And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Revelation 12:11
I am still focused on this one verse from Revelation 12. I know the power of this verse has begun to dawn on many of you from your comments to me behind the scenes. I find it fascinating that more of you, my readers, haven’t responded on this site in the comments section. I notice also a number have commented on social media but only on selected quotes. The power of the martyrs’ testimonies runs far deeper than cute or deep pithy quotes. The reality of martyrdom is compelling and inspirational at the same time. I consider it a privilege to have heard many testimonies of martyrdom and resurrection from the dead over the years, most often from afar in the third person. People telling me about the testimonies of people who were martyred, as I shared in the previous Gem. But in this Gem I am sharing a different level of testimony. In this Gem these testimonies are from the people themselves who experienced martyrdom either first hand or as participant observers. I can vouch for the fact that this level of testimony is far more compelling than all others.
These testimonies fit well with the account of the Two Witnesses found in Revelation 11. Imagine for a moment having seen the event live in person and the impact it would have on your life from that day onward. I have no difficulty believing that those ‘Two Witnesses‘, whoever they may be, will come back to make another appearance. The testimonies which follow in this Gem are a different level of life after death experience, accompanied by attestation of the veracity of the testimony given. Remember the words spoken in a court of law: “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.” To which the respondent replies: “I do!”
Similarly, these following testimonies fall into the category of faithful, sworn testimony. I have ordered them in the ranking of veracity medium to high. That is not to say the medium ranking is low. All the accounts listed below have been attested to from the source. The first series of testimonies are found in the God Stories [ex-Rhema stories] which I told on the radio. I didn’t only tell my own stories, I didn’t only tell stories from my mission, I told stories gathered from all mission organisations internationally. The stories I called forth were stories which had been vetted and verified, but I have not released details of the source in order to protect individuals and organisations. However, I have been satisfied that the accounts are true. The further down the list we go, the more sure I am of the accuracy and honesty of the testimony given, as will become clear as you read.
Following these accounts, I will draw together the threads into fitting conclusions. It will not happen in this Gem I am sure. There are too many raw accounts to pass on to you first. I will give you the time to think about and process the contents. When I began this mini-series I didn’t imagine it would be so impactful on me. I have experienced some pretty amazing things first hand over my lifetime, but I was not prepared for the impact on me of this series Facing Death Not Afraid to Die. Like other times when I have begun a series in Gems, Nuggets or now in Stories I find God Himself feeds me material in remarkable ways. That has certainly happened with this series. Coming across The New Book of Christian Martyrs in the way I did, and other examples that have been added along the way have added to the whole experience. It may seem strange for me to write this, but I have been incredibly blessed through these past days since starting this series almost a month ago. I have had strong trust in God building over the years as a result of things He has done for me, to me, through me and around me. But somehow through this one verse, Revelation 12:11, and me meditating on it and plumbing its depth and context I can honestly say I have been blown away. Now I pray that God may give me the strength of focus and clarity to share it with you to the same effect.
Let’s begin the accounts:
God Story 41 A Buddhist Priest Is Raised From The Dead
God Story 117 Dead Child Raised Through Prayer
God Story 121 Pastor Raised From The Dead
The following two accounts are at a much higher level of attestation of the testimony. I personally saw and heard the testimony of these two young men, the first on two occasions and the second on three. I am also a personal friend of the leader of the organisation which accessed the initial details of the incidents. Not only did I see and hear their testimonies but on two occasions when each young man told his testimony I was sitting on the podium as they told their stories while looking at their scars.
Jesus Christ Raised Me From Death
The Story of Yohanis Mantahari
Hometown: Gita Village, Oba District – Halmahera, North Maluku
Born: 2 December 1982
In November ’99 during the extended riots in Ambon, Eastern Indonesia, a young student named Yohanis found a little blue book from Gideon’s in the middle of the forest. The book opened exactly at Matthew chapter 24 where he read verses 4-13 about the suffering.
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:4-13
Yohanis continued reading the New Testament until he opened to an earlier part in Matthew’s Gospel
Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:32-33
When he reached those verses he felt that Holy Spirit touched him and gave him strength. Soon after that he was caught by hundreds of Jihadis during an attack on a Christian community on his village. They insisted he deny Jesus. He quickly replied: “No way!” They slashed his neck with a machete and his spinal cord was severed. Others of the group then speared him in the back four times. They tried to burn him but strangely they couldn’t start the fire. During all of these tortures he felt no pain and he didn’t even bleed. The Holy Spirit took care of him, all because of his unshakable faith.
