Sunday, October 2, 2016

Simply Jesus Pt. 25: “...Before Governors & Kings for My Name’s Sake”

An article began making the rounds on Facebook last week concerning horrific events being carried out upon Christians living in North Korea. Some watch lists rank the country as the most dangerous place in the world to be a disciple of Christ. Its dictator, Kim Jong-Un, has imprisoned, tortured, and brutally executed thousands of unashamed followers of Jesus over the last several years.


Can you imagine being crucified, then while suffocating to death, lowered over a bonfire to be roasted? Can you imagine being bound to the ground, unable to move, while a steamroller slowly crushes your entire body inch by inch? Not only are these atrocious persecutions happening to Christians, but they are being enslaved, herded off bridges to their deaths, and even raped and molested.

Why is this being done? According to the downloadable investigative report mentioned in the article:

“Among other basic human rights denied to the people of North Korea, freedom of religion or belief is largely non-existent. Denial of this right has occurred since the 1950s, and the current leader, Kim Jong-Un, continues to violate citizens’ religious freedom. Religious beliefs are seen as a threat to the loyalty demanded by the Supreme Leader, so anyone holding these beliefs is severely persecuted. Christians suffer significantly because of the anti-revolutionary and imperialist labels attached to them by the country’s leadership.”

Basically, Christians in North Korea are viewed as enemies of the State because they are a threat to the worship of the Emperor and State. Every time someone wakes up to the reality of the gospel, the stability of the State is viewed as being weakened. The more people become Christians, the more people realize that the State and its leaders are false gods.

These are intense times we are living in, and Jesus told us these days would come.

“They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” – Luke 21:12-19

We know Kim Jong-Un's reasons for persecuting Christians, but look at what Jesus has to say about the events. He says that they are actually serving as an opportunity for Christians to share their testimonies in places and ways they couldn’t otherwise. Kim Jong-Un thinks that oppressing and exterminating Christians is accentuating his own greatness, but in reality, Jesus knows it only serves to extend His kingdom and glorify His name.

One of the most faith-strengthening effects of becoming so familiar with the early Christian writings over the last several years has been seeing the veracity of Jesus’ words be proven over and over by the Church in the first few centuries. Just like the snowball of a few deaths in North Korea gradually turned into an avalanche of fearless disciples, the early Christians gladly and nonviolently stood before governors and kings, with their deaths inspiring multitudes to believe in the new life offered by the True King. 

How powerful the word has become in a very few years, even though conspiracies were formed against those who acknowledged Christianity. On its account, some of them were put to death and others of them lost their property. Despite the small number of its teachers, it was preached everywhere throughout the world so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, gave themselves up to the worship that is through Jesus. We have no difficulty in saying that the result is beyond any human power. … “You shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake.” – Origen 225CE, Volume 4 p. 624 [CD-ROM]
What is happening in North Korea is both utterly tragic and ultimately triumphant. It is both horrific and a cause to shout, “Hallelujah!” We need to mourn and pray for our brothers and sisters who are going through such terrible suffering. But we also need to hold them in high honor, and praise the Lord in the highest that hundreds of thousands are coming to repentance as a result, and the Name of Jesus is being exalted above the false gods of the State. 

We can learn a lot from the faithfulness demonstrated by disciples in North Korea. 

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