Societal Crimes Against Animals
An all-creatures Bible Message

Societal Crimes Against Animals
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
5 December 2020
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 1:26-31
Psalm 85:1-13
Mark 1:1-8
 
Societal crimes against animals are not against the law in most human statutes, except for some companion animals, but we believe that they are all against the statutes of God.
 
Because of this, we believe that the vast majority of people are quite far from being ready for the second coming of Jesus Christ, which is what this season is supposed to be all about.
 
Let’s think very carefully about what we are told in Genesis 1:24-31, which is the last paragraph of this chapter…
 
24. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so.
 
The term “living creatures” (Hebrew: neh-fesh khah-yaw) is the same term used for the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7 which was translated in the KJV as “living soul,” which means that we (humans and animals) are all physical and spiritual beings, and this is one of the reasons that we believe that the Bible translators have been guided more by tradition and politics that the actual word of God.
 
It is this deliberate mistranslation that has helped continue our societal crimes against animals to this very day, and have even made animals’ lives even worse.
 
25. And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
 
God saw this part of His creation as being good, which means to us that He liked what He had made; they were not made for food as we will see shortly in this paragraph.
 
26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
 
In order to truly understand what the term “rule” means we also need to look further in this paragraph.
 
27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
 
28. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
 
To understand what the term “subdue” means we need to remember that it is referring to the earth, and it can only mean to protect it from harm, and not to pollute it or cause it harm in any other way.
 
And again, we have the term “rule.”
 
Some translations use the term “dominion,” which we also need to put in context with this whole paragraph.
 
29. Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
 
The word “shall” means that this is a commandment, which means that plant foods are to be our food and not animals.
 
30. and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.
 
And God says the same thing about the animals’ food.
 
31. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
NASB
 
And all that God had made was very good.
 
Nothing in this paragraph even hints at granting permission or allowing either humans or other animals to eat each other; we were all to only eat plant foods.
 
Thus, the terms “rule,” and “dominion,” and “subdue” can only mean to protect the earth and all its inhabitants from the forces of evil from which all violence, pain, suffering, bloodshed, and death arise.
 
And, it is this evil which is the driving force behind our societal crimes against animals; therefore, we can never have peace on earth until we help free creation from its present corruption.
 
Let’s think about these things as we look at Psalm 85:1-13, and remember that at the time this psalm was written, human societies were eating animals and corrupting the earth.
 
1. O LORD, Thou didst show favor to Thy land;
Thou didst restore the captivity of Jacob.
 
The Lord wanted the Israelites, the sons and daughters of Jacob to bring His heavenly will to earth as it is in heaven to the land He is giving them, which means that they were to protect it, but they could only do this if they truly loved God and the whole of His creation.
 
2. Thou didst forgive the iniquity of Thy people;
Thou didst cover all their sin.
Selah.
 
This is most likely the reason that the psalmist used the name Jacob, which means deceiver, instead of Israel, the name the Lord changed Jacob’s name to after he had wrestled with Him, which was something like Jacob being born again.
 
3. Thou didst withdraw all Thy fury;
Thou didst turn away from Thy burning anger.
 
From what we learn in the Bible, the people had not really changed in their hearts and souls, for they quickly turned away from God.
 
God loves His people, and it is this parental love that keeps Him forgiving His errant children, but there comes a time when even He has to suffer the consequences of their evil ways, and we believe that that time is much closer today than ever.
 
4. Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Thine indignation toward us to cease.
 
The people knew that God was their Savior, but at the same time they wanted to live in the ways of the world, which are not acceptable for entering into heaven; nevertheless, the psalmist asks the Lord to forgive them.
 
5. Wilt Thou be angry with us forever?
Wilt Thou prolong Thine anger to all generations?
 
The psalmist must know that the people deserve what is happening, and nothing is being said about their repentance and desiring to live according to God’s heavenly will.
 
We believe that this is a perfect example of why we have societal crimes against animals, which only can be eliminated through people having heavenly love, compassion, and empathy.
 
6. Wilt Thou not Thyself revive us again,
That Thy people may rejoice in Thee?
 
God has always been willing to forgive when people repent of their worldly ways and return wholeheartedly to Him.
 
It is also hypocritical to rejoice in the Lord while living in the corrupt ways of this world.
 
7. Show us Thy lovingkindness, O LORD,
And grant us Thy salvation.
 
History has shown us over and over again that every time that the Lord did this the majority of them turned back to living in the corrupt ways of this world.
 
8. I will hear what God the LORD will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.
 
The psalmist heard as did the godly ones, and the Lord always has spoken peace to everyone, even the ones who don’t listen, and it’s the same today, but most of the people still live in the corrupt ways of the world.
 
9. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
 
We believe that glory has always dwelt in the land in the hearts and souls of the people who love and reverence the Lord, but these people are in the minority.
 
10. Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
 
Absolutely, and it always has, but again we believe that these attributes only exist in a minority of the people.
 
11. Truth springs from the earth;
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
 
This is happening now, as it always has; however, global warming is one of the truths that spring from the earth, as are the cries of the millions of humans and billions of animals who suffer and die every year, and our societies have been doing relatively little to eliminate the problems; this has to change.
 
12. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good;
And our land will yield its produce.
 
This also is happening now, but the problems are still present, because the majority of the people are living in the corrupt ways of this world.
 
We cannot have it both ways.
 
13. Righteousness will go before Him,
And will make His footsteps into a way.
NASB
 
Yes, it will, but we all need to live in the heavenly will of God for this to happen globally; until then we will still have societal crimes against animals, and lack true peace on earth.
 
There have always been people who hear the truth and adhere to the word of God, as we are told in Mark 1:1-8, but what about most of the people today?
 
1. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
 
A lot of the people read or hear the truth, but relatively few truly believe and change their lives into the peacemaking children of God.
 
2. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way;
 
3. The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
'Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.' " 
 
We have been trying to do this for many years with only marginal success, and it gets discouraging at times, but we keep trying, because we know that no matter how badly we feel, the Lord feels even worse, but this isn’t about us, it’s about John the Baptist.
 
4. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
 
Today, it’s not just the preaching that we need, it’s for each and every person to decide in their heart and soul to repent of their worldly ways and truly live in the heavenly will of God.
 
5. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
 
Years ago, I talked to the Billy Graham ministry when they visited a local prison at the same time I was doing my ministry, and I was told that only about 5% of the people who came forward were really born again, and we suspect that the people who came out to John were the same kinds of people, because of the way the crowd shouted to crucify Jesus.
 
6. And John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
 
This is a disconnect with the heavenly will of God, for there is no pain, suffering, or death in heaven, and we are charged with bringing His heavenly will to earth as it is in heaven.
 
7. And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
 
John was referring to Jesus.
 
8. "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
NASB
 
This is what everyone needs if they ever hope to have peace on earth, for if they receive the Holy Spirit, they will become the peacemaking children of God and bring His will to earth as it is in heaven and end societal crimes against animals.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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