I'm going to share an amazing story for those of us in the Sabbath Keeping community, that I'm willing to bet you have never heard before! An article by Ryoko Suzuki posted in the Adventist World Magazine inspired me to write about this.

On August the 6th,1945, the first atomic bomb ever used in combat was dropped by a four engine B29 superfortress named the Enola Gay, and piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbetts and his crew.

Not well known at all, there were Christian believers in Hiroshima during World War 2, although in Japan, Shintoism and Buddhism are the primarily religions, and all other Christian Denominations only account for 0.7 percent of the population even now in the present day.

Nonetheless, on August 6th,1945, there were 20 Keepers of the Sabbatarian Faith, living in Hiroshima on that important historical day.

All twenty of the Sabbath Observing Christians, members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church who were in Hiroshima, Japan, were miraculously saved from the atomic bomb which exploded there on August 6,1945.

Asako Furunako, a professional news reporter interviewed many of these miraculous survivors. Not one was injured in the slightest, nor suffered the effects of radiation. They all lived less than just ONE mile away from the central impact of the bomb.

The Atomic Bomb destroyed everything within a 1.2-mile radius: the temperature of the ground reached an unimaginable 11,000 degrees!

Everyone within a 2.5 mile radius was burned to death. A tremendous wind, at the speed of 1000 miles per hour, greater than even the speed of sound, was generated, causing cement buildings to collapse and broken glass to fly up to 10 miles away.

The radiation from the bomb was unbelievably strong, causing those exposed to it to lose all bodily functions and their cells to undergo a kind of cellular suicide. Between the blast itself, the resulting fires throughout the city, and the radiation burns, some estimate that upwards to 100,000 citizens of Hiroshima lost their lives.

...In the midst of all this devastation, was it really possible that not one Sabbatarian Brother or Sister, even the one living within just six tenths of a mile of where the bomb hit, was killed, or even hurt?

During her investigation the journalist heard the testimony of church member Mrs. Hiroko Kainou, who, surprised by the sudden fierce wind, fell to her knees and prayed. Though every piece of glass in the house blew out, she came away without a single scratch. All of the other 20 brethren in Hiroshima were also kept alive and safe. Though six of them have since passed away from old age, at the time of the interview, all of them still alive were still faithful.

Iwa Kuwamoto, was within .62 miles of the bomb site when the bomb fell. When she crawled out from under the fallen buildings, she witnessed the giant mushroom cloud that was obscuring the sun and shrouding the land in darkness. She tried desperately to help her husband, an unbeliever at the time, to get out from under the fallout, but the raging fires were threatening to close in on them. Taking her husband's hand and crying, she said, "The fire will be here soon. I can't do anything more, so let's die here together. God knows everything. Please believe in Jesus Christ. I cannot save you!" But her husband said, "No. I will die here, but you must escape for our children's sake. You must somehow get to safety and find the children. Do it for the children!"

Once again she said, "No, there is no way I can escape from this fire. I will die here with you." But her husband would not listen to her. He said, "No! I'll be OK here. For a long time I rebelled against my mother and you, and I wouldn't believe in God. But now I do believe in God's salvation, so we can see each other again. Please, please go and find the children. Please, just go!" So, with burning tears and a breaking heart, she left her husband there, and, pouring water over herself along the way, she escaped the flames, and was eventually reunited with her children.

Tomiko Kihara was a doctor with her own clinic at the time. She had been on night duty the evening before and had arrived home at 2:00 am.; she was sleeping when the bomb fell. Although she was less than one half mile from the center, nothing fell on her, and she was not hurt in any way. Shocked by the blast, she ran outside to see what was happening, but all she could see was the burned and blackened ground. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, she ran to a hospital on the edge of town and there for one week without rest or sleep she worked for the victims as one of the very few doctors still alive in the city after the blast. In the weeks and months following the tragedy, she continued to use everything she had to help the victims, and was able to witness to many in this way.

This is truly a remarkable story; I'm sure you must agree bordering on the miraculous! Nearly one half of the population of Hiroshima died that day and from radiation in the months that followed. Yet out of the 20 Sabbath Observers not one died during or after.

I did the math for this and the odds of 20 being not affected, when 1/2 of a population are, is far greater than ONE THOUSAND TO ONE. I just do not believe it was random luck.

Some worry what may befall us should the end times come upon us. Is there a place of safety? Can God protect us where we are at? Some kind of Rapture?

We are given this admonition in Luke 21:36 "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. "

BUT SHOULD WE BE UNNECESSARILY FEARFUL?

Luke 12:31-32 tells us: "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you. Do not be afraid, little flock ..."

Psalm 91:7,8 "A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look... "

Keep the faith, remember the Sabbath Day, and always trust that the Good Shepherd knows and watches over his sheep!

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Bill Lussenheide attends with the Sabbath observing United Church of God in Redlands, California and is a regular presenter there.

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This article appeared in The Sabbath Sentinel www.biblesabbath.org