The Bible says ‘difficult times will come’ when men will be irreconcilable, treacherous and reckless and lawlessness will increase at the end of the age. When asked for a sign of the end of the age, Jesus responded by giving a whole catalogue of signs. One of them was: Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Mat 24.12).Wickedness means lawlessness. The actual Greek word used was ‘anomia’ meaning violation of law. Lawlessness is commonly taken to be a lack of civil order or peace, and could result from a failure of government, or from anarchy and defiance of the law. Common crime is defiance of the law and so can be labelled ‘lawlessness’. Is terrorism also to be included under the heading of lawlessness? There are many types of terrorism but these all have the following characteristics: “terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence”. The data on significant international terrorism incidents from the US National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) show a relentless rise in international terrorism since 1900. In 2001, the year of the 9/11 atrocity, there were 1,732 recorded terrorist incidents worldwide. The NCTC 2009 report on terrorism gave 7585 attacks in 2005, 8225 in 2007 and 8541 in 2009.

The French Revolution provided the first uses of the words “Terrorist” and “Terrorism”. Use of the word “terrorism” began in 1795 in reference to the Reign of Terror initiated by the French Revolutionary government. Sean McCormack says terrorism is an extreme form of violence and it can take place in forms other than violence. He observes that the face of terrorism is rapidly changing in a modern context from passive resistance to technological and economic terrorism; terrorism no longer necessarily requires the spilling of blood to be effective. In this article, let us first look at the origin and history of terrorism and its ugly face in India and then see how should we as God’s children respond to this brutal threat of humanity.

1. ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF TERRORISM:

Terrorism in 1st -14th Century AD

From the earliest of times, man has engaged in acts of terrorism and rebellion. From what Josephus, the famous Roman historian wrote, the earliest known organization that exhibited aspects of a modern terrorist organization was the Zealots of Judea. Known to the Romans as sicarii, or dagger-men, they carried on an underground campaign of assassination of Roman occupation forces, as well as any Jews they felt had collaborated with the Romans. Their motive was an uncompromising belief that they could not remain faithful to the dictates of Judaism while living as Roman subjects. Eventually, the Zealot revolt became open, and they were finally besieged and committed mass suicide at the fortification of Masada

The Assassins were the next group to show recognizable characteristics of terrorism, as we know it today. A breakaway faction of Shia Islam called the Nizari Ismalis adopted the tactic of assassination of enemy leaders because the cult’s limited manpower prevented open combat. Their leader, Hassam-I Sabbah, based the cult in the mountains of Northern Iran. Their tactic of sending a lone assassin to successfully kill a key enemy leader at the certain sacrifice of his own life inspired fearful awe in their enemies.

Terrorism in 14th-18thCentury

From the time of the Assassins (late 13th century) to the1700s, terror was widely used in warfare and conflict, and the causes that might inspire terrorism such as religious schism, insurrection, ethnic strife typically led to open warfare. Until the rise of the modern nation state in1648, the sort of central authority and cohesive society that terrorism attempts to influence barely existed and communications were inadequate. By the time kingdoms and principalities became nations, they had sufficient means to enforce their authority and suppress activities such as terrorism.

The French Revolution initiated by the Revolutionary government which began in 1795 unleashed Reign of Terror. The agents of the Committee of Public Safety and the National Convention that enforced the policies of “The Terror” were referred to as ‘Terrorists”. The French Revolution provided an example to future states in oppressing their populations. It also inspired a reaction by royalists and other opponents of the Revolution who employed terrorist tactics such as assassination and intimidation in resistance to the Revolutionary agents.

Terrorism in 19^th Centuary

During the 19th century terrorism underwent a fateful transformation, coming to be associated, as it still is today, with non-governmental groups. One such group – the small band of Russian revolutionaries of ‘Narodnaya Volya’ (the people’s will) in 1878-81 – used the word ‘terrorist’ proudly. They believed in the targeted killing of the ‘leaders of oppression’; they were convinced that the developing technologies of the age – symbolized by bombs and bullets – enabled them to strike directly and discriminately. Above all, they believed that the Tsarist system against which they were fighting was fundamentally rotten. Their efforts led to the assassination of Tsar Alexander II on 13 March 1881.

