Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Aurelian Aspirations
Eden's glory is whispered (White, E. G. Healthful Living. pg 298) by the flowers. Flowers are memories (White, E.G. Adventist Home. page 541), a small taste (White, E. G. Country Living. pg 16) of Eden.
Whether it be in the flowers, flies, or worms (a butterfly is a flying worm), we see glimmers of a wonderful world that once was.
1. Birdwing, Ornithoptera sp., butterflies
I aspire to be an Aurelian (English butterfly enthusiast extrodinaire). For me, this aspiration began at an early age. I remember the first time time I looked through the butterfly portal into Eden. Here is that story.
I am eight or nine years old and I have a butterfly net in my hands! The air is charged with the smell of lilacs. It's cloudy and cool and the only thing I see is the most elegant, huge, yellow and black swallowtail sipping nectar about 10 feet in front me. I am thunderstruck, absolutely scared witless, that it will leave its nectary and fly out of my reach. I am so excited that I am unable to lift my .5 lb net. Slowly, I move within range and raise my net above my head. Then....swack! I swing with all my might and look frantically at my net (collectors understand that certain prize butterflies make you swing erratically). Even before I can look down at the net, the sound of flapping wings fills my ears and an even more intense smell of butterfly bush. My eyes are greeted with a bulging net containing a flapping Eastern Tiger Swallowtail amidst myriad lilac blossoms. Oh what ecstasy! I am brimming over with excitement. I have captured the butterfly that captured my imagination! It is perfect in every way. It is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus Linnaeus.
2. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Alfred Russell Wallace embodies the experience I had when I was child, but only better. He was in the South Pacific and walking through the jungle when he saw a Birdwing (Ornithoptera) for the first time. I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through his head upon seeing that butterfly that is so big it bears the name bird. This giant Lepidopteran is stunningly beautiful with iridescent wings. Wallace and I found that Lepidoptera really are spellbinding. Collecting butterflies allowed their spell to last all year. Long after fall's last leaf had fallen and winter's snow had piled above the grass (an exceptional event in Nasvhille, Tennessee), I would be pinning, labeling, and musing about butterflies. Susan Sontag said it very well, "To collect is to rescue things, valuable things from neglect, from oblivion, or simply from the ignoble destiny of being in someone else's collection rather than one's own."
3. Alfred Russel Wallace chasing a Birdwing butterfly
Besides their spellbinding beauty, butterflies are extremely diverse! There are an estimated 20,000 species of butterflies in the world and ten times that number of moths. My personal favorite within the butterfly world is the family Lycaenidae or Gossamer-winged butterflies. These are small but flashy little creatures that are as charming as they are delicate.
4. Macleay collection of Lycaenidae butterflies
Butterflies reflect every color of the visible spectrum and some of the ultraviolet spectrum as well. Their color is the result of pigments and structure. For example, Morpho butterfly scales trap light with the structure of their scales resulting in iridescence. Butterflies, aside from sometimes eating our food as caterpillars, essentially serve no function. Unless, if your like me, and consider being beautiful and inspirational a service. In fact, in a world that tends to move towards gray, darkness and uniformity, butterflies stand firmly apart. Their bold colors reflect the light and dispel the drab. They remind us that God makes things beautiful from the littlest to the biggest things. Their lifecycle (caterpillar - old man, chrysalis (death), and butterfly (new life)) can even be a symbol of the Gospel (God's spell).
5. Colias without and with UV light
The tulip and the butterfly
Appear in gayer coats than I:
Let me be dressed fine as I will,
Flies, worms, and flowers exceed me still.
~Isaac Watts
Whether it be in the flowers, flies, or worms (a butterfly is a flying worm), we see glimmers of a wonderful world that once was.
1. Birdwing, Ornithoptera sp., butterflies
I aspire to be an Aurelian (English butterfly enthusiast extrodinaire). For me, this aspiration began at an early age. I remember the first time time I looked through the butterfly portal into Eden. Here is that story.
I am eight or nine years old and I have a butterfly net in my hands! The air is charged with the smell of lilacs. It's cloudy and cool and the only thing I see is the most elegant, huge, yellow and black swallowtail sipping nectar about 10 feet in front me. I am thunderstruck, absolutely scared witless, that it will leave its nectary and fly out of my reach. I am so excited that I am unable to lift my .5 lb net. Slowly, I move within range and raise my net above my head. Then....swack! I swing with all my might and look frantically at my net (collectors understand that certain prize butterflies make you swing erratically). Even before I can look down at the net, the sound of flapping wings fills my ears and an even more intense smell of butterfly bush. My eyes are greeted with a bulging net containing a flapping Eastern Tiger Swallowtail amidst myriad lilac blossoms. Oh what ecstasy! I am brimming over with excitement. I have captured the butterfly that captured my imagination! It is perfect in every way. It is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus Linnaeus.
2. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Alfred Russell Wallace embodies the experience I had when I was child, but only better. He was in the South Pacific and walking through the jungle when he saw a Birdwing (Ornithoptera) for the first time. I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through his head upon seeing that butterfly that is so big it bears the name bird. This giant Lepidopteran is stunningly beautiful with iridescent wings. Wallace and I found that Lepidoptera really are spellbinding. Collecting butterflies allowed their spell to last all year. Long after fall's last leaf had fallen and winter's snow had piled above the grass (an exceptional event in Nasvhille, Tennessee), I would be pinning, labeling, and musing about butterflies. Susan Sontag said it very well, "To collect is to rescue things, valuable things from neglect, from oblivion, or simply from the ignoble destiny of being in someone else's collection rather than one's own."
3. Alfred Russel Wallace chasing a Birdwing butterfly
4. Macleay collection of Lycaenidae butterflies
Butterflies reflect every color of the visible spectrum and some of the ultraviolet spectrum as well. Their color is the result of pigments and structure. For example, Morpho butterfly scales trap light with the structure of their scales resulting in iridescence. Butterflies, aside from sometimes eating our food as caterpillars, essentially serve no function. Unless, if your like me, and consider being beautiful and inspirational a service. In fact, in a world that tends to move towards gray, darkness and uniformity, butterflies stand firmly apart. Their bold colors reflect the light and dispel the drab. They remind us that God makes things beautiful from the littlest to the biggest things. Their lifecycle (caterpillar - old man, chrysalis (death), and butterfly (new life)) can even be a symbol of the Gospel (God's spell).
5. Colias without and with UV light
Friday, May 21, 2010
Revelation 6:9-11 and Daniel 8:13-14
Summary:
The fifth seal (Rev 6:9-11) speaks of souls under the altar crying for justice. The altar represented is the altar of sacrifice, which was symbolic of Jesus on the cross. Thus the souls are on earth. The cry for justice is a repeat of cry for justice long requested through the centuries, but more specifically it is the same cry as that made in Daniel 8:13-14. It is the cry for cleansing of God's name. The cry to make the injustice in the world right. I like David did not understand how the world's injustice will be remedied, until I looked into the sanctuary (Psalm 73).
