Current Events & Trends: Will Britain defend the Falklands yet again?
What goes around comes around. Scottish independence returns to the front burner of politics in Britain. And so do Argentine intentions to possess the Falkland Islands (they call them Las Malvinas).
Recall that Britain under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher successfully defended the Falklands from an attempted Argentine invasion and attempted takeover in 1982.
The Sunday Times titled its full-page article: "Can We Still Defend the Falklands?" (Jan. 22, 2012). Certainly defending these islands remains current Prime Minister David Cameron's stated intention, saying that Britain will support the island's population, still very loyal to the United Kingdom. Recently he has restated his support more than once. What this dilemma has done is to focus attention on Britain's ability to protect its distant territories.
Some 3,500 years ago God promised the descendants of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph that they would possess the "gates" of their enemies (Genesis 22:17; 24:60)—the critical chokepoints controlling commercial and military routes. Certainly the Falkland Islands are but one of those gates, many of which have already been lost because of national and individual disobedience to God's spiritual laws. Hong Kong has already passed on to China, and Spain still covets Gibraltar. Even Jamaica has decided to remove Britain's monarch from being its head of state.
Should Argentina invade the Falklands, the task to protect them may be even more difficult than in 1982. At that time Thatcher had two aircraft carriers that Cameron doesn't have. Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have already decided to ban any Falklands-flagged vessels from their respective ports—in effect threatening to intimidate and isolate the island population. Still, the British have a history of great courage in battle even when the odds are heavily stacked against them.
Argentina is very aware that Prince William is slated to be posted to the Falklands this year. He has already been warned that he will be flying into a potential war zone, but he remains more than willing. He's a helicopter pilot as was his uncle Prince Andrew, who participated in the 1982 conflict.
Valuable natural resources around the Falklands add to the tensions. It is likely that the surrounding seas are "home to some the world's last great undiscovered oil reserves" ("Drilling for Oil off Falklands Digs Up Dark Memories," Financial Times, Dec. 23, 2011). Argentina already has its own economic problems, making the Falkland Islands an even greater prize.
For help in understanding the underlying biblical significance of these events in the South Atlantic, read our free Bible study aid booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Times, The Sunday Times, Daily Express, Financial Times [all London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: March - April 2012
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
