Matt. 24: 48-51: Jesus said, "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he doe not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the grinding of teeth."

2 Peter 3: 3-4: "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'"

Read 3 T 255; 8 T 252; 1 T 101, 102, 277; TM 237-8.

Excuse my ignorance ... but I still say WHY? WHY would it matter to a Christian WHEN Jesus comes. We must be ready NOW. His coming for US could be at ANY second.

Our life on this earth could end NOW. That would be our coming. The next thing we would know ... he would be waking us up.

Dear Truth,

I have enjoyed reading thru this thread and all of the posts. Thank you for bringing up such an important topice to discuss. I agree with the advice/ opinions that you study the Word of God first.

In regards to your question as to how you will know that it is the Spirit of God who is impressing you as you read the Bible.......before you begin your study, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you and help you to understand what you are reading. I have been amazed when I have prayed this prayer....what I had read and did not "get", after that prayer it was as if my mind had cleared and when I reread the text in question, the meaning was perfectly clear!!

I can understand your concern in regards to having been "led" into the new age movement in the past. Before you even open your Bible, pray the armour of God (Ephesions 6:11-17) to be applied to you, and also for the Spirit of God to help you to understand what you are reading. See, in praying the prayer for the whole armour of God to be applied to you you are asking for protection for your head: your mind and understanding are encased in your head. The principalities and powers of darkness seek to influence our minds, thinking, and decision making. God promises in this text to protect it for HIM.

"Grid or belt your middle with truth"......you know, that deep "gut feeling" that we get when we KNOW deep within that something is right or wrong......you can't say how you know, you just do. God protects that gut feeling for HIM.

"Having the breastplate of righteousness": Literal protection for our hearts, the organ that pumps blood throughout our bodies and thus keeps us alive. Many peoples have used the referrence of "heart" which is really our higher level of brain function which would literally be included in the Mind/ Brain. But here, I believe we are praying for God to protect our bodies, and internal organs to keep us healthy. It is difficult to comprehend deep sprirtual things when we are not well.

Our "feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of truth": that wherever we "walk", in our daily lives which does not always include the "spiritual", for us to walk/ behave in the way that God would want us to. Our infuence on others at work, home, friends, people with whom we do business. Always ready to share the love of God with them.

"Taking the shield of faith": Combines all of the above, in my opinion in that "we walk by faith and not by sight." All of our questions and doubts will not be explicitly answered in this life. There are a lot of things that we must accept by faith when we are convicted of God to do so. All of the evidence for evolution will probably NOT be disputed, for instance. But, if you honestly believe what the Bible teaches about creation, then that is a truth you must hold onto by FAITH.

Faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. We are to live by faith in God, whom we have not seen, by faith in the life and death of Jesus for our sins, whom we have not literally seen. For, if we "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved"!!! Acts 16:31.

I pray for the protection of God in your life, and for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you continue to search out the Truth that God wants you to have.

Morning Glory

Oh, and Red....have you taken the temperature of Hell lately????

Of course it shouldn't matter to a Christian WHEN Jesus comes, but we're dealing with human nature as it is, not how it ought to be. Many people have the idea that they can go on sinning and stop when they see the signs of Christ's coming. People have told me this. They are obviously wrong, but that's how many people's minds work.

You also have people who may not SAY Christ has delayed His coming, but their actions prove that this is what they really believe.



Both the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy both make it clear that, human nature being what it is, people tend to put off what they think is not immediate. I am talking about putting off getting ready for the Second Coming. Many don't even realize it's necessary to "get prepared" for it. They think all a person needs to do to be prepared for Christ's return is be "justified." That's false. If that was all that's necessary to be ready for Christ to return, He could return right now. Read 2 Peter 1: 1-11.

Think of the freeing of the Israelite slaves from Egypt as their justification. They were freed from slavery, as justification (dying in Christ to sin) frees us from sin. But they disbelieved in God's promises to defeat the giants. They refused to go further and consequently almost all of those who came out of Egypt died in the desert. They never made it to the Promised Land. "They could not enter in because of unbelief" (Heb. 3: 19).

The subject has been dealt with. If you care to read the explanation, start with Herbert Douglass" "Messenger of the Lord" on the "shut door" issue. As for her alleged plagiarism, start with Robertson's "The White Truth", which was actually published before Walter Ray's "The White Lie." As for her alleged borrowing of the health message, a charge made in Ron Number's book, see Drs. Brand & McMahon's answer with their book "The Prophet and her Critics". The former is a scientist with a PhD in Biology, and the latter a physician. There are others who have written in her defense. F.D. Nichol, Veltman, and others. My former pastor has just submitted a manuscript for publication showing how fast and loose Walter Ray was in trying to prove the copying charge. Furthermore, several years ago, the GC hired a law firm who were, as I recall & understand, experts in copyright laws. The charge of plagiarism was not confirmed. Also, bear in mind that no author or publisher in EGW's time ever charged her with plagiarism.

With mounting evidence that disproves the charge of plagiarism, the tactics against the Lord's messenger has changed somewhat. The last 2 Adventist Forums I attended in Southern California which featured Dr. Jenks & Walter Ray. I heard not a word about plagiarism. What I heard instead were charges leveled against her character, about her alleged lavish lifestyle, etc.

Since even the Bible has its detractors, it is no surprise that prophets would have the same. In fact, I don't know of a Biblical prophet that did not have a hard time, even persecuted, stoned and killed.


Gerry

We are justified by His blood ... so if we put blood in the equation ... could you define what else we need to obtain Salvation ... I am not after a lot of fancy words ... I want something simple that a child could understand. Please just limit it to one word.

Blood + ..... = Salvation

Please help me by filling in the blank so I can visualize how this works. I want to make sure I understand you correctly.

As I have already mentioned ... you might want something more current. All those books were written years ago and are old hat. Try something new that was written THIS YEAR in a scholarly fashion .

MORE THAN A PROPHET ... by Graeme Bradford

I have not heard or seen that bood, RW. Besides, I was just responding to Pacnurse post which seemed to imply that those issues have not been dealt with.

Gerry

If it is your intention not only to know but to do His will, you will know, the Spirit will convict you, and it won't be by feeling, whether EGW's teaching is of God or of the devil. See John 7:17.

Gerry