NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS NIGHTMARE: CHRISTMAS EVE SLAUGHTER

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Like mothers all around the world, Grace Godwin was cooking Christmas Eve dinner when life took a terrifying turn. Standing in her Nigerian kitchen, Grace’s husband ran into the room and shouted at her to take the children and run. Go to the bush, he ordered after an alarm spread that gunmen were in a nearby town. Everyone in the central Plateau knows what happens to Christians. In the time that it took her to gather her three little ones, they started to hear the unmistakable sound: rifle shots. 

With preparations for a festive night scattered everywhere, Grace and her family fled.

All across the region, villages that should have been celebrating the holiday were surrounded by armed men, tortured, and burned. The attacks lasted for hours, killing as many as 160 and wounding hundreds of others. Markus Amorudu told reporters that his family was sleeping in Mushu when the sound of shots rang out. “We were scared,” he admitted, “because we weren’t expecting an attack.” “People hid,” he explained, “but the assailants captured many of us. Some were killed, others wounded.” 

Magit Macham, who left the safety of the state capital to spend Christmas with his family, was talking to his brother outside the house when everyone heard gunshots. Within minutes, Magit was dragging his brother, who’d been hit in the leg, to the bush, where they hid for the night. “Those that could run ran,” he said. But “a good number of those that couldn’t run were caught and killed with machetes.” 

With eerie echoes of Hamas, terrorists slashed their way through as many as 20 villages, setting fire to everything in their path. The attack lasted for hours, survivors remembered. “We returned at six the next morning” — Christmas Day — “and found that houses had been burnt and people killed,” Grace lamented. “There are still people missing.” Even now, she said quietly, “There is no one in Mayanga. Women and children have all fled.”

The Fulani herdsman, along with the Muslim terrorist group Boko Haram, have been carrying out a bloody vendetta against Nigerian Christians for years. During this massacre, as in most, they took particular pleasure in targeting church leaders. “Some pastors were killed, and another pastor and his wife and five children were killed during these attacks,” Dawzino Mallau told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News by text. “These terrorists who attacked these Christian communities were in the hundreds, and they carried out the attacks as the hapless Christians were preparing for Christmas programs lined up by their pastors.”

When they couldn’t take lives, they destroyed homes — reducing “hundreds of houses” to ash. Worse, locals said it took “more than 12 hours before security agencies responded to their call for help.” Women, children, and the elderly were systematically slaughtered while the government sat on its hands, a revelation Family Research Council’s Arielle Del Turco found “deeply disturbing.”

“At best, this points to a grave and costly incompetence,” she told The Washington Stand. “At worst, it reveals that Nigerian authorities do not want to stop these attacks against vulnerable Christians and may be complicit in them. Either way, the Nigerian government must urgently institute changes to save innocent lives.”

Now, instead of celebrating Christ’s birth, Nigerians are burying their dead.

“This is unacceptable,” Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang insisted. “Enough is enough. These stupid, senseless, and unprovoked acts must stop,” he said before demanding more security measures. “… As I am talking to you, in Mangu local [district] alone, we buried 15 people. As of this morning, in Bokkos, we are counting not less than 100 corpses. I am yet to take stock of [the deaths in] Barkin Ladi. It has been a very terrifying Christmas for us here in Plateau.”

Living in fear has become a way of life for the country’s Christians, who’ve endure these waves of cold-blooded killings with shocking frequency since 2009. Now, even the simple act of going to church or gathering for Christmas can be a death sentence. 

“More innocent Christians are killed in Nigeria each year than anywhere else in the world,” Del Turco told TWS. According to Open Doors’ 2023 report, 5,014 were brutally murdered in 2022 alone. “This is a shameful distinction that the Nigerian government must immediately address,” she urged. 

With the nightmarish attacks of October 7 still fresh in everyone’s minds, this barbarism — some 3,500 miles from Israel — is another sad reminder of the persecution God’s people face in most corners of the world. But it’s also a powerful witness to Christians in the West, who’ve only experienced a taste of the hostility our brothers and sisters endure around the world. While we take our most basic freedoms for granted, believers from Afghanistan to China have no peace — not even on Christmas.

