|
In one hour, September 11th 2001, our lives were changed forever.
The wall of God's protection around our great nation had come down.
War has come to our shores.
In one moment, daily concerns became meaningless and trivial.
When we watched the live horror of huge jetliners slicing through the World Trade Center like a knife through butter, then exploding in a hellish fireball, what did anything matter at that moment?
We all felt that no one was safe. Our national psyche has been scarred and traumatized forever.
Some of us lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, and, after watching the movie "Thirteen Days", tried to explain to our kids what it felt like - the fear, the nightmares, the hopelessness and dread of nuclear annihilation.
Now they know.
Many of us have also lived through the JFK assassination, Vietnam, the Challenger explosion and much more.
But this was unprecedented.
This was different.
We have, I am certain, turned a prophetic page. We are no longer reading the Book:
We are IN the book.
God is writing, with our lives, the final chapters of the book of Revelation.
I want to start this message with a stern warning: Any believer or anyone else under ANY circumstances who kills, injures, attacks or persecutes Middle East people simply because they are Middle Eastern, is no worse than the animals that destroyed countless lives on September 11th. For a CHRISTIAN to even CONTEMPLATE such actions is not only un-Christlike, but unforgivable.
WHY THE DATE?
The choosing of September 11th was no doubt multi-messaged. And no, I do not believe "911" played into their thinking, nor the curious combinations of the number 11 that are blistering across internet e-circuits. But I can see two clear intentional reasons for choosing such a day, though there may be more:
(1) The 9th of September, just two days before this horrible holocaust, is Tish V'Av - a day of mourning for the Jews. It is the date of the destruction of the first AND second temples, the start of World War 1, and many other unfortunate tragedies.
(2) September 11th was the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt. The Islamic fundamentalists sworn to the destruction of Israel have never forgotten nor forgiven, and now they have shown how deadly serious their vengeance and memory is. Know this for certain - this attack was a strike at Israel, and the "Great Satan" (the USA) who continues to stand by her friend in Israel. In the end, Jews and Christians better understand that we TOGETHER will be the object of the world's, and satan's hatred and persecution. And we had better learn to stand TOGETHER.
IS IT JUDGMENT?
The answer is yes, and no.
First of all, let me say I abhor the mistimed pronouncements of the always judgmental and continually condemning Jerry Falwell, who immediately pronounced this as God's judgment (with the usual hint of smugness he is so famous for.) No matter that he issued a semi-apology later, It was not the TIME for such words.
Having said that, I trembled while preparing this message for my Sunday School kids. This was a terrible tragedy, thousands of innocent lives destroyed. Part of me didn't even want to touch on the matter of God's judgment. But as I read, it became plain that what HAS happened is that the wall of God's protection has come down around our country, and WE are the ones who removed that protection, through our national arrogance, our disregard for God and His Word, our overabundance of sins. I don't need to go through the moral checklist. We all know as Christians how much innocent blood has been spilled here.
I am reminded that when Israel turned to idols and adulterous sins, God often allowed the enemy armies to defeat them in order to turn their hearts back to God. That is what I believe is happening here, and I pray fervently that this is the hour we will seize the opportunity to beseech the leaders and the people to turn to repentance and change.
If not, this is only the beginning.
That is not God's judgment, and it is NOT his doing - He weeps more than all the tears of the world over this atrocity - but it will be because we CHOSE to ignore this wake-up call and we return to our wickedness and careless ease. I hope for the former. But to hear that the ACLU was lodging a complaint against the "moment of silence" the government called for tells me that we have a long spiritual fight ahead of us. Some people and institutions are so deeply antichrist that they are beyond the point of no return.
IS IT REVELATION?
For the first time in a long time, I have found myself pouring over the book of Revelation. This event in New York City, I believe, was a prophetic event. I truly believe we have turned a page in the Book of Revelation.
I am not a theologian. Neither am I a prophet. But Jesus said, "What I say to you, I say to all: WATCH." He also said, "Watch and pray." As Christians we are to discern the hour we are in. What I say here is in no way a prophecy. It is merely an observation as one who has been in the Lord since 1969 and has always kept a watchful eye on world events in the light of scripture.
I know that David Wilkerson has long contended that New York City is the Babylon spoken of in Revelation chapter 18. I am not entirely convinced he is correct: However, there are elements of this that are very startling:
"Therefore the plagues shall come to her in one day - death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire...
