Youth crime and violence are on the rise across Australia. A recent article in The Guardian reads,
The state’s overall offence rate has increased by 15% but youth crime has seen an even bigger increase.
“Youth offending also continues to grow, with crimes committed by children aged 10 to 17 up 17.9%. It is the second quarter in a row that youth crime rates have reached record levels. Police said children (10 – 17 yrs) only accounted for 13.1% of all offenders, but they were overrepresented in serious and violent crimes such as robberies (63.1%), aggravated burglaries (46%) and car theft (26.9%).”
A study in the USA called “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration” showed that boys who are fatherless from birth are three times more likely to go to jail than peers from intact families. While boys who do not see their father depart until they are 10 to 14 years old are over two times more likely to go to jail than peers from intact families.
Interestingly, Dr Pat Fagan showed that states in the USA with a lower percentage of single-parent families, on average, had lower rates of juvenile crime. State-by-state analysis indicated that, in general, a 10 per cent increase in the number of children living in single-parent homes (including divorces) accompanied a 17 per cent increase in juvenile crime.
Fagan, in his article, “The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community”, demonstrates the correlation between marriage and fatherhood and what the absence of both does to our children.Among married two-parent families, whether white or black, the crime rate was very low. The capacity and determination to maintain stable married relationships, not race, was the pivotal factor. Chaotic, broken communities resulted from chaotic, broken families.
Rejecting God’s ordinance for marriage: one man and one woman for life so they become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), is why we no longer have stable God fearing homes.
Jesus tells us what end times families will do: “And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” Mark 13:12
The state’s overall offence rate has increased by 15% but youth crime has seen an even bigger increase.
“Youth offending also continues to grow, with crimes committed by children aged 10 to 17 up 17.9%. It is the second quarter in a row that youth crime rates have reached record levels. Police said children (10 – 17 yrs) only accounted for 13.1% of all offenders, but they were overrepresented in serious and violent crimes such as robberies (63.1%), aggravated burglaries (46%) and car theft (26.9%).”
Violence and war seem to be in the DNA of human beings as far back as Cain and Abel. Practically from the beginning, the soil of Earth is tainted with the blood of both guilt and innocence.
Just 1600-plus years after Creation the violence on Earth grew so bad that God poured out His wrath upon the Earth with the global flood of Noah’s day. Billions of dead things buried all over the world (picture – fossil graveyard), including fossil fuels formed from dead vegetation are testimony enough of God’s judgement. Slow gradual change over billions of years did not produce fossils and fossil fuels.
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.” Genesis 6:11-13
After the flood, it did not take long before God created the nations by confusing languages and ultimately, there was a people who made lawlessness and violence a sport: The Philistines. The most famous Philistine, of course, was Goliath the giant, who foolishly confronted the shepherd of Israel, David. When Rome desecrated and decimated Jerusalem 1,900 years ago, its final insult against Israel was to impose the name of Palestina, recalling Israel’s arch-enemy, the Philistines.
The commonly held view is that Hadrian officially renamed Judea Syria Palaestina after his Roman armies suppressed the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (the Second Jewish Revolt) in 135 C.E.; it was viewed as a move intended to sever the connection of the Jews to their historical homeland. However, Jewish writers such as Philo, in particular, and Josephus, who flourished while Judea was still formally in existence, used the name Palestine for the Land of Israel in their Greek works. The name Palestine, surprisingly, may have originated as a Greek pun on the translations of “Israel” and the “Land of the Philistines.” Regardless, Hadrian made it worse when he renamed Jerusalem—the already 1,000-year-old Jewish capital—Aelia Capitolina and turned it into a pagan city. Also, it must be remembered there were no Arabs in the land.
On October 7, the spirit of the Philistines rose through the Iranian proxy of Hamas, which means “violence” in the Hebrew Scriptures. No one can deny the massacre of October 7, especially since the murderers themselves recorded the atrocities. Yes, Hamas is so committed to its barbarism that its members took video of their invasion of a sovereign territory. They filmed its rage, which they took out on not only against the military, but innocent civilians. They bludgeoned, burned, beheaded babies. They raped women before murdering them.
God’s Word, the Bible reveals that we are fast approaching the time when God will pour out His wrath again upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet (Revelation 8) and Bowl (Revelation 16) judgements.
“Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea,… Revelation 8:6-8
“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image... Revelation 16:1-2
What will people do when God pours out His wrath upon the Earth? At the final Bowl judgement (Seveth) they cursed God because the plague was so severe.
“And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail because the plague was so severe.” Revelation 16:21
America is still reeling from a series of major disasters in recent weeks, and now another one has hit.
At this moment, an enormous firestorm is consuming tens of thousands of acres in eight counties in northern California. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph are rapidly driving 15 large wildfires across Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Yuba, Nevada, Calaveras and Butte counties, and the devastation taking place is being described as “like Armageddon”.
More than a dozen wildfires whipped by powerful winds swept through California wine country Monday, destroying at least 1,500 homes and businesses and sending thousands fleeing as flames raged unchecked through high-end resorts, grocery stores and tree-lined neighbourhoods.
Ultimately, it looks like this is going to be one of the worst months for wildfires in the history of the state, and all of this comes on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and the Las Vegas shooting. Ever since late August, it seems like all hell has broken loose in America.
Violence is on the rise. The tensions of inter-racial relationships seem to be increasing rather than growing better. Political differences divide America like never before in its history. Internationally, wars and the rumour of wars abound. Natural catastrophes are occurring on a record-breaking scale.
Jesus said lawlessness would abound in the last days, and we see it on every hand. Many, even in the church, want to cast off anything that brings restraint to their lifestyle choices. Under the guise of being free, they mistakenly act as if freedom equals a life without boundaries. But real freedom isn’t the right to do our own thing, but the enabling of grace to do the God-thing! Jesus also predicted that with a lawless attitude, true love would growcold. When people live as their own standard, they inevitably chill in their love toward others.
Deception is on the rise even within the ranks of the church. Many seem determined to follow after signs blindly even if the source appears questionable. While signs and wonders are still valid for today, Jesus gives us a strong warning about false prophets who would come with great signs and wonders (Matt. 24:24). We dare not qualify something as being of the Lord just because it appears to be supernatural. Jesus instructed us to, “Take heed that no one deceives you” (Matt. 24:4b). The followers of Jesus must be discerning so that no one causes us to wander from the path of truth. The church must avoid both sensationalism and scepticism; living open to the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit but not ignoring affirmations, attitudes and actions that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Deception is not just something we guard against from false prophets. We must guard our hearts against self-deception. James says that we can hear the word, even get excited about it and “Amen” it, but if we don’t put it into practice in our personal lives—we deceive ourselves (see James 1:22).
Our challenge is to learn how to be awake and stay awake to the things of eternity while living here and now.
Love your enemies works, Jeremy Courtney and “Preemptive Love” shows us how to reach Muslims and how to show God’s love. He also gives us a new perspective on suffering and facing fear.
A must view as it is a message from God for our time. I love Jeremy’s “violence unmakes the world preemptive love remakes the world.
Note the leader of the Muslim Jihadists said, we cannot allow these people to continue to save our children as they will cause them to love their enemies. He got it right.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 