With the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, the recent gas attacks in Tokyo and now the horrible tragedy in Oklahoma City, people are beginning to realize that we are all vulnerable. These terrorist attacks were not "over there" in the Middle East, Africa or in some other far off place. Now they have struck Oklahoma City—right in the middle of America's heartland!

Because of increasing crime and violence—and urban terrorism such as just described—more and more Americans and Canadians are buying guns, wearing bullet-proof vests and even avoiding likely areas of crime and terrorism. Certainly, it is good to be careful—to be prudent. But, what is the ultimate protection you can RELY on?

There's only ONE SOURCE that can offer you total security and deliverance. God predicted in His inspired revelation to mankind, the Holy Bible, that the most dangerous, gut-wrenching years in earth's history are just ahead. Describing these times just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the end of this age, Jesus stated: "There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11 NIV). The Revised Standard Version translates the phrase "fearful events" as "terrors."

So along with increasing famines, disease epidemics, earthquakes and "little wars" here and there around the globe (prior to a time of immense catastrophe called "the Great Tribulation"), Jesus said there would be "terrors" or "fearful events.” Obviously, these events will include TERRORIST threats of bombings, kidnappings and the like as this lawless society heads toward a collapse of the present civilization, today's world.

The wise will take precautions in the terrible years just ahead of us. When deemed prudent, it is not wrong to have a watchdog, wear a bulletproof vest and take other measures. But a bulletproof vest does not protect your head or the lower part of your body. A dog can be tranquilized or killed. And so on. What then, does Jesus Christ say you ought to be doing to gain the ultimate protection of the Almighty Creator?

Jesus told His true followers, "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).

Are you really alert to world events fulfilling prophecy? Do you genuinely study the biblical prophecies to know what events you should be watching for? Do you, personally "pray ALWAYS"? Do you honestly SEEK GOD and His guidance through regular Bible study and heartfelt prayers? Is your personal religion primarily just a sort of custom—or is it the motivating FORCE that affects everything you think, say and do?

Heart-wrenching tragedies of many kinds are destined to increasingly affect our peoples UNLESS our nations genuinely REPENT and return to the true God and obedience to His commandments. But these kinds of terrors need not strike you or your family IF you begin to seek the God of creation with all your heart.

When ancient Judah was in subjugation to the Babylonians because of their national sins, God's prophet, Jeremiah, gave them some advice at that disastrous time which is equally valid today: "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will SEEK ME and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity" (Jer. 29:12-14).

In the years ahead, millions of carnal, self-willed men and women will laugh and smirk at the idea of a real GOD who could deliver them from the coming terrors. God understands. He described this situation through the Prophet Isaiah about 2700 years ago: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Is. 59:1-2).

But Isaiah also was inspired to tell us, "SEEK the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Is 55:6-7).

Through the Psalmist, God tells us again, "He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, `He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.' Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the TERROR by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday" (Ps. 91:1-6).

Frankly, because of our national sins and God-rejecting ways, thousands of innocent little children and other innocents will be killed or maimed in the years just ahead. Just as it was average, working people who died at the Tower of Siloam (see Luke 13:1-5), the victims of today’s terrorist attacks are certainly no worse than any other average, decent persons in our society. Many of these folks are, humanly speaking, “good people.” We should certainly have compassion on them and their families.

But if you, personally, are willing to humble yourself and genuinely SEEK GOD, the Eternal One will grant you the protection He promises in Psalm 91 to those who reverence His Word and do His will. May you and your families be protected from the “terrors” which will come with increasing frequency upon a predominantly hypocritical, God-rejecting society.

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Many of our Western societies—particularly in America—seem to be hurtling toward destruction. Crime, violence and urban terrorism are now escalating. Millions of young people are forsaking positive family values for a culture of self-destruction and hopelessness. Millions do not even feel safe anymore, even in their own homes!

On the international scene; Iraq and Iran are swiftly rebuilding their war machines. Mounting violence is threatening nearly every part of the former Soviet Union. Much of Africa is sliding into impoverishing anarchy, locked into ethnic or religious conflicts. Ex-Yugoslavia seethes with hatreds. The United States' neighbor to the south, Mexico, has been devalued into a depression. And a powerful United States of Europe rising in Central Europe whose interests will be at odds with those of the United States, Britain, Canada and their allies

Is there a real PURPOSE' being worked out here on earth? Did our Creator have a definite PLAN in mind when He made us in His image? There is a way of life which can bring social peace to a divided society and YOU!

Most religious people in the West would say that the answer is to just "believe in Jesus," to "accept Jesus," to "go to the church of your choice" and somehow try to blend in with the millions of people in main-stream Christianity. What is the answer?

Jesus Christ was asked by a wealthy young man, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16). Would you like to have an eternal life of joy, happiness and an abundance of every good thing of value?

Carefully consider Jesus' response: “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (v. 17). Jesus then named several of the Ten Commandments to show that He was speaking about God’s great spiritual law—called the “law of liberty” in the book of James (James 2:10-12).

This is a shocking statement to someone who believes that salvation is by grace alone. Of course a Christian must be “justified”—forgiven his or her past sins and made right with God through His acceptance of the blood of Jesus Christ. But it is a crime and a sin that many who preach about Jesus’ shed blood TOTALLY NEGLECT to tell you that you must repent of sin BEFORE God will forgive you through the sacrifice of His Son.

On the first New Testament Pentecost, the inspired Apostle Peter proclaimed, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

One must repent of sin, because we are baptized “for the remission [or forgiveness] of sin.” But what is this "sin" that we are to repent of?

Throughout the Bible it is clear that "sin" is simply breaking or transgressing the great spiritual law of God summarized by the Ten Commandments. The Apostle Paul wrote, "I would not have known sin except through the law.... Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Rom. 7:7, 12).

The Apostle John plainly said, "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4, KJV). John also noted that our prayers are more likely to be answered if "we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:22).

This beloved apostle explained that the way we can become truly acquainted with God is through experiencing the character—building process that is involved when we surrender to let the Living Christ—through the Holy Spirit—keep God's commandments in us. As we walk and LIVE this way of life, we come to understand and know God ever more perfectly. "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, `I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" ( 1 John 2:3-4).

How, then, can you keep the Ten Commandments? As explained above, you must genuinely repent, be baptized and receive God's Holy Spirit in order to have the spiritual strength and love to LIVE GOD'S WAY (Rom. 5:5). The Apostle John explained, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" ( 1 John 5:3).

You must study the Bible zealously to see HOW to keep God's magnificent spiritual law. David, the "man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22), exulted, "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation" (Ps. 119:97-99).

God's spiritual law is like the law of gravity; it's results are automatic. There are BLESSINGS for those who obey and suffering, heartache and death for those nations or individuals who refuse to obey. It is wisdom to give HEED to the great GOD of creation who speaks to us today through His inspired Word (Heb. 2:1 ).

The First Commandment

Long before God called out the nation of Israel to be His people, Abraham—the "father of the faithful" (Rom. 4:11)— OBEYED God's spiritual laws (Gen. 26:5).

Hundreds of years later, God made His Ten Commandments the spiritual foundation of His covenant with physical Israel. Since Israel was a nation of this world, God gave this physical nation, through Moses, civil statutes, ordinances, sacrifices and rituals for them to observe so that they could have a peaceful, just society. But the LORD publicly stated with His own voice the Ten Commandments and wrote them on tablets of stone with His own finger.

As all Israel stood before Mt. Sinai, God literally SHOOK the mountain with thunderings and lightnings to show the people that this was their CREATOR who was speaking (Ex. 19:16-18). His voice boomed across the plain below like rolling THUNDER as He spoke the Ten "Words" (Ps. 104:7).

He said, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex. 20:1-3).

This first commandment is the GREATEST commandment of all! The phrase, "I am the Lord your God" is profoundly meaningful.

The word "LORD" is translated from the Hebrew word YHWH. It literally means "the Eternal," or "the Everliving One" or "the Self-Existent One.”

True scholars acknowledge that NO ONE knows for sure how to pronounce this word properly—because the vowels were not preserved. It could possibly be pronounced in any one of five or six different ways. But God did NOT inspire the writers of the New Testament to use this name in speaking of God. So, it is evident that we should not feel that we have to use this word to describe God. We should remember, though that God describes Himself as "the Eternal"—the One who has life inherent within Himself.

God tells us NOT to have any other "gods" before—or "in place of—Himself. He is the CREATOR of all that is (Gen. 1). Humanity should NEVER allow any created object—or anything else—to come "before" or "in preference to" the Creator God who made us and who gives us life and breath!

Don't Worship "Things"!

