The Battle - Defeating The Enemy Of Your Soul Part 3

FOR CHRISTIANS, SATAN'S BATTLE strategy changes somewhat. This enemy is aware that he has lost ground with believers because of the power of Christ in their lives. Paul writes, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Col. 1:13). Moreover, "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority" (Col. 2:9-10).

Because Satan cannot force Christians back into his domain, he tries to keep believers from reaching their full potential in Christ. Paul admonished the Corinthian believers that they should be careful to forgive one another, "in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan can outsmart us if we are not aware of his deceptive tactics.

We do ourselves a disservice when we think that the enemy attacks the saints as a group and doesn't pay much attention to individuals. Satan hates us. He will accuse and tempt us where and when he believes we are most vulnerable. He enjoys challenging us one on one when we are alone and not part of the crowd. Paul said that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world" (Eph 6:12, italics added). "Our struggle" is an individual battle. In the sport of wrestling, the wrestler is part of a team, but he must do battle individually. He trains with a team and has a team coach, but when he goes out on that mat, he is alone with his opponent. Wrestling is close combat, and similarly every believer throughout life must be involved in close combat with the enemy of their souls. The enemy will try every move he can to get us flat on our backs, but we can win the match. As believers we belong to Christ, and G.o.d will be our helper, our rearguard. If the enemy tries any trick moves behind our backs, G.o.d will take care of him.

Throughout Scripture we see G.o.dly people who understood that they should not try to manage their lives without G.o.d's blessing and approval. Even though Moses was given many promises about the next step he was to take in his life, he said, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Exod. 33:15). David knew that he was G.o.d's appointed king but he still sought G.o.d's help with a person who was trying to undermine him: "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness" (2 Sam. 15:31). By contrast, Saul lost his kingdom because he did not follow G.o.d's rules for leading. He thought he could be successful without the Lord's help (1 Sam. 15) and did not follow the instructions G.o.d had given him. Just as Saul was wrong, so are we if we believe we can win in a match against the enemy without the help of G.o.d. To win in our struggles we must use all the help G.o.d offers. We can only be victorious because, in Paul's words, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:13).

The Three Main Ways Satan Attacks People.

Satan opposes. THE NAME Satan means opposer. The moment that Lucifer decided to oppose the ways of G.o.d was the day of his fall. Satan will attempt to oppose G.o.ds truth, G.o.d's ways, and G.o.d's kingdom on earth. The Christian must understand that this opposer is their chief opponent. George Sweeting writes, Satan opposes G.o.d's authority, His word, His work, His people, His glory and His will. Satan has always opposed the plan of G.o.d. He tempted the Lord Jesus in the wilderness (Mt. 4), and his temptations were designed to thwart G.o.d's plan of redemption. He takes away the Word of G.o.d from the hearts of those who hear it (Mt. 13:19); and he sows seeds of falsehood (v. 3-8).6 It is Satan who blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the truth in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). Missionaries around the world understand his attempts to disrupt their plans for G.o.d. Satan opposes the church by sowing disunity among believers. He encourages unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, strife, deceit, and hatred in G.o.ds people in order to oppose G.o.d's righteous ways. Satan is also a master at challenging the Christian who wants to live a Christ-honoring life or wants to be a witness to a friend or relative.

Through his own audacity to oppose his Creator G.o.d and through thousands of years of practice, Satan has devised both common and unusual ways to be against anything that G.o.d is for.

Satan accuses. In the oldest book in the Bible we read the amazing story of Satan's personal attack on Job's life. Scripture says that Job "was blameless and upright; he feared G.o.d and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). However, Satan accused him to G.o.d by saying that he was only serving G.o.d because of all the blessings in his life. Satan might have said something like this to G.o.d: "Job has false motives for serving You. He is just doing it because You have given him so much and You protect him. Take it away, and he will walk away from you."

G.o.d knew Job's motives because He knows the heart of everyone. As for Job's commitment to Him, G.o.d said to Satan, "There is no one on earth like him" (v. 8). G.o.d knew Job would always serve and be faithful to Him, so He gave Satan permission to take away Job's earthly possessions. Satan viciously attacked Job and destroyed his health, his children, and most of his possessions. Job surprised Satan by not breaking under this kind of loss and oppression. The Bible says, "He still maintains his integrity.... In all this, Job did not sin in what he said" (Job 2:3, 10).

