The headlines keep on coming: ‘World War III Is Now Inevitable’, ‘Hundreds of millions would die in the first 72 minutes of nuclear war’…
Are we headed for…
The Day Of Nuclear Armageddon
Would mankind start a worldwide nuclear war and totally destroy life on earth? With all the knowledge we have about the effects on the earth, could mankind be so stupid?
The short answer is - YES! And this is confirmed in the Bible.
UNLESS CHRIST INTERVENES TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING, ALL FLESH WILL PERISH!
Looking at the end of this age, God warned us what the world would be like:
“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH ARE BURNED, AND FEW MEN LEFT.” (Isaiah 24:6)
That sounds very much like the aftermath of a nuclear bomb!
The Reality Of The World In Which We Live
The following article gives us some idea what the effect of just one nuclear bomb would be. It shows us what will happen to cities all over the world - near instant total utter destruction!
“This story, of what the moments after a nuclear missile launch could look like, is based on facts sourced from exclusive interviews with presidential advisers, cabinet members, nuclear weapons engineers, scientists, soldiers, airmen, special operators, Secret Service, emergency management experts, intelligence analysts, civil servants and others who have worked on these macabre scenarios over decades.
The scenario postulated here takes the reader up to the razor’s edge of what can legally be known. Declassified documents, obfuscated for decades, fill in the details with terrifying clarity.
Because the Pentagon is a top target for a strike by America’s nuclear-armed enemies, in the scenario that follows, Washington DC gets hit first with a one megaton thermonuclear bomb. ‘A “Bolt out of the Blue” attack against DC is what everyone in DC fears most,’ says Andrew Weber, former assistant secretary of defence for nuclear, chemical and biological defence programmes.
Newly-declassified documents reveal chilling details of what would happen to DC in the event of a surprise nuclear attack targeting the Pentagon.
Its 27,000 employees would die instantly.
This strike on DC initiates the beginning of an Armageddon-like nuclear war that will almost certainly follow. ‘There is no such thing as a small nuclear war,’ is an oft repeated phrase in Washington.
A nuclear strike on the Pentagon is just the beginning of a scenario the finality of which will be the end of civilisation as we know it.
This is the reality of the world in which we live.
‘The nuclear war scenario proposed here could happen tomorrow…
or later today…
or in the next couple of hours…’
warns General Robert Kehler, the former commander of the United States Strategic Command.
A one megaton thermonuclear weapon detonation begins with a flash of light and heat so tremendous it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend.
One hundred and eighty million degrees Fahrenheit is four or five times hotter than the temperature at the centre of the Sun. The light super-heats the surrounding air to millions of degrees, creating a massive fireball that expands at millions of miles per hour.
Within a few seconds the fireball has increased to a diameter of a little more than a mile, its heat so intense that concrete explodes, metal melts or evaporates, stone shatters and people instantaneously convert into combusting carbon.
The five-storey, five-sided structure of the Pentagon, and everything inside its 6.5 million sq ft of office space, explodes into superheated dust, all the walls shattering with the near-simultaneous arrival of a shock wave. All 27,000 employees perish instantly.
Curtains, paper, books, wood fences, clothing and dry leaves explode into flames and become kindling for a great firestorm that begins to consume a 100 or more square mile area that, prior to this flash of light, was the beating heart of American governance and home to six million people.
To the south, across Interstate 395, the spacious glass-walled Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, with its abundance of stores filled with high-end clothing brands, household goods, restaurants and offices, food courts and the adjacent Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City hotel, are all obliterated.
IT HAS BEEN THREE SECONDS SINCE THE INITIAL BLAST
The intense heat generated by this nuclear explosion creates a high pressure wave that moves out from its centre point like a tsunami, a giant wall of highly compressed air travelling faster than the speed of sound. It mows people down, hurls others into the air, bursts lungs and eardrums, sucks bodies up and spits them out.
‘In general, large buildings are destroyed by the change in air pressure, while people and objects such as trees and utility poles are destroyed by the wind,’ notes an archivist who compiles these morbid statistics for the Atomic Archive.
ALL OF WASHINGTON DC BECOMES ONE MEGA-INFERNO
As the nuclear fireball grows, this shock front delivers catastrophic destruction, bulldozing everything in its path for three miles. The air behind the blast wave accelerates, creating winds that reach several hundred miles-per-hour – 18-wheeler trucks and double-decker tour buses, become airborne like tennis balls.