In ancient times, men often worshipped the heavenly bodies, fire, water or some kind of humanly crafted idol. In our modern scientific and technological society, man tends to worship his own ingenuity and the "things" he has created! Somehow, millions of people seem to think that a new invention, a new drug or some other new discovery will solve their problems. They fail to realize that most of their problems are spiritual in nature. Crime, violence, stress, suicides, broken marriages, delinquent children and substance abuse all have their origin in BROKEN SPIRITUAL LAW.

Mankind's usual reliance on the human mind to solve all problems is a form of WORSHIP This attitude of self-will and vanity causes millions of human beings to look to man's ideas or inventions "in preference to" turning humbly to the true GOD for answers and deliverance.

In his excellent book entitled, Psychological Seduction: The Failure of Modern Psychology, William Kilpatrick states regarding this type of attitude:

The self-cultivator doesn't necessarily stop believing in God, but his concept of God will likely change. If we want to get on with our self-actualization, we will probably favor the kind of God who doesn't interfere in the affairs of men: a God who will just let us be ourselves. We will begin to adjust our idea of God to correspond with our ideas about human potential. The more self-reliant we feel ourselves becoming, the less we will feel a need to rely on Him. We will believe we can do for ourselves many of the things that pious people ask God to do.

From here it is just a small step to the belief that the self is a kind of god. Carl Jung believed something of this sort. In his Answer to Job, he seems to suggest that God is in many ways inferior to man and that He would like nothing better than to become a man on a permanent basis. One of Erich Fromm's books is entitled You Shall Be As Gods. Will Schutz, a popular psychologist, writes, "I am everywhere, I am omniscient, I am God.” A participant in an EST seminar will be told, "You are the supreme being" [p. 58].

In addition to these "self-cultivators," other millions of people think that many or most of their problems would be solved if they only had more money. So countless business people and entrepreneurs drive themselves long hours in the pursuit of this "god,” They often sacrifice their health, their wives, their children and many other things in the mad pursuit of the "Almighty Dollar."

Others, whose economic aspirations have been frustrated, make a "god" out of their pursuit of revenge and hatred. These peoples' idols are guns and explosives. They are consumed by a modern mystery religion known as "conspiracies.”

The true God is unknown to most of these folks, so they worship their material wealth or nurse their frustrated wealth-acquiring lusts. They forget the countless tales of suffering and broken homes and lives that have affected other zealous "Mammon-worshippers" before them. Perhaps they have never read Jesus Christ's warning, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon" (Matt. 6:24).

They certainly have never studied or understood the Apostle Paul's admonition, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness" (1 Tim. 6:10-11).

All of us need to heed the Apostle Paul's inspired instruction, "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5).

Yes, covetousness or greed IS idolatry. It is putting your interests, hate, material wealth or things "before" or "in preference to" your interest in serving your Creator God!

Don't Worship People or Institutions

Another way millions of people break the first commandment is in putting people or institutions ahead of God. Most adults can quickly grasp how our teenagers seem almost desperate in their desire to "conform"—to imitate their peers in almost every way. Young men will wear long shaggy hair one generation and chopped off hair the next. They will wear tight pants one generation and baggy, sloppy-looking pants in another. Young women will "idolize" the latest trends in the same manner. How about you?

Each of us needs to realize the natural tendency to put our friends, our clubs and our associations ahead of God! When God calls a person to literally give his life to Jesus Christ, that person should genuinely worship, GOD and Him alone. He or she should have a changed life—a life of obedience to God's laws—and a life of surrender to let the Living Christ LIVE that obedient life in him through the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20).

Often, however, the habits or customs of family, friends and social clubs will clash with this obedient way of life. The language, the values, the rituals and activities of different human organizations and even churches are often diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Almighty Creator God!

Jesus Christ warned: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate [love less by comparison] his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.... So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

Are you, personally, willing to give up YOUR friends, YOUR family, YOUR social, business and religious organizations or even YOUR militia and guns—if need be—in order to fully obey your Creator? Frankly, most people aren't! Notice the Apostle John's indictment of this attitude: "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).

Because of this reverence for people or human institutions, many are unwilling or afraid to come out of false churches—churches that do NOT teach biblical truths and do NOT worship God in any way resembling that of Jesus or the early apostles! Yet, when the highest religious authorities of the land confronted the original apostles, notice what happened: "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said: `We ought to obey God rather than men'” (Acts 5:29).

What about YOU? Be sure that you come to know the reality of God—and that you worship Him and nothing else!

God is a FATHER

Jesus Christ came to "reveal" God as the Father (Matt. 11:27). Humanity had never understood before that God is like a loving, caring human father. We are made in God's image and true Christians are to become His Spirit-born sons (John 1:12-13).

How loving God really is! "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:17-18).

Whenever you think of a beautiful sunrise or sunset, think of God—for He made it! Whenever you see a beautiful child, hear a magnificent symphony composition or experience anything that is truly good, beautiful or noble, realize that it came directly from God—or from the marvelous capacity with which He has endowed humans made in His image.

In perfect love and wisdom, God will also chastise His begotten children to teach them lessons they could never learn any other way! Trials, problems and suffering are not without purpose. God is not capricious like the heathen Greek gods of mythology. There is purpose with the Bible's God: "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: `My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives'” (Heb. 12:5-6).

Still, God has compassionate mercy and understanding: "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him" (Ps. 103:10-13).

Those of us who had a loving, caring, faithful father have a special opportunity to picture God as the Supreme Father—the Lord and Giver of life. Just as a real Christian father never deserts His children, so our God will NEVER desert or forsake us! "For He Himself has said, `I will NEVER leave you nor forsake you'” (Heb. 13:5).

So, when you think of God, when you worship God, when you kneel down to pray, be sure to follow Jesus' instruction: "In this manner therefore, pray: Our FATHER in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9-10).

What You SERVE is Your God

Jesus Christ was asked, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" He answered, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment" (Matt. 22:36-38). Think about it!

With all honesty, what do you truly love with ALL of your being? Yourself? Your mate? Your children? Your career? Your guns? Your grudges? Your hate?

The God who gives you life and breath—the Giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift"—ought to be your God. He should become so REAL to you that in times of joy—as in times of trial and suffering—you almost automatically fall to your knees to give Him thanks, or to ask for His deliverance. This complete union with God, this humble, obedient spirit of "walking with God" in everything you think and say and do should be the dominating factor in your life.

Yet, many professing Christians fail to realize—a "walk" with God must be on His terms, not yours. "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Is. 66:2).

God reveals Himself to us through His magnificent, law-abiding creation. The laws of gravity, of inertia, of thermodynamics and all the other natural laws are unbreakable. They always work. They always function. Likewise, the spiritual laws of God revealed in the Bible are always at work. They are based on the way things really are—the way we were made by our Creator to interact with our surroundings and with one another. Therefore, misguided theologians who try to "reason around" or to "do away" with the Ten Commandments are foolishly trying to deny the ultimate REALITY!

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?" (Rom. 6:16).

You are either "serving" or obeying the true God and His laws or you are serving Satan the Devil and your own lusts! You and I CANNOT evade this issue.

Again, Paul proclaims, "For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness" (Rom. 6:19). So we need to REPENT of "lawlessness"—transgressing God's laws. Then we need to practice righteousness which God's Word defines as: "For all Your commandments are righteousness" (Ps. 119:172).

What do you truly "serve"? What are the most important thoughts in your mind focused upon? What is the most important thing in your life? That is what you actually "worship"! After all, consider the truth of this saying: "The thoughts which dominate your mind are what you truly value.”

Be sure that the thoughts, the plans, the hopes and dreams that dominate your mind all have to do with your Creator—with loving and obeying Him, serving Him, and fulfilling His purpose in your life. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).

Our security and purpose in life is to be found in our ultimate relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Our elder brother, Jesus Christ, set us a perfect example of not putting anything before our relationship with the Father. His total surrender, obedience and reliance on the righteous will of God to prevail is a magnificent example of how to obey the first commandment. When it finally came time for Him to die an excruciatingly painful death on the cross, Jesus was understandably troubled. He went in earnest prayer to the Father three times, asking if there were "any other way" that their marvelous plan for mankind could be accomplished. When He realized that it couldn't be done without His death, He said each time, "Your will be done" (Matt. 26:36-44).

As Jesus did throughout His perfect life, we should strive with all our hearts to put God and His will first in our lives—FAR ABOVE the physical things and the fleshly relationships which so dominate the lives of most humans. We should deeply appreciate and WORSHIP God as our Creator, our Deliverer, our Father—as the GIVER of every good and wonderful thing we can see, hear or know about. We should wholeheartedly obey His laws, do what He says in His inspired word, serve Him with our precious TIME, our talents and our energies. God and His purpose should DOMINATE the thoughts we think, the words we speak and the actions we take. Then He will truly be our GOD.

This is the first and Great Commandment!

