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Like it or not. the laser has an
awesome and stunning potential for
destructive purposes. Many people
have seen the science-fiction films
with Buck Rogers-type warfare,
where whole buildings are blasted
away by sorne kind of super ray
gun. Or maybe we have seen a
death ray obliterating men, jeeps, or
anything else in its way. Sometimes
the battles have occurred under–
water - or maybe in outer space. It
all seemed so "way out'' then. But
the laser promises to transform
science fiction into terrifying reality!
fn addition to stupendous power,
the laser has two characteristics that
make ita formidable weapon:
•
Line of sight.
Light from lasers
travels in straight lines. There is no
need to calculare trajectories. "Once
you ' ve got him in your sight," said
one engineer, "you've got him." The
Buck Rogers " ray gun" is no longer
science fiction.
•
"Zero" travel time.
The " instan–
taneous," 186.000 mi./ sec. speed of
light makes escape or avoidance
maneuvers impossible. There
is
no
way to even "see" it coming.
fndeed the laser is already being
incorporated into sophisticated and
devastating weapons of destruction
such as:
•
Smart bombs.
Lasers are al–
ready used to unerringly direct
bombs to their targets. In Vietnam,
"smart" laser-guided bombs meant
"one bomb - one kili."
•
Laser bombs.
Nuclear weapons
triggered by lasers are also being
developed. Such a - "laser bomb"
would have the power of an H–
bomb, but would be much simpler,
smaller, and wou ld not need a
"dirty" atomic bomb to set it off.
•
Death rays.
Lasers are being
developed for "electro-optical war–
fare." The fantastic power of lasers
- sorne pulses are over 100 billion
watts - enables them to penetrate
and obliterare almost anything.
The military is extremely inter–
ested in the possibility of knocking
down missi le warheads by melt ing
their nose eones into a useless mass.
The Air Force has tested lasers that
knife through cockpit canopies "like
butter."
At the Army's Redstone Arsenal,
tanks have already been equipped
with high-energy laser guns. And
The
PLAIN TRUTH January 1977
hundreds of millions of dollars are
being spent by tbe U.S. military on
developing even more powerfu l la–
sers.
•
Space warfare.
Lasers work best
in thin air or in a vacuum. In the
future, satellites and space stations
may be armed with laser weapons to
shoot down hosti le missiles or satel–
lites. The Russians are already re–
ported to be testing "killer satellites"
which may be armed with sophis–
ticated high-energy lasers capable of
blinding or destroying U.S. recon–
naissance and military satellites.
The B-l supersonic bomber, re–
cently given a partía! go-ahead by
Congress, may be equipped with a
powerfullaser gun in its tail. There's
also the neutron "death ray" bomb
that could destroy an enemy troop
concentration without con–
taminating friendly forces.
A neutron bomb, when developed
for combat, would revolutionize nu–
clear warfare. l t could kili men with
streams of dead ly radiat ion, while
leaving machines and buildings un–
damaged.
Weapons of Revelation?
Will lasers, neutron bombs, and
other modero weaponry play a part
in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy?
The Bible tells of a yet future time
of global tribulation and war. No–
tice the symbolic language of Reve–
lation:
"And the fifth angel sounded, and
... he opened the bottomless pit;
and there arose a smoke out of the
pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
and the sun and the air were dark–
ened by reason of the smoke of the
pit (the military-indust rial com–
plex?].
"And there carne out of the
smoke locusts [warplanes, helicop–
ters?] upon the earth: and unto
them was given power, as the scor–
pions of the earth have power [to
sting and burn like the laser?].
"And it was commanded them
that they should not hurt the grass
of the earth, neither any green
thing, neither any tree; but only
those men which have not the seal
of God in their foreheads. And ro
them it was given that they should
not kili them, but that they should
be tormented five months: and their
torment was as the torment of a
scorpion, when he striketh a man
(sudden pain and destruction?].
"And in those days shall men
seek death. and shall not find it; and
shall desire to die, and death shall
ftee from them. And the shapes of
the locusts were like unto horses
prepared unto battle ... and their
faces were as the faces of
men ... and the sound of their
wings was as the sound of chariots
of many horses running to batt le
(the noise of jet aircraft and rock–
ets?]. And they had tails like unto
scorpions, and there were srings in
their tails (a laser equipped B-1
bomber?]" (Rev. 9: 1-10).
No one really knows whether the
laser will play a part in prophesied
future events, but the apocalyptic
poten tia! of the laser is inescapable.
We live in a time when the collec–
tive and cumulative etfect of aU
man's inventions is having its full
impact. And unless mankind has a
miracle happen, the lesson of his–
tory is that the weapons man pro–
duces will eventually be used.
The laser ... for good. or for
evil? o
Youcan
.
understand
prophecy
Events now shaping up will
affect every living person on
earth. Discover what proph–
ecy says about modern na–
tions . Read tomorrow ' s
headlines today! Request
your free copy of
The United
States and the British Com–
monwealth in Prophecy.
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The Plain Truth .
(See addresses inside front
cover.)
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TtS
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