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

And the Spirit & the bride say, come.... Reveaaltion 22:17
And the Spirit & the bride say, come...Revelation 22:17 - May We One Day Bow Down In The DUST At HIS FEET ...... {click on blog TITLE at top to refresh page}---QUESTION: ...when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? LUKE 18:8

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Health Note - Cranberries

Beloved,
I wish above all things that thou mayest ....
....be in health, .....
3 John 1:2
"Cranberries are good for preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs) and consuming them on a regular basis could cut back on your need for antibiotics thanks to one powerful antioxidant. All berries contain antioxidant compounds call polyphenols.
Cranberries in particular contain a unique type of polyphenol called proanthocyanidins (PACS);
studies have shown that PACS help keep the urinary tract free from a bacteria known for getting stuck in places like your bladder walls or stomach lining and wreaking uncomfortable havoc.  A study by Ocean Spray researchers found that women who consumed a glass of 27 percent cranberry juice every day for six months reduced the number of UTIs they got by 40 percent compared to those who drank a placebo “UTIs are the second most common infection that leads to antibiotic use, and antibiotic resistance is a major health issue right now,”says Christina Khoo, director of research sciences at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. “We think that cranberry is the nutritional approach to maintaining your urinary tract health.”

Cranberries are nature’s anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is the cause of many health conditions such as arthritis, Alzheimer’s, or heart disease. But drinking two 8 oz. glasses of high polyphenol cranberry juice a day could help fight this disease-causing inflammation. The polyphenols interact with other bioactive cranberry compounds to suppress the cells that stimulate inflammation in our bodies and give our immune systems an extra boost. Dietitians recommend foregoing the high sugar cranberry juice blends for an unsweetened or low sugar juice option.

Cranberries are packed with dietary fiber, which may help lower your risk of developing bowel cancer. Dietary fiber creates bulk in your stomach to swiftly move waste through your colon and helps produce butyrate, a substance that inhibits the growth of tumors in your colon and rectum.

PACs and anthocyanins give cranberries their bright red color, but these antioxidants also promote collagen production, which helps keep your skin tight and gives it that youthful glow.

As if cranberry’s antioxidants didn’t work hard enough, they also reduce dental plaque and help prevent gum disease. The PACs have an anti-inflammatory effect that stops periodontal pathogens and bacteria from forming, which keeps your gums and teeth healthy." ReadersDigest
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REFORMATION 101 SERIES: Farel

"William Farel (1489 – 1565)
When the writings of Dr. Martin Luther came to France, Professor Jacques Lefevre, at Sorbonne University in Paris, expounded the Epistles of St. Paul and taught the Reformation doctrines of Justification by the Grace of God alone, received by Faith alone. William Farel was one of the students who came to Faith in Christ.
Farel became one of the most prominent leaders in the French Reformation movement, winning whole cities to Christ. William Farel's powerful street preaching was described as full of fire and fury. The pope was anti-Christ. The mass idolatry. His sermons were cannon blasts. His oratory gripped whole cities. Farel was called "the scourge of the priests." Several priests attempted to assassinate Farel. After one attempt on his life failed, Farel whirled around and declared to the priest who had fired the bullet: "I am not afraid of your shots!"
succeeded in winning most of French speaking Switzerland to the Protestant Faith. Amongst these were the cities of Neuchatel and Geneva.
It was at this decisive point that 27 year old, French Reformer, John Calvin, was forced by a local war to detour through Geneva. He expected to be in the city for only one night. But Farel heard of this famous scholar and author of The Institutes and he rushed over to recruit him. But Calvin was not interested. The more Farel explained his plans and described the situation in Geneva, the less Calvin felt inclined to stay. He realised that to accept Farel's challenge would involve him in controversies and conflict, and his timid nature shrank from such unscholarly activities. Calvin's mind was set on a lifetime of study. But Farel insisted that he stay and help disciple Geneva. Farel rose from his chair and thundered: "May God curse your studies if now, in her time of need, you refuse to lend your aid to His Church."
John Calvin was visibly shaken, and he recalled later, struck with terror. In Farel's voice of thunder, Calvin heard the call of God.
Farel’s practice was to go into the market places of Catholic towns and preach the Gospel. When attempts were made to arrest him, he challenged the local priests, or bishop, to a public debate.
For the last 27 years of his life, Farel pastored the church in Neuchatel, one of the first towns that he had won to Christ. Farel’s dynamic faith, missionary vision and evangelistic campaigns had in large measure been used of God to win much of French speaking Switzerland to Christ." RefSA
 
....for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
Jeremiah 15:14
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Creation Moment 10/24/2016 - Disturbing "Consensus"

