Prophecy given by David Noakes at the Intercessors for Israel Conference, Jerusalem, January 2003. It was specifically addressed to the nation of Israel and was accepted by the ministers and leaders to whom it was given in 2003. We are publishing it having tested it ourselves. However, we also encourage you to weigh it thoroughly yourself too. 

Strengthen my people in the knowledge of their God and of his Word. Bring to them the whole Counsel of God that they may not be taken by surprise or deceived in the days to come.

Do not fear Islam for this principality shall not prevail. It has thrown down the gauntlet of challenge to the God of Israel and I have accepted the challenge.

This power will be put to shame and destroyed for I have taken the battlefield. Stand with me and fight for I am with you to overcome. Islam will fall, but not at once for the cup of iniquity is not yet full to the brim. There will be a lengthy struggle and it will involve many nations.

Do not fear the conflict or the hardships. There will be shaking and upheaval and turmoil but I have warned you in advance in my Word that this will be so. In the battle set your eyes on Me and remember that this is not your lasting home. Your destination and your inheritance is in the Kingdom cut out of the Rock without human hands and in the Eternal City that has unshakeable foundations whose Builder and Maker is God.

Comfort yourselves with the knowledge of this truth and let your encouragement come from Me alone. Do not fear the wars that must yet come but rather fear the peace that will finally result. It will not be My peace but a counterfeit peace inspired by the spirit of Babylon.

Prepare my people for these days with the knowledge of my revealed truth. Teach them the whole Counsel of God and pray that they and many others will not be deceived in the time before the 'lamb of peace' is revealed in its true colours as the 'dragon of destruction'.

The strategy of the adversary is to wear down by continual attrition to the point where in the weariness of conflict that desire for rest will make your people willing to accept a false peace which will prove in its working to be the deadliest weapon of all. Your nation will desire this peace and the world will desire to impose it upon you but do not be deceived. Prepare my people to watch and pray and keep alert: strong in the knowledge of the whole revelation of my Word until I come, for only then will your nation receive true security.

About the author: David Noakes was a solicitor in London until he joined Clifford Hill’s ministry in 1984. He has been part of the Prophetic Word Ministries/Prophecy Today team since that time, although he has also exercised an independent ministry speaking at conferences both in Britain and overseas. He has visited Israel many times and until recently was chairman of Hatikvah Film Trust, working with Hugh Kitson making films about Israel. He is a well-known Bible teacher with an established ministry and remains an official advisor to Issachar Ministries (Prophecy Today UK's parent charity).

Thousands of refugees and migrants continue to pour into Europe every day, fear of terrorism grows daily and the nations struggle to find a long-term solution. What does the future hold?

The boats keep coming. Overcrowded, unsafe boats flounder and capsize in the rough seas of the Aegean and still they keep coming – this autumn the number reaching Lesbos and other small Greek islands topped 7,000 per day.¹

People smuggling from Turkey to Greece across the dangerous seas is a multi-million dollar business. The people smugglers care nothing for humanity. They are making a fortune from the human misery of those who have lost everything in the war zones of Syria and Iraq – people so desperate that they will risk their lives boarding unsafe boats.

Looking for a Solution

Thousands are plucked from the sea every day and hundreds more simply drown, nameless victims of the greatest tragedy the Middle East has ever witnessed. This is the scene at the Eastern extremities of Europe.

At the other end of Europe, leaders of the EU nations are meeting to discuss desperate measures to deal with the crisis. How can they cope with the million strong flood of humanity that has descended upon Europe this year? How can such a human avalanche be absorbed among the nations? Even more urgently, how can it be halted, or even put on hold for a period, to give time for dealing with the situation in the war zones?

The humanitarian crisis engulfing Europe has no easy solution: neither is it a short-term problem that will be all over in a few weeks or months. Whole populations are on the move and there appears no end to the conflict that is destroying cities and towns across the Middle East and inflicting homelessness, injury and death on vast numbers of people.

The humanitarian crisis engulfing Europe has no easy solution – neither is it a short-term problem.

Europe on High Alert

The complexity is confounded by the mixture of migrants and refugees. The numbers are so great that it is impossible to discover who are the genuine refugees, who are the economic migrants and who are the jihadis slipped in among them by the Islamic State fighters.

Ever since the Paris atrocities on that notorious Friday 13 November, when at least one of the bombers had entered Europe through Greece posing as a refugee, the whole of the EU has been on high alert. The fact that the Paris bombers were a mixture of home-grown and migrant terrorists has added to the sense of fear and confusion.

Mass Fear

That fear and confusion is not confined to Europe but has spread to America as well. Just weeks after the Paris slaughter, a couple went on the rampage with automatic weapons in San Bernadino, California, slaughtering people as they were eating a meal together. President Obama used the occasion for an impassioned appeal for gun reform in the USA where he said that these mass killings were becoming routine.

The danger facing Europe is that mass killings will also become routine in the EU - unless the source of the problem in the killing-fields of the Middle East is dealt with effectively.

The danger facing Europe is that mass killings will also become routine here – unless the source of the problem can be dealt with.

Islamic 'Alliance'

Saudi Arabia has now announced the formation of a new military alliance of 34 Arab nations to fight terrorism. But who will they fight? Who do they define as 'terrorists'? Saudi Arabia has already beheaded more people this year than the Islamic State.² Their branch of Sunni Wahhabi Islam based upon the strict observance of Sharia law is rejected by half the Islamic world, including the coalition led by Iran which is presently fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a proxy conflict for several years, with Iran backing the rebels in Yemen who the Saudis have been bombing. So the chance of this new initiative bringing peace to the Middle East is virtually nil. The most likely outcome is to extend the conflict between the different branches of Islam.

But could this be within the purposes of God?

Though all-out war between Islam and the Western nations (which in some respects would be a war between Christianity and Islam) looks ever more plausible, it could be that internal conflict between the different sects of Islam will save us from World War III.

All-out war between Islam and the Western nations could be avoided – if Islam implodes due to the internal conflict between its various sects.

Looking Forward

In the New Year's Day issue of Prophecy Today we will look more closely at what is happening in the Middle East, particularly in the context of biblical prophecy. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has gone quiet - the world's attention is upon Syria. But what does the future hold?