G.o.d was right about Job. Satan the accuser was wrong, but he thought it was worth a try. After this incredible attack from Satan, G.o.d made Job "prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.... The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first" (Job 42:10, 12).

The devil has not changed over the centuries. Satan is called the "accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our G.o.d" (Rev. 12:10). He charges believers with offense, error, wrongdoing, failure, sin, and wrong motives. He cannot comprehend G.o.d's complete forgiveness and willingness to justify those who turn to Christ. Yet the Bible states that Christians are "without blemish and free from accusation" (Col. 1:22).

It's almost as if Satan is saying to G.o.d, "That's not fair-they have sinned! You know they have sinned. You have to judge them! They deserve what I'll give them." Actually, Satan is partially right in his accusations against us. Our evil behavior and greedy motives keep us from fellowship with G.o.d. Paul says that the wicked- those belonging to Satan's kingdom-will not inherit the kingdom of G.o.d. "Do not be deceived: Neither the s.e.xually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prost.i.tutes nor h.o.m.os.e.xual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of G.o.d" (1 Cor. 6:9- 10). However, the wonderful truth is that, with G.o.d's help, people can be forgiven and can change from their sinful behavior. Paul reveals an amazing fact about those who were bound by sin: "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our G.o.d" (v. 11, italics added).

In the case of my dad, the devil can say-and has said-to him, "You have been a drunk, you have cursed, and you almost walked out on your family." My father responds to these attempts to discourage him by saying, "Yes, I did those things, but Jesus has broken the power of sin in my life, He has forgiven me, and I am His child now, not yours!"

Satan will accuse the adulterer, saying what he or she has done is unforgivable. He will tell the former h.o.m.os.e.xual who has come to Christ that he cannot overcome this behavior. He will tell those who have habitually lied that this habit will follow them all their lives, and he will remind them that all liars go to h.e.l.l. He will tell Christians who have fallen back into sin that they cannot be forgiven again. He will take advantage of our weaknesses, mistakes, and sinful decisions. When this happens, we only need to look to Jesus Christ, who is our "advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1 KJV); He will come to our defense when we seek His a.s.sistance with repentance and sincere hearts.

Satan can point his finger of accusation at us, but the fact remains that we who are in Christ are without blemish and free from accusation.

Satan imitates. Satan fell because he thought he could become as powerful as G.o.d and be like G.o.d. Since that original thought, Satan has tried to imitate G.o.d. He has his counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders. He enabled Pharaohs magicians to imitate the miracles that Moses performed through the power of G.o.d (Exod. 7:10-12). He will perform counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders through the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:11-17). He does all this to deceive all he can so that they will give allegiance to him. Satan has invented literally thousands of religions and false G.o.ds in order to distract people from the truth. He has his own counterfeit ministers and church and gospel.

The devil also counterfeits many of G.o.ds principles and distorts them to fit his perverse agenda. Paul wrote to the Galatian church, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel" (Gal. 1:6). Some people in that church had bought into a gospel promoted by Satan to distract them from the truth. Dr. Ron Carlson of Christian Ministries International, who has researched the subject of cults thoroughly, has found that many people who get caught up in cults have come from mainline Christian denominations but were not well grounded in the teachings of the Bible.7 It appears that the devil understands that all human beings have an emptiness in their hearts until they come into a relationship with G.o.d.

There is a spiritual hunger in people's lives around the world. Understanding this truth, the enemy has developed thousands of counterfeit spiritual experiences and beliefs because he knows that many will think they have discovered the right way.

In a sick sense, this imitator thinks he can become "as G.o.d." He is a counterfeit and attempts to do the types of miracles G.o.d does. He endeavors to organize his kingdom in ways that have some resemblance with the ways G.o.d does things-that is, Satan has his own religions, teachings, G.o.ds (idols), ministers, prophets, and supernatural wonders. Satan's motives are evil, and he will destroy those who put their allegiance in him. He is a thief, and he invades people's lives "to steal, and kill, and destroy." By contrast, when Jesus comes into lives, He gives abundant life (John 10:10).

Satan is called a roaring lion, but Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah.

Lucifer was the son of the morning, but Jesus is the bright and morning Star.

Satan will have a city called Babylon the great, but Jesus has The New Jerusalem.

The Angel of Light.

THIS IMITATOR WHO COMES as an angel of light can be very difficult to recognize. He will take advantage of peoples grief, sorrow, naivete, and ignorance in order to trick them.

