SHEEP AMONG WOLVES, BE ON YOUR GUARD AGAINST MEN
Large Danish ministry led by Torben Sondergaard was forced to shut down after slanderous attacks from Danish government and news media...
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Heal those who are ill, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. … ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ‘The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. … ‘Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 3‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. MATTHEW 10: 5-34.
In Matthew 10, Christ gave His 12 disciples instructions on how to go to the cities of Israel and preach the message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
These 12 disciples sent out on this mission by Christ have come to be known as ‘apostles’. This chapter can be divided into three paragraphs; verses1-15, 16-23 and 24-42. The first paragraph is apparently addressed directly to the apostles. The second and the third paragraphs seem to be focused on all His servants up to today. The second paragraph in particular gives instructions to all believers in times of persecution including the future Tribulation period.
These 12 disciples sent out on this mission by Christ have come to be known as ‘apostles’. This chapter can be divided into three paragraphs; verses1-15, 16-23 and 24-42. The first paragraph is apparently addressed directly to the apostles. The second and the third paragraphs seem to be focused on all His servants up to today. The second paragraph in particular gives instructions to all believers in times of persecution including the future Tribulation period.
In the first stage of Christ's ministry, the good news of His kingdom was presented to Israel alone. The Gentiles healed by Christ were only an exception and Christ’s focus was not on them until Israel rejected her Messiah, Jesus Christ in Chapter 12.
The supernatural, such as healing of the sick, raising of the dead, cleansing of the lepers, driving out of demons was regarded as signs of His kingdom, and so, miraculous powerful work would be credential of His followers up to this day. At the same time, Christ warned them of the fact that this world would persecute His followers until His Second Coming. So, His followers need to be equipped with faithful endurance and God’s Word during the time of persecution and Tribulation.
Today, worldwide persecution against Christians and Jews has already started and is progressing towards the final redemption by Christ, when faithful Christians are to be given a resurrected body. Recently on 19 August, I read an interesting report on Pastor Tiklak, who is known for his staggeringly effective evangelism, having led some 40 families to Christ, while Hindu radicals continue to persecute the Indian Christian population.
Tiklak was captured by a violent group, mercilessly beaten and asked: ‘Will you leave your Christian faith or not?’ After he boldly insisted his faith in Christ, terrible persecution began.
The attackers bound his arms and legs together and savagely beat him with a large stick. Then he was forced to crawl up a mountain path, hauling himself through stones and thorns. Eventually, Pastor Tiklak slumped to the ground, motionless and dead. His attackers tossed his body into a ditch until his flock located him and carried his body to their village.
When a large crowd gathered to mourn his passing, Tiklak, who was thought to be dead, began to open his eyes and came back to life.
Even after this ordeal, Pastor Tiklak continued to engage in his ministry, which only resulted in further threats from the Hindu extremists. In the end, after they threatened to kill his entire family, he immediately left the village with his family and found refuge in another village.
For the present, he and his family are still in the process of healing and restoration, and he ‘admitted that he was rather traumatized by his near-death experience, and was reluctant to share the gospel in the new town’ and also positively, ‘…we should not be disappointed as we are never forsaken. …God always has a plan for us’.
Another disturbing report of Christian persecution is against Danish Evangelist Torben Sondergaard, who founded a ministry in Denmark called ‘The Jesus Center’, where disciples from thirty nations have been trained.
The most disturbing fact is that his large ministry was attacked by both Danish government agencies and news media organisations and that he was deceived by their disguise and in the end his ministry was charged for the ‘crime of quackery’.
For their safety, he, his wife and two daughters had to leave for the US with only nine suitcases, and so far he and his family have applied to the US government for political asylum.
As for accusers’ coordinated attack and their temporising approach, the article entitled: ‘Large Danish ministry forced to shut down after slanderous attacks from Danish government and news media’ on 18 Sep. puts it:
His ministry recently came under attack by the Danish government, which launched investigations by six different government agencies. After the investigations found no evidence of wrongdoing, Torben was approached by Danish reporters claiming they wanted to do a profile of his ministry, leading him to believe it would be a positive story, so he agreed to allow them to come and interview him. In addition to a film crew, the reporters secretly sent two undercover reporters to infiltrate the ministry, claiming they wanted to become Christians. One of them was even baptized at the Jesus Center as part of the ploy while the other pretended to be mentally ill (Line added).
The writer of this article, James Bailey reveals how overwhelmingly this world has been controlled by the spirit of antichrist:
The spirit of antichrist controlling our mainstream news media …Wolves have been using our vulnerability to take advantage of us for centuries, infiltrating Christian organizations the same way they infiltrated Torben’s ministry. …In the United States, the federal government has even used this same infiltration tactic to control our news media.
In the end times, divine wisdom, counsel and discernment are essential for Christians.