Editorial by Pastor Michael Brigmond

What has happened since the September 11, 2001 terrorist’s attack on New York and Washington DC? A lot of media attention has been on the obvious, the physical. We constantly hear of possible problems. Some are real, most are scare tactics. Fearful individuals play into the hands of a manipulating, politically motivated news media.

Radio talk show host, Michael Savage, recently stated that, "If CNN had been in existence during WWII, we would all be speaking German." Despite the recent reports of Anthrax showing up in certain media facilities, the safest place in America may still be in a national newsroom. Give the terrorists credit for having enough smarts to not destroy their best allies.

Understanding the media bias toward humanism, there is little real coverage being given to the spiritual implications of these current events. The possibility exists that we are entering into the last phase of man’s history before the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. So, let’s take an abbreviated look at both the obvious and the hidden to see "What Has Happened To America?"

1. A War has been declared with the potential of reaching around the globe and becoming World War III and perhaps culminating in the battle of Armageddon.
2. The first place we attacked is Afghanistan, which borders China. Is the fact that these two nations have a common border a coincidence? Or is Bible prophecy being fulfilled?
3. An Oct. 7, 2001 WorldNetDaily news report shows that columns of armed Chinese Muslim servicemen, between 5,000 and 15,000 troops, were moving through northwest China into Afghanistan to support the Taliban. The first troops crossed the border October 5th. China is the only nation on earth with an army that could fulfill Revelation 9:14-16 = "Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them." Two hundred thousand thousand is translated as 200 million, the reported size of China armed potential.
4. With the U.S. military moving to positions in the Middle East, China’s desire to invade Taiwan is increasing. If you see North Korea moving against South Korea, then, honoring our treaty with South Korea, we will have to send more troops in their defense. If this happens, then look for China to invade Taiwan.
5. A recent report shows that as many as 70,000 men have been trained in Osama bin Laden’s College of Crazies and they are living in at least 55 different countries around the world. Where do We attack next? Where do THEY attack next?
6. A report out of Israel says that Israel may be at War by the end of October, 2001. One Israeli spokesman said, "The era of Arafat is over." The current enemy on Israel’s list is the Arabs nations, beginning with the Palestinians. Already Israeli tanks have moved into Bethlehem following the assassination of Israeli Cabinet Minister Rehavam Zeevi.
7. In America, we hear more talk of a "National ID Card." Those in the know realize that a "Card" would only be a temporary fix. A more permanent bodily identification will be required. It will NOT be a chip inserted under the skin, which could be removed or destroyed by strong localized magnetism or radiation. It will be as the Bible says, "And he causeth all,... to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:" (Rev 13:16). The mark will not be to identify, or to track, but to control and to affirm allegiance. Many are quick to grasp hold on the American flag as a symbol of unity. That’s all well and good, but let us be warned that we may also be in the process of being conditioned to accept a "New System." One that offers more than it can deliver.
8. Willingly, we have given up several of our freedoms in the name of Security. We have yielded those freedoms to the very political leaders that has tried for decades to take them from us. Many are afraid to congregate in large groups and are afraid to travel by commercial airlines. The effort to remove guns from the public has stalled, but we willing surrender our tweezers and nail files. We allow "security" to examine our underwear in our suitcases, but soon they will be inspecting the ones in our dresser at home. Eventually they will demand our guns, our loyalty or our lives. We might also point out that of all the deaths caused by these "terrorists," not one was the result of a gun.
9. It may be true that bin Laden has done so much that his ashes should be scattered throughout the solar system, but is he really behind all of this? Could there be a bigger, more dangerous "Beast" that we are not seeing? Speaking of the "Beast," Revelation 13:2 says, "and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Osama bin Laden may be a monster, but he is not the "Beast" of Revelation 13.
10. I suspect that a gigantic smokescreen is covering our planet. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)
11. Look at Joel 2:1-2 ="Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations."

Joel is speaking about the "Day of the Lord," the day for which we all desire, the day when Jesus Christ returns to this earth. Joel says it will be, "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness,..." The first "darkness" in this verse comes from the word "choshek" and means "misery, destruction, death, etc."

The second "darkness" is a, "thick darkness" and comes from the word "araphel" which means gloom (as of a lowering sky) to droop, drip or drop down. This is like a covering that drapes over the people of the earth, hiding the truth from their eyes. Clouded in mystery, Babylon is spreading her poison and multitudes are being put to sleep with the drone of media rhetoric.

The byword of the Secret Societies, the Illuminati, Freemasonry, New World Order, etc., is, "Order out of Chaos." Or "Out of chaos comes order." Could this horrible event be staged, not by bin Laden, but by a larger, more evil, entity who has tried from the beginning to declare himself to be god? Could all of this be in the plan for the final days before the "Day of the Lord."

This is written to remind us that we must always look beyond the surface to find the truth. Could these current events be the beginning of the end? Are we near, or perhaps into, the tribulation period that will reveal the antichrist, the New World Order, a one world religion, the Mark of the Beast and finally, the Return of Jesus Christ?

Many longtime believers in a pre-tribulation Rapture are having second thoughts. Some have publicly admitted a shift, saying that the church will indeed see "part of the tribulation period." The light is beginning to come on, but the wattage needs to be increased before they see it all.

There are still many who do not think that understanding pre-trib vs post-trib is a "heaven or hell" issue. It may only be in the light of what is taking place right now that some will understand this simple fact: Those looking for a quick snatch out of here are not spiritually equipped to discern the times in which we are living. With an understanding that the church will endure the tribulation, we are better able to see what is unfolding before our very eyes.

If our pre-trib brothers and sisters could simply move the "Rapture," from the Front to the Back of the Tribulation, current events take on an entirely new meaning. [][][][]