This is a continuation of a synopsis of Matthew 24, which began six days ago.  Today, we are at the seventh sign signifying the return of Christ, spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24:10, "Many will be offended and betray one another and hate one another."  Jesus was saying that many will be offended because of the gospel, as people are converted to Christianity, and they will hate and betray one another for that reason.  This verse, 10, is a continuation of the preceding verse 9, when the Lord said, "They will deliver you up to be afflicted and they will kill you; you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake."  A clear example of this, which is very prevalent throughout the world today, are when Muslims convert to Christianity and their own families turn against them, even killing them in the name of "family honor."  You need only go to your web browser and type "family members killed for converting to Christianity" and you will receive hundreds of hits on instances where family members turned on their own family, even killing them for converting to Christianity.  

Wikipedia has dedicated an entire website to a list of notable people who have converted from various faiths to Christianity, most of whom converted from Islam to Christianity, and many of whom have died for their faith, and have been betrayed by family and "friends."  The name of the website is:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_converted_to_Christianity  The website gives excerpts of the conversions and occasionally details of the betrayal or murder.  Wikipedia has dedicated another website to the persecution of ex-Muslims.  The name of that website is:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Ex-Muslims   There are 46 pages linked to this website, because each of the 46 countries where ex-Muslims are persecuted has its own page.  There are volumes of information on each page and the killings, persecutions, betrayals and hatred exacted against Christian converts is phenomenal in the day we live in.  (9/23/12 UPDATE: Wikipedia has removed this site, much like other censorship going on all over the internet now.)  I will relay one story here, among hundreds reported on this website, because it is so shocking and in line with the hatred and betrayal Jesus spoke of:  Muslim villagers coerce brothers to expel their elderly parents from home for converting to Christianity.  Ishmael (70) and Rahima (55), now living in a shelter, say they would rather starve to death than return to Islam.  Ishmael Sheikh and his wife Rahima Khatun were baptized on November 9.  By the end of the month, Sheikh told Compass, Muslim neighbors in Kathuly village, near Gangni town in Meherpur district, had compelled their two sons to expel them from their house.  Meherpur district is 270 kilometers (168 miles) west of Dhaka.  The ailing Sheikh told Compass that his two sons had come under tremendous pressure from neighbors in the village, which was entirely Muslim before the couple received Christ.  The neighbors threatened that the children of Sheikh's sons would not be allowed to marry anyone from the village if the brothers allowed their parents to remain in the home.  The couple went to a shelter used by itinerant minstrels who sing traditional Bengali songs a half kilometer away from their home.  "I got salvation in Jesus," Sheikh said.  "In this shelter without food, I am ready to flirt with death by debilitating illness or by attack by Muslim neighbors, but never will I go back to Islam."  (Bangladesh:  Compass Direct, January 14, 2009)

This type of thing is happening all over the world.  In some of the worst cases, even here in the United States, people are being killed by their relatives or the government (in nations outside of the US) for converting to Christianity.  In a preceding post, I wrote of a Muslim man, Mohammad Shafia, from Canada, who killed his three daughters and one of his wives by drowning them in the family car in a canal in Kingston, Ontario.  He is currently being tried in Canada, along with his second wife and their son, Hamed.  A police wiretap was played in court, from which he was heard saying, "God's curse on them (referring to his daughters)."  In another wiretap, he was heard saying, "May the devil (defecate) on their graves."  This kind of hate coming from a natural father towards his three daughters is truly satanic, but the Muslim world refuses to see that.  This type of reaction to daughters who date "non-Muslim boys" is a "godly reaction" to "family shame," according to Muslims.  There are just too many stories to enumerate, but you can always visit CompassDirect.org to read articles daily, detailing Christian persecution among families and within communities.  The whole website is dedicated to articles of Christian persecution, which is so widespread, if you visit the site, you will know that the Lord's return is very near, even at the door.

We have so far addressed seven signs in Matthew 24, pointing to the return of Jesus in our generation.  All of the evidence, so far, reveals that His return is imminent.  Are you ready to face the Lord and be judged according to your decision to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and follow His teachings in the Word of God?  Our eternal destiny depends on the outcome of that decision.  If you haven't received Jesus, please visit the How Can I Be Saved page of this website.  God bless you.