"The young woman, an American, wept as she stood in Israel’s Lord Airport. Only minutes before, people had been scurrying to catch flights or eagerly awaiting the arrival of friends and relatives.
"No one paid much attention when vacation-bound passengers stepped off an Air France flight and walked toward the luggage area. In the crush of people, no one paid much attention as three young Japanese men picked up their luggage from that Air France flight. And then it happened. A tidal wave of terror turned the passenger lounge into a slaughterhouse.
"The three Japanese, armed with machine guns and hand grenades plucked from their luggage, attacked. They hurled grenades in every direction and raked the crowd with hundreds of bullets, aiming at no one in particular. In the three to four minutes of killing frenzy, the terrorists lost control of time end direction. One died from the explosion of his own grenade. Another was cut in half by the bullets of another terrorist firing wildly into the crowd.
"When the shooting and screaming subsided 24 people were dead.. .Another victim died two days later. Seventy-six people were wounded" (Senior Scholastic, February 8, 1979, p. 7).
This is but one example of what is commonly called TERRORISM, which involves unlawful acts of VIOLENCE intended to cause FEAR and TERROR to fill the hearts of people. TERRORISM is an organized and systematic attempt to use terror as a means of coercion (using VIOLENCE and FORCE to get people to do what you want them to do). TERRORISTS will use almost any murderous or violent means to accomplish their wicked purposes including bombings, assassinations, kidnapping, hijacking and holding people hostage.
Other dreadful examples of terrorism are as follows:
1) The Ku Klux Klan is a terrorist group that was formed in 1865, Their goal was to terrify blacks and those who sympathized with blacks. Many Southern whites believed that they were the superior race and that blacks naturally should be slaves. Thus members of the Ku Klux Klan had as their purpose the maintenance of the superiority of the white race.
They made every effort to cause terror among the blacks. Klan members would force wives to watch as their husbands were shot at point-blank range. They whipped, beat, and raped. They hung blacks on trees, in public view, so that others would fear. Some blacks even slept in the woods at night for fear that their cabin might be raided by the Klansmen.
2) In 1972, at the Munich Olympic Village, certain Israeli athletes were murdered by terrorists. This has been ]mown as the Munich massacre.
3) Aldo Moro was once the Italian premier, a man respected and loved by his countrymen. In 1978 he was kidnapped by a group of terrorists known as the Red Brigades. The kidnappers demanded the release of about 16 other Red Brigades who were being held as prisoners. The Italian government refused to do this. Finally on May 9, 1978, the bullet-ripped body of. Aldo Moro was found in the trunk of a car in the center of Rome.
4) In November of 1979 the United States embassy in Iran was seized by a group of militant students and more than 50 Americans were held as hostages. They would be released only if the United States should return the deposed Shah of Iran (the former leader of the country) who at the time was being treated in a hospital in New York City.
Can you think of any similar acts of violence and terrorism which have taken place in
recent years?_______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
TERRORISM is an international problem, and it seems to be growing worse and worse. Hardly a day goes by without some type of terrorist activity taking place somewhere in the world, causing panic, bloodshed and death.
What are the goals or aims of terrorists? Some may desire to spread a message or specific doctrine (terrorism Is given first-class publicity–the story is published on the front page of newspapers, and everyone learns who the terrorists are and what they want–and this advertising is free of charge except for the victims who had to pay a dear price). Others may seek to weaken or even overthrow the existing government. They often want to show that the current government can not effectively rule the nation and that they are powerless to stop the acts of terrorism.
