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The world is a theater; the actors, its inhabitants, are preparing to act their part in the last great drama. With the great masses of mankind, there is no unity, except as men confederate to accomplish their selfish purposes. God is looking on. His purposes in regard to His rebellious subjects will be fulfilled. The world has not been given into the hands of men, though God is permitting the elements of confusion and disorder to bear sway for a season. A power from beneath is working to bring about the last great scenes in the drama,—Satan coming as Christ, and working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are binding themselves together in secret societies. Those who are yielding to the passion for confederation are working out the plans of the enemy. The cause will be followed by the effect.—Testimonies for the Church 8:27, 28. ChS 50.1
Testimonies for the Church vol8 by Ellen G White
Elon Musk, the owner of X and founder of Tesla and other companies, announced Sunday that his prospective mixed martial arts bout against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be streamed live on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and “all the proceeds will go to charity for veterans.”
No date has been set for the fight.
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Matthew:24:36
No date has been set for the fight. But the proposed location has been the UFC Apex in Nevada. Both men have been training and Musk has been updating his followers on how it’s been going.
Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God, and striving to conform their lives to its precepts…. God calls for a revival and a reformation.—Prophets and Kings, 626. ChS 41.3
Christian Service by Ellen G White
“Am lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight,” Musk wrote on X. “Don’t have time to work out, so I just bring them to work.”
“The first episode of 𝕏-Videos!” Musk added. He did not immediately provide further details.
Elon Musk said X would live-stream a fight against Mark Zuckerberg. (MANDEL NGAN,ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a mixed martial arts cage match earlier this year.
The Tesla and Space X founder tweeted that he was “up for a cage match” with Zuckerberg, who is trained in jiujitsu. The Facebook founder responded, “send location,” to which Musk retorted, “Vegas Octagon.”
“If this is for real, I will do it,” Musk wrote at the time, later adding he had “this great move that I call ‘The Walrus,’ where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing.”
Facebook parent company Meta recently released Threads, a rival to Twitter. (Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Zuckerberg has been unsure if the bout was going to come together at all. UFC President Dana White, however has stated that the two billionaires were “absolutely dead serious” about a potential bout.
The competition between the billionaire social media moguls has heated up in recent weeks since Meta released its new Threads platform, meant to rival Twitter.
Musk threatened a lawsuit, accusing Zuckerberg’s company of using Twitter’s “trade secrets” and “other intellectual property” to build their version of the app.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1 Corinthians:6:19
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. Romans:7:14
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah:31:33
Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives.
As the Protestant churches reject the clear, Scriptural arguments in defense of God’s law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the papal sabbath.
The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: “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. GC 592.1 – GC 592.3
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 1 Kings:19:9
China and Russia conducted a joint naval operation near U.S. territory earlier this week, triggering a large response from the U.S. Navy, Fox News Digital has learned.
The joint operation, conducted by two significant American adversaries, consisted of 11 ships and neared Alaska’s southwestern coast, according to Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who was briefed on the matter earlier this week by U.S. defense officials. Sullivan said the U.S. Navy ultimately mobilized four destroyers to guide the Chinese and Russian ships away from American waters.
“This is unprecedented in terms of the size and scope of this joint naval task force between Russia and China, working very closely together,” Sullivan told Fox News Digital in a phone interview late Saturday. “Whether you live in Alaska like I do, or on the East Coast of the United States, a very large surface action task force between our two main adversaries, probing very closely to United States shores is concerning.”
“It just solidifies this idea that we’ve entered a new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Beijing and Moscow who are increasingly aggressive,” he continued.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in Moscow, Russia, on March 21. (Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo)
The Wall Street Journal first reported the joint Chinese and Russian operation Saturday.
In addition to the four destroyers mobilized, the U.S. also sent P-8 Poseidon aircraft to shadow the Chinese and Russian ships away from the Alaskan coast, according to The Wall Street Journal. The ships neared the Aleutian Islands, but never entered U.S. territorial waters.
Sullivan added that the American response was considerably improved compared to a similar, albeit smaller, incident that occurred in September. The U.S. sent a single Coast Guard cutter after it noticed a Chinese guided missile cruiser alongside two other Chinese ships and four Russian ships about 90 miles north of the Aleutian Islands on Sept. 19, 2022.
