Why its important to keep the Sabbath

[1stCenturyLady]

Isn’t it interesting that the demons asked to be sent into the herd of swine? Also interesting that they identified Jesus as the “Son of the Most High God” and that he had complete control and authority over them.
It was a huge herd and probably a great part of the owner’s assets. He was not a Jew because Jews would not herd swine, but the Gentiles did.
Mark’s account give a little more detail than Matthew’s....

Mark 5:2-13....
“And immediately after Jesus got out of the boat, a man under the power of an unclean spirit met him from among the tombs. 3 His haunt was among the tombs, and up to that time, absolutely no one was able to bind him securely, even with a chain. 4 He had often been bound with fetters and chains, but he snapped the chains apart and smashed the fetters; and nobody had the strength to subdue him. 5 And continually, night and day, he was crying out in the tombs and in the mountains and slashing himself with stones. 6 But on catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down to him. 7 Then he cried out with a loud voice: “What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I put you under oath by God not to torment me.” 8 For Jesus had been saying to it: “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.” 9 But Jesus asked him: “What is your name?” And he replied: “My name is Legion, because there are many of us.” 10 And he kept pleading with Jesus not to send the spirits out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there at the mountain. 12 So the spirits pleaded with him: “Send us into the swine, so that we may enter into them.” 13 And he gave them permission. With that the unclean spirits came out and went into the swine, and the herd rushed over the precipice into the sea, about 2,000 of them, and were drowned in the sea.”

Can we imagine 2,000 pigs rushing towards the edge of the cliff to plunge to their deaths in the sea?! What a thing to witness!
Can we imagine how quickly the news spread about this event by the eye witnesses?!...and what a huge loss was sustained by the Gentile owner of the herd? 2,000 dead pigs floating in the water! I wonder what they did with them, and what the reaction of the owner was?

Can we then imagine what message this sent to those Gentiles about the power demonstrated by this man Jesus? When the time came for Gentiles to be invited into the Christian congregations, they would have remembered this incredible event.

What I thought was that those demons sure were stupid, leaving the man and still jumping into another live being that was going to kill themselves. Maybe the demons jumped from the pigs into the fish, but probably more likely the sea snakes.

 

[Phoneman777]

That is still because "everything that moves" is food for us including clean meats. Do you remember the demoniac that Jesus cast out a legion of demons? Where did they go? What kind of animal was in that herd?

Well, "everything green" that was for good for food turned out to not be "everything" that grew out the ground, right? Are wacky tobacky and poppy plants and coca plants "good for food"? Of course not.

When God said "everything", He meant "everything fit" for food, right or wrong? The same applies for animals, which is why Isaiah says Jesus is coming back to consume those who consume swine, mice, etc.

 

[Grailhunter]

The are plenty of OT prophecies of the Second Coming.

Psalms 94, for instance, begins with "O Lord, SHINE FORTH" - a clear reference to the glorious return of Christ which precedes a description of the end times.

Psalms 92 - what else can be said? A blind man can see this speaks of events which describes events leading up to and including the Second Coming.

IF ISAIAH 66:15-17 KJV AIN'T TALKING ABOUT THE FIERY SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, THEN TO WHAT FIERY COMING OF THE LORD IS IT REFERRING? YOU STILL HAVE YET TO TELL US!

First off no one that wants to do a serious study should use a KJV Bible.
Secondly the words you are wanting are not there…..No second anything
No reference to the Messiah or the Son of God or Yeshua. A lot of scriptures refer to things that Yahweh was going to do. Without any of that you can insert anything you want and believe anything you want. Where you see the word LORD, that was YAHWEH or YHWH at one time pointing specifically to God the Father, before they removed it from the scriptures.

For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.
IF ISAIAH 66:15-17

Psalm92
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. But you, Lord, are forever exalted. For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

 

[1stCenturyLady]

Well, "everything green" that was for good for food turned out to not be "everything" that grew out the ground, right? Are wacky tobacky and poppy plants and coca plants "good for food"? Of course not.