Revelation 6:9-11
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants [3] and their brothers [4] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
WHERE EXACTLY ARE THESE SAINTS - EARTH
1. What is the altar spoken of here?
There were two altars in the sanctuary. The altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense. Which one of the two mentioned involved blood at the base of the altar? Only the altar of burnt offering. (Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:18)
2. Where did the antitype of the altar of sacrifice occur?
Jesus fulfilled the symbolism of the altar of sacrifice by dying on the cross in Golgotha. Thus the location for this antitype would be earth. One other rite of the temple was fulfilled on earth and that was the laver, which was representative of Jesus' baptism.
3. Where did the antitype of the two compartments of the heavenly sanctuary take place?
Both compartments took place and are taking place in heaven. Thus the there is a distinctive dividing line between heaven and earth represented in the sanctuary.
4. Where are the souls under the altar?
If the altar is representative of the altar of sacrifice, then the souls are on earth. This is most interesting considering many attempts to insert the saints in heaven prior to the resurrection of Jesus.
What makes the temple so dirty?
Are these souls really talking?
5. Is Revelation 6:9-11 the only place where blood talks in the Bible?
The imagery here is similar to that used by the writer of Hebrews when speaking of Abel and Jesus (Hebrews 12:24).
6. What makes the cry of Jesus', Abel's, or the souls' blood under the altar so compelling?
It was unjust. Abel was killed by his jealous brother. The souls under the altar were killed for only witnessing, reading the Bible, going against the state religion, or some other good cause. Jesus was killed for sins he didn't commit.
7. What was it that caused the earthly temple to become unclean and in need of cleansing?
The unjust death of lambs. The lambs were killed for sins they did not commit. Each lamb's death was allowed by the temple servants, the temple constitution, and the God of the temple. Only the temple could stop the death of a lamb, but they never did for 2000+ years. Thus the temple was held culpable.
8. What was it that caused the heavenly temple to become unclean?
Jesus died for no sin he committed, but for the sins that we committed. The only person that could have stopped this death was God (Matt 26:39). Thus God and his house (temple) were held responsible for the death of Jesus and the filth of injustice settled on the temple.
9. Is the death of Jesus the only thing that causes the temple to be dirty?
No, when we become Christians we become the representatives of Christ (2 Cor 5:20). When Jesus sent out the twelve to go and do missionary work, he said, "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me." (Matthew 10:40). Paul says that it is not he that lives, but Christ lives inside him (Galatians 2:20). The joy of the Christian is to follow in His master's steps (1 Peter 2:21-23; 4:12-19). It is still unjust. The fact that we are being killed and that we did the right thing doesn't erase the crime and just like in the case of Jesus' death the only being in the universe that could stop the injustice is God. Thus God is held culpable and his house/temple is soiled with injustice.
The same question in Daniel
10. Does the question of how long occur elsewhere in the Bible?
Yes, 60 times in the KJV. Psalm 74:10 states, "O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?".
11. Is there a verse or verses in the context of the sanctuary and apocalyptic prophecy that deals with the same question?
Yes, Daniel 8:13-14 and Daniel 12:6. Here is what Daniel 8:13-14 says.
Daniel 8:13-14
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and [another] holy one said to that certain [one] who was speaking, "How long [will] the vision [be, concerning] the daily [sacrifices] and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot? And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; [fn] then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
12. What started to happen on 1844?
God started to get things in order so that he could fix the wrongs that were committed against Jesus and all of those that died representing Jesus through the centuries. It is the preadvent judgement. While not all have kiled God's saints, all the earth is held guilty for Jesus' death. It was our sin that put him there, because we should have died long ago, but we are still living. Every breath we breath is an injustice a stain on the heavenly temple. Jesus said, And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." (Matt 21:44). The only way to fix our problem, is to believe in the one we killed.
13. When will Jesus make his killers/the world pay for their wrongdoing?
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen (Rev 1:7).
The fifth seal (Rev 6:9-11) speaks of souls under the altar crying for justice. The altar represented is the altar of sacrifice, which was symbolic of Jesus on the cross. Thus the souls are on earth. The cry for justice is a repeat of cry for justice long requested through the centuries, but more specifically it is the same cry as that made in Daniel 8:13-14. It is the cry for cleansing of God's name. The cry to make the injustice in the world right. I like David did not understand how the world's injustice will be remedied, until I looked into the sanctuary (Psalm 73).
Revelation 6:9-11
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants [3] and their brothers [4] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
WHERE EXACTLY ARE THESE SAINTS - EARTH
1. What is the altar spoken of here?
There were two altars in the sanctuary. The altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense. Which one of the two mentioned involved blood at the base of the altar? Only the altar of burnt offering. (Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:18)
2. Where did the antitype of the altar of sacrifice occur?
Jesus fulfilled the symbolism of the altar of sacrifice by dying on the cross in Golgotha. Thus the location for this antitype would be earth. One other rite of the temple was fulfilled on earth and that was the laver, which was representative of Jesus' baptism.
3. Where did the antitype of the two compartments of the heavenly sanctuary take place?
Both compartments took place and are taking place in heaven. Thus the there is a distinctive dividing line between heaven and earth represented in the sanctuary.
4. Where are the souls under the altar?
If the altar is representative of the altar of sacrifice, then the souls are on earth. This is most interesting considering many attempts to insert the saints in heaven prior to the resurrection of Jesus.
What makes the temple so dirty?
Are these souls really talking?
5. Is Revelation 6:9-11 the only place where blood talks in the Bible?
The imagery here is similar to that used by the writer of Hebrews when speaking of Abel and Jesus (Hebrews 12:24).
6. What makes the cry of Jesus', Abel's, or the souls' blood under the altar so compelling?
It was unjust. Abel was killed by his jealous brother. The souls under the altar were killed for only witnessing, reading the Bible, going against the state religion, or some other good cause. Jesus was killed for sins he didn't commit.
7. What was it that caused the earthly temple to become unclean and in need of cleansing?
The unjust death of lambs. The lambs were killed for sins they did not commit. Each lamb's death was allowed by the temple servants, the temple constitution, and the God of the temple. Only the temple could stop the death of a lamb, but they never did for 2000+ years. Thus the temple was held culpable.
8. What was it that caused the heavenly temple to become unclean?
Jesus died for no sin he committed, but for the sins that we committed. The only person that could have stopped this death was God (Matt 26:39). Thus God and his house (temple) were held responsible for the death of Jesus and the filth of injustice settled on the temple.
9. Is the death of Jesus the only thing that causes the temple to be dirty?
No, when we become Christians we become the representatives of Christ (2 Cor 5:20). When Jesus sent out the twelve to go and do missionary work, he said, "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me." (Matthew 10:40). Paul says that it is not he that lives, but Christ lives inside him (Galatians 2:20). The joy of the Christian is to follow in His master's steps (1 Peter 2:21-23; 4:12-19). It is still unjust. The fact that we are being killed and that we did the right thing doesn't erase the crime and just like in the case of Jesus' death the only being in the universe that could stop the injustice is God. Thus God is held culpable and his house/temple is soiled with injustice.
