The Lust for Power

“…All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Matthew 26:52

When you think about this passage, you can’t help but look back throughout history and see nations with ambitious leaders reaching pinnacles of power through conquest of other nations, then ultimately fading into the pages of history. Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome quickly come to mind, and in modern times, there was France under Napoleon, Germany, first under Kaiser William, then Hitler, Austria-Hungary under the Hapsburg Dynasty, Italy under Mussolini and the Japanese under its military rulers. Even the British Empire, built up more through colonization than conquest, has all but disintegrated through the efforts of evil men wanting to establish the ultimate empire, a worldwide one.

Today, we have Russia, which Bible students know was turned back, as prophesied by Ezekiel in Chapter 38:4, when she lost her satellite countries, but is still awaiting the hooks in her jaw to bring her forward again into battle. A leopard never changes its spots, nor has Russia lost her desire for conquest. China is rapidly becoming a military and economic giant, with a seemingly great thirst for conquest. India too is becoming a giant among countries and Mid-East nations are longing for revenge. What is common amongst all these powers is a total contempt for the Western Israel nations and for the Modern Israeli State, seen as a partner of the west.

Then we have Britain and America and what can we make of them? It is clear to everyone now that over the past couple of decades, particularly in Iraq, they have become aggressor nations, with a huge price tag being paid by their soldiers and their taxpayers. This time the prize is oil and markets and her ambitious rulers are coveting those markets with an eye for more power and prosperity for the ruling class of corporate giants and the select group of politicians.

So sad, because True Israel’s God given role was to be the defender against evil aggression, always the defender of righteousness. You see, despite our many faults and backsliding for the past two thousand years, it has been the Christian Anglo-Saxon world that has stood against evil nations and while often alone and overwhelmingly outnumbered, we have fought for the freedom of man’s spirit wherever it was challenged. Not so now. Going against God, as we have, will bring about His warning that we shall be scourged with rods for our backsliding, meaning that we shall pay a price for what we are now doing.

The Anglo-Saxon world has been dominant for so long that we fail to see the combined might of other nations creeping up on us. It has been so conditioned that we cannot see the forest for the trees, that is, the rot that is taking place internally. We can deny it and pretend the prosperity we enjoy, as a result of our nations living far beyond our means, is a sign of our unassailable strength. We can continue to think we are doing the right thing by declaring the equality of all gods or boost political correctness in the face of all evidence to the contrary. We can continue to shut our eyes to the wisdom of the Bible or continue to water down that wisdom in an attempt to prove we are compassionate people. But, the old expression, “the jig is up” should be plainly on the lips of every Israelite and every Israelite should be on their knees praying for forgiveness.

Of course, despite those who believe there is a huge revival coming, Israelites won’t go to their knees until catastrophe strikes, that is, the scourging with rods for our backsliding and dangerous ways. It always amazed me that our Christian leaders have shut their eyes to what is going on in the world and how it is affecting our nations. Yet, as Lamentations 2: 9 tells us, “her prophets obtain no vision from the Lord” or Psalm 74: 9 says, We do not see our symbols; there is no longer any prophet…”

In past articles, I’ve mentioned Ezekiel 7 but let’s review just three of the significant passages of this chapter.

• Verse 23 “….for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.”
• Verse 12 “The time is come, the day draweth near”
• Verse 8 “Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.”

So, even though God said, ‘Ye are My people. Ye shall not perish from the face of the earth,’ we are in for a thumping and later in Ezekiel 38, God identifies the nations He will use as His instrument. We have to ask, “Is He making them ready now?” “Has He given them a collective power far beyond anything True Israel has encountered in its history?” “Could Russia, with its return to centralization, China, thirsting for power and the Islam world, looking for revenge, even come together in a co-operative effort, given their differing motivating factors?” “Would they be daft enough to come against the most formidable military power ever known?” “Or has God a little surprise ahead for Britain and America that could lead to an unplanned weakening of our military strength?”

Somehow God has it all planned. All we have been provided with are signs. We could be misjudging the signs of today just as Israelites before us thought the signs were right in their day. Yet, the world today seems closer to Biblical prophesy than ever before and because our stewards have failed to stay aligned with God’s Word, they just can’t see the danger that is strewn along the road ahead.

There has to be a trigger to begin the whole sordid mess and some suggest that Iran may be it. In the past two months, they have re-instated their nuclear program, called for the annihilation of the modern Israeli State, called for a conference on the holocaust and promised to designate future oil sales with the Euro, this latter intention having potentially serious effects on the U.S. economy. The thinking must surely be that if they are allowed to continue, other nations will follow. So, what will happen? Will Iran be pinpointed for attack by either America or the Modern Israeli State and if it happens, will Russia, China and other Mid-East countries remain on the sidelines? Will it be the prelude to the final conflict? The only thing we can say for certain is that the 6 days or 6,000 years from the fall of Adam has now expired and we should be looking for the promised ending.

Further tribulations are bound to come. Yet, the punishment can be minimized if we open our hearts to our Saviour Jesus Christ. If we pay attention to the words of the apostles and the prophets, and equip ourselves with the strength of divine promise.