Ecumenism

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then

sudden destruction cometh upon them

(1 Thessalonians 5:3}

• And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. {Genesis 11:1-4}

• “ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

• So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

{Genesis 11:5-9}

The Greek form of the name Babylon is from the native Akkadian Bāb-ilim, which means "Gate of the god", which summarizes the religious purpose of the great temple towers (the ziggurats) of ancient Sumer (Biblical Shinar).[ In Genesis 10, Babel is said to have formed part of Nimrod's kingdom. It is not specifically mentioned in the Bible that he ordered the tower to be built, but Nimrod is often associated with its construction in other sources. The Hebrew version of the name of the city and the tower, Babel, is attributed in Gen. 11:9 to the verb balal, which means to confuse or confound in Hebrew. The ruins of the city of Babylon are near Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq. {Wikipedia Online Dictionary}

Babylon stood about 60 miles south of Baghdad on the banks of the Euphrates River where the present city Al Hillah, Iraq, now stands. Babylon means gate of God. The Biblical or Hebrew word for Babylon was Babel. The ziggurat, great Tower of Babel, was a terraced pyramid that stood in the temple area. It first became an important city about 2,000 B.C. until its fall in 539 B.C. prophesied by the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament." –

{The World Book Encyclopedia "BABYLON.”}

The Sumerians, the first people who lived in Babylonia about 3,500 B.C. , built crude huts out of reeds and mud. Sometimes before 3,000 B.C. the Sumerians began to produce written records in Babylonia. The writing consisted of picture like symbols scratched on lumps of clay. The symbols later were simplified to produce cuneiform writing. Archaeologists have found hundreds of thousands of cuneiform tablets in Babylonia and as far away as Egypt. The tablets are in Sumerian and in various dialects of Akkadian, the Semitic language of Babylon itself. They include historical and legal documents; letters; economic records; literary and religious texts; and studies in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and magic. Later in the Sumerian period, around 2000 B.C., scribes (writers) wrote some law codes. When the Semites adopted the cuneiform system for their own language, they also borrowed many of the Sumerian stories.

But they changed the mythological accounts of creation and of the actions of the gods to fit their own religious system. {NEW RELIGION BEING SET UP} The most famous of these stories are the Creation Story and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The first tells the story of the creation of the world by the god Marduk, patron god of the city of Babylon. The second describes a great flood similar to the story found in the Bible. "Epic of Gilgamesh," a Babylonian poem, is one of the oldest epics in world literature dated before 2,000 B.C.

Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. {Eze 8:14}

And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. {Eze 8:16}

The World Council of Churches (WCC) official website states that the ecumenical programme is to show a “visible unity of the church” in which churches are brought together in “common prayer, shared spirituality and theological reflection” (www. oikoumene.org)

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17

Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

AD321, Constantine decreed, "On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed" (Codex Justinianus lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 380, note 1).

The German historian, H G Heggtveit, describes these events as follows:

"Constantine laboured at this time, untiringly, to unite the worshippers of the old and new faith, into one religion. All his laws and contrivances were aimed at promoting this amalgamation of religions. He would by all lawful and peaceful means, melt together a purified heathenism and a moderated Christianity."

H.R. Boer, in his popular publication of 1976, entitled A Short History of the Early Church, writes concerning the

Sunday law:"He designated Sunday by its traditional pagan name - the Day of the Sun -not the Sabbath or the Day of the Lord. Pagans could therefore accept it, while Christians gave the natural sun a new meaning by thinking of Christ as the Sun of Righteousness...Although Constantine and later emperors, as well as Church councils, enacted additional Sunday legislation, it was Constantine's decree of AD 321, that laid the basis for the universal recognition of Sunday as a day of rest." 2

“The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ. This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of the “man of sin” foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power,—a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will... {GC88 50}

Satan once endeavored to form a compromise with Christ. He came to the Son of God in the wilderness of temptation, and, showing him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, offered to give all into his hands if he would but acknowledge the supremacy of the prince of darkness. Christ rebuked the presumptuous tempter, and forced him to depart. But Satan meets with greater success in presenting the same temptations to man. To secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the favor and support of the great men of earth, and having thus rejected Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the representative of Satan,—the bishop of Rome. {GC88 50.2}

It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than this, the pope has arrogated the very titles of Deity. He styles himself “Lord God the Pope,” assumes infallibility, and demands that all men pay him homage. Thus the same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready to yield him homage. {GC88 50.3}”

"But since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the

Bible, isn't it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible and not the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Yes, of course, it is inconsistent; but this change was made about fifteen centuries before Protestantism was born, and by that time the custom was universally observed. They have continued the custom, even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text in the Bible. That observance remains as a reminder of the Mother Church from which the non-Catholic sects broke away - like a boy running away from home but still carrying in his pocket a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair." The Faith of Millions

World's future hinges on peace between faiths, Islamic scholars tell Pope

The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christianity, Islamic scholars told pope today.

138 prominent Muslims scholars said that finding common ground between the worlds biggest two religions was not simply a matter of polite ecumenical dialogue

Guardian – Thursday October 11th 2007

To reach such a lofty goal, the letter compares certain Bible verses with similar passages in the Koran in an attempt to show the similarities between the two religions.

United Press international October 13

“On Wednesday April 17, 21 Seventh-day Adventist pastors joined four hundred Anglicans, Pentecostals, Salvation Army, Methodists and other denominations for an "Adventures in Evangelism" seminar sponsored by the Willow Creek Association, Chicago, USA. The main speakers, Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg are leaders in the organisation that has become famous in Christian circles around the world, for its "Seeker Services" and reaching the secular mind…….. Whatever the views of the participating Adventist pastors, two things can be said about the seminar: it was very well organised, and Willow Creek have a clear vision for meaningful and relevant contemporary evangelism. Certainly the day offered useful pointers and stimulated the mind to evaluate our own evangelistic methods and styles” (Entered from Dalbert Elias delias@adventist.org.uk in BUC news April 24, 1999) [http://www.tagnet.org/adventist.fm/lnews.htm lnews.html]

When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result. {GC 445.1}

"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book." Daniel 12:1.188When this time of trouble comes, every case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent. The seal of the living God is upon His people. {CET 187.4} This small remnant, unable to defend themselves in the deadly conflict with the powers of earth that are marshaled by the dragon host, make God their defense. The decree has been passed by the highest earthly authority that they shall worship the beast and receive his mark under pain of persecution and death. May God help His people now, for what can they then do in such a fearful conflict without His assistance! {CET 188.1}

Courage, fortitude, faith, and implicit trust in God's power to save, do not come in a moment. These heavenly graces are acquired by the experience of years. By a life of holy endeavor and firm adherence to the right, the children of God were sealing their destiny. Beset with temptations without number, they knew they must resist firmly or be conquered. They felt that they had a great work to do, and at any hour they might be called to lay off their armor; and should they come to the close of life with their work undone, it would be an eternal loss. They eagerly accepted the light from Heaven, as did the first disciples from the lips of Jesus. When those early Christians were exiled to mountains and deserts, when left in dungeons to die with hunger, cold, and torture, when martyrdom seemed the only way out of their distress, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ, who was crucified for them. Their worthy example will be a comfort and encouragement to the people of God who will be brought into the time of trouble such as never was. {CET 188.2}

Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of truth, they knew their Master's will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom, should have acted their faith. They should have commanded their households after them, that by a well-ordered family they might present to the world the influence of the truth upon the human heart. {CET 189.1}