"Consensus positions clearly may only represent the group opinion at one instant in time, and may not represent the true range of uncertainty about the issue at hand.... This is disturbing because consensus is often used in the geosciences."
       — Andrew Curtis, "The Science of Subjectivity," Geology (40:1), Jan. 2012
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8

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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Pentecost Sermon SERIES by Stephen Bohr

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REFORMATION 101 SERIES: Calvin

"John Calvin (1509-1564) was the son of a French Notary.  He studied to become a priest, and read humanist writings until his father decided that he should study law instead. Although he completed all his legal studies, he did not practice law, but returned to Paris to study. He proved to be a brilliant writer and astute scholar; however he was forced to leave Paris when a classmate delivered an address with heretical overtones. Calvin was known to have helped write the address. Fleeing Paris, he traveled to Strasbourg and later Basel, where at age twenty six he first published his Institutes of
the Christian Religion, in March, 1536. The Institutes became a life work;...
 
Calvin’s writings reveal a man tortured by anxiety and self doubt. He frequently spoke of the “abyss” over which mankind hovered.
The most important element of his  theology was the doctrine of predestination. Calvin wrote that God was sublime, and so overwhelming and awe-inspiring that human beings were insignificant, sinful, and unworthy. Yet God was also a God of love, who planned from the beginning of the universe to the end of time, and selected some human beings, the “elect,” for salvation; others were selected for damnation:
 
Predestination was the area in which Luther and Calvin disagreed most. Where Luther had emphasized reconciliation to God through faith, Calvin emphasized obedience to His will.  Calvin’s position on the Eucharist was between that of Luther and Zwingli. He argued that there was a “spiritual” presence. There was such a close connection between the communion host and the gift of salvation which it symbolizes that one can “easily pass from one to the other. For why should the Lord put in your hand the symbol of his body unless it was to assure you that you really participate in it?”
 
In July, 1536, Calvin ended up in Geneva, Switzerland. ....Calvin insisted that the city ordinances comply with religious teaching.  No distinction was made between occurrences which could be considered crimes and those which were simply “un-Christian.” Card playing, “licentious dancing,” theater-going, drunkenness, gambling, and swearing were outlawed. Absence from sermons, criticism of ministers, and family quarrels were punished. Punishment was provided for laughing during a sermon, having one’s fortune told, or praising the Pope. Drinking establishments were permitted, but a Bible must always be present, no lewd songs could be song or cards played, and grace must be said before all meals.
 
Said one cynic: you can do anything you want in Geneva, as long as you do not enjoy it.”
 
John Calvin had no tolerance for those who dissented from his religious viewpoints. He referred to them as “dogs and swine.”
 
Calvin left Geneva, but returned in 1541, where he was appointed Pastor, and paid a handsome salary based on a tax on kegs of wine. One member of the town council had the audacity to call Calvin a “wicked man who preaches false doctrine.” Calvin insisted as a condition of his return that the man apologize publicly, and march through the town wearing a hair shirt as a sign of his disgrace." Z,A&C
 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God.
1 Peter 2:16
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SDA News - NAD giving Halloween Tips?

"Modern spiritualism and the forms of ancient witchcraft ...--all having communion with the dead as their vital principle--are founded upon that first lie by which Satan beguiled Eve in Eden:
"Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, . . . ye shall be as gods." Genesis 3:4, 5."
Patriarchs & prophets p.685 E.G.W.
 

IS NAD (North American Division) under Dan Jackson promoting Halloween among church members??? This article (by Rajinie Sigamoney Dixit ) appears in NAD's Ministerial publication, on the NAD website.....
Uhm.....what about October 31 being promoted as what it once was in Christendom---REFORMATION DAY????

"What about Halloween?
If you grew up in the North American church, especially in the 70s and 80s, you might have some fear and trepidation at the thought of celebrating Halloween. When I was small, my parents only knew Halloween as an American tradition of dressing up and going house to house asking for
candy. It was as unusual (and pagan) as Christmas trees and Easter eggs. In their effort to help my brother and I fit into our suburban neighborhood, we participated. Those years gave me many happy memories of peeking into very American homes and meeting people who were different from us. Because my Halloweens were family-friendly, I continued the tradition with my kids in our neighborhoods, leaving the porch light on and vying for title of “House with the Best Candy.” I’m so glad to belong to a church that also embraces Halloween as a missional opportunity for our families.

