In light of current developments with respect to May 29, we are re-posting our article first published in 1999 tracing the historical and spiritual importance of May 29 to the Islamic world. Note that we pointed out in the article that May 29 had lost its potency to the Islamic world with the inauguration of a christian (Olusegun Obasanjo) in 1999.
Download the edition of Church Arise! (Vol 2 No 3, 1999) containing the original article
here
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"Many a discerning Christian have wondered how the date May 29 was arrived at, as the date the 'millitants' will hand over power to a civil regime. In fact, then Presidential aspirant, Chief Olu Falae in trying to persuade the government to agree to postponing the Presidential election of Feb 27, openly commented that the gap between Feb 27 and May 29 is too long and serves no visible purpose. If the elections were not to be postponed,why wait till May 29 to swear in the new governments?
What no one can doubt however is that those in authority, heavily influenced by Islamic spirits, do not trivialize such weighty issues as the date power will be relinquished! The date would have been most carefully chosen - to serve as much of their own interests as possible. To sensitize the Church of Christ to the need to be on high prayer alert in this one month leading to the promised transition, and in keeping the flavour of history on this edition as expected, we present the following accounts of some significant events in history that occurred on some May 29s in the past.
In the larger Christian World
May 29 is no doubt a date the spirit of Islam will hail as their BIGGEST day of victory ever in history. For on that day in the year 1453, Islam secured her most significant victory over her 'arch-rival', Christendom, as it were, when the seemingly impregnable Christian city of Constantinople fell to the forces of Mehmed II, Sultan of the Ottoman Turks. With the collapse of Rome about a thousand years earlier, Constantinople had become the only remaining bastion of Christianity. The manner of the fall of the city is very pathetic and should be instructive to Christians in these end time conflicts.
Following is an excerpt from Christian History Institute's account of the event:
"Around 1.30 a.m. on this date, May 29, [Mehmed II] ordered the assault. The Christians fought with furious determination... The Turks were repulsed. But a gate left open allowed a few to break through. They were killed but left flags on the city wall. The outermost defenders, looking back, saw the Muslim flags and thought the city had been taken. They wavered…. The Sultan noticed it.. As dawn broke, the Christian line collapsed.… The land where Paul and Barnabas preached salvation through Christ's death and resurrection now belonged entirely to Islam".
In Nigeria
May 29 1966 was the date the foundation of the present structure for Nigeria was laid! It was on that day, that the Islamic North, up to that point seeking to secede ('Araba') from an oppressive Federal Nigeria, swung the scale, and reverse the tides, taking over the reins of power in Nigeria.
The "Araba" riots which took off on schedule that day, was a carefully planned, pre-determined, systematic decimation of Southern Nigerians/Christians by certain elements (there were a number of sympathetic Northerners!) in several cities in the North. According to Colonel Shuwa, one of the sympathetic Northerners, he was restrained and commanded by "higher authorities" to withdraw his troops which he had used to prevent the rioters in Kano city. He subsequently "saw private homes, churches, shops, schools, and market stalls belonging to southern Nigerians in flames" for days.
Another account from Sokoto is even more gripping: "while other towns rioted, the Southerners went into their Church to pray to their God for the return of peace. While they all gathered there and prayed, the Church was cordoned off. Having poured petrol over the Church building, it was set ablaze, and the multitude died while praying for peace". Details of the gory event that claimed over 3000 lives can be found in the book by Alexander Madiebo (The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War pg 35-42).
According to Obasanjo's My Command (pg 10-11), on account of that event, the Biafran leader was
quoted as saying "we are finished with the Federation ... it is all a question of time". The resulting declaration of Biafran independence a year later on May 30, 1967 led to the very bloody 30-month civil war in Nigeria, yielding the present structure of Nigeria and the Nigerian armed forces.
If the same spiritual forces that carefully chose May 29 for the genocide against Christians in 1453, and in 1966 have again chosen the same May 29 as the day they will disengage from rulership in Nigeria, Church Arise! believes the Church cannot afford to be casual towards the date. There are Biblical precedents for us to expect God to work out great victory for us and frustrate whatever hidden agenda the enemy mightbe nursing toward that day:
"On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them" (Esther 9:1).
As will happen at the battle of Armageddon, the forces of the anti-christ will choose the date and location of the final battle. Only they wouldn't know they are merely fulfilling what God had already appointed (Rev 17:17a, Acts 4:28). They will suddenly find the battle turned against them!
CALL TO PRAYER
We call on every Christian to spend at least 15 minutes each day in the month of May to pray towards May 29 1999. Christians who fold their hands and look forward to an automatic smooth handing over of power on May 29 are like the son described in Proverbs 10:5. It is our responsibility to execute the written judgements (Ps 149:9). And this time around, we shall not leave any gate opened by mistake. Neither shall we overlook any enemy flag left flying on our City wall. Victory is imminent. It is sure.
Church Arise!
PS:: Churches and other Christian groups may wish to organize prayer chains for the week leading to May 29.
