The root of Islamic terrorism is not political; it is religious. That root is a belief that it is the will of Allah, their god, that the Jews everywhere—not just in Israel, but everywhere—be annihilated. Naturally, this would end the existence of the State of Israel, which is part of the motivation. If the international community cannot or will not eliminate this root, there will never be peace in the Middle East. So we must grasp that this really is an issue of spiritual warfare. There can be no detente with satan until he is bound by the angels and put into hell. His mission is to destroy God’s creation of mankind and to have no flesh saved alive; he will never stop until he is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10).

Without this understanding of terrorism, we will never make progress against it. There can be many political discussions and many agreements made. But none of that is going to accomplish peace because in the heart of the terrorists there is no compromise; they believe their mission must be completed. Therefore, they can sign any peace agreement, but they will never stop—just as satan never stops his pursuit of the destruction of humanity, of the earth, and of the will of God. This is not a battle against flesh and blood; it is not a battle of Israel against the Palestinians. This is not a human battle (Ephesians 6:12). Very simply, it is spiritual warfare. As Paul wrote, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Corinthians 10:4).[1] The end of this warfare is brought about as we find a way to proclaim the judgments of God that are written in the Word of God.

We must believe in the prophetic proclamations that God has given the Body of Christ to speak. Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). We know that satan has been bound from the heavens and cast down to this earth. And now he must be cast out of this earth as well. In our spiritual warfare, we must find a way to lay the axe to the root of the tree (Matthew 3:10). To do that requires a great deal of honesty on our part to get to those roots within us first. As Christian believers we must be honest about our doctrines, our church practices, and everything about us. If we have any anger, jealousy, or hatred in us against the Jews, then our intercession, our proclamations, or our words of standing with Israel and the Jewish people will be without any effect.

During these end-time tribulations, God Himself will bring a conclusion and cut the time short for the sake of His elect (Matthew 24:22). This conclusion is the judgment of God against satan, against the principalities and powers, and against the angelic forces that were cast down with him. Unless we get to the source, we will never be effective in ending terrorism. Christians everywhere must pray to bring down satan and the principalities and powers that drive terrorism. Let us find Scriptures, such as Psalm 149:2–9, and proclaim the judgment written.

Listen to the podcast of this entire message: GIG44 Put an Axe to the Root of Terrorism

[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).