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[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Shining the Light on Four Flaws in Evolutionary Theory

It’s been called one of the most powerful and influential scientific theories in history: the theory of evolution by natural selection, first published well more than a century ago by Charles Darwin.

And its powerful influence on life—in virtually every realm of understanding—would indeed be hard to overestimate.

But is it true?

Many would respond—Of course! Evolution has been proven true a thousand times over! All the evidence we have says evolution is a fact of nature!

But is the evidence really that solid? Is the theory of evolution really indisputable?

No, it is not. And today, we’ll pull back the curtain on some of the evidence that many evolutionists would prefer you not see.

Join us for this episode of Tomorrow’s World where we will expose some of Evolution’s Dirty Little Secrets.

A Theory Supported by Shaky Evidence

Welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we help you understand your world through the pages of the Bible. And our topic today might seem far removed from those pages: the theory of evolution. It is, perhaps, one of the single most influential scientific theories in history—with immeasurable impact on science, philosophy, education, politics, and religion. And we are assured by many that it is undoubtedly true—that no one of any intelligence or education would even dare to question it.

Well, today we will dare to question it. Because while evolution puts up a good front, it has a long list of dirty little secrets that you don’t tend to hear about in your classrooms or television programming. And the more you learn about what evolution has to hide, the more you wonder why so many put faith in an idea that remains unproven. It’s a big topic, and we’ll only scratch the surface today.

Now, before we begin, let’s understand what we mean by “evolution.”

Claiming that life began in a vastly simpler form—similar, perhaps, to a microscopic bacterium—the theory of evolution says that over billions of years, life changed slowly; that the struggle for survival rewarded slight, random variations in the descendants of that life form that gave them an edge, perhaps allowing them to find food faster or reproduce more successfully, and, similarly, punished those descendants whose random adaptations were less favorable for survival.

In this way and through this unintelligent, unguided process, evolution says those microscopic bacteria-like organisms a few billion years ago have been able to turn into the astonishing variety of lifeforms we see today, including us—no divine Designer or Creator necessary.

Not long ago, Sotheby’s, the famous auction house, offered a first edition of Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, published in 1859—the book in which he first published the theory of evolution. Now, at least when I saw it, Sotheby’s recommended estimate for the book was 250 to 300 thousand dollars.

You might think, why so high? It’s just a book! Well, there are numerous factors, but the book’s role in human history is perhaps the greatest. Sotheby’s calls the book “one of the greatest achievements of scientific discovery.” Referring to Darwin’s book, science historian Bern Dibner once wrote, “This, the most important single work in science, brought man to his true place in nature” (Heralds of Science, 1955, p. 92).

High-sounding praise to be sure.

But is it accurate? That depends, of course, on whether the theory is true. If all life as we know it today is the result of nothing but mindless processes, then, yes, Darwin’s book is a towering achievement in human history—a monumental discovery that does, truly, put man in his place as nothing special, nothing remarkable, just a random lifeform on a random planet. And life, it turns out, has no real meaning at all.

Again—if that theory is true.

Of course, many claim it is true—and claim so very loudly! Evolutionary apologist Jerry Coyne writes in his popular book Why Evolution Is True, “Evolution is a fact. And far from casting doubt on Darwinism, the evidence gathered by scientists over the past century and a half supports it completely, showing that evolution happened, and that it happened largely as Darwin proposed, through the workings of natural selection” (2009, pp. xiii–xiv).

Of course, many WANT it to be true. Evolution has become an “escape hatch” for those who want to explain away the beautiful diversity and complexity of life without a Creator.

As famous biologist Richard Dawkins once said, “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist” (The Blind Watchmaker, 2015, p. 10).

Is he right? Again, only if evolution has been proven true.

And, in fact, it has not.

Despite claims that all the evidence supports it completely, the truth is that evolution has a whole host of dirty little secrets that our classrooms and popular science programs don’t talk about too loudly.

Cells and DNA—Impossible to Evolve

The first dirty little secret of evolution is this: Even the simplest living cell is devastating to the theory of evolution.

In Darwin’s day, little was known about cells. Single-celled organisms like amoebas were described by Charles Darwin’s contemporary George Henry Lewes as simply a “a microscopic lump of jelly-like substance, or protoplasm…. entirely destitute of texture, and consequently destitute of organs” (Problems of Life, 1887, p. 38).

In other cells, such as those in our body, a nucleus could be seen, but its purpose was a mystery, and the cell seemed otherwise generally featureless.

In such days, when the smallest, simplest unit of life seemed THAT simple—just a bit of jelly with a few boring features—it was easy to imagine that somehow, within that mysterious “life-giving” jelly, anything could happen.

But as microscopes improved and techniques were developed to tease out the secrets of the inner world of the cell, we have discovered that this supposedly simple, “jelly-like substance” is filled with machinery of astonishing complexity, ingenuity, and design.

The world of the human cell, for instance, is one in which approximately one billion chemical reactions take place every single second. And these are not random chemical reactions! A human cell is filled with thousands upon thousands of proteins of 10,000 different varieties—molecular machines designed to work together to achieve specific purposes, manipulating their surroundings, creating new structures, and dismantling old ones, in a dynamic dance of complexity that would make the Space Shuttle seem simple.

Life is impossible without these complex machines, and even small changes to organisms, as hypothesized by evolution, requires changes to these machines—even the design of NEW machines. And that is as unlikely as it sounds.

Biochemist Douglas Axe has examined the probability of even one protein—of any significant functionality at all—forming by chance, and estimated it to be 1 in 10-to-the-64. That is, 1 out of a number that is a “1” followed by 64 zeros.

Along with colleague Ann Gauger, Axe explored the possibility that one protein could evolve from another, similar one, based on just a handful of necessary changes to DNA, and found that—at currently understood rates of mutation—it would take 10-to-the-27 years for such a change to take place… again, a “1” followed by 27 zeros. Impressive, given that scientists think our universe is only 13 billion years old—or about a “1” followed by ten zeros. In other words, it’s just not going to happen apart from intelligent intervention.

Again, even the simplest living cell is devastating to the theory of evolution.

We mentioned DNA a moment ago—and the nature of DNA is another of evolution’s dirty little secrets. Because DNA represents an abstract coding system that points to intelligence.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA for short, was unknown in Darwin’s day and is the molecule responsible for carrying the information needed to build all of the proteins that make life possible. Each nucleus in each individual, normal cell in your body contains about two meters of DNA, packed into a microscopic dot—all of it containing the information needed to build YOU.

DNA uses base pairs combining four different compounds that act like the 1’s and 0’s in computer code, detailing to the cellular machinery the information needed to build all of the complex proteins life requires. Information from the DNA is carried from place to place, where proteins read the code and assemble new proteins from precisely sequenced amino acids based on that information—making every one of your cells a complex chemical factory, creating purposefully arranged nanoscopic machinery and some of the most complicated chemical compounds found anywhere in the universe.

But where did this abstract programming code originate? Evolution can’t take credit. It’s a mindless, purposeless process, remember?

In fact, where did DNA come from? You can’t build proteins without DNA—and yet, DNA is, itself assembled by proteins!

The discovery of DNA should have been a great success for evolution! The secret to how the characteristics of life are passed on to our descendants was finally unveiled! But it has been a disaster. The idea of a massive, information-rich molecule containing an abstract programming code capable of bearing the information needed to build all the complex machinery of life is incompatible with the idea that life has supposedly grown in complexity through mindless, natural processes.

Evolutionists cannot avoid the fact that DNA represents an abstract coding system that points to intelligence.

