Ministry founder: U.S. Christians 'absolutely not prepared' for persecution

The founder of Gospel for Asia says while persecution is increasing worldwide for Christians, he believes it will soon impact believers in America -- and K.P. Yohannan says they need to get ready for it.

Dyne said: I only half-agree with this.  There are Christians, even in the US, who are committed strongly enough to lay down their lives if necessary.  They're called the real disciples of Christ not those who pay lip service and think they're "saved" as they continue in sinful lifestlyes.

I won't deny there are, but how do you know they are willing to lay down their lives for their faith? You can't really know it in the US, unless they have been to those closed nations which they will be kicked out or worse when they try to share the gospel.

On the other hand, while we need to be prepare for the worse, there is nothing wrong to go and stay in a safer place. I know a pastor from Burma, his family just got to US to avoid persecution in their own country. 

It's coming and perhaps sooner than many want to believe.

Suffering for Doing Good

8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,

"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."^[a]

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear^[b]; do not be frightened."^[c] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom^[d] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge^[e] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=67&chapter=3&version=31

Revelation 13

1And the dragon^[a] stood on the shore of the sea.

The Beast out of the Sea

And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"

5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.^[b]

9He who has an ear, let him hear.
10If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed^[c] with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

The Beast out of the Earth

11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rev%2013&version=31;

Dyne said: 'course that also doesn't mean there's no guarantee of no persecution here in the US, either.  From the 1840s-1970s, it was legal to shoot a Mormon in Missouri.

don't use triple negative statement, dude, confusing :)

believe me, many people are naive enough to think that persecution of christians will never happen in US.

As bash of Christianity and Christians is the new pop culture in US, and the ALCU and other secular orgs can't wait to kick God and any reference of Him out,  also US to be more and more become a socialist state, it won't be very long for Christianity to be ruled as illegal and Christians to be arrested, beated or even killed.

Now a day, even say homosexual is a sin will be enough to be charged as hate crime, and mention God in public would violate the supposed "seperation with church and state". Not to mention many people are (willing) ignorant about the liberty we have and the constituation, really, how long do we need?

kmcheng said:

believe me, many people are naive enough to think that persecution of christians will never happen in US.

It's already happening and has been for years via atheists and secular progressives!!! 

Rayj00 said:

kmcheng said:

believe me, many people are naive enough to think that persecution of christians will never happen in US.

 

It's already happening and has been for years via atheists and secular progressives!!! 

well, not jailing, beating or execution, at least not legally

John Conner said:

It's coming and perhaps sooner than many want to believe.

 

Suffering for Doing Good

8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,

"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."^[a]

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear^[b]; do not be frightened."^[c] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom^[d] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge^[e] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=67&chapter=3&version=31

Revelation 13

1And the dragon^[a] stood on the shore of the sea.

The Beast out of the Sea

And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"

5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.^[b]

9He who has an ear, let him hear.
10If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed^[c] with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

The Beast out of the Earth

11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rev%2013&version=31;

WEBSTERS DICTIONARY says:  Commerce - the buying and selling of goods.

REV: 13:17 - "No one could buy or sell unless he had the mark"

Isn't it interesting that the trade agreements and regs that have been initiated in the Executive Branch were actually done through Carlos Gutierrez, and his Department of Commerce!  International trade agreements and treaties supersede our national law - goodbye, America the Beautiful, - enter the NAU and the One World Monopolists!

Sorry for getting off the mark in previous post - I had this thought and hit go before I could formulate it!

Although they've been around for a long time, we are seeing the emergence of the One World Order; they are escalating their agenda and becoming bolder!  They will have to bring the family, the national government, and the Christian church down because these three institutions threaten the very philosophy they would impose upon the rest of the world.

Yes, sadly, real Christians will be attacked from all sides because we are "exclusive".  We worship the Kingship of the Divine, not the government or materialism, or the world - and this is in direct opposition to their plan.   

By virtue of the truth it teaches, Orthodox Christianity cannot meld itself into a one world religion.  And they would have us be their slaves and monopolize our very thoughts!  We will have to be persecuted because they will not allow for the Dominion of God, or the authority of His bible!

What exactly is a "secular progressive?" Has someone been watching too much Bill O'Really? This is a term he invented to demonize anyone who doesn't accept his populist stand.

 I am an atheist but not progressive. When I say I am atheist, that means that I have never seen any evidence that a supreme being exists. The world operates as if there were no supernatural, so without something pretty strong, I have no reason to believe.

That being said, I have very conservative views about the nature of government and the nature of the United States in particular. You might call me a libertarian, although I am not registered as such.

If it makes you feel better to pigeonhole me, feel free to do so.

That being said, I think that the hue and cry over persecution in America is way overblown. You don't know persecution! I know the bible and the history of the church better than most people on here and believe me, having someone laugh at you would never be considered persecution, historically speaking. But Christians have been in power for over 200 years in the U.S., so any erosion of that dominant position makes you squeal.

Granted, there are those ignorant people who go overboard with their literalist "zero tolerance" reading of what the law is. We have all seen those links on Drudge, etc. But the law is clear in the U.S., the law treats every religion or belief with neutrality. This doesn't always work out, i.e. what I already mentioned, but also the other direction, i.e. "Faith-based Initiative" money going almost exclusively to evangelical Christian organizations and some of the money being used to proselytize.