“We ramped that up significantly. Four U.S. destroyers and air assets, P-8’s, that were tracking and monitoring this large-scale Russian-Chinese task force quite closely. So that is a significant improvement,” said Sullivan. “That’s a lot of naval power up here demonstrating American resolve.”
Warships belonging to the Chinese Navy take part in a joint naval exercise in the East China Sea on Dec. 21, 2022, with Russian naval ships. (Li Yun/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“I’m going to continue to press — whether it’s the Obama administration, Trump administration, now Biden administration — to commit more Naval, Coast Guard and Marine presence and assets in this part of America,” he added. “And the Biden administration more broadly needs to get serious about serious, robust defense budgets.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Pentagon referred Fox News Digital to the U.S. Northern Command which also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.ht.
“It is a historical first,” Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told The Wall Street Journal. “Given the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions around Taiwan, this move is highly provocative.”
As the controversy extends into new fields and the minds of the people are called to God’s downtrodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. The clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and, in this work, papists and Protestants unite. GC 607.1
Bison on road at Yellowstone National Park
Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. GC 578.3
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
A photographer visiting Yellowstone National Park got a nasty surprise when the bison he was shooting turned the tables and began stalking him instead. The incident happened two weeks ago at Yellowstone National Park, around the same time a woman was gored after getting too close to one of the animals.
The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God.
Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel’s message have often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that church and state would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been pronounced groundless and absurd. It has been confidently declared that this land could never become other than what it has been—the defender of religious freedom. But as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the third message will produce an effect which it could not have had before. GC 605.2 – GC 605.3
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
The close call was recorded by YouTuber Carolina Tony, who shares videos of his adventures from the back of his 2012 Harley Davidson. He spotted the other park visitor wandering close to a bison resting by a river, and noted the changes in its temperament as he got nearer.
As the controversy extends into new fields and the minds of the people are called to God’s downtrodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. The clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and, in this work, papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith. But their steadfast answer is: “Show us from the word of God our error”—the same plea that was made by Luther under similar circumstances. Those who are arraigned before the courts make a strong vindication of the truth, and some who hear them are led to take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. Thus light will be brought before thousands who otherwise would know nothing of these truths.
Conscientious obedience to the word of God will be treated as rebellion. Blinded by Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity toward the believing child; the master or mistress will oppress the commandment-keeping servant. Affection will be alienated; children will be disinherited and driven from home. The words of Paul will be literally fulfilled: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12. As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath, some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed. GC 607.1 – GC 608.1
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. In this time of persecution the faith of the Lord’s servants will be tried. They have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to His word alone. God’s Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them to speak. Stimulated with holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong upon them, they entered upon the performance of their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word which the Lord had given them. They have not consulted their temporal interests, nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives. Yet when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them, some, overwhelmed with consternation, will be ready to exclaim: “Had we foreseen the consequences of our words, we would have held our peace.” They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength. They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and they could not forbear to proclaim it. The same trials have been experienced by men of God in ages past. Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that all doctrines be brought to the test of the Bible and declared that they would renounce everything which it condemned. Against these men persecution raged with relentless fury; yet they ceased not to declare the truth. Different periods in the history of the church have each been marked by the development of some special truth, adapted to the necessities of God’s people at that time. Every new truth has made its way against hatred and opposition; those who were blessed with its light were tempted and tried. The Lord gives a special truth for the people in an emergency. Who dare refuse to publish it? He commands His servants to present the last invitation of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at the peril of their souls. Christ’s ambassadors have nothing to do with consequences. They must perform their duty and leave results with God. As the opposition rises to a fiercer height, the servants of God are again perplexed; for it seems to them that they have brought the crisis. But conscience and the word of God assure them that their course is right; and although the trials continue, they are strengthened to bear them. The contest grows closer and sharper, but their faith and courage rise with the emergency. Their testimony is: “We dare not tamper with God’s word, dividing His holy law; calling one portion essential and another nonessential, to gain the favor of the world. The Lord whom we serve is able to deliver us. Christ has conquered the powers of earth; and shall we be afraid of a world already conquered?” Persecution in its varied forms is the development of a principle which will exist as long as Satan exists and Christianity has vital power. No man can serve God without enlisting against himself the opposition of the hosts of darkness. Evil angels will assail him, alarmed that his influence is taking the prey from their hands. Evil men, rebuked by his example, will unite with them in seeking to separate him from God by alluring temptations. When these do not succeed, then a compelling power is employed to force the conscience. GC 608.2 – GC 610.2
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns shall cause “the earth and them which dwell therein” to worship the papacy—there symbolized by the beast “like unto a leopard.” The beast with two horns is also to say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;” and, furthermore, it is to command all, “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Verse 3. The infliction of the deadly wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, “his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Paul states plainly that the “man of sin” will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.” Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church. GC 578.3
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
Tony observes the bison starting to show signs of aggression, including raising its tail and posturing to drive away the potential threat. Both of these are signs that a charge could be imminent.