References

1 IOM Monitors Mediterranean Migrant Flows: 7,000 Crossing Daily to Greece. International Organization for Migration, Press Release, 10 September 2015.

2 Saudi Arabia Beheads Nearly Twice As Many People As ISIS So Far This Year. MintPress News Desk, 25 August 2015.

Following on from his article last week, Clifford Hill continues his response to the recent attacks in France.

The huge press coverage of the Paris atrocities and the vast chatter on social media does little more than demonstrate the confusion that has arisen. Neither journalists nor politicians know what to do and the church stays silent.

President Hollande declared to an assembly of French mayors that he is proud of the secularism of France which they will continue to defend by increasing their bombing of the Islamic State.¹ David Cameron wants to join in the bombing and Nicola Sturgeon is reconsidering her position.

Meanwhile leaders of the Islamic State posted their views saying: "In a blessed battle whose causes of success were enabled by Allah, a group of believers from the soldiers of the Caliphate set out targeting the capital of prostitution and vice, the lead carrier of the cross in Europe – Paris...And Allah granted victory upon their hands and cast terror into the hearts of the Crusaders in their very own homeland."²

By contrast the Muslim Council of Great Britain took out full-page advertisements in national newspapers on 19 November stating: "The barbaric acts of Daesh (or ISIS as they are sometimes known) have no sanction in the religion of Islam, which forbids terrorism and the targeting of innocents."

So, Where Does the Truth Lie?

I have lived and worked among Muslims for most of my working life in London and I know that most Muslims are ordinary, decent, peace-loving people - but also that most of them know nothing of the history of Islam and have very little knowledge of the Koran. The young men of the Islamic State are following Muhammad as their example.

Muhammad advocated violence in the 'Second Pledge at Al-Aqabah' through which he unleashed violence against those who refused to accept his new religion. He also used Koran 9.5 which demands conversion on pain of death.

Muhammad himself carried out horrendous acts of cruelty especially against Jews, as in the slaughter of Banu Qurayza in April 627 AD. The whole town had already surrendered to him but Muhammad decided to slaughter all the adult males. Some 800 to 900 captives were beheaded, with Muhammad himself cutting off the heads of two of the Jewish elders. This was justified from the Koran "Some ye slew and ye made captive some. And he (Allah) caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land you have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things" (Koran 33.26–27).³

Whilst the proper interpretation of such quotations as the above remains hotly debated amongst scholars, the fact is that they are still being used today to justify killing. We have to leave it to the Muslim scholars to sort out the truth. Clearly they have a problem. The Koran defines me, a Christian, as an 'infidel' so I cannot help them; I can only urge them to study their history and the writings attributed to Muhammad and to define what is valid for today in the 21^st century. There will be no peace in the world until they do this.

Why Has God Allowed This to Happen?

The Western nations and especially Europe have despised their Christian birthright and have deliberately embraced secular humanism and all forms of depraved hedonism. The Queen, at her Coronation in 1953, received a Bible and promised to "maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the gospel". At this time, our nation agreed before God to be, corporately, a Christian nation.

Since then, Britain has forced the Queen to sign laws that break these promises. We are now reaping what we have sown so we no longer have the protection of God over the nation. We have sown the wind and we are reaping the whirlwind. Only repentance and turning to God can make any difference.

In 1953, Britain agreed before God to be a Christian nation. Since then we have broken those promises – and we are now reaping what we have sown.

It may be that God is allowing thousands of Muslims to come into Europe as part of his judgement upon us. But God is able to turn judgement into blessing and already there are reports of hundreds of Muslim refugees accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Europeans are being given the opportunity of witnessing to the truth by showing love and compassion to refugees from war.

In Britain we have made no attempt to teach immigrants the history of our nation and our great Judaeo-Christian heritage. We have not even insisted that they all speak English. This is sheer madness! It drives migrants into cultural ghettos like the suburbs of Paris. Immigration without integration spells disaster!

We have despised our godly heritage while at the same time allowing secular humanists to spread their teachings in our schools and universities and to change the laws of the land to accommodate their perversions of the truth. We have dropped the teaching of the Bible; and our churches have lost their prophetic mission to declare the truth fearlessly.

What Should We Do?

I am grateful to all those who put comments on my article published last Friday. It is so good to have open discussion on these issues that affect the whole nation. Everyone I speak to thinks what happened in Paris will happen in Britain and none of us really knows how to deal with the threat of terrorism - because it's nothing like conventional war. We are dealing with spiritual evil.

The threat to the nation is very real and Christians should be mobilising prayer. A good biblical example is in 2 Chronicles 20 when Jerusalem was threatened by a vast enemy army and the King called the whole nation to prayer which he led, calling upon God for help, "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."

The threat to this nation is very real and Christians should be mobilising prayer. God always answers a true prayer of faith, especially when it is accompanied by repentance.

This prayer was wonderfully answered when the enemy army destroyed themselves through internal dissension. God always answers a true prayer of faith: especially when it is accompanied by repentance for our waywardness.

References

1 Paris Attacks: president Hollande addresses French mayors' congress. Youtube video (running time 27:45), France 24.

2 Fisher, M. Here is ISIS' statement claiming responsibility for the Paris attacks. Vox, 24 November 2015.

3 MA Khan, 2011. Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism and Slavery. iUniverse, p35. Full text available here for free (PDF download).

4 Basilan, M. Muslim refugees converting to Christianity in Berlin church. Christian Post, 8 September 2015.

The Prophecy Today team members wish to express their deepest sympathies for those affected by the recent atrocities in Paris. As the world watches in horror and fear, Clifford Hill asks: how can we respond?

The attack upon Paris was a declaration of war against the West! The co-ordinated attack upon soft targets of unarmed civilians was a cowardly act of brutality that has shocked the whole Western world.

Every Western nation knows that it could happen to them. In every country the question is 'Which city will be the next target?' Will it be London or Washington or Brussels?

Immediate Reaction

Amid all the unanswered questions one thing is certain – the Paris atrocity will not be the last. The Islamists have declared war. But the big question facing Western nations is how should we react? Do we send our armies to the Middle East and blast our way through the complexities of civil war and tribal conflict in a vain attempt to destroy the terrorists in their strongholds?

