The 9-11 Crisis
The three messages in this study were taught to the congregation of the Brigantine Bible Church after the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. They were taught consecutively on Sunday's September 16 and 23. We sought to answer some of the pertinent questions that were being asked by Americans and Christians from the standpoint of the Bible.
SEPTEMBER 11TH
WHY?
Sunday Morning September 16th, 2001
The most frequent question asked since the terrorist attack upon the United States is, "Where was God in all of this? lt seemed every time I saw renowned news commentators, like Peter Jennings, or Tom Brokaw, or Larry King, they were asking some form of the question: Why did God allow these innocent people to die? I have been asked this several times this week also. The Scripture says we should "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you," 1 Peter 3:15.
THE DEFENSE:
Defense? People have asked these questions openly and honestly with a desire to understand, but the fact remains there is a subtle suggestion that persists that something is wrong with God. Could God have stopped the evil and vicious terrorist suicide attack? This question carries with it an inference that we need to meet head-on. Let me rephrase it like this:
If God could have stopped this attack and didn't, but allowed so many innocent people to die, HOW CAN GOD BE GOOD?
If God could not have stopped this attack if He was too weak to do anything about it, HOW CAN GOD BE GREAT?
l phrase the questions in this manner because they are repeated after every tragedy of life. After every disaster that takes the lives of people, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, famines, plagues, plane crashes, we ask the question, Where is God in all of this?
Could God have stopped this suicide attack?
The answer is YES! Our Heavenly Father is Sovereign, which means His Will is absolute. He is Omnipotent, so there is no power greater than His. He is Omniscience; therefore, He knows all things. He knows the beginning from the end. He knows perfectly the past, the present, and the future. The Christian position is OUR GOD IS GREAT. He could have stopped the terrorist.
If God could have stopped this attack and didn't, but allowed so many innocent people to die, HOW CAN GOD BE GOOD?
The answer is He didn't stop them because of "FREE WILL." If God wanted to stop them, He would have to take away their free will. He would have to deny them their freedom of choice. God may limit human freedom, but He never removes our free will. lf God was to take away the terrorist's free will; then He would need to take away everyone's free will.
Repeat: lf God was to take away the terrorist's free will; then He would need to take away everyone's free will.
Our God is not a respecter of persons in the application of His Sovereignty. He is righteous and just in all of His dealings with humanity. He gave free agency to man; that is how God made us. We are different than animals. Their actions are instinctive. Human beings are given free will. Our actions involve choice. You're here this morning by choice. You choose to come. You have free will. The terrorists have free will. So, a principle emerges: Free will can be the greatest blessing when we choose the right thing, but it can be the greatest curse if we are choosing the wrong thing or, in this instance, the evil thing.
Here is an illustration when free will is a great blessing?
Acts 16:31
So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
When someone hears the gospel and freely chooses to believe in Jesus Christ as their very own personal savior, free will brings them the blessing of eternal life. We rejoice when such a thing occurs. But as great a blessing, that is, when people make a wrong choice, then what happened on September 11th occurs. We must be clear that the death and destruction that hit our nation was THE WILL OF THE TERRORISTS, NOT GOD'S WILL. We must hold the terrorists responsible, not God. Where is God in all of this? I said earlier that God might limit human freedom, but He never removes our free will.
God is working in and through this disaster to turn the cursing of it into a blessing. This is how He limits evil. I know we are going to hear a testimony like this soon: "I accepted Jesus Christ on September 11th, 2001. I had been putting this off, and this terrifying event woke me up. It made me realize how vulnerable I am." Some Christians are going to wake up to, and they will be saying, "Those two towers represented money, power, status, worldly and materiel things, and in one hour they were gone. My whole scale of values has changed. I have rearranged things in my life. Going to church was not as important as going to work. I am in the process of changing that picture." We expect God to be at work and bring about good out of chaos. So, God limits human freedom, but he never removes human free will.
He limits human freedom by restraining it. "lt could have been worst," said the police chief, "We were lucky." If it had been an hour later, more people would have been involved. The fact that the two planes crashed and there was a time in between, many people were able to evacuate. What we will find is that more people were evacuated than died. It could have been worst. Now you won't hear this too often, but if these people had the will to die and they did, if they had nuclear capability, they would have nuked NYC. The fallout would have affected us in New Jersey. A nuclear blast in NYC would have affected our way of life here in South Jersey. We would not be in church today. We would be told by the government, "stay in your homes until the red cross passes out protective clothing." I remember as a child practicing air raid drills in school. Those days may be back. This threat is not going to go away. These people are dangerous and must be eradicated. Again, free will can be the greatest blessing to us when we choose the right thing, but it can be the greatest curse to us if we are choosing the wrong thing.
