“After my marriage, I only kissed two men; my husband and the man that murdered my family”
Christ, the embodiment of God, commanded that the redeemed are to love their enemies. Sabina and her husband Richard Wurmbrand, founders of ‘VOICE OF THE MARTYRS’, take this command to its extreme. As Romanian Jews during WW2, they are persecuted by the Fascist NAZI’s and when the Russians took over, they were persecuted for being Christians.
Romania was under NAZI rule for 4 years (1940-1944) and then under the Communists for 18 years (1947-1965). Under both administrations, Sabina and Richard were targeted for prosecution. They survived by loving their neighbour, and their enemies.
Richard converted to Christianity amid a mortal battle with TB. In his preparation for death, he hoped there was a God, and found HIM.
“GOD, I know you don’t exist, but if you do, it’s up to you to reveal yourself to me!”
‘Sabina’,the movie, covers the ‘NAZI years; when they met and married. They had been secular intellectuals with financial success, both reckless party people. The movie follows, their conversion and their commitment to a higher will. Richard changes his career from stock broker to pastor. From reckless to fearless they navigate the treacherous rule of the Iron Guard and the NAZI’s.
A follow up movie that documents the Communist era is ‘Tortured for Christ’ where Richard is tortured and imprisoned for 14 years. Both the Fascists and the Communists made a common enemy of God.
“I am not afraid for those Jews (the murdered), God will surely compensate them for what they suffered. I am anguished when I think, what will happen to their murderers when they stand before God.”
Snatching souls from the eternal torment of Hell is paramount in their minds and both are willing to suffer to save a soul. Sabina and Richard face their persecutors with two fundamental foundations of their faith.
‘If your enemy is hungry give him something to eat, if he is thirsty give him some water.’
and
‘Whoever will save his life shall lose it and whoever will lose his life for my sake, will save it.’
Sabina was an unwilling convert initially, but as Richards commitment persisted, her resolve submits after a party where she is confronted by the immorality of her peers.
Whist a third of Romanian Jews were murdered, including 11,000 in one day, Sabina and Richard survive the NAZI years, by loving their neighbours. Her family does not, they are taken to the camps to meet their end, including her young 14 year old brother.
The path of Christianity is marred by demonic institutions, at every turn, but the Wurnbrand’s rise to the occasion, not only to confront their enemies but also to comfort them. Both knew that death was not a fearful transition for them; they had the golden ticket to Heaven, and no-one could snatch away their prize.
In ‘Tortured for Christ’, (the Communist era); a guard that had been torturing Richard see’s him praying, in frustration he yells..
“Your wife (Sabina) is in prison and your son is an orphan, who are you praying for?”
WW1 & WW2; We don’t need another WAR, We can’t be complacent.
The 4 horses
…as I watched, there was a white horse. Its rider was holding a bow. He was given a crown, and he went off winning victories, and to win more of them.
It began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His murder catapulted into a war across Europe that lasted until 1918. In those days most countries were ruled by royalty, in-fact many were related and the offspring of Queen Victoria.
The kingdoms were expecting a quick war, the soldiers went off cheerfully, hoping to be home by harvest, none could have imagined the blood-bath that awaited them. The world had never experienced this type of warfare, where few would barely survive. The royal armies would include the bow of the middle east.WW1 sets of the events that would carry through into WW2.
...And another horse went out, fiery red
. The Red Baron, Germany removes Russia out of the WW1 to prepare for an American retaliation. They put Lenin on a train and sent him to Russia to cause a civil war; de-throne the royals and introduce communism. Essentially by keeping the Russians busy killing each other, the Germans could concentrate on other fronts.
Communism took root in Russia and flew a red flag with a sickle. The red horse removed Peace.
Christian loyalty between nations was dissolved under the weight of communism.Russia would make a tragic alliance with Germany, a false treaty that would create major losses in WW2, before it sided with the opposition.
This was a ruthless and unholy war; soldiers envied the dead because ‘it was all over for them’. Vulnerable persons and Jews were round up, like sheep to the slaughter and there was no mercy.
ANZAC
DAY
Then came, theBlack Horse; the banks and the oil of the Middle East.
Iraq was formed and the men never returned to their harvest. In WW1 & WW2 poverty abound, the oil was required to keep the war going and alcohol was sent to the troops to calm them.
The Earth was charcoaled black.
As I looked, there was a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. Hades followed along behind him. They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and by means of earth’s wild animals.
In WW1;10 million military died, 7 million civilian deaths, 21 million wounded, and 7.7 million missing or imprisoned. The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) carried out genocide of 1 million Christian Armenians. In WW2 85 million died. Beyond the official numbers more died of the the diseases and povety that the war created.
Gangrene set in,and bodies were rotting and destroyed, people were homeless and the water was polluted with sunken ships as chemical warfare choked the air.
Death was everywhere and the corpses, attracted rats. One pair of rats could produce 880 offspring in a year, so the trenches were swarming with them.
In WW2 the German Nazis systematically murdered six million Jews, around two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population
The 6th Seal is opened and a great earthquake slices the Earth.
During the wars, trenches lined the nation’s borders, the enemy would burrow under them and blow them up causing massive craters along the borders.
The sun became as black as sackcloth
The smoke plumed as bombs released toxic chemical contents and flying shrapnel, that flew like swarms and darkened the sky.
The stars fell like figs shaken by a mighty wind
Rockets flew from one trench to the other.
People hid in caves
Most populations, rich or poor slept in underground railways.
144000 tribes of Israel are sealed
Despite the genocide, some Hebrews would survive the Holocaust. The Ottman Empire was taken by the British led ANZACs and Russians in WW1; and in WW2, those that escaped the death camps would settle in Israel.
4 Trumpets sound
ON ANZAC MORNING 2024 AUSTRALIANS AWOKE TO THE NEWS OF BLOODY WAR HORSES GALLOPING WILDY THROUGH LONDON STREETS
During the recess of WW1 and WW2, could the German Jewish war veterans that fought for the German Army, have imagined that a new war was coming, that would destroy them, if it could. In those day’s Europe folded, now they follow the piper. These are new days.
In the second war, some unlikely alliances rose to survive; England, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the Old Commonwealth; then the Americans came to fight. As these quarters rested, new wars brewed and we often wonder, who lit the match. The Asian wars, the African wars and the Middle East. Nation against nation. Weapons, Hired Guns and Slaves are a thriving enterprise and someone is making a profit.
Refugees; homeless, all full of anxiety, rock in the ocean and await angry shores for a smile, a wave and a welcome new home. Could it be you, will it be you?
How do you prepare for war? Who are our friends, who is a spy? If the bully fails, are we safer or worse off? Do our blind guides know where they are going?
Will the garden idols save us? Who are the hired hands fighting for? Don’t lose your head, stay calm; why should we care?
How do you prepare for war? Will your house survive? Where will you hide? What will you wear? Can you make a fire, or plant a garden when the fuel and food are gone. Who will you pray too, when the bombs fall? Ask a refugee and ask how they survived a war.
melbourne press 