Generally when a true student of the Bible is asked if he feels that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is near, and why, he would immediately point to the fulfillment of the prophetic Word in its bearing on events of the last days He will confidently speak of the formation of the tiny but significant state of Israel, brought into existence once again in 1948 Israel’s presence in the land covenanted to their fathers was absolutely essential to the second advent This, he would assuredly affirm, is the greatest sign of our time indicating the proximity of the Lord s return
In all probability, he will also draw the questioner’s attention to the awesome rise of the nation of Russia as a power to be reckoned with Less than 1000 years ago, Russia was but a tiny nation occupying an area adjacent to Moscow There has been a gradual growth through the years which has been accelerated in the past few decades He will speak of the emergence of Russia from World War II as a powerful and influential world leader, spreading her philosophy throughout vast areas of Europe, Asia and Africa Through her underhanded methods of infiltration her ideologies have permeated her victims and virtually turned the balance of power in her favor He will then refer to the 38th chapter of Ezekiel and elaborate on the series of events described by the prophet, showing the necessity of Russia s ascendancy in the last two days to a great military power, followed by her invasion of the ancient land of Israel, now inhabited by a people brought back from the sword out of the nations He might also point out that the list of nations which are to accompany the Russian power in the time of the end (Ez 38 5) is now complete with the military coup in Iran (Persia)
These are indeed wonderful and persuasive arguments to support his position in relation to the return of Christ However, there are other signs about us, not quite as spectacular perhaps, but nevertheless full of meaning to God s people In His Olivet address, the Lord speaks of a state of things which shall transpire upon the earth so utterly hopeless that the nations will be at a total loss as to how to remedy them. Earthquakes in diverse places, famines, pestilences and terrifying sights, striking fear and despair to the hearts of the people would be characteristic of the time of the end. The most powerful, advanced and sophisticated nations of the world would be powerless to stop the increase of calamities befalling mankind. A state of utter perplexity would settle over the governments as they helplessly watch such a state of things develop as to make men’s hearts fail them for fear and for looking after those things which come upon the world. “No way out” is the significance of the word used by Jesus to describe the “perplexity” and bewilderment which shall be felt by the world leaders as they observe distress of nations and the insurmountable problems of just surviving. All the ingenuity and accumulated wisdom of the ages will not enable even the most sincere and well-meaning statesmen to resolve the state of things as they shall exist at the time of the end.
Those of us who live in the United States, Canada or in some other country in relative comfort may find it difficult to believe that this frightful state of affairs has already begun. When we are far away from tragedy and sorrow, and when we are not personally touched by calamities, we might find it difficult to really be convinced that such things spoken of by Jesus have already begun to take place. In the account that follows, we may rest assured that those immediately involved in these circumstances need no assurance that these terrible and horrifying days are indeed upon the inhabitants of this planet. What makes this situation so deplorable is that available help from other nations cannot reach these victims because of the avarice and cruelty of those responsible
The Walking Dead
I am writing, as some will no doubt surmise, about Cambodia. Not since the holocaust of World War II in which 6,000,000 Jews were murdered, has the world seen anything approaching the suffering and carnage now going on in this small Asiatic nation. In 1975, Cambodia enjoyed a population of approximately 8 million — today, there are less than 4 million. Half the population has died since then in almost unbelievable circumstances. Every day, hundreds of people stumble across the border of Thailand to be placed in refugee camps, hastily erected to receive these unfortunate victims of warmongers. These individuals are described by one reporter as “a parade of zombies.” Marsh Clark, reporter for Time Magazine, from Bangkok wrote; “For those who witnessed the macabre march into Thailand, it was an unforgettable reminder that a nation is in its death throes. All of the refugees were clad in black, appropriately, for they are the walking dead. There was no imagining what horrors they had witnessed and survived, or perhaps even committed, since some of them are cadres of the ruthless and decimated Khmer Rouge army. After a few days of rest, and replenishment in Thailand, they will probably have to return, lame and sick and malnourished, to their dreaded homeland: Cambodia.”
These that do manage to cross over into Thailand bear witness to the terrible atrocities practiced upon the people. Their emaciated bodies bear grim witness to the reality of their accounts. The babies and small children are the most pathetic victims of the war. The adults which enter into the refugee camps, with proper food and medication, will survive. But many of the babies have already suffered permanent brain damage and limb deformation as a result of malnutrition. Most brain growth is experienced in the uterus and before the age of two years. Any damage encountered during this period cannot be remedied even by the best of care and nutrition.
