“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12:9
Our English cell group had a great meeting last Saturday night. Chris a German friend did a good job of explaining that there is really a Creator-God by giving such a very relevant illustration. We encountered a question regarding the existence of the pre-historic man from a man who adhere evolution. We don't want anybody else goes out from the meeting with a confuse mind but of course we cannot avoid and so I spent my half day developing an article regarding this to answer the question Biblically.
I had attended a government school when I was in high school and I found out that the theory of evolution has been well accepted and taught as they thought the most factual theory to explain the origin of man. That is the sad picture we can readily observe today.
What is the real problem nowadays? The trouble is that many people today consult the inaccurate data of science to find out whether the Bible is true. They criticized the Bible, instead of consulting the Bible to find out whether their scientific conclusion is telling the truth. Science has a lot of mistakes. They have consulted the works of the so called “intellectual giants” rather than God’s word, the work of the INFINITE ONE. Scientists have done a lot of amazing invention and are intellectually genius but they are human, subject to make mistakes. Of course there are two kinds of science-the false science (inspired by Satan) and the true science (inspired by God).
Whenever I encountered a question like related to evolution, it would only remind me of the power of Satan to create confusion everywhere to block the humanity to believe God. In fact because of his active inspiration of the false science, he has been very successful to lead many to believe that there is no God.
How about the issue of amalgamation? There is so much wickedness in the world and who is inspiring them? SATAN does. Look at these two passages for example;
“Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.” Leviticus 18:23
“When a woman offers herself sexually to any animal, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They deserve to die.” Leviticus 20:16.
God said don’t but many have disobeyed. Go to Google engine and search women or men having sex with animals and you will be amazed the wickedness of the world which is inspired by the devil. Science tries to prove and said it is impossible that the sexual union of man and animal could produce offspring. Yes, that is if our world is only mere science-base without thinking the supernatural phenomenon authored by the spirit world (both good and bad). So is it impossible for Satan to do this? Look at these;
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6: 12
With great surprise a disciple asked Jesus, “And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? He said to them, 'An enemy has done this. So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?” Matthew 13:27, 28.
While God put everything in order, Satan, the enemy of God, works to create confusion. It is not impossible for Satan to do such wonders. He will be a skillful deceiver. "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs... “ Revelation 13: 13-15.
The work of Satan is to confuse to deceive the world. The point is that Satan is actively involved and responsibility for all evil confusion in our world. Satan has mighty power to amaze the intellectuals and leaders. He works confuse to get their attention. Look at this carefully;
“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' then say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,' and it will become a snake." So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.” Exodus 7: 8-13.
Satan can do miracle almost similar to what God could do. Whenever God created a genuine, there is a counterfeit and Satan masterminded them. The point is we must believe that Satan the enemy of God is powerful to manufacture amalgamated living organisms to deceive us. Satan has been trying to establish facts that could appear to be scientific.
With this, I believe the plain statement of one of the great religious author;
“But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere. God purposed to destroy by a flood that powerful, long-lived race that had corrupted their ways before him.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 64.
If God could inspire holy men, Satan could also inspire his wicked men to have sexual intercourse with animals. Do you think they couldn’t produce confuse offspring under the inspiration of Satan? Do you think Satan couldn’t make them to appear as pre-historic men that look like half human and half beast? If you are not fully convince yet that Satan is powerful enough to mastermind this, then read again Exodus 7: 8-13 to see how Satan successfully deceived Pharaoh.
Secondly, how about the almost unbelievable endless species of animals cause by amalgamation? The inspired author added, “Every species of animal which God had created were preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the Flood. Since the Flood there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the almost endless varieties of species of animals, and in certain races of men.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 75.
Take note that Satan is the mastermind of amalgamation. Therefore the endless of variety of species are not evidence to support evolution theory, as many believed, but it is the evidence of the mighty work of the enemy of God. The Lord commanded “Keep my laws. Do not let your cattle have offspring by those of a different sort; do not put mixed seed into your field…” Leviticus 19:19. But somehow many hardened their hearts and did not obey God and they were inspired by the devil.
Finally, Christian must be aware that, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6: 12.