I believe that Halloween presents a valuable evangelistic opportunity to connect with our neighbors, where it is acceptable and expected that strangers will open their doors, greet each other, and share with each other. I believe that we should challenge our members to leverage this opportunity to be known for reflecting God’s welcome and generous spirit. I believe that when people knock on our doors this Halloween, that we should not only offer treats, but also an invitation to linger – an invitation to come back later that evening or at a later date to sip apple cider or cocoa and get to know each other better. I even think that churches can provide the beverages free for families that sign up and report back with a photo taken at their “host the neighbors” event.

 If there are dress up activities and parties at school or in the neighborhood, talk to your kids about what the activities will contain and if they fit with your values. Dressing up, eating candy and visiting with neighbors don’t have to be off-limits, but set guidelines on what kind of costumes are acceptable, how much candy is acceptable and which homes they may visit (neighborhood, friends and family, or the mall)." .....How about talking to your kids on Reformation day about the Reformation instead of weaseling around justifying participating in Halloween to them??...This is what NAD is now promoting- Halloween Tips??
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Creation Moment 10/23/2016 - Creation in Isaiah

"Isaiah.
        Taking Isaiah’s temple vision as a chronological departure point, Isaiah 6:1 describes Yahweh along the lines of the heavenly king metaphor identified earlier as allusive to creation. The Song of the Vineyard in the preceding chapter presents an important aspect of creation in demonstrating the interconnection of God’s
creation and His intervention in history, placing it in the context of Israel’s election. Isaiah 5:12 provides a further insight into Isaiah’s creation theology: Sin is in reality not acknowledging God’s deeds in creation.
        In Isaiah 17:7, the prophet takes up the theme developed by Hosea of Yahweh as the “Maker” of humankind. The image of Yahweh as the potter of Isaiah 29:16 ...        Isaiah 40–55 has been called the center of Isaiah’s theology; whereas Isaiah 36–39 fulfills a bridging role carefully linking the previous chapters to the remainder of the book. It has been argued that the so-called Deutero-Isaiah introduces creation as a new theological topic to the book, but the preceding observations show that the theme is “deeply continuous with the Isaian tradition.” Though creation terminology abounds in the whole book, creation occurs in Isaiah 40–55 in connection with the Exodus and conquest (41:17-20; 42:13-17; 43:16-21; 49:8-12), placing creation in history. Furthermore, creation is positioned alongside redemption (44:24) pointing to the theological significance of the motif in introducing Cyrus as the agent of God’s redemption. In this way, the Exodus serves as a typological guarantee for the future redemption from the Babylonian exile through Cyrus (vs. 28). The theocentric manifestation that God forms light and creates darkness as much as peace and evil (45:7) serves as an introduction to God as a potter metaphor (vss. 9-13), which illustrates the absolute sovereignty of God within the realms of human history. (The view of God also being responsible for the creation of evil fits well within the theocentric Hebrew worldview and forestalls any notions of dualism.)
        The final division of the Book of Isaiah (chaps. 56–66) focuses on the creation of Zion with Isaiah 60–62 at the center of the section describing the glorious city. The book’s grand finale in chapters 65–66 adds an eschatological dimension to creation theology in Isaiah describing renewal and restoration in terms of creation. But creation in these last chapters refers not only to Zion as a place, but foremost to its inhabitants, who need re-creation and transformation: “‘Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy’” (65:18, NIV).
        Summarizing Isaian creation theology, the following becomes apparent.
*Creation in Isaiah 1–39 is focused on God’s sovereignty over His creation and the establishment of a personal relationship with humanity, exemplified by the usage of the potter metaphor, which points back to Genesis 2.
*In Isaiah 40–55, the theme focuses on the creation of Israel as a nation in history by connecting creation with the Exodus and theologically with salvation.
*In Isaiah 56–66, creation is centered on the future re-creation of Zion and its people in response to the failure of a pre-exilic Israel. Thus, we have a sequential development of creation theology in the Book of Isaiah that follows a natural progression of thought."
PerspectiveDigest
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Friday, October 21, 2016

5 Points of EndTime "Elijah"

"End-time Interpretation:

