ARTICLES - HOT OFF THE FAGGOT

More European Sunday Law Pressure

Amplify’d from www.ktfministry.org

Dear Friends,

Welcome to this edition of Keep the Faith’s monthly end-time sermon. I hope that today you will be greatly blessed by what you hear and will take the steps you need to take to get ready for the coming Sunday law crisis. We are nearing the end and Jesus wants you to learn to trust Him completely, even for your food and water. So it is very important that you follow all His counsel whether in the Bible or in the Spirit of Prophecy.

Before we begin, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of Keep the Faith. Your prayers and gifts mean much to us. Our CDs have always been free of charge. But some people ask me how Keep the Faith can send more than 16,000 CDs every month. It is because of faithful souls who continue to support Keep the Faith with heartfelt gifts that make it possible to continue to send so many messages each month. Please pray that God will use Keep the Faith to reach hearts hungering for light and truth in these last days. And thank you again for your prayers and support.

I have just been back to Australia in recent times to re-organize Highwood Health Centre and begin the process of building it up according to God’s plan. God has given specific instructions concerning the city of Melbourne, Victoria. It is a place where a health centre must be established for the care of the sick.

Listen to this statement from the book Medical Ministry, page 326. “But for many years light has been given that sanitariums should be established near every large city. Sanitariums should be established near such cities as Melbourne and Adelaide.”

And here is one from the Review and Herald, November 14, 1899. “The Lord has given me light that… a sanitarium must be erected somewhere in New South Wales, and another [near] the great city of Melbourne.”

God has placed Highwood within an hour’s drive of Melbourne and is ideally located where the healing environment can have a wonderful effect on the guests that come to the place. Have a look at the pictures on our website. I hope to be able to post more in the future.

But perhaps the most important thing is how Highwood reaches souls.

I’ll call her Sharon. Sharon was a health guest recently at Highwood Health Centre. She wrote me a letter and told me that because of Highwood her life has been turned around. She told me she had been in and out of many denominations. She had wanted to attend a Seventh-day Adventist meeting, but was unable to. Because of Highwood she is being drawn to the Adventist message. Friends, this is what it is all about, to help suffering men and women find the Lord and the last message to the world, and Highwood is on the front lines.

Highwood is the only Adventist health centre of its type in Victoria, so please pray that God will bless it with health guests and open up the windows of heaven and bless it with success. Your support is needed. If you feel impressed to help build up the work there, we would like to hear from you. We have a long list of important projects that need to be done to make Highwood what it needs to be. We wait on the Lord to provide the friends and funds to help.

Today, we are going to study recent developments in the Sunday law movement. Bold and obvious steps are being taken by Rome and the various denominations to bring in more Sunday laws, and we need to know what to do so that when we are faced with more intense pressure to compromise the truth, we take wise steps and not be foolish and discredit the message.

If you can turn with me in your Bibles to Hebrews 4:1-11, read along with me as I read these precious verses.

“Let us therefore fear,” says the apostle Paul, “lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”

There are two ways to “come short;” by not having Christ in your life, and not keeping God’s holy Sabbath in Christ. Do you think that today there are many people coming short of the rest that God has for them?

Paul is talking mainly about how the Jews missed out on salvation, but he is also using the Sabbath as a divine illustration of righteousness by faith. Those who fail to enter the seventh day Sabbath rest on God’s holy day come short of His righteousness, because they are not keeping the law. If done in ignorance His Holy Spirit continues to woo them to Christ and a clearer understanding of God’s will.

The only way to be righteous is to keep the commandments. But this is impossible for fallen human beings. So the only option is to have Christ in your heart. He then keeps the commandments in you. Where Christ is, there is no lawbreaking, no sin. Christ has never endorsed anyone who changes or ignores His holy law, for God’s law can never change. And those who fail to let Christ rule in their lives also come up short even if they keep the seventh day Sabbath outwardly like the Jews in Christ’s day. They do not have His righteousness if He is not their all. All their law-keeping is useless if it is not done in Christ.

Reading on from verses two and three “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest…”

Verses four through seven say, “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Paul is saying that it is very important not to harden your heart against the Lord and his righteousness, which includes His moral law, the Ten Commandments. We are urged to enter into Christ’s rest, which means that through Christ we are partakers of His righteousness and we keep His law.

Verse eight says, “For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Paul is not talking about another day for rest as if the Sabbath was changed. He is talking here about another day for salvation. There is still probationary time, for he says in verse nine and ten that “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

He concludes in verse 11, “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Paul is actually upholding the keeping of the moral law even as he clarifies how that salvation is not operative outside the righteousness of Christ, for Christ keeps the law in us and we joyfully obey all its precepts. He is saying that the only way you can have genuine faith is if you enter into the rest of Christ and cease from trying to obey the law in your own strength and let Christ live in you, which brings obedience to His law.

But the world is all going in another direction. Even Christian churches are heading in another direction. They are advocating Sunday observance, a substitute for the seventh day Sabbath of the moral law, even while they claim the righteousness of Christ. They are working to bring God’s Ten Commandment law into contempt by advocating for an alternate day, Sunday. Eventually, this will cause serious problems for God’s people.

Listen to this from the Review and Herald, June 8, 1897, “When the law of God is most derided and brought into the most contempt, then it is time for every true follower of Christ, for those whose hearts have been given to God, and who are fixed to obey God, to stand unflinchingly for the faith once delivered to the saints.” “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” “It is time to fight when champions are most needed.”

Now, at the very time when God’s people are coming closer and closer to Christ and His law, Satan is busy stirring up the people to reject His law and enact laws of their own to replace God’s law, particularly His fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. They are trying to substitute another day for God’s day. For instance, one of the important developments to watch is the Sunday movement in Europe. On June 20, 2011, the European Sunday Alliance was formed. It has been in the planning stages for some time, but it came into existence and began yet another push to agitate protecting Sunday as a day of rest.

Led by the Roman Catholic Church, which is always promoting its own day of worship in opposition to the law of God, the sixty-five organizations that joined in this alliance so far are all dedicated to building up Sunday laws in Europe. They want to establish a Sunday rest law that would require all workers to have Sunday off from work and keep it as a day of rest in all countries of the EU.

While this kind of law would not prevent God’s people from keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment holy, it would be a serious step toward the Sunday worship laws prophesied in the Bible. This is a very important movement to watch. Don’t get confused, as some do, that a Sunday rest law would be a conscience-violating law. It isn’t. But it is the foundation of them. You can’t really have a Sunday worship law without lower-level Sunday laws to undergird it. Eventually, conscience-violating laws will arise from them.

Remember that there are at least four levels of Sunday laws that are typically imposed on nations or governments. First, there is Sunday closing laws, which involve the closing of shops and industries on Sunday. These laws often require companies with a certain number of employees to close on Sundays, but not smaller companies. Europe already has a lot of these, but it is not entirely consistent throughout the EU. The Roman Catholic Church and the rest of the groups involved in promoting the protection of Sunday want to make Sunday closing laws consistent throughout the EU and more widely applicable. They also want to upgrade these laws to level two Sunday laws and to include all business activity and all workers in all non-essential work.

Level three involves Sunday worship laws, which require all members of society to worship on Sunday. This is when Sunday becomes the mark of the beast. This level of Sunday laws also violate freedom of conscience and try to force some people to do what they do not believe is right before God.

Listen to this statement from Great Controversy, page 449. Speaking of Sunday laws which compel people to keep Sunday sacred, “…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.’”

So, Sunday worship and keeping Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath does not rise to the level of the mark of the beast until it is plainly set before the people. That is most likely to happen when legislation is debated and argued pro and con in the public area, and laws are made. At the same time God’s people defend the Sabbath of the Bible. So it becomes a public issue that is clearly set before the people at large. I hope you are planning to be one of those who will defend God’s truth and His principles in those difficult times.

The fourth level of laws involves anti-Sabbath laws. This is when the most severe penalties are imposed for breaking these laws including the death penalty as found in Revelation 13.

Though it isn’t the mark of the beast now, violation of the Sabbath command is still a sin and breaks God’s holy Ten Commandments. I hope you are carefully thinking about how you are keeping God’s Sabbath. Also I hope you are thinking about how you are going to act when the time comes for Sunday worship laws and anti-Sabbath laws. It will be a very delicate time for God’s people.

You need to have a mixture of holy boldness and caution. Here is a statement from Last Day Events, page 139. “Refraining from work on Sunday is not receiving the mark of the beast… In places where the opposition is so strong as to arouse persecution, if work is done on Sunday, let our brethren make that day an occasion to do genuine missionary work.”