When God said "everything", He meant "everything fit" for food, right or wrong? The same applies for animals, which is why Isaiah says Jesus is coming back to consume those who consume swine, mice, etc.

Hospitals use morphine which is heroine which are from poppies. Hospitals also use fentanyl, which used in the wrong hands can kill us.

Right or wrong? I think wrong. It is all fit for food. What we all need to do is fear God and stop trying to change His Word, for we are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, not after Phoneman777 changes it to be more SDA friendly. LOL Just kidding!

What God is going to consume with fire are all pagans with their rituals that do not fear and obey God, not according to what they eat. After all Paul said in 1 Cor 6, "12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them." We will be getting a new body, and this old one and all food with be destroyed with fervent heat.

It is perfectly alright to choose your own diet. God has basically given us three to choose from. What God does not want us to do is look down on someone who takes God at his word that He cleanses meats that were formerly sinful. Leviticus 20:25-26. With all that said, that is how I see God's truth in these Scriptures. If you don't, and are absolutely sure in what you believe, then believe that with all your heart. For sure, you will be healthier. Though I'm not staying away from meat, nor "clean" fish except red snapper (yuck) I am staying away from pork, oysters, and crustaceans. My digestive system isn't what it used to be. If you look at my diet, I only like "clean" food. And no pot! And I'm allergic to opioids! They make me itch and do nothing for pain. LOL

 

[Phoneman777]

First off no one that wants to do a serious study should use a KJV Bible

The Textus Receptus NT and the KJV OT are superior to anything else, especially that venomous Critical Text.

Secondly the words you are wanting are not there…..No second anything
No reference to the Messiah or the Son of God or Yeshua. A lot of scriptures refer to things that Yahweh was going to do. Without any of that you can insert anything you want and believe anything you want. Where you see the word LORD, that was YAHWEH or YHWH at one time pointing specifically to God the Father, before they removed it from the scriptures.

Not where? In the OT? I've shown you three passages that depict no one else but the coming of the Lord.\

For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.
IF ISAIAH 66:15-17

A blind man can see this can only refer to the Second Coming, no matter how much you refuse to.

Psalm92
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. But you, Lord, are forever exalted. For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

That was a typo - it's Psalms 91.

 

[Phoneman777]

Hospitals use morphine which is heroine which are from poppies. Hospitals also use fentanyl, which used in the wrong hands can kill us.

Morphine ain't "food"

Right or wrong? I think wrong. It is all fit for food. What we all need to do is fear God and stop trying to change His Word, for we are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, not after Phoneman777 changes it to be more SDA friendly. LOL Just kidding!

What God is going to consume with fire are all pagans with their rituals that do not fear and obey God, not according to what they eat. After all Paul said in 1 Cor 6, "12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them." We will be getting a new body, and this old one and all food with be destroyed with fervent heat.

It is perfectly alright to choose your own diet. God has basically given us three to choose from. What God does not want us to do is look down on someone who takes God at his word that He cleanses meats that were formerly sinful. Leviticus 20:25-26. With all that said, that is how I see God's truth in these Scriptures. If you don't, and are absolutely sure in what you believe, then believe that with all your heart. For sure, you will be healthier. Though I'm not staying away from meat, nor "clean" fish except red snapper (yuck) I am staying away from pork, oysters, and crustaceans. My digestive system isn't what it used to be. If you look at my diet, I only like "clean" food. And no pot! And I'm allergic to opioids! They make me itch and do nothing for pain. LOL

Genesis 9:3-4 KJV is about food for humans and therefore regulates human diet. God modified the human diet immediately after the Fall, allowing Adam and Eve to eat “green plants” (Gen. 9:3).

