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Why Is It So Hard for Christians to Talk About Justice and Greed?

The message did not remain the same . The Kingdom of the Father was abandoned as the gentile church aligned itself with the world of man. Two opposing ideologies cannot exist as one and it certainly wasn't the Roman Empire that lived by the two commandments.
Sure it did, to one who knows church history-along with knowing their own, personal, failings. There are times when church members/leaders behaved badly, as peope will, while others behaved execellently. Those behaving badly didn't heed chruch teachings, certainly not the teaching to love. But the teachings themselves were good. There's a principle involved, related in Matt 23:2-3

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach."
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State leaders speak out about plans to expand the Islamic Academy of Alabama

There was a time not too long ago when Catholicism was the feared religion in the United States and seen as the biggest threat to the American way of life. There were people who believed that Catholics were immigrating to the US, starting Catholic schools, and infiltrating government institutions with the goal of establishing a Catholic theocracy. They thought Catholicism was incompatible with democracy and the US Constitution, and the followers of Catholicism couldn't be loyal to the Catholic Church and still be a loyal American. Anti-Catholic propagandists made claims that Catholics would lie to advance their cause and couldn't assimilate to the American way of life. That they were taking jobs and opportunities from Americans and were unclean, backwards, and ape-like. They promoted horror stories of children being kidnapped and killed at convents, of priests brainwashing parishioners, of nuns forced into sexual slavery with priests, and of Catholics plotting an armed takeover of the United States.

The most effective tactic the anti-Catholic propagandists used back then was having ex-Catholics share their personal experiences. "Escaped" nuns, former priests, and “converted” Catholics used to tour the country giving talks and interviews describing the horrors they witnessed. Many wrote books and had lucrative careers participating in the anti-Catholic circuit. As time went by, it was discovered that many of those ex-Catholics turned out to be frauds or had greatly exaggerated their stories.

What I have described above is no different than what we are seeing today with the religion of Islam and Muslims. Anti-Islam propagandists are saying pretty much the same things about Muslims as the anti-Catholic propagandists did of Catholics. They are using the same playbook by having ex-Muslims appear on right-wing media outlets and podcasts sharing their horror stories and personal experiences with the religion of Islam. And just like the ex-Catholics of the past that participated in the anti-Catholic industry, many of these ex-Muslims have become quite wealthy by joining the anti-Islam industry.

What we are seeing today isn't new; only the bogeyman is different.

Bottom line: just because you see an ex-Muslim on YouTube or a right-wing outlet demonizing Islam, it doesn't mean that their motives are pure.
You missed the boat. While racism and religious bigotry still exist today in the United States, truly our nation had advanced and was known as the "melting pot" before the recent cultural revolution in the United States. The great positive was that immigrants from nations around the world came to the United States and did live in their own communities there was a lot of intermingling and because of that people learned respect for one another. In the early 1900s Americans, due to crime and other problems, Americans realized that bringing in too many of one culture too fast had negative consequences and thus enacted quotas by country. Unfortunately a significant portion of Muslims in the world today express contempt and even hatred for Jews and Christians, and even for fellow Muslims (Shiite vs. Sunni) to the point of violence and the justification of killing. Too many see the United States as the Big Satan and Israel as the little Satan. Worldwide events should leave no doubt about this. The slaughter of Jews in Israel was real. The threats of Iran and rocket launched and production of nuclear grade uranium was real. And the "river to the sea" chants and attacks on Jews on U.S. college campus were real. Thus ignoring the successful quota and vetting system in place, PARTICULARLY in this situation, was foolhardy and dangerous at best. Proper vetting should have taken place so that only those Somalians and others who love America and wished to positively assimilate into our culture should have been let in.
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Can a young child become a Christian?

I’m one of many who would disagree.
at some point, replies like this become a waste of forum bandwidth and only decrease the ability of anyone else reading the thread to understand what anyone is talking about.

for what its worth, i agree with everything ain't zwingling in post #78.
Neither a credo nor paedo? I am wasting my time here. Sorry for wasting your time also. I aplogize.
whats left if you aren't either of those?
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Tim Walz Vows to Bring More Somalis to Minnesota, Despite Growing Fraud Scandal Reaching Into the Billions

So?

