The day of infamy - when an organized band of Muslim terrorists declared war on the United States - will go down in history as the day our modern world was changed forever. Personal freedom as we have known it is a thing of the past. Air travel, communications and the centers of power will soon change, impacting almost everyone in America and probably the western world, thanks to a group of hate-crazed religious fanatics.

Before September 11 was over, the phones of prophecy scholars rang off the hook. People in media were looking to spiritual leaders for answers to a tragedy we had heard of only moments before we received their calls. Like people everywhere, they wanted to know "Is this the end of the age?" or "What is the prophetic significance of this national tragedy?" All of which confirms that even many of the most godless among us fear the end of the age as outlined in the Bible.

I found it incredibly interesting that lawmakers and pundits who have little time for God, and even less time for His moral values, were suddenly interested in His interpretation of this tragic event that took the lives of more people in a single day than any other event since the Civil War. Among other things it shows that even the most skeptical scoffers among us realize that God has revealed secrets about the future that are not to be found on any other level. What I found almost amusing was that although years ago our national leaders ruled that our school children cannot pray in school or acknowledge the God of creation or His moral absolutes, many of these same national leaders spontaneously broke out into "God Bless America," a song of prayer to the same God that is disallowed in school.

Maybe the heart of America is not as pagan as the media, educrats, ACLU, Norman Lear's "People for the Atheists Way," and the entertainment industry would have us believe. George Barna's recent survey on religion, commissioned by the publisher of our LEFT BEHIND series of novels, discovered that "44 percent of the American people believe that the rapture will happen someday." And "64 percent of American adults believe that Jesus Christ will reappear on earth during the end-times." I have a hunch that many Americans who are reluctant to admit it secretly fear the rapture and Christ's return will actually happen!

What this may mean to those of us who are called to "herald His coming" is that we are getting our message across to the masses better than we thought. Doubtless this will spark a renewed interest in the study of Bible prophecy to see how terrorism relates to the end times. And certainly it does. For the Bible clearly teaches that we should "know this, in the last days perilous times will come." And we submit that what happened in New York and Washington D.C. is a larger symptom of the anti-God, anti-Christian spirit of officialdom in America, Europe, and much of the rest of the world. Whenever men forget God they become more barbaric and inhumane toward their fellowman. September 11, 2001 is a glaring example. There will be more!

Inasmuch as most public officials of the world have for the most part rejected Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Messiah who came to save the world, they have actually rejected God. And the enmity of nations is just one more evidence. For in the first of the Messianic Psalms (Ps. 2), the prophet asks the age-old question, "Why do the nations (heathen) rage and the people imagine a vain thing?" The answer is they have rejected God and His Son. John 5:23 establishes the divine principle that "he who honors not the Son honors not the Father who has sent Him." This godless world that has tried for millenniums to forge out "peace on earth" has experienced so much rage, which in turn has caused so much terror and suffering, that honest historians call the twentieth century the most barbaric century in the history of man. Some indicate that of the 15,000 wars in human history, fully one half of them occurred in the twentieth century. Here we are, just ten months into the twenty-first century, and we have one of history's most bloody and inhumane acts in a single day on record.

We should not be deceived by the well publicized belief in "Allah" as though the Muslim and Arab world truly believe in God. The god they believe in is definitely NOT the God of the Bible, either in the Old or New Testaments. Not only do they practice the unbiblical concept of advancing their beliefs by the sword, they also do not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah or savior of the world. This act of terrorism is a godless act of rage that is not sanctioned by the God of the Bible. It was a despicable act of hate that can best be described as the ultimate act of godless man's inhumanity to his fellow man. What could be worse than saying, "If you don't believe as I do, then I have the right to kill you"? One cannot help wondering where all those lovers of religious tolerance are today who say "one religion is as good as another" or "all religions point to God." The truth is only one religion points to God and we need to be more aggressive in proclaiming it. This world does not need more hate; it needs more Christian love and compassion and obedience to God's Word.

Is there Prophetic Significance in This Act of Violence?

One of my major concerns is that someone may rush into print with some wild suggestion that this act of terrorism is "a sign of the soon coming of the Lord" or "a sign of the end." The media would love to have us read into this tragic act of violence more than is really there. This is not an act of God. It is the act of some religiously sick Muslims who have been deceived into thinking they will earn their way to heaven by killing innocent children, men, and women. It is not a specific prophecy of anything except that we are living in increasingly "perilous times," just as prophecy warns. So we need to be careful not to read into it more than is there. This world has always had terrorists, a minority of evil people that would impose their selfish desires on the majority and do not care how many lives they destroy in the process. To them, anything is a righteous act if it will help them in their selfishness to gain control over others. Now for the first time their crazed religious notion that almighty God would be pleased if they make guided missiles of themselves and destroy as many "infidels" as possible (including Christians, Jews, and others).

And while this is a highly significant event, it is definitely nothing more than indications of the approaching "perilous times" which Paul predicted would come in the end times, and the "wars and rumors of war" our Lord characterized as "tribulation." But ever since Israel was recognized as a nation, we knew that such perilous times would come. That event, more than any other, started God's prophetic time clock of end-time events. Such catastrophes, however, show how little control our world leaders really have over rogue nations and terrorist groups. While this has always been true, it is now more than ever. For technology offers rogue nations and even a tiny group of ruthless terrorists the means of destruction that could intimidate vast populations. That is why I believe this world, as we have known it, has been changed forever as the stage is being set for what Jesus' disciples called É"the sign of (His) coming and the end of the age."

