“Under pressure about school, jobs, marriage and relationships, more and more young people are turning to traditional culture, such as temple prayer and blessings, to relieve stress,” said Yang Yan, an analyst with Chinese brokerage firm Nanjing Securities.

Analysis by Laura He, CNN

Updated 3:06 AM EDT, Fri June 9, 2023

Beijing’s economy is rebounding after Covid but the city still has work to do

03:22 – Source: CNNHong KongCNN —

Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. GC 589.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

China’s post-Covid reopening was supposed to be the stimulant that the world needed. But after an early burst of activity, growth in the world’s second largest economy appears to be stalling.

The Economy of Francisco Divine Intervention

Disillusioned by the deteriorating economic outlook, young people are flooding to Buddhist and Taoist temples to pray for divine intervention in securing jobs, getting into good schools or becoming rich overnight.

null

Ad feedback

Data released this week showed Chinese exports fell 7.5% in May from a year ago, much more than expected, as global demand waned. Factory activity contracted again last month, and youth unemployment stands at a record high.

Economic uncertainty has driven temple visits and tourism to new heights, according to analysts and travel websites.

“No school-going, no hard-working, only incense-burning” has been a popular hashtag on social media since March, referring to a growing trend among young people in China who escape a pressure-cooker society by going to temples to pray for luck.

“Incense-burning youth” has become the number one catchphrase in China’s tourism industry this year, according to a survey jointly conducted in April by Qunar.com, a travel website, and Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like app, which looked at the top travel trends.

The jobless rate for people between 16 and 24 years old reached a record 20.4% in April, according to official statistics.

null

The youth unemployment rate could get even worse as a record 11.6 million college students enter the already tough job market this summer, as the education ministry estimated earlier this year.

Different temples tend to attract different types of worshippers. The Yonghe Temple in Beijing, also known as the Lama Temple, which caters to the Tibetan Buddhism faith, is a popular site for those looking for career or financial success.

Visitors to the Yonghe Temple in April 2023.Soeren Stache/picture alliance/dpa/Getty Images

It recorded the biggest increase in visitors of any temple in the country in March and early April, up 530% from the same period last year, according to Qunar.

Lots of incense burning for nature cry of the poor to nourish us, sustain us and bring fruits and vegetables, Celebrating Our Connection to Spirit and Plane, Humanity’s Attachments to “Mother” Earth_ Mothering Sunday

China is officially an atheist nation, but it recognizes five faiths: Buddhism, Taoism, Protestantism, Catholicism and Islam. The first two religions are an essential part of Chinese culture, with tens of thousands of temples and monasteries across the country.

The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. GC 588.3

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

Temple visits have surged this year more than fourfold from a year ago, according to recent data from Qunar and Trip.com, another travel site. About half of the visitors are people in their 20s and 30s, according to the sites.

Pope Sows Seeds of A Fair Economy, invites young people to build a new economy in the polluted financial world: Read Pope’s Golden Cup Doctrines

“Under pressure about school, jobs, marriage and relationships, more and more young people are turning to traditional culture, such as temple prayer and blessings, to relieve stress,” said Yang Yan, an analyst with Chinese brokerage firm Nanjing Securities.

Social media has also fueled the boom in temple tourism, as young people like to share their experiences on social networks, she added.

Emei and Jiuhua are two of China’s famous “four sacred mountains of Buddhism,” home to the country’s largest Buddhist temples and cultural heritage sites.

Emei Mountain in southwestern Sichuan province received 2.48 million visitors between January and May, up 53% from the same period in 2019, before any pandemic restrictions were imposed.

Emei Shan Tourism, which provides travel services around the mountain, has enjoyed soaring sales, posting a record $9.8 million in net profit in the first quarter, up 262% from the same period in 2019.

Its stock surged 44% over the past 10 trading sessions, becoming one of the best performers on Chinese stock markets during the period.

Anhui Jiuhuashan Tourism Development, which runs the Jiuhua Mountain scenic area in central Anhui province, also shattered quarterly sales records.

Its revenue for the January-to-March period jumped 43% from the same period in 2019 and was the highest since its 2015 listing. Its shares were up 34% over the past 10 trading sessions.

Taoist sites have also seen strong growth in worshippers.

While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5.
And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. GC 589.3 – GC 590.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi province, one of the birthplaces of Taoism, received 4.73 million visitors during the first quarter, up 47% from the same period in 2019.

Wudang, another famous Taoist site featured in the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” recorded a 23% jump in visits for the January-to-March period compared with 2019.

A small temple at Wudang Mountain in China’s Hubei province pictured on October 27, 2004.Ryan Pyle/Corbis/Getty Images/File

Placebo effect, New and More Exalted System of Religious Faith Through New World Order Centre Economy

Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin. GC 589.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

Besides praying to deities for career success, supplicants are seeking luck in winning the lottery.

The Communist Party banned gambling in China when it took power in 1949. But the government runs two types of lotteries to raise money for sports events and welfare projects.

Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. GC 589.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

Lottery sales hit 50.33 billion yuan ($7.1 billion) in April, up 62% from a year ago, according to data released by the finance ministry in late May. That’s the highest sales for the month of April in a decade.

“It’s clearly a real-life placebo,” analysts at Hangzhou-based Caitong Securities wrote in a research report Sunday. In medical research, the placebo effect is the experience of feeling better after a dummy pill or treatment.

