Countless movements throughout history have risen with the goal of wiping Christianity from the face of the Earth.
Yet, again and again, these movements themselves are the ones relegated to the pages of history, while the Kingdom of God lives on stronger than ever before.
The rise — and fall — of the Islamic State is just another in a long list of failures.
Predictions of Christianity’s demise have always been greatly exaggerated.
The Romans tried every trick in the book to try to squash the early church, from torturing and crucifying Christians who didn’t denounce Christ and recognize the emperor as a God, to throwing them into the Coliseum to be eaten by lions.
Yet, Christianity survived.
In the Middle Ages the church faced invasions by Muslim armies who attempted to convert conquered lands by the sword.
Yet, Christianity survived.
And in our times, the rise of atheistic communism saw a renewed attempt to eradicate Christianity from the face of the Earth.
The atheist ideology of Marxist Leninism led to brutal persecution of the church in the Soviet Union.
In Lenin’s own words, “Marxism is materialism. As such, it is as relentlessly hostile to religion … We must know how to combat religion … [our goal] aims at eliminating the social roots of religion.”
Yet, 100 years later, the Soviet Union is but a memory, while Christianity survives.
Mao Zedong, the communist leader of China, also enforced the atheist ideology of Marxist Leninism, saying “the Marxist stance toward religion denounces religion and considers [it] a hindrance to economic growth.”
Among the many goals of Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” movement was to purge Christianity from China but he too failed to halt the Kingdom of God.
According to Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias, “During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong burned the seminary libraries, expelled Christians from the country, and declared that the name of Jesus would never be pronounced on Chinese lips again. He tried to bury the Christian faith completely. Today, the Chinese church is the fastest growing church in the world.”
And most recently, the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East made its publicly-stated mission to eliminate Christianity from the globe.
Launching one of the most brutal campaigns of persecution in the history of Christianity, ISIS brought back the ancient tactics used by the Romans.
From torture to crucifixion, ISIS demanded Middle Eastern Christians renounce Christ and convert by the sword to Islam.
Someone should have told them what happened the last time these tactics were used to destroy Christianity!
Our God is an Awesome God! He will not be defeated and his plan will not be stopped by the forces of evil. God’s justice and goodness will always prevail and everything the enemy means for evil, God will use only for his Glory.
The enemy has already been defeated and victory has already been had.
Now, as the final stronghold of the Islamic State falls, God’s providence is proven yet again!
Countless attempts to destroy His church have failed as those who try — and their movements — die off and are defeated.
And Christianity survives.
It reminds me of a powerful Christian ballad Bury the Workman by Unspoken:
You can bury the workmen,
But the work will go on.
You can silence the voices,
But you can’t stop the song.
When the spirit’s moving,
His will will be done.
You can bury the workmen,
But the work will go on.