The partial fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi in the ministry of John the Baptizer will find its ultimate fulfillment before the coming of Christ.
A brief look at the book of Revelation points,
first, to the coming of a false Elijah who will cause “fire [to] come down from heaven” (Rev. 13:13; cf. 1 Kings 18:36-38) in order to gather the kings of the earth in preparation for the “battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14).
Second, this false Elijah is not an individual but an apostate movement claiming to have the
spirit of Elijah, when in reality deceptive miracles are performed through the power of demonic spirits (Rev. 16:13, 14).
Third, the work of a false Elijah points to the end-time mission of the true Elijah as summarized in the messages of the three angels (Rev. 14:6-12). It refers to a movement raised by God to invite His people to come out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4). This movement is called the end-time remnant (Rev. 12:17); they are “faithful followers” of the Lamb (Rev. 17:14, NIV).
Fourth, their message, in agreement with Malachi, announces the judgment of God that will bring salvation through the eternal gospel to those who “fear God” (Rev. 14:7), and destruction to the wicked (verses 10, 11). Those who fear the Lord obey/keep God’s commandments (verse 12). They restore the faith of their apostolic fathers as found in the New Testament, calling God’s people to return to Him.
Fifth, they are, like Elijah and John the Baptizer, possessed by the power of the Spirit. They listen to what the Spirit said to the church (Rev. 3:14-22), and, empowered by the angel of Revelation 18:1, they will illuminate the earth with God’s glory in a last attempt to prepare the world for the coming of the Lord. They receive the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord, announced in Joel 2:28, 29, and that will happen “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31, NIV).
The work of Elijah should be our work." BRI
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Crimson for Crimson

The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.
  Matthew 9:6
 
"Behold one of the great
Physician's mightiest arts:
He has power to forgive sin!
 
While here He lived below, before the ransom had been paid, before the blood had been literally sprinkled on the mercy-seat, He had power to forgive sin.
 
 If ye doubt it, see Him rising from the dead!
behold Him in ascending splendor raised to the right hand of God! Hear Him pleading before the eternal Father,
pointing to His wounds,
urging the merit of His sacred passion!
 
The most crimson sins
are removed by the crimson of His blood.
 
He can breathe into thy soul at this very moment a peace with God which passeth all understanding, which shall spring from perfect remission of thy manifold iniquities. Dost thou believe that? I trust thou believest it. ...Waste no time in applying to the Physician of souls..."
Charles Spurgeon
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Babylon Rising Sermon SERIES by John Bradshaw

Babylon Rising Sermon SERIES
(by John Bradshaw)
 
Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!
for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Revelation 18:10
Babylon Rising
The Day of the Dragon  
Mystery and Mayhem  
The Writing on the Wall  
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REFORMATION 101 SERIES: Tyndale

"William Tyndale (1494-1536) could speak seven languages and was proficient in ancient Hebrew and Greek. He was a priest whose intellectual gifts and disciplined life could have taken him a long way in the church—had he not had one compulsion: to teach English men and women the good news of justification by faith.
Tyndale had discovered this doctrine when he read Erasmus's Greek edition of the New Testament.
What better way to share this message with his countrymen than to put an English version of the New Testament into their hands? This, in fact, became Tyndale's life passion, aptly summed up in the words of his mentor, Erasmus: "Christ desires his mysteries to be published abroad as widely as possible. I would that [the Gospels and the epistles of Paul] were translated into all languages, of all Christian people, and that they might be read and known."
1525, his New Testament emerged: the first translation from Greek into the English language. It was quickly smuggled into England, where it received a less-than-enthusiastic response from the authorities. King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey, and Sir Thomas More, among others, were furious.
Authorities bought up copies of the translation (which, ironically, only financed Tyndale's further work) and hatched plans to silence Tyndale.
Meanwhile Tyndale had moved to Antwerp, a city in which he was relatively free from both English agents and those of the Holy Roman (and Catholic) Empire.
On Mondays he visited other religious refugees from England. On Saturdays he walked Antwerp's streets, seeking to minister to the poor. On Sundays he dined in merchants' homes, reading Scripture before and after dinner. The rest of the week he devoted to writing tracts and books and translating the Bible.
Finally, in early August 1536, Tyndale was condemned as a heretic, degraded from the priesthood, and delivered to the secular authorities for punishment.
On Friday, October 6, after local officials took their seats, Tyndale was brought to the cross in the middle of the town square and given a chance to recant. That refused, he was given a moment to pray. English historian John Foxe said he cried out, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes!"
Then he was bound to the beam, and both an iron chain and a rope were put around his neck. Gunpowder was added to the brush and logs. At the signal of a local official, the executioner, standing behind Tyndale, quickly tightened the noose, strangling him. Then an official took up a lighted torch and handed it to the executioner, who set the wood ablaze.
One other brief report of that distant scene has come down to us. It is found in a letter from an English agent to Lord Cromwell two months later.
"They speak much," he wrote, "of the patient sufferance of Master Tyndale at the time of his execution." CT
His lord said unto him,
Well done, thou good and faithful servant:
 Matthew 25:21
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Creation Moment 10/22/2016 - Cytochrome b