Satan is a mighty deceiver “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12:9 And so Apostle Paul warns us to “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” Ephesians 6:11.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Noted Sabbath Scholar Samuele Bacchiocchi Dies
Retired Andrews Theology Professor Had Global Influence
BY MARK A. KELLNER, News Editor
Samuele Bacchiocchi, a retired theology professor at Andrews University and one of the world’s leading proponents of the seventh-day Sabbath, died December 20, the Sabbath, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 70 years of age and resided in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
“Sam was best-known for his scholarship on the seventh-day Sabbath. He was a prolific writer, a tireless preacher, and appreciated as an energetic and passionate teacher. I’m going to miss my long-time friend and colleague,” said Keith Mattingly, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who worked alongside Bacchiocchi in the Andrews University Department of Religion and Biblical Languages.
Bacchiocchi, who spent 26 years teaching at the Seventh-day Adventist-owned university and more than 30 years lecturing worldwide about the Sabbath and its significance, was the first Protestant to attend and graduate from the doctoral program at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. It was at the “Gregoriana,” as it is known in Italian, that his studies in church history led to the publication of From Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity, the English version of his doctoral thesis. The doctoral dissertation received a grade that merited his graduation “summa cum laude,” and Bacchiocchi received a gold medal for academic achievement donated by Pope Paul VI. Both were high honors, particularly for a non-Roman Catholic student at the Jesuit-run university.
SAMUELE BACCHIOCCHI
The book has been in print for more than 30 years and is widely recognized as a seminal text on the subject, even by those who disagree with his conclusions. For example, Cambridge University scholar R.J. Bauckham, in “From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Investigation” (D.A. Carson, ed.; Wipf & Stock, 2000), said that while “a number of scholars have in the past argued that Christian Sunday observance originated in the second century[,] the most recent and fullest version of this thesis is that of S[amuele] Bacchiocchi.”
In the 1970s, Bacchiocchi was featured on “It Is Written,” a weekly television program sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in which his thesis was noted. This led to numerous invitations to speak, and for the following two decades, Bacchiocci would spend many weekends on the road traveling to Adventist churches and other settings to present messages about the Sabbath, its biblical roots and continuing significance. His influence spread in the age of the Internet, reaching out to members of the Worldwide Church of God, a distant off-shoot of the nineteenth century Millerite movement, which had abandoned its own Sabbatarian tradition in the 1990s.
Samuele Bacchiocchi was born on January 29, 1938, in Rome: “I was born in a godly Catholic family that lived close to the Vatican wall,” he wrote in an issue of his monthly newsletter, “Endtime Issues.”
He added, “My parents attended Sunday Mass regularly and recited the rosary faithfully every night. This continued until my father was introduced for the first time to the study of the Bible by a fellow carpenter who belonged to the Waldensian Church.”
Eventually, the Bacchiocchis were convinced that the Sabbath was a creation ordinance and at first worshipped privately on the seventh day at home, until connecting with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Samuele Bacchiocchi earned a bachelor’s degree at Adventist-owned Newbold College near London, and then earned a master’s in theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.
From there, he and his wife Anna went to Ethiopia. For five years, Bacchiocchi served as a Bible and history teacher at an Adventist school there. He then went on to graduate studies at the Grigoriana, after which he was invited to join the Andrews faculty.
Bacchiocchi wrote or edited 17 different books, many of which expanded on his Sabbath theme. His seminar schedule was somewhat curtailed during his illness, although, his family said in a statement, his life was that of “a man who sacrificed practically all of his time and energy to help others understand the Bible more fully, even up to end as he gave his last seminar in England the Sabbath before being taken to the emergency room.”
The family statement noted, “We believe that it is fitting that God chose the Sabbath day, the day that he loved most and spent his life preaching and writing about, to be the day that he entered into his final earthly rest.”
“Dr. Bacchiocchi’s reputation as a theological and biblical scholar is widely respected within Adventist circles and beyond. His family continues to have a significant impact on our campus and in our community. He will be very much missed by his colleagues and friends in the Andrews University community,” said Heather Knight, provost of Andrews University.
