Mr Easy Christian

Saturday, October 3, 2009

North Korean Gulag

North Korea is a land we need to love and pray for. Absolutely no attempt is being made to defame or deride a person or a nation by the following descriptions. But the story must be told by a free people. Holding our mouths shut may be "wise" but for the victims it is fatal.

Mr. David Hawk describes the entire hierarchy of prisons to be found in North Korea as a "gulag" reminding us of the terminology tossed around decades ago when even at that time we humans thought we had come of age. But the problem persists.

If you have a problem with claustrophobia as do I, the subject matter here may be difficult.The thought of going to an enclosure where I will be locked in for an unknown period of time is pure torment. Add to it that I go there because I was hungry and looking for food, or because I am a Christian, or because I accidentally crumpled a newspaper with a picture of my government's leader on it... unspeakable horror.

Hawk divides the NK prison system like this:

First there are the Kwan-li-so, to which a prisoner is banished for life with his entire family. It is run by the federal government. It is huge, covering as much as four or five hundred square miles! Tens of thousands of prisoners can be in such a place. The prisoners are "politicals" , that is, persons who said or thought something against the government.

The Kyo-hwa-so is smaller. There is much hard labor. It is for those who commit "normal" crimes, but some political prisoners are mixed in. Sentences are set. But many persons die due to the hard work expected of them before their sentence is up. The true "penitentiary."

Then there is the Ka-mok or Ku-ryu-jang. These are along the northern border, where escapees can get to China. When it is their misfortune to be returned to their home country, it is here that they are interrogated and punished. We'd call this a "jail."

The jip-kyul-so is for low-level crimes and for repatriated refugees. They can stay here for up to six months of hard labor. Here there is a high death rate because of the nature of the work and the serious lack of food.

And then there is the ro-dong-dan-ryeon-dae, where sentences are even shorter, created by locals to deal with the over-flow of famine-related cases.

Odd. Here we say that misfortunes such as hunger are worthy of compassion, aid, support. We may nopt agree with "religious" people but we have a certain respect for them. And one may speak against leadership freely here, even try, using the system available, to replace that leader. All these things are worth of imprisonment and death "over there."

Continued tip of the day, and the only real reason I share all of this: Prayer really does change things, people, and situations. So pray!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Dying with Jesus

One thing we've got to admit about the current crop of Muslims. They really believe what they believe. Death is considered part of the bargain when you enter Islam. Have we ever seen so many people willing to give away their lives?

Well, as a matter of fact, yes. Through the years the Christian Church has seen more of its people sent to an untimely death than any religion or people group on earth or in history. As many as seventy million may have paid the ultimate price for their faith.

Just dying, or just suffering, is not that to which God's people are called. But dying with Jesus. Remember the old song?

"Dying with Jesus by death reckoned mine.Living with Jesus a new life Divine.

"Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine, moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine."

Peter says that the mindset that agrees, "Jesus suffered, so must I," is a healthy one. It is the norm for us. We've lived enough in the flesh. We've had enough of this life. Let's lay it down and experience the new life.

This is where Islam falls so tragically short. When Muslims die they are sent to the prison where the dead wait for their judgment at the "resurrection of damnation." A blaze of pain and seconds of "glory", then that's it. When we die with and in Him, whether virtually now or in actuality later, we go to be with Jesus, our spirits free from these old bodies, and basking in the light of His Presence.

I remember the mental fight I had when I had to go in for a certain medical procedure. I'm a pretty cowardly guy in my natural man. I almost did not keep my appointment. But the benefits were there. The doc said I had to do it. And when I woke up, I knew it was all worth it. I felt great!

That's how it must be here. Entering into death on a regular basis, unafraid, knowing that Doc has prescribed these operations to bring us out perfect and happy on the other side. Arm yourself with that attitude, says Peter. Suffering and martyrdom and laying our lives down, it's our norm. Live with that mindset and life will certainly look different than it does now.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed , lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

Daniel's 70 Weeks and the Antichrist

In a detailed study of the "70 weeks" of Daniel (chapter 9),one thing emerges right away. The seventieth "seven" (week) does not immediately follow the sixty-ninth. Verse 27 speaks of an end to sacrifice and offering. We know for certain that when Daniel speaks of this happening, he is speaking of the end time, not of Antiochus of old. We have Gabriel's word on that in chapter 8. But now we have Daniel himself admitting that this does not occur until Jesus is killed, some 200 years after Antiochus!

