The United Nations Is Planning to make a Covenant with the Many in September 2024. Will this begin the Tribulation, the last seven years before Jesus returns (70th Week of Daniel)? They call it the “Pact for the Future” Watch the Nelson Walters video below for details and how this matches perfectly with Bible Prophecy.
I had not realised how many Bible prophecies there are about Jesus’ Second Coming to Earth. All of the O.T. prophets were blessed by God to be shown the end of the story for the nation, Israel, that God established for His purposes. Jesus will rule and reign over the nations from a new temple in a new Jerusalem. Look at the detail in the following two Scriptures given to Jeremiah and Ezekiel about what our Lord will do.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch and a King shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.” Jeremiah 23:5-8
“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loatheyourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be built. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 36:24-38
JERUSALEM – A NEW CITY, A NEW NAME– THE LORD IS THEREON THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN
Jonathan Cahn preaches on the many end-times prophecies, starting with the rebirth of Israel and the great falling away in denominational institutional churches and ending with the coming Millennial reign of Jesus from a restructured/rebuilt Jerusalem.
Jonathan like many born-again leaders knows we are in the last days before Jesus returns and is preparing his congregation for what is ahead. My only concern is that he does not address the timing of The Rapture and the fact Christians need to prepare for the coming tribulation, even great tribulation. As Jesus and Paul told the disciples that they would see the Abomination of Desolation (Antichrist) (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) seated in the Temple declaring himself to be God. This takes place midway through the last seven years before Jesus returns to Earth with the Saints. The Rapture timing is at the end of the sixth year, the sixth seal, and the sixth church (church of Philadelphia).
SIXTH SEAL (Celestial signs that precede Jesus coming to rapture the Saints and signals the great day of God’s wrath has come): “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”Revelation 6:12-17
CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA: “Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:8,10
Moreover, the Church of Laodicea is the church that is left behind to face the wrath of God which hopefully leads to repentance and saving faith.
As we fast approach the time before Jesus’ return when persecution of Christians intensifies we need to begin to develop the type of Christian life that doesn’t need a large church to sustain it and a walk with Jesus that values true community, not backseat participation – in effect, non-participation. You might grow as never before under persecution, as millions around the world can testify, and as Paul testified clearly in Romans 5:1-5:
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5
We will experience hope in a new way as we are persecuted. Our focus will more and more turn to what is next on God’s agenda for this world, Jesus Millennial Kingdom (www.millennialkingdom.net). Suffering will purify us of our preoccupation with the current corrupt world. God will grow us all up in a hurry under such conditions, and those of us who have long lamented the differences between the church of Acts and the modern church will get a chance to see many of those differences wiped away in an instant. It will be an exciting time.
Middle Eastern Christians have learned what it means to bless those who persecute them.
Christians in Syria are learning daily how to do this. Many have chosen to stay in their towns and cities, even if Islamist rebels have overrun them and raped, looted, tortured, and killed them. As Open Doors USA spokesperson Emily Fuentes has reported: There are some Christians who are fleeing because they have no other choice, but there are many Christians who have really felt God’s call to stay in town, even though they have been attacked and targeted because of their faith. They realize that God’s using them, and (are reaching) out to their Muslim neighbours. Thus, it seems to me that in the days ahead as persecution increases we will have the basic option of running, or remaining and seeking to win our attackers and fellow refugees to Christ. The choice that we make will be a matter of conscience, as Scripture can be used to support both. Believers in both Syria and Egypt have made different choices.
In the parts of Syria where church buildings have not been desecrated, they have become de facto relief agencies, providing clothes, food, and Christian teaching. These churches are seeing people come to faith in Christ as the congregants love everyone who has been made homeless, not just Christians. This is in stark contrast to the Islamic approach to providing aid for Muslims only. As Syrian Christians have ministered to all people as war rips their country apart, they ask not for relief from the persecution, for money, or any sort of assistance, but primarily for prayer. Syrian Christians know prayer is the only way that peace will come to their country. What an amazing witness, to care for everyone in the midst of intense suffering. The Church has done this throughout history. I would venture to say all of the books in the world’s libraries would not be enough to tell the stories of instances when Christians helped people in desperate need, regardless of skin color or creed.
