After more than nine years imprisonment – on death row for most of that time – Asia (pronounced “ahseeya”) Bibi, the young Pakistani Christian woman who was charged with violating Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws, has been freed.   

Pakistan's Supreme Court finally ruled that Bibi had been falsely accused and that she was to be freed in October of 2018, but widespread and often violent reaction among the country’s Muslim population led to the Christian not being allowed to leave the country and the court’s decision being legally challenged.

Thankfully, and despite great domestic pressure, the Supreme Court upheld its decision confirming Asia Bibi’s freedom and allowing her to leave the country – and potentially to travel to Canada where her children have already been relocated.   

The harrowing years of legal turmoil and possible execution for the young Christian field laborer and mother of five began in 2009 when Muslim co-workers who had sent her to bring water to them were upset that she drank some water from the same source, claiming that as a non-Muslim she had defiled it.  When an argument erupted, the Muslim co-workers brought charges against Bibi of blaspheming the prophet Mohamad – using a notorious law that is often brought against non-Muslims.

In its 56-page ruling, however, Pakistan's highest court found the accusation to be false saying “She appears to be a person, in the words of Shakespeare's King Lear, 'more sinned against than sinning.'”  Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, went as far as to say that Bibi’s accusers were guilty of perjury and if the case hadn’t been so sensitive, they would themselves have been jailed for life. Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, who had to flee the country due to death threats, said the decision was a victory for Pakistan’s constitution and rule of law.

However, as Amnesty International has announced: “After nine years behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit, it is difficult to see this long overdue verdict as justice. But she should now be free to reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice.”

Asia Bibi remained hidden under government protection after the Supreme Court upheld her release this week, but after being transferred to the capital Islamabad yesterday, Bibi was expected to leave the country as soon as possible for Canada where she has now been offered asylum. News sources quote a close friend as saying Bibi is overjoyed at her freedom and had said: "I am really grateful to everybody, now after nine years it is confirmed that I am free, and I will be going to hug my daughters.” 

Bibi’s faith appears to have remained strong throughout her ordeal and in the 2012 book, Get Me Out of Here, that Bibi was helped to write, she included a letter to her family urging them not to “lose courage or faith in Jesus Christ.”

We can and should be grateful for this resolution of Asia Bibi’s situation, but this young Christian field worker’s case well illustrates the plight of many Christians in Pakistan who are, like Bibi herself, often poor, illiterate, and without connections – making them easy targets for religious persecution.   The anti-Christian forces within Pakistani society may now turn on Christians who remain in the country, and even more of the ongoing persecution is likely. Some 187 other Pakistani Christians remain in prison on  the same charge of blasphemy.  
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So, although the prayers of those who have faithfully remembered Asia Bibi over the last several years have finally been answered, now is no time to let down.  We can and should give thanks for this young woman’s release, but we should also continue to remember the many Christians in Pakistan who still need our concern. 

* Update: Asia Bibi arrived in Toronto on Tuesday, February 5th, and has now been reunited with her family in Canada. 

SEVEN LETTERS: LESSONS FROM THE GENERAL EPISTLES

By R. Herbert, Living Belief Books, 2019.   
ISBN 978-1-64516-920-8     

The so-called General Epistles are of immense importance to Christianity and to you personally. They were composed by the leading apostles of the early Church and significantly affect our understanding of Christian beliefs as well as being filled with a great deal of practical advice in Christian living.  

Yet despite their importance, many people do not know these biblical books as well as they might.  Our new eBook looks at specific lessons we can learn from the General Epistles and may significantly increase your understanding of these treasures of the New Testament.  

​You can download copies in three formats for reading on computer, phone or eBook reader. ​As always,  the downloads are free and do not require registering or emails –  just click on the file you wish to download.   Download a copy here.

Many internet bible sites regularly publish lists of their most frequently searched-for scriptures – the well-known Bible verses such as John 3:16 that people look up and read more often than others.  That can be interesting information and can show us regional differences, for example, in what people are searching for in the Bible.

But in this article we are looking at something entirely different – the passages of scripture most quoted by the biblical writers themselves.  If we believe in the inspiration of the biblical writings, then we could also say these are the passages that were most often quoted under inspiration of the Spirit of God – or, put another way, the verses to which God most frequently referred!

So what are those verses?  There is no question as to their identity as two verses stand out above all others.  Among the writers of the Old Testament, the most commonly quoted verse is found in the book of Exodus: “maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin …” (Exodus 34:7A).

These memorable words were spoken to Moses by God regarding a central aspect of his own identity. They appear again at Numbers 14:18-19 where Moses reminds God of them, and they are quoted repeatedly in the writings of the later biblical writers.

