Monthly Archives: January 2018

January 28, 2018 · 10:00

Walking On Water

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. (Matthew 14:29)

One of my favorite accounts recorded in the Gospels is that of Peter walking on water. Everyone knows that Jesus walked on the water, but no one remembers that Peter walked on the water too. Most people focus on the fact that Peter sank. Peter succumbed to the natural laws of physics, but he did walk on water.

The record begins when Jesus fed “about five thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 14:21). This He did by multiplying the five barley loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:17). “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full” (Matthew 14:20) – one basket full for each of the twelve disciples. The miracle demonstrated Jesus’ power as Creator. The beginning amount of food, if simply broken up into tiny morsels sufficient for each of the over 5000 people, would not have been enough for them all to be “filled” – the Greek word used there is chortazō, which means, “to gorge.”  Jesus created new food out of nothing, and the people were “stuffed.” After the “feast,” Jesus dismissed the crowd and instructed His disciples to get in the boat and go across the Sea of Galilee. Meanwhile, “he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).

While Jesus prayed, a storm came up on the lake and caught the disciples in middle of the water fighting for their lives. After a long night of bailing water and manning the oars, the disciples looked across the water and thought they saw a ghost walking in their direction.[1] It was past three o’clock in the morning – the fourth watch. Lack of sleep combined with aching backs and shoulders from fighting the elements contributed to the fear that gripped their hearts at the sight of this phantasm. “They were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear” (Matthew 14:26, emphasis mine).

Then came that all too familiar voice, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matthew 14:27). Literally, the Greek reads, “Have courage. I AM. Fear not.” The Great I AM who created the laws of physics now subjected them to His will by transforming the surface tension of water into a solid surface for His footsteps. Incredible! The disciples had their doubts.  “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come.” (Matthew 14:28-29a, emphasis mine).

One must really admire the audacity of Peter! Although he could not believe his eyes, he recognized and trusted the voice of the Savior. “And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:29b). Look closely at what the verse says. Peter got out of the boat, but he did not just stand there holding on to the side. “He walked on the water.” He let go of the boat and started walking “to go to Jesus.” Peter was walking on water! Peter did not perform a miracle. He did not manipulate the laws of physics like Jesus did. He simply trusted in the Word of Jesus. Jesus said, “come,” and that was enough. Way to go, Peter!

However, “when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid” (Matthew 14:30). The Greek word translated “boisterous” is ischuros, and it means “forcible, mighty, powerful, strong, or valiant.” We cannot really “see” the wind, but we see its effects. The wind was “forceful.” The waves broke over the bow of the small boat. The sea plunged to a depth of more than 200 feet. A man could easily drown under these circumstances. Peter took his eyes off the One who said, “come,” and he took notice of the elements around him instead. That is when he lost his footing, “and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him” (Matthew 14:30-31, emphasis mine).  Peter’s head did not go under before Jesus brought him to the surface, “and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). We should not be too critical of Peter’s “little faith.” Under similar circumstances, we might react the same way.

Like Peter, Jesus calls us to come to Him. The storms of life surround us. Danger lurks everywhere. Some see Jesus as a phantom, a figment of religious imaginations, and though the storms of life are very real, they prefer to take their chances in the boat where it is “safe.” However, the boat guarantees no safety. One big wave can swamp the boat, and life is over. The safest place is out on the water with Jesus. We can walk on water through the storms of life as long as our eyes are fixed on the One who says, “Come,” “and be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27).

That is not the end of the story. Peter did walk on water again. After Jesus saved him, they walked to the boat together. “And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased” (Matthew 14:32, emphasis mine). Walking on water with Jesus calms the storms of life.

Notes:

[1]  “Jesus’ Seven Signs in John (5)” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2016/11/20/jesus-seven-signs-in-john-5/

1 Comment

Filed under Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, Religion, Salvation, Theology

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

January 21, 2018 · 10:00

End of the World

Tares – a kind of darnel, resembling wheat

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; (Matthew 13:41)

In the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus relates several parables illustrating the “kingdom of heaven.” Beginning with verse 24, He compares the kingdom of heaven to a field that a farmer sowed with wheat (“good seed”). Then at night, while the farmer slept, an enemy came and sowed tares in the same field. The tares to which Jesus referred were probably some kind of darnel that looks much like wheat before it matures. Once it matures the difference becomes obvious.

The farmer’s hired hands detected the tares early on and reported their discovery to the farmer. “So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?” (Matthew 13:27). They suggested pulling out the tares to keep the wheat from being stunted. The farmer wisely told the workers to leave them alone lest they accidentally pull up some of the wheat. Once the crop matured, the wheat would be separated from the tares and the tares would be burned.

