Why is There a War on Christians World Wide?

More than any other time in history have I heard more comments about what appears to be a “War on Christians”? The persecution of Christians has been going on since Jesus rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of God, making intercession for His people.

In recent years, especially since Imperial President Obama has been in office, that persecution has grown exponentially in America. The press won’t touch it, because they are too busy promoting the State Religion of Humanism, and Islam.

Below is a devotional published today by Dr. David Jeremiah of Turning Point Ministries, San Diego, CA. As soon as I read it, I realized I knew the answer all along, but until the Holy Spirit opened my understanding, I didn’t see the connection. Jesus explained what is going on during the last Passover He spent on this earth. Knowing He was about to be sacrificed, He took the time to answer His disciples questions about the end of time. I’ve published the devotional in whole, the emphases is mine. – Jerry

Biblical Boldness

 Friday, September 03, 2014 Devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah

 “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”’ 

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”’

“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.’

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:1-14; NIV)

In The Global War on Christians, John L. Allen Jr. calls persecution against Christians “the most dramatic religion story of the early twenty-first century, yet one that most people in the West have little idea is even happening … Christians today indisputably are the most persecuted religious body on the planet.”(1)  Allen goes on to catalogue blood-chilling stories of believers being oppressed, imprisoned, vilified, and slain around the world each day.

And yet the Church is growing. Reports from Latin America, Asia, and Africa tell of incredible numbers coming to Christ. Even in the West, there are signs of revival and a resurgence of evangelism as Millennials search for an alternative to the emptiness of secularism.

In His sermon on the Signs of the Times, Jesus said, “You will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake… And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world” (Matthew 24:9, 14). The persecution of Christians has never been worse, but the proclamation of Christ has never been greater—just as Jesus predicted. It’s time for biblical boldness. 

”The world today may have big problems, but what would it have been like had not hundreds of thousands of Christians given their lives sacrificially… to meet its physical and spiritual needs?” – Patrick Johnstone, in The Future of the Global Church 

(1) John L. Allen Jr., The Global War on Christians (New York: Crown, 2013), introduction. 

© 2014 Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah