Category Archives: Second Coming of Christ

January 3, 2016 · 10:30

What Next?

Happy-New-Year-2016-Images

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:  (Isaiah 46:9-10)

The Christmas lights are down. The tree and the ornaments are put away. The year 2015 is history. As I mentioned in my previous post, the year began with great expectations, most of which did not materialize, much to my dismay.  But isn’t that the way it often happens! That aside, I did accomplish some personal goals. I donated[1] my 1/60-scale model of Noah’s Ark[2] to the Institute for Creation Research.  I read the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible through.  My wife and I signed up with a physical trainer in May and stuck with the program. I lost 25 pounds, so far, and gained noticeable strength and endurance, which encouraged my doctor to take me off of my blood pressure meds. We also took a cruise along the northeast coast which granted me a longtime dream of standing on the deck of the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides” – a wish-come-true for this old Navy boy.

In retrospect, many positive experiences and accomplishments took place in 2015, but my greatest desire did not come to pass – the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. In spite of many positive “signs,” the Lord, in His omniscience, determined that the time was not right. That in itself is a positive thing, especially for those who are lost and in need of the Savior. God in His mercy has delayed His judgment on this world (2 Peter 3:9).

So, what is in store for 2016? What comes next? Will the Lord return in 2016, or will we go to meet Him in death? Will we enjoy good health or will we or one of our loved ones experience serious illness?  Will this be the year that our lost loved ones accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Will our national economy implode, or will it take an upswing turn for the better? Who will be voted President, and will he (or she) have a positive influence on the country? Will our nation once more get dragged into an unwanted war?

There are so many questions for which we cannot know the answers! Certainly as we analyze world affairs, the outlook seems grim, and it makes for a good source for depression. Several coping methods can be employed to deal with the unknown and unpredictable. We can isolate and insolate ourselves from negative input. Shut off TV news, turn off the radio, and stop reading newspapers, magazines and social media. Another option is to numb your mind through chemistry, entertainment, pleasure, or other distractions. If you can’t hear it, see it or feel it, it’s not really there. Right? A third option is to face the world head on. Be aware of what is going on around you and in the world. Prepare for adversity but with hope, not paranoia. Rest in the assurance that you are under God’s protection. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father … Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28-29, 31).

What next? There is no way to know what the future holds, so trust Him who holds the future. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). The Lord knows what 2016 will bring. He knows “the end from the beginning,” and we can be sure that He has included us in His plans. Happy 2016!

Notes:

[1]  http://www.icr.org/article/noahs-ark-model

[2]  https://erniecarrasco.com/2015/03/01/building-the-ark/

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December 27, 2015 · 16:30

Almost Gone

new-year-clock

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

The presents are gone from under the tree. The wrappings, ribbons and bows are all in the trash, and all the guests left days ago. Not many days remain in what’s left of this year, and soon we’ll be singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

The older I get, the quicker the years seem to zoom by. This year is no exception. I must confess that this year has been somewhat of a disappointment to me. You may attribute that to the state of politics, the economy, the rise of terror, the decline of morality in our nation, etc., and while all those things can put a damper on one’s outlook, they really are not the source of my disappointment.

I started this year with the genuine hope that this would be the year that Christ returned, and we, His children, would be taken up in the clouds to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  Many of the signs seemed to converge to make a good case for this being the year. First there was the third Blood Moon of the rare tetrad at Passover in April that was preceded by a total solar eclipse in March. Then the fourth Blood Moon of the tetrad appeared during the Feast of Tabernacles in late September. Add to that, the final Blood Moon followed the end of the Shamitah which modern “prophets” saw as a sign of economic collapse, (which did not occur in any way to cause great consternation). To boot, all of this leads to the Year of Jubilee, which began on Rosh Ha-Shanna, September 13.

All this year, I have looked toward the eastern sky and cupped my ear for the sound of the trumpet, and it didn’t come.

Jesus did not come. 😦

I am disappointed, but not disheartened or discouraged. After all, Jesus said, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32, emphasis mine). The modern day prophets made some good guesses solidly based on Scripture, but they obviously missed it. To their credit, none would dogmatically set a date for Christ’s return, and all offered the disclaimer that God is not bound by their speculations. Still, there was the hope.

Should that hope be abandoned simply because mortal men guessed wrong? As Paul would say, “God forbid!” Jesus promised to return: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. 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 14:1-3, emphasis mine). There is absolutely no reason not to believe that He will do as He promised. The Old Testament is full of prophecies foretelling of His first coming, and all were proven true beyond any shadow of doubt. So accurately were those promises fulfilled, that the probability of one man fulfilling just eight of them is a virtual impossibility, yet Jesus fulfilled them all. If Scripture proved true about His first coming, then it will certainly prove true for His second coming.

A few days still remain in 2015. Jesus may return before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, or He may yet delay. Twenty-Sixteen is the Year of Jubilee and that would be a great time for Christ to return. And what if He does not come in 2016? So what! Jesus promised He will return. In the meantime He said, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8, emphasis mine). “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20, emphasis mine). We must do this because, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, emphasis mine). Likewise, we should not be willing that any should perish.

