FROM THE PREACHER'S LENSES

Sam AwedaTuesday, September 16, 2014
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END OF AGE-DRAWING CLOSE?
ISIS, AL-QAEDA, BOKO HARAM ETC IN BIBLE? (PART 1)


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oko Haram is wreaking havoc in the Northern part of Nigeria. Al-Shabaab doing same in Somalia, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Abu-Sayyaf in Philippines, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic States in Iraq & Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, Hamas in Palestine, Taliban in Afghanistan and recently (Sep.2014), Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent was inaugurated; covering Burma, Bangladesh and the Kashmir region to name a few.

These groups, whatever name they go by, in their area of operation, have same purpose, which is to force their own idea of Islamic believe on the whole universe.

These organizations have no respect for sanctity of life. They are brutal and vicious and they do not hide their ultimate goal; they must rule the whole world under sharia law by fire by force. The Taliban has done it in Afghanistan until America sacked them.

Would the ambition to rule the universe come to pass? Follow me.

When in 2012, Boko Haram started in full swing its onslaught in Nigeria, I wrote a piece "Boko Haram; Temptations that Christians must resist https://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/aweda/011712.html "

In that piece, I wrote about what the Bible predicted of them.

Let us today expatiate what the prophets have foretold in respect of these current issues that have caught the attention of everyone in the world; that have shaken it more than any event we knew of.

2,553 years ago i.e in the year 539BC (first year of Belshazzar's reign over Babylon), Daniel, the prophet dreamt. Belshazzar by the way is the grandson of king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the then world power; just like what America is to the world today. Babylon, formerly Mesopotamia is what we today know as the country of Iraq.

Daniel's dream is recorded in the chapter 7 of the book named after him; Daniel.

The interpretation of his dream was explained to him (by an angel) as four kingdoms that would rule the world at one time or the other. The earlier three kingdoms have already passed according to Historians, left with the 4th kingdom, which actions will bring the world to an end.

Any interested person can read the full story in Daniel 7 because I am going to concentrate only about the 4th kingdom, which will bring the world to a close.

Each of the 4 kingdoms was represented by a "Great beast" in Daniel's dream. Now to some verses in Daniel 7:

17 "These four huge animals," he (the angel) said, "represent four kings who will someday rule the earth. 19 Then I asked about the fourth animal, the one so brutal and shocking, with its iron teeth and brass claws that tore men apart and stamped others to death with its feet. 20 I asked, too, about the ten horns and the little horn that came up afterward and destroyed three of the others-the horn with the eyes and the loud, bragging mouth, the one that was stronger than the others. 21 For I had seen this horn warring against God's people and winning, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and opened his court and vindicated his people, giving them worldwide powers of government.

23 "This fourth animal," he (the angel) told me, "is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be more brutal than any of the others; it will devour the whole world, destroying everything before it. 24 His ten horns are ten kings that will rise out of his empire; then another king will arise, more brutal than the other ten, and will destroy three of them. 25 He will defy the Most High God and wear down the saints with persecution, and he will try to change all laws, morals, and customs. God's people will be helpless in his hands for three and a half years.

Let us pause for a comment-Have these terrorists, who think they are working for God not thrown all decency and moral values aboard? Imagine how they decapitate human beings. What about the abduction of innocent teenage girls in Nigeria? Yet this is only a shadow because as it is now, these horrors occur only in scattered places. The real one will be universal.

Did Jesus have something to say about the end of age?

Yes. Matthew, a disciple of Jesus listed many things, pronounced by Jesus that will signal the end of time. These prophecies are in chapter 24 of the book of Saint Matthew. Another disciple of Christ, Luke, reported similar thing in St Luke chapter 21 though not as detailed as Matthew's.

Let us look into the account of St Matthew in chapter 24

"So, when you see the horrible thing (told about by Daniel the prophet) standing in a holy place (Note to the reader: You know what is meant!), 16 then those in Judea must flee into the Judean hills. 17 Those on their porches must not even go inside to pack before they flee. 18 Those in the fields should not return to their homes for their clothes.

Observation--Recently, Christians and others in Iraq fled to the hills in order to escape the murderous machineries of ISIS until America rescued them with their superior air power. This prophecy must not be interpreted for the sack of Jerusalem in AD 66-70 by Rome under Emperor Vespasian.

Let us continue to read Matthew's account:

19 "And woe to pregnant women and to those with babies in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter, or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history and will never see again.

(My comment again-Has the world ever witnessed this kind of brutality happening simultaneously in many parts of the world? Someone must read the horrific stories of the people who survived the attack of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. Husbands, wives and children are separated, can't locate one another; can't even be sure if the other family members are alive or dead. What a mental torture.)

Let us return to the rest of the prophecy of Jesus

22 "In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen people.

Did anyone else predict the signals of the end?

Yes. Paul the apostle in 2Thess. Chapter 2.

John, another disciple of Jesus also did. He is popularly known as 'John the beloved" He moved to Ephesus with Mary the mother of Jesus sometimes after Jesus ascended to heaven. Ephesus is located in modern Turkey. For his gospel activities, the tyrant ruler of his time, Domitian banished John into the isle of Patmos. John wrote all that were revealed to him about the end in the 22 chapters of the book of Revelation.

Let us look at such a one in Chapter 13.

Verse 1 reads "And now, in my vision, I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, and ten crowns upon its horns.

My comment-Remember, it was also a beast that Daniel saw 600 years earlier.

Permit me to skip reading the entire passage because John was allowed to see only the 42 months (31/2 years) full blown reign of terror that will befall the inhabitants of the earth, which will bring the world to a close.

What we are seeing now with the activities of Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, ISIS etc is just a shadow, a mimic of the real thing. It is happening only in scattered places as of now. When the real time of horror comes, these terrorists will fall under one administration and take over the reign of the whole earth and anyone who refuses to follow their ideology will be killed, it matters not whether he is a Christian or Moslem or whatever his religion may be; just as we are witnessing meanwhile in the areas where they operate. No one knows how much time it is left for this to occur but we seem to be moving fast towards it.

Any inhabitants of the earth who wants to live, buy or sell must carry a symbol of their identity or loyalty as revealed to John and recorded in Rev. 13:16-18. (The symbol can be smelled already by anyone who can perceive).

(To be continued)

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