He stated: "Most people would say that journalists [in such cases] had failed to provide the proper context to understand the news. Yet that's routinely what media outlets do when it comes to outbreaks of anti-Christian persecution around the world, which is why the global war on Christians remains the greatest story never told of the early 21st century" (Oct. 5, 2013).

During this relatively new century, appalling examples of persecution, murder and forced exile have happened in Egypt, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea and even India. Yet even these terrible occurrences should be seen in a much wider context.

Allen continues in The Spectator: "According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular observatory based in Frankfurt, Germany, 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians. Statistically speaking, that makes Christians by far the most persecuted religious body on the planet."

Persecution against Christians in countries like Britain and America remains much less dramatic than murder, brutal deprivation and the voluntary or involuntary exile of refugees. But it is still there. For instance, a headline in Britain's Mail Online reads "Christians Lose Out to Atheists for Senior Jobs as Religious People [primarily Christians] Are 'Held Back From Top Positions'" (Aug. 3, 2013).

Further, a blurb beneath the headline of a Telegraph article stated that "Britain's most senior policeman has been urged to issue guidelines to his officers to protect Christians' rights to free speech, amid claims they are suffering intimidation and discrimination from police" ("Christians Demand Free Speech Guidance From Scotland Yard Chief," July 27, 2013).

And then there is the actual brutality and slaughter that Christians face in other parts of the world. Allen stated: "In effect, the world is witnessing the rise of an entire new generation of Christian martyrs. The carnage is occurring on such a vast scale that it represents not only the most dramatic Christian story of our time, but arguably the premier human rights challenge of this era as well."

Paul and the original apostles of Christ were brutally martyred except possibly John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. The Bible clearly indicates that persecution and martyrdom will increase and intensify at the time of the end. (Sources: The Spectator, The Telegraph, Mail Online.)