I was reading how many in the church thought the end times would unfold and came across this...

'will be the time when secular rulers and religious leaders are uniting to enforce Sunday worship as this will appear to be the only hope for turning away the wrath of the Lord. Seventh-Day Adventists will be in agony not knowing what to do. Should they go to church both on Saturday AND on Sunday, or should they refuse to observe Sunday sacredness and as usual go to church on the Bible Sabbath (Saturday) only. Two groups will then be forming among 7th-Day Adventists, one group which will be in conformance with the new law of the land to obey and attend Sunday worship, the other group standing firm to worship on Saturday morning only. The first group will be respectably law abiding as far as this world is concerned whereas those belonging to the second group will become outcasts and be considered the scum of this world as they refuse to fall in line with the new law of the land calling for mandatory Sunday worship. '

and now it seems so clear..


"Society is also enriched by a countless array of organizations which work to promote the common good and to defend the environment, whether natural or urban. Some, for example, show concern for a public place (a building, a fountain, an abandoned monument, a landscape, a square), and strive to protect, restore, improve or beautify it as something belonging to everyone" (232).

In a similar vein, Francis also reflects on the importance of rest: "Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world? We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity. Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence. It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation which make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else? Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others. And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor" (237).".. https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/power-love-and-need-rest

and the world listens and follows the Papacy..

" Clergy (of all religions and denominations)
Join our growing list of clergy who have pledged to observe and promote green sabbaths.

Leaders (environmental, political, business, etc.)
Join our growing list of leaders who have made the green sabbath pledge.

Advertisers and Graphic Designers
Submit ads promoting the idea of a green sabbath. We will post them on our website and make them available free for use by anyone.

People Who Organize (Green) Sabbath Events
Send announcement-invitations to us so that we can post them on our global calendar and help make others aware of ongoing environmentally-friendly sabbath activities. Please send in descriptions of events, activities or rituals that you have organized or experienced that have moved you or been particularly fun."


https://www.greensabbathproject.net/

The chess pieces are in place.

"The Green Sabbath Project was founded in 2019 by Jonathan Schorsch, founder and director of the Jewish Activism Summer School (Berlin), and professor of Jewish Religious and Intellectual History, Universit?t Potsdam."

My opinion on that question ---

I see most in the church imagine that in the end time some major crises will take place, people will be frightened and say "God is angry" and to appease God they will legislate Sunday and persecution will begin ending with the second coming. They see it as a full frontal attack.


People have doubted that this is possible, pointing at the huge majority of people who are atheists' or of some other persuasion that don't put their faith in scripture, or the God of scripture.

But what we are seeing is a much more deceptive method emerging.
It's coming in with "new age" wings. A tribute to "mother earth" and "common good" for everyone, not dependent upon the God of scripture, but with appeal to all society.

The danger here is that many, even among the church, will not see what is unfolding until it is too late.

Veith: civil sunday AND religious sunday.

Didn't Ellen White say somewhere that we should be out doing missionary work on Sunday during this time? Anyone remember reading that?

Here it is : https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/115.1307

The mark on the hand AND the mark on the forehead, and we are seeing it emerge.

That is good for the religious side, but the civil side presents many unforeseen issues.

Ok. but why worry about it? You know the time is coming. Here is a blueprint. she says to be involved in missionary work, and to have meetings and sing the old hymns Why dont you just do what she says? Looks like, from the last line, that souls can be won?



This is what we should do.

Two very good posts and quotes, as that is exactly what our response should be to do just that.

And we see how we are kept from even these basic things by the pandemic, we even had to stop our services to quarantine some leaders and members. We are planning to start back soon..

The account on your linked page appears to have been "suspended"...

I find it very interesting that this is all happening in the time of the eighth Papal king since the Lateran Treaty, the first Jesuit Pope.

Yes, world events have been lining up rapidly to fulfill Biblical prophesy, since Francis ascended the throne.
It is amazing to watch the formerly Protestant churches scrambling to sign treaties of surrender to the Jesuit leader.
How can they forget that The Society of Jesus was formed for the express purpose of destroying Protestantism!

Didn't EGW write something about "forgetfulness"?

