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nucfear-armea'
terrodsr group
holding a city-or cities- for ran–
som. Will sorne terrorist group, a
decade from now, launch a suicide
mission? How long can radical na–
tions be restrained from acquiring
nuclear weapons?
Nuclear War Coming?
Today's nations possessing nuclear
weapons have one thing in com–
mon, despite política! differences:
sane leaders. Leader s from
Moscow to París, from London to
Washington, and on to Beijing,
each fathom the absolute devasta–
tion unleashed by nuclear war.
They
will not push the button ea–
ger ly or by idle fancy.
They
will
not allow nuclear war to start by
política! accident.
Contrast this with the statement
made by a defense official in one
radical Middle Eastern nation:
"We ... have enough cou rage to
press the button." Thankfully the
military inventory of that power
lacks nuclear weapons.
The two superpowers continue lo
build their nuclear stockpiles "a
little more" to better defend them–
selves from possible at–
tack. But one thing is
sure: Bible prophecy re–
veals no
major
war will
be fought solely between
the United States and So–
viet Union.
This is not to say the
United States and the So–
viets will not be involved in
sorne brushfire conflicts.
But a nuclear World War
nr
is not prophesied to be
fought between today's
two superpowers.
Yet nuclear war, Bible
prophecy reveals, is com–
ing, t riggered by an unex–
pccted series of events in–
volving a new Europe and
the Mideast.
You can read about it
in thc last few verses of
Daniel 11 .
The prophet J oel also writes
about our day: " P roclaim this
among the nations: ' Prepare for
war! ... Beat your plowshares into
swords and your pruninghooks into
spears; Jet the weak say,
" 1
am
strong"'" (J oel 3:9-10, RAV) .
Imagine a nuclear armed smaller
June
1986
rratiarr with
urr~table
t'ecra'ers, at'–
tempt ing to sett le a natio nal
vendetta, perhaps in the península
of Korea, in the Persian Gulf or in
North Africa, just to name a few.
The p r ophesied time when
present ly weaker nations will unite
politically and become strong
through possession of nuclear
weapons defies descript ion. " In all
your dwelling places the cities shall
be laid waste ..." (Ezek. 6:6). Af–
ter the bombs fall, "then there will
be great tribulation, such as has not
been since the beginning of the
world until this time, no, nor ever
shall be" (Matt. 24:21 ).
More than 1,900 years ago, the
greatest newscaster the world has
known foretold this condition. He
knew that men would produce the
destructive forces that threaten you
and me. This newscaster-J esus
Christ-foretold: "And unless
those days were shortened, no flesh
would be saved [alive] ..." (Matt.
24:22; see the Moffatt t ranslation
for use of the word
a/ive).
World Peace Comlng!
But there is hope. Humankind, ac-
,.
(
f1
~spected
nuclear
~eapons
states
cording to Bible prophecy, is not
doomed to extinction in a nuclear
fireball. God will intervene in hu–
man affairs. Jesus brought the
good news that God will stop bu–
manity from destroying all human
and animallife on earth by sending
J esus Christ to enforce peace
among nations (Rev. 19:11-21).
W
!rae a
parado
K:'
God
wiU
lrttr.-~
to force men to live the way that
brings peace and happiness!
What a world that will be!
Weapons will be destroyed or re–
worked into implements of peace.
"Now it shall come to pass in the
latter days that the mountain of
the Lord's house [the government
of God] shall be established on
the top of the mountains [the
great nations], and shall be ex–
alted above the hills [the small
nations]; and all nations shall flow
to it. Many people shall come and
say, 'Come, and Jet us go up to
the mountain of the Lord, to the
house of the God of J acob; He
will teach us His ways, and we
shall walk in His paths.' For out
of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. He shall judge be–
tween the nations [settling dis–
putes], and shall rebuke many
people [who want to impose their
~
will on others]; they shall beat
~
their swords into plowshares, and
i
their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword
against nat ion, neither shall they
O
States sdentiflCally
-
Strong risk nuclear
capable of producing
¡-
weapons
may
be
nuclear
weapons
produced by 19905
learn war anymore" (Isa. 2:2-4).
The world tomorrow-that
utopian paradise we announce in
the pages of
The Plain Truth –
will be ushered in before the end of
this generation. And you can have
a part in that world if you learn to
live that way now and learn to rule
over yourself!
o
3