{"id":515,"date":"2018-09-08T14:17:21","date_gmt":"2018-09-08T18:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/?p=515"},"modified":"2018-09-08T15:01:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-08T19:01:05","slug":"september-2018-violence-and-end-of-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/blog\/2018\/09\/08\/september-2018-violence-and-end-of-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"September 2018 – Violence and End of Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

PTNews<\/span><\/h1>\n

September 2018<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

.pdf download<\/a><\/p>\n

Published 10 times annually<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All Bible references are from the KJV<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Violence and the End of a Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cAnd God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me: for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.<\/span>” <\/strong><\/em>Genesis 6:13<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

By Mike Wingfield<\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered what God sees and hears as he looks down upon the earth each day? The Bible tells us that God is everywhere present in His creation. He sees, hears, and knows everything that is happening each moment, both in heaven and earth. He knows the thoughts of every creature, both mankind and angels. (Jeremiah 17:10<\/a>) <\/strong>God never learns. He is never surprised. He knows every person on the planet by their name. He knows everything about them.<\/p>\n

While speaking about the value of a person, Jesus reminded His disciples that in His divine providence, God governs and is aware of the smallest details. Jesus said not one sparrow can fall to the ground without the Father\u2019s knowledge. Furthermore, God has every hair on the head of every person numbered. (Matthew 10:29-30<\/a>)<\/strong> As the Psalmist said, \u201cSuch knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Psalm 139:6<\/a>)<\/strong> What a God! He is truly beyond our human comprehension!<\/p>\n

Nothing can be hidden from God\u2019s eyes. Psalm 33:13-14<\/strong><\/a> says, \u201cThe LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> In Psalm 14:2<\/strong><\/a>, the Bible declares: \u201cThe LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> In the context of this psalm, the conclusion to God\u2019s search is given. \u201cThe fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. \u2026 They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Psalm 14:1, 3<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the beginning, God created everything for His glory and for His praise. How God must be grieved every day as He looks down upon the 7.6 billion people that inhabit this planet. As God gazes upon earth each day and hears all of the words, sees all of the actions, and understands all of the thoughts and motives of each human being, what is it that captures His holy attention? The answer to this question is found in Genesis 6<\/strong><\/a>. In this chapter, God looked out over the global population in Noah\u2019s time. \u201cAnd God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that <\/strong><\/em>every<\/strong><\/u><\/em> imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil <\/strong><\/em>continually<\/strong><\/u><\/em>.\u201d <\/strong><\/em> The magnitude of man\u2019s wickedness \u201cgrieved [God] at his heart.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Genesis 6:5<\/a>)<\/strong> It was this grief that caused the holy Lord to declare that He was going to send a global flood to destroy all that were not on the ark.<\/p>\n

When you read God\u2019s indictment in Genesis 6<\/strong><\/a>, it is abundantly clear there were two sins that God\u2019s eyes were riveted upon each day as He gazed upon humanity. He was grieved because of their sexual corruption and continual violence. (Genesis 6:11-13<\/a>)<\/strong> Earlier in Genesis 6<\/strong><\/a> God declared: \u201cMy spirit shall not always strive with man.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Genesis 6:3<\/a>)<\/strong> Many Bible scholars agree this is a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit in the conscience of man. So, God was declaring that man can come to a point when His Spirit ceases striving in the conscience of man.<\/p>\n

The Bible teaches that a person can gradually defile his conscience to the point that it is ultimately silenced or \u201cseared.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (1Timothy 4:2<\/a>)<\/strong> When this happens to enough people, the culture collectively reaches the spiritual point of no return and is slated for divine judgment. A study of the context of Genesis 6, and the greater context of all of God\u2019s revelation, indicates there are two things that defile the conscience of man \u2013 sexual immorality and violence.<\/p>\n

It has come to my attention that most believers, and the church as a whole, do not understand the impact of violence on the conscience. Some may grasp the impact of sexually immorality upon the conscience. However, the church has been almost completely silent in addressing the dangers of violence. It is the purpose of this edition of the newsletter to expose and address the Biblical view of violence and its impact upon our global culture in light of the Word of God.<\/p>\n

Most people are so selfishly engaged in their own little world that they have not stopped to assess the fact that we are living at a time of incredible global violence. In America and around the world, we are experiencing a tsunami of violence. In recent decades, the world has been made aware of the threat of Islamic terrorism. The violent images of ISIS, Boko Haram, and a host of other terrorist organizations have been broadcast across the planet by our media. The carnage of war and loss of life due to advanced weaponry of war are alarming. The growing displacement of refugees fleeing from war-torn Middle Eastern countries is creating a logistical nightmare \u2013 and it is being accompanied by the spread of global Islamic terrorism among the Western nations.<\/p>\n

In addition to this carnage, the dramatic increase in domestic violence is frightening. We have violence in our schools, homes, churches, airports, and many other public places. We talk about road rage, bullying, violence against women and children, and the savage brutality against the unborn. Violence is marketed as entertainment in our culture. Many Americans come home from work or school to watch hours of programming that features people being shot, stabbed, or blown up. Blood, killing, gore and sensual violence permeates the entertainment industry. Violence in cartoons, music, videos, movies, and television is helping to shape a new generation that will be more violent than the present one. As a result, increasing levels of lawlessness will permeate our world!<\/p>\n

Statistical data shows that there are more than 1.5 million people incarcerated in the U.S. state and federal prison systems. The United States has more people per capita incarcerated in its prison systems than any nation in the world. And, the number and costs of these incarcerations keeps increasing at an alarming rate. In 1985, the state prison systems cost $6.7 billion. Now it costs more than $60 billion.<\/p>\n

Before we turn to the Bible to examine what it has to say about violence, please read what a conservative secular group, The Media Education Foundation<\/em>, has to say about violence in America.<\/p>\n