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8/12/2019 1991 Issue 3 - The Persian Gulf War: Was This a Biblically Just War? - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/7
by
Joe
Morecraft
'I\vo revealed truths compel ns to evaluate the Persian Gulf
War
from
theperspective of
he
Bible.
and
then
to
publish that
evaluation:
1. When Jesus gave the Church "the keys of the kingdom ."
Mal 16:19). Hegave her the
authority
and the responsibility
to apply
the Word ofGod to the
whole
range of
decisions
and
issues individuals
and
nations have to
face
in this
world
. ' 'To
the law and
to
the testimony they do not speak acconling
to this word, it is because they have no dawn, Isaiah 8:20.
2. The
Bible, as the infallible
and
writtenrevelationfrom
God.
is authoritative in
everything about
which it speaks.
and
it
speaks
about
everything .
Therefore
I
esteem right all
Thy
precepts
concerning
everything .." Psa. 119:128.
American ClnistiansMUST learn
to
think
and
act biblically.
as overagainsthumanistically. emotionally. orpragmatically.
about
everything.
especially
as
we
enter the 1990s. the last
decade
of he bloody 'I\ventieth
Century.
"The
decade
of he
1990's
is
shaping
up as one
of
the
most
dangerous in all
of
worldhistory-{)necharacterizedby
evil, duplicity.
deception,
and betrayal. -McAlvany Intelligence Adviser.
p.. THE THEOLOGY
OF W R
In
an
article written
for the National Republic Magazine
in
1942 and 1943. (and
later published in
the COLLECTED
WRlI INGS OF JOHN MURRAY), Professor
John
Murray
points
out five biblical principles for understanding war.
Evaluationsofspecificwarsmustbemadeinthelightofthese
five
truths:
1.
Wars are
a
consequence
of
sin.
"From whence comes
wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence. evenof
your lusts that war in your members? - James 4:
1.
What
are
the
sins
of our
ag
e that lead
to
war?
The
rampant anti
christianity which dominates East
and
West.
God
said in
Proverbs 8-''Those
who hate
me love death'" 1be rampant
statist
mentality around
the
world
that breeds totalitarianism.
In the past twenty years
two
books have been written
to
prove
that the 'I\ventieth Century is an age
of
tyranny and
totalitarianism.
and
hence of bloodthirstiness: Clarence
Carson sTHEWORLDINTHEGRIPOFANIDEAandPaul
Johnson's MODERN TIMES.
.,.
2. Wars
are God's judgment
on
sin. Isaiah
10.
among many
other
chapters
inthe Bible. makes clear that God oftenjudges
the
apostate
or reprobate with terrible wars. 'I\venty-five
million
aborted
babies in
the
United States scream for justice.
we had no
other national sins. we deserve God's severe
judgment for that
one
fact alone.
3. Wars are
calls to
repentance. "When Thy judgments
are
in
the earth. theinbabitantsoftheworld williearnrighteonsness."
Isaiah 26:
9. When we
see wars which involve our troops.
we
should
fall down on our
faces
before
God.
and repent of any
sins inourlives that
have
brought down God's holy judgment
upon
us.
4.Wars promotetheruaturing.purifying and peJfectingofthe
Body of
Christ
the
Church.
"And we know that God causes
all
things
to WOlX together for good to those who love God. to
those who
are
called according
to His purpose."
Rom. 8:28.
As
Murray wrote
: "Through all the unheavals. sufferings.
trlbulations.persecutioIlSandevenexecutionsofGodspeople,
there
runs
an invincible purpose that cannot fail of execution,
The Counsel of Cbalcedoo April 1991 Page 9
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the completion of the
whole
body of
Christ, in
line
with
the
wordof he apostle, /wouldye should wlderstand,
brethren,
that
the things which happened ..havefallen out rather unto
thejurtherahceofthegospel,'
(Pbil.1 :12)." It isno
tinsignificant
ro
notethatrepOIts frouilhe US
military
chaplainson
the front
in Saudi
Arabia
reveal that a spiritual
revival
appears
to
be
beginning among the
troops Stationed
there, with
dozens
of
baptisms taking place every Sunday.