Is the endtime different than we expected?

I think it could be rather different than we expected.
We kind of expected it to be the Protestants in the USA that would bring in a return to a form of a very recognizable Christianity to the world in the last crises. But I think we failed to put enough meaning to the terms "apostate Protestantism". Protestantism is Christian. Protestantism brought back the gospel to the people, and broke the ties with the papacy and stood firmly for truth --- But this new movement being entered into by former protestants with Jesuit training and co-operation is a global religion that abhors standing up for individual conviction of truth.

Indeed the PURPOSE of Jesuits was/is to destroy Protestantism. Protestantism is now almost completely dead. It's been declared dead. Protestants are slowly being stripped of all their unique beliefs and pulled into an illusive idea of "common good" love-ism, which isn't godly love at all but an increasing mandate to tolerate evil as being the virtue.

It's easy to see how those holding to Advent beliefs will be seen as the great evil -- for true believing Adventists, will not give up their unique beliefs and obedience to God. They will not lay aside their convictions to blend into the great (and futile) attempt to unite the world in which the word "love" and "unselfish" become synonymous with giving up our unique beliefs and individual convictions.

The new movement spearheaded by the Jesuits to bring all nations under the religious domination of the pope is a "new age" (old paganism) social/marxist movement, that uses scripture (and other religious books) on points that seem to uphold their philosophies.
It's a social justice, nature based religion, with a communist style of equality to all. And as to religion, worship any god of your choosing, (the Hebrew God, the Hindu gods, the Muslim god, the Chinese gods, whatever) Just worship in brotherly love and unity every Sunday, in solidarity, as we save the earth and break down all borders, fundamental beliefs, and cultural ideals and bring in the utopia .....
BUT it will be utter disaster -- a time of trouble such as never was.

The king of the South (Atheistic powers, Socialism/ progressives) are pushing at the king of the North (Papacy and her daughters).

The only thing that was unexpected for me was how they used a manufactured virus and election fraud to overthrow a sitting president. But with how the protestant churches were embarrassed by falsely claiming to have been told by God that Trump would win you can bet they will get revenge.

The Testimonies say that parts of the prophecies of Daniel 11 will be repeated in the end. That is what we are seeing right now.

You may be right.
However, it's the Catholic president now in office who is all for Climate change measures and the global reset, and very much into implementing the papal ideas into a global program --




The encyclical on global climate change measures has in it the call to making Sunday a day to give the earth a rest. It's an ingenious way of bringing Sunday laws into the WHOLE WORLD of many religions, and non-religious, by having them thinking it's for the "common good" of all, and good for the earth.

Of course once, the Sunday "for the common good" is implemented -- then (as crises worsen) the religious reasons for Sunday keeping will be implemented,

This pope is the most socialist pope in history, and he turns a blind eye to the progressive agenda all to unite the world to his side. But the Protestants of the United States are completely behind Trump. They have made proclamations, Satanic prophecies that all claim that Trump will win reelection, they are bruised that he didn't win yet, so now they are claiming that God didn't mean this time and that it will be four years from now that he will win after the Dems attempt to destroy our country. Ugh.

I could see Trump running on a platform to make Sunday an official day of rest. Biden has the Pope's ear only because he claims to be Catholic and supports open borders. The Pope loves to play both sides against one another so it will be interesting to see it unfold.

Pope Francis is the last Pope.

It seems to have been taken down completely, interesting..

Well, I didn think I would see the scorching with great heat like this..
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/heatwave-south-europe-asia-live-updates-rcna94584
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/07/06/earth-record-heat-climate-extremes/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/climate/climate-change-record-heat.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...king-records-climate-change/70384382007/


Revelation 16:8-9

8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

I posted an en explanation for these temperatures in another thread. We, the US, have been modifying the weather for a long time, The technology has been improved to where they can drive storms where they want them. Halt them where they want to. And they can park high pressure areas where they want to.

Here is the best website in the world to learn about this. https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/ .

What I don't understand is that people who understand that the governments are involved in killing us with the so called vaccines refuse to even investigate this. It just baffles me. I guess it's too high a mental hurdle for most people to get past.