...the kings of the earth who committed fornication with her shall weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning.
...The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment..."
While some of this may eerily apply to the World Trade Center and New York, I think it is not completely the picture. As with most of Revelation, we "see through a glass, darkly." John's visions cannot be seen as one complete, flowing, timeline bound picture, but rather a tapestry of many fragments, sequences and timelines.
Having said that, I was startled in reading Revelation this morning to find this: "Release the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates." So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. NOW THE ARMY OF THE HORSEMEN WAS TWO HUNDRED MILLION; I heard the number of them." (Rev. 9:14-16
I am not only not much of a theologian, I am a terrible geographer. I, like so many, have always assumed that the only army that could apply here was China. So I got a map of the Euphrates. And I saw that it was bordered by Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and next to Iraq, Iran.
This is not a thus says the Lord. But I realized perhaps we have mistakenly thought China was the army. I realized one other army that has the potential to fulfill this - IT IS THE ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST ARMY! No, they do not have that large an army now - but if things go badly for the U.S. in this war effort, I assure you that most of the Islamic world will turn against us and join in the "Jihad" or "Holy War."
Is that not EXACTLY what Mr. bin Laden has been hoping to accomplish through the WTC attack?
Make no mistake - Islam is incompatible with the Word of God and the demands of Jesus concerning Himself. Already, worldwide, thousands of Christians are being slaughtered for their faith and for refusing to renounce it and turn to Islam. If this situation dominoes for the U.S., expect to see Islamic country after country become enraged and joining the Jihad.
And believe me, the Jihad is sworn to make the entire world Islamic, no matter how many "infidels" are slaughtered along the way.
DON'T MISS THE ULTIMATE PICTURE!
No matter how this current crisis plays out, or what our part in it is, make no mistake: The next prophetic picture contains two very sure events:
1. a seven year peace pact with Israel and the world, and
2. the rise of antichrist.
The mark of the beast is also something perhaps not far off, and perhaps the "identity smart cards" which could soon be issued in an effort to confront terrorism may shortly thereafter evolve into a "chip" which will "number every man, great or small."
In the long run, in the prophetic reality, NOTHING can keep us from these inevitabilities. In the good intention and godly prayers that our President and some of his people are sending forth, they can only delay the holocaust that will surely come. And we should pray for that delay to be successful, for the sake of more time to further the Gospel of the Kingdom.
HOW DO WE RESPOND?
It is a difficult issue for believers in some way. We must remember always, that the cross is our banner ever before the eagle or the U.S. flag. That, I think, is what has gotten us through the horrendously demoralizing last eight years of Bill Clinton's administration. But it is right and good to come to the front when our nation is in need. There are some who are pacifists who will not fight in any war. I respect their right to hold to that.
As Christians, we are sometimes confused by Jesus' command to "turn the other cheek." In context, Jesus was dealing with issues of vengeance and hearts that were motivated by sin and flesh. Of course vengeance is out for the believer. But after many years of looking at both sides, and especially after being involved for a number of years with children who were being abused and then trampled by a flawed justice system, I believe the scriptures have a view we need to adapt: "He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to DO JUSTLY and love mercy and walk humbly with your God?" (Malachi 6:8) Doing justly means the pursuit of justice upon any and all evil. I can most certainly turn the other cheek when I have been personally wronged. But I believe as a nation, we are commissioned in this hour to seek justice for the atrocities committed. What happened is pure evil, done by purely evil men. We as Christians MUST support every righteous effort to seek out and end such evil.
ONE SURE CALL
In looking to what we as believers should be doing, one thing is sure:
We are called to comfort the afflicted and "weep with those who weep."
We should all seek every opportunity to be a vessel of love, grace, compassion and hope to those who are frightened, hurting and lost.
I also think this is an excellent time for us to reach out to our Arab-American neighbors, to show them as Americans, but more importantly as Christians, we care for them and want them to find the security and strength of Jesus in this time of terrible distress.
WHAT DO WE PRAY FOR?
