The Pentagon Papers
Thursday, August 3, 2023
“If I had known dying would be like this, I would have done it sooner.” – Daniel Ellsberg
I appreciate Daniel Ellsberg’s sentiments in today’s quote, because death is merely the passing from this life to the next, from mortality to immortality. And so, for a Christian, it marks the final shedding of the “old man” and the heavenly adornment that comes with a glorified body.
However, for an unbeliever, death is a passageway to hell and eventually, the Lake of Fire. These days, people mock the existence of Satan and hell, but both are real and no one in their right mind should want to spend eternity in such a place… with such a person.
If the name Daniel Ellsberg sounds vaguely familiar, it is because he infamously released the Pentagon Papers in 1971. These top-secret documents revealed the federal government’s decision-making processes in Vietnam from 1945 to 1968, sparking a national uproar. Specifically, Ellsberg photocopied the 7,000-page report and gave it the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1969… and to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and 17 other newspapers in 1971.
As a result, Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 and was facing up to 115 years in prison. However, due to governmental misconduct including illegal evidence gathering, a judge dismissed the charges.
Over the next 50 years, Ellsberg opposed virtually every instance of U.S. military intervention, from Vietnam to Iraq and Iran. He died on June 16, 2023, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
Having read several online biographies of Ellsberg, I found not a single reference to his religious faith or to him having trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. And so, I can only assume that – as peaceful as his passing reportedly was, surrounded by family and other loved ones – he is now separated from God for all eternity.
I hope I am wrong, but fear I am right. In either case, please make sure today where YOU will spend eternity by repenting of your sins and placing your faith and trust in Jesus.
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’” Luke 20:12 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