The immediate reaction of President Hollande was that France would mobilise all her forces to destroy the terrorists, which was very similar to the reaction of President Bush after the 9/11 destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City. He quoted Isaiah 9:10 "The bricks have fallen down but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig-trees have been felled but we will replace them with cedars". But he had not read the previous verse which pours scorn upon such a reaction as driven by human pride. Bush invaded Iraq, which is one of the factors that has led to the present tragic situation in the Middle East.

If we use force to combat force, we will simply use bigger and more powerful weapons of destruction until we reach the ultimate weapons of mass destruction and destroy the world. Humankind has yet to learn the lesson that force is not the answer to force.

Humankind has yet to learn the lesson that force is not the answer to force.

We must stop, and study the enemy. We must not react in haste, or we will encourage a holocaust that will engulf the whole of humanity.

Facing Reality

The huge mistake that all the Western nations have made is to refuse to face the reality of the nature of Islam. We have deliberately suppressed open discussion about Islam and labelled it 'Islamophobia'. We have talked about terrorists as 'extremists' and tried to combat the so-called 'radicalisation' of young men. But all this has been counter-productive and has actually suppressed the truth about Islam.

We have to face the fact that in our ignorance about Islam we have allowed hundreds of mosques to be established across the Western nations where young men are taught that Islam is at war with the rest of the world; they are also specifically taught to hate Jews and Christians who must be either forcefully converted or destroyed. Young men are told that Allah, the god of Islam, requires them to be ready to offer their own lives to achieve such a purpose. This so-called 'radicalisation' is required in the Koran and is a fundamental part of Islam.

The huge mistake of Western nations is to refuse to face the reality of the nature of Islam. Open discussion has been suppressed as 'Islamophobic'.

It was perhaps the Islamist hatred of Jews that was the reason why the Bataclan Theatre in Paris was targeted – because it is Jewish-owned and has staged pro-Israel productions in the past. When the Charlie Hebdo attack took place earlier this year a Jewish restaurant was also targeted.

Different Values

The Western Christian nations have to learn that Muslims live in a totally different world with a totally different set of social values from those that Christians embrace from the Bible.

A Muslim is allowed to deceive and lie if it advances the cause of Islam; they believe that they are serving Allah when killing Jews and Christians and if they die while murdering them they will be rewarded in the life hereafter. This lack of respect for human life is in stark contrast to Judaeo-Christian teaching, where life is seen as a sacred gift from God.

Our Response

How should we react to the Paris atrocities? We should study the teaching of Islam and the history of Muhammad, who indiscriminately slaughtered Christians and Jews and anyone else who opposed him (he would undoubtedly approve of the slaughter in Paris). We need to recognise the spirit that drives those who follow the teaching of Islam, whether it is in the Middle East or in Nigeria or in France.

Most importantly, we should ask seriously: why did God allow this atrocity to happen? Have the Western nations put themselves outside the protection of God by abandoning their Judaeo-Christian heritage - by passing laws that are directly contrary to the Bible - by indulging in practices that are offensive to God?

We should study the teaching and history of Islam, as well as the teaching of the Bible, and we should ask seriously: why did God allow this atrocity to happen?

But we should also study the teaching of the Bible which makes it clear that spiritual forces can only be overcome by a more powerful Spirit. The Apostle Paul says:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph 6:12)

He recommends putting on the full armour of God for our own protection and seeking the power of God to overcome the spirit of evil in the world.

It is a very hard lesson to learn, even for committed Christians, that love is actually stronger and more powerful than hatred. Truth, goodness and generosity are more powerful than evil and violence. The battle with Islam cannot be won with human weapons but only through the Spirit of God.

The Bible makes it clear that spiritual forces of evil can only be overcome by a more powerful Spirit – the Spirit of God.

As the world responds to the attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait, Islam faces an internal crisis of identity. Clifford Hill asks: who are the true Muslims?

"Islam is a Religion of Peace." These were the words of Prime Minister, David Cameron, broadcast to the world immediately after he heard the news of the indiscriminate killing of 30 British tourists sunbathing on the beach in Tunisia. He said that the man who carried out this atrocity was not a true Muslim because "Islam is a religion of peace".

On the BBC News this statement was immediately followed by an interview with an expert on Islam who said that some Muslims use Ramadan as a "season of war" to further the cause of Islam against unbelievers. It was also reported that the Islamic State has been urging Muslims across the world to target Westerners and promising that Allah will reward 'martyrs' tenfold during Ramadan. Their definition of a 'martyr' is one who dies while killing non-Muslims – especially Jews and Christians.

But the Islamic State does not restrict their activities to killing Westerners. The suicide bomber who blew himself up in a mosque in Kuwait was targeting Shia Muslims whom the Sunnis regard as unbelievers: Which raises the question: who are the true Muslims?

Sisi's Call

President Sisi of Egypt has called for a "Revolution in Islam... to stop making enemies of the whole world". He said "We need a religious revolution" to reinterpret the texts that came from the time of Muhammad's warlike rise to power.

This important statement was reported in the New York Times on 1 January 2015, but as far as I am aware has been given no publicity in the British press. Why the silence? Are British journalists so afraid of offending Muslims that they dare not report a call from a prominent Muslim to sort out the problems of violence in their religion?

Jihadist Fighters

If an all-out war between Western culture and Islam is to be avoided Islamic scholars have to face fundamental questions about their faith. The jihadist fighters in the Islamic State in Syria and Northern Iraq claim to be the only true Muslims.

If an all-out war between Western culture and Islam is to be avoided, Islamic scholars have to face fundamental questions about their faith."

This is no doubt the reason why a whole family of 12, including three generations, have gone to join them. It is not only hot-blooded teenagers who are attracted to ISIS, but those who want to live in a genuine Muslim state. The jihadists say that those Muslims who oppose them have been corrupted by Western values and are not true Muslims. They claim that they are spreading Islam by force in exactly the same way as Muhammad and that he is their role model. So who are the true Muslims?

Qur'an Verses

There are plenty of verses in the Quran to support the jihadists. The man who murdered the defenceless tourists on the beach at Sousse can justify his actions by quoting, "It was not you, but Allah, who slew them. It was not you who smote them: Allah smote them so that he might richly reward the faithful. Allah hears all and knows all" (Quran 8:17).

