COPTIC CHRISTIANS

The days are dark for Coptic Christians in Egypt who increasingly come under attack by radical Islamic terrorists.  On Saturday, 28 people were killed in a bus attack south of Cairo and 25 were wounded.

It's not the first attack.

On New Year's Eve in 2011, a blast in a church in Alexandria killed more than 20 people and the crime still remains unsolved.  Last December, an Islamic suicide bomber killed 30 in Cairo's Coptic Cathedral.  Last month, twin bombings by suicide bombers killed 46 in churches in Alexandria and Tanta.

Since February the series of murders and killings claimed by ISIS in the northern Sinai have led hundreds of families to leave for safer parts of Egypt.

 Do you feel what the Copts are feeling?  Do you know why they are being persecuted?

The answer lies in an ideology which runs fast to take innocent blood.

St. Samuel's Monastery

The Christians who died yesterday were in buses on their way through the desert to a spiritual retreat at St. Samuel's monastery.  The buses were stopped by men dressed in fatigues and black hooded masks.

The jihadists ordered the Copts off the buses, and then one by one...ordered each one to renounce their faith.  ALL REFUSED, even the children.  They were shot in cold blood with a bullet to the head or throat.  First they shot the men and then women/children, including two little girls, aged 2 and 4.

Some reports say the killers saw cars coming in the distance or everyone would have been killed.  In their haste, they sprayed the bus with gunfire.

The Christians who died on Saturday went straight into the presence of their Savior.  In Revelation 6:9, the apostle John wrote about what he saw when he looked into heaven.

John saw the Lamb of God open the fifth seal, and then under the altar he  saw the souls of those who had been violently killed BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF GOD and BECAUSE OF THE TESTIMONY THEY HAD GIVEN.  John must have seen these very people.

Today the whole world hears the testimony of these dear souls.  Know what else the world sees?  We see the lifework of these butchers.  The martyrs cry out to God: "How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?"  (Revelation 6:10)

The Apostle Mark took the gospel to Egypt, and the Coptic Christians trace their roots back to him. The Copts are our brothers and sisters in Christ...part of the Easter Orthodox Church who hold to the Ten Commandments and practice baptism, confession, confirmation, and the intercession of the saints.  In 451AD they split from the Roman Catholic Church over the nature of Christ.  Copts believe in the immaculate conception of Jesus, but not the virgin Mary.  They do not believe in papal infallibility, or purgatory.  Coptic priests may marry.

Make no mistake.  The dear souls who died in the desert sand of Minya were killed because of what they believed.  WHAT WE BELIEVE IS ESSENTIAL.

It is inaccurate to assume all beliefs are equal.  We enlarge ourselves, awarding ourselves a "broadminded badge" when we accept whatever comes down the pike as a way to God.  Religious pluralism is dangerous because it goes beyond what God set out (see First Commandment).

The faith of Jesus-followers is not equal to one which calls people to murder for their god.  My faith rests on a Savior who came to earth to die in my place...and then calls me to love and forgive others as He forgave me.

Shakespeare told us all the world's a stage and all the men and women are merely players with entrances and exits.  As we get closer to Christ's return, the world's stage is set in complete clarity to show God's pre-eminence.

Not all roads lead to heaven.  Who wouldn't want to follow the One who showed kindness, graciously initiated love toward us, pre-planned a future place for His followers, and imparted assurance and purpose?

Some people just won't humble themselves before their Creator and ask Him to take their sin away.  Jesus didn't say there were many ways to God...He said HE WAS THE WAY.

If you had stepped down out of that hot Egyptian bus, would you have renounced your faith?