David Asscherick VS Stephen Bohr and Daniel Mesa on Women's Ordination in the Adventist Church

 Daniel Mesa's Response: https://www.audioverse.org/english/sermons/recordings/6429/david-eating-the-shewbread.html

 Lightbearer's Video: http://www.lightbearers.org/womens-ordination-the-moderate-view/

Pope Francis Urges World to Observe Sunday as Sabbath

This week the Vatican took another large step towards bringing not only Protestants, but the entire world, under its authority.

In a public address Saturday, July 6, 2014, Pope Francis “lamented the abandoning of the traditionally Christian practice of not working on Sundays, saying it has a negative impact on families and friendships. … While he said poor people need jobs to have dignity, he indicated that opening stores and other businesses on Sundays as a way to create jobs wasn't beneficial for society.


Francis said the priority should be "not economic but human," and that the stress should be on families and friendships, not commercial relationships. He added: "Maybe it's time to ask ourselves if working on Sundays is true freedom."


He said that spending Sundays with family and friends is an "ethical choice" for faithful and non-faithful alike.”

As you may already know, in February of 2014 Pope Francis sent his close friend, Episcopal Bishop Tony Palmer, to a Charismatic Evangelical Leadership Conference hosted by Kenneth Copeland where he acted as an envoy for the Vatican and declared that Luther’s protest is over, urging Protestants to come back home to their mother church, Roman Catholicism.  He also showed a video recorded on Palmer’s iPhone of Pope Francis urging the same.

In May, the Pope met with United States President Barack Obama to discuss religion and politics, as well as the relationship between church and state.

Then in June, a delegation of religious and political leaders were sent to Rome to meet with the Pope regarding the growing ecumenical movement.  Among the delegation was a U.S. Senator from Utah and the mega church pastor Joel Osteen.

Also in June, the Pope brought together the presidents of Israel and Palestine to pray for peace.

And now in July, the Pope calls for the entire world, religious and non-religious, to observe Sunday as the day of rest.

For years people have wondered how it is that the Scriptures could prophecy that the Roman church would rise again to a position of power and influence over the entire world after its control was so weakened by the Protestant Reformation and finally broken when Napoleon’s General marched into Rome itself and removed the Pope from his throne in 1798.

Just 100 years ago it was unthinkable due to prejudice alone.  All Protestant churches still held the beliefs of the reformers that the Papacy was the anti-Christ, the little horn of Daniel 7 and 8, and the sea-beast of Revelation 13.

Common knowledge of the Papacy’s place in Bible prophecy created such a prejudice against Roman Catholics that it wasn’t until 1961 that the United States would allow a Catholic to become President.  John F Kennedy was the first and only Catholic President.

From the establishment of the Supreme Court in 1789 until 1990’s, for over 200 years, Protestants had been given an absolute majority of seats.  Of the 112 Supreme Court Justices, 91 have been Protestants.  Only 12 have been Roman Catholics.  Today, Roman Catholics control 6 of the 9 Supreme Court Seats.  The remaining 3 are Jewish.  There are no Protestants on the Supreme Court.

What was once unthinkable is today being seen everywhere.  The Roman Catholic Church, responsible for more deaths and torture than any other power in history, is rising again.  Her deadly wound is healing and she is regaining the power and influence that were hers during the 1,260 years of her reign, the dark ages.

How is this happening?  The Protestant churches have abandoned the Bible-truths taught by the reformers: the prophecies that all point to the Roman Catholic Church as the antichrist power!  They have, in the last 100 years, fallen away from the historical interpretation of Bible Prophecy and have accepted Futurism and Preterism, both of which came from a Roman Catholic order, the Jesuits, as part of the counter-reformation of the 16^th century.

The world, when finally able to read the Scriptures for themselves, in their own language, began showing that the evils committed by the Roman Catholic Church were all prophesied in the Bible!  In response, the Catholics developed their own interpretation to combat the Protestants.  They declared that all these prophecies did not, in fact, apply to themselves, the Roman Catholic Church, but instead applied either to events in the future (futurism) or applied to events all in the past (preterism).

But there is at least one church which remains faithful to the Reformer’s historicist interpretation of Bible prophecy, which reveals events as they unfold throughout history from the time they’re given until the consummation of all things, the second coming of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

So, the Protestant churches slowly but surely accept the Papacy’s interpretation of prophecy and, because of this, eventually forget all that the Bible reveals about the power that rose from the broken Roman Empire: The Church of Rome.  Which leads us to today, where the Roman Catholic Church is again rising to a position of power and influence all over the world.

