A Letter to the Global Church
from the Protestant Church of Smyrna
By Dan Wooding - Founder of ASSIST Ministries
SMYRNA, TURKEY (ANS) -- Smyrna is an ancient city (today known as Izmir
in Turkey) that was founded at a very early period at a central and
strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia.
It was the second city to receive a letter from the apostle John in the
book of Revelation. Acts 19:10 suggests that the church there was
founded during Paul's third missionary journey. Due to the fact that
the port city of Izmir houses the second largest population in Turkey
today, the site of ancient Smyrna has been little excavated. Excepting
the agora, theater, and sections of the Roman aqueduct, little remains
of the ancient city.
But there is a protestant church in there that calls itself "The
Protestant Church of Smyrna" and it has issued the following letter to
the Global Church which was sent to ANS.
Here it is in its entirety:
Dear friends, This past week has been
filled with much sorrow. Many of you have heard by now of our
devastating loss here in an event that took place in Malatya, a Turkish
province 300 miles northeast of Antioch, the city where believers were
first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
On Wednesday morning, April 18,
2007, 46 year old German missionary and father of three Tilman Geske
prepared to go to his office, kissing his wife goodbye taking a moment
to hug his son and give him the priceless memory, "Goodbye, son. I love
you."
Tilman rented an office space from Zirve Publishing where he was
preparing notes for the new Turkish Study Bible. Zirve was also the
location of the Malatya Evangelist Church office. A ministry of the
church, Zirve prints and distributes Christian literature to Malatya
and nearby cities in Eastern Turkey.
In another area of town, 35 year
old Pastor Necati Aydin, father of two, said goodbye to his wife,
leaving for the office as well. They had a morning Bible Study and
prayer meeting that some other believers in town would also be
attending. Ugur Yuksel likewise made his way to the Bible study. None
of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was
the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would
conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of
righteousness from Christ and honor from all the saints awaiting them
in the Lord's presence.
On the other side of town, ten young men all
under 20 years old put into place final arrangements for their ultimate
act of faith, living out their love for Allah and hatred of infidels
who they felt undermined Islam. On Resurrection Sunday, five of these
men had been to a by-invitation-only evangelistic service that Pastor
Necati and his men had arranged at a hotel conference room in the city.
The men were known to the believers as "seekers." No one knows what
happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel.
Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did
they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the
beginning of their story.
These young men, one of whom is the son of a
mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of
"faithful believers" in Islam. Tarikat membership is highly respected
here; it's like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no
one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat. These
young men all lived in the same dorm, all preparing for university
entrance exams. The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels
ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be
a lot of blood.
They arrived in time for the Bible Study, around 10
o'clock. They arrived, and apparently the Bible Study began.
Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault
began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman's hands and feet to
chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they
tortured our brothers for almost three hours.
Note: Details of the torture have been omitted (by TCC) here, being so gruesome as to traumatize the reader. God knows what atrocities were done to these maryrs for Christ, and He will avenge it. (Luke.18:7 - And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?)
Now... To untangle the web we need to back up six years. In April
2001, the National Security Council of Turkey (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu)
began to consider evangelical Christians as a threat to national
security, on equal footing as Al Quaida and PKK terrorism. Statements
made in the press by political leaders, columnists and commentators
have fueled a hatred against missionaries who they claim bribe young
people to change their religion.
After that decision in 2001, attacks
and threats on churches, pastors and Christians began. Bombings,
physical attacks, verbal and written abuse are only some of the ways
Christians are being targeted. Most significant is the use of media
propaganda. From December 2005, after having a long meeting regarding
the Christian threat, the wife of Former Prime Minister Ecevit,
historian Ilber Ortayli, Professor Hasan Unsal, Politician Ahmet Tan
and writer/propogandist Aytunc Altindal, each in their own profession
began a campaign to bring the public's attention to the looming threat
of Christians who sought to "buy their children's souls".
Hidden cameras in churches have taken church service footage and used it
sensationally to promote fear and antagonism toward Christianity. In an
official televised response from Ankara, the Interior Minister of
Turkey smirked as he spoke of the attacks on our brothers. Amid public
outrage and protests against the event and in favor of freedom of
religion and freedom of thought, media and official comments ring with
the same message, "We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want
Christians here."