During uncertain economic times, more people tend to seek solace in faith or other comforting activities such as buying lottery tickets, raising pets, attending concerts or spending time on hobbies such as anime or comics, the analysts said.

“The core attraction of buying lottery tickets is to bring people solace,” they added.

Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the Most High. GC 571.1

The pope claims to be the vicar of Christ; but how does his character bear comparison with that of our Saviour? Was Christ ever known to consign men to the prison or the rack because they did not pay Him homage as the King of heaven? Was His voice heard condemning to death those who did not accept Him? When He was slighted by the people of a Samaritan village, the apostle John was filled with indignation, and inquired: “Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” Jesus looked with pity upon His disciple, and rebuked his harsh spirit, saying: “The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Luke 9:54, 56. How different from  the spirit manifested by Christ is that of His professed vicar.

The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the Most High.

The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. “Faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy” (Lenfant, volume 1, page 516), she declares. Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ? GC 570.2 – GC 571.2

Gospel Nonviolence by pushing papal Laudato Si Future encyclical

Utah primary schools ban Bible for ‘vulgarity and violence’

• By Max Matza
• BBC News

3 June 2023

A school district in the US state of Utah has removed the Bible from elementary and middle schools for containing “vulgarity and violence”.

The move follows a complaint from a parent that the King James Bible has material unsuitable for children.

Utah’s Republican government passed a law in 2022 banning “pornographic or indecent” books from schools.

Most of the books that have been banned so far pertain to topics such as sexual orientation and identity.

The banning of the Bible comes amid a larger effort by US conservatives in states to ban teachings on controversial topics such as LGBT rights and racial identity. Bans on certain books deemed offensive are also in place in Texas, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina. Some liberal states have also banned books in some schools and libraries, citing perceived racially offensive content.

The Utah decision was made this week by the Davis School District north of Salt Lake City after a complaint filed in December 2022. Officials say they have already removed the seven or eight copies of the Bible they had on their shelves, noting that the text was never part of students’ curriculum.

The committee did not elaborate on its reasoning or which passages contained “vulgarity or violence”.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, the parent who complained said the King James Bible “has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition”, referring to the 2022 book-ban law.

• Why is the US banning children’s books?
• The ‘dangerous’ books too powerful to read

The Utah state lawmaker who wrote the 2022 law had previously dismissed the Bible removal request as a “mockery”, but changed course this week after calling it a “challenging read” for younger children.

“Traditionally, in America, the Bible is best taught, and best understood, in the home, and around the earth, as a family,” Ken Ivory wrote on Facebook.

The district’s ruling determined that the Bible’s content does not violate the 2022 law, but does include “vulgarity or violence not suitable for younger students”. The book will remain in place in local high schools.

Bob Johnson, the father of a primary school student in the Davis School District, told CBS News that he opposes the Bible’s removal.

“I can’t think of what’s in the Bible that you would have to take out of it. Its not like there’s pictures in it,” he said.

The district is not the first in the US to remove the Bible from its shelves.

A Texas school district last year pulled the Bible from library shelves after complaints from members of the public opposed to conservatives efforts to ban some books.

Last month, students in Kansas requested to have the Bible removed from their school library.

Inside the battle for and against books

How the Bible became conservative book bans’ unintended target

As a Republican-led push to purge books picks up steam, some communities are zeroing in on a text that’s chock full of sex and violence

The Bible has been pulled from school shelves in one Utah community

Illustrated | Gettyimages

RAFI SCHWARTZ

JUNE 7, 2023

The ongoing efforts in deep-red states like Florida and Texas to ban books deemed culturally or sexually inappropriate for their depictions of racial injustices and LGBTQ+ content have spawned a surprising form of retaliation. Parents and community members alarmed by what they see as right-wing censorship have begun targeting the Bible for removal from schools and libraries, arguing the book’s graphic depictions of sex and violence make it just as subversive and inappropriate as the materials being banned under conservative and often overtly evangelical Christian auspices. In one Utah community, the Bible has been permanently pulled from elementary school shelves, while other states have been pressured to review whether the Bible violates any of their newly passed restrictions on educational materials. All told, access to the Bible has become an ironic and surprisingly effective tool in the growing fight over who controls what children read.

The Bible is too “vulgar or violent” for some schools

Casual observers might be hard-pressed to distinguish a recent article from the humor website McSweeney’s titled “Smutty books have no place in our schools. It’s time to ban the Bible” from a very real, if tongue firmly in cheek, petition submitted recently to Utah’s Davis School District to remove the King James Version from classrooms. The request follows a 2022 state ban on allegedly explicit reading material pushed by the conservative “Utah Parents United” advocacy group — an effort that “left off one of the most sex-ridden books around,” the anonymous petitioner wrote in their official complaint, the Bible. Citing “incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape and even infanticide” as evidence that the “the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition,” the petitioners concluded that “this should be a slamdunk [sic].” It turns out, they were correct.

ADVERTISEMENT: Article continues below

Ceding that the Bible contained “vulgarity or violence,” a representative from Utah’s Davis School District confirmed to the Salt Lake City Tribune in June that the book would be removed from elementary and middle school shelves. It remains available for upper school students. The Torah and Quran have reportedly not been challenged, although just days after the Bible’s ban was announced, a similar petition was filed to restrict the Book of Mormon. 

