Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has “no idea” whether “Jesus is coming back in our lifetime,” though the retired neurosurgeon said in a recent interview that he believes that Christ’s return is definitively slated for some time in the future.
Carson, an outspoken Christian who is a Seventh-day Adventist — a member of a denomination that is known for its focus on the Second Coming — told Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, how he puts his belief that Jesus will one-day return into practice.
“I obviously do look forward to the return of Christ, you know, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4. I believe that you should lead your life in such a way that every day could be your last day,” Carson said. “So you shouldn’t be like planning oh, a year from now, five years, I’ll do this or ten years I’ll do this. You need to lead the right kind of life as if you were going to die today.”
But Carson was also quick to say that no one knows when Jesus will return, and that the Bible proclaims that “to God, one day is like a thousand years or a thousand years is like a day,” urging people not to ignore the needs and tasks of the day.
“You know, so imminent return could mean three thousand years or 30 thousand years — or it could be tomorrow,” he said. “For us to pre-define what that means in our minds and then live according to that predefinition I think would be foolish.”
Carson, an outspoken Christian who is a Seventh-day Adventist — a member of a denomination that is known for its focus on the Second Coming — told Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, how he puts his belief that Jesus will one-day return into practice.
“I obviously do look forward to the return of Christ, you know, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4. I believe that you should lead your life in such a way that every day could be your last day,” Carson said. “So you shouldn’t be like planning oh, a year from now, five years, I’ll do this or ten years I’ll do this. You need to lead the right kind of life as if you were going to die today.”
But Carson was also quick to say that no one knows when Jesus will return, and that the Bible proclaims that “to God, one day is like a thousand years or a thousand years is like a day,” urging people not to ignore the needs and tasks of the day.
“You know, so imminent return could mean three thousand years or 30 thousand years — or it could be tomorrow,” he said. “For us to pre-define what that means in our minds and then live according to that predefinition I think would be foolish.”
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