“I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God...” wrote the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 20 verse 4.
This past Sunday, a video surfaced that showed black-clad jihadists of the ISIS franchise in Libya, The Islamic State in Tripoli Province, beheading 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, staining the waves with blood. These Christian victims were poor men from Egypt's rural areas who had traveled to Libya looking for work to support their families. The jihadists made it clear: They beheaded the men because they were "people of the cross, followers of the hostile [Christian] Egyptian Church." The killings raise the possibility that the Islamic militant group — which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq in a self-declared caliphate — has established a direct affiliate less than 500 miles from the southern tip of Italy. One of the militants in the video, speaking English, makes direct reference to that possibility, saying the group now plans to "conquer Rome."
Before the killings, one of the militants stood holding a knife and said in a North American-accented English: "O Crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes, especially when you’re fighting us all together. Therefore, we will fight you all together, until the war lays down its burdens, and Jesus, peace be upon him, will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine and abolishing jiziyah. (The meaning of jiziyah: a poll tax levied from those who did not accept Islam, but are willing to live under the protection of Islam, and are thus tacitly willing to submit to the laws enforced by the Muslim State).
Egypt launched swift retaliation, bombing at least seven locations in Libya.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama still denied the religious causes of the violence when in his While House delivered statement said... "We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Egyptian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens. ISIS's barbarity knows no bounds." Not only does Obama deny the religious motivations of ISIS, he dishonors victims by denying why they were murdered. Not knowing the enemy -- that's how wars are lost.
Christians are under siege all over the world... in the middle-east now the siege is deadly. It’s beginning to feel like there is a war raging between Christianity and Islam. Too many people are struggling to grasp the fact that we are indeed involved in a war without borders, without traditional battle lines, where the soldiers are not easily identifiable by the uniform they wear.
The murder of Christians around the globe is an indicator of what is to come unless the march of Islam is stopped in it’s tracks.
A simple Google search tells us that Christianity is the world’s largest religion, it has more ‘adherents’ than any other. However, that’s a little misleading. The most practiced religion, the religion where people believe and adhere to the teachings of that religion more than any other is Islam, and that is where the problems begin.
We hear the word jihad on a regular basis, but we often don’t understand what we are hearing. The Quran talks of two jihads, the Lesser and the Greater Jihad and this is where we fail to understand the motivation behind the different views.
The Greater jihad is the everyday struggle that Muslims face to grow in their faith and worship Allah, something most Muslims feel is the hardest thing they are asked to do, hence the greater tag. The Lesser Jihad is the struggle they face to build a good, stable Muslim society. It is the Lesser Jihad that allows Muslims to conduct Harb al-Muqadis, or what we often hear proclaimed as holy war.
A non-military Jihad [Lesser Jihad], one conducted by, an unofficial group of Islamists is not governed by the rules of the Quran, and that’s why we see the atrocities from “organized but unofficial groups” such a Shabaab, al Qaeda, Boko Haram and of course ISIS.
Just as Christianity encompasses different denominational groups, Islam also has different sects within it. Sunni, Shi’ite, Alawite and Wahabi are some examples. They all believe in Allah, they all follow the teaching of the Quran, but their interpretation of it is very different.
It is these differences that are stoking the fires of civil unrest in Iraq. This was bound to happen. When you remove a strong dictatorial leader, however bad he is, and then you remove the force that removed that leader, there is a vacuum left behind that rival factions attempt to fill, and this is precisely what’s happening in Iraq, and gave rise to ISIS. The goal ISIS... what is happening in Iraq will happen across the rest of the Middle East, and Africa until the winning sect is strong enough to take on the rest of the world.
There are three main tenants of Islam that most western nations do not understand. They are...
Islam’s ultimate goal is to rule the world. Islamic theology provides two methods for this to be accomplished. The first is spiritual, as people are lured into conversion. The second is coercive through political and physical conquest of nations. For Muslims, there are no gray areas. They see the world in black and white. To them the world is divided into two big camps: the House of Islam and the House of War. The House of Islam are the Muslims, and the House of war are the non-Muslims, of every nation, in every corner of the planet. Muslims (the House of Islam) are in a constant state of spiritual/political/physical warfare with Non-Muslims (the House of War) until they subjugate them to Islam.
Islam always employs a carrot and stick strategy. The carrot and stick that is perpetually set before Muslims is the expectation of generous rewards in this life and in eternity for those who fight for Islam. On the other hand, those who falter are warned of severe temporal and eternal punishments.
Apostasy from Islam is not an option. Once-a-Muslim-always-a-Muslim, the only official alternative is death. There is no room for changing one’s mind. The door is wide open to join Islam, but there is no backdoor for those that would like to leave it.
The third point there is important. A person is considered in Islam to have the religion of the father, even if you do not practice Islam. Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, even if he doesn’t wish to be, is considered under the “law of Islam” to be a Muslim. His father was Muslin and practiced Islam.
As no attempts have been made on his life, one can assume that Islam regards him as still being a Muslim, that he has not turned his back on the faith. Or, it could simply be that no “opportunity” to exercise a jihad against him has yet presented itself.
Unquestionably the Muslim activists of modern times are smarter and are using more sophisticated tactics than those of ancient times. The days of the primitive methods that were used to conquer the known world, between the 7th – 17th centuries, are long gone. Islam now applies carefully studied and sophisticated strategies to achieve their goals of global conquest.
They define their targets, and decide on the best strategies to reach them. Young women are reached through love and marriage. With African-Americans the race card is used. They are deceived into believing that Mohammed was black and that Islam was birthed on the African continent. To the needy, they use money. For most people, they polish Islam and present it in an attractively revised westernized form. The violent Quranic verses are carefully excluded from recruitment strategies. The peaceful verses of the Quran are emphasized. The fact is, according to Islamic theology, the early peaceful verses that were written in Mecca are nullified (abrogated), and replaced by later violent verses that were written in Medina. To the religious establishment they claim compatibility with the Judeo-Christian faith. They cite belief in Moses, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary.
They concur with us on the existence of Heaven and Hell. Regardless of their boast that they have common ground with us [Christians, Jews], the fine print in Islamic teaching tells a very different story.
The war on Christianity by Islam has begun and it’s a fight to the death.
More on this important topic in coming articles....
