The Great Falling Away

The chart says it all

Indeed, we're living in prophetic times. In what way? The Christian church has been losing members by the tens of thousands over the last several years, particularly in the western world where secularism is replacing Christianity as the dominant belief system. And the collapse of the end time church was foretold by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.

Here's what Christ said concerning the last days on earth directly preceding His return: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:10-11)

Many young people see Christianity as the outdated belief system of their parents and grandparents. To them, any belief in a holy, sovereign God who created the physical universe in six literal days is considered primitive superstition. 

Orianna O'Neill, 21, a student at Beloit College in Wisconsin offered the typical opinion of millennials who've been taught that religion is for old-fashioned, simple-minded folks, but not for young hipsters: The idea of (conservatives) not believing in global warming is contributing to the notion that religious people are not intelligent.  

According to a recent Pew Research poll conducted of people who profess to believe in God, 89 percent of Americans still profess some belief which is down slightly from 92 percent in 2007. However, those who claim to believe in God "with absolute certainty" dropped to 63 percent from 71 percent in 2007. 

The trend is most pronounced among young adults, with only half of those born from 1990 to 1996 absolutely certain of their belief in God, compared to 71 percent of the "silent generation," or those born from 1928 to 1945. 

Why are so many young people turning to atheism? Because they've been indoctrinated into godless humanism from the time they entered kindergarten. For decades, many people have been taught in public and even private schools that life is nothing but the product of random evolutionary forces that began in a primordial mud pond millions of years ago.

If that's true--and it isn't--then God doesn't exist. And if God doesn't exist, then the 10 Commandments, the Bible and God's transcendent moral laws are nothing but human constructs that are meaningless. And that means that there's no moral accountability to a heavenly authority and no judgment at death for one's behavior during their lifetime in this world.

The effects of godless humanism upon society are staggering. Crime, violence and moral depravity have exploded across much of the world over the past 60 years. The traditional family unit, the moral foundation of a strong civilization is crumbling. Marriage, except for the newly created version of same-sex marriage, is becoming extinct. More babies are born out of wedlock in western society than at any other time in history.

In the late 1930s, only about two percent of babies were born out of wedlock in the United States. And today? Jordan Weissman of slate.com wrote this: Americans, having children outside of marriage is very much “the new normal,” as the New York Times once put it. In a study tracking the first wave of millennials to become parents, a team from Johns Hopkins University recently found that 64 percent of mothers gave birth at least once out of wedlock. Almost one-half had all of their children without ever exchanging vows.

The blame for the moral decay that's ruining western civilization can be traced to the Christian church that stopped contending for the faith back in the 19th century. But why? Because many theologians began to doubt the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. Instead, they foolishly believed that all world religions offered truth and the Bible was just one of many truths. And they began to teach that.

Christianity degenerated from "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6) to just another religion, no different than Buddhism, Hinduism or Sikhism. And as Christianity's moral influence began to fade, moral relativism took over. Such things as abortion, homosexuality and same-sex marriage that were considered abominations for centuries were now considered virtuous. And those who opposed them were now considered bigots and racists to be shunned and scorned.

Concerning the world's prophetic descent into darkness and depravity in the last days, the apostle Paul wrote this: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

That's a direct result of the church's declining influence upon the world. When people no longer believe in God, they fall into depravity. That results in escalating crime, violence, high out-of-wedlock birthrates, poverty, suicide rates, drug and alcohol additions etc. 

Nearly 3,000 years ago, King Solomon wrote something simple and yet profound: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7) Certainly, fools reject moral authority because they hate rules and accountability. 

But the church also has its share of fools. And those fools planted the seeds of the moral destruction of western civilization in the 19th century that have come to fruition in our modern times.

Vladimir Putin: Friend, Foe or Fiend?

Is Russian President Vladimir Putin the Antichrist? Only to some folks who fear that Putin intends to rebuild the old Soviet Empire through military force.