We have a problem of a different sort if we try to attach this verse to the Romans of A.D. 70. The Spirit says there are 490 years, and that after 490 years, the Millennium begins, sin is gone, etc. Those who try to stop the "clock" at Jesus (as they should) but start it up again with Titus (A.D.70), will find that the clock runs out in A.D. 77, with no return of Christ. That was the dilemma of thinking back in those days, when Jesus did not come, though the "abomination" had surely occurred. They thought.

In fact, the only place to put a final "week" or seven years, is in the end of history. But that is done easily enough, because that is where Jesus places the event of the end of sacrifices, and the following abomination and desolations that verse 27 mentions.

Ultimately, this series of events we are studying does not end with the abomination, the desolations, the end of sacrifices, the surrounding of the city, the army. All of this is present, but my question has to do with the man. In verse 26 there is one called "the prince who is to come." This same one seems to be referred to in 27, as "he" and "one who makes desolate."

I cannot prove here that all three of these persons are one. But I think they are. The coming "prince" seems to be the dictator over a revived Roman Empire, the final form of the beast seen by Daniel and John. He makes a treaty with the Jewish people that lasts for one week (27a), or seven years. This same person who made the treaty will break it (27b) half-way through. That's about three and one half years later, leaving another three and one half years for judgment and chaos, the Great Tribulation. It is this three and one half year period that is mentioned in Daniel and Revelation as Earth's final time.

The prince thus starts the "clock" of Judaism ticking again. No matter that Jewish sacrifices cannot take away sin. They never could. They pointed to Christ. They will still point to Him. No matter that God is not commanding a Temple be built. The Jewish people will be like Israel of old, seeking to go to the Promised Land after God has already pronounced judgment. They will be given seven years to play all of this out, a new Temple, revived worship in the Jewish way, world-wide prominence, even peace for a time. But only a short time. Then the reversal, followed by what Daniel seems to be calling an outpouring of judgment . He uses the word consummation, and "poured out", reminding us of the bowl judgments of the book of Revelation, chapter 16. And he pinpoints the "one who makes desolate." Notice here it is not referred to in the neuter sense. Not a "thing" placed in the Temple, but a man.

It is said this man will be on the "wing" of abominations (9:27). The old King James used the word "overspreading," but that word would be a very uncommon usage of the Hebrew "kawnawf". "Wing", as in a bird, is a common usage of that word in Scripture. It can even refer to angels' wings. I was a bit taken aback as I searched further and found that it is the wings of cherubim (man-made) that sit above the Ark of the Covenant, and are a part of the "mercy seat" Moses was commanded to make. According to Exodus 25:22, God ordained that this would be the special place where he would speak with his man, between the two overspreading wings of the cherubim. Here God would actually appear "in the cloud above the mercy seat" (Exodus 16:2). Is it possible that when the Jews put together this magnificent structure again that they will create once more the "mercy seat" in all its detail? And will the one who is so jealous of our God decide to sit there and mock His Holy Name before the world? Could this be the "wings" of abomination?

Be that as it may, the clock of old Jewishness ends when the final earthly-satanic messiah is cast into the Lake of Fire and Christ's true Judaism is set up in the Holy City. Soon perhaps will come one who will announce to the world that the clock of Israel is about to begin its last workings.

What I Learned From A Hoeryong Prison

Such presumption. To suggest that I actually suffered in North Korea and have returned to tell you about it. How arrogant and insensitive.

But I have learned something from the sufferings of others there. I've learned to obey the Biblical mandate to "remember the prisoners." I learn from the saints there to trust God one day at a time in my own negative situations. I'm seeing that one must wait for God to open prison doors, but that one must continue to be faithful while waiting.

I hear them teach me that God's grace is sufficient.

