I’ve been noticing a trend in recent months. There have been terrorist incidents and trouble brewing all over the globe and only a minority of people seem to have taken notice. The trend goes something like this: There is a major act of terrorism or some other crisis and it makes the news for one day at best. In just a few short days, the event is all but forgotten or buried under the classifieds on the last page.
Why should we be concerned that we are living in a day when George Clooney’s wedding receives more media coverage than recent a terrorist attack and for a greater period of time? Maybe it’s because those of us who are watching and waiting for the Lord’s return see an increase in pivotal events that are going by unnoticed….under the radar.
This isn’t an article attacking television or other forms of media and entertainment….I enjoy an occasional NFL game and staying up to date on world news. I do want to call attention to the fact that it seems like so many people, including some in the church, are oblivious to the geopolitical events and prophetic implications all around them.
Meanwhile, I feel like an alien because everyone else seems to know who won American Idol, what Brad Pitt wore when he was 8, and the middle name of every major league ball player. There seems to be a disconnect from reality taking place, and this world is taking on the rose-colored hue that is fed to us through our televisions, laptops or smartphones.
By comparison, a person who cares to know what really matters and especially one who wants to know what the world looks like in light of Bible prophecy, is quick to bypass all of the shallow diversions and take a realistic look at the world situation and see what is happening just under the radar.
In most of the articles featured on Concerning the Times, we focus on a specific end -time events or one dominant news item in light of Bible prophecy. This week I want to put the focus on multiple events and crisis that are happening like clockwork and gathering momentum. Evil, violence, and wicked plans have always been abundant, but these have only increased in the recent months and years.
Matthew 24:37-39: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Genesis 6:5: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
We are living in a time that is becoming increasingly violent. As strange as it seems many of these acts of violence and growing global crises simply get lost in our overabundance of entertainment and media choices. Let’s take a look at a few recent events and we will quickly see a growing pattern. It’s a pattern that shouts, “WARNING!” (Not peace and safety.)
A growing pattern of threats and terrorism are right here in North America:
The Ft. Dix Terror plot: Between January 2006- April 2007, 6 radical Islamists men plotted to attack Ft. Dix New Jersey and in one member’s words, “Kill as many soldiers as possible.” They trained in the Pocono Mountains and videotaped themselves shouting, “Allahu Akbar!” while practicing firing automatic weapons in preparation for an attack on the base.
Thanks to the work of two alert Circuit City employees who were converting a VHS tape for the group, the tape was handed over to the FBI and the would be attackers were brought to justice. How many innocent lives were saved…10s, 20s, 100s? We can’t be certain, but we know this is just one of dozens of would be attacks thwarted that could have happened and radically changed our nation.
Ft. Hood Terrorist Attack: In November 2009, Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army Major and psychiatrist walked into the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center and opened fire killing 13 and injuring more than 30 people. The Department of Defense labeled the incident “workplace violence.” Many esteemed people including Gen. McCaffrey and Senator Lieberman have rightly called this an act of terrorism. Just seconds before the event, Hasan sat at a table, bowed his head, then stood and shouted, “Allahu Akbar!” Then he opened fire and killed 13 of our soldiers.
Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack: On April 15, 2013, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two pressure cooker bombs near the crowded finish line of the Boston Marathon. The brothers also shot and killed an MIT police officer on the same day. They were known to be followers of radical Islamist ideology.
Oklahoma City (Moore) Oklahoma Terrorist Attack: On September 26th of this year….just moments after being terminated, Alton Nolen walked into walked back into Vaughan Foods and beheaded one woman and was in the process of murdering another when he was shot by a reserve sheriff deputy, thus ending what would have certainly been an even more horrific event. Nolen was reportedly angered because he was attempting to convert fellow coworkers to Islam and not making progress.
Nolen was a recent convert to Islam and his radical Islamists views were evident when his social media pages were highlighted by national media. They included an open distain for Israel, the US, and violent references to jihad. In a complete breakdown of judgment, this incident like others, has been wrongly labeled as workplace violence. Anyone who has an ounce of good judgment can see this was an act of terrorism by a radical Islamist.
Quebec Terror Attack: On October 20th & 22nd this past week, we were again dealing with two more terror attacks against the west. On October 20th, Martin Couture-Rouleau….a devotee of the Islamic State of Iraq, used his car to run over to Canadian Armed Forces soldiers killing one of them.
Ottawa Terror Attack: Two days later, Michael Abdul Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot an unarmed Canadian soldier who was guarding the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Afterward he attacked the Centre Block Parliament Building and opened fire in the building and injured one security guard. The attacker Zehaf-Bibeau was finally shot and killed by Parliament security forces.
The incidents listed above have somehow managed to slip under the radar of most of the public’s eye. Meanwhile, the violence increases and we are seeing events take place in areas where we wouldn’t have imagined before. Our southern border is wide open for the most part and one congressman recently reported that several ISIS members were detained at the border.
Mark 13:7: “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
There are a few other flash points that I think the world is ignoring. What do I mean by ignoring? For the most part, we hear of the ongoing war in Syria and it becomes second nature. We relegate it to the “old news” pile. Meanwhile, over 100,000 have been killed and ISIS is conquering vast territory in Syria and Iraq. While on the subject of ISIS, they have taken Fallujah and are on the western outskirts of Baghdad. If Baghdad falls there is nothing standing in their way to take the entire country including the southern port city of Basra.
The ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the West have been dragging on for over a year now and are in the process of being re-negotiated. Does anyone besides the nation of Israel, people who care to read Bible prophecy, and a handful of responsible people in Congress really care about what is going on? In all likelihood, Iran is only months away from final production of weapons grade uranium. They have the delivery capability and now they are close to their goal of “wiping Israel off of the map.”
Russia and Ukraine seem to have pulled back from an all out conflict for now, but looking at the current situation, fleeting peace at best, and a rapidly free falling Russian ruble to an all-time-low this week…the region could re-erupt at any given moment.
I could mention many more threats that seem to be quickly forgotten or flying just under the radar, but I wanted to highlight just a few to remind us of how truly perilous these times in which we live in are. This world and especially for us here in the West seem to let pop culture, our smartphones, endless cable television shows, sports, and entertainment lull us into sleep. If people were to wake-up to the growing unrest, terrorism, global upheaval, and the massive economic instability all around them, they would see the growing storm just under the radar.
I want to encourage the readers to look at current geopolitical events through the clear lens of the Bible. None of the unrest in the world has taken the Lord by surprise and I don’t think the unrest has taken serious students of the Bible by surprise either. The days we live in are dark but a false sense of “peace and safety” prevail. It’s time for those of us who love His appearing to sound the alarm because not only is the world sleeping, many in the church are asleep. Meanwhile…the threats are increasing under the radar.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6: “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”
All for Him,
Howard