Bible bans and reviews are part of a larger national trend

Aside from Utah’s recent ban, the Bible has been pulled from school shelves for review, if not outright removal, in Florida, Missouri and Texas. While “not frequent,” this “kind of challenge where there’s criticism with the contents of the Bible, in response to an effort to remove other books from the library on the same grounds, is something we’ve seen in the past,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said. It’s “a reaction to efforts to ban so many books” across the country, Jonathan Friedman, the director of the Free Expression and Education program for the free speech advocacy group PEN America, agreed.

While Utah’s ban is still in effect, the efforts to review and restrict the Bible elsewhere have largely resulted in the material returning to library and classroom shelves after review by the respective supervisory agencies. Nevertheless, the broader point being made is that far-reaching efforts to restrict reading materials in the service of limiting educational inquiry at large will inevitably “sweep up ideas and materials that you actually agree with,” Caldwell-Stone said.

What has the reaction been?

Conservatives have pushed back on the effort to ban the Bible, accusing it of “trying to minimize the real concerns of parents,” according to Utah Parents United curriculum director Brooke Stephens. Utah Republican lawmaker Ken Ivory seemingly agreed, complaining that the “antics” ultimately “drain school resources.” However, in a lengthy statement posted to his Facebook page, Ivory, the legislator who initially sponsored Utah’s restrictive book criteria, ultimately accepted the Davis School District’s decision, ceding that the King James translation of the Bible can be a “challenging read for elementary or middle school children on their own” and “is best taught, and best understood, in the home, and around the earth, as a family.”

Still, education officials who remove material like the Bible for “fear that it might contain an image that could violate state law” shocks Caldwell-Stone. “It speaks to the heart of mass censorship.”

SEVEN YEARS FAMINE “TRINITY FROGS” MIDNIGHT FALLING AWAY FIRST_ GROSS DARKNESS: MIGHTY ANGEL COMES DOWN!

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
Judges:6:1,3-4

The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. GC 588.3

A“ safe LAUDATO SI Handbook” CBDC Could Allow Governments to Put Permissions on What You Buy: THE BREAKER OF THE LAWS TABERNACLE INVASION, THE MERCHANTS OF THE BEAST (MOB)

A“ safe LAUDATO SI Handbook” CBDC Could Allow Governments to Put Permissions on What You Buy: THE BREAKER OF THE LAWS TABERNACLE INVASION, THE MERCHANTS OF THE BEAST (MOB)

The Crisis of Globalization Jezebel Golden Cup Doctrines of the common good

 by@thesociable

May 27th 2023

EN

Audio Presented by

A CBDC linked with digital identity could allow governments & corporations to put permissions on what you can buy with your own money, including when & where you can spend it: perspective

The European Central Bank (ECB) puts out a call to digital identity experts to participate in a workstream that will contribute to its digital euro rulebook for the proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Participants in the ECB’s workstream “are expected to be leading experts in strong customer authentication (SCA) and identification, including digital identity initiatives, preferably with experience in related regulatory technical standards on SCA and in implementing customer identity and access management solutions.”

THE BREAKER OF THE LAWS TABERNACLE INVASION, THE MERCHANTS OF THE BEAST (MOB)

The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
Micah:2:13

But the spirit of antichrist is prevailing to such an extent as never before. Well may we exclaim: “Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.” I know that many think far too favorably of the present time. These ease-loving souls will be engulfed in the general ruin. Yet we do not despair. We have been inclined to think that where there are no faithful ministers there can be no true Christians, but this is not the case. God has promised that where the shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock Himself. God has never made the flock wholly dependent upon human instrumentalities. But the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor.
The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to “science falsely so called” will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.
The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness. 5T 79.4 – 5T 81.1

Testimonies for the Church 5 by Ellen G White

Potential candidates are required to respond to the following:

1. Provide a proposal for the best possible user experience for the digital euro with regard to identification and authentication in the use cases it covers.
2. What existing standards/regulations do you think the digital euro should refer to and/or build on for (i) identification and (ii) authentication?
3. Do you think that some of these standards/regulations would need to be adapted to accommodate the digital euro? If so, to what extent? (Please distinguish between identification/onboarding and authentication in your answer.)
4. How do you envisage a potential link between the digital euro identification and authentication mechanisms and potential upcoming digital identity initiatives?

According to the ECB, the main objective of the workstream “is to suggest identification and authentication requirements for the digital euro” while the workstream itself “will contribute to the ‘Functional and operational model’ section of the digital euro rulebook.”

The ECB’s investigation phase into the digital euro began in October, 2021 and is set to conclude in October, 2023 when the central bank “will decide whether to start the process of actually developing it.”

Source: European Central Bank

LAUDATO SI  handbook to assist central banks and governments

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also in the process of creating a CBDC handbook to assist central banks and governments throughout the world in their CBDC rollouts.

Published publicly on April 10, the “IMF Approach to Central Bank Digital Currency Capacity Development” report outlines the IMF’s multi-year strategy for aiding CBDC rollouts, including the development of a living “CBDC Handbook” for monetary authorities to follow.

Chapter 11 “will consider the tradeoff between data use and privacy protection,” including “what data are generated by CBDC transactions and which institutions might have access to it.”

This data will inextricably be linked to a user’s digital identity.

“This digital identity,” according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), “determines what products, services and information we can access – or, conversely, what is closed off to us.”

Source: World Economic Forum

According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Annual Economic Report 2021:

“Identification at some level is hence central in the design of CBDCs. This calls for a CBDC that is account-based and ultimately tied to a digital identity.”

