Tag Archives: God

August 7, 2022 · 10:00

Tisha B’Av

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)

At the posting of this article, August 6-7, 2022, Jews everywhere solemnly observe Tisha B’Av or the Ninth of Av. Av is the fifth month on the Jewish calendar which begins with the month of Nissan. Christians, for the most part, are ignorant of Jewish observations and feasts; but the same God that gave observations to the Jews is not a God who does things arbitrarily or at random and without purpose, and He does not change. So, even though Christians are under a different “covenant” than the Jews, that does not render these observations meaningless. It behooves Christians to study and understand the Jewish feasts and observances because, while they may not directly apply to us, they have great significance in our understanding of our God.

Tisha B’Av, like Purim and Chanukah, was not given by God as one of His seven Feasts of the Lord.[1] These “observances” were started by the Jews as memorials to God’s intervention in the life of the nation. Purim looks back to God’s salvation of the Jews that were in Babylon from the hand of Haman.[2] Chanukah commemorated the miraculous preservation of the oil in the menorah for eight days at the cleansing of the Temple after it was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes.[3]  

Tisha B’Av, however, reminds the Jews of God’s judgments on the nation for one sin or another. These judgments always fell on the Ninth of Av beginning when 10 of the 12 spies sent to spy out the Promised Land returned with a bad report.[4] The website “Rapture Ready” lists 29 judgments against the Jews from Av 9, 1312 BC to Av 9, 2020 AD.[5]

Perhaps the most significant judgments to the Jews were those involving the Temple. The Babylonians razed Solomon’s Temple on Av 9, 586 BC. The Romans destroyed the second temple, Herod’s Temple, on Av 9, 70 AD. Pete Garcia, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, suggests the possibility (not the inevitability) that the Rapture of the Church could take place this year on Tisha B’Av.[6] (I recommend that you read his article in the link provided below. He goes into much greater detail than I plan to go into here.) Pete got his idea from Greg Lauer,[7] another student and teacher of end-times prophecy. (I recommend that you read his lengthy article as well. He goes into great detail to develop his theory and he employs sound logic in doing so. You can find the link to his article in the endnotes below.)

In brief, here is the summary of the idea that the Rapture could take place on Tisha B’Av – perhaps even today, August 7, 2022. By way of disclaimer, allow me to emphasize that neither of these men are setting a date for the Rapture, which “of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). We cannot know the exact day or the hour; however, we can observe the signs and the season so that we should be ready. Therefore, Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13). How can we watch if we do not know what to watch for?

We already see many of the signs of which Jesus spoke[8] taking place: Israel reborn, wars and rumors of wars, famines, and pestilences, economic collapse, worldwide hatred of Israel, the formulation of the Gog of Magog alliance,[9] [10] etc. These “labor pains” are increasing in number and frequency alerting us to the soon return of Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. However, before that happens, the Church must be removed, and that is where the idea of the Rapture on Tisha B’Av comes to play.

Here is the idea in a nutshell. When Solomon dedicated the first temple, the glory of God filled the Temple to the point that the priests could not minister in the Temple.[11] Several hundred years later, the Prophet Ezekiel records seeing the glory of God depart the Temple.[12] The Babylonians then entered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple of God on Av 9, 586 BC.

After 70 years of captivity, the Medo-Persian Empire conquered Babylon and Cyrus allowed the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. There is no record that this second temple enjoyed the filling by the glory of God. It was not until the time of Christ that the Temple experienced the presence of God in the form of Jesus Christ. Recall how at the cleansing Jesus declared, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13, emphasis mine). Of course, we know what happened later. The Jews rejected and crucified their Messiah during Passover, 30 AD (or 33 AD, the exact year is debatable). As a result, the Romans destroyed the Temple on Av 9, 70 AD.

The First Temple enjoyed the presence of God the Father. The Second Temple enjoyed the presence of God the Son. There is yet a Third Temple that enjoys the presence of God the Holy Spirit. Where might that Temple be? “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit resides within believers, the Church, the Bride of Christ. This Temple restrains Satan’s forces on earth and must be removed in order for God’s judgment to come upon the God-rejecting world. “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now [restrains] will [restrain], until he [i.e., the Holy Spirit] be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, emphasis mine). When the Holy Spirit is taken “out of the way,” He will take His Temple with Him. This is what we understand as “the Rapture” of the Church.

So, since God does not do things arbitrarily or at random, it makes sense that the “Third Temple,” belonging to the Holy Spirit should also be removed, like the first two, on Tisha B’Av. If not today, then next year, or the next.

