IAUA End Time Ministry
Preparing for the End of Time
The Lord is Coming! Are you ready?
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IAUA End Time Ministry |
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Preparing for the End of Time | |
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The Lord is Coming! Are you ready? | |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in
IAUA (ee-ah-oo-ah) our Father,
Greetings on this day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. I pray this newsletter finds you in good health and happy in the service of IAUA. This is the 1st day of the 7th month of God's Sacred Calendar in the estimated year 6018 Anno Mundi. The Fall Sabbaths began today with Trumpets last evening, the 1st day of the 7th month (Friday, September 26th on the 2014, Gregorian Calendar, at sunset on Thursday, September 25th). The Sacred month begins on the world day after lunar conjunction and the sacred year begins with the Spring Passover Rule dates for determining the Gregorian Calendar dates of God's Sacred Calendar. The Millerite Calendar (Spring New Moon Rule) is the same this year. The Calculated Rabbinical Calendar is one day early in the fall. It is appropriate since this is a yearly Sabbath and tomorrow is the weekly Sabbath to summarize a recent LinkedIn discussion about the Sabbath. There have been numerous past newsletters on this subject but this discussion is particularly appropriate since the recent Sabbath School lesson was also on the Sabbath. The discussion began with a repeat of a devotional promotion for the Sabbath School lesson. The discussion is heavily edited for brevity and focus. The original can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=68072&type=member&item=5916610806660755457 Are we making Sabbath useless, or a blessing? Carys A. Cao Private Tutor and Skills Developer at Self-Employed "If (Sabbath) worship is not making us more like the Lord of the Sabbath - more loving, more patient, more honest - then observing the seventh day has done nothing for us at all." Devoted - 09/13/2014 - Lord of the Sabbath If the Sabbath has been "properly kept," but everyone in the family is frustrated and/or angry, then the blessing God intended has not been received. When the keeping of Sabbath-observance rules becomes more important than our relationship with God,... Rev. Jan Michael Nace, ThD Chaplain/Author/Evangelist/Mark 16:15 Ministries I believe this day is a day of rest, reflection and rejuvenation. It is not a legalism, therefore I perceive it as a privilege to observe. The presence of God in this world is subtle, and runs along the lines according to His Word. When we see it [truths in His Word] , we can receive it or ignore it. Christianity is a revelation that we grow in from faith to faith. That's why Romans chapter 14 instructs us so strongly to not be hasty in judging others in their Christian walk. Darrin Thomas, PhD Adjunct Lecturer at Asia Pacific International University Sabbath observance and misery are antithetical to one another. You cannot keep the sabbath properly and be in a bad mood. Sabbath misery was not the example Christ left us. If someone is miserable on the Sabbath because they are keeping it the proper way they need to examine more closely what the sabbath is about. Jacob Thomas Tennis coach at Corporate Tennis academy I am a Sabbath keeper but not fanatic about it. There are hundreds of situations where I have to report for work or travel on duty, etc and I will do that but all along I will keep up my relationship with God and also make sure that I am growing in Jesus by the day. Frank T. Clark Website Writer/Developer at IAUA End Time Ministry We have emphasized an interpretation of this verse: Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: so hard that we actually project the idea that the Sabbath is NOT to be a pleasure. How sad. I understand this verse to mean doing what I want instead of what God wants. The command God gives for the Sabbath is that we do not work and that we meet in a holy convocation. When we do this we are free to experience this day of rest as a time of pleasure to be with God and His people. All other rules are adding to what God said and detracting from the peaceful freedom He has given us within the guidelines of His plan. All rules about Sabbath observance beyond what God said are Pharisaical. Each person decides what Sabbath activity is appropriate for them within God's guidelines and not those of any man, guided only by the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Romans 14 provides precious guidance as mentioned by brother Michael though sometimes translations make it difficult to discern Paul's intended guidance. Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Rev. Jan Michael Nace, ThD What a blessed discussion! I look forward to Sabbath all week and enjoy it by reading, relaxing, attending worship or studies and just soaking in the beauty of the day. God sure knew what we needed when He gave us this blessing. Otto Pebworth Independent Music Professional What has been so much a pity in my experiences over the last 25 years is that those who are so busy "straining at gnats" (the minutae of the law), are missing the beauty and spirit of the gift. Andrea Brown Practice Manager at Bermuda HealthCare Services When I was a child and throughout my teenage years, I was a confirmed member of the Anglican Church. Even as a child, obedient and eager to please, I did not enjoy Sunday School or Church. Notwithstanding, I was a member of the church choir, and a lay reader. I prayed, listened to countless sermons, read the bible, memorized its verses and tuned in to Oral Roberts on the television. Looking back on those early years in the church, I now am able to identify my church going activities as perfunctory. Involvement in Anglican Church activities was expected. The minister had recanted the liturgy so often that he did not need to refer to the Book of Common Prayer, and oftentimes it seemed that he was in a race to the finish…perfunctory and therefore in many respects, useless. Church concluded precisely at noon, and by 12:30 the church doors were closed and the Sunday afternoon activities, starting with lunch at 12:30pm, could begin. If as Adventists, observing the Sabbath for some is merely perfunctory, then the Sabbath really does not fulfill the role that it was intended by our Father. If I may say so, these Adventists have slipped into a form without substance celebration of the Sabbath. This leaves the worldly door open for the admission of many unwanted situations. In the Seven Woes in Matthew 23, Jesus admonishes religious leaders with respect to the tendency of form over substance: 25 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy -- full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 Blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too." It is true that each of our Christian walks is different, and it is not our place to judge. Jesus certainly did that for us in the Seven Woes. We grow as our faith grows. However, I do believe that the observance of the Sabbath is critical to the development and maintenance of the family unit and by extension, that of the Church itself. Its' observance should never be perfunctory. Cyndi Keiser Weekend Revivalist/Lay Trainer at Forever Free Ministries After much study of Jesus' life, Isaiah 58 and the book of Nehemiah, my husband and I are convinced that God is tired of our worship on Sabbath. He is tried of our strife and debate and dead worship services. He longs for his church to keep the truth "Fast" once a week in service to Him. We have been doing that in our church and found that it binds our hearts together in love and for others when we serve on the Sabbath. This is what God is asking us to do on the Sabbath after we worship, not go home and indulge in sleep. The SOP is clear when we do this work we will not be tired. It will invigorate us for the week ahead! Read the 3rd chapter of Welfare Ministry. We have health expos, cooking classes, feed the homeless, go door to door to pray with people, etc. This is the true meaning of the Sabbath! If we do this work, we will be more loving, more kind, more patient, more peaceful, more good, and have more joy! Carys A. Cao Cyndi, I totally agree! Although I do take the occasional Sabbath off, and indulge in "lay activities," I find I am the most fulfilled when I have been collecting canned goods, singing in my choir, or leading a Pathfinder or Adventurer outing. Carys A. Cao Andrea, I really appreciate your comments. In speaking with a number if my Adventist friends, I have realized that they, in their childhood, did not have very pleasant Sabbath experiences. This makes my heart sad. However, I have faith that the present and future generations will be able to get closer to the pure Sabbath communion with God that was originally designed. We need to remember that Sabbath predates the law. When others (former SDAs and other Christian sects) try to "enlighten" me about the fulfillment of the law, and why Sabbath should be irrelevant, I remind them that the Sabbath is the seal of creation. It existed before King David. It existed before Moses. It existed before Abraham. It existed before Babel. It existed before Cain & Abel. It existed on Earth before sin did, and therefore, has NOTHING to do with the covenant: new or old. It is a date with our creator. He put it in His calendar, He waits for us to show up. :) Rev. Jan Michael Nace, ThD This is exactly my position and always will be as it is the 100% Biblical position. Amen to all you said Carys! Darrin Thomas, PhD I think the law was around before the fall of Adam and Eve. Please consider the following SOP quotes Adam and Eve Knew the Law—Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of God. It was printed on their hearts, and they understood its claims upon them (Manuscript 99, 1902). The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it. After the fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. “Concerning thy testimonies,” says the psalmist, “I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever (The Signs of the Times, April 15, 1886). Rev. Jan Michael Nace, ThD This is an