THIRTY-FIVE SECONDS PASS
The formation of the iconic mushroom cloud begins, its massive cap and stem, made up of incinerated people and civilisation’s debris, transmutes from a red, to a brown, to an orange hue.
SIXTY SECONDS PASS
More than a million people are dead or dying and fewer than two minutes have passed since detonation.
NOW THE INFERNO BEGINS
This is different than the initial fireball. It is a mega-fire beyond measure. Gas lines explode one after the next, acting like giant flamethrowers spewing steady streams of fire. Tanks containing flammable materials burst open. Chemical factories explode. Pilot lights on water heaters and furnaces act like torch lighters, setting anything not already burning alight. Collapsed buildings become giant ovens.
Open gaps in floors and roofs behave like chimneys. Carbon dioxide from the firestorm sinks down and settles into the metro’s subway tunnels, asphyxiating passengers in their seats. People seeking shelter in basements and other spaces below ground vomit, convulse, become comatose and die. Anyone above ground who is looking directly at the blast – in some cases as far as 13 miles away – is blinded.
Ten miles out, hot burning ash and flaming wind-borne debris ignite new fires, conflating one after another. All of Washington DC becomes one mega-inferno.
EIGHT, MAYBE NINE MINUTES PASS
Ten and 12 miles out from ground zero, survivors shuffle in shock like the almost dead. Unsure of what just happened, desperate to escape. Tens of thousands of people here have ruptured lungs. Crows, sparrows and pigeons overhead catch fire and drop from the sky, as if it is raining birds.
There is no electricity.
No phone service.
No 911.
No radio.
No internet or TV.
Cars with electric ignition systems cannot restart.
Water stations can’t pump water.
Saturated with lethal levels of radiation, the entire area is a no-go zone.
Not for days will the rare survivors realise that help is not coming.
Those who somehow manage to escape death from the blast, shock wave and firestorm, suddenly realise an insidious truth about nuclear war – that they are entirely on their own.
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Craig Fugate says their only hope for survival is to figure out how to ‘self-survive’. THAT BEGINS A ‘FIGHT FOR FOOD, WATER…’
How, and why, do US defence scientists know such hideous things, and with exacting precision? How does the US government know so many nuclear effects-related facts, while the general public remains blind? The answer is as grotesque as the questions themselves because, for all these years, since the end of the Second World War, the US government has been preparing for, and rehearsing plans for, a General Nuclear War.” (dailymail.co.uk)
Nowhere To Hide
“A global all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia with over four thousand 100-kiloton nuclear warheads would lead, at minimum, to 360 million quick deaths. That’s about 30 million people more than the entire US population.
As horrific as those statistics are, the tens to hundreds of millions of people dead and injured within the first few days of a nuclear conflict would only be the beginnings of a catastrophe that eventually will encompass the whole world.
Global climatic changes, widespread radioactive contamination, and societal collapse virtually everywhere could be the reality that survivors of a nuclear war would contend with for many decades.
Two years after any nuclear war — small or large — famine alone could be more than 10 times as deadly as the hundreds of bomb blasts involved in the war itself.” (thebulletin.org)
The Six Minute Decision
“An expert who has written a new book about the tactics and technology of nuclear warfare warns that in the event of a launch being detected, the future of mankind would be determined in just six minutes. In the event of a Russian or Chinese missile launch being detected, the US president would have just six minutes to make a crucial decision.
Do they retaliate – leading inevitably to the deaths of almost the entire world population – or allow one of America’s cities to be wiped off the map?
‘We are one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear Armageddon and no matter how nuclear war starts, it ends with everyone dead,’ she said.” (dailystar.co.uk)
Will Man Use The Ultimate Weapon?
Back in 1982, Mr Armstrong explained:
“War is so Needless!
War is WRONG!
Yes, the United States could put an END to the threat of nuclear war IMMEDIATELY – IF not only leaders in Washington, but ALSO the PEOPLE AS A WHOLE, could recognize REALITY – could understand that God is REAL – and would humble themselves before him, BELIEVE him – RELY ON him!
But, if our people WILL NOT, then it is decreed, we shall, in fewer years than you will believe, see OUR CITIES DESTROYED, along with a full third of our populations by a foreign invasion!” (The Plain Truth – March 1982)
Future News Events
Mr Armstrong gave this warning back in 1979!