They’ve seen the deadly explosions rock their churches, they’ve cried at the funerals of loved ones gunned down during worship. They’ve lost their homes, buried their children, and looked martyrdom in the eye. And still, they are not deterred. Risking everything for Christ is a way of life. Fortunately, Jesus told us that Christians would face intense persecution in the last days before His return so are prepared to endure it for the eternal life that God has promised on the new Earth (Revelation 21 – The New Heaven and the New Earth).

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

But that doesn’t make the losses less painful. In Nigeria, where the situation for Christians is growing more treacherous by the day, we grieve for the hundreds of families whose Christmases will never be the same. 

In the meantime, Del Turco reminds the church, that we are not helpless. “We can pray for the comfort and peace for those who are mourning,” she offered, “that justice will be done in this situation, and the hearts of Nigerian leaders will be moved to stop the slaughter of Christians.” And thank God for the freedom to do so.

Topics: Nigeria, International Religious Freedom, Christian Persecution

THE BIBLE’S PROPHESIED SIGNS OF JESUS’ RETURN SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO ALL BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANS

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Preaching shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Peter tells his Jewish listeners that if they repent, God will send the Messiah back to earth, since heaven must receive him “until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago”. Note, Peter says that all of the O.T prophets “proclaimed these days“.

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago... Moses and all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.” Acts 3:19-20, 22, 24

And so, in one clear sentence, Peter tells us that everything the prophets spoke of in the past, including all the promises to Israel about the Messiah’s glorious rule on the earth, will come to pass when King Jesus returns. So much for the New Testament “spiritualizing” away the promises of the Old Testament.

What the Bible repeatedly states will happen in the future will happen in the future. It’s that simple.

Jesus is coming to Earth a second time and all the Biblical prophecies about that return are playing out in our world today. The return of the Jews to their promised land which occurred over 70 years ago now in 1948 was the KEY sign. The rest of the prophesied signs such as God shaking things with earthquakes, pestilences, and famines, godlessness and lawlessness, apostasy with much of the church compromising with the world on gay marriage, homosexuality, transgenderism, increased persecution of Christians who are upholding the authority of God’s Word and God’s commandments, all of these prophesied events are occurring with increased frequency. Jesus warns us that endurance will be required during this time of tribulation: “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

“Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,” Luke 21:10-12

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:21-23

“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37:26-27

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW CHRISTIANS WILL BE PERSECUTED IN THE DAYS AHEAD

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An Arlington, Virginia voter, later identified as a federal contractor, went viral on Tuesday for cursing out a Republican poll greeter, Matthew Hurtt, outside a precinct. In the video of the incident, which has been viewed nearly 12 million times as of Friday morning, the contractor cursed out Republicans as “Bible-beating bigots and freaks” and “rapists” for supporting pro-life, pro-family policies.

The voter opened with: “You ******* people tried to overthrow the election”. (His favorite adjective/adverb began with “f” and is censored throughout this article.) “You might as well have been walking up to my head on the way to the polling station and putting a gun to my head, trying to tell me how to vote.”

Finding a Republican greeter at his deep-blue polling location made him furious. “[Do] you expect me to not take that ******* personally? You ******* try to overthrow elections with violence, and then you’re out here, among decent people?”

Unable to provoke Hurtt, the angry voter continued to seek out an argument and increased his use of foul language. “What do you have to say to that, huh? And what’s on your ******* [sample ballot] — what are your policy prescriptions? … ******* rapists, right? Involving yourself in people’s ******* families, in their ******* bedrooms. You ******* animal.”

The voter began to walk away, but immediately stepped back to threaten the poll greeter, despite just accusing the poll greeter of threatening him. “You try to steal my vote next year, I’m going to ******* remember you personally,” he said. “In fact, I’m taking a ******* picture of you.” Americans have historically worried about partisans intimidating voters at the polls; here is a voter intimidating a partisan at the polls.

Then the voter’s progressive reflexes kicked in, and he remembered the Left’s emphasis on not taking someone’s picture without their consent, which has been used to prosecute undercover journalists exposing abortion centers’ gruesome practices.

So, the voter quickly added, “Is that alright? Do I have your permission?” Hurtt responded, “Yeah, that’s alright. It’s a one-party-consent state.” By that, he meant that it is not illegal in Virginia to photograph someone without their permission. But the voter wasn’t thinking in those categories at all. Apparently, he thought Hurtt was complaining that Democrats run everything in Virginia because after a gratuitous insult he responded, “Yeah, ‘one-party state.’ You want a one-party country is what you want.”

