And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. Revelation 6:9
On a riverbank in North Korea, a group of women had gathered to wash clothing in the stream. As one of the women was working, a New Testament fell from her pocket in full view of a guard who had accompanied the work party. Immediately, the woman was seized and dragged away for interrogation. Before the day was ended, she was convicted of crimes against the government and was executed. Sadly, her story is not an isolated case. And it is not just in North Korea where Christians are being slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they hold. An organization called Open Doors, which claims to speak for persecuted Christians worldwide, documented more than 2100 cases of Christians dying for their faith in 2013, almost twice as many as in the year before. Open Doors states that Islamist extremism is currently the greatest persecutor of Christians. Whether these figures are accurate, we cannot know, although it is clear that faithful Christians are paying for that faithfulness with their blood. If we think it’s bad now, we can’t imagine how much worse it will be during the great tribulation.
Most credible students of prophecy agree that many millions of people will trust Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord during the great tribulation. This world will be evangelized by 144,000 Jewish messengers, among others, and the message will be far-flung and powerful. But it will be an entirely different world from what we know today. Because of the control of authority and economy by the Antichrist, those who believe will face terrible persecution and slaughter. Many of those who will be saved in those days will know that their confession of faith will be an automatic death sentence. The Antichrist won’t want any Christians around and will act mercilessly to get rid of them. And there will be nothing to stop him from doing so. He will also have the popular support of the people for killing off the Christians. How do I know this? I know it because the devil is already working today to turn people against Christians and against the Lord Jesus.
The new age movement teaches a false gospel of self improvement and human advancement that is very attractive to people today. But one of the tenets of this movement is the purging out of elements of society that will obstruct the so-called great advances. Who would obstruct this movement and expose its lies for what they are? Those who believe the Bible and follow Jesus Christ! Another group that wants to rid the world of true Christians is the homosexuality movement. Because the Bible refutes their claims that their abominable lifestyle is normal and acceptable, they are engaged in an intense anti-Bible campaign. As we see the growth of such enemies of the Cross, we must wonder whether the persecution for standing up for the Word of God and the testimony that we hold will begin for us even before the great tribulation.
I believe some of us may be called upon to pay a great price for our faith. If so, it will be a price well worth the paying. -Jim MacIntosh