Nuclear Peril

On page 7 of The Finger of Prophecy mention is made of the symbolic clock which appears on the front cover of the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists", the magazine founded at the end of the Second World War by the men who helped to make the first atomic bomb. The hands of the clock, called the "Doomsday Clock", last month moved three minutes closer to midnight which symbolizes nuclear doom for mankind. The hands had stood at twelve minutes to midnight since June 1972, after the first steps taken to limit the nuclear arms race. The editors of the Bulletin have now changed the hands for reasons including the failure of Russia and the United States to reach agreement on significant strategic arms limitations, at continued development of new generations of nuclear weapons, its explosion of nuclear device last May and prospective introduction of nuclear reactors into the Middle East. Those scientists best informed on the perils of atomic stock-piling are sounding a fresh warning - only nine minutes to go .

There has been a noticeable change of emphasis among those who formerly argued for the nuclear "deterrent". As more and more States acquire and experiment with nuclear devices this argument becomes untenable. There is now growing anxiety over recent trends on two counts. Firstly, on the ground of atmospherical pollution; and secondly, lest these terrible weapons are unleashed in some local dispute and the world plunged into nuclear conflict. The Middle East, at present an armed camp seething with unresolved tensions, is an obvious danger area for such developments.

We refer to these matters here because of their bearing on prophetic fulfilment, and to promote continued concern for mankind's problems as we supplicate the Throne of Grace. As the end-time draws ever nearer the petition, "Thy kingdom come", arises with deeper longing from loyal Christian hearts the world over.

"Thy kingdom come, 0 God;

Thy rule, 0 Christ, begin!

Break with Thine iron rod

Thy tyrannies of sin."

unknown | Oct 1974
Comment By Torchlight