Pastor Gong

Pastor Gong Shengliang, imprisoned leader of the South China Church (SCC), an evangelical house-church with more than 50,000 members, is close to death due to a lack of medical care, according to his daughter.

“My father was arrested because of his faith in Jesus Christ,” wrote Pastor Gong’s daughter, Gong Huali, in an open letter to Chairman Xi Jingping. A copy of the letter was received in the U.S. three weeks ago by Dr. Samuel Chao, president of China Ministries International.

The SCC was banned in 2001 after the government labeled it an “evil cult.” During the government’s crackdown, hundreds of church leaders were arrested, more than 500 church leaders had their homes and property seized, and thousands of SCC members were persecuted, fined, and beaten.

In 2001, Pastor Gong was sentenced to death in a secret trial for “using an evil cult to undermine the enforcement of the law,” Due to international pressure he was not executed.

Pastor Gong was retried in October 2002. This time, the government charged him with rape, and tortured several SCC women prisoners until they ‘confessed’ that Pastor Gong raped them. Pastor Gong is now serving a life sentence under the multiple rape charges.

In his daughter’s poignant letter, she recounts his mistreatment at the hands of the government. “When he was arrested, he suffered many savage tortures. He was imprisoned in a very damp area for the first two years,” which led to severe rheumatism and gastroenteritis.

Prison officials have not provided any medical care in the last 10 years, according to Pastor Gong’s daughter.

More recently, he faces life-threatening medical conditions. “My father was attacked with cerebral infarction and high blood pressure at the end of 2012. Since then, he could not walk nor speak. Because the complete absence of minimal medical care, his cerebral and cerebellum functions have been severely affected. His life is in serious danger,” she notes.

“We have asked for his release on bail for urgent medical treatment. But again and again, our petitions were completely ignored, without any reasonable response. It is very urgent for my father to have immediate medical treatment, otherwise he might die soon in the prison or remain disabled for life,” she writes.

Pastor Gong’s daughter ends the letter to China’s president with a heartfelt plea, “I know you are fully occupied with national and international affairs, but my love of my father urges and compels me to write to you, with shedding tears and trembling hands. If you pay a little concern to my father’s case, let him bail out for medical treatment, and our family will rejoice for such a reunion to see my dying father.”

Bob Fu

He was once a presiding judge in an affluent city on China’s east coast. But he was beaten and tortured for his faith for 11 years due to his involvement in the underground church.

“That’s the story of brother Li JF, a dedicated Catholic brother in the underground church,” says Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid Association. “He was imprisoned not because of corruption or criminal activities but because he provided free legal advice to the weak and vulnerable,” says Fu.

“Li could easily have gained a fortune if he chose to continue his comfortable legal career; he could have avoided arrest, beatings, and torture by staying silent in the face of injustice. But he chose a different way because his ears heard the Voice behind him: ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21.)

In a letter to Fu after his release in April, Li wrote, “I lost everything but gained my faith in God!” In the letter he described how his health was destroyed during his incarceration, his wife divorced him following government threats, and his daughter disappeared.

Li’s younger brother fled to Thailand in 2010 because of government threats, after two years in jail. While Li was imprisoned, government authorities sold his house.

“Brother Li still claims he gained from his imprisonment because he did not lose his faith in God,” Fu says.

In the labor camp, Li worked 14 hours a day and spent three hours each day in “re-education” classes, which amounted to brainwashing sessions.

His elderly parents, barely able to meet their own expenses, sent him $25 each month. From his meager income Li smuggled money out of the labor camp to purchase Bibles, which he used to lead Bible studies for dozens of prisoners.

In his classes he often challenged his disciples with a probing question, “upon whom can you fix your real hope?”

Not only did Li’s faith sustain his life, he even defended fellow prisoners despite the risk of additional punishment. Li used his knowledge of Chinese and international law to defend the prisoners’ right to own Bibles.

Last November, after their Bibles were confiscated by camp officials, Li and several other Christian leaders went to the senior officer of the camp and demanded to know why their Bibles were confiscated.

When the senior officer attempted to make excuses, Li used his knowledge of Chinese laws and regulations to challenge him. Unable to win the argument with this courageous prisoner, the senior officer finally sent them away. That same evening, God softened the man’s heart, and their Bibles were returned.

One encouraging feature in Li’s letter is his perspective about gain and loss.  “My heavenly father chose to let me follow Him by carrying my cross. With difficulty, I chose a road on which I would become poorer in material wealth and on which commutation of sentence would be more difficult. So I continued to spread the seeds of the Gospel. . . . I’m all the more the chosen person of the Lord and such a glory cannot be replaced with any material gains.”

ChinaAid wired $1000 to help meet Li’s urgent needs, and will continue to work for his eventual freedom.

Billy Jack McDaniel, 2013

Billy Jack McDaniel knew the risks of work on drilling rigs. Injuries and death in the oil field are common, mostly due to human error. But when a pressure seal on his rig failed, which allowed natural gas to escape,  he came face-to-face with eternity in a horrific explosion and fire.

“It didn’t take much to ignite,” recalls McDaniel, who found himself 150 feet high on a maintenance platform when the rig exploded. “I watched the fire. It came and got me. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run.”

His body ignited like a marshmallow too-close to an open flame. But this was no Boy Scout campfire. McDaniel found himself seared by 2,000-degree temperatures. Usually, people’s eyes melt at 1,200 degrees.

“The pain was intense, but there was no escaping it,” he says. “It was constant, like hell.”

As he watched his clothes quickly burn away, his skin bubble, and a sensitive body part catch fire “like a candle,” he panicked. “I wanted to fall and die when the fire went out. I welcomed death.”

