Bible Question: "A nephew and his friend have to read a Scripture from the Bible each day in their Catholic school, and it just so happened that the Scripture for Sept. 11 was Zephaniah 1:15-16. They found this to be a chilling coincidence."

Bible Answer: Let me say first I wish that not only Catholic schools but all schools were where students read a Scripture daily. I believe our public school students are deprived by the lack of spiritual instruction, which was once commonplace in all schools.

But to get to the Scripture in question, let's look at those verses.

"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers," Zephaniah 1:15-16.

A "chilling coincidence" indeed, particularly those last words, "against the high towers" which is what the World Trade Center was.

First let me add a post script note to last week's column about the possible relation of Revelation 18:9-10 to the terrorist attacks and apply it to Zephaniah's prophecies as well: there is more than one way in which Scriptural prophecies or predictions are fulfilled.

There are partial fulfillments, with the complete fulfillment left for some time in the future, and there are complete fulfillments now. In both of these two Scriptures, we may well be looking at partial fulfillments by the events of Sept. 11 in New York and Washington. One could certainly describe the Pentagon as a fortified city, it even looks like a huge, medieval fort; and the twin towers of the World Trade Center were among the highest towers in the world.

But I think I can clearly state in both cases, the attacks are not the complete fulfillments of these two Scriptural predictions or prophecies. Each will have its complete fulfillment at some time in the future. In fact, as one reader pointed out to me, the difference in a prediction and a Bible prophecy is this: predictions can be made by men and often don't come true; prophecies are made by men of God as they are moved by the Holy Spirit and will always come true.

As I said previously, I believe the prophecy of Rev. 18 is awaiting its complete fulfillment during the Tribulation, the last seven years of history, and the other events in the first 17 chapters of Revelation must come first before that time, which clearly has not occurred.

And for Zephaniah 1:15, we must ask what is "That day" referring to, which begins verse 15 and is referred to throughout both verses?

Zephaniah 1:14, the previous verse, is the answer. "The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out."

The "great day of the Lord" is none other than the returning of the Lord Jesus Christ, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He came first as a lowly man, meek and humble, Who never spoke a word in His own defense and allowed Himself to be crucified by evil men.

But when Jesus Christ returns, He will be leading an army of saints at the height of the last great battle of the last great war, the Battle of Armageddon, to put all rule under His own feet finally.

Clearly, that has not occurred, or there would be no men like Osama bin Laden left to prey on innocent men, women and children.

When Jesus returns to begin His rule and reign of righteousness, that will be the complete fulfillment of Zephaniah 1:15-16.

Another reader sent in a similar question about Isaiah 30:25, "There will be on every high mountain and on every high hill rivers and streams of waters, in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall."

If you read the context of this verse, it is obvious that the "day of great slaughter" is the day of the return of Jesus Christ in glory, the same as in Zephaniah, so the same answer applies. "When the towers fall" surely describes what happened in New York City, but I believe that was only a partial fulfillment, not the complete fulfillment.

Submit Bible questions by email to writeme@johnwmyers.com

(John Myers has been a Christian lay speaker, Sunday School adult teacher and newspaper Bible study columnist for more than 20 years.)