Here is another from Selected Messages, Vol. 3 and page 399. “We should not feel it enjoined upon us to irritate our neighbors who idolize Sunday by making determined efforts to bring labor on that day before them purposely to exhibit an independence. Our sisters need not select Sunday as the day to exhibit their washing.”

So we can comply with Sunday closing and Sunday rest laws without violating the word of God. Here is another statement that gives positive instruction concerning what to do when Sunday laws come into force.

“Sunday can be used for carrying forward various lines of work that will accomplish much for the Lord. On this day open-air meetings and cottage meetings can be held. House-to-house work can be done. Those who write can devote this day to writing their articles. Whenever it is possible, let religious services be held on Sunday. Make these meetings intensely interesting. Sing genuine revival hymns, and speak with power and assurance of the Saviour’s love.” That’s from Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9 and page 232, 233.

The European Sunday Alliance is no doubt sincere, and their ideals are good, but they are misguided, for they are laying a foundation to take them in opposition to the most wonderful of all of God’s laws, all in the name of upholding the Ten Commandments. But they are undermining its authority.

Here are some things that the website says about the European Sunday Alliance. The new alliance is promoting work-free Sunday throughout Europe. Their slogan: “Together for decent working hours” masks the underlying purpose of the Sunday movement in Europe.

Listen to what God tells us in Great Controversy, page 581. “God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.”

The European Sunday Alliance website says that “the signatories commit to safeguard and promote work-free Sundays and decent working hours throughout Europe.” Perhaps some sincere members of the European Sunday Alliance have no idea what Rome really has planned. Perhaps they will have a shock when they learn of the secret recesses where her persecutions will be repeated. Right now they think Rome is rather tame and would not do the things she did before. After all, the priests are so kind and friendly and ecumenical. Perhaps they will learn too late that they have helped Rome resurrect her despotic power and will be embarrassed when they realize the consequences that they have supported. They might even try to distance themselves from Rome when they realize what they have done. I hope so. I hope that before it is too late that at least some will see their sin and repent of their cooperation with the “man of sin.”

The process of developing the alliance started a year ago with a conference that took place in Brussels promoting a “work-free Sunday” and also the protection of Sunday as a day of rest. And to launch the new alliance, the group of 65 members held another conference to further mature their arguments in favor of Sunday rest. The conference opened with a speech by Luca Jahier who “emphasized that Europe needs a social model based not only on production and consumption, but also on shared free time for social interaction and societal engagement: ‘We need time for the collective rituals of society, not only mass occupations like shopping,’” said Jahier.

What is the meaning of this interesting phrase “collective rituals of society?” Jahier is talking about members of society doing certain things together with a collective purpose. Collective rituals are symbolic and repetitious in which everyone participates. It is something like Thanksgiving dinner for Americans, or Christmas dinner, or days of national celebration. These are days or events that are heavy with social symbolism. A ritual in this context is a habit or routine that involves everyone, or at least the majority of society’s members. This could include secular or religious pursuits such as annual sporting events, family parties, or weekly or yearly religious ceremonies.

The conference in Belgium included a number of “experts” on Sunday rest, such as Professor Friedhelm Nachreiner, a psychologist, “who recently testified in the German Constitutional Court proceedings on Sunday work that resulted in a ban on shop openings on Sundays in that country.”

Nachreiner was working to defend level one Sunday laws in Germany. Now he is working with the European Sunday Alliance to organize rest laws, or level two Sunday laws, which involve broader laws to restrict work on Sundays throughout the European Union.

In his speech he discussed recent scientific studies and said that “Whatever set of data you look at, whatever aspects you factor in or leave aside, the result is always the same: Any person working on Sundays is negatively affected both in terms of health and safety.”

Friends, let us keep in mind that the reasons that are now being promoted for Sunday rest are some of the very reasons why God gave us Sabbath rest of the fourth commandment. But these people do not understand the Ten Commandment law as they should. They want to replace the Sabbath with Sunday. But they also want to transfer even the reasons for keeping the Sabbath to Sunday in support of their agenda.

Another speaker, social scientist Dr. Jill Ebrey presented research about the social value of synchronized free time during weekends for workers. What is “synchronized free time?” This is time set aside by all of society so that everyone has the same period of time during the week set aside as free time. Dr. Ebrey said “Saturday and Sunday are not merely the end of the week, but form the weekend – a special time for almost anybody. Its demise causes great distress.”

In other words, people need free common time so that they can spend it doing things together. Please note that she included Saturday as well as Sunday as part of the free time of the weekend. However, if you are paying attention, the advocates of Sunday rest are not interested in protecting Saturday as free time. They are only interested in protecting Sunday, even though the studies show that both days have benefit as rest days and have harmful effects as working days. There are no restrictions as far as I know concerning what work can be done on God’s holy Sabbath, except in Israel. Working on Saturday would be just as damaging as working on Sunday, if not more so. But as far as the Alliance is concerned you can work as much as you like. You can conduct your business on Saturday. You can make money and you can spend money on Saturday. You can get all the harmful effects of working on one of the two weekend rest days, the one on which God said to rest, but that is no concern to them, even though it is part of the weekend rest period. This is terribly inconsistent, and suggests an underlying motivation for Sunday rest laws. The Alliance is deliberately angling for Sunday rest and synchronized free time only on Sundays. Something isn’t right about that.

The retired Roman Catholic bishop of Linz, Maximillian Aichern, welcomed the proposal and said that a work-free Sunday is the “oldest social law of Christian-Jewish civilization.” This is a false statement. The oldest written social law of this type is the fourth commandment in the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses and the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai. But it was in force even before there was a Jew. It was the day of rest since Creation. Sunday was only protected as a day of rest for Christians since the days of Constantine in the fourth century B.C. So it is relatively recent compared to the Sabbath laws found in either Jewish or biblical history.

Amazingly, in order to promote Sunday observance or Sunday rest, even religious leaders bear false witness to press their point.

“The common day of rest, the social contracts which go with it and the praising of the Lord are the most important Christian values and … are indispensable for the human dignity,” said the bishop.

It is true that a common day of rest has social contracts and benefits, but he has misapplied them to Sunday rather than to the Bible Sabbath in promoting Sunday rest. But note that he also pointed to the inherent religious nature of Sunday laws. He uses the term “praising the Lord,” which is only one aspect of religious worship, but with it comes all the rest. Fundamentally, all Sunday laws are religious in nature. The fact that the movement is led by the Roman Catholic Church provides ample evidence of the religious purpose of the Sunday movement. Yes, they are using all sorts of secular reasons for it, but its function is religious. The Alliance even includes spiritual development as a reason for Sunday rest, again hinting at the spiritual nature of the Sunday movement. Perhaps the secular people of Europe have resisted this encroachment upon their liberties because they realize that underlying all the talk is Rome’s religion.

Note that the bishop and the advocates of Sunday rest speak of a common day of rest, which could be any day of the week, in spite of the fact that the Ten Commandments are very specific. The fourth commandment specifies when that synchronized time off from work is to be in the life of the Christian. “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh-day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work…” Exodus 20:9,10. But the European Sunday Alliance is advocating Sunday as the work-free day, not the seventh day or the Sabbath. The idea of a “common” or “synchronized” day is a clever way to diminish the Sabbath standard and the Sabbath command and substitute another day for God’s Sabbath. Incidentally, it would be just as wrong to legislate Sabbath rest as it is to create a legal Sunday. God’s government does not force anyone to obey Him. All must obey by choice.

The website says that “the members of the Alliance demand that both European and national legislation needs to be more protective of workers’ private lives, including the right to shared free time for family, social and civic engagement, and culture. They stress that societies need a collective rhythm… [and] social cohesion…”

Notice the “demand.” This is an emphatic and political term. They are trying to put pressure on national and EU leaders to make laws that agree with their agenda.

Please notice the idea of a “collective rhythm” for society. The Alliance website says that Sunday is the reference around which a collective rhythm is established and how time is organized for both state and society. But a collective rhythm for society is again one of the reasons why God gave us the Sabbath. Sunday cannot legitimately replace the day that God established because it is fundamentally against His law. There will be other consequences to society, such as increased immorality because of the disregard of God’s law, and eventually, the judgments of God, which will tear society apart.

Note also the words “social cohesion.” This is a fancy word for saying that societies need to stick together in order to promote social well-being. They are trying to say that when everyone is required to take rest from work and gainful employment on Sunday, their collective activities together on Sunday increases the social glue that holds society together. Of course there is no proof that this is better accomplished on Sunday than on the Sabbath of the Lord, but that is their claim.

If you didn’t know the truth of the Bible about the Holy Sabbath, you would probably think that these are very good reasons for Sunday rest. They sound well reasoned and well researched. And that is precisely the problem. Most people don’t know their Bibles, or that the Bible set aside the Sabbath for the social well being of man as well as his spiritual well-being. So, they will naturally think that these are very good reasons for the protection of Sunday as a family day and as a social day. After all, who wants to work more? But the very arguments that are used for Sunday rest are drawn from evidence that would demonstrate the importance of Sabbath rest.

