#916

Bricks, Bats, and Birth Pains

As It Was In The Days Of Noah

One characteristic of the world just before the Great Deluge is one that gets overlook more and more these days. Many are concocting theories of angels having relations with women and producing giants and saying that is the reason God destroyed the earth. While I admire them for their creativity this is not where we should be putting our focus. God said he was sorry for creating mankind because they were in a very scary and fallen state:

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them… Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence… So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!” (Gen 6:5-7, 11, 13, NLT)

Again, I’m not addressing giants now. I’m taking a look at the human wickedness and in particular the violence referred to in this chapter of the first book of the Bible. God mentions it twice as the reason for one of reasons for the judgment and then Jesus makes our study of this violence when He said this in Matthew 24:37:

When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. (NLT)

So then are the current events in the world making His point? I think it is.

Riots And More Riots

Right now there are constant riots in California, specifically in the Los Angeles area. We get a little description on the riots that have turned violent no matter what your political persuasion from an article from American Military News:

Roughly 300 members of the California National Guard were deployed to Los Angeles and the surrounding region on Sunday following President Donald Trump’s authorization to deploy 2,000 National Guard members to address violent riots formed in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

In a Sunday press release, U.S. Northern Command announced that roughly 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers had been placed under federal control as part of Title 10 status to “support the protection of federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.”

The military said how many of its army is in California:

U.S. Northern Command explained that roughly 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were deployed as of Sunday in Los Angeles, Compton, and Paramount. Sunday’s press release also noted that roughly 500 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, were ready to be deployed if needed to help the Department of Defense protect “federal property and personnel efforts” Los Angeles and the surrounding region.

If you want to get a civilian perspective the report points to an X account to provide it:

Videos shared on X, formerly Twitter, by journalist Nick Sortor show National Guard troops in Los Angeles as well as a large crowd of rioters launching fireworks, displaying foreign flags, and protesting against ICE operations to detain and deport illegal immigrants in California.

The current FBI director didn’t mince words on what he sees happening:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel warned on Monday that Los Angeles was “under siege by marauding criminals” after rioters clashed with law enforcement officials throughout the weekend. According to the Associated Press, some protesters threw rocks, concrete, fireworks, and electric scooters at law enforcement officials, while other protesters tried blocking Border Patrol vehicles and disrupting ICE operations.

And the White House Press Secretary also opined on the situation:

In a Saturday statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that “violent mobs” had attacked ICE agents and federal law enforcement officials while executing “basic deportation operations” in Los Angeles.

As expected, President Trump also made his feelings known:

As riots continued throughout Los Angeles on Sunday following the deployment of the National Guard, Trump issued a statement on Truth Social saying, “A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations — But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.”

He went on to say that his administration will do what it needs to do to get things under control:

Trump explained that he was directing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to “take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.”

The president added, “Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.”

Will the country see calm eventually? Not likely as this coming Saturday, June 14th may see the violence go national and maybe internationally.

A Day Of Defiance

On President Trump’s birthday a movement is planning on speaking up as found on their web site titled No Kings We see the mission statement there:

On June 14—Flag Day—President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else. No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like. We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind. The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it. On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.

To be fair there is a little disclaimer at the bottom of the site which is in a small font and is easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention:

A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

Now the mission statement doesn’t mention violence and there is the disclaimer, but it does say they will rise up to reject Trump. If past “events” are any example, they will be violent especially if local authorities are present to help keep the gatherings peaceful. I certainly don’t want them to be since there will be no less than 9 cities holding these rallies near me. And if you look at the map they are all over the nation and even three in Mexico for some reason. There are 20 or so scheduled in Europe and one in Africa. Will they follow the same path as Los Angeles? Chances are very good they will be in places. Especially considering the hatred for law enforcement that’s been ginned up for decades now. But could this be an end times sign?

Brother Against Brother

In an article by Breanna Claussen she makes a case for these current events to have a prophetic significance:

When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what the signs of His return would be, the Savior of the World gave a detailed list. Recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus stated that there would be wars and rumors of wars, distress of nations, and lawlessness. These days, Jesus described, would also be like “the days of Noah.” In Genesis 6:5, 11, we read that in the time before the flood: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually… The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”

Is the earth once again being “filled with violence,” just as Jesus forewarned? A brief look at the recent events leads to a sad and unmistakable answer.

Claussen points to the rise of antisemitism as one example:

In the arena of antisemitism, it was Hamas’ barbaric massacre of over 1,200 Israelis that served as the catalyst for the normalization and acceptance of violence against Jews. Equipped with GoPro cameras, the terrorists gleefully committed unimaginably brutal executions; October 7th has rightly been called “the most well-documented massacre in history.” What followed shortly after was perhaps even more startling. Despite the ease with which people could witness the scale of Hamas’ crimes, individuals across the globe began to justify and celebrate the terrorists.

She then connected this to American incidents:

In the United States, riotous protests turned into targeted killings. Within the past month, we saw the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, the flamethrower attack on a Jewish hostage event in Boulder, Colorado, and many other violent assaults on Jews in America. Quickly after the attack in Washington, Marxist and pro-Palestinian groups rallied behind the killer, calling for his actions to serve as “an example” for future acts of “legitimate resistance against the zionist state.”

DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, highlighted the increasing violent rhetoric directed at Jews and Israelis in America: “Quiet, polite conversation and disagreement with Israeli policy is not really what’s happening here. It’s literally people saying Israel shouldn’t exist — and bringing the revolution to the United States… That type of violent rhetoric has led to violent acts in our country.”

Other groups are also in the crosshairs of our increasingly violent world. ICE Director Todd Lyons warned last week that Democratic leaders are fueling violence and endangering ICE agents with inflammatory rhetoric. It didn’t take long for his warning to be proven accurate.

As mentioned earlier, the California violence made Lyons prophetic. More stats are also telling:

The DHS statement added that “ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them,” with their family members also being “doxxed and targeted as well.”

Recent polls have also painted a dark picture, showing a growing “assassination culture” in the United States. In April, a survey revealed that the majority of those classified as “left of center” would consider targeted murders of politicians, such as President Donald Trump, to be at least somewhat “justifiable.”

Justified Murder

There was even the murder of businessman that people justified:

The slaying of powerful businessmen was also viewed as defensible. When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was brazenly shot last December, many were startled to discover that much of the public regarded the killer’s actions as “heroic.” Ken Ham, Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, speaking of this disturbing mentality, wrote: “We see Isaiah 5:20 happening in all sorts of ways, and now we see it happening in regard to murder—people are calling murder good, and those who want to condemn murder evil.”

Ham connected the dots spiritually for us:

“It’s a heart problem,” Ham further emphasized. “That’s what we need to understand. The gun that was used to murder the CEO wasn’t the problem. Knives used to kill people are not the problem. What is the problem? The problem lies within people’s hearts.”

It’s more than traditional war here:

When many people think about violence in our world, their minds immediately think of war; considering the high level of casualties that accompany battle zones, this makes sense. However, an “earth filled with violence” is even more apparent when we find darkened hearts of individuals everywhere, willing to justify murder and applaud those who commit it.

Claussen then gave us some much needed hope:

The shining light in the midst of this darkness is found in God’s Word. The times leading up to Jesus’ return are described as “perilous,” but they also mean that our redemption as believers draws near (Luke 21:28). Equipped with this hope and the truth of the Bible—including its many prophecies of the future—followers of Christ have an opportunity to open eyes and help transform darkened hearts through the Gospel.

In this late hour, the truth of God’s Word has never been more neglected and never has been more desperately needed.

And that’s a good place to pray.