From McDaniel’s training as a volunteer firefighter, he knew what awaited such a severe burn. He knew he would stop breathing at any moment. He realized he was at death’s doorstep. McDaniel contemplated throwing himself off the platform in a suicide dive.

As soon as the fire went out, driller Billy Humble clambered up a metal ladder to the platform, shooting past multiple rungs at a time to reach his friend and co-worker.

When McDaniel saw him, he was able to moan, “Promise me you’ll take care of my wife and child.”

Billy Humble nodded and said, “Yes, I will.”

McDaniel was surprised when Humble suggested they pray, because Humble was not a church-going man.

A basket was raised up to the platform, and McDaniel was able to crawl into it by himself. “Nobody could touch me,” he notes. “If they tried to touch me, skin and meat would have pulled off.”

Most of his skin was burned off. Bone was exposed on his fingers, arms, chin and jaw.

When the basket reached the ground, onlookers were stunned when McDaniel raised himself up and walked out. “My body was pouring fluid so I was thirsty. I started to go to the drilling house to get a drink of water.”

“Stop! Lay down!” someone shouted. He sat down in the dirt, and then he was placed on a gurney made from chicken wire.

When the ambulance arrived, people were again shocked when McDaniel stood up, stepped over to the vehicle, and laid himself down inside.

“I need you to call a few people,” he told the nurse. He finally passed out when the ambulance hit a speed bump at the entry to the hospital.

After the explosion, rig manager Bob Quick went to the McDaniel home to inform Aleta, Billy Jack’s wife. “You think about that knock on the door or call in the middle of the night,” Aleta says. “But God had been preparing me for that exact moment for two years.”

Aleta says God gave her a series of dreams that featured the dreaded knock. “Bob would be standing at my door in the middle of the night and say something happened to Jack,” she says.

Due to her dreams, she felt more prepared to handle the shock. When Aleta arrived at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, she was informed by Dr. Kevin Sittig, director of the regional burn center, that there was a low probability of survival for her husband.

“Do you believe in God?” she asked Dr. Sittig.

“Yes, I do,” Dr. Sittig replied.

“Do you believe He still performs miracles?”

“I do,” he said.

“God and I had a conversation on the way here,” Aleta told the doctor. “He told me he will deliver my husband alive. I’m not going to take anything less than 100 percent,” she said with assurance.

“I’ll be praying right along with you. I’m not trying to be the bearer of bad news here. I’m just trying to give you a realistic picture of the challenges ahead. There is a greater medical probability he will not survive,” Dr. Sittig said.

“However, if God wants him to live, he will live. If God wants him to die, he will die,” he added.

Dr. Kevin Sittig

Dr. Sittig was raised Catholic and spent 12 years in parochial school. He remains actively involved in his church. “When I get burns of this magnitude, the first place I go is right around the corner from the burn unit – the chapel,” he notes. “I spend a great deal of time in that chapel.”

“I’m not able to make a decision on who will live and who will die,” Dr. Sittig says. “That’s why I put it in the Lord’s hands. I’m one of the Lord’s tools.”

There were no available beds in the ICU burn unit, so McDaniel was left in the hall near the nurse’s station for 72 hours. “They thought he would die,” Aleta maintains. “They thought it was a waste of time.”

Dr. Sittig has a slightly different recollection of the initial prognosis. “I don’t recall saying there is no way Billy Jack will survive,” he says. “I will venture to say, that probably, the vast majority of burn units would calculate his mortality rate and would give him comfort care only.”

“Parts of his body were so badly burned, that to a lay person, anybody would say there is no way in hell this man will survive.”

When McDaniel confounded expectations and continued to live, he had the first of 115 surgeries and 80 blood transfusions.

McDaniel woke up in ICU two weeks after the accident, when he came out of an induced coma. He panicked because the room was dimly lit, and his eyes had been sewn shut. “When you wake up and you can’t open your eyes, it scares you to death,” he says.

He takes comfort knowing the Apostle Paul was once blinded, and when Paul and others in the Bible emerged from darkness, they were refined.

Before the accident, McDaniel was a “run-of-the-mill” Christian who attended church, but lacked passion for God. Now, as he awakened from the coma after two weeks, he had a heart-to-heart with God.

“I can’t do this,” he told God. “I’m ready to die.”

You don’t have to… If you let Me, I will carry you, God impressed on his heart.

When McDaniel first saw himself in the mirror, it was startling. “I saw a monster,” he recalls. “There was nothing to identify myself. There

Before the accident, Billy Jack (left) with wife, Aleta, at dedication of their daughter, Carney

was nothing of me there.”

His six-year-old came to visit a week later. “Daddy, you still look real good,” she said. “You can’t quit Daddy.”

Initially, McDaniel’s family was told he could be in the hospital as long as three years. But he walked out after four months and 17 days, carrying 80 pounds on his 6-foot, 1-inch frame. Before the accident, he weighed 240.

“There may be one person a year burned over 75 percent of their body and lives,” McDaniel notes. “There may be one person in a lifetime burned over 95 percent of their body and lives. But there is only one in the history of the world burned 95 percent who still has functionality. I am the one.”

Today, McDaniel is often invited to conferences featuring burn specialists. “I’m a spectacle for the burn doctors. They can’t explain why I lived,” he adds.

His eyes should have melted at 1,200 degrees, but they’re perfect, as clear as crystal. The inside of his nose, mouth, and lungs were not burned. His heart, liver, and kidneys never gave out. Even though his scalp was removed and re-grafted 13 times, his hair is thicker now than it was before the accident. His ears fell off in the hospital, but they are growing back.

