Persecution against Christians is rapidly increasing across western countries. In many ways we are transitioning into a post-Christian era in historically Christian nations. Some may argue we have been in a post-Christian era for some time now.
Street preachers are being arrested. Hundreds of congregants have been fined by various governments over COVID policies. Some have lost their jobs due to sharing their Biblical values on their social media. Some have even been denied foster care and adoption opportunities because of their biblical beliefs. Dozens have faced fines or arrests for praying outside of abortion clinics. The west is no longer what it used to be.
In total 168 alarming incidents have been documented against those adhering to Biblical views. There is a stunning report from the Family Research Council. I highly recommend you pause now and take a moment to review those incidents. (Seriously, take 2 minutes and skim through it. Then share it with your friends.) You will not believe your eyes. FREE TO BELIEVE? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West 2024 Edition
Let us take a moment to highlight 7 out of the 168 incidents carried out against those that hold to Biblical values.
Again, I repeat, the west is no longer what it used to be. There is a fierce narrative war to redefine what once was common biblical values. The moral conscience of the western nations has been rewritten. Biblical values are no longer seen as just archaic. Now they are seen as hate crimes and even weapons of terror.
In the Fall of 2023, it became known that multiple FBI offices coordinated a memo deeming “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” as a potential security threat. Two studies from the University of Maryland that were funded by the United States Department of Homeland Security listed Christians as “perpetrators of terrorism.”
No doubt there are many factors contributing to the rising persecution trend against Christians. Of course, the entertainment industry’s irreverence to Biblical values is to be expected nowadays however it is appalling as we begin to see government entities and bureaucracies weaponize their power against Biblical values. We are beginning to see that even on a local level for example in school board meetings.
Not all factors contributing to the rise in persecution in the west are external. Some crucial factors come from within the global Christian community. For example, the softening up and watering down of strong convictions. Believers may no longer be equipped to endure persecution like those of our brothers and sisters that faced the Roman emperor Nero.
Secondly, rampant complacency and carelessness with sin; as if consequences no longer exist. Thirdly, political ideologies overtaking the pulpits coupled with looking to politicians as messianic figures. (We have a Messiah. He has come and He is coming again. You cannot vote in the Messiah. A friendly reminder that He is not Republican, Libertarian, or Democrat.) Lastly, unfortunately, and heartbreakingly, the all too familiar story of moral failures among believers and leaders in the Body of Christ.
Why do the nations rage
Psalm 2:1-3
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.
If I could pinpoint one passage that so adequately speaks into this moment it would be Psalm 2. I think of all these committees and councils from across the nations doing everything in their power to deny the Holy scriptures and oppose God’s purposes. The rest of the psalm goes on to detail how God has a solution to that problem. That solution is His son established as king reigning from Zion. This passage recalibrates my mind and heart as anxiety, worry, and fear begin to rise. Why? Because of verse four.
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
Psalms 2:4
the Lord holds them in derision.
He laughs. God laughs at this. He laughs at their futile attempts to disrupt his purposes; especially related to the enthroning of his son as king.
The second passage that comes to mind is Matthew 5:10-12.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12
These are words in red. These are words that Jesus spoke. “Great is your reward in heaven” that reminds us to lift our perspective higher. When we set our eyes on things above, we can truly endure things below. A simple analogy is the difference in a skyscraper from the ground floor or from the window of a 747 airliner. With that perspective even mountains can be moved easily.
I love Psalms 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! I think of a magnifying glass. When we magnify the Lord, we recalibrate our heart to his greatness. We reset from fear, anxiety, and worry to hope, trust, and joy!
This is the strategy Jesus is sharing at the Sermon on the Mount! He is saying, “hey guys, eyes on me, eyes up here. The kingdom of heaven is yours! Hang in a little while longer!” That is what the maranatha cry is.
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Revelation 6:9-11
The Maranatha cry is an internal compass within all believers. It is like a magnet that draws our yearning to Christ and to eternity. It is the eternal perspective the produces hope and endurance in our hearts to overcome the world. It is the way we can face persecution and not waver. It is how we “inherit all things!” It is the cry we see in the early persecuted church from Revelation 6.
