ERITREA: The Valley of Death

VOMRadio

The Voice of the Martyrs

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2020

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Americans will celebrate Independence Day on July 4th. And while Americans celebrate freedom and liberty, 600 persecuted Christians in the African nation of Eritrea will spend another weekend in prison—some of them have been in prison more than 15 years!

Dr. Berhane knows what it's like inside Eritrean prisons. He spent 11 months in prison for his faith in Christ. But, even in prison, he saw God's hand at work and found opportunities to witness to others—including prisoners about to be executed. Imagine the feeling as prison guards would read the names of prisoners scheduled for execution that day, each prisoner wondering if this was the day their name would be on that terrible list.

Yet in the midst of suffering and executions, Dr. Berhane says he experienced an inner peace through the presence of Jesus Christ. "Whenever I read the Scripture," he says, "it's full of persecution." Listen as he explains how there is more freedom for Christians to worship inside Eritrean prisons than for Christians outside of prison.

Today, Dr. Berhane is a voice for persecuted Christians in Eritrea through Release Eritrea, a UK-based charity. Be inspired as he shares his own story, and equips every listener to pray for Christians in Eritrea, including those 600 currently in prison.

You can write letters on behalf Christians in prison in Eritrea through PrisonerAlert.com.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Every time you read the Bible, do you realize what a gift that is?
0:05.0	Or when you meet with other believers, are you thankful?
0:10.0	Or when you listen to Christian music.
0:13.5	A gospel worker named Dr. Barhane lived in Eritrea,
0:17.7	where all those activities are illegal.
0:20.9	He says the government of Eritrea will sometimes make citizens sign a statement that says
0:27.0	I will never meet with other Christians I will never read the Bible I will never pray I will never read the Bible, I will never pray, I will never share the gospel, and I will never
0:36.5	listen to gospel song.
0:41.1	Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. In fact, he told his disciples that the world would hate them.
0:47.0	He sent them out as sheep among wolves.
0:50.0	Jesus' words came true in the life of the Apostles, and they're still coming true today in the lives
0:55.7	of his followers around the world.
0:57.8	Join host Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help,
1:02.4	right now on the Voice of the martyrs radio network
1:04.8	welcome to voice of the martyrs radio my name is Todd Nettleton I'm glad you're
1:09.2	with us this week you know as we celebrate Independence Day here in the United States 600 of
1:17.6	our brothers and sisters are spending another weekend in jail in the nation of Eritrea.
1:25.0	In the early 2000s I had the privilege of visiting Eritrea.
1:29.0	It is a beautiful country full of kind and generous people. Some of the pastors that I met when I was there
1:38.6	are among those 600 Christians who are in prison today and several of those prisoners are closing in on their 5,000th day behind bars.
1:51.6	In honor of those 600 believers. I want to share an interview with you this
1:56.0	week that was conducted four years ago with a man who also spent time in prison because of his faith.
	...

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