The voter did not seem to recognize the irony of that last statement. By delegitimizing the entire Republican Party, and by being offended by the very presence of a Republican outside his voting precinct, he revealed that he was the one who wanted a one-party country — one where only left-wing Democratic politicians can win elections.

Hurtt tried to end the conversation by engaging another prospective voter who just then walked down the sidewalk, in the exchange relayed above. The disgruntled voter at first walked away, but then he came back again and spoke to the other man.

“Try not to be buddy-buddy with these people,” he warned, “because they put on the face of a good neighbor, but they support lynch mobs and the ******* KKK. Or they’re ******* Bible-beating bigots and freaks. And they’re not good neighbors.

Notice how the man describes Christians: “Bible-beating bigots and freaks.” A bigot is “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.” A freak is “one that is markedly unusual or abnormal.” Despite the negative connotations, this angry, progressive voter is describing people who believe the Bible contains absolute truth and are unwilling to compromise on that — in short, Bible-believing Christians.

In a recent interview with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, House Speaker Mike Johnson discussed the hostility he has faced in Washington as a result of his Christian faith. “There are whole industries, as you know, that are dedicated to taking down public officials like me,” he said. “They can’t stand the idea that someone would openly acknowledge their faith. That’s not in vogue in Washington anymore — hasn’t been for a long time.”

That anti-Christian bias seems to have spread beyond select industries to infect a large part of the federal bureaucracy. So, when Christians go to Washington to advance pro-life, pro-family policies, or even basic morality, they are bound to face near-crushing opposition.

Prior to Jesus’ return to Earth, he told us that Christians would be hated by all nations for His name’s sake.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

God has given us incredible detail about what will take place in the last seven years prior to His return. We know it is a time when God purifies His church prior to its Rapture to Heaven. There is a great falling away in the church and we see that happening now as more of the institutional/denominational churches compromise with the world with gay marriage and homosexual/transgender leaders. We need to get into prayer so we know what the Holy Spirit is calling us to do in the sphere of influence we operate whether it is family, friends, or workmates. In the above Scripture Jesus said that the gospel of His Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world and then the end will come. Let us play our part but we also know from Revelation that prior to the seven Bowl judgements God sends out three angels throughout the world to proclaim His eternal gospel.

The Messages of the Three Angels

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” Revelation 14:6-12

HOLD TO BIBLICAL VALUES AND PRESENT-DAY MEDIA WILL ATTACK YOU

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Rolling Stone Magazine decided to attack Jonathan Cahn along with Evangelical Christians. Jonathan gives his answer in this video.

Jonathan’s response is a dignified, compassionate, rational response to a twisted, gaslighted, defamatory article! So much for tolerance and diversity. This article is a discredit to responsible journalism and demonstrates Rolling Stones’ obvious lack of credibility and ethics. Again, Jonathan, thank you for your wisdom and articulate, factual exposure of this repugnant article.

God told us that Evangelical Christians would be attacked in the end times prior to Jesus’ return to restore righteousness. Most of the Bible is prophecy and now fulfilled prophecy so that we know the God of the Bible is real and in control of History. We know therefore that this attack by Rolling Stone magazine is demonically motivated and is another Biblical end-times sign.

DID GOD PROMISE TO PROTECT CHRISTIANS FROM PERSECUTION?

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The title is very relevant in a time like this when many Christians are lamenting and asking questions about why God allows them to go through pain, persecution, and suffering after they have given their lives to Christ.

Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. He writes; “Many of us in Nigeria are finding it difficult to comprehend why God is not protecting Christians from terrorists. Did God really promise to always protect us from attacks? Throughout the entire New Testament, Jesus made clear assertions that Christians should be ready to endure persecutions and attacks (John 15:20, John 10:28, Revelation 2:9-10).

The confusion is that the messages that we are hearing in churches contradict the words of Christ and the reality on the ground. I have heard pastors preach that Christians are not born again to suffer again and that anyone who remains poor or sick after becoming a Christian is a disgrace to Christianity. This is the rhetoric that prompts Christians to feel that God is reneging on His promises. Is it not obvious that God allows trials, troubles, and pain so that we can be partakers of the suffering of Christ in order to be qualified to reign with Him? (2 Timothy 2:12).

