Blog note:  Christian Persecution. Jesus indicated that many would hate and persecute Christians because of His name. This has always been the case and is increasing in intensity and frequency.

Psalm 25:19. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

Psalm 38:19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

Psalm 41:7. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.

Psalm 69:4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

Psalm 69:14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Matthew 10:22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mark 13:13. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luke 6:22. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Luke 14:26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 19:14. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

Luke 21:17. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

John 7:7. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 15:18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

John 15:23. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. End of note.

Militants kill seven Christians returning from baptism in Egypt

Nadine Awadalla. RUETERS. NOVEMBER 2, 2018 / 9:42 AM .

CAIRO (Reuters) – Gunmen killed at least seven Christians who were returning from baptizing a child at a Coptic monastery in Egypt on Friday, officials said – the most serious attack on the minority in more than a year. Six of the dead were from the same family, and another 18 people, including children, were wounded, the Coptic Church’s spokesman said in a statement.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the ambush in Minya province in central Egypt, the militant group’s Amaq news agency said, without providing evidence of its involvement. “The jihadists targeted them with light weapons and killed 13 people and injured 18,” the group said in a statement released much later in the evening.

“This operation comes as revenge for our chaste sisters that were arrested by the apostate Egyptian regime, and we promise more attacks to all who aid it.” Egyptian security forces on Wednesday night detained six women, including the daughter of former presidential candidate and senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater. The Muslim Brotherhood has denied any links to Islamic State. The attackers opened fire mid-afternoon on two buses near the Monastery of St Samuel the Confessor in Minya, 260 km (160 miles) up the River Nile from Cairo, the church spokesman said.

Footage posted on social media showed bodies inside a bus with apparent gunshot wounds. Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the pictures. The attackers then fled, a witness at the monastery said. Local resident Hilal told Reuters he rushed to the scene after hearing about the attack and saw the militants on the road. “Some of us came to try and block the road. There were three four-wheel drive vehicles and the militants opened fire … The militants wore white thobes and chequered head-dresses,” he told Reuters.

“DARK TERRORISM”

Islamic State and affiliated groups have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Christians, including one that killed 28 people in almost the same spot in May 2017 here Egypt’s army and police launched a crackdown on the militant groups in February, targeting the Sinai Peninsula as well as southern areas and the border with Libya. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he mourned the victims as martyrs and vowed to push ahead with the campaign. “I assert our determination to fight dark terrorism and to pursue the perpetrators,” he said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Kuwait all condemned the attack. The European Union said it was a “stark reminder of the security challenges that Egypt is facing”. Egypt says fighting Islamist militants is a priority to restore stability after the years of turmoil that followed the “Arab Spring” protests in 2011. The public prosecutor said a team of investigators has been despatched to the scene of the attack.

Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah and Omar Fahmy; Writing by Nadine Awadalla and Sami Aboudi; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Raissa Kasolowsky