No Good Explanation for Missing Fossils or Gradually Developing Organs

Our next dirty secret of evolution is an opportunity to turn the tables a bit. In short, the gaps in the fossil record since Darwin’s day have gotten worse, not better.

The theory of evolution depends on the slow and steady accumulation of small variations—since large “jumps” in changes would imply an active designer or planner. The result should be a smooth transition in the fossil record, with animals gradually, almost imperceptibly “turning into” new animals through small, smooth changes.

But this isn’t what the fossil record shows. Instead of a smooth, continuous transition of creatures, the record indicates gaps between different kinds of creatures.

As Michael Denton wrote in his seminal work, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis,

“The overall picture of life on Earth today is so discontinuous, the gaps between the different types so obvious, that, as Steven Stanley reminds us in his recent book if our knowledge of biology was restricted to those species presently existing on earth, ‘we might wonder whether the doctrine of evolution would qualify as anything more than an outrageous hypothesis.’ Without intermediates or transitional forms to bridge the enormous gaps which separate existing species and groups of organisms, the concept of evolution could never be taken seriously as a scientific hypothesis” (1985, pp. 157–158).

Of course, seemingly “continuous” lines of some animals are trotted out for display to pretend the gaps are not nearly as damaging as they are. For instance, you will see theoretical sequences for whale, horse, and human evolution.

Yet, not only are these sequences themselves deceptive and not proven lines of descent at all. The fact remains that if evolution is true, these sorts of sequences should be the norm, not the rare exception.

Ironically, evolutionists often accuse believers of having faith in a “God of the Gaps” who magically does all the things they cannot explain. Such a misunderstanding aside, the unexplainable gaps in the fossil record—a thorn in Darwin’s side that remains just as thorny more than 150 years later—turn the tables and put evolutionists in the place of wielding blind faith and believing in a “Darwin of the Gaps.”

For our next dirty secret, all you need to do is look in the mirror at your remarkable, evolution-defying eyes. Because evolution continues to offer no good explanation for how new organs can form.

In the Psalms King David praises God and proclaims to His creator, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). And we see part of that wonder in the organs of the bodies, such as the eye.

After all, organs represent not just specialized “tissues,” but interwoven systems, often systems upon systems, finely tuned and exquisitely structured to work together. If one part is missing, the whole can fail. And improving the entire organ would often involve each piece or part evolving in conjunction with all the other pieces in a coordinated way—a coordination that evolution does not allow.

The problem was summarized not long ago in an article in The Guardian. First, the paper gives the traditional explanation for the supposed evolution of the eye—given by thousands of teachers over the decades to tens of thousands of students. Animals that have light-sensitive cells for some reason experience a series of slight mutations that increasingly give them survival advantages, such as a slight cupping of the flesh around the cells that helps to focus the light, a clear covering of some sort eventually, to seal the space, which slowly becomes a lens. Then, muscles arrive to shape and focus the lens better, etc.

The Guardian continues:

“This is the basic story of evolution, as recounted in countless textbooks and pop-science bestsellers. The problem, according to a growing number of scientists, is that it is absurdly crude and misleading.

For one thing, it starts midway through the story, taking for granted the existence of light-sensitive cells, lenses and irises, without explaining where they came from in the first place. Nor does it adequately explain how such delicate and easily disrupted components meshed together to form a single organ. And it isn’t just eyes that the traditional theory struggles with. ‘The first eye, the first wing, the first placenta. How they emerge. Explaining these is the foundational motivation of evolutionary biology,’ says Armin Moczek, a biologist at Indiana University” (“Do we need a new theory of evolution?,” June 28, 2020).

In short, evolution promises us it can explain how the organs of our bodies supposedly formed gradually over millennia, but, in reality, it hasn’t a clue.

Our fourth dirty little secret, the fact that evolution continues to offer no good explanation for how new organs can form is devastating to a theory that was developed more than 150 years ago to explain that very fact.

The True Origin of Life, the Universe, and You

You know, let me confess something. I know it’s considered a cinema classic, but I’ve never been a big fan of the Wizard of Oz. Frankly, when I first saw it, I was a little kid, and the flying monkeys were pretty spooky!

But as I have grown older, one scene has remained with me and has become a real favorite. It’s close to the end of the movie, as Dorothy and her band are confronting the terrifying Wizard for the fact that he is failing to keep his promises. As they do so, flames shoot out, thunder crashes, and the Wizard speaks to them as a giant, green, monstrous head hovering in the air in front of them, shouting, “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz!”

Meanwhile, Dorothy’s dog Toto makes his way to a green curtain off to the left and pulls it aside to reveal a small, white-haired old man, using a machine to create the illusion they are all looking at and speaking into a microphone to amplify his voice and make it sound terrifying.

My favorite part in that scene is when the old man turns around, notices they can see him, and turns back to the microphone to demand, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

Well, the forces arrayed to convince people not to question the theory of evolution are very similar. There is a lot of thunder and flame—impressive proclamations about “proof” and “evidence” and a lot of theater designed to make you think there is nothing to doubt.

But like the Wizard, evolution has not kept its promises. The theory promises an explanation of your origins—an explanation that needs no God, no intelligence at all, just an initial microbe; careless natural processes; and a few billion years.

We need to be willing to pull back the curtain—to not be so impressed by the theater that we don’t question what we’re shown, and to not be so intimidated that we aren’t willing to stand up and call evolution out for not keeping its promises.

Or to borrow from another fiction, it might have been a hard day when you first learned Santa Claus wasn’t real. But that realization brought you that much deeper into the real world and much further from a world of make-believe.

Recognizing the dirty little secrets of evolution can help you step away from the world of make-believe as well.

Yet, the questions evolutionists seek to answer remain: Where do we come from? How did life come to be? Is there any purpose to it all? And if so, what might that purpose be?

Unclouded by the evolutionary theater, you can seek the real answer to those questions. And if you really seek with an open mind and an open heart, with God’s help you will find your way to the only possible starting place in the search for those answers: The very first sentence of the Bible,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

I hope you will find the courage to look behind the curtain more often.

Thanks for watching! If you’re interested in the free offer that we have today, please check the description, where you will find the link, and we hope that you enjoyed everything here at Tomorrow’s World. All of us here are devoted to helping you make sense of your world through the pages of your Bible.

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[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The True Definition of a Christian

I hope you are not offended by this question, but “Are you a true Christian?” Are you absolutely sure about your answer? And, if so, how do you know? How does the Bible define a Christian? Does it say there are requirements? And, if so, what are they? Is there more to it than repeating the “sinner’s prayer”?

Please be patient with me as I ask another personal question. Is it possible you could be deceived? After all, doesn’t the Bible say that Satan has deceived the whole world? But how can that be when the world’s largest religion is professing Christianity? And what about Jesus’ warning to beware lest we be deceived?

On today’s program I’ll be exploring, according to the Bible, what is a true Christian? Now stay with me as I’ll be right back to give you four signs of a true Christian and reveal the best one-verse description of what it means to be a Christian.

A Savior in Christ, a Guide in the Law

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World, where we look to the Bible for answers to life’s most important questions. We also tell you not to believe us just because we say it, but believe what you see in your very own Bible. And, of course this advice applies to other ministers as well. Believe what you read in your own Bible!

On today’s Tomorrow’s World program, I’ll be giving you four signs of a true Christian, and I’ll also reveal the best one-verse description of what it means to be a Christian.

Most people have regrets over things they’ve done. They instinctively know that some things are wrong. Furthermore, they know that they are guilty of doing wrong. So how does one undo the wrongs he or she has committed?