“Today I was on my tractor. I can hunt and fish and make love to my wife,” he says. “I live my life just like everybody.”

When McDaniel considers that aluminum melted on the drilling rig in an area above his position on the platform, he has only one answer. “There is no medical or scientific explanation. It was a miracle. That’s the only thing it can be.”

After he first got home from the hospital, McDaniel had a rough bout with suicidal despair. “My hell didn’t start until I got home, because there is no help,” he recalls. “I could do nothing. There was nothing to wake up for. I was junk.”

One day, three months after his homecoming, he passed through a deep, dark valley. “I was waiting for my wife to leave so I could kill myself,” he recounts. Even though he was slowly improving, he couldn’t see the progress himself. Despondent, he picked up his Bible and it fell open to Luke, chapter 23, which tells about the crucifixion of Jesus.

“When Jesus was on the cross, He felt everyone’s pain, sorrow, and sin at one time. He did it as a man. He didn’t do it as God.”

McDaniel had a startling realization. Just my pain would have killed Him, he thought. If Jesus could take it as a man, then I need to shut up, get up, and get going.

“Living with scars is hard,” he says. “If I go into Wal-Mart, I get stares. If I go out to eat, little kids get scared.”

bookcover

But when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, they too were frightened. He showed them the scars on His hands and feet to prove He was alive.

“I use my scars to prove what Jesus has done for me.”

Billy Jack and Aleta McDaniel are the authors of Dead Man Breathing. They have been married 15 years and have a beautiful daughter, Carney. They often share their story with churches and other groups. They also started a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the importance of personal and workplace safety. They live in the high country of North Carolina.

The extraction of a nucleus from an egg is one of the steps involved in cloning (Photo Baptist Press)

 by Tom Strode

The “brave new world” of human cloning apparently has arrived, and critics are waving the warning flags. Oregon-based scientists reported Wednesday, May 15, they had cloned human embryos, reportedly the first successful attempt at such cloning, as a means of producing embryonic stem cells. The researchers extracted stem cells from the clones, destroying the days-old human embryos in the process. 

The scientists used basically the same cloning method utilized in 1996 by Scottish researchers to create the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep. 

News of the successful experiment seemed certain to revive the cloning controversy, which has been dormant in recent years. One of the battlegrounds likely will be in Congress, which could see new efforts to ban human cloning. Those efforts probably will involve debates on the extent of a prohibition — on cloning for reproductive purposes or for both research and reproductive purposes. 

Critics — who point out cloning an embryo for experimentation is reproductive by nature because a new human being has been created — criticized the successful research announced in the journal Cell as both unethical and unnecessary. Supporters of the cloning technique sometimes call it “somatic cell nuclear transfer” — which simply is the scientific name for cloning. 

“Let’s be clear — what these researchers are doing is creating a cloned human being in order to destroy that human being to harvest its stem cells for the benefit of older and bigger human beings,” Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land told Baptist Press. “There are words for such activity — barbaric and uncivilized.” 

The cloning technique used by scientists at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the Oregon National Primate Research Center was a version of somatic cell nuclear transfer, the method used to create Dolly. The researchers transferred the nucleus of a cell that contained a person’s DNA into an egg that no longer had its nucleus. After stimulation, some of the embryos developed to a stage where they produced stem cells.

Daniel Sulmasy, a professor of medicine and a bioethicist at the University of Chicago, told National Public Radio (NPR), “This is a case in which one is deliberately setting out to create a human being for the sole purpose of destroying that human being. I’m of the school that thinks that that’s morally wrong no matter how much good could come of it.”

Opponents of cloning and embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), which is lethal for the human embryos, pointed to other stem cell research that has surpassed ESCR in therapies in human beings and is not ethically controversial. Stem cells are the body’s master cells that can develop into other cells and tissues, giving hope for the development of cures for a variety of diseases and other ailments. 

Research with adult stem cells in human trials has produced therapies for more than 70 afflictions, including cancer, juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart damage, Parkinson’s and sickle cell anemia. Work with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells also has shown promise. This technique, first used in 2006, involves reprogramming adult skin cells into stem cells virtually identical to those in human embryos. Research with neither adult nor iPS stem cells involves the destruction of embryos, unlike ESCR.

ESCR — though highly touted because of the capacity of embryonic stem cells to transform into any cell or tissue in the body — has yet to treat any disease in human beings and has been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals.

Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said iPS cells “make the supposed necessity of embryo-destructive research increasingly unnecessary. I am perplexed as to why we continue to pursue such dehumanizing research when morally preferable alternatives are readily available.”

David Prentice, a stem cell expert and a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, said, “Modern science has passed this by…. [T]he entire faulty concept of using the cloning technique has been superseded by uncontroversial techniques.”

Opponents of cloning and ESCR also warned about a potentially nightmarish future now that the human cloning barrier has been broken.

The cloning technology “will open the door to human engineering and a brave — but highly dangerous — new world,” Prentice said in the written statement.

“Given that science has passed cloning by for stem cell production, this announcement seems simply a justification for making clones, and makes reproductive cloning and birth of human clones more likely.”

Sulmasy, a member of President Obama’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, said, “We already know there are people out there who are itching to be able to be the first to bring a cloned human being to birth. And I think it’s going to happen.”

Shoukhrat Mitalipov, who led the cloning effort by the research team, rejected such fears.

Human cloning “is not our focus, nor do we believe our findings might be used by others to advance the possibility of human reproductive cloning,” Mitalipov said in a written release from OHSU.

