MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News – “DAMASCUS, SYRIA (Worthy News)– Christians are being targeted by Muslim rebels according to the Vatican and other sources amongst besieged Syrian Christian communities.

According to reports by the Vatican’s Fides News Agency, the US-backed Syrian Army are sacking churches and issuing threats that all Christians will be cleansed from rebel-held territory.

‘The picture for us is utter desolation,’ said Bishop Philip Tournyol Clos, a greek-Catholic Melkite Archimandrite. ‘The church of Mar Elian is half destroyed and that of Our Lady of Peace is still occupied by the rebels. Christian homes are severely damaged due to the fighting and completely emptied of their inhabitants, who fled without taking anything.’

Asked whether it was the Free Syrian Army that was telling Christians to get out, Agnes Miriam, Mother Superior of the Monastery of St. James at Qara in the Diocese of Homs, said ‘yes … it was commander on the ground, Abdel Salam Harba, who decided that there was to be no more negotiations with Christians.’

She said Christians refused to back the rebels, so the rebels used them as human shields.” Source – Worthy News.

Flashback: ‘Lawlessness’: Christian Killed In Qusayr Syria, Others Treated As It Were ‘The Days Of The Ottoman Caliphate’ – “The Christian Maurice Bitar was killed in Qusayr, near the town of Homs where the Christian population – about a thousand people out of 10 thousand who lived there before the beginning of the violence – has been forced to flee after the ‘ultimatum launched by an armed faction in the opposition forces led by General Abdel Salam Harba… According to Fides sources, ‘the situation is unsustainable in the area and exposed to total lawlessness.’… The fate of Christians in Qusary, concludes the source, could soon touch the 10 thousand faithful who live in other villages in the area, such as Dmeineh, Rableh and Hamra.” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Death Stalks Syrian Christian Ministry, But ‘I Will Not Stop Until I Am With Jesus’ – “An indigenous missionary from nearby Lebanon crossed the border to baptize a believer last week. Instead, he had to bury the believer — shot in the head as a martyr for his recently-found faith in Jesus Christ… ‘This has been one of the longest weeks of my life,’ the missionary told Christian Aid. ‘To visit Syria, I had to sneak in through the mountains and not go by normal roads. ‘I went there to bury a friend who died last week. I was supposed to be baptizing him, but I ended up doing his funeral.’” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Deliberate and Growing’: Christian Persecution From ‘Arab Spring’ Insurgents in Syria Becoming a Steadily Growing Reality, ‘It Will Never Be the Same Anymore’ – “Refugees who have fled to Jordan from Syria are telling mission leaders supported by Christian Aid Mission about deliberate, new persecution from the ‘Arab Spring’ insurgents who are seeking to overthrow the brutal Assad regime in Damascus. Nearly 100,000 Christians so far have fled from Homs and other cities being targeted by government forces, but it is no longer just to escape the crossfire. Now, more reports are revealing that a new wave of persecution is deliberate and growing… ‘It is over; we can’t get back what we lost,’ said one discouraged Christian refugee here in Jordan. ‘It will never be the same anymore for me or my family. We’ve lost hope.’” Read more.

By Monia Ghanmi, Magharebia – “A recent video from a self-avowed al-Qaeda member called for holy war against the Tunisian government, raising fears among citizens that extremist violence could escalate.

The June 11th message from 30-year-old Salim Abou Ahmed Ayoub, purportedly the second in command of al-Qaeda in Tunisia, called on citizens to wage a holy war against the government in order to establish an Islamic state and wipe out unbelievers. The online video also directly attacked President Moncef Marzouki, calling for him to be overthrown.

The tape came just a day after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri issued his own message threatening Tunisia, and after a discovery by Iraqi intelligence services of invitations to al-Qaeda leaders to go to Tunisia and expand their military operations, in order to establish an Islamic caliphate.

Together with a recent wave of salafist violence, the news is worrying many Tunisians who fear the country could become a target for terrorist attacks.

Salim Abdouli is concerned that al-Qaeda supporters in Tunisia will try to impose their agenda on the state and society through violence.

