Ritabeliever>> Christian Guy what do you see in all this hyp and then nothing so far? It looked very troublesome to me. Maybe what my friend said about it being a hoax is true and nothing will happen. It may be an attempt to wear the public out with all the signs being planted and then boom the real thing goes down.
I'm not the one the quote was addressed to, but I'd like to offer some thoughts:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 Timothy 3:1
Here was Paul, in a jail awaiting his beheading and still he warns Timothy that dangerous times are coming. You would think that with everything they were going through in that era it might be odd to say things are going to get a lot worse. How could they?
The ancient world knew about wars and the atrocities associated with it. They knew leaders could be cruel and merciless. They knew about famine, poverty, violence and a host of other terrible things. How is Paul's warning distinct from what they already knew?
The world translated as "perilous" is "chalepoi." It means "ferocious." In Matthew 8:28, the same word is used to describe the demon-possessed men who confronted Jesus. There it is translated as "violent."
So we are to face times of unprecedented (even demonic) violence: Senseless massacres on a wide scale, against people who have nothing to do with the professed grievances, and deliberately chosen to inflict a perpetual state of terror.
A rumor of terrorism is about as effective as an act of terrorism itself. All you have to do is keep a level of anxiety stirred up at every public place and at every gathering. It is no longer the troops alone that may be casualties of a surprise attack. Civilians are also in constant peril.
The people who do these things cannot be reasoned with; they cannot be bought off; they are uninterested in politics or philosophy; and their hatred is based upon our existence alone.
As for the hype over the extra security, it is a no-win situation: If you downplay the risks of an attack and something horrible happens, you get blamed. If you heavily advise the public and are extra cautious then nothing happens, you get blamed. The organizers consider it better to be safe than sorry, I'm sure. What I'm not sure about is whether every possible effort to prevent it will be enough.