It is ultimately the martyr’s cry for all those that have endured persecution even unto death. It is an eternal cry that transcends history, culture, and circumstances. It is the same chorus from the early church and will be the last. We need the maranatha to cry today to endure tomorrow.
The Bible has quite a bit to say about persecution here are a handful of Scriptures recommended for further study.
Jesus not only warned his disciples of persecution to come he prepared and equipped them on what to expect and how to endure. See Matthew 5:44, 10:23, 23:34; Luke 11:49, 21:12; John 15:20.
Acts 7 details the martyrdom of Stephen. Saul (Paul) is present at Stephen’s stoning and the next chapter describes a great persecution that arises, and as a result all scatter out of Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and surrounding regions. How does the early church respond to persecution and imprisonment for their belief in Jesus Christ? There are 26 mentions of prison in the book of Acts. Read them here.
Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
One of the ways the persecuted church responds is in prayer and song. They respond in that maranatha cry, oh Lord come! They respond with boldness and courage.
The goal is to encourage our hearts that we do have brothers and sisters in Christ who have faced the darkest extremes of persecution and have shown us the way forward, in boldness. The goal is not to bring shame or guilt by comparing ourselves with the early church.
There is a Biblical early church template that may alleviate some of those modern 21st century pressures. With the capacity to withstand the darkest of persecution with or without constitutional freedoms. (Again, this is not a disapproval or condemnation of the modern church experience.)
Global Catalytic Ministries originated in Iran and Afghanistan. Today we are in 73% of all Middle East and North Africa regions. We are impacting 53% of what is known as the 10/40 window. That is 5.37 billion individuals, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhist. In total, we are seeing disciple-making movements in 71 countries. Our disciple makers share a unique perspective serving as underground believers in Christ in nations like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Egypt.
In certain regions our teams are in a similar situation to the persecuted early church. Tragically, we have seen bold brothers and sisters stand firm and lose their lives for their faith in Christ. We have team members who have experienced imprisonment and torture for their faith. We have seen houses burned to the ground. Business burned to the ground. Properties vandalized. Children ridiculed at schools. Families torn apart. Families hunted through jungles.
However, just like the early persecuted church they see miraculous signs and wonders. They are seeing the rapid multiplication of obedient disciples. They are seeing the physically dead raised to life. They are seeing supernatural protection and guidance from the Holy Spirit. They are seeing divine encounters in bomb shelters. They are seeing former ISIS terrorist come to Christ. They are seeing the hardest of hearts melt. They are seeing centuries long cultural boundaries melt like wax at the table of Gospel.
And now we in the west, we are being faced with the same opportunities they have. To be a light in great darkness. We are the underground church. The underground church is simply those that obey the commands of Jesus. Quite honestly, we can drop the adjective. Together, east and west, we are disciples of Christ, we are the church.
The point is, we are going to make it. We have seen our brothers and sisters overseas make it. Not only are we going to make it. We are going to flourish. We are going to thrive. The gospel is going to explode under these increasing tense circumstances. You know why? Because this is what we were born for. Scratch that. This is what we were reborn for.
This is it friends. These are the days we have been preparing for all our lives. Be bold as lions. Now is the time to double down. Do not shrink back. Do not give up. Do not give into complacency. Step out in faith. Make war against comfort and convenience. Sow generously. Love unconditionally. Pour into your family, your children, and your marriage. Strengthen the bedrock of your homes. Skip a meal, fast. Study the word. Strengthen your inner man. Today is the next best day to prepare. Today is the next best day to be all that you are called to be in Christ. Do not wait for tomorrow.
Before we part ways. I must make mention of this vital distinction.
It is one thing to prepare for man to pursue you i.e., persecution. It is vastly different thing when God pursues you i.e., purification. Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body…
The most frightening portion of Revelation is not the dragon’s rage but the Lamb’s refinement of his church in chapters 2-3.
His grace is sufficient towards us to endure persecution with courage and humbly endure His refinement and purification with great hope. Let us make ourselves ready to meet our Bridegroom.
Let us rejoice and exult
Revelation 19:7
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
Learn to withstand persecution and share the gospel.
Join the Maranatha chorus.
Read about the persecution in Pakistan.
