#10 The Resurgence of Christian Persecution

In this conversation, I discuss the alarming rise of Christian persecution globally, emphasizing the lack of mainstream media coverage. I connect these events to biblical prophecy, and I encourage believers to remain bold in their faith. I also highlight the simultaneous outpouring of God's Spirit and various revival events occurring across the world, showcasing a renewed commitment to faith among believers. I call for action, urging Christians to evangelize and live out their faith confidently in these challenging times.

• Christian persecution is at an all-time high, yet largely unreported.
• The rise in persecution aligns with biblical prophecy about the last days.
• Believers are encouraged to be bold in their faith despite persecution.
• Revival is breaking out in various places, including universities and public spaces.
• The outpouring of God's Spirit is evident in recent revival events.
• Christians are called to evangelize and share their testimonies.
• The spiritual battle is real, and believers must be aware of it.
• Media silence on Christian persecution raises questions about its truth.
• The stories in the Bible are not myths; they are real events.
• Believers should live confidently and unapologetically in their faith.

#Christianpersecution #biblicalprophecy #revivaloutpouring #faith #evangelism #lastdays #spiritualbattle #mediasilence #prayer

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Transcript

Pedro Espinoza (00:00)
Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening folks. Not sure what time you're listening to this, but just know that I have an important message for you all today and I just want to start by saying that I have been sick for I feel like the past month there has been a lot going on around I should say as of late. I know the flu has been running rampant.

And my son actually got sick with the flu. He had flu A, which apparently out of A and B, flu A is the worst of the two. And he had it really bad. So we were just back and forth between the hospital, the ER, just having to call out of work, canceling his daycare visits. It was a lot.

And then so as a byproduct of that, I then caught something. Now, I don't know if I had the flu, but it didn't feel good at all. And then that was paired with a cough that I had that lasted for almost two weeks. And I swear I couldn't even get a word out without coughing. It was that bad. But I am over the hill now. I am back to normal. So I'll be producing more content for you all.

My son's doing great, my wife's doing great, so we are back in business. So now that that's out of the way, I want to bring our attention to something not only important, but something that's alarming happening across the world right now. So Christian persecution is at an all time high. There is no denying that, although

What's interesting about this is that the mainstream media is not reporting on this. Mainstream media has been silent. It's really only private media outlets or even social media that have said really anything about this. Christian persecution is at an all time high and this is directly related to biblical prophecy. I'm going to share some verses with you all.

And I'm also going to share some, some events that have recently taken place. And then I'm also going to tie in the outpouring of God's spirit. And the reason I want to talk about these two topics is because we are in the last days, whether you want to believe it or not, we are in the last days. And this for the believer,

should open your eyes to biblical prophecy and end time prophecy. So let's just dive in, right? So for the persecution piece, events I want to share with you the, first of all, the 10 year anniversary of the February 2015

just execution of 21 Coptic Christians. So for those of you who don't know, in February of 2015, 21 Coptic Christians were executed in Libya. They were murdered by ISIS solely for being Christian. So just last month marked the 10 year anniversary of this event. So then ironically, last month actually,

So February, 2025, 70 Christians were murdered by ISIS affiliates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So again, this is being hardly reported, but apparently this ISIS affiliate group, they went into this church and they basically kidnapped 70 Congo Christians.

and they drove him away to this desolate area and that's where they massacred them with machetes and guns.

And this literally just happened and you're not seeing this anywhere on the news. And like I started to believe and wonder this all ties back to the deception that Satan wants to throw at us, right? This all ties back to Satan being jealous of God, his creation, the fact that he can't be like him.

So he wants to either deceive us, distort reality, or suppress the reality. And this is exactly what's happening. Mainstream media is not reporting this. It's only social media and maybe private media outlets. But again, I think for something this horrific to happen, this should be reported and it's not being reported.

And why is that, right? Why is it that if there was a mass massacre of, let's say, Buddhists or Hindus or a mass massacre of Muslims, why is it that this would be reported? This would definitely be reported. But this Christian massacre, there's no word about it.

nothing. Media outlets would be going crazy if the aforementioned religious groups were being persecuted. But no, I mean when it comes to Christian persecution, they are silent. So I don't, this tells me that Christianity is the truth. If it wasn't the truth, if people thought that

it wasn't a threat or that it wasn't, that didn't hold value or if it wasn't the one true religion, if people didn't view Christianity that way, they would freely talk about this stuff. But obviously even if they don't admit it, they understand that Christianity is the one true, religion. It's the one true way to, to, an eternal

of ourselves on the other side of eternity. So with that said, just recently, radical Islamic Muslims indiscriminately rounded up, tortured, and murdered Christians, and there are well over 1,000 dead.

