Prepare For Tribulation
Resources
Here are some Internet links and recommended books about persecution and the end-time. While interpreting the prophecies in the Bible can be speculative, as the time of fulfilment draws closer so the picture will become clearer. Most importantly though it is what we need to do now to prepare for tribulation and there is much we can learn, especially from those who have endured persecution.
Internet:
Open Doors
Open Doors was established in 1955 when Brother Andrew, a newly committed Christian, began smuggling Bibles into Eastern Europe. Since then Open Doors has expanded to work in over 70 countries, providing Bibles, training and practical support to the persecuted church.
Barnabas Fund
Barnabas Fund is an aid agency for the persecuted Church which works in over 60 countries around the world where Christians are marginalised because of their faith.
World Watch Monitor
World Watch Monitor reports the story of Christians around the world under pressure for their faith. World Watch Monitor is particularly concerned with reporting on the underlying causes of persecution. It aims to connect the dots to reveal the forces behind acts of violence and injustice.
Radical Within Reason
Anniesa Hussain and her family sustained a prolonged and violent persecution in Bradford, England, from Islamic purists as a consequence of her father’s conversion from Islam to Christianity. Anniesa writes a ‘deliberate heterodoxy in a world encouraging conformity’ and draws attention to the persecution of Christians (and in particular women) within Islamic societies.
British Pakistani Christian Association
The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) was born from a single event – in the ashes of churches and homes razed to the ground by angry Islamists who persecuted Pakistani followers of Jesus Christ. It happened in the city of Gojra on August 1st 2009 when a married Christian couple were wrongly accused of using torn shreds of the Koran as confetti at their wedding. This false rumour grew in popularity following a hate message preached by a local mosque. Mob violence then led to the deaths of nine innocent people, 100 destroyed homes and two churches set on fire.
Voice of the Martyrs exists to help, love and encourage persecuted Christians by providing Bibles, ministry resources, medical aid and practical assistance. VOM’s ministry is inspired by Hebrews 13:3, “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them – those who are mistreated – since you yourselves are in the body also.”
Video
The Final Facts by David Pawson. David addresses the key questions of the end-time: When will Jesus return? How will He return and why? Will it be in secret?
Books:
Beyond Suffering Bible NLT (New Living Translation)
Highly recommended.
The Beyond Suffering Bible is the first study Bible to directly address those who suffer and the people who love and care for them. From bestselling author, singer, and radio host Joni Eareckson Tada and the experts at Joni and Friends Christian Institute on Disability, the Beyond Suffering Bible is filled with thousands of notes and features that invite readers into a conversation about suffering and its place in each person’s life.
While addressed mainly to those who suffer physically this Bible has much that relates to suffering and persecution generally and how we can respond to it in the strength and grace that God supplies.
Pit, Jan. Persecution: It Will Never Happen Here. Open Doors with Brother Andrew International, 1981.
More Than Conquerors: A Survival Manual For Christians Living Under Pressure. Prepared by Open Doors with Brother Andrew, 1979.
Blaskow, Ned. The Steam Roller and the Pebbles: Militant Atheism In The Soviet Union. FACT Research, 1983.
Estabrooks, Paul and Cunningham, Jim. Standing Strong Through the Storm. Open Doors International, 1983.
Graham, Billy. Storm Warning. Thomas Nelson, 2010.
Pawson, David:
The Challenge of Islam To Christians. Hodder & Stoughton, 2003.
When Jesus Returns. Hodder Faith, 2003
Lewis, David and Shreckhise, Robert: UFO: End-Time Delusion (this book is out of print but may be available through second-hand book sellers such as Thrift Books).
Bates, Gary: Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection and Youtube video