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Author: Stephen Weller
664 words, 4 minutes read time

Persecution from Nations, Friends and Family

Scripture: Matthew 24:9-10; Mark 13:11; Luke 21:14-15, 17-19

In the previous lesson Jesus warned his disciples and us that as the end draws near persecution would increase. In this lesson we will learn more bad news about the persecution we may face.

^{Mt 24:9} “You will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ^{Lk 21:16} You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. ^{Mt 10:21} Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.

Because of my time spent in Asia, attendance at VOM conferences, and the reading I have done on persecution, these verses describe accurately what is happening today. There are countries that hate having Christians live within their borders and take steps, some rather severe, to reduce their number or even try to eliminate them altogether. As this pressure of persecution increases there are many that fall away from the faith and to save themselves from harm will act as informers and betray one another. There are many in the general public that are more than happy to assist their governments by keeping watch of one another for any Christian activity.

Persecution goes well beyond the forces of government and is found within families and among friends. A particular family may embrace a faith that stands against Christianity and believes that a believer in their midst would cause their family shame. Pressure would mount against that new believer to convert back to the faith embraced by the family or forced to leave the family, possibly even killed. There are so many areas of the world where Christianity is on the rise where persecution within families and among friends has become serious. With Christianity being the major religion here in the United States, we have not yet experienced persecution that believers in other countries have.

^{Lk 21:17} “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ¹⁸ [Yet] not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.

When Jesus lived among us, hatred against him grew to the point where they nailed him to a cross, and now with his death this hatred has turned against his followers in an attempt to eliminate them. During the tribulation time this persecution will greatly increase because of authority given to the beast: ⁵ “And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸ and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” (Revelation 13:5 – 8 ESV).

Knowing that some believers would be martyred, the statement “not a hair of your head will perish” would be a metaphorical way of saying that Christians would not suffer eternal spiritual harm. Those who endure through persecution are insured that they will partake of the full benefits of final salvation in the end times.

Conclusion

Are you aware of how many believers are being persecuted throughout the world today? When persecution comes to our country will you be prepared to endure it? Do you see any benefit that could result in the western church if persecution were to come soon? Might persecution be a benefit to your spiritual growth?

Response from Reader

In response to the above questions, I received an excellent response from David Istre, as seen below.

Response by Reader

As a missionary pastor working in a persecuted context, I have a different perspective on this subject.

I’ve seen a tendency among Western Christians who are zealous for Christian fidelity to romanticize persecution and look at it as some kind of solution to the problems we the Western Church faces, but this view is utterly unrealistic.

Christians who suffer persecution in affluent countries still wrestle against the same temptations that Western churches face today. They are still tempted with worldliness, and churches still wrestle with the temptation to accommodate worldliness! In fact, the persecutions they suffer are sometimes used as a justification to “overlook their shortcomings”.

The reality of persecution means that you will not be able to access sound Biblical preaching online. You will not be able to find fellowship with faithful Christians online when you live in a city with no “good church”; you will be more alone and more isolated. Your nourishment in the word (outside of your own personal study) will depend entirely on the local ministers and their ability to feed you with God’s words. You will struggle to access quality apologetic material to counter and engage the sophisticated arguments of this world.

In the context that I serve, I have met many Christians who cried because they endured years of isolation because they (literally) could not “find” a church. They lived in our city, but because we can’t openly advertise, they could not find us. And they were alone and without fellowship for years because the only churches they knew of were not faithful gospel churches (they were the State sponsored churches).

If persecution spreads to America, it will be the most advanced and sophisticated form of persecution this world has ever seen because America is the most advanced surveillance State in the whole world. American churches are not prepared to endure persecution, from either a spiritual point of view or a security-mindset point of view. So, existing churches will fragment, split, and leadership structures will rapidly deteriorate, leaving many Christians isolated and exposed without any fellowship or way to find fellowship in their local cities.

Cults will explode and wolves will ravage the body because it will be very difficult to expose and counter them since you will have no access to online resources, testimony, and information about them.

The real answer to the problems that American churches face with worldliness and lukewarmness is repentance. The American Church needs to repent for her divisiveness, pride, and idolatry. She needs to embrace the mindsets taught to us by Christ in Scripture. And she needs to set herself to winning the hearts of the lost INSTEAD of trying to win political battles (which have caused her to commit great spiritual fornication). The answer is Christ.