Participants: Lincoln Steed (Host), Greg Hamilton
Series Code: LI
Program Code: LI000128
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00:22 Welcome to the Liberty Insider.
00:24 This is the program that brings you up to dates, 00:26 news, views and discussion on Religious Liberty events. 00:29 My name is Lincoln Steed editor of Liberty Magazine 00:33 and my guest on the program is Greg Hamilton. 00:36 And you're the President of the North West 00:40 Religious Liberty Association. Yes. 00:42 And a Religious Liberty Director 00:45 for the Seventh-day Adventist church 00:46 in the North West region. 00:48 And as well as that I know, 00:50 an expert and a well read expert on 00:53 Religious Liberty issues, 00:55 church state issues and so on. 00:57 You and I are both following events 00:59 with great interests at the moment. 01:01 I think as Seventh-day Adventist 01:03 and you too are a Seventh-day Adventist. 01:05 We can't help but see prophecy fulfilling 01:08 in some of these current events, 01:09 what's your take on this? 01:10 How would you characterize the cataclysm events 01:13 in the Middle East and of course then Japan, 01:16 with their literal cataclysm? What does all this say to you? 01:19 Well, Christ said once that, 01:21 the very rocks would cry out if we didn't absolute present 01:27 the map that exists so obvious to us. 01:29 The world generalist, state leaders, world leaders, 01:35 kings, monarchs. They all see what's happening 01:37 and they're fearful, the Stock Market, Wall Street. 01:40 Events are happening so fast, 01:42 ever since 9/11 that we can't keep up with it. 01:45 It is, we are in fact even Hillary Clinton 01:48 is going to step down after four years serving 01:51 in the state department self serving two terms. 01:54 Because she is so worn out after two years, 01:56 it even shows, it's visible. Okay. 01:59 It, with the tsunamis, earthquakes, 02:03 nuclear meltdown, economic meltdown. 02:06 You name it, unrest. 02:09 All we're missing at the moment 02:10 is a global pandemic and of course 02:12 that will come around again, 02:13 unrest in the Arab middle, 02:15 Muslim Middle East, 02:16 which Nuclear War is a possible threat with Iran. 02:21 And when you look at it, 02:24 the destabilization of Saudi Arabia, 02:27 Bahrain and Iran's ability to influence 02:31 some of those countries, even possible Egypt. 02:33 It's not an easy situation for Barack Obama 02:38 to come into as President, 02:40 which he did two years ago. 02:41 But even more so, the challenges 02:43 are mounting up like no other president in history. 02:46 And this not to say I agree with everything Obama does, 02:49 because I don't. 02:50 And you'll see that in a minute very clearly. 02:52 But I really believe that our leaders 02:55 need to be prayed for, 02:56 regardless of whether we agree with him 02:59 or disagree with him. 03:00 Because these are times in which 03:02 clearly to anyone of us, 03:03 the Lord is coming and I believe possibly, 03:06 Lincoln, we maybe facing or heading down the road 03:08 of a little time of trouble and possibly a literal, 03:11 as well as a spiritual Armageddon. 03:13 Absolutely, I think there's good reasons 03:16 for a Christian to think that 03:17 these things are eminent. 03:18 And Jesus told the Pharisees He said, 03:21 you can decide on the seasons, 03:22 why can't you? 03:23 You see the times that we live in. 03:25 And it must apply today. 03:26 I really believe we're on the cusp 03:29 of something really big. 03:30 What I've often said in afternoon meetings 03:33 when we talk about this type of the thing. 03:34 I say that I can't know and I don't think 03:37 you're saying you know definitely that... 03:38 that the world will come to that moment of Christ, 03:41 you know on such and such a day. 03:42 I know there is a well known radio program that's, 03:45 what it said in May, isn't it? 03:47 You know we're not to do that, 03:49 but I tell people, I said, 03:51 I am certain that the world that we know 03:54 as we know it is about the pass away. 03:56 We're at a shifting point, 03:58 and every single thing, 04:00 whether it's the economy or the environment, 04:02 the political situation, 04:04 it's the possibility of pandemics, 04:06 they're all just swarming in on us. 04:07 Something big is about to happen, isn't it? 04:10 Oh, absolutely and I think we could no longer afford 04:12 to say that we believe in the life of Christ 04:16 or the doctrines of Bible prophecy. 