There is no federal prohibition on any form of human cloning. The House of Representatives passed legislation to ban cloning for both research and reproductive purposes in 2001 and 2003, but the Senate never voted on a comprehensive ban. Some senators supported the prohibition of cloning to produce a child but not cloning for research.
— Baptist Press              www.bpnews.net         http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40316

Saudi men have been imprisoned and suffered lashings for converting a woman to Christ

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that two men accused of helping a young woman flee Saudi Arabia after her conversion to Christianity were sentenced to prison terms and lashes with a whip by a Saudi court on Sunday. The case comes weeks after an independent U.S. government advisory body listed Saudi Arabia among the top violators of religious freedom.

A Lebanese Christian man was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes and a Saudi man was sentenced to two years and 200 lashes by a court in Khobar, a city in eastern Saudi Arabia, for their involvement in a Saudi woman’s conversion to Christianity and her escape abroad, Reuters reported. The men, who worked with the young woman known as Maryam at an insurance company, were arrested last July after a complaint was filed by her father. Maryam fled to Sweden several months ago and is reportedly applying for asylum.

The case began when Maryam appeared on a YouTube video last July announcing her conversion to Christianity, which “created a stir in the Kingdom,” the Saudi Gazette reported. Maryam said she was “raised to hate Judaism and Christianity but fell in love with the religions after she found peace in Christianity,” the English-language daily reported in July. Maryam embraced Christianity after hearing God tell her in a dream that Jesus is His son, according to the Gazette. 

 Abandoning Islam is known as apostasy, and proselytizing is illegal under Saudi law. Judges have authority to determine the offender’s punishment in accordance to their interpretation of the kingdom’s Sharia code of Islamic law, which permits the death penalty for apostates. Hmood al-Khalidi, the lawyer representing Maryam’s family, expressed satisfaction with the men’s severe verdict.  

The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently designated Saudi Arabia a “country of particular concern” for the kingdom’s egregious violations of religious freedom. “Since 2004, the United States has designated Saudi Arabia a severe violator of religious freedom, yet the U.S. government has waived any punitive action that such a designation mandates,” Dwight Bashir, Deputy Director for Policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told Fox News.“Until the U.S. government lifts this waiver and prioritizes religious freedom in its relationship, you can expect limitations and abuses to continue.”

Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “Religious freedom is nonexistent in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, and conversion to Christianity is deemed an unforgivable offense that warrants the death sentence.  If not for the protection of local NGOs and Swedish officials, who have refused to return Maryam to Saudi Arabia, a terrifying punishment and possible execution would be imminent. Last year, more than 40 Ethiopian Christians were tortured and held for months in a Saudi prison after being arrested at a prayer gathering in Jeddah. Despite these flagrant violations of an individual’s right to choose their own faith and worship according to their convictions, the U.S. government has repeatedly failed to make religious freedom a priority in its relationship with Saudi Arabia. ICC urges the U.S. government to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its religious freedom violations and to demand the acquittal of the two men imprisoned for their involvement in Maryam’s conversion. No one should fear being imprisoned or executed by their government for practicing their religion of choice.”

Please call the Saudi Arabian Embassy in your country to express your concerns:

United States: (+1) 202 342 3800  

Canada: (+1) 613 237 4100  

United Kingdom: (+44) 207 9173-000  

Australia: (+61) 2 6250 7000  

Germany: (+49) 30 88 92 50  

France: (+33) 1 56 79 4000

—International Christian Concern

Please pray for these men and women, and all Christians in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East

Hope in the darkness

Masud grew up in a strict Muslim home in a remote part of Bangladesh. Not only was his family strict, but his father was also an Imam.

Masud grew up with full knowledge of the Quran and considered himself to be a radical Muslim. As he grew, however, he began to wonder about the Jesus he read about in the Quran and asked his father many questions: “Who is Jesus? Is the Quran true? Is the Bible true? The Quran says we must study all the books that came before the Torah.  Why don’t we study these?

The Quran says we must study the teaching of Jesus because he was more than a prophet. Why don’t we?”

These questions made his father, the Holy Religious Leader, very angry and he would beat Masud and say: “Stop asking questions. You must not question Islam.”

One day, Masud was sitting with friends when a Christian pastor came and shared the Gospel, using the Quran as a tool to point them to Issa (Jesus). Masud was moved in his spirit and recognized that the Gospel was the truth.  He asked the pastor to teach him more, which he did.

Masud said he believed the pastor’s words and wanted to be a follower of Jesus, but what must he do next? The pastor said, “You must take baptism. It is a sign on the outside of what Allah (God) has done in your heart.”

“Oh, I know of a pond where I can take baptism. Let us go,” Masud said. When Masud and the pastor arrived at the pond, the pastor led Masud through the “sinner’s prayer” and Masud declared Issa (Jesus) as his savior, more than a prophet, and God.  He was then baptized and began to travel with the pastor to evangelize. Little did he know that the declaration he made with his lips, and the outward sign of baptism would result in great Christian persecution.

Beatings and Family Rejection

Soon, the Muslims in this village became very angry at the pastor for sharing the Gospel, and at Masud for forsaking Islam. A gang of radical Muslims dragged the pastor to Masud’s house, tied him to a chair and savagely beat him.

Then they asked Masud if he believed the same as the pastor. When he responded “yes,” they said, “But your father is an Imam! This is wrong!” and proceeded to beat Masud too. However, the Christian persecution did not end there.  When they left, Masud went to the police and filed a report, which asked for the police to protect him from these violent men.

Masud’s father was friends with the very powerful police, so they told his father, “Your son has asked for protection from Muslims because he is now a Christian.”

