The beasts of the earth-Have we crossed a Biblical point of no return?
Pastor Dale Morgan
The beasts of the earth-Have we crossed a Biblical point of no return?*
Tom Kovach
July 5, 2007
"I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name
Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them
over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with
pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:8, New
American Standard Version)
I've spent a lifetime contemplating things that most people — at least,
until recently — spend much of their lives trying not to think about.
(Recently, however, disasters and terrorism have become popular
prime-time TV entertainment. The drama programs "24" and "The Unit"
contain material that used to be relegated only to good-quality military
training films.) I've been in gang fights, horse fights, and courtroom
battles. I've made scuba dives, freefall parachute jumps (including one
that didn't go so well), had loaded guns pointed at me at close range,
and have been shot at. In short, I've learned to face a lot of fears,
and not let them overwhelm me. But, a recent news item from England,
linked via WorldNetDaily brings to mind a frightening possibility. It is
presented here in the spirit of Ezekiel, Chapter Three. In that chapter,
God warns Ezekiel not to withhold His messages from the people of
Israel, no matter how terrifying, in the hopes that people will heed the
warnings. In some cases, there was no escape for the destruction that
was to follow.
The recent news item said that Catholic bishops in the United Kingdom
had decreed that "chimeras" (human-animal hybrid embryos conceived in
the laboratory) have a right to life — even though those same bishops
agree that "chimeras" should never be created in the first place! The
existence of such an "interspecies embryo" seems to cross several lines.
First, for the first time in recorded human history, humans will be able
to create a new life form that is only part human. (There are legends
that such experiments took place on the lost continent of Atlantis,
which was reputed to have advanced science, but no supporting documents
have ever been found. More about that possibility later in this column.)
Second, because the "chimeras" are part of experiments in fertility
treatments, the possibility exists for the implantation of such an
embryo in a woman's womb! (The British government plans to make that
illegal. But, laws against abortion haven't stopped that heinous
practice, either.) Third, the same set of laws that would allow the
laboratory creation of "chimeras" would also abolish the legal
requirement for a baby to have a father; thus, the door would open for
lesbians to have babies on a routine basis — without "violating" their
identity by having sex with a man. Fourth, the creation of such an
"interspecies embryo" would seem to be the scientific moral equivalent
of bestiality.
Is our world crossing a point of no return?
There were various times and events in the Bible that incurred God's
wrath against His people, and/or against the people of various nations.
But, are there some things that could incur God's wrath against the
entire world? And, if so, then what are those things? And, do any
current events fall under the description of such "trigger" events?
Certain things anger God. One is murder, as evidenced by God's swift
reaction to Cain's murder of his brother, Abel, in a fit of envy.
Another is violence (senseless harming of others, especially for greed),
as evidenced by God's destruction of the world with a flood. In the days
of Noah, the whole earth was "filled with violence." (Genesis 6:11-13)
Another is arrogance, as evidenced by God's personal intervention to
confuse the languages at the Tower of Babel, to prevent the rise of
another global government and a tower that would "rise to the heavens."
Another thing that angers God is the perversion of His design of
creation through the sexual union of a man and a woman, as evidenced by
His repeated commands to "do not tolerate" homosexuality and bestiality
(Leviticus, Chapters 19 and 20). In stark contrast, today's "gay"
activists condemn those that hold traditional views as being
"intolerant." (Oh, how we should support those brave few "intolerant"
preachers that encourage their congregations to stand firm against the
tide of political correctness!)
The modern laboratory fertilization of the "chimeras" seems to cross all
of the above lines at once! God's design is being arrogantly altered.
For what purpose? So that lesbians can have babies?! (In Bible times,
being "fatherless" was considered a curse. In modern times, some
actively seek that condition for their children!) And, what about the
embryos that are not "needed" (as if any were)? They are destroyed. And,
what about those that live? (No one knows the answer, for no one knows
exactly what will be created by this hideous process.) What will the new
creature do? What (or, whom) will it eat?
Most animals in the wild are naturally afraid of humans. But, if
scientists create an animal that is half human, what will happen to that
natural fear? If humans are currently preserved from becoming mere
"prey" by that natural fear, and if genetic tinkering erases that fear,
then what will happen if the new creature develops an appetite for human
flesh? Or, what will happen if the new creature comes to perceive itself
as "more highly evolved" (read: "arrogant"), and decides that it is the
rightful heir to any (or all) of the property of the humans that came
before it? Will the new creature have the intelligence of a human, and
the strength of an animal? And, which animal? Will it live in a
building, or in the wild? Will governments try to harness the strengths
of such a creature as some sort of new super-soldier?
