It Is Written

The March of Death

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW018177A


00:09 ♪[Theme music]♪
00:19 ♪[Asian instrumental music]♪
00:24 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:26 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me.
00:29 Welcome to the Philippines and to Manila,
00:32 the nation's capital--
00:33 1.8 million people call the city of Manila home,
00:37 and almost 13 million live in the metropolitan area,
00:41 placing metro Manila in the world's top 20 populations.
00:46 And if you drive through Manila, and you'll do so slowly,
00:50 you'd believe it.
00:52 It can take a long time to get from anywhere to anywhere
00:55 in Manila.
00:56 But when it comes to getting around Manila,
00:59 at least you have options.
01:05 ♪[Piano music]♪
01:07 The Philippines is an archipelago, an island nation.
01:11 But although there are 7,500 or so islands here,
01:15 only 11 of them are larger than Oahu.
01:18 The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire,
01:22 so earthquakes are common,
01:24 while the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991
01:27 was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century
01:32 and caused temperatures around the world to fall.
01:36 TIME magazine said the Philippines was
01:39 "the most exposed country in the world to tropical storms."
01:43 A typhoon in 2013 killed more than 6,000 people.
01:51 ♪[Upbeat instrumental music]♪
01:53 The country's favorite son is boxer Manny Pacquiao--
01:57 Senator Manny Pacquiao.
02:00 He's so popular in the Philippines,
02:02 police say that crime stops in Manila whenever he fights,
02:06 and the busy streets of Manila go quiet.
02:10 Imelda Marcos was the well-known Philippines First Lady
02:13 for more than 20 years,
02:15 who became famous for her collection of shoes--
02:18 some say more than 1,000 pairs; others say almost 3,000 pairs.
02:26 Although the national language is Tagalog, or Filipino,
02:30 more people speak English in the Philippines
02:32 than in the United Kingdom.
02:36 The Philippines was colonized by Spain in the 16th century.
02:39 More than 300 years later, the United States took control
02:43 of the country following the Spanish-American War.
02:46 But two years into World War II,
02:48 the country would be ruled by yet another power: Japan.
02:53 [Cannon firing]
02:55 ♪[Tense music]♪
02:56 Japan attacked the Philippines on December the 8th, 1941,
03:01 just hours after it attacked Pearl Harbor.
03:04 [explosions and rapid gunfire]
03:05 The combined US-Filipino force in the Philippines
03:09 was under-resourced and under-prepared.
03:12 So Japan made fairly easy work of rolling through
03:15 the Philippines, occupying Manila on January the 2nd, 1942.
03:22 Fighting a war on two fronts made it harder
03:25 for the United States in the Pacific,
03:27 and as important as it was to defeat Japan,
03:30 defeating Germany was the priority.
03:32 Filipinos had felt secure,
03:34 believing that American military might would see off any attack.
03:38 But that confidence was misplaced.
03:42 American forces had no option but to retreat.
03:47 When General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines in 1942,
03:51 with thousands of American servicemen
03:53 still in the Philippines,
03:55 he gave a speech at a train station in South Australia,
03:58 where he said,
03:59 [Douglas MacArthur speaks] "I shall return."
04:01 But more than two years passed before MacArthur made it back
04:04 to the Philippines.
04:06 Two-and-a-half years or more is a long time
04:09 to be at the mercy of an invading army.
04:14 General Edward King was ordered by Douglas MacArthur to defend
04:19 the Bataan Peninsula at all costs.
04:21 MacArthur told him that if it came down to it,
04:24 US troops were to charge the enemy.
04:28 Well, of course, that would have led to a complete slaughter.
04:31 With his men on a peninsula, water on three sides,
04:34 and an advancing enemy on the fourth,
04:38 King knew what he had to do,
04:40 and he chose to disobey MacArthur's direct command.
04:47 On April the 9th, he stated that all forces on Bataan
04:50 were to lay down their arms and surrender to the Japanese.
04:53 It was the worst military defeat the United States
04:56 had ever suffered.
