Those Who Destroy the Earth

February 10, 2021 Monte Judah

And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. Revelation 11:18

I must admit that I have read this verse and said to myself, “One of the reasons why God is coming to judge the world is because mankind is destroying the earth’s environment.” I now believe that understanding to be understated.

It is true that mankind is destroying vast areas of the planet, including water and air pollution. The recent Japanese nuclear reactor damage from the tsunami is now leaking vast levels of radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean, polluting the fish we eat and causing untold harm. There are many more examples that I will not list. I am sure that the Creator gave balance to the natural order to reflect Himself as the Creator. Man’s denial of Him as the Creator and the destruction of that natural order are offensive to the Creator, I am sure; however, I think there is more to this than just the issue of damage to the physical earth and nature.

The Scripture from Revelation, in my opinion, is speaking of something much bigger than the environment. Who are those that are destroying the earth and what kind of destruction is taking place that would cause God to bring about His final judgment upon the world? Surely, the Day of the Lord is justified by more than damage to nature!

To answer that, we need to understand what God sees and how He regards matters worthy of Him bringing about worldwide judgment. God has shared His thinking and why He would move to judge the whole world.

But before I wade into such a negative topic (why God will judge the world), let us take a deep breath. I do not like, and other believers really do not like, dwelling on the sin of the world or its impending destruction. It’s a little depressing. Our hope is not in the world but in the Messiah’s triumphant return and His kingdom where righteousness is established. However, before we get to His return and His Kingdom, He has warned us of a time of distress, of sorrows, and great trauma. While we might acknowledge that the Scripture says that we are ill prepared to deal with it, looking back to the children of Israel in Egypt, God permitted Israel to get their fill of the Egyptian task masters and the oppression they suffered so they would literally beg for rescue. Had it been tolerable in Egypt, Israel would have not followed Moses out of Egypt. There came to be a real understanding that staying in Egypt was not an option. God knew what was happening in Egypt and He heard the cries of His people. I believe that the Lord is doing the same with us in this last generation. There is a measure of disgust that we must deal with so that we will cry out to the Lord to remove us from this world and our country. We need to be convinced that we have only one option to live—the Lord must return and save us from the world we are in.

So, let us come to terms with how God views our world and let us have His understanding of it. Why will God finally act to bring judgment upon this world? If you will remember, the Lord previously made the decision to judge the whole world once before. It is the story of the Great Flood, which tells of how God reached His limit with mankind and by grace saved a man named Noah and his family. We are all descendants of that man, one way or another, and that story is specifically referred to when speaking of the Day of the Lord and world-wide judgment. He judged the world by water in the flood; this time He has pledged to use fire.

When we examine the story of God’s judgment at the flood, we can find evidence of men destroying things. These things were important enough for God to put a stop to them. So, what were they? What was mankind destroying in the earth and how does that compare to our generation? Do we see mankind destroying the same kinds of things today?

Examine with me the decision and rationale for God to judge the world leading to the flood.

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Genesis 6:1-6

From this passage we can see that the population of mankind had increased, apparently dramatically (men began to multiply). There was also something happening with the custom of marriage that was changed from earlier generations (they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose). Mankind also allowed their flesh to play a dominant role in their lives as opposed to the spirit in men. This resulted in conflicts and strife with God’s Spirit (My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh). Mankind had developed to a point that a single class of men emerged that was called Nephilim that dominated the rest of mankind.

Much has been written about the Nephilim. Most of it is pure speculation with angels mating with human women and other bizarre interpretations. The account given to us in Genesis doesn’t need to explain their origins; they are described as part of the process of what mankind did and the results of their actions. Despite their great reputation, the results of mankind’s efforts resulted in a dramatic increase of wickedness and violence. Evil and harm to mankind was rampant, so much so that God grieved; He saw no chance of turning the hearts of men en masse to kindness, righteousness, or justice. They had gone too far.

