GOD USES PERSECUTION TO GROW THE CHURCH IN UKRAINE

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As war continues to devastate Ukraine, a mighty spiritual revival is unfolding amid the ruins, according to Ukrainian evangelist David Karcha, who told a gathering of European church leaders that the Gospel becomes unstoppable in a time of war. Speaking at the European Congress on Evangelism in Berlin, Germany, on May 29, Karcha described how churches across Ukraine have become beacons of hope, drawing thousands to Christ even as the country endures deep physical and emotional suffering. His address came just a day after Franklin Graham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin to pray for peace, underscoring the Congress’s message of gospel resilience in the face of crisis. “In a time of peace, the Gospel is powerful. But in a time of war, it is unstoppable,” said Karcha in his opening remarks in which he brought greetings from the Evangelical wider Church in Ukraine to the Berlin Congress delegates.

After Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Karcha said Ukrainian Evangelicals faced a critical choice: to fracture and flee, or to remain and share in the suffering of their fellow countrymen. This was “not because we had a plan, not because we felt ready, but because we saw that even the smallest act done in faith becomes a part of something much greater.” “Hope as a reality is something searched for as part of human existence seeking “something greater, something essential,” Karcha pondered. For the Church in Ukraine, this journey of hope, made within the light of the living Lord Jesus, has meant taking small steps as a unified community moving together. By doing so, “it becomes a movement no war can stop.” Karcha wanted to set the record straight about religious persecution, often dominating news about Christian Ukrainians. He pointed out that the main headline story in Ukraine is about masses of people turning to Christ. The church minister said that in 2023 “alone,” Baptist churches witnessed “thousands of people publicly profess their faith through baptism.”

The Church has woken up to the spiritual hunger in the country and stood up to the challenge of serving not just bodies but souls. In the last three years, Karcha testified that “hundreds of thousands of people have walked through the doors of Ukrainian churches and encountered the love and care of God.” “Many of them for the first time in their life,” he added, and told the story he heard from a German pastor at the Congress of a particular woman who knew nothing of church but fled to Germany as a refugee and sought shelter in a church. She experienced food, care and the church showed love, telling her about Jesus. The woman eventually gave her heart to Jesus Christ. Karcha thanked churches across Europe for their loving support for Ukrainians in the past few years of the war. “The body of Christ is not confined to one country or to one border but is alive and active whenever his people are present,” said Karcha, to more applause. “Thank you for being his hands and his heart for those who are in real need.”

“God is teaching us to listen and to see where he is already at work,” he continued. “Ukrainian churches are there on the front lines, ministering as chaplains in the trenches and grounds, at hospitals, bringing prayer and the hope of Christ to the soldiers in the fire of battle and places of hopelessness.” “We are there for the widows of fallen soldiers and for the orphans whose mothers are never coming home, holding their clothes, sharing the grief. We minister to those who have lost everything, homes reduced to rubble, families torn apart, bodies and souls scared by unspeakable fragments and torture brought to us by the Russian army.” All of these ministries start with active listening, Karcha said, “We listen. We pray. We help. And then when we see how we can help and what can be gone, we speak Jesus.” A man called Viktor, in his mid-50s, came to Karcha’s own church as a refugee, “like so many other at that time.” He was a quiet man, according to the church leader, who seemed broken and carried a “lifelong lifetime of burdens.”

One day, Viktor asked Karcha if they could talk. He disclosed that he knew about God since childhood and spent many decades running away from him, causing pain around him. However, he declared a readiness to surrender his life to Christ. “He cried. He wept. And he was born again, right in front of our eyes,” said Karcha, adding that God is still at work and listening, and still redeeming, bringing children home. “Dear brothers and sisters,” Karcha told delegates, “This is a little bit of what God is doing in our country. He’s awakening his church, stirring a desperate search for hope, and teaching us to listen and watch him work.” “He’s stirring suffering into testimony, fear into faith, and small acts of love into seeds for his kingdom. In the world’s eyes, Ukraine is a story of war. But in God’s eyes, it is a story of revival, a story that reminds us all that the Gospel … advances. That even when the rockets are exploding next to us, the foundation of Christ stands firm. That even in the darkest night, the light of his truth still breaks.” “Let history bow down to the cross,” Karcha said, concluding with an encouragement to boldly proclaim Jesus as Lord regardless of circumstance.

