By Alan Dean
Retired pastor
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
To our military, U.S. historians, and many elderly veterans, December 7 always brings to mind the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Over 2,000 people died and over 1,000 were injured; 1,177 crewmen alone went down with the sunken ship, Arizona. It was an early Sunday morning attack that was a complete surprise to almost all military leaders.
But why was it such a surprise attack? Weren’t there warning signs coming from Japan? The U.S. had put embargoes on oil and scrap iron going to Japan to combat the military build-up. However the U.S. failed in a number of areas just prior to the attack:
1) They failed to recognize the power and determination of their enemy.
2) They failed to grasp the battle plan of their enemy—to conquer Asia and the Pacific.
3) They failed to put in place a defense plan should Japan be brave enough to attack.
4) They failed to recognize that we had been angering Japan by the use of the embargoes.
5) They failed to take heed to the few military men who were warning that an attack was forthcoming and we needed to be prepared to defend the base.
It doesn’t take too much imagination to see the spiritual connection with we Americans today. Our country is in danger. We too have:
1) failed to recognize the power and determination of our enemy—Satan and his evil angels.
2) failed to realize the firm goal of our enemy—to conquer the whole world through lies, deception, and force.
3) failed to put up a defense against our enemy. Our shield is our faith (Eph 6:16) and this faith grows through understanding the Word of God (Rom 10:17).
4) failed to understand that when we try to stand for the right without Jesus, it encourages the enemy to attack and overcome us.
5) failed to hearken to the faithful few who warn us that we are on a slippery slope to destruction as a country. We must allow the principles of God to be put back into our lives before the enemy destroys our nation.
When we fail to understand and take heed to the lessons in history, we will likely fall as others have.