Terrorism continued for many decades to be associated primarily with the assassination of political leaders and heads of state. This was symbolized by the killing of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand by a 19-year-old Bosnian Serb student, Gavril Princip, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Princip could not believe that the assassination had triggered the outbreak of world war in 1914.

In the half-century after the World War Two, terrorism broadened well beyond assassination of political leaders and heads of state. In certain European colonies, terrorist movements developed, often with two distinct purposes. The first was obvious: to put pressure on the colonial powers (such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands) to hasten their withdrawal. The second was more subtle: to intimidate the indigenous population into supporting a particular group’s claims to leadership of the emerging post-colonial state. Sometimes these strategies had some success, but not always. India’s achievement of independence in 1947 was mainly the result, not of terrorism, but of the movement of non-violent civil disobedience led by Gandhi. In Malaya, communist terrorists launched a major campaign in 1948, but they failed due to a mixture of determined British military opposition and a programme of political reform leading to independence.

Terrorism in 20^th Century

The 20th century witnessed great changes in the use and practice of terrorism. Terrorism became the hallmark of a number of political movements stretching from the extreme right to the extreme left of the political spectrum. Technological advances such as automatic weapons and compact, electrically detonated explosives gave terrorists a new mobility and lethality. Terrorism was adopted as virtually a state policy by such totalitarian regimes as those of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. In these states arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution were applied without legal guidance or restraints to create a climate of fear and to encourage adherence to the national ideology and the declared economic, social, and political goals of the state.

Terrorism has most commonly become identified, however, with individuals or groups attempting to destabilize or overthrow existing political institutions. Terrorism has been used by one or both sides in anticolonial conflicts (Ireland and the United Kingdom, Algeria and France, Vietnam and France/United States), in disputes between different national groups over possession of a contested homeland (Palestinians and Israel), in conflicts between different religious denominations (Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland), and in internal conflicts between revolutionary forces and established governments (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Argentina).

Terrorism’s public impact has been greatly magnified by the use of modern communications media. Any act of violence is certain to attract television coverage, which brings the event directly into millions of homes and exposes viewers to the terrorists’ demands, grievances, or political goals. Modern terrorism differs from that of the past because its victims are frequently innocent civilians who are picked at random or who merely happen into terrorist situations. Many groups of terrorists in Europe hark back to the anarchists of the 19th century in their isolation from the political mainstream and the unrealistic nature of their goals. Lacking a base of popular support, extremists substitute violent acts for legitimate political activities. Such acts include kidnappings, assassinations, skyjackings, bombings, and hijackings

The Baader-Meinhof gang of West Germany, the Japanese Red Army, Italy’s Red Brigades, the Puerto Rican FALN, al-Fatah and other Palestinian organizations, the Shining Path of Peru, and France’s Direct Action were among the most prominent terrorist groups of the later 20th century.

2.TERRORISM IN INDIA

Since its independence in 1947, India has been facing the problem of terrorism in different parts of the country. For the purpose of this column, terrorism has been taken to mean an armed violent movement directed against government as well as non-government targets, involving pre-meditated attacks with arms, ammunition and explosives against civilians, and resorting to intimidation tactics such as hostage-taking and hijacking.

India has faced exclusively terrorist movements in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, bordering Pakistan, and terrorist movements in the northeast, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh; in Bihar, bordering Nepal; and in certain interior states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa that do not have international borders.

India has also faced terrorism due to religious anger against either the government or the majority Hindu community or both and petered out subsequently. Examples of this would be the simultaneous explosions in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, which killed about 250 civilians, and the simultaneous explosions in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, in February 1998. Tamil Nadu has also faced the fallout of terrorism promoted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka in the form of attacks by LTTE elements on its political rivals living in the state and in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991.

