I just realized that I have had the blessing and divine appointment to be a witness to the last days of Mubarak's reign before his overthrow in Egypt. While I wandered the streets of Cairo this past October I never realized that I was sitting in the middle of the beginning of the Worlds greatest revolutions that our generation will ever see. The downfall of Russia was unpredicted, yet sure. The beginning of the downfall of the Islamic oppressed Middle east is also unprecedented. When I first heard the news of the protests, I was not surprised. I was quite impressed with the oppression which we witnessed while we were there. The grip of the religion of Islam was all over the place. The mistreatment of women, the fear placed on people who dare deviate in any way from the teachings of Mohammad, however strange or intolerant they may be made me expect to see a revolt, but not so quick and not the extent which we are seeing it today. Now, Libya is in the news and other smaller countries are following suit. Perhaps this may be the beginning of people questioning everything about their culture and faith. My prayer and thought is just as the downfall of the Soviet Union opened the doors for many churches to take the Gospel into the Russian countries, the next few years will see unprecedented advancements of the Evangelical movement throughout the Middle East. Perhaps this is the greatest indicator that the return of Christ will be even sooner. Maranatha (come quickly Lord Jesus!). Either way, I am excited and waiting anxiously to hear about the new openness in the Middle East, but I know that this will not come without much bloodshed. Already, the counter forces for freedom are at work in the Middle East. The attempted crackdown of Muslims to retain order are rising but seem to be unsustainable.
My reaction is one of great anticipation. When we left Egypt I thought that we would never be able to return and do real ministry there because of the opposition of Muslims and even the Coptic Christians. Now, I feel that there will soon be a new openness to everything we hope to do there. Join with me in praying that this revolution will be of opening great doors for the Gospel during these last days.
