Category Archives: Second Coming of Christ

August 23, 2020 · 10:00

What If?

I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 24:14)

Have you noticed how the world seems to be coming apart at the seams? Of course, COVID-19 leads the headlines followed closely by the riots taking place all over the nation.  The United States is not alone in this regard. The pandemic and lawlessness circles the globe while economies threaten to collapse worldwide. America’s enemies continue to build up their war machines at the neglect of their own people. The world appears ready for war if something does not happen soon to ease the tension.

Because of the focus on our own problems, we fail to see what is taking place in the Middle East where biblical prophecy focuses. Tiny Israel emerges from obscurity to become the eighth strongest military force in the world.[1] They turned a worthless barren land into one of the most fertile and productive in the world.[2] Israel takes water from the Mediterranean Sea and turns it into water suitable for drinking and watering crops.[3] Israel can even draw water out of thin air![4] Israel’s technology often surpasses even that of the United States.[5] Twenty centuries ago, the Roman Empire crushed this little nation and scattered the Jewish people all over the world. Miraculously, the people maintained their identity, their customs, and their language throughout the centuries and returned to their land of origin to begin anew, just as foretold in the pages of Scripture.

Those same prophecies foretell of the coming of the Messiah that will rule with a “rod of iron.”[6] However, the Prophet Daniel foretold that Messiah would come and that He would be “cut off.”[7] Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by His death on the cross, but the prophecies also foretold that He would rise again.[8] The Jews missed their Messiah because they awaited one that would come as an earthly king, throw off the shackles of Roman bondage, and make Israel a nation that would rule the world as predicted by the prophets. They did not look for a Messiah to come and sacrifice His own body for their sins, much less the sins of the world. They were not wrong to expect a reigning king Messiah; they just missed that it was needful for him to die.[9]

The Old Testament has over 300 prophecies about Jesus. Jesus fulfilled every one concerning His first coming. The odds of one man, Jesus, fulfilling just 8 of those prophecies is an unimaginable 1 in 1017, but Jesus fulfilled all of them.[10] The Old Testament contains more prophecies about His second coming than it does about His first coming. Jesus Himself promised that He would return. He said, “… I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3). When He ascended into heaven, as the disciples watched Him disappear into the clouds, two angels appeared to them and asked, “…Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Jesus talked about future world conditions prior to His return.[11] We see many of those predictions taking shape even now. This is just “the beginning of sorrows.”[12] The skeptics will point out that we have always had wars, pestilences, famines, earthquakes, etc. These are nothing new. However, the convergence of all these dire predictions taking place simultaneously is “unprecedented.”[13] Combined with the reemergence of the nation of Israel, these events have greater significance today. Even my lost backdoor neighbor recognizes the trouble in our world and assesses the condition of our nation as “Godless.” To say that this man is “rough around the edges” puts it mildly, so for him to make a statement like that tells me that it is not just me that sees this. The conditions seem ripe for our Lord’s return, first for His church at the Rapture, and then as He returns to reign as King the way the Jews expected Him the first time.

But, what if we have it all wrong? What if Jesus is not coming soon? What if Jesus will not come at all? Jesus said about the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture of the Church, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22). This conditional prediction forecasts the extinction of all life on earth.

The way I see the world headed, that prediction is highly likely. I am not alone in this assessment. There is an ideology carved in stone that proposes reducing world population down to 500-million[14] among other crazy socialist ideals. These proposals raise the question, “Who decides who lives and who dies?” They want to “guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity,” and they want to “unite humanity with a living new language.” i.e. they want to bring humanity back to Babel.[15]

Another way they want to improve and “evolve” humanity is with the hybridization of humans with machines – artificial intelligence (AI).[16] However, what eludes these geniuses is the fact that their creations would no longer be human. Others propose improving human DNA through various methods of genetic modification.[17] [18] [19] [20] I heard someone say that altering human DNA by only one percent makes that individual non-human; they become something else. Jesus took on human DNA to save humans. What if genetically modified humans are no longer human? Can they be saved?

What if Jesus delays His return just 50 or 60 years? In what condition will He find the human race? What if Jesus does not come at all? What will become of the human race? Will we destroy ourselves through rampant violence? Will we “evolve” ourselves into human/machine hybrids – cyborgs? That is not the brave new world of which I want to be part.