Concluding his speech, Professor Nachreiner said; “Apart from our scientific findings, the political decision comes down to what sort of society we want to live in: a participative society, or a society where more and more people withdraw from interaction – with the negative impacts on democracy this would have.”

Note that he mentioned the idea of a participative society. To be a member of a “participative society” has a special meaning. Participation means that members of the society are involved in that society, particularly in the political process and in the process of social interchange. The most basic element of social interchange is the ability to buy and sell. In other words, they are now promoting the idea that society cannot be a healthy, interactive society unless society protects Sunday rest. A corollary to this is that if Sunday is protected as a day of rest, and ultimately a day of worship, those who break the law, will be prevented from participation by removing their ability to buy and sell. This issue will, one day, impact God’s people strongly because any true follower of Jesus will have to break Sunday worship laws. The Bible says that those who do not receive the mark of the beast and comply with the worship laws that will be imposed on the nations will be prevented from buying and selling and from participation in the political process.

Let us read it in Revelation 13:15-17, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

Already you can see the direction this is heading. The Sunday laws, if the Vatican has her way, will ultimately be Sunday worship laws, or religious laws. Those who do not comply with them will be unable to participate in society through buying and selling. They will be isolated, and consequently they will be excluded from the political process as well. Eventually, there will be a death penalty for those who refuse to worship in the prescribed way.

Note that Nachreiner is even saying that democracy would have negative consequences if Sunday is not protected. He is consequently suggesting that laws must be made to compel all citizens to respect Sunday as a day of rest to protect democracy too.

Let us think about this comment for a minute. Democracy is a political process that involves the will of the majority. It is also sometimes called majoritarianism. Majoritarianism does not protect the rights of the minority, unless they are among the political elites and the classes of society that the elites want to protect, the majority rules. But don’t think that Sabbath keepers will be among them. The people of God, who keep all of His commandments, and in particular the fourth commandment, will be a small minority and will eventually lose all their protections. They will be perceived as the cause of the troubles that democratic governments have. Eventually, they will be painted as dangerous for society to have them.

The logic is already being developed for persecution. It is only a matter of time until it is debated in public. It is possible that at least some who advocate these reasons for Sunday rest don’t realize what they are saying, but it is important for you to understand the implications of it.

We are to do all in our power to prevent the development of Sunday worship laws that will remove the freedoms we enjoy to worship according to God’s law.

Listen to what God’s messenger says to the people of God in the last days before the Sunday law crisis comes. It is from the Review and Herald, December 24, 1889, “There are many who are at ease, who are, as it were, asleep. They say, ‘If prophecy has foretold the enforcement of Sunday observance, the law will surely be enacted;’ and having come to this conclusion, they sit down in calm expectation of the event, comforting themselves with the thought that God will protect his people in the day of trouble. But God will not save us if we make no effort to do the work he has committed to our charge. We must be found faithfully guarding the outposts, watching as vigilant soldiers, lest Satan shall gain an advantage which it is our duty to prevent. We should diligently study the word of God, and pray in faith that God will restrain the powers of darkness; for as yet the message has gone to comparatively few, and the world is to be lightened with its glory. The present truth—the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus—has not yet been sounded as it must be. There are many almost within the shadow of our own doors, for whose salvation no personal effort has ever been made. We are not prepared for the time when our work must close…”

“As faithful watchmen, you should see the sword coming, and give the warning, that men and women may not pursue a course through ignorance that they would avoid if they knew the truth. The Lord has enlightened us in regard to what is coming upon the earth, that we may enlighten others, and we shall not be held guiltless if we are content to sit at ease, with folded hands, and quibble over matters of minor importance.”

Think about how you can spread the message of Christ and His law.

The website of the European Sunday Alliance says, “The Alliance urges the EU and Member States to take all legislative and political measures to promote these aims, including working time regulations that respect the right to limited working hours, to weekends and holidays, and collective agreements. It invites other actors to join the Alliance and promote the aims at all political levels.”

The website also says, “Sunday and, more general, decent working hours, are the focus of our campaigns. In our Founding Statement, we draw attention to aspects of life/work-balance and social cohesion that depend on a vast majority of people to have their lawful free time at the same time.”

Notice the emphasis on the vast majority! That is hinting at majoritarianism. Also note the phrase “lawful free time at the same time.” The idea of a legal Sunday for all citizens is as old as the time of Constantine. But the history of the work-free Sunday in the European Union is important to understand. I’ll summarize it from their website.

The initial Working Time Directive of November 1993 [which is the law that regulates work hours for the whole European Union] made provision for a minimum weekly rest period. It said that time off from work “shall, in principle, include Sunday.”

That means that though there are some work areas like hospitals and other jobs that support essential infrastructure such as some public transportation or tourism jobs, etc., all other non-essential work would be illegal to conduct on Sunday.

In November of 1996 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) annulled this provision about time off on Sunday. The Court found ‘that the [European] Council has failed to explain why Sunday, as a weekly rest day, is more closely connected with the health and safety of workers than any other day of the week.’

Please note that the court did not say that it would be wrong to include Sunday as a day of rest in European law. All it said was that there wasn’t sufficient evidence presented that it is more important to protect Sunday as a day of rest over any other day of the week.

In other words the court was inviting European lawmakers to demonstrate that Sunday is more closely connected with the health of workers than any other day of the week. “A [legal] provision [to include] Sunday as a weekly rest day in any future revised Working Time Directive,” says the Alliance website, “is therefore to be welcomed if the European lawmakers demonstrate scientifically that there is benefit to rest on Sunday more than any other day.” So, they organize themselves to get studies to support their theory of Sunday rest.

There are several studies that have been done in the years since the European Court of Justice made its ruling.

There is no argument that time off from work is essential for the health and safety of workers. In fact, this is why God gave the Sabbath at creation. It provides regular periods of rest in the weekly cycle.

But their main arguments to protect Sunday go like this. Working at unusual times such as on Saturday and Sunday impair the safety, health, well-being, and work-life balance of workers. Evidence, so the researchers seem to suggest, shows that those who work on Sundays have a substantially increased risk of causing or having an accident, leading to work time lost.

Interestingly, the statistical results of working on Saturdays also show a substantially increased risk of causing or having an accident. So the research actually shows that both weekend days have an increased risk of accident, not just Sundays. And the research includes occasional work as well as regular work on weekend days, even when taking off another day during the week to compensate for it.

In spite of this conclusion, the European Sunday Alliance emphasizes Sunday as the main day in which work decreases safety, even if it is occasional. If they understood the Bible and were willing to advocate for the Bible Sabbath, they would be able to use the same studies to support Sabbath rest laws, which would be just as bad as Sunday rest laws. But this they are unwilling to do. Deloitte Report, page 37, 42 and 139

Surveys, according to the alliance, show that unusual working hours such as on Saturday or Sunday, increase sickness and absenteeism by a factor of 1.3 times.

Managers report that they have motivational problems with their employees when they are working unusual hours such as nights and weekends. Studies show that there are 1.5 times greater motivational problems with people who work on Saturdays and 1.4 times more problems with those working on Sundays. Apparently, there is a slightly greater risk of problems with motivation among those working on the Sabbath.

Other research shows that companies experience more turnovers when 20% or more of their staff are required to work on weekends which would include either or both Saturday and/or Sunday.

And in studies going back to 2003, both Saturday and Sunday work show an increase in many health and well-being problems.

The important point here is that the studies show that the benefits of resting are almost the same between Saturday and Sunday. In other words, though there could be studies showing the superiority of Sabbath rest over Sunday rest, apparently the advocates of Sunday rest are not interested in studying these comparisons. Sunday rest advocates are using these studies to mainly advocate for their preferred day of rest, not the day that God established. They are trying to build a case for Sunday rest because they want to eventually bring about Sunday worship. That is at least what Bible prophecy is telling us. And they are using as many secular arguments as they can to support their views.

The studies are interesting. A Canadian Study (Jamal, 2004) found that full-time employees working on weekends reported significantly higher emotional exhaustion, job stress and psychosomatic health problems than employees not involved with weekend work. In another European-wide study, respondents were asked about health problems, according to whether or not they worked on weekends. The results were highly consistent. Those working on Saturdays or Sundays were more likely to report health effects than those not working on those days.

