MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Revelation 14:12-13, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’  ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

By BosNewsLife – “A month after an American teacher was gunned down in Libya friends and family members are convinced that he was killed because of his Christian faith.

The body of Ronald Thomas Smith II, who taught chemistry at the International School in the port city of Benghazi, was found December 5, near the residential compound that housed him and other teachers in an upscale neighborhood.

He had been at school in the morning but went home to change his clothes and go jogging at midday, said the school’s director Adel al-Mansouri. The area is also the site of the U.S. diplomatic mission, where the U.S. Ambassador and three other Americans were killed last year.

The 33-year-old teacher, arrived in turbulent Libya eighteen months ago, after serving on staff at the Austin Stone Community Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in the United States.

The ‘much beloved’ teacher wanted to be ‘a blessing to the Libyan people,’ church leaders said in a statement…

While no group claimed responsibility for his death, Christians said Smith’s faith in Christ, and his talking about it among Muslims, seems to be the main was the motive behind the slaying.

Additionally, Islamic militants had demanded the kidnapping of Americans living in Libya.

‘Ronnie’s greatest desire was for peace and prosperity in Libya and for the people of Libya to have the joy of knowing God through Christ,’ local church leaders added.

Smith, who graduated in 2006 from the University of Texas in Austin with a master’s degree in chemistry, moved to Benghazi with his wife, Anita, and young son. His wife and son had gone home for Christmas, but he reportedly stayed behind to help students with final exams for the semester.

Author Raymond Ibrahim, who wrote ‘Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians’ said in comments published by the website of Christian broadcaster CBN that the killing is part of a wider Islamic campaign against devoted American Christians talking about their faith with Muslims.” Read more.

Flashback: Situation Critical: Muslim Fundamentalists Driving Christians From Libya – “… Christians are being driven out of the eastern Libya area of Cyrenaica by Muslim fundamentalists Vicar Martinelli called the situation ‘critical’ and the ‘atmosphere very tense’… Islamic fundamentalism now governs decisions in Libya. Before the overthrow of Gadaffi about 3% of Libyans were Christians but many hard-line Islamists were active in the battle against Gadaffi. Now in many areas they wield considerable power. Only a few thousand Christians now remain in Libya and many of them are expatriates.” Read more.

Flashback: Egyptian Christian Accused Of Spreading Christianity Dies In Libyan Prison – “An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official says a man suspected of trying to spread Christianity in Libya has died in prison there. The diplomat says Ezzat Atallah, who suffered from diabetes and heart ailments, likely died of natural causes. He spoke anonymously Sunday in line with regulations. Atallah was among five Evangelical Christian Egyptians detained in Libya for allegedly proselytizing in the predominantly Muslim nation.” Read more.

Flashback: Libya: Foreigners Arrested In Benghazi On Suspicion Of Being Missionaries, Spreading Christianity – “Four foreigners have been arrested in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on suspicion of being Christian missionaries and printing books about Christianity, a security official said on Saturday… ‘Proselytizing is forbidden in Libya. We are a 100 percent Muslim country …’” Read more.

Qur’an Sura 2:191-193, “And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-Muslims] … fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.”

By BosNewsLife – “A young Coptic Christian man has died from gunshot injuries in Egypt’s capital Cairo, after three local hospitals turned him away, Christians said Tuesday, January 6.

Ihab Ghattas, 23, reportedly died on New Year’s Eve from a gunshot wound to the head because of ‘negligence’ as the hospitals which refused to treat him, said Copts activist group Maspero Youth Union (MYU).

He was shot outside Mar Girgis (St George’s) Church in the Ain Shams area of Cairo after celebrating mass by suspected supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, MYU said in published remarks.

Ghattas was allegedly denied access in one hospital because it was deemed not to be an emergency, while another cited ‘a lack of beds.’

The third hospital refused to treat him due to the absence of an intensive care unit, the MYU said…

A fourth hospital, St. Peter’s in Heliopolis, admitted him but he died soon afterwards, news reports said.

However doctors could no safe his life as he had been ‘bleeding for three hours’, Christians said. MYU has demanded an investigation, but it was not immediately clear Tuesday, January 6, when and if authorities will search for the attackers.

Muslim Brotherhood supporters reportedly fired birdshot at St. George’s Church, after which a group of young people from the church, including Ghattas, had joined police in defending it.

News of the latest killing overshadowed Coptic Christmas, which was celebrated in Cairo and other areas Tuesday January 7 by Egypt’s Copts, who comprise 10 percent of Egypt’s population…

The tensions came before the trial was scheduled to resume Wednesday, January 7, against Egypt’s democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup last July.” Read more.

