- Just when so many
people thought the world
00:00:01.10\00:00:02.43
was on the verge of
enlightenment and global peace,
00:00:02.43\00:00:05.87
war breaks out, yet again.
00:00:05.87\00:00:08.47
And it seems
00:00:08.47\00:00:09.90
the human race really
hasn't changed much at all.
00:00:09.90\00:00:12.81
That's today's
topic on "Authentic."
00:00:12.81\00:00:15.41
[upbeat music]
00:00:15.41\00:00:18.01
It's always a
bit risky to comment
00:00:36.80\00:00:38.80
on world events as
they're still unfolding,
00:00:38.80\00:00:41.04
because it's
pretty much guaranteed
00:00:41.04\00:00:42.67
that by the time
you're watching this,
00:00:42.67\00:00:44.94
everything will have changed.
00:00:44.94\00:00:47.11
As of right now
as I'm sitting here,
00:00:47.11\00:00:49.38
promised peace talks in Belarus,
00:00:49.38\00:00:51.45
appear to have
accomplished nothing.
00:00:51.45\00:00:53.58
And a large convoy is
making its way to Kyiv.
00:00:53.58\00:00:57.02
Hundreds of thousands of people,
00:00:57.02\00:00:58.52
are seeking refuge
in neighboring countries
00:00:58.52\00:01:00.59
and Putin has even
nuclear action against nations
00:01:00.59\00:01:03.79
who come and help.
00:01:03.79\00:01:05.69
Now, whether or
not that's a bluff,
00:01:05.69\00:01:07.86
it's certainly not a good sign.
00:01:07.86\00:01:09.76
And by the time
you're watching this,
00:01:09.76\00:01:11.87
everything's likely to
be different yet again.
00:01:11.87\00:01:15.04
I think one of the
biggest surprises I've had
00:01:15.04\00:01:18.04
is the way people are saying
they were caught off guard
00:01:18.04\00:01:20.78
by what happened.
00:01:20.78\00:01:22.38
Even though Russia has basically
been in a low scale war
00:01:22.38\00:01:25.95
with Ukraine for
close to a decade already
00:01:25.95\00:01:28.88
and they've already
taken over other territories
00:01:28.88\00:01:31.55
that used to belong to
the former Soviet Union.
00:01:31.55\00:01:34.49
Political pundits
like George Friedman,
00:01:34.49\00:01:36.49
predicted years ago
that something like this
00:01:36.49\00:01:39.56
was bound to happen because
Russia felt the need stop
00:01:39.56\00:01:43.23
the spread of
NATO towards her border
00:01:43.23\00:01:45.60
and to secure routes
00:01:45.60\00:01:47.14
for the sale of Russian oil
to major markets like Germany.
00:01:47.14\00:01:50.97
So, for keen political
observers and journalists,
00:01:50.97\00:01:54.08
I don't think there was
much in the way of surprise
00:01:54.08\00:01:56.88
when Russian
started to build up troops
00:01:56.88\00:01:58.91
on the Ukrainian border
and for students of history,
00:01:58.91\00:02:02.68
a new war in Europe
shouldn't really come
00:02:02.68\00:02:04.65
as a surprise either.
00:02:04.65\00:02:06.39
The European continent
has basically been war torn,
00:02:06.39\00:02:09.39
since the first
barbarian tribes made their way,
00:02:09.39\00:02:12.23
onto the European peninsula.
00:02:12.23\00:02:14.46
It's an awful lot of cultures
00:02:14.46\00:02:16.53
and an awful lot
of competing interests
00:02:16.53\00:02:18.50
that are all cramed
into a relatively small piece
00:02:18.50\00:02:21.34
of real estate.
00:02:21.34\00:02:22.90
So, what do we expect?
00:02:22.90\00:02:26.04
I suppose for
the generation born,
00:02:26.04\00:02:28.18
after the Berlin
Wall came down in 89,
00:02:28.18\00:02:31.08
what's going on right now,
00:02:31.08\00:02:32.28
looks unusual and new,
00:02:32.28\00:02:34.58
but for older folks
who grew up in the shadow
00:02:34.58\00:02:36.58
of both the world
wars and the Cold War,
00:02:36.58\00:02:39.15
I've got to say,
00:02:39.15\00:02:41.22
this feels all too familiar.
00:02:41.22\00:02:43.73
When I was a kid which
wasn't really very long ago,
00:02:43.73\00:02:46.43
it was common for your
parents or grandparents
00:02:46.43\00:02:48.83
to have spent
time fighting a war
00:02:48.83\00:02:50.67
or sitting in a labor camp.
00:02:50.67\00:02:52.77
And back in my day,
00:02:52.77\00:02:54.07
all the Bond
villains tended to be Russian.
00:02:54.07\00:02:56.94
Hostilities that
broke out centuries ago,
00:02:56.94\00:02:59.41
between European superpowers,
00:02:59.41\00:03:01.38
linger here in
modern day North America,
00:03:01.38\00:03:04.08
the tension still exist.
00:03:04.08\00:03:05.61
Like the tension
you continue to find,
00:03:05.61\00:03:08.08
between the
English and the French,
00:03:08.08\00:03:09.95
up in my birth
country of Canada.
00:03:09.95\00:03:12.32
The sad truth is,
00:03:13.66\00:03:15.39
the history of the human
race is a history of war.
00:03:15.39\00:03:18.76
And we've been
incredibly naive lately
00:03:18.76\00:03:21.30
to think that this
could never happen again.
00:03:21.30\00:03:24.40
"We are," we tell ourselves,
00:03:24.40\00:03:26.00
"a civilized generation,
00:03:26.00\00:03:27.74
"highly enlightened
00:03:27.74\00:03:29.17
"and this kind of stuff
shouldn't be happening to us."
00:03:29.17\00:03:32.57
At the end of the day though,
00:03:32.57\00:03:33.81
modern human beings
are still just as flawed
00:03:33.81\00:03:36.31
as their ancestors and
the nations of this earth,
00:03:36.31\00:03:39.01
have yet to tame our
all two human passions
00:03:39.01\00:03:41.88
and self-interest.