So?

It’s not up to them.
I believe that if we have immigration policies that appear to be what it looks like you want that nations will lose their cultural identity. Is that what you want?
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What should we preach in these last days?

I find plenty of inspiration from reading the church pioneer writings (and SOP). Bible Readings for the Home is a good book to look at. I also have a (non-SDA) book written in 1846 (my version is 1913) called Five Hundred Sketches and Skeletons of Sermons. Old Christian books from the 1800's are chock full of ideas.

By far the best idea generator for me has been answering questions on Christian forums (especially Reddit's #christianity subreddit, as it has a constant stream of questions). People from all walks of life ask questions about Christianity, so it makes for unique Bible study opportunities each time you set about answering a post. Even though I may have answered the same question many times, I always start fresh with a new post and Bible study. In studying scripture anew each time I learn new things. I save all of my posts and notes so that I can refer back to what I've learned. I've been posting on Christian forums since 2018, and I have hundreds of documents that cover a wide variety of topics, some covering the same topic, but from multiple angles (because I start new each time). This then is essentially like having several hundred sketches and skeletons for potential sermons, but from my own studies.

I'm not an elder though, so I can't speak to actual sermons.
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144k & Who They Are

The 144000 are the elect Christian saints. The church is GODS Israel, the Israel of GOD. The church is the olive tree in Romans 11 from the root to the branches. Remember the Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree, the church. The people in Hebrews 11 are the root of the olive tree in Romans 11.

Discussion is 144k

144k are mentioned twice in scripture. Rev 7 & 14

Rev 7:4-8 clearly says tribes of the children of Israel/Jacob & then names Jacob/Israel's sons/

Tribal identity was tracked by genealogy. The OT repeatedly shows that tribal membership is determined by physical bloodline. Rev 7 cites the literal tribal descendants of Israel/Jacob.

Num 1:18: they registered by genealogy, by families, by fathers' houses, by Tribes!

Ez 2 & Neh 7: people who could not prove their genealogy were excluded from priestly & tribal identity.

Jos divides the land by tribal inheritance, the 12 Tribes are literal bloodline families. Traced through the sons of Jacob.


Rev 7:4-8 In the context John identifies the 144k as physical descendants of Israel/Jacob.

In Rev 1:4-11 John repeatedly uses the word Church/ekklesia. He never uses church for the 144k in Rev 7 or 14.


Rev 14:4 calls the 144,000: "the firstfruits" unto God & to the Lamb.”

This language is directly lifted from the Lev 23:9-11 wave offering. They are the first portion of a larger harvest. They are set apart & presented to God.

The category itself is Israelite, because the firstfruits offering (practiced this resurrection foreshadowing every Passover week for over 1400 yrs) was tied to Israel's land covenant (each son of Israel/Jacob received a portion).

Calling the 144k "firstfruits" supports their identity as literal Israelites & not the Church.

The Matt 27:52-53 verses shared, has these OT elect firstfruits that rise from the grave (after Jesus) & are seen by many.

Come out of the grave BEFORE there is a church. Jesus rises then 50 days later comes the Acts 2 Pentecost, where the Church via the Holy Spirit outpouring in born.
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Trump Pardons, Releases Alleged Pedo w Open Warrant

Putting child molesters and gun thugs back on the street to reoffend seems an odd choice for republicans.

Houston man pardoned for Jan. 6 crimes arrested on 2016 charge of online solicitation of a minor

Late last month, the DA's office said it had asked federal authorities to hold Taake in Colorado due to his pending warrant in Texas, but that Taake was still released despite the DA’s office faxing a copy of the warrant to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 15, five days before he was pardoned.
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Today I learned...

