Please consider with me the barbaric and satanic persecution and killing of Christians around the world. In just recent times we have witnessed horrific examples of this – and all at the hands of frenzied Islamists. For example, consider this from Nigeria:

“Islamist extremists attacked Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt last December, with the worst massacre claiming 47 lives on Christmas Day – meaning that over the course of 2024 nearly 150 were killed in acts of terrorism.”

Earlier in February I discussed the murder of 70 Christians in a church in Congo.

And Barnabas Aid, a group dedicated to helping the persecuted church, just said this the other day: “At least 47 more Christians have been killed by Islamist terrorists in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since the beginning of March.”

Also, just in the past few days we of course have had what can only be described as genocide taking place in Syria. For the most part the mainstream media and our elites have been silent about all this, but some have spoken out. Jewish commentator Pamela Geller for example has written extensively on this atrocity.

In one of her most recent updates she says this: “JIHAD in SYRIA: 17,000 Dead and 15,000 Missing, ‘Corpses Everywhere’ The UN won’t help them. On the contrary, they are aiding and abetting the jihad force. I am receiving hundreds of emails from people in Syria begging for help. How can the world stand by in the face of such atrocities? We must grant emergency asylum.”

And more recently she posted this:

SYRIA: Jihadis Call for the Extermination of the Alawites, “Just as His Prophet and Role Model, Muhammad Did with the Jews.” Yes, the war against Israel is a holy war. Syria, Israel, Congo, Nigeria, Lebanon Thailand, Burma, etc etc. Islam is Islam. “Imagine the danger of Islam when at any moment, someone can stand up and tell people that Muhammad did this in his war against the Jews, so they must do the same—that this is a holy war. Then, they simply replace ‘Jews’ with any sect or religion that does not align with Islam, declare jihad against them, and the frenzied crowd applauds and gets excited for killing.” (Alawite in Syria)

See her website here.

And Open Doors, another group dedicated to assisting the persecuted church around the globe, issues an annual World Watch List. It features the top 50 nations where persecution and martyrdom occur: “More than 380 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.”

Another group, Global Christian Relief put it this way:

Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. From the Middle East to North Korea and Sri Lanka, millions of Christians face persecution for their beliefs. Despite the challenges, many continue to stand firm in their faith, drawing strength from God’s promises. As we continue to advocate for religious freedom and support persecuted Christians, we are reminded of the words of Jesus: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/stories/why-is-christianity-the-most-persecuted-religion/

Thankfully America, which until recently had one of the worse anti-Christian Presidents and Vice-Presidents around, now has a new team in office. Consider the helpful words of VP Vance. Speaking before the November election he said this about the persecution of Christians:

Of course you wouldn’t know it according to the reports of the mainstream media but I believe the most persecuted faith in the world today is the Christian faith. There are places all over the world, I mean there are hundreds of millions of Christians who are living under threat of violence right now because they live their faith. So don’t believe that it can’t happen here because if it can happen anywhere then it can happen anywhere else. And I think that we’re living through a time where we have the biggest opponents of religious liberty and people of faith running for office that we have seen anywhere in my life. And I don’t like to say that and I wish that it weren’t so but you just have to look at the record…

And in December he tweeted this: “Canada has seen a number of church burnings in recent years thanks to anti-Christian bigotry. All over the world, Christians are the most persecuted religious group. … Shame on journalists who refuse to see what’s obvious.”

That Jesus warned us about such persecution, hatred and risk of death is clearly enough stated in the gospels. Here are just a few of his warnings:

Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 24:9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”

John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

John 16:2-4 “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you.”

Jesus wins

When I first started writing this article, I was intending to go in a quite different direction. At first, I was going to look at Revelation 12 and some of the difficult interpretive issues found there. But in the first commentary I had consulted, I found something that caused me to redirect my thoughts.

In his new commentary on Revelation, Sam Storms says this about the situation being described in the chapter: “At the heart of Revelation 12 is its message that, although Satan is the principal source of the persecution of God’s people, he has been decisively defeated by Christ, a victory in which we now share even in the midst of suffering and martyrdom.”

Indeed, that is the theme, not just of chapter 12 but the entire book. That is why Storms calls his commentary Our God Reigns. Many others have done the same with their commentaries. Consider a few more such titles:

• The One Who Conquers also by Sam Storms
• Triumph of the Lamb by Dennis Johnson
• More Than Conquerors by William Hendricksen
• The Lamb Wins! by Richard Bewes
• When the Man Comes Around by Douglas Wilson
• Days of Vengeance by David Chilton
• Jesus Wins the Series by Bill Medley

Since I have been looking through some of these commentaries and what they have to say about Rev. 12, let me close with a few more quotes. The first is from Buist Fanning’s ZECNT commentary:

John’s vision of the great signs in heaven in Revelation 12 fills us in on Satan’s cosmic and age long warfare directed against God, his Messiah, and his people. Satan’s implacable struggle against God began long ago and continues through the present age despite the decisive defeat he suffered in Christ’s death and resurrection (2:10-13; 3:21; 5:5;12:3-9). And he will wage war against God and his people with heightened intensity in the days immediately preceding Christ’s second coming (12:10-13, 17; 13:7). This wider pattern of aggressive, satanic evil should actually reassure us and strengthen our resolve to resist him (Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8-9; 1 John 4:4). Such struggles do not come upon us due to our sins alone, and victory is not gained to our virtues alone. The conflict is bigger than our situation by itself, but we are called to take our place in the line of battle that stretches back a long way. And Revelation confirms that Christ’s decisive victory already accomplished in the cross will soon be fulfilled completely when he returns to the earth to overthrow Satan and his evil rule completely (chs. 19-20).

And the second is from Craig Keener (NIVAC):

The book of Revelation helps us by preparing us for hardship. Billy Graham notes that his wife grew up in a missionary family in China and saw how God prepared His church there during times of trouble to withstand the even greater troubled times ahead.” He notes that the hardships actually have strengthened the church and that God’s warnings provide help. By portraying the time between Jesus’ comings as a Great Tribulation, like the one Daniel spoke about, Revelation reminds us that Jesus’ followers share his cross; hence, it warns us to prepare. Suffering belongs to us in this world, but our Lord Jesus is victorious anyway (John 16:33).

I of course do not want for one moment to minimise what those believers in Syria and elsewhere are now experiencing. It is absolutely hellish and heartbreaking. But whatever suffering and persecution we go through, we know that it is limited in duration, that Satan has been overcome and Christ’s enemies will soon enough be dealt with, and we will live with our Lord forever.

That is what we must bank on as the days get darker.