The police then met Masud’s father at the house. Instead of protecting Masud, however, the police proceeded to beat him while his father watched. Sadly, this form of Christian persecution is not uncommon, as authorities who are meant to protect people from violence instead stand by passively, or inflict it themselves in the name of Islam.  The police found Masud’s wife and told her, “Your husband is no longer a Muslim and you cannot be with him. We will find you a new husband.” Masud’s wife refused and instead pledged to stay with her husband. It was not long after this that she became a believer herself.

To Know God and Make Him Known

In  the wake of this Christian persecution Masud was not deterred from his newfound faith. Instead, he realized that suffering for Christ was worth the price. He also realized that he would not be able to learn more about God unless someone taught Him, which was difficult to do in a village where he was the only Christian.

He went back to the pastor and said, “I must leave. I want more training in how to know God and to know the Bible more. How can I get this training?” The Pastor told Masud about a Christian discipleship program led by believers in the Capitol. A poor man, he prayed and asked God for the money to take the bus ride this very far distance. In a quick answer to his prayers he received the money, and he and his wife took only what they could fit into a few bags. They left their home and families for the big city to learn more about the Lord for whom Masud had suffered Christian persecution.

The discipleship program was held in a secretive location, away from prying eyes who might be enraged at former Muslims gathering to learn about Jesus. Masud and his wife learned many things about God: How to hear His voice, how to pray, how to know the difference between religion (going through ritual) and actually having a relationship with God.

When they were done with this program they decided to become underground pastors. Now they help run this program and disciple other former Muslims who have professed Issa as God. Masud also shares the Gospel by running a small website where he chats with Muslims who want to know more about Jesus. He presents a question from the Quran, which leads to discussions about faith, the Bible and the Lord. He uses the teachings of the Quran, which Muslims accept, to point them to Jesus and the Bible. In this way many are coming to know the Lord.

Masud went from the devout Muslim son of an Imam to a believer in Jesus to a man who suffered Christian persecution. The Lord truly changed his life and Masud devoted it back to the Lord. Please pray for Masud and his wife as they live and work for the Gospel in a country where as a religious minority they face danger and Christian persecution for their devotion to Jesus. — International Christian Concern

American Kenneth Bae, sentenced to prison in North Korea for 15 years

When North Korea announced it had sentenced imprisoned American tour operator Kenneth Bae to 15 years hard labor earlier this month, it gave no details about his crime other than he had attempted to “overthrow” the North Korean government.  But now North Korea has presented more details about Bae’s crime. They say he smuggled anti-government propaganda into the country, and preached the overthrow of the regime as part of a Christian missionary-backed plan called “Operation Jericho.”

The report from the Korean Central News Agency paints Bae, a devout Christian, as the leader of a plot to undermine the government,  according to a translation by NK News.  “Operation Jericho” was launched in 2006 by Youth With a Mission  (YWAM),  an international evangelical Christian organization Bae belonged to,  according to KCNA.  It consisted of mobilizing 250 of Bae’s “followers” to infiltrate an area of North Korea near the border and create what the government calls an “anti-government coalition.”  KCNA  claims they based their operation in a hotel.

KCNA also says Bae smuggled in “propaganda materials.”  This included a copy of the National Geographic documentary “Don’t Tell My Mother I’m In North Korea,” in which the reporter Diego Bunuel visits North Korea, and a book about persecution in North Korea, according to NK News.

How much of this is true? It is clear that Bae was a Christian minister with Youth With a Mission, and there is evidence to suggest he was using his tour agency, Nation Tours, as a front to sneak Christian missionaries into the country.  NK News dug up a video of a sermon in which Bae preached to a Korean congregation in the U.S., telling them that “I knew that Jesus wanted me to be a ‘channel’ to the North.”  Bae was dispatched to China by YWAM, and the tour operation was likely a front for some kind of missionary work.

In a 2011 note to a Korean church in St. Louis he wrote: “We plan to open up a new base from which mobilization and missionary works for North Korea can all be carried out from one location.”

However, simply leading trips of missionaries into North Korea would probably not be enough to get Bae such a harsh punishment. The practice of Christianity is virtually banned in North Korea, but there is a community of foreign evangelical Christians living there—many of them run aid organizations. But they have to keep their religion quiet. They are not allowed to distribute Bibles or other material or even visibly pray, one missionary told “Foreign Policy”. They instead must attempt to lead North Koreans to God by subtle example.

There are, however,  Christian groups with more explicit anti-regime goals.  One is Voice of the Martyrs which stages guerilla evangelizing by sending balloons with religious material,  sending radio broadcasts of Bible readings over the border, and connecting with underground Churches through contacts in the country. Todd Nettleton, the director of media development for the group, told me that his group’s work directly attacks the government. “The deification of Kim Jong Un and Kim JongIl- their political system is built on that idea,” he said.  “To the government, a religion coming in is not just a religion—it literally undermines the very foundation. North Koreans who accept Christ aren’t just accepting a religion, they’re committing a treasonous act.”

This fact is born out by the history of so-called “proselytizers” being arrested in North Korea. The Korean-American minister Robert Park was imprisoned in 2009 when he illegally crossed into North Korea to protest human rights abuses, for example. He was released after a few months in prison. We don’t know yet if Kenneth Bae will be so blessed.–International Christian Concern

Please pray for the safety and an immediate miracle  release for Kenneth Bae and all the other Christian political prisoners in North Korea

Organizations such as Open Doors International, Voice of the Martyrs and International Christian Concern work to defend the human rights of persecuted Christians around the world, to send financial assistance, to advocate for their rights and release from imprisonment, to create awareness of their plight, and to send Bibles and food to the oppressed and refugees.