00:03:41.88\00:03:43.82
The law of the jungle is force.
00:03:43.82\00:03:46.49
And if you don't get what
you want out of this world,
00:03:46.49\00:03:48.89
most of us will eventually
resort to violence and coercion,
00:03:48.89\00:03:53.19
particularly if
we feel threatened.
00:03:53.19\00:03:56.46
Human lives can
become shockingly expendable
00:03:56.46\00:03:59.50
in a heartbeat as we
pursue our material interests.
00:03:59.50\00:04:03.14
And once somebody
starts the ball rolling,
00:04:03.14\00:04:06.11
once somebody
becomes an aggressor,
00:04:06.11\00:04:09.34
the need for revenge takes over
00:04:09.34\00:04:11.75
and people go on fighting
sometimes long after the point
00:04:11.75\00:04:15.02
where they actually remember
why the conflict started.
00:04:15.02\00:04:18.69
As I read recently
00:04:18.69\00:04:19.92
in a book written by
a Vietnamese refugee,
00:04:19.92\00:04:22.49
"Don't make vengeance your god,
00:04:22.49\00:04:24.46
"because such gods are satisfied
only by human sacrifice."
00:04:24.46\00:04:29.43
So, as the war in Ukraine
either simmers or explodes,
00:04:30.87\00:04:33.84
I mean, who knows
what's actually gonna happen,
00:04:33.84\00:04:36.37
between right now as I sit here
00:04:36.37\00:04:38.11
and when this episode
finally hits your TV screen.
00:04:38.11\00:04:42.08
I've been thinking a
lot about the way that war
00:04:42.08\00:04:45.55
has shaped our human experience
for countless generations,
00:04:45.55\00:04:49.35
sometimes in ways that most
of us never even think about.
00:04:49.35\00:04:53.49
For example, if it
hadn't been for World War II,
00:04:53.49\00:04:57.56
I'd probably be
sitting in Europe right now,
00:04:57.56\00:04:59.53
speaking Dutch
00:04:59.53\00:05:00.96
and who knows who I
would've ended up marrying.
00:05:00.96\00:05:03.63
After the dust
started settling in Europe,
00:05:03.63\00:05:06.33
a lot of people
simply moved somewhere else,
00:05:06.33\00:05:09.00
including my father in the 1950s
00:05:09.00\00:05:11.44
and my mother's
family in the late 1940s,
00:05:11.44\00:05:14.74
they were both Dutch citizens,
00:05:14.74\00:05:16.64
but they actually met
in Canada where I was born.
00:05:16.64\00:05:19.18
So, you never know if
it wasn't for World War II,
00:05:19.18\00:05:22.68
I might not even exist.
00:05:22.68\00:05:24.65
And even though I was raised
00:05:25.65\00:05:27.09
in one of the most
peaceful environments
00:05:27.09\00:05:28.79
on the face of the planet,
00:05:28.79\00:05:30.46
the shadow of that war continued
to hang over all of us.
00:05:30.46\00:05:34.66
One of the German
merchants in our small town
00:05:34.66\00:05:36.83
was always considered
just a little bit suspect
00:05:36.83\00:05:39.87
as was my German grandmother
00:05:39.87\00:05:41.97
who actually
moved to the Netherlands
00:05:41.97\00:05:43.74
and got married
before World War II.
00:05:43.74\00:05:45.87
But a German accent,
00:05:46.71\00:05:48.24
had a way of triggering
a lot of people after 1945.
00:05:48.24\00:05:51.48
There was also this quiet,
00:05:52.65\00:05:54.72
unspoken anxiety that
lingered in the generation
00:05:54.72\00:05:57.95
that raised me.
00:05:57.95\00:05:59.45
And I know for a fact that I
inherited some of that anxiety
00:05:59.45\00:06:03.06
in tiny little ways because,
00:06:03.06\00:06:05.76
well, how could you not.
00:06:05.76\00:06:07.66
The world had
come completely unglued
00:06:07.66\00:06:10.17
and it changed the
way that everybody lived,
00:06:10.17\00:06:13.70
but maybe the most part of this
00:06:14.57\00:06:17.44
is the fact that I have
spent a great deal of my life,
00:06:17.44\00:06:20.08
wondering
exactly where I belong.
00:06:20.08\00:06:22.64
I grew up in an
immigrant community.
00:06:23.78\00:06:25.85
I went to an immigrant school,
00:06:25.85\00:06:27.45
which meant that I
wasn't exactly prepared
00:06:27.45\00:06:29.42
for the cultural
differences I discovered
00:06:29.42\00:06:31.72
when I eventually went
to the public school system.
00:06:31.72\00:06:35.02
We found ourselves to be what
different than the other kids.
00:06:35.02\00:06:39.16
We didn't have long standing
roots in this strange new land.
00:06:39.16\00:06:42.76
And my ancestors who spoke
another language were buried
00:06:42.76\00:06:46.10
in a churchyard
thousands of miles away
00:06:46.10\00:06:48.64
on the other side of an ocean,
00:06:48.64\00:06:50.94
which means that
to some small extent,
00:06:50.94\00:06:53.68
I've always felt, well,
just a little bit homeless,
00:06:53.68\00:06:56.68
a little bit displaced.
00:06:56.68\00:06:58.55
And when you add to that,
00:06:58.55\00:06:59.95
the fact that I'm now an
immigrant to the United States,
00:06:59.95\00:07:01.98
and I've moved 24
times in five decades,
00:07:01.98\00:07:04.72
well, I have to admit,
00:07:04.72\00:07:06.22
there are days when I
feel like I'm not really sure
00:07:06.22\00:07:08.56
where home really is.
00:07:08.56\00:07:10.86
Now, of course
by global standards,
00:07:12.06\00:07:13.40
I've had it easy.
00:07:13.40\00:07:14.66
I never spent
time in a refugee camp
00:07:14.66\00:07:16.73
or escaping my
country on a leaky raft.
00:07:16.73\00:07:19.93
I've never been
moved to a country
00:07:19.93\00:07:21.64
where the people
didn't at least look like me
00:07:21.64\00:07:23.57
or share some of my history.
00:07:23.57\00:07:25.74
Unlike a good friend of mine,
00:07:25.74\00:07:27.24
I've been catching up
with over the last few weeks,
00:07:27.24\00:07:29.71
when she escaped Southeast
Asia back in the 1970s,
00:07:29.71\00:07:33.28
she was faced with
intolerant Canadian neighbors
00:07:33.28\00:07:36.38
who would
scream at her as a kid,
00:07:36.38\00:07:38.19
telling her to go
back where she came from,
00:07:38.19\00:07:40.52
as she was out
playing in the yard.
00:07:40.52\00:07:42.89
I can't even imagine how
lonely that must have felt,
00:07:42.89\00:07:45.99
because there was
no going back home
00:07:45.99\00:07:48.36
and the new place
didn't feel like home either.
00:07:48.36\00:07:50.77
The toll of war runs
higher than just the casualties.
00:07:52.20\00:07:56.77
It changes who
we are as a society
00:07:56.77\00:07:59.17
and it shapes our
perspective on the world
00:07:59.17\00:08:01.48
in a thousand different ways.
00:08:01.48\00:08:04.45
I find myself
wondering as I watch,
00:08:04.45\00:08:06.08
hundreds of thousands
of Ukrainians struggle
00:08:06.08\00:08:08.65
to make their way to the
Polish and Romanian borders.
00:08:08.65\00:08:11.35
Just how much of
the 21st Century world
00:08:11.35\00:08:14.29
is actually a diaspora
00:08:14.29\00:08:16.49
where countless people,
00:08:16.49\00:08:17.69
now find themselves
living very far removed
00:08:17.69\00:08:20.06
from their ancestral roots?
00:08:20.06\00:08:22.36
Refugees from some of
the worst conflicts of earth,
00:08:22.36\00:08:24.90
now find themselves scattered
across the face of the planet,
00:08:24.90\00:08:28.07
struggling to
make strange places,
00:08:28.07\00:08:30.21
seem like home
for their children.
00:08:30.21\00:08:33.38
When National Geographic
did their deep ancestry project,
00:08:33.38\00:08:36.18
they were able to
track the movements
00:08:36.18\00:08:37.61
of ancient people
using mitochondrial DNA,
00:08:37.61\00:08:40.98
which you get from your mother.
00:08:40.98\00:08:43.22
And one of the reasons that
the study is mostly accurate
00:08:43.22\00:08:46.59
is because once upon a time,
00:08:46.59\00:08:48.06
people tended to stay very
close to their place of birth,
00:08:48.06\00:08:51.63
which enables you to
pinpoint entire populations
00:08:51.63\00:08:54.93
that are closely
related to each other,
00:08:54.93\00:08:57.03
genetically speaking.
00:08:57.03\00:08:58.77
Today you can
submit a DNA sample
00:08:58.77\00:09:01.20
to a number of services
that will analyze it for you.
00:09:01.20\00:09:04.07
And if other members
of your family or tribe,
00:09:04.07\00:09:06.21
have done the same thing,
00:09:06.21\00:09:08.04
it will start
lighting up a map of the world,
00:09:08.04\00:09:10.58
showing you people who
share a significant portion
00:09:10.58\00:09:12.98
of your DNA.
00:09:12.98\00:09:14.88
And one of the things the
data shows us is mass migration,
00:09:14.88\00:09:19.89
where entire populations
are suddenly forced to move.
00:09:21.29\00:09:24.19
And the longer time goes
00:09:25.29\00:09:26.73
and the more this
world gets ripped up by war,
00:09:26.73\00:09:29.43
the further the
diaspora spreads.
00:09:29.43\00:09:32.73
A lot of the
world is now populated,
00:09:32.73\00:09:34.54
by who have no real
ties to the land they live on
00:09:34.54\00:09:38.54
and no deep history
they can claim as their own.
00:09:38.54\00:09:42.38
The ambition of
the world's nations,
00:09:42.38\00:09:44.48
has taken the
various tribes of humanity
00:09:44.48\00:09:46.85
and scrambled
them up like letters
00:09:46.85\00:09:48.65
in a bag of Scrabble tiles,
00:09:48.65\00:09:50.62
leaving many of us to figure out
00:09:50.62\00:09:52.12
if we can
actually spell anything
00:09:52.12\00:09:54.26
with the genetic
hand we've been dealt.
00:09:54.26\00:09:56.79
I'll be right back after this.
00:09:56.79\00:09:58.99
- [Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:10:02.70\00:10:06.97
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:10:06.97\00:10:11.57
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:10:11.57\00:10:13.74
and come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:10:13.74\00:10:16.81
Our free "Focus on
Prophecy Guides" are designed
00:10:16.81\00:10:19.71
to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:10:19.71\00:10:21.98
and deepen your understanding
of God's plan for you
00:10:21.98\00:10:24.95
and our world.
00:10:24.95\00:10:26.15
Study online or
request them by mail
00:10:26.15\00:10:28.52
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:10:28.52\00:10:31.39
- North America can hardly
claim to be free from war,
00:10:32.86\00:10:35.60
because well, it's
populated by human beings.
00:10:35.60\00:10:38.20
And so of course there
are going to be problems.
00:10:38.20\00:10:42.04
We've been
through the Indian Wars,
00:10:42.04\00:10:43.84
the Revolutionary War, the
War of 1812, War with Mexico,
00:10:43.84\00:10:47.31
the American Civil War
00:10:47.31\00:10:48.58
and countless
other smaller conflicts.
00:10:48.58\00:10:50.75
That mean that even this
continent is pretty blood
00:10:50.75\00:10:55.38
soaked, but compared
to the rest of the planet,
00:10:55.38\00:10:57.75
this has been in a pretty
privileged piece of real estate,
00:10:57.75\00:11:00.59
partly because there are
two vast oceans separating us
00:11:00.59\00:11:03.32
from the rest of the world.