"Maps have long been used to show the animal kingdom’s range, regional mix, populations at risk and more. Now a new set of maps reveals the global distribution of genetic diversity.
Miraldo and her colleagues gathered geographical coordinates for more than 92,000 records of mitochondrial DNA from 4,675 species of land mammals and amphibians. The researchers compared changes in cytochrome b, a gene often used to measure genetic diversity within a species, and then mapped the average genetic diversity for all species within roughly 150,000 square-kilometer areas.
For both mammals and amphibians, the tropical Andes and the Amazon have high genetic diversity, shown in dark blue. The same is true for mammal species in subtropical regions of South Africa and amphibian species in eastern North America,...
Areas affected by people, such as cities and croplands, show lower genetic diversity." ScienceNews

* The Blooming Rose of God's Creation due to built-in Genetic Diversity to produce different shapes, sizes & colors within each "kind".... And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, Genesis 1:25
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Thursday, October 20, 2016

REFORMATION 101 SERIES: Luther

"Martin Luther (1483-1546) was born at Eisleben (about 120 miles southwest of modern Berlin) to Margaret and Hans Luder (as it was locally pronounced). He was raised in Mansfeld, where his father worked at the local copper mines.
Then in 1505 his life took a dramatic turn. As the 21-year-old Luther fought his way through a severe thunderstorm on the road to Erfurt, a bolt of lightning struck the ground near him.
"Help me, St. Anne!" Luther screamed. "I will become a monk!"
The scrupulous Luther fulfilled his vow: he gave away all his possessions and entered the monastic life.
 He plunged into prayer, fasting, and ascetic practices—going without sleep, enduring bone-chilling cold without a blanket, and flagellating himself. As he later commented, "If anyone could have
earned heaven by the life of a monk, it was I."
 Luther read what would become the famous "Reformation text"—Romans 1:17—his eyes were drawn not to the word faith, but to the word righteous. Who, after all, could "live by faith" but those who were already righteous? The text was clear on the matter: "the righteous shall live by faith."
 To Luther the church was no longer the institution defined by apostolic succession; instead it was the community of those who had been given faith. Salvation came not by the sacraments as such but by faith.
It started on All Saints' Eve, 1517, when Luther publicly objected to the way preacher Johann Tetzel was selling indulgences. These were documents prepared by the church and bought by individuals either for themselves or on behalf of the dead that would release them from punishment due to their sins. As Tetzel preached, "Once the coin into the coffer clings, a soul from purgatory heavenward springs!"
Luther questioned the church's trafficking in indulgences and called for a public debate of 95 theses he had written. Instead, his 95 Theses spread across Germany as a call to reform, and the issue quickly became not indulgences but the authority of the church: Did the pope have the right to issue indulgences?
At a public debate in Leipzig in 1519, when Luther declared that "a simple layman armed with the Scriptures" was superior to both pope and councils without them, he was threatened with excommunication.
Luther replied to the threat with his three most important treatises: The Address to the Christian Nobility, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On the Freedom of a Christian.
*In the first, he argued that all Christians were priests, and he urged rulers to take up the cause of church reform.
*In the second, he reduced the seven sacraments to two (baptism and the Lord's Supper).
*In the third, he told Christians they were free from the law (especially church laws) but bound in love to their neighbors.
In 1521 he was called to an assembly at Worms, Germany, to appear before Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Luther arrived prepared for another debate; he quickly discovered it was a trial at which he was asked to recant his views.
Luther replied, "Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds of reasoning ... then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience." Then he added, "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen."
By the time an imperial edict calling Luther "a convicted heretic" was issued, he had escaped to Wartburg Castle, where he hid for ten months.
1522, he was able to return to Wittenberg to lead, with the help of men like Philip Melanchthon, the fledgling reform movement.
He married a runaway nun, Katharina von Bora, which scandalized many......the translation of the Bible into German (which remains a literary and biblical hallmark); the writing of the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God";" CT
And they that understand among
the people shall instruct many:
Daniel 11:33
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Noah Sermon SERIES by Doug Batchelor

 Noah Sermon SERIES
(by Doug Batchelor)
 
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Genesis 6:8
 An Ark of Salvation  
Through the Storm         
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Creation Moment 10/21/2016 - Common Misuse

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
1 Corinthians 3:19
".. another common misuse of evolutionary ideas: namely, the idea that some trait must have evolved merely because we can imagine a scenario under which possession of that trait would have been
advantageous to fitness... Such forays into evolutionary explanation amount ultimately to storytelling... it is not enough to construct a story about how the trait might have evolved in response to a given selection pressure; rather, one must provide some sort of evidence that it really did so evolve. This is a very tall order...."
       — Austin L. Hughes, The New Atlantis, Fall 2012
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

REFORMATION 101 SERIES: Anabaptists

"Anabaptists were the largest of so-called millenarian groups, who believed that the end of the world was near. Anabaptism developed from the work of Conrad Grebel, (1498-1526) a humanist and former student of Zwingli who saw nothing biblical about infant baptism.
He noted that in Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist had baptized Jesus as an adult. He believed that the church should be a voluntary community of believers. In this regard, he disagreed with Zwingli, who had advocated state sponsorship of religion. At a meeting in 1523, he suggested that Zwingli abandon political control over religion; but Zwingli wasn’t interested.
 