Interestingly, according to Genesis 1:30, the phrase “green plants” (yereq c ēśv) was a general designation for the food of animals. But in Genesis 9:3 the same phrase is used to refer to “seed-bearing plants” (e.g., legumes and cereals), as indicated in Genesis 3:18. The all-inclusive phrase “green plants” is not all-inclusive but is restricted to the meaning found in Genesis 3:18.

Now the Lord is allowing humans to eat animal flesh as food for them; and again, it is not flesh in general but certain types of it. The context strongly indicates that this is the flesh of all clean animals. Humans are allowed to bring to their tables the same type of food that goes to the table of the Lord.

So, if the "every green herb" for food (Genesis 1:30) doesn't actually mean "every" - but means "only seed bearing plants" (Genesis 9:3), why do you ignore this distinction and trumpet that "every beast" includes "unclean" instead of following the precedent for plants and rightly conclude it actually means "only clean beasts"...especially in light of Isaiah 66?

 

[Grailhunter]

The Textus Receptus NT and the KJV OT are superior to anything else, especially that venomous Critical Text.

That would kind of be a play on words but I do not expect you why.

Not where? In the OT? I've shown you three passages that depict no one else but the coming of the Lord.

You are right.....Yahweh.....not His Son

A blind man can see this can only refer to the Second Coming, no matter how much you refuse to.

It is kind of like a blind man playing pin the tail on the donkey.

 

[Phoneman777]

You are right.....Yahweh.....not His Son

Really?

If the God of the OT never said at any time that He would send one to "prepare the before MY SON"...
but actually said the one He would send would "prepare the way before "ME"...
then for Whom was the way prepared?

If "the Lord is my Shepherd"...
yet Jesus is "the good Shepherd"...
but there's only "one fold and one Shepherd"...
then who is the Shepherd?

If "the Lord is our Judge"...
yet "we must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ"...
but there's only "one judge"...
then who is the Judge?

I could keep you busier than a one legged man in an butt kicking contest showing you Jesus in the OT.

It is kind of like a blind man playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Why don't you remove your blindfold?

 

[Grailhunter]

Really?

If the God of the OT never said at any time that He would send one to "prepare the before MY SON"...
but actually said the one He would send would "prepare the way before "ME"...
then for Whom was the way prepared?

If "the Lord is my Shepherd"...
yet Jesus is "the good Shepherd"...
but there's only "one fold and one Shepherd"...
then who is the Shepherd?

If "the Lord is our Judge"...
yet "we must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ"...
but there's only "one judge"...
then who is the Judge?

I could keep you busier than a one legged man in an butt kicking contest showing you Jesus in the OT.

Why don't you remove your blindfold?

You so funny. Again the words you want are not there and the beliefs you want are not there and the reactions you want are not there. Son of God….My only begotten Son…..second coming….. The prophecy that they would reject their long awaited Messiah….these words and beliefs are not there.

…..The Jews saw the Messiah as a King that would establish his kingdom that would last forever…. Not a Messiah that would die and come back….sometime.

I know I am asking a lot but if you think….
Don’t you think the reaction of the Jews would have been different in the OT and NT if they thought the Messiah was going to be the Son of God?

 

[Aunty Jane]

What I thought was that those demons sure were stupid, leaving the man and still jumping into another live being that was going to kill themselves. Maybe the demons jumped from the pigs into the fish, but probably more likely the sea snakes.

It was Jesus who was expelling the demons from this man, and it appears that they had no choice but to depart from him at Jesus’s command. They asked to be permitted to enter the swine and Jesus gave the OK.
I wonder if there is something about the properties of water that seems from scripture to act as a kind of barrier to the demons being able to possess the creatures that make their home in the ocean.

There is nothing said about them jumping from the pigs into any sea creatures…..so where did they go?
The Bible simply doesn’t say….

 

[1stCenturyLady]

Morphine ain't "food"

Genesis 9:3-4 KJV is about food for humans and therefore regulates human diet. God modified the human diet immediately after the Fall, allowing Adam and Eve to eat “green plants” (Gen. 9:3).