To summarize, mankind before the flood destroyed the basic family unit. Overpopulation is a result of not maintaining the basic family unit. A basic family unit is initially formed when a man marries a woman and they bear children together. They also remain together for the rest of their lives. That family unit then supports the resulting generation, and the younger generation cares for the older generation. Therefore, when the basic family unit is working as God established and the earliest generations of mankind followed it, there was a multigenerational program that grew in population naturally and was fully supported.

However, this basic family unit began to come apart when men did not remain in the marriage defined by God and effectively support the multigenerational effort. Instead, they took additional partners and multiplied. The Scripture says, “the sons of God saw the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.” This is a nice way of saying that men decided that they wanted to enjoy their lust and fornicated whenever and however they wanted.

In the process, mankind before the flood destroyed marriage and what it represents. Marriage was created by God in the Genesis story. God realized that it was not good for a man to be alone. He also desired that man would be “fruitful and multiply.” But God’s definition of that command meant that no one was harmed in the process. The man’s wife would be a joint heir in the “grace of life.” Children born in that marriage would be trained and raised up knowing the Creator, and they would be nurtured and cared for as well. The aged would be honored and their needs would also be met. But, it is stated again, “the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.” This restatement speaks to the increase of children, but they did not grow up in the basic family unit structure nor were they nurtured and cared for. In all probability, many children suffered and died as children in this process. Also, the aged probably died earlier without care. Those children who made it to adulthood were essentially abused and trained to be angry and violent. Their needs were not met. The increased birth rate was the result of births outside of marriage, wanton lust, and a complete disregard for the care of children and the aged. Of those children who made it to adulthood, they were neglected and forced to become hostile and violent just to survive.

God described those children who grew to adults in this way, “the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Allow me to amplify those words a bit more. Evil in the Scripture simply means “harm.” This is why the Scriptures say that even God does “evil” on occasion. The word simply means “harm.” However, the word “wickedness” means harm is being done purposefully and without any justice or righteousness associated with it. God is not wicked. His judgments are true and righteous. If He does evil (harm), it is part of His judgment.

But the wickedness and harm attributed to mankind before the flood is nowise compared to the Lord. This is the wickedness that is devoid of any righteousness or love of life. It is a main component of the devil’s program for the fall of man. Man’s lust and anger led to wholesale death and slaughter. There was no kindness or goodness to be found. The intention of men was to do as much harm (evil) as they could. Given the increased population of mankind, there was no lack of victims. Mankind was in a death spiral of corruption.

When God created the earth and mankind, He charged man to keep the garden that God made on the earth. Man is part of God’s definition of the earth. Mankind, it could be argued, is the most important part of the earth since God has chosen mankind to be His bride. If He sees mankind being destroyed, He sees His plan for the earth being destroyed. Man was made from the dust of the earth. The word “Adam” means “out of the earth.” The word “Woman” means “out of man.” In God’s eyes, He does not separate mankind from the earth. They are a part of one another. When we die, our bodies return to the earth. It should not surprise us that God sees the destruction of mankind as the destruction of the earth. It also should not shock us that when He comes to judging all of mankind it also involving the whole earth.

At the Great Flood, the Lord finally had enough of men destroying themselves that He brought judgment upon mankind and the earth they dwelt on. Only Noah and his family received God’s grace and were saved. The earth was transformed to what we have today.

With this definition of the Lord’s previous judgment, let us examine if mankind and the earth is being destroyed in this generation.

Do we see a population spike emerging in our generation?
Is the custom of marriage as defined by God being changed/corrupted?
Do we see men rampantly engaging in sexual activity beyond the bounds of marriage?
Is the family unit with its multigenerational system being destroyed?
Do we see children and the aged threatened and at risk in their present environment?
Do we see community and society leaders striving against God and His commandments for life?
Do we see children reaching adulthood who are violent and angry, having suffered in how they were cared for?
Do we see world-wide wickedness and evil open to public view?
Are our governments filled with corruption and openly violating their oaths of office?
Has the world flipped on its head (so to speak) and righteousness is now sin and sin is now the new righteousness? (Isaiah 5:20)

In 1994, we crossed a recording breaking population threshold of 6 billion people. At that moment, the world had more people alive on the earth than had ever lived on the earth in all previous generations. Since 1994, we have added roughly another billion people and we are beyond the 7 billion mark. More than 50% of all the people who have ever lived are alive today.

