Enormous prophetic events are now underway on the world scene. After describing a number of these events leading up to His Second Coming, Jesus Christ instructed us: "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
Many times in the New Testament, God instructs His people to be aware—to "watch" the unfolding of prophetic events. This watching— this awareness—may literally help save our lives on occasion as we will be able to understand what to do, or what precautions to take, unlike our worldly neighbors who often have no awareness of God— and who, in many cases, "could not care less." Truly understanding the time in which we are living should motivate us to draw closer to God, and should inspire us to realize that Christ’s Kingdom really is coming soon. Describing some of the events of these end-times, the Apostle Paul was inspired to warn us: "For when they say, ’Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5:3–6).
Indeed, brethren, we are to be "sober" and to take these matters seriously as we see the entire panorama of prophetic events finally coming together. It is in that spirit that I want to inform you about a key aspect of end-time prophecy that will enormously affect your life over the next few years. We should all be familiar with the foundational prophecy that God gave our forefathers in ancient Israel—and which, in type, applies directly to the British-descended and American peoples today.
After describing the blessings they would have if they obeyed God, God warned Israel—and us: "But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it" (Leviticus 26:14–16). We have pointed out in the past that the word "terror" certainly indicates terrorism as one of the very first punishments coming upon our peoples if we continue to "despise" God’s commandments and statutes!
We recently passed the fifth anniversary of "9/11" as it is called—the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States. Other attacks have occurred around the world since then, and even by the time you read this editorial, another attack may have taken place!
Why?
Because in our Western nations, as a whole, we do indeed "despise" God’s commandments and statutes. Analysts and commentators have written many books and articles pointing out how the people among us who are irreligious or are "liberal" in a wrong sense are "taking God out of the public square." They are literally trying to get rid of all true religion— all genuine reference to the true God and His ways! But we know from Scripture that God will intervene and "wake His people up." Therefore, terrorism, "wasting disease" (such as AIDS) and other plagues and punishments will increasingly be delivered upon our peoples over the next several years if we will not truly repent and turn to God.
So far, the major perpetrators of terrorism have been the leaders of militant Islam. Not all Muslims are like these terrorists. We should remember that all human beings are made in the image of God, and we should hope the best for them and love them. Nevertheless, we do need to be aware of what these people involved in "militant Islam" are up to—how they think, and what they are therefore likely to do in the near future. A genuine understanding of this can help us in our daily lives— in how we interact with others, in where we travel and in all we do.
The Eternal God warns us that the "king of the South"—no doubt a combination of Arab and Muslim armies—will provoke the coming Beast power in Europe. Everything now indicates that the "stage is being set" for this group of nations to come together. A growing attitude of absolute hatred is developing among the "Islamofascists"—as U.S. President George W. Bush calls them. They have attacked not only the U.S., but also a number of nations in Western Europe over the last few years. Such attacks will greatly increase as each year goes by. "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through" (Daniel 11:40).
Why do these Muslim nations seem to hate the U.S. and its Western allies? What motivates these people, and how is their thinking about certain events so much different from ours? If we understand this, we may be better able to interact with our Muslim neighbors properly, and also be more careful of what we do and where we travel.
Over the years, I have read quite a number of articles and several books discussing, in depth, the Muslim religion and the problems associated with some of its more militant members. Recently, I have read a most in-depth and profoundly revealing book on this subject: The Crisis of Islam, by Bernard Lewis. Mr. Lewis is internationally recognized as one of our era’s greatest historians of the Middle East. He is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, emeritus, at Princeton University. He truly knows what he is writing about.
In his book he describes how "a significant number of Muslims—notably but not exclusively those whom we call fundamentalists—are hostile and dangerous, not because we need an enemy but because they do."
Then, he explains: "In recent years, there have been some changes of perception and, consequently, of tactics among Muslims. Some of them still see the West in general, and its present leader the United States in particular, as the ancient and irreconcilable enemy of Islam, the one serious obstacle to the restoration of God’s faith and law at home and their ultimate universal triumph. For these there is no way but war to the death, in fulfillment of what they see as the commandments of their faith" (ibid., p. 28).
Lewis continues: "For most of the fourteen centuries of recorded Muslim history, jihad was most commonly interpreted to mean armed struggle for the defense or advancement of Muslim power. In Muslim tradition, the world is divided into two houses: the House of Islam (Dar al-Islam), in which Muslims governments rule and Muslim law prevails, and the House of War (Dar al-Harb), the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels. The presumption is that the duty of jihad will continue, interrupted only by truces, until all the world either adopts the Muslim faith or submits to Muslim rule" (ibid., p. 31).
Please think deeply about that, brethren!
For it is the ultimate goal of the Muslim leaders to "conquer" the world in the sense that all human beings either become Muslims, totally submit to Muslim domination or ultimately be wiped out! If you read this book carefully—and many other books and articles which make essentially the same point—you can begin to understand what is happening. Then you can begin to understand how increasing tens of millions of Muslims are being won over by the growing power of militant Islam. Then you will begin to understand even more how to "watch and pray"—which Jesus told us to do!
May God help all of us to more deeply understand and love the Muslim people! We should want to reach out—as God makes this possible— and help as many of them as God may be calling, even now. Yet it is vital that we understand thoroughly how, in many of the Muslim nations, trying to "convert" a Muslim to Christianity brings about an automatic death sentence! Yes, it is that serious—and most religious leaders realize this. So perhaps the only way we can reach many of these people is via the Internet. Yet we will try to help them by teaching them God’s Truth—at least as a "witness" (Matthew 24:14)— through television and other means as well. We do need to constantly recognize our need to pray for and love every human being made in God’s image! We need to meditate on the fact that we will be helping, serving and teaching these people— in God’s Kingdom—within a very few years!
Meanwhile, however, we need to recognize soberly that the world is, indeed, "at war"—as President Bush has stated. Unwittingly, perhaps, he has caused the U.S. to appear to be "attacking" the entire "Muslim nation"—as they call themselves— consisting of more than one billion human beings!
The increased terrorist attacks that will ensue, and the tremendous danger that all these and related events involve for many westerners—and certainly for us as God’s ambassadors—are matters we must be aware of. We must pray about this, and then be sure we do our part to stay away from unnecessary danger. Then we will have more time in this life to serve these people and all human beings in preparing the way for Christ’s coming! For, when He returns, there really will be "peace at last"—a time of genuine peace in the human heart as well as among nations, and a deep joy that no one will be able to take away.