Thursday, April 12, 2012

Worshiping the Sun or the Son in North Korea

No regime on earth is more vicious toward Christians than North Korea. Open Doors USA, which ministers to the persecuted church overseas, has ranked North Korea as the No. 1 persecutor of Christians for the last several years. One religious liberty advocate has described this east Asian country as one gigantic concentration camp for all North Koreans except the elites.

This Sunday, April 15, will be the 100th birthday of the late Kim Il-Sung. Mass celebrations of the "Day of the Sun," as it has been titled, will be held. While North Korea's regime is communist, it also is built on cult worship of Kim and his descendants.

"For Christians inside North Korea their fear has increased as the government has mandated all the people to bow down to the gods of Kim Il-Sung, [his late son] Kim Jong-Il and [his grandson and new ruler] Kim Jong-Un and participate in the celebration," Open Doors President Carl Moeller said. "So scrutiny of the estimated 200,000 to 400,000 brave underground Christians has increased during the last few months. Some have been thrown into prison."

Moeller said, "But we know that the Christians living under the most brutal regime in the world will be celebrating the true 'Son' Jesus Christ in their hearts."

Open Doors is asking Christians around the world to pray for their brothers and sisters this Sunday. May we not forget those who are suffering solely because they have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

The video below, which is about 5 1/2 minutes long, is a CBN report that gives a helpful overview of conditions in North Korea. It also shares the story of a Christian who escaped the country and of her father's sacrificial commitment to Jesus.

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