Additionally, “The most promising way of providing central bank money in the digital age is an account-based CBDC built on digital ID with official sector involvement.”

Speaking at the BIS Innovation Summit in March, 2023, ECB president Christine Lagarde said that a digital euro would not be as anonymous or as private as cash.

“Is it [digital euro] going to be as private as cash? No,” she said.

“A digital currency will never be as anonymous and as protecting of privacy in many respects as cash, which is why cash will always be around […]A digital currency is an alternative, is another means of payment and will not provide exactly the same level of privacy and anonymity as cash, but will be pretty close in terms of complete neutrality in relation to the data.”

Lagarde also told her fellow panelists that central banks would not be in charge of programming a digital currency, but that commercial banks certainly would.

“For us [central banks], the issuance of a digital currency that would be central bank money would not be programmable — would not be associated with any particular limitation, whether it’s in time, in type of use — that to me would be a voucher. It wouldn’t be a digital currency,” said Lagarde.

“Those who can associate the use of digital currency with programmability would be the intermediaries — would be the commercial banks.”

Barking at Putin’s Door, Barking at My Door

CDBCs run the risk of having every transaction recorded while being fully programmable, which means financial institutions and their customers could have total control over where, when, and how your money is spent.

Bank of Russia deputy governor Alexey Zabotkin gave a real world example of what CBDC programmability could look like when he spoke at the annual cybersecurity training exercise Cyber Polygon back in 2021.

There, Zabotkin explained:

“This [digital ruble] will permit better traceability of payments and money flow, and also explore the possibility of setting conditions on permitted terms of use of a given unit of currency.

“Just imagine that you are able to give your kids some money in digital rubles and then restrict their use for purchase of junk food, for example.

“That would be a useful functionality for a customer, and of course you can come up with hundreds of other similar use cases.”

Jezebel Communion Procession_ a high-level roundtable

Speaking at a high-level roundtable on CBDC in Washington, DC in October 2022, IMF deputy managing director and former People’s Bank of China (PBoC) deputy governor Bo Li said of CBDC programmability:

“CBDC can allow government agencies and private sector players to program — to create smart contracts — to allow targeted policy functions. For example, welfare payment; for example, consumption coupons; for example, food stamps.”

“By programming CBDC, those [sic] money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own and what kind of use this money can be utilized,” he added.

Last month, India’s digital ID architect Nandan Nilekani told the IMF that everybody should have a digital ID, a bank account, and a smartphone as they were the “tools of the New World” for digital public infrastructure.

The Crisis of Globalization and the common good

“If you think, ‘what are the tools of the New World?‘ — Everybody should have a digital ID; everybody should have a bank account; everybody should have a smartphone,” said Nilekani.

“Then, anything can be done. Everything else is built on that.”

India, too, is launching a CBDC pilot program that is exploring different use cases, such as setting expiry dates.

According to the Reserve Bank of India, “CBDCs have the possibility of programming the money by tying the end use.”

When it comes to retail transactions, CBDC “tokens may have an expiry date, by which they would need to be spent, thus ensuring consumption.”

Ultimately, a CBDC linked with digital identity could allow governments and corporations to put permissions on what you can buy with your own money, including expiry dates on when you can spend it.

The ECB claims that it will not make a decision on whether or not it will actually go through with developing the CBDC until October of this year.

After all the time, energy, and resources invested in exploring the digital euro, do you really believe the European Central Bank would just walk away and abandon it?

---

This article was originally published by Tim Hinchliffe on The Sociable.

by The Sociable @thesociable.The Sociable is a technology news publication that picks apart how technology transforms society and vice versa.

Hackernoon hq – po box 2206, edwards, colorado 81632, usa

Government and Policy

‘Everybody should have digital ID, bank account & smartphone; tools of the New World’: IMF Spring Meetings

India’s digital ID architect tells an IMF panel that everybody should have a digital ID, a bank account, and a smartphone as they are the “tools of the New World” for digital public infrastructure.

Speaking on a panel about Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) during the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Spring Meetings on April 14, Infosys co-founder and ex-chair of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Nandan Nilekani, said that in order for nations to build out their DPI, they will need three things.

“If you think, ‘what are the tools of the New World?‘ — Everybody should have a digital ID; everybody should have a bank account; everybody should have a smartphone,” said Nilekani.

“Then, anything can be done. Everything else is built on that.”

Moderator and CNN International anchor Julia Chatterley concurred with Nilekani, saying:

“The three basic things: a smartphone, a bank account, and a digital ID — that’s where every nation has to begin.”

“Everybody should have a digital ID; everybody should have a bank account; everybody should have a smartphone” — Nandan Nilekani, IMF Spring Meetings, 2023

A digital identity encompasses just about everything that makes you unique in the digital realm, including your behavior.

Good Friday consolidation of all personal intimate data

It is a system that can consolidate all of your most personal intimate data, such as which websites you visit, your online purchases, health records, and what you post on social media.

Digital identity schemes can also be used by public and private entities to determine what products, services, and information are available to you, and they can certainly be used by those same entities to deny you that access.

According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) digital identity insight report from 2018, “This digital identity determines what products, services and information we can access – or, conversely, what is closed off to us.” _{Source: World Economic Forum}

Digital identity is also key to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) rollouts.

According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Annual Economic Report 2021, “Identification at some level is hence central in the design of CBDCs. This calls for a CBDC that is account-based and ultimately tied to a digital identity.”