What if Jesus delays His coming or does not come at all? All the prophecies in the Bible about His second coming are all future and not yet realized. So, how can we know for sure? Well, since we cannot reckon the future, we can always look to the past for validation. The biblical record predicting the first coming of Christ is 100% accurate. The biblical record of coming end-time events is proving accurate thus far: Israel is a nation, everything needed for the third Temple is ready, prophecies for Israel in the end-times are being fulfilled, the staging for the Gog-Magog invasion of Israel[21] is falling into place, the moral decline and violence of the end-times world is on the increase. If Jesus’ first coming was predicted with 100% accuracy, and many of the end-times prophecies are already fulfilled and being fulfilled, the only thing that remains is for Jesus to come and take His Bride, the Church, out of this world, and the rest of the prophecies will also come to pass. There are no signs to predict the Rapture of the Church. It will come suddenly at any moment. However, being that signs for the end continue to increase, we can be sure that the Rapture is imminent.[22] But, what if Jesus does not return or delays? Jesus said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22). Jesus will not allow His creation to destroy itself.

Reader, what if Jesus comes and you are not ready? You can take care of that today. Read my article on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]  Ezekiel 37:1-14

[2]  Isaiah 27:6; 35:1-2

[3]  “Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here” – https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/israel-proves-the-desalination-era-is-here/

[4]  “Extracting water from air, Israeli firm looks to quench global thirst” – https://www.timesofisrael.com/extracting-water-from-air-israeli-firm-looks-to-quench-global-thirst/

[5]  “List of Israeli Inventions And Discoveries” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_inventions_and_discoveries

[6]  Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15

[7]  Daniel 9:26

[8]  Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27-32

[9]  Isaiah 53

[10]  “APPLYING THE SCIENCE OF PROBABILITY TO THE SCRIPTURES” – https://christinprophecy.org/articles/applying-the-science-of-probability-to-the-scriptures/

[11]  Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21

[12]  Matthew 24:8

[13]  “Unprecedented” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/04/19/unprecedented/

[14]  “The Georgia Guidestones Mystery” – https://thesecrettruthabout.com/the-georgia-guidestones-mystery/

[15]  Genesis 11:1-9

[16]  “What is Transhumanism” – https://whatistranshumanism.org/

[17]  “Human Genetic Modification” – https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/topics/human-genetic-modification

[18]  “Genetically Modified Humans? How Genome Editing Works” https://www.livescience.com/50599-gene-editing-human-embryos.html

[19]  “When Humans Become Cyborgs | DAVOS 2020” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrNaaz1isEQ

[20]  “AI: THE PLAN TO INVADE HUMANITY” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzg7Rw-mX4k

[21]  Ezekiel 38-39

[22]  “Imminent” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/01/12/imminent/

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August 2, 2020 · 10:00

Stop the Nonsense!

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  (Hebrews 10:24-25)

When Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was, Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Of Peter’s confession, Jesus answered, “Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The purpose of gates is to keep out invaders. Therefore, by implication, Jesus portrayed the Church charging the Gates of Hell.

However, that is not the image of the Church we see today. Instead, the Church is fragmented into its individual pieces all cowering in their private shelters fearful of a virus that infects a very low percentage of the population and kills even fewer. The “bread of life” is broken up into crumbs and scattered in hidden places. For now, the Gates of Hell are safe!

I have written on this topic before,[1] [2] so rehashing past articles serves little purpose. However, the Word bears repeating. “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, emphasis mine). “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Churches that have shut their doors, mine included, are operating in the “spirit of fear”[3] regardless of the “reasons” given for their capitulation to unlawful edicts and decrees. It is time for the pastors of these cowering churches to grow a backbone, stand up against these unlawful authorities, and reopen the doors of the churches, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, emphasis mine).

Watch and listen to this preacher, ex-Muslim, and fugitive from Iran. He says it better than I can. You may want to start viewing the YouTube video at minute 32:40.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDpVUCOmXjk

Notes:

[1]  “The Right to Assemble” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/06/14/the-right-to-assemble/

[2]  “Higher Powers” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/07/19/higher-powers/

[3]  “Living in Fear” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/06/28/living-in-fear/

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July 26, 2020 · 10:00

So Ready!