04:57 Twelve thousand Americans and 58,000 Filipinos
05:00 were captured that day.
05:02 As King was negotiating surrender,
05:04 he asked a Japanese military leader if his men would be
05:08 well-treated as prisoners of war.
05:10 He was told, "We are not barbarians."
05:14 Well, the events of the next few weeks and months
05:17 would prove that statement to be inaccurate.
05:23 The Bataan Peninsula would become the starting point
05:26 of a journey of horror, a march of death.
05:31 American forces were at a low point,
05:33 many overcome by malnourishment and diseases such as beriberi
05:38 and scurvy, as well as dysentery.
05:41 But the Japanese decided they needed to move 12,000 Americans
05:45 and 58,000 Filipinos out of the Bataan Peninsula.
05:50 They would move them to Camp O'Donnell,
05:52 a distance of about 65 miles.
05:56 ♪[Somber music]♪
05:59 The prisoners would be marched to a train station.
06:02 Then they'd march again to Camp O'Donnell
06:04 when they got off the train.
06:07 It's fair to say Japan had no idea it would suddenly be stuck
06:11 with having to deal with 70,000 prisoners of war.
06:14 And if Japan kept those prisoners weak,
06:17 they'd be easier to manage.
06:19 But what unfolded would be an unbelievably dark chapter
06:22 of World War II, and it would prompt the asking
06:25 of some questions that are not easy to answer.
06:29 One of the questions most asked by people wrestling
06:32 with matters of faith is,
06:33 "Why does God allow tragedy to happen?"
06:37 I've been asked that question all over the world,
06:39 and it's a fair question,
06:41 a question that comes close to everyone
06:44 because wherever you have people you have heartbreak
06:46 and pain and loss and grief and all that comes with it.
06:50 Why do horrible things like this happen?
06:52 Why do babies die of cancer?
06:54 Innocent people get killed by drunk drivers?
06:57 Why, if there's a God, would people be subjected
07:00 to inhuman cruelty?
07:02 Which is precisely what came to the men unfortunate enough
07:07 to be forced into the Bataan Death March.
07:10 The answers exist, but they're not easy.
07:13 And the answers demand something of us.
07:16 I'll be back in just a moment.
07:18 ♪[Music]♪
07:27 >>Announcer 1: We hear it all the time:
07:29 "God is all-powerful, and God is love."
07:32 But if God is so powerful and loving,
07:35 why is there so much suffering?
07:37 Discover what the Bible says on the subject by requesting
07:40 today's free offer: "Why Does God Allow Suffering?"
07:42 It's absolutely free.
07:44 Just call 800-253-3000,
07:47 800-253-3000.
07:51 Or write to the address on your screen.
07:52 You can also make your request
07:53 online at iiwoffer.com.
07:58 ♪[Music]♪
08:00 >>Announcer 2: Planning for your financial future
08:02 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship.
08:06 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer
08:09 free planned giving and estate services.
08:11 For information on how we can help you,
08:14 please call 800-992-2219.
08:19 Call today or visit our website:
08:21 hislegacy.com.
08:23 Call 800-992-2219.
08:29 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written.
08:32 One thing about war is that it ordinarily takes place
08:35 a long way away from where you are in time and place.
08:40 Even though World War II happened a long time ago,
08:45 the horrors of World War II were very real.
08:50 Try to imagine what it was like for the men
08:52 on the Bataan Death March in the Philippines--and you can't.
08:57 Seventy thousand men were forced to march most of 65 miles
09:02 from the Bataan Peninsula across the bay from Manila
09:04 in the Philippines to a prisoner-of-war camp.
09:08 Thousands of them died along the way.
09:11 Put yourself into that situation--
09:14 no doubt you'll find yourself struggling to deal with it.
09:18 Wouldn't you imagine yourself battling to deal
09:20 with the senselessness of it all,
09:22 the bitter cruelty of it all,
09:24 marching in sweltering heat without food and water,
09:27 soldiers being killed indiscriminately,
09:31 completely without reason?
09:32 How do you make sense of senselessness like that?
09:37 You might even be trying to make sense
09:38 out of your own difficult situation.