04:17 And yet shelve them from Sabbath 04:19 to Sabbath in our sermons. 04:20 I think if there is ever a time to be awake, 04:23 it's now to preach The Three Angels message. 04:25 Messages that were said through Jesus Christ alone 04:28 and not through any man made means to save himself. 04:30 The world is at a crisis that its never seen before. 04:34 And I think it is high time that we wake up 04:37 and preach the message. 04:39 In fact, so much so 04:41 that we have nothing to be ashamed of. 04:42 What was it just the three days ago, 04:44 the USA Today Newspaper, 04:45 the second largest newspaper in the country 04:47 outside of New York Times, 04:48 with Wall Street Journal 04:49 and Washington Post following 3rd and 4th. 04:52 They said that the Seventh-day Adventist church 04:54 is the fastest growing denomination 04:57 in the United States. Now that was awesome, 05:00 now obliviously there's a little bit of, 05:02 we have to clarify that. 05:05 And that is that... that 2 percent growth 05:07 which doesn't say much compared, 05:09 you know obviously, the other denominations 05:11 aren't doing so well. 05:12 Yeah, we could wish them together. 05:13 Yes, but it is because of the growth of Hispanics 05:17 in our church, which is a very dynamic group 05:20 And the other factor is that they said that because 05:23 our church is so multi ethnic that people 05:26 that come across the border from Mexico 05:28 or from other countries, 05:29 they feel so at home in our churches. 05:30 And I think that because our churches booming, 05:34 I think that it's ever more than the reasons 05:36 why we should not be ashamed of our prophetic message. 05:39 Absolutely, and I believe it will boom 05:41 even more as Adventists focus again 05:44 on what we're all about? Yes. 05:46 We're not a nice comfortable club 05:48 which we are on one level. 05:50 But the whole purpose is, 05:52 Ellen White speaking to early Adventists said, 05:54 it's in our name. Seventh-day Adventists. Yes. 05:57 We'd have to call people back to 05:58 the Seventh-day Sabbath and God's law. Right. 06:01 And the varsity of God's word. 06:04 And Adventists, we're here to proclaim 06:07 that Christ is coming soon. Yes 06:09 And if we ever called to proclaim such a thing. 06:11 Now, it's multiplied many times over. Yes. 06:14 It's so apparent and you know, 06:17 you mentioned this Apocalypse now. 06:19 Yeah, Newsweek magazine, Apocalypse now. 06:22 Tsunamis, earthquakes, 06:23 nuclear meltdowns, revolutions, 06:24 economies on the brink. 06:25 And then what the blank is next? You know. 06:28 And they keep saying, 06:29 and it's unfortunate because it's maligning the Bible. 06:32 But you know disasters of Biblical proportions. 06:34 I keep hearing that. 06:36 what they really mean is that 06:38 these remind even a secular person 06:41 that maybe something bigger than them going on. 06:43 Maybe, what Christ said about evil working it's way out. 06:47 In preparatory to His coming kingdom. 06:49 Maybe that there is some truth in this. Oh absolutely. 06:52 And I think this is the moment of opportunity for us 06:54 to explain to a wondering world. 06:56 Even these leaders if we do with Liberty Magazine. 06:58 Explain to them that there is some meaning here, 07:01 it isn't as chaotic as it appears. 07:03 What I mean by a relationship with Jesus Christ 07:06 specifically is this, relationship is very important 07:10 but what do we mean by relationship? 07:11 Many time when we when we talk about 07:13 a relationship with Jesus Christ. 07:15 Many times it sounds like a warm, fuzzy, cozy, 07:19 relationship with Jesus, without knowing anything 07:20 about the political hardships He went through, 07:23 the social issues, the cultural issues 07:25 He went through. 07:26 All those factors we seem to leave out, 07:29 we get stuck in a theological lock box of which, 07:32 somehow that's all we know. 07:34 If ...if, you know we don't consider all the things 07:37 that Christ had to go through. 07:38 We often say well, all we need is 07:40 a relationship with Jesus, but we don't need 07:42 to have any knowledge. Knowledge isn't important, 07:45 or knowledge cannot save you, that's true, 07:47 knowledge cannot save you. 07:48 But knowledge divorced from a relationship 07:52 with Jesus Christ is a deceptive relationship. 07:56 Absolutely. It is a false relationship, 07:57 and that's what I call Evangelical drift 08:00 that happens to me to be occurring 08:02 within the Christian world 08:04 and even in the Seventh day Adventist church. 