Imagine leaving your home and community behind, fleeing war and violence, then traveling from country to country in search of safety. Then, the moment you think you’ve found a place to stop and rest, you’re turned away.

Welcome to the life of Christian Syrian refugees.

Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada says a disproportionate number of Christians have been denied asylum from various countries. When believers travel to “Jordan, Lebanon and some of the other places in the Middle East, they are just finding it difficult to not only get into the refugee camps but then try to get asylum to go to another country like Canada.”

Why? Among other reasons, many of the countries where refugees initially apply for asylum are Muslim-majority nations. This leads to prejudice in the application process.

In fact, Musselman says only 1% of refugees allowed to immigrate to countries such as Canada or the United States are Christians. That’s a problem when “we know that the Christian population is way more than 1%,” Musselman says. “Sometimes it’s up into 30-40%, or at least 10% in countries like Syria.”

Christians who do make it to refugee camps face their own problems. In many camps, they will encounter “those that are more Islamist in their ideology and thinking, and they persecute Christians and make life very difficult for them.”

These are families and individuals who have gone through all of the proper channels only to be turned away because of who they call Lord and Savior. It’s a problem that has persisted for years, and it does not seem to be going away.

Although targets of this discrimination have been labeled Christians, they are not necessarily members of the body of Christ. They may simply be from a different background than the majority Islamic culture. In extreme cases, they may be on the wrong side of the Sunni/Shia divide.

That being said, “the more targeted discrimination and persecution is the followers of Jesus and anyone that’s affiliated in a sense with Christianity,” Musselman clarifies.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Alex Anhalt

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This is Daniel Whyte III with the Second Coming Watch Update. This is update #904. Let’s take a quick look at today’s prophecy-related headlines which point towards the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the end of the world as we know it.

First, today, under the Sign category of TURMOIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST — According to BBC News, US President Donald Trump has presented his long-awaited Middle East peace plan, promising to keep Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital. He proposed an independent Palestinian state and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said his proposals “could be the last opportunity” for Palestinians. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the plans as a “conspiracy”. Abbas said in a televised address from Ramallah in the West Bank: “I say to Trump and Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not for sale, all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass.” The blueprint, which aims to solve one of the world’s longest-running conflicts, was drafted under the stewardship of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Thousands of Palestinians protested in the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli military deployed reinforcements in the occupied West Bank.

Second, today, under the Sign category of FAMINES — According to BBC News, The UN has called for international help to fight huge swarms of desert locusts sweeping through east Africa. A spokesman for the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, called for aid to “avert any threats to food security, livelihoods, malnutrition”. Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are all struggling with “unprecedented” and “devastating” swarms of the food-devouring insects. The agency fears locust numbers could grow 500 times by June. The FAO said earlier this week that Ethiopia and Somalia have not faced an infestation on this scale for 25 years, while Kenya has not seen a locust threat this size for 70 years. South Sudan and Uganda are also at risk if the swarms continue to grow and spread. The FAO said: “The speed of the pests’ spread and the size of the infestations are so far beyond the norm that they have stretched the capacities of local and national authorities to the limit.” The only option left was “aerial control” – spraying insecticide from aircraft. The swarms have spread from Yemen across the Red Sea. Heavy rainfall at the end of 2019 created ideal conditions for the food-devouring insects to flourish. And the problem could get worse as the year goes on. Aside from growing numbers in east Africa, locusts have also been breeding in India, Iran and Pakistan, which could turn into swarms in the spring.

Third, today, under the Sign category of EARTHQUAKES IN DIVERS PLACES — According to ABC News, A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred between Cuba and Jamaica. According to the United States Geological Survey service, the epicenter was located in the Caribbean Sea about 83 miles north of Montego Bay, the capital of St. James, and about 87 miles south of Granma, Cuba. It was a relatively strong but shallow quake with a depth of about 6 miles. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake is at the high end of the Richter Scale. It was initially reported at 7.3 but was quickly revised up to 7.7. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damages. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, a tsunami warning was issued for areas off the coasts of Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Cayman Islands and Jamaica in the quake’s wake. The center said those areas could experience waves as high as 3.3 feet above tidal level.