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

With everything taking place in our nation and across the world, I yearn with an aching heart for Jesus to call His children home. The event known as the Rapture captured my imagination almost 50 years when Hal Lindsey came out with his book, The Late, Great Planet Earth. Ever since, I have waited expectantly wondering if this could be the year.

Not long after reading Hal Lindsey’s book, I got married, started a family, and became very preoccupied with making a living and all that goes along with that. Thoughts of the Rapture came infrequently, but they never left my thoughts altogether.

Things back then did not seem as bad as they appear today. Roe v. Wade was a terrible decision by the Supreme Court, but as bad as that was then, it does not compare to the butchery taking place now and all that goes along with that. Homosexuals coming out of the closet disgusted us, but as long as they were not “hitting on” us, we could tolerate them. That sprouted into all kinds of perversion we see today that even involve young children. Today the “alphabet movement” demands that we accept their perversion as “normal.” They have even infiltrated elementary schools to indoctrinate our children into their deviance by teaching little ones that their gender is their choice, not a biological fact. What did Jesus say about those who harm little children? “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones” (Luke 17:2).

Add to all of that the violence in the streets of our cities – as in the days of Noah.[1] Then we have the Wuhan pandemic plaguing the world, and recently I heard from an unverified source that Russia plans to release COVID-20 which is supposedly worse. On top of that, we have a rapid degeneration of relations with China, and with Russia that some fear could lead to war. Meanwhile, in the Middle East where end-times prophecy focuses, the stage continues to be set for the end-times wars outlined in the book of Ezekiel.

It is not so much that all these things are taking place, but that they are accelerating at a rapid pace. What we see is what Jesus described in Mathew 24. However, what Jesus described was the Tribulation,[2] “the time of Jacob’s trouble,”[3] prophesied by Daniel.[4] Jesus referred to the time of His return to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The prophet Jeremiah called it “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” God changed Jacob’s name to Israel,[5] and he was the father of the twelve tribes that composed the nation of Israel. Furthermore, the angel instructed Daniel that “Seventy weeks [or 70 x 7 or 490 years] are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city…” (Daniel 9:24, emphasis mine). The first 483 years ended when Jesus was crucified. One final seven (years) remains to be fulfilled; that is the time of the Tribulation. The book of Revelation outlines in horrific detail the events that will transpire during those seven years. However, the point here is that the time of Tribulation is for the sake of Israel (Jacob). More could be said about this, but that is not my intent here.

The Church is not Israel. The Church has not replaced Israel as some wool-clad wolves are saying. The time of Tribulation is not for the Church. The purpose of the Tribulation is for the saving of Israel and for God to keep His promises to Israel. The Church will be removed before the Tribulation begins at the Rapture!

Many argue that “Rapture” is found nowhere in the Bible. That is true. The English word “rapture” is not in the Bible, but the source of the word is. The Greek word Paul uses to describe this event is harpazō.[6] It means “to seize, carry off by force,” or “to snatch out or away.” The KJV translates to “be caught up.” The Latin Vulgate Bible translates the word as “rapturo,” from which we get our English word Rapture.

There are several examples of people being “caught up” in the Bible: Enoch[7] and Elijah[8] in the Old Testament, and Philip[9] in the New Testament. In fact, harpazō is the word used for Philips catching away. Paul tells us that we will not all die, which seems to contradict what is said in the Letter to the Hebrews. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, emphasis mine). That is generally true; however, there have been and will be some exceptions. Remember, Enoch and Elijah did not die, and we who are alive at the time of the rapture will not experience physical death.

We cannot enter the presence of God in our sinful bodies. Paul reminds us that we will not all sleep, i.e., die, “but we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51). “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). We need uncorrupted, i.e., “sinless” bodies to stand in God’s presence. Paul says that the time is coming when the trumpet will sound and Christians who have died will come up out of their graves, then those of us who are alive at that time will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (that’s really fast).[10] Then he says, “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 4:17, emphasis mine). Note that we go “to meet the Lord in the air;” He does not come down to earth. The Rapture is NOT the Second Coming.” That event happens at the end of the Tribulation.[11] This is the Rapture of the Church.