The custom of marriage has been significantly altered over the years. It began first with the growing number of divorces. Marriages have been failing to the point that there is only a 50% probability that every marriage today (including religious people) will succeed to old age. Five years is no longer the firewall for a strong marriage. Some marriages are failing at 20 years and longer.

Recently, the United States Supreme Court ruled that homosexual persons can now legally marry one another. The decision is so absurd and unconstitutional that it is mind-numbing. Marriage is a religious law. The Constitution forbids the government from establishing or infringing on any religion or its laws. It didn’t matter that from the very creation it is well known that it requires a man and a woman to reproduce a child to make a family unit. Despite these elements, the court decided to make its own law apart from all previous laws of God and the founding fathers.

For the record, homosexual marriages end in divorce even more than heterosexual marriages. Homosexual couples are also adopting children in an effort to form a “family” unit. The complexities of their social experiment cannot even be compared to the traditional family unit. There is no multigenerational element that works. Besides that, many gays and lesbians are formerly divorced from traditional marriages. As I said, the complexities of this activity leads to wholesale breakups of the extended traditional families, not to mention the psychological damage to the children raised in such an environment.

Adultery used to be scandalous in a community and a family. It was called “infidelity” and “unfaithfulness.” It was overt evidence of a person’s character flaws. An adulterer was (and still is) a liar, a covenant breaker, and untrustworthy. It used to be that you couldn’t be hired in an important or sensitive job if you were an adulterer and divorced because of it. It used to be that you could not hold a government top-secret security clearance because you were not “trustworthy.” That was the standard 40 years ago.

Today, not only are adulterers out in the open acting like nothing is wrong, they are now joined by open fornicators. The idea of having extra-marital sex or pre-marital sex was reserved only to low-class persons. You didn’t dare attend a church or religious assembly with such a reputation. Fathers considered every young man approaching his daughter as such a person until he proved his moral character in this regard.

Now days, young men and young women openly refer to sexual activity with no rules. In fact, it is common to hear the most shocking and gross things being discussed, practiced, and flaunted. I guess I’m ‘ole fashioned. I never heard any of that kind of talk except back in the Navy between a drunk sailor and a prostitute. Today, it’s kids that live in our neighborhoods, go to school, and hang out in public places, you know—normal looking kids that come from families with a mother and father. What, you have to ask, were they taught growing up in their family? And, why is there no correction being offered by their parents? Are you sick of the state of this world yet?

Homosexuals are just as offensive in the public square. In fact, homosexuals are really not any different than others who do not believe there should be any rules for controlling their sexual lusts. The more bizarre the better, in their view. The homosexual community has taken it to next level of fighting the rules for sexual behavior.

They have decided their sexual lusts are worthy of being a civil right and a right that the government must protect. Corrupt judges in our judicial system have sided with them. For a very long time the people, Congress and national leaders would not dare side with them publically, but in the last 10 years, they have prevailed in changing government rules for government employees, gotten a President to openly endorse them, and a number of large corporations to financially contribute and publically support the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) lifestyle. The majority of the people and the representatives of the people in Congress have been bypassed to establish public policy.

In recent days, there has been a kerfuffle over the Target stores’ new policy of “inclusiveness,” allowing transgender men who want to be women to use the women’s restroom in their stores. As you can imagine, there is a backlash from traditional folks and a boycott being called against Target stores. The fact is, several corporations already have the same policy, including McDonalds and AT&T to mention a couple more. All federal government buildings with public restrooms have the same policy of “inclusiveness.” Are you sick of this oppression yet?

In the United States only three/tenths of a percent (0.03%) of the population identify themselves as a transgender, and of those who get the “operation” to physically become a woman, there is a suicide rate 20 times greater than the highest suicide risk group. Fifty years ago, the entire psychological and psychiatric communities defined all of this as abnormal, requiring serious treatment to uncover the psychological trauma in their past (usually child abuse). Today, a doctor will be unmercifully scorned and most likely lose their license if they suggest any counseling for a homosexual, lesbian, or transgender person. Instead, they prescribe hormone therapy.