Fourth, today, under the Sign category of ARAB HOSTILITY TOWARD ISRAEL — According to The Jerusalem Post, ISIS spokesman and second Caliph Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi [HAA-SHEE-MEE] al-Quraishi [KUU-REH-SHEE] sent a recorded message to all the organization’s operatives, mainly those in Sinai and Syria, to begin conquering Israeli “settlements,” referring to both West Bank settlements and Israeli cities. It is the second time the terrorist group sent a recorded message since the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in October. In the recording, Quraishi [KUU-REH-SHEE] said that despite what the US and other countries may have thought of as the end for the terrorist organization with the death of al-Baghdadi, “we are still here, and we are ready to start a ‘new stage’ – hitting Israeli targets.” The newly-incumbent leader of the terrorist organization called upon supporters of ISIS to attack Jews in Israel and abroad with chemical weapons, declaring a religious war. Quraishi [KUU-REH-SHEE] also called on all Muslims worldwide to thwart US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, and added that “the Muslims who live in Palestine… will be at the forefront of the fight against the Jews [and] foiling the ‘Deal of the Century.’” The message instructed the operatives to begin targeting Jewish communities and markets, and to turn the conquered territories into fields of weapons and rocket experiments. Quraishi [KUU-REH-SHEE] said: “Today we have begun a new phase in our struggle with you. Our eyes now look towards Jerusalem.”

Fifth, today, under the Sign category of TURMOIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST — According to Reuters, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority has cut all ties with the United States and Israel, including those relating to security, after rejecting a Middle East peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump. Abbas was in Cairo to address the Arab League, which backed the Palestinians in their opposition to Trump’s plan. The blueprint, endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for the creation of a demilitarised Palestinian state that excludes Jewish settlements built in occupied territory and is under near-total Israeli security control. Abbas said: “We’ve informed the Israeli side … that there will be no relations at all with them and the United States including security ties.” Israel and the Palestinian Authority’s security forces have long cooperated in policing areas of the occupied West Bank that are under Palestinian control. The PA also has intelligence cooperation agreements with the CIA, which continued even after the Palestinians began boycotting the Trump administration’s peace efforts in 2017. Abbas also said he had refused to discuss the plan with Trump by phone, or to receive even a copy of it to study it. Abbas said: “Trump asked that I speak to him by phone but I said ‘no’, and that he wants to send me a letter … but I refused it.” Abbas said he did not want Trump to be able to say that he, Abbas, had been consulted. He reiterated his “complete” rejection of the Trump plan, saying, “I will not have it recorded in my history that I sold Jerusalem.”

——–

The prophetic passage of Scripture that we are looking at today is Ezekiel. Ezekiel 1:1-3 reads: “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar [KEY-BAR], that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s [JEH-HOY-AH-KIN] captivity, The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi [BU-ZEE], in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar [KEY-BAR]; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.”

Allow me to share with you some commentary on this passage from Exploring Bible Prophecy from Genesis to Revelation, by Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson.

God’s judgment against the Gentile nations (chapters 25-32) is included to demonstrate that the divine discipline of Israel is extended justly to all sinful nations, especially because the sin of these nations had been their oppression and persecution of the people of Israel, who represented God on earth. This is noted in the opening indictment against each of these nations by the words “because you said/did (something against Israel), therefore, I will” (specifics of judgment). This formulaic expression reveals that the standard for this judgment is that found in the Abrahamic Covenant: “I will bless those who bless you [Abraham’s descendants–national Israel] and the one who curses you I will curse”. The historical record supports the accuracy of these judgments in their fulfillment.

The second division (chapters 33-48) contains more distant predictions of Israel’s restoration in the end time and is therefore eschatological. These prophecies concern predictions of national Israel’s return, regathering, rebirth, and restoration (chapters 33-39). In this section Ezekiel observes the problem of Israel’s “false shepherds” and predicts the advent of the True Shepherd who will establish the New Covenant (chapter 34). Having laid this spiritual foundation, the prophet predicts the rebirth of the nation (chapters 35-36), its national regeneration, and its reunion in the millennial kingdom. This is punctuated with the prophecy of divine victory over the foreign armies in Gog’s invasion of Israel (chapters 38-39). The temple is the subject of chapters 40-48, which present the design and function of the messianic temple and the revival of the sacrificial service (chapters 40-48). These chapters provide the necessary climax to the prophecy of Israel’s final restoration because only the rebuilding of the messianic temple could sustain Israel’s spiritual relationship under the New Covenant and fulfill its national destiny to be a kingdom of priests.

In both divisions of Ezekiel, the Jerusalem temple figures prominently as the sign of God’s relationship with national Israel. Therefore the first division, which deals with the Lord’s judgment on Israel, is displayed in terms of the nation’s desecration of the temple and its destruction by foreign nations under the terms of discipline announced in the Mosaic Covenant. The second division deals with the reversal of the condition of exile and foreign domination of the land imposed as the result of the discipline. Return to the land with the ultimate restoration of national sovereignty and national spiritual rebirth is the promised blessing of the New Covenant, whose conclusive sign is the rebuilding of a temple to which God’s own presence has been restored.