No man knows the day or the hour when Jesus will call His Bride home. As His Bride, we should be prepared daily for Him to call us home. It does not necessarily have to be on Tisha B’Av. It could be on Rosh HaShanah, or perhaps on Pentecost or any day when we least expect it. The point is to be ready and watching daily. We have work to do, and when our Lord calls us home, we want Him to find us working to increase His kingdom.

Are you ready to meet Jesus? If not, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]  “Rosh HaShanah” — https://erniecarrasco.com/2016/10/03/rosh-hashanah/

[2]  Read the book of Esther.

[3]  Read the apocryphal books of the Maccabees.

[4]  Numbers13:25-14:12

[5]  https://www.raptureready.com/2021/07/15/the-ninth-of-av-tisha-bav-by-jeff-van-hatten/

[6]  “This B’Av Rapture?” — https://www.rev310.net/post/tish-b-av-rapture

[7]  “A Pattern with a Hole” — https://www.alittlestrength.com/articles/2022/2206-pattern.htm

[8]  Matthew 24

[9]  Ezekiel 38-39

[10]  “Magog, Tubal, and Persia” — https://erniecarrasco.com/2022/07/24/magog-tubal-and-persia/

[11]  2 Chronicles 5:11-14

[12]  Ezekiel 9:3; 10:18

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July 31, 2022 · 10:00

Time Confusion

Time Spiral

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (Job 38:4)

“Yea, hath God said” (Genesis 3:1) remains Satan’s first line of attack on the Word of God, so it is not surprising when I get questions like the following:

I know that you believe in a young earth, but it seems to me God was around before He did His creation of earth and us. The Bible says He framed the worlds! So my question is: how old is the universe, and how long ago before creation was it when the devil and his fallen angels were kicked out of heaven? I’m confused because it seems that the devil was in the Garden of Eden, so when did he arrive on earth?

The question stems from a very superficial understanding of Scripture. Note that the appeal to Scripture was taken out of context, quoted only in part, and then misapplied in much the same way as Satan did when he tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.

So what does the Scripture really say? “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). The Greek word translated “worlds” is aiōn, and it properly means “ages;” so this is not speaking of other planets, stars or galaxies, which were not created until Day Four of Creation (Genesis 1:14-19). The writer of the book of Hebrews referred to the predetermined “ages” in God’s plan from the beginning of Creation to the culmination in the New Heavens and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1).

God is eternal; He has no beginning and no end. God is not confined to time; He “created” time: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1), God started time; therefore He is not constrained by time. God says, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14) – the Self-existing One. God’s eternal nature is a difficult concept for us, who are bound by time, to fathom. Nothing existed before time except God. God existed before time in the measureless realm of “eternity,” and He will exist when time ends in eternity. God is present in the past, present and future all at once, but He has revealed Himself to us in time through His Creation, through His Word (the Holy Bible), and through The Word (Logos), Jesus Christ – God incarnate. These things, as Hebrews 11:3 says, must be accepted “through faith,” “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

 We should not worry, if we cannot understand everything about God. Some things we cannot possibly know, because they are beyond our ability to comprehend. “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Through His Creation, His Word, and The WORD, God has revealed all that we need to know to have an effective relationship with Him.

 God created time “In the beginning” around 6000 years ago. The Bible does not explain exactly at what point in Creation God created Satan and the other angels, but we can infer from other passages in Scripture that it was early enough in the six-day creation week that they witnessed Creation. For example, in God’s response to Job we read, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? … When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4, 7). “Morning stars” and “sons of God” are metonyms often used in the Old Testament to refer to angels. From that, we can infer that Satan was created before Day Six on which day man was created, and he had free access to the Garden of Eden.

For other articles about God’s eternal nature and the creation of Satan see the following:

“No Time Like the Present” https://erniecarrasco.com/2015/01/18/no-time-like-the-present/

“Time for Pride to Grow” https://erniecarrasco.com/2013/12/01/time-for-pride-to-grow/

“How Art Thou Fallen” https://erniecarrasco.com/2014/05/04/how-art-thou-fallen/

“Why Satan?” https://erniecarrasco.com/2014/11/02/why-satan/

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July 3, 2022 · 10:00

Emotions

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Emotions are “an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness; any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.; any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking” [or shouting] (emphasis mine).[1]

“Emotions are reactions that human beings experience in response to events or situations. The type of emotion a person experiences is determined by the circumstance that triggers the emotion. For instance, a person experiences joy when they receive good news. A person experiences fear when they are threatened … In their book Discovering Psychology, authors Don Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury suggest that an emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response.”[2]

Emotions are either good or bad depending on how they affect us. The “feeling” of “love” can lead to a bad decision in a mate. or it can inspire selfless acts toward others regardless of personal benefit. Anger over injustice can prompt action to right a wrong or it can drive someone toward violent vindication.