Are scientists creating a new breed of "beasts of the earth," which will
attack and kill one-fourth of mankind in the near future? Or, would a
new breed of soldiers be given the power "to kill with the sword" as
they roam about their new "domain"? And, if the chimeras are the new
super-soldier, then what about the "failed" experimental creatures? Will
they become the "beasts of the earth"? Or, will they become the "undead"
population of Hades that is following with the Death rider on the pale
horse?
Before writing off these questions and concepts as the mere products of
an over-active imagination, consider the following parallels. Almost two
thousand years ago, Jesus made some predictions about "the time of the
end." One of those was, "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will
be also in the days of the Son of Man." (Luke 17:26, New King James
Version) As mentioned above, in the days of Noah, the whole earth was
filled with violence. We are all-too-familiar with the "wars and rumors
of wars" that we read about in the daily news. But, what about the
violence done in abortion mills every day? What about the violence of
elderly abuse? What if the cells of aborted babies are used in
experiments, and yet another life form is created? Would the product of
such an experiment be legally "alive" or "dead"? If dead, then would the
living half-animal become an occupant of Hades (the world of the dead)
as described in Revelation 6:8? These are ethical questions that some
people might be willing to overlook in the face of enough government
grant money.
In the ancient world, kings held onto political power by convincing
their subjects to sacrifice their children to idols. In the modern
world, "leaders" convince their subjects to sacrifice their children to
... themselves, upon the altar of "convenience." Some of the worst
punishments from God came upon those populations that sacrificed their
children (usually to the demon idol Molech). We are doing that today
with an efficiency that would make Hitler proud.
If there really was a continent of Atlantis, then it was destroyed in
the flood of Noah's time. (The evidence would make an interesting
presentation, and has parallels of its own.) Was it the seat of a global
government? Did that government give some sort of grant money for
advanced scientific experiments conducted there, and did some of those
experiments involved genetic engineering? If so, then was that the
reason that the Bible says that the whole earth was "filled with
violence"? And, was that the reason that God told Noah to allow aboard
the ark only the animals that He would send in pairs? Jesus said that He
would return to stop the self-destruction on Earth at a time that was
"as it was in the days of Noah."
then and now
In the earliest centuries of human history, there was only one language.
Without linguistic and cultural differences, it stands to reason that
there was also only one government. God destroyed it in the flood. Only
two generations later, Nimrod (the grandson of Noah) tried to establish
another global government (with its capitol at the Tower of Babel). God
destroyed that by confusing the languages. There have been many attempts
at global government since then, but all have failed. One that had a
lasting effect was the ancient Roman Empire, which Jesus personally
confronted via Pontius Pilate. Will Jesus soon return to confront
another attempt at global government (the United Nations)?
Scientific discoveries often occur long before the general public learns
of them. Television had its "Golden Age" in the late 1960s, was
introduced to the public at the 1948 World Fair in New York, but was
actually invented in 1925. The Internet came to public use in the
mid-1990s, but was invented in 1969. If the public is only now learning
of the existence of "chimeras," is it possible that at least one has
already been created? If so, what has been its fate? Is it living out a
meager, animal-like existence in a cage somewhere? Or, is it at the
other extreme of existence? Is such a "chimera" gifted with super-human
strength, intelligence, voice, and/or appearance? Could such a one be
compared to the "nephilim" described in Genesis 6:4? If so, then the
parallel becomes even more astounding as one considers that they are
mentioned as part of the description of the world just before God's
decision to destroy it with the flood. Will the "chimeras" begin to rule
the earth now, just as the "nephilim" did in the days of Noah? Will such
a situation bring about king-worship and violence, thus provoking God's
world-destroying wrath, as it did in Noah's time?
And, if the above concepts are correct, will that gifted "chimera" rise
to become the predicted king of the world known as the Antichrist? (Has
he already been living among us?) If so, just imagine how angry God
would be to see that, not only is someone usurping the place reserved
for His Holy Son, but that the usurper is also a half-animal. If so, it
would certainly add a new degree of meaning to his other title: The Beast.
"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near." (Luke 21:28)