Grebel and those who followed him then formed their own church which they modeled after the Church established in the Acts of the Apostles. There was a simple form of worship in private homes, and the Lord’s Supper was considered a solemn remembrance.  They attempted to follow the Sermon on the Mount as closely as possible.
 
Then, in January, 1525, Grebel caused a tremendous stir when he performed an adult baptism on one George Blaurock, was a former priest, who in turn baptized others. Since the first group baptized as adults had previously been baptized as Catholic children, their enemies called them Anabaptists, from a Greek word meaning “rebaptism. Rebaptism was prohibited by the Catholic Church under penalty of death. The Anabaptists themselves, who believed that they were destined to suffer as Christ and his disciples had suffered, called themselves Christians,” “Saints,” or simply “Brethren.”
 
An important element of Anabaptist belief was that the law of man had no force over those whom God had served. Faith took precedent over the law. This was a doctrine known as antinomianism. Some even argued that faith took precedence over marital vows.
 
Anabaptists were pacifists at heart, but were persecuted heavily by both Protestants and Catholics.
Luther pronounced them “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Even Zwingli condemned them.  Grebel and his followers were ordered to leave Zurich, and rebaptism was made punishable by death. Grebel was imprisoned, but escaped five months later. He died shortly thereafter of plague. Other followers were burned at the stake, or drowned. Drowning was an intentional irony proposed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. It was a sort of “third baptism.” Drowning was frequently used to execute women. Even so, the movement grew as others were impressed by the courage of the “suffering saints.”
 
Anabaptists believed that one was only the steward, not the owner of private property. Christians should be compelled by brotherly love to share with anyone in need.  Among the groups which originated with the Anabaptists were the Hutterites (named for Jacob Hutter) who believe in the “community of goods; and the Mennonites. Modern day Amish follow a similar line of thinking.
 
In 1532, a radical group of Anabaptists took over the town of Mǖnster, Germany by election. Their leader, one John of Leyden, convinced the town elders to allow polygamy, thereby establishing “endless links of kinship.” He led the way by taking sixteen wives. All books except the Bible were burned; and Lutherans and Catholics were murdered.  After sixteen months, troops sent by Lutheran and Catholic princes stormed the town and tortured the town leaders to death. A number of those tortured were women. Their corpses, mutilated by torture, were placed in an open cage in the church steeple. It remains there to this day." Z,A&C
...and they of Jerusalem,
and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan,
confessing their sins.
Mark 1:5
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IN the NEWS - "Environmental Sabbath”

..... that they should make an image to the beast,
Revelation 13:14

"The idea of observing an environmental “Sabbath” and having the same enforced is nothing new, and is now being urged by Catholics and professed Protestants alike. To such men, that Sabbath is not the Sabbath sanctified and blessed by God at creation (Genesis 2:2 and 3) and enjoined upon all men to remember and honor (Exodus 20:8-11), the seventh-day Sabbath, but rather is Sunday, a creation
of the Papacy.

The Boston Pilot reports “An ecumenical [union of various “Christian” denominations] conference being held this month in Boston seeks to grapple with that problem [desecration of Sunday Sabbath]. Father Donald Conroy, of the Diocese of Greensburg, Pa. will be in Boston on Oct. 27 to speak on ‘Sabbath, Creation, and the Emerging Global Culture.’ His presentation will take place at 2:00 p.m., during the afternoon segment of the conference on ‘The Regenerative Sabbath: Sabbath, Sunday, and Renewal…’ Father Conroy founded the International Consortium on Religion and Ecology and served on the U.N. Advisory Committee on Environmental Sabbath/World Day of Rest…In his talk, Father Ryan will discuss the papal and Church documents on Sabbath/Sunday issues, and on how our use of time can honor all creation as gift. The erosion of the idea of the Sabbath has been an increasing concern for many faith groups, including the Catholic Church, in recent years.”

Again, the observance of the “environmental Sabbath,” which is Sunday, is not only being urged to deal with the issue of preservation of the environment, but also it is associated with assisting the poor and less fortunate. 