Does this mean I should stop looking and listening? Of course not! “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3, emphasis mine). “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). So, no lollygagging! There is work yet to be done! “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” (Matthew 24:46). Perhaps in 2016!

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October 11, 2015 · 10:30

Clothing

Fashion-And-Modern-Youth

Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.   (Zechariah 3:4b)

Someone asked about clothing. How did it develop, and what does the Bible have to say about it? If you consult secular sources, you may learn that “Evidence suggests that human beings may have begun wearing clothing as far back as 100,000 to 500,000 years ago.”[1] Of course, those guesses find their basis in evolutionary thought, which is inconsistent with biblical chronology.  These same sources admit that “It is not known when humans began wearing clothes, but anthropologists believe that animal skins and vegetation were adapted into coverings as protection from cold, heat and rain…”[2] We can agree that clothing has been important in human history from the very beginning.  “The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of most human societies.”[3] I do not know this for a fact, but I would venture to say all human societies, even the most primitive, wear some type of clothing.

As for what the Bible has to say, Genesis 2:25 tells us that both the man and the woman were naked at the time of their creation. Genesis 3:7-8 tells us that after they sinned, they discovered that they were naked, and were ashamed. Why were they ashamed? I cannot be dogmatic about this, but I think that when they were first created (in the image of God), they had an aura (light) about them. I arrive at this conclusion from examples given in the Bible of individuals, like Moses, acquiring a glow or radiance about them from being in the presence of God. Angels are described as having this glow (Acts 10:30). Jesus had this glow at His transfiguration (Matthew 17:2), and He has it in the descriptions of Him given in Revelation 1:16. So, I believe Adam and Eve had this glow about them, and when they sinned, the light went out, and they saw that they were naked. More than that, they recognized that they had lost something of the image of the One in whose image they were made. They lost their identity with their Creator, and they were afraid (Genesis 3:10).

At the end, God (and I believe this was God in human form – the pre-incarnate Christ) sacrificed innocent animals (probably sheep or goats), and He made clothes to cover the fallen couple. There is an interesting but subtle play on words here with the Hebrew word for skins – ‛ôr. It is pronounced the same as the Hebrew word for light – ‘ôr – but it is spelled differently. The former is spelled with an aleph (א), and the latter is spelled with an ayin, (ע). Before the Fall, they were clothed in light, ‛ôr, and after the Fall they were clothed in skins, ‘ôr. That Jesus shed the blood of innocent animals in order to provide coverings for His fallen creatures, Adam and Eve, speaks of “atonement” – Hebrew kâphar meaning “to cover.” We see in this a representation of the Gospel: Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, shedding His blood to cover our sins.

Our clothing, then, should serve as a reminder of our sinfulness and of God’s provision for covering that sin. Like the fig leaves Adam and Eve sewed together (Genesis 3:7), our clothing is inadequate to cover our sins. Clothes wear out, they get dirty, or they fall out of fashion. Daily we have to change one outfit for another. However, in heaven, our clothing will not wear out or have to be replaced.[4] “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, … These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, 14). I do not know, but I think that our “robes” will be that same “light” which covered Adam and Eve before the Fall.

Do you have your heavenly wardrobe reserved? If you are not sure, here are some other articles that may help answer your questions:

No One Escapes Judgment

You Don’t Go to Hell Because You’re A Sinner

Only One Way In

Notes:

 

[1]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_clothing_and_textiles accessed October 9, 2015.

[2]  Ibid.

[3]  Ibid.

[4]  See “Clothing In Heaven” https://erniecarrasco.com/2014/11/30/clothing-in-heaven/

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September 27, 2015 · 10:30

The Theocracy Fallacy

Bible and Cue Card Used by Gerald R. Ford When He Took the Oath of Office

Bible and Cue Card Used by Gerald R. Ford When He Took the Oath of Office

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.   (Revelation 12:5)

Recently the liberal news media bushwhacked presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson for his statement that a Muslim should not serve as President of the United States. The statement found great support among conservatives, but left-leaning Democrats and Republicans were self-righteously offended by his remarks. Attempting to do some damage control without really backing down, Carson explained that someone who would place Sharia Law above the Constitution of the United States cannot honestly swear to uphold and defend the Constitution. Carson rightly pointed out that Islam is a theocracy – god rule. A true follower of Islam cannot separate his religion from his politics; they are one and the same. The Muslim holy book and other Muslim sacred writings call for strict adherence to Islamic law. (“Islam” means “submission.”) Therefore, if a faithful Muslim were to become President of the United States, “he” (because a Muslim woman would not be permitted to hold such an office) would have to, out of obligation to his religion, invoke Sharia Law when it came in conflict with the Constitution.

