Were The Crusaders Really Like Radical Islamic Terrorists?

Were The Crusaders Really Like Radical Islamic Terrorists? 

This morning, again, I read of radical Islamic terrorism working violence, this time in Orlando against a gay nightclub, where it killed or wounded over 100 people.  It breaks my heart.  No, I do not stand in solidarity with the gay men who were killed, but their guilt before a Holy God is no greater than mine.  Homosexuality has never been my struggle, but the Holy Spirit has recently convicted me of my habitual sins associated with a haughty and prideful attitude. I am just as much a sinner, although our sins are different.  I deserve to be killed for my sin just as much as they did, and I pray for mercy for them just as I do for myself.  So I weep for them, mourn them, and decry the violence brought against them. 

As I look at the response of various politicians to this kind of Satanic exercise on earth in the form of Islamic terrorism, I hear them say lots of things that are just ill-informed and simply not true, trying to downplay the horror of what the most fundamentalist followers of Islam do in the name of their god.  I heard again today what I've heard so many times, even from our President, that, "We Christians ought not to judge too strongly.  After all, haven't you heard of the Crusades?" As a teacher of Christian History, I must object to that comparison.  I know that this blog is usually expositional Bible teaching.  With your permission, may I diverge slightly and correct this misunderstanding for you? 

1. The Crusades were preached and pursued by those who knew Christ poorly, not by those who knew Him well. There is no properly-understood Biblical support for what the crusaders did.  If the Moors, Turks, and Saracens were the enemy of Christ, Bible-believers would have known to pray for them, to love them, to work for their salvation, not for their destruction. The Bible was never read by a smaller portion of the people before or after that time.  The few extant copies of the scriptures were in a language almost nobody spoke and locked up in rooms almost nobody could access. The Leaders of the church were not saved.  The "professional" Christians (priests, bishops, cardinals, etc.) were in it for their own kingdom, not the Kingdom of God.  The simple tenants of the faith were lost to the church during that time.  The scalpel of the reformation had not yet been brought to bear on the cancerous, leprous, scabies-infested, gangrenous corpse that was the medieval church.   Am I saying that nobody knew Christ? No, God always has his remnant, but the overwhelming majority of those who thought they knew Christ knew nothing of Him, and their lives and choices bear out that lost state, as scripture tells us that it will. 

In contrast to this, it is plainly and clearly the teaching of Mohammed that those who are opposed Islam are to be killed.  In fact, dying in the process of killing the infidel is the only guaranteed way to make it to heaven. While Crusaders did not have the scriptures to read for themselves, much less upon which to build their lives, and so their ignorance worked itself out in actions that amounted to apostasy, the radical Islamic terrorist does in fact understand the teachings of their scripture, and they act in accordance with it. The two are not the same. 

2. The Crusades were not unprovoked.  You often hear that the terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad, rotten Christians decided to go attack the Moors, Turks, and Saracens and capture Jerusalem of their own instigation, out of the corruption of their blackened souls. Not true! The first crusade arose as a military response to the aggression of the Turks, who in 1065 attacked Jerusalem and killed over 3,000 European Christian pilgrims who were in Jerusalem visiting holy sites.  The Turks then turned their aggression north, and the Byzantine empire called upon their brethren in western Europe to help defend them.  The "Christian" crusaders were not the aggressors.  They were acting in defense of the Byzantine empire and to regain the peaceful access to Jerusalem.

3. The Crusades were a military action.  Today, in almost every state, the ecclesiastical powers and the political ones are separate. Even in nations such as the UK, where church and state are united, it is not the Archbishop of Canterbury who has the power of the sword.  We moderns can't really conceive of what the power balance was in Medival Europe.  The Pope had armies.  In fact, he had great armies. More than that, it was believed that the power of the sovereign rule of the political states rested ultimately in his hand.  He made emperors and kings.  Therefore, when he commanded a king or emperor to fight, it was a political-military mandate.  We think that the command by Pope Urban II to attack the Turks was like some television evangelist enticing a war.  It was nothing of the like.  This was the power reality of the day.  The crusades were the mobilization of one political body and military unit to defend an ally against another political body and military unit.  In that sense, the crusades were very much like the multinational union of forces which attacked and occupied Afganistan after the attack on 9/11.  

