‘Christian Persecution Is Happening Just as Jesus Said It Would’
LifeZette | Kevin Jessip, STPC Board Chairman | Dec. 30, 2019
‘The silent cannot be silent any longer’ about horrendous actions taking place around the world, says the author of this compelling op-ed
Today we stand on the precipice of the greatest-ever Holocaust-like aggression of world domination, as the extreme Islamic ideologies of ISIS have declared Christianity as its No. 1 enemy.
This deluded, false ideology motivates and compels radical Islamic terrorists to murder, rape, pillage, plunder, and wreak havoc and destruction in the name of their god.
It is a growing threat that the world has not seen in many years, and the frightening situation facing Christian minorities in Muslim countries should cause grave concern for all peace-loving, free societies.
The summary executions by the grisly act of beheading, along with the uprooting of ancient Christian communities and their cultures, is an ongoing tragedy. The embattled Christian minorities in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, North and Central Africa, and throughout the region, deserve our immediate intervention for the sake of their cherished faith. Their courage in the face of such violence and intolerance deserves our response and solidarity and summons our allegiance and immediate attention to their plight.
Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC) is leading the way, with western democratic leaders and global representatives forming this coalition to take collective action against this problem through firm diplomatic responses against nations that allow religious persecution against Christians to continue. We all must act now.
Today, Save the Persecuted Christians is the catalyst in raising awareness and providing methods and tools to address the plight of our persecuted Christian brethren and addressing the media with real coverage of the topic. With banners, exhibits, educational seminars, a speakers bureau and other communications efforts directed at legislative working groups leading to real consequences for the perpetrators, STPC is equipped for global impact through its alliances and initiatives.
Related: Persecution of Christ’s Followers Takes on a New Urgency
STPC is uniquely positioned as a representative voice — advancing and addressing concerns and advocating for the vulnerable and the marginalized. Our group serves as the dynamic center hub for equipping, informing, motivating, and resourcing with a globally trusted voice to the moral and civic framework on a local, state, national and international level.
We encourage engagement through prayer, civic involvement, personal responsibility, justice and renewal at every level of society.
We need to unite in this Kairos moment of opportunity, while it still exists — as the silent cannot be silent any longer.
We must come together as one, for when one is persecuted, we are all persecuted.
Hebrews 13:3 says: “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (NIV).
There are more than 26 million documented cases of martyrdom in the 20th century alone, more than in the previous 1,900 years combined.
Nearly 165,000 Christians are martyred every year. One Christian is martyred every three minutes. More than 327 million Christians in over 60 nations — a number roughly equal to the current U.S. population — are currently living under the threat of persecution, and 60 percent of these are women and children.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.
Our vision is to bring together the global network of nearly 2 billion Christian voices in many nations to give a worldwide identity, voice and platform to work with governments, elected officials, community organizers, organizations, business leaders, pastors, rabbis, their churches and synagogues, and other concerned citizens — all of whom are seeking likeminded transformation worldwide.
As Ephesians 6:12 says: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (NIV).
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the world vowed, “Never again. Never again would the great powers sit on their hands while an entire people face extinction.”
And now we are watching, once again, as genocide unfolds before our eyes.
The Apostle Paul was a man bent on the destruction of the church, eager to persecute believers wherever they lived. He even participated in the death of the first martyr of the early church, Stephen.
But God arrested him on the road to Damascus and saved him — and he became the foremost apostle for the sake of the Gospel. Writing to his young protégé years later, Paul vividly described that experience: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13, NIV).
He even called himself the worst or chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:16).
The only cure for corrupt ideologies and false religions is a personal encounter with the living God, who “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4, NIV). Only God can transform a murderous terrorist into a servant who is willing to die for the sake of His Name. In the end, the one universal grievance that must be addressed by every person of every age is our own sin and rebellion against God. The only solution is a transformed heart.
Christian persecution is happening just as Jesus said it would.
The word of God, the everlasting covenant, which 2 billion Christians believe in, speaks of the difference between the persecution we are witnessing today, known as an (anti-Christ) spirit and the message of love and grace taught by (Christ) in the Holy Scriptures. It is that one kills the one who does not believe like he does, while the other teaches we must love our enemies.
As Jesus said Himself: “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:12-13, KJV).
Kevin Jessip is chairman of the board of Save the Persecuted Christians and president of the Global Strategic Alliance.
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