Luke's abbreviated version of the beatitudes is a perfect description of the suffering church in North Korea, or for that matter, in any nation that brutalizes its believers. Luke 6:20-23: Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
It is tempting to stop there and simply encourage you to pray for the North Korean believers. But in fact a huge blessing is already placed on them, not in spite of their condition, but because of it . It is the rest of the passage that some find troubling: verses 24-26.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
The words are meant to trouble. Let us in the West not try to explain them away.
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