The 2026 World Watch List, recently released by Open Doors US, a U.S.-based persecution watchdog group, found that approximately 388 million Christians around the world face some form of intense persecution or discrimination for following Jesus Christ.

The report found that Christian persecution has reached an unprecedented scale, with more than one in seven Christians being called to suffer for their faith last year, an increase of more than 8 million compared to 2024. “We’re seeing a continuation of a multi-year trend where persecution is expanding,” Ryan Brown, the CEO of Open Doors US, told The Christian Post earlier this week.

Despite being afflicted in every way, some of the reports from the darkest regions of the world include accounts of the Lord manifesting supernaturally to Christians amid their deepest and loneliest tribulations.

North Korea: ‘Whispered prayers’

For the 24th consecutive year, North Korea bears the distinction of being “arguably the most dangerous place on earth to follow Jesus,” according to Open Doors, which slapped the impoverished pariah state with a 97 out of 100 on its persecution ranking. The country continues to be marked by what the non-profit described as “post-communist oppression” and “dictatorial paranoia.”

As it attempts to position itself as a major player on the world stage, the regime is reportedly getting more creative in asserting its totalitarian control, implementing artificial intelligence to detect “suspicious behavior patterns” that might indicate someone is among the nation’s estimated 400,000 Christian believers.

But the Holy Spirit manifests unmistakably amid the persecution, according to North Koreans who have escaped. Some have reported widespread supernatural encounters with Jesus Christ in dreams and visions.

Iraq and Afghanistan: ‘Edge of a blade’

The Taliban’s return to power after the U.S. withdrawal in 2021 has been disastrous for the thousands of Christians remaining in Afghanistan, where Muslims feel obliged to maintain clan and family honor by killing or otherwise persecuting those who leave Islam.

Afghan Christians who escape to neighboring countries are often forcibly returned, only to face increased suspicion and hostility for having fled. Women are especially mistreated. The Taliban, armed with weapons and technology the U.S. left behind, reportedly conducts random searches of phones to search for Christian content and utilizes CCTV to closely monitor cities such as Kabul.

“Being a secret believer [in Afghanistan] is like walking on the edge of a blade. It’s full of caution, pain, but also hope and strength,” a Christian called Samira told Open Doors, which noted they are limited in the information they can provide about Christians in the country because the persecution is so extreme.

In Iraq, the number of Christians has dwindled from nearly 1 million to about 187,000 over the past decade of political upheaval and war, during which ISIS made particular targets of Christians. Iranian-backed Shiite militias are the main source of danger for Iraqi Christians now, according to Open Doors. Turkish and Iranian military operations have also severely damaged Christian villages in the northern Kurdistan region.

Amid the carnage and suffering, reports have circulated in recent years that many in the Muslim world are experiencing striking supernatural dreams of Jesus Christ declaring Himself to be the Lord. Mission Frontiers magazine reported that such encounters with Jesus, who is respected as a prophet in Islam, are responsible for a quarter of Muslim conversions to Christianity.

Somalia: ‘Count the cost’

Somalia ranked as the second-most dangerous country for Christians for the fourth year in a row, according to Open Doors US, whose CEO told The Christian Post earlier this week that much of the growth of extreme violence against Christians is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.

A woman walks past a section of Mogadishu Cathedral that was built by Italian authorities, in Mogadishu, Somalia

Hardline Sharia law reigns in Somalia, whose 2012 provisional constitution effectively prohibited conversion from Islam to Christianity. Amid a civil war that has dragged on for decades, the militant Sunni terrorist group al-Shabaab has filled a power vacuum in much of the country.

The group, some of whose founders trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, seeks to eradicate Christianity and openly executes suspected Christian believers. Even in regions where the corrupt Somali federal government holds sway, Islam remains the only legal religion.

Nigeria: ‘They cut them to pieces’

Nigeria, a West African country of approximately 230 million people, is the global epicenter of deadly violence against Christians, according to multiple reports. Nearly 15 million people have been displaced and forced to flee their homes because of persecution, with a high number of them being Christians, according to a report from the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law. The full scale of the violence is likely impossible to discern in Nigeria, where religious identity is often underreported, large regions are inaccessible and many incidents cannot be independently verified.

The plight of Nigerian Christians has drawn the attention of the world, prompting the U.S. State Department to officially update its designation for Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” in November. On Christmas Day, the U.S. military worked with the Nigerian government to exert military force against Islamic State militants in the country, following public outrage from President Donald Trump.

China: ‘Dictatorial paranoia’

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which governs China’s 1.4 billion people, has been tightening its grip on churches and other Christian institutions that seek to escape its totalitarian monitoring for alignment with communist ideology.

“The Chinese government has really sought to close down a number of the unregistered churches, those that were not officially aligned with the Communist Party, and close those churches out,” Open Doors US CEO Ryan Brown told CP earlier this week, adding that the CCP is also regulating online behaviour by banning Bible apps and any live videos with religious or Christian intent.

The CCP seems especially concerned with capturing the minds of the youth, banning minors under 18 from entering churches or participating in religious activities following the implementation of its revised Regulations on Religious Affairs in 2018. Open Doors noted that ministry leaders “focused on the next generation of Christians” are special targets of state hostility.

Egypt and North Africa: Prophets without honor

Despite its rich and ancient Christian history, Egypt remains a potentially dangerous place for its roughly 10 million Christians.

As in other Muslim-majority countries, persecution most often arises against Muslim converts to Christianity from those closest to them. Converts can suffer ostracism, expulsion and even physical violence from their own families and communities for alleged blasphemy, especially in rural areas.

The World Watch List report includes an interview with a man named Samir, whose 24-year-old son, Girgis, was among the 21 Christian construction workers who were famously kidnapped in Libya and beheaded by black-clad ISIS militants on a beach near Tripoli in 2015.

Now commonly referred to as the “21 Martyrs,” all of the men were Egyptian Coptic Christians except for one from Ghana, who converted upon witnessing the faith of the others as they refused to renounce Jesus Christ despite weeks of torture. Libya joins Egypt and every other North African country on the World Watch List as places of concern.

Fortunately, Biblical prophecy reveals we are living in the last days before Jesus returns to restore righteousness and initiate His Millennial reign. This is to fulfil the covenants God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David that the nation God established for His purposes, Israel, will finally rule all the nations of the world under the leadership of its Messiah, Jesus. Go to http://www.millennialkingdom.net to get prepared to rule and reign with Jesus.