Some turn to doing good works to erase their past—volunteering at a homeless shelter, giving money to feed the poor, or becoming a warrior against climate change. But does that make them a Christian? By that standard, secular humanists and atheists could be considered Christians. But are we saved by good works? Paul explained in Ephesians 2:8–9:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8–9).

It takes more than good works to be a Christian, but is God against good works? Absolutely not! Notice the next verse:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

No, God expects good works from those who are saved through faith. Others think that they can be saved by observing ritualistic laws, such as vain repetition of memorized prayers. Again, what do the scriptures say? Breaking into a thought, Paul wrote in Galatians 2:16:

… knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified (Galatians 2:16).

There is only one name and one way that we can be saved, and that name is spelled out in Acts 4, beginning in verse 10:

… let it be known to you all… that by the name of Jesus Christ… this man [that had been healed] stands here before you whole…. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:10, 12).

Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. Therefore, Sign #1 is:

Sign #1: A true Christian recognizes Jesus as his Savior

This leads us to our second sign of a true Christian:

Sign #2: A true Christian keeps the law of God

A misunderstanding occurs as a result of not knowing the meaning of justification. While justification is needed for salvation, justification does not mean salvation. Justification means our past sins have been forgiven. But what is sin? Dust off your Bible and look it up in 1 John 3:4…

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, King James Version).

Now let’s go back to the passage I quoted earlier in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, a verse that is often quoted by those who teach that everything has been done for us and that we no longer need to keep the law. As with other passages used to abrogate the law, this one is taken out of context. Galatians the second chapter, once again, and verse 16:

… a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified (Galatians 2:16).

Was Paul advocating the abolition of law because of grace? Not at all, as we read the verses that follow.

But if, while we seek to be justified [have past sins forgiven] by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God (Galatians 2:17–19).

Therefore, while a true Christian has faith in Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, he also recognizes that he is obligated to stop sinning and keep the law of God. Frankly, friends, the whole concept of doing away with the law of God is ridiculous. Why would anyone go back to do the very things for which Christ died to pay the penalty of on our behalf? Most rational people understand that a Christian should not murder, commit adultery, steal, worship idols, etc. What it comes down to with those who are against law, is which laws, and they have an aversion to the next sign of a true Christian.

Real Obedience to Christ—What Is It?

Here it is in,

Sign #3: A true Christian walks in Jesus’ footsteps

How many professing Christians today believe what Jesus taught and walk as He walked? In other words, lived as He lived. Do you realize that believing in Christ and obeying Him are two different matters? Many people dismiss obedience. Yet, how long will someone keep his job if he doesn’t do what the boss tells him to do? Dear friend, consider this statement in Luke 6:46:

But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and not do the things which I say? (Luke 6:46).

Lord means boss or master. The disconnect between what Jesus instructs and what people actually do is found in Matthew 5:17–18:

Do 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 (Matthew 5:17–18).

Jesus then went on to show by examples how the Ten Commandments are even more binding than before. After explaining the spirit of the law against murder, He then gave this example regarding adultery:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.” But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27–28).

James, the brother of Christ, tells us that we cannot break off one commandment from the others. Notice what law, what group of commandments he refers to in this context.

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law (James 2:10–11).

Clearly, James is speaking of the Ten Commandments as a whole. You cannot break one without being guilty of breaking them all. And one of those commands is to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and that brings us to Christ’s example and whether we are going to follow it. Are we going to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, or the footsteps of apostate Christianity and that of the sun-worshiping Roman Emperor Constantine? The New Testament record shows us that Jesus kept the seventh day Sabbath. It is true that He violated some of the humanly devised restrictions the Jews put on the day, but nevertheless, He kept the Sabbath as intended by God, and as shown in many scriptures. And three times, He declares Himself,

Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28; Matthew 12:8; Luke 6:5)

Not once does He call Himself Lord of Sunday, or Lord of the first day of the week. Furthermore, we see that He observed the biblical Holy Days and Festivals of

Passover (Matthew 26:18–19)

Unleavened Bread (Luke 2:41, 43)

The Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2, 10)

And,

The Last Great Day (John 7:37)

We’re often told that the Sabbath day was changed to Sunday and these annual Sabbaths were done away with the death of Christ. There are clever justifications, human reasonings, twisted scriptures, and scriptures taken out of context, but what is the example of Jesus’ followers after His death and resurrection?

Paul kept the Sabbath day with Gentiles (Acts 13:42, 44)

Paul also taught the Gentiles of Corinth to keep Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:7–8)

Jesus’ followers kept Pentecost (Acts 2:1)

The Day of Atonement was a time marker for Luke, who wrote the book of Acts (Acts 27:9)

These are only samples and there are many more scriptures supporting this. The point is that Jesus’ followers walked in His footsteps. They kept the same laws that Jesus kept. That is why Jesus’ beloved apostle John tells us in chapter 2 and verse 6 of his first letter:

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked (1 John 2:6).

Becoming an Overcomer

We read in Revelation 12:9 that Satan has deceived this whole world, and that includes the majority of what is thought of as Christianity. And that should not surprise students of the Bible, as that warning comes from Christ himself, as well as Paul, Peter, John, and Jude.

As we’ve seen,

Sign #1: A true Christian recognizes Jesus as his Savior

Sign #2: A true Christian keeps the law of God

And,

Sign #3: A true Christian walks in Jesus’ footsteps

Now we’re ready for another important sign to look for in true Christianity. This sign is similar to the previous two, but it needs to be emphasized as it will determine eternal life or eternal death.

As already shown, sin is the transgression of the law. That is the Bible definition of sin as shown in 1 John 3 and verse 4. Of course, the very term sin is a term originating in the Bible. Our second sign of a true Christian is that he keeps the law of God, but let’s take that one step further. We know that there was only one human being who lived perfectly, and He gave His life to pay the penalty for our sins. Through faith in Christ’s shed blood we DO have that forgiveness, but does that mean we have it made, that we really don’t have to overcome the pulls of our nature?

Sign #4: A true Christian must overcome sin

When a young man came to Jesus asking what good thing he could do to have eternal life, what was Jesus’ answer? Read it in Matthew 19:17:

But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17).

Notice that He did not tell him to acknowledge the commandments, but to keep them. Why is it then that some believe, by their actions, and some by their words, that overcoming the pulls of our flesh, and of the mind, are not necessary for salvation? Forget the clever justifications. What does the Bible tell us? Note this stern warning from the Apostle Paul to the Church of God at Corinth:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9–10).

The next verse shows that some in Paul’s audience HAD these problems before coming to the truth:

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Notice, that Paul says that such WERE some of you. In other words, they were no longer caught up in those behaviors. They were overcomers. Notice also, that they were justified—their past sins had been forgiven through Jesus Christ. They were washed, as it were, by the blood of Christ. And they were therefore sanctified or set apart.

At the very end of the Bible, God explains that unrepented sin would keep one out of the Kingdom and condemn him to the second death. Again, these are not sins of occasional weakness that are sincerely repented of and covered by the blood of Christ. But, we must nevertheless, with the help of God, overcome our weakness, as Revelation 21 tells us, beginning in verse 6:,

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega…. He who overcomes shall inherit all things” (Revelation 21:6, 7).

Notice that. This is not something we can remove from the Bible. It is,

He who overcomes [that] shall inherit all things…. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21:7–8).

Yes, the Alpha and Omega—that’s Christ according to Revelation 1:11— and He says we must overcome sin if we want to be in His Kingdom. This is not easy, and we don’t overcome all at once. But Christianity is a way of life, of overcoming and following in the footsteps of Jesus, so let’s not come up with clever excuses, reasonings, and arguments around obedience to God’s law! Instead, for example, someone addicted to pornography must become un-addicted—he must overcome it.