5. Wars
vindicate God's
sovereignty.
Ps
alm 2 reveals tha
t
when the nations rage against
God,
and,when the kings of the
earth oonstlire
to
overturn God's
moral order,
"He
who sits in
the heavens laughs." In Psalm
46: 10
God says: "Be still
and
know thatI am Gad, I
will
beexalted
among
the nations,I will
be exalted
in
the earth."
Although these
are days of
upheav3 and turmoil,Mnrray
reminds us that "present
history is not lnOVing
toward
c)Jaos. It is movmg in
the
'
grand drama of God's plan
and purpose
to
the
accomplisbJilent
of his holy
designs and to the vindication
of his glory. - We must be
reminded in such a situation
that in this universe tfIere is
only one totalitarian
government, and that men
must assume in it
the
place of
humble submission and
obedience. TheLordreignetli;
let the people tremble;
he
sitteth between
the cherubim;
let the earth be moved. '(Fsa.
99:1,2)"
B. THE JUSTICE OF WAlR
When
s
a warmoral andjust? TheBible s
answer fo
r
us
t
oday
is this: just wars are
wars
fought in defense of the families,
properties and Christiari moral order of a
nation. Dougl
as
Jones writes in an article inANTITHESlS.
(Nov./Dec,
1990),
appropriately entitled, "Is
Kuwait th
e Fifty- Fir
st
Sta te?":
''Defensive warfare
isnow
theonly legitimate fonn of
warfare
Scripture allows, since
offensive warfare
ala
the
Old
Covenant
necessitated ditectrevelation,
which is
obviously no longer
an
option." Why is this
so? Jones answers:
"
THE EXERC
I
SE
OF POLmCAL AUTHORITY IS LIMITED TO THE
JllRISDICTIONOFTHAT
AUTHORlTY.
- A political
authority who intervenes in
non-political
or
po
liti
cal spheres
The
CounselofChalcedon .ApriI1991 Page
10
of another
nation stands in
violation of
the
most
elementary
Biblical standards."
J
ohn
Murray
defines
ajust
war as the last resort
ofanation
to
guard the
patbs of
justice.
to
proUlate the interests
of
God
given liberty, and
...
to
conserve
the blessing oftrue peace." ,
David Jo
nes made
the
fonowing
point in a sennon preached
in
P
hiladelphiaonJuly20,
1775: "Whenapeopleareoppressed,
insulted
and
abused
,
and
can have no
other
redress,
it
then
becomes
our
duty
as men, withonreyes toGad, to fightforonr
liberties and
properties; orinotherwords,thatadefensive war
is sinless before God and is consistent with theplll
8/12/2019 1991 Issue 3 - The Persian Gulf War: Was This a Biblically Just War? - Counsel of Chalcedon
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order to be a terror to
evildoers,
has been
given
by
God
the
power of
the
sword,
i.e., the
legal nse of deadly force, (Rom.
13:1ff). The sword is to be used by the state to protect law
abiding
citizens fiumlawlesspeople,
whetberthey
be
domestic
criminals orforeignerinvaders.
The
sword is aninstrumentof
punishment
and
an instrument
of
war. n he
New
Testament
this sword is
not
to be used to
force
pagans to become
Ouistians, or o rid
the world
of
pagaos
beyond the
borders
of
the state,
rather
it
is to
be used
in
defense
of
a nation's
law
abiding
families.
C. THE BmLIC L STRATEGY
OF A JUSf WAR
Jim
Jordanhas
written
ahelpful article
entitled,
1be
Israelite
Militia in
the
Old Testament," in
THE
MIliTI IN
20TH
CENTURY AMERICA, in
which
he
explains the biblical
strategy of
warfare,
which is
far
more
sensible,
effective and
humane than modem fonus of warfare. First,
the
goal of
biblical warfare was to
kill
tbe
head of state of
the
enemy.