Jesus compared the field to the world. He, “the Son of Man,” is the field owner that sowed the good seed. One commentator suggested that the “good seed” is the Word of God and the “bad seed” – the tares – is false doctrine sown by Satan, the enemy. There is an element of truth in that interpretation; however, it is not interpretation Jesus gave. Jesus said, “the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one” (Matthew 13:38). The enemy is the devil who sowed the tares – products of his false doctrine no doubt – and the reapers are the angels (Matthew 13:39).

Jesus portrays the image of the world where His “seed” and Satan’s seed exist together.[1] Often, and sadly, they are indistinguishable from one another. Jesus says that “the harvest is the end of the world” (Matthew 13:39). This cannot be the Second Coming of Christ, because when He comes again, He will set up His kingdom on earth (Revelation 19:11-16), and He will reign for 1000 years (Revelation 20:4).

The “end of the world” comes after the 1000-year reign of Christ on earth. “But the rest of the dead [the tares that died prior to Jesus’ Second Coming or were killed in the battle of Armageddon] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5, emphasis mine). “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison” (Revelation 20:7, emphasis mine). Satan then incites many on earth to rebel against the rule of Christ, but the insurrection ends quickly (Revelation 20:9).

The tares – “the rest of the dead” – are raised and brought before “a great white throne” (Revelation 20:11) to be judged. Many today hope that on “judgment day” their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds on the great cosmic scales. Indeed, good and bad will be judged.  “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12, emphasis mine). “The books” contain the life record of every individual that ever lived – both good deeds and bad deeds. “The dead,” i.e. the “tares,” are judged by the content of their books. Note that the “good seed,” i.e. the “wheat,” are not being judged. They were “gathered up” before the 1000-year reign and ruled with Christ for the 1000 years (Revelation 20:4).

James says that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [sheol – “the grave] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13, emphasis mine). No one will be found guiltless. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To be fair, none of us can live up to such strict standards, so “the tares” are given one final test. Their names are checked against the Book of Life,[2] “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15, emphasis mine).

That is the end of the world, but it is not the end. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).

Reader, is your name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Has Satan filled your mind with false teachings and turned you into a tare? While there is breath in your body, you can alter your destiny and secure your name in the Book of Life. Call on Jesus; He alone can save you. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). For more information, read my page on Heaven from the tab at the top of this page.

Notes:

[1]  “Tares Among the Wheat” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2013/05/19/tares-among-the-wheat/

[2]  “The Book of Life” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2014/02/03/the-book-of-life/

Comments Off on End of the World

Filed under Apologetics, Christianity, End Times, Evangelism, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, Religion, Resurrection, Salvation, Satan, Second Coming of Christ

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 14, 2018 · 10:00

Alien Intrusion Reviewed

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Thursday evening I met some friends at a movie theater in Plano, TX to watch the documentary Alien Intrusion: Unmasking the Deception.[1] Since I read the book by the same name by author Gary Bates, I had a good understanding of the topic, so there were no surprises.

The documentary was very well done, and it employed excellent computer-generated animation (CGI) to carry the viewer onboard alien spacecraft to the far reaches of space. The documentary did an excellent job of debunking the notion of extraterrestrials (ET) visiting our planet from galaxies far, far away. Traveling at the speed of light is a physical impossibility that is well-known in modern physics. That, coupled with the astronomical distances in the known universe, even within our own Milky Way, makes such travel unthinkable. Minute particles of space debris would rip a spaceship to shreds traveling at such speeds. Our orbiting satellites sustain constant hits as they orbit at the “slow” speeds required to maintain their orbits.

So, if those aliens are not from “out there,” from where do they come?[2] The documentary does not deny the “reality” of these “alien entities.” However, the movie casts doubt on whether UFOs, i.e., the spacecraft, are real. While they (the movie producers) confess that many sightings remain unexplained, they suggest that most, if not all, can be explained by natural phenomena. Their focus zeros in on the alien entities.

To the point, the documentary concludes that these entities are real, and they are from the spiritual realm, not from outer space. One of my friends was frustrated that they seemed to dance around the issue without outright naming the “entities” for what they are – demons. That point escaped me because I naturally understood that they were referring to demons. So did my friend, but her point was that people who are unfamiliar with Christianity and the Bible might miss that point. Perhaps that is a point the producers should have taken into consideration.

The documentary featured people who have experienced “close encounters of the third kind,” i.e, personal and physical contact with these “entities.” They describe abductions by these beings where they are taken into spaceships where physical experiments are performed on them. Often, the examinations involve sexual experimentation. The abductees report seeing incubation areas in the spaceships where the products of the sexual experimentations are grown. When psychiatrists examine these people, they are found to be telling the truth. However, the producers of the documentary, while believing the entities are real, suggest that the experience itself is a delusion induced by the entities. This is a reasonable conclusion since Satan himself is a deceiver and the “father of lies” (John 8:44); therefore, it stands to reason that his demons would also be expert liars. The movie producers conclude that the encounters are real, and the entities are real, but the UFOs are not.