A woman we will call Carol made an appointment with me a few months after her husband of thirty years pa.s.sed away. I antic.i.p.ated that she would still be grieving and would need some comfort and encouragement. I thought that perhaps I could introduce her to some of her peers in the church. But as she entered my office, I sensed that she needed to talk to me about more than her grief. She wanted an explanation of something she had experienced.

"Pastor, I have just had the most wonderful thing happen to me!" Carol began.

Feeling somewhat excited for her, I said, "Tell me about it." "I have spoken to my husband," she said with some hesitation. "I missed him so much, and there were many things that we did not have the opportunity to discuss before he died." "Go on, Carol," I said. "What do you mean?" She said, "I couldn't find things around the house-you know, things that only husbands know where they are. I even sensed that he was there, just like before, only I couldn't see him. At times I would talk to him ... but I heard nothing back. 'Henry,' I would say, 'where are the keys to that old car? I need to sell it.'"8 "So, how is it that you have talked to Henry?" I asked.

Carol responded hesitantly, with her eyes looking toward the floor. "I heard of this person that could contact Henry. My friend told me that she knew a person that could actually bring Henry back-you know, only his spirit-but I could have a conversation with him and tell him all the things I have been wanting to tell him and ask him some questions."

Carol was trying to gauge my reaction.

I said, "Go on, tell me what happened."

"Well, I thought about it and decided to do it. I know this seems weird, and you have even taught that we should not get involved with this sort of thing and that it is dangerous, but I really saw no harm."

"Carol, what did you experience?" I asked.

"Well, I met the person, and they did some kind of religious thing and said that they would be able to channel Henry's spirit to speak to me. I really didn't pay much attention to what was going on until something unbelievable happened. I asked specific questions that only Henry would know the answers to. The answers that came back were right!"

With tears in her eyes and a degree of satisfaction on her face, Carol was looking for my approval.

"Pastor, this must have been Henry. No one else could have known the answer to the questions I asked."

I said, "Carol, you loved Henry and had a tremendous marriage and lots of wonderful memories. He was a good man, and I know that you miss him terribly. I know that you feel there were things left unfinished when he died, and that is often the case. Death can come when it's not expected, and the grief that a loved one experiences cannot be really comprehended by anyone until they go through it."

I paused, not wanting her to misunderstand what I was about to say.

She said, "I know, Henry's death was so sudden. I wasn't ready because we had so much more to do."

I said, "Carol, I can appreciate how much you miss Henry, and how badly you want to speak to him, just one more time. But your experience was not a genuine experience. It was a deception provided by the enemy."

"But all the right answers were given!" Carol exclaimed.

"Carol," I said, "the devil took advantage of your grief and sorrow. You see, there are demons that live in an unseen world that can provide the answers to the kinds of questions you were asking. They will do this in order to convince you that we can talk to our departed loved ones. The person that you talked to, the channeler, was nothing more than a witch who had a demonically inspired gift to let a demon speak through her."

Carol didn't want to believe me, but continued to listen.

"You see, demons have been around for thousands of years. They are led by Satan. One of their primary goals is to deceive people. They even have the ability to appear to be something good, when their motives are terribly evil.

"Carol, the devil deceived you. You did not really talk to Henry. He is in heaven. You talked to a demon who ultimately wants your soul, and he will do anything in his power to trick you into leaving your experience with Christ."

I gently went on. "You must rebuke this experience, promise that you will never do this again, and ask G.o.d's forgiveness. I will pray for you, too, that this experience will not have any more effect on your life and that G.o.d will protect you from the enemy's attack."

I was grateful that Carol believed me. She understood what I said to her and promised never to take part in this kind of activity again.9 Carol had had an experience with the great imitator, the deceiver who takes advantage of people's weaknesses.

Satan would like people to believe that every miracle is from G.o.d, yet he has the power to perform counterfeit signs and wonders. This fact should cause us to be careful to evaluate every supernatural occurrence to see whether it is of G.o.d or Satan. John tells us to "test the spirits to see whether they are from G.o.d, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

Discerning the Spirits.

THERE IS A CHARISMA gift that G.o.d gives to people in the body of Christ called the gift of discernment-"the ability to distinguish between spirits" (1 Cor. 12:10). Christians are able to discern and test with the Word of G.o.d whether an experience is from G.o.d or from the enemy. We can avoid being deceived by Satan's lies and counterfeit miracles if we know the Word of G.o.d well and examine all that we hear, see, and sense on the basis of Scripture. We can know that we are in safe territory. G.o.d gave us His inspired Word, and it "is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of G.o.d may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

George Sweeting said, "Satan specializes in religion-false religion. He is subtle. And it is just that subtlety that makes him so deadly. Although most people think of the devil as something ugly and horribly evil, he is not always like that. He is not a little red man with a trident and a tail."10 The Antichrist.