This time the photographer was lucky, but bison injure more people at Yellowstone than any other animal, including bears and wolves, and should be given sufficient space – particularly as we enter their rutting season, which runs through late summer and early fall. During this time males become particularly territorial as they compete for the right to mate, and can be more aggressive than usual.
The National Park Service warns visitors to stay at least 25 yards (23 meters) away from bison and elk at all times, and advises visitors that the best place to watch wildlife is from within the safety of a vehicle.
In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from preaching the plain utterances of the Bible—doctrines which they had been reluctant to present. They were impelled to zealously declare the truth and the danger which threatened souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning. GC 606.1
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
Discoveries so far include golden tiles, jade sculptures, mosaics and frescos, weapons, and remains of three mammoths.
Aleksandar Vasovic
Updated Thu, August 3, 2023 at 7:30 PM GMT+3
FILE PHOTO: Archaeologists excavate the hull of a wooden ship, an ancient Roman flat-hulled riverine vessel
By Aleksandar Vasovic
KOSTOLAC, Serbia (Reuters) – Archaeologists in Serbia are painstakingly brushing sand and soil off the ancient woodwork of a Roman ship discovered by miners in a vast opencast coal quarry.
After an excavator at the Drmno mine uncovered some timber, experts from the site of a nearby former Roman settlement known as Viminacium rushed to try and preserve the skeleton of the ship, the second such discovery in the area since 2020.
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Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendancy, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order to gain influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a little concession on our part will bring us into a better understanding with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed! The defenders of the papacy declare that the church has been maligned, and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the statement. Many urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by the abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as the result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the influence of modern civilization has changed her sentiments. Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility put forth for eight hundred years by this haughty power? So far from being relinquished, this claim was affirmed in the nineteenth century with greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that the “church never erred; nor will it, according to the Scriptures, ever err ” (John L. von Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, book 3, century II, part 2, chapter 2, section 9, note 17), how can she renounce the principles which governed her course in past ages? GC 563.1 – GC 564.1
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
Modern Geology & Science, How Old is Earth, bones Ev. King Osiemo
The vessel was probably part of a river fleet serving the sprawling and highly-developed Roman city of 45,000 people which had a hippodrome, fortifications, a forum, a palace, temples, amphitheatre, aqueducts, baths and workshops.
These persecutions, beginning under Nero about the time of the martyrdom of Paul, continued with greater or less fury for centuries. Christians were falsely accused of the most dreadful crimes and declared to be the cause of great calamities—famine, pestilence, and earthquake. As they became the objects of popular hatred and suspicion, informers stood ready, for the sake of gain, to betray the innocent. They were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion, and pests to society. Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified; others were covered with the skins of wild animals and thrust into the arena to be torn by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment at public fetes. Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight and greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause. GC 40.1
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
Lead archaeologist Miomir Korac said previous findings suggest the ship may date back as far as the 3rd or 4th century AD when Viminacium was capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior and had a port near a tributary of the Danube River.
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“We may assume that this ship is Roman, but we are unsure of its exact age,” he told Reuters at the dusty site hanging precariously above a vast open coal pit.
The wood was first sprayed with water and kept under a tarpaulin to prevent decay in the summer heat, Korac added.