Flashback: Islamic Party Member In Egypt Threatens Christians: You ‘Will Regret’ Supporting Overthrow Of Morsi – “Assem Abdel Magid, a member of the Islamic party Gamaah Islamiya, has renewed his threats against the Coptic Church and its leaders, who he accused again of supporting what he called a ‘coup.’ Magid insisted that the church and its leaders will regret it, and that the church made a strategic mistake when it stood against the first elected president. Magid was referring to the church’s support of the revolution of June 30, which deposed Mohamed Morsi.” Read more.

Flashback: Amnesty International: Egypt Is Failing To Stop Revenge Attacks On Coptic Christians – “Egyptian security forces failed to stop revenge attacks against Coptic Christians after a deadly crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in August, Amnesty International said on Wednesday… ‘It is deeply disturbing that the Christian community across Egypt was singled out for revenge attacks over the events in Cairo by some supporters of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsi … In light of previous attacks, particularly since Morsi’s ousting on 3 July, a backlash against Coptic Christians should have been anticipated, yet security forces failed to prevent attacks or intervene to put an end to the violence.’” Read more.

Qur’an Sura 18:26, “[Allah] maketh none to share in his government.”

By Perry Chiaramonte, Fox News – “Libya’s recent edict that its coming constitution will be based on Shariah law has sent a chill through the North African nation’s small Christian community.

Libya’s Coptic Christians, who number about 300,000, or 5 percent of the population, were allowed to practice their faith under dictator Muammar Qaddafi. But since the strongman was ousted from power, and ultimately killed, Muslim fundamentalists have increasingly filled the power void. Last month, the national assembly voted in favor of making Koranic law, or Shariah, the basis of all legislative decisions, meaning Islam will shape all future banking, criminal and financial cases.

‘Islamic law is the source of legislation in Libya,’ stated the General National Congress in a statement released shortly after the vote was held. ‘All state institutions need to comply with this.’

A special committee has begun reviewing existing laws to ensure that they comply with Shariah, according to a recent report.

The emerging political and legal system’s orientation, combined with the rise of militants in the oil-rich nation, has left Christians feeling like the promise of democracy in the wake of Qaddafi’s fall has been broken.

‘NATO went to war in Libya on the basis of a full democracy,’ Patrick Sookhdeo, international director for human rights group The Barnabus Fund, told FoxNews.com. ‘But what we have ended up with is a fractured government in which religious extremism of the worst kind has now taken over the government.’

‘The concern is that this conflict has produced the exact opposite of a democratic government,’ he added.” Read more.

Flashback: Libya: Group Of Muslims Tie Up And Execute Christians For Refusing To Convert To Islam – “A group of Muslims robbed two Egyptian Christians living in Libya, then tied up and shot them to death after the two Copts refused their demand to convert to Islam, relatives said… No one has been arrested in connection with the killings. The attack marks the third time in two weeks that a Coptic Christian has been robbed and killed in Derna District, which along with the surrounding region is known as a hotbed of extremist Islamic activity.” Read more.

Flashback: Mass Arrests Of Christians, Reports Of Torture, Inconsistencies In Official Statements – ‘What Is Going On In Libya?’ – “Last week’s news of four Christian missionaries in Libya placed under arrest, possibly facing the death penalty for ‘proselytizing,’ is apparently the tip of the iceberg. Yesterday, Arabic media reported that over 100 Christian Copts from Egypt, who appear to have been living and working in Libya, were recently arrested in Ben Ghazi—also on the accusation, or pretext, of being ‘Christian missionaries.’” Read more.

Flashback: Benghazi Friday Sermon: Destroy Christians And Jews, ‘The Time Has Come For Us To Adopt A Firm Stance …To Detonate Our Wrath Upon Them’ – “Indeed, oh Muslims, the time has come for us to adopt a firm stance, and to detonate our wrath upon them, with deeds they will not be able to ignore. Let us stab them in their main artery, the secret behind their power. Let us stab them in their economy. The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Wage Jihad against the polytheists [Christians], using your wealth, your hands, and your tongues.’ Oh Allah, destroy the rancorous Christians. Oh Allah, destroy the rancorous Christians, and the corrupting Jews. Oh Allah, destroy them …” Read more.

Yet again, they’re doing what the Devil “Allah” commands them to do …

Qur’an Surah 9:14, “Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace …”

Al Rod Al Anf, Volume 2, Page 182, “You see [Allah] will soon make you inherit their land, their treasures and make you sleep with their women.”