“The GREAT TRIBULATION, we shall then fully realize, is the time of ‘Jacob’s Trouble,’ spoken of in Jeremiah 30:7. And Jacob’s name was named on Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:16).
At that time a third of the people in our nations will die, or shall have died, by famine and disease epidemics;
…another third will die of the war -
…our cities being destroyed (Ezek. 6:6), and
…the remaining third will be carried to the land of our enemies as slaves (Ezek. 5:12).” (Pastor General’s Report – November 20, 1979)
Prophecy points to the possible limited use of nuclear weapons - as Mr Armstrong warned:
“Speaking of this same END TIME, ‘In all your dwelling places, THE CITIES SHALL BE LAID WASTE’ (Ezek. 6:6). Cities now have populations into multiple MILLIONS. No such destruction in ALL the cities could have occurred before the hydrogen bomb!” (Co-Worker Letter – April 21, 1982)
The World View Of Nuclear War
“…No matter how nuclear war starts, it ends with everyone dead.”
“…The end of civilisation as we know it.”
“…No matter how it starts, it ends with everyone dead.”
This is the world view of the result of a worldwide nuclear war - total utter destruction.
Grand Deception
It would appear that World War III IS now inevitable. However, the danger to the West is not from Russia, China, or even the Middle East - the real danger will come from Europe!
America’s proxy war with Russia in Ukraine has alerted the Europeans to the fact that the USA might not protect them from a Russian attack… and Europe fears Russia!
Europe is going flat out to increase their military might to protect themselves, building up a powerful military force about which the Bible asks the following question:
“Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4)
There Is A Very Different Ending To The Story
There is a very different ending to the story, but it will take the direct intervention of Jesus Christ to stop nuclear Armageddon.. and it’s a close call.
Jesus makes this very clear in Mark 14. Describing the events at the time of the end of this age, He said:
"For in those days shall be affliction (the Great Tribulation), such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
And except that the Lord had shortened those days, NO FLESH SHOULD BE SAVED (ALIVE): but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.” (Mark 13:19-20)
We Have To Understand…
God Has A Master Plan For Mankind
As Mr Armstrong explained:
“Here again comes a truth man would never know, and could not find out, except by God’s revelation to man! What is man, anyway? Why is he? Where is he going? GOD HAS A PLAN! God is working out a great purpose! He reveals it in his Word – his revelation – the Bible.” (The Plain Truth – April 1981)
“THE MOST STUPENDOUS CREATION OF ALL
– THAT OF REPRODUCING HIMSELF!”
The ultimate creation of God Beings in His God Family – superior to angels!
Now came the CROWNING PINNACLE of even God’s unmatched creative POWER! Now came the very zenith of all Divine accomplishment! Now came a project so incredulously transcendently AWESOME it is hard for the human mind to grasp.
How could the great GOD – self-existent, before all else, CREATOR of all else, reproduce HIMSELF into multiplied millions of others JUST LIKE HIMSELF – Divine, supreme in power, perfect in character – each by his own choice perfectly like-minded with the Father, each having so set himself that he CANNOT SIN?” (The INCREDIBLE Human Potential - Chapter 5)
God’s Plan Is ON Track
Throughout the ages, God has kept His plan on track.
When He rescued His people from Egypt, He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that He could show His power and control over all of the gods of Egypt.
He used great gentile kings, King Cyrus of Persia and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to fulfil His purpose.
Right into our time today, He still controls nations so that His plan can be fulfilled. He causes the disunited nations of Europe to finally unite under the Beast - to fulfil His plan.
“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” (Revelation 17:17)
He also tells us that if He doesn’t intervene and stop a global nuclear war - ALL flesh WOULD die.
"And except that the Lord had shortened those days, NO FLESH SHOULD BE SAVED (ALIVE)" (Mark 13:20)
But There IS Good News
Man has always used the weapons he has created. From spear to sword, then bow and arrows - right up to today’s weapons - missiles, drones, and the ultimate destroyer - nuclear weapons.
Who will be the first nation to use the bomb in anger? India, North Korea, Israel, Iran or will Mr Putin of Russia start the ball rolling as he has threatened? It would be absolute madness - but it is almost certain to happen.
During this period of the Great Tribulation, billions of people will die - as God warned through the prophet, Isaiah: “…and few men left!” (Isaiah 24:6)
We are a privileged people to understand God's Plan – glad that the end of this 6000 year reign of Satan is very close, but simultaneously appalled at the devastation, death and misery that will be unleashed before too long. Christ Himself wept over Jerusalem, because He knew the prophecies about its imminent destruction (Luke 19:41-44).
