As news of the tragedy of September 11 spread around church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, work became very difficult. At 10:30 a.m. employees gathered en masse in the auditorium to hear an extemporaneous address by General Conference president Jan Paulsen (See excerpts below, “Our Only Security”), and to pray. The following morning North American Division president Don Schneider spoke to the NAD staff at a special worship (See excerpts, “What Does It All Mean?”). Editor–in–chief William Johnsson also gives personal reflections on the day of terror.

BY WILLIAM JOHNSSON

Two days after the day of terror, I still feel numb with shock. Seven aspects of the tragic events keep hammering inside my head:

Priorities We were busy at work in the General Conference Administrative Committee when the succession of news bulletins hit us. As the events unfolded in surrealistic horror, policies and budgets suddenly seemed inconsequential. Life and death, salvation, eternity—here are the foundations of existence. Nothing else—investment, money, fame—really matters.

Evil and Grace In conception and execution, the acts of terror carried a dark brilliance. We saw evil in its most hideous character, evil that focuses intelligence, training, and meticulous planning upon maximum destruction of human life. But light shone in the darkness. Brave firefighters and police paid the ultimate price to help others. People helped total strangers to escape. And as I write some 50 hours after the two airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center, five firefighters have just been pulled alive from the rubble.

God and New York City Our office is getting calls about Ellen White’s predictions of the destruction of tall buildings in New York. She did forecast such events (Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 11–13, Maranatha, p. 175), but in the context of general destruction just before Jesus returns. Ellen White made her views about New

With Grief and Anger Where was God? A Wake up Call Hearing God

York clear in statements like: “But I have no light in particular in regard to what is coming on New York, only I know that one day the great buildings there will be thrown down by the turning and overturning of God’s power” (Life Sketches, p. 411).

Freedom The terrorists acted irrationally; we must avoid an irrational reaction. As followers of Jesus we must counter tendencies to single out people who look different or worship differently. Liberty—theirs and ours—is on the line.

Troubled days ahead We sense within ourselves that September 11, 2001 marks a turning point. Things will not return to what they were. What we have failed to do in days of comparative ease will have to be done under difficult circumstances. The present is less secure, the future uncertain.

The work will be done To the Jews facing huge problems in restoring Jerusalem, the Lord promised that “the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” (Dan. 9:26). And God’s work in the last days—the gospel to all the world—will be completed. Because He is Lord of the church, no difficulties will be able to stall it.

Agents of hope and salvation By word and by deed God’s people are to proclaim the everlasting gospel to every person under heaven (Rev. 14:6, 7). He invites us to lean upon Him, to be strong in faith and calm in the storm. He promises that, no matter what falls or stands, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9, R.S.V.).

BY JAN PAULSEN

We have been brutally reminded this morning about how fragile are our lives and the structures that surround us. Even governments, even a nation of the strength of the United States, is fragile. We cannot protect ourselves and there will be evil forces.  And make no mistake about it, these are evil forces that will play havoc with our lives. There are individuals who for one reason or another, have a total disrespect for human life and a disdain for the values that many of us treasure highly.

We have no way of knowing the extent of the havoc that has been caused and is being caused as we are gathering here. We can only begin to imagine, and the spread of dismay is immeasurable. We need our Lord to wrap it all up and come back. That is the only secure future that we have.

We cannot begin to imagine what the ramifications of this, what the consequences of this will be. But they will be serious. They may well affect some of our working plans for the weeks that lie ahead. We need to find within ourselves a calm in the midst of the storm, which the presence of God and the Holy Spirit can give to us. We cannot just panic and throw up our hands in despair; we need to find a way also to communicate calm to one another and a sense of trust in the Lord.

I think it is very, very important that we take time to pray. We will gather in groups of  three, four at the most, and just take time and pray together.  Pray for the state. Pray for the nation here. Pray for the leaders of it, that also in the midst of this terribly difficult situation they may respond in a way that can be seen as a solution to the problem and that doesn’t exacerbate it further.

BY DON C. SCHNEIDER

There’s a little church in New York City, built early in the last century, just a block or so from where the World Trade Center used to stand. Rubble from the World Trade Center lies all around the little church, but it’s still standing.

That is an apt symbol of God’s people. More than one Seventh-day Adventist lost his or her life in the tragedies of September 11. Their families and friends still grieve. While others can tell joyous stories of being reunited with loved ones whom they feared might be dead, they also grieve, because a great tragedy has struck this planet.

We’re still standing, but how can we make sense of this senselessness? There’s only one way: by understanding the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

When my kids were young I used to be so proud when they did something good. When they played in the band, or when they brought home good grades, my chest swelled with pride. When my kids did something bad, I was sorry for the way they behaved.

In heaven God is saying, “I’m sorry about My kids.”

There’s a lot of pain in heaven today. I imagine somebody saying, “Let’s return to earth and get the faithful right now.”

And Jesus says, “If we wait another day, someone else may choose eternal life.”

God is longsuffering, Peter says, He doesn’t want anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9). If God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, surely He doesn’t take any pleasure in indiscriminate death.

There are some members saying that God caused this disaster to awaken Adventists; it’s a sign of the end, they say. I’m nervous when I hear people talk like that.

Good Adventists said that World War I was the sign of the end; then Pearl Harbor, then the atomic bombs that ended World War II. The oil embargo of the seventies was the sign of the end, according to some.

True, the Bible talks about disasters being a sign of the end, but I think God has seen all the disasters He ever wants to see.

What prophecy isn’t yet fulfilled? Matthew 24:14: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all men, and then shall the end come.”

You want to see signs of the end? It’s when a pastor holds an evangelistic meeting and people come to know Jesus. It’s when a teacher talks to a student about Jesus. It’s when a nurse prays with a patient to calm her fears just before surgery. It’s when church employees at the world headquarters building hear about this disaster, and their first desire is to get together and pray. That instinctive turning to prayer is a sign of the end.

All this means that I want to give my life to the Lord--to be used by Him. I don’t know what to do about the World Trade Center, or the Pentagon, or world terrorism. But I know what God would like me to do in my neighborhood.

So I’d better close now, and do what God wants me to do.