Terror at the Twin Towers

The High Towers Fall

On Tuesday, September 11,2001, the Twin Towers in New York City were devastated by hijacked airplanes. Some estimate that 4,700 persons may have died from the explosions. A total of four airplanes and 266 people lost their lives at the hands of Islam fundamentalist terrorists. The President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, said this was an act of war. This would be the first war of the 21st Century. He commented that the world would never be the same.

I was in San Francisco planning to take a flight back to my home in Tampa, Florida, but like thousands of other Americans, my travel plans were grounded. No planes were allowed to leave any U.S. airports for several days. Air traffic came to a standstill. Government officials scrambled to devise new strict airline and airport measures to prevent such terrorist events from reoccurring.

The morning paper of the San Jose Mercury News of Wednesday, September 12, 200J, had a large heading which said: “Day of Terror.” Without a doubt, America and the world witnessed an awful act of terrorism. But why?

Bedeviling Evidence

The Philadelphia News for Thursday, September 13, 2001, published an Associated Press photograph of one of the Twin Towers billowing up in smoke. The face of Satan with an eerie frown appears in the dark cloud of smoke. “A higher -:contrast version of the photo seems to bring into focus the face of the Evil One, complete with beard and horns and malignant expression. . .”

Although the Bible does not say that the Devil has a beard or horns, the photo does seem to depict the frown of some demon or fallen angel of destruction. The book of Job tells how Satan is behind many if not most acts of terror. It was the devil who inspired the middle-eastern Sabeans to mercilessly slay the servants of Job with the edge of the sword and steal his oxen and asses. The devil also stirred the Chaldeans into three bands of terrorists and overtook the other servants of Job who were tending his camels and slew them at the edge of the sword. Job 1:15,17.

The evil terror did not stop. “The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them, and! only am escaped alone to tell thee.” Job 1:16.

The fire that seemed to fall from heaven was not directly from God but the work of the devil as were the ancient terrorist acts on Job. The calamities of this world are the result of the workings of the devil and his angels who fell from heaven. They have been busily spreading misery throughout the world. Misery loves company.

Satan is behind all acts of terror and devastation. He delights in war. He started the first war in heaven and has continued his war on earth for thousands of years. The story of Cain killing his brother Abel has been repeated on a grander scale many times. Jealousy and hatred breed murder and death. Yet in spite of the enemy’s actions, God is sovereign. Nothing can happen without God’s consent.

The Law Forsaken

The book of Leviticus gives us some reasons for the calamity. We know that history repeats itself and whatever God foretold about Israel could be applied to any other government that claims to trust in God.

“And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant; I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror… and cause sorrow of heart… And I will destroy your high places.. .” Leviticus 26:15,16,30.
The high places are destroyed and terror enters the stage of life when individuals, families, ethnic groups, and even nations disregard God’s Ten Commandments. God says, “If you will not keep my commandments, I have no choice but allow terror and sorrow to be your portion.”

New York’s modem Tower of Babel fell. Like Babylon of old, many cried, “Babylon is fallen.” The great towers of world trade and business that symbolize the financial prosperity in America have fallen. Why? Terror strikes because America has put God out of its business transactions and forfeited His caring and divine protection. His holy Sabbath day is not observed. Low wages are paid to the poor classes so that the rich classes can accumulate more money. The innocent babies are aborted, in lieu of promising and profitable careers. Lies and falsehoods are propagated through advertisements of products. Divorce and remarriage that disintegrate the family are chosen as viable options in the frenzy to achieve a higher level in one’s business profession. Thus, God’s Ten Commandments are disregarded under the excuse of making a dollar.

Zephaniah the prophet tells us that when fire destroys the high towers of a nation, sin is the underlining reason. Transgression of God’s holy law invites terror to show its ugly head and brings trouble, distress, wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloominess, and thick darkness in its train.

“The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” Zephaniah 1:14,15.

Just think of the aftermath of the Twin Tower destruction. Great and thick dark clouds hid the New York skyline from view. Where the two towers shined under the bright sun and sometimes over the fog, now only a short steel skeleton and a huge mound of wasteness and desolation remained. Gloom, distress, and trouble filled men’s hearts and minds as they bitterly cried looking at the loss of innocent lives and multiple financial enterprises.

“A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zephaniah 1:16-18.