Today, whoever slaughters the most people and desttoys the
most property
wins.
Second, before war was waged an
offer
ofpeacehadtobeofferedtotheenemy.lfherefused, warwas
to
be
waged against
him
until
total
victory
was
secured against
him, so that he
would never be
a
threat to
that
peaceful nation
again. Third, in
warfare the fruit
trees were not
to be
devastated,
Dt
20:19-20. War was
not
to be waged
against
everything
and
everyone residing
in
theenemy nation, such
as
innocent
civilians. Fourth, there was universal
participation.
Just as
every citizen
was
required
to cast a
stone
in a
public
execution
of a
capital
criminal,
so
each tribe was required
to
send its quota
of
troops. Fifth, localism played
a part in
warfare. Tbose nearest the
battle were
expected to send more
men and to
support the
war more beavily than
those further
away.
D. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
OF THE
PERSIAN GULF WAR
1. Iraq in the Bible
The geographical area now
called Iraq
played an
important
role in
the history of the
covenant in
the Old Testament.
The
Garden
of
Eden
may
have
beeninlraq. Nimrod,
the
first
great
tyrant may
have based his
operations in Iraq .
The
Tower of
Babelmay
have
been built in Iraq. Abraham may
have
been
originally fium Iraq,
where
the
Ur of
the
Chaldees probably
was located,
near
the
Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers,
both of
which are
in Iraq.
The great, ancient empires
of
Assyria
and
Babylonia
were
in Iraq.
2. Iraq and Islam
Iraq,
as
most other middle
eastern
countries,
such as Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, Syria,
and
Iran,
is a
Moslem (Islamic) country.
Its national religion, ethical system and
entire social order
are
based on
the
KORAN. slam is a
false
religion,
vigorously
anti-Ouistian, whichteachesitsfollowersthatMoslemsareto
conquer the world and
rid
the
world
of Ouistians
and
Jews,
(among
others),
by means of he sword, i.e.,bloodywars. The
history
ofIslam, as
the history
ofIraq,
is
the history of yranny
and
bloodthirstiness, viz.
the
recent Iran-Iraq
War.
3. Iraq and Israel
Arabs and Jews
have been at
each other's throats for
millenia.
t all started
with
Sarah's
pragmatism and
lack of
faith
in
divine
promise.
Jehovab
promisedAbrabam thathe and Sarah
would
have
a
child
in their old age. Sarahfound difficulty in
believing
that
she
would
conceive
at
such
an
old
age, so she
gave Hagar,
her
handmaid,
to her
husband, Abrabam,
to have
a
child
by
her. That
child
was
Ishmael. Because of her sin,
HagarandIshmaelwere banished
from
the family ofAbrabam
and
God
gave
Abrabam and Sarah the child
He
promised
in
Isaac. Ishmael,
the
fatber
of the Arab peoples,
and Isaac,
the
father of
he
Jewishpeople,have beenfightingeachotherever
since. IsaaclaterproducedJacobandEsau,who w ere fighting
in and as they came out
of
their mother's womb. Their
generations continue the
hostilities.
4.
Iraq and the USSR
norder to understand the
actions
of
he
USSR,
one thingmust
be kept
in
mind, according
to the
McAlvany
Intelligence
Adviser: 'The
Soviets
are masters
at
precipitating
and
then
playing both sides of a conflict
so
that no matter what the
outcome, they are on the wiruJing
side. With that
in mind,
although the USSR
publicly claims
to support
the
USA in
the Persian GulfWar, (although
she
will
not send anyldnd of
assistance), the
USSR remains anallyofJraq as a result of he
1972
Soviet-Iraqi Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, which
has never
been renoWlced. Before
Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait,
there
were
over
10
,
OOOSoviet"advisors"inIraq
,
and
Western
intelligence sources report
that
there
remain
8000
Soviet
advisors inlraq, alongwith30004000 Sovietmilitary
advisors.