THE PERSON WHO WILL literally amaze the world in the last days will be a man John the apostle calls "the antichrist" (1 John 2:18, 22).

Donald Stamps writes about the Antichrist, "It is possible these demonstrations of the supernatural will be seen on television around the world. Millions will be impressed, deceived, and persuaded by this highly persuasive and popular leader because they have no deep commitment to or love for the truth of G.o.d's Word."11 The Antichrist will be controlled by Satan and will in turn oppose anything that is truly Christian. He will be an accuser and an imitator. He will even enter into the temple (which will be newly built during his lifetime) in Jerusalem and enter the holy place and declare himself to be G.o.d (2 Thess. 2:4). This devil-possessed human being will attempt to imitate G.o.d. Satan will use this person to administer his end-time strategy.

Satan's primary tactics of opposition, accusation, and imitation are meant to keep people from Christ and to discourage Christians so as to become impotent in their faith. G.o.d wants us to be aware of Satan's battle strategy and to be confident in His incredible power to destroy the enemy's attempts to deceive and discourage us. During the time that the Antichrist rules this world, he will do everything in his power to destroy the true believers in Christ. A mult.i.tude of people will turn to Jesus Christ after the "rapture" of the church because they will realize that the Christians were right. They will remember how a Christian friend told them about Jesus and taught that there would be an event called the rapture. With this memory, many will give their lives to Christ. They will go through persecution such as this world has never known.

The Antichrist's system will be set up to kill believers in Christ. Even though ma.s.ses of believers will die, they will win this battle against the enemy. John writes, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11).

You might think, "But I have so many problems of my own. It seems that Satan has attacked me in every one of these ways. How can I stand a chance against such a powerful being?" Be a.s.sured that you not only stand a chance, but can win-with G.o.d's help. Many people have suffered every bit as much as you. The Lord has shown them the way to become overcomers. In the remaining chapters of this book we discover the keys to living a victorious life.

FIVE.

a.s.saulting the Church.

For years Pastor Tommy Barnett had felt a concern for the city of Los Angeles. He is the pastor of a church of more than ten thousand members in Phoenix, Arizona, and knew it was impossible for him to pastor a church in both cities at the same time. His twenty-two-year-old son, Matthew, felt a similar concern for the needs of L.A. Both father and son felt that the gang killings, the drug trafficking, the prost.i.tution, and the devastation of many people who lived in this city had to be curtailed. They knew Los Angeles was a prime location for a unique, dynamic church.

When Tommy was visiting a wise pastor in that city, he was cautioned that Los Angeles was the devil's jewel and pride. The pastor told him, "If you come here, you will have the greatest fight of your life." Tommy took note of what his friend had said but decided to look for a way to begin the church.

Matthew moved to the inner city of L.A., and Tommy continued to pastor the church in Phoenix while flying into Los Angeles to help Matt every Thursday through Sat.u.r.day. Their schedules were exhausting, but the results made their efforts seem worthwhile. Within months, hundreds of people were attending services. Prost.i.tutes, street people, bikers, the poor, and the wealthy-all were coming to know Christ. In just a few months, more than a hundred other ministries from the Los Angeles area had decided to work together to help the city.

This coalition needed a building and heard of an old hospital that was for sale. The hospital was huge-more than 70 percent of the babies born in L.A. before 1980 had been born there. It was being used occasionally as a set for movies or television. The purchase price was several million dollars, but the building would fit the coalition's dream of making a place of refuge for the hungry, homeless, and the desperate. It would be a center of ministry, where a variety of Christian ministries could come together with one purpose. It would enable many ethnic congregations and language groups to worship in the same building but in different chapels.

With the help of many friends throughout the country, the coalition was able to buy the hospital. Today thousands make that facility their church home, and the "Dream Center" is having a major impact on East Los Angeles.

After one Sunday service, Matthew was approached by a man he had never seen. The man said to him, "I am going to make you very popular in this city and throughout the nation."

Matthew asked the man to explain what he meant. The man pulled a handgun from under his coat and showed it to Matthew. He said, "I'm dying of AIDS, and after one of your services I'm going to walk up to the front of the church and stand on the platform and kill myself. When the city hears about that, it will bring the church a lot of attention."

