It's interesting how the secular media can foretell events sometimes in spite of themselves --

This appeared in the Daytona Beach (Florida) News-Journal on Feb. 26, 2004:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/downloads/022604beat.gif


An alternate way to view is to go to cartoonist Bruce Beattie's index page at

http://www.news-journalonline.com/column/beattie/index.html

and click on the date Feb. 26 (then scroll back up)

Pretty wild, eh! Thanx for sharing the link. I'm taking it to church this sabbath.

It never ceases to amaze me how we SDA are so convinced that we know how the future is going to unfold........

I believe that we should always keep in mind that God did not give us prophecies so that we would know the future. He gave us prophecies so that when the prophesied event is fulfilled, we will know that He is God and that He knows all.

Those individuals who are convinced that the 100+ year old interpretation of the Mark of the Beast prophecy is to be fulfilled with the Universal Sunday Law are in danger of being sorely disappointed and embarrassed, just like our founding fathers were at the Great Disappointment of 1844.

It appears that we have yet to learn our lesson concerning the proper way to understand God's foreknowledge.

Bob

To lump Wm. Miller with EGW is a bit on the side of oversimplification.
But that all depends on how you feel about who EGW was, function-wise; a Messenger or an old lady that founded another denomination.
The Sunday Law event is not a mystical, wishy-washy prediction. It is a statement of future fact.
But men are at liberty to think what they like, as long as they understand that there are no neutrals.
Sure: Adventists can make heaps of mistakes...if they don't read EGW, especially, along with their Bibles...
Gee... then this must be part of that 100+ year old "mistake", I suppose:

"When Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome, and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshiping the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority, and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome,--"the mark of the beast." And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will receive "the mark of the beast."
--The Great Controversy, p. 449. (1888)

It appears that the point that I am attempting to make is being sorely missed.

On several occasions Jesus told his disciples of future events and explained to them that they would not understand what He meant until the time of the fulfillment of the event. When the foretold event has been fulfilled, then they would know that He was who He said He was and that what He had said was Truth.

Jesus gave us prophecy, not so that we would know the future, but so that as the prophecied event takes place,(and we recognize its fulfillment) we would then know that He is truly the Son of God.

The SDA Church has placed its faith in EGW and other founding fathers, who have stated that they understand how the future will unfold. For 100+ years we have waited for just one of these interpretations to be fulfilled and not one of them has been fulfilled.

And yet.......

Prophecy is being fulfilled and the SDA church does not recognize its fulfillment.

History is repeating itself.

The Jews thought that they knew exactly how the Messianic prophecies would be fulfilled and yet when the True Messiah walked amongst them they crucified Him.

It is time to place our faith squarely where it belongs. We must allow the Holy Spirit to be our sole guide in the understanding of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies.

It is of the utmost importance that we be aware of these Biblical prophecies and that we continually compare these prophecies to current events in order to discern whether they are being fulfilled. As Jesus said, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

My friends....The Fig Tree is putting forth leaves......But no one is noticing, because they are looking elsewhere.

Bob

Bob, your view of Sister White's interpretation of unfulfilled prophecy is not new or unique. Personally I'm not interested in what you don't believe. Such information is useless to me. I am more interested in learning what you do believe. It is more rewarding as a student searching for truth learn what is right rather than only what is wrong.

So, please tell us what you do believe about prophecy. Looking back over the past 100 years which prophecy do you think has been fulfilled. Thank you for sharing.

Bob, what exactly is it that no one is noticing?

This discussion seems to be centered around the prophecies found in Revelation 13 regarding the "Image to the Beast" and the "Mark of the Beast", so I will restrict my remarks to this chapter only.

I will also try to be brief.

First of all the First Beast is representative of the Pagan Roman Empire. This empire was unique in that it was the greatest empire that ever existed. Most of all, it established a government that was the "first of its kind". This government was called a "Democratic Republic". What made this government unique was that it was a representative form of government. The people chose who would be their leaders and who would establish/enforce their laws. (Note: Compare this form of government to the previous monarchy governments of the past.)

The guiding principle of a Democratic Republic is that each human being has certain rights that must be protected/upheld. Human Rights.

Now compare this form of government with a Theocracy, which was the form of government that God attempted to establish here on this earth....first with Adam and Eve, then with the Israelites.

Compare a Theocracy with a Democracy and see if you can see opportunity for conflict and controversy.

In a Theocracy...God establishes and enforces the Laws......God chooses the leaders, political and spiritual......God is sovereign and He alone receives worship.

In a Democracy....Man establishes and enforces the Laws.....Man chooses the leaders, political and spiritual.....Man is sovereign and He can worship whoever/whatever he pleases.

Now comes along the second beast.....the United States. When the United States was founded the principles of government established by the Roman Empire were closely emulated. The separation of powers was established. The principle of human rights was established. The one man...one vote principle was practiced.

The Image of the Beast is created.

Now let us look at past and current events......

The United States has set out on a mission to introduce Democracy into all of the world. They have fought and are currently fighting wars with the purpose of convincing the world that Democracy is the only form of government that should be practiced. The United States is willing to kill those who do not agree with this principle.

The only thing that remains to be fulfilled is the "Mark of the Beast".

One thing for certain, it is not the "Sunday Law".

In order for a Universal Sunday Law to be established in this world a fundamental principal of Democracy must be done away with. The inalienable right to "worship as one pleases" must be voided. If this were to happen, it would not only threaten the SDA church, but also all Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, etc.

It will never happen.

The SDA Church is looking in the wrong direction.

Bob, if you're right, then Ellen White was a false prophet, all of the pioneers of this movement were wrong, the three angels' messages as given by this movement are bogus, and there's really no reason to be an SDA. We're just another religious country club.

But I don't think you're right, for many reasons easily demonstrated.