08:06 And it's, we've got to do what we can do. 08:09 And everything we can do to try to restore 08:12 our uniqueness as Seventh-day Adventist church. 08:15 Absolutely, even after the meeting, 08:17 a couple of weeks ago. 08:18 And talking about same sort of stuff and afterwards, 08:20 this very nice 30 years woman came up and she says, 08:24 oh, I'm troubled by lot of these she says, 08:26 I always thought that when that Christ has came, 08:29 it would just be like our neighbors 08:31 would talk badly about us. 08:32 And the woman next to her said, 08:34 oh I want to live with your reality. 08:35 The reality is that we're probably very close 08:41 to the times that Jesus said, 08:43 that be so severe that if they were not shorten, 08:45 no flesh would survive. 08:46 So we shouldn't undersell it, 08:48 but at the same time, if we're with Christ, 08:51 if we've identified our, our very being 08:54 with His purposes and goals, 08:55 there is a certain protection offered. 08:58 But beyond that, 08:59 you know there's an eternity of bliss. 09:01 So it's not really a bad times for God's followers, 09:03 but it's like testing time. This is the finals, isn't it? 09:07 And I really believe we've got to sort ourselves out quickly, 09:10 not internally but I mean sort ourselves in the sense of 09:13 get our priorities straight. 09:14 And we've have to realize that Christ needs to be 09:16 the center and His agenda. 09:18 And this is the moment of opportunity as I see it. 09:21 You know, if we market in Christ, 09:23 if the Seventh-day Adventist church 09:24 was brought into being to proclaim the second coming, 09:26 this is the moment. Yes, it is. 09:28 Lets go for it, not well; you know, maybe it is, 09:31 we know, we thought so, when Turkey fell. 09:34 You know... we were bothered 09:35 when Turkey fell in World War two. 09:37 And you know Hitler Communist, 09:39 well, you know why now? 09:40 I think there's many reasons that this an extraordinarily 09:43 different moment and far more likely 09:45 to be a final crisis. You know 09:46 I was to going to get motivated seminar, 09:47 which is put on by Zig-Ziglar and Colin Powell. 09:51 And Rudolph Giuliani were there. 09:53 Rudolph Giuliani in Portland, 09:54 Oregon just a couple of weeks ago, 09:55 said that we're facing chaos in the world, 09:59 because people are becoming followers and not leaders. 10:02 And he said the reason that is, 10:04 is because they're not readers anymore, 10:06 we don't read anymore. 10:07 In fact, he says, communication has bowled down 10:09 to a three word sentence on Twitter. 10:12 Okay, it's the Twitter generation, 10:14 the Facebook generation that is basically 10:17 taking us down to dumb and dumber. 10:19 And.. and what I mean by that is that people really 10:23 aren't thinking substantively anymore. 10:26 And as a result of that, 10:27 you're seeing more and more unrest, chaos. 10:29 Yes, cry for the democracy in the Middle East, 10:32 but in fact what we're seeing is chaos. 10:36 That I believe is leading to a time of trouble 10:38 that we've never seen before. 10:39 People, you talk about world peace, 10:43 there is no peace peace. 10:45 Well, what does this Bible say? 10:46 There's peace peace and sudden destruction 10:48 comes over. Yeah, there's nothing, 10:49 I mean there's no such thing as peace anymore, hardly. 10:52 I mean world leaders can hardly contain themselves 10:55 because they have no means to bring about world peace. 10:58 They have a sense of helplessness right now. 11:01 There's a wonderful quote that 11:03 I'll try to remember by Ellen White 11:04 at the beginning of a compilation recently 11:07 put together by our church on last day events. 11:09 And she says, "Thinking men and women of all class, 11:12 rulers, statesmen have their attention fixed upon 11:15 the events taking place about us. Yes. 11:17 They observe the intensity that is taking position 11:20 of every earthly element. 11:22 And they see that something great 11:24 and decisive is about to take place. 11:26 Absolutely. That the world is 11:28 on the verge of a stupendous crisis." 11:31 Yeah, I mean. 11:32 That's clearly where we live at this moment. 11:34 Worldwide Economy collapse is incredible. 11:36 Even the European Union can't even come together 11:39 as to determine whose going to take the lead 11:42 in the effort in Libya right now. 11:43 I mean it's, it's such a small decision, 11:46 but egos get in the way. 11:48 You know egos always get in the way. 11:49 Well, let me in part discuss a little bit, 11:52 we've got to be aware of if you're a political discussion, 11:55 but Libya is an interesting dynamic. 