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There's a battle in progress! It's part of a war that has been waged for millennia. Sometimes there have been periods of truce. Sometimes it has been a cold war, but increasingly the conflict between the genders has become a hot war. This is due to a major shift in cultural values aggravated by the squeeze on wages resulting in a lack of time and money.

The "war between the sexes" represents the continuing struggle between men and women. The struggle has been about place and position, about rights and responsibilities, and about dominance and control. It has also been about gender differences and opportunity. What are we doing wrong?

In many societies everyone has known his or her "place" from birth. In modern Western societies we have prided ourselves that this was not the case with us. First we prided ourselves on the opportunity for upward mobility and now, increasingly, we pride ourselves on a modern redefinition of the word "equality.”

For a Christian, equality between the sexes was resolved once and for all thousands of years ago: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28). In the Church of God, equality is a non-issue because before God's throne all are of equal standing (Deut. 10:17; Acts 10:34). In fact, God equates the showing of partiality with transgressing His commandments: "But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors" (James 2:9).

However, the problem today is that our modern societies have distorted the concept of equality before the law with the obliteration of gender differences. That being created male or female should inherently imply differences in roles or functions is hotly contested today. It is assumed at present that equality means "sameness."

Consequently, in many of today's Western democracies, laws have been passed to make illegal virtually every imaginable form of discrimination. Not only has equality been enshrined in law, but even the persistent inequalities of result have been under onslaught from affirmative action laws.

Clearly, there are more and more women in the work force. In fact, over half of the paid work force in the United States is female. There are women sitting in congresses and parliaments the world over. They're in the courtroom and the boardroom. They are also gun-wielding police officers, sailors on battleships, factory workers, office workers, and construction workers. In the Persian Gulf War, America saw the dark side of such equal opportunity when our daughters came home in body bags just like our sons!

Where has all of this brought us?

A War Against Women?

According to an FBI report, there were over 100,000 reported rapes in the United States in 1991. In the late 1980s a survey of various women's groups in Third World countries found that violence against women was the most prevalent common concern.

From bride burning in India to female genital mutilation in Africa, there is increasing attention being focused on the plight of women in various cultures around the world. Though Western pressures have largely forced the abolition of infanticide as a means of getting rid of unwanted girl babies, modern technology provides a subtle twist to an old murderous attitude in the form of ultrasound examinations and abortion.

The rise of the feminist movement has focused increasing attention in the United States upon sexual harassment in the workplace and "spousal" abuse in the home. Some go so far as to insist that marriage is an accomplice to aiding and abetting violence towards women.

"Male violence against women is at least as old as the institution of marriage.... So long as a woman was considered her husband's legal property, police and the courts were unable to prevent—and unwilling to punish—domestic assaults" (Gus Kaufman, Jr., Time, "Til Death Do Us Part," cited by David Blankenhorn, Fatherless America, BasicBooks, 1995, p. 32).

"In The Battered Woman, Lenore E. Walker argues that `the very fact of being a woman, specifically a married woman, automatically creates a situation of powerlessness' that invites husbands to become violent.... From this perspective, marriage culture emerges as a synonym for rape culture, and a marriage license becomes a license for a man to beat his wife" (Fatherless America, pp. 32-33).

Statistically, however, this feminist perspective is NOT TRUE. First of all, while the marriage culture has significantly declined over the last 30 years, domestic violence has increased. "So the weakening of marriage has not made the home a safer place for women. As more women are living apart from husbands and fathers, more women are being battered by men" (Fatherless America, p. 34).

A survey conducted by the U.S. Justice Department plainly linked "domestic" violence to a couple's marital status. "From 1979 through 1987, about 57,000 women per year were violently assaulted by their husbands. But 200,000 women per year were assaulted by boyfriends and 216,000 by ex-husbands. Of all violent crimes against women committed by intimates during this period, about 65 percent were committed by either boyfriends or ex-husbands, compared with 9 percent by husbands" (Fatherless America, p. 35).

All of the hue and cry from militant feminists about marriage has not solved the problem. Rather, in many cases, their extreme definitions and positions have simply served to obscure the genuine solution for men and women to end their "war between the sexes.”

What is increasingly evident is that godly fear, genuine love, plus simple respect and decorum have been forgotten. Male athletes expose themselves and make lewd comments to female reporters who are themselves demanding "equal access" to the locker rooms following games. Extreme vulgarity and crudeness was exemplified by many of the "best and the brightest" in the U. S. Navy's Tailhook Scandal. Well-known public figures from sports "heroes" to politicians are accused of luring women to their hotel rooms and attempting to force sexual advances. On and on the list of offenses could go.

It has not always been so. Over one hundred fifty years ago, a French nobleman who had spent a great deal of time traveling in the young United States wrote a book on his observations. The Frenchman was Alexis de Tocqueville and the book was Democracy in America. De Tocqueville noted the great respect in which women were held in the America of 1840. He marveled at the contrast between America and much of continental Europe by commenting, "In America a young unmarried woman may, alone and without fear take a long journey" (Democracy in America, Vol. II, p. 226). How far we've come and how much progress we've made!

Today's Bloody Battleground—Results of a Century of "Progress"

In the words of a popular ad, "You've come a long way, baby!" There can be no question of the distance traveled in the last century. However, in what direction have we been going?

It seems that when happiness is pursued as an end in and of itself, it becomes like chasing a will-o'-the-wisp. For men and women alike, happiness has increasingly been confused with fun. Real happiness goes far beyond momentary fun and is to be reaped as a by-product of being a productive, giving person.

The noted American author and educator, Richard Weaver, makes an interesting observation on the contrast between the modern understanding of "equality" and brotherhood as a basis for ordering society. "The ancient feeling of brotherhood carries obligations of which equality knows nothing. It calls for respect and protection, for brotherhood is status in family..." (Richard Weaver, Ideas Have Consequences, p. 41).

Speaking of the modern notion of absolute "equality" between the sexes (actually it's not all that modern: Plato advocated it in The Republic over 2400 years ago!), Richard Weaver has an interesting observation. "What God hath made distinct, let not man confuse! But no, profound differences of this kind seem only a challenge to the busy renovators of nature. The rage for equality has so blinded the last hundred years that every effort has been made to obliterate the divergence in role, in conduct and in dress. It has been assumed...that because the mission of woman is biological in a broader way, it is less to be admired. Therefore the attempt has been to masculinize women" (Weaver, pp. 177-178).

As we look at shattered families and disrupted lives that characterize our society at the end of this century of "progress," we have to ask why and how? Two world wars that mobilized millions of young men and sent them off to battle also propelled millions of young women into the work force to take their places, at least temporarily. The aftermath of World War I, the Roaring Twenties, was mostly a time of burgeoning national prosperity in the United States and the real beginnings of consumerism. The advent of the movies marked the beginnings of mass media influence, and also the introduction of silver-screen idols as the new heroes and heroines of America's youth. For many, everything that smacked of the prior Victorian mores and norms of parents and grandparents was hopelessly "old-fashioned" and something to be cast aside. While the ethics and standards of Victorian morality were not perfect, it is a sad commentary on humanity that succeeding generations often throw out the baby instead of the bath water. The 1920s' "speak-easy" morals were an over-reaction to the Victorian era's excessive prudery. Yet the 1920s' extremes were severely checked by the Depression of the 1930s. "Take-it-easy" morals reemerged in the aftermath of World War II in the 1960s and 1970s.

Following cultural "pied pipers" who promised them liberty, all too many men and women have found that the road down which they were being led ended at the divorce court.

There is no question that the past was the scene of plenty of real abuses and inequities that have produced genuine frustration. However, the solutions that have been pursued over the past century in the name of progress have only produced a battleground strewn with more casualties. There is a better way.

God is Not a Sexist!

When God created the first man and woman, He did not design them to be two competitors to slug it out in the marketplace; nor did He create them Master and Slave. Rather, we're told in Genesis 2:18 that God said "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will provide a partner for him" (NEB). Men and women were created to be partners, to share life, to cleave to one another as committed husbands and wives (Matt. 19:4-6). They were both made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) with the potential to share life with God in His Kingdom as His own children forever.

God designed men and women to work as partners. He established the roles of father and mother and equipped male and female to fulfill those roles physically, mentally and emotionally. A society that seeks to deny the resulting inherent differences in gender roles is a foolish and unnatural place. It is also important to understand that, according to the fifth commandment, God views each of those roles as equally deserving of honor.

Recent scientific studies of brain activity have confirmed what generations of ordinary people simply knew as a matter of common sense. Men and women are different. However, this difference doesn't mean that men are inherently "better" than women, or vice versa. It does mean that the Creator equipped men to be better fathers, just as He equipped women to be better mothers!