Putin's not the Antichrist. Rather, he's a shrewd and ruthless political leader who takes no prisoners when it comes to those who oppose and cross him. Just ask former Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky who served eight years in prison, (2005-2013) allegedly for financial fraud.

In reality, Khodorkovsky was one of Putin's most outspoken critics until he was jailed. Before he was arrested, Khodorkovsky was one of the richest men in the world with an estimated wealth of $15 billion. When he was released from prison two years ago, his wealth was estimated at $100-200 million. Did Khodorkovsky's harsh criticism of Putin have anything to do with his incarceration and loss of wealth? Does the sun come up in the east?

Indeed it does. And indeed, Putin's not a nice guy when it comes to his enemies. But he's not stupid either, unlike many western political leaders who see the world much differently than he does. Putin deals in reality rather than in the fantasies and social theories that his western counterparts deal in.

For example, western leaders such as President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel are convinced that the upheaval going on in Iraq, Syria and Libya is caused by poverty and joblessness. Putin knows that it was caused by ignorant western leaders who believed they could replace strongmen dictators such as Assad, Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi with benevolent leaders disposed to "democracy."

Why has Putin put Russian troops in Syria? To protect Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by destroying the coterie of rebels from "freedom-fighters" to ISIS that marched into Syria after the United States pulled its troops out of Iraq. Though Assad's a brutal man who has used force and torture against his enemies, he's kept a lid on terrorism and religious fundamentalism in Syria.

There are those who want Assad out of Syria--western leaders who want to a more "democratic" leader to rule that nation, and Islamists who want Assad out so they can reestablish a caliphate in that region that vanished 90 years ago with the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Why does Putin need Assad? Because if Assad falls, ISIS will take over that nation and begin moving northward into nations such as Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Those are Muslim nations that will offer no resistance to ISIS. And Russia sits to the north of these nations. Thus, the Russians can either deal with ISIS in Syria, or they can deal with the jihadists in Russia. Since Russia's too massive of a nation to build a fence around, Putin plans to do away with ISIS and the American-trained rebels who are fighting Assad in Syria before they begin moving northward toward the Bear.

And if Putin succeeds and keeps Assad in power? Then what? Will Putin abandon the Middle East? Hardly. With the United States retreating from the world stage, Putin plans to reshape the Middle East according to his worldview. That means that Islamists will eventually be driven from the Middle East into the west where they will cause havoc and destruction before Russia eventually extends her power across the entire world.

Here's what Putin said in a speech to the Russian Duma in 2013: :"In Russia, we live as Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslims, then we advise them to go to those places where that's the state law. Russia does not need Muslim minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell discrimination."

Putin clearly means that Islam has no future in Russia. And if he has his way, Islam won't have a future in many other places on the planet. Taking a swipe at the west, Putin said this: "We will not tolerate disrespect of our Russian culture. We had better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation. The Muslims are taking over those countries and they will not take over Russia. The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of Sharia Law and Muslims. When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the Russian national interest first, observing that the Muslim minorities are not Russians." 

Putin indeed plans on building a new Russian empire. And unlike the old Soviet Union, the new empire will be a global one. Who says? Biblical prophecy says. Two ancient prophets--Daniel and Ezekiel--who lived about 2,600 years ago, revealed the rise of Russia as a world power in the last days (Daniel 11, Ezekiel 38-39). 

And we're beginning to see that happen. It will take time; perhaps many years. But it's going to happen. And the dreaded Antichrist will eventually come from this rejuvenated superpower. Thus, Russia's ascent to global dominance is no coincidence. It's prophetic. And in some ways, Vladimir Putin has become a foreshadow of the coming Antichrist.

The Great Fall of China?

Has China's economic boom come to an end?

I've written quite extensively for several years about the power shift from the western world to the eastern world. We've seen that in the steady rise of Russia as a military power and the explosive rise of China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan as economic powers.

