Luke 21:10-18
Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. It will turn out as a testimony for you. Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict. You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death. You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake. And not a hair of your head will perish.
It is alarming to me that so much Christian persecution is going on around the world right now that goes almost completely unnoticed. I can’t think of a time in my lifetime when more Christians were being mistreated than this because now it not only happens in communist and Muslim countries but also in traditionally safe countries such as the United States, England, and Germany.
Along with these trends we see nations rising against each other and constantly hear of earthquakes, famines and viruses that threaten to spread quickly and kill people.
Still, Christians are as strong as ever and their witness grows at times like these. It is horrible that even close family relatives can act in such hate toward their own Christian relatives, but it happens all over the world to this very day. The amazing thing is that Christianity is also peaceful. Christians are told not to take revenge or to seek to harm those who don’t believe but to pray for them. The evil against them is so horrible that even as peaceful as they are, they are constantly threatened for just choosing to meet together and hold a belief system. In many countries it is crime to share what you believe with another person if you are a Christian!
What a good thing it is to read that Jesus said: “And not a hair of your head will parish.” It is obvious that this doesn’t mean that Christians won’t be killed because He just got done saying that some of them will. I take this to mean that there is no chance that we will lose our salvation. It is easy to despair in times like these, but Jesus is faithful and just and forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We will be with Him forever because we trust in Him.