The history of mankind is often punctuated with horrific tragedies caused by some persons against others in very diabolical manners. These atrocities are so wicked as to make the occasion of each to be "a date which will live in infamy." Examples include Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (August 24, 1572), The Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915), The Attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (November 22, 1963) – and most recently The Attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (September 11, 2001).

I. Witness here another reason to not "put confidence in man"! Such atrocities surely shock us. But they should not be viewed with total disbelief. Since men in an attempted deicide willfully murdered the Son of God (Acts 2:22f) – having failed in an earlier attempt to do so (Matthew 2:13-18), we should not disbelieve their atrocities against each other. Apart from the restraining hand of God, we all are capable of participating in even worse deeds. This atrocity is but another manifestation of the total depravity of man (Romans 3:10-18), and another reason why we should not "put confidence in man."

II. Witness here another reason why "It is better to trust in the LORD"! The child of God realizes that such atrocities may shake even a great nation to its foundation, but they will never do so to God and His kingdom. In the words of Albert Leonard Murray:

"The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitudes of the isles be glad!" (Psalm 97:1; 99:1-3).

Unbelievers may object, "But where was God when this atrocity killed so many people?" We reply, "He was in the same place where He was when the even greater atrocity was committed against His Son!" Neither event was a victory of the wicked one! As much as there is concerning the present atrocity that we do not understand, we rest assured that even this was in the secret and decretive will of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 29:29a), and that it will redound to His praise and glory (Psalm 76:10) and to the benefit of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Did He not do so with the murder of His own Son? To the praise of God's glory and grace, the men who spilt the blood of His Son but opened the fountain in which His elect are cleansed (Zechariah 13:1).

III. Do not confuse this event with Biblical prophecy. False prophets will deceive many into believing this atrocity was the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy regarding the end-time and Armageddon. It was not! This atrocity is not a "sign of [Christ's] coming, and of the end of the age" (Matthew 24:3ff); we are not to look for "wars and rumors of wars" (vv.6-8), but for "the sign of the Son of Man ... in heaven" (vv.29-31). Neither is this atrocity to be associated with the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-21; 20:7-10); Armageddon is a battle of unbelievers against saints, not of earthly powers. Furthermore, America is never mentioned in Biblical prophecy; prophecies regarding the Israel of God are not to be applied to it. (Those who apply Isaiah 9:10 to this atrocity evidently have not read the context, vv.9-12.) And those who would apply texts such as 2 Timothy 3:1, 13 to the present atrocity should bear in mind that such texts speak specifically of the spiritual warfare against the kingdom of God, and that any other application is but incidental. (It is shameful that the same prophets who lie about Christ and His gospel [2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Matthew 7:15-23] exploit such crises in His name for their own personal gain. And it is shameful that the same politicians who oppose God and His Christ in their legislation and governance [Psalm 2:1-3] appeal to Him in times of crisis, but return to their former ways when it passes.)

IV. Pray! Pray that God would use this atrocity to the glory of His Son and the conversion of souls, as He did the atrocity committed against His Son (Acts 2:36ff). Pray for the mourners – and may they be shown that for which they should mourn even more, and receive the greater comfort (Matthew 5:4). Pray for our nation and its officials (1 Timothy 2:1-4), and those who protect it (Romans 13:1-7).

V. Act! We should do what we can for those who have suffered such devastation. Give blood. Donate to charities. Telephone or write a note of encouragement to survivors you may know. And remember that "It is to better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

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