MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

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.”

By IBRAHIM GARBA and MICHELLE FAUL, The Associated Press – “Multiple explosions at a bar and entertainment area in a Christian quarter of Nigeria’s northern and mainly Muslim city of Kano killed at least 24 people, a hospital official said Tuesday.

Lt. Ikedichi Iweha, a spokesman for the Military Joint Task Force, said earlier Tuesday that 12 people died at the scene and ‘a couple’ of people were wounded in Monday night’s attack, which he blamed on suspected members of the Islamic extremist Boko Haram network.

But the spokesman for Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital said their mortuary had 24 bodies brought from the scene and from the city’s Murtala Muhammad Specialists Hospital.

The teaching hospital also was treating nine people wounded in the blasts, said spokesman Aminu Inuwa. It was unclear how many others might be in treatment at other hospitals.

More than a hundred people gathered outside the hospital morgue, weeping and screaming in anguish Tuesday afternoon. Military officials would not allow them into the morgue, so many said they have no idea if missing loved ones are dead or alive.

Nigeria is fighting an Islamic uprising by extremists based mainly in the northeast, where the government has declared a state of emergency. Kano city and state are in the northwest and not part of that emergency. Boko Haram, which means ‘Western education is forbidden,’ wants to impose Islamic law in all of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation of more than 160 million divided almost equally between Christians who live mainly in the south and Muslims who dominate the north.

Monday night’s attack at just after 9 p.m. (21:00 GMT) rocked an area popular for its outdoor bars, blaring music, snooker tables and table tennis — a place where people have fun, which is anathema to the militants.

Witness Kolade Ade said at least one blast appeared to come from a Mercedes-Benz parked beside the bar.

‘After the first bomb, I threw myself into the canal (drain) to hide. There were at least three blasts,’ he said.” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Islamists Expel 90% of Christians from Homs, Car Bombs in Christian Districts of Aleppo and Damascus Kills Dozens – “Al-Haqiqa has learned from church sources in Homs that the city has been emptied of almost 90% of its Christians. It is expected that a complete ‘cleansing’ of buildings owned by Christians will occur within a matter of days or weeks by armed men from the Wahhabi ‘Faruq Brigade.’ A source in the Orthodox metropolitan’s office told al-Haqiqa that armed men from the Faruq Brigade went to the homes of the Christians, house by house, in the neighborhoods of Hamidiya and Bustan el-Diwan, informing them that they must immediately leave their homes and the city of Homs.” Read more.

Flashback: Pakistan: More Than 250 Christian Families Driven From Homes By Angry Muslim Mobs Threatening To Set Fire To Entire Christian Village – “More than 250 Christian families have been threatened and thrown out from their homes in the village Chak 31 in Khanewal district, in southern Punjab. A report drawn up by two human rights groups said: ‘What happened in South Punjab reflects the increase of violence and abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan’ and ‘recalls the serious episode of the attack on Joseph Colony, a Christian area of Lahore, which happened two months ago’… Christians called the police, but a police officer, instead of protecting them, became the leader of a crowd of 60 Muslims who began to beat anyone they encountered and started destroying homes and shops.” Read more.

Recommended: The Mark of the Beast – What Your Church May Not Be Telling You
Recommended: Unsealed: A Closer Look At Revelation 6 And ‘The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse’

Mark 13:19, 24-26, “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be… But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”

By Bruce Thornton, Defining Ideas – “Few people realize that we are today living through the largest persecution of Christians in history, worse even than the famous attacks under ancient Roman emperors like Diocletian and Nero. Estimates of the numbers of Christians under assault range from 100-200 million. According to one estimate, a Christian is martyred every five minutes. And most of this persecution is taking place at the hands of Muslims. Of the top fifty countries persecuting Christians, forty-two have either a Muslim majority or have sizeable Muslim populations.

The extent of this disaster, its origins, and the reasons why it has been met with a shrug by most of the Western media are the topics of Raymond Ibrahim’s Crucified Again. Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an associate fellow of the Middle East Forum. Fluent in Arabic, he has been tracking what he calls ‘one of the most dramatic stories’ of our time in the reports and witnesses that appear in Arabic newspapers, news shows, and websites, but that rarely get translated into English or picked up by the Western press. What he documents in this meticulously researched and clearly argued book is a human rights disaster of monumental proportions.

In Crucified Again, Ibrahim performs two invaluable functions for educating people about the new ‘Great Persecution,’ to use the label of the Roman war against Christians. First, he documents hundreds of specific examples from across the Muslim world. By doing so, he shows the extent of the persecution, and forestalls any claims that it is a marginal problem. Additionally, Ibrahim commemorates the forgotten victims, refusing to allow their suffering to be lost because of the indifference or inattention of the media and government officials.

Second, he provides a cogent explanation for why these attacks are concentrated in Muslim nations. In doing so, he corrects the delusional wishful thinking and apologetic spin that mars much of the current discussion of Islamic-inspired violence.