‘Terrorism by hard-line salafist groups in Tunisia will become a reality very soon,’ he commented. ‘We should not underestimate or ignore it, instead dealing with and responding to it before it’s too late.'” Read more.

Flashback: Tunisia: Muslims Behead Man For Refusing To Renounce His Faith In Jesus, ‘There Is No God But Allah And Muhammad Is His Messenger’ – “A young man appears held down by masked men. His head is pulled back, with a knife to his throat. He does not struggle and appears resigned to his fate. Speaking in Arabic, the background speaker, or ‘narrator,’ chants a number of Muslim prayers and supplications, mostly condemning Christianity, which, because of the Trinity, is referred to as a polytheistic faith: ‘Let Allah be avenged on the polytheist apostate’; ‘Allah empower your religion, make it victorious against the polytheists’; ‘Allah, defeat the infidels at the hands of the Muslims,’ and ‘There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.’” Read more.

Flashback: Tunisia: Radical Islamists Hold Anti-Semitic March In Central Tunisia, ‘Jews, Jews, The Army Of Mohammed Is Back’ – “Thousands of Salafist Muslims marched on Kairouan in Central Tunisia, as part of the extremist Islamic movement’s annual assembly. The exclusively male attendees, many of whom were dressed in Afghan military uniform or waving Salafist black flags, marched through the city and raised a banner over the minaret of its mosque, the oldest in Africa… Organisers of the Salafist assembly had instructed marchers to remain ‘calm’ and not to talk to reporters. Many participants however defied their request not to chant slogans, reciting ‘We are all the children of Osama (bin Laden)’ and ‘Jews, Jews, the army of Mohammed is back’.” Read more.

John 16:2b, “… the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.”

Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

By Stoyan Zaimov, The Christian Post – “The Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram is allegedly planning to declare holy war on Southern Nigeria, where most Christians are concentrated, and might use food poisoning tactics to kill as many as possible, according to the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

‘We have information and documents to show that this is a Jihad being sponsored and we have our documents to show where they have dispatched 2,000 people to prepare for Jihad to South East, 2,500 to South-South and about 2,000 to South West,’ said Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, CAN Chairman and Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese.

The organization also warned that Boko Haram, responsible for killing hundreds of Christians since 2011 with church bombings and shootings, is planning to lace meat in these southern areas with poisonous powder. CAN specifically warned residents to be careful about eating suya, which is a shish kebab-type food that can be made with various types of meats.

According to a report from Vangard, Bishop Chukwuma said: ‘We are warning our people to be careful of suya because we have now heard that they will start poisoning people through suya. They know the suya they give themselves in the North and suya they give to the people in the South. So people should be careful of suya.

‘That is part of the information available to us now. There is a powder that is now being imported which they will spread on suya and after two weeks it will start eating your liver and other organs. We have gotten that information also.’

Boko Haram directly admitted in a recent statement to wanting to wipe out Christians from Nigeria and establish Islamist rule.” Read more.

Flashback: Nigeria: ‘Proud Soldiers Of Allah’ Vows To Take Down Government And Destroy Christianity, ‘We Will Devour You … Our Joy Is To Die In Jihad’ – “Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has threatened to bring down the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Jonathan within three months. Purported leader of the sect said this in his second video posted on the Internet yesterday… ‘You, Jonathan, cannot stop us; instead we will devour you in the three months like you are boasting … We are proud soldiers of Allah; we will never give up as we fight the infidels. We will emerge as winners … we will finish you and end your government … for us, [death] is eternal victory to die working for Allah. Our joy is to die in Jihad for Allah … We are not doing physical human service, but Allah’s work … We are not afraid because we are not doing man’s work but Allah’s work…” Read more.

Revelation 13:15, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

Acts 14:22b, “… ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’”

ICC – “International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that members of the Nigerian Islamic group, Boko Haram, plan to make the month of June ‘the bloodiest month yet’ in terms of attacks on Christians and promise more bloody attacks on Christians in the coming days.

The Islamists revealed their plan in their statement to Sahara Reporters, a New York based online news agency yesterday. In the past three weeks alone, more than 100 people have been killed in suicide bomb attacks by Boko Haram and the ensuing clashes between Christians and Muslims.