Source:   Christian Daily International

CHRISTIANS CONTINUE TO FACE PERSECUTION YET THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO GROW

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According to the latest report, 380 million Christians — one in seven worldwide — face high levels of persecution and discrimination.

As the organization has done for over 20 years, Open Doors US ranked North Korea No. 1 on its World Watch List. “North Korea continues to be a place that is incredibly difficult for Christians,” Brown stated. “Reports of violence have continued to escalate within North Korea, and it is expansive throughout the State.” Christians in North Korea could face execution or imprisonment in a labour camp if their faith is discovered, Open Doors warns. Despite the targeted oppression, however, the latest World Watch List reported that around 400,000 believers in North Korea are continuing to bear witness to the love of Christ. 

A North Korean Christian, Jung Jik (name changed for security reasons), who escaped imprisonment twice, is praying to see his child again and share Jesus with him, showcasing the determination persecuted believers have to keep God’s Word alive amid surges in anti-Christian violence across the globe. As Jung attested in the report, a large underground Church still survives in North Korea. “There’s still a large underground church. Because you pray, many people are miraculously healed, and they experience God’s power. They come to faith.”

Brown said Christians like Jung, who refuse to forsake Christ, are a model for Christ-followers in Western countries with the right to religious freedom. Throughout Christianity’s history, Brown stressed that the Church has continued to thrive, even when persecution is extreme. 

“There are places where the Church is, by all accounts, the life is being squeezed from it,” Brown said, citing the North African country of Algeria, which ranked 19th on the 2025 World Watch List, as an example. Per the report, “all Protestant churches [in Algeria] have been forced to close, and the number of Christians awaiting trial and sentencing is at an all-time high.” 

Other countries that have forced the Church underground include Afghanistan, which ranked No. 10 on the list. Due to the Taliban enforcing strict interpretations of Islamic law, converting from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death. Christians also face punishment or fear being murdered at the hands of their family, clan or tribe if they renounce Islam. 

“There are places where the Church is being forced deeply underground, and any visible expression of that presence is very difficult to observe,” Brown said. “But there are places where, in the midst of persecution, the Church continues to operate, the Church continues to minister.”

The latest report also found increased violence scores in 15 sub-Saharan countries since the 2023 World Watch List. The 2025 report noted that the sub-Saharan Africa region is the most violent due to Islamic extremist groups taking advantage of government instability. 

“Persecution is rising in countries such as Burkina Faso (20), Mali (14) and Chad (49), which enters the top 50 for the first time,” the report found. 

Christians in Yemen (3), Sudan (5) and Myanmar (13) are easy targets for persecution as anarchy and internal conflict within these regions grows, according to Open Doors. 

Nigeria, which ranked seventh on the list, stands out from many of the sub-Saharan countries, as there wasn’t much room for conditions in the region to worsen from previous years.

Christians in northern Nigeria are targeted by Fulani militants, Boko Haram and other extremist groups who murder or abduct people of faith. Thousands of Nigerian Christians have been killed in recent years. According to a summary of the 2025 report’s trends, “the measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology.” 

Fortunately, we know from Biblical prophecy that Christian persecution escalates in the time before Jesus returns to restore righteousness and usher in His Millennial Kingdom. This Earth still has 1000 years before it is destroyed. The nation God raised up for His purposes, Israel, must fulfill its destiny, and it will with Jesus reigning the nations of the world with the raised, glorified Saints. They rule with a rod of iron, indicating that the curse has not been lifted. People are still being born and are dying. They still need to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Satan and his minions are bound for most of the thousand years but are released at the end, and he still raises an army of people like the sand of the sea to come against Jesus and the Saints. This says a lot about people who are given free will to choose. Sadly, like Satan and one-third of the angels, many want to be god and choose to rebel against God and His commandments.

