This last week I met a Seventh-day Adventist over from the States. I'd been looking forward to our meeting for sometime as I had some questions to ask him, questions that two other Adventists friends I used to study with never gave me satisfactory answers too. I was also looking forward to receiving a 'wide-margin' Bible he was bringing over  .

I was spared too much of the ‘keeping the seventh-day stuff’ as this guy is knowingly and actively breaking one of the other points of the ‘Royal Law’, and if you live by the Law you shall be judged by the Law. I had done a little study and gathered my thoughts so that we could have a constructive conversation. I was looking forward to the two of us sitting around his host's kitchen table together and going through the scriptures that I found relevant, one at a time. I didn't expect us to come to any type of agreement only to discover what he thought of how I saw things and also that I could understand how he saw things.

Unfortunately things didn't go to plan  , the kitchen table idea was a ‘no go’ as the washing machine was hammering away at full pelt so we found ourselves sitting in the living-room discussing things that really would seem strange in the presence of unbelievers or new Christians. I didn't want to discuss such things in the presence of others but so we found ourselves and my fears of what I thought others would think of such a conversation were soon realized.

We found ourselves with me quoting Scripture and my friend quoting SDA doctrine. It was an interesting lesson to realize that he saw my understanding of the Bible as ‘Linear’. I think this was because I see much (not all) of the Book of Revelation as an account of a future short time period, and therefore much of the book of Revelation in chronological order. I also realized that I read the Bible much more literally than he does.

It is my personal view that many of the errors in Seventh-day Adventism spring from their doctrine that the 2300 day prophecy mentioned in Daniel 8:14 is actually 2300 years. The argument for a day for a year is quite valid but not here, God has made it unmistakable that these 2300 days are 24 hour days just as the ‘creation’ days mentioned in Genesis 1.

The SDA further compound this error when looking for their 2300 year prophecy's start date, they chose to start this it at the same time as Daniel's 70 week prophecy, at the order to rebuild the Temple. This brought the end of this erroneous interpretion to 1844-45, therefore they announced that Jesus was going to return in 1844-45. When he didn't return many walked away from this interpretation (SDA, Methodists Baptists etc..), even Miller who made the calculation and the interpretation wrote an open letter admitting his error  .

Unfortunately some just couldn't cope with this failure and when somebody said that “God had shown them that the calculation was correct but the interpretation wrong” the failed movement sprang into life again. Apparantly what had really happened in 1844-45 was that Jesus had entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven and was now investigating the records of everyone's life. Ellen G White quickly confirmed this interpretation as correct (she is their so called latter-day prophet). It is unfortunate that God didn't reveal this to them before 1844-45 as many sold all they had and gave it to the poor, crops were left to rot etc....

One of the arguments by Christianity for six literal ‘24 hour’ creation days stem from the fact that in Genesis 1 God uses the words “evening and morning” to help us understand that these are actual 24 hour periods of time, again both hebrew words are used in Daniel 8:14 and Daniel 8:26. These verses are relating to a 2300 day period of time when the temple is desecrated. Daniel 8:14 is translated ‘days’ but the original hebrew clearly states “evening” (ST 6153) and “morning” (ST 1242) as does the ASV version of the English Bible.

• Genesis 1      -  Evening and Morning -
• Daniel 8:14  -  Evening and Morning -
• Daniel 8:26  -  Evening and Morning -
• Psalm 55:17  -  Evening and Morning -

OT:1242
boqer (bo'-ker); from OT:1239; properly, dawn (as the break of day); generally, morning:
KJV - (+)day, early, morning, morrow.

OT:6153
`ereb (eh'-reb); from OT:6150; dusk:
KJV - + day, even (-ing, tide), night.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Not that ‘Old Chestnut’ again! . Is the person in Daniel 10 the same person as mentioned in Revelation 1:13-15 and 2:18? If so, He is Jesus!

Just thought I'd mention my views on this subject as I have just started ‘The Book of Revelation’ again. The similarities between the two Revelation accounts (Which all agree is Jesus) and Daniel 10, are striking. The similarities with the person of Daniel 10:5-6 can hardly be ignored:

• (A) “Son of Man/God” - Not mentioned in Daniel 10
• (B) “Garment”
• (C) “Golden girdle”
• (D) “Eyes like a flame of fires”
• (E) “Feet like fine/polished brass”
• (F) “Voice like a multitude/many waters”

Admittedly, one of the main attributes missing in the Daniel account is (A). Both ‘The Son of Man’ (Matthew 1:23) and ‘The Son of God’ (Proverbs 30:4) speaking of the resurrected Christ, God who had become a Man (John 1:14) however, we need to remember, at the time of the Daniel account Jesus had yet to become a Man, could it be that at that point He had yet to become the Son of God too? Hmm... As it is quite clear that at some point He ‘became God's Son’ ...this day have I begotten you... and until that point came was still ‘God the Word’. It ‘may’ have been some time after the Daniel 10 account that The Word humbled Himself into a ‘Father and Son relationship’ with Jehovah for the purpose of redeeming Mankind back to God. When He became God's Son is something I would love to know, was it before or when He became a Man?