BosNewsLife – “At least 30 people were feared dead Tuesday, January 7, after suspected Islamic gunmen attacked a Christian village in central Nigeria, local officials and survivors said.

The fighters, who were believed to be Muslim Fulani herdsmen, opened fire on residents and torched dozens of homes in Shonong village in the Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, explained Daniel Dem, a member of the state house of assembly.

‘Hundreds’ of attackers stormed the Shonong early Monday, January 6, when most of the villagers had gone to farms, killing mostly children, women and the elderly, survivor Shom Toma was quoted as saying by Nigeria’s ThisDay newspaper.

Toma, who was treated for gunshot injuries at the regional Vom Christian Hospital, said he ‘narrowly escaped’ as he was moulding blocks around his house when the attackers arrived.

Domestic animals of the targeted farming Christian Berom villagers were ‘slaughtered in a large number while many others were taken away by the attackers,’ Nigerian media quoted villagers as saying.

Another eyewitness, who was not named, reportedly said some 30 human remains were recovered so far, but added that ‘many’ other villagers remained missing. Authorities have not yet confirmed the final death toll…

The attack came barely two days after the funeral for two chiefs of Shonong and nearby Attarkar village, who were reportedly killed two days before Christmas, Nigerian media said.” Read more.

Flashback: Nigeria: ‘Islamic Warrior’ Delighted In Chopping Off Heads, Says Islamic Agenda Is To Force Worship Of Allah, Wipe Out Christians – “Ask him and he bluntly tells you, ‘If we ask our victim, ‘Will you become a Muslim or not and he or she refuses, we will slaughter him like a goat…’ He talked of himself as an Islamic warrior who take delight in chopping off people’s head with a stroke of his dagger… ‘You people have only been hearing of Boko Haram, but there are other deadly Islamic groups who are also part of Boko Haram sect … Whenever we heard that any of the sects were fighting Christians, we would always join them …” 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. The 14 minutes, two seconds video of Abubakar Shekau seen on YouTube was in response to Jonathan’s comments while in South Korea, about two weeks ago, that the Boko Haram phenomenon would be under control by the middle of this year.” Read more.

Flashback: Nigerian President: We’re Witnessing Signs Of The End Times As Islamists Continue Massacring Christians – “… President Goodluck Jonathan questioned whether deadly Islamist attacks on churches in his country and other violence worldwide could be signs of coming ‘end times’. ‘We received information from our personnel in Chibok that some attackers stormed a church during Sunday service yesterday and killed 15 people,’ Kanar told AFP… The attack followed another gruesome killing Friday that saw attackers slit the throats of 15 Christians in a pre-dawn raid in Musari, also in Borno state, where Boko Haram has been based.” 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 BosNewsLife – “Suspected herdsmen from the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group stormed an evangelical church and fired shots during a New Year’s Eve worship service in central Nigeria, killing as many as three people and injuring 16 others, reports said Thursday, January 2.

Witnesses and officials told local media that gunmen began attacking the Church of Christ in All Nations (COCIN) at Maiakworigold Maikatako village in Bokkos Local Government Council of Plateau State late Tuesday, December 31.

Most people were killed or injured when worshipers tried to flee in different directions. Many of the injured were later rushed to hospitals in the cities of Jos and Barkin Ladi, Nigerian media reported.

The speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Titus Alams, reportedly said the attack overshadowed attempts to ‘sustain the current peace we are enjoying in the state.’

SECURITY URGED

Alams was quoted as saying that he urged security forces ‘to do everything in their power to fish out those responsible for this heinous crime against humanity’.

He appealed to the youths ‘to resist the urge of taking the law into their hands’ following the attack.

The latest violence comes amid growing concerns about rising Islamic extremism in Nigeria.” Read more.

Flashback: Nigeria: ‘Islamic Warrior’ Delighted In Chopping Off Heads, Says Islamic Agenda Is To Force Worship Of Allah, Wipe Out Christians – “Ask him and he bluntly tells you, ‘If we ask our victim, ‘Will you become a Muslim or not and he or she refuses, we will slaughter him like a goat…’ He talked of himself as an Islamic warrior who take delight in chopping off people’s head with a stroke of his dagger… ‘You people have only been hearing of Boko Haram, but there are other deadly Islamic groups who are also part of Boko Haram sect … Whenever we heard that any of the sects were fighting Christians, we would always join them …” Read more.