Although we have been promised protection in this coming time of trouble, that should not be our focus! This coming new Holy Day season should renew in us a commitment and desire to assist in the true solution … and bring lasting peace to this war-torn world:
"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Micah 4:3)
Renewing Commitment...
"MEN WANTED for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success – Ernest Shackleton 4 Burlington St." ... so read an advertisement placed in the Times of London in 1913.
In spite of the advertisement's brutal frankness as to what to expect, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition office in Burlington Street was deluged with replies to the above ad. In speaking of it afterward Shackleton said that so overwhelming was the response to his appeal that it seemed as though all the men of Great Britain were determined to accompany him. Yet its total honesty was something each man would undoubtedly reflect on often, following their vessel Endurance being crushed by pack-ice and sinking to the bottom of the frozen Weddell sea at the outset, stranding them in an Antarctic wilderness over a thousand miles from civilisation of any kind. The epic journey that then followed tested their initial commitment to signing that initial contract in a way none of them could have foreseen. And so it is with us in God's Church ...
Passover
With just over a week to Passover (the evening of Sunday April 21st) all of us who have been baptised should once again be examining ourselves prior to taking part in this most solemn ordinance. Key to that examination is verifying our continued repentance – the genuine intent to unreservedly turn from our own way to God's Way, in every aspect of life now and then for eternity. In his sermon on Passover Examination 1982, Mr. Armstrong was wanting to get through to us just what repentance really means, by this graphic example:
I read of a story of a Methodist preacher. In fact, he was the bishop that visited a church. He was a bishop, you see; and he was quite a celebrity, coming to this small church ... And he was preaching on repentance; but somehow, the people couldn’t understand. He wasn’t able to make them understand what he meant. (And I think many of us perhaps do not understand just what we mean by repentance.)
So there was a black gentleman in the back of the church building, and he finally raised up his hand. “If you please, sir,” he said, “I believe I can explain what you all mean, if I might.” Well the bishop said, “Certainly, certainly. Go ahead, if you can make it more plain or clear to the people.” “Well sir,” he said, “I, this is what I think you all mean.” And he started walking right down the aisle, down towards the platform. And he says, “I’m going to hell. I’m going to hell. I’m going to hell. I’m going to hell, I’m going to hell.” And he got down to just in front of the platform, and then he turned around. And he started and he walked rapidly back, even a little faster now. And he said, “I’m going to heaven. I’m going to heaven. I’m going to heaven. I’m going to heaven.” And when he got back up there; he said, “I think what you all meant, sir, is we must TURN AROUND AND GO THE OTHER WAY.” And some of them began to understand it.
It meant you have to ADMIT you’ve been going in the WRONG DIRECTION. You have to ADMIT YOU’VE BEEN WRONG. YOU’VE BELIEVED WRONG! YOU’VE LIVED WRONG! YOU’VE DONE WRONG! YOU ARE WRONG, THROUGH AND THROUGH. And many of you have NEVER admitted that! (Passover Examination - March 4, 1982)
Passover is very much a time of re-commitment for all of us – remembering our calling and the steps we took at our initial conversion, making sure that the repentance – the turning – was not just a one-off event, but has indeed continued to be a truly life-changing commitment. A "contract" with Almighty God that has grown ever more personal, profound and expansive as the years roll by. And those years have certainly rolled by! Here we are, 38 years after Mr Armstrong's death, still waiting for the return of Jesus Christ and our part in the establishment of God's Government via the Kingdom of God across this earth.
Commitment
But we are in good company. All those luminaries who went before us died in faith, not YET having received the promises. But they will, having seen them in their mind's eye, embraced them and fully believed in their ultimate inheritance (Hebrews 11:13). And so shall we – provided we, like them, remain committed to the goal that the Eternal initially set before us when first opening our minds:
- For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
- And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
- That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
- For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
- Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
- And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
- For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
- Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
- That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: (Hebrews 6:10-18)
To remind us of the process which will lead to this incredible inheritance, each year God has us celebrate the annual festivals which depict His Plan – starting with the Passover. And in these days leading up to the Passover it is a time to reflect on "the ad" we initially signed up to. On our baptism, it is highly unlikely we had the full picture of what we were committing ourselves to but we did count the cost as much as we were able at that time (Luke 14:28), and said we were willing to pay the price:
You have entered upon a new life – a life of great happiness and joy – a life to continue FOREVER – yet, in this present evil world it will not be an easy life. As a matter of fact, you have left behind the “easy way” – the popular, broad road that leads to destruction. You have passed the crossroads and turned off onto the narrow, rutty, bumpy, rocky and HARD and DIFFICULT road that very few people in this world ever are willing to enter – but that leads to SUCCESS, to USEFULNESS, to HAPPINESS, JOY and ETERNAL LIFE.