This admonition to overcome is found in the letters to all seven of the Churches mentioned in Revelation the second and third chapters. Let’s notice just one of them—the Laodiceans are mentioned there in chapter 3, verse 21:

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne (Revelation 3:21).

Baptized Into the Life of Christ

Before closing this program, I want to reveal what my former college professor, and my predecessor in this Work, said is the best one verse description of a true Christian found in the Bible. But I want to first read a scripture that sets the stage. Paul explains baptism in Romans 6, verses 3 and 4,

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3–4).

Yes, baptism pictures a death. It shows us what Christ did for us and reminds us of what we must do in response to His sacrifice—put to death our old carnal self. We must figuratively die, be buried in a watery grave, and then come up a new person. Now here is that single defining verse of a true Christian—Galatians 2:20:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, King James Version).

We are crucified with Christ at baptism—that’s what baptism pictures. Nevertheless, we live, yet it is not our old sinful past that comes up out of the water, but Christ living in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, which is given by the laying on of hands. And it is the faith of (not in, but the faith of) the Son of God that we live by. It is Christ living in us that makes us a true Christian.

If you found this video helpful and want to learn more, be sure to get your free copy of our study guide What Is a True Christian? Just click the link in the description to order. It’s that easy.

And remember to like and subscribe to our channel so you can watch more videos on different Bible topics.

We here at Tomorrow’s World want to help you understand this world, through the pages of the Bible.

Thanks for watching! See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

A Book With Real Answers

The Bible has been the world’s best-selling book. And yet it is a mystery to billions of people around the world. Can you explain its mysteries? Notice this amazing statement made by our Lord and Savior in Matthew 11:25: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”

Yes, the great intellectuals of the world, and even many religious leaders, do not and cannot understand great mysteries of the Bible. But you can understand these mysteries if you seek the truth of God with your whole heart.

The greatest spiritual knowledge available to mankind is revealed in this book. But most do not understand its mysteries. What is the purpose and meaning of life? Why were you born? What really happens when you die? And what is the future of the world? Will all life on earth be destroyed? Is there a spirit world?

These questions are all mysteries to billions of people around the world. But God has revealed the answers to these mysteries in the Holy Bible. And you can understand great Bible mysteries.

Stay tuned!

The Bible Reveals the Future of Our World

Warm greetings to all our friends around the world!

Your Bible contains mysteries, but it also reveals the truth behind those mysteries. There are many misconceptions about the Bible, and fewer and fewer individuals now trust in its teachings. A July 2022 Gallup poll reported the following: “A record-low 20 percent of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24 percent the last time the question was asked in 2017, and half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. Meanwhile, a new high of 29 percent say the Bible is a collection of ‘fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.’ This marks the first time significantly more Americans have viewed the Bible as not divinely inspired than as the literal word of God” (“Fewer in U.S. Now See Bible as Literal Word of God,” Gallup.com, July 6, 2022).

Despite the skeptics, God has revealed His truth in the Holy Bible.

On today’s program we’ll discuss five Bible mysteries. As Jesus pointed out, the great men, leaders and scholars of the world do not understand what you can understand. Mystery Number One is: The Future of the World.

In recent years, we’ve seen dozens of movies and television programs depicting the end of the world. These dramatic programs use the words, “Doomsday,” “Apocalyptic,” “Disaster,” “Extinction,” “Last Days on Earth” and “World War III.”

Bible students know there is danger ahead. Jesus warned us of the Great Tribulation in Matthew 24:21: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21–22).

The good news is that Jesus Christ will return to save planet earth and to save human beings from completely destroying themselves. But many skeptics do not believe in the dangers we are facing. On previous programs, we have informed you of the sobering evaluations presented by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. When the historic cold war between the U.S. and Russia was considered over in 1991, the Bulletin set the symbolic Doomsday Clock to 17 minutes before midnight. This was a comforting sign for peace in the world. Three decades later, the clock stands at just 100 SECONDS before midnight! (“This is your COVID wake-up call: It is 100 seconds to midnight,” TheBulletin.org, January 27, 2021).

My friends, you need to know the future of the world. The future is guaranteed by God Almighty. Regular viewers of Tomorrow’s World know the general sequence of end-time prophetic events revealed in your Bible. Jesus Christ gave the outline of end-time prophecy in the famous Olivet prophecy documented in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. He warned us of the three major events leading up to His Second Coming: 1. The Great Tribulation; 2. The heavenly Signs; and 3. The Day of the Lord.

These events cover about three and one-half years leading up to the return of Christ. Then Jesus Christ will rule the world for a thousand years, as it points out in Revelation 20:6.

My friends, your Bible reveals the mystery of Earth’s future and the incredible human potential that God has in store for all human beings. We’ve briefly shared the Bible’s revelation of divine prophecy. Bible MYSTERY NUMBER ONE IS: THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD.

The Truth About Ancient Nations and the Mystery of Life

MYSTERY NUMBER TWO IS: THE BIBLICAL ORIGIN OF NATIONS. The Bible very plainly mentions such nations as Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia. And it may surprise you that Assyria will eventually be one of the prominent nations in tomorrow’s world along with Egypt and Israel. You can read about that in Isaiah 19:23. Also read the 10th and 11th chapters of Isaiah. But, my friends, who is modern Assyria? Several years ago, in our Tomorrow’s World magazine, we published an article on this subject. Listen carefully: “GERMANY’S cultural history and national character resemble Assyria’s like no other nation…. When the Bible speaks of Assyria in the end times, it is speaking of Germany. No other modern nation fits the description so completely” (“Resurgent Germany: A Fourth Reich?,” September-October 2007, pp. 20, 29).

Once you know the biblical identity of modern Germany, you can understand major prophecies in your Bible. Long-time viewers of Tomorrow’s World are familiar with the biblical history of Israel and Judah, two separate kingdoms. God sent prophets warning the northern kingdom of Israel to repent of its idolatry and wickedness. Israel refused to humble itself, and God sent the whole nation into Assyrian captivity in 721 BC. The kingdom of Judah later followed Israel’s example of idolatry and God sent them into Babylonian Captivity, emphasized by the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This map shows the movements of the two kingdoms in their captivity.

After 70 years captivity, God allowed Judah to return to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Now, in the end-time, the House of Judah established the modern nation called Israel in 1948. Bible students know that this sets the stage for major end-time prophecies. But what happened to the ten tribes that became known as “the ten lost tribes of Israel”? Their migrations are recorded throughout history, and their descendants include the peoples of America and Great Britain. BIBLE MYSTERY NUMBER TWO is: THE BIBLICAL ORIGIN OF NATIONS.

BIBLE MYSTERY NUMBER THREE is: THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE. My friends, why were you born? What is the purpose of human life? Materialists can give you the standard answers such as self-preservation, self-propagation, and self-determination. But is survival the only meaning and purpose for life? From the dawn of antiquity, thinkers have pondered the fundamental questions of why we’re alive, and how best to live life.

The ancient Greeks came up with a wide range of answers, and the Apostle Paul was familiar with ancient Greek schools of thought. Paul visited Athens about A.D. 50. Turn in your Bible to Acts 17. ACTS 17:18, “Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him [the Apostle Paul]. And some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,’ because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus [or Mars Hill], saying, ‘May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?’” (vv. 18–19).

Paul proclaimed to them the Creator God, who made the world and everything in it. And he made this fundamental, yet astounding observation in verse 28: “… for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’” (Acts 17:28).

