Monday, August 22, 2011

A Sabbath Journey Through the Bible

I was so exhausted when I made this video, so please forgive me if I seem a little tired.

part 1


part 2

Friday, August 12, 2011

Last Day Events: Seal then Destruction

Revelation 7:1-3...

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Ezekiel 9:3-6...

And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.

Early Writings, page 36...

I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus' work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgements of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed.

Early Writings, page 43...

Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was past, until the covering was drawn over God's people, and they left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God, in the seven last plagues. God has begun to draw this covering over His people, and it will soon be drawn over all who are to have a shelter in the day of slaughter. God will work in power for His people; and Satan will be permitted to work also.


The Great Controversy, chapter 39: The Time of Trouble, page 613...

When the third angel's message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work. They have received "the latter rain," "the refreshing from the presence of the Lord," and they are prepared for the trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received "the seal of the living God." Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands and with a loud voice says, "It is done;" and all the angelic host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided for life or death.

Daniel 2: Christ, the Rock from the Mountain of God

What does the 'Stone cut without hands' do in Daniel's vision? It smashes the image on the feet, shattering the entire thing to dust, then it grows into a mighty mountain which covers the whole Earth. It is Jesus Christ who will destroy the kingdoms of this world, not His followers. It is Christ's kingdom which will grow to an everlasting kingdom covering the entire Earth, not His followers' kingdom. To say that the Stone represents the followers of Christ is to remove Christ from the prophecy. It is to usurp for ourselves the glory and power that belong to Him alone. What self-exaltation, what self-righteousness, what self-centeredness! As one of my favorite preachers, Lyle Albrecht, said about why he hates the teaching that the last week (seven years) of the 70-week prophecy is applied to antichrist: "They take away the beautiful work of my Saviour, Jesus Christ and apply it to satan! How dare they!"

I will not remove Jesus Christ from the center of my theology which is taught so plainly in the Bible, and apply His work and His power and His glory to 'wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked' humans, relegating Christ to the background as some unseen force simply enabling humans to be the focus. I cannot, will not, remove Jesus Christ from my doctrines...for then they would all be in vain. In John 5:39, He Himself said, "You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, but they are they which testify of Me."


What was the vision in Daniel 2 referring to? Kingdoms and their kings! Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar in 2:38b-39a, "You are this head of gold! And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours."

So we can see the Bible is clear that the materials in this vision refer to kingdoms and their King.


So how illogical and how much a wresting of Scripture would it be to suddenly change the rules for the last part of the vision and say now at this last part, the material no longer represents a King and His kingdom, but instead the Stone represents a small section of God's people which destroy the kingdoms of the world and then grow to cover it?

Brothers and sisters, I beg, implore and beseech you to never ever ever remove Christ from theology and doctrines which all point to Him and Him alone! To put ourselves in the place of God is to make the same mistake that was made in the very beginning. (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:17)

Let us remember that we are but dust. Our lives, a vapor in the wind. God is the Almighty.

Here are some verses I compiled while studying the topic of Daniel 2 and whether the Stone cut without hands was indeed Jesus Christ, as Seventh-day Adventists believe, or the 144 thousand, as the Shepherd's Rod believes.

Shepherd's Rod doctrine on Daniel 2 hinges on the mountain always being a symbol of God's people and they give 2 verses to back that claim up, but look at all these verses calling Christ the Rock/Stone and referring to the mountain as the dwelling place/righteousness of God...

Jesus Christ the Rock/Stone:

Matthew 21:44, "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

Psalm 118:22, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone."

Acts 4:11, "This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'"

Deuteronomy 32:4, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

Matthew 7:24, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" and again in Luke 6:47-48


1 Peter 2:4, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious"

Isaiah 26:4, "Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal"

Matthew 16:16-18, "Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Daniel 2:34-35, "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."

Daniel 2:45, "Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."

The Mountain as God's Dwelling Place/Righteousness:


Isaiah 14:13, "For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north"

Exodus 15:17, "You will bring them in and plant them
In the mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O LORD, which You have made
For Your own dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established."


Ezekiel 28:16, "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire."

Psalm 36:6, "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast."

Exodus 19:3, "And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:"

Hebrews 12:22, "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly"


Isaiah 24:23, "The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously."

Isaiah 27:13, "And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem."

Psalm 68:15, "A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan."


Psalm 68:16, "Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever."

Exodus 3:1, "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb."

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Bible Prophecy Fulfilled - Over 2,500 Years of World History

Easy one...

Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel was one of the Hebrews who had been taken captive by the nation of Babylon and trained in Babylonian schools. Through God's provision he had become a respected wise man of Babylon, though he was only around 20 years old at the time the following story happened. Anyway...

One night the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had this very vivid dream and when he awoke he couldn't remember it, but he knew it was important so he called his magicians, astrologers and sorcerers together and asked them to tell him 1.) what his dream had been, and 2.) what its interpretation was.

Of course they couldn't do it. So they said, "Tell us the dream and we'll tell you the interpretation."

See, their job as "wise men" involved, among other things, listening to the king's dreams and making up some phony interpretations to please him.

So anyway, now they're in a bind so they tell him that they can't do it and the king realizes that he's been duped this entire time by these guys, so he makes a decree to kill all the wise men in Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar had a bit of a violent temper...ask me if you want another example.

