Signs of the Times

Persecution

PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE:

The Bible shows that there have always been persecutions, especially of those who try to live godly lives. TheJewish people were persecuted for their faith. The Early Church was also persecuted and a great number of believerswere killed because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Even in more recent times persecution has been common. Mostof the early colonists in the United States came here to escape persecution from their European neighbors!

Wars are usually persecution taken to its next dreadful level. Jesus said that persecution will increase, especiallyduring the Tribulation in the future.

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.- Matthew 24:9

Most of the terrifying events of the Tribulation are building up during this present time, which Jesus called"The beginning of birth pains." Ethnic wars, terrorism and anti-Christian philosophies contribute to an ever-growingtoll of suffering and death.

Experts estimate that that between 100 and 200 million Christians around the globe are currently suffering for their faith,especially in communistic and Islamic countries. This persecution takes many forms: imprisonment, abuse, hostilities, and even death.

Key Scriptures
Current Events
Links about Persecution
Insight from 2012: The Year the World Didn't End
Insights from 2009 In Prophecy: The Year In Review
Insights from 2008 In Prophecy: The Year In Review
Ron's Blog: Persecution
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Key Scriptures

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NIV & Other VersionsIncludes Commentary
Persecution
Matthew 24:9 Further Study
Mark 13:9,11-13 Further Study
Luke 21:12-19Further Study

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Current Events

Prophetic Significance of Persecution

Notice: Sources often remove their news links after a period of time. Some of them move older stories to a subscription-only section. Even if the story is no longer on line, our summary will still be available on this page.

WORLD WATCH LIST


PERSECUTION NEWS
World Watch Monitor
Morning Star News
Christian Persecution Magazine


See also:
Revival
Terrorism



See more recent articles: After December 31, 2016


Obama signs bill fighting religious persecution globally

Dec. 19, 2016 - President Barack Obama has signed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

For the remaining month the Obama administration is in office, America’s foreign policy will change so that the State Departmentwill play a larger role in fighting the persecution of religious minorities around the world.

Source: OneNewsNow

Prophetic Significance of Persecution


Blast at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral kills 25, injures dozens

Dec. 11, 2016 -

A bombing at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 25 people and wounded another 35 on Sunday, in one of the deadliest attacks ... in recent memory... an assault claimed by a shadowy group... linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood

Source: Fox



'Fixer Upper' stars under fire for attending 'anti-gay' church

Dec. 2, 2016 - Chip and Joanna Gaines host a popular fixer-upper program from Waco, Texas. Now they are being attacked for their Christian beliefs. LGBT activists protest the fact that the Gaines family attends Antioch Community Church, a non-denominational megachurch, where the pastor teaches that the Bible says marriage is between one man and one woman.
Source: Todd Starnes - Fox
Breaking news: Christianity discovered in TX church - OneNewsNow

Christian Persecution Rising as 75 Percent of World's Population Lacks Religious Freedom

Oct. 30, 2016 - Jan Figel, European Union's special envoy said that Persecution of Christians is getting worse, and up to 75 percent ofthe world's population does not enjoy religious freedom.

According to the Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors, which works in over 60 countries, more than 7,000 Christians werekilled for their faith between Nov. 1, 2014, and Oct. 31, 2015.

Source: Christian Post

ISIS claims throat-slit slay of Catholic priest in France

July 26, 2016 -

the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the brutal throat-slit murder of a Catholic priest during morning Mass inFrance’s Normandy region. The two attackers were later shot dead.

Source: PBS
Realtime Coverage - Google
Attacker who murdered Catholic priest under police supervision, wore monitoring bracelet - Fox
Attacks on Christian communities in France are growing. Why aren't we hearing about them? - Fox
Murder of French priest brings ISIS' long-threatened war on Christians to Europe - Fox
Mosque in town of ISIS-inspired priest attack was opened on land given by church - Newsweek

ISIS on march but gospel message 'on fire'

May 25, 2016 -
From July 7 to 9, The Bridge Conference will focus on the persecuted Church.Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern says that God is moving in the Middle East.

While it seems like the Church is disappearing because of persecution by radical Islam, King says God is moving in theMiddle East and the gospel "is on fire."

Source: OneNewsNow
The Bridge - Annual Conference on the Persecuted Church

Franklin Graham Blasts NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's Chick-fil-A Boycott Call as Intolerant Bullying

May 8, 2016 -

The Rev. Franklin Graham has strongly condemned Mayor Bill de Blasio's call for a boycott of popular fast-food chain Chick-fil-A...just because its Christian owners believe in the biblical definition of marriage.

Source: Christian Post

Wanna talk about Jesus? You'll need a permit for that

Apr. 28, 2016 - North Carolina State University requires a permit for any kind of student speech or communication anywhere on campus.The rule is strictly enforced for Christians but not for other student groups. Tyson Langhofer, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom explains:

"The University has not restricted the ability of other students and student groups to engage in expressive activity."

Source: OneNewsNow

Chinese Bulldoze Church, Burying Alive a Pastor, Wife

Apr. 25, 2016 - Johnnie Moore, a noted author and advocate for international religious freedom, clailms China is acting like ISIS.

Pastor Li Jiangong and his wife, Ding Cuimei, blocked a team of government sponsored excavators sent to bulldoze their Beitou Church in Henan province, China. The pastor and his wife were shoved into a pit and buried alive.

Li was able to dig himself out, but his wife was suffocated.

