Revelation 6:9-11 (NASB) When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
How long before the “number” is complete? The number of martyrs, that is, those who will give their lives for the Only Begotten One and His word? Revelation 6 describes a special place where their souls gather — “underneath the altar.” These special ones have maintained their testimony — they did not recant their faith to prolong life (Revelation 13:17); nor did they receive the mark of the beast signifying their conversion to his religion (Revelation 14:9-11).
According to a recent report, over sixty persons were killed in an attack on Sunday in Northern Nigeria. Islamists of the sect Boko Haram attacked the towns of Anchaka and Bama in Borno state, according to Bama council chair Alhaji Baba Shehu.”The attackers invaded the communities early in the morning on motorbikes while residents were still asleep. They set ablaze houses and shot residents who tried to escape from the fire,” said Shehu.
The Islamist group Boko Haram is the instigator of the attacks. A timeline of the Boko Haram attacks through 2012 can be found here. Current estimates are that more than 10,000 persons have been killed at the hands of the Islamist group since 2002.
The day of reckoning for the Islamists and the religion of peace is coming: Christ has declared it: Revelation 18:6. The sixty killed in Nigeria are but a small portion of many such events that are occurring around the world. Actually, I rarely post such events; but after recently returning from a trip to a similar area of the world, it seems that my heart is burning ever more passionately for those who risk their lives to take the message of Christ to remote and forsaken places of the world, many of which are encumbered by not only Islam but other anti-Christ faiths all the same.
Jesus come quickly.
Blessings.
Jack