The same question in Daniel
10. Does the question of how long occur elsewhere in the Bible?
Yes, 60 times in the KJV. Psalm 74:10 states, "O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?".
11. Is there a verse or verses in the context of the sanctuary and apocalyptic prophecy that deals with the same question?
Yes, Daniel 8:13-14 and Daniel 12:6. Here is what Daniel 8:13-14 says.
Daniel 8:13-14
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and [another] holy one said to that certain [one] who was speaking, "How long [will] the vision [be, concerning] the daily [sacrifices] and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot? And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; [fn] then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
12. What started to happen on 1844?
God started to get things in order so that he could fix the wrongs that were committed against Jesus and all of those that died representing Jesus through the centuries. It is the preadvent judgement. While not all have kiled God's saints, all the earth is held guilty for Jesus' death. It was our sin that put him there, because we should have died long ago, but we are still living. Every breath we breath is an injustice a stain on the heavenly temple. Jesus said, And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." (Matt 21:44). The only way to fix our problem, is to believe in the one we killed.
13. When will Jesus make his killers/the world pay for their wrongdoing?
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen (Rev 1:7).
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Google the 2nd Microsoft
Steve Jobs is a marvelous genius of PR. Just look at his first commercial that aired on the eve of the Super Bowl.
He was equally adapt at creating the next big thing:
Fonts
The mouse
Operating system design
The result was that Apple was king.
But one thing he was not capable of seeing while at the top was a pirate. Mr. Bill Gates practically walked away with Job's ideas and created Windows. The result was Microsoft became the ruler of the 90's.
In similar fashion, Steve Jobs has recreated the magic he started, when he came to Apple.
Again he masterfully created a PR strategy. In case you haven't noticed, the top item on Google news sci/tech section for the past 8 months has been the iPad.
Again He saw the next big thing:
iTunes
iPod
iPhone
and now the iPad
Interestingly, there lurks another pirate. A partner of Jobs in this second round of victorious CEOing-- Google. Google's original marriage with Apple has been severely tried of late. The Google phone, Google apps, and now...With the purchase of Bump Technoligies, Google is set to make a gPad. History repeats itself. Just ask Steve Jobs.
He was equally adapt at creating the next big thing:
Fonts
The mouse
Operating system design
The result was that Apple was king.
But one thing he was not capable of seeing while at the top was a pirate. Mr. Bill Gates practically walked away with Job's ideas and created Windows. The result was Microsoft became the ruler of the 90's.
In similar fashion, Steve Jobs has recreated the magic he started, when he came to Apple.
Again he masterfully created a PR strategy. In case you haven't noticed, the top item on Google news sci/tech section for the past 8 months has been the iPad.
Again He saw the next big thing:
iTunes
iPod
iPhone
and now the iPad
Interestingly, there lurks another pirate. A partner of Jobs in this second round of victorious CEOing-- Google. Google's original marriage with Apple has been severely tried of late. The Google phone, Google apps, and now...With the purchase of Bump Technoligies, Google is set to make a gPad. History repeats itself. Just ask Steve Jobs.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
musings
1. I want to be a servant of God, like Jeeves is to Birdy Wooster.
2. I want to see life, like Coach Phil Jackson or Coach George Karl sees a basketball game and Jesus saw people.
3. I want to see a student, like the Nun in Malawi that believed in my friend Davey, when he was only in the third grade.
2. I want to see life, like Coach Phil Jackson or Coach George Karl sees a basketball game and Jesus saw people.
3. I want to see a student, like the Nun in Malawi that believed in my friend Davey, when he was only in the third grade.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Alcohol
Key Words:
Alcohol, Fermentation, Wine, New Wine, Grape Juice,
From Haskell:
Fermented Wine
Fermentation is a sign of death, and death is the result of sin. Alcohol is formed by a process of fermentation; hence, it is a direct child of death and sin.
Prov. 20:1. The wine here referred to is fermented; because it is a “mocker” and “deceiver” its character is evil.
Prov. 23:20, 21. This is also fermented wine; for it is evil and is classed with the riotous” and the “drunkards.”
Gen. 9:21. Fermented wine causes one to lose all sense of modesty.
Isa. 5:11. The evil nature of the wine here referred to is revealed in its inflaming the passions.
Isa. 28:7. Fermented wine causes the one who drinks it to err in vision and stumble in judgment. Prov. 31:4, 5. It will cause one to forget the law and pervert judgment. Prov. 23:21. The use of it brings poverty.
Prov. 23:29, 30. It brings sorrow and contention.
Eph. 5:18. The use of fermented wine forbidden.
Prov. 23:31. We are forbidden to even look upon this kind of wine.
1 Cor. 6:10. No one addicted to the use of intoxicating wine can enter heaven.
Unfermented wine
The unfermented wine, or the pure juice of the grape, was used as a beverage from earliest time. Gen. 40:11. The king of Egypt drank the sweet juice of grapes.
Deut. 32:14. The pure blood of the grape was regarded as a choice drink. Judges 9:13. It cheers God and man. Ps. 104:15. Gladdens the heart.
1 Tim. 5:23. It has medicinal qualities.
Mark 2:22. If put in old bottles it ferments, thus becoming unfit for use. Ex. 12:15. Leaven causes fermentation; at the time of the Passover, all leaven or fermented things were taken away from the homes. Matt. 26:17, 26, 28. The Lord’s supper was instituted at the Passover supper, and the wine used was unfermented, because nothing fermented was allowed in their houses. The use of fermented wine excludes the drinker from heaven (1 Cor. 6:10); but of the unfermented, it is not only stated that those who use it may enter heaven, but that the Saviour and the redeemed will drink of it in the kingdom of God. Matt. 26:29.
From Bacchiochi (http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/eti_81.html) :
Yayin
One may press out a cluster of grapes and pronounce the Kiddush over the juice, since the juice of the grape is considered wine [yayin] in connection with the laws of the Nazirite. (Cited by Louis Ginzberg, "A Response to the Question Whether Unfermented Wine May Be Used in Jewish Ceremonies," American Jewish Year Book 1923, p. 409.)
Fresh wine before fermenting was called 'yayin mi-gat' (wine of the vat; Sanh 70a). (
(The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906 ed., s. v. "Wine," vol. 12, p. 533.)
Yayin=grape juice in these texts: Jer 40:10, 12; Neh 13:15; Lam 2:12; Gen 49:11; Songs 1:2, 4; 4:10
Oinos
The typical word for wine is oinos οἶνος. In ancient times, it had dual meanings. Here is an example from Aristotle.
“though called wine [oinos], it has not the effect of wine, for it does not taste like wine and does not intoxicate like ordinary wine.” - Aristotle, Metereologica 388. b. 9-13
“There is more than one kind of liquid called wine [oinos] and different kinds behave differently. For new wine contains more earth than old, and so thickens most under the influence of heat, but solidifies less under the influence of cold.” Metereologica 388. a. 34
Questions?