This is all happening in Syria, I believe, or somewhere similar in the Middle East. I believe it's Syria is where it's all going down. But this is happening literally right under our noses and nobody's saying anything about it. So I wanted to shed some light on this, on these events. And I want to assure

us believers that we need to be bold in these last days. We can't let events like this hinder us from being bold and proclaiming the name of Jesus and sharing our testimony and talking about him in confidence.

Here's some scripture to back up what I'm Matthew chapter 5, 10 to 12 says,

For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you You guys this has been happening since ancient times Persecution is not new. It's been happening for thousands and thousands of years We're seeing a repeat of the persecution that Christians faced in the Bible. We're seeing that today in modern times

And I believe revival is breaking out, which I'll get into in just a second. But revival is truly breaking out. We're seeing a flood of street preaching. We are seeing revivals break out at university campuses, in grocery stores of all places. So revival is truly breaking out. And there is an outpouring of God's Spirit.

happening at the same time that Christians are being persecuted. So just keep that in mind. It's no accident that it's occurring this way. 2nd Timothy 3 12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. There it is folks. If Christianity wasn't a threat, if it was a lie, then this would not be happening.

but we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of this world.

The demons know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. And we are in a spiritual battle. So

Even if people, even if humans reject Christ, reject Christianity, reject the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, just know that there is an entire spiritual realm that is constantly going to war. And whatever happens in the spiritual realm manifests here in the physical realm. And what I'm trying to bring home to you is

is this is true. I mean, what's happening before us is true. It's happening for a reason. the fact that we proclaim Jesus and we claim him as our Lord and Savior, the fact that that is actively occurring and we're being persecuted for that, that should tell you everything.

in terms of the validity of Christianity and Jesus Christ.

Okay, so John chapter 15 verses 18 to 20. All right, here it goes. Excuse me.

If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the world that I said to you, excuse me, remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me,

they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also." So, I mean, that's pretty much saying that we're not safe from persecution. Jesus himself was hated and persecuted for simply wanting to do the right thing. He exposed darkness, he spoke truth, and because of that, he was persecuted, right? Persecuted and killed, if I might add. Crucified.

So friends, just be bold in the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit reside and work in you. Be led by the Holy Spirit, not by our flesh. Go out there, proclaim the name of Jesus, evangelize. I'll actually be doing another episode about evangelism as I've been practicing that on my own. It's a little experiment that I'm practicing and I want to get better at it.

But be bold, evangelize, share your testimony with others, save and win souls to Christ. The scripture says that when one soul is saved, there's a celebration in heaven. So that's actually what we've been called to do, is to spread the good news and evangelize and bring people to Christ.

want to talk about the outpouring of God's Spirit. in Joel chapter 2 verse 28 to 29, it is written,

on my men servants and on my maidservants, I will pour out my spirit in those days. So this is the prophecy in Joel and this is a prophecy that is playing out in broad daylight. It's being played out before our very eyes. So as Christians are being persecuted, there's also an outpouring of God's spirit.

So in these in events that I shared with you in the very beginning these these these victims are being asked to deny Christ or be killed on the spot and These victims are being bold and they are not denying Christ. They are they are proclaiming Christ to these radical

you know, terrorist groups and they're being gunned down or they're being chopped up.

And so I wonder how many of us are willing to be as bold as the victims in Syria. I mean, given though we live in America, well, most of us at least, I'm sure. And in America, persecution is nothing like what's happening in the Middle East. So what I always tell myself is how can I be so shy or hesitant?

to share my faith to non-believers? How can I be so timid to approach someone and share my testimony and explain to them what Jesus has done in my life and share my love for Jesus Christ? Why would I be afraid to do that when we live, well, when I live in America and we have all the rights and freedom that

we could possibly ask for in comparison to the Middle East. Why? Right? Sometimes I beat myself up for it. There's times when I know that, like I feel a nudge and a tug to approach people, share the gospel, share the good news, pray for them. But I just don't. And the reason I don't is because I fear what the outcome would be. But there's nothing to fear.

literally nothing to fear. We're not facing the persecution that the Middle East is facing. We're not. So there's really no good excuse to just watch from the sidelines and hope that people get saved. There's really not. I'll be covering evangelism in a future episode and I'm like I said I'm practicing it and I think the more practice that I get

or I have under my belt, the more experience that I get with that, obviously the more comfortable I'll be.

