By Jeffrey K. Radt
As a Christian, I don’t believe in mere coincidences. After last week’s piece I guess I shouldn’t be surprised whenever this sort of thing happens. Still, it’s funny how one can find inspiration in the most unlikely sources.
The year was 1965. In mid-July of that year, a young man by the name of Barry McGuire released a song that became an instant hit as it reached #1 on the Billboard charts by late September.
The song was titled Eve of Destruction and it was a grave warning about imminent apocalypse and considered by some to be the epitome of a protest song. It expressed the frustrations and fears of young people in the age of the Cold War, Vietnam, the nuclear arms race, and the civil rights movement.
Here we are 42 years later and the world eerily resembles the one he sang about. Was he singing to his contemporaries or was he singing to a future generation? When is a song just a song and when is it perhaps something more?
I watch the world news headlines daily and filter all of it through my Christian worldview. My understanding of Biblical prophecy is what forces me to conclude that the clock that has been ticking for the last 2,000 years may be about to run out.
SONG OF HOPE OR SONG OF FEAR?
"The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’
But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction."
The world has watched in horror over the past two weeks as the repression of pro-democracy activists in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar (also known as Burma) continues without the military regime relaxing its grip even for a short reprieve. Just yesterday, President Bush applied additional financial sanctions on the nation.
Rumors of a nuclear armed conflict engulfing the entire Middle East continued this past week. We’re all aware of the recent developments involving the regional powers Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria and Israel. However, both the U.S. and Russia entered the ring in recent days.
President Bush made international headlines when he commented, “I’ve told people that if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”
Russia’s Putin was sure to respond accordingly. The hawkish Russian leader swiped at Washington's tough stand on Iran's nuclear power program, saying Moscow's insistence on negotiations was better than "threats, sanctions or even force."
“The eastern world, it is exploding.” Conflict in Southeast Asia? Check.
“And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’.” Middle East conflicts continue to escalate to the point of no return? Check.
The signs are everywhere so why do we continue to ignore the evidence that surrounds us?
"Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction."
It seems everywhere we turn for news these days we’re constantly reminded that nuclear destruction is imminent. It doesn’t matter if it’s at the hands of a terrorist sleeper cell or an evil regime bent on total destruction like Iran.
What does matter is that it’s here, it’s real, and it’s serious. Not since the height of the Cold War has the threat of a full-scale nuclear war been a part of our daily lives.
“Can you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today? / If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away.” Prospect of nuclear war and total annihilation? Check.
The signs are everywhere so why do we continue to ignore the evidence that surrounds us?
"Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
I’m willing to bet that we’ve all commented more than a few times this past year how we can’t believe how awful this world’s become. There’s just no way to spin the truth to make it easier to digest.
No amount of spin will make it easier to accept the fact that 46 million abortions are performed worldwide each year. No amount of spin will make it easier to accept that children as young as 11-years-old in middle schools are receiving contraception while elementary school children in foreign countries are encouraged to engage in sexual play.
Political reform? What’s that? Our own government can't seem to pass reforms of any kind even when they hold a majority in the law making bodies. If a proposal is not self-serving it serves no purpose.
“My blood’s so mad it feels like coagulatin’.” We can’t stop the bleeding, so to speak, and repair this great nation from its downward spiral. Check.
The signs are everywhere so why do we continue to ignore the evidence that surrounds us?
"Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction."
The song also makes reference to Selma, Alabama where “Bloody Sunday” took place. The Selma to Montgomery marches, which included Bloody Sunday, were three marches that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They were the culmination of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama. "Bloody Sunday" occurred on March 7, 1965, when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. Only the third, and last, march successfully made it into Montgomery, Alabama.
In these verses, the song offers a commentary on the cliché that the more things change, the more they stay the same as referenced by the lyric “you may leave here for 4 days in space / but when you return, it’s the same old place.”
Despite all of man’s amazing achievements we still fail when it comes to accomplishing the simplest task - - loving one another.
Ironic that here we are 42 years later and while it may not be Selma, Alabama it’s now Jena, Louisiana that has our attention for the same reasons.
We are a culture of hypocrites. Explain to me how a so-called Christian nation can tolerate blasphemy, immorality, and homosexuality to the point where we become one of this world instead of remaining who we are in this world.
“Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace.” Are we a nation of hypocrites? Check.
The signs are everywhere so why do we continue to ignore the evidence that surrounds us?
TAKE COMFORT
For whatever reason, there seems to be a quickening pace to the number of news reports that portend some kind of unprecedented social unrest. In addition, each report seems to grow in potential severity.
Like it or not, we are on the eve of destruction. Armageddon is just moments away.
For instance, in the last week alone, a pattern has emerged. Pieces of a simple puzzle have been handed to us, which by themselves, carry no great weight, but together paint a picture that might have us step back and reassess our immediate priorities.
All things point to a conflict of epic proportions that will threaten the very existence of this amazing country we call home.
If your world was flipped upside down tomorrow would you be ready and confident knowing what your destiny is as it all plays out?
These events, when they come to pass in the timing and manner that God intends, are really just a sign of the times we live in and a precursor of much better things to come.
The purpose of this piece is not to scare you unless the fear of uncertainty scares you into a decision for Christ that you have been putting off for some time.
Instead, the purpose is to bring glory to God since everything He said would one day happen is beginning to happen.
"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Luke 21:28)
If we can see and believe His prophecies as they play out before our very eyes how much more comforting is it to find and believe His promises and blessings to us throughout the Bible? Amen! Talk about strengthening your faith!
As the curtain closes upon the stage of human history as we know it, it’s important for us to remember that we can find comfort where others find fear.
Despite our growing fears as we watch this world quickly spiral into complete chaos, God still remains on His Throne and He is in full control.
Have you asked Him to take control of your life yet? Your future depends on it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The song Eve of Destruction was briefly featured on Stephen King's 1994 miniseries The Stand. It also appeared in The Simpsons episode GABF16, "The Girl Who Slept Too Little," and was also featured in Michael Winterbottom's 1997 film Welcome to Sarajevo.
A Joey Scarbury cover was played repeatedly in the original airing of the Greatest American Hero episode "Operation Spoil Sport" to encourage the hero to prevent an automated nuclear strike being triggered by a renegade U.S. general (the aliens who provided the hero's super-powers commandeered his car radio and tuned it to stations playing the song). It also features in an episode of The Sopranos from season 4 (Episode 45).
It’s interesting to note that Barry McGuire is now known primarily as a singer of Contemporary Christian songs. He continues to sing Eve of Destruction in recent years, often updating the lyrics to reference such events as the Columbine High School massacre.
McGuire was never again to break into the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100.
Interesting, to say the least. Interesting, but expected.

Original Source