In the same way the ISIS fighters in Iraq who are beheading their captives can justifiably claim to be doing exactly what Muhammad did in April AD 627, when he slaughtered the whole Jewish population of Banu Qurayza near Medina. This is recorded by ex-Muslim historian M A Khan who says,

The surrendered Jews offered to go into exile like the Banu Nadir tribesmen exiled two years earlier. Muhammad rejected the proposal; instead, he decided to slaughter all their adult males, some 800 to 900 of them. Their adulthood was determined by the growth of pubic hair. The women and children were captured as slaves and their homes and properties were as usual confiscated and distributed amongst the Muslims. The Islamic god gave an emphatic sanction to these barbaric atrocities by revealing: "Some ye slew and ye made captive some. And Allah caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things" (Quran 33.26 – 27).

A trench was dug at the marketplace; and in Muhammad's presence, those 800 – 900 captives were brought to the brink of the trench with their hands tied behind and were beheaded with swords before pushing the dismembered bodies into it. Muhammad himself chopped off the heads of two Jewish leaders. The spectacle went on from morning through the day and continued by torchlight into the night. [M A Khan, Islamic Jihad, p35]

Islam in Crisis

Today, the whole of Islam is in crisis. It clings to its mediaeval roots while trying to exist in an advanced secular liberal culture that cherishes freedom of speech and respects individual choice, equality and tolerance. Islam respects none of these things- with the result that multitudes are leaving it.

Islam is suffering an internal crisis of identity, as extremists force its followers to ask who the true Muslims really are."

In Indonesia, 2 million Muslims are converting to Christianity every year. In Europe and America, millions of Muslims have settled in the West because they are looking for a better life, but their imams are repeating verses from the Quran forbidding them to make friends with Jews or Christians. These ordinary Muslims are only looking for a quiet life, to earn a living, raise their families and live at peace with their neighbours. They too are asking the question, who are the true Muslims?

Peaceful Majority

Most Muslims in the West are embarrassed by the acts of terrorism carried out in the name of Islam. But the Islamic scholars refuse to consider any revision of their Scriptures which were written for a mediaeval society and have little or no relevance in a modern urban industrial technological society. This article from the Middle East Media Research Institute gives an indication of the internal battle that is going on within Islam.

We should be calling upon Islamic scholars to examine their scriptures and give definite rulings that the historical narratives associated with the teaching of Muhammad and the early days of Islam are no longer valid today. They need to declare definitively what the valid beliefs and practices are for true Muslims today and separate them from mediaeval practices that are no longer central to Islam in the 21st century.

The future peace of the world depends, not upon stepping up the efficiency of the security services in Muslim-majority nations where Western holidaymakers go, or putting up the barriers at home, but on the willingness of Islamic scholars to give definitive answers to the question: who are the true Muslims?

Battle of Values

David Cameron is perfectly right in saying that this is a battle of values: it is an ideological clash between a mediaeval religious narrative and a modern secular narrative: emanating from Islamic State, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram and similar organisations that insist on following the teaching of the Quran and the example of Muhammad. They believe that they are the only true Muslims and they are prepared to fight brutal war to enforce their ideology on others.

The greatest danger facing the West is in escalating the war in the Middle East. There are strong voices in the British Government advocating all-out war upon the Islamic State – bombing them in Syria as well as Iraq. But this is entirely the wrong tactic. It is the same mistake as the Crusaders made 1000 years ago. And it will harden attitudes and drive more young men to abandon the West and fight for the jihadists.

War on the Middle East is the wrong tactic - the same mistake the Crusaders made 1000 years ago - it will only harden attitudes. We need to present a different narrative."

A Different Narrative

The only way to win this war is on the ideological front: by presenting a different narrative. It is here that the teaching of Jesus to love our enemies is the greatest weapon that we have. There is nothing in the New Testament that encourages Christians to fight and everything points to putting our trust in God.

Many Christians believe that God has allowed millions of Muslims to come into the West so that they may experience at first-hand a different ideology. Christians have to say to Muslims that Western values are not Christian values! This throws a great responsibility upon Christians to live in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, to love our new neighbours and to show the power of a living faith that transforms lives of bitterness and hatred into love and gentleness.

The teaching of Jesus to love our enemies is the greatest weapon we have. It is up to Christians to show practically its power to transform lives."

If this is God's strategy for bringing peace and harmony into a world of darkness, there has to be a renouncing of violence by Western nations as well as positive action by Christian churches to reach out to the Muslims in their neighbourhood: not only speaking about the love of God, but showing that love practically in their lives.

The Editorial Team of Prophecy Today want to express their compassion and concern for all the families who have suffered in the terrible events at Sousse in Tunisia.

The news that most of the holidaymakers on the beach were British and that the number of dead is likely to exceed 30 has numbed the nation. The carnage on the beach shown in a multitude of photos on the media resembled a war scene and the list of dead and injured appearing on the Internet has sent a shockwave right across Britain.

In an interview this morning on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme Prime Minister, David Cameron said that the Islamic State had declared war on us.

He said, "I think that frankly, we are a target. They have declared war on us, they are attacking our people at home and overseas whether we like it or not... They are attacking our way of life and what we stand for."

He warned, "There are people in Iraq and Syria who are plotting to carry out terrible acts in Britain and elsewhere and as long as ISIL exists in those two countries we are at threat." He said that Britain is the second most active country in launching air attacks upon the Islamic fighters. But he added that it wasn't enough to "destroy [IS] at source".

He said "We have to deal with this appalling radical narrative that's taking over the minds of young people in our country. It's a battle of our values and our narrative against their values and their narrative. We have to get that right as well as the military end of things." [emphasis added]

The Narrative Battle

The Prime Minister is right in saying that the real battle is to do with values. But he is wrong to speak about a military defeat of the Islamic State. You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war: it can only be successfully tackled with a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling.

If a full-scale war between Islamic radicals and the West is to be avoided, we have to act now before the situation deteriorates further. We have to recognise the nature of the ideological conflict between the values being propagated by radical Islam and those of the West which are still based predominantly upon our Judaeo-Christian heritage.

You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war, only by a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling."

