Shock And Awe

The Real Shock And Awe is Coming!

My Christian Space

Alone With God

Fiddler In The Pew

Measure Of A Man

Not Enough Time

What's It Worth?

Other Studies

World Bible Challenge

WEBSTER'S 21ST CENTURY DICTIONARY defines shock as violent emotional disturbance and awe as overwhelming respect, reverence, etc. Most of us had probably never heard the phrase "shock and awe" until the buildup to war in Iraq. Then, we were told that, "shock and awe" was to be the strategy for prosecuting the war. The concept comes from a paper titled SHOCK AND AWE: ACHIEVING RAPID DOMINANCE that was written by Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade.


The paper outlined a new military strategy that focused on destroying an enemy's will to fight instead of its physical destruction. The paper was based on a principle from Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu was a Chinese general about 500 B.C. and is famous for a collection of essays titled THE ART OF WAR. One of its main principles is that " the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting". The plan for the start of the first war in Iraq called for using 300-400 cruise missiles the first day. These were to cut off communications, command and control systems, and to target the leadership of the army and regime. This was to be followed by another 300-400 cruise missiles on the second day. It was hoped that this would cause the enemy to be in a state of "shock and awe" and that they would lay down their arms without a fight. The strategy was somewhat successful in that our troops rapidly assumed control of the country but the Iraqi army did put up a fight. There is a time coming when the world will feel the real "shock and awe". We find the account of this time in THE HOLY BIBLE. In Revelation 6, we read about the start of God's coming judgement on the earth. We see, in verse 16, that the people hide in caves and among the rocks. They call on the mountains to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne. This is only the beginning and, if you read on through chapter 20, we are told the rest. We have the opportunity, right now, to reach the rest of the world for Jesus Christ but, as we can see, this is not an endless opportunity. Today, we still have time but, as we see in Matthew 24:42-44, we do not know when Jesus is coming back. We need to tell the people about the coming "shock and awe" and how to avoid the coming wrath. Is there someone you know who doesn't know the love of Jesus Christ? Do you want them to cringe and beg for the mountains to fall on them when He comes? Wouldn't you rather have them stand in awe of God and praise Him for salvation through Jesus Christ? Do you want to take a chance that God will allow the evil of this world to continue for another day? It is time for us, as Christians, to get busy!

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