No human society is a completely equitable place. There are inherent abuses in any system constructed by selfish human beings. The real solution, however, doesn't lie in slugging it out in a "war between the sexes.” The battles spawned by that war only produce losers. Men are the losers, women are the losers, and most of all, the children are the losers. Those who value the instruction of their Creator will be conscientious objectors from this war. They will seek to get in harmony with the Creator's design and purpose for their lives and to apply His instructions in regard to their families.

Doing this will not ensure a perfect life, or even an easy life. Living in this far-less-than-ideal world means that many of us must live with the consequences of a variety of past choices—our own and others. However, if we start where we are, make a commitment to apply the guidelines of God's Word even when we don't see how they can work, and go to God for His help, we'll see results. This is what Eunice, the mother of Timothy, did when she raised a godly son in the midst of a decadent Hellenistic society while married to a husband who did not share her values or her commitment to God. This is what Queen Esther did though locked into a very difficult marriage. This is what countless other men and women of faith have done down through the centuries.

Living our lives in harmony with the Designer's Instruction Book will result in maximum peace and fulfillment here and now. It will also contribute toward an ordered society built upon mutual respect. Most of all, learning and holding fast to godly family values helps us to relate to God as our Father and prepares us to appreciate being part of His family forever.

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by Raymond F. McNair

It was .m August 1940, during the height of the Battle of Britain, that opportunistic Italian forces had, pushed northeastward from Ethiopia and overran British Somaliland Then m September, Italian troops in Libya marched eastward into Egypt. But, in February 1941, British General Sir Archibald Wavell's Eighth Army forced the Italians back into Bengasi, Libya, capturing over 130,000 prisoners!

An alarmed and thoroughly disgusted Hitler sent his elite Afrika Korps; a highly motorized, armored force under command of Erwin Rommel, to save Mussolini's army from total defeat.

On May 26, 1942, Rommel's Afrika Korps began a powerful drive toward the Suez canal, capturing Tobruk, Libya, June 11-21. The British army retreated back to the edge of the Nile Delta, abandoning to Rommel a rich haul of armor, foodstuffs and .military supplies: 5000 tons of provisions, 500,000 gallons of' gasoline, and over 2000 captured Allied vehicles. Rommel's quick victories prompted a jubilant Hitler to make him Germany's youngest Field Marshall on June 21.

So sure were the Axis powers that they would soon capture Egypt, that on June 29, Benito Mussolini mounted his white charger and rode through streets of Derna, Libya, as a dress rehearsal for what Field Marshal Rommel had promised him would be his triumphal ride through the streets of Cairo, Egypt. Ominously, by June 30, Rommel's Afrika Korps had reached El Alamein, Egypt, just 60 miles west of Alexandria, Egypt.

Hitler and Rommel's plans called for pushing through El Alamein in order to capture Alexandria and the Suez Canal, then swinging north through British Palestine, and then heading for the crucial Mideast oil fields! Ultimately, Hitler wanted to link up Rommel's forces with the German forces that had reached the Caucasus Mountains on June 21. Had this Nazi strategy succeeded, it would have greatly prolonged World War II.

To rally the reeling British forces, on June 25, Churchill appointed British General Sir Claud Auchinleck field commander of the British Eighth Army.

"A Miracle" at EI Alamein

The first Battle of El Alamein was ferociously fought through July 1942. "July fourth was the critical day. To counter the German thrust Auchinleck had massed the battle scarred remnant of his tank forces, together with what he had been able to collect from repair shops back at base. The two armored forces met, supported by infantry…. Both sides were deadly tired. There was nothing brilliant about the fight. The side that could longest sustain an uninspired pounding would win" (Major Peter W. Rainier, Pipeline to Battle).

"The Afrika Korps gave first. After a couple of hours of fumbling, Rommel's forces began to withdraw but our men were too weary to drive their advantage home.”

At that critical point in the battle, according to British Major Rainier, something amazing occurred. "Then, as the battle broke off, an astonishing thing happened. More than 1,000 Germans walked across to our line with their hands in the air. Thirst had done it: Their tongues were literally hanging out of their mouths. For 36 hours they had had no fresh water to drink. That pipeline, full of salt water, was the cause. They had found and gleefully tapped it. The sea water in it had increased their thirst almost to the point of delirium.

"For 1100 of them [the Germans] to surrender when escape lay open—that was nothing short of A MIRACLE!"

"Why was that pipeline full of salt water? The pipeline was a new one, and I never wasted precious fresh water in testing a line; I always used salt water. If the panzers had punched through Alamein the day before, that pipeline would have been empty. Two days later it would have been full of fresh water. As it happened, the Nazis got salt water, and they didn't detect the salt at once because their sense of taste had already been anaesthetized by the brackish water they had been used to and by thirst.

"The balance of the crucial desert battle was so even that I believe the enemy—without that salted torture—might have outlasted us. And then defenseless Alexandria would have fallen into their hands. On so small a turn of fate is history written!" (Major Peter W. Rainier, Reader's Digest, "A Drink, That Made History").

Monty’s Prayer for Victory

But while the British could doggedly hold off Rommel's Afrika Korps at the first battle of El Alamein; they were too exhausted to push them back. The Nazis were not yet decisively beaten; a second Battle of El Alamein was soon to be fought. Prime Minister Winston Churchill put Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery in charge of the British Eighth Army.

Just before the second Battle of El Alamein took place (October 23 November 2, 1942) "Monty" issued this personal message to his troops: "When I assumed command of the Eighth Army I said that the mandate was to destroy Rommel and his Army, and that it would be done as soon as we were ready. We are ready now. The battle which is now about to begin will be one of the decisive battles of history. It will be the turning point of the war. The eyes of the whole world will be on us.... Therefore let every officer and man enter the battle with a stout heart, and with the determination to do his duty so long as he has breath in his body. And let no man surrender so long as he is unwounded and can fight. Let us all pray that the LORD mighty in battle will give us the victory!"

Who Gave the Allies Victory Over the Axis at E1 Alamein?

On October 31, 1942, during the final battle of El Alamein, a somber Churchill said; "I have a feeling sometimes that some GUIDING HAND has interfered. I have a feeling that we [Britons] have a GUARDIAN..." The outcome of the second Battle of El Alamein was a decisive Nazi defeat. The Allied victory at El Alamein proved to be one of the major turning points of World 'War II—a veritable "miracle of deliverance" by the Hand of Providence!

After the Allied victories at El Alamein, Rommel's .Afrika Korps was sent retreating westward, as the British Eighth Army under Montgomery went on the offensive, slowly rolling on through Libya and Tunisia. Before long an American army led by Gen. George S. Patton invaded collaborationist French Morocco and Algeria, defeated those pro-Nazi French forces and installed pro-Allied, Free French political control in those countries. Patton then attacked and decisively beat the Afrika Korps from the west, joining with the British in their drive to push the Germans and Italians out of North Africa. Axis troops surrendered to the victorious Allies on May 13, 1943. That was the first major campaign won by the Allies during World War II!

U.S: Japanese Showdown at Midway

After the Japanese sneak attack on the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Allied forces in the Pacific were in retreat throughout the Pacific. In May-June 1942, Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Japanese fleet, assembled almost the entire Japanese fleet to crush what remained of the American navy off Midway Island. Admiral Yamamoto had at his disposal a total force of 160 ships, including eight aircraft carriers—with over 400 carrier-based aircraft. Yamamoto's opposite number, U.S. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commanded a greatly inferior naval force of 73 warships—including three aircraft carriers, 233 carrier aircraft, plus 115 planes stationed on Midway.

Providentially, American intelligence had broken the Japanese naval communications code shortly before—and had learned that the Japanese planned to send a diversionary force to invade the Aleutian Islands on June 6-7, 1942, while on June 4-6, their main Carrier Striking Force would concentrate on bombing, then invading, Midway.

Admiral Yamamoto put Japan's First Carrier Striking Force under command of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, who would command four mighty aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu—with their 225 fighters and bombers. After softening up Midway by bombing, 12 transport vessels would land 5000 troops to seize the island. Yamamoto, with the main battle fleet of seven battleships and four aircraft carriers, was following along about 600 miles to the rear of Nagumo's Carrier Attack Force. His new flagship, the 70,000-tonne Yamato, was the most powerful battleship in the world. Yamamoto intended to finish off the U.S. fleet—after Nagumo's four carriers had inflicted heavy damage on the U.S. warships in the area.

U.S. naval forces were divided into two groups under the immediate command of Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, nicknamed “Electric Mind” because of his ability to think fast! Task Force 16 included the carriers, USS Hornet and Enterprise, while Task Force 17 included the USS Yorktown. The Americans’ priority was to hit by surprise Admiral Nagumo’s Carrier Striking Force, which was at that moment zigzagging through dense fog to the north.

