On September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists commandeered four United States airliners, intending to use them as fiery “missiles” to destroy high profile targets within the United States. Three of the four managed to carry out their missions, by flying two of the planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and the third into the Pentagon. The fourth was apparently intended for a fourth target in the Washington, D.C. area, but its heroic passengers were able to overcome the terrorists, causing it to crash in Pennsylvania.

The various aspects of the "9/11" terrorist attack, along with subsequent military actions by the United States thereafter, now make it possible to positively associate those tragic events with Woe 2.  

• The nature of the September 11 terrorist attack was like the nature of the "four angels" who motivated it.
  
  The fact that there were four angels released from the river Euphrates, and also four coordinated terrorist attacks seems more than coincidental. However, of greatest relevance was the nature of the attacks in relation to the character of the four angels. These angels had been “bound” in the river Euphrates prior to their release, therefore we may surmise that they were fallen angels, i.e. of a demonic nature. This would make it quite natural for them to use individuals of like kind, i.e. people who had become captured by satanic influences, and thereby driven by evil desires against their fellow man.
  
  

• The origin of the September 11 terrorist attack had to come from that region of the world identified by the prophetic reference to the “river Euphrates”.
  
  The river Euphrates will one day mark the eastern boundary of the Promised Land (Genesis 15.18), but throughout history it has also defined the border of that region to its east from which those ancient empires of Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia descended upon Israel. In this regard, it also marks the boundary beyond which the nation of Afghanistan is located. This fact made that prophetic reference particularly appropriate when it was discovered shortly after the terrorist attack that it was directed by the Al-Qaida, whose main base of operations was in Afghanistan.
  
  

• When the timing of the September 11 terrorist attack is referenced to Afghanistan, the origin of the terrorist attack, is discovered to be Elul 24, the date in the Post-Exilic prophetic book of Haggai for the beginning of the rebuilding of the "temple" of mankind (See Woe 2 backup).
  
  

• The subsequent aerial attack on Afghanistan by U.S. forces a few weeks later occurred on another prophetic date in Haggai, associated with the rebuilding of the "temple" during the End Times. 
  
  The United States began to bomb Afghanistan on October 8 at 11:15 AM EST. Since October 8, 2001 was Tishri 21 in the Levitical Calendar at the source of the attack, the bombing actually began on the second of the three dates given in (Haggai 2.1), when Haggai prophesied "I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory". This text is generally understood by Bible scholars to have its fulfillment during the End Times.
  
  

• The fall of the Taliban regime, ruling government in Afghanistan, occurred on the final End Times prophetic date in Haggai, associated with the overthrow of Gentile kingdoms.
  
  The five-year rule of the Taliban came to an official end on Sunday, December 9, 2001, as the last Afghan province slipped from its control. Since December 9 was Chislev 24 in the Levitical Calendar, the Taliban regime fell on the third prophetic date given in (Haggai 2.20-22), when the overthrow of Gentile kingdoms is predicted in the End Times.

View the above key dates

It is seen that the "9/11" terrorist attack has direct connections with Woe 2, not only by virtue of its origin and precise timing, but also by the fact that the initial attack was followed by actions coinciding with End Time dates in Haggai. Yet, (Revelation 9.15-16) seems to indicate that the carnage would involve "a third of mankind", and employ an "army" numbering hundreds of millions. How can such statements be reconciled with the "9/11" event? Consider the following perspective:

• It is remembered that "a third" was used in connection with each of the first four Trumpet judgements, yet it was possible to associate those Trumpets with specific historic events during the years 1988-1995. Indeed, that correlation revealed that "a third" was simply a part of the apocalyptic terminology used in the Revelation, and did not denote that a literal "third" of the objects under attack would be destroyed. While the Bible uses the word "third" in a literal sense with respect to all sorts of things, it is used apocalyptically in both (Ezekiel 5.2, 12) and (Zechariah 13.8-9) to denote God's dealings with selected groups of people, the context determining whether those selected were to be destroyed or preserved. Accordingly, if we adopt the same meaning here, this "third" can also refer to a selected group of people who will be the objects of the demonic attacks directed by the four angels.
  
  

• The word "army" typically brings to mind a conventional fighting force, deployed according to a traditional order of battle, on a battlefield defined by geographical limits. However, consider the following comments as they refer to a different, but very real kind of "army".