Soon, I think, we will all enjoy caring for people in our communities and have the opportunity to make a bigger impact on their souls than a thousand sermons would be able to. It will be thrilling to watch all of our fellow church members get their hands dirty in ministry, a greater percentage than ever before, I believe! Can you see how suffering refines a church? It will do the same for us. There will be no more CEO (Christmas and Easter Only) Christians in our churches when the persecution starts. All of you who are tired of the pretenders coming to Sunday services will see the meeting sizes shrink as the wheat is separated from the chaff (Matthew 13:24-30). As a side note, won’t it be thrilling to see all the prophetic Scriptures that we have read for so long coming to pass? I think it will be an incredible time, even when it is very hard. I also believe God will give us abundant grace as we endure. All of the distractions that have kept us from following hard after God will be eliminated. Daily life will consist of a focus on how everyone in our community is doing, how they can be helped that day, how the new believers can be discipled, and how God’s love can be shown to the occupiers. Does that sound like Acts 4? It sure does to me. All of those sermons over the years, where pastors lamented the differences between Acts 4 and twenty-first-century churches will be made irrelevant. We will be living Acts 4.
Our churches will never become Acts 4 churches until the circumstances around us mirror the conditions of the early church. That prophesied day will come. And I think we will enjoy living out our faith as our predecessors did and those Christians who are already experiencing intense persecution in Muslim countries in the Middle East.
One source in Egypt reports the reaction of Christians to the burning of dozens of churches: “Churches are united together. And the spirit of prayer is happening in all the churches. People are praying all the time,” according to a source named “David.”
Churches united, churches praying, and people praying all the time. The church will become what we’ve all wanted it to become, but it may not happen until we are aggressively persecuted.
The churches in Egypt haven’t stopped with simply prayer. According to a Charisma News source in-country, Christians are answering the violence and pro-Islamic graffiti with signs that read, “You burned our church, but we love you.” If you were a Muslim in these cities, what would you think of such signs? I can tell you the two predominant reactions would be, 1. “Those Christians are just total weaklings” and 2. “How does this happen? How does someone love rather than avenge?” God is certainly doing all sorts of things amid this brutal persecution, acts of salvation that we won’t know about until we get to heaven.
During the great tribulation under an Islamic Antichrist, we will see brothers and sisters killed for their faith often, some right out of our communities. This is what is happening in the countries of the Arab Spring; martyrdom is expected, not imagined.
Soon, we will know true suffering and understand so many other portions of the Bible, such as 2 Timothy 4:6-8:
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to utter these words, knowing you are about to be killed for your faith? You might get this opportunity, and join the crowd of people who come out from under the altar as Jesus returns, those who had been martyred by the Beast (see Revelation 6:9 and 20:4), reigning on special thrones, and given authority to judge.
Early church father Tertullian’s famous line, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” will come true before our eyes as those around us see our courage, even in the face of death, and are deeply moved.
It’s sad but true; people have to feel absolutely helpless sometimes before they look to God.
Peace and courage during these sorts of times of suffering have a powerful impact on the hardest hearts. One Egyptian has reported about the church’s witness there: “It’s a great message of forgiveness. This makes many Muslims discover the reality of Christianity, and many of them come to know Jesus.” These new believers are meeting “underground in a secret way. They worship the Lord together, and they’re growing.”
Extracts from Ralph Stice’s book Arab Spring, Christian Winter: Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World
Former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has told CBN News she fears all the world’s nations are about to submit too much sovereignty to a United Nations organization. The attempted power grab described by Bachmann involves the World Health Organization (WHO). Through a series of 307 amendments and a global pandemic treaty, the WHO is seeking to gain authority over international health decisions of U.N. member nations in the event of something like another COVID pandemic. “Then they would be empowered to tell us in America we have to lock down, we have to shut down, we have to close our churches, we have to close our schools,” Bachmann cautioned. “We’re forced, mandated, to take a vaccine, whether we want to or not. We’re forced to mask. We’re forced to do whatever it is they tell us that we have to do. We have never before in 5,000 years of recorded human history, seen this level of authority given to an international, global body.”
