New Armenian Genocide Is A Sign of Times To Come

     I have a very good friend who is proud of her Armenian ancestry.  Although she is the second generation born and raised in America, she grew up knowing of her grandparents and extended family's struggle during what is known as the "Great Crime" by those who experienced the genocide of the Armenian people in their native homeland, now known as Turkey.
    Although denied by successive regimes in Turkey, the Armenian genocide has been documented by eyewitnesses, photographic evidence, and survivors.  Just Google "Armenian Genocide" and click on Images; does that look like it didn't exist?  Most historians agree that it was a deliberate and calculated genocide:

Christian Armenian girls crucified in 1916

More than one million Armenians perished as the result of execution, starvation, disease, the harsh environment, and physical abuse.  A people who lived in eastern Turkey for nearly 3,000 years [more than double the amount of time the invading Islamic Turks had occupied Anatolia, now known as “Turkey”] lost its homeland and was profoundly decimated in the first large-scale genocide of the twentieth century.  At the beginning of 1915 there were some two million Armenians within Turkey; today there are fewer than 60,000….  Despite the vast amount of evidence that points to the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide --- eyewitness accounts, official archives, photographic evidence, the reports of diplomats, and the testimony of survivors --- denial of the Armenian Genocide by successive regimes in Turkey has gone on from 1915 to the present.

     Now, according to The Christian Post, under the leadership of Prime Minister Erdogan, Turkey is once again aiding and abetting the displacement and death of Armenian Christians.  Just a few weeks ago, as reported by Raymond Ibrahim, "In the early morning hours of March 21st, al-Qaeda linked Islamic jihadis crossed into Syrian territory from the Turkish border and launched a jihad on the Christian/Armenian town of Kessab. Among other things, "Snipers targeted the civilian population and launched mortar attacks on the town and the surrounding villages." Reportedly eighty people were killed.  Eyewitnesses say the jihadis crossed the Turkish border into Syria, "openly passing through Turkish military barracks. According to Turkish media reports, the attackers carried their injured back to Turkey for treatment in the town of Yayladagi."
     The jihadis later made a video touring the devastated town. No translation is needed, as the main phrase shouted throughout is Islam's triumphant war cry, "Allahu Akbar" (or, according to Sen. John McCain's translation, "thank God").
     The significance of this latest transgression against the Armenian people, and the role Turkey plays in it, should not be lost on the world.  In a written statement, the International branch of the Armenian National Committee had this to say:

Armenian Christian in the village of Kessab

For months, we have warned the international community of the imminent threat posed by extremist foreign fighters against the Christian minority population in Syria. These vicious and unprompted attacks against the Armenian-populated town and villages of Kessab are the latest examples of this violence, actively encouraged by neighboring Turkey. We call upon all states with any influence in the Syrian conflict to use all available means to stop these attacks against the peaceful civilian population of Kessab, to allow them to return to their homes in safety and security. In the last one hundred years, this is the third time that the Armenians are being forced to leave Kessab and in all three cases, Turkey is the aggressor or on the side of the aggressors.

     While the Armenian population is at the center of this massacre, it should not be ignored that Christians are the focal point of these attacks as well.  This is not only a Turkish-Armenian campaign of death, but a Muslim-Christian.  Decades and centuries may pass by, but the battle remains the same.  In the 1915-1918 Genocide, Armenians were crucified along with Assyrians and Greeks -- their Christian faith being the common denominator.
     Just as then, Christian persecution is reaching alarming rates.  Ibrahim reports that Turks taunt their crucified Armenian victims by saying things like “Now let your Christ come and help you.”  Just last January, an 85-year-old Christian Armenian woman was repeatedly stabbed to death in her apartment, and a crucifix carved onto her naked corpse.   Another elderly Armenian woman was punched in the head and, after collapsing to the floor, repeatedly kicked by a masked man.   According to the report, “the attack marks the fifth in the past two months against elderly Armenian women,” one of whom lost an eye.  Elsewhere, pastors of church congregations with as little as 20 people are targeted for killing and spat upon in the streets.  A 12-year-old Christian boy was beaten by his teacher and harassed by students for wearing a cross around his neck, and three Christians were “satanically tortured” before having their throats slit for publishing Bibles.
     Yet the world remains silent, and denial is the mantra.  From Indonesia in the east to Morocco in the west, from Central Asia in the north, to sub-Sahara Africa—Christians are being persecuted, killed, raped, enslaved, tortured and dislocated.  It's only a matter of time, my friends.  It's a battle as old as Isaac and Ishmael, and it's been raging since that very day.
     If you think that the fate of these Christians has no bearing upon you; that somehow you are safe and protected here in the "Land of Opportunity", I would caution you to not be so naive.  We are the plum; the prize.  No other Christians on the face of the earth are as despised as we are by the Enemy.  I would urge you "to put on the complete armor of God" (His Truth, His Righteousness, His Peace, Your Salvation, Your Faith, and the Power of God's Word); to pray earnestly; to be alert on behalf of your fellow Christians, and to be fearless and confident in your defense of our faith.  The Storm is gaining momentum around the world, and I feel that it is approaching us.  Stand firm and hold your ground ... for His Sake!

Matthew 5:11-12      "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."