Posts Tagged time

God’s Truth Cast Down

Earthly SanctuaryMy story began about 5 years before all of these major disasters began to increase in number and intensity.

When I prayed to learn the truth’s in God’s Word with an urgency and sincerity, the Lord answered. I believe He did because He knows our time is short. Just as the door of the ark was closed before the flood, our time will run out. The Bible says it will be as in the days of Noah.

Is it a coincidence that God brought me out of error into the Church that has the very mission of giving people  His very last message to the world?

The Great Controversy page 606 says, – Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. {GC 606.2}

“There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.”–Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300. (1885)

By looking back in history, we will see where and when God’s Truth has been gradually restored.

tabernacle_diagram

Why did it have to be restored?

“Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.” Daniel 8:11

“And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.” Daniel 8:12

“Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” Daniel 8:13

“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14

New Living Translation says:  “then the Temple will be made right again.”
New American Standard states:  “then the holy place will be properly restored.

Who was it that cast God’s truth to the ground?

The first beast of Revelation 13, the little horn, the antichrist power. Call it what you like. The Roman Church – The Papacy with the Pope at it’s leader.
Roman Catholic Church Casts Down the Heavenly Sanctuary
Altar of Sacrifice1) They cast down the altar of sacrifice, where we go to Jesus alone for forgiveness, by saying, “You need to come to us and ask our priests for forgiveness and you need to eat the eucharist” (which represented a CONTINUAL sacrifice of Christ – opposing the Bible truth about Christ being sacrificed ONCE ONLY).

 

Laver of water2) They cast down the laver of water, representing Bible baptism by full emersion by saying, “We will “sprinkle” you as a baby with “holy” water to be saved.

 

 

Table of showbread3) They cast down the table of showbread, which represents the Word of God by trying to destroy the Bible during the dark ages, and said, “come to us and we will teach you, the church is ABOVE the Word of God”.

 

 

Seven branch candlestick4) They cast down the seven branch candlestick, which represents God’s people shining the light of Jesus to the world, by chasing God’s people into the wilderness, persecuting them and killing them. Satan, through the Roman Catholic Church, during her 1260 year reign was trying to put out the light of God, by persecuting and killing God’s people or forcing them to reject Bible truth and bow down to Roman Church – The Papal authority.

Altar of incense5) They cast down the altar of incense, which represents the prayers of God’s people through Jesus Christ ALONE, by saying, “pray to the dead “saints” and pray to Mary, the “mother of God”.

 

 

Ark of the Covenant6) The GRAND FINALE, they cast down the ark of the covenant in the most holy place where God dwells, which has God’s law, the ten commandments inside, with their own altered “version” of that law. They changed the Sabbath commandment from the 7th day to the first day, Sunday, and took away the second commandment to do with idols.

 

Also interestingly, the most holy place is where our Heavenly Father dwells, and yet the Roman Catholic Church also has a man at the head of the church called, “holy father”.
1. The Altar of Sacrifice (Justification by Faith) – Cast Down
2. The Laver of Water (Baptism by Full Emersion) – Cast Down
3. The Candlestick (True Gospel Witnessing) – Cast Down
4. The Table of Shewbread (Studying the Word of God) – Cast Down
5. The Altar of Incense (Praying only through Christ Jesus) – Cast Down
6. The Ark of the Covenant (Keeping the Ten Commandments) – Cast Down

Do you see what the Catholic church had done to the heavenly sanctuary, and the “daily” ministration of Christ Jesus our High Priest?

They cast it down to the ground and trampled upon it and treated it as an unholy thing. Through the Papal church,  Satan tried to do away with God’s plan of salvation and replace it with his own false version.
The Bible shows us that the earthly Old Testament sanctuary was abolished and Jesus started ministering in the ORIGINAL heavenly sanctuary, which is why God tells us to “seek those things which are above”. ( See Colossians 3:1)

But what did the Roman Church do?

They brought it back down to earth! And said to the people, “don’t look to heaven for salvation, LOOK TO US.“  Daniel 8:12 says, they ‘cast the truth to the ground and practised and prospered.’