India had also faced, for some years, Hindu sectarian terrorism in the form of the Anand Marg. The Marg, with its emphasis on meditation, special religious and spiritual practices and use of violence against its detractors, had as many followers in foreign countries as it had in India. Its over-ground activities have petered out since 1995, but it is believed to retain many of its covert cells in different countries. However, they have not indulged in acts of violence recently.

Causes of terrorism in India

The causes for the various terrorist movements include:

Political causes: This is seen essentially in Assam and Tripura. The political factors that led to insurgency-cum-terrorism included the failure of the government to control large-scale illegal immigration of Muslims from Bangladesh, to fulfil the demand of economic benefits for the sons and daughters of the soil, etc.

Economic causes: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar are prime examples. The economic factors include the absence of land reforms, rural unemployment, exploitation of landless labourers by land owners, etc. These economic grievances and perceptions of gross social injustice have given rise to ideological terrorist groups such as the various Marxist/Maoist groups operating under different names.

Ethnic causes: Mainly seen in Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur due to feelings of ethnic separateness.

Religious causes: Punjab before 1995 and in J&K since 1989.

In Punjab, some Sikh elements belonging to different organizations took to terrorism to demand the creation of an independent state called Khalistan for the Sikhs. In J&K, Muslims belonging to different organizations took to terrorism for conflicting objectives. Some, such as the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front, want independence for the state, including all the territory presently part of India, Pakistan and China. Others, such as the Hizbul Mujahideen , want India’s J&K state to be merged with Pakistan. While those who want independence project their struggle as a separatist one, those wanting a merger with Pakistan project it as a religious struggle.

There have also been sporadic acts of religious terrorism in other parts of India. These are either due to feelings of anger amongst sections of the Muslim youth over the government’s perceived failure to safeguard their lives and interests or due to Pakistan’s attempts to cause religious polarisation.

The maximum number of terrorist incidents and deaths of innocent civilians have occurred due to religious terrorism. While the intensity of the violence caused by terrorism of a non-religious nature can be rated as low or medium, that of religious terrorism has been high or very high. It has involved the indiscriminate use of sophisticated Improvised Explosive Devices, suicide bombers, the killing of civilians belonging to the majority community with hand-held weapons and resorting to methods such as hijacking, hostage-taking, blowing up of aircraft through IEDs, etc.

Certain distinctions between the modus operandi and concepts/beliefs of religious and non-religious terrorist groups need to be underlined, namely:

Non-religious terrorist groups in India do not believe in suicide terrorism, but the LTTE does. Of the religious terrorist groups, the Sikhs did not believe in suicide terrorism. The indigenous terrorist groups in J&K do not believe in suicide terrorism either; it is a unique characteristic of Pakistan’s pan-Islamic jihadi groups operating in J&K and other parts of India. They too did not believe in suicide terrorism before 1998; in fact, there was no suicide terrorism in J&K before 1999. They started resorting to it only after they joined Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front in 1998. Since then, there have been 46 incidents of suicide terrorism, of which 44 were carried out by bin Laden’s Pakistani supporters belonging to these organizations.

Non-religious terrorist groups in India have not resorted to hijacking and blowing up of aircraft. Of the religious terrorists, the Sikh groups were responsible for five hijackings, the indigenous JKLF for one and the Pakistani jihadi group, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (which is a member of the IIF), for one. The Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh terrorist group, blew up Air India’s Kanishka aircraft off the Irish coast on June 23, 1985, killing nearly 200 passengers and made an unsuccessful attempt the same day to blow up another Air India plane at Tokyo. The IED there exploded prematurely on the ground. The Kashmiri and the Pakistani jihadi groups have not tried to blow up any passenger plane while on flight. However, the JKLF had blown up an Indian Airlines aircraft, which it had hijacked to Lahore in 1971, after asking the passengers and crew to disembark.

