An Open Letter to the Suffering Christians of the Middle East
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I, as others, have experienced great anguish, anger and distress as I have read and heard of the atrocities that are being inflicted upon you because of your faith in Jesus Christ. The stories of your daughters being raped, your sons being beheaded and the genocidal slaughter of your friends and families have moved me and others to fervent prayer on your behalf.
During such a time of prayer for you recently I experienced a pronounced sense of peace as I prayed and thought on God’s justice, and particularly His justice for you. I am writing to share that experience with you.
Our God is a just God, and His justice will not forever rest. He sees your sufferings and will not forsake you. He will eventually make all things new and right for you. Justice will be served!
Justice in this fallen world, however, is imperfect and in your case seemingly non-existent at this time. Nonetheless, there is coming a day when every person will meet their Creator and each one will receive their just due for their actions—punishment and retribution for those who are evil and rewards and commendations for those who have been faithful.
This final judgement where all things will be made right and everyone will receive their just due, is described by John the Apostle in Revelation 20:11-15:
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God … The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.”
As I thought on you and God’s infinite and pure justice, I experienced a peace and sweetness in my soul. The terrible wrongs that have been done to you do not go unnoticed by our Heavenly Father. I was comforted knowing that He will vindicate you and make things right for you, if not in this world, then in the world to come.
When the early believers in Thessalonica were suffering persecution, Paul wrote to them and comforted them by reminding them of God’s justice. He said;
“It is a righteous matter with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:6-8).
At that time the song written by David Phelps called “No More Night” will be a reality. The main chorus of the song says;
No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
Praises to the great I AM.
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.
I also want to say that I am very impressed with your Christian character and I realize that we in the West could learn much from you concerning what it really means to be a follower of Christ in this world. I am thinking in particular of the Coptic Christian woman in Egypt who had two sons beheaded by ISIS in Libya because of their faith in Jesus.
When she was asked what she would do if she saw the men who had murdered her sons passing in front of her house, she replied, “I would ask God to open their eyes and I would then invite them into my home.” She must have the Spirit of Christ for that is the spirit of the words of Jesus from the cross when He prayed for forgiveness for his tormentors. It is also the spirit of the words of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who prayed for those who were taking his life (Acts 7:59-60).
We, of course, can act in that forgiving manner when we know that justice will be ultimately and finally carried out by the great God and Judge of all the earth. We do not seek vengeance for we know Him who has said, “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay” (Rom. 12:19).
We continue to pray for you for great spiritual strength to be His witnesses in your time of trial, and for His deliverance of you from this evil.
Please pray for us in the West that we will stand faithful and true as His witnesses in the midst of our light afflictions. Please also join us in praying for great spiritual awakening in America, Europe, your countries and all over the world.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Eddie Hyatt
Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Bible teacher. His books, including America’s Revival Heritage, are available from Amazon and from his website. He is the founder of The Revive America Project and conducts Revive America events throughout the nation. To learn more about his ministry, check out his website at eddiehyatt.com.