Matthew tried to counsel the man, who was obviously confused and overwhelmed with his condition. "Sir, please do not do that-we can help you. We will do anything we can to get you what you need."

The dying man then pointed the gun at Matthew and said, "I have a better idea, I will walk up to you and shoot you first and then me. That will really bring attention to this place."

Matthew was shocked, but he could tell by the look on the man's face and how he pointed the gun that he was serious. Matthew said quietly, "Well, sir, you can do that, but I know where I am going. I'm going to heaven when I die. Do you know where you are going?"

Matthew looked into the man's eyes and paused for a moment, I hen added, "I'm not afraid of you. I want to help you."

This made the man angry. He turned and hurried from the room, calling out over his shoulder, "I'll be back soon and I'm going to do it!"

Matthew didn't know what to think. He was shaking inside and told some of the leaders what had happened. They prayed about the situation and committed it to G.o.d. The thoughts still haunted Matthew. He wondered if the man would come back, and he had to fight being distracted because any service could be the chosen one when the man would try it. How would Matthew know? The congregation was large, and people are difficult to recognize in a crowd. All of this worried Matthew, but he was able to commit the matter to G.o.d in prayer.

Within a few weeks the man did come back. But this time his reason was different. He had felt so convicted about what he had done to Matthew that he talked to one of the leaders and gave his life to Christ. The man then went to a care facility in another city where people were suffering from devastating illnesses such as AIDS. This man is no longer confused, nor does he want to take his life-or Matthew's. He is looking forward to going to the heaven Matthew told him about.

Satan would have loved to encourage that man to carry out his former plan. Satan was behind the man's confusion and the lies he believed. The Dream Center is invading Satan's territory, and he doesn't like it. Satan's darkness is dispelled, and G.o.d's light is shining brighter in Los Angeles.1 Tommy Barnett reminded us that the pastor's warning came true. "This has been the greatest battle of my life. I have never experienced such spiritual warfare, such weariness, and so much personal attack from the enemy. But it's worth it! Look at the changed lives!"

Satan hates the church because he hates Jesus Christ. The body of Christ on earth is made up of men and women who are born again. They are diverse; there is no denominational tag. The church is not a building; it is people who love Jesus Christ and have made Him their Lord. Satan wants to shame the church and destroy the effects of this mighty force in this world. He carefully looks for ways to ruin an individual believer or a group of believers who worship together. The church is the only ent.i.ty left in the world that brings an awareness of the darkness that Satan represents. The church constantly marches into spiritually dark areas of the world and has a G.o.dly influence, not only on individual lives, but on communities as well.

Recently I preached in a church that is seeing thousands of people come to Christ. Along with the tremendous growth in that church and other churches in the community, it is reported that the crime rate has dropped about 20 percent there. Satan is very aware that good Christians make good citizens. A revival in a church is the greatest threat to his work in a community.

The Persecuted Church.

IN MANY PLACES IN the world, the growing Christian church is being persecuted and thousands of Christians are being murdered. We might not think that the twenty-first-century church would go through this kind of barbaric experience, but the statistics tell a different story. The World Evangelical Fellowship recently stated that "the twentieth-century church faces increased persecution and that more Christians have been martyred for their faith in this century than in the previous 1900 years combined."2 "Christians are in fact the most persecuted religious group in the world today, with the greatest number of victims," a.s.serts Nina Shea, director of the Puebla Program on Religious Freedom operated by Freedom House.3 Kim Lawson of Christianity Today writes, "Increasingly, Christians are hara.s.sed, arrested, interrogated, imprisoned, fined, or killed because of their religious beliefs and practices."4 Christianity is spreading in Indonesia, and the church has grown to include almost 12 percent of the population in the last five years.5 However, along with this phenomenal growth there is increased persecution. In one incident it was reported that a mob of Muslims destroyed 10 church buildings and crippled a pastor in Indonesia. The 1000-strong mob attacked during Sunday services, tearing apart church buildings and setting fire to nearby cars and other vehicles. Government officials said that churches that do not have police protection should suspend meetings, but it is unclear whether police protection will be given. Government and Muslim leaders have been working to counter the rapid spread of Christianity in the country.6 In a majority of Persian Gulf countries, converting to Christianity is a crime. Under Islamic regulations an apostate who refuses to repent and return to Islam must be forcibly divorced from his wife, lose all his family inheritance rights, and relinquish custody of his Muslim children. It is reported that "an Islamic court in Kuwait proclaimed Hussein Qambar Ali, 44, an official apostate from Islam, because of his conversion to Christianity."