Those supporting this authority for the WHO say it’s necessary to protect the world’s population, even if it means restricting some of their liberties. Dr. Abdullah Assiri, who co-chairs the Working Group on International Health Regulations, explained, “The world requires a different level of legal mandates, such as the pandemic treaty, to navigate through a particular pandemic, should one occur, and it will. Prioritizing actions that may restrict individual liberties, mandating and sharing of information, knowledge and resources, pandemic control efforts are all necessary during a pandemic.” Dechen Wangmo, Bhutan’s Health Minister concurred. “Let us seize this opportunity to foster international collaboration, ensure global health security and protect the lives and the well-being of all people beyond boundaries,” she stated.
Bachmann sees little to no opposition to handing over this power next year. “I don’t think all the nations fully understand what these implications are,” she warned, “so we have very little time.” And top backers of this United Nations move say speed is of the essence. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra conveyed the Biden administration’s urgency. “I wish to stress from our perspective, the quicker we can come together, the sooner we will all be safe,” he said. “We know that the challenges we face won’t be solved by a few leaders or a few countries, but by the world coming together and fighting for what’s right,” he claimed. Some in Congress opposed this move to further empower the WHO. There is proposed legislation that would deem it a treaty, which requires Senate approval. Bachmann, however, claims the White House is trying to make an end run around them.
She noted, “The Biden administration doesn’t plan to bring this treaty back to the U.S. Senate because they’re using a subterfuge. They’re calling it not a treaty. They’re calling it an accord. And they’re saying ‘This isn’t a treaty. This is just an accord. We can do this. We don’t need the involvement of the U.S. government.’ But once you give government and power away, it’s very hard to get it back.” The former congresswoman points out that the Bible warns that a world-dominating power will bring trouble. “When you look at what the Bible says and the convergence of events that we are seeing across the world right now, and what the prophets from the Bible have said, we need to really pay attention to what’s going on. Because this is the creation of a platform for global government. And according to the Bible, things that are not good come out of a global government.”
Source:CBNNews#
Bachmann is correct the Bible tells us that there will be a one-world government prior to Jesus’ return to earth to restore righteousness. The number of Biblical prophecies of Jesus second coming to earth is incredible. Almost 2000, and yet the church is not talking about the prophesied events prior to Jesus’ return. Mind you there were about 300 prophecies of Jesus first coming to earth and yet the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and Sadducees missed it. Why because they wanted a conquering leader who would defeat the Roman overlords. Likewise, the church is hoping that God will take believers to heaven in the rapture event described in the Bible prior to the prophesied tribulation, even great tribulation that will come upon those that will not take the mark of the Antichrist. This is not what the Bible tells us. God will rapture the Saints prior to pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements but these do not occur until the trumpet blast of the seventh seal. The prophesied celestial signs that precede Jesus coming in the clouds and the wrath of God are not announced until the sixth seal.
“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”Revelation 3:12-17
People often talk about how the Left has embraced politics as its new religion. But Minister Jonathan Cahn, who authored “The Harbinger,” takes it a step further. His latest book, “The Return of the Gods,” shows how the radical transformations of society today are part of an ancient pattern. Most of us can sense the evil spreading. We can tell that our society is sick. One mistake we make is the idea that the people devoted to destroying us are unhinged. They are, in a certain sense, but there is nothing irrational about what they’re doing. There’s something supernatural happening, and Jonathan shows us that it is the evil gods Baal, Ishtar, and Moloch are manifesting today. Jesus put an end to these ancient evils in most of the Western world. But now they are returning, and America is leading the way, driven by the exploitation of children, the destruction of marriage, and the ubiquity of pornography. Their hidden pagan symbolism has begun emerging into plain sight, from “Pride” parades to rainbows and humans becoming like the machines and the animals. Jonathan’s solution is simple. Following the guidance of Jesus, he says, “Don’t be timid with goodness, don’t be timid with your love.”
UN proposes emergency powers over all nations if global shocks such as Covid 19 and even climate change eventuate in order to bring peace and security. Radical proposals are to be instituted in 2024 giving the UN total control over governments, and banks. Multi stakeholders like those controlling WEF will be asked to take control of segments of society by the Secretary-General.