TRUTH ABOUT TORBEN SONDERGAARD’S 12 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT

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This is the last episode in The Last Reformation Revealing series. It shows vital evidence around the persecution of Torben in the United States and the terrible effects of slander. The episode identified the main source of this slander. It was this slander that eventually led to Torben’s detention.

What is troubling to me in this story is how Satan was able to use Christians, particularly the police officer who was responsible for Torben spending twelve months in prison and then being deported.

The roles played by Paul May and Andre Hojer in the saga are shocking. Watching Paul May give his deposition was illuminating. Based on information provided by Andre Hojer, a man in Denmark who Paul May had never met, May played the prime role in destroying the reputation and life of Torben, also a man he had never met. Satan used both of these men, professing Christians for his purposes.

Please distribute this video widely to family and friends.

TORBEN SONDERGAARD: WHY TORBEN WAS DETAINED FOR OVER A YEAR WITHOUT CHARGES OR EVIDENCE

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Revealing Part 4 is an eye-opening and shocking documentary. It is the last episode in The Last Reformation (TLR) Revealing series (http://www.torbensondergaad.com/timeline). It shows vital evidence around the persecution of Torben in the United States and the terrible effects of slander. The episode identifies the main source of this slander. He had been a TLR leader and initially, a good friend of Torben’s. After his evil intention to undermine Torben was exposed and he was let go, he turned out to be a Judas. It was this slander that eventually led to Torben’s detention.

This video demonstrates how people can be deceived even those described as born-again believers. The police officer who detained Torben illegally is described as a spirit-filled believer.

Please circulate this video as widely as you can. For those of you who live in the USA, please take it up with government officials who can help the TLR team take it further.

let’s learn from this experience. Let’s understand how the enemy operates and be more vigilant about what we listen to.

THE BIBLE PROPHESIES PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS ESCALATES BEFORE JESUS RETURNS

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Progressive Crusade to Bend Arc of History by Chris Uhlmann in The Weekend Australian 11th May, 2024

Uhlmann contends that what is at stake is whether the ascendant state morality will drive deeper into the ancient institutions of faith and force believers to submit to its temporal commandments. Nationally, the Australian Law Reform Commission’s final report on religious exemptions from anti-discrimination law is just another sortie in a long campaign over what the state will allow you to believe and how far it is prepared to go to force apostates to heel.

Queensland’s proposed anti-discrimination bill seeks to narrow the rights of the faithful. Alex Deagon, from the Queensland University of Technology, argues it will “significantly undermine the ability of religious organisations to employ persons following their faith”.

The ALRC admits one of its recommendations may limit “the freedom to manifest religion or belief in community with others, and the associated parental liberty to ensure the religious and moral education of one’s children in conformity with one’s own convictions”. This, it says, is balanced by the overall effect, which “would be to maximise the realisation of human rights”.

The ALRC wants section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act, which allows religious schools to hire those whose lives and ideas accord “with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of a particular religion or creed”, to be abolished.

When you lose the freedom to manifest your faith, abide by your beliefs and the liberty to ensure your children are educated in your creed, what is left? The commission is erasing the right of a religious school to organise around its own ethos.

This is an extreme form of laicism, driven by a fierce “progressive” crusade against Christianity. In a multifaith society that means all believers are on this battlefield, as the institutions of government are mobilised against them. Like many things dubbed progressive, it is the latest incarnation of the despotic tendencies of the Bureautoracy (n): the ubiquitous, unelected technocratic blob bent on imposing its notion of utopia on the mob. Its relentlessly mutating dogma has spread like Paterson’s curse through all the institutions.

In a profound irony, we are witnessing the final metamorphosis of Christianity as zealots torch the last idol: belief in a power that transcends the state.

The child has turned on a parent it does not recognise because the source code of this secular faith is the notion of universal human rights. That idea was born with the belief that each individual is valued by God, an avowedly Christian concept and part of a set of revolutionary beliefs that the early faithful simply called “The Way”.