Additionally, “The most promising way of providing central bank money in the digital age is an account-based CBDC built on digital ID with official sector involvement.”

This means that CBDCs, by design, do not allow for anonymous transactions as they require a digital ID to operate.https://d-25528175213152757137.ampproject.net/2305252018001/frame.html

In addition to the absence of complete transactional anonymity, programmability is a key feature that separates physical cash from CBDC.

Speaking at a high-level roundtable on CBDC in Washington, DC in October 2022, IMF deputy managing director and former People’s Bank of China (PBoC) deputy governor Bo Li said:

“CBDC can allow government agencies and private sector players to program — to create smart contracts — to allow targeted policy functions. For example, welfare payment; for example, consumption coupons; for example, food stamps,” said Li.

“By programming CBDC, those [sic] money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own and what kind of use this money can be utilized,” he added.

Ultimately, a CBDC linked with digital ID could allow governments and corporations to put permissions on what you can buy with your own money, including expiration dates on when you can spend it.

Bank of Russia deputy governor Alexey Zabotkin gave real world example of what CBDC programmability could look like when he spoke at the annual cybersecurity training exercise Cyber Polygon back in 2021.

There, Zabotkin explained:

“This [digital ruble] will permit better traceability of payments and money flow, and also explore the possibility of setting conditions on permitted terms of use of a given unit of currency.

“Just imagine that you are able to give your kids some money in digital rubles and then restrict their use for purchase of junk food, for example.

“That would be a useful functionality for a customer, and of course you can come up with hundreds of other similar use cases.”

“In the coming years, starting with financial services, and later on in other areas, individuals will be able to use their own data to get a loan, to get better financial services, to get better healthcare, to get better jobs” — Nandan Nilekani, G20 Development Working Group, 2022

Last year, Nilekani — the man credited with building India’s vast Aadhaar digital ID scheme — told the Group of Twenty (G20) Development Working Group that it should look at different ways of harnessing data on social and economic activities to advance the UN’s Agenda 2030 sustainable development goals.

Old is Gold

“Today we live in a society which is increasingly digitized, and every aspect of our life has digital technology in it,” said Nilekani in December 2022.

“We find that this is generating vast amounts of data about our social and economic activities, and we should look at different ways to harness this data for development goals,” he added.

The godfather of India’s digital ID scheme would go on to say that “In the coming years, starting with financial services, and later on in other areas, individuals will be able to use their own data to get a loan, to get better financial services, to get better healthcare, to get better jobs.”

In addition to spearheading India’s digital ID scheme during his tenure as chair of the UIDAI from 2009-2014 and being a co-founder of tech giant Infosys, Nilekani has held high-level positions at Reuters, the World Economic Forum, and the World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative.

PUBLISHED BY

Tim Hinchliffe 

TAGS:cbdccentral bank digital currencydigital idDigital Identitygovernment

• GOVERNMENT AND POLICY

IARPA’s HAYSTAC program looks to model, predict people’s movements with AI, IoT & smart city sensors

The US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is looking “to develop systems capable of…

3 days ago

Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

Micah:2:10-13

Jakkar Aimery

The Detroit News

Five dozen Michigan churches will disassociate from the United Methodist Church on Saturday, a move that stems from a rift over LGBTQ+ issues and adherence to doctrine.

The prophet, looking down the ages, had this time presented before his vision. The nations of this age have been the recipients of unprecedented mercies. The choicest of Heaven’s blessings have been given them; but increased pride, covetousness, idolatry, contempt of God, and base ingratitude, are written against them. They are fast closing up their account with God. RH January 11, 1887, par. 6

The Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church adopted a motion to disaffiliate 60 assemblies, about 8% of the state’s United Methodist Churches, from its denomination, according to Mark Doyal, communications director for the Michigan UMC.

The fracture in one of the country’s largest Protestant denominations stems from the idea that the church is weakening its interpretation of its Book of Discipline, or its church law, allowing for same-sex marriages as well as LGBTQ+ clergy. Many of the departing churches have cited these issues as reasons for disaffiliating.

But that which causes me to tremble, is the fact that those who have had the greatest light and privileges have become contaminated by the prevailing iniquity. Influenced by the unrighteous around them, many, even of those who profess the truth, have grown cold, and are borne down by the strong current of evil. The universal scorn thrown upon true piety and holiness, leads those who do not connect closely with God to lose their reverence for his law. If they were following the light, and obeying the truth from the heart, this holy law would seem even more precious to them when despised and set aside. As the disrespect for God’s law becomes more manifest, the line of demarkation between its observers and the world becomes more distinct. Love for the divine precepts increases with one class, according as contempt for them increases with the other class.
The crisis is fast approaching. The rapidly swelling figures show that the time for God’s visitations has nearly come. Although loth to punish, nevertheless he will punish, and that speedily. Those who walk in the light will see signs of the approaching peril; but they are not to sit in quiet, unconcerned expectancy of the ruin, comforting themselves with the belief that God will shelter his people in the day of visitation. Far from it. They should realize that it is their duty to labor diligently to save others, looking with strong faith to God for help.
The command is, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel. Although many still continued the forms of religion, its power and presence were lacking.
In the time when his wrath shall go forth in judgments, the humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which will be expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any. Their righteous souls will be vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They will be powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they will be filled with grief and alarm. They will mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They will lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church.
The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions his messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: “Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”
Here we see that the church—the Lord’s sanctuary—was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light, and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. This shows us that we must not look to men for example. We need to stay our faith upon God; for there is just before us a time that will try men’s souls. Christ upon the Mount of Olives rehearsed the fearful judgments that were to precede his second coming: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.” “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application in the last days.
John also was a witness of the terrible scenes that will take place as signs of Christ’s coming. He saw armies mustering for battle, and men’s hearts failing them for fear. He saw the earth moved out of its place, the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, the waves thereof roaring and troubled, and the mountains shaking with the swelling thereof. He saw the vials of God’s wrath opened, and pestilence, famine, and death come upon the inhabitants of the earth.
Already the restraining Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they may not blow until the servants of God are sealed; but when God shall bid his angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of his avenging wrath as no pen can picture.
We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The Lord is at the door. There is soon to open before us a period of overwhelming interest to all living. The controversies of the past are to be revived. New controversies will arise. The scenes to be enacted in our world are not even dreamed of. Satan is at work through human agencies. Those who are making so great efforts to change the Constitution and secure a law enforcing the first day of the week little realize what will be the result. A crisis is just upon us RH January 11, 1887, par. 7 – RH January 11, 1887, par. 15