The USSR
has sent $25 billion in
arms
to Iraq.
And
in the
August 10 edition
of PRAVDA, Gomachev
said, there is
nothing anti-Iraq inSoviet
policy
on
the (persian
Gulf)
crisis.
Moreover,
i
he
Kuwaiti oil-fields
go up
in smoke,
the
USSR
will benefit
greatly, since
she has
1/4
of the world's oil
production
The
Counsel of
Chalcedon
April 1991 Page 11
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4/7
S. Iraq
and
the USA
There appears to be
much
duplicity in America's
dealings
with Iraq. On June 7;
1981,
Israeli warplanes destroyed the
French-builtOsiraknuclearreactornear Baghdad, Iraq. What
.happened next?
FiISt,Saudi Arabia
quickly
agteed
to pay all
costs of rebuilding the reactor.
Second,
the USA joined
with
Iraq in drafting a
UN Security
Council resolution strongly
condemningthe attack
and
recognizing Iraq's rightto nuclear
energy.
Now America has
attacked
Iraq to
destroy
her
potential nuclear capabilities.
In
he recent Iraq-Iran
War
, the USA supported Iraq.
When
IraqbombedtheUSSStarkinMay1987,killing37USsailors,
NEW
AMERICAN, Januaty29, 1991,
page 28 .) This sOunds
like an official US
invitation
for Iraq to invade Kuwait with
impunity. Nowthe
US has invadedlraq
becauSe
Iraq
invaded
Kuwait.
. E. T.HE REASONS
GIVEN
FOR AMERICA'S
INVOLVEMENT
IN
THE
PERSIAN
GULF WAR
IN
THE LIGHT OF THESE BffiLICAL
PRINCIPLES
As we evaluate the reasons the American
govemment
has
given for the involvement of 5OQ,QOO.700,000 American
troops inthe attack on Iraq, remember,as Cluistians,
we must
Hussein said it was an
accident
(?). PtesidentReagan( )
accepted
his excuse and blamed Iran
as the
real villain. Now we are at war
with Iraq, because HuSsein
invaded
Kuwait,
inwhichinvasion
no
Americans werek:illed,noU.S .
territory threatened, and no
Americans taken .hostage or
otherwlsedetained, untilPresident
Bush moved tens of housands of
US
troops into Saudi Arabia
seek:
to
interpret
all
issues
in
the
1 l
. ligl:i: of the Bible,
Isa
. 8:20. The
r r l 1 f ~ / e a
doe.f
I(ot1 air-oat Bible is clear, and
keep this
in
. mind: a just
war
is one fought in
, .
/.
.
/0 /0 . defenseOfthefainilies,propertles
II(
,f'lUlFe/fl
00
I1fOI(,f'lIer-,f'
110
and
(fuistian
moral order
of a
nation,Neh.4:
14
. AIlotherwars
r/e.ftr-O/.
u
~ th-e Ielt are unjust and sinful.
. I /. I L ..
I
/ 1. The restoration of Kuwait's
I 1 ~ f I e r 00 t/fle
0,-eed.011f
al(a . legitimate government.
In
1987 the US 'Commerce
Department, over the
objections
.
of the Pentagon, allowed certain
US
companies
to
scll
bacteria
and
anadvanced computer
for
missile
tests to an Iraqi institution
Are we biblically, (and
constitutionally), obligated to
. send our
own
men to
die
to
c . > ~ I ~
th-e eh-o./ff IO/f al(r/
accomplish
this?
Must
tens of
. thousands of our young
men and
lNirr/leator- ), ""o.J.Je,.. 01
JI
w o m e n i n u n i f o ~ d i e , s h o u l d a
'I(. '0 .1(.
ground war begm)
,
to restore an
. specializing in nuclear
and
genn
warfare.
NowtheUShasinvaded
Iraqtodestroyherchemicalandbiologicalwarfarecapabilities .