Notice what else it says about the little horn … Daniel 8:24 …’ And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.’ … His power is mighty, BUT NOT BY HIS OWN POWER.

How was the Papacy so powerful during their reign?

They were just a bunch of priests! It’s because they had the backing of the government/civil powers! And the Papacy used the civil powers to destroy the “holy people” and replace the sanctuary message and the great plan of salvation!
Now, how long would this continue for?

In Daniel 7 it says that the little horn would continue for 1260 days (1260 literal years), which started in 538 and ended in 1798. Now God had a plan to restore the truth of His sanctuary. God always has a plan! But He wasn’t going to restore the full truth to one generation of people. He decided to do it in steps over a period of time through different people.

So when did this restoration project begin?
In 1382 with a man named John Wycliffe, (the morning star of the reformation) who translated the Bible into the common language so that the masses could find out the truth for themselves. What article of furniture in the sanctuary did this restore? The table of showbread (Word of God).

Then in the early 1500′s God raised up a man called Martin Luther, who preached the truth about Justification by faith. This restored the altar of sacrifice, having faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for salvation.

In the 1530′s a man named John Calvin joined the reformation and one of his main focuses was the importance of prayer. This restored the altar of incense.

Then in 1609 the Baptist church was founded by a man called John Smith. And guess what article of furniture in the sanctuary they restored?  The laver of water (baptism by full emersion).

Then in the 1700′s John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, with strong emphasis on evangelism, restored the seven branch candlestick (witnessing, a light to the world).

1. The Table of Shewbread (Studying the Word of God) – RESTORED!
2. The Altar of Sacrifice (Justification by Faith) – RESTORED!
3. The Altar of Incense (Praying only through Christ Jesus) – RESTORED!
4. The Laver of Water (Baptism by Full Emersion) – RESTORED!
5. The Candlestick (True Gospel Witnessing) – RESTORED!

From the pen of inspiration – “God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it.
They were not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full glory of the noon-tide sun to those who have long dwelt in darkness, it would, if presented, have caused them to turn away.
Therefore He revealed it to the leaders little by little, as it could be received by the people. From century to century, other faithful workers were to follow, to lead the people on still further in the path of reform.” (The Great Controversy – page 103)
So now we only have one more article of furniture to be restored, the ark of the covenant, with God’s law. With this restored, God would have a church with the FULL truth of the plan of salvation.

A church that could go to the world in these end times and preach the fully restored truth before Jesus returns.

So what is this church?

Well, let’s just take a look at how long Daniel was told that his vision would be for:

Daniel 8:14 …’ And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’

The 2300 years started the same year as the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 which was 457 BC.

How do we know this?

Because Gabriel in Daniel 9 says that he has come to give Daniel understanding about the vision.

What vision?

The 2300 day vision. And it says the 70 weeks are “determined”, which means to “cut off”. Cut off from what? The only vision in question, which was the 2300 day prophecy. Which means the 70 weeks are part of the 2300 day prophecy, and Gabriel only gives one starting point, “the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem“. This starting date is 457BC.
So going from 457BC and counting 2300 days or literal years, where do we end up?

The year 1844.

What happened in 1844?

A group of people known as the Advent movement, understood the prophecy of Daniel 8, that the sanctuary being cleansed (or RESTORED) was the sanctuary in Heaven where Jesus was. And they understood the importance of God’s law, the Ten Commandments and that we were about to be judged according to that law.

So they started preaching the message that judgment had begun, and that obedience to God’s law (including the Sabbath) was still a requirement for God’s people. This restored the ark of the covenant, and now, God had a church that had the FULL truth about the sanctuary message of salvation and His truth could once again go to the world!!
6. The Ark of the Covenant (Keeping the Ten Commandments) – RESTORED!

tabernacle furniture

What does this show us?

That the Seventh Day Adventist church is God’s true end time remnant church!The Seventh Day Adventist church is the ONLY church that preaches this FULL plan of salvation. The Seventh Day Adventist church is the ONLY church that preaches present truth for our time. The Seventh Day Adventist church is the ONLY church with ALL the restored truths that were lost during the reign of the Papacy, including:

The Ten Commandments with the seventh day Sabbath,

Justification by faith, baptism by full immersion,

Doctrine based on the Word of God alone (sola scripture), the importance of prayer and being a light to the world for Christ. The Seventh Day Adventist church is the only church that has a united “spirit” for Bible prophecy (Rev. 19:10)

This is why it says in Revelation 14:12 that the saints are those who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS of God AND the faith of Jesus. They accept the FULL plan of salvation and take the journey through the heavenly sanctuary into the presence of God!