The shift in power from the west to the east is prophetic. Nearly 2,600 years ago, the Hebrew prophet Daniel received a prophecy from God concerning the rise in the end times of two powerful nations he described as northern and southern kingdoms. (Daniel 11)

I believe those kingdoms are China and Russia, and I wrote about that before either nation began to grow economically, militarily and politically. China's economy has grown so rapidly that the Red Nation is poised to supplant the United States as the world's premier economic superpower.

However, in recent months, China's economy has cooled off to the point where the international markets have been rattled. China reacted by devaluing its currency in an effort to make its products cheaper and more affordable so that business would rebound. Obviously, that hasn't happened. 

China's currency manipulation has infuriated Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who's convinced that the Red Nation is murdering the U.S. economy by devaluing the yuan. Here's what he said in a recent interview with CNN: "I've been telling everybody for a long time China's taking our jobs, they're taking our money. Be careful, they'll bring us down. You have to know what you're doing. We have nobody that has a clue." 

Certainly, Trump was referring to the bumbling and inept Obama administration that's allowed American businesses and manufacturing jobs to relocate to China while getting nothing in return except cheap products that were once manufactured in the United States. 

As Trump has aptly pointed out, China's economy has been built by American dollars. What he hasn't pointed out is that China's military is being built on the interest payments from the $1.3 trillion America has borrowed from the Red Nation. 

And so, the proverbial $64 trillion question is this: What does China's recent economic downturn mean? Is the communist nation going to collapse? If China does collapse, that would send shock waves across the world, beginning in Russia that's heavily invested in China's economy. 

While a lot of people would love to see that happen, China isn't going to collapse. Economic downturns happen everywhere and China's experiencing something that the older, western economies have experienced before. Remember that China's free-market economy is still relatively new. 

Why has China's economy slowed down? Because people aren't spending as much money as they did a few years ago. And that's because they don't have the money to spend. And when the money isn't there, the products don't get bought and sales go down. The industries that typically get hit the hardest in economic downturns are the manufacturing, restaurant and retail industries.

When the sales go down, companies reduce their inventories and they lay off employees because they can't afford to pay them. And when people lose their jobs, they don't have the money to buy those products that keep those factories going in places such as China. That's what's hurting China along with the heavily taxed and over regulated economies that are stifling economic growth in Europe and the United States. It's really that simple.

China will rebound. It may take several months or even a year or two. But the communist nation will bounce back as long as it continues to keep its currency low and offer incentives to companies to relocate to China. 

After all, socialism doesn't work. That's why China turned to capitalism. If you want to become a premier global economic and military superpower, you need money. And as long as nations such as the United States keep passing free trade agreements, companies will keep moving to places such as China where they'll be able to keep more of their money. That's good for them and good for China. And that's bad for the world.

The Last Days: Part II

Shortly before He went to the cross to die for the sins of the world, Jesus Christ revealed several prophetic events that would occur shortly before He returned.

Among those events were these: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:10-13)

What did Christ mean? He revealed that in the end times, many people would abandon the church to follow false prophets who would tell them what they wanted to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3) While most people associate prophets with religion, prophets can also be associated with secular ideologies. 

Prophets are usually considered to be folks who claim they can foretell the future. But they can also be teachers who offer ideological worldviews that contrast with the biblical Judeo-Christian worldview. Thus, people such as Charles Darwin and Karl Marx can be considered prophets because they offered worldviews that contrasted and contradicted the biblical worldview.

Darwin offered a godless worldview that claimed life began millions of years ago in a primordial mud-pond via random chemical processes. Marx offered a utopian, socialistic worldview that claimed the majority of crime, violence and poverty resulted from class warfare between rich and poor. Spread the wealth around, Marx reasoned, and the world would have peace. 

Darwin's theory of evolution was so terrible that it was dismissed by many scientists as nonsense. Eminent scientist and astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle said this: The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein. 

Even the brilliant Albert Einstein who was an agnostic, dismissed Darwin's theory of evolution as scientifically impossible. Einstein reasoned that if the physical universe came about via a primordial "Big Bang", all the organic material would've been sterilized by the intense heat from such an explosion, making life impossible.