Cambodia, in an unsuccessful attempt to remain neutral in the Viet Nam war, unwittingly became a base for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers. As a consequence, it became the target for vicious bombing raids by the United States. Its popular Chief of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown by Lon Nol in 1970, who was subsequently deposed by Chinese backed Pol Pot in 1975. The Cambodian Communist forces, known as the Khmer Rouge enabled Premier Pol Pot to overthrow the existing government. For four years the Khmer Rouge has terrorized and murdered the citizens of Cambodia. Under Pol Pot’s regime, a genocide purification policy was set up to systematically murder between 2 and 3 million Cambodians. The purpose behind this inhuman treatment of its citizens was to reduce its population to a peasant society by destroying the educated class. Those who wore glasses were killed because it was suspected that they could read or write. A Time correspondent reported the butchery exercised against the Cambodian people by the Khmer Rouge: “A major goal of the Khmer Rouge was to destroy the intelligentsia. . . Of the 500 physicians in Cambodia in 1975, only 57 survived the Khmer Rouge purge. People suspected of lagging on the job were punished by death, rendered by a hatchet blow on the back of the neck, or as many refugees have reported, by evisceration. Groups of children who were found guilty of being the offspring of “undesirables” were reportedly chained together, then buried alive in bomb craters under dirt that was shoved on top of them by bulldozers. Between 1975 and 1978, from 2 million to 3 million Cambodians died at the hands of the Khmer Rogue.”
The Vietnamese invaded the country a year ago and set up a puppet government, headed by President Heng Samrim. The 180,000 man army has embarked on an intensified move to wipe out the remaining Khmer Rouge forces, loyal to Pol Pot.
Famine
The most tragic victims in this revolutionary state are the innocent civilians, who have been ravished by the savage conflict, and are virtually starving to death by the hundreds. The conditions existing there defy description. Senator Danforth of Missouri, after visiting Cambodia, stated, “hundreds of thousands of people are at death’s door. We saw people who could not walk a hundred yards.” Senator Sasser of Tennessee remarked, “The human suffering we faced was so deep and persuasive that I don’t have the words to adequately describe it.” Some journalists who saw the mass graves and torture camps were reminded of those in Dachau and Auschwitz.
Officials warn that the Khmers are perched on the brink of extinction and will surely plunge into the abyss very soon if something is not done immediately.
After the Pol Pot regime was deposed, food became a weapon on both sides. A Western-military analyst explained, “If you can’t grow food, you can’t eat, and if you can’t eat, you can’t fight.” As reported by Mr. Clark, “Rice crops have been destroyed and planting new fields has become dangerous. Pol Pot’s forces harass farmers in areas controlled by Viet Nam, while the Vietnamese do their best to prevent food supplies from getting to the Khmer Rouge.” The peasantry is now faced with starvation. It is estimated that 2 million people are on the verge of starvation. Desperate people are driven to desperate means to ensure their survival. Some have given themselves to eating the leaves off of trees, and peeling the bark off trees, boiling it and drinking the non-nutritive broth.
Efforts by sympathetic nations to get food and medicine to the starving have been gravely hampered by the Heng Samrin government. Although some food has been air lifted into certain distress areas, what are really needed are access roads so as to provide truck caravans. Only 12,000 tons of food and medicine can be brought in by air each month, whereas 30,000 tons per month can be trucked in. The effort has been condemned by the government as a “maneuver by the imperialists and international reactionaries” to assist the Khmer Rouge insurgents. Some docks which could receive food by ships have been destroyed. At Kompong Som Dock, workers were found to be so weak from malnutrition, they were incapable of unloading heavy shipments of food from deep-draught freights. Phnom-Penh officials have instructed the U.N. agencies not to send anything weighing more than 110 pounds because the people are too weak to carry anything heavier.”
Pestilence
The refugee Camps in Thailand, across the border from Cambodia have sanitary problems which promote serious diseases among the refugees. “Malaria is commonplace, as is a severe form of bleeding dysentery. Several French doctors who visited the country believe that an outbreak of bubonic plague may be imminent.” The refugees there are so weak or so ill they could not move from where they were to utilize the hastily built latrines. Dead bodies are common sights in some of the camps. The bodies of the victims of starvation or disease are collected in the rear of the camp, then transported by ox cart to a burial site.
Assuredly this is a fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy concerning famines and pestilences being prevalent in the last days. The ironic twist is that both food and medicine are readily available. It is only the greed and cruelty of both the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese that prevents the delivery of these desperately needed supplies. As the Tidings goes to press, no relief is in sight. The apostle Paul warned that men would be “lovers of their own selves, covetous,” and “without natural affection.” Man’s inhumanity to man is truly legendary. The only consolation we can derive from these distressing times is the knowledge that these things must come to pass before that great and terrible day of the Lord will come, in which the oppressors of mankind and the destroyers of the earth will themselves be destroyed. “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One