Watchman on the Wall

Southwest Radio Ministries: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and SWRC.com. Today, we remember the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our country with special guest, Cindy Dawson.

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25 years ago, September 11th changed America forever. Today, as we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we remember those we lost, the heroes who answered the call, and we ask how our nation has changed in the years since. Joining us to reflect on that historic day is Cindy Dawson and our host, Dr. Larry Spargimino.

Larry Spargimino: We are thinking about 9/11, the September 11 attacks. I remember it clearly. I was leading staff devotions at Southwest Radio Church. We were studying the raising of Lazarus from John 11 and one of our telephone operators ran into our little study room and said, "Stop everything. Turn the TV on. We're under attack." Our guest, Cynthia Dawson or Cindy Dawson, is a pilot with United Airlines, first officer. Brother Mike Smith, whom you've heard many times on our broadcast, is a friend and said you need to interview Cindy Dawson about the 9/11 attacks. So that has come true. We're with Cindy right now. So, Cindy, thank you for your willingness to share with our listeners.

Cindy Dawson: Absolutely. Thank you for having me a part of your program. On the morning of September 11th, I was preparing a routine flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to DFW. I was serving as a first officer on the Fokker 100. After we took off, we had probably been airborne for about 30 or 40 minutes and we began to hear a lot of confusion on the radio, not only from other air traffic controllers but other aircraft. Somewhere in there, we thought we heard that an aircraft had been flown into a building, but we didn't have a lot of information.

As we continued our flight, pretty soon an air traffic controller got on the radio and keyed the mic and told all of the aircraft on the frequency that we needed to be quiet, that they were going to call out flight numbers and give us new destinations. For us, we were diverted to Oklahoma City. At that point in time, we absolutely had no idea what was happening. We actually landed and the gate agent met us sobbing, saying that they were both American Airlines airplanes. Shortly thereafter, we heard somebody screaming, "The second tower just fell!" We were just astonished.

Larry Spargimino: Wow. Cindy, you see 9/11 as being prophetic. I think it really is and I like some of the stuff that you sent me, but unravel that for us and especially for our listeners.

Cindy Dawson: Prophecy. How does 9/11 have to do with prophecy? Let's take a look at what prophecy conveys to us. First of all, it can be a prediction of certain and specific future events. That's addressed in Deuteronomy 18:21-22. But the second half of prophecy could be a warning, a warning of what can happen or will happen if we as a nation or a people don't repent and return wholeheartedly to God. I love how Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains it. He says there are two ways to respond to this. An example from Jonah where the prophecy was given and the people of Nineveh repented so God relented, and then also from Jeremiah. He gives us a different example where he saw the people headed down the wrong path, he cried out, tried to get them to turn around, and they refused to do it. They really leaned toward wanting to hear what they wanted to hear and not what they needed to hear.

So again, how does this have to do with 9/11? First thing I'm going to do is I'm going to put out a couple of facts. They are facts, whether they are coincidence, but I think each one of the listeners are going to need to decide those for themselves. First of all, we're talking about two main targets that were hit by the four aircraft. The first one is New York City. Ironically enough, it was discovered by Henry Hudson on September 11, 1609.

Now let's go to the second target, the Pentagon. The Pentagon had the groundbreaking on September 11, 1941. Now, if we go back to the departure of where the two main flights that went into New York, where they originated from, John Winthrop came to the New World in 1630 and he set up his city on a hill, which we know now as Boston. Again, in 1630, his private residence was located on Governor's Island, which is now the location of Logan International Airport. Among the many writings by Winthrop, one key common theme we find: he believed that we as Americans, if we give up on God, judgment will come upon us.

Think about this. The first flight that took off from Boston, Boston Logan International, Flight 11, American Airlines Flight 11, carried five of the 19 terrorists including the leader, Mohamed Atta. It also carried a very interesting person. He happened to be the first person to die and he was also the first responder that tried to defend against the attackers. His name was Daniel Lewin. He was a 31-year-old Jewish billionaire. His name, interestingly enough, is associated with "God will judge" or he carries the judgment. So this aircraft going from Boston to New York carried a person whose name is referenced as God will judge.