All terrorist groups — religious as well as non-religious — have resorted to kidnapping hostages for ransom and for achieving other demands. The non-religious terrorist groups have targeted only Indians, whereas the religious terrorist groups target Indians as well as foreigners. The Khalistan Commando Force, a Sikh terrorist group, kidnapped a Romanian diplomat in New Delhi in 1991. The JKLF kidnapped some Israeli tourists in J&K in 1992. HUM, under the name Al Faran, kidnapped five Western tourists in 1995 and is believed to have killed four of them. An American managed to escape. Sheikh Omar, presently on trial for the kidnap and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi in January last year, had earlier kidnapped some Western tourists near Delhi. They were subsequently freed by the police.

Non-religious terrorist groups in India have not carried out any act of terrorism outside Indian territory. Of the religious terrorist groups, a Sikh organization blew up an Air India plane off the Irish coast and unsuccessfully tried to blow up another plane at Tokyo the same day, plotted to kill then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi during his visit to the US in June 1985 (the plot was foiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation), attacked the Indian ambassador in Bucharest, Romania, in October 1991, and carried out a number of attacks on pro-government members of the Sikh diaspora abroad. The JKLF kidnapped and killed an Indian diplomat in Birmingham, England , in 1984. In the 1970s, the Anand Marg had indulged in acts of terrorism in foreign countries.

None of the non-religious terrorist groups advocate the acquisition and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Of the religious groups, the Sikh and the indigenous Kashmiri terrorist groups did/do not advocate the acquisition and use of WMD. However, the Pakistani pan-Islamic groups, which are members of the IIF and which operate in J&K, support bin Laden’s advocacy of the right and religious obligation of Muslims to acquire and use WMD to protect their religion, if necessary.

The Sikh terrorist groups did not cite their holy book as justification for their acts of terrorism, but the indigenous Kashmiri groups as well as the Pakistani jihadi groups operating in India cite the holy Koran as justification for their jihad against the government of India and the Hindus.

The Sikh and the indigenous Kashmiri groups projected/project their objective as confined to their respective state, but the Pakistani pan-Islamic terrorist groups project their aim as extending to the whole of South Asia — namely the ‘liberation’ of Muslims in India and the ultimate formation of an Islamic Caliphate consisting of the ‘Muslim homelands’ of India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Sikh terrorist groups demanded an independent nation on the ground that Sikhs constituted a separate community and could not progress as fast as they wanted to in a Hindu-dominated country. They did not deride Hinduism and other non-Sikh religions. Nor did they call for the eradication of Hindu influences from their religion. The indigenous Kashmiri organizations, too, follow a similar policy. But the Pakistani pan-Islamic jihadi organizations ridicule and condemn Hinduism and other religions and call for the eradication of what they describe as the corrupting influence of Hinduism on Islam as practised in South Asia.

The Sikh and indigenous Kashmiri terrorist organizations believed/believe in Western-style parliamentary democracy. The Pakistani jihadi organizations project Western-style parliamentary democracy as anti-Islam since it believes sovereignty vests in people and not in God.

Religious as well as non-religious terrorist groups have external links with like-minded terrorist groups in other countries. Examples: The link between the Marxist groups of India with Maoist groups of Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; the link between the indigenous Kashmiri organizations with the religious, fundamentalist and jihadi organizations of Pakistan; the link between organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India with jihadi elements in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia; and the link between the Pakistani pan-Islamic jihadi organizations operating in India with bin Laden’s Al Qaeda and the Taliban .

Funding of terrorism in India

The following are the main sources of funding for terrorist and insurgent groups:

Clandestine contributions from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.

Contributions from religious, fundamentalist and pan-Islamic jihadi organizations in Pakistan. Contributions from ostensibly charitable organizations in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Contributions from trans-national criminal groups, such as the mafia group led by Dawood Ibrahim, who operates from Karachi, Pakistan.

Extortions and ransom payments for releasing hostages.

Collections — voluntary or forced — from the people living in the area where they operate.

Narcotics smuggling.

The funds are normally transmitted either through couriers or through the informal hawala channel. Rarely are funds transmitted through formal banking channels.

3. THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF TERROR

The age of modern terrorism might be said to have begun in 1968 when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an El Al airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Rome. While hijackings of airliners had occurred before, this was the first time that the nationality of the carrier (Israeli) and its symbolic value was a specific operational aim. Also a first was the deliberate use of the passengers as hostages for demands made publicly against the Israeli government. The combination of these unique events, added to the international scope of the operation, gained significant media attention. The founder of PFLP, Dr. George Habash observed that the level of coverage was tremendously greater than battles with Israeli soldiers in their previous area of operations. “At least the world is talking about us now.”Another aspect of this internationalization is the cooperation between extremist organizations in conducting terrorist operations. Cooperative training between Palestinian groups and European radicals started as early as 1970, and joint operations between the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army (JRA) began in 1974. Since then international terrorist cooperation in training, operations, and support has continued to grow, and continues to this day. Motives range from the ideological, such as the 1980s alliance of the Western European Marxist-oriented groups, to financial, as when the IRA exported its expertise in bomb making as far a field as Colombia

The largest act of international terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001 in a set of co-ordinated attacks on the United States of America where Islamic terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and used them to attack the WorldTradeCenter towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Other major terrorist attacks have also occurred in New Delhi (Indian Parliament attacked); Bali car bomb attack; London subway bombings; Madrid train bombings and the most recent attacks in Mumbai (hotels, train station and a Jewish outreach center). The operational and strategic epicenter of terrorism is now mostly centred in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

4. HOW SHOULD GOD’S PEOPLE RESPOND TO TERRORISM?

1. The Bible says that God has established government and government is endued with God’s authority to protect its citizens and punish those who terrorize them.

The Bible is quite clear about why legitimate governments are established and the extent of their authority. From the apostle Paul we learn: The authorities that exist have been established by God (Romans 13:1). “There is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1). “Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:2).”Rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong” (Romans 13:3). “He (the ruler) does not bear the sword for nothing” (Romans 13:4) “He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4).

We submit to legitimate authorities because they are duty bound to act against those who disobey the law and harm others. We also submit for the sake of our conscience. The terrorist attacks are both unlawful and unconscionable. The concerned government has both the right and the duty to God to pursue and punish those who commit terrorist-acts and those who harbor them.

2. The Bible says that we are not to take punishment into our own hands but to defer vengeance to God

The apostle Paul says : “Do not repay anyone evil for evil” (Romans 12:17) “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:19). The Bible teaches that vengeance belongs to God because only He knows perfectly the hearts of men and only He can temper vengeance and justice. “It is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19). “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip” (Deuteronomy 32:35). “It is mine to avenge; I will repay” (Hebrews 10:30) “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God . . . . The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:2-3).

God’s vengeance is ultimate vengeance when He shall judge all mankind. While it is the right and the responsibility of our government to respond to these terrorist attacks, it is not our individual right to respond.

3. The Bible says that the way to overcome evil is not through personal retaliation or hatred but through personal good and compassion.

The Lord Jesus said: “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39) The apostle Paul says: “Do not be overcome by evil” (Romans 12:21) “Overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21) “He who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8) And read what the psalmist David said: “Do not fret because of evil men” (Psalm 37:1) “Trust in the Lord and do good” (Psalm 37:3) “Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” (Psalm 37:7) “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath” (Psalm 37:8) “Do not fret-it leads only to evil” (Psalm 37:8) Jesus, Paul and understood God’s command to Moses: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18).

The following excerpts from the teachings of Dr. Woodrow Kroll, summarize what every true Christian must do in the face of terror: Undoubtedly during these days of anger and rage we will hear people quote God’s Word inappropriately. Many appeal to the so-called “imprecatory psalms” (Psalms 35, 59, 69, 109, etc.) to justify retaliation. But these psalms were not motivated by personal revenge. Behind these cries for justice was the recognition of a divine moral governance in the world and a call for God to exercise judgment as well as grace. While the psalmists were aware of the constant battle between good and evil, they had no concept of the future judgment where God will punish those who take the lives of innocent people and reward those who live godly lives. The only justice they could conceive was the “here and now” justice. We can see far beyond that.