Emotions become problematic when they control our actions. I know and have known emotional people that direct their lives based on their “feelings.” They are irrational, i.e., they do not “think” about their actions – they just react based on what they feel. They do not consider the possible consequences of their actions. They do not think about how their actions may affect others. They just respond to the feeling. Does it make them happy? Does venting their anger and frustration bring relief?

There was a saying in the 60s and 70s: “If it feels good, do it.” That axiom still prevails in our society bringing our nation into such a state of confusion that anything one may say will offend someone about something, and nobody is happy.

Last week, the supreme court struck down Roe v. Wade. It was the right decision[3] based on our Constitution. It turned the abortion question back to the states where it belongs. It did not make abortion illegal. However, the decision angered many who protested (often violently) that it took away women’s rights. They argued that many “poor” women would lose access to “safe” abortions, and that they might have to resort to “back-alley” abortions or worse – do-it-yourself coat hanger abortions. Their arguments founded on pure emotion found no substance in reality. They were completely irrational. I heard no argument offered by them that gave a reasonable defense for their position – it was all emotion.

Sadly, even some Christians got sucked into the mindless arguments of the abortion defenders. One argument I heard from a “pro-lifer” defended abortion in the case of rape or incest. That is an emotional response stemming from a feeling of “compassion” for the victimized woman. (Only women can get pregnant. If that offends you, get over it!) “A 1996 study found a national rape-related pregnancy rate of 5% per rape among victims between the ages of 12 and 45.”[4] Setting aside the emotional aspect of this argument, the chances of pregnancy resulting from rape are low to begin with. Even in a healthy marital relationship, pregnancy resulting from sexual intercourse is not a given. Many married couples live years enjoying sexual intimacy without ever conceiving.

The Bible makes clear Who controls pregnancy. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3). Pregnancy resulting from rape can be viewed emotionally as a tragedy, but who will charge God with error? He created that life in the womb of the rape victim, and only He has the right to take away that life. The rape victim may not have had a say in the pregnancy (married couples have no say in theirs either), but that life was put there by God. God has denied children to many married couples. (Only He knows why.) Such couples would do anything to have a child they can raise, and the child of a rape victim may be an answer to their prayer. Then too, the rape victim may in time grow to love the child within her and choose to raise it on her own. However, for a Christian to argue that such a child should be aborted comes from the heart of a fallen, emotional human being, and not from the Word or the heart of God.

As Christians, what we see going on in the world should not come as a surprise. Consider the words of Paul:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, emphasis mine)

Notice how so many of the characteristics listed are emotionally based. Note also the phrase, “having a form of godliness.” In context, Paul warns Timothy (and us) of the attitudes within the Church in the last days. Paul uses similar language in his letter to the church in Rome as he describes the moral decline of mankind. After listing the characteristics of the moral decline, in his final assessment he says, “Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:31-32, emphasis mine). Again, these characteristics describe those who direct their lives by their emotions. Sadly, there are “Christians” who guide their lives by what they feel or think regardless of what the Word of God says.

There are other issues where emotions come to play, but the Christian needs to check those emotions against the Word of God. His thoughts are far above our own, as our starting verse states. He is perfect in righteousness and holiness. We are unrighteous and fallen creatures. We need His guidance not that of our emotions.

The mess we see in our country (and the world) right now is a sign that Jesus is coming soon, and His reward is with Him. The signs of His appearing are increasing in intensity and frequency. Are you prepared to meet Him? If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]  “Emotion” — https://www.dictionary.com/browse/emotion

[2]  “Emotions and Types of Emotional Responses” – https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-emotions-2795178

[3]  “The Right Decision” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2022/06/26/the-right-decision/

[4]  “18 Profound Statistics of Rape Victims Getting Pregnant” – https://healthresearchfunding.org/18-profound-statistics-rape-victims-getting-pregnant/