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Archaeologists believe the two ships and three canoes uncovered so far in the area either sank or were abandoned at the river bank.
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The intention is to put the latest discovery on display with thousands of artefacts unearthed from Viminacium near the town of Kostolac, 70 km (45 miles) east of Belgrade.
Mladen Jovicic, who is part of the team working on the newly-discovered ship, said moving its 13-metre hull without breaking it would be tough.
“Our engineer friends … will prepare a special structure that will be lifted by a crane, and … the entire process of gradual conservation will follow,” he said.
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Excavations of Viminacium have been going on since 1882, but archaeologists estimate they have only scoured 5% of the site, which they say is 450 hectares – bigger than New York’s Central Park – and unusual in not being buried under a modern city.
Discoveries so far include golden tiles, jade sculptures, mosaics and frescos, weapons, and remains of three mammoths.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)View comments
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Revelation:12:14 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 1 Kings:19:4-5
The end is near and every city is to be turned upside down every way. There will be confusion in every city. Everything that can be shaken is to be shaken and we do not know what will come next. The judgments will be according to the wickedness of the people and the light of truth that they have had.—Manuscript Releases 1:248 (1902).
O that God’s people had a sense of the impending destruction of thousands of cities, now almost given to idolatry.—Evangelism, 29 (1903).
The time is near when large cities will be swept away, and all should be warned of these coming judgments.—Evangelism, 29 (1910). LDE 111.3 – LDE 111.5
Ellen G White
I am bidden to declare the message that cities full of transgression, and sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood.—Evangelism, 27 (April 27, 1906). All the warnings of Christ regarding the events that will occur near the close of this earth’s history are now being fulfilled in our large cities. God is permitting these things to be brought to light that he who runs may read. The city of San Francisco is a sample of what the whole world is becoming. The wicked bribery, the misappropriation of means, the fraudulent transactions among men who have power to release the guilty and condemn the innocent—all this iniquity is filling other large cities of the earth and is making the world as it was in the days that were before the Flood.—Letter 230, 1907. LDE 115.2 – LDE 115.3
Ellen G White
20 hours ago
Meteorologists say another storm is on the way.
At least 20 people are dead and several missing as heavy rain brought on by the leftovers of typhoon Doksuri continues to inundate northern China. Meteorologists say another storm is on the way.
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
The strongest storm to hit Beijing in years has caused massive flooding and damageImage: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo/picture alliance
At least 11 people have died in the Beijing area, with another 13 missing, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday. Two victims were workers “killed on duty during rescue and relief.” The number of missing was revised after 14 people were found safe.
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. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. 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
In neighboring Hebei province, nine people were killed and six were missing, CCTV reported.
Floodwaters collapsed a bridge in the suburbs of BeijingImage: Ichiro Ohara/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP/picture alliance
Authorities To Restore Conditions Back To Normal 💉🌎🐍
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “every effort” to rescue people lost or trapped, and for authorities to restore conditions back to normal as soon as possible.
In the neighboring Hebei province, precipitation from Saturday to Monday at one local weather station was more than what is usually measured in over six months, with rainfall amounting to 1,003 mm (39.4 inches).
Rivers and streams in the capital and surrounding region have swollen to dangerous levels. The rising water has forced authorities to use a flood control reservoir for the first time since it was built over two decades ago.
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? Jeremiah:12:5
Some 150,000 households in Beijing’s hard-hit western Mentougou district had no running water, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday. The city has dispatched 45 water tankers to offer emergency supplies.
“This morning it was crazy, the water overflowed the Mentougou river and the whole avenue was flooded,” Guo Zhenyu, a 49-year-old Mentougou resident, told the AFP news agency. Another Beijing resident, Qin Quan, told AFP, “I’m old but I’ve never seen flooding like this before in my life.”
Authorities in Beijing have sealed off over 100 mountain roads and evacuated 52,000 people from their homes in Beijing. Many train and subway stations are closed
The Chinese government deployed four military helicopters with 26 personnel on Tuesday to deliver supplies to stranded train passengers in Beijing, according to state media.