Admiral Nagumo’s Agonizing Delemma

On June 4, 1942, at 4:30 a.m., Nagumo launched his first strike of 108 planes intending to destroy American resistance on Midway. Even though they inflicted heavy damage, the Japanese pilots signaled Admiral Nagumo that a second strike would be necessary to knock out American defenses on Midway—before landing Japanese troops to seize the island.

That bad news made Admiral Nagumo uneasy because, at that moment, he didn’t know either the size or the whereabouts of the U.S. fleet in the area. Being a prudent man, Nagumo had held back his best planes and aircrews—having armed them with deadly torpedoes and other anti-ship weapons—just in case U.S. carriers arrived unexpectedly. Japanese search planes, running 30 minutes behind schedule, had spotted no U.S. ships. Nagumo concluded it was safe to send his second strike force to bomb Midway.

At that very moment, however, U.S. planes appeared and attacked the Japanese ships but did no damage. Nagumo assumed those U.S. planes came from Midway, and this caused him to conclude that he must send a second strike to finish off Midway; but to do so would necessitate rearming his on-ship planes with bombs instead of their present armament of torpedoes. So Nagumo sent his torpedo-laden planes below deck to be rearmed with bombs. But at 7:28 a.m., only 15 minutes after the planes went below for rearming, one of his search planes spotted, belatedly, ten U.S. warships only 210 miles northeast of Nagumo’s four carriers. If his search plane had been on schedule, it would have reported the U.S. task force half an hour earlier, and this would have changed Nagumo's decision.

As it was, however, this bad news came 15 minutes after his decision to remove the torpedoes and replace them with bombs. What was to be done? Should he concentrate on sending a second strike to bomb Midway, or should he again rearm them against the U.S. ships?

Nagumo wondered if the spotted U.S. forces included any aircraft carriers. He soon got his answer. Precisely at 8:20 a.m., a scout plane reported, “The enemy is accompanied by what appears to be a carrier.

This was the very worst news Nagumo could have received. His first wave of strike planes, all 108 of them, were now returning from their attack on Midway and needed to land. But if he sent off his rearmed planes, they could only attack with bombs—not the torpedoes which were . needed to annihilate the U.S. naval forces in the area.

Also the returning Japanese fighter planes needed refueling before they could escort his bomber’s. But, to allow this, his bombers would have to take off and circle overhead. This would, of course, waste precious fuel and time. Again, in a terrible quandary, the worried Japanese Admiral agonized over what to do!

“Nagumo decided to clear the flight decks, rearm the bombers with torpedoes, and prepare a proper attack on the American fleet. The repeated delays proved fatal. The first wave of Japanese planes returning from its first attack on Midway did not finish landing until 9:18 a. m., and then the aircraft of the second wave had to be brought back up to the flight decks. Soon afterwards, the Japanese carriers were like floating bombs ready to go off at any moment. On the hangar decks, bombs—just removed from the torpedo bombers—lay stacked where they had been left during the rearming. At this moment bombers from the U.S. carriers Enterprise, Yorktown and Hornet arrived" (The World at Arms, The Reader's Digest Illustrated History of World War II, 1989, p. 166).

Admiral Spruance, a clever tactician, had decided to send out his carrier planes two hours earlier than planned just after 7 a.m.—hoping to pounce on the Japanese carriers just as they were recovering their first-strike planes from Midway.

"In all, 152 aircraft were sent out [by Admiral Spruance]. They made probably the most decisive single air strike in naval history—yet it got off to a bad start. Nagumo had changed course when he decided to rearm his planes [with torpedoes], and the first U.S. bombers could not find their prey. The first ones that did—Hornet's lumbering Devastator torpedo bombers—attacked without fighter support, and all 15 were shot down by Japanese Zeros. Devastators from Enterprise attacked shortly afterwards, followed by a squadron from Yorktown. All met a similar fate, with only four of Enterprise's planes returning; two Yorktown aircraft survived the attack but ditched in the sea on the way back to their carrier" (pp. 166-167).

Up to this time, the situation looked bleak for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. If, at that critical moment in history, there had not been DIVINE INTERVENTION, undoubtedly, America would have lost that battle, and the war in the Pacific would certainly have been prolonged. An American defeat at Midway would have given the Japanese a free-hand in the Pacific, enabling them to threaten America's West Coast.

"Nagumo was on the verge of a spectacular success. At 10:20 a.m. he ordered his carriers to turn into the wind to launch their aircraft [now rearmed with torpedoes] for the killer blow. Less than five minutes later, as the first plane was roaring down the deck of Akagi, a lookout shouted a warning: 50 U.S. Dauntless dive-bombers were hurtling from the sky. And the Japanese carriers were like floating bombs themselves.

“In what Nimitz later called ‘the most important decision of the battle, ‘ the leader of Enterprise's dive-bombers had followed the wake of a destroyer hurrying to catch up with Nagumo's force. It led him to the Japanese carriers. Nagumo's deadly Zero fighters were all on the decks or down at sea level after their last dogfight, leaving the skies clear for the U.S. dive-bombers. The first few hits turned [three enemy carriers] Akagi, Kaga and Soryu into exploding torches.

Within five minutes most of the dreaded Japanese First Air Fleet had been wiped out. The fourth .carrier, was saved by a lucky squall and tried a desperate counterattack.... Later that day, however, Spruance turned his triumphant Dauntlesses on Hiryu. Again the Americans caught their prey with aircraft ranged on deck as the crew were eating their supper before another strike planned for twilight. Four bombs converted Hiryu into the same condition as the rest of Nagumo's force. Soryu and Kaga sank that evening.... Early the following morning, June 5, Hiryu—burning like a torch—was abandoned by all who were able, except for its captain and the proud and aggressive Rear Admiral T. Yamaguchi, Nagumo's deputy…. Akagi, which had been turned into an inferno when one of the U.S. bombs hit a torpedo store, went down shortly afterward.... Four of Japan's finest carriers had gone and 332 aircraft. Well over 2000 highly skilled men had lost their lives" (World At Arms).

Divine Intervention?

After Midway, one of the largest naval battles ever fought, America would never lose and Japan would never win another major battle during World War II. Japanese forces reeled back toward their homeland—totally unable to stop the mighty American "BULL" which was pushing them out of the Pacific..

God had prophesied that Israel's end-time descendants—of the tribe of the Joseph!—would gain victory over their enemies: "The archers [enemies] fiercely attacked .him [Joseph], shot at him, and harassed him sorely, yet his BOW [weapons of war] remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob... who will help you" (Gen. 49:23-25 RSV).

God Almighty said the latter-day descendants' of Israel would be "like a LION among the beasts of the forest...which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver...and all your enemies shall be cut off” (Micah 5:8-9 RSV)!

The Bible also compares Joseph's descendants unto a powerful BULL! "And of JOSEPH he [Moses] said...His firstling BULL has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a WILD OX; with them [his horns, symbol of his military power] he shall push the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth...[referring to] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh" (Deut: 33:13, 17 RSV)! This was fulfilled dramatically during World War II, as Anglo-American-led Allied armies and navies "pushed" their enemies "to the ends of the earth"!

As the Allied nations celebrate this fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II this year, it is vital to remember that it was God Almighty who gave the Allies victory in World War II. The LORD of Hosts worked a great deliverance at Dunkirk, the “Battle of Britain,” El Alamein and Midway.

On December 26, 1941, Sir Winston Churchill, speaking in the U.S. Senate, said, "He must indeed have a blind soul who cannot see that some GREAT PURPOSE and design is being worked out here below of which we have the honour to be faithful servants.”

God Almighty purposed that the Allies win World War II because, through that victory, He intended to work out His own "GREAT PURPOSE" among the nations of this earth in this pulsating time of the end!

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by Staff

Paul states that ministers of Jesus Christ are “ministers of the New Covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry [administration] of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the [administration] of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the [administration] of condemnation had glory, the [administration] of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious” (2 Cor. 3:6-11).

After restating the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy Moses wrote, “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly … with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me” (Deut. 5:22). So it is clear that these tablets of stone were “written and engraved” with the Ten Commandments and nothing else.

But here is where many go astray. They assume that the “stones” on which the administration of death was written were the stone tablets Moses received from God. Then the administration of death would have to refer to the Ten Commandments. That is FALSE! The Ten Commandments were complete. God, we saw, “added no more.” They had no physical penalties for infraction attached to them. There was always, of course, the ultimate penalty of eternal death for breaking this spiritual law. However, there was no “administration” set up in Israel to punish people for transgressing it. God did, though, give Israel a perfect, “glorious” CIVIL law system of statutes and judgments based on the principles of the Ten Commandment Law. The people “administered” the death penalty for certain violations of this national law. This civil law code was written down in the “Book of the Law” and laid beside the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 31:24-26)—unlike the Ten Commandments which were placed inside it.