The right way to deal with this situation is for Quranic scholars and Biblical scholars to come together and examine their Scriptures. We have to stop these foolish statements about "we all worship the same God". This is clearly untrue as even a cursory comparison of the teaching of Jesus and Muhammad shows.

One of the sayings of Muhammad is, "The recompense of those who make war on Allah and his messenger and exert themselves to cause corruption in the land is that they should be killed or crucified, or that their hands and feet on opposite sides should be cut off." (Quran 5:37)

This is in strong contrast to the teaching of Jesus, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy'. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43).

It is this basic contrast in values that lies at the heart of Islam and Christianity which has to be faced. At the same time we are warning against an escalation of the war in the Middle East and calling for a dialogue between the scholars of Islam and Christianity.

Call for Dialogue

We know, of course, that there have been many periods in history when those who claim to be followers of Jesus have not followed his teaching as in the atrocities of the Crusades. And we know that the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving people who follow those parts of the Quran that advocate peace rather than war.

Our call is for the scholars of both Christianity and Islam to come together and solve what David Cameron rightly describes as a 'clash of values'. We do not see this as some kind of attempt to harmonise the two religions, but rather to highlight the differences in social values that may lead at least to peaceful co-existence and counteract the attraction of the Islamic State's propaganda that is currently attracting young Muslims.

In Prophecy Today we will elaborate this call for dialogue further later this week, in an article entitled "Who are the true Muslims?" In the meantime we ask all our readers to pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones and also for the protection of the nation from further terrorist attacks as we come up to the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings of 2005.

Mission group Frontiers reports on God's miraculous work in Islamic communities world-wide. Frontiers concentrates on reaching unreached parts of the Muslim world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This article is taken from the latest issue of their magazine 'Connected' and includes an interview with David Garrison, author of 'A Wind in the House of Islam'...

"The Lord says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.'" (Isa 49:6)

Muslim men praying

So many of us in the West view Jesus as our own personal Saviour and Friend, our Lord and God, but we forget that he is so much more! Even if we long for our friends and family to know the grace and redemption that we have experienced in Christ, we can still have far too narrow a view of what God's plans are for us and for the nations.

This verse above and the testimonies below help us realise once again that we serve the God of all the earth, the Creator of all things, and the Saviour of all mankind. If the news about the Islamic State, Boko Haram, Al Shabab et al frightens and depresses you, we hope that this article will bring you an incredible sense of hope.

See, I am doing a new thing! (Isa 43:9)

When Frontiers was founded in the early 1980s many of our field workers were inspired by books like I Dared To Call Him Father and The Torn Veil, wherein one brave Muslim shares the story of how they came to faith in Jesus. Many of us then grew in faith as we saw several new believers gather together to follow Jesus in the countries where we were working.

In the last few years, however, our faith has risen to new heights because of the many places in the Muslim world where the number of churches is growing exponentially. We no longer merely talk about new believers or new churches; we now talk about whole movements to Christ (David Garrison's definition is 1,000 baptisms or 100 churches started in one people group). We no longer simply pray for the ones and twos; we now pray with expectation for hundreds to believe. These are exciting times: far from the eyes and the interest of the world's popular media, God is on the move in the Muslim world in extraordinary ways.

Something is happening - something historic, something unprecedented." ~ David Garrison

An Unprecedented Move of God

David Garrison travelled over a quarter of a million miles, meeting and interviewing about a thousand Muslim background followers of Jesus. He wanted to find out their stories and, in particular, what God had used to bring them to faith.

From his painstaking and thorough research, and with extensive input from leading missiologists, he wrote a book entitled A Wind in the House of Islam (reviewed here). Here are David's answers to some key questions.

The nine 'rooms' of IslamWhat is The House of Islam?

David: The House of Islam, 'Dar al-Islam' in Arabic, is the name Muslims give to an invisible religious area that stretches from West Africa to the Indonesian archipelago, encompassing 49 nations and 1.6 billion Muslims. This area can be categorised into nine rooms: West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, the Arab World, the Persian World, Turkestan, Western South Asia, Eastern South Asia and Indo-Malaysia. Movements to Christ have occurred in each of these nine rooms.

What is happening in the Muslim world today?

David: From one end of the Muslim world to the other, Muslims are having dreams and visions and seeing specific answers to their prayers. Many talked to me about how they tested God and said, "If this is real, I'm going to pray and, if you're really there Lord, I want you to hear this." And Jesus began to reveal himself. They came to realise that to follow Christ was to follow a living Lord, and that realisation was the real turning point.

I believe, through the research I have done, that somewhere between two and seven million Muslims have come to follow Jesus just in the last two decades, which is staggering! God is at work in the Muslim world, frankly, in ways that we have never seen before.

There are now more Muslims turning to Christ than at any point in history."

69 movements have happened in the last 14 years, from West Africa to Indonesia and everywhere in between. One of the most striking examples is what's happening in Iran today. We're seeing that, following the Islamic Revolution, many people have become disillusioned with Islam. They are turning to all sorts of things; not necessarily to Jesus, but certainly tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Iranians in the last few decades, have come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Why are so many Muslims turning to Christ?

David: There are several contributing factors: God is giving Muslim-background believers increasing boldness to talk about their new faith with their friends and family. There are many more cross-cultural workers these days willing to go as families to these difficult places to share the gospel with Muslims. Prayer is making a substantial difference. The 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim world during the month of Ramadan has now been going for 22 years, during which time more than 80% of all these movements have occurred. The Word of God is being translated into the heart language of many Muslim peoples and being produced in video and audio format.

Why did you write the book?

David: Firstly, I wanted to document these movements with historical accuracy. Secondly, I wanted to encourage Christians who are fearful of or feel threatened by Muslims to consider God's perspective. This is their 'day of salvation' and God wants to use us to love Muslims, to minister to them and to take the gospel to them. I wanted to show the ways that God is at work in the Muslim world, because clearly something is happening that we haven't seen before. The body of Christ worldwide can learn from the testimonies of the courageous men and women that I met. Finally, I hope this book will be an inspiration to Muslims who are considering another way, that they might find truth, forgiveness and a living relationship with God.

Testimony from the Horn of Africa

Man reading the Injil (New Testament)

One day someone gave me an Injil (New Testament) and it was in the Arabic language! I was astonished because I had been told that the New Testament had been corrupted, but this was in Arabic and God would never allow Arabic to be corrupted, as that's His language. So I took it home and began reading it that night.

When I went to sleep I had a dream. I saw a minaret that had a broken speaker at the top which someone was working on. Then suddenly the entire minaret shook. I looked at the base of the minaret and saw a man with an axe trying to destroy it. I woke up feeling very shocked because when I saw the face of the person chopping the minaret, it was me. I had the same dream four times that night.

The next day I went to the man who gave me the Injil and asked him what the dream meant. He smiled and told me, "You are going to win many sheikhs for Christ!" I went and told my parents immediately of my decision to follow Christ. I lost my job (I had been the leader of an Islamic centre, responsible for training 300 Imams) and my father tried to kill me. Despite this, I was able to see 400 sheikhs come to Christ, 300 of whom have been baptised so far.

Celebrating God's mercy

I hope you are encouraged and excited by what God is doing! If you want to read more Scripture in the light of these issues, we suggest that you revisit the book of Jonah, whilst considering that he was called to go to a very challenging place, as many Frontiers workers are. The book of Habbakuk speaks powerfully into a time when God's people were crying out for answers concerning the violence all around them.

And don't forget the book of Acts, where we see Saul, the terrorist, meet Jesus and be transformed into a wonderful Jesus follower and apostle! Let's pray for more Sauls/Pauls in our day!

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Hab 3:2)

For more about Frontiers, check out their website: www.frontiers.org.uk or find them on Twitter and Facebook (frontiersuk).

STOP PRESS! DAVID GARRISON is coming to a church near you! Look up the dates and venues for David's forthcoming UK tour in June here: www.hopeformuslims.org

'A Wind in the House of Islam: How God is drawing Muslims around the world to faith in Christ', by David Garrison (WIGTake Resources, 2014, 328 pages, RRP $18.95, available on Amazon or direct from the book's website).

In the face of all the turbulence and strife in the Muslim world that we see on our TV screens and newspapers comes this unprecedented account of what God is doing in the world of Islam today. David Garrison, an American missionary and scholar who studied Arabic in Egypt, has examined a remarkable series of movements to Christ this century by Muslims.

He describes a ‘movement’ as 100 new church starts or 1000 baptisms in a two–decade period. Today, in more than 70 separate locations in 29 nations, new movements of Muslim background followers of Christ are taking place. Although the number of converts are relatively small within the context of the total world Muslim population, the results are extremely significant.

The author’s approach in exploring this extraordinary phenomenon has been to gather information from those directly involved and to present the experiences of individuals from their own perspectives. To this end he interviewed about 1,000 Muslim-background believers from the nine very different ‘rooms’ (geographical areas) where the House of Islam is significantly present. He describes how he interviews converts and seeks to find out why they converted. While acknowledging the weaknesses of this survey and his own biases he has sought to be as objective and accurate as possible. The whole issue of insider research is presented for the reader to assess.

This is a deliberately written book. It does not aim to be an academic treatise but a very readable and stimulating account of God at work. It also provides a good introduction to Muslim demographics and the history of (largely unsuccessful) mission to Muslims. The author seeks to explain why 84% of historical movements from Islam to Christianity have been seen this century and explores some of the barriers that hinder these movements today, as well as the errors of the past.

Above all, it is the testimonies of the new believers which are truly inspiring, especially because of the hatred, fear, deprivation and persecution they face. The author challenges those in the church to pray and get involved with the ministries and missions to Muslims.

Every Christian leader in the UK should read this book and communicate its truth to their congregations. It will put hope and joy in their hearts."

Dr Garrison has done us an extraordinary service in producing this great testimony of God’s activity in our time. The book is easy to read, and any Christian can get the obvious message that God is at work in the House of Islam. Every Christian leader in the UK should read this book and communicate its truth to their congregations. It will put hope and joy in their hearts.

Monica Hill’s recent article Surveying the World Church Scene provides some insightful statistics on global church trends. If we interpret these statistics through the discernment of the Holy Spirit we have some valuable information as to the ‘big picture’ of world affairs and what God is doing.

Those statistics which are particularly eye-catching relate to areas of the world once almost closed to Christians.

The picture of Indonesia is one such area. Monica wrote that whilst it:

still has the largest Muslim population in the world…Indonesia is also home to more Christians than all 20 countries in the Middle East/North Africa region combined…Although the official records still show 88% as being nominally Muslim there has been a tremendous Spiritual Awakening since the 1990s.

For one who has worked in such areas of the world and known missionaries who have prayed for a great harvest but seen nothing tangible for their life’s labours, this is an astounding picture. The extent of the Church’s growth in these countries surprises even me, who was expecting a harvest (though was unsure of the scale and the timing), having received prophetic insight some thirty years ago.

A vision ahead of time

On 1st April 1985 I saw the following. It was a waking vision as clear, I imagine, as when Joseph saw those visions of the famine in Egypt recorded in the Book of Genesis.

I saw a large field that had just been harvested. The field was filled, as far as the eye could see, with large sheaves of ripe corn. From out of the sheaves came wave after wave of young men, serious faced with a glow as if freshly washed. They wore the traditional Middle Eastern Jilaba and on their heads a Taqiyah, the traditional Arabic prayer cap. They struck me as being very serious young men.

At the time I did not know what I had seen, only relating the imagery in a general way to a harvest for the Kingdom of God. It was only later that I realised that I had been shown a promise of a great harvest of souls from the Muslim world.

At the time such a vision and promise would not have been understood by the majority of Christians. It was before awareness had grown of the challenge of Islam and the plans of God for the Muslim world. At the time, across Africa and Asia doors were closed to missionaries. There was estimated to be one missionary to one million Muslims. Yet, ahead of time the vision was given.

Looking forward

Now I see another significance relating to the timing of the vision. Coinciding exactly with this vision, April 1985 was the time of release of the first issue of Prophecy Today in its earlier format. My vision coincided with other prophetic insights being published from the beginning of Prophecy Today. Now, as we release the new online edition, the vision seems especially relevant.

As we look back, we are confident that we heard from God. As we look forward we have a basis from which we can understand the purposes of God as he brings shaking to the world – a shaking that is redemptive for all who will heed His call.