11:57 What's going on here? 11:58 Why so late in the process that will's last super power 12:02 and arguably the last imperial power. 12:04 I'm meddling there. What's funny because, 12:07 well Daniel 11, Libya is mentioned 12:10 in Daniel 11 ironically. 12:11 That's what we need to get on to. 12:12 We'll be back after a break 12:14 with this interesting discussion. 12:16 There's so much to discuss, 12:17 I want you stay with us as we continue 12:20 this after a break. 12:29 One-hundred years, 12:31 a long time to do anything, 12:33 much less publish a magazine, 12:35 but this year Liberty, 12:37 the Seventh-Day Adventist voice of religious freedom, 12:39 celebrates one hundred years of doing what it does best, 12:43 collecting, analyzing, 12:45 and reporting the ebb 12:46 and flow of religious expression 12:48 around the world. Issue after issue. 12:51 Liberty has taken on the tough assignments, 12:53 tracking down threats to religious freedom 12:56 and exposing the work of the devil 12:57 in every corner of the globe. 12:59 Governmental interference, 13:01 personal attacks, corporate assaults, 13:03 even religious freedom issues sequestered 13:05 within the church community itself 13:07 have been clearly and honestly exposed. 13:10 Liberty exists for one purpose, 13:12 to help God's people maintain that all important 13:16 separation of Church and State, 13:17 while recognizing the dangers 13:19 inherent in such a struggle. 13:21 During the past century, 13:23 Liberty has experienced challenges of its own, 13:25 but it remains on the job. 13:27 Thanks to the inspired leadership 13:30 of a long line of dedicated Adventist editors, 13:32 three of whom represent almost 13:34 half of the publications existence 13:35 and the foresight of a little woman from New England. 13:38 One hundred years of struggle, 13:41 one hundred years of victories, 13:43 religious freedom isn't just about political machines 13:46 and cultural prejudices. 13:48 It's about people fighting 13:50 for the right to serve the God they love 13:53 as their hearts and the Holy Spirit dictate. 13:56 Thanks to the prayers and generous support 13:58 of Seventh-Day Adventists everywhere. 14:00 Liberty will continue to accomplish 14:03 its work of providing timely information, 14:05 spirit filled inspiration, 14:06 and heaven sent encouragement 14:08 to all who long to live and work in a world 14:12 bound together by the God ordained bonds 14:15 of religious freedom. 14:24 Welcome back to the Liberty Insider, 14:25 before the break, 14:26 I was talking with guests, 14:28 Greg Hamilton about the cataclysm events 14:32 that are taking place around us. 14:33 As Newsweek magazine says, 14:35 Apocalypse now, 14:37 and the Seventh-day Adventist, 14:38 can we ignore this? 14:40 Is this prophetically significant? 14:41 You and I are both absolutely agree 14:44 that we are living in...in not just 14:45 prophetic times maybe the final times. 14:48 Never has the Untied States been 14:50 in three wars at the same time, 14:52 simultaneously ever in its history. 14:55 And that's the most derivative that 14:56 the military world is said to petrify 14:58 three wars simultaneously. So what about a fourth? 15:01 Well, I mean we're told that in Matthew 24 15:03 there be wars, and wars of wars? 15:05 But what is the real significant thing going on? 15:08 Evangelicals today are really excited 15:11 about what's going on in the Middle East, 15:12 because if they believe that a democratic reform 15:15 could take place, then the Gospel 15:17 or if democratic reform could take place. 15:19 The Gospel can open up, Evangelism can take place. 15:22 And that 10 40 geographical window 15:25 from the Middle East clear over to Central 15:27 And South East Asia would be opened 15:30 to them to evangelize. 15:31 And so they see this as the big sign, 15:34 the big thing coming. 15:35 And so, they applaud the military action, 15:38 the use of force to then eventually 15:41 be able to spread the Gospel. 15:43 Well that to me is ironic. 15:44 Yeah, it is ironic, 15:45 and it's also one of the great ironies, 15:47 because well this is not a political program. 15:49 We've discussed political developments 15:52 and I saw a lot to be troubled with, 15:54 about the last administration, 15:56 not least use of force against Iraq. 16:00 But I have to say, you'd have to be blind 16:04 to events, not to see at what's happening now. 16:07 Part of the dynamic begun by that... 16:09 that forcible election that broke up 16:11 the old models there. 