Moreover, the authors of the study found, that, in particular, Sunday working of parents has a negative impact on the well-being of their children. (p. 14)

“Sunday work” the report says, “appears to affect time spent with children more than any other form of [unusual] work… Parents do not appear to make up for time lost… by spending more time with children on another day or at other times.” The study recommends incorporating a shared week-end day off into current working time legislation. (p. 14-15)

Family time is a big issue with the European Sunday Alliance. “On Sundays,” they say, “parents and children are able to spend time with each other. Schools are closed on this day… Sunday is already the acknowledged weekly rest day for children and adolescents” in EU law. Therefore, it should be a small step to be consistent and enshrine it in laws for parents too. Again, this is an important benefit of the Sabbath of the Lord which is now being transferred to Sunday. Work at irregular times, or on Sundays, they say, prevents parents from balancing their lives and fulfilling their commitments to their children, the very things that God intended for the Sabbath.

The family is the most basic unit of any society. The Sabbath was designed to help protect families from excessive outside earthly commitments and also to provide a common time for them to bond spiritually under God. The Sabbath was established at creation just after God created the first family and performed the first marriage. Sabbath rest was the first thing in which they were to be engaged, in order to learn of their creator. Sunday rest is a deceptive substitution for what God intended for secure, spiritually mature families.

The European Sunday Alliance is advocating Sunday rest laws using objectives which they hope secular people will accept. They know they have to convince secular people to respect Sunday rest with secular reasons, or at least reasons that appear non-religious. Those secular arguments include health and safety of workers, family time, social cohesion, economic advantages, etc. Keep watching. There is more to come.

Sunday is on the minds of many. From the Roman Catholic Church, to trade unions, economists, social planners, non-Catholic churches, and civil societies and even secularists; all are paying attention to the developing arguments concerning Sunday rest. They each have their own reasons why they can support Sunday protection. The European Sunday Alliance, led by the Roman Catholic Church is trying to bring all these reasons together at one table and build a coalition that will put a lot of pressure on the European Parliament to enact level two Sunday legislation. At some point, there will be a tipping point at which it will all come together. That’s prophecy.

Psalm 119:126 says, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.” This prophecy is about to be fulfilled. As soon as the heavenly throne room permits it, the protection of Sunday rest in Europe and other parts of the world will come.

There is a statement that needs to be reconciled at this point. It is from Maranatha, page 214. It says, “As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example.”

This statement clearly suggests that the Sunday law will begin in America and then spread to every other country on the globe. The question then on the minds of many is, if this statement is true, then why is there so much Sunday law movement in Europe?

Please notice that the statement talks about “forcing the conscience.” That is referring to Sunday laws that violate conscience and require Sunday worship. That’s level three Sunday laws. The laws that are being discussed and advocated in Europe are level one and level two laws that do not violate the conscience. Rome continually works for these types of laws where ever she can. Right now she is developing her strong arguments for Sunday in Europe. If she cannot get Europe to go along with level one and level two Sunday laws, how can she ever get other countries to do the same thing? You can expect that when lower level Sunday laws have been implemented in Europe and perhaps other parts of the world, America will lead the way with level three Sunday rest laws, and level four anti-Sabbath laws.

But there is something else. There is a fundamental difference between Europeans and Americans. Europeans tend to be much more intellectual in their approach to social problems and life in general. Americans, on the other hand, tend to be more emotional in their decision-making. It takes a lot of logical effort and intellectual development to convince Europeans to accept something they don’t really want. Americans can more easily be manipulated by an emotional crisis to do what social planners want them to do. So in order to bring everybody along toward the same goal Rome has to work with some nations differently than with others. She has to develop the intellectual consensus in Europe before stoking the American fires of Sunday protection too strongly.

When the judgments of God are poured out on the land, the Sunday movement will get a lot of traction. Though God’s people must always be discretionate concerning their behavior regarding Sunday laws, when there is a lot of panic and unstable circumstances in society; when people are reigned up and ready to assign blame or find a scapegoat, it is especially important that commandment-keepers respect the laws of the land that don’t violate conscience. We must also treat all men with respect and help them see that even the best of intentions in advocating Sunday laws still violates God’s moral law.

Listen to what God’s messenger says concerning this time. This is again from Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9 and page 233.

“When we devote Sunday to missionary work, the whip will be taken out of the hands of the arbitrary zealots who would be well pleased to humiliate Seventh-day Adventists. When they see that we employ ourselves on Sunday in visiting the people and opening the Scriptures to them, they will know that is useless for them to try to hinder our work by making Sunday laws.

Friends, as Sunday observance agitation begins to appear on the horizon, this is the time to make your life right with God. Never before have any of us experienced what is coming upon the world. The only preparation we can make is that which Jesus said to make. “Watch and pray always,” he said, “that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come upon the whole world.” That’s Matthew 24:36.

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Noah Builds an Ark

Amplify’d from www.ktfministry.org

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry. Thank you for joining us this month. I pray that you and your family are diligently getting ready for the coming of the Lord. It makes sense to get ready now because when you see the final events that are predicted in Bible prophecy actually appear on the horizon, you won’t have time then. Today is the day of preparation. Remember the parable of the ten virgins, five were prepared and five were not. It was those who had prepared that went in to be with the bridegroom.

As you may know, Keep the Faith recently became the owner and operator of Highwood Health Centre in Victoria, Australia, near Melbourne. This is an Australian ministry ideally situated to successfully reach souls for the Lord. It has a small health center, which handles people who have all the regular lifestyle diseases, such as high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, heart disease, etc., but it also includes help for those with chronic fatigue, depression, allergies and other auto-immune problems. It is in a beautiful mountain setting, and is continuing its work under the umbrella of Keep the Faith.

I have been so very blessed by the way the Lord has already begun to bless our new work there. Highwood’s finances have been depressed for a long time, and they have been challenged by staffing issues. But, I can already see that the finances are improving a little as the Lord begins to strengthen it to His honor and glory. For instance, I was expecting that at the end of July, we would be about $5000 short and that there would not be enough money to pay all the bills. Around the middle of July our office manager and I agreed to pray that God would provide the needed funds. But when I asked for a report around that time, I was thrilled to hear that all the bills were paid and there were funds left over in the bank to handle some future obligations. Please pray with me that this will become a trend and continue to strengthen.

As I prepare this message at the beginning of August, I am working with our present staff at Highwood to plan for the future. We are looking for and interviewing applications for manager and other positions. We are also diligently working on the marketing plan. I believe that God is going to bless Highwood Health Centre and open the doors of opportunity to reach souls for His kingdom. Please pray for Keep the Faith and Highwood.

Please don’t forget to go to our website frequently and read our Prophetic Intelligence Briefings. They are posted there every day or two and they are especially interesting because they take little news items that you might have missed and cast them in their prophetic context.

And thank you for your prayers and support. It means so much to us. Your gifts keep our little CD preachers going out to more than 16,000 addresses around the world each month. Many who receive them and are blessed by them tell me that they in turn share them with others. Please be sure to share yours with others too if you haven’t already been doing that.

With this message I am going to start a series on the flood. Each installment in this series will not necessarily come in sequence and may be interspersed with other topics on prophecy. But the story of the flood and all that surrounds it has powerful lessons for us today. Jesus Himself said, “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Luke 17:26. Jesus was telling us that there is a direct connection between the stories found in scripture, particularly stories of God’s judgments, and the time in which we live. I have found that the closer we come to the end of time, the more relevant the book of Genesis becomes. I have often referred to the days of Noah in passing, or in general, but I have wanted to share with you some of the substantial and practical lessons that directly apply to us as we near the close of probation. Noah’s experience during the time just prior to the flood is especially instructive. This first message will be on Noah and the construction of the Ark.

Please turn with me in your bibles if you can to the book of Nahum. Let us read from chapter 1:7-9. In these verses we learn something about floods. Listen carefully. “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.”

This is talking about the end of the Great Controversy when sin will no longer have any appeal, when it will be completely gone forever. Please notice that the prophet links the flood that God uses against the wicked with the end of sin and affliction. Do you think God still uses floods to warn the wicked? Do you think that even though God said he would never destroy the whole world again with a flood that He speaks to us when there is a destructive flood somewhere in the world?

What about the floods in the Mississippi River Valley this year or the floods in Queensland, Australia that did so much damage to Brisbane and other communities along the path of the floods? What about the 100 foot high, or 33 meter Tsunami in Japan that killed so many people and destroyed so much property. Are these warnings of God to a wicked human race? They certainly are. Listen to this simple statement from Last Day Events, p. 26, “in fires, in floods, in earthquakes, in the fury of the great deep, in calamities by sea and by land, the warning is given that God’s Spirit will not always strive with men.”

But God knows how to preserve the righteous from disasters. Floods throw neat and tidy communities into chaos. All the planning and building, all the organizing, all the care that makes a nice home or community near a quiet river can be quickly washed away or destroyed when the river becomes a raging torrent.

