Coptic Christians in Egypt have been targeted and persecuted for their faith with growing violence in recent months. On September 30, the Mar Girgis Church in Edfu was burned. A Coptic church in Alexandria was bombed on New Year’s Day, killing 23 people. This last week a group of Coptic Christians sought to protest the prejudice toward their church, which makes up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population.

Cairo (CNN) -- The number of dead in clashes between the army and pro-Coptic Christian protesters in Egypt over the weekend rose to at least 25, with at least 272 wounded, a Health Ministry official told CNN Monday [Oct. 10, 2011].

Conflicting reports from the two sides indicated the death toll could be as high as 29 in violence that an army spokesman speculated may have been guided by a “hidden hand”' associated with neither side. Many of the casualties had been crushed by speeding military vehicles, said Dr. Adel al-Dawi of the ministry.

Hundreds of Coptic Christians rallied Monday outside a hospital, chanting “The army has its tanks but we have our prayers.” Some Muslims attended the rally in an expression of solidarity with Christians. Egyptian security sources said stones were thrown at the rally, but a CNN reporter saw no evidence of that.

The violence broke out around a protest on Sunday demanding that the military provide equal protection for Coptic places of worship. Clashes involving Coptic Christians in May left at least 12 dead. The protesters — many of them Copts or supportive of their cause — said they had been marching peacefully toward the Egyptian state television building when the violence erupted. [1]

But who instigated the violence?

By the end of the night, as clouds of tear gas floated through the dark streets and the crosses carried by the original Christian demonstrators had disappeared, it became increasingly difficult to tell who was fighting whom. At one point, groups of riot police officers were seen beating Muslim protesters, who were shouting, in Arabic, “God is Great!” while a few yards away other Muslims were breaking pavement into rocks to hurl in the direction of a group of Christians.

“It is chaos,” said Omar el-Shamy, a Muslim student who had spent much of the revolution in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and returned again to help support the Christians against the military. “I was standing with a group of people and suddenly they were chanting with the army! I don’t know what is going on.” [2]

A deadly mixture of signs of Christ’s coming are stirred into Egypt’s outbreak of violence. Jesus spoke of “wars and rumors of wars” and “tribulation” and “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:6, 9, 12 NKJV). The Egyptian protests, which have gone violent, depict hatred so thick that bystanders are unclear on which side people stand.

The Bible tells us there is a hidden hand of hatred reaching to stir the hearts of men toward evil—regardless of political party or religious views. When you see a mixture of good and evil, you can know that Christ’s words are true. “An enemy has done this” (Matthew 13:28 NKJV). We are grieved over the losses in Egypt and believe violence is not Christ’s method of change. We may also know that even among those seeking appropriate ways to voice concerns there is an enemy at work.

Would you like to learn more about the signs of Christ’s soon coming? Search the Bible and pray for God’s leading. Learn more by visiting one of our upcoming prophecy seminars in your area!

---------------------
[1] CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/10/world/meast/egypt-protest-clashes/)
[2] New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/world/middleeast/deadly-protests-over-church-attack-in-cairo.html?_r=1&google_editors_picks=true)