Pastor Ted Wilson, the Seventh-day Adventist
Church leader, has thanked Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte five months
after he granted an amnesty to 500 former rebels who accepted the Gospel through the
Adventist World Radio and put down arms.
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| Pr Ted Wilson (right) with the Bible in front of Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte during a visit last week. Photo by Philippines Information Agency |
The two met in an
over half an hour meeting in the capital of Manila on Wednesday 10th November
2021.
“I want to thank you
for providing amnesty to the former rebels, who now have had their hearts
changed by the powerful broadcasts of Adventist World Radio,” Pastor Wilson
said, thankful for the fact that the Word “helped the rebels to become
productive citizens”
President Duterte
thanked Pastor Wilson and the Adventist Church for the message that has been of
great inspiration in the Pacific Ocean island nation where the Church message
started in 1906.
“Your message of love
and hope and its emphasis on doing everything in service of others to serve God
has inspired so many people across our nation,” said President Duterte,
according to the Island nation’s information agency.
The baptism of the
500 former rebels and their leader is expected this Sabbath on 13th November
2021 on Mindoro island, one of the 7,640 islands that make up the Philippines,
according to the Adventist News.
The 75-year old
President approved an amnesty to the former rebels in February 2021 in a bid to
end insurgencies that have lasted since the late 1960s, claiming tens of
thousands of lives.
Pastor Wilson shared
the Word of God from Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man,
what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
He commented to the
Head of State that “This is the formula, your Excellency, for those who want to
help people, to lead,” further thanking the President for respecting Religious
Freedom in the nation where 750,000 are Adventists among nearly 110 million
people.
Pastor Wilson
presented Duterte with a Bible, Ellen White’s books The Great Controversy and
Steps to Christ, and a pen engraved with the Adventist Church logo, which he
told the president could be used to underline verses in the Bible.
Proclaiming the
amnesty for rebels, President Duterte said there was a need to “reintegrate as
soon as possible all rebels and insurgents into the mainstream society
including those who may have committed unlawful acts” according to the
Associated Press.
The amnesty removes criminal liability for acts committed by rebels apart from the acts the United Nations forbids from amnesties such as kidnappings for ransom, massacres, rape, terrorism, drug trafficking and certain crimes.
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Once in rebellion now in union just like Saul became Paul!
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