I learn from Hoeryong that carrying the cross is not for a selected few, but for all who would follow the crucified Christ. I learn that things don't matter, but people do, and One Person in particular. I am learning that I actually need the cross, and I need the North Koreans more than they need me.

It is certainly a romantic notion that I actually desire what they have, though I want to believe that I do. I have seen my grumbling ways over the smallest of difficulties. My tolerance for pain or even discomfort or inconvenience is near zilch. Yet the spirit touched by God that He is making me, reaches out to the fellowship of His suffering and ignites a burning of the heart. There is a sweetness about it somehow. The days I spent with the suffering church in Romania were among the most difficult yet the most blessed ever.

I think that in seeing these saints move on in spite of the pain, in viewing their patience, their selflessness, I have seen Christ. It is Him I desire after all. But how shall I ever attain to this vision? I who have lived in a land of plenty, where balance is a virtue, and the quest for security is downright heroic. Very few have ripped off the mask of these two impostors to see that one is lukewarmness and the other is the love of this present evil world.

I invite my readers today to visit North Korea sites and gather more information with which to approach the Father. May we not be swallowed up with distractions. Jesus is still in great pain.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website made to ask believers to pray for North Korea. Recently I have added Bible teachings to the menu. There are nearly 300 blogs , a live news feed , lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com. Audio teachings at sermonaudio.com under my name.

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Only God Can Do This

The subject today is church unity.
Most people point to John 17 when speaking of church unity, and so will I.

Point one. This prayer of Jesus is addressed to God, not the church. There is nothing in this chapter that any man should try to do. Jesus asked His Father for grace on the church of all ages, and we believe the Father granted that grace.

Point two. Specifically, the prayers for unity offered in John 17 were given to God. Unity of the type that Jesus prayed for MUST be created by God. When man attempts it, it starts looking like the old "Holy" Roman Empire, with its political correctness, its lack of toleration for dissension, its hierarchy, its made-to-order meetings, its uniforms, and its armies standing by to enforce the rules in the flesh. This is not God's unity.

Point three. There's a clue given to us in verse 21 of John 17 as to what kind of unity Jesus prayed for. Jesus said that He wants us one "so that the world may believe You sent Me."

Now I ask you, when Christendom was assembled under one roof, threatening the world with total control, did the people of this world want to come to Jesus and examine His claims? Was repentance on their mind because the "Church" was "one"? I think not! In fact, the world hurried away from that to our shores and others' so as to be able to seek God on their own! And seek Him they did. That sort of seeking has been going on ever since.

Here is Christian unity: a Christian prisoner of the Nazis lives her life to such an extent that a brutal guard working for those same Nazis wants to come to Christ, and is even forgiven totally by that same prisoner who bore his abuses, and those two are united in Jesus' love, I say the world looks at that unity, and says "I want this Christ." (The true story of Corrie Ten Boom)

Men, get your hands off of John 17. Let God do the work of saving and thus unifying His people in His Spirit, and using THAT kind of unity to reach this world.

The Story of Chosun, Part 9

It is the 14th century . In England, the Reformation of the church of Jesus Christ gets underway. In America, the native citizens still rule. And on the Korean peninsula there's trouble in the south. Its focal point is a little island that is now a honeymoon spot for Koreans. My wife and I visited it once. No love is wasted on Cheju-do (then, Quelpart Island) in the 1300's. Rebellion against Koryo/Mongolia is brewing.

Soon the Mongols overrun the area and the rebellion is quelled. But there is a rebellion that is nearly impossible to stop once it gets underway, namely the corruption that wastes away a people when its king is evil. North Korea to this day suffers from such a malaise.

Several kings in a row vie with each other for low debauchery levels. And rather than take personal interest in their people,they all want to stay in Peking, the center of power and wealth. Chosun suffers from neglect.

In 1329 the horrible excesses of the court defy description. In 1340 the next son is the same, some say even worse. The Emperor has him brought to Peking, from whence he is exiled, and dies. Then there is an 8-year-old king who dies at age 16. "Sin is a reproach to any people," says the Bible.