So what “stones” are being talked about? In relating the Book of the Law, Moses and the elders commanded the people, “And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of the [civil] law, when you have crossed over … on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime…. And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law” (Deut. 27:2w-4, 8). And this was later actually done in Joshua 8:30-35. Paul was not talking about stone tablets. He was talking about massive stone walls!

God’s ministers today do not administer death. They administer LIFE! How? By teaching people penalty through Jesus Christ and teaching them, in Christ’s own words, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17).

Paul, though, explains in verse 4, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” The Greek word for “end” here is telos and means purpose, aim, goal, objective, outcome or result. James 5:11 mentions the “end of the Lord” (KJV). Obviously, Christ’s end had not come. The NRSV renders it “purpose of the Lord”—which makes much more sense.

So how is Christ the “objective” of the law? Notice that it is “for righteousness.” Psalm 119:172 shows that God’s commandments define righteousness. Christ said, “I have kept My Father’s commandments” (John 15:10). He left us an example, that we should follow in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21). Paul said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Christ, then, is the “end” or “objective” of the law in that we are to become just like Him in lawkeeping. Of course, that is only possible through His living in us (Rom. 8:4-8; Phil. 4:13; Gal. 2:20).

Christ’s coming most certainly did not do away with God’s law. Remember what He said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Don not think that I came to destroy the law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matt. 5:17-18). Heaven and earth are still here—and so are God’s commandments.

With Mother's Day this month and Father's Day occurring next month, it seems an appropriate time of year to offer some advice to parents about childrearing. This subject is very close to my heart, having reared five children who have given me seven beautiful grandchildren. Our children have given us much joy, for which we credit God and instruction given us in child-rearing during the critical years.

Society as a whole has not been taught how to properly rear children. In our modern civilization children are usually left to themselves to grow up—with little instruction and training in self control and character. They learn to think, reason and make choices on the basis of emotion and peer pressure rather than through proper adult guidance. The family unit, instituted by God from the beginning, was intended to facilitate this guidance. It has served as the building block of society. However, the family has constantly suffered assaults from a world opposed to God and His ways. As a pastor and family counselor for many years, I have witnessed this attack firsthand. It grows progressively worse every year. Even so, there are still some voices among us who champion this time-tested institution as the most important training ground of human experience.

U.S. News & World Report just profiled the well-known Focus on the Family organization led by Dr. James Dobson. "His message is simple: The biblical lessons and values his listeners grew up with are still valid" (April 24, 1995, p. 34). Dr. Dobson "is not a minister—he has a Ph.D. in child development from the University of Southern California—but while working as a teacher and therapist he wrote Dare to Discipline" (p. 39). Soon, Dobson started a popular radio show.

"To his surprise, Dobson found himself filling a huge gap created by a confluence of social trends. No-fault divorce and the `do your own thing' ethic of the early 1970s had caused marriages to crumble. Psychological theories from Sigmund Freud’s to Benjamin Spock's had caused many young parents to `lose confidence in the traditional wisdom' they were raised on, just as greater mobility isolated them from families and communities. In more settled times, says Dobson, `when a woman had a baby, mothers and aunts and grandmothers came in and taught her how to discipline and how to feed and how to train. There was a sense of confidence that came from that community support that has been lost'” (p. 39).

Dobson also blames society's child-rearing problems on a culture turned upside down. "There is the economic pace and pressure that eroded the time families spent together: `Children don't fit into a "to do" list very well.' And when parents tried to teach their children traditional values, Dobson argues, they felt hostility, not support, from the wider culture: `They never heard their perspective in the national media; they couldn't find it in the sitcoms; they found it contradicted in almost every movie that came out of Hollywood'.... But to everyone, he imparts the same advice: Take heart and take charge" (p. 39).

That is good advice! There are steps that we as parents can take to counter the cultural attack on raising our children. These methods are as old as humanity—and they do work. God's Word says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6). This implies, of course, bringing young people up in such a way that they will remain determined to follow the right course even when we (parents) are no longer in the picture. Self determination requires knowing how to discipline oneself. It is this quality of self-discipline that we must instill in our children. Its importance and how to teach it is the focus of this article.

Gracefully Letting Go

From birth to approximately age 12 is a period of time when children go from total dependence to the beginning of independence. At birth their habits are "socially unacceptable," they are without any self-control. Mothers have lots of work developing proper habits in their youngsters. At this stage parents must exercise total control. As children grow they must be taught basic control in bodily functions, communication, sleep and other routine habits. Hopefully, a child has developed a measure of self-control by the time they start their formal schooling.

From infancy to age twelve many of the child's learning skills have already been formed. Parents should use this extremely valuable time to instill deep moral and religious concepts in their children's hearts and minds. Few will get a second chance to learn these basics as adults.

During adolescence, ages 12-20, young people experience the urge to spread their wings and test the moral concepts of their parents. This is normal youthful behavior. This period requires parents to constantly train children in the process of thinking, reasoning and choosing good over evil. The ability of making right choices is a learned skill. Children who do not adequately learn decision-making have parents who totally control every decision they would otherwise work out. Adolescence is a time when wise parents carefully give away control in noncritical instances rather than immediately dictating "yes" or "no.” Unwise parents will quickly say "yes" or "no," and "do" or "don't" instead of allowing their children to develop their minds by making decisions. A wise parent will seek to guide a young person's active participation in this training process.

I am not advocating that all control should be given away. A wise and understanding parent will teach and encourage a child to make right choices by loosening control in noncritical areas first. This is the key: loosening control in areas where a child can make decisions that would not prove life-threatening or exact too severe a penalty or harm others. Children at this stage should be allowed to make choices and learn from some small mistakes.

What Happens When Control Isn't Released?

I have seen it hundreds of times: authoritarian parents coming down on their kids with nothing but rules and lectures. There is the rigid father who sincerely believes that a "good training session" with his children is an eyeball to eyeball lecture, rather than going out and doing things with them—playing with them, spending time with them. He is often accompanied by an over protective mother who "smothers" the children with sympathy.

Such parents often shudder at the prospect of their children making a mistake. Though they seem more attentive to their children, the real reason for their attention is that they are inwardly focused—overly concerned about their children's behavior as a reflection on themselves. Of course, children's behavior often does reflect on the parents. However, parents need to keep in mind that children will make mistakes because they are children.

Dire consequences can result from such overbearing parenting in adolescent years. The most likely fruit to be borne is anger and resentment perhaps leading to rebellion. Though there may be an initial feeling of security from totally controlling parents, this will dissipate and turn to bitterness as young people see their friends extended more and more latitude and freedom from their parents.

The Bible is not silent in this matter. God says, "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4 KJV). You "nurture" a thing by caring for it, feeding it, working with it. Also notice: "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged" (Col. 3:21 ). The problem is that we as parents, without realizing what we are doing, cause our children to become angry and upset. We provoke them to wrath or squash their spirits, not understanding that we need to nurture and work with them, giving them some latitude or opportunity to make some decisions and some mistakes, even burning their fingers a little.

The consequence of unbridled authoritarianism is that youths don't develop the skill of making decisions. This will wreak havoc on the maturing process. Sadly, stunted intellectual, emotional and social growth is all too often the result. Young adults in this predicament still rely on their parents for everything they need to know. They can't think for themselves, or are afraid to step out and oftentimes don't know how to properly interact with others.

Don't Let Go Too Much Too Soon

While we must gradually release our control upon our children, we must not release too much too soon. This is inviting disaster.

There must be limits and there must be rules—as long as a young person lives under his parents' roof. These must be reinforced by discipline—mental, moral and physical training to teach an appropriate lesson—throughout adolescence. It is during this period that young people will test the moral concepts their parents have taught them to see if they wish to adopt them as their own.

During adolescence, peer pressure becomes more important than parental acceptance. And it is for this reason that parents must exercise some control over who their kids hang out with—until their kids prove, over time, that they know how to choose the right friends. Even then, parents should remain aware of who their kids are spending time with, sometimes telling the child to avoid a bad crowd or individual.

Some may feel that this approach is to authoritarian. The same criticism has been leveled against Dr. James Dobson. Notice how he responds:

Naturally, I don't believe that criticism is justified. I have gone to great lengths in all my books to warn parents of the dangers of being harsh and oppressive with their children. One of those books, Hide and Seek, is dedicated in its entirety to the fragile-nature of a child's spirit.

Nowhere in my writings will you find a recommendation that mothers and fathers disregard the feelings of their boys and girls, or that they use excessive punishment for childish behavior. What I said is that I believe in parental leadership—that children should be taught to respect the benevolent authority of their parents and teachers....

