EVE OF DESTRUCTION: Middle East Christianity Doomed, while Western Christianity Collapses

Let us heed this sober appraisal of our New Age of Mass Martyrdom.

Can we even begin to comprehend what this portends as a SIGN?

• The nearly complete eradication of Christians from the lands where Jesus Christ walked, and where the Church first spread,

• The global uprising of authentic Islam, which St John of Damascus called "the forerunner of antichrist",

• Juxtaposed against the simultaneous explosion of godlessness and anti-human perversity in America and Europe — assented to and advanced even by many Christians,

• and the virtual collapse of true Christianity in the West, as it is swallowed up by the pleasures and seduction of the Whore of Babylon,

While Resurrected Russia preaches the Orthodox Gospel to the whole world, fulfilling the prophecies of St Seraphim of Sarov and other holy elders.

Every such prediction as the article below are urgent, frightful signs allowed by the Lord to shock us, wake us up, and spur us on to true repentance, that we may find grace from the Lord to persevere through our apocalyptic times, confessing Jesus Christ to the death, that we may be raised with Him in glory at His Second Coming. Amen.


EVE OF DESTRUCTION: Middle East Christianity Doomed, Aid Group Warns
by Simon Kent, Breitbart News, November 11, 2015

Iraqi Christians - Reuters Photo.

Middle East Christianity will disappear within a decade as its followers face utter annihilation at the hands of Islamic State (IS) terrorists, a Catholic aid group has warned.

The alarming rate of decline in the Biblical heartlands means the religion could vanish in areas it has called home for millennia unless the world steps in, says the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

In a report titled Persecuted & Forgotten? disturbing data outlines the plunging numbers of Christians in the part of the world that gave birth to the faith and makes a dire prediction of what the future holds.

The British-based group says: “At a time when the numbers of displaced and refugees have hit an all-time high, Islamists groups — ISIS foremost — are carrying out religiously motivated ethnic cleaning of Christians.

“In parts of the Middle East — particularly in Syria and Iraq — the crisis is so severe that barring significant interventions on the part of world powers, the Christian presence may disappear completely within a decade or even sooner.”

ISIS Targets Kremlin, threatens to 'make blood spill like an ocean' in new video

“ISIS is making it very clear that it will attack Russia, specifically Moscow, and a failure to do so will be a big blow to their prestige,” [Ryan] Mauro [national security analyst for the Clarion Project] said. “We should assume they'll succeed because bombing a Russian airliner over Egypt is more difficult than attacking a random target inside Russia because ISIS only needs a small group of supporters among the 15 percent of the Russian population that is Muslim.”

ISIS coming for the Kremlin, new video warns

by Malia Zimmerman, Fox News, November 12, 2015

Screen capture from new Islamic State video, threatening Russia, the U.S. and Europe.

The latest video from ISIS combines the terrorist group's trademark barbarity with an ambitious pledge: a vow that it is coming after the Kremlin.

"We will take through battle the lands of yours we wish," a voice says in Russian, as English subtitles float over scenes of slaughter and a map of the world. "Hellfire awaits you. Europe is shaking, Russia is dying."

Vowing that the "Kremlin will be ours" and promising attacks on Europe, the 5-minute video's producers pledge to “make blood spill like an ocean.”

Legislation seeks to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization'

"The bill documents how the Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, in September 2010 issued a call—much like Osama bin Laden’s in 1996—for war against the U.S., fighting it with a 'jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies (Israel and the U.S.) pursue life'.”

Senator Ted Cruz Seeks To Remove Muslim Brotherhood's Veil
by James Zumwalt, Breitbart News, November 9, 2015

Imagine the existence of a group involved in covertly formulating a plan on how to subvert the U.S. Constitution, distributing that plan among its leadership and agents within the U.S., quietly supporting terrorism to further this agenda, declaring war against America, and brazenly recognizing U.S. indifference by boasting about its terrorist activities.

A rational mind would conclude this group be identified as a domestic threat with every effort made to minimize its influence. Yet President Obama has not only embraced the group, but welcomed its leaders to the White House.

In numerous other countries—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE, Bahrain and Russia—this group, known as the Muslim Brotherhood, has been banned due to its well-known destructive intentions and terrorist acts. The Obama administration has yet to do the same.