Then it is the Japanese. Again. From 1350-1400, Korea's neighbors behave much like the infamous Vikings.

In 1333 the last Mongol Emperor comes to throne. He too is licentious. His name is Tohan Timur. Finally in 1355, there is a rebellion against the old Mongol Dynasty. Chu Yuan-chang takes Nanking. The Mongols ask Koryo for aid against the rising Ming dynasty. Koryo is faithful to the end. For Koryo's sake, not just because of a great love for Mongols. And there is less and less loyalty as the Mongols fall.

Slowly the king of Koryo rises to the task of reorganizing the nation as the Mongols slip away into history and the new Ming Dynasty supplants them.

1359. The Japanese raids reach such alarming proportions that a wall must be built.And as they create the wall, yet another threat of trouble appears in the form of the "red head robbers", Hong du juk . They try to set up the Sung Dynasty again. They get to Pyongyang but then are driven out.

In 1360, the Japanese reach Kangwha island, the palace, the center of Koryo's heart. Quickly the Capital is moved to Seoul because it is farther inland, not within reach of Japanese raiders.

Next the Red-heads return, defeat the army, and take Song-bo. There are orgies. Horrible excesses, children are eaten...

But King Ta-jo captures their leader and the story goes that 100,000 people die in one night. Bodies are heaped up in Kaesong, the city in the news this very day as Kim Jong-il says all bets are off on his new cooperation with South Korea in that town..

Many myths grow up about this Ta-jo (as is true of the Kim dynasty heads of today)...

Yet another problem in Korea is pointed out by historian Hulbert, whom we have been following. He says the curse of Korean history is the constant lies given by one Korean man to another in authority, out of jealousy for a 3rd man. The one in authority believes and acts accordingly. Often good men are killed.

Mongolians. Japanese. Red-heads. Corrupt rulers. Liars. Problems within and without. Is there a solution for it all? We are asking that God's people pray that Jesus be allowed to take His place in the North as He has in the South. That should help quite a bit... But Christians are not only out to "change the world." Our job is to preach the Gospel. But even that cannot be done effectively, nationally, at this time. Lots of praying still to do!

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs , ovber 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

North Korea - A Second Quiz

North Korea's a pretty isolated place, but there are still quite a few things we know. Try these:

1. How big is the North Korean army?

2. How many Koreans have risked imprisonment and death by fleeing from this Communist "Paradise" ?

3. What percent of North Korea is mountainous?

4. What percent of NK's 18,000 miles of roads is paved?

5. What religion dominated the land before Christianity/atheism?

6. How long has Kim Jong Il reigned?

7. Is there any prosperity in North Korea?

8. What was Korea's name before it was called Korea?

9. Just how far back does Korean history go?

10. What is Korea's most famous food?

Answers:

1. Perhaps one million? It is the 4th or 5th largest in the world. It is the reason Korea can continue to wreak havoc on its people. It is the reason for the widespread starvation. It is the reason the man in the middle can turn an angry face to the West and spurn the world's warnings. Let us pray for the Lord of armies to do what only He is able to do...

2. Upwards to 50,000 are now living in Northeast China. Many others have fled to South Korea, Mongolia, other parts of China, even the United States.

3. 80. A truly rugged land.

4. 10

5. Buddhism (later overtaken by "non-religion" Confucianism)

6. Too long. Since 1994. But the Lord of all Lords knows what is going on and will rise up...

7. Yes. Obviously the government and the military show the world a face of fatness. The farther a visitor is able to travel from Pyongyang, the more the tragedy of North Korea is revealed. 8. For one thousand years prior to this era it was known as "Choson", the land of "morning calm." 9. Up to 5,000 years, but much of that is blended in with mythology. Fabled figure "Tangun" was said to have set up Korea's first dynasty sometime between Noah's flood and the days of Abraham. (2333 B.C.)

10. Kimchi. Spicy cabbage. Very hot.

Loving our neighbors involves knowing them. Please continue to pray for these descendants of the morning calm who long for the calm of morning to dawn on them. Oh may Christ be once more lifted up in this land!