Apostasy is not illegal under the Kuwaiti const.i.tution, but Muslims there nevertheless consider it an offense punishable by death. Islamic law would not hold anyone libel for killing an apostate-someone who has abandoned Islam for another faith.7 Ther-fore Hussein has remained in hiding for several months.

Shortly before he died, Haik Hovsepian Mehr, the general superintendent of the a.s.semblies of G.o.d in Iran, spoke of the reason for church growth in that country. He wrote, Matthew 16:18 has proved to be wonderfully true for the Iranian church, "I will build my church; and the gates of h.e.l.l shall not prevail against it." Muslim fundamentalists have tried to put pressure on the church of Jesus Christ, but they have not prevailed in their attempts to destroy it.

Their first strategy was to expel all missionaries. ... A second tactic was to close the Iranian Bible Society and all Christian bookstores. They then interrogated and intimated pastors and church leaders. Evangelism efforts were forbidden, except in church buildings.... They told church leaders that Muslims could not attend their services or inquire about the Christian faith.... All church leaders were pressured by the authorities to write letters of appreciation for their religious freedom in Iran.8 Missionary Mark Bliss interviewed Haik about the persecution in Iran.

Mark: Do you think Satan has purposed to destroy the church in Iran, especially in the last few years?

Haik: Clearly the enemies of the cross are trying to find ways to close all churches that will not bow to them. Satan has always tried to destroy the saints in Iran [present-day Persia]. Daniel in the lion's den, Esther and Mordecai's experience with Haman, and the threats of Nehemiahs enemies are three Old Testament examples of attacks on G.o.d's people in Iran. But in all three instances the devil was defeated. I believe history is being repeated, and we will see great marvels in these last days.

Mark: What do you think is the reason for G.o.d's blessing on His church in Iran and its continued growth?

Haik: The main reason is that G.o.d promised to build His church in Iran, and I know He will do so. But a second reason is related to the suffering for Christ with joy which G.o.d is permitting us to experience. Revelation 12:11 mentions these three steps in our victory over the devil: "the blood of the Lamb," "the word of their [believers'] testimony," and their refusal to "love their lives so much as to shrink from death." When a Christian reaches a point where he can sacrifice himself for the Lord, then claiming power in the blood and giving a bold, clear testimony will easily follow.

Mark: Do you see any outstanding demonstrations of courageous Christian conviction?

Haik: Many members of the church, especially Muslim converts, are strong in their resistance. After Pastor Hossein Soodmand was hanged for his faith in December 1990, a believer approached me with tears in his eyes. "I wanted to be the first martyr, but Soodmand is the first now," he said. This same man was imprisoned for 45 days. His crime was selling 200 New Testaments.9 On January 19,1994, Haik left his home to meet a guest at the airport in Teheran. He never returned. On Sunday, January 30, the Teheran Office of Investigation notified Haik's family that he had died ten days earlier. Photographs used to identify Haik showed st.i.tches along the abdomen. The marks were explained this way: "These could be the marks of an autopsy, torture, or both."

Authorities will only say that Haik died on January 20, with no explanation as to why the family was not notified until ten days later. "The questions surrounding Haik's disappearance and death may be mysterious, but they point strongly to the work of the government security forces," one source said.

The Iranian government had several motives to silence Haik. He had recently become more vocal in demanding religious freedom in Iran. "We have nothing else to lose," he wrote in a letter. "We have been tolerant and kept silent, but nothing has changed. Please don't worry about me. I am quite ready for anything."

Haik led an effort to secure the release of Mehdi Dibaj, an Iranian national minister accused of insulting Islam, acting as a spy for the West, and apostasy. After ten years in jail in Sari, Iran (including two years of solitary confinement in an unlit cell), Dibaj was sentenced to be executed, according to a statement by the court on December 21, 1993.

At Haik's urging, governments and human rights organizations around the world were informed of the situation. Several governments, including the U.S. State Department, wrote letters to the Iranian government requesting Dibaj's release.

In response to the international pressure, Dibaj was released from prison on Sunday, January 16,1994. He arrived at Haik's home in Teheran within two days. When Dibaj entered Haik's home in Teheran, fifty believers excitedly greeted him with a chorus, In the name of Jesus,

In the name of Jesus,

We have the victory!

In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, demons will have