September 11, 2001, 9/11 is a day to remember. Of the 2,977 people who died that day, I want to remember the estimated 200 jumpers.
When the plane hit the first tower, all elevators and stairwells to the upper floors were demolished; there was no going down to save yourself and no first responders going up to the rescue. Because of the fire, no helicopter rescues were possible. The only way to escape the inferno was to jump.
The Twin Towers were about one-quarter a mile high, 1,368 feet tall, or 110 stories. The media stayed away mostly from broadcasting the jumpers. You can find some pictures and videos, but the jumps were so horrendous that the public couldn't stomach the visual.
The firefighters who gathered for direction at the doors of the Twin Towers would hear these thuds, thinking it was debris falling about, aghast that it was the bodies of men and women. Every few seconds, there would be a thud. Bodies of husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, friends and schoolmates were smashing to the ground. A few people jumped together, holding hands. The first firefighter casualty was a falling jumper.
What is it that the public couldn't stomach, the view of people jumping to their deaths, that the jumpers found falling a more tolerable death? I must paint a picture that I can only imagine why they chose to jump.
The Bible describes a horrid place for those who don't believe and don't repent. This place wasn't made for humans but for the most notorious of God's enemies, the fallen Angels. The Angels, who are stronger, wiser, and bigger than humans, needed a place where they would never again harm God's kingdom and those He loves.
A place called Hell, Hades, the Bottomless Pit is described as a place of great fire, smoke, and brimstone. A place where there is no light, as God is the Father of Light. A place of no cooling of water and even tears and sweat of the heat is immediately evaporated before fully forming. Hell is where the worm doesn't die, and God consumes His enemies—a place of darkness and loneliness unheard of. Hell is where there is one way in and no way out. The way in is to refuse or think lightly of God's invitation of Salvation, the death, and resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus.
If the worst place for a man to abode for eternity is a fiery Hell, the jumpers might have reason to jump. I thought about what was going through their minds and how they reasoned that jumping was a sensible way out. But I don't believe they reasoned. I don't think they thought about a better way to die. I conjecture that what they saw in the flames and smoke, what they felt in the unapproachable heat, what they smelled in the burning of their nostrils, and the taste of embers on their tongue. What they heard of the screams of their coworkers as they perished. The horrors were so great, and the darkness so felt they only ran away, not thinking what they were running to.
Just run. Hell is real. Run. Hell is outside of time in eternity. There is no passing of time in Hell. Our days come from the Earth rotating on the axis to give us 24-hour days, weeks, and months and rotating around the Sun to provide us with years. Hell will never see the Sunrise from the east and Sunset in the west. Hell is a moment in time captured that continues for eternity without the passing of time.
Hell is a fiery abyss but without light. Is the smoke so thick that the light of the flames is swallowed up? Hell is a place that eternally curses those who hate the light but love the darkness. The men and women trapped on the upper floors may have only seen darkness and felt the heat of the flames. The only light they had was the windows. People impacted below the immediate impact had the same darkness and the light of the windows, but as firefighters made their way up, they carried a light to show the way out.
Light can be deceiving when you are in darkness, as even our adversary is an Angel of light and offers a false way out. God sets before us life and death and tells us to choose life. Satan puts before us death and death, giving us a false sense of choice. Burn in the flames or jump from the light coming from the window. Both are death, but one is more tolerable.
Jesus said, don't think these people are more wicked, but unless we repent, we too will perish. I'm sure both Christians and non-Christians jumped that day. A fiery death is too much to fathom. How many that day escaped a fiery death by chasing the light only to die a few seconds later into an everlasting flame? Jumping wasn't suicide but running from a lion into a bear.
We must chase the light we see now. Don't wait till the darkness is too dark to see the light. Jesus said one day, it would be too dark to work. I think that day is fast approaching. If we seek the light now, we won't be deceived into jumping into a light that offers no escape.
We, the Church, need to be that light that people see. We need to be those firefighters who, without thinking of their own lives, took their little light into the darkness to save people's bodies. And we, the Church, are saving souls! We can't stand to see the jumpers, so we look away. Hell, for the most part, has been removed from our doctrine. We may give the Good News if applicable to our life of comfort. But even Good News is subjective.
I have worked as an evangelist on the streets of Oklahoma City. I did what Jesus said to do. We went out two by two and gave peace to whoever had ears to ear. Some accepted the Good News. Others did not. What do you do when people don't see the Good News as good? You give them the bad news in hopes they will change their perspective. When the Good News wasn't perceived as good, we dusted off our feet and warned that every man is given one to die and then face judgment. We gave the bad news that God judged the world once with water and will again judge the world with even a greater cleansing agent, fire.
We, the Church, must paint a picture of a future 9/11 to those who live in darkness. And I know it isn't easy. It is much easier to convince someone that their house is on fire when they can see it than explaining an eternal fire that cannot be seen or extinguished.
We teach the kindness of God that leads to repentance is more comfortable than the genuine kindness of God. I am for being kind to people and meeting their needs. But the kindness of God is that Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the world. That means God knew we would fall short of His glory and provided a solution before we knew there was a problem. The kindness God gives us is a lifetime to repent before judgment. God's kindness is not in the law but in knowing that we were formed in sin and are nothing but dust. God is merciful and full of compassion.
We, the Church, can't expect to bring kindness to the naked with clothing and not tell them they are still naked until they are clothed in the garment of salvation. We, the Church, can't expect to bring kindness by healing the sick and not telling them everyone is appointed to die. We, the Church, can't expect to give kindness when we visit the incarcerated and not disclose to them there is an eternal prison. We, the Church, can't expect to bring kindness to the hungry and thirsty without telling them their stomach is a bottomless pit that cannot be satisfied outside of knowing Christ Jesus.
The Good News is suitable for most people only in contrast to the Bad News. The kindness scripture we like so much is in the middle of talking about the judgment of God. And that His kindness in providing a way out is a limited-time offer. Unless we repent, we are storing wrath for our personal 9/11.
Narrow is the way. I'm thinking single-file. Nevertheless, we must warn people of the fire. We must be the light that guides people away from the darkness and the flames concealed with smoke.
Yes, be kind in your delivery. Be kind to the broken-hearted. And be kind enough to remember to tell them of the future of 9/11. If we are that window of light, their jump will not end in death.