This edition looks at the rationale for God’s damnation of the cowardly.

SINCE YOU ASKED
Not long ago, I was struck by the inclusion of a certain word in a passage from Revelation. The word was “cowardly.” What struck me was that it was being equated with all sorts of really nasty stuff:
 
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars…their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
 
My confusion remained until I was faced with the following passages during my daily trek through Proverbs
 
Rescue those being led away to death, hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say we knew nothing of this, does not he who weighs the hearts perceive it? Does he who guards your heart know it? Will he not repay to each person according to what he has done (Proverbs 24:11, 12)?
 
It put the cowardly into a perspective I had not seen before. The evil caused by cowardice is a serious offense to the Lord. Consider the Holocaust. Was it not enabled by an epidemic of cowardice? The vast majority did nothing while millions were staggering toward slaughter. The tragedy is multiplied because it’s happening all over again. Despite worldwide cries of “Never again,” the cowards of the world are at it again. Israel is being led to the slaughter, but who cares? After all, isn’t Anti-Semitism rooted in cowardice? It’s always easier to make the Jews the target instead of facing the reality of the real evil. You could lose your life if you went after the real source of hatred and violence. From the safety of the masses, it’s easier to throw stones at the easiest target. Besides, it takes the focus off your own rotten behavior. My takeaway lesson from the Revelation passage is that the kind of cowardice that is willing to save one’s own skin at the expense of the slaughter of many is a grievous sin.
 
AS I SEE IT
Geert Wilders is a Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom. I wrote about him last week. He is the antithesis of cowardice. He is a lone voice against the lies and deception of Islam on the international scene. Do some research on him. I don’t know if he is a Christian, but this kind of character is what God is looking for in leaders today. Look at the decline in heroism in just the past 20 years. In the early 90s even the “intellectuals” were standing with Salman Rushdie, the author of the novel, The Satanic Verses, which greatly offended Muslims. A fatwa was issued, encouraging faithful Muslims to kill him. Intellectuals of all stripes spoke out in his defense. Since then, however, we’ve witnessed a steady decline in vocal resistance to Islamic atrocities. The world has become filled with cowards.
 
Most people, I suppose, have justified their silence as a means of saving their life, but at what cost? They have surrendered without a fight. They have handed victory to the enemy on a silver platter. I can understand this kind of response from non-Christians. Convinced that they are nothing more than cosmic accidents, they have absolutely no reason for hope. For Christians, it’s a different story. Like Joshua, we are told to be strong and courageous for the battle is not ours but the Lord’s, and if God is for us, who can be against us? God is looking for warriors who will step to the front lines of the battle and be counted. He is looking for people who will defend the name of the God we serve as well as the nation through which He chose to reveal Himself to the world.  
 
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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Dear President Obama,
I am writing today with a somewhat unusual request. First and foremost, I will be asking that you return America to its August 20th, 1959 borders so that Hawaii is no longer a state and you are no longer a citizen.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu