Revelation 20:4
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
Prophesy is unfolding before our eyes. We in the Christian faith always hear of these being the end times and, indeed, I believe these are. But do the unsaved know what's going on? The answer is, no, they do not.
Before coming to saving faith in what was accomplished by Jesus on the cross, any kind of event like this would have been just another horrible event in history, but when God lifts the veils from our eyes, opens our minds to the truth of His Word, His Holy Spirit helps us understand Scripture and Prophecy and we recognize the context of these events with relation to the Bible and it brings sorrow and urgency to our hearts.
Before coming to Christ my initial reaction may have been outrage and a cry for retaliation. After my conversion, however, my initial reaction was to pray for mercy - on all of us. Then followed a deep desire to get out there and share the Gospel of Jesus, the Author of Peace. Not in any condemning way, but in love because my Saviour is returning soon and I wish for no one to be left behind, including those who have done this.
Jesus, says to love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, (Matt 5:44). Why? Why would He say something that is the opposite of what we believe or feel is right? He answers in the first part of the next verse, verse 45a: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven. I happen to read a little more in to it, though: Isn't this how He treated us before we were saved? Did not Jesus love us when we were yet unsaved and in rebellion to Him? Didn't He bless us even though we cursed Him? Didn't He do good to us when we hated Him? And doesn't the Bible say He is our Mediator between us and the Father? Did He not pray for us as recorded in John 17? Is it not written that while we were still sinners He died for us? And, is He not the Son of God? Jesus is the One we desire to be like, right? To be Christ-like is to be forgiving.
So let us pray for all those who are suffering, and will suffer, like these 21 Christians did for their faith in Jesus, but let us also pray our Father to be merciful to the unsaved, including those committing these acts, for the veil be lifted from their eyes as well.
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Coptic-Church-confirms-21-Egyptian-Christians-dead-after-ISIS-issues-said-beheading-video-391139