If the Lord tarries His Coming and we live, we will continue looking at the prophetic passages of the Bible in our next broadcast / podcast.

Our Second Coming quote for today is from Tony Garland. He said, “Brethren, I do not wonder that worldlings and half-Christians have no love of this doctrine, or that they hate to hear about Christ’s speedy coming. It is the death knell of their gaieties and pleasures—the turning of their confidence to consternation—the conversion of their songs to shrieks of horror and despair. There is a day coming, when ‘the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of man shall be made low.’”

Let’s Pray

***

If you are not ready for the return of Jesus Christ, may I encourage you to get ready today by receiving Him as your Savior. Here is how.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here is the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh. Let us join in the prayer of John the Revelator — “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” God bless you.

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Trans World Radio (TWR) will be launching its new Oasis AM transmitter on February 1 to share the Gospel with Muslim and Christian listeners across Nigeria.

Abdoulaye Sangho of TWR says, “We are very excited to launch a new transmitter oriented to Nigeria. Radio is the only tool available to reach various people in the area. It’s difficult to travel in that area, difficult to build churches there. Radio can find the people where they are and radio can speak the language of the people.” Sangho has been in radio ministry for 36 years, and has been with TWR since 1996.

Sangho says the new transmitter will make it possible to air several programs, many designed for Muslim listeners. The Way of Righteousness is one such program, and focuses on the revelation of Jesus in the Old Testament. It has been translated into several Nigerian languages.

TWR also produces a program called The Prophets that discusses the lives of the prophets in the Bible. Muslims already know these writings, and Sangho points out that everyone can get something out of the lives and writings of these individuals.

“Also, we have a program called the Messiah, the Messiah is about the Gospel, about the life of Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus, and about salvation,” Sangho says.

And the programs are not only for Muslims. Sangho says Christians in the country need access to solid biblical teaching and encouragement.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Kevin Zeller

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended her decision to tear up President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address saying on Thursday that she did so to send a message to the American people that the speech was nothing more than “a manifesto of mistruths” with the president “using the Congress of the United States as a backdrop for a reality show.”

“I saw the compilation of falsehoods,” Pelosi told reporters at a press conference, saying, “I started to think, there has to be something that clearly indicates that this is not the truth. And he shredded the truth in his speech, shredded the Constitution in his conduct, so I shredded the ‘state of his mind’ address.”

Pelosi added that her move had nothing to do with the president first refusing to shake her hand on Tuesday night when he took to the dais to deliver his address.

The speaker said she felt “very liberated” by her unprecedented act of defiance, tearing up the president’s speech, though it has engendered bipartisan criticism, saying, “I have extended every possible courtesy. I’ve shown every level of respect. I tell my members all the time — there’s no such thing as eternal animosity. There are eternal friendships, but you never know, … everybody is a possible ally.”

She also criticized his decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the country’s highest civilian honor — to conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh while in the House chamber Tuesday. She said Thursday that — at first — she thought his comments were about civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who is battling pancreatic cancer.

“Do it in your own office. We don’t come to your office and do our business there,” Pelosi said while blasting Republicans for committing “a serious breach” of protocol by shouting in unison, “four more years!” in the chamber in support of Trump’s re-election.

Earlier at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Trump said he doesn’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, appearing to target Sen. Mitt Romney, the lone Republican who voted with Democrats, to convict Trump, after saying he was guided by faith.

SOURCE: ABC News

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A lack of religious freedom in sub-Saharan Africa has thrown the region into turmoil.

“This is the first freedom, so to speak,” says David Curry, of Open Doors USA, while describing religious freedom. “It’s the place where . . . people are being pressured for issues of conscience. If you cannot decide for yourself if you’re going to be able to read a Bible and worship freely and go to church . . . you’re not free at all.”

And that certainly describes the situation in Nigeria, along with Cameroon, Chad, and Burkina Faso. Militant Islamic group Boko Haram has been ravaging the land for years, killing and kidnapping Christians and others. And the situation only seems to be growing worse.

Curry says, “You have a clash of civilizations of sorts [with] a lot of Christians in the South of Nigeria, and Islamic Sharia law states in the North. And for a long time, Nigeria has been the most violent place, that we can measure, against Christians.” Curry says North Korea, for instance, may be a more violent place for Christians, but the danger there is not as easily measured.

Boko Haram is always getting bolder, Curry says. “You have weak, weak governments that are responding very slowly and ineffectually and it’s really emboldening Boko Haram in a way that I think is problematic. We could see them conquering . . . what they would call a caliphate where they feel like they own an entire region that would cross three or four different country boundaries.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Kevin Zeller

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