So now let's talk about where the destination was: New York. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the U.S. because remember, back then, our capital was in New York. After the inauguration, Washington and John Adams insisted on walking down the street to Trinity Chapel, which is now Saint Paul's Chapel. There, Washington prayed a formal prayer over our country, dedicating this newly formed nation to the one true God. He also went on to challenge Americans from that day forward to be careful and never turn their back on God. What's really interesting about this is the road that they walked down to get to Trinity Chapel is still there and it's called Wall Street.

Larry Spargimino: Amazing.

Cindy Dawson: Both John Winthrop and George Washington spoke of the consequences of turning our backs from God. Can we argue that 9/11 was the result of a remedial judgment? I think it can, but I think it can also serve as a future warning. To me, remedial judgment just alone doesn't sound fair. There were thousands of innocent people that were affected and we have to remember that really the decisions and actions that preceded this were actually only made by a few of our national leaders and our city leaders. But here's the kicker: how this affects us as people and citizens of the U.S. is that we the people, it is us who individually choose those who will represent us in our beliefs. And how do we do it? We do it at the ballot box.

Larry Spargimino: Amen. Amen. Well, that's so wonderful. I think it's so wonderful and I would say providential. I don't believe in good luck or bad luck or any kind of luck. God is in control. But that you as a born-again believer, spirit-filled, could see all of this stuff and you had a bird's eye view and you're now on a national, international program telling people about it as a born-again Christian. I think the fact that you are so well-trained as a pilot, you have a very high position, responsible position, I think this is more than just chance. I think it's God working in a mighty way. Cindy, when were you saved? We don't have time for all of that, but just tell us when were you saved and how were you saved very quickly if possible.

Cindy Dawson: I grew up in a charismatic household. So from a young child, I always believed in Jesus and God. I think I was probably saved at a really young age. But where I really realized it turned from a religion to a relationship was when I was first hired as a pilot back in 1999 and I was living in California at that time.

Larry Spargimino: Wow, fantastic. Well, you know, there was a great loss of life, no question about it. I remember seeing footage of people jumping out of the top level windows and plunging to their deaths. Wow. I guess that really is what grabbed me. What hit you hard about 9/11? Maybe a couple of things.

Cindy Dawson: First of all, talking about people jumping out of buildings, I thought this was really interesting. So the first, I believe, first responder to die was Daniel Lewin. He was a passenger on board Flight 11. I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm going to mention it again. He was the first to die to defend our country. He was a Jewish 31-year-old billionaire. So that's the first one.

The second first responder to die on 9/11 was a firefighter. We've already talked about Wall Street being downtown in that area. One of the streets, and it happened to be the street that this first responder was on as he was approaching the buildings, is called Church Street. As the inferno ensued because of all the jet fuel and so forth in the buildings, the fire was very intense and hot and it was so much so that there are images of people literally jumping out of the building to their death because of the heat of the fire.

This just gets me every time. The street that those bodies were falling on is called Church Street and the first responder to die was hit by a falling body. Now, the other thing that really struck me and stands out about 9/11 is the unity. After this event, our nation was united. We set aside ideologies, political agendas, everything. What was so interesting is that we had flags everywhere. Everywhere you went, there was a U.S. flag. It proved to the world, to hijackers, and anyone determined to destroy us that we would fight back, we would not be defeated. The flag was a promise that we would emerge stronger. We also turned back as a nation. We went back to church. Churches were at capacity. We returned to church and prayer.

Larry Spargimino: History certainly does seem to repeat itself as we see in the Book of Judges. How do you view 9/11 in terms of the repetition, the warnings, and what may be the future for America?

