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| 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded by ISIS terrorists in February, putting Christian persecution, which has been going on for decades in the Middle East, on the world media’s radar screen. |
'Declarations of faith have created fertile soil for conversations'
Quite the contrary, she said, “the declarations of faith uttered by the men only moments before their death have created fertile soil for conversation between Muslims and Christians.”
Her report appeared on the VOM blog site this week as a followup to a trip to the Middle East. The Christians killed by ISIS in February were mostly Egyptians who had gone to Libya for various jobs.
The ISIS video shows black-clad executioners leading a line of Christians down onto a beach then executing them.
Yeager reported: “Militants released video footage of the martyrdom of Coptic Christian men in Libya. The footage of their martyrdom included a caption that read – ‘The people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian church.’ The 21 men who knelt before their persecutors were identified as ‘people of the cross,’ and asked to deny their faith or die. Many of the men are seen uttering their final words on this earth – ‘Lord Jesus Christ.’”
She said the statement of faith exhibited by the men “sparked the Bible Society of Egypt’s biggest campaign ever.”
“A Bible tract was created and sent to print within 36 hours following their public executions. Titled ‘Two Rows by the Sea,’ it carries a message of hope, comfort, and forgiveness for both Christians and Muslims alike. The Bible tract has been widely received in Egypt with 1.6 million copies distributed.”
She said one man who lost two brothers that day went on Egyptian television to thank ISIS for including their statements of faith in the video so that the world could see.
Yeager spotlighted another remarkable story: It wasn’t discovered until later that one of the men wasn’t a Christian when he was led to his execution.
He was identified as Matthew Ayairga of Chad.
“He is believed to not have been a Christian before kneeling in the sand beside the ‘people of the cross,’” Yeager reported. “Witnessing the courage and faith of the Egyptian Christians, he also chose to follow Jesus. Mere moments before Matthew was executed, his executors are seen asking, “Do you reject Christ?’ His reply was, “Their God is my God.’”
Egypt responded to the executions with airstrikes against targets in Libya. Meanwhile, Tea Party Network News noted that President Obama was tweeting a message to sign up for Obamacare at the time of the executions.
“‘They only said ‘Jesus help me … ‘ The blood of our Christian brothers is testimony that cries out,” he said. “Be they Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it doesn’t matter: They’re Christian!”
And Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, posted on Facebook that eventually ISIS will bow to Jesus.
He was lamenting the fact that when ISIS released a video of the
beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya, Muslim leaders were
silent.
“Can you imagine the outcry if 21 Muslims had been beheaded by
Christians? Where is the universal condemnation by Muslim leaders around
the world?” he wrote.“We’d better take this warning seriously as these acts of terror will only spread throughout Europe and the United States. If this concerns you like it does me, share this,” he said.
He added, “The evil of ISIS really shouldn’t shock us – it is fully in keeping with their ultimate agenda of hastening a final apocalypse.”
That a “final battle” will come is confirmed in the Bible, he said, and it “will result in the defeat of Satan and all those allied with him.”
He continued, “One thing is for sure – one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/christian-witness-to-muslims-surges-after-isis-executions/#mJe8avHKfBLtXhq2.99
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