The Time

This is a summary of an article in the AFA Journal published March 2020 titled, “The Time of Our Visitation” by Ed Vitagliano.

Since the 14^th century, the Turks had been rising in power and grabbling lands including Greece, the Balkans, some of the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa.

In the 1600’s Europe was deeply split between Catholics and Protestants and between France and the Habsburg Empire whose capital was Vienna.  For a long time the Ottoman Turks had an eye on that capital to claim it for themselves.  The conquest of Vienna would have given them access to all of Europe and a disaster for Christianity.

In 1683, the grand vizier Kara Mustafa led an army of 150,000 infantry and cavalry along with 100,000 support personnel and 300 large artillery pieces against Vienna.  The siege was established and over the next two months the defenders were slowly decimated.  Finally, a portion of the wall was captured.

Christian Europe, realizing what was at stake in the battle for Vienna, sent an army of some 65-75,000 to help the beleaguered city.  Mustafa was unmoved believing that his vastly superior army would make a quick end of the makeshift army.

However, the commander of the smaller army had experience fighting Ottoman Turks and had brought along 20,000 cavalry and 3,000 famed “Winged Hussars” – a Polish shock cavalry.  Each Hussar had a lance of 15-20 feet, a piercing sword, a broadsword, a curved saber, a wheel lock pistol and a carbine rifle.  Some even had war hammers, battle-axes, and curved bows.  But they were most famous for their huge wings made up of a frame attached to their saddle and covered with the feathers of eagle, swan, goose or other.

The “Christian” army had its first sight of Vienna on September 11.  The next day, the largest cavalry change in the annals of history took place.  After about 12 hours the Hussars broke through the flank of the Turks and then broke their line.  The Turks were defeated and two months later Mustafa was executed.  The Ottomans never again threatened Vienna.

The Christians recognized the “time of their visitation” and came together to defeat a common enemy that would have put both elements of Christianity into subjugation – the Protestants and the Catholics.  If the Turks would have succeeded, Christian Europe would have been no more.

Today the church in the United States is under assault by atheism, secularism, aggressive homosexuality, and radical Islam [PK would add Communism].  Today the church needs to realize the time of its visitation which Jesus declared to the Jews in Luke 19:41-44.  If they persisted in rejecting Him, their beloved city and country would be decimated by the Romans.  They rejected Him and He sent the Romans who in 70 A.D. leveled the city and its temple.  They failed to understand their times – they failed to understand His visit and invitation.

I Chronicles 12:32 reports that those of the tribe of Issachar understood the times and what needed to be done.  Such should be our cry to God – give us insights/understanding and wisdom for these days!

It is imperative for us to realize the “time of our visitation” grasping the severity of what we face and rise to do what needs to be done to His glory and for the good of our neighbor.