A Suicide Bomber just blew themselves up at a Syrian Church, killing twenty-two Christians. (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c307n9p43z9o.amp). I mourn our brothers and sisters who have been slain, and they join the Martyrs in Heaven, “They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us? Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.” (Revelation 6:10-11). I warned that this was coming this week in a post “Maligning The Faith” (https://sirjeffreypendragonblog.blogspot.com/2025/06/politic-maligning-faith.html?m=1) in which I gave counsel that we need to as Christians be “Shrewd as serpents and gentle as doves,” (Matthew 10:16) and not wear in public Christian iconography like crosses or put on our cars the Fish (Ichythus) because ire it stirring towards Christianity over its mixture with the US Administration. Now we have had the first News broadcasted on multiple networks of Christians being killed in Syria.
I recently watched the new episodes of the Chosen, Season 5. And in one of them Jesus tells the Disciples about the times to come, quoting Matthew 24, where he says, “there will be wars and rumors of wars, but the end will not come yet.. these are birth pangs, then you will handed up to persecution, and all nations will hate you on account of me.” (Matthew 24:1-22). The fact that episode aired on Amazon when the US bombed Iran and now this public attack and murder of Christians happened I believe is a message from God, that He is warning us where we are in the End of Times. I do not believe in coincidences, I believe the Holy Spirit can guide things like a TV show telling the Gospels to play the part that is relevant to what is happening right now in our world.
It is time to go Underground.. like John Calvin and Richard Wurmbrandt advise. We need to be prepared for the Beast Persecution, “And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.” (Revelation 13:7) and the Locusts who serve him. You might say this is an overreaction, but I do not. I believe there is a reason church attendance is down, that many saints are getting the notion not to go to public churches, because they are going to be danger zones like the one in Syria that was just attacked. It was not long ago that even Joel Osteen had a Shooter come into his church, which should have been a warning sign for American churches, but we “did not have eyes to see.” (Matthew 13:13). So many Doomsayers and Apocalyptic charlatans have numbed our readiness, but Jesus says, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13). We are suppose to be ever vigilant, and the signs of the Second Coming seem to be happening, especially Matthew, Chapter Twenty-Four. We need to prepare.
How do you go underground? You have to find other Christians you trust and start home churches that you do not broadcast as cell groups to your local church. You need to do as Church did in acts, “the church met in homes,” (Acts 2:46) and “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42). We need to become comfortable with not being in public and proud of our “temples made with human hands.”(Acts 17:24). This is going to be hard transition for the Christians of the West. We have known for too long a lack of persecution as our faith was actually the center of judicial, cultural, and even aspects of the governmental (for America a Chaplain to Congress, for UK the King is Supreme Head of the Anglican Church, in Germany part of the actual government, the Riechstag is Ecclesiastical Branch). The era of the Golden Cross of Constantine The Great is no more, it is now the Blood Soaked Wood Cross, and we need to be prepared for persecution, because that is going to be the norm, “This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12).
Being Kakure Kirishitans (Hidden Christians) is not an easy thing. There is fear that we are denying Jesus when He says, “if you deny me before men, I will deny you before The Father” (Matthew 10:33). This is not about denial, if you are asked do you believe in the Lord Jesus you will have to answer. This is about being shrewd, not broadcasting who you are even voracious wolves are after us, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:2). This is about being discerning, as Christians had to be in the era they were fed to Lions in Rome, and met in catacombs, and hid. They were not cowards or denying Jesus, they were being safe and shrewd, they had to be careful. You do not owe unbelievers an account of what you believe, or to wear it on your sleeve, if you look up the Greek, in the Key Word Study Bible, “if you deny me before men, I will deny you,” is actual if you deny Him before other Christians in context. But if you conscience cannot hide, and view the Scripture as broad, no denying of any kind, then you are probably called to martyrdom or God will protect you. So I am not saying if you have those calls, protection or to die for the faith to recoil, this message is for the rest of the churches meant to survive. That we are entering into a time of major tribulation for the saints. We need to be prepared. Be careful who your friends are, for Wurmbrandt said, “our closest friends turned us in,” and “those who spoke loudest for Jesus in pubic became betrayers and served the enemy hunting us.”
Persecution cleanses the church and shows who is genuine and who is acting like Christians. This is only the beginning. The Birth Pangs of what is to come. You may say well in America all is safe because the Administration is Christian, well there are people all over the nation protesting with Hamas flags, Iranian Flags, and Socialist banners, and they will not hesitate to persecute; in fact I brought up in the “Maligning Christianity” post that in Seattle Washington, USA, that a Christian public event had those protesters show up and throw balloons full of piss at them and act violent. In South Africa, and probably other parts of Africa, Christians are having their farm lands seized and being killed. So already in three nations: US, Syria, and South Africa persecution has happened!
We need to get ready, prepare yourself in prayer for persecution. I urge you learn a centering prayer, one that when you are distressed you can say over and over, “Lord Jesus, have mercy.” The longer version is “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.. a sinner.” This is the Jesus Prayer. It is easier to say as mantra over and over when you cannot follow the longer Our Lord’s Prayer. The Jesus Prayer is commonly used in the East, but an Anabaptist.org is recommending it too (https://anabaptistworld.org/a-simple-prayer-jesus-have-mercy/), and I a Non Denominational Christian tell you to use it! You are going to need it! AMEN.
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