In 1990, the country of Iraq, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait. His army brutally occupied Kuwait for months as many other countries prepared to come to their assistance.
The well-trained, well-equipped coalition forces quickly overwhelmed the Iraqis in battle. The Iraqi army was called on to surrender. They declined and instead decided to retreat. With hundreds of military vehicles, such as tanks, trucks, jeeps and cars, stolen from the Kuwaitis, the Iraqi troops attempted to escape out of the country on Highway 80. Highway 80 ran through a barren desert that provided no place to hide or take shelter.
On February 20, 1991, the coalition Air Forces bombed the vehicles along route 80 and completely destroyed mile after mile of vehicles. The attack lasted 10 hours, destroyed nearly 3,000 vehicles, and took thousands of lives.
Photographers captured the destruction along Highway 80 the day after the bombing. These images show the brutality of war. Photos show mile after mile of military vehicles bombed and burnt out. A journalist dubbed it “The Highway of Death.” The name stuck. Iconic photos of “The Highway of Death” have come to symbolize the First Gulf War.
Another Highway of Death
When people hear the phrase, “The Highway of Death,” they may think of this highway leading out of Kuwait, but there is another highway of death and you should know about it. It has implications for people from every region of the world. The Lord Jesus warned about it. He said, “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:1313Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (Matthew 7:13)). This broad way the Lord Jesus talked about is a highway that leads to death. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:2525There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 16:25)).
“The Lord is ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God wants all to repent and believe in the name of His Son so He might bless them in this life and give them a home in heaven in the life to come.
God calls out to those on the highway of death to stop, repent and be pardoned. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:77Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)). Even if they have committed unthinkable atrocities such as those committed in war, God is ready to forgive them and wash away their sins. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)). God is ready to receive sinners back to Himself and to make them His sons and daughters because Christ died for them.
Change Highways
Those who travel the broad way are doing their best to flee from God instead of coming back to Him. In running away, they are running away from the sinner’s only hope. They are running away from the mercy that might be theirs.
Sin leads to utter devastation. It leads to darkness and not light. It leads to death from which there is no recovery. Sin leads to the destruction of hell where all is barren emptiness. In hell, sinners will be given what they wanted on earth — existence without God.
If you are living like a stranger to God’s grace and traveling the broad way that leads to destruction, know that it is a highway of death. If you remain on it until you die, you will be lost forever. You will have the searing pain of loss forever. You don’t have to remain on this road. You can get off it and on the narrow way that leads to life through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. God will help you every step you take on the narrow way until you reach heaven. Don’t endanger yourself and stay a moment longer on the road that leads to death. Come to the Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ is the sinner’s only hope.
Trouble comes in many sizes, and the Ukraine has experienced some very difficult times that have lessons to teach. Find one in Neutralized.