Adventist teaching (the law was before Moses). The Word of God states in John 1:17 the Law came by Moses and grace and truth by Jesus Christ. I will side with the Word. Otherwise we create confusion. Darrin Thomas, PhD Dr. Nace, Please accept my apology. This is an Adventist discussion group so I thought it was appropriate to share from Adventist sources. My background is in education so I am not equipped to have a scholarly debate about this topic. I do have a question. If there was no law before the fall of man was it okay at that time to lie, steal, murder, take God's name in vain, worship idols, covet, etc. without being guilty of sin, which is the transgression of the law? Mario Petrovalle (2,100 SDA's) Founder at E-ventist Network ( LINKEDin group ) Darrin, these are two good quotes and thank you for correcting me. Please continue to share SoP, this is an Adventist discussion group with close to 2,300 members, but there are about a dozen non-SDA members. Brother Nace has been a Sabbath-keeper for 25 years. He has been in fellowship many years with SDA churches, he attends conferences, financially supports Remnant Publications and local SDA churches. He has told me that he fully enjoys the spiritual fellowship and that he and his wife both embrace the health message of SDA. Please accept him as my guest in this group. There may seem to be confusion between John 1:17 and the SoP you introduced but my experience is the SoP is in harmony with Scripture and I don't think a debate on this is necessary. Prayer and study will help to reveal this. Let's go on to your question? Rev. Jan Michael Nace, ThD Darrin: I am not getting into a debate on the law before Moses as I have already been through that at my local Adventist church. My original comment was because at my local Adventist church we are always told "Adventists are people of the Book." As for the law before the Fall there was no sin before the Fall [it was ADDED due to transgressions-Gal.3:19] so no need for a law to curb sin. The law came later also to instruct the children of Israel until the Messiah Jesus came to fulfill the law.Paul called the law good. Darrin Thomas, PhD How can someone be guilty of transgression if there are no rules to break. So someone does something wrong and then rules are created to teach the person what wrong is? There has to be a standard in place before transgression. Before Adam and Eve there was Lucifer who was removed from heaven for transgression. If there was no law. What was Lucifer guilty of? Andrea Brown I would have to say that I am rather enjoying this discussion about "Sabbath Keeping," and the timing of the introduction of God's law, which essentially is the guide to how he wishes his children to live their lives. I am concerned that as Christians we make a distinction between Adventist Christianity and and other forms of Christianity. Making such distinctions is slight of hand and distracts us from God's purpose. That, my friends, is the intent of the evil one. There is one Bible and that Bible represents the spoken words of the Trinity, the basis of which is Love. Satan, the most beautiful, talented of God's angels, did fall. Why, he wished to rise above God's governance. Adam and Eve knew of at least one law of governance....do not eat of the tree of life.... John 1-3: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made I think that what John has said by divine inspiration is that everything that is, has always been...That my friends, includes the Law. It has always been in existence. The disobeyance of the Law resulted in the fall of Satan, the fleeing of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, etc. Adventists are human beings. We live and exist on this earth. This means that we are not infallible. We therefore cannot stand in judgement of others. What we are called to do, like other Christians, is to Love and evangelize. A saint is just a sinner who asked for forgiveness and stood again and resumed the work of our Father....That is all that the Father asks. Let's Love Him enough to keep the Sabbath.. Andrea Brown Carys, it is good to share our experiences as Christians. Oftentimes we mistakenly believe that our experiences, concerns and misconceptions are unique and that as a result, we are odd or unusual. When we share, we learn that there are common threads that weave their way through our lives and create the fabric that we know as "mankind." Darrin Thomas, PhD Uhh I'm confused. Revelation states in the Three Angels message to come out of something. There has always been a multitude of people who were close but not following the truth. The Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites come to mind from the Old Testament. The had the right bloodline but lacked a willingness to follow all the truth while God had his own people during that time who kept the commandments and had the faith of Jesus. As it was it those days so it is today. Somebody has the truth and there is a difference between truth and error. We can't walk together unless we agree so there is a big difference between various Christian denominations. We can be friends but truth separates. There is no need to judge just dialog. If someone doesn't want to see the light that is between them and God. Those who have truth are only messengers and not judges. Andrea Brown Darrin, do not be confused. Simply, I am saying that we cannot be exclusionists and separate ourselves from others or allow authors to separate us. That is not God's will. It does not fall in line with His commandment that we Love one another...That is the will of the evil one..slight of hand..there are far greater issues to contend with. Darrin Thomas, PhD Sister I am sorry but when Christ sent his disciples out to preach he said the following in Matt 10:34-36 34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." 