Berlin by Christmas

Berlin by Christmas

7/15/14

Many themes catch our attention and rightly so.  Certain themes and phrases are designed to boost our morale and ward off any doubts about a specific campaign.  It is common to read these themes during a wartime situation or when stress rules the day yet for the most part we ignore their content and carry on like nothing is the matter.  Even though peacetime events might be the current wish we must always remember that we are in a war and that our enemy will do his best to suck us into his environment so that our unpreparedness shines as we are thrown to his wolves.

World War II was the first major war that was publicly and methodically recorded for the entire world to witness.  While the news casters were not always present on the battlefield, specific and detailed on a real time basis, the events of that war were produced in mass and has been a useful tool in almost every major industry since that time.  One specific event that occurred during that war was called Operation Market Garden and it will be the focus of the historical portion of this article.  Not so much in the fighting aspect of this operation but the news reports, intelligence and how it was presented to the Allied forces that will be detailed.

As the specifics of this operation were being distributed throughout the Allied ranks a popular phrase was being used in order to promote its concepts.  Everyone who was participating in the European Theatre Campaign understood that the ultimate goal of their duties was to reach Berlin and to capture the Axis leader Adolf Hitler.  Every soldier understood the importance to this goal and was committed to do every possible deed in order to see that this goal was fulfilled.  It was a daunting task for the millions of soldiers fighting in this area of the world but it was one that no other options were available, so an ouster had to be formed.

The campaign for Normandy, France was a long and brutal one that claimed many lives on both sides of the lines.  It was a slow and methodical procession that did not come easy for anyone.  The Axis defenders were dug in well and even though some of their ranks were classified as subpar or below military readiness their steadfastness and tenacious fighting skills held the Allied advance to a crawl.  The intelligence of the German defenders was slow at times but for the most part accurate but as with any bit of intelligence comes with the unknown factor and this thought does not become fact until the true action begins. 

Europe had been a war for a little over five years by the time the Americans entered and the Europeans were ready to get back to their normal lives by driving out their occupiers.  Yet none of the countries were physically, mentally or militarily prepared for their occupiers and had to hold out for an outsider to help their condition.  This article is not directed towards the USA or its ability to fight but it will address the reasoning behind a strong presence in order to complete a serious mission.  The USA entered the war and almost immediately made a resounding difference, both in physical numbers and in the psychological aspects of the war.

When the invasion of the European continent began, it was the Americans who supplied the majority of the men and women, not because the other countries refused to fight but because they had been depleted entirely and needed help in gaining control of their lands once again.  The intelligence proved accurate and the fighting was fierce and slow.  One small piece of ground was taken at a time and for quite some time the outcome of the planned invasion was in doubt.  War always brings uncertainty but when things do not go according to plans or wishes, the tension becomes almost unbearable.

Operation Market Garden was a massive operation that planned to split the German army in half and to provide a direct passage over the river Rhine.  This passage would be the key in establishing a route to Berlin and the end of the gruesome war that had already claimed millions of lives.  The confidence of the Allied troops was increasing and the leadership of the Allies believed that one serious and major offensive could break the German defenses enough to lay a foundation towards Berlin.  The phrase Berlin by Christmas became one of the mottos for the operation and was designed to boost morale within the Allied troops in order for them to understand the importance of the plan. 

Certain parts of the operation were larger than the D Day operations and the amount of troops was just about equal in number and in quality.  The plan, on paper and theory, was a brilliant idea and if it would have succeeded it most certainly would have shortened the European warfront effort; but as in all theories and wants we will never know about those because Operation Market Garden failed miserably and in the end cost many soldiers’ lives.  I am not claiming to be an expert of World War II but from everything that I have read concerning this operation it was not a wise decision to conduct yet for some time it did support the morale booster that it promoted.

What went wrong with this operation and why did its execution fail so miserably?  Every bit of information received suggested that it would be easy and that since mainly old men and young kids were left to defend the Netherlands and Belgium and that a speedy advance would ensue as soon as the landings were completed.  After the Allies had to back up a bit and regroup, it was agreed upon that another way into Berlin had to be found and that it looked like the war was no going to end by Christmas.  How disappointing and disheartening this news must have been to everyone that had participated in this operation; and this disappointment and heartache was also displayed in the occupied citizens of these lands as well.

How does this setting tie into the Church and her and our present conditions?  The answer is a simple one and somehow we need to bring back into play some of the basic information concerning our enemy.  Some people may not believe the explanation that God wants us to understand and that is ok for it is still our choice to hear and know His warnings or to ignore them and then have to suffer the consequences of our own ignorance at some point down the road.  I do not apologize for using this type of language for it is God who is sharing this warning and not me, so please if you have any arguments, take a look at your own heart and then discuss the matter with Him. Even though a person does not agree with what I type that does not mean that what has been said is not true, God loves us and it is through His completeness that He gives us warnings before things transpire.

A little note before I continue onward.  It needs to be made aware that God’s Word shall not help any person be accepted into the world or its society.  Yes every one of us has to live here but that does not mean that we have to accept the ways of the world either.  The ways of the world are a stark contrast to the ways of God and cannot mix.  If we look at God’s Word as the everlasting truth and eternal means of life, then we must acknowledge that His ways are totally separate from the worlds and therefore if we accept the ways of the world we are violating our covenant with God.  It is our ultimate goal to reach the lost and to push back the darkness.  We cannot obtain this goal, Berlin if you want to put it in this light, if we continue to follow faulty intelligence.