Local media reported chaotic scenes of high-speed trains stranded for as long as 30 hours without access to food or drinking water.
Search and rescue operations in Beijing were ongoing TuesdayImage: Andy Wong/AP/picture alliance
Another typhoon approaches China
Beijing’s local government said the rainfall over the last four days was more than what was recorded during a severe storm in 2012 that killed 79 people.
According to state media, thunderstorms and rainfall are forecast in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin and Hebei through Tuesday.
The flooding destroyed roadways in BeijingImage: Andy Wong/AP/picture alliance
Meanwhile, China is preparing for another typhoon named Khanun, which is expected to make landfall later in the week on China’s east coast after crossing over southern Japan. Khanun is set to be China’s sixth tropical storm so far this year.
Doksuri, formerly a super Typhoon, is one of the strongest storms to hit modern day China. It made landfall on Friday in Fujian province, where it destroyed some 18,000 houses and forced 562,000 people to evacuate.
God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 581.2
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan released a second batch of files Friday showing that the Biden administration was forcing Facebook to censor content relating to COVID vaccines, including what employees there described as “true information”.
This wasn’t the Biden Admin’s first pressure campaign.
In July 2021, FB’s head of Global Affairs asked why FB had been censoring the COVID lab leak theory. The answer was clear: “Because we were under pressure from the administration . . . We shouldn’t have done it.” pic.twitter.com/XaUqlDhjOj
History testifies of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate herself into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to further her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people. In the year 1204, Pope Innocent III extracted from Peter II, king of Arragon, the following extraordinary oath: “I, Peter, king of Arragonians, profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my lord, Pope Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman Church, and faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity.”—John Dowling, The History of Romanism, b. 5, ch. 6, sec. 55. This is in harmony with the claims regarding the power of the Roman pontiff “that it is lawful for him to depose emperors” and “that he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to unrighteous rulers.”—Mosheim, b. 3, cent. 11, pt. 2, ch. 2, sec. 9, note 17. (See also Appendix note for page 447.)
And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.
God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 580.3 – GC 581.2
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
Jordan noted that Facebook knew it was removing “humorous or satirical content that suggests the vaccine isn’t safe,” as well as “true information about the side effects.”
Jordan also noted that Facebook employees were annoyed at being made to take down content they knew was accurate, describing the administration’s definition of misinformation as “completely unclear” and noting that the White House was using “untested assumptions” to demand censorship.
Facebook also admitted that it removed content pertaining to the lab leak theory, not because it was inaccurate or deeming harmful, but “Because we were under pressure from the administration.”
“We shouldn’t have done it,” Facebook’s head of Global affairs admitted.
The company also admitted to changing its misinformation policy because the Biden administration was constantly haranguing them.
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“This is stemming from the continued criticism of our approach from the US administration,” the communications note.
Facebook’s leadership relented in August and agreed to change the company’s content moderation policies because of the Biden Admin’s continued pressure. pic.twitter.com/yvuW5fGeZY— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 28, 2023
Catholic Church could consider resurrecting old practice after successful study: ‘Pope Francis has already highlighted [it]’
Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
Isaiah:22:9-11
Pope’s Words Tried Seven Times?
California authorities responded to a report of a bear in a swimming pool amid the scorching heat wave
God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 581.2
Summer is in full in swing in southern California for one bear that decided take a dip in a pool amid scorching temperatures.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Matthew:24:32-34, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. Proverbs:6:8, He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. Proverbs:10:5, The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;Proverbs:30:25, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.Jeremiah:8:20
The Burbank Police Department responded to a call of a bear in a swimming pool Friday. When they arrived, they found the unbothered mammal chilling in the pool and lazily surveying the city’s beautiful hillside.
“This bear is beating the heat in Burbank,” officers said in a Facebook post, along with a short clip of the furry intruder. The department did not say what type of bear it was.
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
A bear took a dip in a pool during extreme temperatures in California on Friday. (Burbank Police Department)
In the comical video, authorities captured the wild animal sitting in the small in-ground pool as it seemingly posed for the officers by grazing one paw on the side of the pool deck.
“I don’t blame him,” an officer is heard in the video say, commenting on the heat wave that has scorched much of the U.S. bringing triple digit temperatures and an increased risk of wildfires in California.