 We don't live in a perfect society, but it is as close to it as this world has ever seen. Never has there been as open, free, and tolerant a society as ours. This is why Islamists hate us. So let's remain open and free.

May I suggest that tolerance be the watchword? Suppose I made a promise not to get offended when someone goes ballistic on atheism? Would you do the same when someone criticizes religion or faith?

don't be so sure 

 Now a day, apparently all religion, all stuffs can be tolerated, except Christianity. If you dare to express Christian view, even just to wish people merry Christmas, be really to be bashed as a religious fanatic.

There are tons of evidences pointed to God, and it is because of His power that the whole world can continue to operate, even with the presence of sin. But,whether you willing to humble yourself and ask God to give you wisdom to see the beauty of His creation is your call.

You know, many people out there are so full of pride that think they know everything, even "know" that God doesn't exist. They are like those kids that just cover their eyes with their hands and claim they don't see anything.

Ask yourself these 3 question:

Do you know everything? (No) 

 Do you know half of everything? (No)

Let's pretend you know half of everything, it is possible that God exist in the other half you don't know? 

Chris Johnston said:

What exactly is a "secular progressive?" Has someone been watching too much Bill O'Really? This is a term he invented to demonize anyone who doesn't accept his populist stand.

 I am an atheist but not progressive. When I say I am atheist, that means that I have never seen any evidence that a supreme being exists. The world operates as if there were no supernatural, so without something pretty strong, I have no reason to believe.

That being said, I have very conservative views about the nature of government and the nature of the United States in particular. You might call me a libertarian, although I am not registered as such.

If it makes you feel better to pigeonhole me, feel free to do so.

That being said, I think that the hue and cry over persecution in America is way overblown. You don't know persecution! I know the bible and the history of the church better than most people on here and believe me, having someone laugh at you would never be considered persecution, historically speaking. But Christians have been in power for over 200 years in the U.S., so any erosion of that dominant position makes you squeal.

Granted, there are those ignorant people who go overboard with their literalist "zero tolerance" reading of what the law is. We have all seen those links on Drudge, etc. But the law is clear in the U.S., the law treats every religion or belief with neutrality. This doesn't always work out, i.e. what I already mentioned, but also the other direction, i.e. "Faith-based Initiative" money going almost exclusively to evangelical Christian organizations and some of the money being used to proselytize.

 We don't live in a perfect society, but it is as close to it as this world has ever seen. Never has there been as open, free, and tolerant a society as ours. This is why Islamists hate us. So let's remain open and free.

May I suggest that tolerance be the watchword? Suppose I made a promise not to get offended when someone goes ballistic on atheism? Would you do the same when someone criticizes religion or faith?

It is obvious that you've never stopped to take a good, close look around you - or even a real close look at yourself in the mirror.

No man has ever been able to create man from dust. If you take a close look at all the parts of the human body and hoe they work in conjunction with other parts, there is not question that there had to be a Supernatural, intelligent, Being Who created it and put it together to make it work perfectly.

Think about it for just a moment. If the human body was put together by chance, as many would have us believe, it would be like taking every single piece of your watch (arm clock) apart, throwing them all in a cyclone vaccum cleaner, turning it on and relying on the revolving wind and chaos to put the watch back together again in perfect working order. It's not going to happen.

Every single individual has been created with a deep sence and knowledge that there is a Creator. It is up to us to accept Him or reject Him.

Chris Johnston said:

 We don't live in a perfect society, but it is as close to it as this world has ever seen. Never has there been as open, free, and tolerant a society as ours. This is why Islamists hate us. So let's remain open and free.

 

Chris - I really would like to direct your attention to some of the other threads; mainly "Let's get Busy on HR 1955" and "HR 1955 aimed directly at Patriots."  We must be living in different countries!  And here's a link (just one of many to make your hair stand on end) you should read:

                          http://www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/TwoActsOfTyranny.html

Also the other article on that web page is good - entitled "Treason Abounds".  Also google "Naomi Wolf".

I disagree with your statement that Islam hates us because we are free.  They hate us because we have crossed our boundaries and have taken on the role of the world's policeman!  I think the term is called imperialism!

Welcome to this forum!  With respect to you and your opinions, I do think you're about to get an education!

 PS:  Just because you have never experienced evidence of a Supreme Being does not mean HE does not exist.  And God does not need to prove to anyone WHO HE IS!  All you have to do is open your heart and accept HIS free gift of faith - you'll never attain it by your own pursuits!

Please understand that I do not speak from ignorance or apathy. I actively thought about and sought answers for many years.

In fact, I was a Baptist preacher and pastor for 15 years.  <gasp>. Don't get your knickers in a twist, though, I'm not mad at Christians, and I hope you won't be mad at me.

 Labrador, you seem to be a little out of place here with your talk of American Imperialism. I might agree with you in the current Iraq situation that it's the wrong war for the wrong reason.

However, Islamists declared war on the United States many years ago. The excuse is our support of Israel, but the real reasons go far deeper. If we left the Middle East today, and stopped our support of Israel, two things would immediately happen.

1. Israel would be wiped off the map.

2. We'd be defending ourselves from Islamist terrorists within our own borders. The nature of Islam is to conquer and put to the sword or convert every human on the planet. The goal is Islamic theocracy around the globe. We deny this at our peril.