Monica Hill looks back:

In 1985, in the first issue of Prophecy Today, the message was an encouraging one: ‘I will Pour out My Spirit’ (Acts 2:17). Whilst this may still be relevant across other continents, in many parts of Europe Christianity is struggling; a more relevant message may well be the message to the church in Sardis: ‘Wake up and strengthen the things that remain’ (Rev 3:2). For many this has become a rear-guard defensive action, rather than a pro-active, progressive one.

The Overall World Picture

In his many writings in the early part of the last century, Kenneth Scott Latourette put the historical growth of Christianity from the first days of the early church into global perspective.¹ Each period of spectacular growth was followed by a period of decline until a new impetus came on the scene which led on to greater growth than had ever been known before. These cycles or waves of advance and retreat have always led the church onwards and upwards.

"From the first days of the early church, each period of spectacular growth was followed by a period of decline until a new impetus came on the scene which led on to greater growth than had ever been known before."

Global population has more than tripled in the last 100 years (from under 2 billion to 7 billion²). The growth of Christianity has roughly kept pace, being embraced by about a third of humanity.³ In the same time, however, Islam has been expanding much more rapidly, growing from 12% of the world’s population to 22%.⁴

Although Christians comprise just under a third of the world’s people, they form a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, about two-thirds of all the countries and territories in the world.⁵ About 90% of Christians currently live in these majority-Christian countries, where Christian values are mostly accepted; only about 10% of Christians worldwide live as minorities, adapting their living and experiencing different levels of acceptance.

Half (48%) of all Christians in the world live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians, where Christianity is widely accepted and deeply established.⁶ Three of these are in the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Mexico), two are in Europe (Russia and Germany), two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China) and three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia).

Movement of the Centre of Christianity⁷

Until 100 years ago, Europe had been the centre of global Christianity for a millennium: in 1910, about two-thirds of the world’s Christians were in Europe.⁸ In the 19th century Europe had also become the biggest missionary sending-continent (North America took over that baton in the 20th Century; time alone will tell who takes it on next).

Today, only about a quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%). A plurality – more than a third – are now in the Americas (37%). About one in every four Christians lives in sub-Saharan Africa (24%), and about one-in-eight is found in Asia and the Pacific (13%). So whilst there are over 2 billion Christians of all ages around the world, no single continent or region can now claim indisputably to be the centre of global Christianity.

"Since 1910 Christianity has moved from being centred in Europe to being dispersed around the world, shifting from rich nations to poorer ones."

This dispersal also represents a general shift in Christianity away from rich nations towards poorer nations. Last century, the Global North (a short-hand for the wealthiest nations in the world, commonly defined as North America, Europe, Australia, Japan and New Zealand) contained more than four times as many Christians as the Global South (the rest of the world). Today, more than 1.3 billion Christians live in the Global South (61%), compared with about 860 million in the Global North (39%).⁹

Current areas of major growth: Africa and Asia-Pacific

The fastest growth in the number of Christians over the past century has been in Sub-Saharan Africa (a roughly 60-fold increase, from fewer than 9 million in 1910 to more than 516 million in 2010) and in the Asia-Pacific region (a roughly 10-fold increase, from about 28 million in 1910 to more than 285 million in 2010).¹⁰

"In the last century, Christianity has increased 60-fold in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 10-fold in Asia-Pacific."

Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world, behind China, India and USA.¹¹ Its population grew from 162m in 1985 to over 253m in 2014, and it still has the largest Muslim population in the world. However, Indonesia is also home to more Christians than all 20 countries in the Middle East/North Africa region combined. Since the bloody coup d’état in 1965 everyone has to be registered to one of six religions – namely Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.¹²

Although the official records still show 88% as being nominally Muslim¹³ there has been a tremendous Spiritual Awakening since the 1990s. When we were there in 2001, reliable Christian sources were reporting that the rate of conversion of Muslims to Christianity was so great that the total number of Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) in the population was approaching 50%, but for political reasons the Government supressed this information.

Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific now have a combined population of about 800 million Christians, roughly the same as the Americas. Five of the top 10 countries with the largest Christian populations are either in Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia) or Asia-Pacific (Philippines and China).¹⁴

In a relatively short time, Africa has gone from having a majority of followers of indigenous, traditional religions, to being predominantly a continent of Christians and Muslims. Christians are now estimated to be 40% of the continent's population, with Muslims forming 45% - roughly divided between the South and the North, respectively.¹⁵

"In a relatively short time, Africa has gone from having a majority of followers of indigenous, traditional religions, to being predominantly a continent of Christians and Muslims."

Christianity is embraced by the majority of the population in most Southern African, Southeast African, and Central African states, and others in some parts of Northeast and West Africa. The Coptic Christians make up a significant minority in Egypt but the strong 1st century church of Tertullian in North Africa is struggling for survival.¹⁶ Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to include Anglicans and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation.¹⁷

Other growth areas: Latin America and China

Across the Atlantic, the majority of Latin Americans are Christians (90%), mostly Roman Catholics (Brazil has more than twice as many Catholics as Italy¹⁸).

However, membership in Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador and Puerto Rico. Latin American Protestants numbered 64 million in 2000 (compared to 50,000 in 1990), with three-quarters of this total being Pentecostal and Charismatic.¹⁹ In the late 1990s, 8,000 Latin Americans were deserting the Catholic Church every day for Evangelical Protestantism.²⁰ Venezuela, which is 92% Catholic, officially recognised 15,000 evangelical churches in 2013.²¹

Finally, in China, after a hundred years of missionary effort there were only 100,000 believers at the time of the 1927 communist coup, followed by the prohibition of religion.²² Despite cruel persecution by the communist regime, until the 1990s the underground church grew and since then there has been a vast increase in the number of Christians and churches – so much so that by 2030 it is predicted there will be more Christians in China than in the whole of the United States.²³

"By 2030 it is predicted there will be more Christians in China than in the whole of the United States."