09:40 In the Bible, there were plenty of people who tried
09:43 to make sense out of their difficult situations.
09:46 In the story of Job,
09:48 Job wrestles with the terrible affliction that came upon him.
09:52 He lost his home, his children, his possessions.
09:55 So Job tries to figure out what's going on.
09:58 But behind the scenes there's something taking place
10:01 that Job can't possibly know about.
10:04 Satan is behind the affliction that Job is suffering,
10:07 and the whole episode reveals that there are issues
10:10 more important than our suffering or our well-being,
10:15 issues that God wants us to understand.
10:18 Now, Job's friends are convinced that Job has done something
10:21 to cause his misfortune.
10:22 They're thinking,
10:23 "You had to have done something to deserve this."
10:28 Which isn't uncommon.
10:30 One day, Jesus was told that Pilate had killed some Galileans
10:33 while they were offering sacrifices.
10:35 Jesus said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans
10:39 were worse sinners than all other Galileans,
10:41 because they suffered such things?
10:43 I tell you, no."
10:45 And He said in verses 4 and 5,
10:48 "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell
10:51 and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners
10:54 than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
10:56 I tell you, no."
10:58 People like to have neat explanations for suffering.
11:02 Take the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
11:04 The common thought in Jesus' day was that if you were rich,
11:08 you were clearly blessed by God,
11:09 and poverty was proof of God's displeasure.
11:12 Well, wrong.
11:14 Jesus turned things upside down in that story
11:17 when He had a beggar in glory and a rich man in torment.
11:21 How could that be?
11:23 Neat explanations for life's deep mysteries might be neat,
11:28 but they're inadequate.
11:30 It sits better with a lot of people to reduce God down,
11:33 to find throwaway answers to explain the workings of God.
11:38 So I wonder what might have gone through the minds of the men
11:40 on the Bataan Death March.
11:42 They were soldiers fighting for their countries,
11:45 Americans and Filipinos.
11:47 And now their captors were marching them 65 miles,
11:50 and it was beyond miserable.
11:53 It was obvious that many of them were going to die
11:55 a ghastly death, unnecessarily.
12:00 How do you explain that?
12:02 ♪[Somber music]♪
12:06 Men who were on the march said the temperatures
12:08 were up over 100 degrees Fahrenheit--
12:11 38 degrees Celsius-- or higher.
12:14 It was the hottest time of the year in the Philippines.
12:17 And the men were forced to march without food or water.
12:20 They were already weakened before the march;
12:23 25 percent of the men on Bataan were in hospital
12:26 or were being treated for illness;
12:28 about 40 percent of the men had malaria.
12:31 They were so short of food they'd been eating iguanas,
12:34 monkeys, and snakes.
12:35 They had eaten the cavalry horses.
12:38 By the time the Bataan Death March started,
12:41 they were out of food, with nothing to drink,
12:44 marching in the blistering heat for 65 miles.
12:51 Many of the men on the march had survived the furious bombing
12:55 and the fierce combat on the island of Corregidor
12:58 in Manila Bay, only to find themselves marching to death.
13:05 The brutality was difficult to imagine.
13:09 Death March survivor Lester Tenney said,
13:12 "It wasn't called the Bataan Death March
13:15 only because people died.
13:17 It was called the Bataan Death March
13:19 because of the way men died.
13:22 If you stopped, you died.
13:24 If you fell down, you died.
13:27 If you had a malaria attack, you died.
13:30 If you couldn't take another step, you died.
13:32 Use the bathroom, you died.
13:35 We had no food and no water.
13:38 Either they cut your head off,
13:40 they shot you or they bayoneted you."
13:44 Many POWs were killed simply for sport.
13:49 While 1.5 percent of American prisoners of war
13:53 held by Germany died in captivity,
13:56 more than 40 percent of American POWs
13:59 held by Japan died in captivity.
14:05 Do you ever ask yourself the question why?
14:07 "Why me?"
14:08 "Why my grandfather with Alzheimer's?"
14:10 "Why my grandmother with cancer?"