Others chimed in on the department’s social media post, saying that they don’t blame the bear for taking a dip.
“Get the bear a beer and leave him be,” one commenter quipped.
Another said, “I hope he doesn’t think of coming to my place!”
According to the Burbank Police Department, officers were responding to reports of a bear sighting when they found the guilty bear chilling in the pool. (Burbank Police Department)
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife provided guidelines if you come across a bear in your swimming pool this summer. The department said to not run, instead, face the animal, make noises and try to appear as large as possible.
If a bear attacks, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says to defend oneself and immediately contact 911 for assistance.
These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday.
The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns shall cause “the earth and them which dwell therein” to worship the papacy—there symbolized by the beast “like unto a leopard.” The beast with two horns is also to say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;” and, furthermore, it is to command all, “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Verse 3. The infliction of the deadly wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, “his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Paul states plainly that the “man of sin” will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.” Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church.
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, students of prophecy in the United States have presented this testimony to the world. In the events now taking place is seen a rapid advance toward the fulfillment of the prediction. With Protestant teachers there is the same claim of divine authority for Sundaykeeping, and the same lack of Scriptural evidence, as with the papal leaders who fabricated miracles to supply the place of a command from God. The assertion that God’s judgments are visited upon men for their violation of the Sunday-sabbath, will be repeated; already it is beginning to be urged. And a movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground.
Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman Church. She can read what is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the Protestant churches are paying her homage in their acceptance of the false sabbath and that they are preparing to enforce it by the very means which she herself employed in bygone days. Those who reject the light of truth will yet seek the aid of this self-styled infallible power to exalt an institution that originated with her. How readily she will come to the help of Protestants in this work it is not difficult to conjecture. Who understands better than the papal leaders how to deal with those who are disobedient to the church?
The Roman Catholic Church, with all its ramifications throughout the world, forms one vast organization under the control, and designed to serve the interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants, in every country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as bound in allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above all other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to the state, yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome, absolving them from every pledge inimical to her interests.
History testifies of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate herself into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to further her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people. In the year 1204, Pope Innocent III extracted from Peter II, king of Arragon, the following extraordinary oath: “I, Peter, king of Arragonians, profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my lord, Pope Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman Church, and faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity.”—John Dowling, The History of Romanism, b. 5, ch. 6, sec. 55. This is in harmony with the claims regarding the power of the Roman pontiff “that it is lawful for him to depose emperors” and “that he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to unrighteous rulers.”—Mosheim, b. 3, cent. 11, pt. 2, ch. 2, sec. 9, note 17. (See also Appendix note for page 447.)
And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.
God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 578.2 – GC 581.2
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 1 Samuel:28:13-16
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. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. 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
British members of the Catholic Church have returned to the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays — and the positive environmental impact is substantial.
A new study by the University of Cambridge and collaborators indicates that, by cutting or reducing meat from their diet one time per week, practicing Catholics in the United Kingdom, about 10% of the total population, saved the equivalent of more than 55,000 tons of pollution each year, according to Phys.org. That’s roughly the pollution produced by 82,000 people flying from London to New York, according to the same source.
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In September 2011, bishops in England and Wales announced that they would call Catholic churchgoers to revive the centuries-old tradition of fasting from meat on Fridays.
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Research shows that although only about 28% of the country’s Catholic population shifted their dietary habits based on the bishops’ statement, 55% of those who changed their diet attempted to eat less meat on Fridays, swapping meat for other proteins like fish or cheese, while 41% cut meat out altogether on Fridays, according to Phys.org.
Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called “Christian sabbath,” and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. This claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God’s law, His servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men. GC 587.1
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
“The Catholic Church is very well placed to help mitigate climate change, with more than one billion followers around the world,” said professor Shaun Larcom, the lead author of the study. “Pope Francis has already highlighted the moral imperative for action on the climate emergency, and the important role of civil society in achieving sustainability through lifestyle change.”
The researchers also said that if American Catholics upheld the same meatless Friday tradition, we’d see more than 20 times the environmental impact in the United States as shown in the U.K. study.
