In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Upon entering any form of discourse, the best place to start is at the beginning. For one seeking God or desiring to know more about God, the Bible presents God and His relationship with His creation very succinctly in the first three chapters of the first book of the Bible. The Bible presents the matter so clearly and so simply that one must either accept it or reject it. There is no other choice.
Part 1, The Creator
The opening verse makes a matter-of-fact statement: “In the beginning God created…” We need to stop right there for a moment and consider the significance of that phrase. “God” – Hebrew ‘ĕlôhı̂ym – is a plural noun followed by the singular verb “created” – Hebrew bârâ’. Combining a plural noun with a singular verb makes bad grammar in Hebrew as well as in English. The Author (God Himself) did not make a grammatical blunder here, but rather presented the first indication of the triune nature of God. God is three persons in a singular Godhead. Also important to note is that the word bârâ’ is only used of God in the Old Testament; only God can bârâ’.
Later on in the New Testament we learn that the Creator is the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. John in his Gospel identifies Jesus, the Creator, as “The Word.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). A few verses later he clarifies who the Word is. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) referring to Jesus. The Apostle Paul confirms, “For by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible … And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” i.e., “hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17). Not only is Jesus the Creator of all things, He is also the sustainer of all things.
We see, then, that the agent of the creation was the Word, Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity. In the second verse, we see the Third Person of the Trinity involved in creation as He moves upon “the waters” to energize the created matter.
See Part 2, The Creation next week for the continuation of this study.
If you are not sure of your eternal destiny, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
Fear paralyzes the fearful, rendering them ineffective in that thing which they fear. Dictionary.com defines fear as “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined;”[1] (emphasis mine). The fact remains that 10% of most things feared or the things over which we worry never come to pass.
A long list of phobias exists which we could examine: fear of height, fear of flying, fear of germs, fear of needles, etc. However, the most ubiquitous fear held by the majority of people is the fear of dying. One can understand the nature of this fear; it is basically the fear of the unknown. What happens when one dies? Is this life all there is? Is there life after death? Do the dead come back in a different form – reincarnation? Are heaven and hell real? If heaven and hell are real, how does one arrive at one place and not the other? Does dying hurt?
For one who believes the Bible and the God of the Bible, death terminates physical life, but the spiritual essence that energizes the soul (the complete person) transitions on to eternity. The eternal destination depends on the spiritual condition of the soul at the time of death, one is either “saved”[2] or “lost.”[3]
Jesus spoke of two men who met death and ended up in different destinations.[4] Prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jews believed that those who died went to the “abode of the dead” known as Sheol. Sheol had two compartments, one for the unrighteous known as “torments” and one for the righteous known as “Abraham’s bosom” or “paradise.” So the two men died, one was rich and the other a beggar. The rich man ended up in the place of torments not because he was rich, but because he was unrighteous, i.e., “lost.” The poor beggar ended up in Abraham’s bosom not because he suffered poverty, but because he was righteous, i.e. “saved.” After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the destination for the “saved” changed to “the presence of the Lord.” The Apostle Paul makes this clear, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, emphasis mine). The lost still end up in “torments” (“hell”) to await their final destiny in the “lake of fire” that burns forever and ever.[5]
For those who do not have a personal, saving faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, death is a legitimate fear indeed. Some may salve their fear by ignoring, or by choosing to believe that death is the end, or by hoping in reincarnation, or by imagining that they will somehow meld into the vast universe, i.e., “become one with the universe.” However, all of these notions only produce doubt, and the fear remains.
The Christian, on the other hand, should not harbor the fear of death. Death, as Paul reminded us, means that we are absent from the body, but we are present with the Lord in the same place where He resides. For the Christian, there should be no fear of death. In another place, Paul reminds us that, for Christians, our “citizenship” (“our conversation”) is not in this world, but in heaven. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20-21, emphasis mine). For the Christian, the “afterlife” promises the possession of a physical body like that of the resurrected Christ in His presence.
I look forward to passing from this rapidly decaying world to be forever in the presence of the One who died in my place to save me from my sin for eternity. I have no fear of death. I realize that while He has me here in this world, I need to serve Him in every task that He lays before me. Then when that day comes, whether by physical death or by translation from this world into His presence in the Rapture, I will enter His courts with joy.