(Education page 179) – The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place–that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis. {Ed 179.5}

So, is it a coincidence that God brought me out of error into the Church that has the very mission of giving people  His very last message to the world? No, it’s not a coincidence!

What is God’s last message to the world?

To be continued in my next post . . .

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The clock of life

These 2 short stories must be read together to get the point….

Clock of Life

SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU THINK

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” He was Capone’s lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago city block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son; he couldn’t pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great.

So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.

STORY NUMBER TWO

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World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber’s blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It’s located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O’Hare was “Easy Eddie’s” son.

From a newsletter – whitehorsemedia.com

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Will You Find God or Will God Find You

Father John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago,writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:

Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith.That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then.

I know in my mind that it isn’t what’s on your head but what’s in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under “S” for strange… Very strange. Tommy turned out to be the “atheist in residence” in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.

When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a cynical tone, “Do you think I’ll ever find God?”
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy.
“No!” I said very emphatically.
“Why not,” he responded,”I thought that was the product you were pushing.” I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out, “Tommy!

I don’t think you’ll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!”

He shrugged a little and left my class.

I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line — He will find you! At least I thought it was clever.

Later, I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.Then a sad report came.I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy.. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe.

“Tommy, I’ve thought about you so often; I hear you are sick,” I blurted out.

“Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It’s a matter of weeks.” Tommy replied.

“Can you talk about it, Tom?” I asked.

“Sure, what would you like to know?” he replied.

“What’s it like to be only twenty-four and dying?”

“Well, it could be worse.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real biggies in life..”
I began to look through my metal file cabinet under “S” where I had filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)

“But what I really came to see you about, ” Tom said, “is something you said to me on the last day of class.” (He remembered!)
He continued, “I asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, ‘No!’ which surprised me. Then you said, ‘But He will find you.’ I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time. (My clever line. He thought about that a lot!) .

“But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that’s when I got serious about locating God..

And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not come out.

In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit…..

Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn’t really care about God, about an after life,or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered something else you had said:

” The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.’”

So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him. “Dad.” “Yes, what?” he asked without lowering the newspaper.

“Dad, I would like to talk with you.”

“Well, talk.”

“I mean . It’s really important.”

The newspaper came down three slow inches.

” What is it?”

“Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that.” Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him.

“The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me. We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me.”

” It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.”
I was only sorry about one thing — that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.

“Then, one day I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop, ‘C’mon, jump through C’mon, I’ll give you three days, three weeks.’”

“Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour….But the important thing is that He was there. He found me…!

You were right…..He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.”

“Tommy,” I practically gasped,  “I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize.  To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love.

You know, the Apostle John said that… He said: “God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.”

“Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell themwhat you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn’t be half as effective as if you were to tell it.”

“Oooh.. I was ready for you, but I don’t know if  I’m ready for your class.”

“Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call.”
In a few days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date.

However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class. Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.

Before he died, we talked one last time.

“I’m not going to make it to your class,” he said.

“I know, Tom.”

“Will you tell them for me? Will you …tell the whole world for me?”

“I will, Tom. I’ll tell them. I’ll do my best.”

So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple story about God’s love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven — I told them, Tommy, as best I could.

If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend or two. It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.

With thanks,
Rev. John Powell, Professor, Loyola University,
Chicago

This story was written by Father John Powell, a retired professor at Loyola University in Chicago.  Father Powell is advanced in years, but TruthOrFiction.com found him and talked with him.   The story was fresh in his mind and he confirmed that it is true and happened in the way that he described it.  Father Powell was a popular priest and author in Chicago and was accused by six adults of having sexually abused them in the late 60s and early 70s.  The cases were resolved in a settlement with Powell in which no charges were filed but he did admit to the abuse.

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