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"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke."
Joel 2:30

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Matthew 16:1-3

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here [is] the Christ!' or, 'Look, [He is] there!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
Mark 13:21-23

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with [them] and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Mark 16:17-20

And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute [you], delivering [you] up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle [it] in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put [some] of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls. "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 21:11-36

I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass [That] whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'
Acts 2:19-21

And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:28-32

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains [will do so] until He [fn] is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the [lawless one] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given [us] everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
2 Thessalonians 2

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. And out of [them] all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned [them], and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3



Egyptian Police 'Crucify' and Rape Christians

Christina Lamb | www.telegraph.co.uk | 25 October 1998


EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN subjected to horrific crucifixion rituals, raped and tortured by the security forces during a crackdown on the ancient Coptic community, according to international human rights and Christian groups.

Hundreds of Copts have been rounded up in southern Egypt after suspected retaliatory killings involving local Muslims and Christians. Apart from the crucifixions, teenage girls have been raped and babies as young as three months savagely beaten.

Most Copts are too frightened to speak about their plight. But the local bishop and two priests are now facing the death penalty for bringing the persecution to the attention of the world. To the embarrassment of President Hosni Mubarak, whose government is attempting to win back tourists after last year's Luxor massacre by Islamic militants, 29 American Congressman have now written to him to demand an end to the torture.

The Egyptian embassy in London refused to comment last week. However, over the past month, police have reportedly detained about 1,200 Christians in Al-Kosheh, near Luxor in Upper Egypt. Seized in groups of 50 at a time, many were nailed to crosses or manacled to doors with their legs tied together, then beaten and tortured with electric shocks to their genitals, while police denounced them as "infidels." An 11-year-old boy, Romani Boctor, was hung upside down from an electric ceiling fan and tortured as the fan rotated. Young girls were raped and mothers were forced to lay their babies on the floor of police stations and watch police beat them with sticks.

Bishop Anba Wissa, the local head of the Coptic Church, said: "It was horrific - entire families were severely beaten and tortured, and some of the children will be scarred for life. When I protested to the regional police chief, he said 'you haven't seen anything yet.'" The bishop and two priests were detained last week by police and charged on five counts including "using religion for the purpose of inciting strife and damaging national unity," charges punishable by death or life imprisonment.

The Al-Kosheh crackdown followed the murders of two Christians, allegedly by Muslims seeking revenge for the poisoning of one of their brothers, although doctors had recorded his death as due to natural causes. Rather than investigate, Bishop Wissa said, police simply rounded up Christians, apparently to avoid a clash between religious communities in the town which has 35,000 Christians and 15,000 Muslims.

Although Coptic Christians make up six percent of the population of Egypt and their numbers include the former United Nations Secretary General, Boutros Boutros Ghali, the government refuses to recognize them as an official minority and they have suffered persecution for years from Islamic extremists. This latest incident is the first time that the police have been the perpetrators and the Coptic community fears it may be the sign of worse to come. It follows the closure in July of a Coptic church in the Maadi suburb of Cairo, which was surrounded by seven armored vehicles as its doors and windows were sealed by security forces.

Although President Mubarak portrays himself as a moderate, human-rights activists believe that the police action reflects a wider infiltration of Islamic extremists into senior official positions. Joseph Assad, a project coordinator with Freedom House, the Washington-based center for religious liberties founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, said: "This is not an isolated incident. I fear Egypt is turning by stealth into an Islamic state."

Simon Qadri, of Christian Solidarity, a human-rights agency, said: "There is this image of Egypt as a secular country which is fighting fundamentalism but it is not true at all. Islamic law is the basis of the constitution and there is no freedom of religion. If anything, Mubarak tries to appease the fundamentalists."

Copts were the ancient inhabitants of Egypt before the Arab invasions in the seventh century, but have been surrounded for centuries by a hostile Muslim majority. They now need presidential permission to open a church, their history cannot be taught in schools, and people can be arrested under the National Security Act for converting to their faith.

Mustafa Shukravi, a human-rights activist who converted to Christianity and was jailed for ten months, was granted asylum in England last month. He said: "I was beaten with sticks and electric shocks. I was hung, blindfolded, made to stand for five days and five nights."

Despite the outcry over the Al Kosheh attack, the Mubarak government has refused to take action. A letter of protest from Freedom House to the Egyptian ambassador in Washington elicited the reply that only 25-40 Christians were arrested, it said: "Bishop Wissa is known for his extreme religious views and stirring sectarianism."

Last week the United States Senate approved the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act under which President Clinton is obliged to take some form of action against all countries cited by the State Department as not allowing religious liberty. Egypt is prominent on this list.

The State Department is sending officials to Cairo to meet Bishop Wissa next week. The bishop has medical reports on many of those detained, some of whom will be permanently disfigured, on addition to photographs of their injuries and hopes that these may be used to lobby for a boycott on tourism or other form of sanctions.

But the Clinton Administration sees Mr. Mubarak as a key player in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and seems unlikely to risk upsetting him by reducing its £1.3 billion aid package.