctrine of the Denomination

* The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a SYMBOLIC Remembrance

* The 2nd Advent of Christ will be a literal, visible, physical return where EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM & that is when the dead will rise & the living be caught up-- Not at some sort of a "secret rapture" before His return...

* On the Nature of Christ - He was born with our sinful fallen nature / propensities--yet did NOT sin - hence His ability to be the spotless Lamb of God - the Lamb without blemish to cover ours

* 7th Day Adventism did not rise up at the end of the time-frame of Daniel 8:14 to be just another denomination to hang upon the wall of Christendom...

* The Dispensations around the Cross are 1) Before the Cross the Plan of Redemption laid out in the earthly Sanctuary in Types & Symbols patterned after the Heavenly Sanctuary {from the Altar of Sacrifice to the Mercy Seat} 2) After the Cross shifts to the REALITY of the Heavenly Sanctuary {from the Cross to the Judgment Seat}. ---- We REJECT the Dispensationalism that says "before the cross we were saved by the Law & after the Cross by Grace" ---- (the reason is because on BOTH SIDES OF THE CROSS we were never saved by the Law and always saved by Grace)

* We REJECT the DISGUSTING "Prosperity Gospel" as many see TV (so-called) Evangelists preach today

* Justification & Sanctification Simplified - God draws the BOUNDARIES with His LAW. When we step outside of them it's called SIN. (He offers JUSTIFICATION to remedy it). But afterwards He expects us to step back within those Boundaries (called SANCTIFICATION ).

* EndTime "BABYLON" - Confederacy of the Counterfeit Trinity of the "Dragon", "Beast" & "False Prophet" of Rev.16:13. (Also a term of Reference for the Fallen Condition of Christendom)

*The OLD TESTAMENT is simply the NEW TESTAMENT in Types & Symbols- therefore both are valid for Study & Doctrine.

* "A Minister's words are only of Value as long as his word's are an Echo of the Word's of God." {Dwayne Lemon}

* We REJECT the Church being involved with the ECUMENICAL movement....where do you see in Scripture God's people ever being told to be Ecumenical with neighboring religions?.. Nowhere....

*We believe in "Replacement Theology", that "Israel" in prophetic terms and spiritually is God's people...NOT Literal, Modern Day Israel in the Middle East.

* Tithing is Biblical: MONEY (1/10 to God) TIME (1/7 to God- the 7th day of the week, called the SABBATH)

* Soteriology: We believe in total FREE WILL as a component. - Therefore we Reject Sacramentalism, Predestination, Once-Saved-Always-Saved, Universalism & Pluralism.

* The HEALTH MESSAGE-Live it as best you can. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest....be in health... 3 John 1:2

* And always remember - "If you feel yourself to be the greatest sinner, Christ is just what you need, the greatest Savior. Lift up your head and look away from yourself, away from your sin, to the uplifted Savior; away from the poisonous, venomous bite of the serpent to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." Ellen White {JUSTIFICATION}

* "God has given us His commandments, not only to be believed in, but to be obeyed." Ellen White {SANCTIFICATION}

* SUMMARY: "Every chapter and every verse of the Bible is a communication from God to men." Ellen White

* WARNING: "...by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence." Ellen White

Are Ashes Upon Your Lips?

The love of God still yearns over the one who has chosen to separate from Him, and He sets in operation influences to bring him back to the Father's house.
--Have you, reader, chosen your own way?
--Have you wandered far from God?
--Have you sought to feast upon the fruits of transgression, only to find them turn to ashes upon your lips?
Now that voice which has long been speaking to your heart but to which you would not listen comes to you distinct and clear, Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest; because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. Micah 2:10. Return to your Father's house. He invites you, saying, Return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee. Isa. 44:22.
E.G.W.

And the Spirit & the bride say, come.... Reveaaltion 22:17

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Monday, July 30, 2018

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Thursday, July 26, 2018