I believe the Bible teaches that the Rapture of the Church takes place before the seven-year Tribulation. The Tribulation is for the salvation of Israel. The Church is saved through the blood Christ shed on the cross. There are no signs for the Rapture. All the signs we see are for the Second Coming of Christ, which is preceded by the seven-year Tribulation. That we are seeing the beginning signs for the Tribulation should alert us to the proximity of the Rapture. The signs we see now are just “the beginning of sorrows,”[12] i.e. birth pains. Just as birth pains begin infrequently and sporadically and gradually increase in frequency and intensity, in the same way, the signs of Jesus’ Second Coming will grow in frequency and intensity until He returns. However, the Rapture comes first, and it could happen at any time.

I am so ready! I often wonder what it will feel like for my body to change instantly into a sinless, flawless, immortal body with a full head of hair and the body of a 30-year-old! Then to zoom through the roof of my house or car leaving my old rags behind and clothed in a sparkling white suit of clothes to meet Jesus somewhere out in space. Can you imagine that! I am so ready!

How about you? Are you ready to meet Jesus in the air? You do not want to go through the Tribulation. If you think this world is bad now, you ain’t seen nothing yet! If you are not sure, you need to settle that right now. Please visit my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]  Matthew 24:37-39; Genesis 6:5, 11-12,

[2]  Matthew 24:21, 29

[3]  Jeremiah 30:7

[4]  Daniel 9:24-27

[5]  Genesis 32:28

[6]  1 Thessalonians 4:14

[7]  Genesis 5:24

[8]  2 Kings 2:11

[9]  Acts 8:39

[10]  1 Corinthians 15:50-53

[11]  Revelation 19

[12]  Matthew 24:8

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June 28, 2020 · 10:00

Living in Fear

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)

Fear not! I have not counted for myself, but I understand that phrase, or some form of that phrase, appears 365 times in the Bible, one time for every day of the year. Yet it seems that these days fear dominates almost every area of our lives.

Beginning with the fear incited by federal health bureaucrats and the “fake news” media over the Wuhan Bug, a.k.a. COVID-19,[1] people fear leaving their homes without their self-poisoning surgical masks and plenty of immune-system-defeating hand sanitizer. This fear of the invisible predator has effectively imprisoned normal, healthy people, closed down churches[2], and heavily restricted or shut down businesses that rely on human traffic (not “trafficking”). Even the U.S. Navy fears the virus so much that it has effectively imprisoned all sailors.[3] President Trump recently spoke to graduating cadets at Annapolis who were all masked and properly social-distanced.[4]

It seems, however, that the Wuhan Bug discriminates among those it will infect. Apparently, Black Lives Matter (BLM) anarchists possess immunity against the virus. They wear masks only to hide their faces, and they do not practice social-distancing because it hinders mob vandalism. BLM and their support organization, ANTIFA, harbor no fear of the Wuhan Bug nor do they fear civil authority. In fact, it appears that the authorities fear the rioters more. While the police have “riot gear,” guns, bullets, tear gas and armored military vehicles, they hesitate to employ them for fear that they might be called “racists.” They have been rendered helpless by a word!

The local governments in charge of these police departments deserve the blame for this cowardice. They shackle those who “serve and protect” rendering law enforcement ineffective. Worse yet, many are beginning to yield to the rioters’ demands to defund the police departments. Meanwhile, law-abiding citizens are abandoned to fend for themselves while at the same time, leftists leaders push to violate the Second Amendment and disarm law-abiding citizens so that they are totally without protection.

So, now we also have a visible predator to fear. We can vanquish this one with little trouble and a little common sense. BLM is not about combating racism. There is no systemic racism in the United States. Any racism that exists, exists only in the minds of the propaganda spewing media and those leftists running the government (local, state, and federal) that feed propaganda to the media for public consumption. BLM is a Marxist organization[5] with the objective of destroying the American system of government and capitalism. Black lives do not matter to BLM; power does! BLM goes one step beyond socialism to communism. Neither the leaders of the movement nor the fools that follow them know the history of either socialism or communism. They have swallowed the utopian lie fed to them by their indoctrinators that such systems offer equality for all (except for those that are “more equal”). They believe in open borders, one-world order, and no law enforcement. Ironically, the “CHOP” experiment in Seattle, WA comes complete with borders and its own form of “law” enforcement. I heard somewhere, but I cannot confirm, that in its short existence, CHOP already finds defectors and those who would like to escape and cannot. Utopia only exists in the mind!