So in terms of Joel chapter 2 and 28 to 29, so in terms of that verse, this prophecy, right, was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. And this was described in Acts chapter 2. So there, during the Pentecost period, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, enabling them to speak in different tongues.

and empowering them to proclaim the gospel boldly. Acts chapter two, 17 to 18 reaffirms Joel's prophecy. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my

men servants and all my maiden servants I will pour out my spirit in those days and they shall prophesy." So Joel prophesied this would happen and it happened in the book of Acts. So again, Old Testament, New Testament, right? So we're seeing events that have been prophesied actually playing out and there's still a

being played out to this very day. mean, prophecies are still being fulfilled. Not all prophecies have been fulfilled, but we see here that in these scriptures, this particular prophecy has been fulfilled.

And in Ezekiel chapter to 27, this states, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them.

So you guys, God's word is written on our hearts. It's written in our hearts and the scripture does say that.

for the believer and for the person that has accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, who has accepted the free gift of grace and wants to walk out that free gift and produce the fruit from being saved, they feel the word of God written in their hearts. So they understand right from wrong. They have an objective biblical morality.

They understand what they have to do based on what the scripture says So The outpouring of God's Spirit is real it's it's happening know there are more and more Events occurring and people out there proclaiming the name of Jesus preaching and winning souls, right?

Let me just share with you some examples of the outpouring of God's Spirit. So the first example I want to share with you is the Asbury University Revival. So in case you guys aren't aware of this event, let me just share some details with you. A routine Wednesday chapel service at Asbury University in Kentucky on February 8th of 2023, unexpectedly morphed

into a multi-week student-led revival. Thousands, including students from hundreds of colleges and universities and individuals from various countries converged on the campus and surrounding town, attracted by the continuous prayer and worship.

Media outlets reported on the spiritual awakening with numerous accounts of healing, salvation, and rededication to Christ. The events, which lasted for 16 days, included spontaneous worship and prayer, and the Hughes Auditorium was filled with people for prayer with long lines to get inside and five overflow venues across town, all full.

Many small businesses in Wilmore, Kentucky contributed to the event by serving food to the crowds.

When the Holy Spirit hits you, there's no mistake about it. You feel it, you sense it, and it's just sensational.

So whether or not you, what am I trying to say? Let me make sure I'm being diplomatic about this.

Whether or not you're confident in your faith, when the Holy Spirit hits you, there will be an outbreak. There will be a revival. And if two or more are gathered, there God is within the midst of them. So with big groups like this, big revivals like this,

other people will be affected. It's like a chain reaction. When one person's filled with the Holy Spirit and they're next to someone else and they lay hands on that person, that person will then be filled with the Holy Spirit, right? And the Holy Spirit takes it from there. It does its job. It leads people to faith and belief and it leads people to be baptized.

God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ, they do not discriminate. You can be anywhere in the world. You can be part of any group. can be in any situation or predicament. And if you're open to receiving the Holy Spirit and God, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior, and choosing to follow Him, if you're open to receiving that, then you will be met

by the highest power, you will be converted to of Christ. And I mean, this is what happened at the Asbury University Revival. So another event similar to this that happened recently is the Ohio State University Revival. The Ohio State University Revival.

Nearly 2,000 Ohio State University students made decisions to commit to following Jesus Christ during a massive campus revival event this week. The organizers said the event held at the Scott Sports Arena drew a crowd of over 6,500 students. At Ohio State, the attendees

participated despite the chilling temperatures, which dipped into the teens. In an extraordinary display of commitment, students were baptized in the backs of U-Haul trucks parked at the site, CBN News reported.

so the, this revival at Ohio state, it happened in late 2024. And I think even like early 2025, I think, there was still like, just like a natural sort of progression into 2025, but most of the revival happened in late 2024. and actually fun fact, the Ohio state Buckeyes went on to win the national.

championship that year. Well, this year.

So other examples of revivals, unbelievers converting to Christianity, know, so there's atheists that are converting, ex-Muslims converting. One that I almost forgot to mention, in the Middle East there was a widespread phenomenon of Muslims receiving dreams in their sleep. And in these dreams,

they were being converted to Christianity. were being, or Jesus Christ was revealing themselves, excuse me, revealing himself to these Muslims. And these dreams were so profound and the experience was so deep that these Muslims converted to Christianity.

and began to follow Jesus. This is widely documented. You can do a Google inquiry. It's been on podcasts. You can even YouTube it. But this has definitely happened not too long ago. I want to say sometime in 2024, but that was a widespread phenomenon that happened. And these Muslims were having these dreams.