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June 26, 2022 · 10:00

The Right Decision

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Last Friday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the almost 50-year-old ruling on Roe v. Wade.[1] Judges have debated through the years over whether the ruling was constitutional. Even liberal justices like Ruth Bader Ginsburg questioned the validity of the ruling. Justice Ginsburg felt “that Roe was a faulty decision. For Ginsburg, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion was too far-reaching and too sweeping, and it gave anti-abortion rights activists a very tangible target to rally against in the four decades since.”[2] Justice Ginsburg was pro-abortion, but she felt that Roe v. Wade went too far. She said, “A less encompassing Roe, one that merely struck down the extreme Texas law and went no further on that day, I believe and will summarize why, might have served to reduce rather than to fuel controversy.”[3]

Many judges agree that Roe v. Wade is bad law. Nothing in the Constitution grants a woman the “right” to have an abortion. Civics 101 informs us that any law not enumerated in the Constitution is given to the states. (It is interesting that the Constitution only lists three crimes: treason, piracy, and counterfeiting.)[4] So, in overturning Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS rightly returned the responsibility of legislation to the states where it belongs. The decision does not make abortion illegal, unfortunately. Many left-leaning states will allow abortions on demand even to the moment of birth. Many other states will allow for abortion under only the most extreme of cases. I doubt that any state will completely outlaw abortions under any circumstance. That is the way our federal representative system of government is supposed to work.

However, the left does not see it that way, and from the moment the decision was announced, baby killers (sorry, that’s what they are) started their loud protesting with threats of violence. Even before hearing the final decision, the baby killers launched their violent and destructive attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and churches. Sadly, many government leaders encouraged the behavior. In the almost 50 years of Roe v. Wade, pro-life activists have peacefully marched outside of Planned Parenthood clinics and quietly counseled young women going into those places. With a few exceptions by wackos acting on their own, pro-life activists have never caused property damage to Planned Parenthood clinics or attempted to do harm to those who worked there or visited there. The pro-abortionists behave in the opposite manner. They are violent, vicious, vociferous, and vulgar.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade by SCOTUS was the right decision. It would have been better if it had declared abortion illegal. However, that is not the function of SCOTUS. That function belongs to the legislative branch of our government.

Title 18 U.S. Code §1111 makes murder illegal in the United States. It reads in part, “Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought … Whoever is guilty of murder in the first degree shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for life.”[5] Title 18 U.S. Code §1841 makes it illegal to kill an unborn child. It reads in part, “Whoever engages in conduct that violates any of the provisions of law listed in subsection (b) [subsection (b) references §1111 above among others] and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury (as defined in section 1365) to, a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section … (2) (C) If the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall instead of being punished under subparagraph (A), be punished as provided under sections 1111, 1112, and 1113 of this title for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.”[6] (emphasis mine)

I am no lawyer, but it appears to me that there are existing laws against killing an unborn child. These laws are codified federal statutes that supersede state laws.  Why are they not being applied in regard to abortions? Well, the persistent argument claims that the child in the womb is not a person until a certain stage of development. The argument stems from the evolutionary concept of development. Although it has been debunked for decades, biology textbooks still show the development of a human embryo the same as any other fish, reptile, or mammal. My college biology textbook claims that “Human development is controlled by the same mechanisms that control the development of other animals (emphasis mine). In fact, our development strongly reflects our evolutionary heritage.”[7] The quote is found in the chapter titled “Animal Development” and the subtitle “How Do Humans Develop?” On Page 280 of the same book, one finds the embryological stages of a lemur, a pig and a human all looking remarkably similar. The message: humans are just another form of animal.

Since that is the case according to evolutionary thought, when does that human embryo become a human person? One study admits that “The fields of biology, medicine, and embryology have described the developmental milestones of humans throughout gestation in great detail. It is less clear as to when humans are recognized as people, persons, or beings with rights that are protected by legislation. The practice of law is irrevocably intertwined with that of ethical conduct; and the time at which a human life is considered a person has implications that extend to health care, legislation on abortion, and autonomy of individuals.”[8] The bottom line is that they do not know based on their understanding of “personhood” and evolution. So, the left continues to push the boundaries. At first it was six weeks, then 12 weeks (3 months), then six months, then up to the moment of birth, and now some suggest a baby may be murdered after it is born upon the mother’s wishes.

God has something to say about that, although the baby killers reject God, much less anything God has to say. (That is the main problem with our society.) First of all, from the very beginning, God gave life to all living things. However, into man, He breathed His breath of life.[9] In this, He made a distinction between mankind and animals. Since God is the one who gives life, only He has the right to take life. Throughout Scripture, God makes it clear that He is the One who blesses parents with children. Some examples are Abraham’s wife Sarah, Isaac’s wife Rebekah, Jacob’s beloved Rachel, the wife of Manoah (Samson’s mother), Hanna the mother of Samuel, and others. In each case, God makes clear that He controls the birthing process. One may argue that these represent special cases while other women were bearing children left and right at the same time. However, the point God makes is that He controls it all.