Interesting! I think the most interesting food I've ever eaten was a century egg. My Developmental Psychology professor, a woman from Taiwan, offered century eggs to the whole class, but only a couple of us were willing to try them. I felt very proud of my bravery lol. But in defense of those who opted not to try, the stench was absolutely terrible.

IMG_4814-2.jpg
Yes, you are courageous, few people would dare to try it unless they are Chinese, especially the Cantonese speaking Chinese.

They say Cantonese speaking Chinese eat everything with four legs except tables. They put enjoyment above health, they are real fussy eaters, perhaps only second to the French.
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Salvation is in your hands, Jesus did his part

I agree Christ did his part, but didn't it say in 2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Paul said in (Gal. 3:11) But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. This didn’t start in the New Testament, Paul was only quoting scripture, and the just has always lived by their faith. (Habakkuk 2:4) Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. The just shall live by his belief (faith), and how do you show the Lord that you believe in him? By your obedience to his word.
Christ part is to give, cause repentance
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Date of authorship of Revelation

These extrabiblical narratives are not actually Scripture; otherwise, they would have been included in the canons. The early church fathers, with the help of the Holy Spirit, determined which of the many early church writings were Scripture and which were not.

If the preterist view is the correct view:

If this man of sin lived in the first century AD., he was most likely John of Gischala.

AI summary: The "man of sin" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is a figure associated with the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, according to preterist interpretations. One prominent candidate is John of Gischala, a Jewish Zealot leader who rose to power during the Great Revolt against Rome. He is believed to have fulfilled the prophecy by throwing off the Mosaic Law, inciting civil war, famine, and crime in Jerusalem, and positioning himself as a despotic ruler who symbolically and literally "took his seat in the Temple of God," exalting himself over the Temple’s objects of worship. His actions are seen as aligning with the description of the man of sin who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God.

It seems to me that these Thessalonians and the other first-century Christians could have been the intended audience for the actual fulfillment of the following:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, 12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


Is the breath of his mouth actually the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does his appearing and his coming mean the appearance and the power of the Roman armies? Luke 21:20

It seems to me that it is St. Michael, the archangel, who will bind the final antichrist and false prophet and cast them into the lake of fire. St. Michael is of the same angelic hierarchy as Satan, and so he will defeat Satan at the sound of the last trumpet.

So much fun to speculate!

What is important, though, is to ask ourselves, "Am I ready to meet the Lord right now?" If our answer is "no," then we need to repent and confess our sins so that Jesus will forgive us and we will become God's friend once again.
Yes History of Joseph, and Gospel of Nic are inspired scripture written when they said they were. They are only for the wise same with 1Enoch, and others. God never intended them to be in the main canon otherwise swine might stumble across them accidentally. The main canon is for everyone unworthy (swine) or worthy where as some extra books which are inspired are hidden (apocrypha) from swine, and revealed to the humble. God thought there was too much valuable information in them to have them public, and people would mock it so he hid them ie excluded them from the main canon.

That is interesting breath of his mouth could be the Roman armies, I never thought of that. otherwise Jesus must of killed that zealot around 70 AD when he came back. Rev 1-12 happened 70 ad rev 13-22 is future.


Anti Christ in John was 70 AD too it says it was the final hour (of the temple still standing, and the Mosaic covenant). There had been anti christs when that was written pre 70 AD there was going to be some major one at that time, and there will be more in the future.
I have posts on the 2 canons, rev 1-12, and judes quotation of enoch about 70 ad/second coming.
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We need Holy Spirit revival!

Beauty of thought towards His wonders, thank you! Especially knowing it be in the Apostle's tradition! IMO, when a Christian life comes face-to-face with His ''times of refreshing'', is it not characterized by the ongoing influence of the Holy Spirit by the flock of God's choosing (1Cor 15:19)? This is different I think than your use of 'Revival' of the Spirit. For us, the race for the spiritual continues for all engaged in this conflict, ever ever onward till God willing, raises up that one who has reaped His reward to ''impart some spiritual gift'' corporately. If that happens, praise God!
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