A look at the foundation of Christianity will help us to understand why God is not protecting us from persecutions and trials that are faith-based. Christianity was borne on the cross where the blood of Christ was shed for the remission of the sins. The cross is the centerpiece of Christianity and anyone who becomes a Christian is automatically grafted into the cross-journey. Jesus was emphatic about this: “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me” Matthew 10:38

Paul wrote the following Scripture bound in prison knowing death was imminent.

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:8-12

God is not the author of confusion. He cannot call us to partake in His suffering and arise to protect us against the same thing that He has called us into. Our inability to understand the plans and purposes of God is the root cause of our disappointments. We expect things that are simply not promised in His Word. There is no doubt that there are biblical promises of divine protection, but whether they are for persecuted Christians is what we really need to critically look at. Claiming all scriptural promises in the Old Testament and neglecting all that Christ has told us misses the broader picture. Jesus told us to be prepared because persecution is inevitable.

“Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” John 15:20

Instead of asking “Why, God?” We should count it all joy that Christ has found us worthy to be partakers of His experiences.

Jesus encouraged us to brace up and endure the suffering and pains associated with the cross. Important for us who are living in the last days prior to Jesus’ return, He gave us a great deal of information about the tribulation, even the great tribulation that believers will endure during the last seven years.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.” Matthew 24:21-22

George Bernard, the author of the hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” understood the mystery of the cross and was convinced that he would one day exchange the Cross with a crown. Jesus assured us of the safety of our salvation (John 10:28-29). He promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He also promised to finish the good work he has begun in us (Philippians 1:6). He promised to guard us against the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3). But never did He promise to protect us from persecution and trials.

Let us pray that God will wake us up from our complacency and give us the grace to stand firm and endure the hazards of Christianity with the understanding that He who called us is able to fulfill His promise of everlasting life.

RELIGIOUS CLEANSING IS THREATENING THE WORLD’S FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION

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In 301 A.D., Armenia became the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its state religion. Now, more than 1,700 years later, Armenian Christians are facing a religious and cultural genocide — for the second time in a century.

This is just another of the Biblical prophesied end times signs that are unfolding in our day.

A recent report issued by the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague urgently warned that neighboring Azerbaijan’s blockade of the only road connecting Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh region is preventing desperately needed food, medical supplies and other essentials from reaching the 120,000 people, mostly Christians, who live there.

“Starvation is the invisible genocide weapon,” the report states. “Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks.” The report goes on to say that there is a “reasonable basis to believe that genocide is being committed against Armenians.”

This group of Christians is not months or years, but mere weeks away from extermination. The situation could not be more urgent, and both U.S. and international government officials must pressure Azerbaijan to end the blockade immediately so these much-needed supplies can reach Nagorno-Karabakh. This genocide must not be allowed to happen in plain view on our collective watch.

Like all ethnic conflicts, the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh area is complicated. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan claimed the region, sparking a land dispute that led to the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1994. Armenia gained primary control of the territory in the end, but tensions flared again in 2020 when Azerbaijan launched a war of choice to retake land. Russia brokered a peace deal, with Azerbaijan gaining control of large areas of the region. Armenia is now connected to Nagorno-Karabakh via a small strip of land called the Lachin corridor. But Azerbaijan is blocking access to this strip, seeking a final solution.

A line of 19 trucks and 360 tons of food has been parked for two weeks waiting for permission to cross the Lachin corridor. Natural gas has been cut off since March and other energy supplies remain spotty at best. Families have been separated and surgeries canceled.

Genocide has been defined as the killing of people not for what they have done but because of who they are. What we are witnessing in this region is more than a mere land dispute. Muslim-majority Azerbaijan’s aggression against Christian-majority Armenia is distinctly religious in nature, and the ongoing blockade is only the most recent example of Azerbaijan attempting to erase Armenia’s cultural and religious heritage. Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s backing, is really slowly strangling Nagorno-Karabakh. They’re working to make it unlivable so that the region’s Armenian-Christian population is forced to leave, that’s what’s happening on the ground.

Dr. David Curry is President and CEO of Global Christian Relief (GCR), America’s leading watchdog organization focused on the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide.