‘I can’t dismiss the rumor and I can’t 100 percent accept that it will happen. But because of the trend of events, there is every possibility that something like that will happen,’ said Rev. Lawi P. Pokti in an interview with ICC. Rev. Pokti is the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Bauchi state.

‘We should pray and watch. We should also remember that Jesus said in the world there is tribulation but with Him there is peace,’ said Rev. Pokti in his message to Christians in Nigeria.

Addressing the Nigerian security officials, Rev. Pokti said, ‘My message for Nigerian security is that they are called to serve the Nigerian nation so they should do it without religious bias. They should defend the nation irrespective of one’s religion so that peace will prevail in the nation.’

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, ‘This latest threat by Boko Haram to mass murder Christians is extremely alarming. The Nigerian government has utterly failed to protect its citizens from attacks by Boko Haram. It has been years since Boko Haram declared war against unarmed Christians. Where is the Nigerian government when the country is descending into a devastating civil war? It is high time for Nigeria to deploy all its military forces to crush Boko Haram. Boko Haram must be destroyed before it is allowed to destroy Nigeria. We also call upon our supporters to call Nigerian government officials and strongly urge them to prevent the attacks by Boko Haram.'” Source – ICC.

Allah Has Spoken: Islamists In Nigeria Tell Christians To Follow Islam ‘Or There Will Be No Peace’ – “A militant Islamist group claimed responsibility Monday for bombings the day before that the Nigerian Red Cross said left 50 people dead at three Christian churches in Nigeria… ‘Let them know that now it’s the time for revenge God willing,’ the group said in a statement. ‘From now on, they either follow the right religion or there will be no peace for them.’” Read more.

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Joseph Abiodun, The Nation – “Maiduguri residents were told yesterday to prepare for more suicide bombings.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) – Operation Restore Order (ORO) – in a statement by its spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, warned of plans by terrorists to carry Impoverished Explosive Devices (IEDs) in stolen vehicles. It warned the public to report to the appropriate bodies immediately a vehicle is stolen.

The statement reads: ‘Information recently available to the JTF ORO in Maiduguri indicated that there have been desperate moves by Boko Haram terrorists to steal/snatch vehicles to be used for terrorists’ activities by implanting Improvised Explosive Devices in vehicles and or through suicide bombing.

‘The Task Force wishes to alert members of the public, particularly those whose vehicles have been stolen, to immediately report such incident to the nearest police station or to the JTF as such vehicles if used for terrorism acts would lead to owners of such vehicles being treated as collaborators and accomplices.’

The JTF spokesman said the task force’s troops and Department of State Services personnel have arrested six suspected Boko Haram members involved in the attack on EYN Church in Biu, Borno State, on June 17. Some worshippers were killed.

Those arrested are in JTF custody and are being interrogated.

Also yesterday, Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde warned that ‘if something serious, strategic and meaningful is not done, we may just be working our way towards another avoidable civil war.’

Speaking in Lagos against the backdrop of the recent coordinated bombings in Kaduna and Zaria, the Prelate said:

‘For how long are we going to remain silent? Here we are begging the issue while innocent people are dying and their loved ones are yet to get justice. Is it a crime to be a Christian in any part of Nigeria? Every time we raise the alarm and call for action, they will say it has no religious colouration which saddens my heart the more whenever I hear that.

‘Before Sunday’s bombings, no fewer than 200 people have been killed in 12 separate attacks on churches or places of Christian worship in the North so far this year and al-Qaeda-linked Islamist terror group Boko Haram has explicitly claimed that it carried out at least 10 of them. Yet we are scratching the matter on the surface rather than intensify efforts and expose those behind these attacks. No fewer than 40 persons were feared killed on Sunday in Kaduna and Zaria as suicide bombers attacked three churches.

‘And in all of these bombings and attacks on Christians and Churches, no person has been arrested or brought to book. Where are we going? Where is justice? This is what is encouraging this culture of impunity, which makes it difficult for one to ascertain if the Government has the political will needed in tackling this menace headlong.” Read more.