All I can say in response is that my own children grew up in an atmosphere of freedom, which was made possible by mutual respect between generations. That two-sided coin is clearly supported in the Scripture, which instructs children to obey their parents and then warns parents not to provoke their children to wrath. I like that combination ["Dr. Dobson Answers Your Questions," Focus on the Family magazine, Feb. 1995, p. 5].

I applaud Dr. Dobson's answer. Notice, also, what family psychologist Dr. Kevin Leman said in the same issue of Focus on the Family magazine (article excerpted from his new book, Bringing Up Kids Without Tearing Them Down):

Two major issues bring parents and their children to my counseling office: authoritarianism and permissiveness. Authoritarians tell the child, "My way or the highway." Permissive parents say, "Have it your way, Honey. Can I drive you anywhere?"

Both approaches leave children feeling unloved, insecure, not belonging, unapproved of and unrecognized—and operating in an independent, irresponsible way. Both approaches erode children's self image or sense of self worth. When used to extremes, both approaches lead straight to a seriously dysfunctional family.

Within the firm-but-fair approach, however, is a great deal of flexibility—and freedom to fail.... When children feel they can never fail, they're hampered and become afraid to try, risk, create, grow and learn. When parents are understanding, they can turn a failure into a good learning situation ["What Makes a Functional Family?" p. 12-13].

Dr. Leman is exactly right. While we parents must not be authoritarian mini-dictators, neither must we be permissive subjects of our own children—letting them run rampant over us. We must strike an authoritative balance and rule them in love, gradually granting them more authority over their own lives. And we absolutely must allow them the opportunities to make their share of mistakes. Mistakes and failures, in fact, are invaluable in the process of learning how to make one's own choices.

Teaching Self-Discipline

Newspaper columnist Ann Landers accurately stated in 1968, "What the vast majority of American children needs is to stop being pampered, stop being indulged, stop being chauffeured, stop being catered to. In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings" (Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, 1993). How do we go about properly building self-discipline in our children? The answer is that we must constantly help them to learn lessons—to carve them into their very being with the chisel of their own experiences. This is the way to teach them right moral values and principles of virtue in general. And it is these values and principles that we wish our children to learn to discipline themselves in. But, first, we must have taught these values and principles.

God explains how: "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deut. 6:7). In other words, we should be taking every opportunity with our children to apply what is happening in their lives to God's principles and laws. Over time the lessons stick!

One area that can serve as an excellent school of hard knocks for young people is that of spending money. For example, let's say your child has a few dollars saved in your care and he sees an advertisement or an item in a shop and says, "I want that," and comes to you asking for his money. You might be inclined to snap back with, "Well, why would you buy that?" or "Why would you waste your money on that?" But the child has to learn how to judge value at some point in life. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to teach. We should simply say, "Now look at this carefully. Evaluate it and compare. Be sure that you are getting something of value that you really want.” Then let the child make the decision. Let him go ahead and buy an item because of the initial appeal of it or because of the packaging. Let the child go ahead and waste his few dollars if that's what he decides to do. If it turns out to be a bad choice, be sure and reflect on it with him when he realizes it. This process teaches children how to make right choices through a little pain.

Another area of decision-making that can serve as a training ground for the future is that of school activities such as sports and band activities. Before undertaking a new activity it should be made clear to the child that, if he decides to begin an activity that is to last a semester or school year, that he cannot back out of it part-way through—that he must develop the self-discipline to honor his commitments.

Such freedom to make choices should gradually extend to more important areas. If a small mistake is in the works, let it happen. However, it should be recognized that there are times you must intervene and prohibit certain choices—if they would lead to calamitous circumstances.

As our children go through the process of testing the morals we have taught them, we must not let their peers be the only ones who evaluate the process with them. Otherwise, they may convince each other away from right conclusions. We must constantly be around to help our children evaluate their testing of established moral guidelines. That does not mean that we pick on and nag them. It means that we help them to consider and judge their own actions. The point is that, as we let go of control, it must still be with a great deal of involvement and connection.

How do you "raise kids" for independence? Remember to incrementally release control over your children's lives to enable them to learn how to make right choices. By this means, you will help your children develop self-discipline in obeying the moral principles you have taught them from the Holy Bible and traditional family culture.

Never underestimate the importance of example. "Parents fail to realize that how they live each day speaks volumes about what they really value. The choices they make, the words they use, the TV programs they watch, the way they treat others, the way they obey or disobey the law—all are sure-fire communicators of what they think is really important" (Leman, p. 13).

If we don't start walking the walk and not just talking the talk when it comes to the moral values we want our children to discipline themselves with, they will perceive us as hypocritical. Not only will they lose trust in us, they may emulate our hypocrisy. As American author James Baldwin wrote in 1960, "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them" (Columbia Dictionary of Quotations). So let's make sure we are fulfilling our responsibility. And let's have a happy Mother's and Father's Day this year!

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by Jeffrey H. Patton

An ominous harbinger of coming environmental conflicts has caught the media’s attention, flapping around the headlines as the “Fish War.” Sharp rhetorical hooks have snagged diplomatic relations between Canada and Spain—the fishing superpower of the European East Coast fishermen and fish-processing plant workers idled due to depleted fish stocks, the usually mild-mannered, politically correct Canadian government has resorted to maritime high drama to make its point.

The angry Canadians have used machine gun fire, cut trawler nets and forcibly boarded and seized a Spanish vessel in international waters in the Grand Banks fishing area. Their desperate effort was launched to preserve the turbot, one of the few remaining fish species having sufficient numbers to be commercially exploitable. As in any drama, the dialogue has been hot and heavy.

“The Europeans call the Canadians ‘pirates.’ The Canadians accuse the Spanish of ‘fish genocide.’ Europe [European Union] officials thundered on about Canada’s ‘wave of terror,’ and Spain imposed visa restrictions on Canadian tourists” (Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1995).

The Europeans have threatened economic reprisals and Spain has hinted it may break diplomatic relations with Canada. In Madrid, 3000 Spanish protesters hurled mackerel and eggs at the Canadian embassy. “In a letter to Mr. Jean Chretien, the Canadian prime minister, Mr. Jacques Santer, European Commission president, condemned the action as ‘wrong and unwise…we need to take great care not to add to an already inflamed situation’” (Financial Times, April 7, 1995).

But Canada, so far, has held firm to its conviction that the “dwindling stocks must be protected by toughly enforcing international conservation measures beyond territorial waters. It has accused the Spanish fisherman of using undersized nets and catching species protected by fishing bans and keeping secret sets of books” (The New York Times, March 28, 1995). The grim reality according to Canada’s Prime Minister Jean Chretien is: “If we wait [on enforcing severe conservation measures], there will be no fish left” (The New York Times, March 27, 1995). Ninety-five percent of the cod has disappeared from the Grand Banks and recent scientific studies show that their numbers continue to plummet!

The Spanish, however, insist that the problem is primarily the fault of the Canadians. “One fisherman from the Spanish port of La Guardia put it [in his opinion] succinctly: ‘The Canadians are absolute [expletive]. They are now flying the flag of conservation when it was they who depleted the fish stocks off the coast of Newfoundland’” (Manchester Guardian Weekly, “Fishing fleets are raping the oceans,” April 16, 1995).

Britain has vocally stood up for the Canadian action. The British promised to veto any Europe-proposed sanctions retaliating against Canada, a fellow Anglo-Saxon-Celtic brother-country. “Mr. Luis Atienza, Spain’s fisheries minister, said the UK [British] position showed a ‘breakdown in solidarity which…has few precedents and weakens the position of the UK in the rest of the Europe’” (Financial Times, April 7, 1995). Spain’s Prime Minister, Felipe Gonzalez, darkly hinted that England’s solidarity with Canada would later be called “a serious mistake” (The Economist, April 14, 1995).

Behind the boiling of the waters is the rapid depletion of the world’s fishing stocks. This unnecessary tragedy is going to have a devastating effect on the well-being of developed and developing nations. In March, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a warning that “nine of the world’s 17 major fishing grounds had been devastated by overfishing, with four more under serious threat” (Man. Guard., April 16, 1995). For the affluent Western nations this may force seafood into the pricey luxury food section of the supermarket, and a few hundreds of thousands of fishermen and fishery workers will be forced onto government relief and retraining programs.

America’s National Marine Fisheries Service reported that “40 percent of U.S. [fishing] stocks are commercially depleted or becoming so, and another 43 percent are being taken at the maximum sustainable rate” (The Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1995).

The situation in what was once one of the world’s premier fishing areas off the coast of Massachusetts is shocking. In December 1994, the federal government shut down 6000 square miles of the Georges Bank to fishing, John Bullard, an expert on New England fishing, said, “Georges Bank is arguably the most productive fishing grounds in the world. You take the world’s most productive fishing grounds and essentially shut the them down. It’s hard to overstate the severity of this problem” (The New York Times, March 22, 1995).