00:11:03.32\00:11:04.93
If it wasn't for that,
00:11:04.93\00:11:06.29
I strongly suspect
00:11:06.29\00:11:07.76
that more of the problems
people left behind in Europe,
00:11:07.76\00:11:10.40
would've followed them here.
00:11:10.40\00:11:12.97
But of course, anytime
you have people you get war,
00:11:12.97\00:11:15.87
whether it's on
an individual level,
00:11:15.87\00:11:17.57
like two neighbors
fight over a property marker
00:11:17.57\00:11:20.41
or it's a family level
like the Hatfields and McCoys,
00:11:20.41\00:11:23.28
or it's rival states
trying to pull business away
00:11:23.28\00:11:25.85
from each other like
Texas and California,
00:11:25.85\00:11:28.88
or it's actually conflict
on a national or global scale,
00:11:28.88\00:11:32.59
it's all just a
matter of degrees.
00:11:32.59\00:11:34.29
And it pretty much a all
boils down to the same thing,
00:11:34.29\00:11:37.39
competition driven like
personal interest or ambition.
00:11:37.39\00:11:41.46
Back in the mid 17th Century,
00:11:42.50\00:11:44.63
the English
philosopher Thomas Hobbes,
00:11:44.63\00:11:46.60
identified three
principle causes of war,
00:11:46.60\00:11:49.90
competition,
diffidence and glory.
00:11:49.90\00:11:53.14
Here's the way he described it
00:11:53.14\00:11:54.48
in his most
famous work, "Leviathan."
00:11:54.48\00:11:57.21
He writes, "The first
maketh men invade for gain,
00:11:57.21\00:12:01.02
"the second for safety
and the third for reputation.
00:12:01.02\00:12:04.29
"The first use violence
00:12:04.29\00:12:05.75
"to make themselves
masters of other men's persons,
00:12:05.75\00:12:08.22
"wives, children, and cattle.
00:12:08.22\00:12:10.33
"The second to defend them,
00:12:10.33\00:12:11.69
"the third for
trifles, as a word,
00:12:11.69\00:12:13.66
"a smile, a different opinion,
00:12:13.66\00:12:15.53
"and any other
sign of undervalue,
00:12:15.53\00:12:17.80
"either direct in their persons
00:12:17.80\00:12:19.60
"or by
reflection in their kindred,
00:12:19.60\00:12:21.60
"their friends, their
nation, their profession
00:12:21.60\00:12:24.11
"or their name."
00:12:24.11\00:12:25.07
Now of course no
matter how you slice it,
00:12:26.17\00:12:27.68
it's all still the same
problem of human self-interest.
00:12:27.68\00:12:31.55
On the upside,
00:12:31.55\00:12:32.65
the pursuit of self-interest,
00:12:32.65\00:12:33.92
has pretty much
created the incredible standard
00:12:33.92\00:12:36.45
of living we
currently enjoy in the West.
00:12:36.45\00:12:39.29
It has led to
material abundance,
00:12:39.29\00:12:41.72
unseen by any other generation,
00:12:41.72\00:12:44.69
but on the downside is the
age old problem of scarcity.
00:12:44.69\00:12:49.36
There are only so many
resources on this planet
00:12:49.36\00:12:51.60
and we all have to share them.
00:12:51.60\00:12:53.23
There's only so much oil
00:12:53.23\00:12:54.90
and it's only to be
found in any useful quantities
00:12:54.90\00:12:57.47
in a handful of places,
00:12:57.47\00:12:58.91
which means that not
everybody has equal access,
00:12:58.91\00:13:02.24
which brings me
back to Thomas Hobbes,
00:13:02.24\00:13:04.21
who said that our
natural state of existence,
00:13:04.21\00:13:06.51
as human beings
seems to be over history,
00:13:06.51\00:13:09.85
a constant state of war.
00:13:09.85\00:13:12.32
"If it wasn't for
big political powers
00:13:12.32\00:13:14.32
"that are stronger than
individuals," Hobbes argued,
00:13:14.32\00:13:16.83
"we'd probably be at
each other's throats,
00:13:16.83\00:13:18.73
"a lot more than
we currently are."
00:13:18.73\00:13:21.43
And he kind of has a point.
00:13:21.43\00:13:23.30
According to the Bible
the world's first murder,
00:13:23.30\00:13:25.97
wasn't an invading army,
00:13:25.97\00:13:27.64
it was a jealous brother,
00:13:27.64\00:13:29.30
I think his own sibling.
00:13:29.30\00:13:31.14
So, what we did Hobbes taught
00:13:32.07\00:13:34.74
is voluntarily seed some of
our personal rights to the state
00:13:34.74\00:13:38.51
for safety's sake in
the hopes that doing that,
00:13:38.51\00:13:41.15
would improve our
own odds for survival.
00:13:41.15\00:13:43.99
It was far better we reckon
00:13:43.99\00:13:45.52
to live in peace than
a constant state of war,
00:13:45.52\00:13:48.79
because war always
robs us of the ability
00:13:48.79\00:13:51.26
to pursue a productive life.
00:13:51.26\00:13:53.40
Here's the way he puts
it yet again from his book,
00:13:53.40\00:13:56.06
"Leviathan."
00:13:56.06\00:13:57.30
He writes, "In
such a condition,"
00:13:57.30\00:13:59.90
he's talking about
our constant state of war.
00:13:59.90\00:14:02.90
"There is no place for industry,
00:14:02.90\00:14:04.51
"because the fruit
thereof is uncertain
00:14:04.51\00:14:06.68
"and consequently,
no culture of the earth,
00:14:06.68\00:14:09.08
"no navigation or
use of the commodities
00:14:09.08\00:14:11.65
"that may be imported by sea.