Interestingly, according to Genesis 1:30, the phrase “green plants” (yereq c ēśv) was a general designation for the food of animals. But in Genesis 9:3 the same phrase is used to refer to “seed-bearing plants” (e.g., legumes and cereals), as indicated in Genesis 3:18. The all-inclusive phrase “green plants” is not all-inclusive but is restricted to the meaning found in Genesis 3:18.

Now the Lord is allowing humans to eat animal flesh as food for them; and again, it is not flesh in general but certain types of it. The context strongly indicates that this is the flesh of all clean animals. Humans are allowed to bring to their tables the same type of food that goes to the table of the Lord.

So, if the "every green herb" for food (Genesis 1:30) doesn't actually mean "every" - but means "only seed bearing plants" (Genesis 9:3), why do you ignore this distinction and trumpet that "every beast" includes "unclean" instead of following the precedent for plants and rightly conclude it actually means "only clean beasts"...especially in light of Isaiah 66?

If God didn't mean everything that moves for mankind and the animals then why did some men herd swine?

 

[1stCenturyLady]

It was Jesus who was expelling the demons from this man, and it appears that they had no choice but to depart from him at Jesus’s command. They asked to be permitted to enter the swine and Jesus gave the OK.
I wonder if there is something about the properties of water that seems from scripture to act as a kind of barrier to the demons being able to possess the creatures that make their home in the ocean.

There is nothing said about them jumping from the pigs into any sea creatures…..so where did they go?
The Bible simply doesn’t say….

I was kidding about the fish. But I have wondered if they had to stay in those dead carcasses. Maybe there are piggy ghosts!

 

[Aunty Jane]

I was kidding about the fish. But I have wondered if they had to stay in those dead carcasses. Maybe there are piggy ghosts!

The Bible does not actually mention “ghosts“…..that word comes from belief in immortal souls…something the Bible does not teach. (I know you were kidding BTW)

But when the rebel angels materialized in Noah’s day and had their way with “the daughters of men” they produced offspring (the Nephilim) who were gigantic in size and violent and licentious in nature…these influenced the human population in the worst way as they were too powerful to resist. The situation was such that it would derail God’s purpose in bringing his Messiah into the world according to his own timeframe, so he determined to wash the world clean of these evil influences and start afresh….all wicked humans including the “Nephilim” would perish. But what about the demons who sired these monsters? If all land life perished, there would be no creatures to support the demons on earth if every living breathing human and animal was gone. The sea creatures still existed but apparently these offered no refuge for the demons.…and the only land dwellers were safely protected in the ark.

They must have been forced to return to the spirit realm, where God restrained them from ever matializing again. Their request to enter the swine in Jesus’ day was evidence that they retained spirit form, but could only inhabit the bodies of willing persons (those who dabbled in what God’s law forbade) or animals, perhaps just a way to go out with a bang, causing trouble before departing to who knows where?

Jesus indicated that these wicked spirit are on the hunt for victims who dare to enter their traps, thinking that spiritism is some sort of harmless pastime……anyone who has endured demon harassment, knows how hard it is to evict them.

Matt 12:43-45…Jesus said….
”When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through waterless places in search of a resting-place and finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will go back to my house from which I moved,’ and on arriving, it finds the house unoccupied but swept clean and adorned. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven different spirits more wicked than itself, and after getting inside, they dwell there; and the final circumstances of that man become worse than the first. That is how it will be also with this wicked generation.”

Interesting that Jesus speaks of “waterless places” where demons search for a new home….

Many today satisfy their curiosity with the spirit realm by playing online games or watching supernatural movies and dabbling in activities that invite the demons to enter their lives. Sometimes it’s not untill they want to break free that they realize that it will not be without a fight to rid themselves of their unwanted guests. It’s an interesting subject and one we need knowledge about so as not to (even innocently) invite these wicked spirits into our lives in the first place.