But while the First World nations argue and complain about unemployment statistics, the effect on the poorer areas of the globe will be more serious, “In Asia alone, a billion people rely on fish as their main source of animal protein. In Africa, it provides animal protein for a fifth of the continent’s people. Cheap and easily available, it keeps malnutrition at bay for hundreds of millions…. And apart from the spectre of starvation, a fishing crash would cost an enormous number of jobs. A hundred million of the world’s poorest people depend on fisheries; there will be no Newfoundland ‘fisherman’s dole’ payments for them if their livelihoods disappear into the holds of foreign trawlers” (Man. Guard.).

What is propelling this fishing crisis? Overwhelmingly, the answer is overfishing by sophisticated fishing trawlers. These modern factories-on-the-waves are so efficient at finding and catching fish that government fishery officials keep them on a very short line in their own home waters. “Just last month, the trawlermen of British Columbia set sail to catch roe herring—and reached their quota of 770 [metric] tones for the entire year in a single fishing session, lasting eight minutes” (Man. Guard.)!

Amazingly, a hi-tech, factory supertrawler can haul in 2000 tonnes of fish in one sweep of its nets. It would take 1500 traditional fishing boats of the usual type run by family fishermen to equal such a haul!

The United Nation’s FAO agency estimates the yearly global fish catch is about 100 million tones. Hi-tech trawler debt repayments take about 46 percent of the trawlermen’s catch. Somebody is making lots of money! Yet to keep these expensive fleets afloat as their catches fall, Western governments subsidize the hi-tech fishing trawlers with about $54 billion dollars per year. Politicians eagerly bait fishermen voters with various promises to keep the fisheries employment up. On the books, hi-tech trawler fishing is losing $50 billion per year.

Some of the parties taking sushi to the bank are Third World governments whose sovereignty includes nine-tents of the world’s coastal waters. They see their fish to the trawlermen for hard-currency these governments could never hope to extract from their own traditional fishermen. “Senegal, for example, has agreed to allow massive exploitation of its waters by Europe Union fleets. Local fishermen warned that livelihoods and food security were at risk. But the earnings are desperately needed to pay off interest payments on long-term debt” (Man. Guard.). As King Solomon of ancient Israel predicted 3000 years ago: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity…” (Prove. 22:7-8 NRSV).

A senior British civil servant observed, “Officially, I would say that the UN and Europe are working hard to manage fish stocks better and we’ll come up with the answer in time. Privately, I think it’s all over…. We will fish the seas out, then—when there is nothing left—we sill sit back and consider the folly of our ways while we wait for 10 or 20 years for stocks to recover” (Man. Guard.).

Folly seems to be an intimate companion to human conduct. Our folly is the harvest we catch with our greed. We never seem to have enough. “They knew no quiet in their bellies; in their greed they let nothing escape. There was nothing left after they had eaten; therefore their prosperity will not endure” (Job 20:20-21 NRSV).

The Bible is Western civilization’s oldest foundational source for establishing our moral and ethical standards. This inspired, prophetic book warns: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18 KJV). In its most profound essence, our basis for a sustainable environment is Jesus of Nazareth’s familiar statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). The Apostle Paul similarly taught that all action should agree with the neighborly commandment: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal. 5:14).

It should be considered that putting this spiritual law into action remains an essential Christian duty. Neighborly love is an imperative ethic if the world is to achieve peace and prosperity for its five and one-half billion human population. If we do not agree with the neighborly commandment then we are truly fishing for trouble.

“The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters. For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:10-12 NRSV).

“Galicia’s [heartland of Spain’s fishing industry] fishermen seem not to have understood the lessons of their recent history, according to Kiko Sobrino, a local doctor. ‘After we were expelled from Namibia, we looked for other grounds, without changing our fishing practices. Our fishermen don’t give a [expletive] about conserving stocks. It’s an open secret that they use illegal nets, sweeping up the last stone from the bottom of the sea. It’s so short-sighted. Bread today, misery tomorrow’” (Man. Guard.).

Of course the Spanish are not the only short-sighted ones. For better than 15 years before 1991, the Canadians overfished their coastal waters themselves and the Canadian Fisheries Department bears responsibility for this mismanagement on an institutional basis (Los Angels Times, March 27, 1995).

In late April, the Canadians and the Europe finally came to an agreement to divide equally the catch of turbot between them and institute strong conservation measures, requiring lower quotas, inspectors’ presence on the trawlers as well as introducing a satellite-monitoring system. However, “Spanish fishermen accused their government of selling them out and said they intended to ignore the new quotas—unless forced to abide by them at gunpoint” (The Manchester Guardian Weekly, “Europe and Canada end fishing war,” April 23, 1995).

The Canadian fisheries minister, Brian Tobin, explicitly warned the Europeans, “If these measures were not respected…we have the means to enforce and protect these [fishery] stocks” (Man. Guard.). Obviously, tensions remain high. The underlying spiritual problem causing the overfishing must also be resolved.

Greed’s effect on society and individuals is one of the largest spiritual problems of our time. The solution to overfishing rests in the domain of genuine Christians to transform, first, individuals and then society.

“Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

“That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:17-24 NRSV).

God the Father and Jesus Christ call upon all people to transform their minds and to not be corrupted by the attitudes and practices which are common in today’s society (Rom. 12:1-2). God gives us the power through His Holy Spirit to have this godly mind which transforms the thoughts in our minds into His divine thoughts and His divine attitudes. “For God id not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7 NRSV).

This transforming Spirit of God, this Holy Spirit, has been freely available to all humanity since the first Pentecost celebrated by the Church of God in 31 A.D. But on the whole, humanity has been unwilling to ask for God’s Holy Spirit to transform their thoughts and actions. Why? Because to receive God’s Spirit requires humility and selflessness—NOT greedy selfishness (Acts 2:38).

Yet, there is hope for humanity that our basic selfish, greedy nature will change its orientation. You can read in Acts 2 of a future time when: “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17).

Amazingly, in this yet future time when humanity’s greed will be transformed, God promises that He will also restore and revitalize the earth’s waters by means of a purifying river issuing from His restored Holy Temple in Jerusalem: “Wherever the rive goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea” (Ezek. 49:9-10 NRSV).

For now, most people just don’t have the Holy Spirit and that is why we have “Fish Wars” and other environmental disasters generated by humanity’s unbridled greed. Our present generation is enslaved to idolatry. Because it has not received His Spirit, it is alienated from its Savior, Jesus Christ, (Rom. 8:9). This present age has not even begun to “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication [sexual immorality], impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5 NRSV). The Bible calls greed a form of idolatry! That is, greed is the exaltation of selfish desires above the true worship of God and obedience to His Word, including the neighborly commandment.

Renouncing the practice of greed, in God’s eyes, is just as important as not getting involved in any form of sexual immorality. Among the people of God, greed is to be totally avoided. “But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph. 5:3 NRSV).

When God created man and woman He gave them a certain authority and responsibility in their environment. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make humankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth’” (Gen 1:26 NRSV). Humanity was permitted to properly utilize the physical creation to its benefit (Gen. 2:9; Deut. 8:7-11), however God wanted people to “tend and keep” their environment (Gen. 2:15).

Unfortunately today, the world as a whole has turned its back on God. If we won’t obey the neighborly commandment in our personal, human relationships, how much less are we concerned about “tending and keeping” the fish of the sea?

For our days the LORD God has a prophecy: “Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the LORD has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land. Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing” (Hosea 4:1-3 NRSV).

If you have been following Mr. Raymond McNair’s series of articles on American and Britain in Prophecy, you should understand that the modern-day descendants of the Patriarch Israel include the Anglo-Saxon-Celts, the dominant peoples in the freedom-loving democracies of northwestern Europe, as well as the Jews. In this prophecy by Hosea an accurate picture of life today as presented on our televisions and newspapers?

While our great genius in discovering and applying material knowledge has allowed us to build hi-tech trawlers that are now capable of thoroughly depleting the world’s oceans of valuable fisheries, our refusal to apply revealed spiritual knowledge, such as the neighborly commandment, in directing the use of our technology and ourselves will ultimately lead to the destruction of this society. We live in an unsustainable, greedy (idolatrous) civilization.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me [having an intimate relationship with God]. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget y our children. The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; they changed their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity. And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways, and repay them for their deeds” (Hosea 4:6-9 NRSV).

The hi-tech trawlermen who are sweeping the oceans empty of fish stocks desperately needed for food by hundreds of millions of poor people are clearly violating God’s laws: “If you come on a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. Let the mother go, taking only the young for yourself, in order that it may go well with you and you may live long” (Deut. 22:6-7 NRSV).

God commanded men not to abuse the reproductive, sustainable capacities of humanity’s food sources. Those who are responsible for violating God’s laws are fishing for trouble.

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