The solution to this problem is simple. Declare BLM, like ANTIFA, a domestic terrorist organization. When the rioters form, bring in well-armed police and military and use deadly force against these “enemy combatants.” By embracing Marxism, BLM betrays and rejects the Constitution of the United States thereby renouncing their rights under American law. They are enemies of the state.

These thugs are cowards. All they need is to see some of their comrades fall in a pool of blood, and they will quickly rethink their allegiance.  Look again at the passage from Deuteronomy quoted above. In the Mosaic Law, if parents had a rebellious son who would not obey and submit to his parents’ authority, the parents could bring him before the elders of the town and they would stone him to death. That sounds harsh to our sensitive, politically correct ears, but God’s reasoning for such harsh punishment was “so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear” (Deuteronomy 21:21). Do you know why BLM and ANTIFA have no fear of authority? It is because they have not seen one of their own put to death for their rebellion. Instead, it is our leaders who respond in fear and allow this anarchy to continue, and as a result, the rest of us have to live in fear of what these vandals will do next. Perhaps we will be the ones caught by a mob beating on our cars trying to drag us out to pummel us because we have been judged as “privileged.”

Of course, these riots are not unique to the United States. This is taking place all over the world. We just do not see it because the fake news tries to distract us to focus our attention only what is taking place here and only from the perspective of their camera lenses.

There is another source of fear for those who hold conservative values. According to some sources, it appears that our President, Donald Trump, stands a strong chance of losing the 2020 election, and we will get stuck with Joe Biden and whoever ends up as his running mate. That is a very scary thought. If that happens, there are Demonrat bills already waiting in the wings that will severely injure our First and Second Amendments. Who knows what other tyrannical legislation they will foist on us when all the stops are removed! On the other hand, if Trump is reelected and considering how his first election ignited their fury, imagine how they will react when he wins a second term. Either way, the next four years will not be pretty.

I am exhorted by many conservative groups to participate in the legislative process. Get involved. Write to your Congressman and Senators. Write to the President. Get involved in local and state politics. I do. I have always participated and will continue to do so as long as we have the privilege. However, I am no Polly Anna. I can read the writing on the wall. This country is already lost, and if not, it soon will be. Soon, we will be faced with two options: submit or fight. I know what is in my mind. I have lived my threescore and ten years in freedom. I will not submit to tyranny, but every person will have to make that choice for themselves.

Do you know what I fear? I know that Jesus will return for His Bride very soon. I can almost see the angel puckering his lips to blow that last trumpet, and we will be out of here. I do not want to miss that experience and the sensation of instant metamorphosis in the “twinkling of an eye.” My fear is that I will die before that event. On the brighter side, death will only mean that I will rise first. “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” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, emphasis mine). Either way, I look forward to being with my Savior for eternity.

We are living in fearsome times, but if we have placed our trust in Jesus, we should not live in fear. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7). Take courage. Our Lord is coming soon!

Reader, if you are living in fear and are insecure about the future, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]  “Wuhan Bug” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/03/15/wuhan-bug/

[2]  “The Right to Assemble” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2020/06/14/the-right-to-assemble/

[3]  “The US Navy Officially Becomes a Prison for Sailors” – https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/06/us-navy-officially-becomes-prison-sailors/

[4]  “Trump tells West Point graduates America’s institutions endure against ‘passions and prejudices of the moment’” – https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-west-point-graduates-america

[5]  “Black Lives Matter co-founder describes herself as ‘trained Marxist’ – https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/blm-co-founder-describes-herself-as-trained-marxist/

