Today's Scripture Reading (July 28, 2024): Revelation 18
As the Second World War dragged on,
American Bombers began to bomb strategic cites in Japan systemically. Tokyo was
attacked on March 9-10, 1945. The bombing of the city, codenamed Operation
Meetinghouse, was the single most destructive bombing raid in human history.
Forty-one square kilometers (sixteen square miles) of the downtown area of the
city was destroyed by the raid that left approximately 100,000 people dead and
1,000,000 people homeless.
The bombing of Tokyo and other
cities meant that Japan's urban areas made plans for the possible bombing of
their city. In Hiroshima, school kids as young as eleven years old were
utilized to clean away any debris, and the students were also used to demolish
houses to make firebreaks in the city. Maybe it is important to note that, at this
point, Hiroshima had escaped any Allied bombing attacks. However, if they were
attacked, Hiroshima had a plan to protect the people.
The feared attack would come on
Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 in the morning, as the average person was
either getting ready or on their way to work. The August 6 attack was beyond
anything the world had experienced or imagined. That was when the nuclear
weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city. The bomb killed 150,000
people and destroyed or severely damaged 80% of the buildings in the city, not
just in the downtown core. If the attack on August 6, 1945, had been a
conventional bombing raid, maybe the preparations that had been made in the
city would have made a difference. But to "Little Boy," it was all
just a lot of wasted work.
"Little Boy" contained a
fraction of the power that is possessed by the bombs that we have now. Just as
the people of Hiroshima couldn't conceive of the power of the bomb that was
heading their way, I don't think that we can imagine the power of the bombs
that we have today.
John sees the destruction of Babylon.
It is the seat of wickedness in the world. The real Babylon was well past its
prime in John's days and was abandoned entirely within the next 1000 years, but
the ancient city can still grab the attention of Jewish and Christian believers.
The name Babylon has become a placeholder for places of evil. Some readily
submit Rome, or even the Vatican, as the place of destruction described here.
Others suggest other sites, including even the North American Cities of
Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, as the sites of Revelation's Babylon.
However, according to John, the
destruction of the New Babylon will be beyond what we can imagine, and the
world who has shared in her evil will mourn at her loss.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Revelation
19
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