Did Jesus turn water to wine?
Commentary:
Starting verse:
John 2:10
It is stated that Jesus made water into fermented wine. Fermented wine is necessitated say some, because the wedding took place six months after the Jewish grape harvest. The date is derived from John 2:13. (Bacchiochi 29.4). However there are several good reasons to believe that Jesus made grape juice.
-The art of juice making was known at the time of Jesus ("That must may remain always sweet as though it were fresh, do as follows. Before the grape-skins are put under the press, take from the vat some of the freshest possible must and put it in a new wine-jar [amphoram novam], then daub it over and cover it carefully with pitch, that thus no water may be able to get in."--Columella, On Agriculture 12, 29.).
Genesis 40:11
-Jesus would be held morally responsible for the wedding guests alcohol consumption
Genesis 9:21
-Both the Talmud (Sotah 48a; also Mishna Sotah 9, 11.) and Modern Jewish
rabbis(Cited in William Patton, Bible Wines. Laws of Fermentation condemn/forbid
the use of wine at weddings (Oklahoma City,n. d., p. 83. Emphasis supplied.).
Proverbs 20:21, 23:31
-"Well drunk" is translated "drink freely" in English Standard Version, Revised
Standard Version, American Standard Version, New American Standard Bible,
Younng's Literal Translation.
-The wine was a symbol of the new covenant, which did not have any of the symbols of
sin-namely fermentation.
Luke 5:38; Matt 9:17; Mark 2:22 (note only wine that could be stored in new wine skins is new wine/grape juice "Jesus was not thinking at all of fermented, intoxicating wine, but of 'must,' a non-intoxicating beverage, which could be kept safely in new leather bottles, but not in old skins which had previously contained ordinary wine, because particles of albuminoid matter adhering to the skin would set up fermentation and develop gas with an enormous pressure.Alexander Balman Bruce, The Synoptic Gospels in The Expositor's Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, 1956), p. 500.)
-Good wine in the Bible is described as new wine.
Isaiah 65:8
Alcohol, Fermentation, Wine, New Wine, Grape Juice,
From Haskell:
Fermented Wine
Fermentation is a sign of death, and death is the result of sin. Alcohol is formed by a process of fermentation; hence, it is a direct child of death and sin.
Prov. 20:1. The wine here referred to is fermented; because it is a “mocker” and “deceiver” its character is evil.
Prov. 23:20, 21. This is also fermented wine; for it is evil and is classed with the riotous” and the “drunkards.”
Gen. 9:21. Fermented wine causes one to lose all sense of modesty.
Isa. 5:11. The evil nature of the wine here referred to is revealed in its inflaming the passions.
Isa. 28:7. Fermented wine causes the one who drinks it to err in vision and stumble in judgment. Prov. 31:4, 5. It will cause one to forget the law and pervert judgment. Prov. 23:21. The use of it brings poverty.
Prov. 23:29, 30. It brings sorrow and contention.
Eph. 5:18. The use of fermented wine forbidden.
Prov. 23:31. We are forbidden to even look upon this kind of wine.
1 Cor. 6:10. No one addicted to the use of intoxicating wine can enter heaven.
Unfermented wine
The unfermented wine, or the pure juice of the grape, was used as a beverage from earliest time. Gen. 40:11. The king of Egypt drank the sweet juice of grapes.
Deut. 32:14. The pure blood of the grape was regarded as a choice drink. Judges 9:13. It cheers God and man. Ps. 104:15. Gladdens the heart.
1 Tim. 5:23. It has medicinal qualities.
Mark 2:22. If put in old bottles it ferments, thus becoming unfit for use. Ex. 12:15. Leaven causes fermentation; at the time of the Passover, all leaven or fermented things were taken away from the homes. Matt. 26:17, 26, 28. The Lord’s supper was instituted at the Passover supper, and the wine used was unfermented, because nothing fermented was allowed in their houses. The use of fermented wine excludes the drinker from heaven (1 Cor. 6:10); but of the unfermented, it is not only stated that those who use it may enter heaven, but that the Saviour and the redeemed will drink of it in the kingdom of God. Matt. 26:29.
From Bacchiochi (http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/eti_81.html) :
Yayin
One may press out a cluster of grapes and pronounce the Kiddush over the juice, since the juice of the grape is considered wine [yayin] in connection with the laws of the Nazirite. (Cited by Louis Ginzberg, "A Response to the Question Whether Unfermented Wine May Be Used in Jewish Ceremonies," American Jewish Year Book 1923, p. 409.)
Fresh wine before fermenting was called 'yayin mi-gat' (wine of the vat; Sanh 70a). (
(The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906 ed., s. v. "Wine," vol. 12, p. 533.)
Yayin=grape juice in these texts: Jer 40:10, 12; Neh 13:15; Lam 2:12; Gen 49:11; Songs 1:2, 4; 4:10
Oinos
The typical word for wine is oinos οἶνος. In ancient times, it had dual meanings. Here is an example from Aristotle.
“though called wine [oinos], it has not the effect of wine, for it does not taste like wine and does not intoxicate like ordinary wine.” - Aristotle, Metereologica 388. b. 9-13
“There is more than one kind of liquid called wine [oinos] and different kinds behave differently. For new wine contains more earth than old, and so thickens most under the influence of heat, but solidifies less under the influence of cold.” Metereologica 388. a. 34
Questions?
Did Jesus turn water to wine?
Commentary:
Starting verse:
John 2:10
It is stated that Jesus made water into fermented wine. Fermented wine is necessitated say some, because the wedding took place six months after the Jewish grape harvest. The date is derived from John 2:13. (Bacchiochi 29.4). However there are several good reasons to believe that Jesus made grape juice.
-The art of juice making was known at the time of Jesus ("That must may remain always sweet as though it were fresh, do as follows. Before the grape-skins are put under the press, take from the vat some of the freshest possible must and put it in a new wine-jar [amphoram novam], then daub it over and cover it carefully with pitch, that thus no water may be able to get in."--Columella, On Agriculture 12, 29.).
Genesis 40:11
-Jesus would be held morally responsible for the wedding guests alcohol consumption
Genesis 9:21
-Both the Talmud (Sotah 48a; also Mishna Sotah 9, 11.) and Modern Jewish
rabbis(Cited in William Patton, Bible Wines. Laws of Fermentation condemn/forbid
the use of wine at weddings (Oklahoma City,n. d., p. 83. Emphasis supplied.).
Proverbs 20:21, 23:31
-"Well drunk" is translated "drink freely" in English Standard Version, Revised
Standard Version, American Standard Version, New American Standard Bible,
Younng's Literal Translation.
-The wine was a symbol of the new covenant, which did not have any of the symbols of
sin-namely fermentation.