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June 14, 2020 · 10:00

The Right to Assemble

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

The first of the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States, known as the Bill of Rights, says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (emphasis mine). Arguably, certain groups today are loudly exercising their “freedom of speech” (while prohibiting the speech of opposing views). These same groups, while adopting one part of the Constitution, ignore the part that allows them to “peaceably” assemble. Instead, they riot, vandalize, and destroy private property. These groups gather in large mobs in blatant violation of all “social distancing” recommendations put forth by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

There is another group that is ignoring the First Amendment by happily, quietly, and carefully adhering to all the dictates put forth from our beneficent government. Because the Government cares deeply about its citizens and because the Government wants to protect its citizens from the deadly Wuhan Bug, it issued strict stay-at-home orders. All mass gatherings were prohibited and gatherings were limited to 10 or less. Restaurants or any business where people come in close contact with one another were shut down. Such draconian measures affected many small businesses and severely damaged the national economy, but it also directly impacted houses of worship. Most churches fell right in step with Government demands without a peep. Oh, there were some outcries, but these drew immediate fire, not only from the media and local authorities but from other churches that readily complied with “the law.”

Please do not get me wrong. In many ways, I sympathize with pastors of these compliant churches. After all, the CDC painted a grim picture of the Wuhan Bug. It was stealthy. It struck out of nowhere. It was deadly. Pastors, who really care about their congregations, fear inviting a deadly, invisible guest into their congregations that could infect and possibly kill some of their members. If the Wuhan threat were as pernicious as represented by the CDC, pastors cautiously refused to take responsibility for infecting their members.

So, Churches across the country closed their doors. Of course, many churches found creative ways to keep “having church.” Live streaming of church services actually increased the number of church attendance, and many thousands have come to the Lord as a result. Bible study groups took advantage of Zoom ™ to conduct interactive Sunday School classes. So, all was not lost.

Churches have quietly complied with Government (local, state, and federal) demands. However, in doing so they have broken two greater laws – the Law of the Land (the Constitution), and the Law of God.

The stay-at-home orders violate the First Amendment in two ways. They prohibit “the free exercise” of religion and “the right of the people to peaceably assemble.” Some will argue that we have not lost “the free exercise” of religion because we continue to exercise our religion virtually through live stream. Perhaps. However, the second part of the amendment ensures that we can “peaceably assemble” and that is very much a part of our “religion” (see our beginning verse above). Unless I missed something in my high school civics studies, the Constitution supersedes all other laws (except the Law of God). Local and state governments cannot (legally) make laws that supplant the Law of the Land, nor can an unelected body like the CDC. So, by compliance with these unlawful laws, the Church is violating the law of the land.

By compliance with these unlawful edicts, the Church has unwittingly broken God’s law by “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25). One of the purposes for our assemblies is “to provoke [one another] unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24). That is next to impossible to do “virtually.” That cannot be done over the internet or even in a Zoom meeting for Sunday School. We need each other. “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:14-16). We can best “edify” each other when “the whole body [is] fitly joined together.”

The last phrase of Hebrews 10:25 reminds us that we should assemble “so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Anyone paying attention can see that “day approaching.” And what is the Church doing? Staying at home watching their pastor on a computer monitor!

Things seem to be winding down with the Wuhan scamdemic, but the CDC warns that it may ramp up again in the Fall. So, will the Church go back into hiding again?

Another observation troubles me. It is the lack of faith in God’s provision and protection demonstrated by the Church’s submission to these unlawful directives. If Jesus has directed His Church to not forsake our assembling together, especially as we see the day approaching, will He not honor that and protect us from any harm? Or, is trusting in His provision just something we read in the Bible that is nice to talk about, but not to be taken seriously? Since the shutdown orders went into effect, I’ve heard many sermons encouraging listeners to take courage and not to be fearful, yet, the pews are empty and the preacher is speaking to a cold, unresponsive camera. Where is the courage in that!

Again, I do not mean to criticize pastors. They are doing what they feel is best for their flock. I understand. How about showing true courage and opening the doors to the church with no “social distancing”? How about behaving as if God will protect His people as He has promised? How about standing up against unlawful orders, and courageously affirming that “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)?

I think it’s about time we assert our right to assemble. If anyone is fearful they should stay home. If anyone suspects they might be contagious, they should stay home. Otherwise, let’s have church – real church!

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