Legislation to pull back the Muslim Brotherhood’s veil, exposing its telltale terrorist heart, has been introduced—again. On November 3, legislation was filed to have the Muslim Brotherhood designated a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO)—introduced by Senator Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Senate and Representative Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) in the House.

A similar bill introduced in July 2014 fizzled. The question now is whether Congress will push this bill through, forcing Obama’s Brotherhood enabler—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry—to strip the group of its veil.

Any group founded on the belief—as was the Brotherhood in 1928—that,‘‘Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Qur’an is our law; jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope” is transparently advertising its Islamist ideology. It has made clear the focus of this intent is global, seeking to “conquer… every obstinate tyrant” to ensure the world submits to Islam.

Sen. Cruz’s bill, known as the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2015, explains the group’s evil intentions and terrorist activities.

A Poem for our Age of Martyrdom

"Grant us Thy patience, Lord, in these, our woeful days..."

Let us, with such words and examples from the Holy Royal Passion-bearers, encourage ourselves for the trials ahead, when we too shall face the call to be faithful to the end, to be confessors and martyrs for Christ, and to forgive our enemies.

In the urgent and prophetic words of Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America,

"The way of the Church is the way of sacrifice and martyrdom… We are here, in North America, called to be apostles and martyrs for Christ…"

Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana,
in nurses garb. Both served with their
mother, Empress Alexandra, in field
hospitals, tending wounded soldiers
during World War I.

Grant us Thy patience, Lord,

In these our woeful days,

The mob’s wrath to endure,

The torturer’s ire;

Thy unction to forgive

Our neighbors’ persecution

And mild, like Thee, to bear

A bloodstained Cross.

And when the mob prevails

And foes come to despoil us,

To suffer humbly shame,

O Savior aid us!

And when the hour comes

To pass the last dread gate,

Breathe strength in us to pray,

Father forgive them! 

~ Poem by Royal Passion-bearer, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, written shortly before the martyrdom of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

From Orthodox writer Ryan Hunter:

Reading [this] poem... beautifully composed by the Grand Duchess Olga, its meaning is unmistakable: by the time that she wrote these words, it is certain that the Imperial Family expected to be martyred. 

The Princess’ poem here is both hymn and dirge, a psalm of praise and one of sorrow and fear, but above all, a canticle of deep faith and a discernment of God’s will in all things. True of saints’ writings, we see that the centrality of the Princess’ poem is not her dwelling on her own anguish or horror at the thought of a potentially agonizing death, or lamentation at the thought of her earthly life cut short so abruptly, but a profound trust in God’s providence that His purpose guides all things and that, ultimately, He would work good out of evil...

VOTE NO to Kosovo's Membership in UNESCO before November 9

“Greater Albania” advocates the destruction of the remnants of Serbian culture and attempts to create a Kosovo culture which would appropriate everything on its territory. Over 100 Serbian Orthodox churches were destroyed in Kosovo between 1999 and 2004 alone, while the breakaway territory was administered by the United Nations.

Members of the UN cultural body UNESCO are expected to vote on Kosovo's entry into the organization on November 9.

There is an online petition enabling you to “VOTE NO to Kosovo's Membership in UNESCO.”

PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK TO THE PETITION AND VOTE IMMEDIATELY. SHARE ON FACEBOOK, EMAIL AND OTHER FORUMS AS WELL...

Photos and video below the break...

See also: Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church - A Letter to the Director General of UNESCO Ms. Bokova regarding the Kosovo's UNESCO bid

Instagram Deletes Account for Revealing Destroyed Serb Churches in Kosovo

Sputnik via Pravoslavie, November 7, 2015

Hoping to foil Kosovo's attempt to become a member of UNESCO, ethnically Serbian student activists in the self-proclaimed state created a page on Instagram called “No to Kosovo's Membership in UNESCO.” There they posted photos of numerous Orthodox Christian places of worship and significance, including monasteries, churches and cemeteries, which were demolished in the years after ethnic Albanian Muslims gained de facto independence with the help of a deadly NATO bombing campaign and EU endorsement. Instagram responded by blocking the account for its “disturbing content.”

“We have been told that we are posting disturbing images, and we simply posted the truth -- the burning of Serb churches and monasteries, the holy places, the destruction of monuments, tombs, and so on,” Nemanja Bisevac, one of the account’s administrators, told journalists.