4. Even given all the above qualifiers, the numbers do not compare. I have argued that the Crusades were not unprovoked, were not done by what we would today call real Christians, and were, in fact, political-military operations.  Even if you don't buy those arguments, the numbers simply do not compare.  If you try to get a hard number on the death toll of the crusades, you can't find consensus.  A cursory "googling" will return numbers as small as 100,000 total deaths and as large as 4,000,000.  Most reliable sources, though average in at 1,000,000 total deaths, on both sides (Crusader, Moor, Turk, and Saracen). Let's use that number.  The crusades lasted for 1,105 years.  That's an averaged death toll of  905 deaths (rounding up) per year. Even one death in an unjust war is too many, but this number is far smaller than the same figure, in comparison to the modern cost of terrorism today. 

A picture of Coptic Christians awaiting beheading by ISIS fighters. 

Let's limit our death toll comparison to those deaths caused by Radicalized Islamists.  I will not count the deaths caused by the expansion of the Islamic Caliphate under Mohammed, although those numbers are large.  Nor will I count deaths caused by Islamic nations fighting a legitimate war for national independence from a Western power.  Those are political numbers.  We will look only at how many Christians have died because of their faith at the hands of a radicalized Islamic group (governmental or non-governmental militia) from 2000-2010. According to several sources, including a careful study by Gordon Cromwell University put out in 2010, supported by other universities and governments, including the Vatican, in the decade from 2000-2010 alone, there were 1,000,000 Christians killed for their faith worldwide at the hands of Muslim governments or militia groups.  That's 100,000 per year, more than 100 times the annual death toll from the crusades.  The numbers simply don't compare, and the problem is escalating.  While there are no hard academically-verified numbers more recent than 2010, There are some terrifying snapshots.  170,000 Christians in ISIS-controlled territories are estimated to have been killed in 2014-2015 alone. Three thousand Christian martyrs died at the hands of Radicalized Islamic militants in Nigeria last year alone. 

In conclusion, to say that Christians are "no better" than ISIS or their ilk because we have the Crusades on our ledgers is just not true. I reject the foundational belief that the Crusaders were real Christians.  I also assert that it was a real political-military operation.  I also see reasonable provocation for their start (although they went on way too long) in the sacking of Jerusalem and the aggression toward the Byzantine Empire by the Turks.  Lastly, the numbers simply don't add up.  

Now, having said all of this, please don't feel empowered by these arguments to blow off the Crusades.  Whether or not we need to carry the guilt of them around with us, much of the world feels that we do. Can I suggest the following talking points the next time someone brings the ISIS = Crusades argument to you? 

Step 1: Apologize for the Crusades.  Nothing will throw your opponent off guard more than your heartfelt, honest apology for the sins of our "fathers."  Look them in the eye and say something like.  "I want you to know that I reject completely the hostility exhibited by my forefathers and renounce their actions as anti-Christ and completely without Biblical foundation. On behalf of the true Church of Christ, I ask your forgiveness for their offense."  After you pick them up off the floor, continue. 

Step 2: Tell them about the sacking of Jerusalem in 1065 by the Turks, the 3,000 Christian Pilgrims killed, and the aggression toward Byzantine.  Explain to them that the Crusades were not unprovoked. It may be helpful to compare the attack on Jerusalem with 9/11.  About the same number of innocent people died at no fault of their own.  Compare the response of America and its allies to that of Europe in the Crusades. 

Step 3: Help them see the Crusades as a military operation, not only a "Holy War."  When the proper understanding of the political power of Pope Urban is achieved, it becomes clear that the Crusades were not purely a religious exercise.  It was one multinational military union combatting another. 

Step 4:Compare the numbers.  When they see that were talking about a death rate 100x greater in the modern era, the last pieces of their argument should fall apart.  It's just not true. 