As International Christian Concern puts it: “From Indonesia, to India, to the Horn of Africa, believers are economically marginalized, denied education for their children, beaten, tortured, raped, imprisoned and sadly even murdered for their faith. The oppression is limitless, and usually unseen by the world… Jesus has called us to stand up for our hurting brothers and sisters.”

Most people are not aware that there are so many countries that oppress and even kill Christians for their faith as mainstream media does not cover this news. The following is Open Doors International’s 2013 list of countries which most oppress Christians, starting with the most extreme persecution. It comes as no surprise to most  that North Korea is listed as the most severe persecutor of Christians in the world.

1. North Korea  
2. Saudi Arabia  
3. Afghanistan  
4. Iraq  
5. Somalia  
6. Maldives  
7. Mali  
8. Iran  
9. Yemen  
10. Eritrea  
11. Syria  
12. Sudan  
13. Nigeria  
14. Pakistan  
15. Ethiopia  
16. Uzbekistan  
17. Libya
18. Laos  
19. Turkmenistan
20. Qatar
21. Vietnam
22. Oman
23. Mauritania
24. Tanzania
25. Egypt  
26. United Arab Emirates
27. Brunei
28. Bhutan
29. Algeria
30. Tunisia
31. India
32. Myanmar (Burma)
33. Kuwait
34. Jordan
35. Bahrain
36. Palestinian Territories
37. China
38. Azerbaijan
39. Morocco
40. Kenya
41. Comoros
42. Malaysia
43. Djibouti
44. Tajikistan
45. Indonesia
46. Colombia
47. Uganda
48. Kazakhstan
49. Kyrgyzstan
50. Niger

There are many ways we can help. Check the websites of the organizations for ideas and ways to help: www.opendoors.org, www.persecution.com, and www.persecution.org .  Above all,  the persecuted Church around the world needs your continual, fervent prayers.

Willem Dafoe in the film, “Antichrist”

Do you believe he is a real person? Could he be alive today? Some may doubt his existence, but the prophet Daniel, the Apostles Paul and John — and Jesus Himself — all taught about the coming of this dynamic, powerful, evil personality who will rule the world at the time of the end.

The Book of Daniel covers a giant sweep of history, from Daniel’s era, about 500 years before Jesus, all the way up to and beyond our present time, prophesying about things that will be coming to planet earth in the future, perhaps sooner than we expect.

Most of the events prophesied in Daniel were fulfilled within 300 years after Daniel wrote them. And the prophesies are so dead-on accurate that skeptics can’t believe it was really written by Daniel.

They insist somebody else must have written it, years later. But Jesus Himself believed Daniel wrote it, He quoted from Daniel, so the critics will have to take up their case with our Lord.

To set the scene for Daniel, chapter eight, the Jewish people were still being held captive in Babylon. This book is not chronological, so chapter eight takes place before the events in chapter five, when the mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace.

Chapter eight has two parts, Daniel’s vision in verses 1-14, and then the interpretation of his vision given by the angel Gabriel.  This marked Gabriel’s first appearance in the Bible, who is considered the guardian angel of Israel.

I will go back and forth between the vision and Gabriel’s interpretation as we go through this.

Let’s look at verse one:

“In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.”

In verse 20, the angel Gabriel tells Daniel that this two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia. Horns in the Bible represent power, authority, might, or strength.

Verses 5-8:

“As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.”

Alexander the Great: a type of antichrist

The angel Gabriel told Daniel in verse 21 the goat represents the first great king of Greece, and clearly, this can be no one other than Alexander the Great.

Alexander was born 150 years after Daniel’s vision. He was the son of a powerful conqueror, Philip of Macedon. Philip made sure his son Alexander had the best teachers as he grew up, so he hired Aristotle to personally tutor his son until he was 16.

But Philip, the father, was assassinated, just as he planned to attack Medo-Persia. Alexander became king when he was only 21, and caught his father’s vision to enlarge the empire. Alexander left with his army two years later and never came home.

He was bent on worldwide conquest, and he proved to be a military genius. Alexander was never defeated in battle, and his military tactics are still studied today.

Some cities he wiped out entirely, killing every single person. He slaughtered the city of Tyre because they wouldn’t give him the supplies he asked for. Often he reduced cities to rubble. Sometimes he captured slaves for his growing empire.

But an unusual thing happened when he got near the city of Jerusalem. The night before he was to attack, he had a vivid dream that he was to meet Israel’s High Priest the next day and bow down before him. So the next day, following his dream, he made arrangements to meet the Jewish leaders outside the city walls.

When he approached the high priest he fell to the ground, prostrated himself. The priest stepped forward, carrying the scroll of the Book of Daniel. He showed Alexander the prophecy from chapter eight, which said that Alexander would conquer the Medes and Persians.

Now Alexander understood why he had this prophetic dream! When he saw he would overcome the Persian armies and rule an empire, he was so moved, he decided to spare Jerusalem. Instead of slaughtering the city, he offered money and resources to build up the city.

With 35,000 troops, Alexander defeated the Persians at the Battle of the Granicus River. He swept down and took Egypt, then he defeated the Persians again near Ninevah, and the whole empire fell into his lap, an empire that stretched from the Adriatic to the Himalayas.

Conquering the largest empire of the ancient world before age 30 is pretty heady stuff. Puffed up with pride, he began to think he was god-like. After all, he was even mentioned in the Jew’s holy book. He took for himself the title of King of Kings, and had other commanders kiss his hand or prostrate themselves when he entered a room.

But pride and excess overcame him. He died just before his 33^rd birthday. Accounts of his death vary, but the historian Plutarch, considered the most reliable, said he had an all-night and all-day drinking binge in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. After the drinking binge, he developed a fever and died 12 days later.

