We often hear discouraging stories about China. Especially stories of intensifying persecution towards Christians in the country. However, in light of all the bad news we hear, God is moving mightily behind the scenes for all the people to know Him.
Paul Hattaway, a bestselling author who was involved in the spreading of the Gospel in China since the 1980s shares the biggest revival happening in the nation.
The leaders of China have one simple goal. To become “the new world superpower, with the most powerful economy and military on earth.” Although determined to reach the vision, the Chinese are not in a rush. However, the leaders behind this are communists and hardline atheists. They desire absolute power more than considering the voice of the people. So anyone who poses a threat to their goal will automatically be subdued or eradicated. Hence, Christianity is a major threat to them.
In the past few years, persecution against Christians has skyrocketed like never before. According to Paul, “these are frightening times for religious adherents in China.”
In December 2018, pastor Wang Yi and his wife Jiang Rong, along with more than 100 church members, were arrested. The pastor then wrote a letter of which he said, “Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family – the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith…Jesus is the Christ, son of the eternal, living God. He died for sinners and rose to life for us. He is my king and the king of the whole earth yesterday, today, and forever. I am his servant, and I am imprisoned because of this. I will resist in meekness those who resist God, and I will joyfully violate all laws that violate God’s laws. “ And many Christians all over the world have read Pastor Wang’s letter online.
Pastor Wang is just one among many Christian leaders that are persecuted inside China. Many have also faced a similar fate to him. Wherein many have suddenly disappeared without a trace. Some call it the ‘black jail’ system where “victims are often tortured mercilessly without any hope of justice.”
The complete eradication of Christianity from the country is what President Xi wants, according to many house church leaders in China. But while we often hear these disturbing stories of persecution, there are numerous reports of people coming to Christ as well. From about 1 million believers at the advent of Communism in 1949 to around 100 million today! This is the biggest revival recorded in Christian history.
Paul describes this as “a great work of the Holy Spirit.” The Chinese Christians grew stronger under great pressure.When asked to describe the Chinese revival in a few words, he replied, “A glorious mess!”
The author has been to China’s underground church meetings. And he said, “I’ve found the most difficult part of house meetings to be the intense prayer sessions, which often continue for hours. Every believer would kneel and cry out to God from the depths of their souls. In order to fit in, I too would kneel on the cold, hard floors. I found the ground was often wet from believers’ tears as they engaged in fervent intercession.”
The mighty revival in China during the last 40 years has been a sovereign act of God. Moreover, it became more evident during the coronavirus outbreak. A previous report stated that Christian witnesses are openly preaching the Gospel on streets even in the midst of the outbreak in Wuhan, China.
The crisis may have heightened, but the people in China are now more receptive the Gospel of Christ. They are conquering their fear and uncertainty with their faith in the Lord.