00:14:11.65\00:14:13.35
"No commodious building,
no instruments of moving
00:14:13.35\00:14:16.32
"and removing such
things as require much force,
00:14:16.32\00:14:19.72
"no knowledge of
the face of the earth,
00:14:19.72\00:14:21.42
"no account of time, no
arts, no letters, no society
00:14:21.42\00:14:24.86
"and which is worst
of all, continual fear
00:14:24.86\00:14:28.23
"and danger of violent death,
00:14:28.23\00:14:30.40
"and the life of man,
solitary, poor, nasty,
00:14:30.40\00:14:34.37
"brutish and short."
00:14:34.37\00:14:36.34
Honestly, it's pretty hard
to argue that Hobbes was wrong.
00:14:37.77\00:14:40.94
And you've really got to wonder
00:14:40.94\00:14:42.18
what the total cost
of human war has been,
00:14:42.18\00:14:44.68
because we've been at
this for thousands of years.
00:14:44.68\00:14:48.32
How many
opportunities have been lost,
00:14:48.32\00:14:50.19
because of the way
we focus our energies
00:14:50.19\00:14:51.95
on destroying each other?
00:14:51.95\00:14:53.79
How many intelligent
minds have been snuffed out,
00:14:53.79\00:14:56.22
before the rest
of us could benefit
00:14:56.22\00:14:57.76
from their potential brilliance?
00:14:57.76\00:14:59.79
How many people have lived
under a cloud of apprehension,
00:14:59.79\00:15:02.66
paralyzed by anxiety
and the fear of death,
00:15:02.66\00:15:05.43
forced to devote all
their lifetime energy
00:15:05.43\00:15:08.47
to just surviving?
00:15:08.47\00:15:10.67
How many people have found
themselves tragically trapped
00:15:10.67\00:15:13.17
in a war zone,
00:15:13.17\00:15:14.11
like the villages that sat,
00:15:14.11\00:15:15.58
between the north
and the south in Vietnam.
00:15:15.58\00:15:18.25
How many of those people,
00:15:18.25\00:15:19.51
have had their entire
lives stolen from them
00:15:19.51\00:15:21.75
because they had to
spend every waking minute,
00:15:21.75\00:15:24.45
just trying to keep
from getting killed?
00:15:24.45\00:15:26.72
And how many
psychological wounds,
00:15:26.72\00:15:28.96
have been passed down
through many generation now,
00:15:28.96\00:15:31.73
preventing countless people
from ever finding any real joy?
00:15:31.73\00:15:35.86
What do you think the
real cost of war has been?
00:15:35.86\00:15:40.84
This is probably
our biggest problem.
00:15:40.84\00:15:43.30
And so to improve our
personal odds, Hobbes argued,
00:15:43.30\00:15:46.98
we created the state,
00:15:46.98\00:15:49.11
a mutual contract
between individual
00:15:49.11\00:15:51.58
that supposedly protects us all.
00:15:51.58\00:15:54.32
But there's a serious problem
00:15:54.32\00:15:55.58
with that
supposed social contract
00:15:55.58\00:15:57.39
that exists in nation states,
00:15:57.39\00:15:59.42
which became obvious yet again,
00:15:59.42\00:16:02.06
when Russian soldiers
cross the Ukrainian border.
00:16:02.06\00:16:05.33
Nations require leadership
00:16:05.33\00:16:07.40
and leaders are human beings
who also make tragic mistakes
00:16:07.40\00:16:10.93
and leaders are also people
00:16:10.93\00:16:12.33
with personal
ambitions and interests.
00:16:12.33\00:16:14.70
And it doesn't take long
00:16:14.70\00:16:15.97
for many people
in positions of power
00:16:15.97\00:16:17.51
to realize that
governing everybody else,
00:16:17.51\00:16:20.28
gives you a lot of
personal advantage.
00:16:20.28\00:16:23.04
These people can use
the power of the state
00:16:23.04\00:16:25.18
to advance themselves
00:16:25.18\00:16:26.98
and they can
become many steps removed
00:16:26.98\00:16:29.28
from the people
they promise to help.
00:16:29.28\00:16:31.49
Now, I'm talking broadly here
00:16:31.49\00:16:32.82
and I'm not
addressing any specific people,
00:16:32.82\00:16:35.19
but just think about this.
00:16:35.19\00:16:37.06
The people who sit at
the top of nation states,
00:16:37.06\00:16:39.46
are not two
brothers out in a field,
00:16:39.46\00:16:41.16
like Cain and Abel
clubbing each other with rocks.
00:16:41.16\00:16:44.40
They suddenly have all
the resources of a state
00:16:44.40\00:16:47.04
to back up their ambition.
00:16:47.04\00:16:49.14
And we'd like to think that
most people are not corruptible,
00:16:49.14\00:16:52.54
but thousands of
years have recorded history,
00:16:52.54\00:16:54.78
argues otherwise.
00:16:54.78\00:16:56.95
Heads of state command
an awful lot of resources.
00:16:56.95\00:17:00.05
So, when they go to war,
00:17:00.05\00:17:01.68
the consequences
are much, much bigger,
00:17:01.68\00:17:04.49
far more devastating
00:17:04.49\00:17:06.52
than mere conflicts
between individuals.
00:17:06.52\00:17:09.42
All of us have to
go along for the ride,
00:17:09.42\00:17:11.86
whether we want to or not.
00:17:11.86\00:17:14.60
And that's where the
perspective of the Bible,
00:17:14.60\00:17:17.10
suddenly comes into play.
00:17:17.10\00:17:19.07
In the book of Daniel,
00:17:19.07\00:17:20.04
you have four separate passages
00:17:20.04\00:17:21.90
that deal specifically
with the power of nations
00:17:21.90\00:17:24.34
and how that's a big problem.
00:17:24.34\00:17:26.31
You've got Daniel two,
Daniel seven, Daniel eight
00:17:26.31\00:17:29.04
and Daniel 11.