Luke 5:38; Matt 9:17; Mark 2:22 (note only wine that could be stored in new wine skins is new wine/grape juice "Jesus was not thinking at all of fermented, intoxicating wine, but of 'must,' a non-intoxicating beverage, which could be kept safely in new leather bottles, but not in old skins which had previously contained ordinary wine, because particles of albuminoid matter adhering to the skin would set up fermentation and develop gas with an enormous pressure.Alexander Balman Bruce, The Synoptic Gospels in The Expositor's Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, 1956), p. 500.)
-Good wine in the Bible is described as new wine.
Isaiah 65:8
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Heaven part 3
Power to bind heaven was given to the disciples Matthew 18:18. The connection between our actions and heaven is not far away Matt 23:22. All the power of heaven is given to Jesus Matthew 28:18. The Pharisees had this power as well, but in the negative Matthew 23:13. The baptism of John was from heaven Mark 11:30 (which reveals that the ministry of John would produce a response for or against not only John but also for or against heaven). Heaven was shut up from the ministry of Elias Luke 4:25. The most important thing is that your name is in heaven Luke 10:20. Heaven rejoices when repentance comes to a sinner Luke 15:7.
Treasure is in heaven when we sell our worldly goods Matthew 19:21. Conversely, if there are a lot treasures down here (riches, marriage, family, etc... it is harder to have your heart in heaven's treasure) Matthew 19:23. God is our father in heaven Matt 23:9. People can be single for heaven because of the great treasure Matthew 19:12 In heaven, we will be like Angels Matthew 22:30 Humility and greatness are not far apart in heaven Matt 18:1,3,4,10 Pride was cast out of heaven Luke 10:18. Martyrs have a great reward Luke 6:23. The God of heaven hides the truths from the proud and reveals them to the humble Luke 10:21
The sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven before the second coming Matt 24:30. The Pharisees wanted a sign from heaven Mark 8:11. Other signs will occur in heaven before the second coming Luke 21:11.
Heaven will not last for ever Mark 13:25. It is easier for this to happen then the law to go defunct Luke 16:17.
stopped Luke 21:33
Treasure is in heaven when we sell our worldly goods Matthew 19:21. Conversely, if there are a lot treasures down here (riches, marriage, family, etc... it is harder to have your heart in heaven's treasure) Matthew 19:23. God is our father in heaven Matt 23:9. People can be single for heaven because of the great treasure Matthew 19:12 In heaven, we will be like Angels Matthew 22:30 Humility and greatness are not far apart in heaven Matt 18:1,3,4,10 Pride was cast out of heaven Luke 10:18. Martyrs have a great reward Luke 6:23. The God of heaven hides the truths from the proud and reveals them to the humble Luke 10:21
The sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven before the second coming Matt 24:30. The Pharisees wanted a sign from heaven Mark 8:11. Other signs will occur in heaven before the second coming Luke 21:11.
Heaven will not last for ever Mark 13:25. It is easier for this to happen then the law to go defunct Luke 16:17.
stopped Luke 21:33
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
H1N1 Vaccine
Vaccine Refusal
By Allan R. Handysides, M.B., Ch.B..
Question:
With the recent outbreak of a new strain of influenza, there has been a lot of talk about the dangers of vaccines. I have seen a lot of activity on the internet about the dangers, and wonder if there could be a “cover-up” of the side effects. What is your take on the situation?
Answer:
Firstly, we too have noted the flurry of internet activity, much of it against the use of vaccines. It is important to recognize that there is a vocal “anti-vaccine lobby” and always has been. This group pounces upon any and every possible side effect, real or imagined, to try to dissuade people from using vaccines. These are the group of people who promoted the idea that thimerosal, a mercury-containing stabilizer in measles vaccines, was causing autism. The amount of mercury was so tiny, it contributed little more to our total mercury load than does the atmospheric pollution prevalent everywhere; yet, the claims resulted in multi-millions of dollars being spent on research to either confirm or refute the allegations. No evidence of linkage between the vaccines and autism could be found. Every time a new vaccine is developed, the same type of scare campaign is mounted.
It is very difficult to tie a rare side effect to any medication, and studies require the use of control groups to monitor the background rates of spontaneous events. For example, a person may claim the vaccine causes headaches, but if one thousand vaccine recipients are compared to one thousand controls and the rate for both groups is 16 headaches per 1,000, it is difficult to claim a vaccine is causing the effect. A single person who develops a rash or neuropathy or diabetes shortly after the vaccine does not prove it is a complication of the vaccine. Such conditions occur spontaneously, and the event may be coincidence rather than caused by a vaccine.
Vaccines are tested in large numbers of people, and equally large numbers of controls are monitored. It is these studies that reveal what may be real complications. The numbers of real complications with vaccines are usually extremely small, though reputable producers of any vaccine or medication will withdraw a product rather than risk the population’s health.
As with most things, people neglect to enter into the equation the results of not doing something. For example, with birth control pills, side effects are well-described; but consider the far greater number of complications that attend a given number of pregnancies.
Modern societies have not faced the lethal epidemics that confronted our great grandparents. Few indeed have sat watching infants gasp to the grave with diphtheria. Not many beggars with distorted, wasted limbs grab our attention in the cities today. Smallpox killed half its victims, leaving the rest scarred for life with disfiguring pox marks all over their faces. Vaccination has eradicated this disease. To watch a youngster in the throes of tetanus is a gut-wrenching experience. I spent two weeks supervising the care of an Amish youngster who had to be paralyzed and ventilated while he battled with tetanus.
As a society, we have no understanding of the specters of death. Vaccines rank with clean water and sewage disposal, refrigeration, and antibiotics as the greatest advances in medicine of the last one hundred years. Ellen White and her household were vaccinated against smallpox, giving us a sensible example.
Measles, mumps, and rubella are diseases whole classes of medical graduates may not have seen.
Studies have shown that children who are not immunized are not only at risk for themselves, but for others. Outbreaks of disease often have geographic boundaries that are defined by pockets of the population refusing such immunization. In fact, unvaccinated children have 35 times greater chances of contracting measles. Some delay vaccination erroneously, seeking to protect their younger children. Their children then become vulnerable at an age of high risk to contracting disease. Even what used to be common-place diseases, like chicken pox, can prove lethal. I shall never forget seeing a 7-year-old boy die from chicken pox encephalopathy, nor the agony of his anguished mother as she clutched his lifeless little body.
Because many states demand immunization, but leave an exemption for religious objection, some seek to have the Church endorse their personal choice as a religious tenet of Adventism. It is dishonest for us to participate in such deception.
Clearly, we recognize an individual’s right to choose – but would be duplicitous to pretend this refusal of vaccine is based on Seventh-day Adventist doctrine.
Unlike many Americans, I trust information coming from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta – and I’m a British Canadian! There is no reason in the world why vaccine producers would do anything but produce the best, most effective, and safest vaccine possible. It is in their own, as well as society’s, best interest to do so. There may be the occasional complication, but thousands of lives will be saved.
If you choose to refuse immunization, that is your prerogative. But it is not an evidence-based position to urge others to follow your example.[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] New England Journal of Medicine, 360;19, May 7, 2009, page 1981-1987
By Allan R. Handysides, M.B., Ch.B..