Step 5: Don't live like a crusader.  Don't be the Christian who hates, judges, takes, and condemns.  Read the Bible, Get to know Christ, and live as He lived.  If we can do that, nobody will ever raise this argument again.  

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

The Meaning of Shavuot (Pentecost) and How to Celebrate It.

The Meaning of Shavuot (Pentecost) and How to Celebrate It. 

In Exodus 19, the wandering people of God get to their destination. They arrive at Mount Sinai for the first Shavuot.  God has been teaching them all along that He is the initiator of relationship and its boundary-setter.  He freed them through Passover according to His rules.  He allowed them to cross the Red Sea according to his power.  He delivered spiritual food and spiritual drink if they would obey His plan, and He defeated Amalek through a very peculiar methodology, so that all would know that it was the hand of God that had brought the victory.  He invites.  He sets the rules.  That is nowhere more true than here, at the giving of the Law.

First, God lays out the invitation:

"The Lord called to him [Moses] out of the mountain, saying, 'Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:  You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.  Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.'” Exodus 19:3-6

"Come to me.  Know me,"  God invites them.  This is not a God who needs to be sought out, whose will and nature are hidden from mankind.  We are not working toward a relationship with the Almighty.  He has come to us!  The has born us "on eagles' wings and brought [us] to [Himself]!"  This is the God who calls to the Jew here but to all of mankind through Jesus' church and invites us all to come and know His love, His grace, and His nature.

The invitation does not come on our terms, though.  We are invited to know Him, but we cannot come any old way.  All roads do not lead to God.  In fact, only the one road that He has laid takes us to Himself.  The way is open, but narrow.  Notice the terms of the invitation: "If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant...."  Come everyone!  The invitation is open, and the road to fellowship is called, "obedience."

God then defends his holiness.

"Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.  And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.  No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” Exodus 19:10-13

God's holiness is tied to His glory, and as such is closely guarded by the Almighty.  Over and over again, we are warned that sinful man cannot see a holy God and live.  Here, God is making a special provision for them.  Again, it's invitation and regulation together: "Purify yourself and keep away until you do." Then, when I tell you to, come into my presence.

God's instructions are obeyed, and the people prepare for an encounter with the Living God.  The smoke, fire, wind, and trumpet blasts increase until the end of the third day, when God descends to the top of the mountain, and a long blast on the trumpet is heard.  We know from the text's instructions that the trumpets were not the shofar horns of the Levites but were in fact the blast of heavenly instruments (think the rapture's announcement).  At the signal, the people assemble at the base of the mountain.

It is a point of contention among Rabbis if the people were meant to stay only at the foot of the mountain throughout the experience or if they were meant to ascend with Moses after the initial giving of the law.  God makes it clear to Moses that the initial decalogue is meant for Moses alone. He reiterates the prohibition against touching the mountain, and Moses conveys it again to the people, but if they were not to ever come up, why did God say, in vs 13, that they were to go "up to the mountain"?

In either case, when Moses comes down again, the people are terrified by what they have seen and heard.  If the point of this experience was an invitation into intimate relationship trough the law and then the sharing the Spirit with them (which is the opinion of the majority of Messianic Jews) to empower this obedience, the people only get half the gift.  Instead of the invitation being accepted, they reject the fullness of the gift on Sinai and settle only for the law.

"Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:18-21

This is where many Rabbis believe that the people were meant to ascend the mountain and receive, along with the law, the indwelling of the Spirit to empower its obedience.  They don't follow through, though.  Moses tells them not to fear, that this display is meant to instill a holy fear into them, and he invites them up and in.  They reject the invitation, though.  Instead of intimacy, they choose distance, and instead of hearing God directly, they choose to use Moses as a mediator. They stand far off, and Moses draws near.

Thus begins the sad story of Israel's failure to obey the law.  They have the instruction, but they are lacking the strength--and even the desire--to obey.  Moses is standing on the hill alone, overlooking the battle, and there is neither an Aaron nor a Hur to hold him up.  No wonder Amalek wins over and over in their history.

