Imagine if you woke up in the morning to hear the news that a missile was zeroing in on you and that you only had minutes to take shelter. What would you do? What about your loved ones, children and friends? What if you were out in the open with no place to run to?
It was Saturday, January 13, 2018, in Hawaii and most people were just starting their day at 8:07 a.m. local time, when, suddenly they received a frightening alert. “EMERGENCY ALERT,” the message read. “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” As you can imagine, this caused a tremendous amount of fear and panic!
PANIC
Some parents put their children down a manhole to protect them. Many people ran out on the street from their hotels until they decided that buildings were safer places to be. Beaches cleared in minutes after everyone’s phone rang at the same time. Many people were crying and dazed and many were on their phone, trying to call loved ones to say good-bye in case they didn’t survive. One young man described the scene, saying that people were driving “a hundred miles an hour and running red lights” trying to get where they wanted to go. The power surge was so great that cell phones stopped working, so people couldn’t get information. One 13-year-old boy said to his father, “I’m too young to die!”
It was not until 8:20 a.m. that Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency managed to tweet out that there was “NO missile threat.” An electronic sign over Honolulu’s highway declared, “MISSILE ALERT IN ERROR. THERE IS NO THREAT.” However, for those who could not check social media, fear, panic and confusion reigned for another 38 minutes before another follow-up phone alert was sent out.
One tourist who was interviewed said, “Freakiest thing that’s ever happened to me in my whole life. I never want to have this happen again!” Another young man that was interviewed said, “It made me think that Hawaii’s Emergency Services either got hacked or were pretty incompetent!” Quite rightly, everyone wanted to know the cause behind this frightful fiasco!
ALARMING MISTAKES
It was not long before the truth came out. An employee for Hawaii’s EMA “was 100% sure” that it was a real attack. He had confused a drill with a real-life situation. Even though the recording began with “Exercise, Exercise, Exercise,” he only heard, “This is not a drill.” Nor did he hear the word “Exercise” at the end of the drill, even though five other people in the room heard it! When he did realize his mistake after sending out the alert, he “froze” and seemed “confused,” forcing another employee to take over his duties.
He had worked for the EMA for over ten years and this was not the first time he had confused a drill for a real-life situation. Once he had mistaken a tsunami drill for the real thing, and then a fire alert drill as well. These two mistakes earned him counselling sessions before a return to work. But the missile alert mistake got him fired from his job. Clearly, this was not the person who should have been sitting at the alert terminal!
What started it all was that a shift supervisor decided to run an unannounced drill. But it was between the night and morning shifts and three supervisors who were on duty at the time were in the hallway when all of this was happening. Once the alert was sent, the software was not set up to easily and quickly send a retraction. Since this incident, these tsunamis of mistakes have been corrected. The software has been updated to quickly send out a retraction and it will now take two officers to send out an alert.
AN ACCURATE ALARM
Because of the mistakes of several people and a flawed system, along with the paranoia of one man, a false alarm was given that caused mass fear and panic. But there is another warning of eternal consequence that has been going out to all mankind for centuries, and it affects every one of us. It is God Himself who gives the clear warning to all, and it is this: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). Why are we judged and what is the judgment? God gives us the answer. The WHY is because we are all sinners before God, and God cannot allow sin into His holy presence. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). The WHAT is hell and eternal separation from God, forever! “Who [sinners] shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Jesus described hell as “the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:5050And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:50)).
A WAY TO ESCAPE
But God, who is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), has made a way to escape for everyone who will come to Him in repentance. He sent His beloved Son Jesus to die an agonizing death on a shameful cross to pay for our sins so that those who put their trust and faith in His finished work will have certain salvation. Jesus is the ONLY WAY to heaven and God!
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
There are no false alarms with God. His Word is true and sure. Those of us who have put our trust in Him and know His forgiveness for our sins have experienced the joy and peace that He gives to His own. Consider this question: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3)). The answer is that there is NO escape! Our lives can end at a moment’s notice, sending us into eternity. We must decide now where we will spend it. There is no second chance after death! “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:66Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (Isaiah 55:6)).
Another intense time of crisis is described in England Expects Every Man to Do His Duty.