Threatened by the Islamists’ Myopic Dream?

     Does CA! feel threatened for the Church in Nigeria following ongoing crafty dealings by Islamists?  Not at all!  The Head of the Church knows what to do and He is firmly in control.  Of course we are concerned about the lack of sensitivity, awareness, discernment, or any other sign of maturity on display by the Church.  However, the chances of some non-church players rising up to help their master, Satan, inflict chaos in the polity is far more likely than the chances of the gates of hell driving the Church underground, as in the middle east countries. Our mandate as salt and light however requires us to resist such outcomes.

     We are therefore more concerned that while many groups of endtime players are showing good discernment and appreciation of the season by launching extra-ordinary initiatives, it’s only in a miniscule faction of the Biblical Church that we see such actions – such as renewed call to concerted prayer, true holiness, innovative and sacrificial evangelism, etc, at the present time.

     On the other side of the divide, we see Vatican astronomers intently peering into the skies, as part of their “Project Lucifer” (actual name), looking for whatever they thought would emerge.  This might be connected to the last event predicted by the Fatima prophecies and may explain some of the strange words and actions of the predicted-to-be-the-last Pope, which even catholic faithfuls have described as bewildering!  We also see a clearly mesmerized yet excited EU President, Jean-Claude Juncker, talking about leaders from “other planets” (aliens?) expressing their concerns to him over Brexit and the future of Europe! Of course, Islamists, in their desperate dash to acquiring power and restoration of their caliphate, continue to ruthlessly trample on whatever stand in their way – even if it be law, order, or sound ethics. 

     Ditto, as it is abundantly evident in our city here at Ile-Ife, there is a noticeable resurgence of idolatry and the old groves and shrines are being revived and serviced.  Even occult new age groups (like Eckankar and Rosicrucians and the Mormons) are launching out to the grassroot on radio - beyond their normal public lectures. Yes, it is starkly so clear that it is only biblical Christians who are doing “business as usual.”

       It is time the Church woke up from this lethargic sleep.  Church, Arise!

       How then do we see the outcome of the current manipulation of Islamists in Nigeria?  We see the rather brash unhidden manipulations, threats, and coercions by the Islamists more like the ongoing antics of the transgenders in the US.  It’s all folly that would backfire on the practitioners and their backers at the end of the day - just like extreme Islamism backfired in Egypt and unbridled immigration is backfiring in Europe.  It is of course possible that considerable damage could happen to portions of the Church, particularly the unwary, in the course of all these; it probably would end up becoming nothing but the needed wake-up call for the Church out of her current stupor.

       For us, the next item on God’s agenda is the rapture.  And till then (no matter how close or far that event is), once we are prepared to watch and pray, living holy and righteous lives, we remain unassailable by the man of sin and his foot-soldiers, despite his desperate struggles to come take centre stage. (2 Thess. 2:6-7).

       Since it is written that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church, it follows that the future being beheld by the Islamists of Nigeria in their crystal balls, just as that being aspired to by the worldwide new age movement, is only possible post-rapture.  While this should stimulate us to excited barrier-breaking actions, no true believer need feel unduly threatened by it.