So this guy from the king's army, the captain of the guard, shows up at Daniel's door to kill him (because he was considered one of the wise men) and his three friends...and Daniel goes, "What happened?? What's with this harsh decree?" and the captain of the guard tells him what happened.

So Daniel asks to speak with the king, is granted an audience, and says to the king that if he'll give him time, he would be able to give him the dream and its interpretation. The king agrees.

So Daniel goes home and tells his three buddies what happened and they pray to God to reveal this dream so that they won't be slain. And that night, Daniel dreamed the same dream that the king had and was given its interpretation, and Daniel praised God!

So Daniel is called before the king and the king asks him if he's able to make known the dream and its interpretation, and Daniel says, "Your wise men, astrologers and magicians can't tell you this stuff...BUT there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets and makes known to the king what will be in the last days. God is showing you what is going to come to pass from here on. And it is because of God that this dream is revealed, not because of me or because I have any more wisdom than anyone else."

And Daniel recounts this dream which was of this big statue of a man, whose head was gold, arms and chest were silver, belly and thighs were bronze, legs were iron, and feet were iron mixed with clay. Then all of a sudden this big rock that was cut without hands flew down and struck the statue on the feet and shattered it...then the rock grew into a huge mountain that covered the whole earth.

So the king gets all excited and exclaims, "That's it! That was the dream!"

And he knows that if Daniel can tell him the dream that he dreamed, surely his interpretation can also be trusted. For sure.

So he tells the king, "God gave you this kingdom and all your power.

You are the head of gold.

Then after you is going to rise up a kingdom inferior to you, just like silver is inferior to gold,

then a third kingdom of brass,

and the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron, and just like iron breaks and crushes all these other metals, this kingdom will crush everything else too.

Then just like the feet of iron mixed with clay, the fourth kingdom will be divided. Just like the toes were partly of iron and partly of clay, it will be partly strong and partly broken. And just like you saw iron mixed with clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men but they shall not adhere one to another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom and the kingdom will last forever."

So the king is floored, and decides to make Daniel the governor over all the kingdom...and Daniel requested his three friends be put in charge too.

All this can be found in Daniel chapter 2. It's interesting because in the next chapter the king builds this huge statue of a man and makes it all of gold, instead of just the head...kinda hoping his kingdom would last forever. But anyway.

So the Bible is clear the the starting point of this world-history timeline of kingdoms who would rule the then-known world is Babylon which is represented by the head of gold. And that Babylon would be conquered by another kingdom, and then that kingdom would be conquered by a third kingdom, and then that kingdom would be conquered by a fourth kingdom, and that the fourth kingdom WOULDN'T be conquered by a fifth kingdom, but instead would be divided up...and remember the ten toes, just stick that on a shelf in your mind, there will be more on that later.

Let's check history...

Babylon, head of gold, reigned from 605-539 BC, and was conquered by...?

Medo-Persia, chest and arms of silver, who reigned from 539-331 BC, and was conquered by...?

Greece, belly and thighs of brass, who reigned from 331-168 BC, and was conquered by...?

Rome, legs of iron, who reigned from 168 BC - 476 AD, and was conquered by...?

If the fourth world-empire had been conquered by a fifth, you could throw your Bibles in the garbage and say it was all fairy-tales...but it wasn't.

Any A-students out there? What happened to Rome? It disintegrated from within and was divided into smaller kingdoms. Through unparalleled luxury, political corruption and moral decay, Rome lost its stability and strength and became easy prey for the various Barbarian tribes that began invading the empire during the fourth century A.D.

By 476 AD, Rome had divided into ten parts, or tribes. They were:

The Alemanni (today's Germans)

The Franks (French)

The Saxons (English)

The Visigoths (Spanish)

The Burgundians (Swiss)

The Lombards (Italians)

The Suevi (Portugese)

and the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths (these three are now extinct, more on that later)

The current nations of Europe developed from these various tribes of the divided Roman empire.

Remember that part about mingling themselves with the seed of men but not adhering together just as iron won't mix with clay?

MANY rulers have tried to reunite Europe, often through royal marriages, you know? Like the princess of this country is wed to the prince of that country, etc etc...trying to reunite the nations of Europe by the mingling of seed...but it never worked.

Then there were the military conquests of men who tried to reunite the nations of Europe, men like Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon Bonaparte (who reportedly was told of this prophecy and that he wouldn't succeed, and then threw the Bible across the room...it's said that after Waterloo he said, "God has been too much." or something like that), and more recently, Adolph Hitler.

Bible prophecy...unreal. It happened just like God said it would, and later the prophecy is given again in even MORE detail...so much so that it is seriously mind-blowing.

In that world time-line...where are we? We are living in the tips of the toes, at the veeeerrrryyyy bottom of the statue, the very end of the timeline, well into the days of divided Rome.

Remember what happened next?

The Rock came and struck the image on the feet (right where we are in time), shattering it into dust, and then the Rock grew into a huge mountain that covered the whole earth...who is the Rock? Who is coming back very soon to destroy the kingdoms of the earth and establish an everlasting kingdom? Christ is the Rock.

Just wait until you hear the NEXT prophecy!