Other terrorist groups seek to occupy land that is not theirs. For example, the Palestinians want the land that belongs to Israel (compare Genesis 21:25–why did the servants of Abimelech commit this act of VIOLENCE? _________________________ __________________ Certainly the desire for power, wealth and recognition are behind many outbreaks of terrorism. In Judges 9:5 Abimelech violently (see Judges 9:24 where "cruelty" means "violence") destroyed 70 persons with a stone in a vicious act of terrorism. What was the motive behind this (Judges 9:2,6)?_______ ________________________________________
Can you find some verses in Romans 3:10-18 which accurately depict modern day terrorists from God’s point of view? In Proverbs 4:14-19 the way of the wicked is described. According to verse 17, they eat the bread of _____________________ and drink the wine of ____________________ What is in their blood-defiled hands (Isaiah 59:6 and compare verse 3)? __________________________ Terrorists are those who love violence. What is God’s attitude towards terrorists (Psalm 11:5)? ____________________________
God will certainly repay men for their wicked and violent deeds. What was one of the marked characteristics of those who lived in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:11,13)? ___________ _____________________________ What happened to these violent ones (Genesis 7:23)?
Consider Psalm 7:15-16 ("pate" in verse 16 means "the crown of the
head") and explain how this principle worked in the case of the terrorists at the
Lord Airport as described on page 31:_____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Sometimes it seems that terrorists are successful in fulfilling their goals (Psalm 73:3). They succeed in accomplishing their violent deeds (Psalm 73:6-7). Often they avoid arrest and go unpunished. Their wicked schemes are often carried out just as planned. However, when we consider their END (that which will happen to them after this life–Psalm 73:17), we realize that the TERRORISTS will be consumed with __________________ (Psalm 73:19)!
In Isaiah 53 we are given a prophetic picture of Calvary’s cross, as the suffering Messiah is violently crucified. What violence had Christ done (Isaiah 53:9)? ________________ Someday that same Christ will be King over all the earth. Will the earth be filled with violence and terrorism during the Kingdom Age (Isaiah 60:18)? _________ The nation Israel will no longer be subject to terrorist attacks!
How can we be protected and saved from violent people who may even walk the streets of our cities? Should we depend on the government to keep us from harm? Should we hire secret service agents to act as bodyguards day and night? Should we make our homes fortresses or citadels? No, there is a much better protection than any or all of these things just mentioned. David, whose life seemed to be in constant danger (he had more enemies than hairs!–Psalm 69:4), knew the secret of how to be protected from violent terrorists. What protection did He have (2 Samuel 22:3,49; Psalm 18:48; Psalm 140:1,4)? ____________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
What is one thing the child of God does not need to fear (Hebrews 13:6)? ____
_________________________________Why is this so (Hebrews 13:5)? ___________________ How
would you answer the question found in Psalm 118:6? _____________________________
_________________________ Why does the believer not need to fear, even though an host of
terrorists should rise against him (Psalm 27:1-3)?
____________________________________________________
The aim of terrorists is to make men and women fear. They seek to terrify the people. They want people to be afraid of walking the streets, or of going out at night or, like some of the blacks during the Ku Klux Klan era, of sleeping in their own homes! The believer in Christ need not fear because he knows two things:
Nothing can happen to a child of God apart from divine permission. Joseph was a victim of "terrorist" activities of his own brothers (Genesis 37), but the Lord allowed this and worked it together for good (Genesis 50:20 and compare Romans 8:28). The devil and the devil’s children can only go so far (Job 1:12; 2:6)!
This does not mean that we are to be presumptuous (overstepping due bounds) and say, "Since God is my Protector and since nothing can happen to me unless God allows it, I’ll march through the worst section of the city at the worst time of the day, dangling $20 bills in front of me as an invitation to any prospective crooks or terrorists!" No, unless you use your head, you may lose your head! If we make sure we do our part (with all reasonableness and God-given common sense), we can be sure God will do His part!
There is a limit to what men can do to us. What is the worst thing they can do to the believer (Matthew 10:28)? _______________ ___________________________ What is the worst thing God can do to a person (Matthew 10:28)? ________________ _________________ Who should we fear? ________________________________
If we have a good and healthy fear of God, then we will never need to fear anyone else! If God is your Terror, then you will never be terrified by a terrorist!
LET HIM BE YOUR ________________________________ AND
LET HIM BE YOUR ________________________________"!
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