LINK BETWEEN THE MAHDI AND THE ANTICHRIST

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What both leading Muslim scholars, Sunni and Shia, declare: Islam allows the accumulation of sufficient force to “terrorize the enemy and deter against an attack upon Muslims.” The “prevention of Muslims from the production of weapons of mass destruction … while other countries are allowed to do this – causes general, great and large damage upon all Muslims.”

It is thus permissible for Muslims to produce WMDs “in order to seek balance in armed conflict between them and hostile forces.” The achievement of strategic balance with the enemy is not only legitimate but religiously obligatory. “It is possible for an Islamic state to use this type of weapon if the enemy uses it, or it is thought likely that the enemy is poised to use it. It is why Iran is determined to have nuclear weapons.

The achievement of strategic balance with the enemy is not only legitimate but religiously obligatory.

When recognized Islamic scholars speak, all Muslims listen. When those scholars state clearly that it is a religious obligation to produce nuclear weapons of mass destruction to ward off the infidels, and that Islam sanctions use of such weapons if “it is thought likely that the enemy is poised to use it,” you can see why everyone in the world should be nervous about Islamists getting within a million miles of nuclear weapons.

Who Will Unite Muslims and Take On the West?

What kind of leader would be needed to unite an extremely disparate group of Muslims around the world, tired of Western domination and seeking earnestly to “prepare” the world for Allah’s final judgment as the “last, best revelation of God” is presented to all? This man would have to have unusual gifts of diplomacy, holiness, charm, wisdom, and the ability to gain the admiration and respect of Muslims worldwide. Well, you should know that Muslims are already waiting for this man, with 42 percent in a recent survey believing the Islamic superman will appear in their lifetime. His name is al-Mahdi, the “Rightly Guided One,” who has been discussed since the earliest days of Islam. This Islamic messiah was referred to by Muhammad’s grandson, Ali, who said that Islam would “prevail over all religions … when the Messiah of this ummah (Islamic nation) makes his appearance.

All branches of Islam throughout history are expecting the al Mahdi, as revealed by this quote from what has been called the greatest Islamic history book from the pre-modern era: “Let it be known that it is a narrated event by ALL Muslims in EVERY era that at the end of time a man from the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) will, without fail, make his appearance and will strengthen Islam and spread justice; Muslims will follow him and he will gain domination over the Muslim realm. He will be called al-Mahdi.

He will appear just as mankind reaches a stage of great suffering, to show the light of Islam when men and women need it most, and to prepare the world for Allah’s judgment just in time, according to accepted Islamic teaching.

He will reappear on the appointed day, and then he will fight against the forces of evil, lead a world revolution and set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness, and virtue … ultimately the righteous will take the world administration in their hands and Islam will be victorious over all the religions.

If this sounds like the Antichrist, you can see why many of us who have studied Islam for years believe that Mahdi will be that man. One Muslim background Believer who has done a lot of speaking and writing about al-Mahdi, Walid Shoebat, says that as he read scriptural prophecy for the first time, he was astonished by the description of the Antichrist. His conclusion? This is the Mahdi (Mehdi) that we have long talked about in Islam.

Other aspects of Mahdi’s profile include: He will be from the line of Fatimah, Muhammad’s first wife, and become a public figure at the age of forty. Physically, he will have a high forehead and hooked nose, according to prophecies traced back to Muhammad.

He will center his operations in Karbala, Iraq, according to Shiites. A hadith of Muhammad says that he will sweep across the Middle East and set up his reign in Jerusalem. That reign will, of course, be headquartered at the Dome of the Rock, the mosque in Jerusalem

He will have miracle-working power, which will impress the Islamic community and verify his status as a special instrument of Allah. One teaching says, “In the Last Days of the ummah, the Mahdi will appear. Allah will give him power over the wind and the rain, and the earth will bring forth its foliage.”
He will guide Muslims to great wealth, but he will not lead a profligate lifestyle. Instead, he “will give away wealth profusely, flocks will be in abundance, and the ummah will be large and honored.” Likewise, “A man will stand and say, ‘Give to me Mahdi!’ and he will say, ‘Take.’”
He will rule over the world for seven years, according to most accounts, including those that claim to trace this time span back to Muhammad’s prediction. This will feature a seven-year “peace agreement” between the “Arabs and the Romans,” what many believe will be between Islam and the West. Such parallels with Scripture are no accident, according to many. He will be assisted by “Jesus,” who will descend, probably in Damascus, from heaven to work miracles and preach Islam. “Jesus will testify against those who had called him son of God, the Christians, and those who had belied him, the Jews.” I think this Islamic version of Jesus fits the description of the Antichrist’s assistant in Revelation 13 perfectly.

