It pains me to report
tonight that great darkness is descending on the people of the epicenter. Radical Islamic militants -- both
Sunni and Shia -- are rising to power in one country after
another. Lawlessness is spreading. Violence against Christians and Jews and
Americans is intensifying.
The global economic crisis
is pushing millions of people in the Mideast further into poverty and causing
them to struggle even more to make ends meet. And the evidence suggests the
most devastating war in the modern history of the epicenter could be just days
or weeks away."
"Tragically, the Arab Spring has been a catastrophic failure. All hope of the rise of free nations with free elections and free economies and freedom of speech and worship in the near term have been dashed. What's rising instead are dangerous Radical Islamic regimes that will oppress millions of people and foment violence and war."
"The new leaders of Libya are Radical Islamists -- members or allies of the Muslim Brotherhood. They are committed to creating an Islamic republic and imposing Sharia law on the people of Libya as part of the Islamic caliphate. They have a deep hatred for Israel and the United States. Yesterday, Islamic militants attacked the American consulate in the city of Benghazi. They murdered U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. They murdered three other U.S. diplomatic staff. The Libyan government did precious little to defend the lives of Americans."
"Tragically, the Arab Spring has been a catastrophic failure. All hope of the rise of free nations with free elections and free economies and freedom of speech and worship in the near term have been dashed. What's rising instead are dangerous Radical Islamic regimes that will oppress millions of people and foment violence and war."
"The new leaders of Libya are Radical Islamists -- members or allies of the Muslim Brotherhood. They are committed to creating an Islamic republic and imposing Sharia law on the people of Libya as part of the Islamic caliphate. They have a deep hatred for Israel and the United States. Yesterday, Islamic militants attacked the American consulate in the city of Benghazi. They murdered U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. They murdered three other U.S. diplomatic staff. The Libyan government did precious little to defend the lives of Americans."
"The new President of Egypt -- Mohammed Morsi -- is a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. He hates Israel,
despises the United States, is committed to holy war against all infidels, and
has stated clearly he's going to turn Egypt into an Islamic republic under
Sharia law.
Morsi gave a speech at Cairo University in May: 'The
Qur'an is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path, and
death in the name of Allah is our goal.'
Last month, Morsi became the
first Egyptian leader in a generation to visit Iran and begin rebuilding ties
to the radical mullahs in Tehran. Yesterday, some 2,000 radical Muslim
militants stormed the U.S. embassy grounds, tore down the American flag, raised
the flag of Islam. The Egyptian security forces did precious little to stop
them. This is a country to which the U.S. provides $1.5 billion in
foreign aid annually."
* "At the same time, amidst this darkness, there is hope. The Lord God is still on His throne. Still sovereign. Always a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God, a wonder-working God. That's why we have hope. We saw two big answers to prayer this year. For one, Gilad Shalit came home. Shalit is the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas 0n June 25, 2006. But God heard the prayers of His people. He showed mercy to Gilad and his family. He was released on October 18, 2011 after 1,940 days in captivity."
"Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was also released from an Iranian prison. Nadarkhani is an Iranian Muslim convert to Christianity. He faced a death sentence in Iran on charges of apostasy. But God heard the prayers of His people. He showed mercy to Pastor Youcef and his family. Youcef was acquitted on the apostasy charges. He was found guilty of sharing the Gospel with Muslims and sentenced to three years in prison. But was released in the last few days, having already served his time. Many of you prayed for these men. Thank you. Please keep praying for them."
* "At the same time, amidst this darkness, there is hope. The Lord God is still on His throne. Still sovereign. Always a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God, a wonder-working God. That's why we have hope. We saw two big answers to prayer this year. For one, Gilad Shalit came home. Shalit is the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas 0n June 25, 2006. But God heard the prayers of His people. He showed mercy to Gilad and his family. He was released on October 18, 2011 after 1,940 days in captivity."
"Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was also released from an Iranian prison. Nadarkhani is an Iranian Muslim convert to Christianity. He faced a death sentence in Iran on charges of apostasy. But God heard the prayers of His people. He showed mercy to Pastor Youcef and his family. Youcef was acquitted on the apostasy charges. He was found guilty of sharing the Gospel with Muslims and sentenced to three years in prison. But was released in the last few days, having already served his time. Many of you prayed for these men. Thank you. Please keep praying for them."