“Meat agriculture is one of the major drivers of greenhouse gas emissions,” Larcom told Phys.org. “If the Pope was to reinstate the obligation for meatless Fridays to all Catholics globally, it could be a major source of low-cost emissions reductions, even if only a minority of Catholics choose to comply, as we find in our case study.”
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“I’ve got a virtual mom talking to me ad nauseam about more rest, asking why I’m not hydrating,” Harrison, 40, told ABC News. “I was getting yelled at.”
When Justin Harrison suffered a nasty bout of strep throat two weeks ago, he said he received a barrage of text messages from his mom urging him to take better care of himself — even though his mom is dead.
Harrison, who founded an AI company called You, Only Virtual in 2020 that creates chatbots modeled after deceased loved ones, was getting reprimanded by a digital version of his mom in the same way its real-life counterpart would have done so.
“I’ve got a virtual mom talking to me ad nauseam about more rest, asking why I’m not hydrating,” Harrison, 40, told ABC News. “I was getting yelled at.”
THE FLIGHT OF DAVID BEFORE SAUL:
(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Hebrews:11:38, But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: Matthew:24:20
The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by popular theologians, spirits of the dead are hovering about their friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort them in sorrow? How can those who believe in man’s consciousness in death reject what comes to them as divine light communicated by glorified spirits? Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds. He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear “to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” GC 551.2 – GC 552.1
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White
When the Sabbath becomes the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state, ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. This argument will appear conclusive; and against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will finally be issued a decree, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment, and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death. Romanism in the Old World, and apostate Protestantism in the New, will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts. The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger,—a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. Those who now exercise but little faith are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and the decree to compel conscience. And even if they endure the test, they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have not made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected, they will be forced to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement. YI July 12, 1904, par. 6 – YI July 12, 1904, par. 7
Harrison, who has communicated with the digital reproduction of his mom on a daily basis since she died in October at age 61, believes AI-driven chatbots will redefine how some deal with grief.
This illustration shows a humanoid robot touching touching data on a screen.
Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images
The industry faces formidable obstacles to building chatbots that accurately mimic a dead person and questions remain over issues like privacy and consent, experts said.
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Moreover, generative AI tools like ChatGPT — which scan text from across the internet and string words together based on statistical probability — have displayed a propensity to share arbitrary, false or hateful speech, raising alarm about the personal and societal effects of noxious words delivered with the intimacy and authority of a deceased loved one, some experts added.
“You will not be reincarnating a relative with GPT-4,” Gary Marcus, an emeritus professor at New York University and author of the book ”Rebooting AI,” said in reference to the latest version of Chat-GPT. “These systems make stuff up all the time.”
For years, advances in the reproduction of audio and video have made digital copies of deceased people possible, said Mark Dredze, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University who helped create a finance-oriented AI language model called BloombergGPT. He pointed to big-budget movies and TV shows that feature impeccable computer-generated images.
In recent seasons of the TV series, “The Mandalorian,” for example, the creators depicted a youthful Luke Skywalker by digitally de-aging Mark Hamill, the actor who played the character in the 1970s “Star Wars” films, Dredze added. (The Walt Disney Company, the parent company of the studio that made “The Mandalorian,” is also the parent company of ABC News.)
“That technology will eventually become cheaper and easier,” Dredze said.
The remaining technical challenge, however, is the authenticity of the words coming out of a digital person’s mouth — something that newly improved conversation bots like ChatGPT can help create, Dredze said. “Is it the person?” he added. “Is this something that they would say?”
AI experts who spoke with ABC News said that success or failure on that score hinges upon the volume of data about the deceased loved one that the user enters into a given chatbot, keeping in mind the possibility that a chatbot could still offer up arbitrary or inaccurate information, regardless of the scale of training data.MORE: AI leaders warn the technology poses ‘risk of extinction’ like pandemics and nuclear war
“If you have massive amounts of text that somebody has produced, you can train a system on that and you’ll capture in some sense someone’s voice,” Kristian Hammond, a professor of computer science at Northwestern University who studies AI, told ABC News.