Areas of major decline, and the challenge from Islam

The most drastic recent declines in Christian populations have been in Syria and Iraq, where there have been significant ancient communities from the early church days. Though the region is often recognised as the birth place of Christianity, Christian communities are being obliterated there as the Islamic State becomes established.²⁴

Indeed, today the Middle East/North Africa has the lowest concentration of Christians (c.4% of the region’s population) and the smallest number of Christians (c.13 million) of any major geographic region.²⁵

Islam is now the world’s second largest religion after Christianity. Since 1985 and the first issue of Prophecy Today, Islam has increased by 25% in North America, by 142.35% in Europe and by 257.01% in Australia and Oceania / Pacific, with the global Muslim population growing at nearly twice the rate of non-Muslim populations.²⁶

According to these statistics, one in five people on the planet are Muslim. Whilst it is difficult to predict future trends, several speculators suggest that by the middle of this century Islam could have more adherents than Christianity.²⁷

What is happening in Britain?

According to the Daily Telegraph, the UK population grew from 56 million in 1985 to 64 million in 2015, with half of the increase being in the last 12 years and the UK now showing the fastest population growth in Europe.²⁸ Through the twin pressures of secularisation and immigration, the religious make-up of the UK has become extremely diverse. The 2011 Census showed that Islam and minority and alternative religions are steadily growing, whilst less than half of the British people believe in a God.²⁹

Christianity in Britain has suffered an immense general decline since the 1950s. Between 1979 and 2005, half of all Christians stopped going to church on a Sunday.³⁰ In 2006, Tearfund found that two thirds of the UK have no connection with any religion or church, even though 59.3% put their religion down as “Christian".³¹ Britain, once a proudly Christian country, is gradually being replaced with ‘post-Christendom’ and all the problems this brings.

  "Between 1979 and 2005, half of all British Christians stopped going to church on a Sunday."

It is, however, unlikely that a religious vacuum will remain for too long. Many of our cities, like Leicester, now have more mosques than churches. But recent news of a wave of Muslim converts to Christianity could signal good news for the future - is the church prepared for this?

In the last 30 years the UK church presence has fragmented into a number of smaller groupings and there has been a significant decline in traditional denominations with many church closures. The Christian presence would have drained much more quickly had new churches not been planted and established, and had a renewed emphasis not been put on taking the church into new areas with evangelistic outreaches.

"The Christian presence would have drained much more quickly had new churches not been planted and established"

Fresh Expressions³² working with the traditional churches has been one of the most successful ways of redefining church, with our personal involvement with the Christian Resources Exhibition and The Sharing Show resulting in publicity being given to the many new initiatives and the Love outreach.

Additionally, whereas in the 19th century Britain was a significant missionary-oriented country taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth, Christians from these countries are now coming here to re-evangelise our nation. Africa and Asia are leading the way. The Black Majority churches are now the fastest-growing in London,³³ and many ethnic-led Bible Colleges and Church Planting schools are also springing up.

What of the Hopes for Charismatic Renewal?

In the early 1980s the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements were at their height, not only in this country but also worldwide, and hopes ran high that Charismatic renewal would penetrate every sector of the church world-wide with new vitality and purpose.

During the intervening 30 years this movement has settled down in the UK and developed an ‘orthodoxy’, so it is seen now as just one aspect of a wider church scene. In many places this institutionalisation has hindered its growth, so that like the Church in Ephesus (Rev 2:4), it may have lost sight of its first love. Increasingly, therefore, all the messages to the churches in Revelation 2-3 are relevant to Christians in the UK today.

Is there any hope for the UK?

We must never give up hope that God is in control as he reveals more and more of his truth and love. Thirty years ago Prophecy Today had links with churches and Christians in many different parts of the world which led to a sharing of their insights and experiences within the pages of the magazine. It is hoped that this will continue in future, so that Prophecy Today will offer people a grounded, biblical understanding of the trends discussed here.

Since 1985 new technology and increased travel and migration has opened more doors to the Gospel within and between countries. Pray that this will continue to fulfil the Great Commission that Christ gave to his disciples in Matthew 28:18-20, which has never been rescinded.

References

1 Latourette, K S, 1953. History of Christianity. Vol 1 & 11, Harper and Row.

2 World population is currently increasing at 1.21% per year and is predicted to continue to grow well into the 22nd Century but at much reduced rates.

3 Growth of Religion (Christianity), Wikipedia.

4 Growth of Religion (Islam), Wikipedia.

5 Pew Research Center, 2012. Religion & Public Life Project.

6 Ibid.

7 Unless otherwise stated, all statistics in this section are taken from the executive summary of the Pew Research Center’s Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population.

8 Historical estimate by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.

9 The total population of the Global South is about 4.5 times greater than the population of the Global North.

10 See note 5.

11 Demographics of Indonesia: Religions, Wikipedia.

12 Religion in Indonesia, New World Encyclopedia.

13 International Religious Freedom: Indonesia. UNHCR report, 2009.

14 See note 5.

15 Encyclopædia Britannica, 2003. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, p306

16 Coptic Christianity, Got Questions.

17 See note 5, also http://www.history.com/topics/reformation

18 See note 5.

19 Allen, J L, 2006. The dramatic growth of evangelicals in Latin America, NCR Online, 18 August.

20 Study commissioned in the late 1990s by CELAM, the federation of Latin American Catholic bishops' conferences. Allen, J L, 2006. The Pentecostal phenomenon in Latin America, NCR Online, 20 December.

21 Martinez, J, 2013. Venezuelan Gov’t to Legally Recognize 15,000 Evangelical Churches, Christian Post, 11 September.

22 Anderlini, J, 2014. The rise of Christianity in China, FT Magazine, 17 November.

23 Phillips, T, 2014. China on course to become world’s most Christian nation in 15 years, The Telegraph, 19 April.

24 Nazemroaya, M D, 2014. Wiping out the Christians of Syria and Iraq to remap the Middle East: Prerequisite to a clash of civilizations? Strategic Culture Foundation, Centre for Research on Globalization, 30 July.

25 See note 5.

26 Tsang, S, 2011. Muslim Populations in the World, Diversity Statistics.

27 Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 2001. Growth rates of Christianity and Islam.

28 Bingham J, 2014. UK has had fastest growing population in Europe for a decade, 26 June.

29 Crabtree, V, 2012. Religion in the UK: Diversity, Trends and Decline.

30 See note 29.

31 Tearfund, 2007. Churchgoing in the UK report.

32 www.freshexpressions.org.uk

33 Brierley Consultancy, The London Church Census, June 2013.