Axis. 1: a straight line about which a body or a geometric figure rotates or may be supposed to rotate 2: : of or relating to the three powers Germany, Italy, and Japan engaged against the Allied nations in World War II.1 In 1936, Italian leader Benito Mussolini declared that all other European countries would thereafter rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term “Axis” Italian leader Benito Mussolini declared that all other European countries would thereafter rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term “Axis.”2 This pre-WW2 alliance would grow to include 10 states that would oppose the Allied forces.
On this day in 2002, this term would be used again.
September 11, 2001, will forever be etched in our memories as we watched a terrorist attack unfold on American soil. As the Twin Towers collapsed, smoke arose from the Pentagon, and an empty field in Pennsylvania smoldered, our nation was shaken. The official death toll is 2,977 while others died years later from health issues caused by the attacks.
January 30, 2002. President George W. Bush gave the first State of the Union address since the attacks. The president declared a “War on Terror,” plunging the United States into the longest war in American history. In the speech, he said, “States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.”3 The states he referred to were Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Afghanistan.
Another phrase that appeared in this speech was weapons of mass destruction. Axis of evil was said once. War on terror was said three times. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was said four times. Yet each phrase made it in the history books as if they were the only words spoken.
By now, we know that some of the intel concerning WMDs was erroneous. President Bush went from hero to zero very quickly and he was vilified for starting this war. My defense of his actions has absolutely nothing to do with politics. It has to do with Scripture. Jeremiah 13:23 asks, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” The nations who were the axis of evil are “accustomed to do evil.” They’ve proven it. And I cannot help but believe that WMDs were there, just cleverly hidden to avoid detection.
Again, this devotional is not political so if you don’t agree with my take on those nations, that’s fine and it’s your business. I use it simply as an illustration because an axis of evil has been around for a very long time and this axis is getting acknowledged less and less.
Ezekiel 28:12-15 says, “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. (13) Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. (14) Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” This passage references Lucifer, Satan, the Devil – our adversary.
Isaiah 14:12-14 says of Lucifer, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
To borrow Mussolini’s statement, “all evil would thereafter rotate on the Satan axis.” The first recorded attack happens in the Garden as Eve is deceived and Adam sins with knowledge, thus introducing sin and its devastation upon all humanity. Because there is so much beauty of nature around us, technological and architectural progress, and so much culture, we are lured into believing that we are NOT living in a war zone. This deception lulls even the Christian into complacency and we forget the warning of 1 Peter 5:8. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
Why must we be sober and vigilant? 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 says, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” He hides his Satanic WMDs in plain sight, making them look good.
Until the day when Jesus will put down all the evil forces of the world along with the axis of that evil, may we practice 1 Peter 3:10-11. “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (11) Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.”
1https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/axis
2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powers
3https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/text/20020129-11.html
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