Belief in “ghosts” has enticed many to consult spirit mediums in the hope of communicating with deceased loved ones……but the Bible says that the dead are not in a conscious state, (Eccl 9:5, 10) so who are masquerading as these dead family members or friends in the hope of finding a new home? The demons know everything about us and can relate things that ‘only that person would know’….they are cunning deceivers like their leader, satan. There is a reason why “necromancy” (communication with the dead) a common practice among the pagans, was forbidden to God’s people. (Deut 18:9-12)

 

[Brakelite]

Nothing about unclean meats.

Don't equate 'meats' with food. If something was unclean, it was never intended to be food.

.but since we are to go by the Scriptures for all our information, why do we need to fill in the blanks with imagination, just to carry our our own interpretation of God’s law

What God blessed was the 7th day of creation....a time period (not 24 hours) for all that he had created to come to its natural completion.

How come the above isn't a direct contradiction to your counsel just before?

All things in moderation is the Bible’s message.

You must have a specific scripture in mind then if the entire Bibles message is, be moderate in all things.

God never told us why some meats were “unclean” for sacrifice or food for the Jews

He didn't have to tell you why. He's God. Just do as you're told.
Although it is obvious why certain animals, fish, birds etc were clean, and others not. The clean ones were vegetarian. Maybe there's a lesson in that.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

The Bible does not actually mention “ghosts“…..that word comes from belief in immortal souls…something the Bible does not teach. (I know you were kidding BTW)

But when the rebel angels materialized in Noah’s day and had their way with “the daughters of men” they produced offspring (the Nephilim) who were gigantic in size and violent and licentious in nature…these influenced the human population in the worst way as they were too powerful to resist. The situation was such that it would derail God’s purpose in bringing his Messiah into the world according to his own timeframe, so he determined to wash the world clean of these evil influences and start afresh….all wicked humans including the “Nephilim” would perish. But what about the demons who sired these monsters? If all land life perished, there would be no creatures to support the demons on earth if every living breathing human and animal was gone. The sea creatures still existed but apparently these offered no refuge for the demons.…and the only land dwellers were safely protected in the ark.

They must have been forced to return to the spirit realm, where God restrained them from ever matializing again. Their request to enter the swine in Jesus’ day was evidence that they retained spirit form, but could only inhabit the bodies of willing persons (those who dabbled in what God’s law forbade) or animals, perhaps just a way to go out with a bang, causing trouble before departing to who knows where?

Jesus indicated that these wicked spirit are on the hunt for victims who dare to enter their traps, thinking that spiritism is some sort of harmless pastime……anyone who has endured demon harassment, knows how hard it is to evict them.

The fallen angels who started the Nephilim are spoken of in Jude 1:6 "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

However those angels were not the only angels to fall. Genesis 6 also says "4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them." Goliath and his brothers were from a nation of Nephilim. This is why God commanded the Israelites to kill all of them including children.

In Revelation when it says a third of the angels fell with Satan, because of those words "and also afterward," I believe that Satan was the first one to fall, but the rest of the third that would fall was not all at the same time.
.

Interesting that Jesus speaks of “waterless places” where demons search for a new home….

Many today satisfy their curiosity with the spirit realm by playing online games or watching supernatural movies and dabbling in activities that invite the demons to enter their lives. Sometimes it’s not untill they want to break free that they realize that it will not be without a fight to rid themselves of their unwanted guests. It’s an interesting subject and one we need knowledge about so as not to (even innocently) invite these wicked spirits into our lives in the first place.

