Since the attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, terrorism has become the number one concern of most people in the world. We should understand that the increase in terrorism is a sign that we are entering the Times of Distress.
Christians should not be afraid of terrorism.
The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, Christians should not fear terrorism. Trouble can strike anywhere. The only place of true safety is to be in the Lord's will. If we are living in his will, we are safe. Even death cannot harm us. |
An increase in terrorism was prophesied in one of Daniel's visions.
Daniel then saw a leopard rising out of the sea. It is described in Daniel 7:6.
After that, I looked and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads and it was given authority to rule.
The leopard is an animal known for its agility and intelligence. It lies in wait near a town to tear to pieces anyone who ventures out (Jer 5:6; Hos 13:7). It is also very swift (Hab 1:8). The two pairs of wings are also an indication of swiftness and speed. This beast has four heads and it is given authority to rule. The number four represents the earth. A head stands for authority, so the four heads mean that this beast has authority throughout the earth. This suggests that the beast is not a nation, but a worldwide movement.The leopard is found in India, Asia and Africa. This indicates that this movement will be based in the developing world.
I believe Daniel was describing International Terrorism. In recent years a worldwide network of terrorist groups has sprung up. These groups are very agile: they go underground for a time, and then when the time is right, strike at a place where society is vulnerable. They move very quickly, and by the time their crime is discovered, they have gone underground again. This terrorist movement is agile and violent, just like a leopard.
The leopard is not a nation. It is a Spiritual Power that works with spirits of anger, fear and violence, to accomplish its purposes on earth.
Modern terrorism combines terrible destruction with planned media publicity. The event is conducted in a way that will attract intensive media coverage. The irony is that modern terrorism began in Israel with the bombing of the King David Hotel. The militant right-wing Zionist underground organization the Irgun blew up the hotel which was the British administrative headquarters for Palestine. Niney-one people were killed. The event received intensive publicity and undermined British resolve to remain in Palestine.
Similar methods were adopted by the Baader Meinhof and the Red Brigades in Europe. The IRA adopted a similar approach in Ireland. Their most spectacular achievement was bombing a Brighton hotel, where the British Conservative party as holding its annual conference. Margret Thatcher was lucky to escape. Similar tactics were adopted by various Palestinian groups.At the beginning of this century, leadership of international terrorism was taken up by Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. This network trained thousands of Islamic terrorists and sent them all over the world. Bin Laden was directing terrorism against the United States and the rest of the western world. His efforts climaxed in the attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. It is interesting that Daniel saw a leopard with four wings. That is the number of planes that Al Qaeda used to hijack and attack the United States.
More recently, leadership of international terrorism has passed to the Islamic State (ISIS) in West Asia and Boko Harem in Africa.
If my interpretation of Daniels vision is correct, then the third beast of Daniel links with the fourth seal of Revelation 6, where a rider called Death was given power to kill people by the sword, famine and plague. If famine became widespread in our age, this would further encourage an increase in terrorism. Such a move could be represented by the sword that John mentioned. The fourth horseman and the beast like a leopard may be linked together.
Terrorism of any kind is very difficult to control. It could be used as a justification by governments taking power for themselves to control terrorism. The growth of International Terrorism could help the centralisation of political power.
Terrorists have succeeded if they can create terror among the people they are attacking. Often the terror is out of proportion to the scale of the actual attack. Fear and terror are likely to grow as terrorism spreads.
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