Messianic teacher Kevin Williams commented on the September 11 attacks on the United States in this post originally published on September 17, 2001.

Rosh haShanah [or Hoshanah] is the biblical festival of trumpets (shofar, as pictured), Yom Teruah (the day of blowing, Lev. 23), which marks the Jewish new year and celebration of the creation of the world. The festival concludes with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Some Bible teachers believe the festival to be a prophetic picture of the end of this age, an annual rehearsal of the last days.

It has been the Lord’s good pleasure to sustain me on this earth for 40 years now, and in all that time, no opportunity has been afforded to believers to be a light for truth as now. Confirmed reports come daily that thousands of strangers are wandering into churches in New York. In the lines of grocery stores, current events are the subject of conversation–and before last week, no one talked while waiting in line! Suppliers and customers, who have perhaps been all business, take a few moments to talk about the headlines. People realize there is a spiritual hole in their lives, they are asking questions, and many are turning to the Bride for answers.

Our nation’s leaders, as at no other time in modern history, are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Creator, acknowledging Him in all their ways (Proverbs 3:6). This unprecedented example of biblical faith is speaking, nay shouting from the rooftops, to all the earth. The Christian faith is being carefully examined by men and women of all faiths. How we–as individual believers and as Americans–respond to these events, now and in the weeks and months to come, will be a part of how the earth judges our faith, and ultimately, our Messiah.

In light of the New York and Washington DC tragedies, and as we enter this season of revering the Sovereign King, I guess this comes as a cautionary note to all my friends: that we be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt 10:16).

My heart aches as I hear believers talking about retaliation, about torturing or exacting revenge. Certainly, the loss of life, the economic repercussions, the orphans, widows and widowers, and the trauma are horrible realities. But brothers and sisters, we are told to never “repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody” (Romans 12:17).

Our leaders have taken the position of stopping the evil and putting it out of our midst. This is most appropriate. This is a biblical principle from Genesis through Revelation. It will likely be difficult. It will likely come at a cost. But if we take an attitude of retaliation, then we are subject to judgement just as those who perpetrated this heinous act of war.

Time and again in the Bible, it is God who repays evil–not man. The prayers of the righteous in Scripture are for God to judge and repay. Friends, I appreciate the anger you may feel, and the passionate response for action, but let us act and speak with maturity of faith, living as examples of the Messiah. Stop the evil, certainly, and take the actions necessary to that end, but let us guard our hearts and tongues that the God of all creation may be glorified in the eyes of all mankind.

Editor’s note: Rosh haShanah will be celebrated in 2014 beginning at sunset, September 24 until nightfall on September 26.

Image: Bjorn Simon

In this day of specialization, it seems we have a difficult time combining thorough Bible study and relevant practical application. Too often, practitioners do not get their principles from studying the Bible, and scholars do not produce relevant principles and practical application. I would like this essay to begin a dialogue that will bring these two together.

I will use Numbers 11 to demonstrate how we can derive relevant principles for our lives and ministry from an Old Testament text. My goal is to experience God speaking to us through such texts. The key is one of the distinctive attitudes of Pentecostalism—the Bible should be read as precedent for what God wants to do in our lives today. If God did it before He can do it again. To hear His voice clearly from such texts and apply their precedents the way He intends, we must read them carefully in context and see the principles in what God was saying to the original audience. Then, we can take those principles and, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, apply them appropriately to our lives today. God wants us to learn how He related to Israel in their situations and how they responded (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11).

The Context of Numbers 11

In doing biblical theology, it is essential to describe carefully and analytically the context of a passage within the flow of the message of the whole book and, ultimately, within the message of the whole Bible. The broad principles of the message should be clearly articulated. I believe, then, we should understand the context of Numbers 11 as the journey of God’s people, Israel, from Sinai, where they were established as his covenant nation, through the wilderness to the Promised Land, where God would use them to bring the Savior into the world. They were on a mission in this world with eternal purpose. They were God’s newly established nation to provide a people through whom the Son of God, the Savior, could become incarnate. In Numbers 1-10, God instructed Israel through Moses on organization and holiness in preparation for the journey. With his holy presence among them and leading them, they would come to the place where they would be able to fulfill God’s purpose. The end of chapter 10 records they began with great faith and enthusiasm.