00:17:29.04\00:17:30.48
And out of those,
00:17:30.48\00:17:31.65
Daniel seven is
probably the clearest
00:17:31.65\00:17:33.85
when it comes to the subject
of international warfare.
00:17:33.85\00:17:37.05
It's a vision
00:17:37.05\00:17:38.55
where Daniel finds
himself standing on the seashore
00:17:38.55\00:17:40.59
and he's watching the
winds whip across the surface
00:17:40.59\00:17:43.09
of the water.
00:17:43.09\00:17:44.83
It's a symbolic representation
of the constant strife,
00:17:44.83\00:17:47.86
between nations
and as he's watching,
00:17:47.86\00:17:50.37
four separate beasts
crawl up out of the water,
00:17:50.37\00:17:53.07
onto the land.
00:17:53.07\00:17:54.77
Those represent
the Gentile Empires
00:17:54.77\00:17:57.27
that ruled the ancient world,
00:17:57.27\00:17:58.77
one after the other,
00:17:58.77\00:18:00.21
Babylon,
Persia, Greece and Rome.
00:18:00.21\00:18:03.58
And for all
intents and purposes,
00:18:03.58\00:18:05.15
you and I are still
living in the shadow of Rome,
00:18:05.15\00:18:07.75
even though the Western Empire,
00:18:07.75\00:18:09.72
basically disintegrated
more than 1500 years ago.
00:18:09.72\00:18:13.22
The Roman beast
in Daniel's vision,
00:18:13.22\00:18:15.09
has multiple horns on its head,
00:18:15.09\00:18:16.76
indicating that it
would break in pieces,
00:18:16.76\00:18:19.59
but continue to exist in
a radically diminished form
00:18:19.59\00:18:23.30
to this day.
00:18:23.30\00:18:24.83
The point of the chapter
00:18:25.83\00:18:27.37
is to remind us just how
human government really is.
00:18:27.37\00:18:31.47
It's a vivid portrayal of
the human struggle for dominance
00:18:31.47\00:18:34.48
that has existed since the
moment we detached ourselves
00:18:34.48\00:18:37.18
from the creator and
decided to go it alone.
00:18:37.18\00:18:40.48
Then in Matthew 24,
00:18:40.48\00:18:42.72
we find Jesus explaining
the plight of the world
00:18:42.72\00:18:45.72
to a group of disciples
00:18:45.72\00:18:47.12
who are still living
under Roman domination.
00:18:47.12\00:18:50.06
And they're wondering,
00:18:50.06\00:18:51.23
just how long the
misery of that occupation
00:18:51.23\00:18:53.46
is going to last.
00:18:53.46\00:18:55.56
This is a statement,
00:18:55.56\00:18:56.80
Jesus ties directly
to the book of Daniel.
00:18:56.80\00:18:59.37
And it's something
that our generation,
00:18:59.37\00:19:01.20
should probably
look at right now.
00:19:01.20\00:19:03.77
And I'll be right
back after this break
00:19:03.77\00:19:06.17
to show you what he said.
00:19:06.17\00:19:08.08
- [Narrator] Here at
the Voice of Prophecy,
00:19:11.55\00:19:13.01
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:19:13.01\00:19:15.48
for the whole family,
00:19:15.48\00:19:16.92
like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain."
00:19:16.92\00:19:20.06
"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible-based program
00:19:20.06\00:19:22.62
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:19:22.62\00:19:24.96
Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:19:24.96\00:19:27.66
from this small
mountain summer camp and town.
00:19:27.66\00:19:30.57
With 24 are
seasonal episodes every year
00:19:30.57\00:19:33.03
and fresh content every week,
00:19:33.03\00:19:35.20
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:19:35.20\00:19:38.37
- The Old
Testament Book of Daniel,
00:19:41.61\00:19:43.21
described the rise
fall of world empires.
00:19:43.21\00:19:46.38
Essentially God
was showing the prophet
00:19:46.38\00:19:48.25
the absolute
debacle we've created,
00:19:48.25\00:19:50.62
because we figured
we could run this place,
00:19:50.62\00:19:52.99
better than the one who made us.
00:19:52.99\00:19:55.29
We began to live
by our base instincts,
00:19:55.29\00:19:57.69
always looking
out for self first,
00:19:57.69\00:20:00.13
which creates a lot of problems
00:20:00.13\00:20:02.03
when you're faced with
other self-interested people
00:20:02.03\00:20:04.43
who want the same
things that you want.
00:20:04.43\00:20:07.37
In Matthew 24,
00:20:07.37\00:20:08.84
we find Jesus describing the
problem to a group of disciples
00:20:08.84\00:20:12.24
who are living
under Roman occupation.
00:20:12.24\00:20:15.04
"If the kingdom of God
is real," they ask Jesus,
00:20:15.04\00:20:17.51
"then how much longer,
00:20:17.51\00:20:18.95
"should we expect this
current state of being to last?"
00:20:18.95\00:20:21.88
Now, bear in mind,
00:20:21.88\00:20:23.15
they asked this question
about 1600 years before,
00:20:23.15\00:20:25.99
Thomas Hobbes was compelled
00:20:25.99\00:20:27.49
to write about the nasty
and brutish condition of war,
00:20:27.49\00:20:30.43
so we already know the answer.
00:20:30.43\00:20:32.66
But pay attention carefully
to what Jesus tells them next,
00:20:32.66\00:20:35.76
because it has
something important to teach us,
00:20:35.76\00:20:38.07
about the state of
our world right now.
00:20:38.07\00:20:41.10
"And Jesus
answered and said to them,
00:20:41.10\00:20:44.01
'Take heed that
no one deceives you
00:20:44.01\00:20:45.57
'for many will
come in my name saying,
00:20:45.57\00:20:47.98
'I am the Christ
and will deceive many.
00:20:47.98\00:20:49.94
'And you will hear of
wars and rumors of wars.
00:20:49.94\00:20:53.25
'See that you are not troubled
00:20:53.25\00:20:54.55
'for all these
things must come to pass,
00:20:54.55\00:20:56.35
'but the end is not yet.