Ibrahim’s copious reports of violence against Christians range across the whole Muslim world, including countries such as Indonesia, which is frequently characterized as ‘moderate’ and ‘tolerant.’ Such attacks are so frequent because they result not just from the jihadists that some Westerners dismiss as ‘extremists,’ but from mobs of ordinary people, and from government policy and laws that discriminate against Christians. Rather than ad hocreactions to local grievances, then, these attacks reveal a consistent ideology of hatred and contempt that transcends national, geographical, and ethnic differences.

In Afghanistan, for example, where American blood and treasure liberated Afghans from murderous fanatics, a court order in March 2010 led to Read more…

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 Raymond Ibrahim, Gatestone Institute – “Before Egypt’s President Muhammad Morsi was ousted, April was one of the worst months for Christian Copts there. On April 5 near Cairo, when a longstanding feud between a Christian family and a Muslim family—based on male Muslims sexually harassing Christian girls—culminated in the violent deaths of six Christians, including two of the participants, a Christian and a Muslim, being set on fire, and local Muslims went on another ‘collective punishment‘ spree. It resulted in the injury of at least 20 other Copts, an Evangelical church being set on fire, and an attack on a Coptic church, Two days later, after Copts had mourned their dead in the St. Mark Cathedral—Coptic Christianity’s holiest site and home to the Coptic pope—Muslim mobs, who had waited outside, launched yet another attack—aided by state security forces. Eyewitnesses said as many as 40-50 tear gas canisters targeted the mourners, many of whom were women and children hiding in the cathedral. Two more Copts were killed and many dozens wounded as other officers stood by while the Muslim mob tried to destroy the cathedral.

On one Friday after prayers, the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque in Cairo was turned into a ‘torture chamber‘ for Egyptians, many of whom were Christians, protesting the Muslim Brotherhood. One of the victims, Amir Ayad, a Christian, said he was severely beaten before being left for dead at the side of the road. He suffered a fractured skull, a broken arm, bleeding in his right eye and pellet wounds. Coptic Christian children, mostly boys, were targeted for kidnapping and held for ransom; one 6-year-old, after his family had paid the Muslim kidnapper, was killed. And a video appeared on Arabic-language websites showing a crowd of Muslims in Egypt assaulting and raping two Christian women on a crowded street and in broad daylight. Throughout, the women scream in terror as the men shout Islamic slogans such as ‘Allahu Akbar!’ ‘[‘Allah is Greater!’] None of the many passersby intervenes in any way.

Also in April, during Easter week in Nigeria, Muslim herdsmen launched a series of raids on Christian villages, killing at least 80 Christians. Most of those slain were either children or the elderly. Over 200 Christian homes were destroyed, eight churches burned, and 4,500 Christians displaced. According to a pastor present at the time, ‘It was a helpless situation, as no Christians had any weapon to fight back. Women, children, and the elderly who were not able to escape were shot and killed. Luckily, all my children are in school, so this made it easier for our escape from the Muslim attackers. We sneaked away in the midst of the confusion and trekked for more than 20 kilometers [12 miles] to find a place to stay.’

Categorized by theme, the rest of April’s Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and in country alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:

Church Attacks

Central African Republic: A number of church buildings were attacked and the homes of Christians looted in the aftermath of a bloody coup by Sharia-adherent Muslim rebels. During the chaos, as in a standard jihad, Christian property was targeted for plundering, while Muslim property was spared. The leader of the Muslim rebels, Michel Djotodia, ‘assumed the presidency from the ousted François Bozizé, becoming the predominantly Christian nation’s first Muslim president.’ According to one Christian, ‘We are no longer at home. They pillage our goods which are then sold by the Muslims, who export them.‘

Indonesia: Local officials, at the behest of Islamist forces, demolished the Batak Protestant Church building in West Java and threatened to Read more…

Muslim Brotherhood supporters know that they cannot fight and win a direct battle against the Egyptian military. Given the fact that Islamists are directly blaming and even targeting Egypt’s Christian community since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, I cannot help but wonder what the Brotherhood and their fellow Islamists are planning, and against whom? …

Brotherhood Supporter Promises A New Taliban And Al Qaeda In Egypt

By Daniel Greenfield, Frontpage Mag – “The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood doesn’t have the patience to wait around for arms aid from Obama the way that the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood running the Free Syrian Army has. Instead it’s getting rockets from its Hamas outlet over in Gaza.

A high-ranking Egyptian general on Wednesday accused Hamas of smuggling rockets into Egypt for use by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hamas started out as an offshoot of the Egyptian Brotherhood and maintained close ties with the deposed Egyptian regime led by Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi.

Maj. Gen. Osama Askar, commander of Egypt’s Third Army, accused Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, of smuggling 19 Grad rockets. Egyptian soldiers intercepted the rocket shipment along the Suez-Cairo highway, which Askar charged was on its way to Cairo to help the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The confiscated rockets were enough to destroy an entire neighborhood, indicating they were on their way to be used in terror activities against the Egyptian people,” Askar told reporters.