It leads to rewards – not of idleness and ease, but to usefulness and service and accomplishment and success – so great that I know your mind can’t possibly grasp it, now, BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE! (An Open Letter To Our Newly Begotten Brethren Recently Baptized – WN Sep 17 1985)
Unknown Future
By its very nature, the future remains unknown for all of us. But the men who had chosen to accompany Shackleton to Antarctica knew at the outset of the 79 days of darkness they would need to endure between 8 May and 26 July, frozen in the pack-ice and followed by the hardships and deprivations of the expedition itself. Had they wanted an easy life, they would never have responded to "the call", but would have chosen to sit by the fire at home instead, willing to forgo any future glory. But as Mr Armstrong articulated above, they deliberately "left behind the 'easy way' – the popular, broad road ... and turned off onto the narrow, rutty, bumpy, rocky and HARD and DIFFICULT road that very few people in this world ever are willing to enter".
But the fact is, we too did the same at the point of our baptism. True, we were largely drafted. The Father drew us and gave us to Christ for training through His word. But although selected, we did agree to co-operate – we were intrinsically involved in the process. And though we did not know the precise row we would have to hoe, we did know it was not going to be the easy way – the popular broad road (Matthew 7:13). So when examining ourself prior to Passover, it would do us well to take careful note of the frame of mind James encourages us to adopt, and regarding the unknown aspects of our day-to-day struggle, remember exactly Who is working with us, and why:
- Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.
- Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 NIV)
- But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. (Isaiah 64:8)
Hazardous Journey
"MEN WANTED for hazardous journey" began the ad placed in the Times. And those reading the ad would have recognised the name of Ernest Shackleton. By 1913, he was already a national hero, having accompanied Scott on the Discovery Expedition of 1901 and led his own Nimrod expedition in 1907 to within 97 miles of the South Pole – the closest of anyone thus far. But his was mere human leadership. The Logos who became Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of the Father – with all power at His disposal and yet fully conversant with the trials and problems of this human frame – remains our ever present help and Spiritual Leader whatever hazardous journey we may face:
- Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
- For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
- Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
- For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
- Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38,39)
Unlike the explorers of old, who when tragedy struck found themselves thousands of miles from help and no means of communication of any kind, our link via prayer to our Heavenly Father is always available, as long as WE have the right "connection" – i.e. are on His wavelength;
- The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:8,29)
- And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
- And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (I John 5:14,15)
To be Content
Knowing we have such a dynamic 24/7 access to this ever present help in time of need should lead to a peace, contentment and confidence second to none. But does it always? The very purpose of the trials God allows in our lives is often to motivate us to go to Him in prayer with each perplexing problem and difficulty we face. And then, seeing how God does indeed fight our battles for us encourages and stabilises us, developing a close relationship that is destined to last for eternity. Having counted the cost prior to baptism and having determined to surrender our lives unreservedly – being fully committed to this way of life – are we still allowing Him to fashion and mould us till His mind becomes OUR mind, His character OUR character? We can learn something from how Christ faced His biggest trial:
- Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
- Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
- Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. (Hebrews 12:1-4)
What is the joy that is set before US? We are promised an integral part in the universe-ruling Family of God, with a position of rulership that can bring an end to every type of suffering this world has ever known, and will continue to experience until the return of the Messiah, the Saviour. What more could we want?
- Let your [conduct] be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)
- Be [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
- And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)
- Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
- Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
- Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:3,4)
A World of Darkness
"... bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger ..." promised the ad in the Times to that valiant band of potential explorers. We too find ourselves in an exceedingly dangerous world of spiritual darkness that is destined to become a great deal worse as we approach the end. But within the chaos – with men's hearts failing them fear and the powers of heaven being shaken we are told that, "when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh." (Luke 21:28)
Now might be a good time to be examining ourselves as to whether we are becoming more capable of lifting up our heads and being positive even now – in a world of darkness yes, but relatively calm so far.