Of course everyone who looks to news reports, and formulate their own idea as to how it will all end, will see things unravelling somewhat differently from what they expected. I've heard a lot of individual supposed experts telling us just how it will all happen, complete with dates and details -- that have all failed.


We have not been given a detailed, dated end time plan. But we have been given key conditions and events revealed to us by prophecy. I actually stand amazed at how things are being progressively fulfilled.
I remember a few decades ago how people scoffed thinking those conditions could never happen! What? -- the whole world forced into a worship style?-- impossible. Well, it is now very possible! Very possible indeed!

When it comes to the last plagues and other "natural" disasters, I won't be surprised at all if they come as a result of governments messing with nature.

Yes, people have figured out how to manipulate the weather, change plants, take the seeds and reproductive capacity out of plant food, (doesn't take much to imagine a huge food shortage and famine in the near future). Store shelves are filled with foods full of chemicals and who knows what else in appealing packaging. They've manipulated viruses, and I believe it was only by the grace of God, that their manipulated virus didn't do the damage they had predicted and hoped for. But they are working on producing more plandemics. Tiny newborn babies shot full of all manner of vaccines. The ratio of damaged, unhealthy kids is rising alarmingly

As to heat waves -- we still get minus 35, sometimes even lower weather in winter here, and with governments threatening to take away our natural gas and carbon fuel, we worry more about them trying to freeze us to death in this part of the world.

Well, I agree, governments are involved in killing our economies, destroying our health, messing with the weather and the processes of nature, and threatening basic life itself.
Just how it will end we don't know the details, but a time of trouble such as never was is definitely ahead, everything is in place for major trouble to hit the whole world.

Oh -- then there's AI -- when you look into what they are doing with war machines supposedly running unmanned on artificial intelligence, hearts do start failing people with fear.

BUT

we are to look up, for our redemption draweth nigh.
There is good news -- there is hope!
And we need to point people to the "ark of salvation" which is Jesus Christ, our Savior.
This world is not the end for those who put their trust in Him.
Now is the time to proclaim His saving power to the world. The darkness will come, but then comes the morning of great joy to those in HIM!

I'm curious. Was that directed at me?

No, it was more a general comment. Parts of it referring to government involvement was in agreement with your statement. But not specifically directed AT you.

OJ. Thank you. I have had a terrible time getting Christians to believe this even after the vaccines have been killing people.

I'm sorry I'm having as hard a time of believing that we can control the weather as some people have of believing masks don't protect them from disease.

However, I have just noticed, and maybe I'm not looking right, but the last few days on global radar images of cloud cover, the whole world is basically under clouds. Some clear spots, but mostly clouds. I find that odd.

And then there's all these antenna arrays, why would they do that, even in remote countries? Odd.

So it does seem they think they can affect the weather if they are investing all that. But why actually change the weather when they can just change the facts like promoting global warming by advertising a mostly inland water buoy temperature in the Florida keys?

Because they are making war by controlling the weather and killing off the population at the same time. If that doesn't make sense think about covid, non treatment when there were good treatments available, and the vaccines. All of this was designed to kill off the population. These people are eugenecists and want to bring down the world population to half a billion so they will have absolute control. The problem is that with all the poisoning of air, water, and land they will kill themselves too. The devil has them chasing their tails and not able to reason because of their arrogance. Plus the vaccines do something called shedding so that if a person didn't take the vaccine but work with people that pe4rson will get the same health problems. A person be affected by shedding just by walking down a busy sidewalk. This was engineered years ago because of plagues of mice in Austrailia. They engineered it so it could only be passed on twice so it wouldn't eliminate the species in Austrailia.

Here is a video in which Lyndon Johnson spoke about weather warfare and controlling the weather. This mis all insanity brought on by the prince of this world

https://rumble.com/v32yujy-geoengineering-watch-global-alert-news-july-29-2023-416.html

I don't think they can control the weather, but they can sure manipulate it. God is still in control!

Another way of promoting this climate change is propaganda. A lot of twisting statistics and over emphasizing things, sensationalizing as well as censoring and hiding evidence on the other side.....