The passage is quoted, for example, three times in the book of Psalms alone.   In Psalms 86:15 David quotes it in a prayer for God’s mercy, and in Psalms 103:8 and 145:8 he quotes it again in praising God’s deeds.  The prophets Jonah (4:2), Joel (2:13), Micah (7:18) and Nehemiah (9:17, 31) all quote it,and it is alluded to in other verses such as 2 Chronicles 30:9 when King Hezekiah urged the people of Judah to return to God.

When we turn to the New Testament we also find a verse that is quoted more often and by more New Testament writers than any other. That verse is found in the book of Psalms: “The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (Psalm 110:1).

This verse is quoted or alluded to some 23 times by seven of the nine authors of the New Testament, and the much-quoted words “the Lord says to my lord” were often used by the Christian writers as an expression of the divine nature of Jesus Christ alongside God. In Matthew 22:44 we see that Jesus himself referred the Pharisees to this verse to make the point that the Messiah is more than David’s son – he is also David’s Lord.    

Psalm 110:1 is also an expression of God’s ongoing purpose in history. The words "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" were used frequently from the beginnings of Christianity. The book of Acts shows us that Peter included them in his sermon when the New Testament Church was founded on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:32-36) specifically to show that “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified” (vs.36). Peter and Paul repeatedly use the verse or allude to it in their writings.  Paul, for example, refers to it in stressing the basis of the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:22-25).

We know historically that the earliest Christian confession was simply “Jesus is Lord!” and this confession was primarily a declaration that Jesus had been enthroned at God’s right hand as Lord and King – the very substance of Psalm 110:1.

So these two verses – Exodus 34:7 and Psalm 110:1 summarize the nature of God and the nature of his Son.  The two tie together in many ways, of course. Both foreshadow many other verses.  So it is hardly surprising that we find them as often as we do and that they are truly “favorite” biblical verses.

Of course, we have no way of knowing which verses in the Bible are really “God’s favorites,” but it is certain that the two verses we have looked at here were regarded as being of tremendous importance in setting out the message of the Scriptures – not just by us, its readers, but by the biblical writers themselves.

When we think of the book of Revelation, the first things that come to mind are mysterious symbols and apocalyptic imagery.  But one of the book’s most significant characteristics may be one we tend to miss: a consistent message of hope to the persecuted church. 
 
Persecution is described in all parts of Revelation – from its opening chapters to the final attack on Jerusalem – and the historical context of Revelation provides a reason for this. John’s apocalyptic writing most likely dates to the AD 90’s, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian.  The persecution of Christians reached a climactic level at this time, many Christians were executed, and John himself was banished to the Island of Patmos.  
 
When we see this historical context clearly, we begin to grasp the importance of the message of hope-despite-persecution within Revelation.  We see it in John’s personal introductory words to his fellow believers: “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ…” (Revelation 1:9) – words which set the tone for the whole book.  
 
We especially see this theme of endurance under persecution in the letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation’s second and third chapters. The letters are written in the form of imperial edicts, but John makes it clear that Jesus is the king of kings (and emperors) to whom we must listen.  Just as Imperial Roman edicts proclaimed, for example: “Hear what Domitian says …,” so the letters of Revelation all include “… hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7, etc.).   
 
Just as imperial edicts would often say “I know what you have done” to their recipients, so the seven letters repeatedly stress Christ’s words: “I know your works” (Revelation 2:2, etc.). The letter to Smyrna, for example, makes this theme clear: “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty … Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer….and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:9-10). 
 
We can learn much about persecution and hope from these seven letters. Consider two vital facts:
 
1) The letters to the seven churches –  except for Sardis and Laodicea –  all contain encouragement regarding perseverance in the face of persecution.  Sardis and Laodicea are the two churches where persecution is not mentioned and are also the two churches that are said to be either asleep or blind.
 
2) Conversely, each church is given some correction –  apart from Smyrna and Philadelphia, which we know historically were the two most persecuted churches.  Of the seven churches, the most fiercely persecuted congregations are the only ones praised without reproach.
 
These facts remind us that we must never presume persecution comes upon believers because they are not sincere or righteous enough.  If anything, Revelation indicates the opposite – that churches that do not experience persecution of any kind may not be spiritually active or alive.
 
This is not just a message regarding persecution in John’s time (Revelation 1:19). Today, Christianity is the most persecuted religious faith in the world. It has been calculated that more people died for their belief in Christ during the last century than in all nineteen previous centuries, and in the 21st century the number of Christians suffering persecution has increased even more.  But if there is a single, unifying message in Revelation’s letters to the churches, it is that God sees their trials and promises that whatever is taken from them by persecution will be returned in the Kingdom at an infinitely greater level – whether relationships, positions, possessions, or life itself.