The terrorists chose wrong, but they know that today. Those terrorists whose bodies were burned up in the crash have awakened in eternity and now fully realize the extent of their sin and evil, and they know unequivocally that the degree of their punishment will be great. An often forgotten truth of Scripture is that there are degrees of eternal punishment for the unsaved. These men will probably be in the same HELL block with Judas Iscariot, Nero, and Adolf Hitler.
September 11th has reminded us that we live in an evil world. l think the Lord's prayer will take on new life, especially when it says, "and deliver us from the evil one." In that prayer we are said to pray that "God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven." God's will is not always done in this world; that is why we are to pray for it. God's will is done in heaven. It is perfectly done in heaven, and that is why heaven is a place of no more sorrow, no more tears, and no more problems. It is a wonderful place. On earth is where the problem exists. It is on the earth that God's will is not done and that is why we are praying for it to be accomplished. lt is on earth where there is sorrow, tears, problems, prejudices, and horrible acts such as what we witnessed on Tuesday.
This was not God's will. God did not desire this. God hates sin. God hates evil. And
God hated what happened on September 11th. Free choice in the hands of evil people. This means that evil will be done, and we as Americans must now live in a world where there is going to be a constant threat that a greater evil is at large, and we are its target. Yet, despite that peril, we can trust our God to be our refuge:
Psalm 91:1-11
1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the A mighty.
2) l will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
3) Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4) He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5) You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6) Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7) A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8) Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9) Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10) No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11) For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
Thank you Lord, for being our refuge.
__________
SEPTEMBER 11TH
WHOSE WILL?
Sunday Evening, September 16th, 2001
A headline reads:
Dr. Falwell shocked many when he told the Rev. Pat Robertson on The 700 Club that "the pagans, the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way - all of them who have tried to secularize America - l point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen. '
Falwell concluded by suggesting these groups brought on the wrath of an angry God, and with it, the terrorist attacks. Does Dr. Falwell believe that God directed and sent these terrorists on their mission of destruction? WHOSE WILL was this, God's or the Terrorists?
Another article regarding this story is also very interesting:
"Nick Gillespie, editor in chief of Reason magazine, a monthly magazine on politics and culture said he finds the correlation between Falwell and Usama bin Laden's beliefs startlingly similar. "Not to equate what he said with the Taliban, but it's fascinating to me that two religious people, Usama - who is an archly religious man and what he hates is the secularization of the world - and Falwell talks about modern America as a fallen place. They hate the form the contemporary world has taken."
Dr. Falwell has recanted. He said he was sorry for saying this when he did. However, l want to associate myself with the truth that was stated by Dr. Falwell. Modern America is a fallen place. l will not recant. l will not beg your pardon. However, l will take issue with anyone who will attribute this event as being THE WILL OF GOD.
The question this evening was this attack God's Will or the terrorist's will'? Quite often the view that many Christians take is that everything that occurs in this world is God's Will. Did God put the thoughts into the hearts of the terrorists to go and do this terrible deed? Absolutely not! In what sense is this God's will? IN NO SENSE IS THIS GOD'S WlLL. The idea that everything which happens is an expression of His Sovereign pleasure is WRONG. lf this false idea is true, then how could the men who flew those planes into the those buildings are held liable for their acts. They can just say, "God put it in my heart to do this." Actually, that is what they do say. They were doing what Allah told them to do, and they have a great reward for being obedient unto death. Right thinking amid today's tragedy is needed. I would like to clear up some of the falsehoods that exist.
First, regarding the religious zealotry of the terrorists, they believed their God called them to do this. Their God is called "Allah." He motivated them to do this. He is not Jehovah Elohim of the Bible. The Allah of the Muslim and the Quran is not the God of the Bible. However, the Bible does speak about the God of Bin Laden, who he calls Allah, but we know him as Satan. lt is my belief that this was Satan's will. l believe Satan motivated and instigated this attack against the United States. Satan is working through terrorism today. But before l explain this, l want to object to any and all ideas out there that imply that this was God's will. This was a vicious, evil act, and our God is not the author of sin or evil. So I state again the principle: Not everything that occurs on earth is God's will.
This morning I mentioned the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6. We are to pray for God's kingdom to come, His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is evident from the prayer that God's Will is not being accomplished everywhere and at all times. This kind of thinking is associated with the double predestination theory of Calvinism. We have a mixed-up view of the Sovereignty of God.