You didn't go to any of the links I have posted have you? It's just like so many other Christians. It's too large a hurdle to get past for you. Nobody wants to believe in that much evil being present today. Adventists should be the quickest to believe as we have a much better idea of how evil Satan is. It shouldn't surprise us at all that the devil and his agents are that destructive

I didn't say that don't believe there is terrible evil in the world.
But do you thing it is wrong to believe and affirm that God has ultimate control?
I believe governments are manipulating weather and trying to control it.
There's no doubt the devils are destructive. Seeking to destroy and mutilate God's creation.
Sure it's good to realize we have an enemy.
But are we to put all our focus on the evil???
I'm quite capable of working myself into stressful hopeless angst when looking at all the evil in the world. Is that what you want me to do?

Aside from being aware of what's going on, and letting it drive us closer to our Savior, I really don't see any good reason to delve deeply into it and explore all the depths of evil. The knowledge of evil is black and deadly to mind and spirit. Why go into deep mining there?

Would it affect my salvation whether I die a few years earlier because the devils have poisoned the air (something I have no control over)? The greater danger is loosing sight of our Savior and being drawn into frenzy of worry over things that don't affect our eternal salvation.

GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL, when we lose or doubt that knowledge that's when we are in real trouble.

HE WILL WIN. GOD IS FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN ALL EVIL MEN AND DEMON'S COMBINED.

Of course there's an intense battle:
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high realms.

But when we entrust and submit our lives to Christ and put on HIS armor then:

Romans 8:38 I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For He is
Ephesians 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
1:22 And all things are put under his feet,
(not the demon's feet) all things are put in Christ's hands and under His feet -- He is in control, and He is far above all principalities, powers and rulers of darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high realms..

You're missing my point. To be able to explain to nonbelievers how close we are to the end of all things just what is going on here on earth and how evil our governments are seems pretty important to me. Jesus said to be in the world but not of the world. How are we to reach as many people as we can if we don't study events that point to what scripture says will happen in the last days? Should we remain in ignorance of those things that are truly evil going on around us that the media will not tell people about?

Bad mouthing the king is a pretty important message we are to give the world?

Yes, I had seen that video, or at least one very much like it, from I think it was from you on another thread. Dane is convinced there really is global warming. I'm convinced that there is no way to determine such. And for sure not from the propaganda the media promotes. Dane thinks the real global warming is being hidden. I'd be more convinced global cooling is being hidden. But again, weather happens. Sometimes cooler, sometimes warmer. And only God controls the weather. Perhaps, permits satan to have some act in it.

And while man has wanted to control the weather for some time, he also wants to be god.

I was starting to become convinced something man might have done to cause cloud cover the world over the last several days. But then you read about things like this:
How the Tonga volcano eruption could have warmed the planet, study says
How come I hadn't heard that promoted? The study was published in nature in January.
Tonga eruption increases chance of temporary surface temperature anomaly above 1.5
And yet, we don't hear anything about that, but about temperature sensors in mud flats at low tide reaching 100 degrees.

Did you know technology such as HAARP can cause earthquakes? https://rumble.com/v2ah28a-uss-nitz...l-before-the-earthquake-haarp-ter.html

Here is the CIA admitting that weather warfare exists.

{url https://rumble.com/v1jsihd-c.i.a-admitts-climate-control-and-change-by-haarp.html [/url]

Here is Lyndon Johnson speaking to a college graduation speaking of controlling the world through controlling the weather.


[url] https://rumble.com/v32yujy-geoengineering-watch-global-alert-news-july-29-2023-416.html [.url]

I won't say its' "different from what we thought" (see thread title)
it was all prophesied..

I agree. It was all prophecied by both the Bible and Ellen White. Just because they couldn't understand the technologies Satan would use to destroy us doesn't make prophecy any less sure.

Right now we're having sunshine, but I find it strange on the radar maps that most of the world is cloudy most of the time. How about others, have you been having clouds lately, more often than usual?

I'll have to watch the other links, but had seen about Johnson talking about controlling the weather. I agree, that would be a good desire for powers that be, assuming it was possible.

I didn't find much conclusive from the links other than there is a desire and that they are spraying things from planes.

