A few months after the tragedy at Columbine High School in April 1999, I sat with a group of children ages 6 through 12 discussing changes in their schools since the shooting. It was astonishing to hear first and second graders describe passing though metal detectors, undergoing backpack searches and in more than one case, having classes shut down due to bomb scares. The confusion and fear were obvious.

How many photographs have we seen over the decades from Northern Ireland, the Middle East or Africa of the haunting look in a person's eyes as he or she peers from battle blackened buildings surrounded by barbed wire? The fearful eyes of people under siege. A similar strain is beginning to show in the United States as people suffer under violent siege from the nation's own citizens.

The United States is currently experiencing one of the longest sustained periods of economic growth in its history, yet the stress of a hedonistic, violent and increasingly morally valueless culture has created a kind of siege mentality.

The strain leads to paranoia. The recent Y2K panic was a symptom of siege mentality as some people stockpiled guns and ammunition anticipating anarchy. We've all heard of people who locked themselves in their apartments, shotguns on laps, waiting for looters to barge through the doors to steal their carefully hoarded food.

An example of siege mentality is given by Charles R. Swindoll in his book The Quest for Character. A California artist named J.H. Zorthian became anxious about his children being killed in a car accident. He put his career on hold to spend time and money devising a plan to protect his children from harm.

Zorthian purchased isolated property on a mountain with a long, twisting road as a driveway and built his hideaway house. He designed and built a safe fenced play area. The garage was made so that only his car could enter and he was about to finish a driveway turn-around that would mean further safety. Rain delayed construction. On the day the turn-around should have been completed Zorthian's 18-month-old son dashed behind his car as he was backing up and was killed.

Hiding from potential tragedy has never stopped it from happening.

Bunker vision

Some people believed that a Y2K computer disaster would bring about the biblical "tribulation" or be the signal for the "rapture" of believers to be with Christ. It's common for survivalist groups to use Bible prophecies as support for combat training to prepare for the coming world catastrophe.

The Bible does contain terrible images of events leading to the return of Jesus Christ-images of massive starvation, disease epidemics, earthquakes, political and economic upheaval, and devastating wars. It may seem tempting for Christians to dig a bunker and hunker down in a siege mentality to await Christ's return.

Jesus taught His followers, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). It's hard to be a light to anyone while hiding out in a bunker.

Charles Swindoll writes, "There are no absolute guarantees. No fail-safe plans. No perfectly reliable designs. No completely risk-free arrangements. Life refuses to be that neat and clean. Not even the neurotics, who go to extreme measures to make positively sure, are protected from their obsessive fears. Those 'best-laid plans of mice and men' continue to backfire, reminding us that living and risking go hand in hand. Running scared invariably blows up in one's face. All who fly risk crashing. All who ride risk colliding. All who run risk falling. All who walk risk stumbling. All who live risk something" (The Quest for Character, 1987, pp. 82-83).

Christians are called by God to risk everything. Jesus didn't say be a light to the world only in good times. He didn't tell His disciples that they could pack up their lights and dig a hole in the ground when faced with economic or political trouble.

I'm not talking about preparedness for unexpected emergencies, which is a wise course of action (Proverbs 6:6-11). I'm talking about total withdrawal for the sake of self-preservation.

In another place, Jesus deals with this approach in a parable about a man who travels to a far country and leaves various amounts of money with his servants. When he returns, he calls the servants together to give an account of what they accomplished. Those who managed their master's property wisely were rewarded. But one servant hid his resources. When he came before the master this servant explained, "…I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground." The master was angry with this unprofitable servant and he was punished (see Matthew 25:14-30).

Purposes for biblical prophecy

God has definite expectations for those anticipating the return of Jesus Christ. God didn't inspire biblical prophecy concerning future events so that people can hide in fear. It is recorded to inspire courage, faith and hope.

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah saying, "Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure'" (Isaiah 46:8-10).

The God of the Bible is the Lord of history and of the future. Humanity has free will to make decisions, but it is God who determines the outcome.

Jesus prophesied that before His return the world would suffer "great tribulation, such as has not been seen since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved" (Matthew 24:21-22).

The exciting news is that humanity will be saved! Jesus Christ is returning to establish God's Kingdom on this earth. He is coming to save humanity from total destruction.

It's true that many horrible things must happen before He intervenes. This shouldn't fill Christians with trepidation, but with hope. Hope that a better world is coming. In the meantime, the light of that hope is to boldly shine in a dark and dying world. WNP