Blog note:  Christian Persecution. Jesus indicated that many would hate and persecute Christians because of His name. This has always been the case and is increasing in intensity and frequency.

Psalm 25:19. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

Psalm 38:19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

Psalm 41:7. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.

Psalm 69:4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

Psalm 69:14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Matthew 10:22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mark 13:13. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luke 6:22. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Luke 14:26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 19:14. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

Luke 21:17. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

John 7:7. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 15:18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

John 15:23. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. End of note

Mass arrests of Chinese megachurch members continue; some ‘violently beaten’

By Samuel Smith, CP Reporter. March 4, 2019

Nearly 50 more members, including 11 kids, of a Chinese megachurch closed down by the communist government in December were arrested at two different venues last Sunday, a watchdog group has reported.

Following the closing of Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church and the arrest of its pastor, Wang Yi, on Dec. 9 for “inciting subversion of state power,” government actors are continuing to harass members of the congregation as they gather for worship inside of homes.

According to an update from the church, multiple homes that were hosting prayer gatherings on Feb. 24 were surrounded by police officers who ultimately interrupted the proceedings. At two of the home church services, every person in attendance was detained.

China Aid founder Bob Fu, a well-respected human rights activist who has on a number of occasions testified before Congress, tweetedthat at least 11 of those who were arrested in Chengdu received a punishment of 10 to 14 days “administrative detention.”

“Arbitrary arrest continues,” Fu stressed. “Walk with the these Persecuted.”

There were reports of children, the elderly and even a pregnant woman being mistreated. Pastor Wang’s elderly mother was reportedly insulted and beaten.

According to a statement released by the church, two Christians who were arrested were “violently beaten.”

“Tang Chunliang and his wife were hit in the face by a plainclothes police officer at the police station,” the update reads.  “Some, including children, did not eat anything. Some were not released until 2:00 a.m. Tired children slept on ice-cold tables and floors. Others were not released until 6:00 a.m.”

On Saturday, two more churchgoers were arrested when they went to the Chengdu Police Station to visit their detained friends.

“They were then taken to the Taisheng Road Police Station, where they were locked up and interrogated,” a March 2 statement from the church reads. “At 2:00 p.m., while being interrogated, they were personally humiliated, abused, and violently beaten by seven to eight police officers from the Chengdu Taisheng Road Police Station. They were detained for nearly eight hours.”

Arrests and detentions are not the only forms of harassment the Early Rain Covenant members have faced. According to the church, authorities have put pressure on landlords and employers. This has resulted in some churchgoers losing their homes and jobs. Some have had to move back to their hometowns.

At least one family of a church elder has been forced to move on multiple occasions as they have been deemed “illegal residents.”

“Each time they are evicted, they find a new place to live,” a church statement from Feb. 22 reads. “Then, after they’ve spent a few days adapting to their new home, police and national security come to their door and, through various methods, drive the family out of their home again.”

In December following the arrest of Pastor Wang, over 160 church members were arrested.

China ranks as the 27th worst country in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List.

Last year, Fu warned that the Chinese government is supervising a plan to rewrite the Bible in its attempt to “sinicize” Christianity.

China’s crackdown on non-state-sponsored religion has seen the demolition of churches and the removal of hundreds of crosses from churches.

“Religious freedom in China has really reached to the worst level that has not been seen since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution by Chairman Mao [Zedong] in the 1960s,” Fu told members of the House Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations last September.