Posted by John on May 20, 2020 at 08:15:16:
Souls under the Altar
In Chapter 6 of “How Near Armageddon” under “Times of Persecution” it is said:
“”With the opening of the fifth seal a completely different vision than that of the horses of the apocalypse emerges. It is a vision of the souls of those who were slain because of "the word of God and for the testimony they held”.
According to the interpretation of the answer given to the plea of the souls under the altar at the end of the second millennia ("until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been"), it is possible that Christians will be persecuted before the judgment.””
The opening of the fifth seal seems to reveal a "heavenly" resurrection at the beginning of the second millennium (about the year 1000) and that the time of judgment could be at the beginning of the third millennium””.
Revelation goes into great detail concerning the death of Christians in the second millennia. For the moment the reader should know that persecution of Christians has been taking place in various countries of North Africa, the Middle and Far East during the 1990's"". (End of quotes)
Here are some “historical facts” and “present day reality", relative to the above:
Global War On Christians
'70 million Christians' martyred for their faith since Jesus walked the earth
Persecution and violence have accompanied the church down through the ages. A new article series in “Christian History magazine” says a "global war" is being waged against Christians.
The reports are in the latest edition of the quarterly publication and co-authored by members of Voice of the Martyrs USA. Although they particularly examine the persecution of Christians in the last 300 years, they also contain figures going back through Christian history.
The data, attributed to the late researcher David B Barrett, puts the number of Christians martyred since the time of Jesus at 70 million.
It puts the number of Christians systematically exterminated in Nazi Germany at a million, while the number of Orthodox Christians and others murdered in Russia between 1917 and 1950 at 15 million.
In China, at least 200,000 Christians and foreigners were killed in the Boxer Rebellion of 1898 to 1900. Another 700,000 were killed in communist China between 1950 and 1980.
The number of Catholics killed in Mexico from the late 1800s to 1930 is estimated at 107,000, while 300,000 Christians are believed to have been killed under Idi Amin in Uganda between 1971 and 1979.
Estimates of the number of Christians killed annually for their faith today, differ massively. Todd Johnson, of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, puts the number of Christians martyred annually at 100,000. By stark contrast, Christof Saure, of the International Institute for Religious Freedom, puts the figure far lower at 8,000 to 9,000 a year.
But that's still too many for Michael Austin, a Christian commentator and contributor to the report. "Is there a global war on Christians?" he says. "That question is asked in this issue and judging from the number of deaths and torture in recent years, my conclusion is, yes – and the casualties are staggering. "Sadly, the names of Christ's heroes and their inspired stories go largely unspoken today and their cause goes unreported in the popular press."
Voice of the Martyrs's Rou Stults adds that there is not enough awareness in the Western Church: "Many Christians in the West either deny or are ignorant of it, but persecution is part of present reality."
Article From: “Christian History Magazine” – Available Free on the Internet
Keep safe and well always, and may God Bless and Protect us all