Alexander conquered the world, but he could not conquer Alexander. Drunkenness and moral decline played a role in the fall of three ancient empires: Babylon, Greece, and Rome.

Of course, the Bible does not forbid drinking; Jesus Himself drank wine. But it does speak out against drunkenness and other excesses of the flesh.

Isn’t it true, our biggest adversary is often ourselves. My own lack of self-control with my tongue or my appetites or my lusts can be my biggest weakness. Ultimately, I don’t need self-control first and foremost as much as I need Holy Spirit-control first and foremost.

Scripture says if I walk in the Spirit, then I will not gratify the lusts of the flesh. One follows the other. It’s never the other way around. It doesn’t work to say, “If I just try hard not to gratify my sin nature, then I can walk in the Spirit.”

I’ve found it doesn’t work to put together a list of don’ts and use will power to overcome my weaknesses. That’s legalism and it always fails. I hate to say it, but my will power seems to be getting weaker as I get older.

But if I’m filled with the Spirit, walking closely with Jesus throughout the day, it’s a lot less likely I’m going to stumble and fall. Ask for the filling of the Holy Spirit every day…and throughout the day.

The life of Jesus vs. the life of Alexander

A man named Charles Weede compared the life of Jesus with Alexander the Great. The following is an adaptation of what he wrote:

Jesus and Alexander both died at 33. One lived and died for self. One lived and died for you and me. The Greek conqueror died holding on to an ornate throne. Jesus died on a rough-hewn cross.

One led large armies in battle, the other often walked alone. Alexander made slaves of men he conquered; Jesus set men free from their bondage to sin and death. One shed a whole world’s blood, the other shed His blood for the sins of the world. One gained the world in life but lost it in death; Jesus died to win life for all who believe.

One gained all for self; one gave all of Himself. One built a throne on blood, the other built on love. The Greek conqueror forever died; the Jewish Savior forever lives. Jesus and Alexander, both died at 33.

Let’s look at verse eight:

“The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn (Alexander) was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.”

After Alexander’s untimely death, a bitter war for control of the empire started between his four generals that lasted 22 years.

In verse nine it says, “Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land (Israel). It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people[a] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.

“Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?”

“He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

In verse 22 Gabriel gave us the interpretation: “The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.

Antiochus Epiphanes: forerunner of the man of sin

One of the descendants of the four generals was Antiochus Epiphanes, sometimes called the madman. He ruled over Israel during the time period between the Old and New Testaments. Basically, he hated everything about the Jews, and wanted to impose Greek culture on them any way he could.

He outlawed the practice of circumcision. He ordered all copies of the Old Testament burned. He named his own High Priests, loyal to him. He built a sports arena next to the Jewish Temple. There was only one thing – the Greeks trained and competed naked – somewhat of a distraction to worshippers.

He changed the Feast of Tabernacles to the Feast of Bacchus or Dionysus, the god of wine, ritual madness, and ecstasy.

To further desecrate the Jewish Temple, he sacrificed a pig and force-fed it to the priests, then he sprinkled the juices of the pig in the Temple. He carried off all the golden vessels in the temple and he placed a large image of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies.

The Jewish people were horrified, and this desecration of their Temple they referred to as the “abomination of desolation,” which served as a type of a future “abomination of desolation” that will be set up in the Jerusalem Temple in the last days.

Jesus talks about this in Matthew 24 when he refers to the signs of the end of the age. Jesus even refers to this section of Daniel.

In the previous chapter, we saw a little horn introduced to us as the antichrist. He rises to power in a revival of the Roman Empire led by 10 European nations. In my life I’ve seen a growing financial and political integration aimed at producing a United States of Europe – essentially a revived Roman Empire.

This chapter reveals qualities of the coming antichrist as revealed by two men: Alexander and Antiochus.

Alexander shows us the power of the coming antichrist, with his feverish quest for world domination. Antiochus shows us the character of antichrist. Both men are forerunners of the man of sin coming in the future.

The teaching of Jesus

Let’s see what Jesus has to say in Matt. 24 about the time of the end:

He said, “Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars… There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death…hated because of me… many will turn away from the faith. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Now here is the part that is relevant to Daniel chapters seven and eight:

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house…. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

Remember Antiochus preceded Jesus, so Jesus can’t be talking about him here. There is no hint that Jesus is speaking symbolically or allegorically here. He’s talking about a specific person coming in the future. Let’s look at verse 23:

“In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

Is it Antiochus or antichrist?

Is this section about Antiochus? Is it about antichrist? Or is it about both? The commentators debate over this, but consider these points:

This little section stands out because it’s a completely different genre or style, it’s poetry. Gabriel delivers this portion poetically. This person seems to have strength that is beyond human, a supernatural power at his disposal. Antiochus was never associated with any miraculous supernatural power. Yet no human beings can break his power, and we know Antiochus was destroyed by the Maccabbees.

Verse 25 says he takes his stand against the Prince of princes. Who could that be?  It sounds a lot like Jesus.

How could anybody fall for a crazed madman like antichrist? He won’t be an unkempt lunatic from a horror movie. He won’t be foaming at the mouth or have horns coming out of his head. He will probably be well-educated, attractive, witty, and stylish.

He will be bold, with an almost other-worldly strength appealing to men and women. He will have a magnetic, charismatic personality. He will be a deceiver and a propagandist, and people will respond to his message offering peace to the world. People will flock to him. They will say, “This is the leader we’ve been looking for.”

Depending on your perspective, he will have the best or worst qualities of great political leaders like Lincoln, Roosevelt, Churchill, and JFK, along with the military genius of Douglas MacArthur and the brilliance of Einstein. All these attributes will be wrapped into one irresistible human package.