Source: NewwMax

Poll: Majority of Christians Say They're Facing Increased Persecution in US

Apr. 6, 2016 - A new poll by LifeWay Research reveals that 68 percent of Christians agree that Christians are facing growing levels of persecution, an increase from 2013, when 50 percent thought persecution was growing.

Sixty percent said religious liberty is on the decline in America, up from 54 percent in 2013, the poll found.

Source: NewsMax
Mississippi passes controversial 'religious freedom' bill - BBC

Bible charity vows to continue translation work after murders of four employees

Mar. 30, 2016 -

Four unidentified translators, who worked secretly for Wycliffe Associates, a Florida non-profit dedicated to bringing the gospel to hundreds of obscure languages,were killed by suspected Islamist militants at an undisclosed location, Wycliffe officials said in a statement.

The attackers shot and destroyed all the equipment, books and translation materials in the office. Survivors of the attack are committed to finishing the projects.

Source: Fox

In Pakistan, Taliban's Easter bombing targets, kills scores of Christians

Mar. 28, 2016 - Without warning, terrorists bombed a city park on Easter morning in Pakistan.

The suicide blast, in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, killed at least 69 people, a local government spokesman told CNN. More than 341 others were injured.

Responsibility for the attack, intentionally targeting Christians, was claimed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban.
Source: CNN

Franklin Graham blasts NFL for targeting Christians

Mar. 26, 2016 - Georgia Governor Nathan Deal faces a difficult decision. Should he sign a bill from the Georgia legislature that wouldprotect pastors from performing same-sex marriages and give churches the right to deny use of their facilities for things outside their religious beliefs?Reverend Franklin has called Christians to pray for Georgia’s chief politician because the National Football League supports homosexual activists,and is threatening to remove Atlanta from its list of potential Super Bowl locations if the bill becomes law.
Source: OneNewsNow

John Allen: Global War on Christianity, ‘200 million Daily at Risk’ of Assault, Torture, Death

Mar. 25, 2016 - John L. Allen. one of the world’s leading experts on Christian persecution, says that the number of new Christian martyrs every yearis not known, but estimates range from at least 7 or 8 thousand per year to as much as 100 thousand.

The war on Christians is also “global,” Allen argued, with some “200 million Christians in the world today who are daily at risk of physicalassault, arrest, imprisonment, torture or death.”

Source: Breitbart

Beheadings, imprisonment made 2015 worst year for Christian persecution, report finds

Mar. 8, 2016 - According to a new report from Open Doors USA:

Beheadings, imprisonment and eviction from ancestral homelands made 2015 the worst year on record for persecution of Christians, withNorth Korea topping a list of 10 otherwise Muslim nations as the most dangerous places for followers of the Gospel.

It is estimated that 7,000 Christians were killed in the Middle East during the year and nearly 1 million were driven out of their countries by Islamic militants.

In North Korea, where an estimated 300,000 Christians live, nearly 70,000 are imprisoned.

Source: Fox

Nigeria’s Anti-Christian Jihad in Numbers: 11,500 Dead, 13,000 Churches Destroyed

Feb. 26, 2016 -

A new report offers some startling statistics on the devastation wrought by Muslims on the Christian population in Nigeria, with 11,500 Christians killed, \a million displaced and 13,000 churches destroyed or shut down in the last 15 years.

Source: Breitbart

European Union blasts ISIS for 'crime of all crimes'

Feb. 4, 2016 - A resolution by the European Union condemns ISIS of genocide, the “crime of all crimes.”

The resolution “urges the members of the UN Security Council to support a referral by the Security Council to the International Criminal Courtin order to investigate violations committed in Iraq and Syria by the so-called ‘ISIS/Daesh’ against Christians..."

A list of atrocities against Christians and Yazidis includes assassinations of church leaders, torture, mass murders, kidnapping, sexual enslavement,and destruction of sacred sites.

Source: Bob Unruh - WND
White House Explains Why Obama Won’t Call Islamic State’s Murder of Christians ‘Genocide’ - The Blaze
EU Parliament Recognizes ISIS' Genocide of Christians, Calls on World Leaders to Take Action - Christian Post
2015 Deadliest Year for Christians Worldwide, Open Doors' World Watch List Finds - Christian Post

Report: 2015 Saw ‘Most Violent’ Persecution of Christians in Modern History

Jan. 22, 2016 - According to Open Doors' annual “World Watch List,” 2015 was “the most violent and sustained attack on Christian faith in modern history.”

At the top of the Watch List, for the 14th consecutive year, stands North Korea, where an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians are imprisoned in labor camps.

Nine out of the top ten countries where Christians suffer “extreme persecution” were Muslim-majority countries.

Source: Breitbart


Go to: Articles before Jan. 1, 2015


Links About Persecution

WORLD WATCH LIST


PERSECUTION NEWS
Legalize Jesus
Morning Star News
Religious Freedom - Christian Post
World Watch Monitor
Worthy Network
ARTICLES
Persecution of Christians - Wikipedia
Ayaan Hirsi Ali:The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World - Newsweek
ORGANIZATIONS
Amnesty International
Bible League
Christian Freedom International
Christians In Crisis
Compas Direct
Defend Christians
Hudson Institute's Center For Religious Freedom
Human Rights Watch
International Christian Concern
International Day of Prayer For The Persecuted Church
Open Doors International - Brother Andrew
Persecution Project
World Watch List
The Rutherford Institute
The Thomas More Law Center




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