In Him we live and move and have our being! Our entire existence, as Paul was emphasizing, is intimately tied to the Creator God! Yes, man was created to have a special relationship with his Creator. It’s the very foundation of a meaningful life! The Savior, Jesus Christ, also affirmed this highest purpose in life. He was asked by the lawyer, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” Turn in your Bible to Matthew 27:37. “Jesus said to him, “‘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. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37–40).

That relationship leads to a change from selfish human nature to a loving spiritual nature. We need to grow in godly character. We need to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, as it tells us in 2 Peter 3:18. Eventually, we can be born into God’s kingdom, His family. The Savior, Jesus Christ, is the firstborn from the dead (Revelation 1:5)! He is the firstborn of many brethren, as it tells us Romans 8:29. God’s children will be transformed from mortal to immortal at the resurrection, as it states in 1 Corinthians 15:53. Yes, you have an opportunity to belong to an immortal family, to be a part of God’s kingdom and family. Remember, Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Yes, God is the Father of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, as it tells us in Ephesians 3:14–15. God wants you in His family.

Why He Gave His Only Begotten Son

MYSTERY NUMBER THREE WAS: PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE. MYSTERY NUMBER FOUR IS: GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION.

Many have wondered, how could a loving God condemn to an ever-burning hellfire those who never had a real opportunity to be saved spiritually? Approximately one-third of the earth’s population professes to believe in some form of Christianity as they understand it. Will two-thirds of the current 8 billion people go to a burning hellfire when they die? That’s about 5.3 billion people. Is that God’s purpose?

My friends, the Apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The Apostle Paul emphasizes this point in 1 Timothy 2:4, stating that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God wants to save us all from the death penalty. As it tells us in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God has such love, that He gave His only begotten Son, that we might not perish, as it tells us in the golden verse of the Bible, John 3:16. We can be reconciled to God by the shed blood of Christ. And we can be saved by His life. Read that inspiring section in Romans 5:1–5.

But God requires repentance of our sins. On the day of Pentecost in 31 AD when the New Testament Church began, the Apostle Peter addressed the masses of people: “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).

The Real Reason God Created Us

One of our greatest worries is the danger facing planet Earth. Our human race faces deadly threats! These deadly threats include nuclear war, super-volcanoes, asteroids, and plague. The CNN series titled “Planet in Peril” featured wholesale destruction of forests and increasing numbers of extinct animal species. So, what is our destiny? BIBLE MYSTERY NUMBER FIVE IS: HUMANITY’S ULTIMATE DESTINY.

What is the ultimate destiny of mankind? Our ultimate salvation is described in the resurrection chapters of your Bible, 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4. Faithful Christians will be changed at the resurrection from mortal to im-mortal: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:53–54).

The resurrected saints will rule the physical nations for a thousand years under the King of kings and Lord of lords. After that, the second great resurrection takes place as it tells us in Revelation 20:5, “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.” This second great resurrection is a resurrection to judgment. Human beings who died not knowing the true Jesus Christ of your Bible, those spiritually blinded to the truth, will be physically resurrected for a lifetime of judgment. And this judgment will give them an opportunity for salvation. You can read about the Great White Throne Judgment, as it’s called, in Revelation 20:11–12.

After the White Throne Judgment period, every human being will have had a genuine opportunity for salvation. Those who have repented and accepted God’s gift of eternal life through Christ, will live forever in God’s family. Those who reject God’s grace and who seal their character as evil, will be totally destroyed in the lake of fire described in Revelation 20:14–15. “This is the second death” from which there is no resurrection.

The earth is then totally purified by fire. The Apostle Peter writes that “the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10–13).

Beyond the Millennium and the White Throne Judgment, God will establish the new heavens and the new earth. Our ultimate destiny is to inherit “all things,” the universe. Read that in Revelation 21:7, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, [that includes the entire universe] and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” BIBLE MYSTERY NUMBER FIVE IS: HUMANITY’S ULTIMATE DESTINY.

Thank you for watching!

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And if you would like a free copy of our 24 Lesson Bible Study Course, just click the link in the description. It’s that easy.

See you next time!

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

A Sad Lot in Life

About 4,000 years ago, there lived a man in the land of Canaan, in what today is the general area of the nation of Israel. His name was Lot, and he was the nephew of Abraham. He had a wife and a family, a place of prominence in society, and had grown quite wealthy. You might say he was successful. But then, something went terribly wrong.

Lot lived in the ancient city of Sodom. Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah were judged and destroyed by God for their decadence and corruption. But this story is not just of the downfall of a sinful city, but the tragic collapse of a family as well. Lot escaped with his life, but his family paid a dear price. What can we learn from the story of Lot? How can this apply to us, in a world of increasing evil? How can we expect to guide our family, our children, in our society today?

So, how can we raise good kids today? I’ll be right back with the answer.

Sin Is Attractive Now but Destructive Later

Welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we help you make sense of your world through the pages of the Bible. About 4,000 years ago there lived a man named Lot. He was the nephew of Abraham, the ancestor of the children of Israel. Before Lot moved to Sodom, he lived near his uncle Abraham. But as their flocks and herds grew, the land wasn’t large enough for both of them, so they had to separate. So, Abraham told Lot to choose which direction he would go, and Abraham would go the opposite. Notice how the story unfolds in Genesis 13:10:

And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere... like the garden of the LORD (Genesis 13:10).

When Lot saw the land surrounding Sodom, he was impressed. It looked good. It was fertile and lush, a perfect place to raise his flocks and herds. But there was something wrong with this area as well. What was it? Let’s read in Genesis 13:11–13:

Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east… and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD (Genesis 13:11–13).

You see what was happening. Lot was drawn to Sodom, because it looked good—a place to grow wealth, to raise his flocks, to raise his family—a rich and fertile land. But the inhabitants had a way of life totally contrary to what he had learned from his uncle Abraham. Sodom already had a bad reputation.

The point is, Lot chose to move toward Sodom, not away from it. And he made that choice, even though there were warning signs that this was not a good idea. It eventually brought disastrous results on his family and on his own life, as we’ll see later in this program.

But what does that have to do with us now, living in the end-times? Let’s discuss our first key to raising kids in our world today:

1. Resist the pulls of the world.

The Bible tells us that as Christians, we must resist the temptations of this world, and be different. This is even more important as we find ourselves at the end of the age. We’ve got to discern the direction the world is going, and choose instead to embrace God’s way. Jesus inspired the Apostle John to write these words in Revelation 18:4:

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4–5).

Sodom was judged and destroyed for promoting a lifestyle in direct violation of God’s ways. The Book of Revelation shows that the society of the last days will be promoting the same anti-God ways. That end-time society will be judged and punished, just like Sodom. And God says to Christians, don’t get caught up in that world. Be different, come out of it, and you can be spared.

So, why should this concern parents? Well, our children soak up the environment they grow in. The choices we make—whether we are coming out of the world, or being drawn into it—directly affect the viewpoints and attitudes our children will adopt. Many well-meaning, loving parents are unwittingly allowing the world to have too much influence on their children. The corrosive nature of the world erodes the values the parents hold dear. And one day, too many parents are shocked to discover their children don’t hold their values at all.

Maybe part of the solution is understanding what it means to come out of the world. Are we to run away and isolate ourselves from society? That’s not what Christ meant when He said this in John 17:15:

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one (John 17:15).

We must function in this society. We have to work and make a living to provide for our families. But we also must protect our children from the corrosive nature of this world. And that means evaluating our decisions. Do our choices reinforce our efforts to train our children God’s ways? Or do they unknowingly tear down the character we’re trying to help them build?