Check this one out though.
https://rumble.com/v35qu7u-bill-gat...millions-could-die-if-they-succeed-.html

I have another link for you. It's a link to the site. https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/ . Here is the link to the patents. https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/links-to-geoengineering-patents/

Here is data about HAARP. https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/category/haarp-2/

In case someone still thinks the pandemic was about health, consider this:
https://rumble.com/v2a88bk-psywars-fifth-generation-warfare-and-sovereignty.html

The battle of the health of your mind. Obviously, this is setting things up to enable forced worship. So, the details of how the end comes about may be different, but it is still force and coercion of your mind.

Fully agree Kland, there is an agenda, we never knew the details of how it will all be pulled together for the last final crises, but we do know where it is going.

I have been aware of what Malone is talking about for close to twenty years although not in terms of fifth generation warfare.. The one who first woke me up was actually Bill Gates and his immorality. I was studying computer technology at the time because I'd become disabled in 1999. The fraud that he unleashed upon the public to take over the computer markets was incredible. I watched his testimony during the monopoly trial and the deceit displayed was something I'd never imagined before and I grew up with an older brother who is very manipulative. That led me to look at the world much more cynically. Then along came Glenn Beck and he opened my mind to how we have been deceived about the political structure of our world and fed a line about left and right political governments. That's about the time I started studying into marxism.

So when I started learning about geoengineering and then covid and the vaccines came along I was already very skeptical of all governments, media, and politicians. I was an avid devourer of the msm up to when Glenn Beck came along. Gates had made me a little suspicious but not much.

All of this is to destroy we the people in the entire world. The so called elites are child molesters and eugenecists and almost all of the upper crust of our world are satanists. Remember pizza gate? It was real. Hillary and Bill are involved in child trafficking and satanism. It took five years to get the Sound of Freedom as the big money people threw road block after road block up to keep it from being released.

Even Malone is being used to keep us thinking there is a possibility to win against the united governments of this world. The financial system will be taken digital before that can happen and then every movement of people will be controlled. Our only safety is God as He will allow things to happen only on His time line. We just have to work on our relationship with God very hard so as to be close enough to Him and have the faith it takes to get through the time of trouble.

Cyber Attack - not.

When things don't make sense, expect it was planned and new laws to be implemented quickly.

Why would a third party anti-virus security software cause Microsoft Windows to fail. But then again, why does Windows fail for all kinds of reasons, so that isn't so unexpected.

Why would Microsoft allow a third party.... Why why why.
But why would airlines depend upon a known operating system software which fails without having a backup plan?
I read one article where they contacted the planes in the sky and allowed them to continue to their destination. What! Was there the chance they would say you must land back at the origin because our computers are down?
Why would they not have a separate system isolated that doesn't do updates until a test system do any updates. I mean, it is common for Microsoft updates to result in a failed system and this is the first time...?

Why would the 911 system be tied to anything that could cause problems?

None of this make sense. Expect something big to come of it.
They (the beast powers) probably could not pull off a cyber attack, so they just did an update.

But then, were there real disabling computer problems, or was this a case of where someone said the sky was falling, shut down the airlines.

So this is conditioning the people of how inconvenient it is of not being able to continue their flights, and all other kinds of "Can't do that, our computers are down" issues. So then the people will beg, please take away our rights and privacy, as long as we can feel safe and not be inconvenienced. And suddenly multi-hundred page bills are passed within a day or two.

There are parts of the cyber infrastructure that we pay no mind to, as long as it does not intrude in our lives. Then they show themselves and we are shocked at the control and intrusion it has, much like the covid mandates..

How is the end time different than what we thought?

Actually, it is shockingly very much as we were told it would be.
Individual Adventists have gone down many paths thinking it would be different than what we read in the book Great Controversy. But no, what was revealed, is shaping up just as it was prophesied.

Of course, all the details that would shape the events (many thought nothing could ever shape our countries to produce those events) we could only image in years past. But now -- it's all falling into place. The trap is set, it just needs to be sprung.

How do we respond?
How many are just as unprepared to stand when the crises hits, as the disciples were when Christ was crucified?


