“Only if you carry the reality of My death with you, will you be able to stand up to the persecution.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

What I am about to share here, I do not share lightly. This is something I recorded in my diary on Jun 30, 2017, and I’ve pondered about it on and off. It’s like having revelation of something that is going to happen that you do not wish to happen. At first I had trouble wrapping my head around what I felt God was saying, but sister Linda of the blog BelieveActs2Fire cleared up things up for me.

Even then I was hesitant to come forward because the implications of what I felt God was saying were not pretty. But after seeing the recent post about a Day of Jihad Coming and another recent one, Violence will begin in Berlin in November, I feel these were confirmations for me to come forward and share.

The Vision:
On June 30, 2017, I was meditating on 2 Corinthians 4:7-15.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So death works in us, but life in you.
13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,
14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:7-15)

I usually listen and note down what I believe God to be saying, but this time, I first saw a vision, not altogether at once, more like snippets of something bigger. This is what I saw:

There were men on the road of a city. It was a multitude. The men were bearded; they wore turbans; they had Middle Eastern attire. They were armed with sticks, swords, and petrol bombs, and they (it seemed) were already rioting or getting ready to riot.

I heard the words (not by the mob): civil war, race riots, religious riots.

I also heard the mob shouting: “Die, you Christian.”

I then heard the persecuted ones (though I didn’t see them) say: “Praise be to God; glory be to God. Hallelujah.”

The Words:
When I asked the Lord to explain what I was seeing (which is still fresh in my mind), I received the following words:

“Carry the reality of My death always within you. Muslims will persecute Christians, and even unbelievers will persecute Christians, just as they (i.e., unbelievers) in My time persecuted Me. Only if you carry the reality of My death with you, will you be able to stand up to the persecution, because your Lord overcame the persecution and death through His death. When faced with death, remember your Lord overcame death. And if, when faced with death, you do not let your faith waver, you too will overcome death. Remember: I walked through death, but death could not overcome Me. And because I am your Lord and God and have gone before you, I say to you, do not be afraid when death comes for you. Walk through it because it cannot overcome you.”

Additional Thoughts and Implications:
I have lived among Muslims. I have had Muslim friends. They neither sought to convert me nor kill me; some did dialogue with me, but it was a friendly exchange. This was a time when I was mixed up with sin, the world, a religious mind-set, and a bit of everything else. I was nevertheless aware that the Quran commands Muslims to behead infidels, but the ones I met and interacted with were friendly Muslims. Plus, I was in awe of their strict lifestyle and their religious devotion and wished to somehow replicate that in my life. So when I received this word, I had trouble assimilating it. My argument was this: “All Muslims are not radical Muslims. Some are such pious people, and they practice so many good deeds. How then can this be?”

I had a lightbulb moment when Linda asked me, “What makes a lukewarm Christian become a true Christian?” I immediately knew that it was the power of the Holy Spirit.

Then it was like the dots began connecting. A nonradical Muslim is technically a lukewarm Muslim because he or she is not doing everything the Quran says, just like a lukewarm Christian is not doing everything the Bible says. Just like the Holy Spirit empowers the lukewarm Christian to start living the holy life according to the Bible, another spirit (a spirit of darkness) will empower the nonradical Muslim to do what the Quran says.

The first implication here, I believe, is that we need to be in one kingdom or the other. God invites us to be a part of His kingdom, the kingdom of light, and He will never coerce, but He will plead. But if we refuse His invitation, we will automatically end up in the kingdom of darkness, whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not. To not choose light is to choose darkness. To not accept the truth is to accept a lie.

Muslims who refuse the truth of Christ will be no different from any other unbeliever. That also means a good character, a pious life, good works, religious affiliation, and doctrines will not save anyone. If someone is not for Christ, he or she is really against Him. There is really no middle ground. It is really that simple, and it is a sad and terrifying implication. We cannot earn our way to salvation. If we wish to stand in this hour, on Christ the solid rock we must stand, for all other ground is just sinking sand.

The second implication here, I believe, is that death will come for some or many of us believers. But God is saying that if we remember that our Lord overcame death, and carry its reality within us, we will not fear death when death comes for us. Jesus did not escape death; He went through it and overcame it. Muslims incidentally believe Jesus escaped death; that is, He really did not die. But the truth is that Jesus did die, and God raised Him from death, now He is alive forever and ever, and the same will be true of us, if we do not waver in faith at the time of our deaths. I do believe God gives us the grace to do what He has individually called us to do, for apart from Him, we really cannot do anything, including dying for Him.

Please pray about what I’ve shared, and may the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth.

Author: Sujit Thomas

Sujit was working in Chennai in late 2015 when the Lord began to nudge him to draw closer to Him. That was the beginning of a major spiritual transformation in his life, and he has not looked back since. As someone who has experienced God’s undeserving love, grace, and mercy personally, Sujit would like people to know that the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the unrighteous, but would rather see them repent and live.

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