Universal equality is captured in Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Another epoch-changing idea rings from the first sentences of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the word (logos). And the word was with God. And the word was God.”

The New Testament was written in Greek and logos means both word and reason. So, in the Christian tradition, God is reason itself. Christianity is the singular encounter between Greek philosophy and Jewish mysticism, the marriage of reason and faith. The theology that evolved was a thoroughly different way of thinking. Let’s call it wisdom.

This wisdom elevated the poor, the meek, the righteous, the merciful, and peacemakers. Faith in God demands you “treat others as you would like them to treat you”, and not to act with reason is contrary to the nature of God.

Christianity was born in the East, informed by the West, and takes on its historically decisive character in Europe. Europe is defined by its faith and its faith is defined by reason. Faith and reason set Europe on the road to liberal democracy.

Through all its failures, and its many crimes, reason pushes the West forward and demands that it learn and evolve. And the excesses of both church and state always had to contend with its Christian conscience.

The savage colonisation of the Americas was fiercely denounced by Dominican friar Bartolome de Las Casas, and the evil of slavery collapsed when it confronted the faith of William Wilberforce. Despite often spectacularly failing to abide by its ideals, Christianity demanded the West slowly bend towards realising the radical demand of the central tenet of its faith. The new commandment to “love one another” excludes no one.

As historian Tom Holland demonstrates in his epic work Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, “To live in a Western country is to live in a society that is utterly saturated by Christian concepts and assumptions.”

It is, of course, a heritage that the zealots of the New Way deny. To them, their belief system is self-evident because it just is. It is neutral. It is agnostic. That is a delusion. The New Way exhibits some of the best and all the worst features of a proselytising religion. It looks to uplift, to guide, to build a better, more just world. It is also deeply intolerant of dissent and has established the institutions of inquisition to police heresy, in state and federal human rights commissions.

It’s hard to criticise anti-discrimination laws but the growth of objective penalties for subjective crimes should trouble those who care about liberal democracy. Such penalties are how American journalist Robert Wargas defines totalitarianism.

What standards will be applied? The notion of transgender identity, for example, is a rapidly moving target. Even the Australian Human Rights Commission’s website admits the “terminology is strongly contested”.

So, this latest assault by the state on the faithful is a battle of competing theologies, as the disciples of Caesar seek to mount his image in every temple. And the insurgents know nothing of faith because, as anyone who has any dealings with religious schools knows, most have no desire to discriminate and are far more tolerant of difference than “progressives”.

What religious institutions don’t want is to be forced to submit to state diktats that deliberately undermine the ethos of their institution. Here let’s recall that the Labor Party pledge demands its members not be a part of any other organisation that is inimical to its ideals. Why shouldn’t religious schools enjoy the same rights?

The arc of history has bent out of shape. Those who claim the heritage of reason have discounted the role of faith in their enlightenment. They discriminate and call it equality. They unreasonably seek to force the faithful to heel. This is foolishness. Fortunately, Biblical prophecy reveals that this godless persecution of Christians precedes Jesus’ return to Earth first to rapture the Saints and then to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant rebellious world. Christians need to heed Jesus warning that it will even get much worse.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL AND TAKING A STAND

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This post was taken from the article by Sarah Holliday entitled “The Korbin Albert Incident Reminds Us That Believers Are Called to Be Unashamed in The Washington Stand April 1, 2024

Korbin Albert, a new player on the U.S. women’s national soccer team, recently shared a video on her personal TikTok account that featured a powerful testimony of a Christian man who shared his struggle with thinking he was a woman and how he was saved by Jesus Christ. I mean, this is what Jesus does — He saves! And the church is called to share this Good News. At first glance, that’s what Albert did. Who knows how that video shared through her platform could’ve spoken to someone who needed to hear its message?

The enemy hates what’s good. He hates God and God’s people. And while suffering is an inevitable part of a fallen world, many trials we encounter are due to the devil’s scheming. Though he has won nothing, Satan has a sinister grip on many lives to do what he does best: lie, cheat, steal, and destroy.

