Ch. 3: The Fullness of the Time - unOFFICIAL ADVENTIST FORUM

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And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with
– even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.
Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. Romans 14.1: The Message

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#23571 - 01/31/05 02:00 AM Re: Ch. 3: The Fullness of the Time [Re: ]
aldona Public Nuisance Registered: 08/03/02 Posts: 2884 Loc: On the outside, looking in	just tagging on here... Quote: Outside of the Jewish nation there were men who foretold the appearance of a divine instructor. These men were seeking for truth, and to them the Spirit of Inspiration was imparted. One after another, like stars in the darkened heavens, such teachers had arisen. Their words of prophecy had kindled hope in the hearts of thousands of the Gentile world. For hundreds of years the Scriptures had been translated into the Greek language, then widely spoken throughout the Roman Empire. The Jews were scattered everywhere, and their expectation of the Messiah's coming was to some extent shared by the Gentiles. Among those whom the Jews styled heathen were men who had a better understanding of the Scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah than had the teachers in Israel. There were some who hoped for His coming as a deliverer from sin. Philosophers endeavored to study into the mystery of the Hebrew economy. But the bigotry of the Jews hindered the spread of the light. Intent on maintaining the separation between themselves and other nations, they were unwilling to impart the knowledge they still possessed concerning the symbolic service. I have been doing a lot of study recently about the history and geography of various religions, and the above statement jumped out at me. I wonder if the Wise Men who came from the East were Zoroastrians - and I think we as Adventists should be taught more about the history of this interesting religion, which is almost extinct today. - They believed in One God (in contrast to other nations around them, who worshipped many gods). At times they were mistakenly accused of worshipping fire, because they used fire in their religious rituals to symbolize God. - They believed that the One God was the creator of all things - They also believed in a devil (whom they called Ahriman or Angra Mainyu, The Power of Evil) - They believed that all of life/ human existence is a battle between good and evil - Their aim, simply stated, was to promote "good thoughts, good words and good actions" and to avoid "evil thoughts, evil words and evil actions". - They had prophecies about a Messiah-like Saviour that would come. - They also had prophecies about the End Time - many of which read as if they have been lifted straight out of Daniel and Revelation. - They were based in Persia (modern day Iran) - According to the historical sources I have read, it appears that King Darius, King Xerxes (who married Esther) and King Cyrus would probably have followed this religion. (thus making them more favourable towards, and accepting of, the monotheism of their Hebrew captives?) My personal belief is that the Wise Men who came from the East were also Zoroastrians. Early Christian and Islamic texts refer to the Zoroastrians as "Magians" (i.e. "Magi"?). Fascinating... How come we never hear about this race/religion of people in our historical discussions? Their history would seem to be a natural addition to any Daniel/Revelation seminar. aldona _________________________ www.asrc.org.au (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Melbourne) Helping over 2000 refugees & asylum seekers each month “Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes
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#23572 - 01/31/05 02:24 AM Re: Ch. 3: The Fullness of the Time [Re: rmarte]
Nicodema Registered: 11/22/03 Posts: 777 Loc: Beyond your grasp	Aldona: I'll bite ... because some are afraid it would diminish the sense of OUR having special revelation. Some fear it might undermine faith in Scripture to realize how much of our own religion is "borrowed" (historically speaking) from Zoroastrianism. I first learned about Zoroastrianism in college, from a rather "hip" theology professor who would have been considered the very incarnate devil himself to me were not his WORKS as a human being -- feeding the hungry, caring about the homeless, protesting against things destructive to the earth -- convinced me of the truth of his Christianity. (How's that for a switch?) His openly stated aim at the beginning of the semester was to "take our faith and strip it down to its core, then rebuild it on an entirely different -- and better -- foundation." And he sure made a formidable go of it. I have long since thought like you that the Wise men were, in fact, astrologers and magickians from Persia/Iran, and Zoroastrian believers. _________________________ "After such knowledge, what forgiveness?" -- T.S. Eliot
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#23573 - 01/31/05 05:47 PM Re: Ch. 3: The Fullness of the Time [Re: ]
Jerry D Thomas Adventist Author Registered: 11/15/04 Posts: 110 Loc: Texas	It was fascinating to me to consider that other worlds and Satan were watching to see if God would sweep the world clean of humanity, as He had with Noah’s flood. Apparently, the pervasiveness of sin and the lack of knowledge about God was so critical that another flood, perhaps a permanent erasure of humans, seemed likely. But God amazed them all with a different kind of flood. If you’ll forgive another quote from Messiah: “But instead of destroying the world, God sent His Son to save it. At the very moment when Satan seemed about to win, the Son of God came with proof of divine love and grace. When exactly the right time came, God poured out a flood of healing love that will never stop flowing until the plan of salvation is complete.”
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#23574 - 02/02/05 10:32 PM Re: Ch. 3: The Fullness of the Time [Re: ]
Nicodema Registered: 11/22/03 Posts: 777 Loc: Beyond your grasp	Quote: It was fascinating to me to consider that other worlds and Satan were watching to see if God would sweep the world clean of humanity, as He had with Noah’s flood. Apparently, the pervasiveness of sin and the lack of knowledge about God was so critical that another flood, perhaps a permanent erasure of humans, seemed likely. But God amazed them all with a different kind of flood. If you’ll forgive another quote from Messiah: “But instead of destroying the world, God sent His Son to save it. At the very moment when Satan seemed about to win, the Son of God came with proof of divine love and grace. When exactly the right time came, God poured out a flood of healing love that will never stop flowing until the plan of salvation is complete.” I'm certain I'm not alone in seeing the direct parallels of that day (as depicted in this chapter) and our present day. Yet when I voice giving consideration to a completely different kind of "flood" (or in this case, fire) I am typically blasted as an heretic. Why, after 2000 years, is it still so important to us to want to see our enemies destroyed? Why can't we accept that SIN is the real (and only) enemy -- a virus which can be eradicated out of quarantined files and sprites while they themselves are preserved, a virus destined to be thoroughly deleted at the great Rebooting of the Universe? And all the apocalypse (the unveiling, the revelation) does is prepare us for that event, by drawing the demarcation line between viral code and valid code so completely that no doubt can anymore remain in any mind. _________________________ "After such knowledge, what forgiveness?" -- T.S. Eliot
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