During the hour-long meeting Saturday afternoon held at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme, many described the disaffiliation as “difficult,” some with tears in their eyes and requests for prayer for the severing assemblies.

“I simply want to express my deep appreciation for the respectful tone that we’ve shared here in this moment,” said Bishop David Alan Bard, presiding bishop of the UMC Michigan Conference. “This is a difficult moment for the United Methodist Church.”

The number of disaffiliating churches in Michigan is considerably lower than many other conferences around the nation, Doyal said. Eight churches in Michigan have formally left the United Methodist Church, many joining the Global Methodist Church, a more conservative denomination launched in May 2022, according to a church news release.

Our Present Duty and the Coming CrisisRH January 11, 1887EGW
“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” The very atmosphere is polluted with sin. Soon God’s people will be tested by fiery trials, and the great proportion of those who now appear to be genuine and true will prove to be base metal. Instead of being strengthened and confirmed by opposition, threats, and abuse, they will cowardly take the side of the opposers. The promise is, “Them that honor me I will honor.” Shall we be less firmly attached to God’s law because the world at large have attempted to make it void?
Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in perils by land and by sea. The great I AM is speaking to those who make void his law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show themselves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when his law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few,—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason. The nation will be on the side of the great rebel leader.
The days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place, we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that his fan is in his hand, and that he soon will thoroughly purge his floor RH January 11, 1887 – RH January 11, 1887, par. 3

Review and Herald, Ellen G White

One territory in Tennessee has seen 264 departures approved this year, and another in Georgia had 194, according to the United Methodist Church.

The departing churches must satisfy the requirements of a disaffiliation agreement to sever ties with the church by July 1, according to the release. If a congregation fails to do so, it would be held over for another vote at a special session scheduled for Nov. 30, paving the way for a disaffiliation date of Dec. 31.

The disaffiliation agreement includes an “equity component of two times ministry shares, unless waived.” According to the adopted motion, 28 of the 60 churches have received a waiver of the equity component.

Other requirements include:

• A two-thirds vote in favor of disaffiliation at a duly called church conference
• Unpaid ministry shares for the previous 12 months
• Additional 12 months of ministry shares
• Pro-rata share of aggregate unfunded pension obligation
• Unpaid health and benefit balances
• Unpaid loans and obligations to United Methodist entities, unless assigned
• Covenants concerning the retention of records and the use of intellectual property
• Quitclaim deed from the conference with the release of the trust clause

0:12

1:41

In Metro Detroit, those disaffiliating include the Korean United Methodist Church of Metro Detroit in Troy, Korean First Central United Methodist Church in Madison Heights and Fraser: Christ United Methodist Church in Fraser.

Korean UMC in Troy is one of the largest departing congregations, Doyal said. The Troy congregation will join the Global Methodist Church. The Global Methodist Church maintains a doctrine that marriage is between one man and a woman, which is the same as the United Methodist Church’s formal beliefs, officials said.

The doctrine should be preserved rather than accommodating “the culture in which it lives,” Keith Boyette, chief executive of the Global Methodist Church, told The Detroit News in December.

“The doctrine of the church should be determined by the church, and congregations should live out that doctrine,” Boyette said. “We believe the doctrine we have has been received generations ago, not that it is something we create today based on whichever way the wind blows.”

The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. RH January 11, 1887, par. 4

The decision to disaffiliate, some say, was a difficult one.

“I choose to speak as if this might be my last annual conference,” said Kevin Harbin, pastor of Houghton Lake United Methodist Church, one of the departing churches. “I do so, trusting that the churches and pastors represented here are going to support this disaffiliation, with a great deal of gratitude.

“… It’s difficult at best to make the decision as some of us have, but I just want to let this conference know how grateful I have been through these years to serve alongside you,” Harbin said. “I leave with an expression of gratitude.”

