Growing Persecution of Professing Christians

“Christians are facing growing persecution around the world, fuelled mainly by Islamic extremism and repressive governments...  On his recent trip to Latin America, Pope Francis said he was dismayed ‘to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus.’ He went on: ‘In this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place’” (The Guardian, July 27, 2015). “According to the Pew Research Center, Christians face harassment in 102 countries—more than any other religion” (ibid.).

Could attacks such as these, on professing Christians around the globe, elicit a stronger and stronger response from the “mother church” in order to defend against them? Will these be some of the factors that cause a powerful leader to arise and galvanize Europe into a resurgent church and state alliance? Bible prophecy shows that a strong religious system in Europe will eventually grow in power and reach, to the point of putting to death those that don’t conform to it (Revelation 13:15). The adversary, Satan the devil, knows full well the mission of God’s true Church and although he cannot destroy God’s Church, he can bring about global actions that will ultimately impact it. He will motivate the creation of laws that will restrict and even prevent the preaching of the Gospel and bring about the “famine... of the hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11-13).

For more on where Bible prophecy is headed, read our article “Coming: A Famine of the Word!”