With the Signposts in mind, as written about in my book Hidden In Plain Sight, we can better understand events as they happen in the Middle East.  Some events are part of the Signposts themselves, where we can actually see Christ’s return getting closer.  Other events are preparations for Signposts.  And still other events are merely previews or foreshadowings of what is to come.  The violence in Egypt this past week is of this last type.

The violence we have seen in Egypt before this past week is part of the preparation of Egypt for the Third Signpost.  But the violence this past week in particular took on added significance.  I believe we have just witnessed a preview of the Tribulation itself.

As reported in the following story, Muslim mobs put the central seat of the Coptic Orthodox faith itself, under siege –

Coptic Christians under siege as mob attacks Cairo cathedral

As the story says, “Hundreds of Christians were under siege inside Cairo’s Coptic cathedral last night as security forces and local residents, some armed with handguns, launched a prolonged and unprecedented attack on the seat of Egypt’s ancient Church.”

Daniel 8:24 says that during the Tribulation the Antichrist will wage war against the saints, and Daniel 12:7 says it will be to the point that the power of the holy people is broken.  This will include killing and jailing Christians as Revelation 13:9-10 says, but I believe it will also include war and assaults on the central seats of the various churches.  This past week Muslim mobs attacked Saint Mark’s Coptic Cathedral itself.  Do you realize the significance of this?  

As the preceding newsstory said, it is the seat of the Coptic Orthodox church.  It would be like Muslim armies marching on and assaulting Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome or Westminster Abbey, both seats of their respective churches. 

Revelation 12:17 says that he dragon, Satan, will go off to make war on the other offspring of the woman Israel, i.e. Christians.  I fully expect the armies of the muslim Antichrist during the Tribulation to attack and and take over any church or church seat they can get their hands on.

Accenting the special significance of this last week’s violence, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox church, Tawadros II said in this story (Egypt’s Christian pope blasts Islamist President),

“’The church has been a national symbol for 2,000 years,’ Tawadros said. ’It has not been subjected to anything like this even during the darkest ages … There has been no positive and clear action from the state, but there is a God. The church does not ask for anyone’s protection, only from God.’”

There has been violence against Christians in Egypt on and off over centuries, but apparently this is the first time the seat of the church itself was attacked.  One tenth of Egypt’s population is Coptic christian.  Fourteen centuries ago Egypt was a Christian province of the Eastern Roman Empire.  But after fourteen centuries of Islam the Cotpic church is all that is left.  And now as Tawadros said even this last group and its seat are now being attacked.

A christian was interviewed in the preceding Independent story who said,

“’The Muslim Brotherhood and extremist groups here want us to leave. They don’t accept Copts. But this was our country, ever since the time of the pharaohs.’”

That puts the Tribulation in a nutshell.  Populations of Muslims in the Middle East nations don’t accept Copts or any Christians.  When the Antichrist creates his Islamic Empire, there will be no acceptance of any Christians within their borders.  As Daniel 7:7 says, the fourth beast (which is to be the Islamic realm here in the end times) stomped and crushed its victims.  It then trampled whatever was left. 

We have just seen a sample of the trampling of what is left.

Categories: In The News, The Signpost Perspective