16:13 And as President Bush used to say 16:14 the idea was to bring democracy to the Middle East, 16:17 in a certain bizarre way that did start 16:19 the nine pens or the ten pens falling. 16:23 But I think it's a lot more than that, 16:25 I said and I written already on our blog and our website. 16:31 I think we've to recognize that 16:33 this wasn't the spontaneous as it appears, 16:35 there are Antisedans, 16:36 there's the religious agitation 16:38 of the Muslim brotherhood 16:40 and conservative Muslim activists. 16:43 But I think Al Jazeera, which a new. 16:47 It's been a big thing, a big factor. 16:49 Media phenomenon, 16:50 which has being targeted to the Middle East, 16:53 giving them a type of news 16:54 that we don't get that is very sensational, 16:56 very Arab oriented. 16:57 And for people, many of them 16:59 who haven't had access to any media, 17:02 let alone that. To imagine them 17:04 as I've seen them in different countries 17:06 and that part of the world. 17:07 Probably in a coffee shop 17:08 where they don't have a TV at home, 17:09 they're certainly sitting there in a group, 17:11 they're watching on a screen stuff 17:12 that is so shocking. 17:13 And it immediately bubbles up 17:15 in their society and they're sort of cold to arms, 17:18 they're cold to action. 17:19 Yeah, it's not just the Twitter 17:20 and Facebook revolution. 17:21 I don't believe it that it's Twitter and Facebook. 17:23 It's also the Al Jazeera revolution, 17:24 Al Jazeera revolution. Twitter or Facebook, 17:26 I believe is significant in how 17:28 they organize once they develop 17:30 this sense of dislocation, 17:32 that's sort of the final moment. 17:34 But with not cause by Twitter or Facebook. 17:36 Well the Facebook revolution is, 17:38 there is a huge element, 17:39 a factor that is credible 17:41 and that is that they're able to organize. 17:43 And actually get people out, 17:45 and to help other people 17:47 or to educate other people 17:48 as to their point of view. 17:50 I mean, yes, with the advent of the blog 17:52 and then of course now Facebook, Twitter, Al Jazeera. 17:56 I mean you name it, 17:57 all of these factors Googled 17:58 they all come together 17:59 to what form the unrest that we have. 18:02 And one thing that I don't think is remarked on 18:04 and we'll see how it develops as far as civil 18:06 and religious freedoms. 18:07 I think by and large well there's 18:10 a sense of self-determination that Al Zajeera 18:13 and these other elements have created 18:14 to give a sense of dislocation from their governments, 18:18 and what were the governments identified with, the West. 18:20 I don't think that this is a pro western uprising 18:24 in the slightest. And I don't think 18:27 it's pure Arab Nationalism, 18:29 'cause we've been in that route before, 18:31 that had burnt itself out. 18:32 If anything Hosni Mubarak was the ghost 18:34 of Arab Nationalism, finished. 18:37 I think this is sort of just an area of self-determinism 18:40 that probably cultural things like 18:42 religious identity will kick these. 18:44 I think its generation too, 18:45 I think it's the young people 18:46 who are tired of the same old autocrats and monarchs. 18:49 Okay, yes, absolutely and what we'll see, 18:51 and this is, we're getting back to prophecy, 18:53 we'll see whether just a breaking of 18:56 all the historic and social restrains of the past. 18:58 Whether that will create an openness, 19:00 to a new idea, a new religion, 19:02 a religious awareness that Islam can't have had. 19:06 When we're talking about a Christian explanation 19:09 of Christ in tenth of the world 19:12 and it's prophetic. 19:14 Well, that's a mixture you see, 19:15 you see a secular moment of some of these 19:17 young people, many of them, 19:18 a vast majority of them. 19:19 But there is still that strong element of 19:22 Islamic fundamentalism that comes through 19:24 in the unrest over in the Arab-Muslim Middle East. 19:28 And to me it's a significant factor, 19:30 because when you put the two together, 19:31 you've got sort of the mix as to why 19:35 they like Barack Obama. 19:37 Barack Obama represents to them someone 19:41 who grew up with his eclectic religion, yes. 19:44 I mean his mother was an Atheist, 19:45 his grandmother and grandfather were Catholics, 19:48 he went mostly to Catholic schools, 19:50 so this idea that somehow he's a Muslim 19:52 is a pure nonsense. 