The Bible says that God communicates in dreams and this is just another, I wouldn't say prophecy, but just another act or event that is being acted out or was acted out. Another promise that actually happened. So God communicating in dreams, converting atheists, ex-Muslims, college campuses are hungry for the word.

I'm sure you're all aware of these prominent, these two prominent Christian figures in Cliff and Stewart Conneckley. I'm actually a huge fan of these two. So it's father and son. They literally go across nations and they travel to different college campuses, spreading the gospel, the good news, spreading the word, right?

If you follow these two on social media, whether it be Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, you'll see that when they're at the colleges and when they're gathered there, it's crazy. There are a multitude of students that are surrounding them as these two preach the word.

That doesn't just happen by accident.

I'm just inclined to think that during this time, during these sessions, Cliff and Stuart and all the many students are being guarded by angels. They're being guarded by God, the Holy Spirit, because a lot of universities in modern day, they are anti-Christ. They are anti-Christianity and they feel those two things are a big threat to the university culture.

And how is it that these two figures, Cliff and Stuart, are able to generate such a large crowd and preach the word of God? Like, how is that possible on a university campus in modern day 2025? It's crazy. But nonetheless, revival's breaking out in college campuses all over the globe.

In 2024, spontaneous worship breaks out in Walmart. There was a viral clip going around TikTok, Instagram, and there was literal worship that broke out in Walmart. So the video, it's a panoramic view. It's going from left to right, right to left, and it's showing everybody in the store of Walmart was worshiping. I can't make this stuff up.

Final example, so praise and worship break out in the streets of Manhattan. So this also happened in 2024. I want to say late last year. for yeah, like praise and worship to break out of Manhattan for such a like secular square in the it's the epicenter, right? Manhattan.

Manhattan is a secular place and for the square to be just flooded with praise and worship, it should really start to raise eyebrows, right? It should really start to open our minds to not only praise and worship, but to God's power, to what he's doing for us, to what he's doing to communities.

believers, non-believers, and just how much we should really pay attention to these events. This is real, guys. The stories in the Bible are not just make believe. They're not myths. They are actually events that happened. They are scientifically proven events. Maybe I'll make a future episode about that.

the Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeological findings that support the claims made in the Bible, all kinds of stuff, right? My point is though that this is all real. The stories in the Bible are real. The Bible's real. It is the number one book sold in the world, and that's for a reason. God's promises are real. His prophecies are real.

Jesus Christ really came down to live a life that we couldn't live and to die a death that we should have died. To pay for our sins as a ransom. And that's real. If it wasn't real, then Christianity is a lie. It's a lie. As Christians, that's what we hang our hats on. Just know that all the events occurring now are

prophesied and predicted. So don't be afraid. See this as an opportunity to live out your faith. See this as a great time to to be a Christian, right? To be a follower, a disciple of Christ. So that should get you excited. There's no other time that I can remember

where we've been in the minutia of all of this taking place. There's so much going on. The world's getting crazy. It's getting crazier. Evil is good. Good is considered evil. You know, people will be lovers of themselves. And that's literally what we're seeing play out.

So if I accomplished anything during this episode, it was just to open your eyes to the persecution that is really happening, even though, you know, media is not reporting on it. So it's really happening, folks. Let's be bold in our faith. Let's share our faith. Let's win souls to Christ. The outpouring of God's spirit is

happening simultaneously and this simultaneous occurrence is not an accident. When the enemy strikes, God strikes 10 times harder. And as long as we believe and we accept the free gift of grace and we claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Let's be confident in these last days. Let's be bold. Let's be biblically literate. Let's join a community of church. Let's let's pray. Let's fast and let's just walk out our faith guys. So I mean if I can just kind of end this with a prayer I pray that that God's people are safe during this time.

I pray, Lord, for the families of the lost lives in the Middle East. Lord, I pray that you'll comfort them. I pray that you'll uplift them and heal them of their grief, Lord, of their heartbreak. I pray, Lord, that this experience, Lord, will only strengthen the Syrian community.

the Christians, those in the Congo. Lord, I just pray that that you will have the backs of these communities that are being persecuted. Strengthen these communities, Lord. And, Lord, I pray, Lord, that us in America

are living out our faith confidently, unapologetically. And Lord, I pray Lord that you dispatch your angels, Lord, to guard Lord the believer, the evangelist, Lord, the preachers, the Christians, the churchgoers, because we're living in times of persecution, Lord, and hatred.

towards certain groups, Lord, and we just as Christians, Lord, we pray, Lord, for your guidance and your protection. In Jesus' name, amen.

That's all I have for you folks. Thank you for listening and I'll see you in the next one.