By Pastor Reza Safa
Jan. 2, 2008
About five years ago I was interviewed by a Christian magazine in California. I was asked about the future of the Islamic world. One of my predictions was that the nation of Pakistan would be the next place where the radical Islamic movement would become a dominant force. With the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, and increased violence in Pakistan, that prediction is not far off.
As the violence and political unrest ignite in such hot spots as Pakistan, the question is, are we able to see beyond the media’s flashy, shallow, and high gear type of reporting? Do our political leaders and their aides have the ability to foresee what is ahead? What will America do if Iran’s type of revolution takes place in Pakistan, a nuclear radical Islamic nation?
World System
The world system is a selfish system. It is based upon its own interests. It is not about democracy or human rights. That may be for us dreamers and middle class Republicans, but in actuality, it is about the good old Dollar, which right now is very bad. I changed a dollar in Cyprus just a few weeks ago for 39 cents of their money. I paid $100 for a simple dinner for three of us!
Within the world system, freedom is a relative term. Saudi Arabia is a great example. The kingdom of Saudi is one the most oppressive regimes of our time, yet they are considered our great ally in the Middle East. Last year alone, the Saudi government beheaded 157 people convicted of drug trafficking and adultery. According to Amnesty International, more than half of those beheaded between 1990 and 1999 were foreign nationals, and some were Christian missionaries. In Saudi Arabia, heads roll for sodomy, armed robbery, murder, and for being a Christian. Some Christians were beheaded after having been falsely accused of drugs or other crimes reportedly as benign as leading a Bible study or offering prayers. Saudis that convert to Christianity, or "desert Islam," are subject to the death penalty as well. *
The Western world keeps a blind eye on nations such as Saudi Arabia because we need their oil. It’s about us driving our vehicles with a full tank of gas for $40.00 instead of $100.00. That’s what is at stake. I understand, naturally – the weak loses and the strong wins. That is part of the human equation. So I am not criticizing the system, because that’s the way the world system operates. Truth within that system is relative. It formats according to its own settings. We cannot change it for good, but we can and we must influence it. That is my concern – do we have the capacity to influence that system so that we may serve the multitudes and be a blessing to this dying humanity?
What concerns me is the path that the church is on in these last days, a way of self indulgence and self absorbance. I am generalizing because of the obvious. There are many hidden gems that are invisible to the eyes of the populace. But what is visible becomes the trend and it spreads elsewhere, and that is dangerous. This is where we need God’s prophets. Not the ones who predict weather or an earthquake or someone’s future success, but the ones who Paul talks about in Ephesians 2:20.
While chaos is increasing in the Muslim world, some of our outspoken preachers are thinking about the title for 08 – how about this one: “08, God is never too late!” “Me” has taken priority over all other concerns within the vast majority of the body of Christianity in America today.
Christianity couldn’t be just about “me.” That would shrink the size of our hearts and enclose us within the walls of our puny churches. Like a young preacher in our church, Mathew McDaniel, once said: “Jesus didn’t die for middle class American Republicans!”
Going back to my question, what will the U.S.A. do if the regime in Pakistan is taken over by the radical Islam? Can we threaten or impose sanctions against a nuclear radical Islamic regime? I do not think so. Not unless we are considering the loss of lives of possibly several million Indians and Pakistanis. That’s the kind of ante I would not want to bet on. You know what will happen? There will be compromises with Islam. There is an adage in Farsi, “If you can’t beat them, befriend them!” And you know who will suffer – Christianity and Christians. That is if there are any left who care about what they stand for! Does it sound unrealistic?
When Israel signed the Oslo Peace Accords due to the initiative of President Clinton’s administration, Bethlehem became part of Palestinian territory. Nina Shea, the director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, writes about the changes that took place because of this massive compromise:
“No one city in the Holy Land is more indicative of the great exodus of Christians than Bethlehem, which fell under full Palestinian control last decade as part of the Oslo Accords,” she writes. “This town of 30,000 is now less than 20-percent Christian, after centuries in which Christians were the majority. In the West Bank’s only all-Christian town, now called Taybeh and once known by the Biblical name Ephraim, a Muslim mob from a neighboring village torched 14 houses last September to avenge the honor of a Muslim woman allegedly impregnated by her Christian employer.”
Shea explains how Christian populations from Morocco to the Persian Gulf are rapidly eroding as a result of Islamic radicalism. “Over half of Iraq’s one million Christians have fled since a coordinated bombing of their churches in August 2004 was followed by sustained violence against them. A Catholic Chaldean bishop raised the possibility last month that we may now be witnessing ‘the end of Christianity in Iraq.’ Anglican Canon Andrew White, who leads a Baghdad ecumenical congregation, agrees: ‘All of my leadership were originally taken and killed — all dead,’ he asserted in November.
Iraq’s Christian community, which dates from the Apostle Thomas, is not simply caught in the cross hairs of a sectarian civil war between Shiites and Sunnis. It is targeted for its non-Muslim faith — a reality U.S. policy fails to acknowledge. An extremist Sunni fatwa issued to Christians this year in a Baghdad neighborhood could not be clearer: ‘If you do not leave your home, your blood will be spilled. You and your family will be killed.’”
I highly recommend you read the rest of her report by clicking the following link.
A Creche Without Christians
Well, as light flickers, darkness increases. Jesus told us that we are “the light of the world.” While the West is losing the grip on its purpose, more and more Muslims are becoming zealous and determined. As we are falling in the endless chasm of self-absorbed pleasure, and self-medicated sense knowledge, the radical Muslims are becoming self-sacrificed.
It is what Jesus said, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” Matthew 19:30 (KJV)
But God has His remnants – men like Nehemiah, Ezra, Jeremiah, and Nathan, and women like Deborah and Esther – remnants of righteousness with voices filled with the knowledge and truth of an everlasting and everloving God. Oh, He is so wonderful and unchangeable, and we love Him more than life itself.
My prayer for you for this year is that you may not be a part of that first “many!” In 08, you won’t be the first “many.” It doesn’t rhyme, but it sounds good!
Many blessings,
Pastor Reza Safa
* http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39130