19:53 He converted to Pentecostal forms of Christianity, 19:57 okay, and when he finally ran for president, 20:01 he said to himself, you know, 20:03 I've got to identify with one particular religion. 20:05 So he became a Pentecostal Christian 20:07 just prior to that, but it's significant, 20:09 because when you mix all those religions together. 20:12 Okay, even his father and his stepfather 20:16 were both jack Muslims, 20:17 what I mean by that, 20:19 they were constantly getting arrested 20:20 by the police in Kenya and then over in Jakarta, 20:23 his stepfather, because they were constantly 20:25 denouncing Islam, yeah. 20:26 So, but if you take all those eclectic religions 20:29 together then what do you get? 20:30 You get a sort of a new age type president, 20:34 okay, all religions are good. 20:36 Let's peacefully co-exist, 20:37 let's get along together, 20:38 and that's... and that's what he strives for, and so. 20:41 And I'm glad that you brought this up 20:42 and I haven't really thought this through, 20:45 not much myself lately, 20:46 this lies closer to what we're told in the Bible 20:49 to expect at the end of the time. Right. 20:51 It's really just not a biblical word 20:53 but the word that people should use 20:55 Syncretistic religion. Yes, yes. 20:57 That's the characteristic of anytime 21:01 of great denial of the God, 21:03 you know when Israel was most of its desperate 21:06 when they were sacrificing children to idols and that. 21:09 They were still worshiping God, 21:10 but were Syncretistic that melted it all together. 21:12 And we're told that at the end of time they'll be having 21:15 a form of godliness but denying the path along. 21:17 You can't just point to Islamic extremism 21:19 as the great threat or to new age 21:22 or to Evangelical right or the interfaith 21:25 left or any of these factors. 21:27 You'll also have to look at the new age factor, 21:30 the Syncretistic factor, 21:33 you have to look all these factors because it's not just, 21:36 you can't just isolate from one religion 21:39 and look at fanatics and say, 21:40 oh they're the big threat, you just can't do that. 21:43 Well as they, maybe we can talk about this 21:46 in another program. 21:48 But just a few days ago now in Washington, 21:50 they started some hearings on the role of Islam 21:53 in this religious and terrorists threats. 21:57 They call it McCarthyism, 21:58 a new form of McCarthyism. 21:59 Yeah, I don't see it as that but I see a lot of play. 22:02 And what I've heard already 22:04 and I've listened to it a lot of it. 22:05 I think they're in the process of... of, 22:08 yes not vindicating but at least deflecting too much 22:13 paranoia toward Islam. 22:14 But the net effect is that now all activist religions 22:18 are a suspect, not just the radical 22:21 form of Islam that gave direct rise to 9/11. 22:24 But to avoid, categorizing 22:29 or you know demonizing Islam 22:32 now they're casting the guys around. 22:34 And so any religion, whether it's Adventist 22:36 or some other group that, that have an agenda, 22:39 end time agenda, something specific to say 22:41 and we'll beat if they say that the state 22:43 is headed it in the wrong direction. 22:45 I think you very easily now can be characterized 22:47 as an enemy of all that this new global Pan 22:51 religious society wants to accomplish. 22:54 I have a friend named Gulzar Ahmed in Portland, 22:57 Oregon. And he's part of the Oregon's interfaith alliance 23:00 which I'm also a member of. 23:02 And he's said it repeatedly; 23:04 you know these hearings are actually good 23:06 for Islam because it'll help moderate us. 23:09 It's exactly that what we need, 23:10 why fight it, it only makes us look more extreme. 23:12 He's one for moderation and he wants to present Islam 23:17 in the best possible light. 23:18 And I think that's good, 23:19 and I think that when you have people like that 23:22 who are rational, it only helps 23:24 in that discussion that we need here in America. Yeah. 23:28 Now, it's true, so your point is certainly valid, 23:32 we shouldn't be so focused on Islam because 23:34 on 9/11 this country got a shock. 23:36 Prophecy does mention Islam 23:38 or arguably it mentions it 23:40 that the issue would play for 23:42 the Seventh-day Adventist 23:43 and for Christians is loyalty to God, 23:44 preparation for coming for the coming 23:46 of Jesus Christ. 