Flashback: Islam In Africa: ‘An Invisible Genocide Where Sadistic Killers Slaughter And Execute Thousands Of Christians’ – “The UN does nothing, the world is silent, and most Western citizens, who know little about Africa, do not know it is happening. The goal is creating a big African-Islamic continent. Christians must be killed or expelled. Fom Nigeria to Sudan, it is raging, the ‘Odium Fidei’, the war of religion. A genocide epitomized not by the images of Sydney Pollack’s ‘Out of Africa’, which presents a continent that is rich and attractive, but by the Nigerian village of Dogo Nahawa, where Islamists, armed with machetes, killed 300 Christians, mostly women and children.” Read more.

All of Africa already is …

Revelation 13:15, “And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.”

By Joop Koopman, The Huffington Post – “Bishop Hyacinth Egbebo is the administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Bomadi, in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, in the heart of the country’s oil-rich but economically-deprived south. Nigerian Christians are confronted with the growing threat of radical Islam in the form of the extremely violent anti-Christian Boko Haram sect, which was declared a terrorist organization by the U.S.

With 160 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country. Just over 50 percent of the people are Christians, who form the majority in southern Nigeria; Muslims account for another 45 percent of the population, largely living in northern Nigeria. There are 30 million Catholics in the country. In 2012, close to 1,000 Christians died because of their faith in Nigeria, according to reports, and Boka Haram is responsible for the deaths of at least 700 Christians in 2013.

According to the bishop, Nigeria’s well-being holds the key to fate of the African content. ‘If Nigeria falls to Islamic extremists,’ he says, ‘all of Africa will be at risk.’ Bishop Egbebo spoke with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need Jan. 1, 2014.

Fulani tribesman in conjunction with Boko Haram militants massacred 70 Christians late last year in northern Nigeria and there are reports practically every week of new attacks. The group is said to charge the government with not responding to Christian attacks on Muslims. Is there any validity to that claim?

Revenge killings did take place in Jos, two years ago, and in Kaduna last winter, both of which are Christian strongholds. But the bishops strongly condemned the murder of Muslims at the hand of Christians, and such revenge attacks are very few now. Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, has also called attention to what he calls Islamic propaganda — exaggerations of the number of Muslims killed — and he also pointed to instances where Muslims included the bodies of Christian victims among their own dead. The bishops have prevailed however, in the face of Boko Haram’s effort to provoke Christians into acts of retaliation and create chaos in the country. Of course, some Christians fight back if they are attacked.

What is the appeal of radical Islam? Why this hatred of Christians?

Boko Haram wants an Islamic state in the North, imposing shariah law on everyone. Hence, everything that is an obstacle to implementing that goal becomes a target for violence. Those obstacles include the government itself, the constitution, as well as the police and the army. Christians, moreover, are associated with the West, with the values of freedom and democracy and the promotion of education. That’s why Boko Haram is even attacking schools and killing children. These radicals believe that Western education should be forbidden — anything that builds up the Christian ethos.” Read more.

Flashback: Nigerian Church Leaders: Muslims Are Out To Destroy Christians, ‘They Are Making Worship Services Impossible’ – “In the southeastern part of Nigeria’s middle belt, Benue state’s Agatu Local Government Area saw deadly attacks on Christian farmers by Muslim, ethnic Fulani herdsmen from May through November that displaced an estimated 10,000 people, Christian leaders said. As in attacks in Plateau state, several of the assailants appeared to be mercenaries from outside the area rather than herdsmen, and locals questioned how the Fulani became so heavily armed. In some of the attacks a herdsmen spokesman alleged stolen cattle as the reason for the bloodshed, but frequently the Nigerian press asserted that motives for the attacks were unknown. Christian leaders, however, said they had no doubt the Muslim assailants aimed to demoralize and destroy Christians.” Read more.

Flashback: Islamists Unleash New Tactic In Its War To Obliterate Christianity In Northern Nigeria: Convert Or Die – “The al-Qaida-linked Islamic group Boko Haram unleashed a new tactic in its war to obliterate Christianity in northern Nigeria: convert or die. Two gunmen from Boko Haram kidnapped Hajja, a 19- year-old Christian in July as she picked corn near her village in the Gwoza hills, a remote part of northeastern Nigeria where a six-month-old government offensive is struggling to contain an insurgency by Boko Haram. ‘If I cried, they beat me. If I spoke, they beat me. They told me I must become a Muslim but I refused again and again,’ Hajja told Reuters in an interview. The Islamists threatened her with a knife pressed to her throat and said her options were to convert to Islam or die.” Read more.