But if not.....
Posted by mandrake at 11:33 PM on September 21, 2009.
I was listening to Dr. John Patrick on Veritas and he mentioned this little anecdote. i didnt understand the context of the telegraph as well, and thus fell into the great majority that Dr. Patrick mentions in his talk who are now biblically illiterate.of course, S contends the term "illiterate"....but well. here it is:
But If Not
“The
decisive struggle is now upon us. Let no one be mistaken. It is no mere
territorial conquest that our enemies are seeking. It is the overthrow,
complete and final, of this Empire and of everything for which it
stands: and after that, the conquest of the World. It is a life and
death struggle for us all. And if their will prevails, they will bring
to its accomplishment all the hatred and cruelty which they have
already displayed. But confidence alone is not enough. It must be armed
with courage and resolution, with endurance and self-sacrifice. Keep
your hearts proud and your resolve unshaken. Let us go forward to that
task as one man, a smile on our lips, and our heads held high.”
- King George VI in a May 1940 broadcast during the dark days of Dunkirk
In early 1940 the British and their allies sent a force of some 350,000 men into the low countries of Europe to stem the tide of German advance into France, Belgium and Holland. Caught in a brilliant pincer movement by the invading German forces the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force was pushed back to the beaches of the small Belgian town of Dunkirk. To everyone’s surprise the Germans halted their advance to regroup. As England and the world waited for what appeared to be the sure and certain annihilation of 350,000 men a three word message was transmitted from the besieged army at Dunkirk. It read simply, "But if not." The British people understood the biblical import of the cryptic message. It was a reference to the Old Testament book of Daniel, where Daniel and his friends chose death rather than worship an image of the pagan king, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Daniel 3:17-18). The British Expeditionary Army, surrounded, cutoff and on the brink of destruction was declaring to Britain and to the world that even in apparent defeat they were, in fact, victorious. The message, more eloquent than a sermon delivered in St. Paul’s Cathedral, galvanized the British people. In a matter of hours thousands of boats of every description headed across the dangerous waters of the English Channel and, at the risk of their own lives from enemy fire, began the evacuation of the heroic but beleaguered army in what historians now refer to as "the miracle of Dunkirk."
Daniel 3:13-18 (King James Version)
“13Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the
king.
14Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship
the golden image which I have set up?
15Now if ye be ready that at
what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and
worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye
shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace;
and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Hit me baby