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In almost every country, crime is rising at an alarming rate and the authorities stand helpless in controlling it. Years ago reasons such as poverty, ignorance, bad housing and unemployment were put forward as the main causes for crime. But those arguments carry little weight these days. Modern criminals come from all classes of society: the rich, the educated, the upper classes and those in good jobs. No nation or social strata is exempt: all produce their share of criminals. Indeed the more wealthy, educated and sophisticated a society, the more dangerous the criminal it produces.

It may come as a surprise to learn that this rise in crime and violence was predicted in the Bible some two thousand years ago. Bible prophecy said that a rising crime rate would be yet another sign of the return of YAHUSHUA the Messiah. And yet a similar state of affairs existed thousands of years ago in the days of Noah when Elohim destroyed the world by a flood. In Noah's day sexual license and violence filled the Earth and the Almighty's patience ran out. He wiped out the human race with a world-wide flood sparing only a few souls. Consider this passage from Genesis; the first book in the Bible.

The CREATOR has given mankind detailed rules for controlling crime. The AIM of this article is to bring a few of those rules to the reader's attention. In the past men have endeavored to control crime by human methods, all of which have miserably failed. The rising crime rate in every country is proof that mankind, with all its boasted knowledge, is incapable of controlling crime. Currently the forms of punishment include:

• Imprisonment
• The Payment of Fines
• And Community Service.

The oldest and, arguably, the most popular form of punishment is imprisonment. Criminals are locked away in jails for years at a time, many for their entire life. There are few countries on earth which do not have prisons of some kind and prison populations in most are rising. But is imprisonment the answer to crime? Many authorities now doubt it. Prisons they contend are:

• Extremely expensive to build and maintain.
• They break up families causing untold misery for innocent wives and children.
• They are training grounds where young offenders perfect criminal skills.
• They are hotbeds of homosexuality, bullying and drug abuse
• They are degrading.
• And they are ineffective in reducing crime.

It may come as a surprise to learn that imprisonment is not the Almighty's answer to human crime. Nowhere in Scripture will you find divine commandments about locking human beings away in prison cells. The only prison built by YaHuWaH is a place known as the Bottomless Pit, the Abyss: a prison currently housing evil angels awaiting their Day of Judgement. Satan is scheduled to be imprisoned in the Abyss during the millennium. Currently there are no human beings in the Abyss or in Hell.

What, then, are the Almighty's directions for dealing with crime? After all it's one thing to lay down rules as to how we humans are to behave: it's quite another dealing with those who blatantly break those rules. Believe it or not YaHuWaH the Almighty Elohim of Israel has given the human race detailed instructions as to how to deal with criminals. His penal laws are recorded in the Scriptures for all to see. But, strangely enough, they have seldom been applied by any nation - even ancient Israel. The reason was because the authorities (kings, priests and judges) were often as guilty as the law-breakers.

Nevertheless, YaHuWaH 's Torah is still on the statute books of heaven and will find fulfillment during the coming millennium. (see Section 6) Indeed Heaven and Earth will pass away before YaHuWaH 's Torah is cancelled. In short the Torah of the Most High still exists and He is soon to demonstrate to the universe that it works when applied as directed. Listed below are a few examples of YaHuWaH's instructions (Torah).

The first of the ten commandments is: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:3)

The scriptural punishment for worshiping false (pagan) gods and for teaching others to do so is death!

Blasphemy is contemptuous or irreverent talk about YaHuWaH, His Name and His sacred things.

The scriptural punishment for blasphemy is death!

The fourth commandment reminds us to keep the seventh day Shabbat. The seventh day Shabbat, incidentally, is Saturday not Sunday. For proof of this astonishing fact also see the article Sunday: Is it the Christian Shabbat?

The scriptural punishment for breaking the seventh day Shabbat is death!

Juvenile delinquency is a major problem these days. Many parents find it quite impossible to control their disobedient offspring. The command: 'Honor thy father and thy mother' is treated by youngsters with bemused contempt. Nevertheless here is YaHuWaH 's instruction concerning the punishment of unruly children. Prepare yourself for a surprise; because the scriptural punishment for absolute disobedience is death!

YaHuWaH 's punishments always fit the crime. The scriptural punishment for murder, even that of an unborn child, is death!

The sixth commandment says: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Millions of adults throughout the world treat this law with utter contempt. Adultery is extremely popular these days and is even advocated on the Internet. But did you know that the scriptural punishment for committing adultery is death?

I must commend the reader for having read thus far. Most people will have switched off by now, muttering words like barbaric, ridiculous, farcical or obsolete.

Yes, violation of virtually every major commandment in Scripture attracts the death sentence! The Apostle was absolutely right when he wrote: the wages of sin is death! False worship, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, adultery, fornication, rape, murder and kidnap: they all attract the death sentence! Moreover, every soul on earth is guilty of breaking one or more of these sacred commandments. No one is free of guilt. In other words we are all under sentence of death, because we have all sinned! I repeat: We are all sinners under divine sentence of death! Many may delude themselves into thinking that YaHuWaH 's Torah is obsolete: that it was done away with on the cross by His Son. These folk delude themselves. On the Day of Judgment they, along with billions of others, will realize that YaHuWaH the Almighty Elohim of Israel means what He says and says what He means: and that they are to be judged by these very laws.