Today, through technology, the world comes to us. Through our televisions, our computers, and our phones, we can literally feed on the world’s anti-God values if we’re not careful. Think about the themes that come flooding into our lives through entertainment and media. Our homes should be havens of peace that promote Christian values of love, self-control, and faith. But too often, we allow the world to inundate us with violence and selfishness, immorality and rebellion. If these corrosive themes fill our homes, why would we be surprised if they fill the minds of our children?

As parents, we need to be the primary influence in our children’s lives. No, we can’t shelter them from the world forever. But we CAN protect them and nurture them so that as they approach adulthood, they are ready and prepared to resist the pulls of the world.

The World Rubs Off On You… Quietly

As we mentioned before, Sodom WAS beautiful. It was green, lush, and prosperous. But it was wicked and rebellious as well. God sent two angels—who appeared as two ordinary men—to warn Lot and his family that the city would be destroyed. We read in Genesis 19:1 that Lot met these men at the gate of the city, and invited them into his home. He knew it would be dangerous for them to stay out in the open square all night.

But things did not go well that evening. The men of the city surrounded Lot’s house, demanding that he bring out these men, that they might abuse them. They even violently threatened Lot, almost breaking down his door. You can read the story for yourself in Genesis 19.

But notice Lot’s response to them. We read it in Genesis 19:7:

[Lot] said, “Please, my brethren, do not do wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof” (Genesis 19:7–8).

As a father of daughters of my own, I can’t even begin to comprehend why Lot would say such a thing. On the one hand, he was risking his life to protect these men under his care. On the other hand, he was brazenly willing to put his daughters in unspeakable humiliation and danger themselves, in the place of these men.

How could Lot possibly think this way? Well, let’s think this through. We know Sodom was well-known for its extremely lax morals. Maybe Lot’s actions were an illustration of how tainted his own thinking had become by being immersed in that world. He was a righteous man—2 Peter 2:7 says that—but perhaps he had absorbed more of Sodom than he thought.

What about today? Is there a lesson for parents today, seeking to navigate the dangers of our anti-God world? There is. And that brings us to our second key to bringing up children in today’s world:

2. Don’t underestimate how the world is affecting you.

Like it or not, we are living in this world. And the world affects us more than we may realize. It’s good to ask ourselves, how is the world impacting me? Do my spouse and I find ourselves getting impatient and critical with each other, when we don’t intend to? Maybe we’re allowing the spirit of selfishness that pervades out world to rub off on us. Do we watch tv shows or movies filled with casual sex and immoral behavior? If we do, that’s going to affect how we think, ourselves. Do we find ourselves getting anxious or negative, for no good reason? There is a spirit world out there that is actively broadcasting a message of anger, animosity, and fear. Are we absorbing it? Then we shouldn’t be surprised when our thoughts, our words, and our actions reflect the world more than they reflect our professed Christian beliefs.

The Apostle James gives helpful advice on learning how to discern what is coming from the world, and what is coming from God and His word. He writes this in James 3:14:

… If you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

In order to know how to guide our children, we need to first look at the fruit of our lives. Is there love, joy, peace, faithfulness, and self-control? These are just a few of the fruits of God’s Spirit, as outlined in Galatians 5. Or, is there selfishness, disrespect, outbursts of wrath, and impure thoughts and actions? It’s critical we examine our own selves first, to know how to help our children.

James said we must not “lie against the truth.” There is objective truth, and the Bible defines what it is. And yet, overwhelmingly, our society does not recognize universal truths, especially when it comes to morality. The Barna Research Group reported on this in a 2018 study:

We live in an increasingly ‘post-truth’ political climate…. Over time, consensus on key moral principles has waned, and the younger generations are now inheriting this new moral landscape (“Gen Z and Morality: What Teens Believe (So Far),” Barna.com, October 9, 2018).

The report goes on to explain how each generation, in general, approaches sex before marriage:

21% of Gen Z strongly believes sex before marriage is wrong—though they are mostly on par with other generations.

Think about that statement. The beliefs of Generation Z—that is, those born from 1996 to 2015—are roughly the same as other ages, when it comes to their views on sex before marriage. In fact, only 22% of both “Elders” and “Boomers” believed sex before marriage is wrong. That’s only 1 percentage point difference than Generation Zs. Do we see any correlation between what the younger generation thinks with what they’ve been taught by the examples of the older generation?

We might blame the youngest generations for the moral slide. But who taught them? Who showed them the way? Who gave them excuses to adopt a relativistic worldview? If we are parents, we have to look at our own examples. And we must not underestimate the corrosive effects of society on US, which in turn affects our children.

The Purpose for Children—And the Importance of Protecting Them

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. But Lot’s wife, tragically, turned to view the destruction of those sinful cities, and died.

Lot escaped with his two daughters, and the story ends with another sad event in the lives of Lot and his family. Let’s read that in Genesis 19:30:

Then Lot went up… and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him… Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father” (Genesis 19:30–32).

And that’s exactly what they did. The eldest daughter the first night, and the other daughter the next night. And so, Lot had children by his two daughters, and those children grew to become the Ammonites and the Moabites. Now, it’s a little hard to fathom the thinking of these young girls. What a shame, they were so confused in their value system, that they thought it would be a good idea to commit fornication, and even incest with their father. You must wonder, where was the spiritual training? Did Lot really teach his children about God, His Laws and His way of life? Was God real to them? Or, were they sort of left to just learn from their peers?

Lot was a conflicted individual. On the one hand, he is described as a righteous man in 2 Peter 2:7. But on the other hand, we see a man whose example didn’t always measure up to his beliefs. And I think we can assume, despite being a good man overall, Lot did not fully discern his God-given duty to teach his children.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable. If you review the beginning of the story, you’ll find Lot was a prominent citizen in Sodom. We read that in Genesis 19:1, he “sat in the gate of the city.” That meant he may have even been a high official in Sodom. And yet, even though a prominent and relatively successful citizen, Lot appears to have not made it [a] priority to teach his children spiritual values.

That brings us to our third key to raising good kids in today’s world,

3. Make teaching your children spiritual values a high priority.

When we think of our own lives, maybe we can relate to Lot. As parents, we sometimes struggle with our own burdens and stresses. We may feel overwhelmed from time to time. We strive to live as best we can, but we know our example isn’t perfect. And we sometimes feel inadequate guiding and teaching our children. Yet, as Christians, we must make the spiritual training of our children a high priority. And God will help us if we ask Him to.

In the book of Deuteronomy, God taught Moses the principles of living a godly life, so he could teach the parents, and they were then to teach their own children. Notice how He describes that Deuteronomy 6:5–7:

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 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 (Deuteronomy 6:5–7).

God wants us as parents to make it a habit to talk with our children—to use normal, everyday situations to teach the principles of godly living. And we do it in ways children can understand. We teach them godly values, such as: Don’t hit your sister. Take turns on the playground. Share your toys. Pray to God. Show respect to your elders. Don’t throw your peas on the floor. You get the idea.

Notice Malachi 2:15,

But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth (Malachi 2:15).

Marriage as an institution was created by God. And why? Because God loves children and wants to bring “many sons to glory,” as it says in Hebrews 2:10. But He doesn’t just want lots of children running around who are rebellious, confused, miserable, and disrespectful to authority. He wants godly children. He wants sons and daughters who have learned to exercise self-control and self-restraint. He wants to see our children have learned to care for and love other human beings. Notice what [the Apostle] Paul says:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1–4).