While Mahdi straightens out the ummah by “freeing Islam from the hypocrites who have corrupted it,” this Jesus will handle the evangelization of the Jewish and Christian communities.

The end result? “Jesus” will summon Christians and Jews “to live by the Qu’ran by purging them of the errors into which they have fallen. As Christians follow the Prophet Isa [Jesus], the Christian and Islamic world will unite in a single belief, and the world will enjoy a period of great peace, security, happiness, and well-being, known as the Golden Age.”[210]
Here is a fitting capstone to describe al-Mahdi: “He is the precursor of the victory of the Truth and the fall of all tyrants. He heralds the end of injustice and oppression and the beginning of the final rising of the sun of Islam which will never again set and which will ensure happiness and the elevation of mankind … The Mahdi is one of Allah’s clear signs which will soon be made evident to everyone.” Muhammad ibn Izzat, Muhammad Arif, Al Mahdi and the End of Time (London: Dar Al-Taqwa, 1997).

And, he will rule from Jerusalem, according to a hadith from Muhammad: Jerusalem will be the location of the rightly guided caliphate and the center of Islamic rule, which will be headed by Imam al-Mahdi … that will abolish the leadership of the Jews … and put an end to the domination of the Satans who spit evil into people and cause corruption in the earth, making them slaves of false idols and ruling the world by laws other than the sharia of the Lord of the worlds.

These Islamic prophecies are not from an infallible source. However, if the entire Islamic world is looking for a Messiah who will arise from the Biblical prophesied nation and accomplish all that the Biblical prophecies say the Antichrist will do it is unlikely it is a coincidence.

JESUS WARNED US THAT PERSECUTION WILL ESCALATE IN THE END TIMES

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A now-viral post by Lizzie Marbach, an Ohio pro-life activist which stated, “There’s no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone” was met with criticism and accusations of bigotry from two state lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.

Elizabeth Marbach (picture from her website), director of communications for Ohio Right to Life, wrote the biblical truth on Aug. 15 after what she called a “long day at work.”

“I have had many upset over my ‘unpopular’ and ‘harsh’ posts I had recently made, and I wanted to show some positivity that we can all unite behind,” Marbach told The Christian Post via email Thursday.

What she didn’t expect was a biting response from Congressman Max Miller of Ohio’s 7th District.

Miller — a Republican whom Politico once described as a “loyalist” of former President Donald Trump — called Marbach’s post “one of the most bigoted” he’s ever seen and told her to delete it, adding, “You have gone too far.”

Shortly after, Miller replied to Marbach, “God says that Jewish people are the chosen ones, but yet you say we have no hope. Thanks for your pearl of wisdom today.”

Around the same time, Rep. Casey Weinstein, a Democratic lawmaker from Ohio’s 34th District, quoted Miller’s post and added, “We may be on opposite sides of the aisle, but I stand right with Max on this. Delete it, Lizzie.”

In response, Marbach — who admitted she was “completely shocked” by Miller’s post given that his wife, Emily, sits on the board of trustees for Ohio Right to Life — quoted: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6

Marbach said while she wasn’t surprised by such a response, it nonetheless points to a much larger spiritual truth. “I think his accusation of bigotry points to the eternal truth of the Gospel message itself,” she said. “Jesus tells us that the world will hate us because they first hated him. The Gospel message is offensive to those who are not in Christ, and Miller’s response is just the latest example of this.”

“Remember the word that I (Jesus) said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also.” John 15:20-23

But alongside that spiritual truth, she added, is a political reality in which, said Marbach, Republicans are growing increasingly tone-deaf and even hostile toward constituents who identify as followers of Christ.

It is just another end times sign. The last prophesied seven years prior to Jesus return to set up His Millennial Kingdom is fast approaching. Probably the most significant end times sign happened over 70 years ago. The re-establishment of Israel as a nation.

We are already seeing the move towards a one-world government with the recent announcement by the UN of a proposed Pact for the Future in September 2024. ,

2024 Pact for the Future

An action-oriented Pact for the Future will be endorsed by Heads of State/Government at the Summit, showcasing global solidarity for current and future generations.

