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Eternity: Where? Timothy McVeigh, 33, departed this life by lethal injection at 8:14 AM on Monday, June 11th, 2001, at the Federal Prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the murder of 168 persons in the Oklahoma City bombing of the Federal building in 1995. Hundreds of others were injured in the explosion. So the mortal life ends of a man hated by many people in this nation. Timothy McVeigh, an agnostic, said he would "improvise, adapt and overcome" if it turned out there is an afterlife and he found himself in heaven or hell. "If I am going to hell, I'm gonna have a lot of company," he said. He released a statement that included a poem before his execution that ended with "I am the captain of my fate: I am the master of my soul" (Invictus, 1875). Sources close to McVeigh said he could not conceive of a Christian God. I am sadly afraid that Mr. McVeigh will find no comfort when he faces the "judge of all the earth" in the fact of having a lot of company in hell. Mr. McVeigh did a great evil, and he deserved the death penalty (Genesis 9.6). However, God said, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 33.11). McVeigh paid the penalty for his crimes, but we cannot rejoice or take pleasure in it. I believe that President Bush stated it correctly when he said that McVeigh's execution brings "Justice, not vengeance." Vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12.9). Mr. McVeigh was perhaps the captain of his fate, but he is NOT the "master of his soul." He is in the hands of God, and has to answer to Him for his deeds! Our only hope for a better outcome is to allow the LORD to be the MASTER of our fate and the CAPTAIN of our soul! --Larry DeVore |