In case you think that this is an aberrant belief, that the Jews would never reject an offer of intimacy with God made so plainly as an invitation up the mountain, remember what Jesus went through.  He came to bring the Kingdom of God on His terms--invitation and boundaries--and they rejected Him as well.

Several thousand years later, on the same day--Shavuot--the invitation was finally accepted.   The Law had not been written on stone, but on the hearts of Jesus' followers in fulfillment of Jeremiah 31.  The way of righteous living was not merely described to them, but actually lived in perfection before their eyes in the life of Christ.  They were not called merely to obey but to live in the power of the perfected obedience of Christ, applied to their account.  The followers had at first chosen distance when Christ was crucified, but His resurrection had brought them back together, and they were waiting in the upper room, in Jerusalem, on top of the Mountain of God.  They showed up, and so did the Holy spirit.

Read Acts 2 alongside Exodus 19 and 20, and you'll be astonished at the similarities.  God shows up, and miraculous fire declares his presence, accompanied by wind and strange voices (In Exodus, it is not just the "sound" of the trumpets and the lightning, but it is literally the "tongues" of the trumpets and lightning).  In both places, the manifestation of God comes with similar signs.  This time, however, the people are ready. The Holy Spirit comes, and they don't run away.  They are filled.

What the Jews of the Exodus rejected, the Jewish Apostles of Jesus accepted. Whereas the Jews after Sinai were condemned to run after obedience to a law they could never fulfill, Jesus' followers can live in the obedience already wrought for them by Christ. The law served then and still serves today as a reminder of our sin, but in Christ, we have been made new, and with the Holy Spirit's indwelling, we are free to live in obedience.  The picture, only half-rendered at the first Shavuot, was completed at the day that the church has chosen to refer to with its Greek designation: Pentecost.

How appropriate, then, that Peter should echo the invitation of God at Sinai when He declares that the church is, "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1Pe 2:9

Praise God that He has not only called us to obey (although that is no less true today), but He has been perfect obedience for us, so that in our failing, we are made whole by Christ.  Praise God that He has not expected us to obey on our own strength and by the power of our own will, but that He has provided the Holy Spirit to be our strength and the buttress of our will when it fails.  He has called us to perfection, but He has become the perfection for us. Bless the Lord!

If you are still trying to live "right" or be "good enough" for God, learn from the failure of the Jews for two thousand years between Shavuot and Pentecost.  It cannot be done.  Call out to God, give Him your failures, you sins, and accept the invitation of the Lord to intimacy through God-empowered obedience.

How To Celebrate It

Shavuot is a complex holiday. Much like most other Judeo-Christian observances, it has portions which are strictly Biblical, portions which are tied to yearly cycles of seasons and life events, and portions of it which are, in all honesty, just silly.   The plan I'm posting here is what we do, borrowing some of the extra-biblical "tradition" of the Jewish celebration, to lend a sense of authenticity to the history of the holiday, and packing in as much Biblical symbolism as possible.

The Food: No holiday gets past "go" without food.  This holiday coincides with the barley harvest, and as such, much bread is baked and eaten.  It is also a peak production period for milk in Israel, so dairy is high on the list as well.  We start by baking bagels in the morning.  Recipes abound online. Pick one.  They take time to make, so don't make everyone wait for breakfast for them.  Have something quick to hold you over, then make these.  Enjoy the process. While they're baking, we make fresh homemade butter by shaking heavy whipping cream in cleaned out plastic ware or baby food containers.

Throughout the rest of day, food should be bread-and-dairy focused. We had homemade Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken last year for dinner (That's a no-no in Kosher food laws--combining dairy and meat in one meal--but we get to celebrate the fulfillment of the Law on our behalf, right? We also get to live on this side of Acts 10!).

The Family Time: This is one of the three pilgrim feasts of the year.  In Israel, that means that Jewish men over the age of 12 must appear before the Lord in Jerusalem.  Usually, whole families went.  That means that families spent a lot of time together, talking about the Lord and learning from one another.  Find time to just talk about God with your family. Ask questions, answer them with scripture.  Marinade in the greatness of God together.

If you have younger children, as I do, google "Shavuot Crafts."  There are many.  Do something together to help them understand what this day is about.