Belief in “ghosts” has enticed many to consult spirit mediums in the hope of communicating with deceased loved ones……but the Bible says that the dead are not in a conscious state, (Eccl 9:5, 10) so who are masquerading as these dead family members or friends in the hope of finding a new home? The demons know everything about us and can relate things that ‘only that person would know’….they are cunning deceivers like their leader, satan. There is a reason why “necromancy” (communication with the dead) a common practice among the pagans, was forbidden to God’s people. (Deut 18:9-12)

Back in the mid 80's God seemed to have put me on assignments. One of those assignments was at a company who had a black witch that managed the accounting department. She hired me because of my birthday. Everyone in her department had to be a Leo. As it turned out she had two familiar spirits, and also two girls in our department also had a familiar spirit each. In the front office I had paperwork to fill out for employment which was handled by the secretary of the president. We became friends as it was obvious to us that each other was a Christian. She had sensed that something was wrong in the company but didn't know what or where. That's were I was needed. She had no idea about the lives of those of us in the back of the office - accounting. She and I would come to work an hour early to pray through the office to cleanse it from evil spirits. One by one all three of those women left the company.

 

[Phoneman777]

You so funny. Again the words you want are not there and the beliefs you want are not there and the reactions you want are not there. Son of God….My only begotten Son…..second coming….. The prophecy that they would reject their long awaited Messiah….these words and beliefs are not there.

…..The Jews saw the Messiah as a King that would establish his kingdom that would last forever…. Not a Messiah that would die and come back….sometime.

I know I am asking a lot but if you think….
Don’t you think the reaction of the Jews would have been different in the OT and NT if they thought the Messiah was going to be the Son of God?

I've had enough of your unChristlike antagonisms. We'll have to agree to disagree, because such immaturity is an insurmountable roadblock to spiritual enlightenment, which is why you remain blind to the Scriptures which "testify of Me" and His Second Coming.

 

[Phoneman777]

If God didn't mean everything that moves for mankind and the animals then why did some men herd swine?

Why did Jesus allow them to be destroyed? Because they're unfit for food!

 

[Aunty Jane]

The fallen angels who started the Nephilim are spoken of in Jude 1:6 "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

Yes, materializing in physical form was apparently a provision given to God’s spirit sons who were also free willed. They could obviously materialize without God’s permission, as God is all knowing and would have forbidden them if it was his will. Do you have thoughts about God’s permission of evil? Why has he allowed the devil and his angels such freedom to wreak havoc on the earth, and also in heaven for a time.
Does the account in Job answer that question?

When satan appeared to Eve as a serpent, perhaps he gave himself that form to converse with her? All we know is that that “original serpent” was identified in Revelation 20:1-3, as ”the devil” and “satan”.

However those angels were not the only angels to fall. Genesis 6 also says "4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them." Goliath and his brothers were from a nation of Nephilim. This is why God commanded the Israelites to kill all of them including children.

You are speaking about two totally different times…one pre-flood….the other post-flood.
The Nephilim were the children born to the demon angels whom God wiped out in the flood. All that breathed, perished in the deluge, except Noah and his family and the animals that God brought to Noah…..they were the only survivors.

Those mentioned after the flood who were of extraordinary size we’re not the original Nephilim because no Nephilim survived the flood. Nor does the Bible say that the Nephilim reproduced…..as hybrids, they were probably sterile.

Reviewing the account, we see in Genesis 4:1-3 that tells of “the sons of the true God” taking human women for their own pleasure…..“all whom they chose”, and of Jehovah’s statement that he was going to end his patience with men after 120 years.
Verse 4 then speaks of the Nephilim proving to be in the earth “in those days,” (evidently the days when God made the statement). Then it shows that this situation continued “after that, when the sons of the true God continued to have relations with the daughters of men,” and describes in more detail the results of the union of “the sons of the true God” with women in the 120 years that he had foretold, alowing Noah to have a family and to build the enormous structure that was going to preserve all air breathing life, when a deluge was to sweep away the wicked.