"The work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly presented."

What has been clearly presented concerning this preparation??

1. Need for genuine revival. This is achieved by taking the Laodicean message to heart.
Our lukewarm condition will not make it through any time of trouble. Christ, the heavenly merchant man is standing at the door of our hearts, and the door of our church, wanting to come in and have close fellowship with us and prepare us for what's ahead. He has important wares that we need.

We are POOR with just a pittance of spiritual wealth. But He offers GOLD. He wants to build in us a Faith tried in fire, a faith that holds fast to Him and His righteousness even when the whole world is against us. A faith combined with love! Love is foundation of true obedience.


We are not properly dress. Like Adam and Eve after they sinned discovered they were naked. But He offers us a white, pure robe.


And we are BLIND.
Christ brings us eye salve. Spiritual eye salve. That we may comprehend the marvelous truths concerning the kingdom.

Repentance and Revival are two key points...

Of course there will be differences from what we expect. Jesus told us that we will know that he told us when we see it come to pass. The danger is that like in the first century AD Satan made people cling so tightly to tradition and what they thought would happen that they did not realize what the prophets said when it did come to pass. The first step is to both understand what we have learned over history and that God has lead us thus far, discuss and evaluate. Then God can show us more.

There are a few things I'd like to say here and you can evaluate to see if it may be useful or not.

The first is that we need to be willing to study the Bible; including studying the original context of the topic and then how other Bible writers applied them and how they became applied over history. But the clearest way to find out what the Bible means is to first see what the Bible meant back then; what are the principles, Use the principles of the essay "The Role of Israel in Old Testament Prophecy" from SDABC vol. 4. Often this causes us to ask the question of "How could the Lord have come back then? Why did it not happen?" The more we learn about the historical setting, the more correct will be our application.

Second: I am uncomfortable with the tendency to make the beast of Revelation 13 totally the pope, the pope, the pope and nothing but the pope. As a whole the beast is ANY organization that we choose to take the place of God the Father in our lives. In many ways the beast is the opposite of the dragon. More on this later. I understand that the 7 heads correspond to the 7 parts of the dream in Daniel 2: They are the 7 periods of someone else ruling over the majority of God's true church between the last son of David (Zedekiah) until we are again ruled over by THE Son of David!!! These are:

1. Babylon

2. Medio-Persia

3. Greece

4. Rome

5. The feet of iron and clay. In the Bible clay is formed by God, but in the 5th head we find God's clay being molded by the iron, the politics, instead of by God. This describes a church-state. The rule of the church over the dark ages; Here is where the Pope plays a major role. But from the middle east through Europe there were church states: In the Middle East it was to a large extent Islam. Then you had the Orthodox Catholics, going a bit farther west we then find the Roman Catholics. Eventually in the Roman Catholic land we got Reformed Roman Catholics (Protestants) as the church state. This is what we call "catholic Europe" Yes small "c" catholic. Your faith was basically where you were born and lived. As smaller parts of Protestantism formed there was little to no room for them if they did not toe the line to the Church-State they lived under. Many came to the Americas to claim some land that they could use as their own little patch of catholic Europe for their faith.

6. Then we got Joan of Arc, who was a very active member in catholic Europe; but who started to see the idea of government independence. And we also got that crazy man Roger Williams who had the idea of liberty of conscience. This idea was starting to form in the new world. Rogers started the state of Rhode Island where the laws allowed you to worship according to the dictates of your conscience. William Penn got a piece of property that he might have wanted as a piece of catholic Europe for Quakers; Now, he did not find enough Quakers to come over here; but whether or not that was his original plan, he also offered in his state liberty of conscience. Even in the state for Roman Catholics, Maryland, in their first settlement there was something very un-European. They built the government and public buildings on one side of town, then they had the homes and at the other side of town they built their church. These events lead to a new thinking about freedom in this new world, and the idea that freedom comes from good laws limited to how we treat each other, yet freedom to worship or not worship according to our conscience, which is the foundation of the American Revolution.

Back over the pond there was another Revolution, but their understanding of freedom was freedom from law; the French Revolution. They made their own version of catholic Europe, but where the church-state was the religion of secular humanism.