The chatbot would still struggle to respond to novel or complicated topics, however, Hammond said. “It’s a thing that looks like, sounds like and speaks like a loved one, but it doesn’t have enough in the way of data to capture the point of view and the values of that loved one,” he added.
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You, Only Virtual addresses this challenge by focusing on communication between an individual living person and the deceased, thereby attempting to recreate their specific one-on-one dynamic, Harrison said.
“When you start thinking about the nuances of a holistic human being, it gets out of control,” Harrison said. “I stared at five years of messages and recorded phone calls with my mom — 3,800 pages. The amount of consistency through the entirety of it was staggering.”
After scanning communication records such as text messages, emails and phone calls, You, Only Virtual says it creates a chatbot that can utter original responses in conversation with a user either through written chats or audio responses that mimic a deceased relative’s voice, Harrison said.
The company, he added, aims to offer video-chat capability later this year and ultimately provide augmented-reality that allows for interaction with a three-dimensional projection.
Harrison rejected possible privacy concerns raised by the use of personal correspondence to build a chatbot without the consent of the deceased, noting that the user of the chatbot is the same person to whom the communications were initially sent.
“You absolutely don’t need consent from someone who’s dead,” Harrison said. “My mom could’ve hated the idea but this is what I wanted and I’m alive.”
The early-stage startup, which has eight employees, is poised to grow in part through improvements in generative AI, Harrison said.
“Everything that happens with helping the program get better at learning and quantifying information is good for us,” Harrison said.
StoryFile, a company that says it has 40 employees and $10 million in annual revenue, offers an interactive version of deceased relatives by recording an hourslong question-and-answer session with the individual before his or her death, and in turn, attempting to create a reproduction that responds to prompts.MORE: What is ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence text bot that went viral?
In this case, the virtual reproduction utters pre-recorded content in a real-life manner, said Stephen Smith, the CEO of StoryFile. If a topic falls outside a set of established discussion areas, however, the reproduction cannot respond. Currently, users speak with the digital loved one through interactive video but the company is developing the capacity for conversation with a 3D likeness, Smith said.
The company holds a “hard line” against the use of AI for generating original spoken content, which Smith said he finds “creepy and weird.” (In response, Harrison defended such use of the technology. “By using natural language processing and generative AI, you’re able to keep the process moving forward so it’s relevant, it’s topical and it’s fresh,” Harrison said.)
Instead, StoryFile deploys an AI chatbot as the interviewer during the question-and-answer sessions, allowing the conversation to probe a vast range of topic expertise, said Smith, who previously led the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation, which established an archive of oral testimony about the Holocaust.
“I’m an oral historian going, ‘Jeez, I’ve wasted the last 30 years of my life,'” Smith said. “ChatGPT can do it as well as me.”
To be sure, some experts doubted the progress for this industry afforded by language models like ChatGPT and warned of potential risks.
“They’re trying to do the impossible,” said Marcus, of New York University.
Generative AI sometimes responds to prompts with arbitrary or inaccurate information, Marcus added, posing a risk to users who may struggle to fully understand the limits of the technology when it performs as a reproduction of a deceased loved one.
“These models are good at tricking people that they’re people but they’re not,” Marcus said. “It’s kind of like a party trick doing some imitations but certainly not the real thing.”
Meanwhile, the mental health effects of such products are being examined. Smith, of StoryFile, acknowledged that the immediate aftermath of a death may be too early for some people to see a virtual reproduction of a loved one, adding that the product preserves the legacy for ensuing generations.
Elena Lister, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, said digital reproductions of the deceased could cause harm if they push a grieving individual to withdraw from his or her life. However, she added, the grieving process varies widely.
“When someone dies in your life, you are just so hungry for more of them,” Lister told ABC News. “This is an attempt to bridge that gap.”
“When it comes to grieving, there is very little that is right or wrong,” she added. “If something provides you with comfort, I would in no way say there’s something bad about it.”
Going further, Harrison said he hopes people no longer have to feel grief at all. He wishes he could’ve avoided the painful emotions that have accompanied the death of his mom, he said, even if the experience has brought about some personal growth.
“Have I learned to be more reliant on myself? That’s good,” Harrison said. “Was it worth losing my mom? No.”
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