He will be so smooth he will be able to make you think black is white, good is bad, and up is down. People will be willing to die for him. Some will even swoon at his feet like the groupies who swarmed Elvis, the Beatles, and the Bieb.

Could he be around today? I believe it’s possible, but these verses seem to indicate he will profane or desecrate the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. For that to happen, the Temple will have to be rebuilt. When might that happen? Heaven only knows. But think how improbable it may have seemed for the nation Israel to be reborn.

In 2 Thessalonians, Paul refers to him as “the man of sin” and “the son of perdition.” The only other person called the son of perdition was Judas. Judas was the only man in the bible to have Satan enter into him. Some are influenced or controlled by demons. Some are even possessed by demons. But to be possessed by Satan himself – that makes my skin crawl.

In the Book of Revelation, John refers to him as “the beast.” In Revelation, chapter 19, John says the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies will make war against him who sits upon the horse, Jesus Christ, and His army.”

Daniel and John, writing 600 years apart, describe the same thing, this powerful figure who will deceive and dominate the world. What does antichrist want? The same thing Satan has always wanted: worship from the whole world — mastery, power and control over everyone.

The spirit of antichrist has been around a long time. We saw it in men like Hamon, who wanted to destroy the Jews. We saw it in men who wanted to rule the world like Alexander, Napoleon, and Hitler. Hitler was a very close facsimile in his quest for world power and his hatred of the Jews and Bible-believing Christians.

During the rule of antichrist, the restrainer of evil, the Holy Spirit, stands aside and all hell breaks loose. That will lead to an avalanche of sin and violence unprecedented in history.

The good news is we know who wins this titanic battle between good and evil.  Daniel 8:25 tells us the little horn or final horn will be destroyed, but not by human power. There is no human power who can stop him, but there is Someone infinitely more powerful who can stop him.

History is moving in a direction already charted by God Himself. World history began with the sin of man. It ends with the man of sin.

Why does God give such a dramatic vision to Daniel? Daniel 8:27 tells us Daniel was appalled, exhausted, sickened by what he saw.

What is the big picture?

The bigger picture God wants Daniel and the Jewish people to see is that even though they are in captivity, even though they will endure suffering many years into the future, God has not forgotten them. He will send a glorious rescuer and redeemer to save them.

He wants you to know, there is no panic in heaven when the devil stirs up all this trouble, because God has a plan. He is still in control. No matter what the devil does or how bad it gets, God is on the throne. God says to the devil, you can go so far, and no farther.

Antichrist will be destroyed by the One who is called Faithful and True. Jesus will throw the beast, antichrist, Satan himself, into the depths of hell.

Antichrist may be the man of 666, but Jesus trumps him with three sevens. Our Savior, the Jewish Messiah, destroys him with the brightness of his coming and the spirit of his mouth.

What do we do…what is our role? In Luke 19, when Jesus talked about the time of the end, he told his disciples to use their gifts and talents until He returns.  That means we love and serve others, we offer them hope in the midst of dark times, we go about the King’s business until the King returns.

Are you available for service Him? Are you responding to His call, to be useful in his service? This is what gives life real meaning. Your mission field, your ministry could be right in your own home, raising your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

In the twilight days ahead, let’s not get disturbed or shaken by world events. God is telling us what’s going to happen. He’s telling us to get ready. It will be one happy wonderful day when Jesus returns…if you are following Him. If you have made Him your Savior and Lord.

Did you know the battle between Christ and antichrist is fought to the finish in every human heart. That battle might be going on inside your heart as you decide, do I really want to follow Him wholeheartedly, or not?

If you’ve never decided to follow Jesus, now is the time to make him your Lord and Savior.

Do you want to know God personally? Here are four steps…

The preceding was adapted from a sermon on Daniel chapter eight delivered at Church by the Sea in Laguna Beach April 28, 2013.

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
(2 Chronicles 7: 14)

On May 19, the Global Day of Prayer, Christians in almost every country will assemble to pray. Many will gather in prayer groups in homes, local churches, businesses and some may even assemble in large stadiums and other public venues. In some places television, radio and internet will help to connect and align our prayers in an even greater way.

What started in 2000 as a day of repentance and prayer at Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa has grown to an international day of prayer. Now Christians from around the world unite in prayer, as an urgent call from Joel 2 echoes throughout the nations to return to God with repentance on a level never seen before. It is a time of rendering hearts to God to see the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit pouring out on all flesh.

Global Day of Prayer website states: “God is calling nations from the north, south, east and west to embark on this prayer journey with Him. He is moving in His awesome power, and He is challenging us to be part of this journey. It is a journey that is not about us, but about a world in desperate need for His glory and compassionate love. It is a call to respond to His invitation in 2 Chronicles 7:14 to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. May He hear our prayers, forgive our sin and heal our land.”

Global Day of Prayer planners expect participants in many countries of the world to lift joyful praise and desperate prayers with one voice in stadiums, open fields, community centers, private homes and even secret places. We know from God’s Word that these prayers have the power to transform our world and to fill the nations with the glory of God.

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” – Habakkuk 2:14

Please join in prayer for the salvation of the world in any way you can. For more information go to http://www.globaldayofprayer.com

The primary purpose we gather is for the glory of Christ and the blessing of the nations. To seek God and exalt His Son for one reason only, because He is worthy. The day is approaching when everything will be subject to His glory.

We are motivated by who He is not what we will get from our coming together.

The biggest challenge will be to leverage the energy from our events to facilitate a lifestyle of prayer, including all Christians and impacting every sphere of society.