The high towers of New York fell under the fire of explosions. The human blood was poured out and flesh was burnt even as dung is burnt in the bush for fuel. Neither the silver, gold, or large dollar reserves were able to stay the massacre, or deliver the victims from the fire and speedy riddance of the attack on America. From a human standpoint it was an act of terrorism, but from a divine standpoint it was the result of sin. What is sin? Sin is the transgression of God’s Ten Commandments.

New York Terror Foretold

The fall of the huge business towers by fire were foretold long ago in the Testimonies. Ellen G. White had a vision of the New York City skyscrapers and their demolition by fire. She wrote:
“On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify their owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and in them the most costly material was used. Those to whom these buildings belonged were not. asking themselves; ‘How can we best glorify God?’ The Lord was not in their thoughts.”

“As these lofty buildings went up, the owners rejoiced with ambitious pride that they had money to use in gratifying self and provoking the envy of their neighbors. Much of the money that they thus invested had been obtained through exaction, through grinding down the poor. They forgot that in heaven an account of every business transaction is kept; every unjust deal, every fraudulent act, is there recorded.”

“The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fireproof buildings and said: ‘They are perfectly safe.’ But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction.” Testimonies for the Church, volume 9, pages 12, 13.

Is not this a clear prediction of what took place on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in Manhattan, New York City? Did not the lofty fireproof buildings meet their destruction by fire? Was not the alarm of fire and fire engines heard in the streets? Although the prediction seems to have been fulfilled, it will be repeated in a grander scale as the day of the Lord approaches.

Fire As Divine Judgment

Fire is frequently a sign of divine judgment. Even when the evil one uses it to bring desolation, it is part of God’s sovereign permissive plan. The Holy Scriptures clearly declare that when fire appears and does its destructive work, it is usually a sign of God’s displeasure. Of course, there are always exceptions like in the case of Job where it accomplished its purifying work.

The Apostle Paul says, “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” 1 Corinthian 3:13-15.

The Apostle Paul draws an allegory between a building caught by fire and the character of a person tested by the fires of life. Certain materials that make up the building are easily burnt like wood, hay, and stubble. Yet other materials like gold, silver, and precious stones endure the test of burning flames. So it shall be in the day of judgment, when all shall have to give account before the trial bar of Jesus Christ. Whosoever has not perfected his human character shall suffer loss. Whosoever has built his or her life upon the solid foundation of Jesus Christ shall endure the judgment and be found worthy of eternal life.
“For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29. Hence, those who have been justified by faith and sanctified by obedience are prepared to meet their Creator and Redeemer. The trials of affliction as if by fire, only serve to purify their character. If death surprises them, it only serves to seal their holy character for eternity. Yet those who are unprepared to meet their Lord, fire serves to reveal their unrighteousness and seal their fate. Death only comes as a prelude of the fiery finite hell that awaits the unbeliever and disobedient after the great white throne judgment.

The prophet Isaiah writes that fire and terror are the result of disobeying God’s Ten Commandments. It serves as a sign and a curse to a nation, to a country, and even to a superpower that disregarding God’s sacred law has detrimental and irreversible consequences. Both Isaiah 5:24 and Isaiah 24:5,6 present the same principle.

“Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 5:24.

“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned…” Isaiah 24:5,6.

A Spiritual Wake Up Call

The Day of Terror is a spiritual wake up call to seek God while He may be found. It prompts us to look in and to look up. We need to look in and identify the sins and iniquity that are separating us from God and eternity. We need to look in and confess our transgressions to God. We need to look up to heaven in faith and with hope of forgiveness. We need to look up for guidance and protection from the things that will overtake and ensnare our world.
The events of terror at the Twin Towers cause men’s hearts to fail them “for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Luke 21:26. It should serve as an alarm clock to awaken us from our spiritual slumber and worldly drowsiness. It should motivate us to engage in a meaningful introspection and self-analysis of our goals and mission in life.

Upon viewing the fall of the high towers in New York, one is struck with one’s own finiteness and vulnerability. Death usually comes without any notice. It strikes like a thief in the night, like a terrorist with the element of surprise and the sting of death. One is struck with the uncertainty of life and the unpredictability of potential distress.

In the midst of such an arena of insecurity, Jesus counsels us to watch and pray, to believe and obey, to share and behold His salvation. His coming is drawing nigh. The signs of the times announce His soon return in glory. Don’t allow that day to come upon you unaware. Don’t allow the cares of this world to leave you in spiritual darkness. Choose today to seek the Lord and to hide under His wings of safety.

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34-36.
Amen.

By Idel Suarez, Jr., Ph.D