23:47 And you and I believe is Revelation 13, 23:50 there's a clear indications that a nation, 23:53 that the U.S. answers the description pretty closely, 23:56 a nation will actually enforce a religious edict 24:02 or a series of edicts probably that are... 24:04 that are contrary to God's will at the end of time. 24:06 And singling out one religion like Islam 24:09 is only a further sign of the ties because 24:12 when all religions come and unite together 24:15 on the bases of interfaith ecumenism or interfaith unity, 24:20 then it would be easy for them to target 24:22 one religion they disagree with. Right. 24:24 And to me, it's a pattern, 24:25 it's a trend that won't reverse itself overtime. 24:29 And you know, I need to say, 24:30 we make comments about globalism now and then. 24:35 And lot of Christians are opposed to globalism, 24:37 because we know that it plays a factor 24:40 in end time prophecy. 24:41 But globalism per-say is not illogical 24:44 or even inherently evil. 24:45 I think a world that is being shrunk 24:48 by information and interdependence 24:50 is naturally heading toward that. 24:52 It's...it's, if what, if there weren't a God, 24:54 globalism would be the only survival of the race. 24:57 So, there's logic and a necessity 25:01 to this global coming together. 25:03 But when you think prophecy, 25:04 when you think biblical truths, 25:06 and to see it all mix into this big pot, 25:08 that's very problematic. 25:09 That's why our calling as Seventh-day Adventist 25:11 Christians is to defend, protect and advance 25:14 and defend the religious freedom 25:17 of every religious faith. 25:18 And that's very important that we represent 25:21 the equality of all religious faiths, 25:23 because if we don't go and seek to protect them, 25:26 then what do we have to say in the end 25:29 when they come after us. 25:30 We've got to be totally balanced, 25:33 we've got to speak the truth as it is in Christ, 25:36 but at the same time defend our constitution to the hilt, 25:40 to protect their freedom. 25:41 We need to defend the constitution 25:43 and never back off on that, 25:44 but as you well know the Seventh-day 25:46 Adventist Christians, 25:48 God's word is the promising. 25:50 And it's a wonderful concurrence of history 25:53 that the constitution in regard 25:55 to the separation of church and state, 25:56 and the allowance of free and unhampered 25:58 religious expression, it guarantees that. 26:01 But the Bible is the source of that. 26:03 Well, we definitely face a world of unrest 26:05 and I think that a, when you look 26:08 at all of the transpiring events were coming down 26:11 the road to a time of trouble 26:15 such as we've never seen. 26:16 Now that maybe a long distance off 26:18 or that maybe a short distance off, 26:20 but I really believe that a little time 26:22 of trouble is clearly before us. 26:25 Now how that is defined? 26:27 I don't know, I have no idea 26:29 but we have to remember that as we strive 26:32 to have a relationship to Jesus, 26:34 let's remember that protecting people's 26:37 religious freedom and having a knowledge 26:39 based religion is all important. 26:44 Some of the greatest changes in history 26:46 while they may seem inevitable in retrospect 26:49 at the time are barely explainable. 26:52 That certainly is the case with the changes 26:55 that have been going for sometime 26:56 now in the Middle East. 26:57 There's been a spontaneous up swelling 27:01 of interests and demonstrations 27:04 of self determination, 27:06 mostly by young people but not just 27:08 by young people. 27:09 Mostly by men, not just by men, 27:13 it appears that even in heavily 27:15 Islamic Middle Eastern countries, 27:18 they want the self determination 27:20 that the Western world has. 27:23 This could be a great moment for religious openness 27:26 which surely won't mean the immediate conversion 27:29 to any other religious view points, 27:31 but it may mean an openness for dialogue 27:33 that we haven't seen for for a long term. 27:35 We can hope that even though this event 27:37 and other cataclysmic events in the world 27:41 appear to signal the imminent count of the Apocalypse. 27:44 At the same time it may signal that God is about to move 27:48 powerfully to open people's minds, 27:51 to a retelling of the great story of salvation 27:55 and the wonderful opportunity yet before people 27:57 while time lingers. 28:01 For Liberty Insider, this is Lincoln Steed. |
Revised 2014-12-17