Three truths Isis does not understand as they seek to "break the cross."

 

Isis has just released a 45,000 word missive telling Christians to break the cross and join their Islamic state. It claims that Jesus will soon return to do the same because Christians have made Him into something he was never meant to be. In reality He is a "slave to Allah." If Christians will not break the cross, the Islamic state will - in acts like the murder of a Catholic priest in Normandy last week.

Their acts are meant to put fear into the hearts of Christ followers. But here is what Isis does not know.

One:  The evil one thought he had won the battle against God when Christ was crucified. What he did not count on was the resurrection of Christ. At that moment every principality and power of this world was defeated and all they can do until Christ returns is fight a losing battle. Neither Isis or any other group will ever break the cross.

Two: When the church is under persecution it expands rather than contracts. Mao thought he could eradicate the church. What resulted is the largest church in the world. In Roman times, the rulers thought they could eradicate the church but three hundred years after Christ, Christianity became the official faith of the Roman empire. As Tertullian wrote, "The blood of the martrys is the seed of the church." Every time Isis tries to eradicate Christianity more people come to Christ. It is a losing battle. Again to quote Tertullian, "The more you mow us down, the more numerous we grow; the blood of Christians is seed."

Three: While evil can prevail for a time it ultimately loses and is judged by the God of the Universe. History is His story and His will is the only one that will ultimately prevail. He is the beginning and the end! The alpha and omega. There will be a new heaven and earth and Christ will reign over all.

As Christ followers we need to keep these three truths in mind as we watch the news and rather than live in fear we ought to live with the conviction that Christ is growing His church and that He will ultimately prevail.

What ISIS really wants - from The Atlantic

What ISIS really wants

How Libya's Martyrs are witnessing to Egypt - Great article from CT

How Libya's Martyrs Are Witnessing to Egypt

The very real existential threat of ISIS which if not confronted may come to a community near you!

When I first wrote about the ISIS threat I received responses that the atrocities I reported could not be happening. Unfortunately they have continued, the most recent being the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot and the beheadings of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya. Both on video for all the world to see. I have watched both videos not out of any prurient interest but out of respect for those killed and in order to confront the evil ISIS represents in a personal way. The waves of the Mediterranean turned red with the blood of those killed in Libya. The video represented itself as a warning to all those who live under the banner of the cross. It is a threat to all those who follow Jesus as well as others.

Recent comments by the American administration indicate that ISIS does not constitute an "existential threat" to America and the world. I beg to differ. It constitutes one of the largest threats to mankind ever, and if left to grow and multiply it will bring its evil not only to those who live in the Middle East and Africa (who we are allowing to suffer and die by the thousands) but to the doorsteps of many other nations. It is not so much a political threat as it is the naked face of the pit of hell being unleashed on a world that seems to be largely unconcerned about its real intention - to destroy and kill those who don't agree with their version of Islam. It is John 10:10 exposed for all the world to see - "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy." 

The civilized world has a responsibility to respond to this naked evil. This is no small skirmish but a declaration of war on Christians and others with the most gruesome killing of men, women and children made in God's image. We ignored Rwanda and had to apologize. How can the world ignore ISIS. Some evil is so raw and primitive that it must be confronted and destroyed. If we do not, it will confront and destroy much of what we consider to be precious to us. 

I suspect that kidnappings for ransom or for propaganda deaths will grow and that missionaries working in hard to reach places will be casualties. But their deaths are no more precious than the deaths of these 21 Coptic believers or the Jordanian pilot who I presume was Muslim. This is evil and evil cannot be ignored, especially when it sets itself up against the peace and security of our world, the Jewish nation, those who believe in the Cross of Jesus and then those who simply don't fit their brand of Islam. If the world had the responsibility to confront Hitler and the Nazis it has the responsibility to confront ISIS and its expanding ilk whether in the Middle East or Africa. 

How many deaths will it take until the world gets serious about the evil that ISIS represents? Americans, Japanese, Syrians, Africans, Jordanians, Iraqis, Turks, French, English and others have died. How many more will die before we realize that the existential threat does exist and it is the face of evil. The naked face of evil.
(Written from Hua Hin, Thailand)

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