List of Michigan’s disaffiliating assemblies

CENTRAL BAY DISTRICT

1. Caseville

2. Elkton

3. Hale: First

4. Midland: Aldersgate

5. Pigeon: Salem

6. Tawas

7. Wisner

EAST WINDS DISTRICT

8. Applegate

9. Attica

10. Buel

11. Byron: First

12. Cole

13. Croswell: First

14. Dryden

15. Durand

16. Holly: Calvary

17. Imlay City

18. Lamb

19. Lennon

20. Marlette: First

21. McGregor

22. Melvin

23. Memphis: First

24. Montrose

25. Omard

26. Ortonville

27. Port Huron: Gratiot Park

28. Richfield

29. Seymour Lake

30. South Mundy

GREATER DETROIT DISTRICT

31. Fraser: Christ

32. Korean of Metro Detroit

33. Korean First Central

GREATER SOUTHWEST DISTRICT

34. Arden

35. Battle Creek: Maple

36. Berrien Springs

37. Buchanan: Faith

38. Dowling: Country Chapel

39. Pokagon

40. Scottdale

41. Wakelee

HERITAGE DISTRICT

42. Dexter

43. Highland: Thrive

44. LaSalle: Zion

45. Lee Center

46. Weston

MID-MICHIGAN DISTRICT

47. Beebe

48. Corunna: Northwest Venice

49. Lake Odessa: Lakewood

50. Lowe

51. Pittsburg

52. St. John: Pilgrim

MIDWEST DISTRICT

53. Carlisle

54. Cornerstone

55. Leighton

NORTHERN SKIES DISTRICT

56. Iron Mountain: First

57. L’Anse

58. Mackinaw City: Church of the Straits

59. Pickford

NORTHERN WATERS DISTRICT

60. Houghton Lake

jaimery@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @wordsbyjakkar

The world is no more ready to credit the message for this time than were the Jews to receive the Saviour’s warning concerning Jerusalem. Come when it may, the day of God will come unawares to the ungodly. When life is going on in its unvarying round; when men are absorbed in pleasure, in business, in traffic, in money-making; when religious leaders are magnifying the world’s progress and enlightenment, and the people are lulled in a false security—then, as the midnight thief steals within the unguarded dwelling, so shall sudden destruction come upon the careless and ungodly, “and they shall not escape.” Verse 3. GC 38.1

Earnest were the efforts put forth to draw away the minds of the people from the subject of the second advent. It was made to appear a sin, something of which men should be ashamed, to study the prophecies which relate to the coming of Christ and the end of the world. Thus the popular ministry undermined faith in the word of God. Their teaching made men infidels, and many took license to walk after their own ungodly lusts. Then the authors of the evil charged it all upon Adventists.

While drawing crowded houses of intelligent and attentive hearers, Miller’s name was seldom mentioned by the religious press except by way of ridicule or denunciation. The careless and ungodly emboldened by the position of religious teachers, resorted to opprobrious epithets, to base and blasphemous witticisms, in their efforts to heap contumely upon him and his work. The gray-headed man who had left a comfortable home to travel at his own expense from city to city, from town to town, toiling unceasingly to bear to the world the solemn warning of the judgment near, was sneeringly denounced as a fanatic, a liar, a speculating knave.

The ridicule, falsehood, and abuse heaped upon him called forth indignant remonstrance, even from the secular press.

“To treat a subject of such overwhelming majesty and fearful consequences,” with lightness and ribaldry was declared by worldly men to be “not merely to sport with the feelings of its propagators and advocates,” but “to make a jest of the day of judgment, to scoff at the Deity Himself, and contemn the terrors of His judgment bar.”—Bliss, page 183.

The instigator of all evil sought not only to counteract the effect of the advent message, but to destroy the messenger himself.

Miller made a practical application of Scripture truth to the hearts of his hearers, reproving their sins and disturbing their self-satisfaction, and his plain and cutting words aroused their enmity.

The opposition manifested by church members toward his message emboldened the baser classes to go to greater lengths; and enemies plotted to take his life as he should leave the place of meeting. But holy angels were in the throng, and one of these, in the form of a man, took the arm of this servant of the Lord and led him in safety from the angry mob. His work was not yet done, and Satan and his emissaries were disappointed in their purpose.

Despite all opposition, the interest in the advent movement had continued to increase. From scores and hundreds, the congregations had grown to as many thousands. Large accessions had been made to the various churches, but after a time the spirit of opposition was manifested even against these converts, and the churches began to take disciplinary steps with those who had embraced Miller’s views.

This action called forth a response from his pen, in an address to Christians of all denominations, urging that if his doctrines were false, he should be shown his error from the Scriptures.

“What have we believed,” he said, “that we have not been commanded to believe by the word of God, which you yourselves allow is the rule, and only rule, of our faith and practice? What have we done that should call down such virulent denunciations against us from pulpit and press, and give you just cause to exclude us Adventists from your churches and fellowship?” “If we are wrong, pray show us wherein consists our wrong. Show us from the word of God that we are in error; we have had ridicule enough; that can never convince us that we are in the wrong; the word of God alone can change our views. Our conclusions have been formed deliberately and prayerfully, as we have seen the evidence in the Scriptures.”— Ibid., pages 250, 252.

From age to age the warnings which God has sent to the world by His servants have been received with like incredulity and unbelief.

When the iniquity of the antediluvians moved Him to bring a flood of waters upon the earth, He first made known to them His purpose, that they might have opportunity to turn from their evil ways. For a hundred and twenty years was sounded in their ears the warning to repent, lest the wrath of God be manifested in their destruction. But the message seemed to them an idle tale, and they believed it not. Emboldened in their wickedness they mocked the messenger of God, made light of his entreaties, and even accused him of presumption. How dare one man stand up against all the great men of the earth? If Noah’s message were true, why did not all the world see it and believe it? One man’s assertion against the wisdom of thousands! They would not credit the warning, nor would they seek shelter in the ark.