The Ten Commandments include one just for families: Honor your father and your mother. It’s our job to help our children understand what that means. And sometimes we must gently but firmly correct them for behavior that doesn’t measure up. Not because we hate them, but because we love them. They may not like it at that moment, but that’s ok. They’ll be ok. None of us likes correction when we get it. But if we teach and even correct them in love, in a spirit of teaching them a better way, over time they’ll understand. And they’ll grow more secure, knowing there are clear boundaries of right and wrong.

Seek God’s Protection and Follow His Laws

A few years ago, doctors Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate collaborated on a book entitled Hold Onto Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers. On page seven of the book, they make a powerful statement of the challenge facing parents today:

For the first time in history young people are turning for instruction, modeling, and guidance not to mothers, fathers, teachers and other responsible adults but to people whom nature never intended to place in a parenting role—their own peers. They are not manageable, teachable, or maturing because they no longer take their cues from adults. Instead, children are being brought up by immature persons who cannot possibly guide them to maturity. They are being brought up by each other (Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers, 2014, p. 7).

What a summation of the experience of too many children growing up today. That’s the world we live in. But as we’ve reviewed the story of Lot today, we can see these challenges are not really new. Other generations have faced the difficulty of raising children in corrupt societies. What we need to do is learn from their experiences. Our story and our family’s story does not have to end up like Lot’s. Consider what God said regarding Lot’s uncle, Abraham. He was living in the same time, but took a very different path than Lot. Notice what God said about Abraham in Genesis 18:19:

For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him (Genesis 18:19).

God takes special note of parents who are striving to live godly lives and pass on His truth to the next generation. And God will help them, if they sincerely ask Him for help. God cares about you and your children.

Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed this program, remember to like and subscribe so you don’t miss another Tomorrow’s World video.

And if you would like a copy of our free DVD, Raising Good Kids In A Bad World, go to TWTV.org/KID or click the link in the description.

See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Losing Touch With History

Canada’s National Post carried this headline: “Lost without a map: Despite a globalized society, university students can’t locate the Atlantic Ocean” (January 15, 2013).

Professor Judith Adler at Memorial University in Newfoundland had a hunch that her students lacked basic geographical knowledge, knowledge fundamental to understanding the world around them—thus she decided to examine her hunch by testing her students.

“I used to ask if they could identify France, England or Ireland—which is the background of a lot of students here, or Spain or Portugal, which is important for this part of the world, but I’ve stopped asking that” (January 15, 2013).

Over time, she simplified her questions.

“I asked them to indicate where on the map South America is, where Africa is, and Antarctica, the Arctic, and to circle Europe, label Australia and show where Asia is and label the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and Mediterranean Sea—and I’ve become much simpler in what I have asked over the years.”

How did her students fare? I think you can see ahead that they didn’t do very well, but why is this important?

Overlooking Obvious Historical Warnings

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World. Professor and sociologist Judith Adler of [the] Memorial University of Newfoundland, began giving her students geography quizzes when she perceived that their understanding of the world in which they lived was lacking. So how did they do?

“A sizeable proportion of the class would reliably have no idea where the Mediterranean is. Some students would circle Africa and indicate that it’s Europe, and if asked to locate England and Ireland, they would put them in Africa. I have had students that aren’t able to correctly label the Atlantic Ocean, even though we are on it” (NationalPost.com, January 15, 2013).

Man on the street interviews in the United States indicate Americans are equally ignorant of the real world around them. Some confuse cities as states, and show virtually no understanding of geography, much less history. We now live in the richest information age in history, but also the most poverty stricken when it comes to understanding where we are, where we came from, and how we got here. Is there any wonder why we have so many “flat-earthers” amongst us?

But geography and history are vitally important, as brought out in this Virginia Tech comment on repeating history:

Variations on the repeating-history theme appear alongside debates about attribution. Irish statesman Edmund Burke is often misquoted as having said, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited with the aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” while British statesman Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” (“History Repeating,” LiberalArts.VT.edu).

One lesson of history is that empires rise and fall. The fall of the Roman Empire is one of the most studied lessons of history, and has important warnings for America in particular, and the West in general, because one lesson of history is that power abhors a vacuum. When America falls, as it surely is in the process of doing, unless it turns and goes a different direction, another power will fill the vacuum; and it may not be, in fact will not be, so benevolent, according to Bible prophecy.

Whole books have been written about the collapse of the Roman Empire, and historians agree that its collapse had no single cause. Instead, it was the result of a series of internal and external forces occurring over decades which pulled the fabric of the Empire apart, ending a power that ruled for more than five centuries. Mass migrations from outside the Empire is often cited as a primary cause.

One of the most obvious reasons for the downfall of Rome was the relentless and seemingly endless waves of migration and invasions from the Barbarian tribes that bordered Rome’s northern frontiers. In the early days of the empire, Roman legions were able to repel Barbarian tribes with relative ease, but this started to change towards the end of the 2nd century CE (“7 Reasons Why Rome Fell,” WorldAtlas.com, November 8, 2022).

A particularly destructive migration took place in the late fourth century when Eurasian Huns invaded Europe—driving Germanic tribes to the borders of the Empire.

The Romans grudgingly allowed members of the Visigoth tribe to cross south of the Danube and into the safety of Roman territory… (“8 Reasons Why Rome Fell,” History.com, January 9, 2019).

The parallels of mass migration into the Roman Empire from the north, and the literal invasion of illegals on the U.S. southern border, ought to be a wake-up call for America, but politics is apparently more important than preserving the country. In fiscal year 2020 (October through September), there were more than 458,000 border encounters with illegals. These were those who were caught or who simply crossed illegally into the country and turned themselves in, claiming asylum. In 2021, this number rose to nearly 1,735,000, and in 2022 to a staggering 2,378,944. In October and November, the first two months of fiscal 2023 (the latest figures available at time of recording), there were 231,294 and 233,740 respectively! (“Southwest Land Border Encounters,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP.gov/newsroom, December 14, 2022).

This goes beyond politics. It strikes at the heart of the question of whether a country can survive with what is clearly an open border policy.

History holds many lessons for modern man, but if history teaches us anything, it is that we never learn from it. Sadly, today many don’t even know history. How many understand how the Roman Empire has been revived six times since its fall in 476 AD, and according to Bible prophecy, it will revive one last time. And that final restoration is destined to bring the world to the edge of cosmocide.

False Knowledge Leads to Lost Knowledge

History.com lists other reasons for Rome’s collapse in addition to mass migration. Some of these reasons were: Overexpansion and military overspending, government corruption and political instability, and Christianity and the loss of traditional values

That last reason may surprise you. How could Christianity be an empire killer? In a high school and college history book first published in 1909, P.V.N. Myers explains how Christianity (falsely so-called) contributed to the loss of respect for the institution of the Roman family and the resulting decline in birth rate.

Another cause of the decline in population was the singular aversion that the better class of the Romans evinced to marriage. We meet during the period of the empire with a crowd of imperial edicts dealing with this subject. Penalties and bounties, deprivations and privileges, entreaties and expostulations are in turn resorted to by the perplexed emperors, in order to discourage celibacy and to foster a pure and healthy family life. But all was in vain. The marriage state continued to be held in great disesteem (par. 313). And Christianity instead of correcting the evil, rather made matters worse; for just now the teachings of the monks were persuading vast multitudes of the superior sanctity of the solitary or the monastic life, and thereby filling the deserts of Egypt and the monasteries of all lands with men who believed they could best live the higher live (sic) by freeing themselves of all family and social cares and duties (Myers, Rome: Its Rise and Fall, 1900, pp. 447–48).