Jovan Aleksic, another administrator of the account and an activist with the protest group Students for Truth (Studenti za Istinu), told Sputnik Serbia he believes the Instagram page was suspended after a complaint from “those who are pushing the so-called Kosovo state forward to UNESCO.” pointing at the Albanian administration of the breakaway region.

The account was a part of a broader campaign dubbed “No to Kosovo's Membership in UNESCO.” led by Kosovan Serbian students, which hopes to deny Kosovo UNESCO membership.

“We have sent letters with photos and videos attached that speak for the destruction of the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo … to representatives of all 195 UNESCO member states. We’ve held a large protest in [the north Kosovan Serb town of] Sremska Mitrovica against so-called Kosovo becoming a member of UNESCO,” Aleksic said.

Also, Students for Truth have produced videos in Serbian, English and Arabic, showing the almost total annihilation of Kosovo's Serbian religious and cultural heritage.

Swedish "bishop" wants to remove crosses from church and mark direction of Mecca to make it more inviting for Muslims

It is said of St Ignatius of Antioch that after he had been martyred — torn to pieces by the lions in the Roman Coliseum — that they found his heart, which had the name "Jesus" imprinted upon it.

That is the example for Orthodox Christians to follow, not multicultural apostates who openly deny Jesus Christ.

This poor, deceived woman condemns the very people she claims to want to help. Mecca points to death and damnation. There is no other name than Jesus by which we may be saved (Acts 4:12).

There is some outcry over this in Sweden, but the apostasy gallops along, and the apocalypse draws nearer...

See also this article at Breitbart: World's First Lesbian Bishop Calls for Church to Remove Crosses, to install Muslim Prayer Space

Bishop wants to remove Christian symbols in the Seamen’s Church

translated from “Biskopen vill ta bort kristna symboler,” SVT.se, via Jihad Watch — October 4, 2015:

Bishop Eva Brunne has proposed to remove the Christian symbols of the Seamen’s Church in Freeport to make it more inviting for visiting sailors from other religions.

The bishop wants to temporarily make the Seamen’s Church available to all, for example by marking the direction of Mecca and removing Christian symbols, as is already done in common prayer rooms at airports and in some hospital chapel.

UC Merced stabber “devout Muslim,” manifesto included “praise Allah,” beheading plan

This latest Muslim attack on non-Muslims might have ended as an even greater tragedy. Thank God it did not. But let us not become tragic figures ourselves by denying that this has anything to do with Islam.

Responders aid stabbing victims at UC Merced.

The chorus of denial and exoneration of Islam has already begun. Robert Spencer explains:

“The 18-year-old freshman wrote a numeric list outlining his plans of who he wanted to kill, and how, including beheading and shooting his victims," Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke told FoxNews.com…"No. 27 was to 'make sure people are tied down', No. 28 was 'sit down and praise Allah'.”

Then Warnke tells us this had nothing to do with Islam. The capacity for self-deceit and denial is endless, as authorities in the U.S. seem to have an indomitable will to make Islam look good, no matter what the facts of the case may be.

An article in the Daily Telegraph relates an especially disturbing religious equivalence fallacy often brought up following Muslim jihad attacks:

Asked if the manifesto made any references to Allah, Warnke said there were, but dismissed any suggestion that Mohammad was motivated by religion. 

"His belief was through the Muslim faith, but there's nothing to indicate anything other than that," Warnke said. "It'd be like a Christian referring to the Lord Jesus."

Except Christians "referring to the Lord Jesus" do not routinely hack, stab, behead and shoot non-Christians all around the globe for any perceived slight, or to advance their religion. Of course, not all Muslims are terrorists, but most terrorists are Muslims.

Mark Steyn connects the dots using an effective mnemonic device:

 Down Under Tim Blair reminds his readers of something I wrote a decade ago: 

"These days, whenever something goofy turns up on the news, chances are it involves a fellow called Mohammed. 

"A plane flies into the World Trade Centre? Mohammed Atta. A gunman shoots up the El Al counter at Los Angeles airport? Hesham Mohamed Hedayet. A sniper starts killing petrol station customers around Washington, DC? John Allen Muhammed. A guy fatally stabs a Dutch movie director? Mohammed Bouyeri. A terrorist slaughters dozens in Bali? Noordin Mohamed. A gang-rapist in Sydney? Mohammed Skaf." 