While this planned disaster is not a sign of anything prophetically, it could very well have prophetic significance in that it will trigger world events that will make possible the fulfillment of more specific prophecies. We know the rapture of the church is a signless event. We also know there will be several bonafide signs signifying the end of the age and the Glorious Appearing of Jesus to set up his kingdom. Which is why, when examining stage-setting events like this one, we must deduct at least seven years from the fulfillment of the signs of the times. I believe this dastardly event will contribute to the fulfillment of several of those end-times signs. Let me give you some examples.

1) It will contribute to world government.

Most prophecy scholars believe the beast of Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 represent a merging of the governments of the world into one during the tribulation. This recent tragedy will be used by many as an excuse to give "Big Brother" type enthusiasts an excuse to strip the coveted personal freedoms enjoyed by Americans to allow in the name of "national security" the right to impose more government restrictions on us. Already surveillance cameras have stirred up a storm of protests. This kind of event can quell that opposition and convince people that we must work together or we have to surrender some of our freedoms to gain safety. More and better means of surveillance over the lives and activities of our people will make it easier for government to gain control of our identities, bank accounts, personal records, etc. Personal privacy, as we Americans have known it, has come to an end. What the internet and computer have not already destroyed will soon be open to every government agency that has an interest in "public safety." The American people will trade personal freedom for national safety, setting the stage for a "one world order" governed by you know who.

2) It will contribute to world commerce.

Revelation 18 predicts the destruction of one world commerce at the end of the tribulation. Revelation 13 predicts that the Antichrist and his troops will enforce "the mark" and "the number of the mark" and that everyone will have to have that mark to buy and sell during those last three and a half years. To be destroyed, such a world economy will have to be established. The destruction of the two U.S. World Trade Center towers will now give the European bankers the opportunity to move the financial headquarters of the world to Europe, which they have long yearned for. Watch for the call for greater financial "interdependence of nations" to be called for soon.

3) It will contribute to a common world religion.

Nothing contributes to religious unity like a common enemy. Muslim hatred that spews from the fanatical suicidal terrorists will drive the religions of the world to "unite" in order to cope with Islam's bitter hatred toward Israel, and those who support her. Their special targets are Christians, America, and "all infidels" - meaning anyone who does not accept their view of "Allah." (I hesitate to use the word "God," for their view of Him is nothing like the loving, merciful, compassionate, longsuffering God of the prophets.)

Their "Allah" is a god of Mohammed's invention that has no relation to the God of Heaven who sent his Son to die for our sins. Due to Islam's intolerance and obsession to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of the world, the religions of the world will move toward unity in self defense.

This, of course, will force Christians to stand up and be counted in a day when on the one hand we have the unity forces of Antichrist forming even before he arrives on the scene, and on the other hand we have the forces of Islam. We cannot cooperate with either. Therefore, those faithful to Christ and the Word of God will be hated by both sides. Really, that is nothing new. Church history claims that as many as 50 million Christians have been martyred for their faith during the past 2000 years, "and the gates of hell still have not prevailed against her [the Church]," just as Jesus promised.

From now until the rapture will be a time for the real Christians to stand firm in their faith! Jesus is not just "the way, the truth, and the life"; He is the ONLY way, truth, and life.

4) Israel will increasingly become "burdensome stone."

Hatred for Israel in the Muslim world could well reach a world record pitch, if it has not already. It will soon stretch out to embrace the secular countries of the world (which means most of them) who do not share our love for Israel or the Jews. Many of them, whom I call "peace at any price" thinkers, will blame Israel and our defense of Israel for the recent unprovoked attacks on America. Then when the wave of patriotism begins to wane and our nation begins to realize the long routine of living during a time of war, many in our own country will begin thinking of abandoning Israel. Israel will become the sacrificial lamb for "world peace." We will have to redouble our efforts to justify Biblically our national policy of defending that little nation of six million.

Look for the Muslims who support the Palestinians to blame the Jews for their terrorism that has caused this great loss of life to Americans. We need to be steadfast in our defense of Israel and the national policy of aid to that beleaguered country. As Americans we can be proud of the fact that were it not for our country, the state of Israel would not exist. In turn it has produced two things we should never lose sight of:

1) The blessing of God on our nation. It is no accident that we are the nation in the history of the world that has most supported Israel, and thus we are also the most blessed nation in the world. God promised, "I will bless them that bless you and curse them that hate you." No nation in history has ever been blessed like America. Were we to change our policy of humanitarianism to Israel, we would lose the blessing of God.

2) We have built a dependable ally in the Middle East who is as well equipped as any other nation in the Mideast, and they have a vested interest in defending our nation and keeping us strong. Their intelligence services, which may be the best in the world, will no doubt do everything they can to assist our intelligence agencies as they seek to bring the perpetrators of the recent September 11 act of terrorism to justice. But then, what are friends for? Their enemies are our enemies.

There are, of course, other general indications of stage setting end-time events of prophetic interest that will be mentioned in future articles.