Who then were the giants spoken of in Numbers 13:31-33

“The ten spies” who brought back to the Israelites in the wilderness a false report on the land of Canaan, promised to them by Jehovah, declared: “All the people whom we saw in the midst of it are men of extraordinary size. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who are from the Nephilim; so that we became in our own eyes like grasshoppers, and the same way we became in their eyes.”
No doubt there were some large men in Canaan, as other scriptures show, but never except in this “bad report,” which was carefully couched in language designed to strike terror and cause panic among the Israelites, are they called “Nephilim”. They were identified as ”the sons of Anak”. (Deut 9:1-3)

Their great stature caused them to be used as a standard of comparison in describing even the giantlike men of the Emim and the Rephaim. Their strength apparently produced the proverbial saying: “Who can make a firm stand before the sons of Anak?”
Although called “Nephilim” by the cowardly Israelite spies, they were not any relation to the pre-flood offspring of the demon angels.
Whether the Anakim were related to the Philistines in some way is not stated in Scripture, but they too had their “giants”…Goliath and his brother.

Even today, the Maasai in Africa are a very tall race of people.

In Revelation when it says a third of the angels fell with Satan, because of those words "and also afterward," I believe that Satan was the first one to fall, but the rest of the third that would fall was not all at the same time.

I am inclined to believe that too, because Satan works on people over a period of time (and maybe his angelic brothers too) to convince them of the benefits of doing as he says under the guise of freedom….but all they are doing is swapping one master (a benevolent one) for another, deceptive and malevolent in more ways than we can imagine.

Back in the mid 80's God seemed to have put me on assignments. One of those assignments was at a company who had a black witch that managed the accounting department. She hired me because of my birthday. Everyone in her department had to be a Leo. As it turned out she had two familiar spirits, and also two girls in our department also had a familiar spirit each. In the front office I had paperwork to fill out for employment which was handled by the secretary of the president. We became friends as it was obvious to us that each other was a Christian. She had sensed that something was wrong in the company but didn't know what or where. That's were I was needed. She had no idea about the lives of those of us in the back of the office - accounting. She and I would come to work an hour early to pray through the office to cleanse it from evil spirits. One by one all three of those women left the company.

Anyone who has encountered these people, (agents of the devil) will know how evil infiltrates their lives and the lives of those around them, so that it makes it difficult to break free.
Prayer is powerful.

 

[Aunty Jane]

Don't equate 'meats' with food. If something was unclean, it was never intended to be food.

That the “unclean” animals were not to be eaten or sacrificed, doesn’t mean that they be loathed in a general way, which can be seen from other texts. For example, though “unclean” for food or sacrifice, the donkey was regularly used by the Israelites for transportation and for bearing burdens….Mary rode on a donkey to Bethlehem.
King David had herds of camels, and camel hair was used for clothing.
The eagle was used as a fitting metaphor to represent God’s protective care of Israel during the Exodus. It’s far sightedness given as a positive quality in men.

So, all creatures being God’s creation, can we imagine that he began the human race with unclean animals to share life on this planet? No animal was created as “unclean” for the simple reason that sin had not yet blighted the human race in order to require them to sacrifice and originally humans did not eat the flesh of animals. No creature God created was a carnivorous predator…..the only flesh eaters were carrion creatures. They cleaned up only dead flesh.

With the removal of the Law covenant, the injunction to view any of such creatures as “loathsome” for food ended.
1 Tim 4:1-5…
”However, the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements and teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, whose conscience is seared as with a branding iron. 3 They forbid marriage and command people to abstain from foods that God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is fine, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is sanctified through God’s word and prayer over it.”

How come the above isn't a direct contradiction to your counsel just before?

Since it is what I have been saying all along, what counsel do you mean?

The Sabbath that God blessed in Genesis is the 7th day that has not yet concluded with its successful outcome….the Jewish Sabbath was a law given to Israel alone as part of what made them different to all the nations around them…..no one else had God’s law to separate them out from the worshippers of false gods.

You must have a specific scripture in mind then if the entire Bibles message is, be moderate in all things.