35 "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." 36 "And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." 37 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." 38 Separation is a part of God's plan because there will be wheat and tares just at that parable says. What's the point of a judgment if there is no separation between the righteous and the unrighteous? Love does not erase this distinction. Some of the people we care the most about will turn from God. If we love them more than God it will be very costly People should make there own decisions. Just because someone doesn't agree with me does not give me permission to hate them but it is a sign that we are going in different directions. I will let God decide who was right and wrong. Rev. Jan Michael Nace, ThD Darrin: The Law came with Moses. As for before Moses, God's character, holy standards and authority were enough to rule things. Darrin Thomas, PhD Dr. Nace How can people know what is right and wrong if there are no rules or laws? How can someone be guilty if there are no standards? Is it not true that we only know sin by the law? No law means there is no option to disobey because there has to be something that is forbidden in order for someone to choose to ignore the rules. I guess what a I am saying is that it may be possible that if there was no law there would be no freedom of choice. No standards means no choice to break the standard but if there is a law I can choose if this will work for me or not. Lucifer decided it did not work for him just as Adam and Eve did. There cannot be justice without a standard by which to judge people. Gil Villamater, Jr. IT Administrator / Technical Support guy Sabbath is a blessing indeed and being able to attend Sabbath services in your church is a privilege. Come to think it though that while we are enjoying our Sabbaths, there are policemen on the street keeping our roads safe, electricians ensuring that our church and other establishments have light, and other kind of people and their jobs that ensure that what we have on ordinary days - we do also have during Sabbath. I pray for them as well. They too are God's children. Although they miss a Sabbath or two, or haven't even attended one-time will come that we will all be in just two choices: enjoy the Sabbath or be obliged to attend the "next" day. So the next time, we go house to house and find somebody who delights in God's word but unable to attend, enjoy or be blessed by the rest of God's Sabbath because of their "jobs", we pray and pray again for them that they could soon find time to enjoy it too. And if the love of God is more heart-and-soul shaping than their jobs and they're willing to sacrifice it to be able to attend the blessing of a Sabbath rest, I hope all the brethren in your church is very supporting in finding/helping this precious soul get a new job that will help him/her enjoy Sabbath rest. Frank T. Clark Website Writer/Developer at IAUA End Time Ministry There is a great deal of confusion about "The Law", which is exactly what Satan wants. There are the basics of God's Law from before creation and there are the details God added because the increase of sin required an increase of guidance. I find it helpful to use the word "guidance" as a synonym of "Law" because it helps our understanding and highlights God's love for us. It is true God's guidance was not written down until God directed Moses to do so. It is true details were added to give us increased guidance suited to our fallen understanding and the increasing deceptions of the accuser. The influence and pervasiveness of sin has not decreased so why would the guidance of the Law decrease? We need all the guidance we can get to recognize sin and even more as sin continues to grow and flourish. Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the [recognition of] offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: The understanding of this subject is a continuing struggle with each at their different progress on the path to a fuller understanding guided by God's Law. What do you understand about all of God's Law? I pray we may all continue to seek love, peace, and unity in truth preparing for the soon coming of IAUShUO (ee-ah-oo-shoo-oh) Messiah, the Son of God.
Frank T. Clark Next: 2014-10-17 Exclusivity III |
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Revised 2014-10-17 |