Megan Rapinoe, is a prominent LGBT activist with a tendency to blame God for her problems (like when she claimed her career-ending injury was “proof” God doesn’t exist). While she wasn’t the only one to criticize Albert’s post, Rapinoe appeared to be the cherry topping a sundae of insults. Her less than impressive remark goes as follows: “To the people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs’ I would just ask one question, are you making any time of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone? … because if you aren’t all you believe in is hate. And Kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake TF up! Yours Truly, #15.”

I’m sure that was very difficult for Albert to read. But her own teammates took Rapinoe’s side, and Albert received other harsh comments like, “[I]f you’re gonna be a bigot at least do it in private.” Another read, “You can be Christian and not a homophobic transphobic bigot.”

Not surprisingly in this cancel culture, Albert was overwhelmed with hostility. She apologized for sharing the post and proceeded to remove it from her social media. She said she would strive “to do better” because “sharing … offensive, insensitive and hurtful” posts “was immature and disrespectful.” She expressed disappointment in herself and said it was never her intention to offend anyone.

The first thought that came to mind when I read about this was Romans 1:16, where Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” As believers, we’re called to be unashamed of the truth of Scripture. Christians boldly broadcast that life, in and out of the womb, has inherent value in being made in the image of God. We gallantly declare, according to faith and science, there are two sexes, and switching between them is patently impossible. We unabashedly share the gospel message, which is initially offensive, that we’re sinners in need of a Savior, we must repent of those sins, and that Christ is the only way to eternal life.

Those who are born again and raised to new life in Christ know this is difficult for those dead in their sins and trespasses to hear. But we also know the least loving thing we can do is deprive someone of these truths and watch as they march away from the glory of God and the gift of salvation.

Am I saying Albert is ashamed of the gospel? Not necessarily. I don’t know her heart, so I refuse to make a claim on her behalf. What I do believe is her regrets reflect that she needs prayer, encouragement, and some reminders. And, really, what I’m about to detail pertains to all believers.

Jesus said in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” Additionally, in Matthew 10:22a, He asserted, “you will be hated by all for my names sake.” It’s pretty clear in Scripture that following Christ means we will be hated. But one isn’t required to read Scripture to know that. Just look around — just look at what happened to Albert!

But Albert, like all of us, needs grace and compassion. Like all of us, she needs prayer to remain steadfast amid persecution. Before we judge how she responded, we should put ourselves in her shoes. Truly, we can only pray that we don’t respond the same way she did to such vehement hate and anger.

Notably, we, too, often forget what’s proclaimed in Romans 10:11, namely, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” Or Romans 8:1, which states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We overlook, as outlined in Romans 8:15, that we “did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but … have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” And despite the pain we endure in this fallen world, Jesus said “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22b). We forget these things because we don’t meditate on them.

GOD’S WORD IS NOW HATE SPEECH?

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Member of the Finnish Parliament Pavi Räsänen’s legal saga began after a 2019 social media post in which the devout Christian asked why her denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, would participate in an LGBTQ Pride march. The post included a photo of Romans 1:24-27, one of many Bible passages that declares same-sex intercourse is sinful.

The Bible verses, prosecutors said, amounted to “hate speech” against people who identify as LGBTQ. Police arrested the 63-year-old grandmother of 11 and subjected her to 13 hours of interrogation. They also prosecuted Bishop Pohjola for publishing the booklet.

Last March 30, a three-judge panel of the Helsinki District Court unanimously acquitted the pair, saying the government violated the right to freedom of expression contained in Section 12 of the Finnish Constitution. “It is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts,” the court ruled.

But shortly after her acquittal, in an act former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback called “a sign of incredible hostility to religion,” then-Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen appealed the case — charging Räsänen with “agitation against a minority” under a section of the nation’s law against “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.”

The prosecution would not accept truth, even absolute Truth, as a defense. “The point isn’t whether it is true or not, but that this is insulting,” said the prosecutor in her opening statement in the two-day trial, which spanned August 31 and September 1.