The most dupliCitous thing ofall of
Am
erica's relations with
Iraqis a conversationUS Ambassador AprilGlaSpie hadwith
Saddam Hussein on July
25,
1990.
On
July 23,
1990 US
officials reported that Iraq
had
amassed ov
er30,OOOtroops
on
its border
with
Kuwait OJ)
July
25, 1990, Hussein met
with
US
Ambassador
Glaspie.
In
her response
to
Hussein's
charges that the US was waging an economicwar against Iraq
by means
of
Kuwait in keeping the price of oil low through
overproduction, Glaspie
said:
I know you need
funds.
We
understand that our our opinion is that you
should
have the
opportunity
to
rebuild your country, BUT
WE
HAVE
NO
OPINION ON THE ARAB-ARAB. CONFLICTS,LIKE
YOUR BORDERDISAGREEMENT WITH KUWAIT ...,
(Secretary of State) James Baker has directed our
official
spokesman
to
emphasize this instruction.
(Reported
inTHE
The Counsel
of
Cbalcedon Aprll1991 Page 12
, Joln Quincy
Adams
. oppressive, despiSed, greedy
bereditaiymonarchy to Kuwait?
The American War of Independence of
1776
was fought
to
break free
from
such a
monarch. Before
the invasion of
Kuwait by Hussein, the
legitimate
govemment shut down
its
alreildy
limited parlianient and prohibited criticism of its
conuption
and
its abuse of
power.
This
reason Is inconsistent
with the biblical principle of defensive wars.
2. The destruction ofaggressive and evil dictators.
Parallels
re
constantly drawn by the mediaand by politicians
between Hussein
and
Hitler,
and many
of
them
are accurate
paral1cls;
but what about the parallels between Hitler, (and
StalinandMao),
and
Gorbachev,
whohasinvaded therepublics
ofLatvia,Estonia,andLithuania,toputdowntheirdesiresfor
freedom? WbatabouttheparallclshetWeenHitlerandthe&ed
Qrlnese at Tianarunen Square, or Hitler
and
Castro, Hitler
and the
Ethiopian
govemment which
continues
to
starve
its
8/12/2019 1991 Issue 3 - The Persian Gulf War: Was This a Biblically Just War? - Counsel of Chalcedon
5/7
anti-communistic
opposition to death by
the thousands,
or
HitlerandOrtegainNicaragua,andthecommunistgovenunent
in
Angola, Mozambique, etc.
ad
nauseam?
This reason is the pathetic standard ploy ofany
administration
who
wantstodrum up
supportforpolitical
wars. Furthennore,
who made
the
USA the policeman of he world? This reason
is inconsistent
with
the
biblical
principle of defensive
wars.
3. The protection and
rescue
of hostages.
Protecting
and
rescuing hostages, and
punishing nations
who
take Americans as hostages are
legitimate
goals ofwar, ur
the Bush Administration created the hostage problem. Bnsh
rushed troops into Saudi Arabia immediately following the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, giving
no
warning or time for
US
citizens to
leave
Iraq or Kuwait Besides, all American
hostages
are backhome, andourlroops
aresti1ltlxm:
American
troops were
not sent
there because ofhostages.
4.
The economic importance of the oil
fields
of the Middle East to the United States.
This is the most disgusting reason of all
those
given
for our
involvement
in
the present war. Bush is ordering soldiers to
prepare
to
sacrifice their lives, (possibly
by
the tens of
thousands),
so that we
can maintain
low prices
Jacob
Hornberger has
written,
''To choose
the
death of our fellow
citizens over a relatively small
economic
discomfort
is an
abomination."
The
cry,
"No blood foroil " has a
biblical ring
to it
5.
The unconditional and complete withdrawal
of all Iraqi troops trom Kuwait.
