[Scott Ashley] What you’re seeing here in this video are the remains of the Circus Maximus. This was the center of entertainment during the first centuries of the Roman Empire. This was a giant hippodrome, it’s called, where chariot races, various games would be held. This seated, authorities estimate, somewhere around 300,000 people. People would come here for what became known as “bread and circuses” – this is what the emperors did to entertain the masses to prevent them from focusing on the problems of the Empire itself. And behind me, over my shoulders, you see the remains of the massive palace complex of the Roman Emperors for the first few centuries – massive brickwork structures there, covering a number of acres there, with probably thousands of people part of that household, that administration of the Roman emperors.

But what happens when they become totally focused on self? If you’ve studied anything about the lives of the Roman emperors, you probably realize how totally decadent and perverted their lifestyles were and became. And the same thing with the people – they followed the example of the emperors, becoming focused on self. And sadly, tragically, we see behind us what happens when a civilization and culture gets focused on those things and loses sight of God.

The first few chapters of Romans are written to the church there in Rome by the apostle Paul, and he talks about how, what happens when people do not like to retain knowledge of God in their thinking, and the corruption, and the twisted thinking, perverted thinking that enters into the human mind and heart and corrupts us.

So this is an important lesson for us today because not only can people die, but entire nations, civilizations, and cultures can die as well, when they lose sight of the bigger picture.

The name of our magazine and TV program, Beyond Today, is geared because we need to be thinking beyond today. We need to be thinking beyond the here and now. We need to be thinking about the long-term consequences of our decisions, our actions, our thinking, and set our mind, as the Bible puts it, on the higher things, the things that are above, not on the things below, not on physical pleasures, physical desires – because those things will go the way of all flesh. They’ll go the way of ancient Rome.

So for Beyond Today, this is Scott Ashley. I’ll talk to you later.