Very early on in Scripture, God establishes the sanctity of life. Immediately after the Global Flood, God called for capital punishment for taking a human life. “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:5-6, emphasis mine). Not even animals are exempt from the taking of human life. God makes the reason clear: because man is made in the image of God.

That image is not acquired at some unknown point in the process of gestation. It is there from conception. Hear the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5, emphasis mine). God had a purpose for Jeremiah and He has a purpose for every person He creates. There is personhood even before conception. David, the psalmist, describes the intimacy of God’s involvement in the process of gestation.

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)

The word “unperfect” in the last verse is not an error, nor does it mean “imperfect” as though there is some flaw. Unperfect means to be “incomplete” – the gestation in the womb is still processing and not yet complete.

So, from God’s perspective, the child in the womb is a person from conception. Thus, abortion at any point in the pregnancy is the taking of a human life and that is murder. We saw that in the federal law above – Title 18 U.S. Code §184. But before our legislators codified that into federal law, God had already called it murder. The Sixth Command says, “Thou Shalt not [murder]” (Exodus 20:13). In the next chapter, the law extends to children in utero. “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow [i.e., it was accidental]: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow [i.e., the hurt to the woman was intentional], then thou shalt give life for life” (Exodus 21:22-23, emphasis mine). Killing an unborn child carries the death penalty.

Of course, the baby killers claim that it is the woman’s choice what she does with her own body. I agree. She can choose not to have sex with a man that can potentially get her pregnant. (That is the sin of fornication, by the way.) She has the choice to take contraceptive measures to avoid pregnancy. However, once she becomes pregnant, the baby in her womb IS NOT HER BODY and no longer HER CHOICE. She does not have any rights over that body. In fact, the baby in the womb is in control of the pregnancy (by God’s design).[10] And if she chooses to abort the baby, she has chosen to commit murder.

SCOTUS may have made the right decision in overturning Roe v. Wade, but abortion is still allowed (although arguably illegally) in America. It would be better if abortion were banned altogether by applying the written law – Title 18 U.S. Code §1841. Anyone guilty of abortion is guilty of murder.

The mess we see in our country (and the world) right now is a sign that Jesus is coming soon, and His reward is with Him. The signs of His appearing are increasing in intensity and frequency. Are you prepared to meet Him? If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]   January 22, 1973

[2]   https://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-offers-critique-roe-v-wade-during-law-school-visit

[3]   https://time.com/5354490/ruth-bader-ginsburg-roe-v-wade/

[4]   https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/criminal-defense/which-3-crimes-are-in-the-us-constitution/

[5]   https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1111

[6]   https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1841

[7]   Audesirk, Teresa and Gerald, and Bruce E. Byers, Biology: Life on Earth, Sixth Edition, (Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 2002), p. 750.

[8]   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5499222/

[9]   Genesis 2:7

[10] “Made In His Image: Human Gestation” – https://www.icr.org/article/made-his-image-human-gestation

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June 19, 2022 · 10:00

Pride

People march down 5th Avenue in Manhattan during the 2019 World Pride NYC and Stonewall 50th LGBTQ Pride parade in New York, U.S., June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (Psalm 10:4)

In case you have not noticed (and it is understandable. The important things of life – like finding gas under $5 a gallon or collecting enough coupons to keep a meager grocery trip under $100 and hoping you will find all your needed items on the shelves.), June is “Pride Month” in America.

Not so many years ago “Pride Month” in America would probably conjure up visions of rows and rows of the Stars and Stripes fluttering in the breeze and parades with bands blaring out John Philip Sousa marches. However, that dream is far removed from the celebration of perversion the American people are being compelled to acknowledge. “Pride Month” celebrates homosexuality and a multiplicity of other sexual perversions. Considering that only about 7.1% of the population identify as “gay,”[1] it seems a bit contrived and strained to dedicate an entire month to the observation of a lifestyle that is foreign to the majority of the population. Why not set apart a month to extol the virtues of heterosexual unions in which the majority of the population participate?

At the time when I achieved adulthood, tolerance meant that you allowed for differences of others even though you disagreed with their ideas or lifestyles. The idea of “live and let live” or “whatever floats your boat” ruled the day. “Queers” existed back then, but they kept their lifestyle to themselves. In those days, “queer” was a pejorative, but these days it is a badge of “pride.” Back then, if I discovered a guy was queer (“gay”), I treated him with common courtesy even though I avoided getting too chummy with him. I am pretty much the same in my advanced years. It is just difficult to talk “guy stuff” with a gay guy. I would not want to send up any false flags.

