Text: John Gill (1690-1771), in his “Exposition of the Bible” writes,
“and to let the oppressed go free; such as have been broken by oppression, not only in their spirits, but in their purses, by mulcts and fines, and confiscation of goods; and who have been cast into prisons, and detained a long time in filthy dungeons; and where many have perished for the sake of religion, even in Protestant countries.”
The Voice of the Martyrs documents Gill’s commentary now nearly 240 years later:
- Recently, two Baptist pastors in Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad were fined 2,200 rubles (US $75) after their community “sang psalms and spoke about Christ” on the street;
- On Sept. 21, Pastor Manuel was shot and killed by The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia;
- On Oct. 4, Pastor Prakash was attacked by 25 Bajrang Dal extremists while he was ministering in Kaiwara village, Bangalore (India) Rural District.
- On Oct. 14, Asia Bibi appeared in court, in Sheikhupura, Pakistan and spent some time with her family before the court appearance. The court rescheduled another hearing for Oct. 27. Asia was arrested by police on Friday, June 19, and charged with blasphemy. Her family is one of only three Christian families in a village of more than 1,500 families. Many of the local women, including Asia, work on the farm of Muslim landowner Muhammad Idrees. During their work many of the Muslim women have pressured Asia to renounce Christianity and accept Islam. On June 19, there was an intense discussion among the women about their faith. The Muslim women told Asia about Islam. Asia responded by telling the Muslim women that Christ died on the cross for our sins, and then asked them what Mohammed had done for them, according to VOM sources. She told them Jesus is alive, but Mohammed is dead. “Our Christ is the true prophet of God,” she reportedly told them, “and yours is not true.”
Today’s prayer is for the persecuted church throughout the world. Pray earnestly for all our brothers and sisters to be set free in their oppression; sow with tears in order for joy to be reaped.