00:20:56.35\00:20:57.62
'For nation will
rise against nation
00:20:57.62\00:20:59.92
'and kingdom against kingdom.
00:20:59.92\00:21:01.49
'And there will be
famines, pestilences
00:21:01.49\00:21:03.89
'and earthquakes
in various places.'"
00:21:03.89\00:21:06.96
Now, there's a
lot of detail there,
00:21:06.96\00:21:08.70
including natural disasters
and massive religious problems,
00:21:08.70\00:21:12.03
all of which
continue with us to this day.
00:21:12.03\00:21:15.54
But the part I want
you to focus on is this,
00:21:15.54\00:21:17.74
"You will hear of
wars and rumors of wars,
00:21:17.74\00:21:19.94
"for nation will
rise against nation
00:21:19.94\00:21:21.78
"and kingdom against kingdom."
00:21:21.78\00:21:24.41
What Jesus is telling us is
that as long as we're in charge,
00:21:24.41\00:21:28.72
as long as broken human
beings are running the show,
00:21:28.72\00:21:31.42
this is always the
way it's going to be.
00:21:31.42\00:21:34.46
People who live
for the sake of self,
00:21:34.46\00:21:36.19
cannot be expected to
do this any other way.
00:21:36.19\00:21:39.69
We're always gonna be at war.
00:21:39.69\00:21:41.60
Even when we
think there's peace,
00:21:41.60\00:21:43.80
even when
there's no active battle,
00:21:43.80\00:21:45.70
we will always live
under the shadow of conflict,
00:21:45.70\00:21:48.67
the rumor of war.
00:21:48.67\00:21:50.24
And we plan our lives
accordingly every single day,
00:21:50.24\00:21:53.48
just in case.
00:21:53.48\00:21:55.74
And every time we've
been tempted to believe
00:21:55.74\00:21:57.48
that war is now a thing in
the past, it happens yet again.
00:21:57.48\00:22:00.62
Back at the end
of the 19th Century,
00:22:00.62\00:22:02.15
there were really important
people making big speeches,
00:22:02.15\00:22:05.12
about how our
advanced state of knowledge
00:22:05.12\00:22:07.29
was gonna bring war old piece.
00:22:07.29\00:22:08.79
They said the enlightenment
and the scientific revolution,
00:22:08.79\00:22:11.63
we're gonna
solve all our problems
00:22:11.63\00:22:13.26
as if these are
just math problems.
00:22:13.26\00:22:16.03
But of course,
00:22:16.03\00:22:17.40
they completely
overestimated our capacity
00:22:17.40\00:22:19.30
to abandon self
and love each other.
00:22:19.30\00:22:21.44
And the 20th Century
proved to be the bloodiest
00:22:21.44\00:22:23.91
in human history.
00:22:23.91\00:22:25.41
The communists made the
same mistake last century.
00:22:25.41\00:22:27.88
They refused to
understand basic human nature.
00:22:27.88\00:22:30.28
They believe that central
planning and reeducation,
00:22:30.28\00:22:33.31
would help us learn to coexist
00:22:33.31\00:22:35.22
in a way that
benefits everybody.
00:22:35.22\00:22:37.15
And of course,
00:22:37.15\00:22:38.62
that misreading of human
nature ended in the Gulags.
00:22:38.62\00:22:41.19
Now we're faced
with a generation
00:22:41.19\00:22:42.72
that didn't think that what
our grandparents grew up with
00:22:42.72\00:22:45.09
was still possible.
00:22:45.09\00:22:46.66
Even though outside our own
comfy existence here America,
00:22:46.66\00:22:49.80
there's been
plenty of global evidence
00:22:49.80\00:22:51.67
to suggest that the next war
is only ever a heartbeat away.
00:22:51.67\00:22:56.14
Now, I know some
of you think the Bible
00:22:56.14\00:22:58.01
is a work of mythology,
00:22:58.01\00:22:59.27
kind of like the
tales from Mount Olympus,
00:22:59.27\00:23:01.58
but I'd like to suggest that
maybe you take another look,
00:23:01.58\00:23:04.38
maybe read the book of Genesis.
00:23:04.38\00:23:06.95
Far too many
people have dismissed this
00:23:06.95\00:23:08.75
as a silly story about a
garden and a talking snake,
00:23:08.75\00:23:11.95
but there's a reason this
story has so much staying power.
00:23:11.95\00:23:15.39
It's gotten amazingly
realistic grasp of human nature.
00:23:15.39\00:23:19.39
It tells the story of people
that were once deeply connected
00:23:19.39\00:23:22.26
to their original
purpose, their creator.
00:23:22.26\00:23:25.27
And then there was a radical
break from that original order
00:23:25.27\00:23:28.74
and human
existence began to unravel.
00:23:28.74\00:23:31.61
The very first personal
tragedy mentioned in the Bible
00:23:32.97\00:23:35.38
is a man who
murders his brother.
00:23:35.38\00:23:37.91
A story that jars us
awake by rudely cutting,
00:23:37.91\00:23:40.58
across all our expectations.
00:23:40.58\00:23:43.32
We like to say that
blood is thicker than water,
00:23:43.32\00:23:45.92
but Genesis tells us that
jealousy and personal interest,
00:23:45.92\00:23:48.69
can be thicker than blood.
00:23:48.69\00:23:50.59
We mostly expect
children to bury their parents,
00:23:50.59\00:23:53.76
but the very first
funeral in the Bible
00:23:53.76\00:23:56.33
is the other way around.
00:23:56.33\00:23:58.33
And then as you
explore the story carefully,
00:23:58.33\00:24:01.00
something
fascinating suddenly happens,
00:24:01.00\00:24:03.00
after that very first murder.
00:24:03.00\00:24:05.01
The children of Cain
leave the gates of Eden
00:24:05.01\00:24:07.81
and they go establish cities.