This UN Pact for the Future was started in 2015 with the 2030 Agenda. It was agreed by UN Member States as a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity, and peace outlined through 17 Sustainable Development Goals and related targets.

ESCALATING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN INDIA

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A wave of violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur has left a trail of death and destruction, with the latest incidents resulting in six fatalities and numerous homes set ablaze. The ongoing unrest, which has already claimed over 180 lives and displaced thousands, has now become a significant factor in a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Three victims, identified as members of the majority Meitei community, were killed in the Kwakta area of Manipur’s Bishnupur district, The Times of India reported, adding that they had been living in relief camps and were killed the day they returned.

Retaliatory attacks ensued hours later, the media outlet said. Armed men targeted the area’s neighboring villages belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, resulting in two deaths and 13 severe injuries on Saturday.

The violence erupted in early May following a controversial court order for the state to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas, previously reserved for the tribal Kuki-Zo people, who are predominantly Christian, to the Hindu Meitei population. It would also give the Meiteis the right to buy land in the hills where the Kuki-Zo people live.

Opposition parties, under the newly formed India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, have accused Modi of “brazen indifference” to the violence, according to Financial Times, which said they have successfully placed a no-confidence motion against Modi’s government on parliament’s agenda, with a vote expected this week.

Last month, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging the Indian government to urgently restore peace in Manipur. “There have been concerns about politically motivated, divisive policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism, and about an increase in activity by militant groups,” the resolution stated. There are also “accounts of partisan involvement by security forces in the killings have increased distrust in the authorities.”

In response to the resolution, India’s Ministry of External Affairs criticized the European Parliament, saying the issue was entirely an “internal matter.”

This escalating persecution of Christians was prophesied by Jesus and included in the three Gospels so we should not be taken by surprise it only confirms that God is in control of all events on His planet, Earth. He is refining His church before He returns first to rapture His Saints and then to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS ESCALATING IN INDIA

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Viral video of Christian women paraded naked, raped searing Indian conscience

When the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, or “Indian People’s Party“) Vice President of the neighboring State of Mizoram resigned, he stated that in his opinion the BJP has become an anti-Christian party. This has brought clearer awareness throughout India, and throughout the world, that the rapes and murders of numerous women, and the burning of homes and churches, clearly represent targeted attacks against Kuki Christians. At this point, it is obvious to state that Kuki Christians are under full-scale attack by radicalized Hindu groups and that the police are ignoring this injustice. This is not to say that Meitei Christians haven’t suffered from ethnic violence as well. But there is no denying the destruction of hundreds of churches, the massive number of displaced Kuki Christians, and the brutal rape of their women. 

In the wake of the outrage, Prime Minister Modi has broken his 80-day silence on the Manipur violence and the breakdown of law and order. He condemned the violence against these innocent Kuki women. Yet his statement veered into politics by also mentioning violence against women in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, which is ruled by the opposition party. 

The EU parliament in Strasbourg reported on the Indian government’s handling of the security crisis in Manipur. The language is scathing, and the criticisms are profound. Details of attacks on Christians sent to Premier Christian Radio in past days have put the number of burnings of church buildings, schools, seminaries, and the homes of ministers at 564, since 3 May.

These amount to 263 churches belonging to the Kuki-Zo tribe, 93 Kuki Christian buildings, and 238 churches belonging to Meitei Christians, which witnesses say were destroyed by Hindu nationalists.

In a statement to Premier, Bishop Joseph D’Souza of the Good Shepherd Church of India said: “A heart and conscience rending video of two Kuki Christian women forcibly taken from a police station, paraded naked, groped and manhandled, gang raped and then killed.  The India we knew is fast disappearing. Lord help us. This violent assault and murder of women in Manipur points to the possible India of the future if we fail to awaken the Indian conscience across religious and caste lines.”

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Christians should not be surprised as God has warned us in His Word of the events that would precede His second coming to Earth. Tribulation, even great tribulation are among the signs we can expect. Another major one is apostasy, a great falling away in the church from the truth of God’s Word. This is happening at an ever-increasing rate with institutional churches accepting gay marriage and homosexual pastors and leaders.

Fortunately, Jesus also told us:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

We need to get on with the great commission knowing Jesus is in control of all events on planet Earth.