Is
there
any
biblical, (or constitutional), basis for US
involvementinthisArab-Arabconflict? Americadidnotsend
troops
to
get
the USSR out of Afghanistan, or
anna
out of
Tibet, or
Cuba
out
of
Angola, or
Soviet missiles out of Cuba.
Why send troops
now
to get
Iraq
out of Kuwait? Hussein's
brutality and aggression against Kuwait are
to
be condemned
by Christians, but,
as Wayne Rogers
has written, ''The
(non
christian)
Arabs
are
a
godless, un-Christian.
biblical-God
hating
people.
For Arabs to attack
Arabs
is for
one
ungodly
people
to
attack
another.
There is asense in
which we must
say thatbecause of theirnon-christiancultoral base, they reap
whatthey sow. Ifwe wantlohelp them,
we
shouldevangelize
them. However,
it is illegal to
do
so in most i not all
Arab
nations. Should we die for them? o you want your sons,
husbands, brothers to die to perpetuate a godless pagan
culture?" See Proverbs 26:17.
This
reason
for our involvement makes the Persian Gulf War
an
offensive,
not a
defensive, war.
The
USA committed the
first strike against Iraq, not the other way around. Offensive,
(holy) wars which have as theirpurposethe destruction ofevil
arenotpennissiblewithout
direct
verbal revelation from God.
Has
Bush
received
such communication?
Furthennore,
alliances withanti-christiannations areprohibited inthe Word
of God, Dt 7:2;
Judg
. 2:2; Exod. 23:32; IlCor. 6:14.
6. The stability of the Persian Gulf area.
What stability?
There
has not been stability and peace in
the
Middle Eastformillenia. Islam
is
a
religion
thatbreeds wars,
viz. the Iran-Jraq War,
and
tyrants, viz
Khomeini, Hussein,
Assad, Arafat,
Gadafi,
etc.
At
the same
time the US
is
trying
to
tear
down Hussein ofIraq, itis buildingup the
military and
political power
of
another
terrorist
and
tyrant,
Assad
ofSyria.
Then
there
is theirreconcilable conflictbetweenlsraeland
the
rest ofthe Middle East. There will be
no
rest from war in that
region
until
the Arab and
Jewish
heart
are converted
to
Jesus
Christ, who alone can give men
the
desire and ability to beat
their swords into plowshares and their
spears
into pruning
hooks. Andthatdaywillcome
Thedeserts
of he MiddleEast
will someday blossom
as
arosebefore the healing lightof"the
Sun
of Righteousness, with healing in his wings."
The
day
will come
when Arab
and
Jew
will
bow in
submission
together,
along
with the
rest of
the
Gentile world, before
the
blessed
rule
of
the
kingdom of Jesus Quist. President Bush,
in
typically
hmnanistic fashion is trying
to
establish peace in
the Middle
East by law and military,
but
without Jesus
Christ
and his gospel.
7.The enforcing of the international law
ofthe United Nations and the New World Order.
Where in the Bible, or the US Constitution, is the president
given the authority to
send
our troops to
shed
theirblood for
"anew world order," the vision of which Bush
says he
shares
with the
Soviet
dictator,
Gorbachev, in compliance with the
international law of
he
UN? Who gave the UN the authority
to
govern
us?
Whatis
the source ofitslaw? Whatisthis ''new
world order"? (More on this in next Sunday's sennon.) How
can
the
leader of the supposedly "Christian" West share a
vision
of a
new
world order
with the
leader of the Marxist,
atheistic Soviet Union?
President
Bush has made himself clear. He is seIVing the
purposes of he United Nations. Our troops are in the Middle
East
to carry out the mandates of the United Nations, (the
majority of whom,
by
the way, are anti-American in
1beir
votes)
. Ifyou think
this
is an exaggeration, hearBush's own
words on
August
8, 1990:
The Counsel
o
Cbakedon Apr il1991 Page 13
8/12/2019 1991 Issue 3 - The Persian Gulf War: Was This a Biblically Just War? - Counsel of Chalcedon
6/7
Weare working
around
the
clock to deterIraqi
aggression
and to
enforce
UN sanctions.