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe were among those who supported the idea that was forming in America of liberty of conscience. This still puzzled people who had local official churches supported by their taxes. When Jefferson became President people feared that he was going to change the state-church to France's secular humanism and that he was going to take their Bibles and they would hide Bibles. But instead of getting a new church state, the church for the first time was unbelievably free. There was an open marketplace for religion. People could listen, and see what makes the most sense. Christians came to see the danger in the beast of catholic Europe.

These events of national and religious independence and the ideas of the French Revolution gave the beast the deadly wound, the toes of iron and clay; separation; some offering more freedom others very much restricting true freedom. The ruling crowns left the head and went on to the horns.

7. The Bible predicts that the deadly wound would be healed; and that the last head will be different from the first five. It will share the crowns with the independent states, the horns. Rather than ruling though conquest and politics, the 7th head will be the horns uniting in economic cooperation with the corporations being in control. Sadly, as Adventists, limiting the beast to ONLY the Pope, we are blinding ourselves to the 7th head as we are expecting a return to the 5th head. When we enter the 7th head, I fear we will have many Adventists who will be swept away by the deception as we are so focused on the return to the 5th head, and then only a portion of the 5th head. Now as we are seeing the 7th head forming; the Pope is being groomed to being the moral voice of the system. But without the Pope becoming the controlling power, I worry that too many will be sucked up into the deceptions of the 7th head because we are all focused on the return to the 5th head.

Third: In a lot of ways the Dragon and the Beast are opposites. The Dragon is the personification of the first deception of Satan that God is not God, but consists of the same essence as creatures and can thus be over thrown by sufficient power. That God is claiming to be God to keep us in our place. That God is a cruel arbitrary tyrant who has no right to place us under law. That we all should be a law unto ourselves. You have your truth and I have my truth. The philosophy of existentialism, also called by Ellen White "spiritualism". Follow your feelings. It is Satan and demons working directly.

For a long time I've noticed in OTHER churches people who sees the danger of the dragon, but too many are running to the beast to protect them from the dragon. Sadly, in recent years I'm even seeing this in Seventh-day Adventism. We seem to think that as long as it is not directly THE VATICAN that we should turn to the beast to protect us from the dragon. We are becoming an unwalled city with just one wall facing in only one direction and if we are attacked from other directions we welcome the invaders to our town.

Any organization that replaces God and God's character of love and freedom in our lives. While the dragon is the philosophy of the French Revolution, that freedom is in the absence of law, you are a law unto yourself, what do you feel is right, you have your truth and I have my truth and it's fine if they are different, that the final authority is our individual existential experience. The beast tells us what is right and wrong, and my job is to comply, if necessary forget and ignore my existential experience.

We find this same idea in Daniel 11's kings of the north and south. From the promised land if you go north you eventually turn east and end up in Babylon. God's rule is pictured as coming from the north. So the King of the North is either God or someone in the place of God. As we travel south we eventually turn west and end up in Egypt. The Pharaoh of Egypt is pictured as having conquered the chaos monster and implanted control. But the Nile with it's delta gives the picture of the dragon with it's 7 heads; the chaos monster, the no law monster, but trying to be controlled by secularism.

The two horned beast of Revelation 13 in it's widest application represents people, who have the true freedom through Christ, but who gives this up by following either the dragon or the beast; Secularism or Imposed religion, they trade true freedom for either chaos or control. Now in a more narrow application there is a nation based on the individual. The United States became very lamb like with Biblical views of freedom that has the entire Trinity working with us. Our existential experience is NOT the final authority, but there is an outward truth, God the Father. But the Holy Spirit leads us to God the Father and God the Son through working with us where we are in our subjective existential experience leading us deeper and deeper towards the truth in God the Father. God the Son is there as our dear friend working with us and leading us into his kingdom. This really took effect in the views of law, and separation of church and state under the 24 years of the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. It was deepened by Andrew Jackson, and widened by Abraham Lincoln.