Listen to this statement from the book Fundamentals of Education, p. 357-358. “There will soon be a sudden change in God’s dealings. The world in its perversity is being visited by casualties,—by floods, storms, fires, earthquakes, famines, wars, and bloodshed. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power; yet He will not at all acquit the wicked. ‘The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.’ O that men might understand the patience and longsuffering of God! He is putting under restraint His own attributes. His omnipotent power is under the control of Omnipotence. O that man would understand that God refuses to be wearied out with the world’s perversity, and still holds out the hope of forgiveness even to the most undeserving! But His forbearance will not always continue. Who is prepared for the sudden change that will take place in God’s dealing with sinful men? Who will be prepared to escape the punishment that will certainly fall upon transgressors?”

Notice that we have to prepare for this change in the way God works in the last days. Most of the time, it is Satan who brings destruction and chaos to the big cities and even small towns. But here we are told that God will eventually come to the limit of His forbearance and He will visit the inhabitants of the earth with His judgments.

Now, before the flood came upon the earth, did God have a plan to protect His people? Of course He did. He ordained that there be an ark prepared so that all who desired to voluntarily escape from the disaster could do so by coming into the ark.

The story of Noah and the Ark represents a number of different things. For instance, if you want to survive the coming tempest against your faith, you need to have a character that is like the ark, a bulwark against the devil and his temptations, a protection against the flood of pressure and temptation that Satan will hurl at God’s people during the time of trouble before Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven. Your soul needs to be like Noah’s ark.

The ark also represents the church, which is a protection from the flood of wickedness in the world. It also represents faithful institutions of learning that teach young people how to work for God, and health centers that uphold God’s simple remedies for healing the sick. These institutions are meant to be a refuge from the storm of trouble that comes upon the people of this earth. Sadly today, the churches and institutions are not the refuge from the world that they are supposed to be. In many ways, they have become like the world. While probation lingers, they are still “prisoners of hope” if they will heed God’s warnings and return to His principles. But so often when God sends a warning, men turn their backs on it and continue in their own way.

But perhaps the most personal of all applications is how the ark represents salvation, and is an illustration of how God delivers His people from the chaos and danger of the crisis at the end of time. It also reveals to us what God’s people must do in the last days to get ready to survive the final crisis, and also to warn the people who are stubborn and determined in their rebellion against God and their wickedness.

Today, we are going to look at the connection between Noah’s ark and the character of those who will succeed in overcoming sin and be carried through the time of trouble at the end of the world. So let us think about the ark that Noah built and see if we can find lessons for us to learn from the story about how to prepare for the deliverance that God is going to provide for His faithful people in the last days.

In Genesis, chapter 5:28, 29 we learn that Lamech had a son that he named Noah. Here is what verse 29 says, “And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.”

Christ said to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after their sin, “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” And now Lamech was feeling it too. Every time he worked with the soil, his pious heart thought of the sin that had caused so much toil. And the prevailing wickedness perplexed and vexed his righteous soul. It was stressful living with all these wicked people around. Perhaps, he thought, perhaps his firstborn would be the promised Messiah. So, the name he gave to his son was Noah, which means “rest.” Did you hear that? Noah’s name meant “rest.” Lamech was looking for the messiah who would give rest from sin. You can immediately see the connection to salvation. But his words were nevertheless prophetic. Noah was to build the ark and then after all his work for the Lord in preaching and building, he was to go into the ark with his family and rest while the tempest raged outside. Imagine there are Noah and his family, tending to the animals and eating their food, and sleeping in the ark for 40 days and 40 nights while the storm raged and the fountains of the deep were violently destroying the world outside. Their hearts were at rest. What an incredible contrast! It also reminds me of Christ sleeping in the boat while his disciples toiled at the oars to bring the boat to safety. They were in fear, but Christ was sound asleep, at rest.

And God wants to do the same for you. You don’t have to become involved in the tempest when there is conflict around you. You can ride through it with Christ, completely at peace and at rest. That takes practice. You can’t learn that overnight. But when there is a problem, you first pray. Then trust that God will sort it out. Be careful what you say. Your words can often get you in a lot of trouble. That doesn’t mean that you do nothing. You have your appointed work, just like Noah had to care for the animals and for his family. But his heart was at peace with God.

Do you think that God allows chaos to erupt around you at times, just so that He can teach you how to enter into your ark, your spiritual ark and rest, while letting Him carry you through? I do. God sends a tempest to us so that we can learn to be at peace in our hearts. We are to learn to trust Christ completely just as Noah trusted that the ark would not be destroyed in the tempest. He knew that God would care for the ark.

The violence of the storm would have actually destroyed the ark had it not been for the angels of God to protect it. But just think if Noah would have been fearful that the ark would break up in the violent and relentless storm? He would have been a nervous wreck every time a huge wave the side of the ark and as the ship would ride the crest of the waves and then down into the trough. That could have caused him great distress. But he trusted in God to carry the ark through to safety. He may have had to hang on sometimes to keep his balance, but his heart was at peace.

If your character is fully controlled by Christ, you can trust that His power will carry you through. God allows the storm to come against you. You can feel its power. But that is so that you can know that He has carried you through and that you could not have done it yourself. And all the destructive forces hurled at you won’t damage you, will they? That’s God’s way. He does not prevent us from having trouble. He simply promises to reveal Himself and carry us through it. What a wonderful God we serve!

Do you think God wants you to learn to rest in Christ when you are tempted and tried and the tempest rages around you? When your character is like Christ’s, you can have rest when all the rest of the world is in chaos. That’s the way it will be with all of God’s people during the time of trouble just before Jesus comes in the clouds of glory. Most people want to escape the time of trouble, but friends, you cannot. There is no such thing as a secret rapture that will provide an escape route for God’s people. They will be tested and tried. That’s what the Bible teaches. They will be betrayed, afflicted and even killed for Christ’s sake. See Matthew 24:9, 10.

Perhaps Lamech wanted rest from his personal labors, for the ground was cursed and it was a lot of hard work to grow vegetables and fruits, even though the earth was still beautiful. Maybe he thought Noah would help him with this work and give him some rest. But Lamech was also prophesying, whether he knew it or not. He was saying that Noah would perform an important service for the Lord. He would reveal to us right down at the end of time, the principles of trusting in the Lord for everything. If we follow God’s instructions like Noah did, we will be saved in the end, and be resting in Christ, at peace with God when the inhabitants of the world are suffering from intense fear, so much fear, in fact, that their hearts will fail them. See Luke 21:26.

Noah is an example of righteousness by faith. He took God at His word. He acted upon God’s instruction. And then he trusted that God would look after him. Now isn’t that what we should be doing?

The Bible says in Genesis 6:8 that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Then it says in verse 22 that “thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” And the rest is history. Noah rested from all his evangelistic and prophetic labors when he entered the ark. And after the close of probation, when we are completely dependent on God for His protection, we too will be completely finished with our evangelistic and prophetic labors. There will be nothing more to do than simply to trust God to carry you through from there on.

Verse 9 tells us that “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” What a testimony! Noah walked with God. He was a type of those who will walk with God right up until the end of probationary time. He is a type of those who will fully reflect God’s character, His law, in their lives, even under great stress and duress. Don’t you want the record books of heaven to say that about you? I do. I don’t want anything to get in the way of having that testimony. I don’t want my selfishness and my earthliness to prevent me from walking with God, do you? We must surrender our lives to Jesus every morning if we want to have the peace that will carry us through our troublesome days.

If we are going to walk with God, that means that we are going to think and act like God. If you want to find grace in the eyes of the Lord, you have to do what the Bible tells you to do, for that is God’s word to us. So many people today think that they don’t need to follow the word of God, the Bible. They don’t think that they need the counsel that God has there for them because they say we are in a different age now, and these things applied to the age they were written, but they don’t apply in our age. Some people just ignore what God says and live their lives, or find excuses to live their lives any way they want to. They don’t think that there will be a day of reckoning. They don’t think that they will be left outside the ark. They think that if they go to church, and they sing the songs that are congregationally sung, and if they put a little something in the offering plate when it is passed around, then they will be saved in the end. But friends, these kinds of people are not preparing their hearts and making them like an ark. They are not going to make it through the time of trouble.

If you think that you can live as you please and that God does not care what you do, and that God will forgive you no matter what your attitude toward God is, then you are preparing all right, preparing to be outside the ark when the door of probation is closed and the storm and tempest begins. If you want to find grace in the eyes of the Lord, then you need to follow the Bible and do all that He says to do. If you love Him, you will want to do that anyway, won’t you? And those who don’t will demonstrate that they really don’t love Him.