The Scripture: Two sections of scripture are typically read on this holiday.  I'd suggest you may add a third.  First, sometime early in the day (perhaps over fresh homemade bagels and fresh butter) read the book of Ruth together.  It takes place during this time of year (the barley harvest) and is about the inclusion of foreigners (gentiles) into the plan of God's salvation through the Jew.  That's a pretty awesome fit for us gentiles who are celebrating this high Jewish holiday.

Later in the day (maybe as dinner is cooking), read the story of the 10 commandments from Exodus 19 and 20.  Talk about the meaning of the Law for the Jew and its fulfillment for those of us who follow Messiah.  In a typical Jewish home, this conversation, the studying and discussing of the law, goes all night.  I'd suggest you change subjects after dinner.

In the evening, at the conclusion of the day, read some of the New Testament scriptures which discuss Jesus' fulfillment of the Law and our ability to live in His perfect completion of the Father's demands.  Examples might be taken from numerous places in the book of Romans or Hebrews.  You may even read some of Jesus' own statements about His relationship to the Law in the gospels.

Read Acts 2 to bring the symbolism into the New Testament.  God has not only given us an invitation to relationship, but He has filled us with Himself! What an amazing truth in which we get to live!

Close the day by thanking God that He invites us to know Him, has given us His standard for living in the Law, and has fulfilled His own requirement by sending Jesus to live it perfectly for us!

Happy Shavuot!

Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus is our Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus, the Great High Priest

Thesis: In light of the two options left us by our exposure to the word of God in verses 11-13, we must choose whether to bear the scalpel or the sword.  We are “naked” and “exposed.”  We cannot claim ignorance. What shall we choose to do?  Recently, we have been told to “be diligent” on this matter. For those who are informed by the Word of God and undecided, the Preacher of Hebrews urges two things: 1) Cling to the confession of faith which saves, and 2) Go deeper into a relationship with Christ.

A.    Isa 52:13-53:12. Fourth Servant Song of Isaiah

1.    52:15: Sprinkle many nations,

a.    Allusion to the Day of Atonement, sprinkling of blood.

b.    Includes not only the Jews, but also gentiles.

2.    53:1: Believed the revelation.  It’s about believing what has been revealed.

3.    53:3-6: Jesus is not only the priest presiding over the atonement, but he is the sacrifice as well. He is the one who takes the penalty for our sin and brings peace.

4.    53:9: He is sinless

5.    53:10: When he is done, he can rest and be satisfied, seated in glory

6.    53:11-12 The work of Christ is sufficient to save.

7.    53:12: Part of his work is to intercede, the priestly role.

B.    To our text: Heb 4:14-16. Jesus has been shown superior to Angels and Moses, and his followers are superior to those of Moses.  He is superior to Joshua because he actually leads us into real rest.  Here, he is shown superior to the High Priestly office, and Aaron in particular.

C.   H4:14:

1.    Theme of Jesus as High Priest introduced in 2:17; 3:1. Exposition begins here and runs for most of the rest of the book.

2.    “Great High Priest” never used of any High priest except Simon Maccabeus, who was simultaneously a political head-of-state and High priest (1Mac 13:42).  Jesus will be all the more.

3.    “Passed through the heavens”: 

a.    διεληλυθότα; διέρχομαι dierchomai “to come” in the Perfect tense, plus the prefix “dia,” meaning through.  “To have come through once in the past with continuing effect in the present.”

b.    οὐρανούς  “of the heavens,” pl. 

c.    The High Priest would traverse through the outer court, through the Holy place, and into the Holy of Holies. 

d.    Jesus passed through to the third heaven (2Cor 12:2)

1)    Atmosphere

2)    Space

3)    The abode of God

e.    The tabernacle of Israel is modeled after a heavenly reality.

f.     When the High Priest came in, he was to do his work quickly, and then leave.  (Lev 16)

g.    Jesus sat down. (Acts 7:55; Romans 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1)

h.    Only chair in the Holy of Holies is the Mercy Seat, the Throne of God.  The priest dare not sit on that.  There is no rest for a human High Priest, but there was for Jesus.

i.      The High Priest sprinkled blood on the Mercy Seat (Lev 16:14)

j.      Jesus, still bearing his wounds, was seated on the Mercy Seat (Rev 5:6).