For centuries now the Church has basically ignored the fact of the severity and the potential that our enemy has upon us.  We have greatly exceeded in extorting the fact that our enemy is limited in many ways and have taught this limited capability so heavily that we have lost sight into what his real goals are and how they are affecting our daily lives.  There is nothing wrong with us telling others that we serve a living and all powerful God and that His enemy is truly defeated and cannot win against God and His children.  However, when we allow this concept to settle within our lives and hearts and do nothing to activate this Kingdom principle, it then becomes a crutch to our spiritual lives and eventually become engrained so deeply that we tend to actually believe that our enemy is old and lacks the will to fight.

The Church cannot afford to become complacent when its eternal life is at stake.  Have we forgotten that this is the case?  The only answer that I can come up with is a “yes” because with the way that we are trying to integrate the world into our church walls and then do nothing about their sin answers this question.  Also, with the acceptance of the worldly standards within the pulpits of our congregations is another perfect example of worldly integration without spiritual conviction.  Notice God uses the word conviction here and not condemnation, there is a huge difference between those two words and it needs to be understood that it is not our place to condemn anyone but to teach the truth to those that are willing to listen and then allow God to do His job within their lives.

In the case of the Church there is no room for doubt or error when it comes to the spiritual smokescreen that our enemy is trying to pull over our spiritual eyes.  God is very clear on this subject even though all throughout scriptures humans have, for whatever reason ignored this truth and have ignored it completely.  We the Church cannot even dabble with the world and its ways for it represents nothing but death and our Creator represents nothing but life.

The only way that we can witness to the world is to understand our enemy well enough to know how he will attack us.  We also must never forget the importance of each one of our lives and with this importance never underestimate the capabilities that our enemy will use in order for us to fall away and doubt God’s ways.  The intelligence that we have comes through God’s Constitution for it is the only evidence we have that will allow our spiritual eyes to see and our spiritual ears to hear what our enemy is trying to accomplish.  We cannot afford to waste time on man’s intuition when it comes to these settings for our thoughts, plus we are fallible and will fail to meet the necessary standard needed in order to survive.  God knows our enemy and has laid out the perfect battle plan in order to defend ourselves and at the same time attack our enemy’s kingdom.

There are not many of us left that personally experienced the horrors of World War II.  We can read about all of the heinous activities that occurred during this period of time and only wonder about what it was like to be engaged in that era.  We can sit and debate every aspect of the intelligence markers that were provided and still draw no absolute conclusions as to who was correct.  The results of that great war are still being manufactured and manipulated today with major shifts in theories and thoughts promoted still.  We as a world community may never know the truth about these wartime situations but as of this moment we have the opportunity to study those plans and to draw our own conclusions after the fact.

It is not so when we come to our spiritual lives because there is no behind us theories that no longer pertain to our immediate existence. God’s Word provides us with a living and constant base that defines all aspects of the war that is around us.  His Word is not a bunch of meaningless stories that have no bearing upon our lives, even though the world wants us to believe this accusation.  God’s Word does not throw out history with the wind for God understands that what humans do in the world today we did like things in our past.  It is clear that we were fooled from our beginnings onward and nothing has changed up until the moment you read these words and beyond. 

God’s Word rings ever true and it is important that we rid ourselves of our interdenominational bickering and once again take up the plan that God has given us and to push forward His Kingdom.  Doing this will bring pain and it will bring suffering but it shall be a sign that we are fighting against the darkness that has been allowed to rule over our lives for millennia.  God has provided us the most excellent tool for our defense and offense it is our duty to take up His Word and to use it against the spirit of darkness, through His love and restoration.

It is true that our enemy is a defeated enemy and that his sentence has already been placed into an eternal effect, but we cannot forget or slack off when it comes to the capabilities that he still possesses.  Our enemy’s kingdom is still intact and it has complete rule over this land and if we do not recognize this principle we will succumb to his ways and then fall away from the grace of God.  It is obvious that many denominations along with the overall Church herself has forgotten this principle and has begun to accept some of the ways of the worldly intelligence that we have been shown.

It is our job to seek out this worldly intelligence and to understand it in Kingdom terms and not to conceive earthly ideas of acceptance instead of the dangers it poses.  This principle was portrayed when Israel sent the spies into the land and to bring back information about what they may face in the near future.  Many of the spies forgot about the separation that God had for His people and believed the ways and strength of the world while only a couple came back with Kingdom principles intact.  The Church is acting almost the spitting image of how the spies of Israel did and we are playing the exact same dangerous game as Israel did.

There is no longer ample opportunity for us to “wait upon the Lord” for it is time that we begin to wait upon the Lord and to serve His people as He has ordained us to.  We shall never arrive in Berlin if we continue to sit around and not do what we have been commissioned to do.  If we continue to wait around then Berlin will find us and the war that we are walking through blindly will capture us and destroy our lives without a single fight.  It is time we stop and look around and take notice of the current state that the Church is in and then turn around and begin to live for Christ once again.  Our lives are not about us and how we can better our circumstances, it is to seek out the lost and to show them that God loves them and to teach them that their lives represent the world and not from our Creator.  The Church is becoming helpless and our march to Berlin has slowed to almost a crawl and if we do not change quickly, the direction of the war will turn and Berlin will overrun us within a short period of time.

DLB