The United Nations Is Planning to make a Covenant with the Many in September 2024. Will this begin the Tribulation? They call it the “Pact for the Future” Watch this Nelson Walters video for details and how this matches perfectly with end times Bible Prophecy. Might this be the covenant with the many that initiates the last seven years of Daniel’s 70th Week.
The woman, Mystery Babylon (UN) has total control and sets up the world for the Antichrist. We are seeing Biblical prophecy playing out in our day.
Viral video of Christian women paraded naked, raped searing Indian conscience
When the Bharatiya JanataParty (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.
In modern Australia, you will be feted for mocking Christ but cast out into the social wilderness for saying men are not women. That’s what the stories of Reuben Kaye and Moira Deeming suggest.
Kaye is a self-styled queer comic who was fawned over on ABC’s (Government funded TV channel) Q+A this week for his swipe at the son of God. It was on the Ten Network’s The Project back in February that he told a cheeky crucifixion gag. He said he didn’t understand why Christians had such a problem with him. “I love Jesus,” he said. “I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more.”
The Project hosts giggled awkwardly. Christians were not so amused. Some threatened to protest at his gigs.
The audience on this week’s Q+A was a different affair entirely. They came not to douse this “blasphemer” in holy water but to gush over his supposedly daring Jesus-bashing.
An audience member asked if he thought a straight comic would have caught so much flak for a joke about the crucifixion. Q+A host Patricia Karvelas then read the joke out, for context, eliciting chuckles from the audience. Kaye said, yes, it was because he was a “queer person” that the religious reacted with such spluttering fury to his Jesus joke. They want us to “become invisible”, he said.
The applause was rapturous. He was treated as a valiant warrior for free speech. Chill out, you sad, tragic Christians, and let us say what we want to say – that was the undertone of Kaye’s own puffed-up self-defense and the cheering he received on the ABC.
This is how far we have fallen from a country that still opens parliament with prayer. That practice is not likely to survive much longer. Several of the Labour members and the Greens Party do not enter Parliament until the prayers are finished.
Jesus told us that in the last days, unbelievers will hate us and even worse kill us because we uphold Jesus as Lord of not only this world but the Cosmos.
“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.” Matthew 24:9-12
Let’s look at how Christians are reacting in real-time to Great Tribulation-like persecution. The primary responses we see in Arab Spring countries, some of which Jesus endorsed, include:
1. Running from the persecutors.
2. Remaining on-site and taking up arms.
3. Remaining on-site and insisting on legal protection.
4. Yielding to persecutors while actively ministering to them
Option 1: This has occurred in several Middle Eastern countries over the past decade and threatens the extinction of Christianity in that region of the world. Even prominent government leaders are beginning to acknowledge this fact. Option 2: Sadly, this option has gained a little headway, due to calls like Greek Orthodox Bishop Lukas al-Khoury in Syria to have Christians take up arms “to protect Syria, churches, and convents.” Some believers undoubtedly have, but the loudest voices have decried this exhortation, saying that it violates the spirit of Christianity. Syrian Catholic Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo responded to the call to arms in this way: “As men of the Church, we cannot incite Christians to take up arms and to take part in the conflict. We cannot say these things; it is insane. It goes against the gospel and Christian doctrine.” I have not come across any reports that indicate Syrian Christians are standing and being resistant militarily to Islamist attacks.
Jesus certainly didn’t condone option 2 as He spoke in Matthew 24. He recommended option 1, in this specific circumstance: “Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.” Matthew 24:16-20
But in other passages involving persecution, He argued for option 4. Christ never encourages a running towards martyrdom. Paul, too, never seemed to advocate seeking to be killed for Christ’s sake. Rather, he fled several times when he knew that his life was threatened, twice within the space of a few verses in Acts 9 (Acts 9:25, 30; 14:6, 17:10)! We know of Paul purposefully leaving at least four towns because of threats to his life. If you count other places where he left soon after starting an uproar, that number could climb to nearly ten. Don’t let anyone tell you that Paul never ran. He did! Self-preservation, the most basic human instinct, seems to be compatible with sold-out Christian living. I think we can make a very strong biblical case for running in the midst of persecution. In a similar way, I do not see convincing biblical evidence for having a death wish and actively seeking martyrdom, something Muslims do to “guarantee” a place in paradise. God does not call us to be cowardly, but Christ Himself advocated flight, and Paul lived out that commandment many times in his ministry. Remember these truths when the heat turns up and someone near you is insisting that God wants everyone to stand and fight, be outgunned, and go down in a blaze of glory. Once you are gone from this earth, you are gone, and you won’t be able to win anyone else to Christ. You also might leave your family heartbroken and in great need. We need to be careful that we don’t adopt a martyr complex, as Muslims have heartily done around the world.