This view says that God is Sovereign and God chooses who will be saved and who will go to Hell. The person has no choice, no free will. He or she just agrees with God's choice. Regarding these circumstances, we are to believe that the terrorist choice was really God's choice. This is a terrible doctrine and a distortion of what the Bible says. Let me illustrate the problem:
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
This passage says that it is God's will that all be saved. Stop! How many is "ALL?." Circle that word "all." It is important. If it is God's will and God is Sovereign, and His will is never countermanded, never set aside, never reversed, never ineffective, then how come are some people not saved? Of course, the Calvinist argues that the reason why some are not saved is that God hasn't chosen them. This is foolishness and a great folly. The passage says "all," not "some." lf God wants all to be saved, and if we assume the Calvinist is right, then we would expect that everybody will be saved because God chooses them. The truth is God wants everyone to be saved, that is His Will, but many are not going to be saved because He has given man freedom of choice. The fact is many will choose not to believe in Christ. Salvation is a matter of choice. The appeal to man's will is seen throughout Scripture:
Joshua 24:15
"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers sewed that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Exodus 32:26
then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to Him.
Romans 10:13
for "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
Scripture continually challenges people to make choices. ln 2 Peter 3:9, the Scripture is clear. God is always willing to save everyone, but not all people want to be saved. lt is their choice.
One last thought. Just because a person can act independently of God's will, he cannot act independently of God's plan. All of the free acts of man are in the plan of God. God is in control. His plan renders all things certain and embraces all things, but this in no way teaches that every act, evil or good, is sponsored by the Lord. l believe God hated what happened on Tuesday and the people who did this will answer to the Supreme Court of Heaven for it. James says, "God makes war with the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble" James 4:6. Whose will? Certainly, this event was not God's will. It was the terrorist decision, not God's.
Lastly, it was undeniably Satan's will. As Christians, we recognize that there exists in this world an invisible and EVIL force at work. We saw its handiwork on September 11th. Right thinking about what occurred must include the angelic conflict. This will be our next study in this series. Our combat is with evil, as Ephesians 6 teaches:
Ephesians 6:11-13
11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
The EVIL DAY has come. Evil, in the Scripture, describes the plan, purpose, and policy of Satan in his conflict with God. What happened Tuesday was a continuation of that Conflict. Satan loves what God hates and hates what God loves. God loves Israel. The forces of evil hate Israel. Bin Laden hates Israel. What does that tell you about Bin Laden? It is not questioned that Bin Laden hates the United States because we are protecting Israel. He bombed two of our embassy's, the USS Kohl, the World Trade Center the first time, and now this awful murderous act in New York City and Washington. Why attack us? Because we support the Jews.
Whose Will'? As we will see in future studies, behind Bin Laden is an invisible enemy at work who is using people like him for his own devises and ends. He is anti-God, anti-church, anti-doctrine, and anti-Bible, but take heart, dear Christian; HE IS A LOSER. I have it on good authority that he will not win for Jesus said:
Matthew 16:18
"And l also say to you (Jesus speaking) l will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."
Our victory is in the Lord, and along with David, we shout, "The Battle is the Lord's."
SEPTEMBER 11TH
WHO DUN IT?
Sunday Morning, September 23rd, 2001
For twelve days, the question asked most, who dun it'? Because of the nature of the disaster, we are looking for some very EVIL people. I want to talk about "Evil." This seems to be the word that we are using to describe those who caused this brutal act. It is not a new word, but before September 11th, it had lost its meaning.
When the Church has spoken out on abortion, we have used the word EVIL. Abortion is evil. There has been no overwhelming national response, no great national outcry "we must rid the globe of this evil; we must use every economic, political, diplomatic, and military, resource at our disposal." For 28 years, the Church has opposed abortion, and there has been no national protest against it. This year, the number of abortions will be equivalent to the total population of Canada. What has been our response to that? What we hear from people is that we should get over it, it is the law of the land. I will not get over it because it, too is EVIL.
It is very interesting. We have been fighting for some time the attack upon our culture to remove all signs of God. The Supreme Court has denied the right of our children to pray in school. We live in a land that goes to great length to keep Christianity out of the public arena of government and education. Someone e-mailed me an interesting article: "Pray."
Now we are all praying, and that is good. It is interesting that in this crisis, we are seeing people turning to God. Many are finding their faith, and some are finding Christ. This is one of the blessings coming from this calamity.