Scoffers pointed to the things of nature,—to the unvarying succession of the seasons, to the blue skies that had never poured out rain, to the green fields refreshed by the soft dews of night,—and they cried out: “Doth he not speak parables?” In contempt they declared the preacher of righteousness to be a wild enthusiast; and they went on, more eager in their pursuit of pleasure, more intent upon their evil ways, than before. But their unbelief did not hinder the predicted event. God bore long with their wickedness, giving them ample opportunity for repentance; but at the appointed time His judgments were visited upon the rejecters of His mercy.

Christ declares that there will exist similar unbelief concerning His second coming. As the people of Noah’s day “knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so,” in the words of our Saviour, “shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:39. When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasures; when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many years of worldly prosperity—then, suddenly as the lightning flashes from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and delusive hopes.

As God sent His servant to warn the world of the coming Flood, so He sent chosen messengers to make known the nearness of the final judgment. And as Noah’s contemporaries laughed to scorn the predictions of the preacher of righteousness, so in Miller’s day many, even of the professed people of God, scoffed at the words of warning.

And why were the doctrine and preaching of Christ’s second coming so unwelcome to the churches? While to the wicked the advent of the Lord brings woe and desolation, to the righteous it is fraught with joy and hope. This great truth had been the consolation of God’s faithful ones through all the ages; why had it become, like its Author, “a stone of stumbling” and “a rock of offense” to His professed people? It was our Lord Himself who promised His disciples: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.” John 14:3. It was the compassionate Saviour, who, anticipating the loneliness and sorrow of His followers, commissioned angels to comfort them with the assurance that He would come again in person, even as He went into heaven. As the disciples stood gazing intently upward to catch the last glimpse of Him whom they loved, their attention was arrested by the words: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11. Hope was kindled afresh by the angels’ message. The disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” Luke 24:52, 53. They were not rejoicing because Jesus had been separated from them and they were left to struggle with the trials and temptations of the world, but because of the angels’ assurance that He would come again.

The proclamation of Christ’s coming should now be, as when made by the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem, good tidings of great joy. Those who really love the Saviour cannot but hail with gladness the announcement founded upon the word of God that He in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered is coming again, not to be insulted, despised, and rejected, as at His first advent, but in power and glory, to redeem His people. It is those who do not love the Saviour that desire Him to remain away, and there can be no more conclusive evidence that the churches have departed from God than the irritation and animosity excited by this Heaven-sent message.

Those who accepted the advent doctrine were roused to the necessity of repentance and humiliation before God. Many had long been halting between Christ and the world; now they felt that it was time to take a stand. “The things of eternity assumed to them an unwonted reality. Heaven was brought near, and they felt themselves guilty before God.”—Bliss, page 146. Christians were quickened to new spiritual life. They were made to feel that time was short, that what they had to do for their fellow men must be done quickly. Earth receded, eternity seemed to open before them, and the soul, with all that pertained to its immortal weal or woe, was felt to eclipse every temporal object. The Spirit of God rested upon them and gave power to their earnest appeals to their brethren, as well as to sinners, to prepare for the day of God. The silent testimony of their daily life was a constant rebuke to formal and unconsecrated church members. These did not wish to be disturbed in their pursuit of pleasure, their devotion to money-making, and their ambition for worldly honor. Hence the enmity and opposition excited against the advent faith and those who proclaimed it.
As the arguments from the prophetic periods were found to be impregnable, opposers endeavored to discourage investigation of the subject by teaching that the prophecies were sealed. Thus Protestants followed in the steps of Romanists. While the papal church withholds the Bible (see Appendix) from the people, Protestant churches claimed that an important part of the Sacred Word—and that the part which brings to view truths specially applicable to our time—could not be understood.

Ministers and people declared that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation were incomprehensible mysteries. But Christ directed His disciples to the words of the prophet Daniel concerning events to take place in their time, and said: “Whoso readeth, let him understand .” Matthew 24:15. And the assertion that the Revelation is a mystery, not to be understood, is contradicted by the very title of the book: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass…. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:1-3.

Says the prophet: “Blessed is he that readeth”—there are those who will not read; the blessing is not for them. “And they that hear”—there are some, also, who refuse to hear anything concerning the prophecies; the blessing is not for this class. “And keep those things which are written therein”—many refuse to heed the warnings and instructions contained in the Revelation; none of these can claim the blessing promised. All who ridicule the subjects of the prophecy and mock at the symbols here solemnly given, all who refuse to reform their lives and to prepare for the coming of the Son of man, will be unblessed.

In view of the testimony of Inspiration, how dare men teach that the Revelation is a mystery beyond the reach of human understanding? It is a mystery revealed, a book opened. The study of the Revelation directs the mind to the prophecies of Daniel, and both present most important instruction, given of God to men, concerning events to take place at the close of this world’s history.
To John were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing messages which are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves for the heavenly garner or as fagots for the fires of destruction. Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him, especially for the last church, that those who should turn from error to truth might be instructed concerning the perils and conflicts before them. None need be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth.

Why, then, this widespread ignorance concerning an important part of Holy Writ? Why this general reluctance to investigate its teachings? It is the result of a studied effort of the prince of darkness to conceal from men that which reveals his deceptions. For this reason, Christ the Revelator, foreseeing the warfare that would be waged against the study of the Revelation, pronounced a blessing upon all who should read, hear, and observe the words of the prophecy. GC 336.1 – GC 342.1