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Fundamental
Evangelistic Association
selected
articles from:
©FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt
Costella,
Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor
Why Do the Heathen Rage?
God's Word Speaks to the Reason for, and Answer to, Worldwide
Terrorism
by Dennis Costella
T he terrorist attack against the
United States on September 11, 2001, shook the nation to its very core.
It was indeed a "wake-up call" for America, for we now realize that we
must be strong, alert and aware of the fact that liberty requires
vigilance and that enemies, who are willing to go to inexplicably
terrible ends to see America destroyed, abound without and within our
country. Clearly, national security and the administration of justice
are required as never before. It appears that our nation's response will
go far to correct the lethargy and indifference that have existed within
our borders, and America could very well come forth the better as a
result of this horrific wickedness—that is our prayer.
But the Islamic terrorist attack also caused many to look to the
Scriptures for an understanding of how this all fits in with God's plan
for the ages. Was this a fulfillment of a specific prophecy? Is the end
upon us? Has Armageddon arrived? Or does the Bible even tell us what we
are to believe and what we are to know concerning these perilous days
and the outcome of it all? Yes, It does! We need to look to God's Word
for the answers. The attack is just one more event that coincides with
what the Bible prophesies for our present time, for the age in which we
live.
The Continuing Conflict
The second psalm provides an encapsulated prophecy of
the course of the ages and the end for all who set themselves against
the one, true God. What He has revealed will surely come to pass! A
continuing battle rages between light and darkness, between God's plan
for the ages and Satan's attempt to replace what is of God with a
religious counterfeit. The days of ever increasing deception and
wickedness ahead will eventually culminate in the Great Tribulation when
the whole world, except for the redeemed, will worship the Antichrist
(Rev. 13: 1-10).
The psalmist asks in verse 1,
"Why do the heathen rage?" The answer: because they have rejected the
God of the Bible and are energized by the god of this world to oppose
what is God's plan through the Lord Jesus in the present Church Age and
through Israel in the coming Kingdom of Christ on the earth (vv. 2-3).
The Islamic hatred toward Israel, the United States and whoever else
refuses to bend the knee and say, "Allah is the one, true god and
Mohammed is his prophet" is readily apparent. But the same hatred is
also true of atheistic communism and humanism. All religions and
ideologies that "set themselves ... against the LORD, and against His
Anointed" (v.2) are in conflict with the God of the Bible. Those who
believe that the Bible is God's only and all-authoritative Word, that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior and that the Father's will
shall, indeed, come to pass in heaven and on earth are viewed by false
religions and ideologies as the greatest hindrances to "world peace and
justice." The unsaved scorn what the Word of God declares to be
absolutely true.
What does the Word have to say
about the future-and the present? First of all, God has promised a
coming Kingdom in fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs of
old, and He will perform those promises and keep those unconditional
covenants with a believing remnant of Israel when the King of kings-the
Lord Jesus Christ-returns to rule with a rod of iron "upon My holy hill
of Zion" (vv. 1-6). The "heathen" certainly do "rage" and "imagine vain
things" against what God says He will yet accomplish through a refined,
redeemed and regathered chosen people following the purging of the Great
Tribulation and the subsequent return and rule of God's "Anointed," the
King of all the earth (Zech. 12: 1-3; 8-14; 14:1-4; Matt. 24:29-31).
Jerusalem, as well as all of the land promised to Abraham and his seed,
is included in God's plan for Israel. Can there be any wonder,
therefore, why Satan stirs up animosity and rebellion against such a
coming reality. The second psalm's references to the "rage" of the
heathen certainly includes the religious fervor of the Islamic jihad
("holy war") against the Jews and any who align themselves with
Israel. This holy war even extends to the Westernized world, which in
the eyes of the Islamic fundamentalist, has "corrupted" many Muslims
from rigidly following the Koran due to the overreaching influence of
Western culture and ideals.
The Times of the Gentiles
Psalm 2 speaks prophetically
of God's response to those who set themselves in opposition to His
future plan for Israel. He "shall laugh ... [and] shall have them in
derision" (v. 4). Judgment will fall upon all who withstand "the LORD,
and ... His Anointed" (v. 2). But until that day when the wrath of God
is vented during the "seventieth week" (Dan. 9:27), which precedes
Christ's second coming to the earth, continual raging and satanically
inspired hatred will be leveled against God's plan and against His
people. During this "time of the Gentiles," the Jews remain under the
chastening hand of God.
Luke 21:24-"... Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled. " This verse speaks prophetically of the animosity and
desired dominion that all the surrounding nations have regarding Israel
during this present dispensation. This "trodding down" of the Jews and
the land of Israel began with the Babylonian reign of King
Nebuchadnezzar, the first kingdom in the dream summarized in Daniel
2:31-45. The fourth and final kingdom described in the dream will be the
revived Roman Empire with the ten toes. The key truth revealed in this
prophetic vision of Nebuchadnezzar is that the opposition of the heathen
will exist toward Israel until the "stone cut out ... without hands"
smites the image upon the feet, the final empire of which the Antichrist
will be the head. That destruction will take place when Christ returns
"in power and great glory" and stands upon Mt. Zion. At that time (the
end of the Tribulation), He will destroy all nations, which are led by
the Antichrist himself and marshaled against Jerusalem (vv. 4-9 cf.