14:14 "Why is my brother in prison?"
14:15 "Why did I have that accident?"
14:18 "Why did I lose my family or my future? Why?"
14:21 Fair questions, that's for sure.
14:23 But no matter what answer you come up with,
14:25 it's almost always unsatisfactory
14:28 when you're experiencing your own, your own private hell.
14:33 Well, the men on the Bataan Death March
14:36 would eventually arrive in the town of San Fernando,
14:39 where they would board trains to take them on the next leg
14:43 of their journey.
14:44 So things were gonna get better for them, right?
14:48 Well, I'll have more in just a moment.
14:52 ♪[Music]♪
15:01 >>John: Thank you for remembering
15:03 that It Is Written exists
15:04 because of the kindness of people just like you.
15:06 To support this international life-changing ministry,
15:10 please call us now at 800-253-3000.
15:14 You can send your tax-deductible gift
15:16 to the address on your screen,
15:17 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
15:21 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support.
15:24 Our number again is 800-253-3000,
15:28 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
15:32 [Fire crackling]
15:33 >>Girl: My mom woke up at 11:45, and she smelled smoke.
15:37 [Sirens wailing]
15:38 >>Man: About maybe 1:30 in the morning,
15:40 the, uh, my wife got a phone call,
15:44 and I could hear the voice on the other end of the line,
15:47 and she was basically, uh, screaming,
15:49 "There's a fire! It's massive!
15:51 It's headed your way!
15:52 You need to get out and get out now!"
15:54 >>Woman: After I hear "Fire," I hear in the background,
15:58 "The fire is two to four blocks away from your house."
16:00 And I panicked.
16:01 We started praying. Our prayers didn't last long.
16:04 They were desperate; they were, they were rushed.
16:08 There was a need; it was urgent;
16:10 it was very, very urgent.
16:12 I said, "Please save my children."
16:14 ♪[Music]♪
16:17 >>John Bradshaw: Where was God when the fires burned?
16:19 Where was God as people suffered?
16:21 Where was God while people were dying?
16:24 Where was God in the midst of the devastation?
16:26 [Fire crackling]
16:33 >>John Bradshaw: When the Bataan Death March
16:35 reached the train station, this train station in San Fernando,
16:40 American and Filipino prisoners of war were crammed
16:43 into metal boxcars for the journey to Karpas,
16:45 which took more than a couple of hours.
16:48 One hundred men were pressed into boxcars large enough
16:51 to hold only 40.
16:52 They were jammed in so tight they couldn't sit down.
16:57 There were no sanitation facilities.
16:59 Now, remember, the men were sick.
17:01 They had dysentery.
17:03 There was no medical care provided.
17:04 It was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
17:07 The boxcars were like ovens.
17:10 Hundreds of men who survived the march
17:13 didn't survive the journey by train.
17:18 When the trains arrived in Karpas,
17:21 the men had to march again,
17:23 often holding each other up because they knew should anyone
17:27 fall or stop walking, that man would be executed.
17:33 The men leaned on each other for survival.
17:36 The psychological pressure was immense.
17:39 During the march, their Japanese captors referred to the POWs
17:43 as cowards, told them that they were lower than dogs
17:47 because they surrendered.
17:49 Decades later, survivors of the march would talk about
17:53 the great difficulty they had just thinking about it,
17:56 the graphic images that would come to mind when they reflected
18:00 on their time here.
18:06 Once they arrived at what's now known as Camp O'Donnell,
18:10 the ravages of the march really began to take hold.
18:13 Hundreds of men were dying every day.
18:16 Some men died with a canteen in their hand waiting to get water.
18:21 Now, remember they're sick, many of them diseased.
18:24 They're malnourished, exhausted;
18:28 they haven't had anything to eat or drink in ages.
18:35 Within two weeks, the strongest survivors were shipped to Japan
18:39 to work as slaves in coal mines or factories.
18:43 The ships that took them to Japan
18:45 were deliberately left unmarked.
18:48 Nothing indicated that there were POWs on board.
18:51 Literally thousands of Americans died on those ships,
18:55 sunk by American forces.