Question:
With the recent outbreak of a new strain of influenza, there has been a lot of talk about the dangers of vaccines. I have seen a lot of activity on the internet about the dangers, and wonder if there could be a “cover-up” of the side effects. What is your take on the situation?
Answer:
Firstly, we too have noted the flurry of internet activity, much of it against the use of vaccines. It is important to recognize that there is a vocal “anti-vaccine lobby” and always has been. This group pounces upon any and every possible side effect, real or imagined, to try to dissuade people from using vaccines. These are the group of people who promoted the idea that thimerosal, a mercury-containing stabilizer in measles vaccines, was causing autism. The amount of mercury was so tiny, it contributed little more to our total mercury load than does the atmospheric pollution prevalent everywhere; yet, the claims resulted in multi-millions of dollars being spent on research to either confirm or refute the allegations. No evidence of linkage between the vaccines and autism could be found. Every time a new vaccine is developed, the same type of scare campaign is mounted.
It is very difficult to tie a rare side effect to any medication, and studies require the use of control groups to monitor the background rates of spontaneous events. For example, a person may claim the vaccine causes headaches, but if one thousand vaccine recipients are compared to one thousand controls and the rate for both groups is 16 headaches per 1,000, it is difficult to claim a vaccine is causing the effect. A single person who develops a rash or neuropathy or diabetes shortly after the vaccine does not prove it is a complication of the vaccine. Such conditions occur spontaneously, and the event may be coincidence rather than caused by a vaccine.
Vaccines are tested in large numbers of people, and equally large numbers of controls are monitored. It is these studies that reveal what may be real complications. The numbers of real complications with vaccines are usually extremely small, though reputable producers of any vaccine or medication will withdraw a product rather than risk the population’s health.
As with most things, people neglect to enter into the equation the results of not doing something. For example, with birth control pills, side effects are well-described; but consider the far greater number of complications that attend a given number of pregnancies.
Modern societies have not faced the lethal epidemics that confronted our great grandparents. Few indeed have sat watching infants gasp to the grave with diphtheria. Not many beggars with distorted, wasted limbs grab our attention in the cities today. Smallpox killed half its victims, leaving the rest scarred for life with disfiguring pox marks all over their faces. Vaccination has eradicated this disease. To watch a youngster in the throes of tetanus is a gut-wrenching experience. I spent two weeks supervising the care of an Amish youngster who had to be paralyzed and ventilated while he battled with tetanus.
As a society, we have no understanding of the specters of death. Vaccines rank with clean water and sewage disposal, refrigeration, and antibiotics as the greatest advances in medicine of the last one hundred years. Ellen White and her household were vaccinated against smallpox, giving us a sensible example.
Measles, mumps, and rubella are diseases whole classes of medical graduates may not have seen.
Studies have shown that children who are not immunized are not only at risk for themselves, but for others. Outbreaks of disease often have geographic boundaries that are defined by pockets of the population refusing such immunization. In fact, unvaccinated children have 35 times greater chances of contracting measles. Some delay vaccination erroneously, seeking to protect their younger children. Their children then become vulnerable at an age of high risk to contracting disease. Even what used to be common-place diseases, like chicken pox, can prove lethal. I shall never forget seeing a 7-year-old boy die from chicken pox encephalopathy, nor the agony of his anguished mother as she clutched his lifeless little body.
Because many states demand immunization, but leave an exemption for religious objection, some seek to have the Church endorse their personal choice as a religious tenet of Adventism. It is dishonest for us to participate in such deception.
Clearly, we recognize an individual’s right to choose – but would be duplicitous to pretend this refusal of vaccine is based on Seventh-day Adventist doctrine.
Unlike many Americans, I trust information coming from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta – and I’m a British Canadian! There is no reason in the world why vaccine producers would do anything but produce the best, most effective, and safest vaccine possible. It is in their own, as well as society’s, best interest to do so. There may be the occasional complication, but thousands of lives will be saved.
If you choose to refuse immunization, that is your prerogative. But it is not an evidence-based position to urge others to follow your example.[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] New England Journal of Medicine, 360;19, May 7, 2009, page 1981-1987
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Heaven part 2
There are times when heaven gets dark Isaiah 13:10, Ezekiel 32:7-8. God does these things as a sign of the times Daniel 6:27.
Satan fell from heaven while trying to ascend up to heaven Isaiah 14:12-14. Good angels do not fall from heaven, but come down from heaven to earth Daniel 4:13. In fact, there is a whole army in heaven of good angels Daniel 4:35. It is also called a host of heaven Daniel 8:10. Some of that host was lost and fell from heaven Daniel 8:10.
People worship the queen of heaven instead of the God of heaven Jeremiah 7:18 False religions read their future in the stars of heaven Jeremiah 10:12 (NLT) Some worship the stars Jeremiah 19:3.
Wind and clouds are in heaven.
God has an upper chamber in the heavens that he built Amos 9:6.
John the Baptist's message was to repent, because the kingdom of heaven was at hand Matthew 3:2. Jesus continued to preach this same message Matthew 4:17.
Heaven is the reward them that are poor in spirit Matthew 5:3. The rewards are not equal in heaven Matthew 5:12. His disciples were instructed to say the same thing Matthew 10:7. The result was that the kingdom of heaven advanced with force Matthew 11:12 (NIV). In fact when Jesus came to a place, it exalted it to heaven Matthew 11:23 (Lamentations 2:1). The kingdom of heaven is described in several parables Matthew 13.
Jesus gave the keys of heaven or authority to the church Matthew 16:19 and 18:18. The most powerful among men in God's eyes John the Baptist, is nothing compared with the heavenly beings Matthew 11:11.
Stopped Matthew 18:1
God's will is done in heaven, but not on earth Matthew 6:10.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A study on heaven
The scriptures many times use the following phrases: "Under Heaven", "Heaven Above", "Up To Heaven", "The Gate of Heaven", "ascended up to heaven". All of them indicate that we are separated or in some way inferior to heaven.
God made...
Thou, [even] thou, [art] LORD
alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all
their host, the earth, and all [things] that [are] therein, the
seas, and all that [is] therein, and thou preservest them all;
and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Nehemiah 9:6
Moses mentions a heaven inside a heaven. Or a place that people that lived in heaven would call heaven:
Behold, the heaven and the heaven
of heavens [is] the LORD'S thy God, the earth [also], with all that
therein [is].
Deuteronomy 10:10
When Moses gave the final call for a decision to Israel, he noted that the word on which to base that decision was not out of reach, i.e. in heaven (Deuteronomy 30:12).
In this very high place, the stars dwell, the sun dwells, and God dwells. But as 1 Kings 8:27 and 2 Chronicles 2:6 state that not all the heavens(heaven and the heaven of heavens) are able to contain God.