Zech. 14:2-4; Joel 3:9-14). After the utter destruction of the
Antichrist and his host, the smiting stone " [becomes] a great mountain,
and [fills] the whole earth" (Dan. 2:35; 7:21-27). This will mark the
"end of the times of the Gentiles" and the beginning of the millennial
reign of Christ over the whole earth.
Therefore, Israel, though
presently under the chastening hand of God due to their apostasy, still
has a future regathering and blessing that is promised to a refined
remnant following the Tribulation. God is not finished with the Jews,
and they will yet experience a literal fulfillment of all the promises
that God made to them in the Old Testament, when Israel was under the
Law that God delivered to Moses on the Mount.
Again, "Why do the heathen
rage?" Why is there such intense opposition to God's plan for the future
blessing of Israel and His present plan for believers in the Church Age,
even to the terrorist extreme we witness today? Why is there fervent
scorn leveled at any who believes the Bible and the one, true God of the
Bible? It is because that is the prophesied, satanically inspired
mindset of the unregenerate "heathen" (Eph. 2:1-3; IJn. 5:19, 20), those
who religiously reject God the Father, God the Son and the only Divine
Revelation, the Bible. Terrorist activity by Islamic fundamentalists is
simply a "worst case scenario" of satanically motivated opposition to
God as predicted and described in the Word. Was the September 11th
attack a fulfillment of a specific prophecy? No! Was it a continuation
of the prophesied course of the "times of the Gentiles"? Yes!
The Church's Response
In the current dispensation,
God is working in the world through His Church, composed of both Jews
and Gentiles who trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior in this
Church Age (1 Cor. 10:32; 12:13-14). Read Acts 4:18-29. Notice that when
the Jewish religious leaders threatened the early church to stop
preaching Christ, the believers quoted the second psalm. The pagan Roman
government then stepped in and tried to intimidate the believers and
force them to stop preaching Christ as the only Savior. But the
persecuted church aligned itself with the glorious truth given in Psalm
2: God is the Almighty Creator! His will shall perfectly come to pass!
Rather than praying for peace, safety or ease, these believers prayed,
"Grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy
Word" (vv. 25-29).
Christian, we are in a similar
situation today. The heathen are raging, and the powers that be are
threatening. Will we pray and purpose to speak the Truth, preach Christ,
stand true to God's Word and contend against whomever or whatever is set
against It? We should. Cowering in silence is not an option, for we have
the divine Record of how those faithful saints of old responded to the
threatenings of those who opposed God and His Word. But always remember:
As believers, ours is a spiritual battle, not carnal (Eph. 6:11ff). Our
desire must be to seek the salvation of all men, not their defeat
through a military or political conquest (which is the aim of the
terrorist). The early church sought to speak the Word boldly so souls
would be saved and Christ would be magnified.
In light of the recent events,
a growing sentiment among influential figures and organizations is that
no religious group should have the right to criticize another religion
or to give the impression—let alone declare!—that their particular faith
is the only true faith. Many view the narrow nature of "fundamentalism"
as lacking in sensitivity and respect for all the other religions, which
are supposedly all bonafide avenues to God.
Christian, the same political
pressure and threats that the early church faced are leveled at the
Bible-believer today who openly, boldly and with Spirit-wrought
conviction proclaims, "Jesus Christ is the only Savior!
The God of the Bible is the only God! The Old and New
Testament Scriptures are the only revelation of God to
man!" The early church was "commanded ... not to speak at all nor teach
in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18). What was their response? We will
hearken unto God, not man, "for we cannot but speak the things which we
have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19-20). The same is true for us today–we
must speak what the Word of God declares to be true, for at stake are
the salvation of all who will hear and heed the Gospel and the Church's
testimony before the world.
What was the impetus for the
believers to stand strong and true when confronted with the raging of
the unbelievers? The early church met together for prayer and claimed
the promises of the second psalm (Acts 4:23-29). They acknowledged the
sovereignty and might of their God and requested His enabling grace to
counter the threats of the unsaved with a "Thus saith the Lord ... ! "
The conclusion of this psalm
gives the sum of the whole matter: "Serve the LORD with fear, and
rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son [believe on Jesus Christ], lest He
be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a
little [judgment lies ahead for all who refuse to believe and receive by
faith the Son]. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him" (vv.
11-12). Oh, dear Christian, we must preach the Gospel! We must stand
firm in the Faith. We must strive to please our Lord in all things. And
for all who do, "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."
Amen!
Related Resource:
Islam In the Light of Scripture
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