On November 26, 1990, in NEWSWEEK, President Bush
wrote:
We
will
continue
the
effective implementation of the
UN sanctions. -
We
w llhave invigorated a
United Nations
that conttibutes
as its founders dreamed. We
w ll
have
established principles for acceptable international conduct
and
the means to enforce them. In short, we w ll
have
taken
a major step toward a community
of
nations bound
by
a
common commitment
to peace and
restraint
In otherwords, the US President is wolking forthe day wben
the United Nations
w ll
legislate and enforce a mle of
law,
based not upon the
Word
of
God, but upon
the
consensus
of
the nations, which are predominantly anti-christian and
socialistic. And notice, he is
willing
to continue to
use
American troops as the
means
to
enforce thatanti-christian
mle of law,
as
he is doing in the Persian Gulf War.
His
professedcommitmentcompromisesAmerica'sindependence
and
sovereignty, and
strengthens
world socialism.
Wayne
Rogers,
has
written in a
unpublished
paper
entitled,
TheFrightening
Implications
of the War
with Iraq :
It
s
frightening to
me to acknowledge
the 'right' ofintemational
law. The UN is more and
more
realizing
its dream
of a one
worldgovemment
...
- Weshouldnotnorcaonotjustifywar
on the basisofUN
law.
PresidentBushhas
fallen
into the
trap
and
position
of
establishing man's
law
in the
place
of God's
law, and has acted in the
place
of
God
to
execute vengeance
upon a wicked nationendangeringthe lives of
his
own people
whom he is sworn to protect
ThetowerofBabelis being rebuilt
Watch
for
God to
actagain
to confuse the nations.
CONCLUSION
What then should America do?
1.
President Bush
and
the
Congress should
repent of heir
s n
of waging an unjust
war. Repentance
is
an
about face, a
complete
tum
around ofpolicy
andbehavior, turning
from s n
to obedience to the Word of he Lord. In his
case,
repentance
means to confess our sins to the world and to bring oliT
American troops back home. f a
ground
war
begins,
it w ll
undoubtedly lead
to
the
death
of
ens
of
housands
of our
men
and women
in
uniform in a matter of
days.
This is
bloodthirstiness.
The Counsel
of
Cbalcedon April 1991 Page 14
2. Americans must repent of those sins which are bringing
od
ssevere
udgment upon
us,notoulyin the blood
and
grief
connected with
war,butinourowneconomyas well.
Twenty
five
million legally aborted
American babies silently scream
for
justice.
3.
Christians must evangelize
withbeart.
The only hope
for
America,
and forthe restofthe world is
the
LordJesus Christ.
Complaining is
not
enough.
Voting
is
notenough.
Lobbying
is not enough. Education is not enough. Unless
we
wOlk
perseveringlyandenthusiasticallytomaketheworld'snations
Christ's disciples
as
we are conunanded in the Great
Commission ofMatthew28,beginningwith the
evangelizing
of
hose
closest at hand,
Acts
1 8,
we
aremakingno
significant
contribution to the
rescue
and renewal ofAmerica
Christians
must
evangelize
with
heart.
The onlyhope
for
America,
and
for
the
rest
of
the
world is
the LordJesus
Christ
Unless
we work
perseveringly
nd
enthusiastically to
make
the
world's
nations
Christ's
disciples
as
we
are
commanded in
the Great
ommission ofMatthew 28,
beginning with the
evangelizing
of
those
closest
at hand,
Acts 1:8 we are
making no signific nt
contribution
to
the
rescue
and renewal ofAmerica.
4. Christians must be on
their
guard against
this massive
wave ofblind
patriotism
that
has
swept
America.
Over 85%
ofAmericans are
with
the
President The issues
before us
are
so emotional that few
peoplew ll
reason
carefully
about them
from the
perspective
of the
Word
of God.