His persecutors thought he was dead and left him alone in the forest. By the miracle of God, this young man of faith was touched by the angels and he miraculously survived being left alone for eight days, without any food or drink or medical treatment.
His faith gave him the courage to stand firm and not deny Christ, even in the face of death.
Source: Gideons
I will conclude this series with the next Gem and offer you all answers to the difficult questions you have been asking. But before I do I will leave you with some quotes from Immaculée Ilibagiza. Another of those serendipitous moments where God adds another layer, this time through listening to my son-in-law, Josh Moore’s sermon, with a link to Immaculee’s book Left to Tell. I am now reading my way through Imaculée’s book Left To Die, her very personal story on the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. I shared another story on the Rwanda atrocities where something good came out of evil for Andrea Hartley.
See Andrea’s story in:
https://www.bereaninsights.org/nugget/beautifully-broken-william-mwizerwas-story/
Proof that what was meant for evil God will always, in some way, turn around for good.
Ian
God’s message extends beyond borders. Anyone in the world can learn to forgive those who have injured them, however great or small that injury may be.
Immaculée Ilibagiza
Go ahead-kill me. Finish your work and send me to paradise. I pity you for killing people like it’s some kind of child’s game. . . The blood of the innocent people you cut down will follow you to your reckoning. But I am praying for you. . . I pray that you see the evil you’re doing and ask God’s forgiveness before it’s too late.
Damascene Jean Muhirwa [Immaculée’s brother]
Start killing them family by family. Don’t forget the children. The child of a snake is a snake.
Hutu Leader
“Deny Jesus and we’ll let you go.” Malukan Jihardis
“No way!”
Yohanis
The worst they can do to me is kill me; which is the best thing they can do for me which ushers me immediately into the presence of God.
Ian
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
Genesis 50:20
Thank you bro.Ian to share the testimony of Yohanis Mantahari ,which I met him personally on October 2007 in Eastern part of Jakarta ,Indonesia.
His testimony is about the power His Word while he found and read from the New Testament from the Gideons Ministry in the middle of the jungle in the Central of Halmahera Island in Indonesia.To God be the Glory
I am interested in your comment above “ I find it fascinating that more of you, my readers, haven’t responded on this site in the comments section.” In the western world we generally have life so easy and we lay hold of such verses as Ps 92:12-15 and Isa 46:4, alongside many more. It is so easy to get into the way of thinking somehow that this our right. God has said it so I will claim it. I always remember a comment Dick Hemmings made that if God brought us to the point of martyrdom that he would give us grace to accept it. I pray that I might. That comment has always been an encouragement to me BUT I think also it is likely to be an indication of our real desire to be a faithful witness to God. We have been reading so much testimony of people who have been so willing to give up their lives for the sake of Christ, but I am also sure that many have been killed because of simply being cultural Christians and have been so fearful in that situation. True martyrs or not??
You raise some interesting points Nigel. I deliberately paused before giving my answer to allow time for some of the following Gems to hit the spot. It has been my experience after hearing from people who are faced with martyrdom that cultural Christians or nominal ‘Christians’ will shrink back from confessing Christ in the face of their likely death. I will never forget a Chinese house church leader while attending a conference in Thailand, when told by an America pastor that they were praying for the Chinese house churches because they are going through persecution. To which the Chinese pastor responded with “And we pray for you because you are not [going through persecution]”. Inference being we pray for you because the church in America is weak because you are not challenged about the reality of your trust in Christ, or lack thereof. When the President of Rwanda was killed on April 7th 1994, Immaculée Ilibagiza’s father realised they, the Tutsi, were going to be attacked by the Hutu tribesmen. Hordes of his tribe’s people came to him seeking his advice. His response was to call for mass repentance saying, “We are blessed knowing beforehand that our lives will likely end soon. We are fortunate; many lose their lives in other ways without the chance to repent beforehand and get themselves right with God before they pass. That sent thousands of Tutsi to their knees in fervent prayer and repentance. I am not sure such a situation would have the same effect here in NZ or in many other Western countries.