As we look at the cataclysmic situations in the world, most of us would naturally figure them to be the preludes of the End Times. Many are happy that Jesus will be coming back soon but many are afraid of the persecution and suffering that would come before Christ’s return. In fact, some believers are selling their homes in the urban areas and moving to rural areas – remote countryside, forested mountains or even to the deserts. Some are stockpiling food and learning how to grow and preserve foods. Many of these are even buying weapons so that they can protect themselves.
The question is whether God wants His Church to run and hide when the situation becomes bad or that His Church should stay and continue to minister to the people? We do not need to look far to see what we should do during such cataclysmic time – just look at how the churches not only survive but thrive in the Communist countries around us. For example, back in the 1970s, we as young overseas Chinese Christians, were praying and fasting for China because we thought that the Communists had managed to totally destroy Christianity in China. But, in the 1980s, we received good news that in spite of not having missionaries, the Church of Jesus Christ had survived.
The Chinese believers went through their own Tribulation for more than thirty years and they did not only survive but thrive. And from a mere one million believers before the Communist’s rule to now over 100 million believers. How did they do it?
At the beginning of the persecution in 1951, majority of the pastors and elders were arrested and imprisoned. These people were arrested on fabricated charges of crimes and that they were falsely accused as counter-revolutionary activists.
The climax of the persecution came in 1966 with the great proletarian cultural revolution. By that time, organised Christianity had been totally demolished and many of the Christian leaders were arrested and subsequently executed.
What were left behind were mostly the women and their children who went underground to form the underground churches. It was in these dire circumstances that the Church was purified and cleansed. Those who could not take the persecution left the faith. There were also traitors and betrayers who sold the safety of their brothers and sisters so as to secure safe passage for themselves.
When I was in China in the late 1980s, I personally listened to testimonies from the persecuted believers about how they survived and thrived in the face of danger and death. They worshipped in the cold forest at three in the dark early morning and some worshipped in secluded caves. They did not seek just to survive but to be able to worship the Lord and also to share the Gospel.
How did they physically survive? There were stories about how the urban Chinese believers who escaped to the rural areas learned from the locals how to survive in the harsh conditions of the countryside. Many of them also learned about God’s natural ways of treating infirmities with herbal and traditional methods. When I was in the military, basic jungle survival method was taught to all recruits but we rarely needed to use it. However, those in Commando training, were put to the test because they were left in an isolated island to survive on their own for a week. I heard that each trainee had only a hunting knife and a small amount of ration. The idea of learning how to grow vegetables or hunt animals is of course useful, if one has to really live in the jungle. These would of course be interesting courses to take even in peacetime.
Back to the Chinese Church that survived the persecution – while I was in one underground church, the Elders asked me to lay hands and pray for a sister who was to take the place of her father in the ministry. Apparently, the father was killed by the Communists while in prison and now his place of eldership in the underground was vacant. She was to take his place and face the danger that her father had faced. There was a particular sadness in my heart because I felt like I was ordaining her to be martyred for Christ.
What should we do in the face of persecution of the End Times?
When we look into the Bible, we should be thankful that the Apostle Peter did address this matter of how to face the End Times. Writing specifically about this matter, Peter revealed what God had shown him - “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, [and] both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
He added. “Since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:10-12).
Please note that Peter did not suggest that all Christians should head for the jungles or hills in order to hide from persecution. He did not suggest that believers should be isolated from the ministries that God has assigned the Church to do. Throughout the history of Christianity, the believers who ultimately made an impact for the Kingdom of God were not the ones with the “fortress mentality”. The early disciples were not exactly brave and they were found together praying in the upper room. When the Holy Spirit came upon them there was such a transformation. (Acts 1-2). Were they persecuted after the Holy Spirit came? The fact is that the persecution was intense so much so that believers like Stephen and James were murdered for their faith. Many others were arrested and put in prison. In the midst of the heavy persecution, they continued to preach the Gospel. There was no stockpiling of food or weapons in a fortress. However, the believers did move from one place to another. In the process, they spread the Gospel further and wider to other cities and even countries.
The fortress-mentality is for people who do not see life as being eternal. Sadly, for them, this temporal life is the only one that they treasure and so they have to sustain it at all cost. Basing upon the revelation of Peter, all believers who are going through the End Times can do one thing, apart from worrying about food and drink, and that is to practice holiness and do good to others wherever and whenever we can. Indeed, we are supposed to do the works of the Kingdom of God “while it is day” (John 9:4). The Apostle Paul also received the same revelation from the Lord: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
I hope this clarifies and answers some of your questions about what we should do during the End Times. Thanks for reading.
Pastor Albert Kang