Now America has few men running off into the desert to live a monastic life, but far too many prime aged men in America, Canada, the U.K. and elsewhere, are sitting on the sidelines instead of going to work, getting married, and raising families. Even before COVID-19, participation in the labor market by 25–54 aged men was a troubling concern for policy makers, and their concerns point directly to the health of the family. In 2019, during what has been described as the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, with historically low unemployment, Senator Mike Lee of Utah admitted:

“I’m concerned that if more men can’t find stable, steady work, the result is likely to be fewer marriages, in the first instance, and more divorces, in the second instance….” It’s also likely, he said, that as marriage rates fall, men will feel less of a need to be breadwinners and involved with their children, which in turn would lead to more unemployment and less stable family lives (“Why are men dropping out of the workforce despite a strong economy?,” Deseret News, Deseret.com, November 23, 2019).

Manhattan Institute senior fellow Oren Cass agrees—there is a downward spiral regarding work and the stability of the family unit. When one is negatively impacted, so is the other.

Work, especially for men, helps establish and preserve families…. Where fewer men work, fewer marriages form. Unemployment doubles the risk of divorce, and male joblessness appears to be the primary culprit, he said.

“These outcomes likely result from the damage to both economic prospects and individual well-being associated with being out of work, which strain existing marriages and make men less attractive as marriage partners,” according to Cass.

Without regard to the specific cause, the effect of low birthrates and disrespect for the institution of the family brings about the same result—a nation in decline. In modern America, Canada, Europe, Russia, and elsewhere, birth rates are at historic lows, well below replacement value, and there’s a connection between low birth rates and unchecked illegal immigration.

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York called on Republicans Wednesday [that was November 16, 2022] to join in passing a pathway to citizenship for “all undocumented” [read: illegals] in the United States, citing the fact that Americans were “not reproducing.’’

(https://dailycaller.com/2022/11/16/schumer-daca-amnesty-immigration/)

Why are Americans and others not reproducing? One obvious reason is unrestricted abortion, a major platform on which Sen. Schumer’s party proudly ran in the 2022 midterm elections. In the last 50 years, Americans have aborted approximately 64,000,000 of their children. That amounts to a loss of approximately 64,000,000 “legal” workers in the country. As fellow Tomorrow’s World writer Wallace Smith has pointed out, the womb is unmistakably the most dangerous place for an innocent child.

World Atlas lists seven causes for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and then gives this summary. Do any of these problems sound familiar to us?

The fall of the Western Roman Empire can teach humans many things about societal collapse and regression. Most shortcomings of a civilization in decline come from within rather than without. Incompetent leaders, government corruption, a weak economy, and social dissolution all contributed to the downfall of Rome (WorldAtlas.com).

America’s economy, and America is not alone, is a house of cards. Can anyone comprehend a national debt of $31,000,000,000,000? As one pundit pointed out, if you spend a million dollars a day, it will take just short of 3,000 years to reach one trillion dollars!

During the COVID lockdowns, the United States, Canada, and many other countries gave away “free money.” The result? The self-inflicted wound of inflation. We were all too happy to receive it, but what people fail to realize, is that we will pay back every penny, and more, through inflation. And who does inflation hurt the most? The poorest among us—those that governments claimed they were trying to help! But too much “free” money is not an American problem only. According to InflationData.com:

It’s not just the United States that is suffering from high inflation, countries worldwide are experiencing higher than average inflation. This is partially due to the global pandemic but even more the result of the actions taken by central banks in response to the pandemic (“Worldwide Inflation by Country 2022,” InflationData.com, June 21, 2022).

Why is it that mankind never seems to learn from the past? Part of the answer is that nations become complacent, self-indulgent, and, frankly, are too uneducated to know the past.

The Most Important Book of History

As Nicholas Clairmont wrote for BigThink.com,

“History shows that both those who do not learn history and those who do learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

He went on to explain:

“According to Santayana’s philosophy, history repeats. The phrasing itself certainly is catchy. It’s a big one, not only because it is so common, but also because if it is true and if history, driven by human nature, is ugly (hint: it is), then this saying ought to guide our public and private policy” (“‘Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.’ Really?,” BigThink.com, July 31, 2013).

Now I’ll add, more importantly, understanding that history is “driven by human nature,” ought to guide more than public and private policy—it ought to guide behavior. For as Clairmont rightfully implies, knowing history and acting on that knowledge are not the same, and the reason we fail to learn from history is human nature. And that brings us to a different kind of history book—one that deals with human nature.

The Bible is fundamentally a history book. It gives us wise and loving instructions from our Creator. It records how mankind has rejected those instructions and the tragic results of that rejection.

One of the great lessons is that when people hurt badly enough, they often turn to God for relief; only to turn back to the old ways once relief comes. It’s the soldier’s foxhole prayer that is quickly forgotten.

Two world wars should have sobered mankind, but sadly, as the late Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev wrote in an opinion piece for Time magazine:

Politicians and military leaders sound increasingly belligerent and defense doctrines more dangerous. Commentators and TV personalities are joining the bellicose chorus. It all looks as if the world is preparing for war (“Mikhail Gorbachev: ‘It All Looks as if the World Is Preparing for War’,” Time Magazine, Time.com, December 16, 2016).

This was published January 26, 2017—five years prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Will this generation of Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders learn from the past? What about the French, Belgians, the Dutch, and the Swiss? It’s difficult to see how any can, when some are consumed with re-writing their past, and when all possess the same rebellious nature as those who have gone before.

The speed with which mankind reverts to his old ways is astounding. This is shown in the biblical golden calf incident. After God brought a slave people out of bondage by great and powerful miracles that could not be rationally explained away, the Israelites turned back into idolatry. A mere 40 days was enough time for the people to pressure Aaron, who was left in charge while Moses was gone, to make a golden calf idol and hold a licentious festival to celebrate it. In the aftermath, God commanded Moses the following:

“Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin” (Exodus 32:34).

Dennis Prager makes this observation about this verse and humanity’s shallow understanding of the God of the Bible:

“In modern times, with its psychological and therapeutic mindset, many people tend to think of God as a loving therapist Who is always there to listen, to understand, and most importantly, not to judge us. This verse reminds us that above all, the God of the Torah is a moral judge. He demands certain behavior, and holds people accountable when they fail to live accordingly” (Prager on Exodus 32:34, The Rational Bible: Exodus, p. 454).

The Bible is the greatest and most important history book ever written, but as with history in general, far too many in this generation are devoid of historical perspective. Winston Churchill sums it up in one sentence:

“Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong, these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history (Winston S. Churchill, His Complete Speeches, 1897-1963, Vol. 6, ed. Robert Rhodes James, Chelsea House Publishers, 1974. P. 5592).

Bible Prophecy and the Future of Modern Nations

In addition to being the most important history book of all time, the Bible does something no other book has credibly done. It gives history in advance—what many people think of as prophecy. Before the break I said I would show you what this remarkable book says about our near future, so let’s get started.

Speaking of the end time, the time just ahead of us, Jesus explained:

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:26–30).

What was it like in the days of Noah? Here is what we read in Genesis 6, verses 5 and 11:

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence (Genesis 6:5, 11).

Our day has far more in common with the days of Lot than we could ever imagine, even a few years ago. Dust off your Bible and read for yourself about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the reasons for it. The account is found in Genesis 19. But let’s also notice how God inspired the prophet Ezekiel to write about the pride of Sodom:

Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit (Ezekiel 16:49–50).

The Bible shouts loud and clear in chapter after chapter that destruction is coming on our world because we have never learned from the past. Just as the Bible predicted in easy to understand language the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, as well as its seven revivals, so the Bible predicted thousands of years in advance the rise and fall of the British and American peoples. Our choices today will bring our downfall, just as sure as that of Rome.

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