Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." (1 Peter 4:12-16).However, we know that as the time of the last days comes to a close (last days being between Christ's ascension and the rapture) the hatred will rise in preparation for its flashpoint-bursting during the Tribulation (AKA Time of Jacob's Trouble AKA Day of the LORD). (Matthew 10:22)
However, the hatred for Christians and Christianity has risen to a furious level unprecedented in my lifetime. And I'm talking not just the usual nations one would expect hatred of Christians to be present in zeal and furor, like Saudi Arabia, but in America. It is an irrational, unreasonable, unreasoning, mad-dog kind of foaming at the mouth hatred.
In just the last couple of weeks we read these headlines:
Fundamentalist Christian Monsters
"Today, we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation's armed forces."
Source
Pentagon says military personnel can evangelize but not proselytize“Service members can share their faith (evangelize), but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one’s beliefs (proselytization),” Christensen added. The Alliance Defending Freedom characterized the clarification as backtracking from a previous statement issued Tuesday that the ADF said indicated members of the military could be subject to court martial for “religious proselytization.”
Army Orders Removal of Bible References From Military Scopes
"The U.S. Army is ordering that references to Bible verses that were etched into rifle scopes sold to the military be removed. Troops at Alaska's Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, were told to remove the Bible references, which the company manufacturing the scopes engraved next to the serial numbers. The two verse references etched into the scopes are John 8:12 and II Corinthians 4:6. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,” reads the scripture from the Gospel of John. The verse from the apostle Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians reads: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”"
I wrote about the bible verses on rifle scopes in 2010. In that article, "Mikey" Weinstein, pictured, is the same man who spoke the quote in the first link, 'Fundamentalist Christian Monsters." He said the following of bible verses on scopes-"This is probably the best example of violation of the separation of church and state in this country," said Weinstein. "It's literally pushing fundamentalist Christianity at the point of a gun against the people that we're fighting. We're emboldening an enemy."
How sad to speak this much hatred and for us to know that this man will stand before Jesus on judgment day and account for his words. Please do not hate Weinstein back, only pray for him!
As for the brethren around the world, Fox News reports today-
Christians in all Muslim counties face persecution
ranging from low-level harassment
and discrimination to outright genocide. source
"A mass exodus of Christians is currently underway. Millions of Christians are being displaced from one end of the Islamic world to the other. We are reliving the true history of how the Islamic world, much of which prior to the Islamic conquests was almost entirely Christian, came into being. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recently said: “The flight of Christians out of the region is unprecedented and it’s increasing year by year.” In our lifetime alone “Christians might disappear altogether from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt.”
Belgium erasing Christianity for Islam
"Under the guise of letting go of the Christian holidays, this text provides Muslims with a waiver to add Islamic holidays…. Six Belgian senators introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Parliament that would make "Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. A person would be guilty if he "considers Islam to be violent, threatening or supportive of terrorism…" or "considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish it hegemony." If passed, the law would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in Belgium. Wallonia, the French-speaking southern region of Belgium, has officially renamed the four major Christian holidays on the Belgian school calendar with secular names. Critics of the move say it reflects an ongoing effort by politicians in Belgium to remove Christianity from public life to accommodate a burgeoning Muslim population."
This next story totally perplexed me. It is so wrong on every level. I'm going to post lengthy excerpts and comment in between.
Area man copies out entire Bible by hand"In 2007, Phillip Patterson decided to create his own handwritten copy of the Bible. Now, six years and more than 2,400 pages later, Patterson will finally copy the book’s last word on May 11. ABC News reports that the 63-year-old began by copying the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, before moving on to the King James Bible. Copying the Pentateuch, he determined his technique, layout and technical details. Patterson writes at a wooden desk by his bed on 19 by 13 inch watercolor paper with felt-tip pens. He pencils ruled lines onto the page to guide his writing and then erases them when he finishes a page. Patterson began copying the complete King James Bible, considered the most literarily renowned version of the Bible, in 2009. He used to work up to 14 hours each day on the project, but now he averages about six to eight hours, until he can no longer stay awake. “I go to bed and close my eyes and feel so incredibly serene,” he told ABC News."
OK, so I'm reading along, thinking, 'hm, this is kind of strange, but if it gives the guy a sense of peace...though I wonder why He isn't talking about why he is doing it..' Then we read this next-
"Patterson began the project after his longtime partner, Mohammad, mentioned that Islam has a tradition of handwriting the Quran. When Patterson answered that the Bible was too long, Mohammad suggested that Patterson do it anyways."
So Patterson is a homosexual, with an Islamic partner. Curiouser and curiouser.
"Patterson has encountered obstacles along the way. Poor health (he suffers from AIDS and anemia) sent him to the hospital multiple times and he relies on two canes and walls and furniture to get around his apartment near the Massachusetts border."
So Patterson is an active homosexual, with AIDS and an Islamic partner...
"Patterson will transcribe the Bible’s final lines in the Book of Revelation at a ceremony at his church, St. Peter’s Presbyterian, on May 11."
What what?!?! Very strange.
The sad part, of course, is that he personally transcribed the book of John, literally touching every letter, savoring the formation of each, coming alive from his hand through the pen, and not succumb to the power of the Gospel, the deity of Christ, and the beauty of the grace He gives to repentant sinners.
Please repent, time is short. If you are a Christian, whether in a hostile country or not, please understand that the definition of a hostile country is rapidly eroding. Soon, it will simply be the world is hostile to us and there is no place hatred of Jesus won't have touched you personally as a child of Jesus. Be prepared. Pray up, know the world expect hostility, and listen for Jesus's call to the Bride!