4.    Jesus: His human name and nature, taken up at the incarnation.

5.    Son of God, His heavenly divine nature, the name by which He has always been known.

6.    “Let us Hold Fast” κρατῶμεν; κρατέω krateō

a.    “Let us” not in the text, implied by the conjugation of the verb. 

b.    First Imperative Verb: Strong, emphasizing position.  1st person plural. Cling to.

c.    Don’t let go of the truth you know and have confessed. (Homologia).

D.   H4:15: Jesus; humanity is full and authentic, yet unstained by sin.

1.    Jesus can “sympathize with our weakness.”

a.    Συμπαθῆσαι; συμπαθέω sympatheō To suffer with Sym: with; Pasxo: to suffer or be vexed.

b.    Ἀσθενείαις; ἀσθένεια astheneia A: not; Thenow: to strengthen.  To not have strength.  Not a synonym for “sin,” since he is without sin.

c.    Jesus has felt all the fatigue, frustration, sickness, injury, and despair that a human can encounter.

2.    Jesus has been tempted in every way:

a.    Πεπειραμένον; πειράζω peirazō: “Peril”

1)    Prove, test, try, examine

2)    Perfect tense.  Once with ongoing effect.

b.    There is nothing that comes our way to test us, from above or below, that is unique to us.  1Cor 10:13

3.    Without sin: Jesus has endured it all perfectly!

a.    “But He’s God!” Objection doesn’t stand.  He emptied himself (Phil 2) and was empowered by the Spirit (John 3). 

b.    Who has it harder, the one who holds up a weight indefinitely without letting it drop or the one who bears for a moment and then folds?

c.    Jesus’ fitness for sacrifice depended on his perfection (Ex 12:5; Lev 22:19; 1Pe 1:19)

E.    H4:16: Jesus seated on the Mercy Seat

1.     Προσερχώμεθα; προσέρχομαι proserchomai

a.    Again, “Let us” is implied by the conjugation, not given in the text.

b.    Second Imperative verb: Emphatic position Imperative, First person plural.

c.    After taking hold of the confession, draw near to Christ.

1)    Possible to take hold of the confession and not draw near (Four soils, wilderness generation).

2)    Salvation involves perseverance, which requires drawing near, abiding. 

d.    John 15:1-11

1)    Abiding involves belief, relationship, and obedience

2)    Abiding requires the word

3)    Evidenced by fruit.

4)    No word, no fruit, not abiding.

2.    With confidence: παῤῥησίας; παρρησία parrēsia:

a.    Approach a superior to speak without fear of reprisal:

1)    Mark 15:43

2)    Acts 4:13

b.    “Permission to speak freely”

c.    Eph 3:7-14

d.    1Jn 4:17

e.    If we have held to the confession and placed our faith in Christ, we are without reason to fear (Rom 10:9-10; Rom 5:1)

3.    “Throne of Grace” as opposed to the “One with whom we must deal” or “The One to whom we must give an account.”

a.    Remember the final scene of last week.  The lost are naked and exposed, ready for execution. Waiting for the decision from Caesar.

b.    For the saved, that same person, on the same throne, represents Grace and Mercy.

c.    Mercy Seat

d.    Grace: Not getting what we deserve.  Mercy: Getting what we don’t deserve.

