By Theodore Shoebat and Walid Shoebat
A video has just been released of ISIS holding as hostage a Christian man from Croatia named Tomislav Salopek. ISIS says that if Egypt does not release Islamic terrorists in the next 48 hours from prison that they will behead him. Here is the video, in which Tomislav speaks in English about his two children and his wife, Natasha. Just hearing his voice is heart wrenching:
Tomislav worked for a French geoscience firm. The Croatian government is “making all the efforts to resolve the difficult situation of the Croatian citizen T.S.,” said the Croatian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
When I look at this man, I see Christ; I see the Crucified Savior; I see one in union with the Divinity; I see one who bears “the marks of the Lord” (Galatians 6:20); I see one from whose very soul the rivers of truth flows with the words of the Apostle: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). It is easy for us to write about such things, and I saw this not without sadness; but what we can say with confidence is that the martyrs know more about God than any one of us on earth ever will; for they are one with God, being united in the much strived for theosis, and are completely absorbed in the Beatific Vision, so much so, that all thought of self is utterly nonexistent in the realm of eternal bliss.
They have entered the Ark of the Holy Cross and sailed across the ocean of death, and have reached ascension upon the eternal Mount Ararat of Heaven. The saint may find death a million times, but a million times will he find resurrection. No matter how many wounds his body bears, his soul still lives, and when the blade cuts him from the strings of life, the soul soars upward into the realm that has no beginning nor end, as the bird flies out of the hanging cage.
Before the flower blooms in the spring,
Before our eyes behold its beauties,
A seed must die in the callous soil,
Dead in the dirt,
It escapes our cares.
Before The tree can bear its luscious fruit,
Before we can taste of its sweet nectar,
A seed must die in the fecund but ruthless earth,
Perished in the loam,
It escapes our cares.
The source of life dissipates in the winds of our earthly pleasures,
And when death arrives from its voyage,
When death is near,
The wicked waste away in their slavery,
And never find liberation.
The righteous carry their cross,
they bear the marks of the Holy One,
They outstretch their arms and embrace the nails,
They bow before the will of Heaven,
And ornament their heads with the crown of thorns,
And as they hang from the wood,
They are assumed in the love of God,
For they are one with God,
And they say with the Apostle,
“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
Though death may find us a million times,
A million times will we find resurrection,
For this is the strength of the martyrs
Before the eyes can enjoy the beauties of the sun,
Before we can behold its splendid light,
As its orange hue glows with the endless sky,
Before we take delight in the rays of heaven,
We must endure the darkness of the night,
Death is all around us,
And yet this too escapes our cares.
Before a mother may take joy in her child,
Before the bliss of new life may grab ahold onto our heart,
Great pains must be endured,
Great agony must be endured.
But after the birth pains are done,
True peace springs.
The source of life dissipates in the winds of our earthly pleasures,
And the source of life is Christ,
He is the Seed,
That crushes the serpent,
He died so that we may find life,
He died that we may become trees,
Bearing forth sweet fruit for the soul.
Before we could obtain salvation,
Before the doors of Heaven were open to us,
Before we could enter the ecstasy of glorious paradise,
Christ had to endure the greatest of agony
Love was crucified, so that we could have love,
Mercy was crucified so that we could have mercy,
Justice was crucified so that we may know justice
When death arrives from its voyage,
When death is near,
The wicked waste away in their slavery,
And never find liberation.
As the prophet say,
“No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.” (Ecclesiastes 8:8)
So do not wait for death to be near,
Do not remain in the prison of sin,
‘Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.’ (Psalm 4:4-5)
Though death may find us a million times,
A million times will we find resurrection,
For this is the strength of the martyrs
I ask you to please give what you can to the persecuted Christians. We are working very hard to help Christians in Iraq, and we ask you to please help us in this mission.