This is not a study. Instead it is a plea for anguished prayer, a plea for fasting and a plea for action.
Nigeria is in real trouble as Christians there face the beginning of sorrows and terrible affliction and death from radical Boko Haram who are tied to the horrors that al-Qaida afflicted on 9/11.
Our duty is to provide prayer and to provide support of Nigerians that face the abyss of tribulation from Boko Haram.
You may not realize it due to disinfected reports from our moderated news sources here in the U.S. but if you are still thinking that "Tribulation" for those that profess Christianity is something down the road, think again and re-read the words of the warning:
Matthew 24:7-10 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.Boko Haram has attacked dozens of churches and Christian homes across norther Nigeria with bullets, bombs and arson.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
They have machine gunned and opened fire on Christian congregations in prayer, killing hundreds and the majority of those that have lost their lives have been women and children. They have slaughtered many Christian pastors and even executed the children of Muslims that have converted to Christianity. These assassinations have gone on for over a year in Nigeria. If it happened here in the West for just a moment many might wonder what ever happened to the "pre-trib" rapture.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and is ranked seventh in the world's population with 166 million. Folks, that 30 million more than Russia, 40 million more than Japan and 53 million more than Mexico. It's more than 100 million more people than the individual populations of the U.K., France or Italy. It's not some isolated jungle place that you may have envisioned in the past. The facts today are that roughly 50% of all Nigerians are Sunni Muslims in the Sharia dominated north, and 50% are Christian, generally in the south. If you have not seen them below are some of the horrific news reports that you need to know about.
The time is now - do something. Pray for peace and protection. Start a prayer group and pray for Nigeria.
Quoting Christian President Jonathan of Nigeria:
"Your prayers can transform the attitudes of those who do not believe in the progress and peace of our country, so pray that God will touch them so they can change for the better... only prayers could sustain a nation like Nigeria."
Hospitals struggle after deadly Nigeria attacks
By Africa correspondent Ginny Stein, wires
Updated January 23, 2012 11:25:12
Video Report Source: 7pm TV News NSW | Duration: 2min 12sec
"Hospital staff in the northern Nigerian city of Kano are struggling to cope with a rising number of casualties after a string of coordinated attacks.
More than 178 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks and gun fights in the country's second-largest city.
Islamist sect Boko Haram is reported to have claimed responsibility for the strike - the deadliest ever by the group.
A curfew was imposed after the violent attacks began, targeting police and immigration offices.
Police sources have told AFP that at least 20 huge blasts were heard in the city as a suicide bomber struck a police station and a car bomb targeted the state police headquarters.
A number of other police posts were targeted, including a secret police building, as well as immigration offices.
A doctor in the main hospital said the death toll had risen to 178 on Sunday, making it by far the deadliest attack claimed by the radical Islamist sect."
Church attacks in Nigeria leave at least 27 worshippers dead guardian.co.uk, Saturday 7 January 2012
Islamist group claims responsibility amid growing concern about government's inability to tackle sectarian violence
"A fresh wave of violence against churchgoers in Nigeria has left at least 27 people dead and heightened fears over security in Africa's most populous country.
The religiously motivated massacres, three in as many days since Thursday, targeted Christians in Mubi and Gombe, both towns in the north-east where a state of emergency was declared by President Goodluck Jonathan last week. Some 17 other deaths have been reported in other regions.
There is growing concern that the government's inability to tackle the rising levels of sectarian violence, blamed on radical Islamic group Boko Haram, may result in hundreds of people fleeing their homes. The group is now carrying out weekly attacks on churches and police stations in northern and central areas. Islamic clerics who speak out against the violence have been assassinated.
Last year saw an upsurge in Boko Haram's bloody activities, with some 550 people killed, culminating in a co-ordinated bombing campaign on Christmas Day across Nigeria which left 39 dead and dozens wounded, including at a church near the capital, Abuja."
Another Church Attack in Nigeria Kills 6 Voice of America January 06, 2012
"The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram is suspected of the attack, and of pushing the country toward religious conflict.
The attack began when gunmen opened fire during a service at the Deeper Life church in Nasarawa. Theresa Munyok says that her father and her brother were among the dead.
"The only thing I heard was my mommy shouting," Munyok said. "She told me that it was gunshots and that my dad is not even breathing. She called and called and he did not wake up."
A purported spokesman for Boko Haram issued a warning on Sunday that said Christians had three days to leave the Muslim-majority north. A day earlier, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 15 locations across the north after months of deadly bombings and shootings, including several attacks for which Boko Haram claimed responsibility."
At Least 5 Dead, Others Wounded in Nigeria Church Attack FoxNews January 5, 2011
"GOMBE, Nigeria – Gunmen attacked a church in northeast Nigeria during a prayer service Thursday night, killing at least five people and wounding others in an assault that occurred amid an increasingly violent campaign by a radical Muslim sect.
Pastor Johnson Jauro said the gunfire sprayed the Deeper Life Church in Gombe, the capital of Gombe state, injuring several worshippers and killing his wife and two others. He spoke at a local hospital, where a joint team of soldiers and police officers stood guard. Two other people later died at the hospital from their wounds and an Associated Press reporter saw their bodies.
Local police spokesman Ahmed Muhammad confirmed the attack, but declined to say how many people the gunmen killed and wounded.
The assault occurred as Nigeria remains under attack by the sect known as Boko Haram. The oil-rich nation's president recently put regions of the country under a state of emergency due to the threat, but that did not include Gombe, which sits about 350 miles from Nigeria's central capital, Abuja.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion immediately fell on Boko Haram. The sect has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for more than 500 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count."
Christians warned to leave Nigeria
CNN|Added on January 2, 2012
The militant Islamist group Boko Haram issues an ultimatum to Christians in northern Nigeria. CNN's Tim Lister reports.
After Deadly Church Attacks in Nigeria, What Do Boko Haram Extremists Want?
PBS Newshour AIR DATE: Dec. 26, 2011
At least 39 people were killed in Christmas Day attacks on Christian churches in Nigeria. Margaret Warner discusses the bombings and the Boko Haram extremist group that claimed responsibility with Paul Lubeck, a sociology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Multiple blasts rock two Nigerian cities Friday, 23 December 2011
"Six blasts and gunfire rocked the Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Thursday, residents and a military source said, after explosions and shooting earlier broke out in another northeastern city.
"There has so far been six explosions, and four of them in the same area," the military source said, adding that a shootout had also occurred on Thursday.
Gunfire and explosions had earlier broken out in Damaturu. Both cities have previously been badly hit by violence blamed on the Islamist group Boko Haram."
Watch After Deadly Church Attacks in Nigeria, What Do Boko Haram Extremists Want? on PBS.
See more from PBS NewsHour.