4.    In time of need:

a.    Εὔκαιρον; εὔκαιρος eukairos

1)    Eu: Good, true

2)    Kairos: Time

b.    Not just “seasonal help.”

c.    “Of need” is implied by “receiving help.” Not in text.

d.    In this good season, this right time.

e.    “Today” the day of salvation (3:13-15). 

f.     This is the window of salvation, before you have been hardened (3;12) and the judgment is passed (4:13)

g.    Jesus bears our sins in his heart while he serves as our priest (Ex28:29-30)

F.    Three emphatic imperative verbs in this region:

1.    Be diligent (vs11)

2.    Cling to (vs 14)

3.    Draw near (vs 15).

4.    “In the context are three great exhortations which bear a very remarkable and distinct relation to each other: ‘Let us labour to enter into rest’; ‘Let us hold fast our profession’; Let us come boldly to the throne of grace. It is a hard thing to labour to enter into rest. How is it to be done? The second exhortation helps us to answer, ‘Let us hold fast our profession,’ which being translated into other words, is this: our true way of labour is to cling in faith to Him whom we acknowledge; but knowing the weakness of our own hearts, and how they waywardly fluctuate and pass away from the one confidence and happiest trust, it is with profound wisdom that the ultimate injunction is held out for the foundation of all - ‘Let us come to the throne of grace.’ There we get the strength that will enable our slack and benumbed fingers to grasp again the thing we hold. There we shall get that fresh grip of Christ which will quicken us for the labour of entering into rest.” Expositions Of Holy Scripture, Alexander MacLaren Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.

5.    We need the strength of Christ, which comes from abiding in Him, to “be diligent” and “cling” in a hard, persecuting world.

a.    Our own “persecution” in Hawaii is light and silly in comparison with others’

b.    From: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/priest-tortured-by-muslim-terrorists-tells-story-of-christian-genocide/

c.    

Most Christians are familiar with the word “confessor” when it refers to an ordained priest who hears one’s confession. However, the original meaning of the word, derived from the Latin confiteri (to confess or profess) was a term used by first-century Christians for a completely different reason. They used it to refer to the stalwart champions of the Church who had confessed Christ publicly in times of persecution and were exiled, imprisoned, tortured or enslaved, but not killed, rather than abandoned their faith in Christ.

Father Douglas Joseph Shimshon Al-Bazi, a Syriac-Catholic priest, is that kind of confessor. He was kidnapped and tortured for nine days by Islamic State terrorists in November 2006. As a result of the torture, he suffered two broken vertebrae. His torturers brutally beat hit him in the face, with a hammer crushing his front teeth and breaking his nose. He also was beaten repeatedly with a hammer on his knees.

The Chaldean Catholic Church raised $170,000 as a ransom for his release and that of his confrere, Father Samy Al Raiys.

Since his release, with the assistance of the greatly put-upon Catholic community of Erbil, Father Al-Bazi sheltered hundreds of Christian refugees on the Mar Elia parish grounds in the predominantly Christian Ankawa neighborhood.

Most of the Christian refugees escaped Qaraqosh as ISIS thundered across Syria and Iraq beginning in August 2014. A great influx of funds, mostly from overseas, have been used to purchase and operate prefabricated housing units, schools, clinics, community kitchen and a library. Mar Elia Refugee Camp and others in Erbil house and feed more than 4,000 Christian families.

c.   From: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pakistan.party.leader.condemns.inhuman.torture.of.christians/86002.htm

Two Christian citizens of Pakistan interrogated in association with a mugging were stripped naked, hung upside-down, beaten, and dunked in buckets of water.  The torture happened May 13th. They are currently in critical condition and may not survive. Two other men, muslims, arrested at the same time in association with the same investigation, were questioned and released. It was later discovered that they were not even involved.

d.   From: http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/64058/20160511/christian-convert-who-refused-to-stop-worshiping-jesus-tortured-left-for-dead-by-hindu-radicals.htm#closepopup

May 11th: A man who converted from Hinduism to Christianity was beaten and left for dead by a group of Hindu radicals angered that he and his family refused to stop worshiping Jesus.

According to Morning Star News, Hindu extremists in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi kidnapped 30-year-old Joginder Gold in April after he refused to comply with their demands that he and his family stop worshiping Christ.

An area church leader named Rev. Patsy David told the outlet that six Hindu radicals accused Gold of stealing vegetables from their farmhouse after he left a local store one morning. Gold denied the accusation and said he could take the men to the seller who sold him the vegetables.

One of the Hindus told Gold that he would take him to the seller and told him to get on the back of his motorbike. However, the radical took Gold to the Hindus' farmhouse, where he was tortured for nearly three hours.