If you fear death or you are insecure about your eternal destiny, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
I wrote this in 2014, but our Sunday School class this morning enjoyed a lively discussion over the topic, so I thought I would share this article again. The material is still valid today.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Revelation 6:10)
This scene in heaven takes place shortly after Jesus opens the fifth seal of the seven-sealed scroll.[1] The Tribulation is just beginning. The first seal releases the white horse rider[2] that carries a bow but no arrows. He has a crown and he goes “forth conquering, and to conquer.” Most end-times prophecy teachers believe this one is Antichrist that appears at the beginning of the Tribulation. That he has no arrows for his bow suggests that he conquers through diplomacy. Further confirmation of this comes from the statement that “a crown was given unto him;” he does not take it by force. The Prophet Daniel describes him as the “fourth beast/kingdom”[3] whose kingdom will be unlike any before, and it “shall devour the whole earth.” Daniel’s “beast” – the “little horn” – a.k.a. Antichrist, will “speak great words against the Most High.” Daniel says that he will “wear out the saints,” i.e., the Jews for three and one half years. This will take place at the final three and one half years of the seven-year Tribulation.
In a later vision, Daniel predicts the appearance of Antichrist. “And he [Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years]: and in the midst of the week [after 3 ½ years] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation [when Christ returns], and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27, emphasis mine). Of him the Apostle Paul says, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [i.e., Antichrist]; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, emphasis mine). Jesus also warned, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).
So, to recapitulate, Antichrist, the rider on the white horse, comes on the scene and obtains world renown and power by diplomatic means (“speaking great words”). He confirms a peace agreement with Israel (and “with many”), which probably allows for the construction of the third temple (which needs to exist since he is going to desecrate it).[4] This act will begin the seven-year Tribulation. After 3 ½ years, he breaks the covenant, he enters the Temple declaring himself to be god, and initiates what will be the worst persecution of Jews the world has ever known. By the way, this persecution will also include Gentiles that come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation.
The next riders also show up at the beginning of the Tribulation, the first 3 ½ years. The rider on the red horse[5] removes peace from the earth. The rider on the black horse[6] brings global economic collapse. The rider on the pale (green) horse brings famine, plague, and death. The four horse riders represent the first four seals of the seven-seal scroll.
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9-10, emphasis mine). These are the “Tribulation Saints” that come to faith Christ after the Rapture (the “snatching away”) of the Church. Being a follower of Christ during the Tribulation will come at a high cost and many will pay with their lives. Now their souls are with the Savior, but they also see their brothers and sisters in Christ suffering the horrors of the Tribulation on earth. So, they cry, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” And, the Tribulation has only just begun.
We are beginning to see the “signs” of the end-times. Israel, the focal point of end-times prophecy, is ready to institute an unstable government. The players in the Gog and Magog[7] war are staging for battle. Through vaccine and mask mandates for the Wuhan Bug, the world population is being conditioned to blindly obey all orders that come from “above.” The US Government spends money that does not exist in the treasury and justify their foolishness by simply printing more. The “woke cancel culture” systematically undermines or destroys all social norms. Even language has lost all meaning. Violence among people groups is increasing all over the world. The downward spiral of our moral decay removes any trace of hope for a rational thinking person.
It seems that I find myself on a daily basis crying out, “How long, O Lord will You allow things to continue as they are?” Anyone who places their faith and trust in Jesus sees the light at the end of this dark tunnel. That light is the hope of Jesus’ soon coming for His Bride. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, emphasis mine). After that comes the seven-year Tribulation, which culminates with the return of Christ to set up His 1000-year reign on earth.[8]
I feel bad for those that will not come to Christ until after the Rapture. Life will be unimaginably difficult for Christians (Jews and Gentiles) living in the Tribulation, if they are not martyred early on. However, Jesus’ reign on earth is the only fix for this sick and broken world. I can only plead to anyone reading this if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you need to settle that right now. Please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life” and meet Jesus at the Rapture rather than at His Second Coming.
[4] Israeli religious leaders claim they have everything they need to build the Third Temple. All they need is the “go ahead” in order to start construction. They claim they can have it built in a matter of months.
Ernie's Musings 