8/12/2019 1991 Issue 3 - The Persian Gulf War: Was This a Biblically Just War? - Counsel of Chalcedon
7/7
DonotmisWlderstandme. IloveAmerica Patriotismisgood.
Nationalism
was instituted
byGod.
Family-bonds
andnational
bonds
are
God-ordained
relations. My
heart yeams for
America. I
would
gladly fightin
the defense
of herpeople and
families.
Pacificism is a heresy. BUT, when the flames of
patriotism
are fanned
by
emotional
appeal, and an Wlbiblical
kindofnationalismthatsays, AmericarightorWrong, rather
than
being
guided nd
infonned by
the
Word and Spirit of
God, itbecomes adangerous
thing.
Overnight, it can
be
turned
upon the Church, upon Cluistians
who
are
not afraid to stand
up to an Wlgodly civil
government
and criticize it in the light
oftheWordofGod. ThatiswhathappenedinGermanyinthe
rise
of Naziism before
the
onslaughts
of
World War IT n
building the Third Reich, Hitler fanned the flames of German
nationalism and ethnic pride to such
white
heat, that
Germans
committed some of he most atrocious acts conceived byman.
Millions
of Gennan
Christians
and
Jews
were killed
by this
blind patriotism and love for Hitler's Vater and.
5.
Cluistians must
pray
for our
troops in
the Middle East
They
are
brave men nd women, wbo
are
willing to lay down
their lives for what they think
is
right Many of them are
Christians. Many of them have been converted since they
have arrived in Saudi Arabia. Pray
that
God Himself would
be their Shield. Pray that more would be converted
to
Cluist
Pray that God would
comfort
and convert their
families.
Our
only protection in this
evil world
is
not
Desert Shield, but
Jehovah, our Shield, Gen. IS: Iff.
6.Americans
should
keep their eyes on the Soviet Union
throughout this
debacle.
Frank Gaffoey, a former senior
Defense Department official reports in
The
McALvan:y
/ntelligenceAdvisor, (October
1990): The Soviets areplaying
aCynicaldoublegame,oneinwhichtheyseektoconcurrently
improve relations with the US and its allies particularly
improved
access
to
Western capital
nd
technology-while
retaining great latitude
to
expand their own agenda at the
West's
expense.
The
so-called
emerging World Order
is
principally a vehicle for the Soviet Union to constrain the US.
TheBushAdministration'sdetenninationtopursuepartnership
with Moscow (inside and outside the UN), seemingly at
virtually any price, plays into Soviet hands.
Moscow's
double
game is
likely
over the short-run to
embolden
Iraq, while constraining
the
US, a formula for
enormously increasing
the
stature ofSad dam Husseinand the
SovietUnion inAraheyes while dangerously diminishing
US
standing throughout the region. Over the longer run,
Washington's willingness
to
play
along,
in
the misguided
expectations
that
doing
so
will
advance
theNew
World Order,
willactuallyincreasethe
prospects
[or instability andconflict
7.
Cluistians must continue to believe strongly in the total
sovereignty of the Holy Trinity, Who
is
governing all the
events
ofhistory for
the
benefit of
His
people, the advance of
His
kingdom, nd
the
glory of His Name. Pray earnestly that
God'sName willbehallowed, God'skingdom willcome,
and
God'swillwillbedoneonearthasitisinheaven.remembering
that God
would
never command us to pray for something
whichHehasno intention to bringto pass through ourprayers.
Continue
to
praise
God
because He said truthfully:
/am God, and there is no
one
like Me, declaring the endfrom
the
beginning,
andfrom ancient
times
things which have not
been done, saying, 'My
purpose
will be
established, and/will
accomplish aI/My goodpleasure ;Calling a birdofprey rom
the east, the man o My purpollefrom f r country. Truly /
have
spoken;
truly / will bring it to pass. / have planned it,
surely [will do it. (lsaiah46:8-11) Q
The
COWlSel
of Chalcedon
April 1991
Page
5
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