 The Salvation Army, a Christian organization devoted to charitable deeds for the less fortunate, is committed to what they call climate justice. In a piece written on its official website titled “A Call for Climate Justice” the following assertions are made: “The call to climate justice is deeply rooted in biblically based Christian convictions. The scriptures provide a wealth of reasons why Christ followers simply cannot ignore this crisis…What we, the church, can do. Keep the Sabbath: It could be the most radical thing a church can do for environmental stewardship—to commit to keeping the Sabbath. The scriptures make constant reference to rest and care for the land as well as for people on the Sabbath. Spending time with family and friends and enjoying the free outdoors is an act of resistance to the pressures of materialism and consumerism.”

 The Salvation Army leaves absolutely no ambiguity as to which day its members observe as the Sabbath, and that is Sunday. Consider the following also from the Salvation Army’s official website under the heading “positional statement: Sabbath observance:” “In its recognition of Sunday as the Sabbath, The Salvation Army aligns itself with the custom of the Early Christian Church, which chose that day on which to commemorate and celebrate Christ’s resurrection…Within this historical Christian context, The Salvation Army holds that Sunday is ‘a day of sacred assembly’ for corporate worship, praise and prayer, to enrich the lives of believers and strengthen their fellowship one with another and with God.....”

What further evidence is needed to confirm that environmental issues, specifically climate change, is the catalyst that will bring upon the inhabitants of the earth a Sunday law, an oppressive law that restricts civil and religious liberties? That time is not at all far-distant, especially considering the unprecedented ratification of the Paris climate agreement, which is the first-ever legally binding global climate deal.

“While men are sleeping…the Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the undercurrent is tending. Its professions are mild and apparently Christian, but when it shall speak it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. It is our duty to do all in our power to avert the threatened danger…We should bring before them the real question at issue, thus interposing the most effectual protest against measures to restrict liberty of conscience.” Testimonies For the Church vol.5,p.452 E.G.W.
SavedToServe/Hilari Henriques
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Creation Moment 10/20/2016 - Creation in Obadiah

"Obadiah.
There is no apparent creation terminology employed in the Book of Obadiah except for the usage of the Mount Zion motif (chap. 1:17, 21) which is in juxtaposition to the mountains of Edom (vss. 3, 4, 8, 9). The one who has made his “‘nest among the stars’” (vs. 4) will be brought low because of human wisdom and understanding (vs. 8). Instead, the mountains of Esau will be governed from Mount Zion (vs. 21)."
PerspectiveDigest
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REFORMATION 101 SERIES: Zwingli

"Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) a Swiss humanist introduced the reformation into Switzerland. He had been ordained a priest, secured an appointment in Zurich .... He was an avid reader of Erasmus; and even managed to meet his hero in 1516. He found much to criticize in the church, as had Erasmus, but was much more willing to challenge the authority of the Pope than his hero had been, and soon became an outspoken advocate of reform.
 
Zwingli read Luther’s writings, but was more influenced by Erasmus, and preached directly from Erasmus translation of the New Testament. His position was that the Bible was the sole authority for Christians, and the Church (meaning the Pope) could not add to or take away from it. Reacting to his words, in 1522 a number of citizens of Zurich ate sausages publicly during Lent, a clear violation of the Church’s prohibition against eating meat during Lent. Zwingli’s position was that there was nothing in the Bible prohibiting the eating of meat, let alone the observance of Lent itself; therefore one was not bound by it
In a public debate with an emissary of the Pope, Zwingli outlined thirty seven “articles of reform” stating his opposition to Church teachings.
 
He spoke against
clerical celibacy,
fasting,
monasticism, 
 pilgrimages,
indulgences,
purgatory,
and the worship of saints,
all of which he said were not Biblical. His object, he said, was to return the church to its original “purity” in accordance with the Church established in the Acts of the Apostles.
 
At Zwingli’s behest, the collection of tithes was ended and choral singing was removed from the churches. Icons were removed from the local churches because, again, they were not biblical; in fact they might be construed as graven images, a violation of the Second Commandment. Zwingli said of them, “the images are not to be endured, for all that God has forbidden, there can be no compromise.”
 
Two important differences between Luther and Zwingli should be stressed:
  • Luther arrived at his position from intense study of the Bible and his own personal revelation after having studied Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, hence his doctrine of justification by faith. Zwingli’s position was based on his readings of Erasmus and other humanists as well as the Bible. Zwingli was himself a humanist, Luther was not.
     