Reverend Khalil Fawzi, the pastor of the largest evangelical congregation in the Middle East, Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church, said recently that Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt want to begin a civil war and would be helped in their quest by Christians turning violent. “They hoped the Christians will retaliate by killing and a civil war would start. I praise Christians for their patriotic attitude.”
Turkey’s defense of its mass killing of Armenians in the early twentieth century is a prime example. So if we do stand and fight, Muslims will have an easy out for killing men, women, and children who would otherwise be innocent bystanders.
Options 3 & 4: We can learn much from our brothers and sisters in the Middle East who have selected options 3 and 4. Here are the primary lessons I see from where Christians are being persecuted by Muslims: 1. They understand once and for all that the church is not a building. Two days after the famed Archangel Michael Church was destroyed in Cairo, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II reminded his flock of what Jesus preached: “If the hands of evil kill, destroy and torch, then God’s hands are greater and they build. Christ’s commandments to us are to love your enemy, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who abuse you.” The reaction to this charge, and other similar exhortations, has been Christians calmly meeting for worship in the areas of their churches that have not been completely burned to the ground, as seen in the 60 Minutes segment on Coptic Christians. The moving sight of Christians sitting in a room with one wall missing and the smell of burned wood still lingering, worshipping Jesus in a simple service, speaks volumes about understanding that the church is not a building. I think many Americans have come to realize this truth, as small groups have gained popularity over the past twenty years or so. That is a good realization to hold onto because we could very well come to a time when we are not allowed to meet in buildings.
Ralph Stice, author of Arab Spring, Christian Winter recounts this story: “I was struck by this possibility as I toured a literal underground church in Turkey’s Cappadocia region, mentioned in Acts 2:9 and 1 Peter 1:1. Our Muslim tour guide took us down a hole through which the four members of my family could barely squeeze. We walked among intricate hallways carved from stone and were told where meals were prepared and where people slept. It was an incredible experience to imagine living under the earth with brothers“.
In these last days as persecution intensifies we need to heed the warnings of Jesus in Matthew 24 and 25. Be watchful. Be ready. Be found faithful. Be on His mission, to spread the Good News.
Remember, Biblical prophecy tells us that Jesus is coming back and we are already seeing many of the prophecies playing out in our time. You can use these prophecies in your evangelism efforts to show unbelievers that God’s Word is true. We know the end of the story and for believers it is wonderful but for unbelievers, they will undergo the terrible wrath of God; the Trumpet Judgements outlined in Revelation 8 and the Bowl Judgements outlined in Revelation 16.
As we see the final days approaching, how do we respond? Do we get overwhelmed by the looming threats to our daily lives? Are we overcome with fear when thinking of the things that are soon to come upon this Earth? Do we look inward and despair or do we look upward to Christ with hope?
“The steps of a man are established by the LORD when he delights in his way; though he falls, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” Psalms 37:23-24
As believers, we have confidence knowing that our steps are guided by the one who purchased us at Calvary. We have the certainty that our good Shepherd will lead us through the most difficult of times. Why? Because He said He would.
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
We have the assurance that Christ will be with us until the very end. Though many will fall away and betray one another, we can always rely on Christ to remain with us – His sons and daughters.
“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
If you doubt the Lord’s provision, let me remind you of the one who led His people out of Egypt and fed them with manna for 40 years in the wilderness. How about the one who fed the 5,000 with just five loaves and two fish?
The one who did these things is also the one who says, “I am with YOU always.” We have no reason to fear the coming days. For if we delight in the Lord and His ways…He will guide our steps.
Pray that we may serve Him well until the very end Maranatha!
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 