Genesis 6:11, 12 say, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”

This is a literal description of what the earth will be like at the end of time. Men exalted in deeds of violence. They had lost their respect for the Creator, and therefore they lost respect for the creation. Even human life was regarded with astonishing indifference. Do you think the earth is filled with violence today? Is it corrupt? I am often shocked as I read the news reports of violence, murders, war, gangs, bloodshed of all sorts. We are living in a time when, as never before, except the time before the flood is there so much violence. And it isn’t just in real life. Our children and our households are being trained in violence by movies, video and Internet games, and war games with paint bullets and all sorts of things. There are violent sports and all manner of violent entertainment. Then there is violence in the home, cursing and swearing, spouses arguing and fighting with each other, oftentimes wounding each other with their words or their fists. There is no calm for weary souls from the barrage of violence with which we are faced.

Then there are other forms of corruption and wickedness. Just as in the days of Lot, so also in the days of Noah, there was a very strong homosexual movement in which the natural affection that God implanted in the heart of man is being corrupted with alternative life styles, whether gay, lesbian, or trans-sexual. There was also polygamy. All of these things led to greater and greater wickedness and opened the door for God’s judgments to be poured upon the land.

God said, “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh.” The people in the time of Noah had become so wicked that the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from them because their hearts were hardened against His influence. They became insensible to the divine influence by their fleshly lusts that their minds could no longer think of spiritual things or be influenced by the Holy Spirit. “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” Verse 5. These people were supremely evil. They loved to hunt and kill and destroy. They would strategize to oppress their fellow man.

And isn’t that true today? Men love violence. Everywhere you turn there is violence. Men love to hunt and to kill animals. And even human life is viewed with astonishing indifference. Likewise, everywhere you turn there is the lust of the flesh. How many high officials are so caught up in the lusts of their flesh that they cannot contain themselves? They eventually are exposed in their sexual wickedness and they lose their high office in disgrace. This is the way it was before the flood. We are there again.

Let us think a bit more about Noah. Noah was God’s prophet. God said, through a holy angel to Noah “the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.” That’s Genesis 6:13, 14.

Think for a minute about what Noah must have thought when God, through a holy angel told him He would destroy the earth with a flood. And then God told him to build an ark. This was a radical idea. This didn’t seem to fit with the normal circumstances of life. People weren’t thinking about floods. Nor were they thinking about rain and storms and disasters, the same today. Most people are not thinking about the coming destruction upon the world. They don’t want to think about it. It is too unnerving to them. They just want to live blissfully, believing that everything will be ok.

To go out and build an ark in those days was extreme. People would think you were crazy or deluded. They would mock you and ridicule you. They would criticize your best efforts as insincere. They would do everything they could to discourage you. And that is what they did to Noah. You had to be convinced that there was a serious disaster on its way. But Noah believed God, which is the principle of true faith. If you don’t believe God, especially when the world is thinking about something else, then you don’t have faith. For God teaches us the opposite of the world. All that God tells us in the Bible is exactly the opposite of what we would learn if we went to the secular schools and even some Christian schools today.

Noah was to warn the people of the coming destruction. Noah’s message was not appreciated. But then which of the prophets in the Bible did the people appreciate? Most were persecuted and some were even killed. But Noah had to give the message. It was part of his work. And God spared him the violence that often comes to those with such a message.

God gave Noah specific instructions on how to build the ark. He even told him the kind of wood to use. Gopher wood is from cypress trees (PP95), and is especially suited because of its strength and its availability. And it was to be lined both inside and out with pitch, an ancient sealant, which is something like tar to keep the water from coming in.

The ark was not built on a figment of the imagination. Noah’s ark was real and served a real purpose. Nor was it built on emotions otherwise Noah would not have completed the 120 year project. He would have given up in discouragement. It was not built on opinions or arguments of man. It was built on God’s instructions, strange and unusual as they may have seemed. It was not built on human ideas. It is built on the solid word of God. Gopher wood is a symbol of the Bible. This wood will withstand enormous pressures and the fiercest tempests.

Likewise, your character must be made to withstand enormous pressure. Your character must be made of immoveable principles, solid, uncompromising and structurally sound. These you will find in the Bible. It cannot be built on imaginary concepts. You have to do what God says and follow His instructions, radical as they may seem to you or others around you. Your character ark cannot be built on emotions, or you will give up in discouragement. It cannot be built on the opinions or arguments of man, but on the instructions of God’s word. Overcoming character, that will provide you with the rest that you need in the midst of conflict, must be built on the gopher wood, or the sturdy cypress of the word of God.

God even gave the exact dimensions for the ark, and it was huge. It was approximately 515 feet long (157 meters), 86 feet wide (26 meters) and 52 feet high (16 meters) and it is estimated that it could hold 7,000 species of animals, plus all the humans that would be willing to go in. There were rooms or cages fitted for keeping animals of all sorts. Plus there would have been need to store at least a year’s worth of food and water for the animals and humans that would ride along. After the flood they would need to live until there was a harvest. The ark was also their home until they could build their own. This was a huge ship needless to say, and it was capable of holding an enormous amount of cargo in its three stories. Light was admitted from the top and the compartments were so arranged that all were lighted. This project was a lot bigger than anything Noah had ever done before. And it required Noah to invest all of his possessions.

Likewise, to construct your ark is a bigger project than you have ever done before. It is challenging to learn to be a true overcomer like Noah. You have to work at it day in and day out. You have to be diligent to study the word of God so that He can speak to you and teach you how to build your ark. The light of truth comes from above and shines all through your life so that every part is illuminated. In order to build your ark successfully, you have to put your all into it, you have to surrender all if you want to have an ark of character to ride out the storm.

The ark was much bigger than Noah needed for himself and his family. And there is a reason why. Noah was preparing for all those who would come with him and his family into the ark. He was planning on a lot of people, wasn’t he? The trouble was nobody came. The animals came. They were wiser than the people. The birds came. They knew that they had better get into the ark. A mysterious and unseen hand guided them in an orderly fashion into the huge refuge. But there was still room for plenty of people. And Noah was disappointed. In spite of the spectacle of the animals, no one budged and came forward into the ark. No one realized that dumb animals obedient to their Creator were a sharp contrast to the intelligent beings that refuse the pleadings of mercy.

When Noah was finished constructing the ark of cypress trees, it still wasn’t ready for the flood. It had cracks and crevices that would allow the water to leak in. So God told Noah to cover the ark inside and out with pitch to seal it. Noah and his workers spread the pitch on the sides of the ark, both inside and out. They made sure that it was waterproofed so that the rain and the waves would not leak into the ark. It was sealed.

When you build your ark of character, you have to line it with “pitch” too. The ark of character must be waterproofed so that nothing can infiltrate into it from the world. Every crack and crevice must be secured with “pitch.” Let me ask you, how do you waterproof your soul? Let me tell you how. You must apply the Bible to every area of your life, with the aid of the Holy Spirit. You need more than the theory of the truth; you need to apply it practically. So, when you study the Bible you have to think about what you are reading. The love of the truth must settle into your soul and seep into the cracks and crevices so that every word that comes out of your mouth is seasoned with grace and love, and so that every act is gentle and kind. As the truth purifies your soul, it becomes “waterproof” and Satan will have no way to get in. Nothing of the world will seep back through from outside. Your inner life is hid with Christ in God.

When you are sealed, then you are ready for the crisis, not until then. The sealing is a process that takes a while. Noah didn’t seal his boat in one day. It took him a while. I don’t know how long, but it took him a good while. After all, it was a big boat. And you can’t have your soul sealed either in a short time. What is the “pitch” that seals your ark?

Listen to this from Maranatha, p. 200. “Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved—just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is coming.”

So the “pitch” is a settling into the truth both intellectually and spiritually so that you cannot be moved. What does that mean? Well, it means that you understand the principles of the truth for these last days in your mind. You have a well-developed knowledge of the fullness of God’s message for the last days, and it is a mature knowledge, not just a superficial knowledge. You get that by studying your Bible diligently, seeking to know God and all that He teaches.

Remember that Noah did “according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” Genesis 6:22. And you have to do all that God commands you too if you want to have a way through the storm. This means that you apply the word of God to your life. It means that whatever God says to do, you do it, just like Noah did. To settle into the truth spiritually means that you think about what the Bible says, and what it does not say. You consider the details of the stories of the Bible to understand what God’s faithful people like Noah did to please Him. And you study the unfaithful people revealed in the scripture to understand what not to do, so as not to offend God. You then practice the same principles that the Bible heroes practiced and you avoid the principles of the ones whom God condemned. It’s that simple. When the Bible gives you a story, such as the story of Noah, you think about what it is saying and you imagine how Noah went about doing the work God gave him to do. And then you ask God to show you how it applies to your life. And He will show you, if you are willing to obey Him.