Surely you know the Bible’s adonition to be “moderate in habits”…..a man desiring to be an elder in the congregation, was to be….
”……irreprehensible, a husband of one wife, moderate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent, but reasonable, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, 4 a man presiding over his own household in a fine manner, having his children in subjection with all seriousness 5 (for if any man does not know how to preside over his own household, how will he care for the congregation of God?), 6 not a newly converted man, for fear that he might get puffed up with pride and fall into the judgment passed on the Devil. 7 Moreover, he should also have a fine testimony from outsiders so that he does not fall into reproach and a snare of the Devil.” (1 Timothy 3:3-7)….moderate in habits en o passes all things.

He didn't have to tell you why. He's God. Just do as you're told.

So, for no apparent reason, God created creatures that were to be considered loathsome to humans….
Don't you ever widen out in your research to find the answers to such questions? If there is one thing about the Creator….he is never illogical….we too are created to be logical…it’s part of being made in God’s image.

Although it is obvious why certain animals, fish, birds etc were clean, and others not. The clean ones were vegetarian. Maybe there's a lesson in that.

Since all creatures were vegetarians when God created them, (Gen 1:30) what’s the lesson?

What did Paul mean, when he said…
“Eat whatever is sold in a meat market, making no inquiry because of your conscience, 26 for “to Jehovah belong the earth and everything in it.” 27 If an unbeliever invites you and you want to go, eat whatever is set before you, making no inquiry on account of your conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This is something offered in sacrifice,” do not eat because of the one who told you and because of conscience. 29 I do not mean your own conscience, but that of the other person. For why should my freedom be judged by another person’s conscience? 30 If I am partaking with thanks, why am I to be spoken of abusively over that for which I give thanks?”

As a Jew and a Pharisee, Paul was well aware of God‘s law…and the fact that it no longer applied, so how could he say this and advocate what the SDA’s believe?

The Scriptures are all pretty clear to me…..

 

[Brakelite]

No animal was created as “unclean” for the simple reason that sin had not yet blighted the human race

Quote from above......So, for no apparent reason, God created creatures that were to be considered loathsome to humans…
I'm curious about this loathsome word you keep using. Who is claiming that any animal is 'loathsome'? Unclean, yes. Not fit for consumption, yes. But my dogs are not loathsome. Curious also that you would take notice of a chemist with the inscription on his bottle, "not fit for human consumption", but ignore God and declare you can now eat rats and red backs and your neighbours cat, and not come to any harm, because you prayed over it.
Also. You are correct that no animal was created unclean. Until sin, there was no death. Therefore no cause for some animals to begin scavenging. Unless of course you are advocating that evolution is true, and it was death and "natural selection' that God used to create. Mmm?

Since it is what I have been saying all along, what counsel do you mean?

What you have been saying all along is from your imagination rather than the plain word of God. Your unending Sabbath day is nothing more than a manufactured excuse to ignore a commandment you are uncomfortable with.

moderate in habits,

A rather broad interpretation of vigilant.

What did Paul mean, when he said…
“Eat whatever is sold in a meat market, making no inquiry because of your conscience, 26 for “to Jehovah belong the earth and everything in it.” 27 If an unbeliever invites you and you want to go, eat whatever is set before you, making no inquiry on account of your conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This is something offered in sacrifice,” do not eat because of the one who told you and because of conscience. 29 I do not mean your own conscience, but that of the other person. For why should my freedom be judged by another person’s conscience? 30 If I am partaking with thanks, why am I to be spoken of abusively over that for which I give thanks?”

As a Jew and a Pharisee, Paul was well aware of God‘s law…and the fact that it no longer applied, so how could he say this and advocate what the SDA’s believe?

The Scriptures are all pretty clear to me…

So with the abolition of all God's health laws, according to you, so the numerous diseases and ill effects brought about by eating unclean animals and insects are also now gone? Read your scripture above with the right perspective, seeking to obey God in all things rather than searching for reasons not to, and you won't read into the scriptures stuff that is made up and dishonors Christ.