Today, tolerance not only means allowing for differences, but it includes accepting and advocating for every form of deviance. Many churches accept “Alphabets” (LGBTQ+) into their pulpits and on their church staff. Schools allow adult males dressed in “drag” to read to elementary school children in order to train children to accept this kind of behavior as “normal” or “natural.” Some schools introduce “gender confusion” into the curriculum of children even as early as kindergarten and encourage children to reject the gender given to them at conception. (Yes! From the moment of fertilization, the baby in the womb is either male or female.) Even more outrageous and enraging is their deliberate effort to hide these activities from the children’s parents. Now, young men who cannot compete athletically against their own male peers, declare themselves as “transitioning” so they can compete and win against young women who are obviously not as strong. Where are the women’s rights groups advocating on behalf of these young women athletes? Our society has degenerated to the point that a candidate for the Supreme Court cannot provide the proper definition of what a “woman” is. Seriously?

To an old codger like me, this state of confusion baffles me. I am a man. My wife is a woman. I can distinguish between a boy and a girl, a young man and a young lady. I have no problem with that at all. And when I see a man dressed up as a woman and swaying his backside more than any female “wiggle,” I have no problem identifying him as a man dressed up in woman’s clothing. Bruce may call himself Bernice and demand that he be addressed by feminine pronouns, but I am not buying it. Bruce is queer!

I am flabbergasted at how the world is celebrating, embracing, encouraging, and promoting this abnormal behavior. It is a huge mound of hot, steamy, stinky BS, and the world is eating it up.

This article is likely to get censored as “hate speech,” but there is no hate here at all. I am speaking the truth, and often, the truth hurts. I do not hate these people. I am deeply saddened for them because I know what their end will be unless they reject and come out of that lifestyle.

Speaking of “pride,” the verse I cited at the top of this article lays it out pretty clearly. The “Alphabet” (“Alphabet” because they keep adding letters to the acronym) community uses the term “pride” to promote the gay lifestyle. The Bible says, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4, emphasis mine). I do not watch gay-pride parades, but in the few glimpses I have caught on the news, I see a lot of “pride” in the faces of the participants. They show a lot of pride in exposing their deviant behavior to the public. These people obviously are not seeking after God and God is the furthest thing from their minds. Well, what does God have to say about it?

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27, emphasis mine)

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, emphasis mine)

And [Jesus] answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:4-6, emphasis mine) Asunder: to separate into parts or to break into pieces; to pull apart or widely separate. God’s design was for a man and a woman to be brought together, but our society wants to tear God’s design asunder.

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they [two] shall be one flesh: so then they are no more [two], but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Mark 10:6-9, emphasis mine)

Thou shalt not lie [i.e., have sex] with [men], as with [woman]: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie [i.e., have sex] with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down [i.e., have sex] thereto: it is confusion. (Leviticus 18:22-23)

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. (Romans 1:26-27, emphasis mine)

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: (Romans 1:29-31, emphasis mine)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [i.e., “gays”], nor abusers of themselves with mankind [i.e., homosexuals] (1 Corinthians 6:9, emphasis mine)

All of the above is not “hate speech.” This is the Creator’s perspective. He designed a man to mate with a woman, not with another man or with a child or with an animal. Male and female “parts” fit together for the purpose of procreation. Two men cannot mate and procreate, neither can two women mate and procreate. That is against God’s design. It is against nature. “Hate” is withholding the truth – God’s truth” – from people so that they fail to see their error and repent and be saved. THAT is hate.

Paul’s depiction of the descent of man[2] ends like this: those listed in the previous verses, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of [eternal] death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32, emphasis mine). In other words, they not only participate in their perverse acts, but they take “pride” in those that participate in perversion. They praise, promote, and protect depravity even to our youngest, most vulnerable, and innocent of our population. I see nothing to take “pride” in that. The ancient words of wise King Solomon warn, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, emphasis mine).

June may be “Pride Month,” but the object of celebration is nothing to be proud of. God help us!

Jesus is coming soon, and His reward is with Him. The signs for His appearing are increasing in intensity and frequency. Are you prepared to meet Him? If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1]  “What Percentage of Americans are LGBT?” – https://news.gallup.com/poll/332522/percentage-americans-lgbt.aspx

[2]  Romans 1:18-32

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