The captured rockets are the same type used by the Qassam Brigades against Israel. Egyptian troops also discovered military uniforms last Sunday that that Askar said were “enough for an entire army.”

The Muslim Brotherhood certainly has no objection to a bloody civil war, but the Egyptian Army is a much harder target than the Syrian Army and the Brotherhood won’t have the kind of support it does in Syria.

Still enough weapons can create some very bloody disruptions while destabilizing the situation. Attacks can be blamed on the military, especially if they’re carried out as false flag operations by Muslim Brotherhood personnel in uniform.

The Muslim Brotherhood is making it clear that they are not going to limit themselves to protesting while waiting for political pressure from Obama to force a reversal. Instead they’re going to disrupt things in a much bloodier way.

But what else would anyone expect from a terrorist group?” Source – Frontpage Mag.

Islamic Extremists Reportedly Attacking Egypt’s Christian Community Over Morsi Ouster – “The Muslim Brotherhood reportedly is attempting to blame Egypt’s Coptic Christian community for the recent ousting of President Mohammed Morsi and even resorting to violent tactics in an effort to gain back power.Reports have surfaced out of Egypt that sectarian attacks against Copts by Islamic extremists are on the rise since Morsi was ousted July 3… ‘The sectarian attacks against Copts are one of the controversial strategies pursued by Islamic extremist currents in their bid to intimidate Christians … Whether it is out of revenge for participating in the political process or as a result of the radical ideologies these groups have, [they are] creating a state of anarchy and insecurity across the Egyptian streets …” Read more.

Flashback: Egypt: Military Closes Muslim Brotherhood Headquarters In Cairo After Finding Stockpile Of Weapons Inside – “Egypt’s prosecution ordered the closure of the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party after police found weapons inside it on Monday, a security official said. Police found ‘flammable liquid, knives and arms to be used against the June 30 protests,’ the official said, in reference to demonstrations that saw millions take to the streets to demand the resignation of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.” Read more.

While the West continues to sleep, we must not. Caution: Please be forewarned that the videos linked to in the article below will be extremely disturbing to some …

By Raymond Ibrahim, Frontpage Mag – “Based on a widely circulated video and statements from the Vatican, it was believed that Fr. Francois Murad, a Catholic Syrian priest, was recently beheaded in Syria.  It was not long before others ‘vigorously denied‘ the story, saying that the Christian priest was actually shot dead.  And now that’s fast become the ‘big’ news.  For example, according to the Telegraph, ‘The footage, said to show Father Francois Murad, 49, as the victim in a brutal summary execution by foreign jihadists is likely to be an older video that bares no relation to the death of the Catholic priest. Father Murad ‘died when he was shot inside his church’ in the northern Syrian Christian village of Ghassaniyeh on June 23, three separate local sources, who did not wish to be named, told the Telegraph.’

So apparently that makes it better?  That seems to be the Telegraph’s take, for it continues: ‘Claims that Father Murad was one of two men to be decapitated by a foreign jihadist group went viral, with outrage expressed in blogs and articles worldwide.’ So now that he wasn’t beheaded, only shot dead inside his church, there’s no longer any call for ‘outrage’?

At any rate, welcome to the ‘distraction’ tactic being exploited by the many elements trying to minimize the atrocities being committed by the jihadis—also known as the ‘Free Syrian Army’ (FSA)—in Syria.  Supporters of these jihadis exploit the fact that, in a time of war, as currently in Syria, news is not always reliable.  They also claim that any news that portrays the Syrian government as the ‘good guys’—such as nonstop videos of the FSA committing atrocities—is just pro-Assad propaganda, that cannot be trusted (they never seem to see the flipside to this logic, that Western media can be disseminating false anti-Assad propaganda).

Thus, let’s not focus too much on the exact particulars—for indeed, exact information is not always clear—and rather acknowledge the big picture: namely that beheadings have become very common in Syria, even if we don’t always know the identities of those beheaded.  But we do know who are doing the beheadings: al-Qaeda linked jihadis who are trying to transform Syria into a Sharia-ruling emirate.

Consider the video which some are now saying was not Fr. Murad—who was only shot (whew!)  Whoever the men being beheaded are, what you are witnessing is the true face of the Syria ‘rebellion’—jihadis, most of them obviously foreigners.  The ring leader appears perhaps Chechnyan, and can hardly speak proper Arabic (but one of the few phrases that he utters that is understandable is ‘we are enforcing the rules of Allah’).  The bound men are then beheaded to wild cries of ‘Allahu Akbar!’

To appreciate the frequency of such beheadings, do a quick YouTube search with words like ‘Syria’ and ‘beheadings,’ and you will see any number of graphic videos of Syrians being beheaded by U.S.-backed jihadis.  These are the videos that have still not been identified and removed by YouTube, but which likely soon will.  Before them, there were many others that are now gone.

Among some of the ones currently up, are