ABUJA (AFP) – President Goodluck Jonathan
has questioned whether deadly Islamist attacks
on churches in his country and other violence
worldwide could be signs of coming “end
times”. Jonathan, speaking after 15 Christians had
their throats slit last week in the country’s
northeast, also suggested Islamist extremist
group Boko Haram aimed to take over the
Nigerian capital Abuja, but vowed the group
would be defeated. During comments Sunday in which he
mentioned attacks on churches in Nigeria,
Syria’s war and the situation in the Central
African Republic, where rebels have pushed
their way across the impoverished country,
Jonathan spoke of the Biblical end times. “I was just wondering, could this be a clear
way of telling us that the end times are so
close?” he told the church congregation,
according to a recording of his remarks heard
by AFP. Some Christians believe in the idea of chaos in
connection with the second coming of Jesus
Christ, commonly referred to as the “end times”.
Such beliefs are based on passages in the New
Testament’s Book of Revelation. Jonathan was speaking at an evangelical
Christian church service in the capital. The
church belongs to the EYN denomination,
common among Christians in the violence-torn
northeast, where Boko Haram is based. Local media quoted the church pastor as saying
109 EYN members have been killed and 50
branches burnt. Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency in
northern and central Nigeria has left some
3,000 people dead since 2009, including
killings by the security forces. Muslims and symbols of Nigerian authority
have often been their targets, but the group
has also specifically targeted Christians,
including suicide bombings of churches. This Christmas season has however been
notably less bloody than in 2011, when scores
were killed in attacks on churches and other
locations. Jonathan has previously accused Boko Haram
of seeking to destabilise the government and
incite a religious crisis in Nigeria, Africa’s most
populous nation, roughly divided between a
mainly Muslim north and predominately
Christian south. On Sunday, while speaking of the rebels in the
Central African Republic, Jonathan said: “They
were quite close to taking over the capital city,
just as Boko Haram is taking over Abuja for me
and those working in government to run and
hide somewhere else.” He vowed however that Boko Haram would
not succeed and that the violence would be
brought under control. “If the idea of Boko Haram is to stop Nigerians
from worshipping God, they will not succeed,”
he said. “If the idea of Boko Haram is to stop
government from providing the dividends of
democracy, they will not succeed…. God willing
and with our commitment, the excesses of
Boko Haram and other criminal organisations
will be brought to a reasonable control.” Jonathan spokesman Reuben Abati did not
respond to a phone call to further explain the
president’s comments.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/jonathan-asks-if-violence-a-sign-of-end-times/

No, this is not end time but one Nigeria at work. If you doubt me ask Gowon the new prayer warrior in Nigeria.