We pray for humility. In part, our nation could be well summed up this last eight years by the scripture, "The pride of thine heart has deceived thee." (Obadiah 3) We were deceived into complacency, a false sense of safety, a feeling that the financial good times would just never stop. We have been arrogant in our attitudes toward public prayer, abortion, homosexuality and a host of other things. And now we have been nearly brought to our knees. O America, do not rise up in arrogance and vengeance! Rise up in HUMILITY remembering there is NOTHING we have that has not come from the hand of Almighty God. We must walk with a humble and praying heart above all things.
We must pray for strength and courage. We have experienced national fear in a way we have never known - fear of flying, fear of terrorists, fear of economic collapse. We must turn to God to seek for a heart and a life that displays calm assurance and the peace of God which passes all understanding. We must seek for courage that whatever comes, we will stand in the Power of God and His righteousness and NOT BE MOVED. We must show this for the sake of our children and all who in this hour are afraid. "Men's hearts will fail them from fear." Surely we have seen why that is so real. We must be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might...so those around us without assurance can find it through the Lord Jesus we serve and rest in.
We pray for national repentance.
This is an hour of opportunity. People are frightened and they are searching.
We have heard the name of God and the name of Jesus invoked in public places more this last few weeks than in any time I can remember in my lifetime.
Pray that God will open up the hearts of Americans to seek Him once more.
We must pray for the President, the Congress, the Military and all those in authority here. That is a scriptural command, even in times of peace.
Now it is needed more than ever.
I have heard little pockets of criticism of President Bush, from conspiracy trash-talkers who think he's just an Illuminati pawn, to people in Europe who think this is just politics as usual. One even had the gall to say President Bush was probably happier now about his ratings than he was sorrowful about the tragedy. To these people I say, you do not know the man, and you do not know our hearts.
As the President sat listening to the Lord's prayer being sung at the Memorial in Washington, D.C., last week, I saw his eyes close at the close of the song, and saw his lips form, "In Jesus' Name."
My European friends who would be so critical, I feel sorry that you are so cynical and jaded.
Trust me - we know our land, our people and our president in this hour in a way you cannot understand.
AN HOUR OF DESTINY
The most important thing Christians can focus on right now is their destiny in God. I am reminded of the often-quoted and seldom understood verse from Esther: "Who knows whether you have come into the Kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14b)
If we truly have turned a prophetic corner - if we truly are seeing the clock closer to midnight than we did on September 8th - then we need to focus our prayers on that destiny.
"God, what do You want me to do?
What do You want my life to be about?
How can I fulfill my destiny in this hour?"
This is especially true for young people. The book of Joel says,
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men see visions." (Joel 2:28)
I have been encouraging every young person I know - and I encourage you - seek God for understanding.
Seek Him for not just dreams and visions, but for prophetic understanding and a prophetic voice.
Never in history have we needed those young passionate voices like we do now.
You HAVE come into the Kingdom for such a time as this!
Prepare.
Study His Word.
Pray.
Watch.
Stand up!
More counts on your obedience to your destiny than you can know.
I am like so many others, even in ministry, who have been going on as business as usual for a while. I still believe in all THAT God says.
I still wait for the return of Jesus the Messiah. But my tools have been dulled by weariness, defeat and losses.
This November, during the strange and unprecedented election chaos in Florida, I knew and could sense a greater Hand at work.
I am not political. I will ALWAYS vote for whoM I perceive to be a man of God. I voted for Jimmy Carter. And I voted for George W. Bush. I knew them BOTH to be committed to Jesus in their lives and purpose. What I am about to say has nothing to do with politics. I believe it has to do with destiny of the hour.
After Mr. Bush was elected by the slimmest of margins, I told everyone I knew: Something big is coming, something terrible. And God needs a man of God at the helm. And I believe George Bush to be that man. Only now as I look back do I realize I had an awakening of my Watchman's heart, and God was telling me to get ready and put back into use every prophetic and spiritual weapon and tool He had given me so long ago. I could not have known what was coming. I had no word nor vision - just a surety that something major was coming. And it has come.
My beloved friends, I hear Jesus saying, "Work while it is yet day, for the night is coming when no man can work." It is time to get YOUR war tools out in the Spirit and step into the reason and the destiny God has called you in THIS hour.
Love your family, hug them and tell them.
Be strong beloved.
Be fearless in your daily life.
And let us pray that whatever may come, we may complete the race
He has laid before us.
May God bless each of you, keep you safe, and filled with the Power of His Eternal Name.
Dr. Gregory R Reid |