Nevertheless, Darwin's bizarre theory gained traction and took off. Millions of people throughout the world believe that they are the descendants of apes and monkeys. They don't believe the Bible's claim that God created the physical universe and fashioned human beings in His own image. (Genesis 1:1-26) By dismissing the biblical revelation of God's creation, these people either deny God's existence or they redefine Him into an energy source who's not a personal being.

And so, as the logic goes, if the biblical account of creation is a myth, then so is God. Thus, God's laws and commandments are nothing but human constructs that can be changed or eliminated. And if God is a myth, then no one is morally accountable for their actions. There's a direct correlation between the decline of the Christian church in the world and the rise of lawlessness. When people no longer believe in God, they inevitably fall into depravity and wickedness.

Thus, the rise of lawlessness, predicted by Christ 2,000 years ago, is directly related the collapse of the Christian church. Why has the church collapsed? Because it stopped contending for the faith right about the time Darwin introduced his terrible theory of evolution in 1859.

The church offered no rebuttal to Darwin's theory and godless leftists, who were desperately seeking anything they could use to deny God's existence, found their answer in evolution.

Concerning those who reject God despite the irrefutable evidence, Paul wrote this: "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles." (Romans 1:18-23)

Without God, mankind is like a rudderless ship hopelessly lost at sea. Without a commitment to a faith that demands purity and separation from the world, the church becomes a museum piece to be treated as a relic from the past. And without the guiding light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the world grows more dark and evil with each passing day.

Kook, Racist or Sage?

Donald Trump

Donald Trump isn't going to be nominated as the GOP's candidate for president. Donald Trump isn't going to be elected as America's next president, even if he runs as an independent. And Donald Trump isn't going to end up as the running mate for the eventual GOP nominee.

However, Trump's managed to accomplish something that no one else in American politics has been able to do for a long time. He's called attention to a very serious problem rather than sugarcoat it with innocuous pablum designed to downplay its threat to the nation.

For those late to the game, Trump scolded Washington do-nothing career hack politicians and the Mexican government for allowing a tidal wave of illegal immigrants to flood into the United States over the past 30 years. Some of those illegals, such as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez,  Loribeth Martinez, John Mendoza Jr., Kristopher Sanchez and Benjamin Hernandez have murdered American citizens while others have raped, robbed, assaulted and beaten other Americans who had the misfortune to encounter these folks.

Had the United States secured its borders and enforced its existing immigration laws, people such as Kathryn Steinle, Traci Lynn Lemley and Jeremy Carrico would still be alive today. But they aren't because of porous borders that allow murderous criminals to stroll into the United States unimpeded.

Here's what Trump said in regards to the growing menace of illegals who are causing havoc throughout the nation: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. They're not sending you, they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting." 

Naturally, Trump's statement was taken completely out of context by leftists, political hacks and open borders activists who accused the billionaire businessman of labeling all Mexicans as thugs, criminals, drug dealers and rapists. He did nothing of the sort. Rather, he accused Mexico of sending its worst citizens to the U.S., similar to what Cuban dictator Fidel Castro did in 1980 with the Mariel boatlift when he sent his worst to the U.S. after he emptied his prisons.

Since leftists control America's popular culture and media, they've painted Trump as an angry white racist and a xenophobe who wants to expel all immigrants and restore Jim Crow in America. That's to be expected from leftists who are some of the most amoral people on earth. 

To them, truth is like a deadly form of cancer that's to be avoided at all costs. Their constituency consists mainly of folks with room temperature IQs and below. And America has a lot of those people. If you doubt that, then go back and look at the 2012 presidential election results. That's why leftists are so successful at destroying the reputations of people such as Trump who they abhor. Because there are a lot of people in America who'll believe whatever the left tells them.

