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This past Sunday, June 5, 2022, gunmen attacked a church in Southwestern Nigeria, killing at least 50, many of them children.
The governor of Ondo State, where the attack took place, described it as a ‘vile and satanic attack,’ and he may have a point.
According to reports, the people were just gathering for morning mass, when the gunman opened fire on members of St. Francis Catholic Church.
One group of terrorists entered the church firing their weapons, while others remained outside, gunning down members of the congregation fleeing the carnage.
The group also set off explosives inside the church, and there are reports that they kidnapped the church’s priest.
It is suspected that the attackers were connected to Islamic terrorists in Nigeria that have been attacking Christians in the northern regions of Nigeria for the past several years.
Nigeria has a population of 216 million and 54% of them are Muslim, who are concentrated in northern Nigeria, and 46% are Christians with nearly three-quarters protestants.
Since the beginning of January, CBN reports that Islamic terrorists have attacked numerous Churches in Nigeria, killing dozens of people.
In May, the Islamic State released a video showing the murder of 20 people in Borno State, located in North-East Nigeria. It is believed the same group was involved in an attack Kagoro, Kaura on March 20, killing 32 Christian and two soldiers.
Jihadi Fulani herdsmen killed 50 Christians and kidnapped a priest in Kaduna State on March 24. In October and November 2021, the same group attacked Christians in Plateau State, killing 16.
Though we tend to look upon these attacks as something that only takes place in other countries, two Baptist churches in North Carolina had Molotov cocktails thrown at them while people were attending services on May 29, 2022. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
And on May 15, 2022, one person was killed and four wounded when a gunman opened fire inside a Presbyterian church in Irvine, California. Authorities allege the attack was politically motivated, as the church was made up primarily of people from Taiwan and the attacker was from mainland China.
I don’t believe it is a coincidence, that many of these attacks are taking place during church services as it may be an attempt by the satanic realm to intimidate Christians, so they will quit going to services.
In Revelation 12:11, John writes that believers overcame and defeated, Satan by the word of their testimony, as they loved not their lives even unto death.
In other words, even though their very lives were under threat, they did not shrink back from their Christian faith. Their faith and refusal to be intimidated is what defeated Satan.
As the Apostle Paul explains, though a Christian’s weapons may not be carnal, of human construction, they are nevertheless divinely powerful and capable of bringing down strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:1-4).
READ: ‘Vile, Satanic Attack’: Gunmen Kill at Least 50 Worshippers and Children at Church on Pentecost Sunday in Nigeria AND Over 50 killed in ‘vile and satanic’ attack at Nigerian church on Pentecost Sunday
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