God sent down bread, water, and fire from heaven. The birds, sun, and stars live in heaven. The plain persistent cry of men in the Bible is for God in heaven to hear their cry. There is some sort of structural building in heaven called a sanctuary Psalm 102:19.
stopped Isa. 13. To be continued.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
three top english preachers
Henry Lattimer
-burned at the stake
-said these words ¨Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we
shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust
shall never be put out¨
William Wilberforce
-had two goals 1. end slavery 2. reform the upper and middle classes of
england
-part of the Clapham Sect
-wrote ¨A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed
Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country Contrasted With Real Christianity¨
Charles Spurgeon
-David Livingstone carried this sermon with him all over Africa "Accidents,
Not Punishments," and the comment ¨Very Good¨ D.L. was written on it as well
-Charles Spurgeon´s were in such great demand that they were printed in NY the
Monday following his Sunday sermons.
-burned at the stake
-said these words ¨Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we
shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust
shall never be put out¨
William Wilberforce
-had two goals 1. end slavery 2. reform the upper and middle classes of
england
-part of the Clapham Sect
-wrote ¨A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed
Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country Contrasted With Real Christianity¨
Charles Spurgeon
-David Livingstone carried this sermon with him all over Africa "Accidents,
Not Punishments," and the comment ¨Very Good¨ D.L. was written on it as well
-Charles Spurgeon´s were in such great demand that they were printed in NY the
Monday following his Sunday sermons.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
letter by Pastor Asscherick
April 30, 2009
Pastors Jan Paulsen, Don C. Schneider, Ricardo Graham
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Dear Pastors Paulsen, Schneider, and Graham,
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. Like each of you, I am an ordained pastor of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. I write these words with my heart on full display--from pastor to pastor. This letter concerns the teaching of evolution at La Sierra University. While I am not a formally trained scientist, I am, however, familiar with many of the apologetic, philosophical, and theological issues surrounding the theories of naturalistic evolution. I have made this an area of special study in my life and ministry. So, I feel both comfortable and qualified to speak to the issue, especially in its ecclesiastical ramifications.
It is a matter of incontestable fact that naturalistic evolution is being taught at La Sierra University. This is not in and of itself a bad thing. Evolution should be taught at our denominational universities. But it should be taught as a competing and inimical worldview to the biblical worldview. We need our young people to know what it is they are up against, yes, but when naturalistic evolution is taught as fact or as the preferred and normative worldview, then we can be sure that the enemy has breached our lines.
There is no point in equivocating. I have seen the class materials with my own eyes. Frankly, I think every Seventh-day Adventist deserves to see them. Our people need to know what is happening. Many of them have heard various rumblings, but being the conscientious, confiding, and hopeful people they are, they have generally assumed the very best. We are making capital of their trust.
In 2003 I preached a two-week evangelistic meeting on the Loma Linda University campus. The event was student-led and university-sponsored. Many students from La Sierra University attended those meetings, and I personally visited with many of them. They told me what was being taught in some of their science classes. I shall never forget the looks and questions of unadorned incredulity that I witnessed among those students. I have talked to many more since. What should I do? Should I say something? Should I just attend a non-SDA school? Do our leaders know about this? How come these people are allowed to teach at a Seventh-day Adventist University? These young people, and many others like them, are justifiably nonplussed. Frankly, I share their confusion!
What deeply concerns me is that the faith of many students, who look up to their Adventist professors as more than just academic instructors, but also as spiritual leaders, is being undermined. Jesus' words in Luke 17:1, 2 about causing one of these little ones to stumble carry inestimable weight, and they should be reason enough to propel us to responsible action. Brethren, what are we doing and allowing? Will not God hold us accountable in our respective spheres for what happens on our watch?
I am aware, of course, that the church's governmental structure gives institutions like La Sierra University a necessary degree of administrative freedom. This is a good and wise arrangement. But this freedom, surely, is not synonymous with virtually unaccountable autonomy. La Sierra University is, after all, a denominational university. If the board has not yet adequately addressed this matter, then doesn't that evince a kind of complicity, if not outright mismanagement and denominational disloyalty? I genuinely ask, at what point is La Sierra University's board accountable and answerable to you men and the levels of church government that you represent? When, if ever, can someone step in and save our children and the institutions they attend?
Governing and administrative structures are not the church. The people are the church. The governing and administrative structures are the scaffolding of the church. Scaffolds are for building and strengthening a thing; they are not the thing itself. But what if some are using the scaffolding to tear down the very church they were commissioned and created to build up? What then? I genuinely want to know. Where does the buck stop?
Perhaps you feel that your hands are tied by policy and protocol. But surely they cannot be tied completely. What should I, as a church pastor, do if someone is teaching doctrine that undermines the church's biblical positions in one of my Sabbath School classes? Wouldn't it be expected of me, the pastor--shepherd--of the flock, to address it? To ask this question is to answer it. Of course, I would work through the Sabbath School council and the church board, but you can be sure that I would deal with the problem. My conference president, to say nothing of my Lord, would surely hold me in contempt
if I told him lamely that my hands were tied, no?
Furthermore, the greater the errancy, the greater the urgency. As even a cursory analysis plainly reveals, few doctrines are at greater philosophical odds with Seventh-day Adventism than naturalistic evolution, the arguments of well-meaning theistic evolutionists notwithstanding. Our Magna Carta is Revelation 14:6-12. If naturalistic evolution is true, Creation is cremated, the Sabbath is sabotaged, and our very name is neutered. What becomes of Scripture? And of our unique eschatology? We are not talking about bongo drums, wedding bands, and Christmas trees here.
If our hands are tied, then surely we must let an unfaltering love for God, for His Word, and for His young people dash these fetters into so many deserved pieces! We must do something. You must do something.
Who knows but that you have come to your positions for such a time as this. My ministry places me in somewhat of a unique situation in the world church. In partnership with the Central California Conference, I run ARISE, a mission training school that has seen hundreds of young people over the last seven years. I also have the privilege of preaching regularly on 3ABN and the Hope Channel. Too, I travel all over the world holding evangelistic meetings and preaching at camp meetings, youth conferences, weeks of prayer, etc. I genuinely feel that I have my finger on the pulse of the average lay person in the Seventh-day Adventist church the world over. Especially the young people ages 15 to 30. I can say with unblinking confidence that God is working in His church! Praise Him!
I just arrived home from the Youth Mission Congress in Frankfurt, Germany. Over 1600 young people attended the meetings. Night after night I preached the Adventist message--I preached Christ! The theme chosen for the congress was Follow the Bible, and what an indescribable joy it was to see, at the end of my last sermon, hundreds and hundreds of young people streaming forward. All of them had personal decision cards in their hands. A beautiful, five-foot-tall wooden Bible had been constructed for just this moment. On the side of the Bible was a slot designed to receive the decision cards the young people clutched in their surrendered hands. One by one, each placed his or her card in the Bible. The symbolism was rich and thrillingly profound. It was impossible to not be moved at a fundamental level as each eager young person placed their decision, and thus their life in that wooden Bible. My translator openly wept at the sight. We will follow the Bible, they were each saying. All over the world, God's people--and in particular, it seems, His young people--are saying We will follow the Word--the Living Word, Jesus, and the Written Word, the Bible.