Cindy Dawson: I can see this in several ways. Today, if you look at it, we're celebrating the 25th anniversary of this event. Today, there are approximately 100 million Americans who were too young to remember the event and many more that weren't even alive back then. During that time after the event, we forged the motto, "Never Forget." It was alarmingly clear to us at that time that we needed to remember what happened and we needed to ensure we shared it with those coming after us. We needed to educate our young people on the loss, the bravery, the compassion, and ultimately the unity that we went through during that time.

So in 2021, at the 20th anniversary, we added, "Always Remember." The reason why we did this is literally because of a quote from Winston Churchill. It is this: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." In Joshua 4, this is really apparent. It's a biblical principle. When the children of Israel were crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land, God told them out of the middle of the river to take 12 stones and set them up on the other side of the river to use them to build a memorial site. The memorial was intended to be a visual memory aid and a testimony for those people still living to remember what happened. It also was intended to be a means for educating those youth in the future so that they could ask questions and people could relay the story. And finally, it was an absolute witness to the world of what God had done for them.

Larry Spargimino: Amen. Yes. You talk about being on a recent trip to Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The tour guide told how the communists took control of their countries after World War II. Are there any lessons for us today?

Cindy Dawson: Oh, absolutely. Contemplating the 25th anniversary, I took this trip back in March and it was really interesting. Our tour guide, she has firsthand testimony, firsthand witness to what happened during this time. A couple of the things that she highlighted were these: first of all, how did it happen? How could something happen and ironically enough, how did it turn back around? When it began to happen and when they began to take over, she said it was so interesting because they turned the country on itself. They made the people think that their way of doing things was wrong and it was bad and that the country was horrible.

Then they went on to, in addition, rewrite the history. They basically tore their heritage apart. They literally rewrote the history of the country and here's another one: they tore down all the monuments because monuments are like we just talked about, they are supposed to be memory aids, things to help you not forget what happened. After all this happened, then they went after the country's leaders. At that point in time, they were monarchies. What they did is they went in and they put the royals to death or they forced them to flee from the country to save their lives.

The country obviously goes into chaos. What happens is the communist government comes in and they offer themselves as a savior, that they were going to take care of the people and put the pieces back together. Their methodology was going to work and they were going to create the previous wrongs and solve all the problems. Then the problem with that was they went in and they destroyed all the churches because, of course, they were going to be the heroes and the country no longer needed God. The government then became the people's God. If you go over there now and you go to the former Eastern Bloc countries, they have very few churches that you can visit because they were all torn down.

The very last thing was this and they still have it today. We went in a convenience store and there was this orange soda thing. It was a soda in an orange can. It was weird. So we asked her and she goes, "I think it's a reminder. It's something that we see all of the time so we don't forget what happened." The soda's mediocre, but it's still sold today and this is why. Under the communist rule, they were constantly told that anything that was Western was evil. So that meant Coca-Cola was evil. It was a Western product. They immediately took it off all the shelves over there. Well, when they did that, there was almost a revolt. They almost lost control over Coke. So what they did is they replaced Coca-Cola to appease the people with this soda in this orange and white can. They really believe that's why it's still there today so that none of them forget what happened.

Larry Spargimino: Cindy, I see this happening in America today. I mean, there are so many people tearing down statues of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln. People are rewriting American history. We're a bad nation. The American Revolution initially was about slavery, on and on and on. That's kind of frightening. Our country's not perfect, but I think we're going the same direction. I'm also concerned about how Islam is really creeping in. Your comments on that.

Cindy Dawson: I would have to agree. I have a very unique job which allows me to visit a lot of our national monuments frequently. I have and one of them in particular is the Liberty Bell. I've visited it in several different locations where it's been hosted and I've read the history surrounding it. The last time I visited the Liberty Bell, I didn't even recognize what the history was that they were talking about. The only thing that was consistent with what I had seen before was the crack in the bell.

Larry Spargimino: Wow. On Southwest Radio Church programs and radio station, TV, and so forth, we really agree. We see what's going on and this happened before and a lot of people are waking up, but some still say we're a terrible place and I think we should all be warned. Cindy, what's your prayer for the United States of America at the present time?