These quotes suggest an "army" quite unlike that visualized by the western mind, yet with the very same objectives of destruction and conquest over the non-Islamic world. If the "army of Islam" is the one in view in Woe 2, the other connections just established with respect to the "9/11" terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists become quite understandable. While it is difficult to define the total number of adherents to Islamic fundamentalism within the world, it is certain that it is either the prevailing, or near prevailing, ideology in middle eastern nations like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. If the entire world is included, the number of people with such an ideology would surely be hundreds of millions, just as indicated in Woe 2. By this reasoning, an understanding of Woe 2 would not require the existence of a conventional army, deployed on a regional battlefield, but simply a very large militant force, bonded together with a common purpose, and dedicated to the conquest of western society as we know it. Moreover, a careful reading of verse 16 does not require that the number of those who actually carry out the attack be in the millions, but only that the "army" be that large.

Consequently, the 9/11 terrorist attack was in fact conducted by Satanic forces under the guise of Islamic Jihadists.

On April 4, 2004 (Nisan 13), Sheikh Al-Sadr mobilized the "Mahdi" militia, attacking Coalition forces in Iraq in the cities of Fallujah and Baghdad. The name "Mahdi" has strong apocalyptic overtones among Islamic Jihadists, because this figure is regarded within branches of Islam to be a messiah who will appear just before the final day of Judgement, and bring peace and justice upon the earth. 

The Nisan 13, 2004 date when the "Mahdi" militia was first introduced is linked with the story of Haman in the book of Esther in an interesting way. When a Jew by the name of Mordecai refused to bow or pay homage to prideful Haman, he became so enraged that he plotted to kill, not only Mordecai, but all of the Jews living in the Old Testament Medo-Persian kingdom. Haman ordered that "Pur", i.e. the lot, be cast to determine the date when the Jews would be destroyed. Based on this, a decree was published on Nisan 13, informing officials in all of the Persian provinces that the date chosen for the annihilation of all Jews was to be on Adar 13, in the following year. However, as the intrigue and its consequences developed, Haman's plot backfired when he was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai, and the Jews then reversed the decree by overpowering their enemies on Adar 13-15. This victory gave rise to the Feast of Purim on those dates.

In the footsteps of Haman, the "Mahdi" militia was likewise mobilized on Nisan 13, 2004, with the objective of introducing an End Times messiah, who would bring peace and justice upon the earth, demonstrate the victory of Islam over other religions, and conclude with a victory parade through Jerusalem, at the coming of "Jesus" the prophet. Of course, such a messiah would be false, but if this plan were to follow the historic pattern described in the book of Esther, the "Mahdi" would begin to enact it on Adar 13, 2005, which is called Esther's Fast. Incidentally, this association between the false messiah "Mahdi" and Haman is particularly intriguing, because Haman was one of the Old Testament enemies of Israel thought to depict Antichrist, so this Esther pattern suggests that actions by the "Mahdi" would be equivalent to those of Satanic activity.

View the above key dates

This association of March 24, 2005 to the "Mahdi" is an indication that any plan using that particular date is aligned with spiritual forces who are enemies of God's people. This is reinforced by the fact that Purim itself is related Biblically to an Old Testament event in which evil forces conceived a plan to annihilate God's people at the time of Esther. Moreover, Purim has played a key role during the End Times on three other occasions involving enemies of God's people, i.e. Communism in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Oslo Peace Accord. In all of those occasions, Purim became associated with evil principalities or spiritual forces, intent on destroying God's people. 

This review of Satan's activities in connection with Trumpet 6 (Woe 2) permits us to broaden our understanding of Satan's overall plan to institute his counterfeit kingdom. That plan threatens all of mankind, for it is directed not only against Christianity, but also against Israel, and the Gentile world. Satan's plan for the End Times takes form in a review of  Woes 1 & 2, so let's review the nature of each of those attacks.

It becomes imperative that we now retrace the time frame covered by Satan's counterfeit for the End Times to uncover God's true Redemptive Plan for mankind over that same time frame.

The following text indicates that the 9/11 attack, while conducted by Satanic forces, was authorized and carefully timed by God, for it was commanded by a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God.

