Given our present situation of opposition to the open preaching of the Gospel, cancellations, church assaults, imprisonments and even the killing of Christians in the West, yes, this is something that has been going on in our midst for some time already. One can mention countries like the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada and even the United States. Given this situation, it is worth taking a minute to reflect on the persecution of the church throughout history.
In the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, his disciples understood that the persecution that began with the death and resurrection of their Lord was not a political persecution, nor an ideological opposition to a new religious movement. It was, in fact, a spiritual opposition to God’s plan for the redemption of humanity. And the persecution had to arrive because the Gospel message, by its very nature, contradicted an establishment in which religious and political corruption was rampant everywhere, moral laxity and depravity were accepted, and authoritarian rule was the prevailing political institution of the day.
In the book of Acts, just after the empowering that set all the Lord’s followers on fire at Pentecost, persecution immediately arrived. It began with Peter and John, when the religious authorities of the day were greatly disturbed by their preaching. It is interesting to note that the authorities of the religious institution were the first to be deeply disturbed and to demand Peter and John’s imprisonment.
As the persecution continues, it escalates to the point that not being able to stand up to Stephen’s wisdom and the fire and spirit by whom he spoke, they “gnashed their teeth and, covering their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.” (Acts 7:57) This, of course, ended up in his death. After that, the scattering of the Jerusalem church took place. But the persecution did not stop there; it had just begun.
As events continued to unfold, Herod had Peter put in prison yet again and ordered the execution of James. And as the apostles and disciples saw events unfolding at such rage and speed, they perfectly understood that while the persecution was going to be brutal, senseless and unyielding, they would not be able to offer any resistance in their own strength.
However, the disciples did not organize themselves into social or political activists to try to push back against and stop the madness that was going on. In the midst of the most daring situation, there was one thing the followers of Christ were not going to fall into, and that was presumption. They certainly knew God was with them, but they also knew that it was as they prayed and put their trust in God alone, asking for His help and the manifestation of His power through signs and wonders, that angels intervened, they were given strength to endure, and the prisoners were set free.
They immediately resorted to prayer and complete dependence on God. The Apostles had learned the lesson from the Lord Jesus Himself, who had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him if it was God´s will. And the answer came, not sparing the suffering from him, but giving him the strength and the grace to endure it. So, the lesson learned, the church gave itself to prayer without ceasing, asking two things of the Lord: boldness to continue proclaiming the Word of God, and the manifestation of signs and wonders.
And this is precisely what they got. Hundreds began to accept the message of the Gospel as they continued to proclaim the Word boldly, not only Jews, but also Greeks, Romans and people from all nationalities. Healings would take place, many were delivered from evil spirits, and even the dead rose to life again.
Therefore, despite the opposition and anger from their enemies, the church made it a point to continue praying without ceasing, and while they prayed, the heavens opened. Stephen could see the Lord sitting at the right hand of the Father, as he was being stoned to death, angels got to work breaking the chains, waking them up and opening the prison doors so that the prisoners, for the Lord’s sake, could be set free. It is clear from the account in the book of Acts that, as persecution raged, the church began to experience the full manifestation of God’s power.
However, their enemies, those who thought they were serving a good cause by killing Christians, or those who felt threatened in their power, status, reputation, evil pleasures, or position, by the simple preaching of the Word of God, as blind as they were to the spiritual world, became even more enraged and were completely confused. They had no idea what was going on, and all they feared was losing their status; they were, in fact, in a state of panic. The Christian prisoners seemed to have higher powers and suddenly disappeared from prison, even when they had been guarded by armed soldiers and were tied with chains.
So perplexed are the persecutors of the Christians that Herod, not knowing what to do in the wake of two consecutive disappearances of the prisoners from jail, interviews the soldiers who were supposed to guard the inmates and, not getting a convincing answer, orders the soldiers to be killed. They are confused, enraged and out of their senses, and do not see, or worse still, they do not want to see that, as Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, had advised the Jewish council, when trying to put John and Peter in jail, “lest you be found to fight against God.” Or as the Lord Jesus himself had told Saul: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Indeed, spiritual darkness can blind rebellious, greedy, proud, depraved hearts in such a way that even when found kicking against the goads, they decide to dig their heels in.
But in the midst of persecution and death, the apostles did not succumb to fear, nor were they silenced. Instead, they continue to proclaim the Gospel, even knowing that they might die because of that. May this be a lesson for us at the critical times in which we find ourselves, for this kind of persecution did not only happen in the times of the early church, but it showed up again when the sacred institution lost its way and became corrupt, disoriented and morally degraded during the Middle Ages. Again, we find that the first enemy of the Gospel is the religious institution that, after having lost all contact with the fundamental message of the Bible, is inclined to join forces with corporations, elites and governments to persecute those who dared challenge their hypocrisy and debasement. In fact, the same cry of the apostles in the early church is raised at the end of the Dark Ages, and once more, it rises loud and clear from the church in the 21st-century Western world:
“Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One.” In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.” (Acts 4:24-27)
Yes, the method is always the same. The corrupted church and the powers of the earth joined forces, and the revival and reformation of the Medieval church had to be preceded by many who were willing to give their lives for speaking and teaching the fundamental truths of the Gospel once again, and for providing the people with the possibility of reading the Bible for themselves. Most of us know and remember Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Fox. Still, we tend to forget people like Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Girolamo Savonarola and many other unknown names who died as martyrs of the faith and paved the way for Luther to post the 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door.
In these difficult and dire times that have begun for the church in the West, let us not forget that the true church – believing, obedient and faithful to God’s word – has most often lived under persecution. This was the case with the early church, which had to endure this atrocious act during its first four centuries. It was with the emperor’s support and protection that the church entered peaceful, comfortable times, but it was also during this period of solace and comfort that the dark Middle Ages arose.
Hundreds of years later, a similar situation took place at the turn of the 18th century with the Reformation. The great revivals and transformations that marked the beginning of the modern era, bringing the Gospel back to the church and producing an eruption of integrity, decency, devotion and virtue in the 16th century, gradually began to decline, fading away by the end of the 18th century. The Reformed Church found itself in a similar state to the Medieval church once again; it strayed from its original path.
In the 21st century, the West finds itself at yet another turning point. It is no coincidence that Charlie Kirk named his organization “Turning Point.” Yes, a Reformation is needed, and a revival as well, to bring us back to the basics of the Gospel. We must return to the Bible and apply its teachings to every aspect and area of our lives. We must regain virtue, integrity, devotion and a genuine Christian life. But we should also remember at this critical time that God’s children, obedient to Him, dependent on Him and knowing that their battle is a spiritual one, not a political, social, or ideological one, must be fully aware that their strength can only come from God.
Therefore, as disciples of the same Lord Jesus Christ that the apostles of the early church and the reformers of the 16th century followed, let us commit ourselves to constant, unceasing prayer, dependence on God and the proclamation of His Word. If we do that, we have absolute assurance that the heavens will open, we will be given the endurance we need to stand our ground, and God’s stretched hand will perform signs and wonders. Yes, because God, the God of the Bible, is and continues to be the same yesterday, today and forever. By God’s grace, we will not be silenced, and we will not be afraid!