tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post8877163779800453636..comments2023-10-07T04:07:56.527-04:00Comments on The End Time: Sunday Martyr Moment: A Phyrgian city burnedElizabeth Pratahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341086233512507156noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-29810778937382970012014-02-03T16:19:21.281-05:002014-02-03T16:19:21.281-05:00"...Christians in the East are enduring an al..."...Christians in the East are enduring an all-out-assault by Islamic terrorists.....in Syria alone there have been reports of kidnappings, Christian communities intentionally displaced by militants and, worst of all, shootings and be-headings of Christians who refused to convert to Islam.....Egyptian Islamist have destroyed 43 Orthodox churches and attacked 207 churches in the past year alone. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, where there is no Arab Spring, where democracy is mature, Christian persecution is as integral to daily Pakistani life as the weather. In 2013 alone, Pakistan witnessed the razing of 178 homes in Christian residential area Joseph Colony in Lahore and the execution of 82 Christians at worship at Peshawar’s historic All Saints Church, leaving another 200 congregants wounded..."<br /><br />Yet,<br /><br />"...Christians in the West live their lives largely oblivious to it all..."<br /><br />God has no favorite nation or race, nor does He favor any individual because of nationality, birth, or position in life, "...Of a truth...God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34)<br /><br />When the above persecution come upon our nation, it may very well come from our own, so to say, "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service" (John 16:16-17).<br /><br />In the above scripture, Jesus does not speak of persecution coming from pagans or false religious organizations, but of opposition and hostility from so-called professed believers, religious authorities, and congregations. His reference to the world hating believers (John 15:18-19) will include these religious people. These so-called professed believers have values so different from the true N.T. gospel that when they persecute or kill true followers of Christ, they think they are serving God (sounds familiar to what is going on today in the East).<br /><br />"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God , and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:16-17).<br /><br />MarioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com