Many find it hard to accept that the figure in both Daniel and Revelation is Jesus, this because the following verse suggests that Jesus needed assistance in fighting a demonic entity called ‘The Prince of Persia’.  The ‘Christian’ Cults fervently resist this notion (That both accounts are of Jesus) as it completely destroys their doctrine that Jesus is Michael the archangel, for if that were the case how can ‘the archangel Jesus’ come to assist Jesus in battling this demonic?   They prefer instead to suggest that the vision was of Jesus but the voice of the archangel Gabriel.  (At lest that is what one JW told me).

For those who are interested in this subject, it is worth noting in Daniel 10:13 the word ‘Kings’ is used rather than the singular “king” - “...remained there with the kings of Persia” (Medo-Persia) thus not only was he strengthening Darius but my guess is Cyrus too, and it was Cyrus who took Babylon and had the last king of the Babylonians killed that very night (Belshazzar), once accomplished he then passed Babylon over to King Darius - Daniel 5:30-31.

However regarding who the person is in Daniel 10, there are many in Christianity that do not accept it is Jesus, why? because they find it an affront to suggest that Jesus needs any assistance at all. But wasn't the battle over the heart and will of the Kings of Medo-Persia, who were essential in the fall of Babylon and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem? Isn't there the very same battle going on in our hearts today between following Jesus, our own will or the will of the ‘god of this present age’? Doesn't Jesus even use us to turn sinners away from sin? Aren't angels employed to fight for Him continually?

When a battle rages between God and Satan over our will, to sin or to obey God, does God force us to obey Him? Have we not all at one time or another disobeyed our Lord and grieved the Holy Spirit?  Jesus will not impose His will on Mankind. If it were a plain fight between Jesus and a demonic, Jesus would just say the word and the demonic would be finished. But Jesus is restrained by His righteousness and by His Word, if a man wishes to follow a demonic follow him he can to his own destruction.

Therefore it is my suggestion that Jesus was in a battle over the hearts of the ‘Kings’ of Persia, not an out-right fight with a demonic. Jesus using truth, mercy and peace but the demonic lies, fear and the temptations of this World: I guess, once again Satan was trying the break the the prophecies of God. This time trying to annul the prophecy that the Jews were going to return to Jerusalem after a 70 year captivity in Babylon (1st return). Just as he did when he killed all the children in Bethlehem and tried to prevent the prophesied coming of the Messiah. Even more recently Satan tried to fraught the prophecy that said Israel would be re-gathered to their country a second time in May 1948 after the Romans had cast them out in 70AD - (Isaiah 11:11 / 66:8). Then, in 1948 the Arab Nations around about attacked tiny Israel, yet rather than crush them Israel crushed all those Arab Nations. To survive, Satan's only strategy seems to be to attempt to break Scripture.

Anyway, must finish, just my thoughts, as always I welcome correction and guidance.  

Feeling rough at the moment, can't study my Bible or web design! Still, I've been here before and just have to stay calm and be patient, it'll pass. Read a little of the Gospel of John this-morning which was encouraging.
I've been trying to make a presentation (basic presentation) of the Book of Daniel, well the prophecies of chapters two, seven and eight. The cults use these prophecies very effectively and once their audience understands these truths, drop their guard and then completely trust the teacher, they then start to introduce Scripture through the ‘lens’ of their ‘Latter-day Prophets’.
Even if someone does show us the truth we should never drop our guard. I don't know where I heard it but someone once said:

“A little truth is much more dangerous than a total lie, because it is so much more believable”

I believe today in the ‘gift of Prophecy’ which is expounding the Scriptures, but not in prophets in the sense of the prophets of old such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel. We have all we need written in the Scriptures of truth which Jesus passed-on to His disciples and they passed-on to us. I do agree that a little of it will not be understood until the very end, but it is all there in the Bible. If there are any ‘Prayer Warriors’ reading this, call me an opportunist if you like but if you feel led, I would appreciate your prayers for God's forgiveness for my luke-warmness, for my healing and that I may ‘Press-in’ and be granted wisdom, understanding and skills in communication and organization.
God willing I'll be able to study again soon.

I was thinking the other day how blessed we are as Christians not suffering the same fate as the Jews if we sin . They were stoned for certain sins and severely rebuked for others, but we get away with everything... don't we?    Well no, so that we are not condemned with this World we too receive due punishment for our actions, and we receive it now. Sometimes we may suffer sickness (1 Cor 11:30) or even death (Acts 5:4-5), how we soon forget the severity of our Holy God when we remember His kindness towards us. Then I remembered that we too are Jews, most not by geneology from Abraham but through the faith of Abraham are we reckoned (Gal 3:7). Although we certainly did not come to Him through the Old Covenant but through the New, yet a Covenant agreement we have made with Him.