But not everyone. Trump's currently pulling strong numbers in the race for the GOP nomination. And that's because he's not afraid to say what others won't say. Trump can't be bullied into silence with the loss of endorsements and TV shows. His economic health doesn't depend on that. He's able to thrive despite the ad hominem attacks. And a lot of people love him because he's honest, blunt and brash. Those are qualities that haven't been seen in presidential candidates in a long, long time. 

Nevertheless, Trump's not going to become America's 45th president. Why not? Because as powerful and popular as he is, there are people more powerful than him who dwell in the shadows and control America's culture and politics. People such as George Soros, David Rockefeller, Bill Gates and Larry Page whose combined resources dwarf Trump's. And these people want a new world order with a central government that will possess absolute authority over every person on earth.

And in order to accomplish that, they need a president who'll help them dismantle the United States as a superpower and move the world closer to a one-world government. It matters not whether that man is a Democrat or a Republican. All that matters is he does whatever he's told to do. Such as Barack Obama. Donald Trump can't and won't be bought, compromised or manipulated. That's why he has no chance. 

Nearly 2,600 years ago, the prophet Daniel was given a vision from God concerning a powerful world government that would rise in the last days. (Daniel 7) Six centuries later, the apostle John received a similar vision. (Revelation 13, Revelation 17) And now, we're seeing the beginning of the fulfillment of those prophecies. Indeed, we're living in prophetic times.

Islam, Pew and Prophecy

According to a recent study conducted by Pew Research, Islam is destined to become the world's dominant faith by the year 2070. If that happens, then that spells trouble for the world because Islam is a totalitarian religion that persecutes its enemies and tolerates no other faiths.

Here are some of the key points of the study:

• The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world (by 2050).
• Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion – though increasing in countries such as the United States and France – will make up a declining share of the world’s total population.
• In Europe, Muslims will make up 10 percent of the overall population.
• In the United States, Christians will decline from more than three-quarters of the population in 2010 to two-thirds in 2050, and Judaism will no longer be the largest non-Christian religion. Muslims will be more numerous in the U.S. than people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion.
• Four out of every 10 Christians in the world will live in sub-Saharan Africa. pewforum.org

 Pew is a reputable organization that does excellent research. And it's understandable why many people agree with Pew's assessment of the future. Christianity's influence is declining across the world while Islam is growing rapidly in places where it once barely existed.

The eminent columnist Mark Steyn said this concerning the Pew study: "In a democratic age, demography is destiny. The more Muslim the world's population gets, the more Muslim its cultural, political and social character will be - which, absent any countervailing pressures, will be bad news for Christians, Jews, women, gays, artists, scientists, economic innovators and people with a quaint attachment to free speech. Or to put it another way: In 2070 the front-page story isn't going to be about a bakery that won't make a gay wedding cake." 

http://www.steynonline.com/6890/notes-on-good-friday

Islam's growth has a lot of folks concerned, and rightly so. Islam is a violent religion that has historically used the sword since its inception in the 7th century to maintain and perpetuate itself. Though its apologists claim that Islam is really a religion of peace that's been hijacked by a group of radicals and fanatics, the evidence betrays that claim. The Koran contains over 100 war verses that encourage Muslims to persecute and kill non-Muslims.  http://prophecyreviewtoday.blogspot.com/2015/01/islam-and-taqiyya

Indeed, the world is moving toward Islam. However, the real enemy of the western world isn't Islam, it's demographics, as Steyn noted. The Christian population in the western world is waning because of declining birthrates while it's declining in the eastern world because of genocide. While abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia are eradicating the white-euro tribes in the west, they're not being targeted at Muslims. And so, as the Muslim population expands, the rest of the world contracts.

Is Islam destined to dominate the world? Not according to biblical prophecy. While Pew analyzes the present, biblical prophecy reveals the future. And prophecy reveals that Islam is destined to disappear. Contrary to Pew, current trends and popular opinion, the future doesn't belong to Islam.

But how is Islam going to disappear when it seems poised to conquer the world? It will disappear because of political, economic and military power that's slowly shifting from the west to the eastern world. And the rising powers in Asia and the eastern world such as China, India, Russia and South Korea don't want Islam. 

