AboutAnthony Expertise Can one know God and not keep His commandments? Let John answer (1Jn2:4). He that says, I know Him and keeps not His commandments (including the 4th) is a liar and the truth is not in him. Since Seventh-Day Adventists derive their teachings from the Holy Bible, I will answer questions on any Biblically related subject or topic and questions on distinct Adventist practice and doctrine. Remember Paul`s words that state in the last days there will be deceivers seeking to lead astray many, yet the sincere believer can take comfort in the Lord`s promise that anyone desiring to know His truth will know it. May the Lord bless you as you seek Him.
Experience I graduated from an Adventist University with a major in Behavioral Science and a minor in religion including an intermediate study of the Greek written language. I earned a master in religion from Liberty University a Baptist seminary. I have been a student of the Bible and of Biblical history for over 30 years.
Happy Sabbath!! I hope you have a blessed Sabbath rest this week.
Don’t you just love how Sal completely evades Lynda’s question! He claims to be an SDA expert yet cannot even offer up the most basic explain of one of the easiest to understand tenets of our faith. He is definitely continuing to lose credibility here.
I will agree with him however that we all need to be good Christians. Faith is Jesus is by far the most important thing in our lives. The church won’t save us, being vegetarian or only eating clean meats will not save us, going to church on the Sabbath will not save us, pastors cannot save us, only faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can and will save us.
Now to Lynda’s question… Lynda, first of all SDA’s as our name indicates are followers of Jesus Christ who worship on the Seventh Day and anxiously await His second Advent (His return to Earth to finally take us home). Members of this faith love the Lord and want to be with him. Members of other faiths seem to only be interested in maintaining the present state of affairs without paying attention to the signs of the times.
These signs of Christ’s return to this little “planet in rebellion” are evident to anyone that is paying attention. Think of a mother carrying a child in her womb. Does she know the exact day or hour that her child will be born? Unless she is having a c-section there is no way to predict the exact time of the birth, but there is absolutely no doubt that it is going to happen! It is the same with the return of Jesus.
Although I agree that Jesus does not want us to dwell on the exact time of his return, He has certainly made it evidently clear in His word that he expects us to be vigilant… always watching. Think of these parables he gave us to ponder…
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) the father sees his son returning home “when he was yet a great way off”. Why? Because he was watching for him! In the same way those of us that are excited about being reunited with Jesus will be watching for him to return.
In the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) we see that only the virgins that were paying attention and had planned far enough ahead to bring extra oil for their lamps were invited to the wedding. The ones that were not paying attention, and as a result were unprepared, missed out. In this parable Jesus is clearly telling us to be prepared and ready, because we don’t know the day or the hour that he will return. (Quite a different view than the one provided by Sal in his reply).
In 1 Thessalonians 5:3 the apostle Paul uses the example of a woman in labor to give us an idea of what it will be like when the return of Jesus is near. A pregnant woman knows she is about to give birth because there are obvious signs and severe pains that make it ever so clear that a child is soon to arrive. Paul goes on in verse 6 to say “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober”.
What is going on in the world today that can be compared to labor pains? Just read a newspaper or watch the evening news. Earthquakes, yes… Tsunamis, yes… People being lovers of money rather that lovers of God and causing this current economic collapse, yes… The setting of the stage for a one world government that will eventually be controlled by a charismatic leader, yes… The attack of the Word of God and the deception of luke warm Christians, most definitely. The list is endless.
So Lynda the most important thing you can do is to maintain a personal relationship with your Lord Savior Jesus Christ. I cannot emphasize that more. He wants you to not only put Him first in your life, but also wants you to pay attention to what is going on in the world, and be prepared for the many end times deceptions that He warned us of. That is the only way to make sure that you are not deceived by false teachers.
Just because Sal says something does not necessarily make it correct. YOU are responsible for your own salvation so YOU need to understand the rules of this cosmic conflict we are at the very center of so that you are not lead down the wrong path and miss out on spending eternity in heaven!! Only by understanding the Bible and its end time prophecies - so clearly laid out in Daniel and Revelation - can you avoid putting your faith in someone that claims to be Jesus but in the end turns out to be an imposter.
I would also encourage you to stop by an SDA Church in your area and ask them to give you a few copies of “Signs of the Times” magazine. You will find the information there to be most relevant to what is going on today. You can also check out “Signs of the Times” on their website…
I will agree with him however that we all need to be good Christians. Faith is Jesus is by far the most important thing in our lives. The church won’t save us, being vegetarian or only eating clean meats will not save us, going to church on the Sabbath will not save us, pastors cannot save us, only faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can and will save us.
Now to Lynda’s question… Lynda, first of all SDA’s as our name indicates are followers of Jesus Christ who worship on the Seventh Day and anxiously await His second Advent (His return to Earth to finally take us home). Members of this faith love the Lord and want to be with him. Members of other faiths seem to only be interested in maintaining the present state of affairs without paying attention to the signs of the times.
These signs of Christ’s return to this little “planet in rebellion” are evident to anyone that is paying attention. Think of a mother carrying a child in her womb. Does she know the exact day or hour that her child will be born? Unless she is having a c-section there is no way to predict the exact time of the birth, but there is absolutely no doubt that it is going to happen! It is the same with the return of Jesus.
Although I agree that Jesus does not want us to dwell on the exact time of his return, He has certainly made it evidently clear in His word that he expects us to be vigilant… always watching. Think of these parables he gave us to ponder…
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) the father sees his son returning home “when he was yet a great way off”. Why? Because he was watching for him! In the same way those of us that are excited about being reunited with Jesus will be watching for him to return.
In the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) we see that only the virgins that were paying attention and had planned far enough ahead to bring extra oil for their lamps were invited to the wedding. The ones that were not paying attention, and as a result were unprepared, missed out. In this parable Jesus is clearly telling us to be prepared and ready, because we don’t know the day or the hour that he will return. (Quite a different view than the one provided by Sal in his reply).
In 1 Thessalonians 5:3 the apostle Paul uses the example of a woman in labor to give us an idea of what it will be like when the return of Jesus is near. A pregnant woman knows she is about to give birth because there are obvious signs and severe pains that make it ever so clear that a child is soon to arrive. Paul goes on in verse 6 to say “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober”.
What is going on in the world today that can be compared to labor pains? Just read a newspaper or watch the evening news. Earthquakes, yes… Tsunamis, yes… People being lovers of money rather that lovers of God and causing this current economic collapse, yes… The setting of the stage for a one world government that will eventually be controlled by a charismatic leader, yes… The attack of the Word of God and the deception of luke warm Christians, most definitely. The list is endless.
So Lynda the most important thing you can do is to maintain a personal relationship with your Lord Savior Jesus Christ. I cannot emphasize that more. He wants you to not only put Him first in your life, but also wants you to pay attention to what is going on in the world, and be prepared for the many end times deceptions that He warned us of. That is the only way to make sure that you are not deceived by false teachers.
Just because Sal says something does not necessarily make it correct. YOU are responsible for your own salvation so YOU need to understand the rules of this cosmic conflict we are at the very center of so that you are not lead down the wrong path and miss out on spending eternity in heaven!! Only by understanding the Bible and its end time prophecies - so clearly laid out in Daniel and Revelation - can you avoid putting your faith in someone that claims to be Jesus but in the end turns out to be an imposter.
I would also encourage you to stop by an SDA Church in your area and ask them to give you a few copies of “Signs of the Times” magazine. You will find the information there to be most relevant to what is going on today. You can also check out “Signs of the Times” on their website…
