How Should Christians Respond When Their Families and Communities Are Under Persistent Physical Terrorist Attack?
1) Direct Answer
Christians must stand without hatred. Pray, watch, and act wisely. Do not take vengeance. Protect innocent life committed to your care, cooperate with rightful authority, be ready to flee if needed, and keep a clean testimony—loving enemies while refusing evil.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Pray and trust: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble” (Psalm 50:15). The church prayed under threat and God answered (Acts 12:5). We are told to pray for all in authority “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
- No private revenge: “Avenge not yourselves… overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19-21). Jesus said love your enemies and pray for them (Matthew 5:44).
- Lawful protection and order: God ordains civil authority as “a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:1-4). We may work with rightful authorities for the safety of our families and neighbors.
- Guard and build: Under persistent attack, God’s people watched, prayed, and secured their families while continuing the work (Nehemiah 4:7-18). “They which builded… every one had his sword girded.” They did not launch vengeance; they guarded and kept building.
- Flee if necessary: “When they persecute you in this city, flee into another” (Matthew 10:23). Paul escaped plots rather than answer violence with violence (Acts 9:23-25).
- Spiritual warfare first: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Put on the whole armor of God—truth, righteousness, faith, the Word, prayer (Ephesians 6:10-18).
- Wisdom and prudence: “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself” (Proverbs 22:3). Joseph prepared in advance to preserve life (Genesis 41).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Personal insult? Turn the other cheek. Immediate threat to innocent life? Love protects. Restraining or stopping an attacker to prevent murder is not vengeance; it is stewardship of the lives God placed under your care. But the heart must stay free of hatred and bloodlust; judgment belongs to God and to lawful authority, not to private revenge.
- Those who say “retaliate and repay” contradict Jesus and Romans 12—no private vengeance.
- Those who say “never defend” overlook Nehemiah’s watchfulness and the duty of love to shield the weak. Love does no harm, and love also prevents harm to those entrusted to you.
- If staying means certain ruin for your family, Scripture gives liberty to flee. If staying is required, stand watchfully, pray fervently, and keep your spirit clean.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, the Bible’s path is narrow but clear: pray much, keep your heart right, cooperate with rightful authority, protect life without revenge, be ready to flee, and overcome evil with good while trusting God to fight for you.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Perseverant
62-0623 §23
And men through all ages that's ever tried to achieve something has been persistent. Men, in order to be persistent (I might quote again), is to know what you are after. And if you do not know, you're not certain of your standing. But when you thoroughly understand what it is, what you're after, and are satisfied you're going to do it, then you can be persistent---get really persistent, holding on. I like the approach. I like people that's persistent when they are... Realize, no matter if the man is wrong, but yet...
Church Ages, part 5: The Pergamean Church Age
60-1207 §58
Now this... So Constantine, to weld his empire together, here's what he did. He took those Nicolaitanes, and went to them, which was a form of Christianity. Do you understand it clear? They were Christians, so-called, professing Christians without the Holy Spirit. Oh, I wish that sinks in so you'll never let it go away. See? It was Christians, denominational Christians without the Holy Spirit. They were Christian by name; they were Christian by their gathering together; they'd taken communion and they kept the orde...
Perseverance
62-0218 §32
Jesus said over there, "The works that I do shall you do also. A little while and the world, cosmos, sees Me no more." That's the world order, "They see Me no more." Many church members, fine people going to church, living under that thought that they're all right. Why, you're not all right as a church member. You're a citizen. You might try to do right, but, friend, let me tell you, you must be borned again. You don't come into the church, you don't come in the church by shaking hands, you don't come in the church...
Pardoned
63-1028 §38
... done this, Jehovah's bidding, and so he feels justified. Now, the Jew could be justified because he did what Jehovah bid him to do. Finally. That was right. Jehovah did that, and that was what He required. But finally that became a family tradition. It come atonement day and maybe the Jews had been doing what was wrong. He'd say, "Well, I believe it's atonement day. I'd better take my lamb down." See, it become a family tradition. They didn't go with it with sincerity; they just did it because the families had...
Five junctions of time
56-0122 §30
May we pause here for a moment and take under consideration these things that was prophesied. Now, we know that as Christian believers... How many Christians are here today? Raise your hands. Just how many Christian believers? Oh that's marvelous and that's very good. As Christian people, we believe that this is the infallible Word of God, don't we? We have to believe that to be Christians. There's no mistake in it anywhere. It's perfect. And every word, maybe we don't understand it, we're not supposed to understan...