Noah was constantly listening for the voice of God. That means that every morning before he went to work on the ark, before he said a word to the people, he would listen to God’s voice. How do you listen to God? You read the Bible and you pray and talk to God, and then you listen. You can’t just read a verse, say a quick prayer and rush out the door to your busy day and expect that God will speak to you. If you want to hear God’s voice, you have to sit for a while and meditate, read the word, and pray. As you meditate, God puts thoughts in your mind. Then you think about these and God opens more thoughts. These are very important things. Without them, you cannot “pitch” your ark. It is the Holy Spirit that gives you the pitch. Once you have the Holy Spirit in your life, you begin to see things spiritually, and no longer see them carnally. This process fills in the gaps in your soul and you become a solid, mature Christian. There are many Christians today who view things carnally, just like many church members who stood around the ark mocking Noah for his fanaticism. But those who will survive the spiritual tempest will be very careful to do all that the Lord commands.

For instance, in God’s word, it says that God created the earth in six days. But in the modern schools, our children learn that the earth came about through millions of years of evolution. If you don’t believe God then you cannot have faith. And Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please him.” So if you don’t believe God, you cannot please Him. Noah believed God. That is why God spared him.

So when God says that there is a Sunday law crisis coming, most of God’s people don’t believe Him. Most Christians don’t believe that such a thing can happen. But it will. The final crisis is over worship. And the Bible is very clear about worship. The Ten Commandments require us to keep God’s Sabbath, the seventh day of the week holy. But most of the world substitutes Sunday instead of the Sabbath. And they have all manner of excuses, ideas, and arguments to support their substitute. Some are even trying to get laws organized in some places that would support Sunday rest.

But we cannot take the ideas and arguments of man in place of the word of God. Let me share with you an interesting statement from Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, and page 71. I like this one because it is so very pithy and succinct. Listen carefully. “One sentence of Scripture is of more value than ten thousand of man’s ideas or arguments.”

So if that is the case, then Noah valued what God said more than the scientists and philosophers of the day. He valued what God said more than all the arguments against his project that those worldly Christians posed to him as he was building for 120 years. You can hear their arguments. “Oh, Noah, don’t be such a fanatic. You’re scaring the people. They don’t need that.” You know how it is today. Well, he had the same things happen to him. But he valued God’s word more than all the mockery, ridicule, threats and even persecution that he had to endure.

The same is true for you. If you are going to build an ark in your soul to prepare you for the time of trouble, you have to believe what God says more than any ideas or arguments that those around you might bring to discourage you from following the Lord. Even though it is strange, and even though it is radical, even though some will criticize you and ridicule you for your piety, you have to believe God’s instructions and act upon them, just like Noah did.

Noah would not have tried to build his ark in the city. The anti-diluvian cities were wicked, full of sin and licentiousness, just like cities today. There were corrupting influences in the cities and Noah could not afford to have his family exposed to all that rebellion to God’s commands. There were alternative forms of marriage than what God had ordained. There were entertainments, sports and who knows what other amusements were available to the people.

Noah needed to follow all that God instructed him, and if he would have been in the city he could not have done it. Besides, the cities are too crowded. You can’t build an ark that is as big as the one Noah built in the city. So he had to get out of the city where there was some open land. Perhaps he was already out of the city, and was growing his vegetables and tending his flocks and herds. Whatever the case, whatever his occupation, he had to change it and now do what God instructed him to do. And he had to build his ark away from the city.

It was obvious to him perhaps that he could not go into the city and build an ark, but it is not obvious to God’s people today. If you are going to build your ark of character, you cannot do it in the city. There are too many corrupting influences there. There is too much wickedness in the city. You have to pick up your things and go out of the city and find a place in the country. You have no choice if you want to survive the coming crisis.

“The time is fast coming when the controlling power of the labor unions will be very oppressive. Again and again the Lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities, into the country, where they can raise their own provisions; for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one. We should now begin to heed the instruction given us over and over again: Get out of the cities into rural districts, where the houses are not crowded closely together, and where you will be free from the interference of enemies” Country Living, page 9, 10.

Now, Noah didn’t have any experience in building the ark, certainly not one that big and complex. To do this, he would have to learn some new things. He would have to learn to use new tools. He would have to change his occupation to some extent so that he could preach and build. No doubt God gave him wisdom to do these things, for “as the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” That’s from Christ’s Object Lessons, page 333. So Noah heard God’s voice and God gave him the strength to do what he was supposed to do.

But this was a new work for him. Maybe he had to learn how to use a saw. Maybe he had to learn how to use a hammer. But never mind, he had to do all that God commanded him, so he had to learn these things. And he was more than 480 years old. How do you learn new things when you are 480 years old? I don’t know, because I never knew anyone that old, let alone someone who had to change occupations at that age. But whatever the case, that is what Noah did. He changed his occupation and began to build the ark and to preach.

And what a novelty it was. Do you think that when you follow God’s instructions that it will be a novelty to you and your family? You may even have to change your occupation. You may have to learn new practices and learn to use new tools. You may have to learn how to grow a garden and an orchard and who knows what else. Noah was probably a gardener. He would grow the vegetables and fruits for his family. But he needed help building the ark.

When people came along to see what Noah was doing, he would stop his work and start to talk to them about why he was building such a huge ship. People would say, “But Noah, you aren’t even near any water. How are you going to get that monstrosity down to the water?” He would then tell them that God had warned him that there would be a flood and that the world would be destroyed because of the wickedness of the people. The people stood in amazement. “How can it be,” they would say, “that there is going to be a flood and rain? We’ve never seen rain before. We don’t know what it is. They might even have asked him if he could explain what rain was. Perhaps Noah would have had to shake his head and say, “I don’t know what it is, but God said it, and I believe it.”

But whatever they thought, Noah would warn them of the coming destruction of the world. And all this took 120 years. During that time, the wickedness of the world only got worse. And many people, no doubt, heard about Noah and his ark. Many of them came to see him. They told their friends about the strange new project outside the city that Noah was working on. They even told their friends what Noah said about the coming destruction of the earth by a flood. But in the end, no one but Noah’s family accepted the message and came into the ark.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness says 2 Peter 2:5. He kept on preaching even though no one believed him. He adapted his own life to God’s requirements, but he also tried to convince others that they too needed to do the same. He urged the people to give up their sins and turn to God and to righteousness and to come into the ark. For 120 years Noah was like a rock, strong and unmovable. He would preach to anyone who came along, whether a few or a thousand. He would lay down his tools and start to tell them of God’s instructions and his gracious offer of mercy, and plead with them to come into the ark. And there were multitudes that came to hear his singular warnings.

But it wasn’t just his words that preached the message. Every time the saw would cut there would be a noise. Voompah, Voompah, Voompah. And with each Voompah, there was a sermon about the end of the world and the coming destruction. Voompah, the end of the world. Voompah, the flood is coming. Voompah, get ready.

Whenever Noah would pick up his hammer, and strike a nail, there would be a sound. Bang, bang, bang, bang. And with every bang was a sermon that said, “Bang, the end of the world, bang, the flood is coming, bang, get ready.

And people were impressed with Noah’s words and his actions. He was putting his faith into practice, and for a while, they would listen to him and think about coming into the ark too.

But after 50 years or so, they began to think that perhaps Noah was wrong. It was all going so slowly. And the days were all the same, as before Noah preached to them. There was no sign of rain, no sign of the flood and no sign of any disaster or punishment for their wickedness. So they became bolder in their sins. They even began to mock Noah. When he would try to preach, some would perhaps heckle him with shouting and ridicule. But Noah was not deterred. God had told him that there was going to be a flood, and he was certain that God would eventually bring it. He would have to get ready for it. So he continued to build the ark.

And no matter who ridicules you, or who puts pressure on you to abandon your character ark, you have to continue too. Right through to the end, you have to keep at it. Just like Noah, you have to keep building your character after the qualities of Christ. Otherwise your ark won’t be ready.

God could have just created the ark for Noah, right? Of course he could have. God could have created the ark out of nothing and just given it to Noah to occupy. But God wanted to show us something about ark building so that we could get some ideas about how to build a character ark. Noah cooperated with God. God provided the instructions and Noah provided the manpower. So, in building the ark of character there needs to be cooperation between man and God too. Just like Noah did part of the work through cooperation with God, just so God intends for us to cooperate with Him in overcoming our sins and using His principles in our lives. When we cooperate, we demonstrate our faith in the word and power of God. If God says resist the devil (James 4:7), then we have to cooperate and resist him. God will give strength so that you do not fall into temptation. When God says flee youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22), then we have to cooperate with God and turn our backs on them no matter where they come from. The Bible is full of specific advice on specific temptations that we must flee if we are going to build the ark of character.