Cindy Dawson: My prayer is that we would repent and we would return to God. Both John Winthrop and George Washington spoke of the consequences associated from turning from God. Here's the other deal. I want us to realize our job as U.S. citizens and it's also actually an honor for us to be able to go and vote. My prayer is that with the elections that are coming up, we will educate ourselves because ignorance is not an excuse. We would educate ourselves and we would look past a lot of the rhetoric that is going on.

If you look at Daniel chapter three, King Nebuchadnezzar, he built a gold statue on the plain of Dura. He wanted the people to bow down to him much like this communist ideology or this totalitarian ideology that you were talking about just a second ago. When it was time for the people to bow down, three men refused: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They chose God. This is what I think is so interesting. Faith and fear are huge motivators, but only faith provides the power that raised Jesus from the dead. They had faith.

Daniel 3:17 says we know that God can save us, but even if He doesn't, we're going to choose God. Did they go into the furnace? Absolutely. But you know who they met right in the middle of the heat? Jesus. Ultimately, what happened was they became witnesses for God and King Nebuchadnezzar actually declared that his entire nation recognized who the one true God is. So we are, we're facing an election. What I'm hoping for everybody out there is that when we go to the polls, we should imagine ourselves standing in a situation similar to what they were on the plain of Dura.

Think about what are you going to vote for. Because your vote tells what you worship. Who do you stand for? Voting is not a popularity contest. It is not an act of party allegiance. I know in the past we've voted according to our party principles, but I'm going to challenge people. Don't vote for something that you don't know what it is. Read the party principles because that's ultimately what you're voting for. This idea of voting for a political party or whether you like a person or you don't like a person, it's a ruse. It's nothing more than a distraction. We don't follow people. We follow God. With each tick, we are voting either for or against a godly principle.

And I mentioned it earlier, ignorance is not an excuse, nor is apathy. Because the Bible clearly states that if a person knows what to do and refrains from doing it, it's sin. That's James 4:17. I know it's difficult. I know trying to wade through some of this is hard, but my prayer is that you would take the time and effort to put into understanding what the godly principles are and what you're voting for because God will meet you there and He will help you sort it out. It's not up to you to do it on your own, but you've got to attempt to try to do it. You can't just let it fall like a rock from the sky on you.

Some of the best advice that I can give to anybody in order to help them gain information about the political and social issues that we're facing is, number one, read your Bible. That's going to make it crystal clear to you. Second, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to show you what's going on because the lies, the Holy Spirit will cut right through. Read the details and the beliefs of the political party platform. Don't listen to social media, the mainstream media, and listen to this mudslinging back and forth thing. Again, distraction. We're not voting for people. We're voting for godly principles. And again, find good fact-finding resources and then also look for good respectable biblical resources and good respected Christian resources. You're going to find what you need to know. God's not going to leave you hanging in this boat. It's too important. Most importantly, vote. Take action. That's my hope and prayer for us.

Larry Spargimino: Cindy Dawson, what a great privilege. I'm going to be praying for you because I know you fly a lot. You're certainly active in doing the work of the Lord. So this has been a wonderful, wonderful show and I'm going to call up Mike Smith as soon as we're done and tell him you were right. She's fantastic. Thank you so much and God bless you, sister.

Cindy Dawson: Thank you. What an honor.

Southwest Radio Ministries: As we've reflected today on 25 years since September 11th, we're reminded just how quickly our world can change and how important it is to understand the times through the lens of Scripture. That's why we publish Prophecy in the News magazine. Every issue takes you deeper with in-depth biblical research and articles on prophecy, Israel, current events, archaeology, biblical mysteries, and much more, including subjects we simply don't have time to fully explore on our programs. There's more to the story. Go deeper with us. Subscribe to Prophecy in the News magazine today at SWRC.com or call 1-800-652-1144.

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Lord willing, we'll be back here Monday, ready to once again bring clarity to the chaos. So head into the weekend with the encouragement that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful friends just like you. Please visit SWRC.com. That's SWRC.com.