When a lesbian or homosexual openly declares their sexual preference, it devastates their family. Family members (such as siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents) find themselves quietly relegated to self-banishment (they don’t want to talk about it). It’s no longer enjoyable to speak of their children’s marriages and grandchildren with their friends and their extended family. A fear has been laid on them not of their choosing. They fear rejection from their friends and family when they learn their family member has revealed this lifestyle. They are shamed and, worse yet, they lie to themselves and others about feeling unashamed. They hold onto the last vestiges of loving their children or siblings and resign themselves to hoping society will accept homosexuality (so their family member will not be harmed). Homosexuality tears families apart and does damage to the multigenerational family unit.

The fear of this rejection is so great that there is no dialogue to discuss the issue of this behavior any longer. It is call homophobic. Anyone who questions homosexuality or refers to the commandments of God on this matter is accused of being hateful and a bigot. As I said earlier, militant homosexuals have been successful in convincing different elements in society to side with them, and they go out of the way to force their opinion on others. They argue that it is about “love,” but it is really about “lust.”

It has now progressed to the level where the First Amendment right to free speech, the right of conscience, and the right of religion are openly challenged in public and the courts, and as expected, corrupt judges are ruling in favor of homosexuals against businesses and schools owned by Christians. In some western nations, reading from Leviticus 18 in the public forum, which details all forms of sexual perversions as abominable, is considered “hate speech.” In the United States some are calling for the abolishment of the First Amendment!

The truth is that homosexuals choose to do what they do just like heterosexuals choose to fornicate with women. There is no gene from birth that makes anyone a homosexual or a lesbian. There is no condition from birth that makes a person a fornicator. People who think they are really a woman in a man’s body are psychologically disturbed. It is a disturbed and willful choice based on distorted social relationships and personal sexual lust. It is also godless, and they do so knowing that it is an abomination for a man to be with man, a woman to be with a woman, and for a man to dress and act like a woman (or a woman to do the same as a man). They choose to do it literally in the face of God and demand that others accept them.

This is also a fact. For a society to fully accept homosexuals, they must become godless. Homosexual persons know this, and that is why there is open strife between them and God and godly people and institutions. Are you disgusted with this world yet?

As another indicator of how similar our times have become to antediluvian days is evidenced by how our society has become increasingly violent. Inner cities, particularly with communities with children who have grown up with missing parents, government subsistence, and drugs are nothing short of death zones. Society has been flipped on its head when a police officer has to defend himself from personal attack. For some reason, the definition for personal responsibility has been completely lost. Recently in Ferguson, Missouri (a community outside of St. Louis) became an example of this when a young black man stole from a store, boldly walked in the middle of the street, and then assaulted a police officer (who just happened to be patrolling on that street). As a result, the police officer had to defend his life and fatally shot the young man. The matter was thoroughly investigated and the police officer was justified in his self-defense. However, riots broke out in the city. There was a complete rejection of the law, evidence, due process, or the common sense of self-defense. Many people were hurt, businesses burned to the ground, and the Federal Government investigated the local Police Department and the officer involved, doing everything they could to join with the protesters. Our own Federal Government and President preferred lawlessness and rioting, seeking to find fault with those who protect the citizens of that community. A cauldron of hatred for authority, the law, and law enforcement has now been brewed up for many large cities. Several police officers have been assassinated in other cities based on this hatred, and different groups such as “Black Lives Matter” are calling for open anarchy, the death of all white people, and the reduction of police officers in particular.

While these events have been localized and are not part of every community, they have entered the conscience of every citizen, city, and town in the country. This is not about racial bigotry as some have claimed; it is wickedness and open hatred that does harm to anyone. This example has also morphed and spread to other areas. In some communities, teenagers have grouped together to randomly attack innocent people, video recording it and, then boldly posting it on social media to share with their friends. This is all done with no conscience toward the person they injured or killed.

