Emboldened by the weakness of the Western nations, who are in a state of moral decay and have no desire for a war or fight with anyone, these terrorists are carrying out attacks that are would have been unthinkable in the past. The deterrence for attacking the citizens of western nations such as Britain or the United States was much stronger. The attacks seem to be getting more audacious and frequent. Those countries with a large immigrant Muslim population such as Britain or France are sitting on a tinder box. Where is all this leading? What does the Bible say?

When considering our Godless and immoral society Psalm 9 verse 17 speaks volumes. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” The western nations have forgotten God and therefore the Psalmist says, it follows that they will be turned to hell - the Hebrew word  ”sheol" meaning the grave. The Western nations have forgotten God and they are becoming weaker. Muslims like to point out that the west is morally corrupt. For some there is a sense that they need to protect themselves from the invasion of Western culture. On the other hand in countries such as Britain and France, there is a threat of Muslim culture taking over. There are strong reasons to believe this will not happen from the light of Bible prophecy, however in the violent culture clash developing things could certainly be "turned into hell”.

Islam made a very rapid rise in the seventh century from the inhospitable region of the Arabian deserts. Larousse history points out that the spread of the Muslim religion, was by means of the sword rather than by persuasion. In it’s rapid rise from obscurity the Arab tribes conquered large areas of two empires and changed the course of history. The Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire would never regain it strength, it received a very heavy blow from the sword of Islam. In the seventh century the Byzantine empire was weak and divided by a religious controversy over the nature of Christ and unable to face the threat of the unexpected rapid advance from the dessert.

These events are presented in symbol in the book of Revelation, chapter 9 - the first of the “woe trumpets”. The reason given for these judgments that came upon the Eastern Roman Empire is because they turned from the worship of God to that of idols, murders, sorceries, fornication and thefts. The worship of idols was practiced in the Eastern Church by worshiping images or icons of Jesus, Mary and a plethora of others. At the same time the Church practiced murder by means of the persecution and killing of those true believers who still held the truth which had been outlawed. Even though these judgments came upon them Revelation says that they “repented not”.

These desert tribes are the descendants of Ishmael and have his character as described in Genesis 16:12.

"And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

The desert tribes make an appearance in the book of Judges at the time of Gideon. Judges 7:12 describes them, "And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.”

As a general rule these desert tribes were fighting each other or could be neutralized by turning them on each other and so were never usually a significant threat. When Gideon surprises them with his 300 men, it is significant that “the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host”.

This was true until Mohammed succeeded in uniting them under one banner and they suddenly became a terrifying force which the world was not ready for. Mohammed is the star that entered the earth and was given the key to the abyss, and so was able to access the bottomless pit of the inhospitable dessert and release the hordes of locusts on the unsuspecting worshipers of idols (Revelation 9:1,2). He and his successors were the kings over them (v11), who descended upon and were destroyers of the Hebrew and Greek parts of the Roman Empire.

The following quotes from Gibbon’s, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, demonstrate the character of the army of Mohammed, known as the Saracens.

“The hatred of the Christians, the love of spoil, and the contempt of danger, were the ruling passions of the audacious Saracen…”

“Ye Christian dogs, you know your option: the Koran, the tribute, or the sword. We are a people whose delight is in war, rather than in peace…"

This is the beginning of the Muslim empire and the character of it. We see the same fanaticism today, yet there is a difference. The characteristics of the Muslim culture which were more on the positive side have been lost with the fanatics feuding today in the desert or firing rockets from the Gaza strip, or sending suicide bombers into crowds of civilians.

While the following quotation of Mohammed’s successor speaking to his troops from Gibbon, my not be conciliatory, there is a definite difference to those fighting in the name of Islam today.

“Remember, that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battles of the lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way: let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries: And you will find another sort of people, that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mohammedans or pay tribute.”

This is a fulfillment of Revelation 9:3,4.

"And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."

Today, there is not a man who has the “key to the bottomless pit”, and the desert dwellers of Arabia of returned to their tribal feuding - everyman’s swords is against his brother. The power of the Euphrates has been dried up (Revelation 16:12). So, while the terrorists may seem like a existential threat - and have caused much harm as on the World Trade Centre attack on September the 11 - this power is in fact drying up. It is only the Godlessness and moral bankruptcy of western society which allows them some strength. Unless Western society returns to God, days of terror like this will most likely continue, but the Muslims will not create another caliphate and rule over western nations.

This has been the Bible in the News, available at www.bibleinthenews.com. Thanks for listening, this has been David Billington with you.