  • Zwingli was more concerned with the reform of society than Luther, although many of Luther’s writings affected German society and politics. Luther’s primary aim was the salvation of the individual, not the establishment of a Christian government on earth.
Zwingli attempted to force his ideas on the Catholic portions of Switzerland, and convinced the Swiss Parliament to impose harsh economic sanctions on the Catholic communities. (Swiss political subdivisions were called Cantons. ). The Catholics responded in October, 1531 by attacking with a military force. Zwingli led defending troops into battle, but they were outnumbered 8,000 to 1,500.  At the battle of Kappel, Zwingli fought at the front lines, carrying a sword and battle. He was killed in action, and his soldiers broke rank and fled. Catholic soldiers found Zwingli’s body, quartered and burned it, and scattered his ashes after mixing them with dung. Lutherans and Catholics both said that Zwingli’s death was divine judgment against his radical positions. The subsequent peace specified that each Canton would choose its own religion." Z,A&C
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life;
 that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2 Timothy 2:4
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IN the NEWS - 2016 Debate, "Witchcraft Grenades"?

"The Telegraph is reporting witches and pagans are so offended with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that they are launching witchcraft grenades at him.

World Ad-Hock Association of Witches, a non-partisan group, has vowed to "exert mental influence" on the debate. The witches are convinced their dastardly deeds will force Trump to throw in the towel and are rallying the pagan troops in a "call to action."
Here's the witchcraft strategy: When Anderson Cooper asked questions during the last debate, they will chant in one voice "quit the race." When Trump speaks they would say on one accord, "I quit," in efforts to find an opening in Trump's "mental field."

"We will cause no physical harm. We will simply hold up a mirror to him on the astral plane. As we watch the debate, tens of thousands of us will shout the idea of quitting into his mind," Peter Gower, the group's Scotland-based spokesman, told the Telegraph. "This is exactly what part of this extremely dangerous man's mind wants anyway, and we intend to ensure that it happens. It is possible he may announce during the debate itself that he's quitting. But whatever happens, he will quit no more than 24 hours later." charisma
There shall not be found among you any one ......that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Deuteronomy 8:10

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Creation Moment 10/19/2016 - La Peyrère HERESY

"In the 17th century, some Bible expositors, it seems, could not answer the question of where Cain got his wife. One such was Isaac La Peyrère, a Jewish convert to Catholicism from Bordeaux. To solve what he considered to be a problem, he proposed that Cain’s wife and the inhabitants of Cain’s city all came not from Adam but from pre-Adamic stock—beings who had lived in ‘the indefinite amount of time before Adam’.

He said that Adam was the first Jew and the father of the Jews, but not the father of mankind,.....He
said that in the world to come everyone would be saved (universalism). He also argued that Eve was not the first woman, but the first Jewish woman, wife and mother. To explain the presence of Gentiles post-Flood, and to avoid the conclusion that they were all descendants of Noah and his family, he said that the Flood was local, not global. The Gentiles were descended from various pre-Adamites, not from Adam. This polygenesis of the Gentiles was his method of explaining the existence of the Negroes, Chinese, Eskimos, American Indians, Malays and other people groups being discovered.

He also denied that Moses wrote the Pentateuch (i.e. Genesis to Deuteronomy), and he questioned both the accuracy of Genesis and the authenticity of the Biblical text. Although he was soundly refuted by Jewish and Protestant theologians, and declared to be a heretic by the Catholic Church, his questioning of the authority and accuracy of the Bible was the beginning of modern biblioscepticism. From it came the so-called modern ‘higher criticism’ of the Bible.

In the 20th century, the claim that other-colored people originated from pre-Adamites has been a key pillar for theistically inclined ‘white’ racists. These have included British Israelites, Christian Identity, and some factions of the Ku Klux Klan. What an incredible legacy of hate derives from the failure of the leaders of these organizations to correctly answer the matter of who Cain’s wife was!" CMI
And Adam knew Eve his wife;
and she conceived, and bare Cain,
Genesis 4:1
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Monday, October 17, 2016

Little Lamb

He shall gather the lambs with His arm.
  Isaiah 40:11
 
"Our good Shepherd has in His flock a variety of experiences,
some are strong in the Lord,
and others are weak in faith,
but He is impartial in His care for all His sheep,
and the weakest lamb is as dear to Him as the most advanced of the flock.
 
Lambs are wont to lag behind,
      prone to wander,
             and apt to grow weary, .....
He finds new-born souls, like young lambs ready to perish-He nourishes them till life becomes vigorous;
 
How gently did He gather me to Himself,
to His truth,
to His blood,
to His love,
to His church!"
 
 
Charles Spurgeon
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