"They tied me upside down on a tree and started verbally abusing me for my faith in Christ and started to beat me on the soles of my feet," Gold told Morning Star News.

He also revealed that one of the men stuck a stick in his mouth, while two other extremists held him down by sitting on his chest. Before finally losing consciousness, Gold threw up three times.

David, a male clergy member, told the outlet that the extremists then threw Gold's body in a pit and covered his body with leaves. A witness eventually took Gold to his home and notified the police, who in turn took the Christian man to the hospital.

"The injuries he suffered on the soles of his feet were so severe that they affected the veins in his head, and he suffered severe head pain along with severe pain in his chest, thigh, arm, buttock, upper back and left calf," David revealed.

David said that Gold and his family have long been harassed by Hindu radicals because of their faith: "For the past two years, they tried to implicate Joginder in a false case and told him to stop worshipping Christ or that he will pay for it," he said.

While police took Gold to the hospital, they took little action after a legal complaint was filed by a local Christian leader, and instead of asking questions about the assault and kidnapping, the police were more focused on when Gold converted and who converted him.

Gold told the police that he gave his life to Christ over eight years ago after seeing how Jesus helped heal his sister and witnessing the other members of his family put their trust in Christ.

Morning Star reports that Gold was transferred to a private hospital after six days of treatment and was discharged from the hospital after 20 days. Gold was not initially able to talk and as of last Friday was still not able to walk normally.

e.   From: http://www.persecution.com/

B.     INDIA: EARLY BIRTH AFTER ATTACK

C.    A young woman required an emergency C-section after an April 15 attack by Hindu radicals on the Full Gospel Church. As believers worshipped that evening, members of the Bhagath Singh group rushed...  View Story

D.    NORTH KOREA: PASTOR KILLED

E.     VOM partner Pastor Han Chung-Ryeol, 49, was brutally murdered on Saturday, April 30, in Changbai, China. Born in China, he pastored a Three-Self Church near the North Korean border and helped...  View Story

F.     UZBEKISTAN: PAROLE WILL NOT HAPPEN

G.    Uzbek prisoner Tohar Haydarov was given the disappointing news that a mid-year parole from prison “will not happen.” Fellow Christians say that the 33-year-old convert from Islam to...  View Story

H.    UGANDA: DESPISED BY HER FAMILY

I.      Every shilling Grace had went to pay for her son’s hospitalization. Since most hospitals in Uganda demand payment up front, she sold her very last cow. Then, her son died. Immediately, her...  View Story

J.     PAKISTAN: DON’T FORGET IMRAN!

K.     Pakistani Christian in Prison for Life Because of His Faith Imran Ghafur is now more than six years into a life sentence in prison for his Christian faith, and no judge or attorney is willing to hear...  View Story

L.     KAZAKHSTAN: DRAMATIC SENTENCE CHANGE

M.    Six weeks after a judge sentenced Christian convert Yklas Kabduakasov to seven years of house arrest for his Christian activities, the sentence was changed, and Yklas was rearrested and sent to a...  View Story

N.    KENYA: CHRISTMAS THANKS

O.    “I was amazed when I was given the bag which had a Bible,” shared 14-year-old Timothy M. in a thank you letter to The Voice of the Martyrs. Timothy received one of the more than 30,000...  View Story

P.     ISRAEL: JEWS OR APOSTATES?

Q.    An Ethiopian Jewish family who believe in Jesus as Messiah were denied Israeli citizenship though they entered the country under Israel’s “Law of Return.” However, a VOM partner...  View Story

R.     INDIA: CHRISTIANS WARNED

S.     A warning to Christians from the RSS Hindu radical group was posted at a train station in India. The notice warns all Christians that their faith is a problem and their mission is for...  View Story

c.    Perhaps our turn will come for this kind of persecution in our lifetime.  Perhaps not, but in all cases, the need to Be Diligent, Cling to our Confession, and Draw Near to Christ is supreme.  God will preserve his children, but they must be diligent to persevere.