“At the heart of the prosecutor’s examination of Räsänen was this: Would she recant her beliefs? The answer was no — she would not deny the teachings of her faith,” said Alliance Defending Freedom International Executive Director Paul Coleman after the verdict. The legal proceedings “bore all the resemblance of a ‘heresy’ trial of the Middle Ages; it was implied that Räsänen had ‘blasphemed’ against the dominant orthodoxies of the day.”

But the Court of Appeals unanimously threw out all of the charges, stating that the law required the post to be intended to offend, and “there must be an overriding social reason for interfering with and restricting freedom of expression.” The state must pay the defendants’ legal fees, the court ordered.

“I never suspected for a moment that I was guilty of anything illegal in my writings or statements,” said Räsänen at a press conference shortly after the verdict, where she thanked God and her supporters. “This isn’t about my opinions, but about the rights of thousands and thousands of Christians to freedom of expression.”

Gratitude swept across Europe in the early morning hours after the verdict. “Glory to God! Brave Paivi Rasanen has been vindicated!” said author Rod Dreher, an American expatriate living in Hungary. “Common sense prevailed,” wrote Anglican Rev. Calvin Robinson of the U.K. thankfully.

But their legal nightmare may not yet be over. The new prosecutor, Anu Mantila, told a Finnish media he is “seriously considering” appealing to the Supreme Court of Finland. Mantila believes the case involves two fundamental and equal human rights — the “right” to be free from discrimination and the freedom of religion — and, since the Court of Appeals simply repeated the findings of the lower court, he wanted a more in-depth vetting. Specifically, he said he wants the court to consider his contention that “hate speech” causes both psychological and physical damages — and to explain how he can prosecute speech accordingly.

“This issue should still get the opinion of the Supreme Court,” Mantila told a Finnish news source, Helsingin Sanomat. Manila said he wants some court to explain how and when he can prosecute alleged “hate speech” that does not clearly incite hatred. The court, he said, should show him where “the line is between punishable and non-punishable expression when it comes to less serious hate speech that does not incite violence and hatred.” But Räsänen’s attorneys say the second trial came to the same conclusion because the prosecution introduced no new facts. Finnish citizens have expressed their weariness with the ongoing prosecutions. One Finnish teacher announced, “My wallet announced that I am no longer interested in paying for this circus.”

Although jubilant over the outcome, Christians say the prosecution exemplifies the phrase: “The process is the punishment.”

“While we celebrate this monumental victory, we also remember that it comes after four years of police investigations, criminal indictments, prosecutions, and court hearings,” said Coleman. Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, cited Räsänen as one of 99 incidents of anti-Christian persecution that have taken place in the West in three years. 

“How long until American lawmakers are similarly prosecuted?” asked Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Perkins and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) met with Finnish Ambassador Mikko Hautala last month. 

Roy also warned that Räsänen’s trials could come to the United States during the debate over the so-called “Respect for Marriage” Act. “When you venture into hate crimes, you are now empowering the government to determine what is in your head, and now they’re going to prosecute you for thoughts … and in this case, your religious views,” said Roy. “That is something we have to stand athwart.” At the 2023 Pray Vote Stand Summit, Roy hailed the Finnish MP as “a hero” who “gives you hope. She gives you a belief that we can stand up and stand athwart that kind of tyranny.”

Räsänen’s “acquittal is a monumental victory for free speech,” said Alliance Defending Freedom President and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner. “Päivi’s case serves as a stark reminder of the rising tide of censorship on a global scale.”

In biblical fashion, Räsänen rejoiced in her trials. “This whole process, this litigation, has given so many chances to testify about Jesus,” including “in a live broadcast straight to Finnish homes,” explained Räsänen on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” last June. “At the police station, we had the Bible on the table, and the police asked me questions. He asked me to explain, ‘What is the message of the Letter to Romans? What is the message of the first chapter?’ and so on.”

Räsänen said she is always careful to repeat her central motivation: “We have in the Bible the solution to the problem of sin, because Jesus has died for our sins.”