18:58 Twenty-six ships carrying American POWs were sunk
19:02 by the United States because Japan refused
19:05 to put markings on the ships.
19:07 So, you're a slave in a Japanese coal mine;
19:12 you're a long way from home.
19:14 Maybe you wonder what the sense of it all is.
19:18 Now, go back to the time of David,
19:20 and no doubt there were people wondering why.
19:23 The Bible says King David numbers Israel.
19:28 He conducts a census, something he should not have done,
19:32 because in doing so, he was demonstrating that his hope
19:36 was in his army rather than in God,
19:38 who gave him victory over Goliath
19:40 and brought down the walls of Jericho, and so on.
19:44 God wanted David trusting Him and sending the message
19:47 to Israel that their hope was in God and not in men.
19:51 Now, as a consequence of what David did,
19:53 God sent a plague that killed 70,000 people.
19:57 Now, were these people guilty?
19:59 No, they weren't.
20:00 They were just... collateral damage.
20:04 Now, try making sense out of that.
20:07 Is that fair?
20:09 Well, of course it's not fair.
20:10 But if you want to talk about what's fair,
20:13 let's talk about Calvary.
20:15 Jesus was nailed to a cross.
20:17 He took upon Himself the sins of the entire world.
20:21 He was ridiculed, falsely accused.
20:23 He was beaten, tortured, and He hadn't done anything wrong.
20:29 Now, that was not fair.
20:32 But what all this reveals is that in God's eyes,
20:35 there are even bigger questions than our comfort,
20:38 our earthly well-being, even our survival--
20:41 or His, for that matter.
20:43 And why is that?
20:45 There are things going on in this world behind the scenes
20:49 that we can't really understand.
20:50 And remember Job?
20:52 Job was unaware of the spiritual battle taking place
20:55 outside of his view.
20:57 He was also unaware that his misfortune would help us.
21:01 It would help us to see that there's a spiritual battle
21:03 taking place behind the scenes today.
21:06 What Job learned is that what matters ultimately
21:09 is that we trust God,
21:11 that we realize there's a bigger picture,
21:14 and that ultimately God is in control.
21:17 He said in Job 42:5-- a very important verse--
21:24 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
21:27 but now my eye sees You."
21:30 Job was saying, "Finally, I get it.
21:35 My job is to simply trust You, God,
21:38 no matter what."
21:40 And that's it.
21:41 Trust in God, no matter what.
21:45 In Job 38, God says,
21:48 "Now prepare yourself like a man;
21:51 I will question you, and you shall answer me.
21:55 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
21:59 Tell me, if you have understanding."
22:02 Job 38:3-4.
22:05 He goes on to say,
22:06 "Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
22:09 and caused the dawn to know its place?
22:12 Have you entered the springs of the sea?
22:14 Or have you walked in search of the depths?
22:16 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
22:19 Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
22:22 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
22:25 Tell me, if you know all this."
22:27 Job 38:12, 16-18.
22:31 For four chapters, God answers Job.
22:35 It's the longest speech given by God in the entire Bible,
22:39 and God doesn't deal with Job's guilt or innocence.
22:43 He doesn't even try to make sense out of Job's suffering.
22:46 He simply reveals to Job one of the most important things
22:50 a person could ever learn.
22:52 ♪[Somber music]♪
22:57 There are times when things just don't make sense,
23:00 and that's when you remember that God is God.
23:05 That's it.
23:06 God is God.
23:08 If you try to make sense
23:09 out of your own personal difficult experiences,
23:12 well, you're not always going to be able to.
23:14 People often say,
23:15 "Well, everything happens for a reason."
23:16 So try telling that to a soldier on the Bataan Death March,
23:19 or to somebody in a concentration camp.
23:22 What could the reason be for that?
23:25 The reason is often simply that there's sin in the world.
23:29 Wicked things happen because of the presence of wickedness.
23:32 Why did the Bataan Death March happen?
23:34 Because a nation wanted to be a great empire,
23:37 plain and simple.
