Boko Haram's Other Crime

The tragic plight of hundreds of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria have been in the news for nearly two years, but there has been little mention of some 10,000 boys kidnapped by Boko Haram to use as child soldiers (Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2016). Boys as young as age five have been taught to fight and kill by teenage boys fearing for their own lives. Many of these boys have been sent into battle unarmed and often under the influence of opiates. One boy who escaped from Boko Haram said they were told by their young instructors, “It’s all right for you to kill and slaughter even your parents” (ibid.). A former child hostage describing the training camps said, “If you go there, you can see 12-year-olds talking about burning down a village” (ibid.).

Bible prophecy has long foretold, “in the last days perilous times will come… men will be lovers of themselves… unloving [inhuman, without natural affection]… brutal, despisers of good” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). These same violent behaviors were rampant in the pagan Roman Empire during the days of the apostles (Romans 1:28-31). The Bible reveals that the evils and brutality of this world are due to the influence of a powerful spirit being, Satan the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4), who is described as “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Thankfully, the evils of the world will come to an end when Jesus Christ returns to this earth as the “prince of peace” to establish His Kingdom (Isaiah 9:6). For more information on this peace-filled future, read “Will Wars Ever Cease?”