Many believers in the United States are totally oblivious to religious persecution taking place around the world and really have little concept as to what is taking place.  Most believers in the U.S. will get up in the morning, go through their daily activities: work, meals, appointments, leisure and go to bed at night without even a hint of a thought to believers in Christ that are being persecuted.  

Did you know religious persecution has been escalating in countries around the world?  As a matter of fact, many are paying with their very lives on account of their faith.  Executions alone in 2024 had a 32% increase compared to 2023.  One of the leading persecutors is the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party. This Crosstalk seeks to increase your awareness as to what is going on with believers in China, but also in other countries around the world as well.  

Jeff King is president of International Christian Concern, an organization that has served the global persecuted church since 1995.  Jeff is a leading expert on the matter of religious persecution.  He's traveled to more than 70 countries thus gaining extensive knowledge of what is happening to religious freedom.  He has a passion for the persecuted.  He is author of Islam Uncensored and Last Words of the Martyrs.

Concerning China, Jeff noted that leader Xi Jinping is currently in a crackdown phase.  This phase includes knocking churches down, tearing down crosses, constant pressure to have churches come under state control, secret arrests, torture, abuse and murder.  In spite of all this, the Marxist leaders there simply don't understand that the more you try to stamp out the church, the more it grows. 

Amidst all this, you have to realize that China is a surveillance state that is constantly spying on/monitoring its own citizens.  Jim indicated that the country has approximately 700 million surveillance cameras as of August, 2023.  That's one lens for every two citizens!  Add in artificial intelligence and facial recognition and you have a nation that sounds like a precursor to what's described in Revelation 13.

Aside from China, Jeff noted how the fastest growing church in the world is in Iran.  This is just another example of how persecution expands the influence of the Gospel.  

Get more details on persecution in these nations and others by reviewing this edition of Crosstalk. 

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