23:38 Japan's co-prosperity sphere was promoted:
23:41 "We'll free you from Western colonial oppression,
23:44 and we'll all prosper."
23:46 Well, that was never gonna happen, and it didn't.
23:48 You go all the way back before Creation,
23:50 and Satan said basically the same thing.
23:53 "I will be like the Most High."
23:55 Isaiah 14:14.
23:57 Someone wanted to be great.
24:00 The truth is sometimes there's no reason
24:03 for human rights abuses like the Bataan Death March,
24:06 other than sin.
24:07 I said earlier that when you ask the question why,
24:11 the answer you find demands a lot from you--it does.
24:14 When God says, "Just trust me," that isn't always easy.
24:18 Your child dies. God says, "Just trust me."
24:21 Let's not kid each other here.
24:24 That's not easy.
24:25 You're involved in a terrible accident.
24:28 You lose your job or your home.
24:31 God says, "Just trust me."
24:35 You're facing an impossible future,
24:37 and God says, "Trust me"?
24:41 Yes, that's what God says.
24:44 Because the truth is our time on this earth is very short.
24:48 The ball isn't always gonna bounce your way.
24:52 Life can seem unfair,
24:54 but ultimately we're here to learn a lesson:
24:59 Trust God.
25:01 The Bible says,
25:02 "And we know that all things work together for good
25:06 to those who love God,
25:07 to those who are the called according to His purpose."
25:10 Romans 8:28.
25:13 So, what worked for good
25:15 as a result of the Bataan Death March?
25:18 Well, those who wanted to learn lessons about war and cruelty
25:21 and war crimes certainly could.
25:23 General Homma, the Japanese general responsible
25:25 for the death march, was executed for war crimes.
25:29 The Americans and Filipinos played their part
25:31 in bringing victory, and that's no small thing.
25:34 But try telling that to someone dying of thirst,
25:37 or at the wrong end of an enemy bayonet.
25:40 It takes a lot of faith to accept.
25:43 But ultimately we have to remember that life
25:45 isn't about fairness or things that make sense.
25:49 Often, life just doesn't make sense,
25:51 not from our vantage point.
25:54 But if you can trust a God who is working things out
25:57 behind the scenes,
25:59 if you can trust that God has your best interests at heart,
26:02 if you can trust that there's a coming day
26:04 when there'll be no more sin, no more death,
26:08 no more war, no more cruelty,
26:11 then you can look beyond the harsh challenges of this world,
26:15 and you can know that one day
26:16 God is gonna make all things new and all things good.
26:21 ♪[Music]♪
26:30 >>Announcer: We hear it all the time:
26:32 "God is all-powerful, and God is love."
26:35 But if God is so powerful and loving,
26:37 why is there so much suffering?
26:40 Discover what the Bible says on the subject by requesting
26:42 today's free offer: "Why Does God Allow Suffering?"
26:45 It's absolutely free.
26:46 Just call 800-253-3000,
26:50 800-253-3000.
26:53 Or write to the address on your screen.
26:55 You can also make your request
26:56 online at iiwoffer.com.
27:01 >>John Bradshaw: Let's pray together now.
27:03 Our Father in heaven, we thank You that there is hope.
27:05 We thank You that,
27:07 that things do make sense from Your perspective,
27:10 and we can trust You when they don't from ours.
27:13 And so during the challenges,
27:15 in the midst of the struggles of this world,
27:16 give us grace to look beyond what we can see immediately,
27:19 to a day when You will make all things right.
27:22 We thank You that You see the big picture,
27:25 and that we can always trust You.
27:27 Friend, can you trust God today?
27:30 Trust Him in the midst of your present challenge,
27:32 in the midst of your present distress.
27:33 Tell Him, "I trust You, God.
27:36 I believe You'll make all things right."
27:38 Lord, we thank You, and we pray in Jesus' name.
27:43 Amen.
27:44 Thank you so much for joining me.
27:46 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time.
27:48 Until then, remember:
27:49 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
27:53 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
27:58 ♪[Theme music]♪
28:08 ♪[Theme music]♪


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Revised 2019-01-21