It is prophesied that Protestants and Catholics will unite, and together will cause civil government to force the observance of Sunday.  I urge you to remain faithful to the Bible, which declares that the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God, and to keep it holy.

"Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. "The Day of the Lord" (dies Dominica) was chosen, not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church's sense of its own power. The day of resurrection, the day of Pentecost, fifty days later, came on the first day of the week. So this would be the new Sabbath. People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy." Sentinel, Pastor's page, Saint Catherine Catholic Church, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995

''The [Roman Catholic] Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.'' The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4.

"... you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify." The Faith of Our Fathers, by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, 88th edition, page 89. Originally published in 1876

Q. Have you any other proofs that they (Protestants) are not guided by the Scripture?

A. Yes; so many, that we cannot admit more than a mere specimen into this small work. They reject much that is clearly contained in Scripture, and profess more that is nowhere discoverable in that Divine Book.

Q. Give some examples of both?

A. They should, if the Scripture were their only rule, wash the feet of one another, according to the command of Christ, in the 13th chap. of St. John; —they should keep, not the Sunday, but the Saturday, according to the commandment, "Remember thou keep holy the SABBATH-day;" for this commandment has not, in Scripture, been changed or abrogated;... Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism; New York in 1857, page 101 Imprimatuer

At the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church met in response to the Protestant Reformation.  There were some Catholics who believed that the church should, in fact, abandon tradition and accept the Scriptures alone as the standard of authority.

Finally, after a long and intensive mental strain, the Archbishop of Reggio came into the council with substantially the following argument to the party who held for Scripture alone: "The Protestants claim to stand upon the written word only. They profess to hold the Scripture alone as the standard of faith. They justify their revolt by the plea that the Church has apostatized from the written word and follows tradition. Now the Protestants' claim, that they stand upon the written word only, is not true. Their profession of holding the Scripture alone as the standard of faith, is false.

PROOF: The written word explicitly enjoins the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. They do not observe the seventh day, but reject it. If they do truly hold the Scripture alone as their standard, they would be observing the seventh day as is enjoined in the Scripture throughout. Yet they not only reject the observance of the Sabbath enjoined in the written word, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of Sunday, for which they have only the tradition of the Church. Consequently the claim of 'Scripture alone as the standard,' fails; and the doctrine of 'Scripture and tradition' as essential, is fully established, the Protestants themselves being judges."

There was no getting around this, for the Protestants' own statement of faith -- the Augsburg Confession, 1530 -- had clearly admitted that "the observation of the Lord's day" had been appointed by "the Church" only.

The argument was hailed in the council as of Inspiration only; the party for "Scripture alone," surrendered; and the council at once unanimously condemned Protestantism and the whole Reformation as only an unwarranted revolt from the communion and authority of the Catholic Church; and proceeded, April 8, 1546, "to the promulgation of two decrees, the first of which enacts, under anathema, that Scripture and tradition are to be received and venerated equally, and that the deutero-canonical [the apocryphal] books are part of the canon of Scripture. ...

 