If God would have just created the ark for Noah to occupy and told Noah to go preach for a short time and then the flood would come, what do you think would have happened? Some people would have come into the ark because they were scared and would have not made a purposeful choice. They would not have chosen to obey God out of love, but instead they would have obeyed him out of fear. This is not God’s way. He wants us to have the right motive to obey Him. Heaven is only for those who love God with all their hearts. It is not for those who are afraid of Him. That is why Satan wants to get people to be afraid of God. He knows that if he is successful, they will not be saved, because they will never overcome their sins. Only those who love God with all their hearts can overcome their sins. That’s because Jesus comes in and changes them.

Noah preached for 120 years. That is a long time. And it was God’s plan for it to be a 120-year process. God wanted the people to follow Noah’s prophetic advice even though it took a long time. That way those who joined Noah would do so out of a genuine decision to follow God.

Noah was an evangelist that had the same message to bear to the people of his age as we have to bear to our own. We too must tell the people that the end of the world is near. We, too, must warn them of the coming destruction.

God was with Noah when he purposed in his heart to obey God. He gave Noah wisdom to know how to build the ark, something he had never done before. And God will give you wisdom to know how to build an ark of character too. He will show you how to overcome your sins. He will show you how to follow all His instructions. He will show you exactly what you need to do in order to be successful in reorganizing your life so that you can escape the coming destruction, when men’s hearts will fail them for fear, and when the time of trouble comes upon God’s people. He will teach you how to keep all the commandments and He will empower you to do it.

In order to come into the ark, the people would have to reform their ways. They would have to give up their drinking and their smoking. They would have had to give up their immorality and their self-indulgence. They would have had to change their habits and live in a more simple and godly life in Noah’s ark. They would have to get their hands dirty in cleaning the ark. They would have to work hard in physical labor to take care of the animals, bringing them food and water. They would have had to sacrifice their homes, their TVs, their cookies and donuts, their fancy cars, their boats, and all the other toys that they had to play with and make life “fun.” They would have had to come into the ark and live there for over a month. And then when they came out the other end, there was no place for them to live, and they would have to invent all those things over again.

If you want the ark of character, you have to change a lot too. You may have to sacrifice. But if you want to survive the coming destruction, you will have to get prepared by a simple godly life. You have to desire it with all your heart. You have to hunger for Christ’s righteousness in your soul. And you must seek after it diligently. He promises to give it to you. And He will if you give Him your soul.

Noah was also a type of those faithful souls living in the last days that will go through the final crisis. Noah came through the crisis and was admitted into a new earth, now purified by water. The last generation will come out the other end of their crisis ready for admission in the new earth too.

Turn in your bibles to 2 Peter 2:4 and onward. Let us read these verses. “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;… and now verse nine, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations…”

Does God know how to deliver you out of temptations? Does He know how to preserve you in your character? Of course He does. And He is calling upon you today to get ready. Build an ark in your soul. Build an ark of character. When you do, he can then finish His work in righteousness and end this world of sin. He is waiting for you and me to yield ourselves to His service. He is longing to use us to bring the last message to the world and warn them of the coming destruction.

Today, when you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Give yourself to Jesus so that He can help you construct your character so that it will stand the tempest and storm. Then, like God said to Noah, He will say to you, “Come thou and all they house into the ark; for thee I have seen righteousness before me in this generation.” I want to hear those words, don’t you?

Read more at www.ktfministry.org
 

Ex-councilwoman in Pa. pleads guilty sexually for assaulting a girl, starting at age 12

Amplify’d from www.yorkdispatch.com

Ex-councilwoman in Pa. pleads guilty in sex case

The Associated Press
WEST NEWTON, Pa.—An ex-councilwoman from southwestern Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a girl, starting at age 12, who the woman coached on a local softball team.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ( http://bit.ly/pxfNVC) reports Friday that 37-year-old Heather Prinkey's plea bargain calls for a sentence of two to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years' probation.

Westmoreland County prosecutors say the deal required Prinkey to plead guilty, as opposed to no contest, to charges of aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and other crimes.

The girl, now 16, has said Prinkey threatened to make her life "a living hell" if she told anyone about the relationship.

Prinkey resigned her position on the North Belle Vernon borough council before her arrest in July 2010.

She said in a written statement that she pleaded guilty to "put this ordeal behind me."

———

Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com





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Southern Lights Seen From Space



Southern lights put on spectacular show for space station astronauts



Astronauts on the International Space Station photographed the aurora australis, or southern lights, while passing over the Indian Ocean on 17 September



guardian.co.uk



ISS astronauts capture aurora australis or southern lightsView larger picture





The aurora australis as seen from the International Space Station. Photograph: ISS/Nasa


Photographer: ISS/NASA





'Breastaurant' Feud: Hooters Sues Rival For Stealing 'Trade Secrets'

Hooters Lawsuit Claims Rival Restaurant Stole ‘Trade Secrets'



Hooters






WASHINGTON -- Hooters, the restaurant chain famous for its scantily clad Hooters Girls, sued the partner of an upstart rival in Georgia federal court this week, accusing the company developing Twin Peaks restaurants and a former Hooters executive of stealing trade secrets in their bid to take on the “delightfully tacky yet unrefined” restaurant chain.



In their lawsuit, Hooters claims that Joseph Hummel, former Hooters vice president, jumped ship to help develop the similarly themed Twin Peaks restaurants (motto: “Eats, Drinks, Scenic Views”) in July and took “sensitive business information” with him. The alleged trade secrets apparently involve more than just skimpy waitress outfits. According to the suit, in the weeks leading up to his departure to Twin Peaks development partner La Cima Restaurants, Hummel downloaded and emailed to his private account a “substantial volume” of Hooters documents, including plans related to management, recruitment, distribution and sales.



Although Hooters has more than 400 locations throughout the country, the two so-called breastaurant companies could soon have a rivalry in Georgia and other parts of the Southeast. According to the lawsuit, Hummel’s departure coincided with a number of other high-ranking defections from Hooters to La Cima, including former Hooters CEO Coby Brooks. Hummel is now chief operating officer at La Cima, which, like Hooters, is based in Atlanta.



HuffPost readers: Have you worked at a Hooters before? If so, we'd like to hear about your experiences. Email dave.jamieson@huffingtonpost.com



A lawyer for Hooters referred questions to a Hooters spokesman, who could not be reached. A lawyer for La Cima did not immediately return a call seeking comment.



Twin Peaks currently has 15 restaurants in five states, but last month it announced plans to open 35 franchises throughout the Southeast over the course of the next decade. Judging from the company’s website, the restaurants share many similarities with the better-known Hooters -- namely, chicken wings in the fryer, Ultimate Fighting Championship fights on the big screen, and precious little clothing on the servers. But whereas Hooters waitresses don the trademark white tank tops and orange short shorts, Twin Peaks servers tend to wear a mountain-themed ensemble of flannel bikini-like tops paired with tan hiker shorts.



In the lawsuit, Hooters says their “iconic” Hooters Girls are the “cornerstone of the [Hooters] concept,” and notes that “Twin Peaks directly competes with [Hooters] in the market of casual dining restaurants with an all female waitstaff.” Hummel recently told the Atlanta Business Chronicle that within the next seven years Twin Peaks expects to launch as many as seven franchises in the Atlanta area, going head to head with Hooters at its core. He also said the chain would differentiate itself from its competitor, saying Twin Peaks “brings a different feel, a different makeup of food.”



In their efforts to expand, Twin Peaks has apparently had a hard time avoiding lawsuits with other restaurants whose names play on breasts. In 2009, the chain’s parent company sued a competitor called Grand Tetons LLC in federal court in Texas, claiming that the company’s plans to open a restaurant in Arkansas called Northern Exposure infringed on Twin Peaks’ “trade dress.”

Bank Of America Debit Card Fees: Twitter Reacts

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com


Bank Of America Debit Card Fees: Twitter Reacts

Bank of America announced Thursday that bank will start charging $5 per month for customers who use their debit cards to make purchases beginning in 2012.

Shortly after the announcement Twitter exploded with reactions to the news. Many of the updates were negative and some even threatened via tweet to switch banks. The announcement generated so much buzz that "Debit card fees" was a trending topic on Google on Friday.

To add fuel to the fire, Bank of America's website was temporarily down on Friday. Some customers in New York and California reported login problems and others saw a message that read the site was "operating slower than usual," according to the Associated Press.

Tara Burke, a spokeswoman for the bank, did not specify why the site was experiencing problems, only to say that it wasn't due to hacking, the AP reported.

According to the AP, Bank of America is the largest bank in the nation by deposits.

LOOK: Twitter reacts to Bank of America's Debit Card Fee Announcement:






Andy Borowitz



Bank of America is like a man who's been saved from a burning building and then kicks the fireman in the nuts.






















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