The prosecution, she said, “gives more chances to speak about biblical values” and “share the gospel and the word of God” with “captive audiences.” 

Ultimately, Prosecutor General Ari-Pekka Koivisto will decide whether to appeal the case, according to Finnish media sources. On Tuesday, Räsänen promised to endure to the end of her legal persecution, even all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

“Whatever the consequence, I will not back down from my biblical convictions.”

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW CHRISTIANS WILL BE PERSECUTED IN THE DAYS AHEAD

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An Arlington, Virginia voter, later identified as a federal contractor, went viral on Tuesday for cursing out a Republican poll greeter, Matthew Hurtt, outside a precinct. In the video of the incident, which has been viewed nearly 12 million times as of Friday morning, the contractor cursed out Republicans as “Bible-beating bigots and freaks” and “rapists” for supporting pro-life, pro-family policies.

The voter opened with: “You ******* people tried to overthrow the election”. (His favorite adjective/adverb began with “f” and is censored throughout this article.) “You might as well have been walking up to my head on the way to the polling station and putting a gun to my head, trying to tell me how to vote.”

Finding a Republican greeter at his deep-blue polling location made him furious. “[Do] you expect me to not take that ******* personally? You ******* try to overthrow elections with violence, and then you’re out here, among decent people?”

Unable to provoke Hurtt, the angry voter continued to seek out an argument and increased his use of foul language. “What do you have to say to that, huh? And what’s on your ******* [sample ballot] — what are your policy prescriptions? … ******* rapists, right? Involving yourself in people’s ******* families, in their ******* bedrooms. You ******* animal.”

The voter began to walk away, but immediately stepped back to threaten the poll greeter, despite just accusing the poll greeter of threatening him. “You try to steal my vote next year, I’m going to ******* remember you personally,” he said. “In fact, I’m taking a ******* picture of you.” Americans have historically worried about partisans intimidating voters at the polls; here is a voter intimidating a partisan at the polls.

Then the voter’s progressive reflexes kicked in, and he remembered the Left’s emphasis on not taking someone’s picture without their consent, which has been used to prosecute undercover journalists exposing abortion centers’ gruesome practices.

So, the voter quickly added, “Is that alright? Do I have your permission?” Hurtt responded, “Yeah, that’s alright. It’s a one-party-consent state.” By that, he meant that it is not illegal in Virginia to photograph someone without their permission. But the voter wasn’t thinking in those categories at all. Apparently, he thought Hurtt was complaining that Democrats run everything in Virginia because after a gratuitous insult he responded, “Yeah, ‘one-party state.’ You want a one-party country is what you want.”

The voter did not seem to recognize the irony of that last statement. By delegitimizing the entire Republican Party, and by being offended by the very presence of a Republican outside his voting precinct, he revealed that he was the one who wanted a one-party country — one where only left-wing Democratic politicians can win elections.

Hurtt tried to end the conversation by engaging another prospective voter who just then walked down the sidewalk, in the exchange relayed above. The disgruntled voter at first walked away, but then he came back again and spoke to the other man.

“Try not to be buddy-buddy with these people,” he warned, “because they put on the face of a good neighbor, but they support lynch mobs and the ******* KKK. Or they’re ******* Bible-beating bigots and freaks. And they’re not good neighbors.

Notice how the man describes Christians: “Bible-beating bigots and freaks.” A bigot is “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.” A freak is “one that is markedly unusual or abnormal.” Despite the negative connotations, this angry, progressive voter is describing people who believe the Bible contains absolute truth and are unwilling to compromise on that — in short, Bible-believing Christians.

In a recent interview with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, House Speaker Mike Johnson discussed the hostility he has faced in Washington as a result of his Christian faith. “There are whole industries, as you know, that are dedicated to taking down public officials like me,” he said. “They can’t stand the idea that someone would openly acknowledge their faith. That’s not in vogue in Washington anymore — hasn’t been for a long time.”