1. Let’s show the world in these desperate days what the love of God is like.

The discipline of love in the face of adversity is what distinguishes the Christian from other people (John 13:35). This is a time for us not only to show Christ’s love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but also to others who need to feel the warmth of that love in the cold aftermath of loss.

2. Let’s be much in prayer for the safety of those who are demonstrating love to others by their brave actions.

Our military forces, police, firemen, rescue workers, doctors, nurses and volunteers of all kinds are living out Jesus’ words, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Those who risk their lives for others are set in stark contrast to the cowardly terrorists who used the lives of others as a shield for their despicable acts. Let’s pray for these men and women and thank God for them.

3. Let’s speak up for understanding, tolerance, justice and forgiveness.

While you and I cannot tolerate the methods of these terrorists, their actions arose from the frustration of their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Who better to try to understand that hopelessness than those of us who have found hope in Christ. We need to be vocal in our insistence that there should be zero tolerance for any backlash of hatred against people from different walks of lives. That will demonstrate the love of Christ. “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15).

4. Let’s be a voice for calm in an atmosphere of hatred and retaliation.

James said it so well: “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. For man’s

anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19-20). This is both a time for patriotism and a time for patience. Let’s be patriotic Americans who bring God’s Word to bear on the national debate about how to respond to terrorism.

5. Let’s be men and women of prayer, both for those who victimized and those who were their victims.

Pray for the friends and families of those who have lost lives due to terrorism. Pray for those who heroically continue to fight terrorism. Pray for our President and his aides as they formulate an appropriate response. Pray for Christians everywhere who have the opportunity to minister hope and comfort to bereaved families. “Pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

And while we pray for the families of the victims of terror, let’s pray as well for the families of terrorists. God’s grace and love extends to them too (John 3:16). Pray that God will break through their hatred and that the Holy Spirit will soften their hearts and draw them to Himself in salvation. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44)

The Christian response is always to look for the fingerprints of God in every situation. The terrorist attacks are devastating, but let’s seek opportunities to bring hope and forgiveness, help and grace, in the midst of that devastation. Let’s seize every opportunity to speak of God’s love and man’s need. Let’s do the work of an evangelist, a comforter, a friend. Let’s respond as Christians should; let’s respond with God’s love and care. God bless you as you do.

6. Let’s know that in the last days perilous times shall come

II Timothy 3:1-4 says, There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, and conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

There is no doubt about the hour in which we live being the season for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ as we link the above scripture with others in the Bible. Matt. 24:33-39 says, Even so when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son of Man, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

In order for us to compare our day with the day that Noah lived we can look in the book of Genesis 6. The Lord saw how great man’s and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and his heart was filled with pain…. (Genesis 6:5& 6). Now the earth was a corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them…(Genesis.6:11-13).

Excerpts from Betty Miller’s article on violence are worth mentioning here:The Bible describes our day very clearly from these scriptures. The condition of violence that caused the earth to be destroyed in Noah’s day is the same condition our earth is in today. Many people today are crying for the violence to be removed or restrained in our society. They are demanding that governments do something about this wickedness but they do not realize what is causing it. They believe if only the government would pass certain laws this would correct the violent behavior.

The government has done many of these things and there are simply not enough laws to cover every offense or enough men to police the system or enough prisons to contain the wicked. Thank God for good police systems and prisons that holds societies’ wickedness in check. God in His mercy has used good governments to restrain lawlessness throughout history. However, corrupt governments have caused much suffering for mankind also. Today many different kinds of programs and methods are being implemented to deal with the violence. However, it can never be totally removed until its root cause is corrected. Today’s madness cannot be dealt with by hiring more policemen to monitor and arrest offenders and then building bigger prisons to hold them. Our prisons are overflowing now. Men and their programs only prune the branches of an evil tree, while the root system remains intact. What is the root of violence? It’s rebellion against God and His laws. Therefore as long as the root system is untouched the tree will only grow more branches and bear more rotten fruit.