Now to an important question: Is the Almighty going to wipe out the whole human race because all of us have sinned and deserve the death sentence? The answer is: No, He isn't! The Most High is a Being of infinite love and mercy. He doesn't want any soul to perish: so he has made a way of escape. Christians through the ages call it the Way of Salvation: and it has been preached in virtually every Gospel sermon since the Savior ascended to heaven. The Way of Salvation, also called the Gospel of Salvation, is the good news of how - by faith in YaHuWaH 's Son you and I can escape the death sentence and live for all time. Details of the Gospel of Salvation and how you can escape the death sentence through faith in YAHUSHUA the Messiah are given in our Everlasting Gospel Library.

The world is suffering greatly for rejecting YaHuWaH 's commandments. Crime is advancing in every country and the victims often include the wives and children of the criminal. Rape, murder, child-abuse, adultery, desertion, fornication and homosexuality now go virtually unpunished: or the punishments handed out are farcical to say the least. Just try to imagine the life-long disgrace and rejection by the community an innocent wife suffers when her husband is found guilty of rape. Think about the agonies of a faithful wife whose marriage is devastated by her husband's adultery or visits to the brothel! Pause awhile and consider - if you can - the torment of a parent whose child has been sexually abused. Ponder for a few moments the agonies of a man whose wife has been brutally raped and then murdered. Only the victims of such crimes are able to fully appreciate what I am writing. Politicians, solicitors, judges and juries should all stand aside - in silence: because few of them understand the pain of the victims and their cry for justice to be done.

If, as directed in Scripture, rapists, murderers and adulterers were put to death, their innocent wives would then be free to remarry without having to divorce. As man's laws now stand, these poor women are obliged to file for divorce (an act the Almighty hates) and then remarry while their former husbands are still alive (which scripturally renders them guilty of adultery). This travesty of justice, all too common these days, would not be the case if God's penal laws were applied. The sad truth is, as they now stand the penal laws of most countries are hopelessly inadequate. The punishments handed out seldom if ever fit the crime: and the victims, which often include the wives of the criminal, suffer life-long misery.

Will YaHuWaH 's Torah ever be applied as He intended? I am delighted to tell the world via the Internet, that it will - during the soon-coming millennium.

The millennium is the one thousand year reign of Messiah on earth prophesied in the Bible. When we write of the millennium we do not mean the year 2000. We mean the Savior's one thousand year reign on earth. Many events are scheduled to occur during the millennium: a time when YaHuWaH 's Torah ( including these same penal instructions ) will be in force. Let me list a few facts about the coming millennium.

YAHUSHUA the Messiah is the man child and coming king pictured in Bible prophecy. When He comes He will rule all nations with a rod of iron (His Father's Torah).

Messiah's government will consist of overcomers who respect YaHuWaH 's Torah. The Savior's millennial reign over all nations will take place on Earth: where else would you find rebellious nations which needed to be ruled with a rod of iron?

Nations that refuse to keep this feast during the millennium will have no rain and, therefore, no harvest. Carefully note this prophecy about the Savior's return, his reign over all nations and his enforcement of the Feast of Tabernacles.

When you consider the penal laws of your own particular country, remember what you have learned in this article. It is of great importance: because we are fast approaching the millennium when the Torah is going to be proclaimed from Jerusalem and administered throughout the Earth.

• The penal laws of all nations have miserably failed. Punishments seldom fit the crime, so can never eradicate evil.
• Imprisonment of human beings is not a Biblical punishment. Prisons are expensive to build and run. They break up families. They are hot-beds of vice and homosexuality and they are ineffective.
• The Penal laws of YaHuWaH the Almighty Elohim of Israel may appear severe on first sight. But in actual fact they have never been properly applied. This is because the kings, priests and judges in authority were often as guilty as the criminals: so leniency became the order of the day. Nevertheless, according to divine law the penalty for paganism, blasphemy, Shabbat-breaking, murder, adultery, fornication, rape, sodomy, prostitution, child-abuse and kidnap - is death!
• The whole human race is under a death penalty: for all have sinned. That is, all have broken one or more of the Almighty's commandments. The only way a sinner can escape the death penalty is to accept YaHuWaH 's offer of mercy, made available through His Son's death on Calvary. If you refuse to accept His offer of salvation you will be condemned on the Day of Judgement and die for your own sins.
• The penal laws of most nations have led to chaos on a monumental scale. The wives and children of convicted murderers, rapists, adulterers and child-abusers live in undeserved shame and misery. Men whose wives or daughters have been raped live out their lives in mental torment. All this would never happen if YaHuWaH 's Torah was applied and criminals removed from society by the death sentence!
• During Messiah's Millennial Reign, the penal laws of the Most High will be fully implemented. The Savior, and the over-comers who make up his government, will at first be looked upon as ruling with "a rod of iron." But gradually the full benefits of YaHuWaH 's Torah will dawn on human society and the millennial reign will become a time of peace and prosperity for all nations.