And then Tim adds: 

"A decade later, multiple Mos still lead the way when it comes to murder and mayhem. July's Chattanooga multiple killer? Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez. Sydney's teenage Islamic assassin? Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar. And now we have 18-year-old Faisal Mohammad, who this week stabbed four people at a California university..."

Muhammad is not the only revered Islamic name associated with Muslim attacks, but it seems to be the top-most, and, in an ominous sign, happens also to be the most popular name for baby boys in London, England.

Having said all this, I must remind us all that the purpose in drawing attention to this is not to poke a stick at Muslims or offer further proof of Islam being a false religion, etc., but rather to hold out hope for Muslims of good conscience whose conscience accuses them each time another atrocity is committed in the name of Islam, Allah and Muhammad: "Why do you remain in Islam? Flee! Run to the Christians!"

This is the point. There is hope, freedom, deliverance, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invite you to "Come and see..."

Campus stabber’s manifesto included ‘praise for Allah,’ plan for beheading

by Malia Zimmerman and Hollie McKay, Fox News, November 6, 2015 (via Jihad Watch):

A handwritten manifesto carried by a California college student whose stabbing spree Wednesday left four wounded bore names of his targets, a vow “to cut someone’s head off” and as many as five reminders to “praise Allah,” law enforcement authorities told FoxNews.com, while insisting that neither terrorism nor religion appear to be motives in the attack.

Christian Population in Iraq in Danger of Being Eradicated in 5 Years

"While half of the remaining Christians in Iraq are now struggling to choose between embracing Islam or remaining faithful to their religion, many of them want to flee to other countries because of the danger... from Islamic fundamentalism."

by Lorraine Caballero, The Christian Post via Pravoslavie — October 19, 2015

Displaced Iraq Christians who fled from Islamic State militants in Mosul, pray at a school acting as a refugee camp in Erbil September 6, 2014.

The Christian population in Iraq is in danger of being extinct in about five years, a recent report from an international Catholic charity organization says.

At present, there are only around 300,000 Christians left in Iraq from over a million in 2002. The Aid to the Church in Need released a new report saying Iraq's Christian population faces extinction in five years, especially after 120,000 of them are being forced to convert to Islam or die, according to Rome Reports.

If the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is not stopped, the Christian population in Iraq could be eradicated by the year 2020. Those in Syria also face serious threat to their lives, Sputnik News reports.

Germany: Altar, pulpit, baptismal font removed as church used as shelter for migrants

Western Christianity, especially Protestantism, lost any sense of the sacred, of sanctified space, of holiness, long ago, so we will see more and more examples like this and in Sweden in the days ahead as the Islamization of Europe accelerates.  These are signs of the frightful rise of Islam, and of the growing apostasy afflicting Christians. The future continues to darken...

See also: SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Muslim 'Breaking of the Crosses' in Syracuse NY

Muslim migrants moved into German churches — pews, altars, crosses removed

Jihad Watch — October 29, 2015:

Translation of this article in the Handelsblatt.com:

Refugees move to a church 

Necessity is the mother of invention – and flexibility: a Protestant community offers the city of Oberhausen a church to serve as shelter. Soon shall 50 refugees move into the church. Before that, benches and altar are thrown out. 

Oberhausen. A church serving as shelter: Some 50 refugees are expected to move into a evangelical church in Oberhausen. The parish had offered that to the city, city spokesperson Rainer Suhr reported on wednesday, confirming a report of the WDR (TV station). “We gladly accept that.”

Our Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, Loved by Pakistani Orthodox Christians

Another stirring update from Father Joseph Farooq of the Orthodox Mission in Pakistan. Keep Fr. Joseph and his flock in your prayers, and support them if you can (see info at bottom)!

by Fr. Joseph Farooq, Pravoslavie — November 4, 2015

With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan and the parishioners of Saint Sergius of Radonezh Orthodox Church Sargodha Pakistan on November 01, 2015, celebrated the feast of our righteous father John of Kronstadt.

Righteous father John had the greatest gift of prayer, and so the solemn celebrations were begun with prayers to Saint John of Kronstadt. The prayers were taken from the spiritual diary of Saint John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ. The following prayers were translated by Fr. Joseph Farooq and recited along with the faithful:

• A Preparation for Confession 

• Prayer for the granting of prayer consolation 

Other prayers were also said for the health and many good years of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia, and His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.