00:24:07.81\00:24:10.08
Here's what it says,
00:24:10.08\00:24:11.68
"Then Cain went out
from the presence of the Lord
00:24:11.68\00:24:14.08
"and dwelt in the land
of Nod in the east of Eden.
00:24:14.08\00:24:17.05
"And Cain knew his wife and
she conceived in bore Enoch,
00:24:17.05\00:24:20.46
"and he built a city and
called the name of the city,
00:24:20.46\00:24:23.02
"after the name
of his son Enoch."
00:24:23.02\00:24:25.23
Now you've got to ask yourself,
00:24:26.13\00:24:28.13
what is the
purpose of building a city?
00:24:28.13\00:24:30.90
I'll be right back after
this to answer that question.
00:24:30.90\00:24:33.64
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:24:37.57\00:24:39.97
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:24:39.97\00:24:43.38
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:24:43.38\00:24:45.78
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:24:45.78\00:24:48.88
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:24:48.88\00:24:50.45
we've created the
"Discover Bible Guides"
00:24:50.45\00:24:52.59
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:24:52.59\00:24:54.19
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use
00:24:54.19\00:24:56.69
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:24:56.69\00:24:59.69
And they're absolutely free.
00:24:59.69\00:25:01.70
So, jump online
now or give us a call
00:25:01.70\00:25:04.03
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:25:04.03\00:25:06.27
- All right, we're
running out of time already,
00:25:07.64\00:25:09.40
so I'm gonna have to
wrap this up pretty quickly.
00:25:09.40\00:25:11.54
Just before the break,
00:25:11.54\00:25:12.74
I mentioned that the
first recorded murderer,
00:25:12.74\00:25:14.88
built the first recorded city.
00:25:14.88\00:25:17.21
At the beginning of Genesis,
00:25:17.21\00:25:19.08
God had provided for
all our essential needs.
00:25:19.08\00:25:21.75
And even after the fall,
00:25:21.75\00:25:23.49
he laid out a new
order for survival,
00:25:23.49\00:25:25.85
a new way to live,
00:25:25.85\00:25:27.92
but one man suddenly
violates that new order
00:25:27.92\00:25:30.49
and murders his brother.
00:25:30.49\00:25:32.06
So, now he has to go it
alone away from his family.
00:25:32.06\00:25:34.73
And what the Bible records
is the rise of city states,
00:25:34.73\00:25:38.70
a phenomena that lasted
well into the medieval period.
00:25:38.70\00:25:42.30
And if you think about it,
00:25:42.30\00:25:43.77
a city is really just an
artificial form of paradise.
00:25:43.77\00:25:46.81
It has a protective wall
00:25:46.81\00:25:48.18
and the cooperative
effort of its citizens
00:25:48.18\00:25:50.31
to try and generate abundance.
00:25:50.31\00:25:52.55
It's pretty much what
Thomas Hobbes described.
00:25:52.55\00:25:55.08
Everybody gives up some
of their personal rights
00:25:55.08\00:25:57.49
in exchange for the
promise of peace and prosperity.
00:25:57.49\00:26:00.76
We pay taxes, we obey
the rules, we cooperate
00:26:00.76\00:26:04.16
and it always works right up
to the point where it doesn't,
00:26:04.16\00:26:08.86
because at some
point the top dogs,
00:26:08.86\00:26:11.03
are going to override the
interests of everybody else.
00:26:11.03\00:26:15.37
So, let's go
back to the scenario
00:26:15.37\00:26:17.01
we found in Daniel seven,
00:26:17.01\00:26:18.51
where the ravages of war, an
empire suddenly come to a stop
00:26:18.51\00:26:23.48
and this happens.
00:26:24.21\00:26:25.18
And it says,
00:26:25.18\00:26:26.45
"I was watching
in the night visions
00:26:26.45\00:26:28.95
"and be hold one
like the Son of Man coming
00:26:28.95\00:26:31.52
"with the clouds of heaven.
00:26:31.52\00:26:33.09
"He came to the ancient of days
00:26:33.09\00:26:34.59
"and they brought
him near before him,
00:26:34.59\00:26:36.96
"then to Him was given
dominion and glory and a kingdom
00:26:36.96\00:26:40.20
"that all people's nations
and languages should serve Him.
00:26:40.20\00:26:43.40
"His dominion is a
everlasting dominion
00:26:43.40\00:26:45.90
"which shall not pass away
00:26:45.90\00:26:47.30
"and in His kingdom,
00:26:47.30\00:26:48.54
"the one which
shall not be destroyed."
00:26:48.54\00:26:51.71
Maybe just, maybe there's a
reason the Bible calls Jesus,
00:26:53.14\00:26:55.88
the Prince of Peace.
00:26:55.88\00:26:57.51
We've got thousands
of years of human beings,
00:26:57.51\00:26:59.88
doing things
exactly the same way
00:26:59.88\00:27:02.45
and getting the same results,
00:27:02.45\00:27:04.15
untold misery and suffering.
00:27:04.15\00:27:07.06
And here we are watching it
unfold yet again in real time.
00:27:07.06\00:27:11.19
But in this book,
00:27:12.29\00:27:13.70
we have the promise of
something radically different,
00:27:13.70\00:27:16.97
something that's never
really been tried by anybody.
00:27:16.97\00:27:21.17
So, maybe it's time to
give this an another look
00:27:21.17\00:27:24.31
and I don't know about you,
00:27:24.31\00:27:25.71
but I think that if
there's a remote possibility
00:27:25.71\00:27:28.01
that what this
book says is true,
00:27:28.01\00:27:30.85
it might just be
worth investigating.
00:27:30.85\00:27:33.08
And maybe,
00:27:33.08\00:27:34.35
just maybe the pain and
suffering we're watching
00:27:34.35\00:27:37.32
in Europe right now really
can become a thing of the past.
00:27:37.32\00:27:42.19
Thanks for joining me.
00:27:42.19\00:27:43.66
I'm Shawn Boonstra and
this has been "Authentic."
00:27:43.66\00:27:47.00
[upbeat music]
00:27:52.90\00:27:55.57