That anti-Christian bias seems to have spread beyond select industries to infect a large part of the federal bureaucracy. So, when Christians go to Washington to advance pro-life, pro-family policies, or even basic morality, they are bound to face near-crushing opposition.

Prior to Jesus’ return to Earth, he told us that Christians would be hated by all nations for His name’s sake.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

God has given us incredible detail about what will take place in the last seven years prior to His return. We know it is a time when God purifies His church prior to its Rapture to Heaven. There is a great falling away in the church and we see that happening now as more of the institutional/denominational churches compromise with the world with gay marriage and homosexual/transgender leaders. We need to get into prayer so we know what the Holy Spirit is calling us to do in the sphere of influence we operate whether it is family, friends, or workmates. In the above Scripture Jesus said that the gospel of His Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world and then the end will come. Let us play our part but we also know from Revelation that prior to the seven Bowl judgements God sends out three angels throughout the world to proclaim His eternal gospel.

The Messages of the Three Angels

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” Revelation 14:6-12

PERSECUTION GROWS GOD’S CHURCH

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A new study has revealed that Christianity is continuing to spread across the globe despite believers facing extreme persecution for their faith.

The 2023 “Persecutors of the Year” report by the anti-persecution charity International Christian Concern (ICC) details the various groups, organisations, and locations posing a significant threat to Christians worldwide.

The advocacy group claims some 200-300 million believers currently experience persecution for their faith, including torture, imprisonment, and murder. Writing in the document’s forward, ICC President Jeff King says he’s inspired by the courage and strength of Christians who appear to be “thriving” in their faith, amid “unimaginable pain.”

China, Iran, and Nigeria are highlighted as key countries where the Church appears to be expanding despite fierce opposition.

NIGERIA: The ICC argues Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places to be Christian today. Believers are kidnapped, tortured, and killed every week by Boko Haram, Fulani militants and other Muslim extremist groups while churches and Christian institutions are destroyed and burned to the ground. “Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) have killed tens of thousands of Christians and displaced millions to discard Western influence and impose strict Islamic Sharia law,” it reads. Yet, the approximately 100 million Christian population is steadily growing in the region.

IRAN: The report claims that the Islamic Republic of Iran has “one of the fastest-growing churches in the world.” While 99% of the population is Muslim and Christians there are harshly penalised for practicing their faith, ICC reports show a Christian population that has rapidly grown to around 500,000 – 800,000. Iranian Christians face persecution in the form of raids, arrests, fines, detention, torture, and death penalties for practicing their faith.

CHINA: China reportedly has between 70-100 million “underground Christians”. This is despite the communist country “aggressively suppressing free religious expression” which is seen as a threat to national security. House churches face persecution and harassment by the authorities, as they are often unregistered and not sanctioned by the government. Some are denied registration while others choose not to be state-run due to the heavy surveillance and restrictions that are applied.

In highlighting the extent of suffering Christians encounter across the world, ICC says the “resilience of the body of Christ” is also revealed.

We cannot say that Jesus did not warn us of the persecution/tribulation that Christians will face in the last days before His second coming. It will be a church refined by fire that will be raptured to heaven prior to God pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgments.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN CRISIS

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The global food shortage is hitting persecuted Christians hard. In many countries, Open Doors field teams are now operating with a “FOOD FIRST” mission.

Displacement, drought, discrimination, rising food prices, and lack of resources have made persecuted Christians more vulnerable, insecure, and desperate—especially in remote areas where resources are few.

Open Doors is fighting to provide critical supplies to believers on the brink of survival in countries like Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, and many others.

“Persecuted believers can’t … worship or serve one another if they’re too weak and starving.”

— Field Partner in Burkina Faso

“Food inflation in Sri Lanka has surged to 80 percent … The needs are urgent.”

 —Field Partner in Sri Lanka

The following Scriptures remind us that we have been warned by Jesus that persecution, tribulation, and disasters on earth and in the cosmos will precede His second coming, to first rescue the Saints and to pour out His wrath on the unrepentant.

“There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Mark 13:8

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be... See, I have told you beforehand.” Matthew 24:21, 25