It appears that this was an organized attack
initiated by an unknown adult tarikat leader. As in the Hrant Dink
murder in January 2007, and a Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in
February 2006, minors are being used to commit religious murders
because public sympathy for youth is strong and they face lower
penalties than an adult convicted of the same crime. Even the parents
of these children are in favor of the acts. The mother of the 16 year
old boy who killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro looked at the
cameras as her son was going to prison and said, "He will serve time
for Allah."
The young men involved in the killing are currently in
custody. Today news reported that they would be tried as terrorists, so
their age would not affect the strict penalty. Assailant Emre Gunaydin
is still in intensive care. The investigation centers around him and
his contacts and they say will fall apart if he does not recover.
The Church in Turkey responded in a way that honored God as hundreds of
believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand
by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care
of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media.
When Susanne
Tilman expressed her wish to bury her husband in Malatya, the Governor
tried to stop it, and when he realized he could not stop it, a rumor
was spread that "it is a sin to dig a grave for a Christian." In the
end, in an undertaking that should be remembered in Christian history
forever, the men from the church in Adana (near Tarsus), grabbed
shovels and dug a grave for their slain brother in an un-tended hundred
year old Armenian graveyard.
Ugur was buried by his family in an Alevi
Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Elazig, his believing fiancé
watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept
in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for. Necati's
funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to
faith.
The darkness does not understand the light. Though the churches
expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be
trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya,
it went through two separate xray exams to make sure it was not loaded
with explosives. This is not a usual procedure for Muslim coffins.
Necati's funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven,
thousands of Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their
love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ.
Necati's wife Shemsa told the world, "His death was full of meaning,
because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ. Necati was a gift
from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with
honor. I want to be worthy of that honor."
Boldly the believers took
their stand at Necati's funeral, facing the risks of being seen
publicly and likewise becoming targets. As expected, the anti-terror
police attended and videotaped everyone attending the funeral for their
future use. The service took place outside at Buca Baptist church, and
he was buried in a small Christian graveyard in the outskirts of Izmir.
Two assistant Governors of Izmir were there solemnly watching the event
from the front row. Dozens of news agencies were there documenting the
events with live news and photographs. Who knows the impact the funeral
had on those watching? This is the beginning of their story as well.
Pray for them.
In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers
in Turkey, Susanne Tilman in a television interview expressed her
forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. "Oh God,
forgive them for they know not what they do," she said, wholeheartedly
agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34).
In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many
reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of
Susanne Tilman has changed lives. One columnist wrote of her comment,
"She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could
never do."
The missionaries in Malatya will most likely move out, as
their families and children have become publicly identified as targets
to the hostile city. The remaining 10 believers are in hiding. What
will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it
will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other
cities will go to lead the leaderless church. Should we not be
concerned for that great city of Malatya, a city that does not know
what it is doing? (Jonah 4:11)
When our Pastor Fikret Bocek went with a
brother to give a statement to the Security Directorate on Monday they
were ushered into the Anti-Terror Department. On the wall was a huge
chart covering the whole wall listing all the terrorist cells in Izmir,
categorized. In one prominent column were listed all the evangelical
churches in Izmir.
The darkness does not understand the light. "These that have turned
the world upside down are come hither also." (Acts 17:6)
Please pray for the Church in Turkey. "Don't pray against persecution,
pray for perseverance," urges Pastor Fikret Bocek. The Church is
better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed
faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness
in Malatya .all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand
strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand
strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating
weakness.
This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving
their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being
stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus. Someday the video of the deaths
of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know
Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit
of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we
know He did not leave their side. We know their minds were full of
Scripture strengthening them to endure, as darkness tried to subdue the
un-subduable Light of the Gospel. We know, in whatever way they were
able, with a look or a word, they encouraged one another to stand
strong. We know they knew they would soon be with Christ.
We don't know
the details. We don't know the kind of justice that will or will not be
served on this earth. But we pray-- and urge you to pray-- that someday
at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the
testimony in death of Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary
to his beloved Turks, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and
Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church.
Reported by Darlene N. Bocek (24 April 2007)
Note from the church:
Please pass this on to as many praying Christians as you can, in as
many countries as you can. Please always keep the heading as "From the
Protestant Church of Smyrna" with this contact information: email
izmirprotestant@gmail.com web site of the church http://www.izmirprotestan.org
--------
Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in
Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and
international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic
Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS).
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