- If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? (Jeremiah 12:5 NIV)
If we are struggling now it's unlikely we'll be able to suddenly trust God as we see the prophetic Beast arise, persecution bite, food shortages, disease epidemics wiping out millions. It's not possible to "work up" enough faith suddenly ... for one thing, it has to be Christ's faith in us, and it's something that is built over time, as we see God's hand in our lives. We must nurture a close relationship with our God and exercise faith daily, as it can only be "the peace of God, which passes all understanding" that will keep our hearts and minds through the perilous days ahead.
No Turning Back
"... safe return doubtful ..." warned the ad. But in our case there is no "doubtful" about it! There can be absolutely no turning back as this is our day of salvation and it's very much a one-way ticket, with the Kingdom of God as its only positive destination. No going back to Egypt when the going gets rough! (Exodus 14):
- No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)
- And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
- He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:38,39)
This is what we agreed to prior to baptism, but is that still the case? Are we still 100% committed to this Way – come what may – or could we fall into any of the categories Christ mentions in the Parable of the Sower ... seed by the wayside, stony ground, among thorns etc? (Matthew 13) This too needs examining in the days prior to Passover – repenting where necessary so we can fall into the last category, the "good ground":
- But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:23)
Seeking Honour
"... Honour and recognition in case of success ..." concluded the ad – and the respondents in their multiple thousands came to the conclusion that such honour and recognition was worth the danger and deprivations involved. And so did we – but do we still? The apostle Paul - himself no stranger to danger! - make such parallels very clear:
- Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
- And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (I Corinthians 9:24,25)
- And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. (I Peter 5:4)
- He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
- If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. (John 12:25,26)
- To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:....
- But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: (Romans 2:7,10)
Each of us had slightly different journeys that led us to the point of baptism. But whatever the calling given, we all had to count the cost involved, recognising that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ had true purpose for each of us individually – to give us access to the Father and thereby to the impregnation of the Holy Spirit, offering us REAL life – an eternal future! And each of us must continue on, being LED by God's spirit or that sacrifice for us individually will be in vain. What is so vital to our lives is this one-on-one relationship with our Father, which will produce in us this "new man", – a dynamic, living flow of spiritual rejuvenation – daily!
- For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
- For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
- While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Corinthians 4:16-18)
And prior to Passover it is essential we verify that our desire for "daily renewal" is still uppermost in our minds. And whether there are 5, 10 or 20 years to go – or we die in the meantime – the eternal goal that has been set before us is so much more real than the "temporal" issues we all struggle with.
Trusting God to see us through
After the sinking of the Endurance, which was crushed by the surrounding ice as this restored black and white video footage shows, the crew escaped by camping on the drifting sea ice until it disintegrated. By dragging the three lifeboats, sledges and equipment – around a ton each – across pack ice to open water, they finally launched the lifeboats to reach a desolate rocky isle called Elephant Island. Here, twenty two of the crew hunkered down under two of the lifeboats, while Shackleton and a hand-picked half a dozen set off on "the greatest open boat journey in history", and as Shackleton noted, "the perils of the proposed journey were extreme." But after fourteen horrific days, they ultimately reached the inhabited island of South Georgia, a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles and Shackleton's most famous exploit. After 36 hours on foot, crossing glaciers and ravines, they made it to the whaling station. After two abortive attempts, and totally committed to the rescue of his men, he returned with help to Elephant island, four months after setting off for help, to find them all well ... kept alive by hope and the confidence they had in their leader.
In a similar way to Shackleton's determination to return and rescue his men, we can have that hope and total confidence in OUR leader's desire to return and rescue us, so we can confidently renew our commitment to the Way of God and the individual path set before each and every one of us. Passover, and the profound sacrifice it commemorates – which He so willingly gave on our behalf – is certainly a time for us to remember this. As He reassures us:
- My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
- My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)
In like manner of Israel of old, we are standing on the cusp of entering into the REAL Promised Land. And as brought out in the biblical record, it was going to take courage and commitment in order to possess what God had promised them. Likewise for us! And knowing the scriptures are recorded for our encouragement, it is certainly worth noting what God had to say to Joshua – and therefore to us, millennia later:
- Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
- Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
- This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
- Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:6-9)
Latest Audio - 2024-04-13
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
Read online or contact email to request a copy