It has been my prayerful concern to wait on the Lord to get a sense of what the messages should be about during this moment in these fearful times. The word "evil" is a word commonly used to expresses what happened on September 11th. My concerns have been about right thinking. What do we think about what has happened'? What, if anything, does it mean to us? When people began to try to find a word to represent the brutality, and the tragedy of this act of terrorism, the word of choice has been "evil."
The President said: "Our responsibility to history is already clear, to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil."
Larry King on Tuesday night was interviewing the King and Queen of Jordan, who are Moslems and they used the word "Evil" on several occasions. They both said, "Terrorism is evil and must be stamped out."
Well, let me say that those who use the word "evil" to describe this horrible attack, you are right! When the terrorist is described as evil, that is exactly right; they are under the influence of evil. However, I think they are correct by accident. Evil has very definite meaning, it has a Bible meaning. If you know what the Bible says about evil, you will know WHO DUN IT?" What is Evil'? lf the word is going to be used, let's at least know what the word means.
In the vocabulary of the Holy Spirit, this word is associated with "His Inferno Majesty - "Lucifer, Son of the Morning," better known as Satan or The Devil. As far as the Bible is concerned, Evil is the policy of Satan.
1. He is the originator of this policy.
2. Evil, in all of its forms, ultimately comes from the genius of Satan.
3. The purpose of this policy of evil is: to manipulate, twist, and distort the truth about the True and Living God by offering a substitute system of worship which results in his being worshiped as God.
This morning we begin to see Evil in its Biblical context. In the coming weeks, we will see Satan's motivation and strategies, and at the end of the series, l hope you will understand Biblically what happened on September 11th. I want to start this morning by looking at three passages of Scripture:
First, 1 John 2:13,14:
13) I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.
14) l have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. l have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.
The last phase is important, so circle "the wicked one." The Bible describes Satan as THE EVIL ONE. The Greek word PONEROS means "evil." lt is a reference to the person called in the Bible, Satan. He is called the evil one because he is the source and originator of evil. For this, he receives the title "The Evil One."
l might mention that in this passage, we can overcome the evil one the same way Jesus did and the way John advises those he is writing to, and that is through the Word of God. He says, "l write to you." This is a part of the canon of Scripture. We have it now in writing. They are spiritual strong because the Word of God abides in them. It is in them that is important.
1 John 5:18
We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked (EVIL) one does not touch him.
John explains that we are protected from "the evil one." This phrase is identical with the above passage. Now John says something astounding:
1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked (EVIL) one.
The whole world lies in the grips of "the evil one." Notice that he says the whole world, not just part of it. There is an invisible power that holds this world in its grip. It is a power that God calls "evil." The final passage is found in Ephesians:
Ephesians 6:16
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the (EVIL) wicked one.
Again the Bible mentions "the evil one." He is also identified as the Devil. These are all titles that he has received from God.
Ephesians 6:10,11
10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
This passage explains that we, as believers need to put on God's equipment for spiritual life because there is an enemy that seeks to harm you. He is called the devil, which means "accuser." My desire this morning was to point out that the Bible talks about evil and identifies a person, an angel who has the title "the evil one" because he is the source of evil in this world. There are many other passages were the phase "the evil one" can be found: Matthew 5:37; 6:13; 12:35; 13:19; Luke 6:45; John 17:15; 1 John 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:3.
Terrorism is evil, and the source of evil in the Scripture is Satan. There is more going on in the "War on Terrorism" than what we see. There is an invisible battle, and this is our part in the struggle for only true Bible-believing Christians are equipped to wage this warfare. We are to pray and stand with the President as he tries to rally the nations of the world to rid us of this scourge.
We need to pray for our servicemen and women. There can be no freedom apart from military victory. What can you do? I want all of you to pray. Everyone knows someone who is being called up. Pray for that person daily. Our countrymen are in harms ways, and we need to support them. We need to write them. We need to take an interest in the families that they leave behind.
General Swartzkoff pleaded on national television to support the troops. Let's get behind them in prayer. And then pray for me as I prepare the messages. We will need to continue to understand evil and how to "redeem the time for the days are evil."
While the attack on the Twin Towers was not God's will, this is:
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The Lord's desire is that you should trust in His Son for salvation. Is Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? Listen to His call to you:
Acts 16:31
They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."
Romans 10:13
for "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
There is no security in life,“Remember the Twin Towers,” but there is eternal security. Turn to Him today. Trust in Him now.