And as their influence grows, the emerging eastern powers will expel Islam from their nations and the nations that they take control of. Islam will be forced to take refuge in the west until the strongmen of the east take control of the west. While that may take several years, it's coming. And when the east finally controls the west, there will be no more Islam.

Concerning Islam, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered this ominous message to the Russian Duma in 2013: "In Russia, we live as Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslims, then we advise them to go to those places where that's the state law. Russia does not need Muslim minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell discrimination."  http://www.prophecyreviewonline.org/apps/articles

If Islam isn't destined to control the world, then what will? Biblical prophecy reveals that a counterfeit form Christianity is coming that will be based upon supernatural events that are demonically inspired. These counterfeit miracles will captivate the world and eventually lead to the Antichrist. The apostle Paul wrote this: "The coming of the lawless one (Antichrist) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

While the present may belong to Islam, the future belongs to "Christianity." When that happens, many will rejoice. They shouldn't because what comes after Islam will be worse than anything you can possibly imagine. 

The Prophetic Persecution

Iranian Christians

Contrary to the rhetoric of popular end-time revival prophets, the Bible warns us that the final days on earth preceding the return of Jesus Christ will be extremely bad for Christians.

How bad? When Christ revealed the prophetic signs that would alert the world the end was near, he said this:  "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." (Matthew 24:9)

Christ revealed that prophecy 2,000 years ago. And while His followers have been persecuted in varying degrees since the beginning of the church age, at no time have they faced the type of persecution they're experiencing today across the world.

From the Middle East to Northern Africa, Asia, Western Europe and even North America, Christians are being mocked, maligned, jailed, stripped of their rights and are losing their lives. And why? Simply because of their Lord Jesus Christ, that's why.

Here's another prophetic caveat that Christ issued concerning the end times: "In fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the (Heavenly) Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you about them." (John 16:2-4)

Christ warned His followers that many of them would be put to death by those who believe that they were being obedient to God. Muslims are informed by their religion that murdering infidels pleases their god Allah. Though there are those who scoff at that, the Qu'ran indeed commands Muslims to kill for Allah.

Here's are some examples: "Fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you." (Surah 2.190) "And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers." (Surah 2:191)

If that's not enough, then here are more examples: "Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward." (Surah 4:74) "Make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them." (Surah 8:12)

And here's yet another example from the "Religion of Peace": "Slay the idolaters wherever you find them...take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush." (Surah 9:5)

How about one more? "When you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite their necks until you have overcome them, then make (them) prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom (themselves) until the war terminates." (Surah 47:4)

Though Christians are also persecuted by Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists and even Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, that persecution pales in comparison to the persecution they're experiencing at the hands of Islamists throughout the world. The goal of terror groups such as ISIS, al Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf,  Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah etc. is to set up a global caliphate and remove all non-believers from the face of the earth. And Islamists consider Christians and Jews to be the worst of non-believers.

There are those--especially in western governments--who dismiss Islamic terror groups as "extremists" and fanatics that embrace a "medieval" interpretation of the Qu'ran, whatever that means. And there are those such as President Barack Obama and his buffoonish Secretary of State John Kerry who seek to appease the Islamic world by equating the Crusades and supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan with the barbarism of Islamic terror groups.

However, those comparisons are pathetic and disingenuous. Those who persecuted others in the name of Christ did so in opposition to what Christ taught rather than in obedience. Those who persecute in Allah's name do so in obedience to what Islam's prophet Muhammad taught. If you don't believe that, then reread some of the examples that I've provided.

Whatever the theology, Christians are being persecuted today just as biblical prophecy foretold 2,000 years ago. Does the Qu'ran reveal that Muslims would be persecuted by non-Muslims in the last days? No, but we have the modern day prophets and geniuses such as Barack Obama, John Kerry and their media stooges to tell us that.

After all, they would never tell us anything other than the truth, would they?