The funeral was held on December 27 at Pioneer Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church on the campus of Andrews University in Berrien Springs. The family is receiving condolences via e-mail at the addresses of his children Loretta Bacchiocchi, at loretta_bacchiocchi@fhchs.edu, Gianluca Bacchiocchi at bacchiocchi@gmail.com, or Daniel Bacchiocchi at dbacch@sbcglobal.net.
source; http://www.adventistreview.org/article.php?id=2300
BY MARK A. KELLNER, News Editor
Samuele Bacchiocchi, a retired theology professor at Andrews University and one of the world’s leading proponents of the seventh-day Sabbath, died December 20, the Sabbath, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 70 years of age and resided in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
“Sam was best-known for his scholarship on the seventh-day Sabbath. He was a prolific writer, a tireless preacher, and appreciated as an energetic and passionate teacher. I’m going to miss my long-time friend and colleague,” said Keith Mattingly, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who worked alongside Bacchiocchi in the Andrews University Department of Religion and Biblical Languages.
Bacchiocchi, who spent 26 years teaching at the Seventh-day Adventist-owned university and more than 30 years lecturing worldwide about the Sabbath and its significance, was the first Protestant to attend and graduate from the doctoral program at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. It was at the “Gregoriana,” as it is known in Italian, that his studies in church history led to the publication of From Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity, the English version of his doctoral thesis. The doctoral dissertation received a grade that merited his graduation “summa cum laude,” and Bacchiocchi received a gold medal for academic achievement donated by Pope Paul VI. Both were high honors, particularly for a non-Roman Catholic student at the Jesuit-run university.
SAMUELE BACCHIOCCHI
The book has been in print for more than 30 years and is widely recognized as a seminal text on the subject, even by those who disagree with his conclusions. For example, Cambridge University scholar R.J. Bauckham, in “From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Investigation” (D.A. Carson, ed.; Wipf & Stock, 2000), said that while “a number of scholars have in the past argued that Christian Sunday observance originated in the second century[,] the most recent and fullest version of this thesis is that of S[amuele] Bacchiocchi.”
In the 1970s, Bacchiocchi was featured on “It Is Written,” a weekly television program sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in which his thesis was noted. This led to numerous invitations to speak, and for the following two decades, Bacchiocci would spend many weekends on the road traveling to Adventist churches and other settings to present messages about the Sabbath, its biblical roots and continuing significance. His influence spread in the age of the Internet, reaching out to members of the Worldwide Church of God, a distant off-shoot of the nineteenth century Millerite movement, which had abandoned its own Sabbatarian tradition in the 1990s.
Samuele Bacchiocchi was born on January 29, 1938, in Rome: “I was born in a godly Catholic family that lived close to the Vatican wall,” he wrote in an issue of his monthly newsletter, “Endtime Issues.”
He added, “My parents attended Sunday Mass regularly and recited the rosary faithfully every night. This continued until my father was introduced for the first time to the study of the Bible by a fellow carpenter who belonged to the Waldensian Church.”
Eventually, the Bacchiocchis were convinced that the Sabbath was a creation ordinance and at first worshipped privately on the seventh day at home, until connecting with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Samuele Bacchiocchi earned a bachelor’s degree at Adventist-owned Newbold College near London, and then earned a master’s in theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.
From there, he and his wife Anna went to Ethiopia. For five years, Bacchiocchi served as a Bible and history teacher at an Adventist school there. He then went on to graduate studies at the Grigoriana, after which he was invited to join the Andrews faculty.
Bacchiocchi wrote or edited 17 different books, many of which expanded on his Sabbath theme. His seminar schedule was somewhat curtailed during his illness, although, his family said in a statement, his life was that of “a man who sacrificed practically all of his time and energy to help others understand the Bible more fully, even up to end as he gave his last seminar in England the Sabbath before being taken to the emergency room.”
The family statement noted, “We believe that it is fitting that God chose the Sabbath day, the day that he loved most and spent his life preaching and writing about, to be the day that he entered into his final earthly rest.”
“Dr. Bacchiocchi’s reputation as a theological and biblical scholar is widely respected within Adventist circles and beyond. His family continues to have a significant impact on our campus and in our community. He will be very much missed by his colleagues and friends in the Andrews University community,” said Heather Knight, provost of Andrews University.
The funeral was held on December 27 at Pioneer Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church on the campus of Andrews University in Berrien Springs. The family is receiving condolences via e-mail at the addresses of his children Loretta Bacchiocchi, at loretta_bacchiocchi@fhchs.edu, Gianluca Bacchiocchi at bacchiocchi@gmail.com, or Daniel Bacchiocchi at dbacch@sbcglobal.net.
source; http://www.adventistreview.org/article.php?id=2300
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