Center for Creative Ministry A research organization and research center for Seventh-day Adventist pastors and their congregations
Precursors
Recently in Nicaragua, more than 200 religious leaders—including Catholic priests and evangelical pastors—have been exiled or silenced under President Ortega’s escalating crackdown. This year, Lent processions were banned, bank accounts seized, and clergy placed under constant surveillance.
The Associated Press reports that many Nicaraguan pastors must first inform the local police before visiting ill church members, and are obliged to submit their sermon drafts for review and approval. Even the nuns have been exiled from the country.
And most faith-based organizations in the country saw their legal status revoked.
Why the harsh crackdown?
One theory is government retaliation for various churches and clergy assisting those injured and/or persecuted during a protest against President Ortega.
Felix Maradiaga, a Nicaraguan opposition leader and practicing Christian, believes that the government aims to “create a parallel church” by taking “possession of the symbols of faith” and that it will only relieve pressure when it “obtain[s] a bishops’ conference in some way aligned with the dictatorship’s ideology.”
Maradiaga voices a concern that some advocacy groups like Christian Solidarity Worldwide echo.
The religious oppression in Nicaragua continues the long, ongoing conflict between earthly power and God’s authority, highlighting the pressures to conform to false worship and the faithfulness of God’s people under persecution.
Across the ages and various cultures, the Scriptures reveal how true worship and loyalty to God provoke opposition from political systems—the principalities of darkness—and also how God vindicates faithful believers.
For example, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in a furnace after refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue—the Babylonian king’s blatant attempt to change the future already revealed to him through Daniel—but God kept them from burning.
And the revelations of John proclaim that those who refuse to worship the dragon and its image, standing firm in their allegiance to Christ—despite threat, exile, imprisonment, or even death—will overcome.
Like King Nebuchadnezzar’s demand to bow to the golden statue, is President Ortega’s oppression of Christians a precursor of what is to come for the rest of the world?
Only time will tell, but one apt question remains for all Christians: Will we join the three young Hebrews in boldly proclaiming, “The God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and [God] will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if [God] does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up”? [Daniel 3:16-18 NIV, emphasis added]
For Reflection
Connecting: In moments of constraint, disease, or accusation, how might God be working behind the scenes?
Sharing: Would it be incorrect to say that Nicaraguan Christians are living out the prophecies of Revelation?
- John’s revelations happen over a span of history and locations, and can be repeatable
- Their turmoil foreshadows what is to come later for the whole world
- Given that most of the persecuted Christians are Catholic, they are not living the prophecies
- We are all living in the days of John’s revelations and must live like today is our last
- It’s too soon to say
- Other
Applying: How can we support our brothers and sisters who endure spiritual oppression today? Pray—ask God to show you concrete ways to act. God may inspire you to pray for others, give, advocate.
Valuing: Consider whether political loyalties, cultural norms, or institutional pressures pull you away from godly conviction. Consider, “What would it look like for me to worship God boldly this week, even if it costs me something socially or professionally?”
~ Stefani Leeper