Let me give a little off track to point out that those ideas were intrenched in William Miller and others of our pioneers. As the movement of Adventism jumped the pond it became welded to these ideas by Miller and the Seventh-day Adventist church is the offspring of the Adventism movement and the principles of the American Revolution, especially Roger Williams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison as deepened by Jackson. But even outside of the Seventh-day Adventist church, there were still the realization of the blessing of liberty of conscience. Much of the fear of Catholics was that they would take away liberty of conscience and return us to catholic Europe. John Kennedy needed to tell how he understood the difference between being the Catholic candidate for President, and being the Democrat candidate for President who happens to worship in the Catholic church.

Now Revelation tells us that this beast will speak like the dragon (secularism, existentialism) but end up forming an image NOT to the dragon but to the beast: catholic Europe revived.

The French Revolution was based on the dragon. But this view of freedom while Satan's favorite idea, it means that the demons need to personalize temptation. They hate us too much to focus on this. Over the period of the 5th head it was easy having one big deception to have people follow. The demons double checked this in Nazi Germany, and sure enough easier to file us into one deception. The demons are looking what worked and what did not work, and how would they appeal to people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Winston Churchill.

Right now Satan is splitting us into two groups, a counterfeit sheep and goats, those who are willing to just follow the beast, and the more free thinking goats. Then he will bring on a great pending disaster where everyone has to follow, some taking the mark in their forehead, and others not feeling all that comfortable but sees it to their advantage to just follow the system, thus getting the mark in their right hand. (In the time of Rome, when people were required to bow down to the Emperor's image, some would bow and pray to him, others just happened to notice that their sandals needed adjusting.) Thus we can expect a period where the United States would look too secular but will revert to forming an image to the beast, the revival of catholic Europe. To follow the beast we will have to give up something that our conscience tells us to do, and/or pressure others to surrender their belief to go along with the system.

Liberty of conscience was the general trend of America from especially Jefferson through Carter. Reagan made a change to cater to a feeling of entitlement to Evangelical Christianity. In reaction (or correspondingly) the more extreme of the Democrats were expected to support the feeling of entitlement to the religion of secular humanism. These two spirits of entitlement has taken hold over our country for the past 40some years. Sadly, Trump has gone beyond, and threatens to go even farther if elected in giving more of a commitment to Evangelical Christianity. I would expect a counter reaction from the left. Trump has opened a Pandora's Box that so many other Republicans are embracing. I don't know if we will ever be able to go back. Today's politicians do not have Kennedy's insight of the difference between being the Catholic President and the American President who happens to worship in the Catholic church. They think that they are the politician or judge of their religion. It would be wise for politicians and judges to spend some time looking at the thought of Roger Williams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Mrs. White's Great Controversy philosophy, Kennedy's understanding of the difference. These ideas have been lost by both parties. Too many Republicans want to make the United States catholic Europe, and too many Democrats want to make the United States French Revolution Europe. Both have forgotten a little something called the American Revolution. And living at this time in history I feel like I'm living the play/story "Now".

Fourth: While we know that the issue of Sunday Laws will bring the test to the Christian world, Mrs. White also seems to open the door for similar situations bringing the test to other religions and parts of the world. Mrs. White writes on AT LEAST TWO LEVELS, the specific application of Sunday enforcement, but also the more broader ideas of liberty of conscience and it's attack by catholic Europe no matter what specific religion or philosophy it comes garbed in. Fortunately (being sarcastic) upon either birth or baptism Seventh-day Adventists get an autocorrect somewhere on the neural pathway between our eyes and brain and between our ears and brain. When ever we read or hear from Mrs. White the deeper and broader issues, our autocorrect automatically makes it "Sunday Laws" and "the Pope" by the time her words reaches our brain. I love the book "The Great Controversy" but I fear that too many who are promoting the book are wanting not to promote the deeper levels but only the Sunday and Pope applications.

Recently I heard that our National Anthem is about our flag and the ideals for which it stands was able to make it through one night and to fly the next day. It is a song about the fragile nature of our freedoms. We could have lost it on January 6, but we made it through a few more years. But we must constantly ask if that banner is still flying. Revelation 13 tells us that the day will come where it's principles will not be flying over us.

I think we are seeing the rise of the image, rather than the beast as prophicized..