God has entrusted us with these young people. They are His. He has given us His wise counsel to raise up institutions of learning to educate, equip, and empower them. To build them up.
But what do we do when one of our institutions turns from this inestimably important responsibility, a responsibility that is fraught with eternal significance and involves the souls of those Jesus died to save? This is what I want to know.
And so do many, many others.
I thank each of you for your time, and, in advance, for your thoughtful responses.
Sincerely,
David Asscherick
Director, ARISE
Pastors Jan Paulsen, Don C. Schneider, Ricardo Graham
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Dear Pastors Paulsen, Schneider, and Graham,
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. Like each of you, I am an ordained pastor of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. I write these words with my heart on full display--from pastor to pastor. This letter concerns the teaching of evolution at La Sierra University. While I am not a formally trained scientist, I am, however, familiar with many of the apologetic, philosophical, and theological issues surrounding the theories of naturalistic evolution. I have made this an area of special study in my life and ministry. So, I feel both comfortable and qualified to speak to the issue, especially in its ecclesiastical ramifications.
It is a matter of incontestable fact that naturalistic evolution is being taught at La Sierra University. This is not in and of itself a bad thing. Evolution should be taught at our denominational universities. But it should be taught as a competing and inimical worldview to the biblical worldview. We need our young people to know what it is they are up against, yes, but when naturalistic evolution is taught as fact or as the preferred and normative worldview, then we can be sure that the enemy has breached our lines.
There is no point in equivocating. I have seen the class materials with my own eyes. Frankly, I think every Seventh-day Adventist deserves to see them. Our people need to know what is happening. Many of them have heard various rumblings, but being the conscientious, confiding, and hopeful people they are, they have generally assumed the very best. We are making capital of their trust.
In 2003 I preached a two-week evangelistic meeting on the Loma Linda University campus. The event was student-led and university-sponsored. Many students from La Sierra University attended those meetings, and I personally visited with many of them. They told me what was being taught in some of their science classes. I shall never forget the looks and questions of unadorned incredulity that I witnessed among those students. I have talked to many more since. What should I do? Should I say something? Should I just attend a non-SDA school? Do our leaders know about this? How come these people are allowed to teach at a Seventh-day Adventist University? These young people, and many others like them, are justifiably nonplussed. Frankly, I share their confusion!
What deeply concerns me is that the faith of many students, who look up to their Adventist professors as more than just academic instructors, but also as spiritual leaders, is being undermined. Jesus' words in Luke 17:1, 2 about causing one of these little ones to stumble carry inestimable weight, and they should be reason enough to propel us to responsible action. Brethren, what are we doing and allowing? Will not God hold us accountable in our respective spheres for what happens on our watch?
I am aware, of course, that the church's governmental structure gives institutions like La Sierra University a necessary degree of administrative freedom. This is a good and wise arrangement. But this freedom, surely, is not synonymous with virtually unaccountable autonomy. La Sierra University is, after all, a denominational university. If the board has not yet adequately addressed this matter, then doesn't that evince a kind of complicity, if not outright mismanagement and denominational disloyalty? I genuinely ask, at what point is La Sierra University's board accountable and answerable to you men and the levels of church government that you represent? When, if ever, can someone step in and save our children and the institutions they attend?
Governing and administrative structures are not the church. The people are the church. The governing and administrative structures are the scaffolding of the church. Scaffolds are for building and strengthening a thing; they are not the thing itself. But what if some are using the scaffolding to tear down the very church they were commissioned and created to build up? What then? I genuinely want to know. Where does the buck stop?
Perhaps you feel that your hands are tied by policy and protocol. But surely they cannot be tied completely. What should I, as a church pastor, do if someone is teaching doctrine that undermines the church's biblical positions in one of my Sabbath School classes? Wouldn't it be expected of me, the pastor--shepherd--of the flock, to address it? To ask this question is to answer it. Of course, I would work through the Sabbath School council and the church board, but you can be sure that I would deal with the problem. My conference president, to say nothing of my Lord, would surely hold me in contempt
if I told him lamely that my hands were tied, no?
Furthermore, the greater the errancy, the greater the urgency. As even a cursory analysis plainly reveals, few doctrines are at greater philosophical odds with Seventh-day Adventism than naturalistic evolution, the arguments of well-meaning theistic evolutionists notwithstanding. Our Magna Carta is Revelation 14:6-12. If naturalistic evolution is true, Creation is cremated, the Sabbath is sabotaged, and our very name is neutered. What becomes of Scripture? And of our unique eschatology? We are not talking about bongo drums, wedding bands, and Christmas trees here.
If our hands are tied, then surely we must let an unfaltering love for God, for His Word, and for His young people dash these fetters into so many deserved pieces! We must do something. You must do something.
Who knows but that you have come to your positions for such a time as this. My ministry places me in somewhat of a unique situation in the world church. In partnership with the Central California Conference, I run ARISE, a mission training school that has seen hundreds of young people over the last seven years. I also have the privilege of preaching regularly on 3ABN and the Hope Channel. Too, I travel all over the world holding evangelistic meetings and preaching at camp meetings, youth conferences, weeks of prayer, etc. I genuinely feel that I have my finger on the pulse of the average lay person in the Seventh-day Adventist church the world over. Especially the young people ages 15 to 30. I can say with unblinking confidence that God is working in His church! Praise Him!
I just arrived home from the Youth Mission Congress in Frankfurt, Germany. Over 1600 young people attended the meetings. Night after night I preached the Adventist message--I preached Christ! The theme chosen for the congress was Follow the Bible, and what an indescribable joy it was to see, at the end of my last sermon, hundreds and hundreds of young people streaming forward. All of them had personal decision cards in their hands. A beautiful, five-foot-tall wooden Bible had been constructed for just this moment. On the side of the Bible was a slot designed to receive the decision cards the young people clutched in their surrendered hands. One by one, each placed his or her card in the Bible. The symbolism was rich and thrillingly profound. It was impossible to not be moved at a fundamental level as each eager young person placed their decision, and thus their life in that wooden Bible. My translator openly wept at the sight. We will follow the Bible, they were each saying. All over the world, God's people--and in particular, it seems, His young people--are saying We will follow the Word--the Living Word, Jesus, and the Written Word, the Bible.
God has entrusted us with these young people. They are His. He has given us His wise counsel to raise up institutions of learning to educate, equip, and empower them. To build them up.
But what do we do when one of our institutions turns from this inestimably important responsibility, a responsibility that is fraught with eternal significance and involves the souls of those Jesus died to save? This is what I want to know.
And so do many, many others.
I thank each of you for your time, and, in advance, for your thoughtful responses.
Sincerely,
David Asscherick
Director, ARISE
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Missionary
Unless you preach everywhere you go, there is no use going anywhere to preach.
- Francis of Assisi
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