It appears to have had the purpose of bringing those not killed to an attitude of repentance, but unfortunately, the final verses indicate that it did not have the desired effect. In this regard, it is interesting to note that polls on America's religious activity and individual beliefs regarding the things of God, published in February, 2002, concluded that the 9/11 crisis-driven "spark" did not catch fire to produce a heightened spirit of repentance or desire for a better relationship with God.

Although it is apparent that Woe 2 was a form of judgement, directed by God, but orchestrated by fallen angels, its connection with the "four horns of the golden altar" is still obscure. That led to a brief study of the horns and the golden altar on which they were attached. Here are some relevant findings:

• The reference here is to the "golden altar", which stands in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle in Heaven. This was the same article of furniture mentioned in (Revelation 8.3), when the One administering first mixed incense with the prayers of the "saints", then in apparent answer to those prayers, hurled the contents of the censer to earth, after filling it with fire from the golden altar. From a study of the Trumpets that followed, we now know that this action resulted in specific judgements against Gentile nations during the 1988-1995 seven-year interval.
  
  

• Now here in Woe 2, this golden altar was again the basis for another kind of judgement, but this time it emanated from the "four horns" of that altar. Thus, it was expected that the object of the judgement would again be the Gentiles, but that its purpose must somehow be related to those "four horns".

We may learn more of the significance of the "horns" from the following reference.

From this explanation, three observations come to mind:

1. The four horns formed the most sacred part of the golden altar, employed by their anointing with the blood of only the most solemn sacrifices, in conjunction with the Levitical sacrificial system for unintentional sins.
   
   Therefore, the command from the four horns of the Heavenly altar for the Woe 2 killing of mankind suggested that the blood of those killed must have been intended to fulfill the role just specified, at this particular juncture in God's Plan for the End Times.
   
   

2. The horns of the altar had to be anointed with blood before the Old Testament Tabernacle could be used to institute the forgiveness of sins under the Levitical sacrificial system (Leviticus 9.9).
   
   

3. However, this anointing was effectual only if the recipients to this sacrificial process were not engaged in intentional sin.
   
   Unfortunately, (Revelation 9.20-21) indicates that the blood of those killed in the 9/11 tragedy did not generally spawn an attitude of Godly repentance among those who witnessed it, so the sacrifice of those killed remained largely ineffectual for those remaining alive.

Admittedly, the meaning and implications of Woe 2 just set down seem bizarre within normal times, however we are reminded of two things:

• The events of recent days must drive us to the conclusion that we are no longer living in the economy of the Church Age, but rather in a brief transition period, just prior to the setting up of the Millennial Kingdom, when some form of the Levitical system will be reinstated.
  
  

• Although the Body of Christ is not subject to the Law, Jesus Christ made it clear that it does remain in effect for those still in an attitude of rebellion against God.

Therefore, the import of Woe 2 seems to be that the Lord is in the process of applying the "jots and tittles" of that Law in the most severe way against those of mankind who remain unrepentant and face imminent judgement at the hands of an angry God.

With respect to the Levitical nature of Woe 2, we complete this portion of the study by considering the significance of the Levitical dates in Haggai, which marked the key milestones of "9/11" and subsequent actions. Those dates of Elul 24, Tishri 21, and Chislev 24, all in the second year of Darius (520 BC), defined the milestones for the initial phases of the rebuilding of the Second Temple during Old Testament times. However, we can complete the chronology of that Temple construction by also reading (Ezra 5-6), for those chapters record its entire history, specifying that it was completed on Adar 3, in the sixth year of Darius (515 BC) (Ezra 6.15). Now since we have already associated each of the Haggai dates with those corresponding key milestones related to "9/11", we are able to project a date for completed "Temple" construction during the End Times, if it should follow that Old Testament schedule.                                                                                               

Notice that the projected date for the completion of the spiritual "Temple" for mankind in the End Times would cause it to be completed in the spring of 2006. In other words, if the "9/11" event in the fall of 2001 was the beginning of God's Plan for the spiritual "Temple" of those of mankind who will have been redeemed for His Kingdom, it will be completed for service at the advent of that Kingdom!

Thus, from an earthly perspective the 9/11 terrorist attack appeared to have no redeeming value, but from God's perspective it would have accomplished a required step in God's Plan, to fulfill the provisions for His Millennial Kingdom.

The following Topic will discuss the coming of the Lord's Kingdom.

(Topic VII)

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