L.A. Marzulli,[3] a Christian ufologist (UFO chaser), agrees that the “aliens” are demons, but he would disagree with the other conclusions presented in Alien Intrusion.  Based on the record of “the sons of God” marrying the “daughters of men” (Genesis 6:1-4), Marzulli believes that the abductions are real, and the sexual experiments performed on the abductees are for the purpose of creating hybrids like the Nephilim[4] of old. He also believes that the UFOs used by these “aliens” are real. Many expert witnesses – experienced pilots – have confirmed the reality of these craft but until recently, these reports have been suppressed by government agencies.

Recently, on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,”[5] a Navy pilot disclosed – complete with video footage – his encounter with a craft he claimed was “not from this world.”[6] Marzulli sees this “disclosure” as the government’s way of preparing the public for the arrival of ET. It is Marzulli’s contention that when the Rapture of the Church takes place, the ETs will “show up” to convince the world that the disappearances were their doing to rid the world of “undesirables.” That too makes sense. Demons possess high intelligence. They are not omniscient, like God, but they possess knowledge beyond that of man. So, can they manipulate DNA? Can they create “spacecraft” that defy the laws of physics? Of course, they can! Besides all of that, they are cunning deceivers.

Alien Intrusion: Unmasking the Deception[7] is a good documentary, but I do not think it went far enough. I agree more with L.A. Marzulli that the UFOs and abductions are real, not just simply demon-induced imaginations. The documentary also made a feeble attempt at presenting the Gospel. They did point out that the “visitations” stop if the victim calls out to Jesus. In addition, those who have experienced frequent abductions stop having the experiences when they trust Jesus as their Savior. However, the clear Gospel message was rather weak. Overall, the movie is well worth the time to watch. I am not sure if it will be shown in theaters again, but the DVDs will be available soon from their website.

Notes:

[1]  http://www.alienintrusion.com/

[2]  https://erniecarrasco.com/2013/06/16/aliens/

[3]  http://www.lamarzulli.net/

[4]  https://erniecarrasco.com/2017/08/13/giants/

[5]  http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/tucker-carlson-tonight/index.html

[6]  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tucker+carlson+tonight+ufo+disclosure&view=detail&mid=BC0AF1D55B709984A042BC0AF1D55B709984A042&FORM=VIRE

[7]  http://www.alienintrusion.com/

Comments Off on Alien Intrusion Reviewed

Filed under Christianity, Current Events, End Times, Random Musings, Science, UFOs

Tagged as , , , ,

January 7, 2018 · 10:00

Tough Love

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37)

I may be wrong, but I sense that every Christian experiences this dilemma to one degree or another. We have experienced God’s love and grace in a very real sense. We know the Gospel is true, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). We know that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone, “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

We know that all other paths lead to an eternal hell, “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:13). We know all of this, and we rest secured in the knowledge “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

 That is good for us! However, not everyone we know shares that knowledge and that assurance. In fact, most of the people we know – friends, co-workers, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, other relatives – travel that “broad way” of life that “leads to destruction.” Sadly, most of them are, by worldly standards, very nice and good people. They do not know about the “tight door” and the “narrow way, which leadeth unto life” (Matthew 7:14). They could find out from us, but we love them too much to tell them! If we tell them, they could be offended, and our relationship with them will suffer. They may stop talking to us. They may hate us and never want to have anything to do with us. In the case of a co-worker, we could lose our job over it. What a terrible loss that would be for us! Instead, we would rather love them right into hell! Does that sound like love to you?

Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). So, why do we hesitate to share the Gospel with those whom we love the most? Is it because we love them too much? If that is the case, then according to Jesus, we are not worthy of Him (see our leading verse above). Telling your loved ones about Jesus takes tough love, but guess what? Jesus loves them more than you do. He died to save them too.

Comments Off on Tough Love

Filed under Christianity, Evangelism, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, Religion, Salvation

Tagged as , , , , ,

January 6, 2018 · 12:17

Operation Condor – How NSA Director Mike Rogers Saved The U.S. From a Massive Constitutional Crisis… | The Last Refuge

Source: Operation Condor – How NSA Director Mike Rogers Saved The U.S. From a Massive Constitutional Crisis… | The Last Refuge

Just look at the tangled web woven by the Demoncrat “deep state”!

This is a very long and very detailed article, but well worth your time to read. The “swamp” runs deep and it is murky and stinks!

2 Comments

Filed under Current Events, Politics