Be Prepared for Sudden Changes

by Rolaant McKenzie

Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series (December 2003 - March 2009) developed by Ronald D. Moore which is a remake of the original 1978 television series of the same name created by Glen A. Larson.

The first episodes are set in a distant star system where an advanced civilization of humans living in a federated union of twelve planets has signed an armistice agreement with a race of sentient machines, originally created by humans, called Cylons (Cybernetic Lifeform Node), concluding a brutal twelve-year war on a stalemate. Shortly afterward, the Cylons departed to a remote, unknown region of space, supposedly to seek a home of their own, and ceased all communications with humans.

However, in this distant area of space, the Cylons' hatred of humans caused them to improve their capabilities, especially in weapon systems. They developed a plan to exterminate humanity and scheduled its implementation.

Forty years later, the Cylon leaders signaled their fleet of warships to begin the attack. They immediately activated their faster-than-light engines and vanished, materializing in orbit over the twelve planets.

The defending warships confronting the Cylons were rendered defenseless by backdoor hacks previously planted by covert Cylon operatives who had infiltrated the Command Navigation Program used to network human space-faring vessels. They and their support craft were quickly destroyed.

As the Cylon ships moved into position to commence nuclear bombardment of the planets, a montage of scenes of daily life was shown. Children playing at a park; people driving on an expressway; a Pyramid ball team practicing moves at their training camp for the next big game; shoppers walking down a city sidewalk; and friends having a drink at a local pub. There was no alarm or warning. None of them knew what was taking place in orbit over their worlds or the sudden destruction they would experience in moments.

Those who survived the nuclear fire faced a destroyed landscape, where roving patrols of Cylon fighter craft and ground troops killed any injured or fleeing humans they saw on the roads, hiding in their homes, or in other buildings still standing.

This story is reminiscent of past surprise attacks, such as the one against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, or against the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.

Hamas (acronym in Arabic for "Islamic Resistance Movement"), an Islamic political and military organization formed in 1987, has been the governing authority in the Gaza Strip since 2007 after gaining a majority in its parliament. The purpose of its existence is the destruction of the state of Israel. Working with major sponsors, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, a plan called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was developed to kill as many Jews as possible in a well-coordinated, overwhelming surprise attack.

When the activation signal was given on Saturday, October 7, 2023, border surveillance along the Israel-Gaza Strip border did not function as designed to warn Israel's military, intelligence agencies, and residents of the impending attack. More than 5,000 missiles were fired by Hamas into southern and central Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Simultaneously, infiltrators helped to open the way for heavily armed Hamas militants to flood into Israel by sea on boats, by air from motorized paragliders, by land on motorcycles and ATVs, and in other militarized vehicles.

Some border Israeli military outposts were overwhelmed, and town residents and visitors were caught by surprise. Jews concluding the seven-day-long festival of Sukkot; young people dancing at an outdoor concert; people driving on the roads to see family, shop, or sightsee; and others enjoying a sunny day with friends had no warning of danger until Hamas militants suddenly descended upon them.

They killed people they encountered on the roads in their cars; invaded neighborhoods, going house-to-house to murder their inhabitants or hold them hostage; massacred people at outdoor parties and other gatherings; and took many captives. None of those who perished had any idea when they got out of bed that it would be their last day on earth.

The 1984 movie Red Dawn portrays the invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union and allied Latin American states. One of the methods used to aid the invasion's progress was infiltrators, who came in waves of generally unimpeded illegal immigration for many years. When the activation signal was given to attack, these strategically placed infiltrators managed to sabotage communications and infrastructure, causing chaos and hindering the defense of the country.

The borders of the United States, especially the southern border, have been largely insecure for many years. Decades of illegal immigration have been incentivized and enabled by the U.S. government, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and other globalist organizations. One of the consequences of this has been that many thousands of young, military-aged men from Latin America, China, and many other countries have entered the country illegally.

An invasion force may be coming into the United States, and like Hamas and the infiltrators in Red Dawn, one day without warning, many of the military-aged men who have entered and been scattered throughout the country may receive their own activation signal to attack and cause chaos, making us vulnerable to sudden destruction from hostile nations.

Though we live in perilous times, there is still a tendency toward normalcy bias, the attitude that things will always go on as before. Situations such as the Hamas attack against Israel serve as a reminder that entrance into eternity can come quickly and without warning.

Jesus warned us not to be so preoccupied with the pleasures, worries, and other activities of life that His return catches us like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:36-44; Luke 17:26-30). This can also help us to keep in mind the brevity and uncertainty of life -- that at any instant we could stand before God (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Would it not make sense to be prepared at any moment to meet God in peace?

The way to be prepared for these kinds of sudden changes is to be at peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:1-6). Neither life nor death can separate from God's love those who trust in Jesus.

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)