Open Letter To the Seventh-day Adventist Church Regarding Women's Ordination

Dear Seventh-day Adventist worldwide family,I wish to somehow send my voice to you, that you may know that I am one among many within the North American Division who do not agree with the consensus from the few at the top who are pushing women to be pastors and elders. I am a Seventh-day Adventist, 33 year-old woman, and it is clear to me from the Bible, our firm foundation, that God has not chosen women to be pastors or elders. I feel that I am not being represented correctly by the current Seventh-day Adventist leadership in North America. As you are in a position of responsibility in the church and with the potential to be among those who will vote on serious issues at the next General Conference session, I am writing this letter to encourage you to be faithful to the word of God. I am saddened to witness the politics and rebellious spirit here in the Pacific Union and the North American Division at large behind the movement for women to be ordained as pastors and elders. It is my plea for you to not be moved by the unseemly politicking in the church, to not be moved by the current culture of this corrupt world, to not be moved by threats or fears alike, but please, please, please, be moved by the Bible.I can’t help but see the chilling similarity of this current power struggle to the one given us as an example in the word of God - the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. The fearful consequences of their push for the leadership unassigned to them ended in tragedy, and I pray that tragedy is not also our end in the Seventh-day Adventist church over the same issue. If this issue of women’s ordination is unclear to us, it is because our hermeneutics have evolved into that which can erode any of the pillars of our faith, including the truth about the Sabbath. The same hermeneutical principles that have allowed some to embrace women’s ordination will lead to embracing Sunday sacredness as well.The discourse in “Prove All Things, A Response to Women in Ministry” thoroughly points to the clear Biblical evidence of God’s will to have women very much involved in ministry, but not in the roles of pastor and elder. In a much abbreviated summary, the subsequent Biblical evidence seems more than enough to make this matter clear.In the creation account alone - before the fall - there is abundant evidence that God put man as the leader and head. God created Adam first (with which God denotes headship - Exodus 22:29, Numbers 3:12), He created woman out of man, He created woman for man to be his “helper,” and Adam named Eve before and after the fall (“woman” and then “Eve”). One wonders, why didn’t God make Adam and Eve at the same time? Man’s headship is directly affirmed in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 11:3, 8, 9, “...the head of the woman is the man... for the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.” God gives us the order and manner of the (pre-fall) creation of man and woman as the reason that “the head of the woman is the man.” To reject the New Testament interpretation of Genesis 2 is not taking precept upon precept and line upon line, but it is in fact rejecting the internal witness of the Bible.God even cemented role distinctions into our very physical being at creation. It is absolutely impossible to carry on the human race without recognizing role distinctions God has created in us, as a woman cannot reproduce without a man and a man cannot bear the child. Our very physical nature reflects role differentiations.After the fall, although it was Eve who sinned first and led Adam into sin, God holds Adam responsible. Why would He do that if Adam was not the leader of both? God reaffirms and adds to man’s headship by telling the woman that “he shall rule over thee” (Genesis 3:16). God rejected woman’s attempt to take on the leadership role at the fall. Man’s headship is also reaffirmed in the New Testament in Romans 5:12, “Sin came into the world through one man.” Why doesn’t it say “sin came into the world through one woman”?We are also familiar with the texts in 1 Timothy 2 that describe women professing godliness - women that are in “subjection,” women who do not “usurp authority over the man.” And what are the reasons given? The order of creation, and the account of the fall. “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:13, 14).How can a woman meet the Scriptural requirements for congregational leadership as listed in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6, that an elder must be “the husband of one wife”? Certainly Paul could have been generic here in regard to gender had he been inspired to by the Holy Spirit. And, although the New Testament church is described as “a royal priesthood” in 1 Peter 2:9, God’s Old Testament church was also described as the same in Exodus 19:6, “a kingdom of priests,” yet God still had men, not women, in leadership of the congregation. All believers are to work for the salvation of others, but not all are to lead in this work.A question with no logical answer is begged, how can a woman “submit” herself (as it says in Ephesians 5:22 and Colossians 3:18) to her husband at home, but then as soon as they walk into church on Sabbath morning, he is to submit to her leadership? Is she not his wife at church also?Even just these few Scriptures are more than sufficient to thoroughly convince me that ordaining women as pastors and elders is wrong and not in God’s order; for to come to the opposite conclusion would mean to deny these direct and clear texts. And, in further study throughout the rest of the Bible, in studying the spirit of prophecy and Adventist history, it is affirmed again that ordaining women as pastors and elders is wrong and not in God’s order.This issue is bigger than we may think, for the same hermeneutics that twist these plain texts of Scripture to ordain women as pastors and elders are the same hermeneutics that will lead us right out of the church in embracing Sunday as sacred. Please, let us not follow the example of Satan who aspired to a position higher than he was assigned by God. Please, let us not follow the example of Eve who, “like restless modern Eves, she was flattered with the hope of entering a higher sphere than that which God had assigned her. In attempting to rise above her original position, she fell far below it” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 59). Please, let us not follow the example of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram who were dissatisfied with the roles God had given them and sought the priesthood also.I am one voice among the many in the North American Division who disagree with the few that are misrepresenting us. I feel that I am not being represented correctly. With the many others who are being misrepresented by the pro-women’s ordination push, I believe there would not have been such a consensus among the North American Division leadership and other Union and Conference leadership were it not for the politics and unfairness practiced in making these decisions. Please know that there are many Seventh-day Adventists in the North American Division who do not agree with the rebellion manifested in the manner the issue of women’s ordination is being pursued, nor with the very movement itself to ordain women to the office of pastor and elder.Complete obedience to following anything the Scriptures command is the key to understanding them (John 7:17). Are we willing to be obedient? Please don’t make your decision on this issue as a political decision, nor by the corrupt culture of this world, nor employ the consequential reasoning that leads to compromise, but let your decision be based on the word of God, our firm foundation.With love and respect,Jennifer Arruda - See more at: http://advindicate.com/articles/2014/6/16/an-open-letter-to-my-seventh-day-adventist-worldwide-family#sthash.U07MHUVI.dpuf

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