Appointment with Terror
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Terrorism will eventually overcome the U.S. as prophesied.
This sermon was given 13 1/2 years ago. The expansion of terror has since advanced beyond imagination! Changed Forever by Another Day of Infamy.
I do not need to describe the events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Possibly the single worst act of terrorism the world has yet seen took place on American soil. As with the attack on Pearl Harbor, this strike was intended to be an assault on the very security of the United States.
My birth date is December 7, 1948. Because of this, and because my father's older brother was at Pearl Harbor during that attack, this day has been a subject of interest to me my entire life. I have walked Pearl Harbor and studied nearly every detail of what happened.
The death toll from the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor was over 2,300. The Titanic sank with 1,500 lost. The September 11 attacks resulted in over 2,800 deaths!
Ironically, twenty years ago, in 1981, the United Nations General Assembly officially designated the opening day of its annual regular session as the International Day of Peace. It is to be observed each year. In 2001, that day fell on September 11th. It is probably no accident that the terrorist conspirators, who plotted these awful acts, picked this very date to stick a thumb in the eye of both America and the world. The sheer daring of their plan suggests that they feel they can, in the future, do almost anything they choose—with near impunity. How do you stop criminals whose acts do not require a "getaway”? Through the horrific vehicle of mass murder, suicide bombers are interested in being "heroes” in death.
The choice of targets in these attacks was much more important, prophetically, than you might realize. The World Trade Center and the Pentagon are enormous symbols of both the pride and power of the greatest nation on earth. Actually, the Pentagon is the single largest building on earth—with the Twin Towers, Building Seven and the several-story structure that tied them together into one complex probably not far behind.
Yet, I heard two national news commentators state that "this was not an attack on America, but rather it was merely an attack on some buildings in America.” Though they were trying to bring a reassuring calm to the nation, they were desperately wrong in their assessment of what took place. The particular buildings that were struck were selected because they are possibly the greatest symbols of the world's most powerful country. The terrorists knew exactly which buildings to target in order to make the maximum statement of their purpose and to kill the maximum number of people in each strike.
We may never be certain of the target of the fourth plane, which crashed in southwestern Pennsylvania. I am chilled as I realize that there was likely a struggle in the cockpit, literally, as this plane turned in the skies directly over The REAL TRUTH offices. The Bible states that Satan the devil, who is called the "god of this world” in II Corinthians 4:4, is also called "the prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. He and the fallen spirits he leads were almost certainly involved in the struggle for control of the jet in the "air” above this office.
