SUICIDE BOMBERS

News reports recently announced that another Muslim bomber had killed himself along with several Israelis. The report stated, "A Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and three Israelis on Sunday at a busy intersection in the coastal resort town of Netanya" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram). MSNBC News added that "the Islamic militant group Hamas said earlier that it would carry out suicide bombing attacks to protest against Prime Minister elect Ariel Sharon."

These self-killings are in keeping with the Islamic teaching of Jihad (also spelled Jehad). This term comes from the Arabic Jihad, meaning "fight" or "battle." According to The Encyclopedia Britannica, the Jihad is "a religious duty imposed on Muslims to spread Islam by waging war." This duty may be fulfilled by waging "war physically against unbelievers and enemies of the Islamic faith." The belief prevails that if a devoted Muslim kills himself in order to defeat Islamic foes, defend Muhammed, and promote the Muslim faith, he will be received into Allah’s Paradise and be specially blessed in the age to come.

Satan has always sought to destroy those who promote his agenda on earth. He "deceived Eve by his craftiness" (2 Corinthians 11:3) and brought her to transgression of God (2 Timothy 2:14). Jesus says that Satan was "a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44) and John adds that "the devil has sinned from the beginning" (1 John 3:8). It is his design to destroy the physical lives of as many people as he can—and especially bring eternal destruction on those who follow him.

John says that "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19) and Revelation states that Satan "deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). The case of the suicide bombers well illustrates the devil’s wicked and deceptive strategy. Can anything be more malicious than to convince one to kill himself so as to have a place in a beautiful paradise realm? Can anything be more wicked than to deceive a deluded and fanatical unbeliever to murder himself while thinking that he is serving Allah?

The Word of God is clear that "no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). The suicide bomber not only is guilty of self-murder (suicide) but also is guilty of killing other people. He is not only guilty of actually killing others but also desiring and planning to kill them. The Muslim militant is a murderer and does not have eternal life that comes only through a true knowledge of God the Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). Instead of going directly to a paradise of God when he murders himself, the militant must account to God for his heinous sins. Scripture says that all "murderers" will be cast into "the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). Paul adds that those who murder are "worthy of death" (Romans 1:29, 32) and "the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things (2:2). Rather than receiving a place in God’s paradise, one who murders (and does not repent) will be forever banned from paradise! Calling a sin "Jihad" does not make a wicked act into a holy deed!

Self-murder or suicide is a terrible act, a defiant act against the Most High God. It destroys someone created in the image of God (Genesis 9:5-6). It is doubly heinous when one kills himself in order to kill others. And it far more heinous when one does so in support of a religion that denies the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Let us learn from this incident. Let us determine to follow the right and reject the wrong. Let us be filled with kindness toward others even when they differ from us. Let us be "innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16) and as "lambs in the midst of wolves" (Luke 10:3). Let us love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us (Luke 6:27-28). Let us not be ignorant of Satan’s deceptive schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Richard Hollerman