In his defense, Carson qualified his stance by saying that he could indeed vote for a Muslim as President, if that Muslim denounced Sharia Law and swore to uphold the Constitution in all cases. (Of course, the Qur’an encourages Muslims to lie to “infidels,” so their integrity would be questionable.) Furthermore, said Carson, he would not vote for a Christian, if that Christian advocated for a Christian theocracy. Our nation is and always has been a nation of laws, and the Constitution is the law of the land.

I fully understand and agree with Dr. Carson’s stance. What I believe is missing here is a clear understanding of what a theocracy is. According to Dictionary.Com, a theocracy is “a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God’s or deity’s laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.” The problem with that definition is in the word “recognized” and in the phrase “laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.” That renders the definition false because it is humanistic in nature. First of all, the deity has to be “recognized” by man as the “supreme civil ruler” which means that ultimately it is man that is defining the laws of the god. Secondly, the laws are interpreted by men who are either appointed by men or self-appointed as “ecclesiastical authorities.” Ultimately the “theocracy” becomes an “androcracy” – a rule by men, so the “god-rule” goes out the window.

When God brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land, they had no king other than God. God gave His law to Moses and set up a system of priests and judges to administer His law. Not long after they settled in the land, reliance on God and His law fell by the wayside and “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25). Therein lays the problem with a theocracy – man.

A true theocracy is absolute rule by God. Until Christ returns to set up His kingdom on earth, any man-initiated theocracy is doomed to fail. When Christ returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, His rule will be absolute. Speaking of Christ, the Messiah, the Lord says, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalm 2:9). When He returns, He will share His administration with His saints “And [they] shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father” (Revelation 2:27). There will be no question of authority because His eternal law will not be violated. “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15).  The “sharp sword” from His mouth is the Word of God: “For the word of God is quick [i.e., “alive”], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Until Jesus returns, no true theocracy can exist. Any so called theocracy devised by fallen man is thereby flawed. Dr. Ben Carson is right. Anyone adhering to any human defined theocracy is unfit to hold the office of President of the United States. As it stands, the U.S. Constitution, because of its foundation on God’s Law, must be upheld as the supreme law of the land.

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September 20, 2015 · 10:30

Still Listening

hand-to-ear-listening

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  (2 Peter 3:3-4)

Last week I expressed my hope to hear that Last Trump and be taken to meet my Lord in the clouds. Well, I am still here and so are all my brothers and sisters that would have gone with me. There were no mass disappearances reported as one should expect with the Rapture of the church. We are all still here. In fact, things are pretty much as they were before. The Shemitah came and went and there was no crash in the stock market as some had suggested. No, the world, such as it is, continues as usual.

You might think I would become cynical after getting my hopes up for nothing. For nothing? No, it is not for nothing, and my hope is still as sure as ever. Remember what I said? “For the past 20 years or more, I have anxiously awaited this time of year.” I also said, “The Lord is not obligated to comply with my speculations.” You see, it’s not my speculations or those of anyone else in which I trust. I am fully trusting in the Word of God and in Jesus’ promise that He would come again. The truth is, that He never pinpointed a time when He would return. Instead He said, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). So, the truth is that the Rapture of the Church could come at any time. In the meantime, Jesus expects His servants to “Occupy til I come” (Luke 19:13).

Jesus told a parable expressing His expectations upon His return (Luke 19:12-27). The parable is of a “nobleman” (representing Himself) that “went into a far country [His ascension to heaven] to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (v. 12, emphasis mine). He left 10 servants in charge giving them equal amounts of money with the expectation that they would put it to good use.  Verse 14 says that the “citizens” hated Him and sent Him a message saying that they did not want him ruling over them. The Greek word translated “citizens” is politēs which can also be translated “townsmen.” It occurs to me that these “citizens” represent the “world” and not His “servants.” When He returns with His kingdom, He calls His servants to accounts. The first servant reports that he has multiplied what he was entrusted tenfold. The King rewards him with rulership of ten cities. The second servant reports that he has multiplied what he was entrusted fivefold, and the King rewards him with rulership over five cities. The third servant returns only what was given to him and makes excuses for his lack of productivity. This displeases the King and He takes what was given to the third servant and gives it to the first. The other seven servants are not mentioned, leading one to conclude that they cast their lot with the “citizens” who hate the King. For those the punishment is severe. “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (v. 27). We might also note that the third servant, although he was unprofitable, is not counted as an “enemy” or excluded from the kingdom.

Last week I explained the fall Feasts of the Lord taking place right now. Rosh HaShanah is past. Yom Kippur is still ahead, as is Sukkot.  Many things are still stirring in the world during this month of September. Jesus’ return is imminent. He still may come sometime this month or maybe not. If not, that does not negate His promise to return. The scoffer will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4). They will be counted as the Lord’s “enemies.” But to the faithful servant that continues in the Lord’s work He says, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath” (Luke 12:43-44).

So, Jesus did not come at the Feast of Trumpets this time as I had hoped. That only means He still has work for me – for us – to do, but I am still listening for that Last Trump.

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