Chalice of Wrath

When the Ottoman Empire began to crumble at the turn of the 20th Century, the Allies divided the North Mesopotamian lands between four countries, namely Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia and Syria. Sometime after 1926, Mesopotamia was renamed Iraq.

Because the Ashurai people had remained Christian since the Apostolic Age, they became identified with the Allies -- they became Allies, in fact, at the request of the British, the French and the Russians -- and came under the persecution of the Islamic nations during the First World War. They subsequently lost their autonomy under the Allies and when the Allies abandoned the Middle East, the Ashurai people were driven out of their lands in Turkey and Iran, where they'd lived since time immemorial.

The Ashurai people were forgotten by the world. The League of Nations did nothing for them and the United Nations ignored them completely. However, God did not forget the Ashurai people. After all, they had retained their ancient language that was the language Jesus spoke and they continued to worship God in that same language and they maintained the Scriptures in their original form. The Ashurai language is in the family of the first languages in which all the holy books of the three monotheistic religions were written, namely the Bible, the New Testament and the Koran.

Millions of people died during World War One and millions more died during World War Two. There have been many plagues and epidemics in history as well. There have been floods and earthquakes and all kinds of disasters. I believe all these are God's punishment against the world for forgetting that He is the Creator of the Universe and that everything is in His hands. The Ashurai people are a small nation on the brink of extinction, but they're God's children nevertheless.

People without faith, or atheists, may laugh at such things, but nothing happens without reason.

Comedians are great at times of peace; they can make fun of everything profane and sacred. They make us laugh and forget reality. Philosophers are wonderful when our stomach is full and there's nothing to stop us from admiring their intellect. Politicians seek power, only to lead us to where their best interests lie. If it's good for them, then it must be good for us. But ultimately we must address our own loneliness in a world that does not care about our needs and rewards only those who have something to offer for the common good.

In a world as diverse as ours, there is not much the deprived can offer toward the common good. Every nation wants something different, and when they want the same thing, they can't agree or come to terms. Which brings us back to God. That's where we can agree, even if we only think of God as a higher power.

But God can't be only love, like the liberals want us to believe, because there are too many evil and selfish people and God must exact some punishment if justice is to be served. When people that honor his Word are persecuted, He pours the Chalice of His Wrath upon the world. Then if the world repents, He proffers His peace. God is great, holy and just.

God has expressed His love to the world on many occasions, but the world doesn't always accept His love. And as for those people who don't believe in God, or don't believe that God even exists, what can one say to them? They are pessimistic people during times of trouble, skeptical, and always looking for a scapegoat. They can't understand why we must liberate others in order to live in freedom ourselves.

The pessimists in the US Congress are attacking the only President who did the right thing in the Middle East. They keep asking for an exit strategy. There's no exit strategy from the reality of this world. You can't escape from God. You can't abandon the people who are persecuted because of their faith. Freedom and toleration are the only answer. When God has given you power to exercise that freedom and proffer it to the world, it's your responsibility to do so. We can't shirk our responsibility as a people either. President George W. Bush is leading us to freedom, we should at least hold our judgment.

We are indeed at the crossroads of history. The next war is World War Three. The Terrorists have no exit strategy. We can't sympathize with them. The suicide bombers have waived their right of return. We can't admire them. And we can't live as hostages in our own land. We're facing our own demise if we don't act now to avoid the Chalice of Wrath; live in freedom or die.

-- Jan. 21, 2005