As a result, those who follows God’s rules, those who are law abiding, and those who support self-defense have been purchasing personal firearms and applying for concealed carry permits in record numbers. Gone are the days when you didn’t even latch the screen door to your house.

There is a foreboding sense that lawlessness and violence is the product of all those growing up in disturbed families. Many citizens in our nation are on government subsistence with no job, career, or future hope of anything better. Their communities are full of gangs, drugs, and despair. Young women get pregnant and join the roles of welfare. What will happen to them when the government can no longer pay for them?

In addition to this, honorable persons, such as veterans, find themselves homeless and without follow-on medical care through the Veterans Administration. The paradoxes in our society are stunning and difficult to enumerate because everything is turned on its head. In this generation, we authorized abortionists to open shop legally. The Roe vs. Wade court decision refused to address a critical question: when does human life begin, and a logical follow-on question: when does that life deserve the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? However, the medical community clearly defines death as when the heart stops beating but refuses to define life as beginning when one’s heart starts beating. The number one stated reason for supporting abortion is overpopulation, not a woman’s choice. The woman who founded Planned Parenthood started the organization to slow down the birth rate of black children. She was a murdering racist. Yet, today, devoid of the facts, she is celebrated by liberals who scorn all forms of racism.

My description of our world and our country is not in dispute. In fact, I don’t have enough time or paper to really explain all that is happening, nor do I need to explain it all. I’m certain that every reader understands and sees what I see. Are you sick of it yet? Some of my believing brethren are calling for fasting and praying for the nation. Some are hoping that a new president will turn it around.

In Noah’s day there was continuous evil without relief. So let me ask you a fundamental question as a spiritual person concerning the world and our present generation: Do you have a sense that God is not going to put up with this death spiral mankind is in much longer?

Personally, I think the answer to my previous ten questions is “Yes” to all of them, and I think the Lord is planning to eliminate all of this unrighteousness and establish His righteousness. We truly live in a strange time and a strange world. It is like the world that existed before the great flood. The Messiah warned us about how the world would be just before He comes. He said it would be like the generation before the flood.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:37-39

The Apostle Paul spoke of that same generation.

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 2 Timothy 3:1-4

Even the book of Jude weighs in on this issue.

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. Jude 1:17-19

I believe it is a trustworthy and accurate assessment that we are in the days of the last generation. Just as the Scriptures have warned us, we are watching the nations all over the world, including the one we are living in, turning away from their own traditions and God. Our fellow citizens don’t want to live by God’s rules anymore, nor do they want to honor Him as Creator, Redeemer, or as King. They want to follow their own lusts and cast out any person or organization that promotes the things of God. They want to control all men on this earth. Our national leaders, our governmental institutions, and major corporations are joining in this effort and soon we will find ourselves as outlaws, outcasts, and threatened with our own lives. People are losing their jobs and income now. People are being taken to corrupt courts and losing their properties and monies. Military personnel are being court-martialed and cast out of the military. Believers in God are being oppressed and scorned because of their faith. We are no longer living in the same world or country of our childhood or the previous generation.

It should not come as a shock to us. The Lord has warned us. Rather than fear or fret what is starting, it is time for our faith to be even stronger. What the Lord has said is true, and we see His words are true in our day. The children of Israel did not see what God had in store for them, and they felt hopeless in their enslaved situation in Egypt. But we can see what happened to them and how the Lord sustained them and brought them out of that situation. Let us also remember Noah and his family, who had to totally rely on the Lord for their very survival, being separated out from an ungodly world He had declared He would destroy. We have an advantage they did not have – we can look back to see God’s goodness toward His chosen ones. This is a time to throw off the worldly things that so easily distract us from an intimate walk with God and join together with those who are like-minded, to strengthen one another, and to prepare our hearts and minds for what else is to come.

What else is to come?

We get to see God come as Almighty God and Judge of the whole earth. He intends to destroy those who are destroying His earth with a consuming fire. But look beyond that… Look to the day when He will grant the Covenant of Peace (Shalom) to us.