To remedy our problems in the earth we must all repent and turn to God and keep His laws and commandments and allow Jesus to change our evil natures into His nature of goodness. This total corporate turning to God can only take place when God brings judgement against evil and removes it, and then sets up His millennium kingdom in the earth. However, we must repent now so we can avoid the violence that will increase. In a time of violence many innocent people are destroyed, as well as the wicked. We should pray and seek God with our whole heart to be among those that shall be spared destruction. Only a true repentance and revival can save us.

In Matthew 24:12-14, The lord Jesus said because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Bible prophesies the events that will take place just prior to this time of the gospel going out to the whole world. The explosion of violence worldwide is one of those events. We are beginning to see this process take place in part as we are in the shadow of the millennium kingdom now. The Bible also speaks of a time of judgement that occurs during a tribulation period before the Lord’s second coming.

Matt. 13:38-43 says, The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The tares (wicked people) in this parable are being bundled for destruction because of their evil ways while God is also separating His people from the world system so He might protect and reward them. Although judgment usually has an evil connotation to it (the execution of the penalty for sin); it also has a positive side. Judgement has to do with the sowing and reaping process. This is defined in Galatians 6:7-9: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

From this we can see that the negative side of judgment is evil that is sown reaps destruction, while on the positive side, good that is sown through Jesus is rewarded. God’s judgment on evil is seen by the curse that is on wicked men, while God’s judgment for the righteous will manifest in His blessings and rewards on them. Some innocent people are destroyed also, but they will receive their reward in heaven; The Bible declares the way into the kingdom of God is strait and narrow and few be that find it.

Luke 13:24 says, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Matthew 7:14 says, Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Because men do not like a straight or restricted way we are seeing destruction on a massive level at this hour. This is not God initiating destruction against mankind through the curses in the earth, but it is the result of the fruit of evil manifesting in destruction. God can do no evil. He is righteous and pure. The negative judgments that are in our world, manifesting in violence, terrorist acts, wars, earthquakes, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. are a direct result of broken spiritual laws.

Ezekiel 11:21 says But [as for them] whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

The command to God’s people in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation is for us to be lights filled with His love and glory. God promises His people a place of peace and safety in the midst of violence. Just as Noah and his family were kept safe from the flood waters in the ark, we are kept safe from the flood of violence in our spiritual ark, Jesus. The only safe place for us as Christians is our surrender and obedience to God. Then, there is safety in being in the will of God. It matters not what physical place we are living, our safety is in Him as promised to us in Psalm 91. We daily pray and claim these scriptures. A portion of that Psalm should encourage all of us. Psalms 91:5-7 say Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee.

Some Christians will ask why they have been victims of violence and suffering if God’s Word promises them safety? First, to answer this we must define the two kinds of suffering: (1) Suffering for Christ: This suffering is the kind we go through for the cause of Christ as we are persecuted for being righteous. Examples are: going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, going without pleasures for the gospel’s sake, suffering because of others wrong doings toward us, etc. The other is (2) Suffering because of our sins or others: Sins of commission bring curses. These are deliberate sins of rebelling against God’s ways. Sins of omission can also cause us to suffer. These sins are the failure to pray, give, obey and take the time to learn of God’s ways. James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. “

Many Christians are suffering not because they are outright rebellious, but because they are ignorant of God’s Word or His ways. Hosea 4:6a says My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Some Christians are suffering because they are lazy and complacent. They do not pray as they should nor read their Bibles, witness, nor give their tithes and offerings, etc.

God’s safety is promised by our relationship with Jesus. Psalm 91:1 says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.“ If we want to be protected under God’s wings in this violent hour we must:

1. Totally commit to God’s will

2. Obey His Word in the Bible

3. Overcome self, sin and Satan

To be an overcomer at this hour and conquer the threat of violence against us, we must walk in faith and trust in God’s promises of safety and deliverance. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 24:6, 13-14, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come.”