After so much rape has been done against Christian women in Iraq, 600 Christians in Iraq have now taken up arms to make one final stand against Muslim Jihadists, members of the ISIS terrorist group, at the frontiers of the Christian settlement of Bartella on the outskirts of Mosul.

These 600 Christians, “all mighty men of valour” (1 Chronicles 12:21), are led by Capt. Firaz Jacob, a Christian warrior who has himself declared with the utmost of apostolic zeal:

I stand here waiting for my destiny… We will stay here despite everything… All these armed groups we have seen, but nevertheless we will remain. We love our Christian way of life, we love our churches and we love our community.

Bartella was suppose to be protected by the Iraqi government, but state soldiers fled from ISIS, leaving the Christians to take up their cross and commence a crusade to keep the jihadists away from their lands.According to one report:

The Iraqi government soldiers who were supposed to be protecting this area ran away from the Islamic extremists. Now, Bartella is defended by about 600 lightly armed Christian militiamen.

These are men who have “jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field” (Judges 5:18); who have fulfilled the words of Christ when He said, “whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

These are men who, having taken up their arms, have taken up their crosses, denying themselves and submitting to the command of our Lord when He said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

These warriors of God fight “in all the business of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 26:20), defending the city of Mosul from the flooding of the heathen.

It was upon this same land where the people, in far antiquity, “repented at the preaching of Jonah” (Matthew 12:41), and it is now this same city where Satan overtakes what once belonged to him: the souls of the people of this dreadful land.

These valorous Christians, who stand alone as a flock of sheep before a myriad of wolves, “are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1), and the armies of God look over them, for the “chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.” (Psalm 68:17)

Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9), and surely do the saints bring peace not only through civility, but through war. John the Baptist told the soldiers who inquired of his wisdom, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:14)

John never ordered them to leave their office as soldiers, but to be just. Therefore, in a Christian army, violence must always be done to advance peace, and never for plunder or tyranny.

It is also inadequate to say that these brave Christian militants in Iraq cannot be associated with what it says in the Scriptures. These militants protect their churches and their homes, and similarly Nehemiah ordered the people to protect the building of the temple from the heathen. As the Book of Nehemiah reads:

“Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’

“When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.’

“From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.’

“Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”‘

“So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.” (Nehemiah 4:13-22;NIV)

Victory lies at the end of these men’s fate, for they shall find it either with themselves still breathing and standing above the corpses of their enemies, or after the last breath departs from their martyred bodies.

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